Susumu had taken a while after the storytelling, helping to clean up and waiting. He greets the Ryoshun heir.

"That was a fun evening Rei-san. It reminds me of telling stories with my siblings growing up." He leans in and drops his voice

"If you still are not tired, would you join me in a walk around the gardens?"

"The storytelling always leaves me with more energy." she said, lifting a lantern. "A walk would help reduce that a bit."

"Hopefully we can tire each other out" Susumu smirks a touch and extends his arm. "I didn't notice you shaking. You seem to have a high tolerance" Susumu glances down. " Hen too"

Susumu looks down and then back into Rei's grey eyes. " You look lovely tonight"

"You are too kind. Some of the stories had me shaking." she admitted. "The cold I can endure for a bit, in good company. Thank you for coming. I am pleased to have you here."

"The pleasure is all mine Rei-san. Is it alright if I refer to you that way?"

It was perhaps a touch informal, but he as surprisingly at ease with the woman.

"It seems that our time is coming to an end. I hear that the weather may be breaking soon"

"That would be fine, Susumu-san." she smiled. "It would be nice to have clearer weather, but the trails back to Shinden Ryoshun will still be difficult."

"Could I convince you to stay awhile then? I've rather enjoyed your company, and it would be a shame to wait until the next gathering to see you again"

"At this point, I was planning to stay for the season." she nodded. "I imagine that will be the case for most of us from the north."

"I think I can easily find a way to stretch my time, especially if I can report headway with other Northern residenents." Susumu chuckles. "I haven't even managed my original aim to visit the Imperial archives to study the legal codes. I've been having so much fun at the impromptu events."

He pauses to look over Rei's face. "So, perhaps we will be seeing more of each other. I would be glad of it. I have grown fond of your company"

"I have enjoyed yours." she nodded. "I am sure we can find more time for moments like this. I hope to learn more about you when those times come."

"And I you." Susumu leans in a touch. "You know for someone who allegedly has a hard time connecting with people, you've certainly made it easy to open up. I think you must be too hard on yourself"

"My time here has helped." she said. "Just traveling has helped. When I was younger, I didn't even like going outside."

"Well, you make it look easy. Though" Susumu brings a hand to his chin. "There is a certain appeal to seeing you under the moonlight"

"I used to run after Agasha through the caves." she smiled. "Playing in the darkness came naturally. The Void was always with me, after all. Sometimes, I'd just sit in the depths of Ryoshun Seido and and talk with the spirits. The world outside seemed so big and bright. It was hard to see myself in it."

Susumu stops, lightly tugging Rei back. "I can see you in it all to well. So, you might shine a bit brighter at night. Sometimes you need a light to shine in the dark. And that it's in the middle of darkness that makes it so beautiful"

His words earned a larger smile. There was a brief, awkward silence. "Tell me more about yourself, please?"

"Well, I told you about my death and rebirth, the metaphorical one. I'm not as interesting as you there." Susumu squeezes her hand. "Well, I became a student at the Matsu dojo. An absentee student these days. But what really made me a real part of the family was when my parents began to have blood children of their own. Three in one go on the first try. Two more after that."

Susumu holds out the fingers counting up to the five that he could offer with his free hand. "And that is not counting the adoptees, and the students they took in and raises almost as fosters. They are samurai in good standing and do good work, but that was a lot of mouths to feed, never mind the cost of the library on our coffers. We weren't destitute, but clothes were handed down until threadbare. We weren't the prettiest looking group either. I found that a big mouth and a quick tongue could silence or shame a bully better than a fist or a sword. The joke in the family is that I would talk a problem to death. "

"Then one day, the court asks for a member of the library to sit at court. My mother could not be found, out scouting who knew where. My father flat out refused. So, I was chosen by the family to go in their place. Barely considered an adult and I get called up to ask questions I don't know the answers to. And that's when I realized it: no one else knew the answers either. What they needed, what they wanted was an edge to get what they wanted, which most of the time wasn't really what they said it was. If I could figure out how they each got what they really wanted, both would help me satisfy the next challenge and so on and so forth"

" That's the approach I tried to take here. I didn't think I would actually enjoy spending time with anyone. With you. " He smiles. " I was wrong"

"There's no one else you enjoyed meeting here?"

"I wouldn't say that. It was pleasant enough, but distant." Susumu offers a wicked smile. "Which considering how you think that you are distant yourself, perhaps you're not as bad as you think."

He moves a little closer. "But there is no one else I'm going to miss. Or have any regrets over not saying a proper goodbye"

She didn't object to his closeness, smiling down at him. "Fortunately, we don't have to worry about goodbyes yet."