Jerry
It was a rare thing that Masanori had time to ride.

He was sure that some scoffed at the idea of an Utaku man taking to the winds atop the back of a steed. The reputation of his family's women was such that the collective imagination of the Empire could only picture the iconic Battle Maiden when they thought of the Utaku, resplendent in her dignity and implacable in her advance. The ancient prohibition on men learning to fight from horseback seemed to preclude their presence in the saddle in the mind of many. 

Perhaps the average Rokugani failed to understand that such fine steeds needed to be bred and broken before they could descend upon the battlefield in such number and that such a herculean feat required an equally robust group of well-trained stablemasters. Stablemasters who needed to ride by the very definition of their job. Not that he could count himself amount their number.

The lieutenant enjoyed the ride all the same. For the fleeting few hours he could spend on Shiori's back, he was free. As he raced her through the fields and down the footpaths of the city, he felt as though he could outrun his every trouble and worry. There was nothing else but the wind in his hair and the steady *Thump* Of his mare's hooves. 

As with all good things, though, the ride needed to end eventually. As he rode his proud steed through the gates of the Ide residence at a steady trot, he found himself flagged down by a familiar sight. Just outside the stables, his attendant, Ryo, offered a deep bow as his master came to a halt just shy of the entrance. 

"A thousand apologies for awaiting you here, Utaku-sama, but your presence was requested by a new arrival to the embassy. One Utaku Taehime-sama."

Though he tried to remain unflappable in most circumstances, the name his trusted servant spoke caused Masanori's brows to furrow. He had not seen his cousin for quite some time: she was but a girl when he returned to Shiro Utaku Shojo from his time in Khanbulak, and his duties in Ryoko Owari Toshi prevented any potential of attendance to her gempukku. He dismounted with grace, brushing an affectionate hand over Shiori's cheek as the grooms came to lead her to a well-earned watering.

"I see. Where might my dear cousin be found, then?"

_____

Sprawling as it was, the Ide residence was not so large that it took Masanori very long to arrive at the koi pond. Many a contemplative afternoon was spent in the shade of the aged oak that dominated its silhouette. He found another seated in the spot he might otherwise occupy, however. 

"My apologies, cousin. You seem to have sought me out amidst a ride. I hope you will forgive any dishevelment on its account" 

He offered a polite bow as he approached his kinsmen, unsure just how to address someone he had not laid eyes upon in so long.

"How have you been?"

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Susan
Taehime smiled and stood as her kinsman arrived. The young woman was clad in a kimono in the Unicorn colors. She had been sitting before the koi pond, but she got to her feet fluidly, seeming to belie the need for the cane at her side. She bowed to him. She hadn't seen cousin Masanori in what felt like forever! The last time she saw him she'd had to look a lot further up to see his face. "Of course! It has been so long, Masanori-san." She giggled lightly. "I have been well, well, as much as one can be in these times. Remember how I said I'd be joining the Battle Maidens when I grew up, like Yue and Kyoko?" She gestured to the cane. "Sadly, it seems the Fortunes had another plan in mind for me. But I passed my gempukku and now I can serve the clan in a new way. I've been trained by the Ide, and sent here to help our cousin Kazuko-sama. How have *You* Been since we last met?"
Jerry
"So I had been told."

There was a solemnness to Masanori's features when his cousin referenced her illness. That it had precluded her ability to follow her sisters into battle as was her dream was an unfortunate thing. Part of him did wonder if it was a mercy, though. It was hard to imagine the girl barely able to toddle at his side as a child mounted atop a mighty Utaku steed. That he accepted Tsumugi's bid to follow in their mother's footsteps to become a Shiotome had been feat enough.

"Still, you seem well enough. The time with the Ide must done you well," The officer made his way to the familiar shade of the pond's oaken overhang, and nodded for his cousin to join him in sitting beneath it, "How have I been? That is... Difficult to say."

Steely eyes overlooked the water's serene surface, only vaguely following the circles that the fish within swam inches beneath. How had Ryoko Owari Toshi treated him? 

"I was sent here by Utaku Reika-dono to prepare our local forces for the inevitability of military action against the Scorpion. Yet here we are, a season out and still not a moment closer to victory," A sigh left his lips, just as wistful as the look on his face despite his attempts at stoicism, "It felt like a thinly veiled exile at first, being made to leave my men behind and travel to a foreign den of sin and villainy. By the time I recognized the opportunity that it was, a chance to prove myself, it had been robbed of me. Oneesan was sent to tidy up the mess Ide Nakato-san's stupidity left us with, and I've been relegated to being her second ever since."

It was only after he had aired his grievances that Masanori realized he had not actually *Answered* The question posed. 

"Suffice to say, I have been better. It is not all so bad, though. The city, for all its moral failings, has allowed me to meet quite a collection of interesting characters. Some of whom I have become quite... Fond of." 

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Susan
Taehime came over to sit near her cousin. "The Fortunes and the Kami find a place for us all in their designs, I find. Even when we don't recognize or understand their designs. It sounds like, like me, you've found a way to make what some might consider a curse into a positive force in your life. You've found friends, and a place for yourself. Who do you think you're most fond of here in the city, if you don't mind my asking? I find myself in need of making friends as well, and someone who won over my cousin sounds like a good beginning to build a friendship of my own on." She smiled.
Jerry
What a dangerous question to ask. What a *Terribly* Dangerous question to ask. Masanori had been a fool to allow himself to slip into a reverie so easily, even if it was only in the presence of a member of his own family. In some ways, it was worse to slip up in the presence of a cousin—at least a stranger would not think to report undue fondness to his elder sister. The lieutenant put on his most stoic face as he waved his hand as if to dismiss the topic entirely.

"Merely a few colleagues among the Mantis, though I would not recommend seeking them out yourself. Some of the samurai at this embassy have forgotten a fundamental truth: personal feelings must not be allowed to interfere with duty. The Mantis have taken to courting the Unicorn for an alliance. Overfamiliarity will only give them the idea they are succeeding."

Whether Taehime required such an explanation he could not say. She was fresh from her gempukku and new to the world of diplomacy as a whole, but she had received an education from the Ide. If anyone knew how to straddle the line between friendship and political adversaries, it was the Unicorn's open hand. 

"I take it you have met with Oneesan already? I am sure she will be grateful for your presence. The mantle of ambassador is a heavy one, as I learned firsthand. Without the benefit of Suio Kenza-san at my side, the winter would have been a far more difficult endeavor. Kazuko has lacked for such help during her tenure."

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