Mitsuko wasn't planning for it to be a long trip, but she'd had a good workout on the training grounds - had mostly worked through having feelings for a fellow competitor - and now was time to ensure proper upkeep on her body. So much riding had been a delightful surprise for the day, but it had also added to the need for a thorough soak. The convenience of the pool from the training grounds had been too much to pass up.

The tired but pleased Kuni had slipped into the pool without encountering anyone, a towel and her training clothes close by in case she needed to bolt, although even thinking about that possibility made the girl roll her eyes at herself. It's just a bath, she whispered inside her head. This is just learning to relax and heal.

The day had been particularly trying, so Nanako went back to familiar grounds to find her center, as it were.

Taking a walk through the Academy, doing her best to avoid the other students and more than a few of the instructors, for whom would want to be in the vicinity of her, the Pariah Girl, Nanako found her way towards the Pool of the Perfect Stroke.

As she went, she passed by the small bathhouse adjoining the Academy. Likely no one would be using it at this hour.

A good a time as any to soak away her problems, Nanako thought, ducking past the curtain and heading towards the female baths.

"Eh?"

She blurted out, not realizing there was, indeed, someone else already present.

-----

Edit: Ender clarified that the pool in question in this thread is not, in fact, the Pool of the Perfect Stroke.

Mitsuko, who had perhaps been so tired she didn't even know where she was, spun toward the door and the new arrival, and promptly sank as low as she could go without endangering her makeup.

"Uh, good evening, um, Crane-san?" She blurted uncertainly. She didn't recognize the other girl, but certainly the odds were good around the academy that the other samurai-ko would be Crane.

"Eh?!" Nanako exclaimed, surprised at another person being in the bath. "Oh! Good evening, uh..."

Damn, a disadvantage of identifying people already in the bath. No mons, no color-coded attire to aid in identification.

"Samurai-san."

Nanako let the silence settle over the scene. "Did...did you forget to wash your face before getting in?"

The Kuni makes a bit of a scowl, though it doesn't change much about how she looks given the thick makeup. But the clearly flustered girl clearly doesn't mean any offense - a proper Crane would have introduced herself before being insulting if that was the intent. So Mitsuko looks at the other girl thoughtfully for a moment, then opts for bluntness because that's really her only move anyway.

"I'm a Kuni. Kuni Mitsuko, I should say, daughter of... Well, important Kuni. And we don't really take this off, except... Well, anyway, I was coming from training, so it wasn't... ideal..." Smooth, Mitsuko-san, just like usual.

Another girl soon joined the two ones in the pool. Between fiery eyes and a somber expression, it was clear that this girl hadn't had a very good day. Bokken still on her obi, she walked as intently as if she was heading to an important appointment - possibly one in which uncomfortable things would be discussed.

Of course, the appointment in question was a bath, so all that must come from somewhere else. Frustration and attempts to deal with it, maybe?

Seeing the two women in the pool, she stopped and bent herself in a low, respectful bow.

"Kuni-san. Ah... Kakita-san? Good evening to you."

The Kuni facepainting style was well-known enough... and she thought she remembered the girl from some of the tests. The other one... one of the locals?

Ikoma Aya wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 20, 2021 7:52 pm

...

"Kuni-san. Ah... Kakita-san? Good evening to you."

The Kuni facepainting style was well-known enough... and she thought she remembered the girl from some of the tests. The other one... one of the locals?

The Lion's arrival helps calm the awkwardness between Crane and Crab, as Mitsuko eagerly bobs her head in approximation of a bow from the bath. "Welcome, Lion-san, uh... Come on... In..." Her voice turns very questioning and trails off, this clearly not being anything resembling her comfort zone, but she forces herself to seem inviting, as that seems the only way that this situation improved from the light standoff that had arisen with the surprised Crane.

Kuni Mitsuko wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 20, 2021 8:40 pm

The Lion's arrival helps calm the awkwardness between Crane and Crab, as Mitsuko eagerly bobs her head in approximation of a bow from the bath. "Welcome, Lion-san, uh... Come on... In..." Her voice turns very questioning and trails off, this clearly not being anything resembling her comfort zone, but she forces herself to seem inviting, as that seems the only way that this situation improved from the light standoff that had arisen with the surprised Crane.

The Ikoma's eyes scan the Kuni's face a little better as she sets herself upright again. Her eyes squint slightly, her brows raise a bit... and then she nods silently. "Thank you, Kuni-san", she says simply, and walks to the side to set her training gi aside and get herself a towel.

She had the feeling she was interrupting... something. She wasn't sure what. But maybe the time to get herself ready would be enough to let things sort themselves out?

One way or another, she was soon getting herself into the pool as well. When she does, she looks at one of the girls, then the other, then the first one again. Her eyes suggest something between... zeal, and... hurt? It was hard to pinpoint what, but there seemed to be a whirlwind of fiery emotions there.

For now, though, she tried to quench them quietly in the water.

Ikoma Aya wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 21, 2021 12:39 am

...
One way or another, she was soon getting herself into the pool as well. When she does, she looks at one of the girls, then the other, then the first one again. Her eyes suggest something between... zeal, and... hurt? It was hard to pinpoint what, but there seemed to be a whirlwind of fiery emotions there.

For now, though, she tried to quench them quietly in the water.

The Kuni gives a glance to the Crane as Nanako decides what she'll do, but then focuses in on this Lion. She's no courtier, but spotting a soldier with something distracting their focus is easy enough for a commander-in-training.

"Ah, Lion-san, this one is Kuni Mitsuko, of the Hida Battle Leader academy," the skinny Crab girl says as warmly as she knows how to. The facepaint probably makes her new companion even more on edge, but Mitsuko endeavors to show friendly eyes, tilting her head gently to suggest serenity and relaxation.

Kuni Mitsuko wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 21, 2021 4:26 am

The Kuni gives a glance to the Crane as Nanako decides what she'll do, but then focuses in on this Lion. She's no courtier, but spotting a soldier with something distracting their focus is easy enough for a commander-in-training.

"Ah, Lion-san, this one is Kuni Mitsuko, of the Hida Battle Leader academy," the skinny Crab girl says as warmly as she knows how to. The facepaint probably makes her new companion even more on edge, but Mitsuko endeavors to show friendly eyes, tilting her head gently to suggest serenity and relaxation.

"Oh! I'm afraid this one hasn't had the chance to meet many Crab - much less a Kuni trained as a... a general? That's what the Battle Leader academy trains, I believe?"

She bows again, only slightly (?) awkwardly, towel around her. "Ah... my apologies! This one is Ikoma Aya. Trained in a small dojo of the Akodo War School. Pleased to meet you, Kuni-san... Crane-san".

Some more rushed steps and she settles herself in the pool with the other two.

"Ah... how have you found the tournament so far?", she says, her eyes shifting from the girl's eyes to the water.

Ikoma Aya wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 22, 2021 6:16 am

"Oh! I'm afraid this one hasn't had the chance to meet many Crab - much less a Kuni trained as a... a general? That's what the Battle Leader academy trains, I believe?"

She bows again, only slightly (?) awkwardly, towel around her. "Ah... my apologies! This one is Ikoma Aya. Trained in a small dojo of the Akodo War School. Pleased to meet you, Kuni-san... Crane-san".

Some more rushed steps and she settles herself in the pool with the other two.

"Ah... how have you found the tournament so far?", she says, her eyes shifting from the girl's eyes to the water.

"Hai, Ikoma-san, you're correct. Though I'm far from becoming a general," Mitsuko giggles, perhaps a little too relaxed in the bath. "Probably a chui after graduation, at most."

"And I think the tournament is the great challenge that it's supposed to be. A lot of skill or luck is needed to stand out."

Nanako looked between the Crab and the Lion. Hesitating, she chose the path of least resistance, the one where she just entered the water and kind of stayed distant from the two of them.

"Hello, Ikoma-san. I am," A pause. "Doji Nanako. A student at this academy."

The painted face of the Kuni bows with her head as the Crane enters the bath. She smiles when she looks up, trying to seem gentle and non threatening - inasmuch as one painted to frighten demons can do so.

"Oh, ah, hello. To you as well. Kuni-san." Nanako returned the Crab's bow in as much as modesty would allow, as she had been soaking low in the water to keep what ought to be hidden, hidden.

"The bath is nice this evening, eh?"

"Quite so," she agrees strongly. I had been training, had been for a ride earlier... The bath is just what I needed. A welcome conclusion to my physical--" the Crab suddenly stops, blushing mostly invisibly beneath her makeup though her neck and ears betray her lightly.

"Ahem. Um. Most welcome... after the important training and learning I have done today," Mitsuko amends, clearly looking a little guilty.

"Training and learning, yes. That's one of the reasons Tsuma exists." Nanako pointed out quietly, almost as if reading from a tourist's guidebook to the village.

Nanako was content to soak a moment before starting to scrub at her skin. "What kinds of training and learning, Kuni-san?"

The Crab nods pleasantly at Nanako's polite words, then freezes at the pointed question.

"Meee, um, I was doing kata and such on the training grounds. And exploring the forest, learning about... things... Riding with a freeeee, uh, well... Someone who, um. Yes. I rode with. In the forest. Earlier today."

Not even a master Doji courtier could have made the flustered Kuni sound innocent in that moment.

"A free-?" Her questioning tone hopefully prompted expansion on that point from the Crab. After all, what a curious thing to ride with. Weren't all the horses and riding tack provided for by her Clan? Could someone unscrupulous be charging the guests of the Crane unduly?

Embarrassed but with no way to avoid the question, Mitsuko explains as simply as she can.

"Um, Doji-san, I was going to say that I was riding with a friend, but then that word didn't seem to quite, um, cover it."

The Ikoma noded at the Kuni's answer on the tournament, and was about to ask the same thing about the Doji when the other two girls steered the conversation in... another direction.

"Ah... My apologies, Doji-san", she said when a pause allowed it. "I had assumed you were a local. You... are here for the competition as well though, right? Not from the area though, I suppose?"

The reactions of the Kuni seemed to suggest steering the conversation back might be to her advantage... maybe.