"And you begin to understand why our Empress selected<i>you</i>, Sabu-san," Kiriko replied, her smile generous, her smile generous, before turning her flashing eyes toward Bayushi Michi. Slim shoulders rose and fell beneath her kimono. "The Matsu are, before all else, warriors. Their focus is admirable, but it sometimes leaves them ill-equipped in more, let us say, cultured settings. Matsu Ineko was accustomed to dining in a war-camp, and Doji Tatsune made light of her table manners at feast. Harmless; but the Lion demanded blood for the insult." Kiriko's smile fell, and she shrugged again. "She was slower than the Crane."<br/><br/>The<i>yojimbo</i>carefully wrapped the daisho back in its silk, and wordlessly laid the bundle on the table before Kakita Sayomi. To her, Kiriko urged, "Remember that your Clan and the Lion are sometimes bitter rivals. You will come before Matsu Nahomi in her family's ancestral home, with the news that her daughter is slain at the hands of another Crane over a trivial matter. You are Emerald Magistrates now, and it is not for me to deny you the right to bear the blades/ I will simply counsel you to think carefully who speaks, and what is said, when you reach Shiro Matsu." She glanced meaningfully towards Daigotsu Tomomi, and added, "Some of you have a rare gift for silence, and understand that what is<i>not</i>said may be as important as what is. Is that not right, Tomomi-san?"<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>