[Day 9, EA] Can I Park Here?

[Yasuki Honoka]

Honoka sits inside the temple of light. This far away from Nakahama Hiroto looks absolutely peeved. This far away from the city the young bushi might actually have to not just stay relatively light on his toes, and sharp in his eyes, but also endure this state for an extended period of time to make sure that Honoka remains safe. While the province was largely well protected, Honoka's situation was special and Hiroto knew that just as much as anyone within her fathers sphere of influence. While he might generally allow the woman a bit of distance to herself to have nice peaceful thoughts, today he was just about one seat over and behind her. Well within arms reach if anything untoward began.

This state of affairs was completely unnoticed by Honoka however. As Honoka sits here among the temple, having made her way through politely but with intent, she is lost in a sort of deep internal thought. Everything she'd learned the other day circling around in her head. How that had made her feel. How that had given her so many more questions with which she surprisingly naturally desired answers. Affairs for her province were far more complicated than she believed, or perhaps allowed herself to believe.

[Boogiepop]

While it was true that the doors to the Temple of Light were always open for visitors, for this particular occasion, Yasuki Honoka and yojimbo could only get so far. They would only make it past the entry, where they could see the warehouse was partially converted with loft space, hosting several bunk beds and several 'walls' erected with black curtains. Many curtains were closed at the moment. There was also a catwalk overhead, with the warehouse office having been converted to an assembly hall of sorts.

THUNK.

There was the sound of metal dropped on metal as a tetsubo hit one of the steps of the stairs leading up to the catwalk.



There was a Hida woman who stood with a rifle, strap around her shoulder, and holding a tetsubo. She wore a military uniform, which seemed like it was one from a void marine unit, rather than one of the local defence force.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded.

[Yasuki Honoka]

There was certainly a lot new about this experience which either made everything terrifying or inviting and while Honoka's body decided which way it wanted to feel, she acted. With a glance back to Hiroto she offers him a polite smile, a dip of the head, an apology for how much stress this must be adding to his life. Still, stress or not, "I wanted to come here to think. Maybe even talk with someone? I've an awful lot on my mind, and this is the perfect place to process it," she says. Emphasising that "is" with the weight that knowing holds. There was no better place, because these people were the question.

With confidence being the chosen route, the compromise with her nerves was the way her hand snuck down to her side to rest a couple knuckles against Crabbo.

[Boogiepop]

"If you want to think, go to a park. If you want to talk to someone, go to a bar," the Hida would retort to her with an unwelcoming presence. Despite the guest having rank over her, this place just didn't have tolerance for rather suspicious characters and sudden appearances...

[Yasuki Nagisa]

Shiiiik!

A curtain would open up, and a familiar face would appear. A rather unexpected face at that.

"Yasuki Honoka-san," Nagisa would greet her with a not-really-surprised smirk on her face and emerge from the 'room' she was staying in the temple. She would bow politely to greet her. "Fancy running you here, and good afternoon! This one's fine, gunso, she's with me and very welcome here."

She would give a wave to the Hida woman, sending her away.

[Yasuki Honoka]

Of the lacking surprise in Nagisa's expression, it would be found in Honoka's wider eyes. Now, the Hida was maybe a gruffer and tougher person than she was expecting. Some part of her was certain she'd find meek people eking out an existence out here, all very much in need of a very gracious woman's help, but this was.. well, Honoka decides not to be surprised anymore. When you don't know what's going on, maybe it was better to just expect not to know.

"Good Afternoon, Yasuki Nagisa-san," she says, and bows as per propriety. An autonomic body response, "I admit, I did not properly ascertain where you might be found if I needed to find you at our last meeting. I suppose, by luck, I have corrected that previous mistake. I take it then you are involved with the temple here then?"

She asks, giving her mind time to process the fact that maybe by sheer coincidence and desire to be helpful and learn more she'd done exactly what Umiko was attempting to avoid. Well, it would seem they are in some regards just like children again and now it was just deciding if it was like when they had a goofy and fun little accident like getting each other the same gift or if this is more like one of the times Honoka got her hand caught in a crabs pincer.

[Yasuki Nagisa]

"Heh? Really?!" Nagisa said in surprise, with perhaps the tone dramatically tuned up a few notches. "Here I thought Umiko-chan told you about this place and you decided to join us after all. What was your reason for dropping by then?"

She turned around and offered a glance at the door to the assembly hall, where there was the Way's Trinity iconography visible on one of the doors and through the internal windows, the assembly hall stage. "Unless, you're here to seek out a new path to cleanse your soul for guaranteed salvation and eternal happiness in the realm of the Sun. It's quite a curious religion, and I'm willing to answer any questions you might have about it. I might not be the Elder Librarian, but they seem to revere me here all the same."

Nagisa turned and smiled slyly at Honoka, as she was more willing to lead her toward the assembly hall. "I am involved, I suppose. In case you're wondering, I share a similar position to Umiko-chan here, that's how we're such good friends. They've been wanting to bestow me the rank of Elder Treasurer...but I feel I'm more just a 'benefactor' or 'investor'. Not quite different than what you're doing for your friends in the Dragon Clan, perhaps."

[Yasuki Honoka]

Honoka steps forward, closer to be able to inspect better what she was being shown. Attentively listening to Nagisa's words, and admittedly getting caught up in the whirlwind of them a bit. Never too caught up, however, as she already starts pulling up the pieces she needs. Looking through that glass to see the trinity iconography she lingers there with her gaze.

"I have lived on this island my whole life, and never better learned for myself what went on here," she looks to Nagisa. Deciding who she is in this moment, "But no, Yasuki Umiko didn't send me here. The way you speak of her I have to wonder if you are friends at all, I admit. Your words are glowing, but..." she furrows her brow.

[Yasuki Nagisa]

As Nagisa led the way to the interior of the warehouse turned 'temple'. The two Crab Clan marines were seen patrolling above them on the catwalk. They didn't seem to be concerned with Honoka in Nagisa's company, but rather had eyes on Hiroto as they walked.

Nagisa would make it as far as the door to the assembly before she would turn to look at Honoka with a playfully shocked expression, before her expression would become a slight pout on her lips. She daringly stepped closer into Honoka's space as if she was confiding something secret with her. "...I suppose, Umiko-chan was rather quiet last time we spoke together, wasn't she? That's probably my fault, I admit. My enthusiasm for seeing her again, safe and sound, got the better of me when I should have read the situation better. In many ways, I was starstruck. However, her immediate cousin did just pass away, and I should have known that she would be less enthused for conversation. I'm sorry if it looked unfavourable on my part."

"I'll just have to hope I do better when we're together again, right?" Her expression brightened once more, and she gave her a quick wink.

"Please," she said as she opened the door and made a sweeping gesture to usher her in. "Welcome to our blessed sanctum..."

[Yasuki Honoka]

While Nagisa speaks Honoka is as much of her reserved polite self as usually attends corporate meetings. Walking alongside her like she was walking across the room at a board meeting. Social interactions, the intricacies, the way it feels like she's speaking to a predator and not a human were all things she struggled with on the regular. Something about this situation was reading off to her. A part of her that's been overactive all her life, might just well be right this time but stopping now would be a far greater loss surely. Looking down to the threshold past the door she wondered the significance of that doorway, and what it meant would come next.

With a little shake of her shoulders she shakes off the nerves building along her spine, "What does a temple need so many armed guards for?" she asks, holding in place just before the threshold and looking from the outstretched swept hand to Nagisa directly.

[Yasuki Nagisa]

Nagisa would straighten in her posture after the grand gesture and smiled softly at the question. "They're merely my escorts and a part of my crew," she would tell Honoka, and it wasn't the entire truth of the matter.

"Merely standard procedure that I would have an escort while on land, as the commanding officer of a ship. It's a bit of a custom that I'm used to and found myself wanting to offer Umiko-chan as well. Even some hidden characters, like the Kaiu, around the island, you can never be too sure when it comes to safety."

***
Day 9 - Early Afternoon, Sincerity (Deceit)/Awareness | 6k3 ⇒ 22

[Yasuki Honoka]

Allowing herself to disbelieve people more than she may have prior in her life, not just being a bit more of a passive observer only holding people accountable when they don't come through. Was Honoka dealing with more misleading statements and untruths than usual, or was she just starting finally to get a sense for her desire for it? Maybe it was that she had more of a reason to be brave than she had before, and to look at someone with intent while her being only wanted to shrink away? There was a lot of potential reasons why Honoka was developing this way but the one certainty was that she saw through Nagisa's performance.

"You know," she says, looking over to Hiroto but keeping Nagisa in view. "My father spoke of exactly that sentiment, that belief you can never be too sure. I suspect in many ways you may be a lot like my father. Maybe your reasons for protection are a lot like his as well. What better way to keep someone monitored than by suggesting they are being protected from danger? An interesting thought, don't you agree?" she says, and focuses back on Nagisa.

***
Day 9, EA | Inv/Per vs Since/Awa, (Neg)isa! | 5k3 ⇒ 32 (TN: 22)

[Yasuki Nagisa]

Nagisa was momentarily stunned that she was found before her features would meld into a knowing smile on the matter. She had underestimated her, perhaps Honoka was far more capable than she imagined. "You got me there, Yasuki-san. I suppose I am monitoring Umiko-chan to a degree. She's a fellow Elder of this time, and I constantly worry about her, as an associate here and her importance."

"Did you know what she wishes to be governor?" She would ask her in a rhetorical sense, getting the feeling she already knew. "There was a good amount of time she was rather sure of those aspirations. They should be more than aspirations, wouldn't you agree? She is the eldest in the family, most suitable, and most talented."

[Yasuki Honoka]

"What of you, Yasuki Nagisa-san? You say you and Yasuki Umiko are, in your own ways, both supporting efforts here. What is it that you seek from all of this? What is the reason for your support of this temple, these people, a place you, I suspect, barely have any roots?" she presses back, feeling Nagisa setting a sort of trap with her questions that she wasn't inclined to fall into. For what purpose, she couldn't say. Perhaps there was some other explanation to what Honoka was reading in the way she spoke. Whatever the reasoning, whatever the truth, the defenses went up and a good offense is often a great defense.

Day 9, EA | Sincerity (Deceit)/Awareness, Deflecting vs Yasuki Nagisa | 5k3 ⇒ 25

[Yasuki Nagisa]

"My roots, now? How would you know about my devotion to the Way?" Nagisa said with a soft titter at the question. She supposed that she didn't exactly seem devout in the slightest during their interaction.

She gestured with a gloved hand at the Trinity. "The Way has chapters all over the Green Carp. Many are found on islands such as this one, some of them are found in private offices in big cities like Aoihama. It has just found a way into the small crevices of Crab Clan society, especially at a time when the Spider Clan roams freely to spit in the face of our ancestral purpose and many of us don't have a 'Wall' to constantly remind us of the dangers next door. Some Crabs are lost without a purpose. Wandering without their claws to speak."

"Not all of us can take up hobbies like LARPing, trouble-making, and adventuring so easily," she crossed her arms and chuckled. "So, the Way provides an avenue to foster conviction in the Crab, underdog at that, barely hobbling along to spread its message and do good. That's where people like me come in, giving them the means to make ends meet as an honorary Elder Treasurer. I just want to see them do well in this world, maybe become worthy of its promised salvation by my generosity alone."

***
Post day mechanics: That is a lie.

[Yasuki Honoka]

Honoka takes a step forward toward that threshold, looking inside. Wondering at the iconography, and listening to Nagisa as she spoke. There was something she felt when she heard the woman speak. Something that was common among people like her father, whom she keeps reflecting back to in this woman's company.

"I wonder, Yasuki Nagisa-san, if I might ever meet the real Yasuki Nagisa, and not this," she turns back meeting Nagisa's eyes with conviction. Honoka's back turned toward the open threshold. "Well, whoever the performance before me is. No wonder, I think, that Umiko would be uncomfortable in your presence. She never had to meet my father, and so I suspect she might be unaccustomed."

One saving grace was that Nagisa wasn't her father, and so taking this bold stance was so much less frightening.

"I worry that you forget the Crab of old who once fought did not do it because they needed a fight, but because no one else would. Once, the Yasuki and Crab who did not fight aided those who did because we knew the fight was right. Things are much more complicated now, but we have the opportunity to build and provide. That is what we do."

[Yasuki Nagisa]

The assembly hall at the temple was easily the best-looking room in the temple, the interior of the warehouse former office space was furnished with wood panelling and painted walls. There were several rows of seating with red cushioned seats. There were three seats on stage with the same Trinity iconography sitting in place.

"You really wound me, Yasuki-san. I'm starting to think that you don't particularly like me," she smiled sweetly. "Again, I think we've just gotten on the wrong foot in the worst circumstances. This only means that I have even more reason to try to impress you in the future, and I will do my sincere best, I promise you that. I believe you have recently opened a new restaurant, Crabkaku? Perhaps I should one day drop by for a visit in return. My away team have been dealing with rations and the like for a long while now, I'm sure they would love a well-cooked meal from your establishment. I have heard it's the most happening of places in Nakahama City."

"Well said, Yasuki-san, but that's more or less what the religion aims to do here. Most Crabs see the religion as heretical, which..." She gave a few shrugs of consideration before giving up entirely. "Admittedly, yes. Yes, it is. But the message it spreads about aiding the lesser people and equality outside of the Celestial Order is...something, is it not?"

[Yasuki Honoka]

"I will admit, I haven't thought about such a thing in all my life until recently," she says, looking across the space that they'd certainly made into a nice space. "Almost feels as if I have been a bit blind. That there are so many I have simply chosen not to see because that was what is expected," Honoka shifts her gaze from around the room back to Nagisa.

"So, I would say I am open to the concept of being presented with new ideas and possibilities. Perhaps you will wow me with some surprise. Even if you don't, however, you will still be welcome at Crabkaku. I've not suspicion about you enough yet that I would feel justified in disallowing you from the opportunity to learn more about the crabs of various worlds. That it has become quite popular is.. well," she smiles awkwardly to herself. "I have not quite gotten adjusted to that yet. Though I have been told this by quite a few."

Honoka adjusts herself after admitting that, stepping away from Nagisa about the room in a conversational wander. "What brought you to this religion and the people who do it's works?"

[Yasuki Nagisa]

Nagisa would allow Honoka to wander the room and inspect it for herself. She would stand close to the doorway, potentially entertaining the possibility of keeping her inside for the entirety of her visit. No, what would happen on another day, it seemed.

"You didn't think I just dropped back one day and merely brute forced my way through the door, did you?" She smirked for a moment before glancing off to look at the windows spilling sunlight into the room. I was assigned here by the upper echelons of the Lavoie Elders, an associate of an associate, in their loose hierarchical structure...which I have many friends in, by the by. While this chapter wasn't strictly mandated to accept my support by law, they were a bit obliged by recommendation. Also, it's a bit difficult to turn away all the value I provide to this temple."

"Of course, I don't strictly manage religious groups." She looked at Honoka once more with a smirk. "I can also do the same for businesses, too. I don't suppose you'll be interested in interesting Crabkaku? Maybe a second gentry that manages the direct catch of your crab? A fishing industry? Or another location somewhere in Aoihama?"

[Yasuki Honoka]

"I have experienced quite a number of people who speak quite highly of what they can offer in such a manner," she comments idly on that lingering thought. Leaving that statement hanging in the air as she views the iconography of the trinity.

"My father also has a lot of friends. Friends that like to offer things, and many who have accepted the things he has offered. Had you been his daughter I suspect he would have been quite proud. Had I the mind to accept your offer, he might find it in himself to have hope I have finally grown up," she muses, breaking from the iconography to sit down in one of those nearby seats. Picking one that might allow her to bask in the sun. Using the opportunity of sitting to adjust Crabbo onto her lap and lay her hand on him. All in a manner that she could disguise as merely wishing to sit comfortably, because the reassurance she could gain from him could as easily be trampled by the act being discovered.

"However, unlike my father who now sits in governorship on another world I am patient to receive anything due me. As well, I do not have his ambition. So, while I might appreciate your attempt to make such offers I must decline," she says, and purely politely dips her head toward her.