[D3LA] Where money flows (Expecting)

[Shosuro Kaoru]

"The very first lesson a Scorpion has to learn is that if you wear the same mask for too long it becomes a part of you.

To get around that issue, no magic there, you have to drop it, to reconnect with what you truly are instead of what you are pretending to be. How to engineer moments allowing it to do it safely is the first training."

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"First lesson th'ocean teaches? Safety's an illusion."

[Shosuro Kaoru]

"And the second that a good knot can be the difference between life and death?"

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"Not quite. Th'second is that nobody ever gets much done by clingin' t'th'illusion of safety."

[Shosuro Kaoru]

"That's... a bit repetitive isn't it?

And not a metaphor for marriage, making parallels with my own training less likely to make sense."

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"Important stuff's always repeated, but- lesson one is, you're never safe, lesson two is, y'get more done when y'don't try to be safe, which, after all, never works anyhow."

She paused.

"And what's marriage got t'do with any'a this?"

[Shosuro Kaoru]

"Knot. Marriage. Metaphor. Joke. The later definitely not my specialty.

Securing a good marriage is one of the things that is expected of any Scorpion. And yes, we're repeating a previous part of our own conversation here, but as you said, repeating the important things is... important.

But I get the idea about knowing when trying to play safe is counterproductive. Though we most commonly use the usual iaijutsu metaphor ourselves: You cannot strike a stronger opponent without opening your own guard."

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

Kasumi... chuckled ruefully.

"Think Mantis know more about marriage than we do iaijutsu. Been in a couple'a fights- it happens, Cap'n Kaito's a training cap'n, but again, the sea's not safe, so we ran into a few... scraps in th'course of my apprenticeship. Think Ic'n claim t'have seen- and participated in- more bloodshed than most competitors here. An' I have literally never seen iaijutsu used in earnest."

[Shosuro Kaoru]

"There isn't one iaijutsu.

There is mercenary iaijutsu, swift draw techniques to strike and kill before your opponent even realizes you've grasped your weapon.

There is courtly iaijutsu, all about looking swift and elegant for an audience and keeping enough distance with your opponent so none of you can truly hurt the other.

There is one breath iaijutsu, about striking at the exact instant your opponent opens their guard, and dying yourself if you got it wrong.

You're likely to only encounter the second at Tsuma. The first however you should keep an eye for during your bar fights."

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"Th'secret there is bein' ready before your enemy knows there's gonna be a fight."

[Shosuro Kaoru]

"The not-so-secret, as it's written as is in the most prestigious strategy treatises of the Empire, is to have already defeated your enemy before the fight.

Some snarky Scorpions would even add before they even realize they're your enemy but it's mostly for show. Treason only reaps short-term benefits, trust is long-term, and the Empire is eternal."

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"We get some similar guff 'bout bein' mercenaries, but people seem t'forget... we sell out our employers, who'd hire us after?"

[Shosuro Kaoru]

"Desperate people.

Even if you know the mushroom is likely poisonous, you'll eventually eat it if you're starved enough."

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"Ah, but Shosuro-san, who'd be that desp'rate?"

She cocked her head to the side.

"I mean, opium fiends, p'raps, but..."

[Shosuro Kaoru]

"I doubt they could pay for your wares after paying for their fix.

Though the market might work differently here. Usually, you try to sell good enough merchandise for the customers to come back. Dead people tend to be poor regulars."

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"'Bout that... were you in th'garden our first night here?"

[Shosuro Kaoru]

"If you mean by that to ask if I witnessed the incident one quarter of the city and one half of the Topaz contingent must have seen...

The answer is yes. No real need to be secretive about an affair that couldn't be any more public."

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"Just makin' sure I don't need ta clear away gossip if y'hadn't seen it yourself. Tell me. Whaddya make of it?"

[Shosuro Kaoru]

"Problem's old enough to have reached a point it cannot be contained easily but new enough the big guns aren't out for it yet. Likely yet another thing birthed in the aftermath of the tsunami.

The excess suggest making money fast is more important than building a long term market. Rabid dog, not cunning fox.

Any solution to the issue is likely to involve Kasuga Touji. In which role, this is to be determined."

[Yukikaze no Kasumi]

"His name was on some merch a ji-samurai was at pains not t'let us see. Not th'best look for 'im."