(D5, LE) Ah yes, the other temple

[Isawa Natsuko]

(expecting, but public space)

Halfway through the tournament, and Natsuko feels a little guilty for having been so focused on the troubles of the less-cared-for shrine, that she'd neglected this, greater one. To be honest, after seeing that one, she'd been a bit reluctant to come here and find it neglected as well. It was something of a relief to find that it looked and felt well-tended.

It is easy for the slight shugenja to feel rather small in this great space as she approaches the main shrine to Lady Sun to pray.

[Suzume Rin]

"And, um"
There seemed to be a Sparrow in front of the shrine to Benten, Rin looking slightly awkward.

"Benten-no-fortune. Thank you...I know we don't talk much, and it's not that I'm ungrateful or nothing. You've always looked after mom and dad and I appreciate that. It's just...didn't think I'd ever be talking to you...about me. So I don't really have much prepared."

She shuffles a bit on her knees.
"I'm still a bit confused by it all see. But I think it's the good sort of confused where you don't know what's happening next because it's a fun surprise. But if you'd, um, and only if you have the time, but maybe if you could send a bit of guidance. I really want to be a good more-than-friend. I've gone and got some scrolls from the library. Dunno why that old librarian gave me that anatomy scroll, lotta strange words on there, but she insisted I needed to know it all. And I've been studying them real hard. But it's not the same as having someone to talk to. So...I'd appreciate it a lot."

Rin claps several times and lights an incense stick before standing, rubbing the back of her head and turning around to the entranceway to the main shrine.

[Isawa Natsuko]

If Benten were to send someone to talk to or offer advice, absolutely nobody would have predicted they'd send Natsuko. And yet, here she is.

Bowing gently in the Sparrow's direction, she says, "Hello again, Suzume-san. I hope the Fortunes here find you well." Her piercing eyes look past Rin, to the shrine. "Particularly Benten, it seems."

[Suzume Rin]

If Benten were to send someone to talk to or offer advice, absolutely nobody would have predicted they'd send Natsuko. And yet, here she is.

Bowing gently in the Sparrow's direction, she says, "Hello again, Suzume-san. I hope the Fortunes here find you well." Her piercing eyes look past Rin, to the shrine. "Particularly Benten, it seems."

"Isawa-sama! Um no!...Yes!...It's not..."
Rin hastily bows after a moment

"Um, the fortunes find me well I think, just a might bit confused."
For a moment Rin attempts to sidle between Natsuko and the shrine before realising it was completely pointless.
"How'd....how'd they find you?"

[Isawa Natsuko]

There's no sense of amusement or even curiosity in the gaze that shifts from the shrine to Rin. "They find me quite well. Today's tests were almost pleasant. Conversation. Making things. It feels less pointless than shooting clay bits, doesn't it?"

Her gaze goes a bit distant again. "At least, I feel like the conversations here have been useful. Interesting. Very different from conversations at the Sanctuary and with very different sorts of people."

Fixing her gaze on the Sparrow's again, she adds, "Oh, and thank you again for the yams, they were tasty. I shared one with Shiba Jiro-san along with tea."

[Suzume Rin]

There's no sense of amusement or even curiosity in the gaze that shifts from the shrine to Rin. "They find me quite well. Today's tests were almost pleasant. Conversation. Making things. It feels less pointless than shooting clay bits, doesn't it?"

Her gaze goes a bit distant again. "At least, I feel like the conversations here have been useful. Interesting. Very different from conversations at the Sanctuary and with very different sorts of people."

Fixing her gaze on the Sparrow's again, she adds, "Oh, and thank you again for the yams, they were tasty. I shared one with Shiba Jiro-san along with tea."

"Oh yeah the tests...the tests! They were quite somethin' weren't they? Crane really know their manners, think I just made a bit of a fool of myself."
Rin rubs the back of her neck, wincing, but yams always brighten the mood.

"You shared 'em?...And..he ate them? That's wonderful, a good man will always accept yams."
Just common sense that.

"I enjoyed the mushrooms you pointed out...didn't share them with anyone though...gosh, maybe that was a bit rude of me. I just didn't know how to go about offering, worried it might imply folks didn't have enough to eat as is."
Returning to the yam meal.

"Glad thins are going well with Shiba-sama. You deal with such important things every day, bet talking about marriage and all that is easy for you?"

[Isawa Natsuko]

"The kitchen did a nice job with them, so there was no reason not to eat them, right? Better than the smelly meat of some kind they had at breakfast today. I admit, I left that alone." Her hand makes a small warding off gesture. "Mushrooms are better kept to oneself, and even then only if very sure they're good. Too many poisonous ones."

"Anyway, I think you did fine at their tea, though I could not hear the conversation. Someone actually broke a teapot," she says with a hint of dismay at the waste of nice teaware. "Talking about tea is pretty easy. I know a lot about it and have preferences."

That last sounds a bit odd until she continues on. "Marriage is...something I don't know much about. I did not get to watch parents, and have not read a lot about it. Shiba-san seems patient and hardworking, so I think it will be fine."

[Suzume Rin]

"The kitchen did a nice job with them, so there was no reason not to eat them, right? Better than the smelly meat of some kind they had at breakfast today. I admit, I left that alone." Her hand makes a small warding off gesture. "Mushrooms are better kept to oneself, and even then only if very sure they're good. Too many poisonous ones."

"Anyway, I think you did fine at their tea, though I could not hear the conversation. Someone actually broke a teapot," she says with a hint of dismay at the waste of nice teaware. "Talking about tea is pretty easy. I know a lot about it and have preferences."

That last sounds a bit odd until she continues on. "Marriage is...something I don't know much about. I did not get to watch parents, and have not read a lot about it. Shiba-san seems patient and hardworking, so I think it will be fine."

"Broke a teapot? Well that ain't good, I hope they had a replacement nearby."
The words of someone from a home where a lost teapot was a true injury.

"Patient and hard-working...right. Yeah, that makes sense, nothin' you can't work through if you're patient and hardworking."
There's a slight frown, as if Rin had expected the shugenja to suddenly impart wisdom which would perfectly fix all her problems.
"It's...complicated, isn't it? Even if you get matched with someone there's a lot to do afterwards."

[Isawa Natsuko]

Natsuko pauses, eyes distant, then nods. "There is, I think. I know part of it is providing the clan with children, but that does not seem like it could take up all of the time a married couple have."

"I did not have examples to grow up with, so I am still figuring out what other duties are expected for a marriage the clan will be pleased to have arranged." Her eyes shift back to Rin. "Are you expecting this tournament to allow for a more prestigious betrothal, yourself?"

[Suzume Rin]

Natsuko pauses, eyes distant, then nods. "There is, I think. I know part of it is providing the clan with children, but that does not seem like it could take up all of the time a married couple have."

"I did not have examples to grow up with, so I am still figuring out what other duties are expected for a marriage the clan will be pleased to have arranged." Her eyes shift back to Rin. "Are you expecting this tournament to allow for a more prestigious betrothal, yourself?"

"Yeah, I mean, I don't really wanna spend all my time pre-"
Pause

"Oh no, Isawa-sama, it ain't like that. That sort of thinking is just gonna lead to disappointment. When you get above your station it always ends in tears. I was just...uh, thinking 'bout some complicated relationship stuff. How you treat people right, what you do...you know, stuff like that."
Rubbing her nose

"It's probably easier for courtiers, they get trained to do the right thing."

[Isawa Natsuko]

"If your performance here causes someone to consider you for a more prestigious match, then that is your station, not above it, right?" She pauses, "though I can see how it might be disappointing to actually expect it."

"But the rest..yes, it seems like it should be simple to just offer respect to one another. But..." there's a small crease of her brow in thought. "Shiba-san speaks of supporting one another in our paths but I admit that I do not know what support to offer an artist, nor what to ask of him. I do not know if that is how it all should work even."

[Suzume Rin]

"If your performance here causes someone to consider you for a more prestigious match, then that is your station, not above it, right?" She pauses, "though I can see how it might be disappointing to actually expect it."

"But the rest..yes, it seems like it should be simple to just offer respect to one another. But..." there's a small crease of her brow in thought. "Shiba-san speaks of supporting one another in our paths but I admit that I do not know what support to offer an artist, nor what to ask of him. I do not know if that is how it all should work even."

"Expecting just leads to trouble, a samurai just does their duty is all."

Still, Rin thinks alongside Natsuko, but with a much deeper crease.

"Well...supporting an artist means telling them their work's great, even if it ain't. But it also means telling 'em if their work is actually really bad. Since they need to know before they present it. So you just gotta figure that out. And for you..."
Rin has no idea how one supports a shugenja
"You should expect him to... be there for yah? If you've had a long day talking with the spirits he can do the chores an' such. It's a partnership thing, everyone's stronger together."

[Isawa Natsuko]

Natsuko nods. "Yes, I suppose it's easier not to think much of what sort of duty might be assigned until it is, and just manage it then."

"So...you are supposed to lie to support artists? That seems...is that honorable?" The blue eyes are a bit wide in actually apparent surprise for once. Perhaps barely apparent, but it was definitely there.

Hands shoved deep into her sleeves, Natsuko asks, "How did your parents support one another? What made them partners?"

[Suzume Rin]

Natsuko nods. "Yes, I suppose it's easier not to think much of what sort of duty might be assigned until it is, and just manage it then."

"So...you are supposed to lie to support artists? That seems...is that honorable?" The blue eyes are a bit wide in actually apparent surprise for once. Perhaps barely apparent, but it was definitely there.

Hands shoved deep into her sleeves, Natsuko asks, "How did your parents support one another? What made them partners?"

"Lying? Oh gosh no, no nothing like that. You just....say you saw a painting, and you didn't like it. You don't just say 'Jiro-kun, I don't like your painting' even though that might be the absolute truth. You should find something you do like about it and then saying that, like 'Jiro-kun, I really like the way you did the faces'."
Beaming

"That's what I always do, you just find something nice'n true to say, then say it."
Blinking at little at the question
"Well, they've always worked really hard. Dad would get up before dawn to start supervising the fields so mom could stay in and supervise us...don't know who had a harder job. Then at lunch time he'd come back and we'd all eat, and then they'd swap so mom could get some fresh air and get away from us, and so dad could sit down for a bit. Sometimes things got really hard mom for, particularly when one of us was nearly due. Then dad would end up taking a bunch of us out to the fields to give her a break. We had some great times throwing mud around."

[Isawa Natsuko]

She nods. "I see. A truth, but perhaps not all of the truth." There's a hint of a smile. "Clever. That seems very like the sort of thing Benten would appreciate.While I have spent more time considering Fukurokujin's wisdom."

"I can only begin to imagine the trouble we would have been in if we slipped out to throw mud around. But...it does sound like children are a lot of work, and that there are ways to share work that are...hmm, very concrete. Not just telling someone their craft is good. Were they an arranged match?"

[Suzume Rin]

She nods. "I see. A truth, but perhaps not all of the truth." There's a hint of a smile. "Clever. That seems very like the sort of thing Benten would appreciate.While I have spent more time considering Fukurokujin's wisdom."

"I can only begin to imagine the trouble we would have been in if we slipped out to throw mud around. But...it does sound like children are a lot of work, and that there are ways to share work that are...hmm, very concrete. Not just telling someone their craft is good. Were they an arranged match?"

"Awww well, they'd tell you they were but..."
Rin mimes looking around and takes a step closer while dropping her voice.
"Heard from my mother's sister, that's Auntie Chiroku, that mom'd always had her eye on dad from when they were in the dojo as kids. And mom's cousin, cousin Hosaru, he's the brother of the clan's chief Nakado. So she whispers in the ear of her cousin and he starts investigating the match. Only problem is, he'd already been asked to arrange another marriage for mom from another cousin. Cousin Kenzan, he's a little funny but a good sort. Only cousin Kenzan ain't mom's cousin, he's dad's. Turned out he'd had the same idea from the other end."
Smiling at the memory
"So, way I hear it he calls 'em both into his house and he's chewing them out up and down. How they're both too young to understand the important of marriage, how it ain't right to be trying to pull strings. And mom just looks at him and she says 'Cousin, don't we deserve one another then?' And Hosaru, his eyes nearly bulge outta his head but he stops talking and just looks at 'em. Ended up presiding over the marriage a couple months later."

[Isawa Natsuko]

The slight girl listens with every appearance of focused concentration, shuffling names and relationships around to keep track of them. Blue eyes flickering slightly as mental boxes are rearranged. "So they arranged their own match, more or less. Though that all seems like a kind of complicated path to it."

"They must have liked one another a fair bit to do that. Did that help them any, do you think? With all the work it sounds like they had to manage, and all the supporting one another?"

[Suzume Rin]

The slight girl listens with every appearance of focused concentration, shuffling names and relationships around to keep track of them. Blue eyes flickering slightly as mental boxes are rearranged. "So they arranged their own match, more or less. Though that all seems like a kind of complicated path to it."

"They must have liked one another a fair bit to do that. Did that help them any, do you think? With all the work it sounds like they had to manage, and all the supporting one another?"

"Oh yeah, I'm sure it must have helped. You wouldn't have 12 kids with someone you didn't like....least I hope not. When you're getting up next to someone you want to see happy, you're definitely gonna work harder to make them happy, right?"

[Isawa Natsuko]

Natsuko considers the question with all apparent gravity, taking a few moments to answer. "That seems right. It is a theme in poetry and tales. I remember bringing Asako-sensei everything I could identify in the forest in hopes that it would ease his workload, which seems a related sentiment."

Another silence. "Twelve children? That seems unusual. My school is small, but there was some surprise regarding the boy with nine sisters."

[Suzume Rin]

Natsuko considers the question with all apparent gravity, taking a few moments to answer. "That seems right. It is a theme in poetry and tales. I remember bringing Asako-sensei everything I could identify in the forest in hopes that it would ease his workload, which seems a related sentiment."

Another silence. "Twelve children? That seems unusual. My school is small, but there was some surprise regarding the boy with nine sisters."

"Oh it's a lot, an awful lot. Not easy to feed 'em all, or round them up, clothing us wasn't easy either. Lots of hand me downs. Sometimes mom would joke we shoulda been part of the Hare Clan."