(D3, LE, Natsuko's room) A Private Ceremony

[Isawa Natsuko]

"I am told that I did not cry. It was one of the signs that led them to find me so young," she says simply. "It is...I expect you will find me strange and perhaps not what you would have chosen, given the chance." Her hand can't close entirely with his clasped in it, and the other is hidden in her lap, but the curl of her fingers against his sharpens for a moment, though her expression shows no change.

"I do promise that I have shown my ability to learn what is asked of me or I would not have been chosen to come here." Relaxing somewhat on a long breath, her thumb moves in some recollection of the pattern he had used before. "This form of contact is important to you. I will find a way to incorporate that shift of perspective."

"I think, many of the tenets require moving against our instincts. Courage may require suppressing the instinct for survival, and Compassion moves against instincts for payback and vengeance. Training reserve and restraint until those instincts are retrained has its uses."

[Shiba Jiro]

"That is curious," he says.

No, you're just saying strange in a more polite way. Don't judge, understand.

"If you are uncomfortable with this contact then I will avoid it. I just... believed it would be important to making a connection. If not then I apologize. My intention is to become closer and understand you better. But I don't care about strange or common. You are you. I may not have made the choice but that doesn't mean we can't find ways to connect with each other. I am glad for the opportunity."

He sighs. "Honestly... I suspect that you don't see things or feel things the same way as most. Probably will make things more difficult and take more time but that's not bad."

His expression becomes thoughtful.

"Also, I'm not trying to train you to be a certain way. I'm sure your ability to learn is seen as a great thing by your sensei. But I want your curiosity to guide you, not my opinions."

[Isawa Natsuko]

She shakes her head. "It is not uncomfortable, though in public it might be...endured more than welcomed," she says slowly, with a sense of thinking through the made up scenario and the emotions that might run with it. "Do you feel more connected this way?" The clear blue of her eyes fixes on his. It's hard to tell if the question is curious or otherwise, as steady as her tone runs.

"This is a dusting of earth and water over souls that touch a thousand possibilities through the void. It feels like bending into the surf and trying to shout to a ship through the waves." She frowns slightly. "But it is what we have." A long pause. "My curiosity cannot guide me into what family means or feels like. I thought you might provide a template."

[Shiba Jiro]

"Well, I'm not about to try to make a public spectacle," he says with a smirk. "Having a philosophical or intellectual disagreement with the norms of society doesn't make me insane enough to subject you to actual rebellious behavior. And it feels odd still, but I believe will be a stronger connection with time. Physical contact is great for nonverbal communication."

He thinks on the ramifications of her beliefs about their souls and experiences.

"Is that what it's like for you? How you feel when considering life? It seems... Overstimulated. And no, your curiosity won't tell you anything because that isn't what curiosity does. Instead, it acts as a guide. It's what it guides you to that teaches. You need only let it help you choose questions and topics."

[Isawa Natsuko]

Carefully, she picks up the tea with her off-hand once more. "Would someone blind from birth think your vision seemed overstimulated when you described the colors of your life?" She sips the cooling tea, still enjoying the shift of flavors. "But, yes, everything is very layered."

After a long moment, she adds, "I am used to letting the Void guide me, but it does not exactly operate on a human scale. I may need to adjust, moving from childhood."

[Shiba Jiro]

Jiro picks up his own cup and pulls a bit of tea from it. He smiles at the taste for a moment before setting it back down. "I would say that describing those colors would be difficult. And that anyone trying to imagine something they can't truly understand would seem like a lot. We can only really guess how we would feel if we haven't experienced something."

He readjusted his hand, moving to interlace fingers, presenting a different configuration of physical contact, and wonders how she might respond.

"Let the void guide you then. It has and knows no difference based on your age. But consider how, in its endless connections and possibilities, it causes people to be connected. If the void contains and is everything then it's also the mental and emotional states of individuals."

[Isawa Natsuko]

"The void knows no difference, but I do. An infant's instincts are sufficient for survival but not for adult tasks. It contains, but does not understand." She lets their fingers intertwine, looking at the contrasts, the similarities for a long moment before continuing. "Do you understand green? Your own liver? Can you find one specific patch of moss in the forest? That's a bit how it is finding any particular thing in the Void, but not really."

She thinks a moment. "There are ways that emotion and mind and body connect. With focus and a stretch through the void, I can sense that happening in someone nearby, but void will not be what leads me to understand it." The focus of her gaze is distant. "A path of study lies ahead, it seems."

Bringing her attention back to the present, and the current space, she asks, "However, the clan deemed you accomplished enough to send here, what sort of assignment to you expect?"

[Shiba Jiro]

"Before my invitation I had been expecting to be an attendant to my Lords court. After the invitation I suspected possibly a more important court might be chosen. With our betrothal I stopped having expectations about my future and simply replaced them with curiosity," he admits, smiling softly.

"An artisan is a useful attendant for entertaining at court, but a priestess is a fare rarer and more important servant of the clan. My future is now intertwined with yours," he says lifting their connected hands for a moment.

"What the clan asks of you will influence me. More than what they expect of me undoubtedly. And that is good. I am glad to support you in your duties."

[Isawa Natsuko]

"I see. And, we will see. I am not sure my status in the clan is as valuable as you believe. They chose me to strengthen your line's ties to the void because of my lack of true lineage, as far as the Isawa are concerned."

She offers a squeeze of their intertwined fingers before withdrawing her hand to cup both around her tea. "Regardless, I think we will meet our duties well enough.

[Shiba Jiro]

His eyes follow her hands as his own mirror hers, moving to his cup. He watches her movements, considering them. Then he looks up.

"While lineage was likely a concern for the match, it wont be for duty I imagine. But, you are right, it will be revealed in time. For all we know, they may intend to keep both of us somewhere remote with some specific mission determined by diviners. Possibly something even stranger."

"But I agree, whatever duty is assigned we will accomplish them capably. I hope and suspect we'll be able to do so while supporting each other."

[Isawa Natsuko]

She offers a nod. "My own training in divination is only begun, so I have not seen ahead with any clarity. But I do not see difficulty in managing our duties ahead."

"Thank you for accepting my invitation for tea, Shiba-san. And..." she looks to the cup in her hands for a moment and back up, "for your patience."

[Shiba Jiro]

"Of course. I must admit to difficulty but not so much that it affects my resolve, and none of it aimed at you. You have been patient and understanding as well, which I greatly appreciate."