[Day 5, Early Afternoon] The Spice Must Flow (Expecting)

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

Kasumi had managed- despite a rather dampened emotional state- to cobble up a suitable setting in the Mantis Quarters.

Not her room- Fortunes, no, that'd be a scandal and a half!- but in the more open areas of the wing.

Including the small cooking area she'd mocked up with a few hung curtains, and from which the aroma of curry emerged as she sat, in her second-best kimono, awaiting her guests.

Well.

Apart from the one who was already there.

[Shiba Jiro]

The dampened state was easily noticed by the boy that had been spending so much time with her and was used to more excitement during their meetings. He stepped away from the curry pot and moved to her. "Kasumi-san, what's bothering you? You've seemed a bit down while preparing." He smiles softly with concern but not worry.

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

She could have lied to most people- not even a polite one, something about bad cramps would have worked- but not to him.

So she just sighed.

"Pretty sure I'm gonna spend th'rest of th'tests here'n Tsuma fallin' on my ass in front of everyone."

[Shiba Jiro]

"You think so, Kasumi-chan?" he asks with a smirk. "Your bonsai was actually quite beautiful honestly. Better than my own efforts and I am trained for that stuff. You impress me with everything you do. Don't be so down on yourself for not being amazing at everything, be proud of your accomplishments."

[Funegao no Hirame]

Coming in the front door, rather than his room deeper in the building, Hirame arrived. "Ayyy, Kasumi-san! What's up?" He greeting his fellow Mantis with a grin and a wave. Seeing Jiro, Hirame cleared his throat, bowing. "And Shiba-san. Hello. I hope you're doing well today?" Some of the Mantis accent faded.

He glanced casually around. "Looks like I'm right on time, eh? Not too early, not too late." He smiled. "Although perhaps later would have been better for making a dramatic entrance."

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"You think so, Kasumi-chan?" he asks with a smirk. "Your bonsai was actually quite beautiful honestly. Better than my own efforts and I am trained for that stuff. You impress me with everything you do. Don't be so down on yourself for not being amazing at everything, be proud of your accomplishments."

"There's not bein' amazin', an'there's bein' total crap."

She sighed.

"Think I got a lotta total crap ahead'a me."

Coming in the front door, rather than his room deeper in the building, Hirame arrived. "Ayyy, Kasumi-san! What's up?" He greeting his fellow Mantis with a grin and a wave. Seeing Jiro, Hirame cleared his throat, bowing. "And Shiba-san. Hello. I hope you're doing well today?" Some of the Mantis accent faded.

He glanced casually around. "Looks like I'm right on time, eh? Not too early, not too late." He smiled. "Although perhaps later would have been better for making a dramatic entrance."

"Oi, Hirame-san, you're just in time! Now we can talk 'bout shanghain' this Phoenix!"

I'm just joking. Honest.

[Shiba Jiro]

"You're going to be fine. You are fine," he said with a supportive smile. With the other Mantis there, it was time to start using words with more than one connotation. That way it can't be said that he was entirely improper.

He looks between them at the mention of being shanghaied. "Don't be making fake plans and false promises. You'll disappoint me if I don't get to go on an adventure with you."

[Funegao no Hirame]

Hirame looked at Jiro, then back at Kasumi, then back at Jiro. "Haha, well, sure. Hey, the Phoenix have some ships, right? Have you ever been out on one before, or was the test the other day your first time?"

When he was pretty sure Jiro wasn't looking, Hirame looked at Kasumi and waggled his eyebrows.

[Shiba Jiro]

He smirks. "Yes, my first time was with the Mantis. Been on little fishing boats before, but not many and it's much different."

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

She simply arched her eyebrows back at Hirame and mouthed "already engaged" at him.


"I still need t'find a shark t'show 'im."

[Funegao no Hirame]

He smirks. "Yes, my first time was with the Mantis. Been on little fishing boats before, but not many and it's much different."

Hirame couldn't stop from snickering a little at that. "First time with the Mantis, huh?" He cleared his throat, carefully not glancing at Kasumi. "Yeah. Fishing boats are pretty different. Even the big fishing boats run a much smaller crew."

He grinned. "Ooh, that'd be something. You've heard of shark before, yeah? Some of those can swallow a man whole."

[Shiba Jiro]

"Kasumi-san mentioned that their eyes roll back while their eating. I am curious to see that," he says with a nod. He then moves back towards the pot, to do some stirring. "Hirame-san, I'm curious about your ship. I've heard a bit about the Yukikaze."

[Funegao no Hirame]

"Yeah?" Hirame smiled. "The Funegao. Yeah! She's a fine ship with a good captain. I learned pretty much everything I know on that ship." He tilted his head considering. "We trade up and down the coast mostly, and then back and forth from the Isles."

He paused a moment to see if Jiro had any specific inquiries.

[Shiba Jiro]

"Anything you trade in particular?" he says, indeed being curious about some specific things. "Also, what do you do on your crew?"

[Funegao no Hirame]

Hirame frowned. "Well, the best deals are across the ocean, of course, Isles to mainland. That's where you trade stuff that people can't get. Up and down the coast depends on season; wood, a lot of the time then." Hirame shrugged. "But one of the things a captain has to do is keep abreast of the market. Prices change, and if you make a mistake, that's a trip you might as well never have made at all."

The second question made Hirame smile. "Well, I started as a lookout. My eyesight's not a lot better than anyone else's, but I could make the climb up easily enough. Now I can scamper up there in an instant." Still smiling, he shook his head. "But lately, Captain's made me an officer in training. I get a little group of sailors that I try to manage. I'm glad they're good about taking orders from someone who's not an adult, but that's part of the challenge."

[Shiba Jiro]

"At the shop here in town with the foreign stuff... that's the kind of stuff I'd imagine is interesting to see during trading. Different things from what you find here in the empire. The common stuff is probably what keeps the ship going, but the chance to see rare things for the first time seems like it would be exciting."

"And you're a lookout like Kasumi-san then? She's was moving around in the ropes like it's where she prefers to be. It's fun watching folks climb around up there, moving just as easily as other people walk."

"Do they plan on making you a ranking officer on your current ship or will you go to another one now with gempukku or after more training? Do the Mantis move between ships much?"

[Funegao no Hirame]

Hirame grinned, flashing a bit of it at Kasumi. "Yeah, it makes sense. We've gotta climb on ropes all the time, while we're standing on the back of a moving surface. We get pretty good at keeping our feet."

"Same ship. Captain's made me an offer." Hirame smiled. "If all goes well, I'll be an officer. And that's where they promote captains from! I just gotta stick with it, make sure I'm noticed... this championship certainly doesn't hurt."

He shrugged, his smile going a bit crooked. "But there's a chance I'll be marrying into the Crane. In that case... well, I'll just have to see." Hirame said sturdily.

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"None'a that, none-athat! Y'don't have to beat the whole field, y'just gotta beat her, right?"

[Funegao no Hirame]

"To stay in the Mantis, yeah." After a moment, Hirame spread his hands with a smile. "I mean, I wouldn't mind beating the rest of the field besides that. But so long as I come out of this with my name being passed around a bit, that'll put me on the right track for a ship someday."

[Shiba Jiro]

"Well, that certainly get in the way of such plans. But then, it potentially opens up different opportunities. I'm sure the Crane wouldn't mind having a Mantis trained sea officer to complement their own sailors. Might even become a captain quicker that way, no?" he says, inclining his head a bit. "But I hope that things work out for you Hirame-san."