Roman
Early one morning, the peace and quiet of the Crane Embassy would be rudely disrupted by a sudden cacophony of servants, new faces who had not been seen before but who proudly bore the colors of the clan they served. A jizamurai also entered with a stack of papers authorizing their presence and purpose. Over the course of the next hour the Embassy was thoroughly and vigorously cleaned and reorganized from top to bottom. Everything was made just so.

It would not be until far later in the day that the reason for such work was revealed. Stepping through the doors of the Embassy was a slight stick of a woman. Long, grey hair was tied back to reveal the lined, elderly face of the venerable Crane samurai. The intricately twisted cane in her hand echoed through the halls as it tapped slowly but methodically in time with her advance. Despite her age, she carried herself with the poise rivaling the Lady Doji herself, and her blue eyes shone bright and clear. "Well, my word. What a quaint little Embassy. I hope the samurai here exceed the . . . High standards set by this place."

She did not seem concerned with the lack of a welcoming committee, instead content to slowly meander through the hallways and rooms, occasionally poking her head through a shoji screen—even at times opening them if they were closed—while softly humming to herself. After all, if she was to make this little place her home there would be no secrets held by the lovely—she was sure they had lovely personalities—guests who also made this building home.

||
Judy
Kiyoko's eyes flew open as she awakened to the commotion of many feet quietly padding past her quarters. Her eyes darted around the room and she reached for her Kakita Blade, *Reitenseiya*, momentarily concerned that the embassy was being invaded. The samurai-ko had thrown off her futon cover in the middle of the night and sprawled as she slept, so she simply sat up and straightened her *Jinbei* Out. Kiyoko rose and put away her futon, then changed into a kimono and tabi. She slipped her wakizashi into her obi and stepped out into the hallway, sliding the door shut behind her.

She nearly collided with one maidservant, who apologized profusely even as she hustled past the Kakita duelist. Perhaps it would be best to find somewhere else to be for a while. Maybe the *Onsen* The Scorpion clan kept? Kiyoko returned to her room and retrieved her katana, slipping it into her obi as well. She then made her way to the embassy's foyer and slipped her *Zori* Sandals on, then quietly made her way out.

By the time she returned, the commotion had died down. As she returned to her room, she found an ~~old bat~~ elderly woman opening and shutting screen doors, seemingly at random.

"Obaa-chan, are you lost?" Kiyoko asked helpfully. "Whom are you here visiting?"

||
Karla
Adohiro heard there was possible chaos going on in the embassy. He had no clue. He hasn't been given a specific notice of why it was like that. He wondered what was going on as he made his way over to the place. He saw the place looked cleaner than usual, way too clean. It was almost off putting. The place smelled good too which was a nice addition to it. He has 0 clue of what it was. 

He decided to come here after the chaos was mostly over. How confusing and weird, was some high and mighty person visiting? He didn't think he got the memo at all. He made his way until he saw Kakita-San with someone. He heard her call her Obaa-Chan which he than realized who it was. He noticed her clothes was a clear indicator of her status. "Greetings Doji-sama and Kakita-San." He stated. 

He gives a look around the very clean embassy. Maybe the embassy should be this clean every day? It would look nice.
Roman
"Oh what a thoughtful dearie you are, Kakita-chan. And so pretty too! I love the *Natural* Look. Why if one of my grandchildren were here . . . " The old woman shuffled over toward the Kakita, moving slowly but gracefully to her side. Looking up at the duelist, she smiled warmly and sincerely. "Not lost, sweetie. Whether at Kyuden Doji or Khanbulak, wherever our colors fly is our home."

She moved with surprising speed to interlock their arms, using it for support instead of her cane. "It's been some time since I had the pleasure of walking side by side a nice young girl like yourself. Would you mind?"

The elderly Doji did not wait for a response, moving forward once again and peeking into rooms at random until another voice called out. She did not turn to face the person who spoke, but responded all the same. "Daidoji . . . Adohiro-san, was it? My my, they make them younger and younger every year don't they? Though I'm glad to see a samurai of your quality here *Within* The Embassy walls. The rest are out on important clan business, no?"

||
Judy
Who *Is* This old woman? Kiyoko wondered. She smiled awkwardly at being referred to with the -chan honorific. Did she just imply that she would set up Kiyoko with one of her grandchildren if they were present? Flattered as she was by the compliments, she still balked at the idea of marriage. The Kakita duelist scarcely had the chance to regain her composure before the old woman had taken her by the arm—well, nothing for it. 

"No, not at all," She managed to say. Kiyoko dutifully followed after the elderly Crane woman, hesitant to ask her name or introduce herself now, as the Doji (at least she could tell that much from her kimono's mon) led her down the hallway. Halfway down the hall, she heard a familiar voice behind them and turned to look at Adohiro momentarily. It wasn't really noticeable, but she rather hoped that the boy took the pleading vibe she tried to give him with her eyes.

||
Karla
Adohiro did hear Kakita be called Chan which seemed odd. However he soon heard the lady mention his name. He heard the crane were getting younger and younger. He noticed Kiyoka stated at him with pleading eyes. He wondered how he could help her, but had no clue. "Oh Kakita-San, how are you doing?" He asked. 

"Yes, Doji-sama. Most of them are out for business." He spoke up. He wasn't sure how of how to help poor Kakita, but decided maybe conversing with Doji-sama could help. 

"How was your trip here, Doji-sama?" He asked. He did wonder why there was no letter sent out about her visiting the Crane embassy today. .
Scott
Koharu's eyes narrowed upon returning to a very different embassy from the one she'd left. Objects that hadn't been moved for months had suddenly shifted around. Something was clearly up. *Where did this gaggle of people come from?* Annoyed by the unexpected upset caused by some important functionary or another, Koharu at least had the sense to make herself presentable before stepping out from the eaves.

The old Doji was a surprise. Koharu played with the possibility that she was a visitor for some erstwhile bureaucratic purpose, but the signs all indicated that she was more of a permanent fixture in Ryoko Owari. 

"Doji-sama," Koharu said as the group proceeded down the hall towards her. "We are most gladdened - and surprised - by your arrival."

Koharu and all the servants and sentries took a low bow as the elder Doji passed them by. Koharu might have been content to say her piece and let the visitor wander, if she hadn't been held down by sheer puzzlement. *So clearly the clan leadership has not been reading any of my reports.*

||
Roman
"It was long Daidoji-san. Long and tiring. But," She said, rapping her cane on the floor, "We do not journey for fear of the travel, but in expectation of the destination."

Coming up to the Crane bushi, the old lady's eyes twinkled as she smiled happily. Bowing to her respectfully, using the duelist to pull herself back up (not that the Kakita would have felt much given how light the lady was), she produced a small envelope and held it out for her. "Doji Koharu-san, the pleasure is all mine. The presence of Daidoji-san led me to believe all the important samurai were elsewhere, but I have never been happier to be wrong. Mayuki-san sends her regards."

She slowly took in the assembled samurai around her, lips pursing into a thin line. Then she nodded, coming to some sort of conclusion in her head, before she spoke again. Her voice, though thin, carried with surprising strength. "Kiyoko-chan here was giving me a tour of this Embassy. Nice enough, but maybe a little on the stuffy side. She asked me a question, one I think I should ask all of you: are you lost?"

||
Judy
Now the old woman was calling her by her *Given* Name, Kiyoko thought with a measure of alarm. She definitely had not introduced herself to the woman, so the fact that this Doji knew her name spoke to an alarmingly good memory for details like embassy staff assignments. So this was the new ambassador? Kiyoko would have to be on her toes around her. *Especially* Since Doji-sama seemed to have taken a liking to her.

Kiyoko remained respectfully silent as Doji-sama spoke; she held her silence in the wake of the woman's question. The samurai-ko kept her expression carefully neutral, curious to see how the other embassy staff might respond. She glanced at Koharu, curious about her, in particular, as she had scarcely met the guard captain, and knew precious little about her.

||
Karla
Adohiro gives a nod at the old lady's words. "I agree, traveling enlightens the mind and broadens the horizons." He spoke up. He noticed Koharu enter the place, hearing her speak up. The place definitely looked different with the big cleaning that was done. Everything was rearranged or moved completely. He heard there was some samurai left here with surprised him. He thought most were busy right now and all. He heard that Kiyoki was taking her on a tour. He was a bit surprised when he heard the lost question. He wasn't sure of how to answer that. He thought it was strange Kiyoki was being called by her given name. Was it some relative? He cast a confused glance at Kakita, wondering if she knew her at all.
Scott
Koharu crossed her arms as she listened to the old Doji. *Great, and now she wants to test us. *She wasn't keen on volunteering herself, but as was proper for the 'eldest child' in the room, she had to be the one to entertain the question. 

"We are beset by many crises," Koharu replied, "And our roots have found little purchase in this poisonous soil. Perhaps we are lost, but we have not lost hope yet, Doji-sama. With the support of the Unicorn, I have faith that we shall see this city restored to order."

Koharu could be perfectly patient and humble with a senior and superior, but that didn't dissolve the lump of mild annoyance created by this sudden arrival of change. She idly wondered what had inspired the clan leadership to elect such a representative, and without any word of warning.

||
Roman
"You speak well, Doji-san, doubly so in the silence that surrounded it." The little woman freed her arm from where it was wrapped around the Kakita's, gently patting it as she did so. She walked over so that she could face the gathered samurai, resting her weight on her cane as she peered up at them. The eyes were still bright, but the woman had shifted from kindly grandmother to elegance.

"I hear reports of what is happening here. Deaths at our doorstep, our own Magistrate returning home barely able to stand, ronin invited into these halls as if it were their own!" She slammed the cane down onto the wooden floors, the reedy noise echoing through the room they currently found themselves in. Disdain, disappointment, and irritation now filled her words. "To all of this I have but one question:

"What are we doing?! When the Scorpion lost their hold on the city, did we bring our power to bear to strip away their rights in the court; when our samurai disappeared in the streets, did you investigate; when word of the despicable acts of Mantis treachery against Doji Shizue reached your ears, did you hunt down and drag their killers from the bowels of this debased hive and force bring them justice? No!! You sit, timid and secure within your walls baking *Pastries.*"

She took a deep, calming breath, wilting for a moment before bringing her full stature back to bear. "Doji-san clearly knows her way, but it seems to be reversed. We are *The Crane.* We are the shining center around which the rest of the Empire circles. If the Unicorn are to restore order to this city it will only be because **We** Allow it. We should not rely on them, they should be relying on us. We have lost our way here in Ryoko Owari, and I—Doji Rika—am here to put us back on task. Pray I do not topple from age before my task is complete."

||
Joseph
The older gentleman, more mature than elderly really, shuffles into the embassy after a few detours to wildly different teahouses of varying qualities. The place seemed ornate, and it was a little strange that with so many people entering and exiting, the general volume became a little quieter... Until he hears the uncharacteristic scolding towards someone in particular. He moves on over to the source of the noise, that being maybe 3 or 4 of his own fellow samurai.

"Salutations and sincere hellos. I do not want to be presumptuous, but it sounds like there's some negativity flowing through this place; I heard Scorpions as well? Be it from me to demand anything, but could I be filled in as to what's going on?" 

He pulls out a small scroll, unraveling it to show out in the open.

"I am a transfer here - Kakita Musage: former teacher of the Kakita Dueling Academy, and legal champion for disputes. Considering the overwhelming population of Scorpion, I think it's my duty to be both informed and cooperative."

Musage tucks away the scroll, bowing to each person of note currently within this section of the embassy.

||
Judy
Kiyoko stood awkwardly in the wake of ~~Granny Doji's~~ Doji-sama's eloquent speech. Having not been present for all of the misfortunes the Crane had suffered in Ryoko Owari, she did not feel that this diatribe was directed at her. Instead, it felt a bit like being present for a wayward child's scolding as a third party. She felt out of place: like she was observing an intimate family scene she had no business observing.

So when a middle-aged man came shuffling down the hallway, she was relieved for the distraction. He even looked somewhat familiar. Kiyoko narrowed her eyes, searching her memory and coming up empty. A flash of recognition struck as he announced himself, however: he was a former instructor at the Kakita Dueling Academy. Had this Kakita Musage ever been one of her teachers? She couldn't recall. *A* Sensei then, if not *Her* Sensei.

"Ah—Welcome to the City of Lions, Musage-senpai," She said, bowing respectfully. The samurai-ko glanced at Doji Rika. Were they aware of one another's assignments here, or did she seem as in-the-dark as Kiyoko was? "We were just receiving—informally, anyway—our new ambassador, Doji Rika-sama."

||
Karla
Adohiro glanced over seeing Koharu's expression. She didn't look too happy. He heard her being up the crisis which definitely was worrisome for anyone to deal with. He gives a nod at her words. The representative seemed very nice, almost motherly. She treated them like children it seemed. He heard her talk more and heard the loud noise echoing. He heard someone walk in and he turned his head to hear the speaker. 

"I know I heard something important was stolen here." He said. Of course he didn't know what was stolen but maybe someone finally could tell him. Since no one had.
Scott
Koharu held steady as Doji Rika spoke, keeping her expression and posture placid and collected. A good scion of the Doji family should *Never* Flinch when a superior talks down to them - and Koharu had learned it the painful way.

She considered Rika's words, and felt a brief need to refute them. It was the whole embassy's reputation being called into question, after all, by someone who hadn't dealt with the hardships the city had beset them with. An outside representative of the clan. But Koharu knew that she lacked anything material to combat Rika with - and publicly going against authority without grounds for opposition was a battle lost.

"Much of this is true," Koharu said slowly. "But the tides change swiftly in this city. I am confident that with guidance, this embassy may prove to you its usefulness still. And certainly my peers -" She glanced around "- are equally glad to demonstrate their discipline, henceforth." 

||
Roman
"The tides do move swiftly, and the Crane are to be the anchor around which the waters of change flow. We must be that stability, now more than ever." The Doji nodded at the new addition, acknowledging his presence but not disrupting her flow of thought. She shifted the weight on her cane, putting more of it on the stabilizing staff. "Had I arrived announced, I would have seen what the charming samurai here wanted me to see, instead of the place *As it is.* But, my dears, do not worry, now that I see the picture fully we can act accordingly.

"First, these documents that Daidoji-san speaks of. We have had important items stolen from us, and we will reclaim that which was ours. If they are an enemy they must be dealt with. Second, our Crane samurai are dying. I believe our Magistrate is newly arrived, but it is far past time we discover the truth. Third, and most importantly, I have reason to believe the killer of Doji Shizue, our Champion's sister and beloved member of our family, is being hidden away amidst the newest nobility in this very city. Until the Mantis produce their shinobi *And* Provide reparations, they are no better than the dirt on our *Geta*."

Rika sighed, body wilting after her long speech. Her eyes closed for several seconds. "I will be inviting some other Ambassadors to speak with me soon, reaffirming alliances and testing their strength. Questions?"

||
Judy
Kiyoko cleared her throat quietly in what felt like another awkward silence and took a deferential tone as she addressed Rika. "Doji-sama speaks well. I think I can speak for all of us when I say, only tell us what to do and we shall do it. No questions but that."

A pause, and she added, "And which ambassadors will Doji-sama be inviting first? The Unicorn and Mantis?"

||
Karla
He heard his clan mates talk among each other about the situation. There definitely was a lot of stuff happening here and it seemed to grow more dangerous than ever. He perked up when he heard about the documents that were stolen. Of course he wasn't told of the exact text that was stolen. He heard her mention the samurai dying, it definitely was a difficult issue to find what was happening exactly. When asked if there was any inquiries, he didn't really have any at all. "Doji-sama, what were the stolen documents exactly? I haven't been told of them or anything." He questioned. He wanted to know what was exactly stolen since most didn't tell him any of this information.
Roman
"Yes, the Unicorn would be high on the list, and calling in the Mantis to pay for their crimes against us too. Also the Phoenix require our attention, it is no secret the affairs between them and our allies in the city. We must do what we can to smooth over this." The old woman nodded politely at the Kakita for her wise question. Knowing who exactly would be gracing the Embassy soon would benefit everyone in their preparations. She raised her cane and pointed it at Kiyoko. "In addition, I want you to be there for whatever we find for leads in our investigation of the death of our samurai. We need to be ready for anything."

Turning her attention to the boy, the old lady smiled again. The cane settled down once more in front of her. "Child, everyone knows what they need to in order to perform the duties they are asked to accomplish. No more, no less. Your willingness to help is noted, Doji bless your heart.

"And as for you, Koharu-san. For you I have an order: keep up the fine work. Oh, and one more thing—Daidoji Uji-sama informed me you have received a promotion. I am not sure what that really means when you're not on a battlefield, but congratulations are in order." A slight bow of respect at the Crane warrior, and Rika seemed to have completed what she set out to do. At least for now. "Well, I think that gave the stewards enough time to put my belongings in order. Kiyoko-san, I am afraid I have not found the Ambassador's lodging yet. Would you be a dear and walk me there? I think I shall take a brief rest now. Work can begin tomorrow. Yes, that will do nicely."

||
Scott
Koharu bowed deeply. This was indeed unexpected news - apart from reports delivered to Daidoji Castle using the Harrier network, she had scarcely been in contact with the secretive daimyo. Perhaps Saneyori was observing her behaviour on Uji's behalf; that was not uncommon for the Iron Cranes. Still, she doubted that the promotion had much to do with her own actions, rather it was Uji having a renewed interest in the City of Lies, and Koharu happened to be the most available agent here. 

"I will do my utmost to meet Daidoji-sama's expectations," Koharu said. "And to serve this clan faithfully in his name."

With the clout she had just gained, Koharu could leverage more resources to her advantage. But by equal measure, she was descending deeper into the shadow game being played beneath the city's surface.

||
Judy
Kiyoko nodded her acknowledgment to Rika. The words were sparing, but Kiyoko was grateful for them nonetheless. Further, as a Kakita herself, she had a vested interest in the investigation into the deaths of these Kakita samurai. As Rika concluded her instructions, Kiyoko turned to the newly-arrived ambassador and offered her her arm. "As Doji-sama wishes. Unless the cane is enough...?" She said, indicating said arm.

||
Karla
Adohiro heard about needing to smooth the relations with the Phoenix. He noticed Kiyoki was picked to lead the investigation, how lucky. He wished he got picked to lead investigations. He felt like he could help at least, maybe be an assistant? When he heard his reply be answered about what the stolen documents were, it seemed like everyone was tight lipped as usual. "Kakita-San, may I assist you in the investigations too?" He asked.
Judy
Kiyoko started to lead Rika away toward the ambassador's quarters, but spared Adohiro a nod over her shoulder. She wasn't sure exactly how useful the Daidoji boy would be, but he *Had* Been a previous magistrate's assistant. "We can discuss it more later," She said. She would have to figure out where to begin, herself. Maybe Koharu would have an idea.

||