Rayna
Now that summer had well and truly arrived, the baths were, understandably, seeing more business later into the day. Some of the evening bathers were no doubt taking advantage of the additional daylight hours, while others, no doubt, were indulging in morbid curiosity. Just how much had the Scorpion been affected by the recent... Problems? 

Unfortunately for those hoping to see the mighty fallen, the gardens remained as beautiful and peaceful as they had ever been; the average visitor, absolutely *Nothing* Was amiss. The hospitality remained unparalleled, the waters remained refreshing and restorative. The attendants remained attentive, the robes and linens remained soft. Nothing at all seemed amiss.

The little Scorpion sat in her veiled pavilion, running through a few warm-up songs, listening for any later evening arrivals. Nimble fingers danced across strings, plucking and strumming with proficiency beyond merely 'skilled'—this was approaching *Mastery*. || Perform Pipa (5) ||


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Joseph
With the walk back toward his rooms at the Dragon Embassy coaxing the soreness of the day's exertion from his aching muscles, Sojuro's thoughts turned toward the evening. He had yet to truly experience the city by night, and he wondered where his feet would carry him next. "Hopefully to a meal..." He chuckled to himself aloud, and reached around in his pack once more to make sure that he had, in fact, already eaten that last rice ball.

He had.

The mountain tuna awaiting him in the kitchens of the embassy was pushed out of his mind, however, when he heard the music. He stopped stock still in the street, other travelers scrambling to avoid the boulder of a man that had suddenly ceased moving, and craned his neck to listen. His footsteps provided a rhythm to those nearby as he followed the sound, soon finding himself in the gardens of the Scorpion Clan. He took it in in silence, his smile widening at the beauty of the gardens, the baths, the decorations... It seemed to him as far from the mountaintop monastery in which he had spent so much of his life as a thing could be. He took in the notes flowing from the pavilion, closing his eyes to fully experience the sensation. If an attendant had approached him during this time, he didn't notice. Only once the song came to an end did he open his eyes again.

"If art is how man decorates a piece of paper, and the reading of a poem is how man decorates time, then music such as that must be the way we decorate the air itself." His voice was controlled and gentle when he spoke, as if he did not want to disturb the fleeting remnants of the song still hovering about.
Rayna
Togashi Sojuro drew a grew deal of attention; after all, he was *Enormous*. 

The Dragon had not descended from the mountain. The mountain itself had descended. 

An attendant, almost as tall as Sojuro himself but maybe a third of his weight, approached with a friendly, almost obsequious smile. "Does Dragon-sama wish to bathe?" The man bowed twice, quickly, before gesturing towards the bathhouse proper. "Dragon-sama will surely find the baths most refreshing!"

There were not many Dragon in the city, even the heimin servants knew that. If they could get even one inside, let alone one so *Substantial*, it would be a great benefit to the clan. The attendant chattered on about the many benefits and amenities of the Scorpion bathhouse, the high quality of the water, the variety of pools of different sizes and temperatures, the fine sake and tea on offer, the shiatsu treatments. 

"...And if Dragon-sama likes, our mistress is playing this evening, so entertainment is available as well!" 

As though on cue, another song began then, a cheerful little tune that seemed to conjure up flowering meadows and the cool waters of gentle brooks. A fine song for a fine evening.

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Joseph
Turning toward the attendant, Sojuro smiled broadly and nodded his head to the man. He knew that he was not to bow, but that did not mean he should be rude. "Just as we cleanse our spirits in a torii, so too must we cleanse our bodies. Please, lead on!" He followed the attendant into the bathouse, being sure to show his smile to those who did not turn their gazes away quite as quickly as decorum would dictate. As he was led deeper, past the pavilion, he stopped suddenly. "Wait! Near the music, please. I wish to experience every bit of what your establishment has to offer!"

Having found a bath he deemed appropriate to his needs, Sojuro shrugged out of his robes and handed them gently to the attendant. "They may be washed, but not mended. Frayed ends tell far more interesting tales than fresh stitches." Easing himself into the bath, he emitted a long sigh of relief and chuckled an apology when his prodigious bulk displaced water onto the surrounding area. "I will be having a tea service please." He turned toward the pavilion to take in the music emanating from it before quickly focusing on the attendant once more. "And some sake! As well as shochu, if that is available!" His voice held some weight, but was not loud enough to bother the other patrons. || Perform: Storytelling 1 ||

He sank as far into the water as was possible, his tattooed and heavily muscled arms resting on the rim of the bath. His eyes closed once more, his requests already forgotten as he lost himself in the music.

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Rayna
A trained musician can hear far more than just one voice, one conversation. 

She could hear the murmur of voices, the rustling of cloth, the splash of water, the sigh of contentment.

Surrounded by her translucent curtains, Kotori heard Sojuro relaying his orders, and she smiled to herself. Clearly, he was a man with an appetite for the finer things if he was asking for a tea service and sake *And* Shochu. Indulging in worldly pleasures, especially those transient pleasures like food and drink, was too often perceived as sinful. What was wrong with appreciating good food and fine wine? Or sake, in this case.

Two servants padded over to the impressive sumo. One carried a tea service, complete with a small plate of tea snacks—two daifuku and a skewer of tri-color dango— and the other carried a tray bearing a sake carafe, cup, and *Gara* And *Choku* Of shochu. Both knelt and placed down their trays, the one carrying the liquor glancing up momentarily. 

"The shochu had been warmed already, Dragon-sama. We will be pleased to bring you more whenever you ask."

They bowed again, and removed themselves as quickly and quietly as any mythical ninja might. Good thing ninja didn't exist save in stories. 

Through the curtains, the little Scorpion could not yet see Sojuro, nor could he see her, beyond a nebulous shape behind the curtains. 

Kotori remained quiet until the song finished. "Welcome to the baths, oji-san. This humble one is Bayushi Kotori." Her voice had its own musical quality, high and bright like a song bird. "If you have any particular requests for music, I will endeavor to please you. And, if not a specific song, perhaps a certain style would please our guest?"

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Joseph
*"Oji-san?!"* He made as if to stand up from the bath in mock indignation, then allowed himself to fall back into a seated position, splashing more water out of the pool with a bellow of laughter. He poured shochu into the gara and then down his throat in one smooth, practiced motion. "Had I the wisdom of age, I may not have found myself here, Bayushi-san!" He punctuated the statement by popping one of the daifuku into his mouth and filling his teacup.

He stood gracefully this time, the water only rippling, and bowed toward the pavilion and the shadowed form inside it. "I am Togashi Sojuro, humble monk of the Order of Togashi, humble *Juryo* Of... Well, of no stable I suppose." He set his face in an overstated grimace, holding his arms up as if performing the *Dohyo-iri* Before a match. His smile had returned once more as his arms lowered, and he sank carefully back into the water, not displacing a drop.

"Tell me, Bayushi-san," He tilted sake into his cup as he spoke. "Do you know *'The Mine Will Break Our Backs, but Not Our Spirits?'* It is a heimin work song from the Sabashii province. A simple tune to pass the day's work, surely, but the beauty and resilience of it..." He emptied his sake cup, paused in thought for a moment, then filled and emptied it again. "Well, to think that *Yu* Is limited only to samurai is folly, I believe." He chuckled at that, the sound broken up by his sampling of the dango. "Some might be shocked at such a statement, but Tengoku watches over us all."

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Rayna
The mock outrage earned a genuine laugh. 

"A thousand apologies, Togashi-sama." The amusement in her voice remained. "You understand that my vision is limited by these curtains, so I was unable to see your august personage clearly." The shadowy figure, petite and clearly female, rose and returned his bow, before settling back onto her seat.

"Humor aside, I am personally delighted that you have chosen to visit our baths. I have seen few Dragon in the city, so I am happy I am able to welcome another." 

"And juryo, did you say? How exciting!" And Kotori meant it, too. She'd never met an actual sumo before, and had only seen a few in a match some years ago. "I am admittedly ignorant with the rules of sumai and sumo, but I do hope that I may see you compete in the future, Togashi-san."

"I heard a song titled 'The Spirits Shall Not See Us Bent' and I think it originated in the Tamori Province. Tell me, does your song sound anything like this?" Notes began to drift from the pavilion down to the pool, clearly a folk song in its arrangement. Court music tended towards more complicated note progressions, whereas the music of heimin was meant to be easily remembered, and thus easily transmitted and learned. It may not have been exactly the song Sojuro wanted, but it was pretty all the same, conjuring up mental visions of vast, towering mountains against crisp blue skies.

"I personally find it to be quite comforting to think Tengoku watches over all people, Goodness itself is not limited by one's place in society, only the means of sharing of it."

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Joseph
He closed his eyes again to listen to the somehow familiar melody, never realizing that he had finished the shochu due to the attendants replacing the choku after it was empty. The sake soon followed, and as the song came to an end he finally got around to enjoying the tea and finishing off the remaining snacks. He was a massive, stalwart man, but the speed at which he consumed the beverages allowed him to feel the beginnings of their effects and a beatific smile crept across his face. He did not speak again until the notes had faded from his ears.

"What a pleasant sentiment, and woefully uncommon among samurai. The Celestial Order wouldn't be so orderly without all of us. Speaking of order..." Sojuro raised his slab of a hand and beckoned to one of the attendants. "Please, bring me something I've never had to drink, along with something I've never eaten." They were too well trained to be thrown by his request. As they scurried off, he stretched his legs out and allowed himself to slip below the surface of the water. After a long moment enjoying the soak he emerged again not unlike a breaching whale.

"We all most travel our own path of course, and mine is one of experience and sensation. Ningen-do is a place of variety beyond measure. How can we know ourselves until we know *It?*" He nodded at this, clearly in perfect agreement with himself. "That said Bayushi-san, would you honor me with a song that has never graced my ears?"

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Rayna
She had opened her mouth to speak in reply to his comment about the Celestial Order, but then there was curious order followed by an odd bubbling and eventually punctuated by a great splash. There was a moment of concern, but then the Togashi began speaking again, and so she relaxed. 

The little Scorpion had yet to lay eyes properly upon this man, but she liked him already. He had a jovial personality and a big voice that seemed to match it perfectly, and he was clearly a man that appreciated the finer things. 

The silent, efficient servants returned in short order with a small glass of *Something* And a plate of *Something*, setting both down beside the impressive sumo. The something in the glass was a liqueur similar to brandy infused with spicy aromatic herbs like cinnamon and ginger, and the something on the plate resembled some kind of wafers covered in a sticky sauce that looked a bit like caramel. 

"Hopefully Togashi-sama will find these items to be pleasing. After all, surprising a man so well traveled is a challenging task, indeed. However, I am certain I can provide you with a song you've not heard before. This is title *Interrupted Meditations by a Beautiful Sea Maiden*." 

A little flex of her fingers, and the magic began. The beginnings of the song were mellow and calm, like the sea on a clear day. Then, a churning of waters, maybe the beginnings of storm. Playful impishness began to intrude on the initial theme, a slight change in key and an adjustment of timing... The melody was the same, and yet somehow transformed. It was easy to imagine a sailor or scholar sitting on the beach, pondering the great mysteries of the oceans only to meet with the distraction of a sea nymph. While the folk song she had played had been masterfully performed, the emotional outpouring into this tune was tangible.

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Joseph
Lifting the glass, Sojuro held it to his nose to take in the aroma. The spice that bit at his nostrils should have been enough to signal that this was a drink best enjoyed in sips, but doing things the traditional way had never held much appeal to him. The sound of him sputtering after draining the glass in a single gulp threatened to overtop the music to those nearby, though he held his lips closed and prevented even a single drop of the liqueur from escaping. He laughed at his folly, but quickly went silent when he realized he was competing with the beautiful swells of sound filling the area thanks to the Scorpion's deft fingers.

The wafers went down more easily than the strange drink, and he noted the differences in flavor and texture as he washed the second down with another sake. He didn't close his eyes this time, but let them wander, each moment a different combination of his senses, a different sight with a different sound with a different taste. "Every moment of a life is unique, so should not every moment offer a unique experience?" He said softly, intending the thought to remain inside his head but letting it slip in the reverie.

The song seeped into him, and the wave tattooed on his belly seemed to itch and churn. He could feel the fall and rise of the ocean in the song, could swear he knew the sailor at the center of it. He had never seen a sea nymph himself, but had heard the stories and hoped to meet one some day. Even entirely made up stories had their truths. He found himself drifting to the other side of the pool, closer to the pavilion, drawn in by not only the notes but the clear investment in them by the performer. He almost felt exhausted when it came to a close.

"That was..." Sojuro paused for a moment, searching for the proper, socially acceptable way to express himself. "That was very well performed, Bayushi-san."

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Rayna
The song ended not with an energetic flourish, some impressive finale, but rather a return to the soft, gentle melody with which it had begun. While Sojuro could not see it, Kotori's eyes had taken on that almost feverish shine that artists so often develop when in the throes of their craft, her breath coming just slightly harder and faster after her playing. 

"I am honored by your praise, Togashi-san." The praise and exertions both had raised a flush in her cheeks. "You are the first audience to hear the piece start to finish."

"Is there anything else we may provide to you? I am happy to continue to play, engage in conversation, or both. Whatever you so like, Togashi-san. We strive to please you." The little Scorpion allowed herself only a momentary break, resting her pipa across her knees and taking a sip of now-cooled fruit tea. 

Behind the scenes, however, a few of the attendants were growing worried the sumo might drink their sake supply dry, and the overseer wondering when he ought to dispatch runners to buy more, and how much.

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