Shinko scratches on the door, a bit more ragged and uncoordinated than usual. "Jun-kun" Something is a bit off in her voice.

"Are you there?"

"Shinko-san?" The room is mostly darkened but Jun is still up, reading at the low table by the frugal light of a single candle. He does not fail to hear the off-note, unsurprisingly.

"Hang on a moment." He sets his book down, tucking a charcoal pencil between the pages to mark his place, and gets up from his cushion. It only takes him a few moments to neaten his clothing and touch that one little candle to the multiple wicks of the lamp stand, filling the room with a more seemly amount of light. It's thus a fairly composed and proper Jun who opens the door to Shinko, even though his eyes are a little bit sleepy.

"What's up?" He doesn't say What's wrong? because that would be assuming his conclusion in advance, but he does look concerned.

"Just....did we get any leads on the opium thing?" Shinko ruffles her hair. "I feel like I need to be good at something. I thought I'd be good at dueling but at this rate.... " Her voice trails off

“Some, yes, anyway.” Jun cocks an eyebrow as he waves Shinko inside. “Kasuga Touji is certainly involved. If the local magistrates move on him before the tournament is over and we all leave… I’d like to see how they do it.” Speaking on this subject he becomes notably more animated, sleepiness banished for now.

“Ah… good at something? What do you mean? Isn’t that why you’re here?”

"Good. Do we need proof first?"

Shinko offers a sardonic smile. "Good at dueling. At least that's what I think I am. And in some twist of fate, to get to that I have to be good at of bunch of things that aren't dueling. The one thing I've manage to do anything worth a damn was from long before I was ever trained as a samurai" her frustration is palpable

Jun frowns slightly. "It's not about what we need, it's about what the local magistrates need. Which is testimonial proof. Best would be Kasuga Touji's confession." He plops back down onto his cushion, sprawling a bit with one arm propped on the table. "Second best would be testimony from his lackeys who are also Kasuga, and the personal oaths of the Tsuma magistrate and governor. Our word alone isn't worth much right now, and any proof we have weighs the same as our word." Jun's delivery suggests this is a familiar topic to him, and very likely one he's been thinking about lately.

"We can still offer to help. It's up to the locals whether they want us involved, since we're not even Crane. There's a lot to this business that isn't ours to control."

"Anyway, according to Doji Shingo you're also good at art, Shinko-san. And half the people here are here because they're the most brilliant duelists this year." He flicks a hand dismissively. "No one is going to question your skills if someone else happens to come first."

Shinko shakes her head. "How often do you hear the Mirumoto or Togashi get complimented for their art? That wasn't anything I picked up from my training. That was from-, " she pauses "not what I was trained to be. And if I can't even get into the tournament... "

She looks down. " I don't know what to do when I go back. Helping figure out a puzzle like this seems like something I could do, but I don't know how useful I've been to help you"

"Help me?" One corner of Jun's mouth quirks. "I might not even know anything was up if you hadn't told me. Or it would have taken me a while longer, at least."

"Can I be honest with you for a minute, Shinko-san?" He tilts his head back a little, gazing into the shadows at the edge of the ceiling. "If you want to help the Crane catch their smugglers so you can have something to be proud of, or to feel better in case you don't become Topaz Champion... I don't think those are the right reasons."

"To be proud of?" Shinko shakes her head. "It's to see if I'm good at anything. Yeah, I should be doing it out of pure honor, but the truth is, it's going to be rough if I stay in Togashi lands, lingering around for good reason. They would want me to have a purpose: to take vows as a monk, which I am not going to do, marry someone" she pantomimes a whisper "and that ain't going do well. Or find a duty elsewhere. Roving around, kicking in bad guys teeth while a smart boy figures out the mystery? That don't sound half bad"

"I wouldn't say any of those things are incompatible." Jun rubs his chin. "Serve the clan, keep faith to your liege, continue the family line... everybody has those three duties. Well, every samurai."

Sensitive enough to guess that this might not be the response Shinko was looking for, he adds, "The law is an honorable duty, though. Just by being invited here, and not disgracing ourselves outright," his lips quirk, "we're already bound for good postings if we want them. For me, I'm going to ask for a position with a city magistrate, if I can. Maybe in Toi Koku or..." he hesitates. "Maybe the Emerald Magistrates. When I get more experience, if my lord won't recommend me yet."