James
As the door to the ambassador's office opens, it's somewhat faster as one would usually expect, some of the decorum that one should have when doing so lost in the too fast sliding. The result was inevitable, the smacking sound of wood on wood as the back of the sliding door met the frame, breaking the general low noise atmosphere that was attempted to be upheld in general like a thunderstruck. The door clearly was open too wide for the slender frame of Kitsune Meiko as she bowed to the room, though at least she did so from the customary seiza position.

Sliding in, she rushed to close the door behind her, though this time she did put more care into doing it silently, a flush of embarrassment on her cheeks from her mistake a few moments earlier.

"Mochi Mai-Sama... I... I must appologize for disturbing your time, but... I just got a letter and..." The young woman's fingers hasten to seek the paper that was tucked into the collar of her Kimono, pulling out a dark navy colored sheet of fine paper that was decorated with a silver laden ink. Three blocks of writing, and on the backside, over the fold where the paper met itself, a mon stamped in just the same silvery color. A paper choice that was meant to impress.

"The courier wouldn't tell who sent him, but that it was sent to me and nobody else!"

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Reba
"Hehehe... So cute, don't you think, Muku-chan?" 

Mai was 'showing,' her pet Centipede Muku-chan multiple scrolls with depictions of her two children, Tomichi and Fujiko. There were at least a dozen of them for each, a doe-eyed little girl with her mother's hair and tone, the other a black-haired you g man of fairer complexion that went from a rather timid lad to a scrappy, tough looking hoodlum. All the same, Mai doted over the pictures, recalling the times watching them both grow up. "And _this_ one was after Tomi-kun's first sailing trip! Oh, and Fuji-chan's first spell! Oh, Muku-chan, my little babies are all grown up, but they're always going to be my widdle cutesy wutesy-"

The door was slammed open with a crack, and Mai jumped, sending a scroll rolling up rapidly, Muku-chan stuck within. Mai looked to the door with a start, and was surprised to see this insolence came from Kitsune Meiko. 

"Meiko-san? What's the meaning of this? I was, erm, very busy!" She hurriedly tried to collect her many portraits together, the centipede scurrying out of the paper to curl up on the desk. 

Mai raised an eyebrow at the letter, and took it from Meiko, offering a seat. She read it over, and with a scoff, set it down. "Well, well, well," She laughed, "Yasuki Rei-san moves swiftly..." 

Mai shook her head, and gave her attention back to Meiko. "Well, Meiko-san, you seem to have received a letter from your first courting gentleman. Certainly one of many!" She slid it back over to the young Kitsune. 

"It's very romantic, don't you think?"

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James
"You... Believe this was sent on behalf of the Matchmaker?" Kitsune Meiko asked after she settled on the seat, her cheeks still flustered from her mistake - and probably because of what the letter said. But as the older woman continued, it became somewhat clearer.

"Oh! You mean... Indeed, it could be... I mean, if it's a letter from such a suitor, even less a such enigmatic one! What should I do? I mean, Moshi Mai-sama, I never had such letters! What is the right response? Is it even someone that you might approve of at all? All I know from the words on this paper is... Well... I guess it's a rather elegant writing by a strong hand and they call themselves a carp. But otherwise I have no idea who even might be that mysterious suitor!"

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Reba
Once Meiko got hold of what Mai was trying to say, Mai smiled at the woman's excitement. "The right response... Well, I couldn't tell you, really. None of my suitors sent me letters, other than to tell me they've decided to find another prospect." Indeed, a Gaijin-blooded wife wasn't the most wanted thing. "But, first of all, calm yourself. The last thing you want to do is work yourself into foolishness." 

Mai looked back at the letter, and mulled it over. "Well, there were a few men that came up in my conversation with Yasuki Rei-san," Mai said. "Yasuki Umeo was one, but there was also other prospects that Rei noted might be available. Either way, I think it's important to remember one thing: We don't _need_ to wed with the Crab." Mai stood up straight as she explained herself. "The Crab are an honorable clan, and one I am fond of, being our cousin clan and all. But in the scheme of things, the Unicorn are far more important to us. That said, making fast friends of the Crab makes them less likely to side with anyone else. Not that I'd think they'd do something such as break their gigantic grudge against the Scorpion and join in cahoots with them. Ha! That'd be so out of character, I'd think they were replaced with Scorpion from the get-go...

"But, I digress." Mai rubbed her chin, and an idea came to mind. "You know... I could just _ask the kami_ where this letter's from. Reflections of Pan Ku could give us the answer, or at least let us know where it was made to an extent."
James
"But Moshi Mai-sama, you are a woman of many merits and were born with much higher standing than me. It is hard to believe that not a single suitor did write even a short missive to you." The young woman is quite flustered as she mulls over the information.

"I don't know of this Yasuki Umeo, but I believe many of the Yasuki are the patrons of the trade council of the Crab... To have used such elaborate ink... Is it a good sign that the crab who sent this, be they this Yasuki Umeo or not, used such resource to send this poem to request a song of mine? And... What would be the proper answer? I mean, I will dutifully choose whichever suitor is chosen for me, but I hardly know how to respond to this situation."

"The Reflections of Pan Ku... I do not know this prayer, but I think it was mentioned by a teacher of mine once. Doesn't it ask a kami of water to show or tell about an item? And you would do so on this letter on my behalf?"

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Reba
"Oh, don't you start with that nonsense." Mai rolled her eyes at the flattery sent her way, and crossed her arms. "I was a right hellion in my youth with a Gaijin father somewhere in the world and a horrible temper. If not for the Goddess and her blessing upon me, I'd be wed to some low-ranked lord's idiot son. But, I appreciate your kind words. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were courting _me."_ 

As Meiko went over her musings on the possible Yasuki suitor, the letter, the message within and how to answer it, Mai let her go on her tangent. It was adorable, in a way, watching her try to get to the root of the problem until it reached a pause in the middle. "Well, Meiko-san, there's plenty of ways to take it or interpret it." The Moshi pointed out the end of the letter. "The poem asks if you'll sing for presumably him. But, he puts the place you'll meet, and the time to do so. Very bold, eh? He thinks you'll just come to where he wills you to. 

"If I were you," Mai replied, "I would send a letter back, and tell him where you'll meet _instead._ A man -or a woman, for that matter- shouldn't be allowed to think that you'll just go wherever they point like a puppy dog or some such thing. Besides, that tea house is Yasuki Rei's establishment. No doubt she's using it as a sort of power play. Similar to having the high ground in battle. And believe you me, my dear Meiko-san. This _is_ a battle." 

On the note of the letter, Mai would nod. "It's nothing all that difficult to me, "Mai replied, taking the letter and fetching tea from her desk. She finished the cup so it could be filled with water, and after holding the paper enough to set on the water, floating carefully on top, Mai offered a prayer to the water kami. "Water kami, those that move with the current and ripples, make this letter as transparent as your waters. Let me see what's hidden below the surface. _Reflections of Pan Ku."_ 

After a moment, Mai could learn a few things from the letter. "It certainly came from the Crab Embassy, Mai announced, "And it was made and delivered swiftly. No pussyfooting around. So, it wasn't just a mass-produced form letter that got stamped. A good sign... All the kami wish to say about the person that wrote it is that he is a man, and he's... Hm. Young, but old. That could mean many things..." 

Mai plucked the letter from the water so it didn't get waterlogged and soggy, and set it back on the table. "The kami need not know names, but they have been a grand help. It's a man, with an old soul, who took the time to write this letter and have it sent posthaste. That doesn't say who he is, but it gives an idea of character.

"All the same, "Mai said, "I think you should write back. Change the location of the meeting. But don't _ask._ No, you _inform_ him that if he wishes to gaze upon you, he will need to find you. Men love the hunt, you see, and who wouldn't want to go on a hunt for a Kitsune, hm?"
James
Looking away in dismay as Moshi Mai puts the letter at risk in the bowl of water and with the ink in the corner starting to smear a little bit as a few droplets make it on top, the young Kitsune is trying hard to not lose her face.

Only when the letter is retrieved with only minor damage she picks it up with shaking hands, quickly trying to remove the rest of the water from it by shaking it first and then carefully dabbing a furoshiki against the paper. Swallowing her emotions, she does nod though, her eyes fixated on the paper as she dries the last spills.

"Young but old? Maybe someone... Older than me? But... I guess that might not be the worst. I mean, someone like that might satisfy whatever requirements you set up, Moshi Mai-sama."

Turning the paper to see if managed to stop all damage, she sighs, putting the letter back on the floor in front of her as she looks up.

"Have... Him hunt for me? That... Sounds like a lot of things to set up. I mean, I do know one of the woods closeby a little, but... Do you mean like an actual hunt or more like... Have him follow clues and pointers? If... Oh.. If it was this, I might... Need to write a couple notes and prepare them to be there for him... But... Would it be too bad to have his hunt for me start somewhere at a different time but lead back to the time and place he thought about n the end?"

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Reba
"No, no, I merely mean an old soul." Mai tried to correct Meiko's thinking, extrapolating further. "The water kami rarely lie, but they also rarely give a direct answer. But from what I understand, it leads me to think it's a man that's younger, but carries himself much wiser than his age would dictate. An old soul, not an old man." 

As for Meiko's idea of what to do with the hunt, Mai laughed and shook her head. "You needn't do all _that,"_ she said, "I just mean to say, put the man on his toes! What fox have you ever known to just walk into a hunter's trap? No, a fox should be chased, tricked, and eventually coerced into the place the hunter wants. In this case, a Crab." 

So... Meiko's though might just work. The Moshi rubbed her chin, muttering as she did some figures in her mind. "Well, that would be rather amusing, don't you think? Right some notes, send him around, just to get him back to where he started. If he accepts this, he really wishes to meet you. If he refuses, he's either a man that was looking for convenience or simply making good on a promise. So, I think you should set it up."
James
Contemplating the words, Kitsune Meiko finally nods, brushing a loose streak of hair back behind her ear. "It isn't a trap, do you think? But I will have to write an answer, and set up the little hunt. Is there a special colo that would be a good answer? I mean, the color of ink and letter should tell something, right? Something about the contents and sender."

Taking a couple more moments, she lifted the letter again, turning it twice. "A washi of cream color with leaves, and ink in russet brown?"

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Reba
"I don't see how it could be a _trap,"_ Mai replied, "It doesn't seem likely. If the Crab were up to something nasty like that, I'd assume it was the Scorpion at play..." 

And the Scorpion had plenty of reasons to come after her and the Mantis...

"Hm." Mai fell silent as she thought, barely hearing what Meiko said about the letter and ink color and other things the shugenja knew next to nothing about. "Hm? Yes, yes, cream and leaves, brown rustlers, of course. Follow your heart, Meiko-san, and I'm certain it'll be heavenly. As for a trap... Since you're a maiden and you don't have family here to keep a watchful eye, It falls on me to provide that. So, bring my yojimbo with you on your little chance meeting. If this turns out to be something nefarious, I assure you, she'll keep you safe. 

"For an added effect," She mused, "I can watch as well. I've been to the Tea Garden more than a few times. I can view it, with the Water Kami's aid."
James
Nodding at the words, Meiko careflly bowed, cheeks still a slight bit flustered.

"I would be grateful for all assistance you can render me. While I hope bringing your yojimbo will not be necessary, I also hope having her in the same building closeby enjoying tea would calm me."

"If you excuse me, I'll prepare to send an answer to the crab that sent this. Shall... Shall I use a name that... Alludes to me but isn't mine? He didn't use his name in this either..."

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Reba
Mai nodded with a smile on her lips. "Of course, Meiko-san. When the letter arrived at the embassy about your arrival, I was asked to watch over you. I intend to do just that." It was all rather endearing, like planning for her own daughter's first dalliance. Which, come to think of it, was surely going to come up sooner than later. For now, though, Meiko had her attention and concern. 

"I can assure you, Chiyoko-san is good at what she does. She's practically a fortune of safety and security, when she wants to be. You couldn't be in better hands." 

It would seem this meeting was over, Mai giving a simple nod of understanding as Meiko asked to be excused. "A name, hm? Maybe call him 'hunter,' and call yourself the 'Fox on the Run.' We _do_ want him to chase after you, don't we?" She smirked, and motioned to the door. "Now, off you go! I can't write the love letter for you, after all." 

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