Joseph
Noboru made his way through the Phoenix embassy to Sanumo's office. It had been a few days since the unfortunate duel, but he felt it was likely proper to give the ambassador ample space in the aftermath of that... Debacle. *Outmatched by a ronin? That would certainly not sit well with me.* He thought to himself, frowning slightly. The offense that had occurred must have been truly great to warrant such an insult in a duel of honor.

But he was not here to ponder the goings-on between the two Clans locally, but on a much more important matter. Investigation into the question of *Meishodo,* And if it were indeed a heresy, had been brought into question. In order to properly plumb the depths of this question, it seemed only right to better understand the present political situation that had brought it to the fore of the Elemental Council's prerogative. 

He rapped lightly on Sanumo's door, having requested the meeting well in advance, as befitted a direct advisor to the city's ambassador. He had seen him at the duel, but it had not seemed the appropriate time to formally introduce himself, given the circumstances.

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Ruth
As much as he would've loved to find any number of bureaucratic reasons to turn away an Isawa, the fact that Noboru had been sent by the Elemental Council made that a much more volatile prospect that it would typically be. He had, much to his own distaste, agreed to meet with him. It was his hope that doing so would speed Noboru along his path and remove the council's influence from his doorstep sooner than later.

« Come in. » he stood, bowed, and then sat back down while the shugenja returned the bow, entered, and made himself comfortable. He'd known to expect the visitor and had done his due diligence in having tea pre-prepared.

A cup was carefully poured out for his guest before he elected to skip some of the trivialities usually involved in a visit of this sort. 

« Isawa Noboru-sama. How can the ambassador help you today? »

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Joseph
*Ah. Direct and to the point.* Noboru thought after having bowed respectfully to the younger man and taken his seat. 

"I thank you for meeting with me, Asako Sanumo-sama. I know the ambassador is a busy man, so I hoped to be better acquainted with the local political situation, especially after the recent duel. As you likely know, I am assigned here to investigate the question of the practice of meishodo, and noting... The events that led up to that will assist my performance of the Council's will."

He drank from the cup, savoring the flavor. "I thought it better to come to you, rather than to revisit what I imagine is a painful tale so close on the heels of things coming to a close." His voice softens, thinking of how his own pride would have ached after such a loss.

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Ruth
Sanumo set and unset his jaw. « I assure you it is no less of a rough tale for having come from me, but your judgement was sound in sparing the ambassador from its retelling. »

« Are you familiar with the tale of Asahina, Isawa-san? » Pressing on, he made clear that it was a rhetorical question. « A man driven by impulse and rash thought causing much destruction and mayhem. » He looked down, shaking his head. « One of your family, at least at the time, followed in some of his footsteps. »

« They struck a heimin with lightning and caused a prominent Unicorn, Utaku Masanori, to risk death as he **Was blasted into a building.** »

He gauged the newcomer's reaction. There was much to be learned from what would come next.

« You can imagine how we got from that to the duel. »

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Joseph
Noboru gave a soft grunt. "Asahina was obviously misguided in his path, but his intent was still for the good of the Clan, which in turn serves the Empire as a whole." Of course he knew the story, but he also knew the military costs the Lion had inflicted in those battles leading up to the Crane-mediated peace that had ended the conflict before Asahina had been able to assist in reclaiming those losses. "It sounds, however, that my *Former* Family member was not even acting with that much presence of mind."

He quirked an eyebrow. "I did not notice, was this prominent Unicorn in attendance at the duel? I had not the opportunity to learn any of their delegation's names apart from their ambassador. Was he grievously injured?" His tone is analytical, gauging the difficulties that he would likely be up against. 


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Ruth
*A defender, even if in part, of Asahina? This man is dangerous.*

He did his best not to let his displeasure show more than it already had. « I do not believe he attended himself. His ambassador, spearheaded the efforts. I'm told that most of his injuries were superficial, surprisingly. Though I've not seen the man myself since the incident, the Unicorn have no reason to downplay the severity of the situation. »

« Speaking of severity... » he straightened, allowing what limited weight his position held to flow into his appearance. « ...We have some particulars to discuss regarding your investigation. Before I get to my own concerns, have you any of your own to air? »

Sanumo wasn't thrilled from the impression he'd gathered in his brief time with this Isawa. He hoped to see some measure of caution or at least critical thinking in his response.

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Joseph
"I do have some concerns, yes. Primarily, I wonder at how much obstruction I may face from the Unicorn in regards to my task. Lacking some of the political weight to throw behind my attempts to investigate their practices may be troublesome." Noboru sipped his tea, thoughtfully looking at the younger man. 

"There is, however, a greater concern I fear I must seek to bring to light immediately, though I hope my bluntness does not cause offense." He set his cup down lightly, folding his hands in his lap as he looked across to Sanumo. "I do not know what I have done to earn such displeasure in your countenance, Asako-sama, and would ask that you explain. Not that you *Have* To like me, mind you." He held a hand up placatingly, to forestall the assumed objection. "I simply wish to ensure that we can have a working relationship. I would rather we be able to cooperate, if we cannot find common ground beyond that then that is fine."

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Ruth
*Not possessed of a delicate touch, this one.*

Closing his eyes, he took a slow, deep breath through his nose. Upon releasing it fully, he had finished contemplating his course of action.

« I am, among other things, a historian, Isawa-san. While my area of expertise is more broad than most, you had best believe that the Loremasters were not shy about teaching us of our clan's failures. After all, we must be aware of them to learn from them. »

He paused, taking a sip of his tea and holding off a potential interruption with an upraised finger.

« Asahina, regardless of his *Intentions*, erred immensely. He took hundreds, if not thousands of lives in a fit of rage. To seek to excuse his actions in light of his personal justifications is... Questionable. If we applied the same logic to our now-ronin Isawa, he would be forgiven and still have his station. »

If Noboru contested this point, he would likely inadvertently paint the ambassador in a poor light. He'd been led gently towards a potential pitfall.

« With a faulty view of the past, it concerns me what hand you may have in guiding us into the future. Doubly so with the task laid before you. And triply so with the delicate circumstances surrounding it. »

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Joseph
*A **Faulty view?*** Noboru thought to himself, beginning to fume. This younger man was clearly baiting him, but why?

"I am sure that the Loremasters taught you well, Asako-sama, but as you say, your expertise being broader than most may be part of where we differ in our views. I *Never* Contested otherwise that Asahina erred. As you had been the one to compare his actions to the present situation, I sought to contrast it, both in light of the cause as well as the outcome. Firstly, Asahina was spurred to action by the suffering of our people, and the loss of our Clanmates to the Lion, and due to the meddling of the Crane, was prevented from pursuing justice against the offending party. Secondly, even with his crimes," He paused, letting the word hang for a moment before continuing, "He was not only allowed to retain his samurai status, but *Married* Into the very Clan he had assaulted. My erstwhile cousin was not as well-intentioned, not as competent, nor as lightly treated with once the time of judgment was upon him. But then, there have been centuries of history and greater context that we have come to learn from since then."

He takes a slow breath. "I understand there is greater delicacy required here. In full disclosure, I have seen more than my fair share of violence. The Battle of Cherry Blossom Snow showed me the truest threats to our Empire were spiritual in foundation, not mere flesh and blood." 

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Ruth
Drumming his fingers on the edge of his desk, he sighed. « I *Could* Go into the finer points of what's been said, various happenings before and after his time, and some other lesser topics, but ultimately it's not germane to the true point of our discussion today. Perhaps we'll revisit it another time, but it's more prudent to let it lie for now. »

Sanumo didn't appear livid so much as his expression became visibly cold and dispassionate. It was important to him to create the impression of finality and distance in what he was about to set into motion.

« The ambassador and I speak rather frequently about our plans for the future of Ryoko Owari Toshi, as well as myriad other matters. In pursuit of furthering the aims that he has put forth, I hereby decree the following: »

« Firstly, for the foreseeable future, I will be assigning you a Yojimbo. You are free to do as you will on embassy grounds since we have a reasonable expectation of your safety here, but the Yojimbo will accompany you anywhere else you may go. »

« Secondly, you are to report anything and everything pertinent to your investigation to me - not the ambassador. This is not to undercut the seriousness of your purpose here, but is instead so that Shiba-sama may be free to focus on repairing the damaged reputation of our clan locally. If I deem something worthy of his direct attention, it will have it. »

*And it puts the blame for anything you may do on my shoulders, giving him a layer of insulation.*

He fully expected objections, meager or otherwise, but he was not here to placate the samurai's whims. He was here to further the clan's aims and to shield it from what perils he could.

And so he was.

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Joseph
Noboru nodded in agreement to shelving the conversation. The rest of the discussion was not as well received. He colored slightly at the decrees, but waited patiently through it. 

"Asako-sama, I most certainly do protest the overt assignment of a Yojimbo... But it seems your mind has been firmly made in this matter." He gritted his teeth slightly at the indignity. "May I at least meet with and choose from those who may be available, rather than merely being assigned to someone?"

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Ruth
The man's word choice amused Sanumo ever so slightly. Of course it would be overt; they did not deal in *Covert* Yojimbo.

« I'm afraid you may not. I've had plenty of time to consider while you travelled and I've selected one Shiba Hazuki to fill this role. I have the utmost faith in her ability. »

Seeing how this likely aggravated the man further, he clarified. « I realize that, off the back of our previous discussion, this could seem spiteful or even childish. Allow me to explain why that is simply not the case. »

He leaned forward; his elbows propped up on the table so he could gesture while he spoke.

« To begin with, the Unicorn ambassador delivered many demands to Shiba-sama upon learning of the harm to her clansman. One that failed to stick was that she wanted to have members of other clans be responsible for shepherding our shugenja in public. »

« Taisei-san, when he acted, was without a Yojimbo of his own, you see. This has created the impression that we are not capable of protecting or policing them ourselves. If I send you to perform these investigations unattended, I would undoubtedly aggravate Utaku Kazuko-sama further. I am unwilling to do this. »

« In addition, I'm told that Taisei-san's actions caused quite a bit of unrest amongst the peasants - and understandably so. While their grievances are many and varied, they now hold a special and recent grudge in their hearts for the Phoenix and, more specifically, our shugenja. »

« If you were to die, or even be seriously injured, over the course of this task, I have no doubt that the Elemental Council would demand either harsh punishment or our lives. I am unwilling to leave such an important choice as your Yojimbo to anyone but myself or, if he wished it, Shiba-sama. Your safety was at the forefront of my mind when making this determination and I assure you my decision is sound. »

« So you see, you were never *Merely* Going to be assigned to someone. »

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Joseph
Noboru considered this, visibly calming as he did so. "Very well. At the very least, having a yojimbo will assist in garnering goodwill with the Unicorn, which will help ease my interactions with them." 

Not being able to personally select a yojimbo was slightly galling, but a minor concession. The younger man was... Mildly infuriating, and Noboru could not resist the conclusion that it was somewhat intentional. *I must confess, even if these slight indignities are intentional, he is well-prepared enough to easily deflect to a bureaucratic answer. The mark of an excellent courtier.*

"Your analysis is indeed quite thorough, and I would not wish to burden yourself or the ambassador unduly. I will agree to this on a probationary period. If we can establish there is not a need for my retaining a yojimbo, then it would be better to let the samurai return to whatever other duties she would be pulled away from to follow me around.

"But to hear that the Unicorn sought to allow our Shugenja to be attended to by samurai from other Clans? Truly, the indignity they sought to heap upon the Phoenix was great."

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Ruth
*He actually thinks this is a negotiation, doesn't he?*

« I am not unreasonable. If I become convinced that it is no longer necessary, Shiba-san will be reassigned where she can do the most good for the clan. »

Sanumo had rather... Complicated feelings regarding how the Unicorn had acted in recent weeks. On one hand, they were a rather promising lead in a time of uncertainty and their ambassador had made quite an impression on him. On the other, it seemed like such an immense gap had been created between their clans that there would be no fast-acting remedy.

He did his best not to let this show.

« Agreed. Had they been given all they asked, we could hardly consider ourselves a clan at all within the city's confines. »

*Perhaps a word of actual advice was in order after all.*

« Utaku Kazuko-sama strikes me as a samurai of bold and heavy action. She does not settle for half-measures. Please keep this in mind while you perform your duty. »

*Who knows what she may do when such an accomplishment as cleansing the stain on meishodo's reputation is nearly in her grasp?*

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Joseph
Noboru gives a small bow of gratitude to Sanumo's assent. 

"If this is your impression of the Unicorn ambassador, I will bear your observation as if it were my own. As I said, my days of heavy action I hope are behind me, and I do not relish the thought of potentially revisiting them." He says, thoughtfully. *Though old habits tend to die hard...*

"Asako-sama, do you have any input on the topic of my investigation? I am unsure on your familiarity with meishodo, and do not seek to presume."
Ruth
The younger samurai leaned back in his seat. « Unfortunately, I know precious little about the Unicorn's shugenja traditions. Not only were these sorts of things not a focus of my education, but it's also wasn't common to speak of heresies beyond a surface level at my dojo. »

He followed up his previous remark quickly, snatching the silence from the air before it could settle in. « But we do have shugenja that frequent the city who may have more insight, should you seek it. Might I suggest Isawa Kashikoi? I'm told he's unusually insightful. »

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Joseph
*Kashikoi... Hm.* Noboru was not familiar with the man yet, but would make it a priority to speak with him. "It is understandable that discussion of heresy would be limited within your school, Asako-sama. For time immemorial, the Isawa family has been primarily focused on the spiritual, while the Shiba and Asako families were predominantly concerned with the more... Immediate concerns of political and military issues." He hesitated to avoid calling the matters 'mundane,' as he assumed the other man would not respond well to it, though no offense would have been meant. 

"I will try and speak with him when the opportunity arises. In the meantime, I will likely want to meet with my new yojimbo and begin making initial inquiries into the Unicorn and who they will put forth to answer my questions. Have they named anyone publicly for that role, by chance?"

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Ruth
He shook his head, "To my knowledge, the Unicorn have done no such thing. I will send a letter notifying them of the onset of your efforts. At the very least, it will be convenient for me to do so - I've been meaning to extend an invitation to discuss other matters."

Truth be told, he was worried about the conversation he wished to have with Kazuko. It had the potential to become incendiary, if poorly handled, but he felt it needed to be done.

And who else among the local Phoenix stood a reasonable chance of avoiding such calamity? Even Iemon may be too compromised right now.

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Joseph
Noboru nodded. "Very well. I am glad you already had an intention to reach out, I would not want you inconvenienced merely on my behalf." A simple enough pleasantry on that front, as both men would know such things would be part of Sanumo's duty, especially as one of the prominent courtiers the Phoenix had in the city.

"I do not imagine this will be a swift investigation. The Council had not rushed in their first decision regarding meishodo, I will have to be just as thorough."
 *Especially in such tumultuous times between our Clan and theirs.*
 
He moved to stand and bows. "Thank you for meeting with me, and for the tea, Karo-sama. I know you are busy, and I do not wish to take any more of your time than necessary."

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Ruth
Rising, he smoothed out his clothing and returned the bow as befit his station.

"You're welcome, Isawa-san. This was time well spent. May your stay in our city be peaceful and forgettable."

As Noboru left, he had a sinking feeling that it wouldn't be. Regardless of which verdict Noboru ultimately gave, it would upset many. At least the Phoenix were finally at the forefront of something; specialists in this delicate matter.

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