Maria
After the battle the nightmares remained. Himiko seemed a tad bit more timid to the ones that knew her better. Not that there were many of those people. The young girl made way to the gates of the Ide residence as she clearly did not want to show her face and head around the parts. She should be proud but conflict could happen easily when the young shugenja would travel all by herself. Himiko had tied all her hairs into a bun as she would wear a straw hat. No longer had the blonde hairs been visible. As for the clothing she would simply wear her shrine maiden clothes. Now. Her presence was demanded at the Ide residence as she was not certain how things would go. 

Himiko stopped in front of the gates and greeted the guards. *"Ambassador Utaku-sama required my presence. Please inform her Kitsu Himiko arrived."* The young one spoke politely. 

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Larry
"Good day, Бяцхан арслан Ambassador-sama." Moto Arban greeted Himiko upon her arrival, saluting after bowing. The Unicorn soldier gestured for her to follow. "Даргач Utaku-sama is waiting in The Circle for you."

She led the Kitsu through the grounds, moving towards a circular dirt pit. Racks of practice weapons: bokken and spears, along with various other wooden weapon facsimiles, were nearby. Sitting along the side were Utaku Kazuko, Fuyuko, and Iuchi Makoto. "Good luck Бяцхан арслан Ambassador-sama. You'll be needing it I think."

Upon catching sight of the Kitsu, Kazuko rose and bowed respectfully. She was dressed simply, in a plain lavender and grey kimono with the sleeves tied up and hair tied back into a single long braid. "Kitsu-san. Thank you for coming. We needed to discuss your actions during the raid."

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Maria
*"More than any other, thank you Unicorn-san."* She thanked the guard with a bow and other than those words in silence. Himiko removed her straw hat before greeting the three of them. First started with Kazuko, then Makoto and not but not least Fuyuko. *"Thank you for inviting me into your temporary home."* Himiko spoke as it was clear the young girl that behaved on pure impulse had found a short stop on such behavior. 

*"Please. Enlighten me."* Himiko was somehow kind of stoic. She was furious however. Feeling as if they had been ungrateful. She made sure nobody got shot in the back. None of them could have done that. Had they known what a headache she had remaining from such actions. She had been punished enough. 

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Larry
"Your actions were foolish and reckless. The front lines is not the place for an Ambassador, much less a shugenja of your talents." Perhaps in a real battle, when both sides understood and respected each other. The raid against the cartels was not such an event. The Battle Maiden's countenance was severe. She hoped the girl would understand the unreasonable risks she put herself in. No one deserved to be introduced to bloodshed in the manner she was. Her tone softened somewhat and she sighed. "Still, I cannot deny your aid was invaluable. It would have been far more complicated without you. For that you have my thanks."

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Maria
The headache got worse. Her nose scrunched for a split second as she was about to spit a comment that would attempt and contradict the first sentence she decided to lay upon her. It was not worth it. She took a breath and let the Unicorn ambassador finish her sentences. *"I am aware the clan champion would have not only dishonor me but Taisa Akodo Katsuhiro-sama too."* The young Kitsu stated. 

*"Even though we have a legion of battle shugenja on our side it is against the Lion law for a shugenja like me to participate."* It was almost like she was accepting the air strike Kazuko would send at her. She had not made eye contact. She was too tired for this. She hadn't slept for days due to nightmares. Not that she was about to admit that. *"But Akodo-sama pledged his life, Ikoma Miho-san did the same. They counted on me, they trusted me to protect them on unfamiliar terrains. They trusted you to not let our rivalry escalate."* Himiko paused for a moment. 

*"What ambassador am I if I let my clan die on grounds cursed as these by themselves? A weak one. What is the concept of our clan here if not for an ambassador to trust and build on? After our Scorpion backstabbing we lost everything. Our grand ambassador, our dignity and pride. I have no urge to prove myself towards anyone. They simply needed me, so did you. "* Himiko stated. 

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Larry
"We have rules in civilized war, an understanding between the Great Clans on what is considered just and honorable. The Cartels would not have respected these. They *Would* Have killed you without thought or pause." Kazuko gauged the Lion's words as she bore into and through her with utmost scrutiny, a warrior's resolve testing Himiko's. The memory of their hunting trip felt so long ago, yet so very important. "What then? Who would have led your people after you? The future you dream of *Dies with you.*

"Akodo-san, Ikoma-san, myself. We are soldiers. We accept that in our death comes purpose. To advance the cause of those who call us to war. Our story is laid out before us: steel and blood." Holding the line against invading gaijin and encroaching Lion. The failed marriage plot against Altansarnai-khan, leading to subsequent skirmishes. The assault on Otosan Uchi. Chagatai's civil war. The War of the Plains. Utaku Kazuko's was a generation raised on simmering hatred and division, finally boiling over to the surface in all its brutality.

"Our society equates age with wisdom, but with it comes hatred and stubbornness. My people, my generation, will never find peace in this wheel's turn. Every time I see the Lion's mon I feel the ache of lost sisters. Each day I wake in Shosuro lands my scar burns for revenge." Slowly the collected Kazuko became more energetic, the emotion of events boiling up and into her signs yet more emphatically as Fuyuko struggled to match it. "*We* Carry this so you can reach for a better tomorrow, so the cycle can finally be broken. Yet you would risk it all, the pride of our sacrifices, the pride of the Empire's future, for something as selfish as *Your own pride!*

"Yes, you survived the night. You did not set back hopes of progress, leaving it in the hands of a bitter and vengeful successor. But that was one night. You have put yourself in the spotlight, as an aggressor. Every day now your life is in imminent danger. Why? To protect your feelings? Will you feel as justified when a shinobi slits you open at night to avenge his fallen at your hand?

"No! I cannot accept that. We need better, our people deserve **Better**. Because if we are doomed to repeat a bitter, endless cycle of violence year after year, lifetime after lifetime, then what am I fighting for? What are *Any* Of us fighting for?"

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Maria
*"There is no MY dream. Not MY pride."* Himiko responded as she took the time to let Fuyuko finish each word and let her get some breath whilst at it. For some reason the young girl was rather calm and collected. Of course she was boiling too as the headache grew and the visions of dead bodies flashed before her eyes over and over again. Her right hand would twitch every now and then. *"This is OUR dream and you are very aware of that. Just because you are able to lead an army and fend for yourself with a weapon doesn't mean that you get to be a martyr when you perish honorably on grounds this dishonorable."* She finally gained the courage to look Kazuko in the eyes. 

*"Just like I will be no martyr when I die to a filthy shinobi. I am NOT some honored one that will bring the dawn of a better tomorrow."* Why would Kazuko think that? Why would she think Himiko would be different than any other lion? *"Of course our people deserve better. That doesn't mean that will all resort to me. A chain of change happens not when you die. It happens when you are on the plane of the living. Then when you are done, you may pass on to Yomi."* The young one spoke. 

*"We can set change in motion, but you will not have to carry it alone for me to carry on the success. How many would've died if I did not see the ambush? For what? I did not kill one, I stood there to help all of us. Just like how you fought for us."* Himiko would pause as her head pounded. Her hand burned as she rubbed it. 

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Larry
"That is a noble sentiment, Kitsu-san. But we do not live in the Realm of Dreams. *There is the way the world ought to work, and then there is the way that it does.*" It was a gamble if Himiko would be familiar with a passage from the Tao as no Lion read of it. But her youth among the Phoenix meant she may yet know it. Kazuko could not call herself an avid student of the Little Teacher's words, but a few bits stuck out to her. "The world is not fair. Some lives are worth more than others, and so it is with deaths. Had I or any one of the bushi with us perished it would have been an acceptable loss.

"If it was you who died no one would have cared what your intent was. The Lion Ambassador, a shugenja, would have been killed in an assault my clan organized. No one would have stopped to hear reason. The only two who might have been able to stop it, the only two who knew why you did what you did, would have been dishonored and dead alongside you for their failure. My people and yours would be at war.

"Good intentions do not matter in the real world, Kitsu-san, even if they should. *Especially* If they should. A leader makes the hard choices, who to sacrifice and when. That means they need to be prepared for their own end, yes, but if their lives are in question they must know who it is that will take on their story." The soldiers under the Battle Maiden's command all knew their leader's pledge. She honored the deaths of each, remembered their lives and sought to bring about a future they would be proud of. When she too fell, Kazuko knew now the samurai of her own Embassy. She knew they would not fail her. "Tell me you trust your clanmates to honor your life course should you fall. Tell me you are convinced they will not twist everything you are trying to accomplish to their own benefit, that they will not take a life cut tragically short as an excuse to put an end to your goals."

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Maria
Himiko would look at Kazuko as Fuyuko resembled her voice. She did know that passage from the Tao somewhere. It even looked like it rang a bell somewhere. Himiko was unable to reach into those memories however. *"Do you think I haven't considered that?"* Himiko stared at the battle maiden with intense eyes when she mentioned a war between the two. She almost wanted to laugh in despair. Just like Kazuko's husband sat next to her, Himiko's would have her back, always. 

The Kitsu seemed to not lose temper as for some reason this was the most courtly conversation the two have had. Himiko wasn't ready to get humiliated by words. *"My clan would not."* Himiko admitted. 

*"Taisa Akodo Katsuhiro-san, Ikoma Miho-san and all who follow below the taisa would have taken advantage over my death."* Himiko knew she was going to get a death sentence, if not from a Shinobi, then Kazuko. 

*"But I prevented something else. Tell me how much your troops struggled when I said our temporary truce started? Perhaps you didn't struggle because you are a being made for war. But me."* Himiko would stare at Makoto for a glimpse. He knew. Of course he knew. 

*"I may speak to the kami, the fortunes and our ancestors, but in a war that had no value. Nor has it value for samurai. I had to make sure that their restlessness caused by our truce would not be the cause for my troops to go south."* Himiko sighed. She hated to admit this as Moshi Mai bashed her head in over this already. If only they'd understand what she would be capable of one day. 

*"But in the embassy there are ones loyal. Kitsu Miu-san, Kitsu Yoshihiro-sama. My husband wouldn't have taken my place temporarily, but Miu-san, one the ancestors speak to."* Himiko would rub her hand again. The burning got worse. If not her throat from speaking this much. 

*"The moment I would be laid to rest is where Miu-san would start my reign, if not temporarily. As for the ones cheering for my death. They would follow."* Kazuko tried to justify their own death. So had Himiko. 

*"But instead of me casting spells in the hall, they saw the thunder, they saw everything. If not trust then fear would guide them to make the correct decision."* 

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Larry
At least the Kitsu had a contingency, though it was flimsy at best in Kazuko's mind. Miu was a *Nice* Person, but the Battle Maiden doubted there was much of substance to lead between her ears. And Himiko's husband? Well it was possible, but the fact he was placed in a relatively quiet and out of the way position within the Embassy did not bode well for a sudden rise to prominence.

"As I said, do not think this means I am not grateful for the aid you gave us. But if you are ever this reckless without first informing me, I will be *Very* Disappointed." The Ambassador had received enough of a verbal assault. For now, at least. The Battle Maiden made to grab two staves, both made from an exotic dark hardwood. "In the interim, you need to be prepared to protect yourself from reprisal. A staff such as one of these is an excellent defensive option against an unexpected attacker."

She tossed one of them to the Lion, while she seemed to study the other intently, running her hand along it to check for burrs or splinters. "Unless you think your talents as a priest preclude you from needing other means of defense."

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Maria
Himiko would take the staff. To refuse it would be another 'disappointment' in the book of the all mighty unicorn warrior. Now she wanted to get a free pass of beating her up by making it look like she was teaching her defense skills. *"A polearm would not be my weapon of choice."* The young one stated before rolling up her sleeves. The shrine maiden outfit didn't really help. The revealed arms seemed worse if somebody had seen them before. 

Himiko wanted to protest in every way possible. Knowing it would be a futile attempt. Sure let Kazuko have her beat down. If it made her feel better, sure. Himiko wished to roll her eyes but did not. Instead she chose silence. Those dull eyes just stared at Kazuko as she held the staff in one of her hands. 

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Larry
"An enemy will not wait for you to be ready. They will wait until the moment is right. When it is easiest. They will not care if you are ill, or how exhausted you might be." The Battle Maiden finally acknowledged she did in fact notice the physical and mental strain her fellow Ambassador felt. It was a weakness that an enemy would exploit. At this moment Kazuko was not the enemy, instead back training her sisters for battle. There was no room for weakness when lives were at stake.

"The powers of a shugenja are formidable. You can level armies with a prayer. But there are ways to level the scales." A blur of motion as the staff in her hand spring to action, launching into three blindingly fast strikes which stopped a hair's breadth from impact. With her hands occupied the Unicorn taisa's voice growled. "The stomach winds you. Break the jaw. Crush the throat."

As quickly as began the "Attack" She was back to form, resting the heft of her own staff along her shoulder. She paced before the Lion, eyeing her response. "Remove the voice, and you can no longer pray. Then it is a battle of skill between you and your attacker. That is a battle you will lose."

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Maria
Himiko did not even have the time to flinch, so she wouldn't. Watching her hairs dance around from the motion left her impressed but she wasn't going to give Kazuko that satisfaction, not today. Instead her eyes attempted to follow the movement but failed. 

*-Remove the voice and you can no longer pray-* Then how did she cast all of her spells that night in silence? If she had been fast enough she could cast that void spell. Something to keep in mind. Peculiar how a warrior was thinking. She would not mention such thing with Makoto in the room. The Phoenix had been up her ass already and if a shinobi didn't get to her first, the Isawa would.

*"But would you consider a shugenja foolish enough to march into battle without preparation?"* Himiko didn't want to sound smart, it was a genuine question. Of course Himiko would lose a battle by weapons, unlike many she didn't spend all her lifetime with a katana in her hand. Her hands knew no blisters. At least not from her life outside of this damned city.

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Larry
"Of course not. I expect you have claws not yet shown." There was enough oddity from discussions with her fiancé after the raid to convince Kazuko that the Lion Ambassador was not of normal priestly stock. Perhaps some sort of Kitsu Irregular? It mattered not. The City of Lies did not wait for a prepared battle. "If this city has proven anything to my people, unpredictability brings strength. Capably defending oneself with a simple tool like this staff allows you to strike back against an attacker in unexpected ways."

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Maria
*"Especially when I can make one out of thin air."* Himiko mentioned. She now understood that Kazuko's intention was not to beat her to the last crumb of the dirt. Kazuko had been angry with reason, but acted with said reason. Himiko was probably going to regret this by being instantly punished for letting her guard down. But the young girl finally showed how truly tired she had been. She lost the attitude of not caring. The dull eyes that had stared at Kazuko before gained color again. Vivid enough that Kazuko could almost watch the nightmares through the lenses. 

Shifting the staff to her left hand as a prayer as swift as thirty seconds summoned something in her hand. It was not truly visible but when Himiko moved she would clash an outline of something against the hardwood. Leaving a loud click sound to echo in the room. 

Himiko would nod her head as she would fix her posture. Nodding her head to Kazuko as she was ready for either a lesson or a beating. Most certainly both. 

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Larry
"Five strikes." Kazuko placed her own staff back onto the rack before returning, gazing curiously at Himiko's staff which was not there. She calculated where it must start and stop from the way the Lion held her hands and where it came into contact with the wood. "The most basic method a bushi is trained in to subdue a shugenja leaves enough time for five strikes. I will give you that long to lay your weapon on me."

She placed her hands behind her back, feet set apart so as to allow her to easily shift balance, and waited for the Lion to attack.

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