Sunset at the Sake House
by Kakita Kaori
A red western sun filtered through the shoji, and the trailing branches of a willow traced a graceful shadow on the paper screens. The days had grown very short over the last few weeks, and the first snow had fallen. The small tea house was well blessed this season, however, for it lay not a half-hour's walk from the daimyo's fine shiro, and there would be many noble samurai guests to serve over the coming months. The tea-mistress was very pleased, and showed it by smiling warmly to the Scorpion bushi that was seated at one of her small tables.
The Scorpion's eyes were dark, with a sardonic gleam that even the trials of the Burning Sands had not driven from them. He wore his hair shaved in the front, and up, like an Akodo, but his iron mask more closely resembled a dog than a lion's features. The trace of a smile would, of course, would never be allowed to those following the Lion's path, but the afternoon was pleasant, the teahouse was comfortable, and Churo was meeting an old…friend.
As expected, the shoji screen slid open, and another samurai entered the teahouse. With long, flowing hair of white, and eyes as blue as a gaijin's, the Crane would find himself at the center of any crowd. He nodded his head in polite greeting to the Tea-Mistress, then bowed to the Scorpion bushi as he sat down across the table from him. "Konbanwa, Churo-san. It has been another year, and I am honored to see you again." His smile was broad, and his face as open as a child's.
Churo remembered how well the Kakita used that smile to his advantage; it made many men underestimate the Crane until it was too late. The man's skill in a duel was well renowned, and he had no fear. He returned the bow. "Hakuan-san. Welcome. Please sit." He gestured to the small table, where a brazier burned.
The Crane knelt at the table opposite the Scorpion, and pulled a small bottle from his kimono. "I have brought sake, the finest the Friendly Traveler village has to offer." He set the sake bottle in the brazier to warm.
The Scorpion nodded, and opened his haori to retrieve his own bottle. "And I have brought the sake of Golden Orchid village. We can taste both and compare their virtues. How is Doji Seiko?"
"She is well. It has been a…difficult…year for her, and she is not growing younger. Though neither, of course, are any of the rest of us." The Crane smiled in his disarming fashion, and most samurai would believe that he thought of his charge's age as natural and of little concern. But Churo could see the crease between Hakuan's eyes and the slight tremble of his throat. The Crane was worried for her. Perhaps the loss of her son was enough for her to choose to enter the monastery at last?
Hakuan turned the bottle in the brazier to warm it more easily. "And how is Shosuro Amidan-sama? Well, I trust?"
Churo worked to keep his eyes empty of emotion. "He, of course, has been well. He looks forward to the events of this Winter Court." He wondered how much the sharp eyes of the Crane could make out through his Lion mask. Probably too much, but the other yojimbo did not show it.
"That is excellent news. Please, permit me to pour." He drew his bottle of sake from the coals, set down two small cups, and poured the clear, warm sake into both. "It is said that this sake was made by pretty Crane maidens, and the wind blowing through the paddies makes the rice laugh for joy for knowing its destiny." He moved the cup of sake towards Churo.
Churo took the cup, lifted his mask slightly, and sipped. He let the sake settle in his mouth before it slipped with comforting heat towards his belly. He lowered his mask and smirked at the Kakita. "Sweet, I suppose, but definitely bland. It is probably just a lack of proper aging that makes this sake insufficiently robust for the pleasure of a real man." The Scorpion enjoyed this game; he had known Hakuan long enough to know how far he could go without angering the man unnecessarily.
Hakuan shrugged, and drained the cup. "Some of us prefer a sweet, new-made sake, Bayushi-san. I am sorry if it is not...experienced...enough for your tastes. If you would refill my cup, I would be honored to learn better of it." He smiled again, and held out his empty cup.
Churo inclined his head graciously, and took his own bottle from the embers. He opened it and poured the crystal sake into the two cups. "The sake of Golden Orchid village is made by beautiful Scorpion virgins, following the strictest standards of cleanliness and ceremony."
"Beautiful Scorpion virgins, you say?" Hakuan accepted the small cup that Churo proffered. His eyebrow was raised. Churo smirked. Hakuan had not lost his talent for seeing through lies. And he had not lost his talent for seeing through Hakuan.
"Of course," said Churo. "Isn't every woman a virgin until she says otherwise?"
The Crane grinned. "Of course. But what about the standards of cleanliness and ceremony, then?"
Churo sipped from his cup. "We have very strict rules about what the women can /do/ in the sake vats." He managed to keep his lips still, though he wanted to laugh aloud when Hakuan choked on the mouthful of sake he was sipping. "Is it not a fine sake?" he politely asked after the Crane had finished sputtering.
"It is a delightful sake, Churo-san." Hakuan coughed again, and then his body settled into its usual perfect composure. He gamely held out his cup for more.
Churo drank sake and exchanged news of the Empire with Hakuan until the lights of the tea house radiated into the darkness outside. So much had changed over the years...powerful men rose and fell, homes were devastated, lives were lost, and yet, despite the chaos the years had wrought, still the two of them could drink, and spar, and play the game as their fathers had played it a generation before. And Hakuan was like so many of the others...easy to predict, easy to control, but his eyes saw far more than they should, even when his own were shadowed by his mask. And one mis-step, and he could kill you before you could blink. A poisoned weapon is useless if you die before you can strike, after all. An excellent challenge, as always.
Finally, it was time to go. Churo stood. "I need to go. Amidan expects me to meet with him this evening. I thank you for the time, and your sweet sake."
Hakuan bowed. "I feel well learned. Domo arigato."
The Scorpion walked to the door, but, as he was about to pull open the shoji screen, he turned back to the Crane duelist. Sake lent boldness to his tongue. "So, Hakuan-san, are you going to kill me this Winter Court?"
Kakita Hakuan's eyes, grown blurry with the drink, sharpened instantly to focus on the Scorpion. He smiled, but there was a sadness to it that Churo could not trace the origin of. "No, Churo-san, unless something makes it necessary. I do not intend to."
The Scorpion nodded and turned back towards the door. Hakuan, after a moment, called out to him, "So, Churo-san. Are you going to kill me this Winter Court?" His hand, the hand near the empty bottle of sake, twitched.
Churo turned back towards the Crane and grinned. "You have the word of a Scorpion."
The shoji slid shut behind him.
A red western sun filtered through the shoji, and the trailing branches of a willow traced a graceful shadow on the paper screens. The days had grown very short over the last few weeks, and the first snow had fallen. The small tea house was well blessed this season, however, for it lay not a half-hour's walk from the daimyo's fine shiro, and there would be many noble samurai guests to serve over the coming months. The tea-mistress was very pleased, and showed it by smiling warmly to the Scorpion bushi that was seated at one of her small tables.
The Scorpion's eyes were dark, with a sardonic gleam that even the trials of the Burning Sands had not driven from them. He wore his hair shaved in the front, and up, like an Akodo, but his iron mask more closely resembled a dog than a lion's features. The trace of a smile would, of course, would never be allowed to those following the Lion's path, but the afternoon was pleasant, the teahouse was comfortable, and Churo was meeting an old…friend.
As expected, the shoji screen slid open, and another samurai entered the teahouse. With long, flowing hair of white, and eyes as blue as a gaijin's, the Crane would find himself at the center of any crowd. He nodded his head in polite greeting to the Tea-Mistress, then bowed to the Scorpion bushi as he sat down across the table from him. "Konbanwa, Churo-san. It has been another year, and I am honored to see you again." His smile was broad, and his face as open as a child's.
Churo remembered how well the Kakita used that smile to his advantage; it made many men underestimate the Crane until it was too late. The man's skill in a duel was well renowned, and he had no fear. He returned the bow. "Hakuan-san. Welcome. Please sit." He gestured to the small table, where a brazier burned.
The Crane knelt at the table opposite the Scorpion, and pulled a small bottle from his kimono. "I have brought sake, the finest the Friendly Traveler village has to offer." He set the sake bottle in the brazier to warm.
The Scorpion nodded, and opened his haori to retrieve his own bottle. "And I have brought the sake of Golden Orchid village. We can taste both and compare their virtues. How is Doji Seiko?"
"She is well. It has been a…difficult…year for her, and she is not growing younger. Though neither, of course, are any of the rest of us." The Crane smiled in his disarming fashion, and most samurai would believe that he thought of his charge's age as natural and of little concern. But Churo could see the crease between Hakuan's eyes and the slight tremble of his throat. The Crane was worried for her. Perhaps the loss of her son was enough for her to choose to enter the monastery at last?
Hakuan turned the bottle in the brazier to warm it more easily. "And how is Shosuro Amidan-sama? Well, I trust?"
Churo worked to keep his eyes empty of emotion. "He, of course, has been well. He looks forward to the events of this Winter Court." He wondered how much the sharp eyes of the Crane could make out through his Lion mask. Probably too much, but the other yojimbo did not show it.
"That is excellent news. Please, permit me to pour." He drew his bottle of sake from the coals, set down two small cups, and poured the clear, warm sake into both. "It is said that this sake was made by pretty Crane maidens, and the wind blowing through the paddies makes the rice laugh for joy for knowing its destiny." He moved the cup of sake towards Churo.
Churo took the cup, lifted his mask slightly, and sipped. He let the sake settle in his mouth before it slipped with comforting heat towards his belly. He lowered his mask and smirked at the Kakita. "Sweet, I suppose, but definitely bland. It is probably just a lack of proper aging that makes this sake insufficiently robust for the pleasure of a real man." The Scorpion enjoyed this game; he had known Hakuan long enough to know how far he could go without angering the man unnecessarily.
Hakuan shrugged, and drained the cup. "Some of us prefer a sweet, new-made sake, Bayushi-san. I am sorry if it is not...experienced...enough for your tastes. If you would refill my cup, I would be honored to learn better of it." He smiled again, and held out his empty cup.
Churo inclined his head graciously, and took his own bottle from the embers. He opened it and poured the crystal sake into the two cups. "The sake of Golden Orchid village is made by beautiful Scorpion virgins, following the strictest standards of cleanliness and ceremony."
"Beautiful Scorpion virgins, you say?" Hakuan accepted the small cup that Churo proffered. His eyebrow was raised. Churo smirked. Hakuan had not lost his talent for seeing through lies. And he had not lost his talent for seeing through Hakuan.
"Of course," said Churo. "Isn't every woman a virgin until she says otherwise?"
The Crane grinned. "Of course. But what about the standards of cleanliness and ceremony, then?"
Churo sipped from his cup. "We have very strict rules about what the women can /do/ in the sake vats." He managed to keep his lips still, though he wanted to laugh aloud when Hakuan choked on the mouthful of sake he was sipping. "Is it not a fine sake?" he politely asked after the Crane had finished sputtering.
"It is a delightful sake, Churo-san." Hakuan coughed again, and then his body settled into its usual perfect composure. He gamely held out his cup for more.
Churo drank sake and exchanged news of the Empire with Hakuan until the lights of the tea house radiated into the darkness outside. So much had changed over the years...powerful men rose and fell, homes were devastated, lives were lost, and yet, despite the chaos the years had wrought, still the two of them could drink, and spar, and play the game as their fathers had played it a generation before. And Hakuan was like so many of the others...easy to predict, easy to control, but his eyes saw far more than they should, even when his own were shadowed by his mask. And one mis-step, and he could kill you before you could blink. A poisoned weapon is useless if you die before you can strike, after all. An excellent challenge, as always.
Finally, it was time to go. Churo stood. "I need to go. Amidan expects me to meet with him this evening. I thank you for the time, and your sweet sake."
Hakuan bowed. "I feel well learned. Domo arigato."
The Scorpion walked to the door, but, as he was about to pull open the shoji screen, he turned back to the Crane duelist. Sake lent boldness to his tongue. "So, Hakuan-san, are you going to kill me this Winter Court?"
Kakita Hakuan's eyes, grown blurry with the drink, sharpened instantly to focus on the Scorpion. He smiled, but there was a sadness to it that Churo could not trace the origin of. "No, Churo-san, unless something makes it necessary. I do not intend to."
The Scorpion nodded and turned back towards the door. Hakuan, after a moment, called out to him, "So, Churo-san. Are you going to kill me this Winter Court?" His hand, the hand near the empty bottle of sake, twitched.
Churo turned back towards the Crane and grinned. "You have the word of a Scorpion."
The shoji slid shut behind him.
