[Day 9, Early Morning] A Patient Man (Closed, Expecting)

[Jiyo Sora]

"I noted some disquiet at, let us call it moves aimed at limiting the Emperor's power. I am curious about... why."

[Otomo Gusai]

Gusai nods quietly, sits quietly for a moment before answering.

"Couple of reasons. One's chain of command. Mutiny's a serious thing, not to be countenanced--unless it has to be. Sometimes, a captain's steered the ship...wrong. Too wrong. Stupid wrong. Can't have a stupid captain--but this ship," and Gusai gestures vaguely about, "hasn't got one, far as I know. You don't mutiny on a smart captain; you stand your watch, you do your hitch, and you don't ship out with him again, you don't like how he runs the ship.

"And seemed like someone's trying to get out of a deal that'd been struck, getting the pay without giving the goods. That's bad business--and you never know if someone running bad business'll run it on you."

[Jiyo Sora]

"And if I told you that I was less concerned about the ability of the Kami to express concerns to the Throne than I was about the ability of the common people of the Empire, what would you say?"

[Otomo Gusai]

"That that makes sense," Gusai replies. "Right now, the Kami're siblings, and even their children recognize their kinship. But the Emperor is for all of us, and if a captain ought to be obeyed, he's also got to know his crew--from the mates down to the lowest deckhand. And there's not one of them who doesn't have something to offer."

[Jiyo Sora]

"That's what I said- although phrased more coherently than I did it- about twenty years ago- back when there was some actual thought of throwing the Kami out on the ears in some quarters."

He snorted.

"Stupidity, of course, all the dissenters could seem to agree on was a general sense of unease. But some of them- some of us- came around to a saner perspective. Particularly when Shiba took the Throne."

A pause.

"So. That is a part of my function, even now."

[Otomo Gusai]

"Keeping the lines clear, you mean?" Gusai asks. "Or keeping the captain from being...foolish? Or keeping mutineers...off?"

Here's something not in the stories, he thinks.

[Jiyo Sora]

"I see it as simultaneously doing what I can for humankind, to make things a blending of ways rather than a supplanting of them- and making sure the Emperor is kept aware of our concerns, rather than finding out about them when they boil over. We maintain a degree of secrecy mostly because kicking up a fuss is a great way to turn things into an out and out fight with those who want everything a certain way across the entire Empire- although, since I tell the Emperor everything, whoever he trusts probably knows, and even without him letting it slip, I'm fairly certain that Bayushi and Togashi would have figured it out."

He didn't mention Koyama and Shinjo. What his old friend chose to tell his wife- or not!- was his business.

"Not to put too fine a point on it, we take the Kami as individuals. And had someone else won the Throne..."

Sora shrugged.

"I shudder to think of what both the Empire and this little group I'm in might have become."

He cocked his head at Gusai.

"So. You can see the complexity of my situation."

[Otomo Gusai]

Gusai nods.

"Does sound like a tangled net," he says. "I'm guessing you could use some more help to get it sorted."

He pauses.

"And, yeah, I can see taking the Kami as they are. Even with one eye, I can see it--as some seems can't."

[Jiyo Sora]

"Some might say, given what the Lord of the Stag sees as the right order of things, that doing so would compromise your loyalty to him."

[Otomo Gusai]

"It's not an easy question, no," Gusai admits.

[Jiyo Sora]

"I place great stock in loyalty, Otomo-san. I will think no less of you if you decline involvement on those grounds. My own loyalty to Shiba-Heika is part of why I tell him everything I know about what we get up to."

He smiled.

"It's also why I am willing to reveal my involvement to you."

[Otomo Gusai]

Gusai considers.

Something done with Imperial knowledge and consent can hardly be wrong, right?

And after events in court, with Kinsen, especially.

And the...things...the Crane had brought out.

There's a blind spot worse than his missing eye.

"I'd be interested."

[Jiyo Sora]

"Well, then. There will be a vetting process. Which, if my people do their jobs right, you shouldn't notice happening. There won't be a ceremony if you pass muster- I'll just let you know. The fact that we're having this conversation indicates a degree of confidence in my part, but we can't do anything too rashly. You understand, I trust?"

He smiled. Fished a small clay bottle out of his obi.

"Introductions will be made as needed. While the Emperor accepts our existence, we do try to keep a low profile, and it's always easiest to keep secrets you genuinely don't know."

[Otomo Gusai]

Gusai nods.

"I'll keep an eye open for it," he says.

Then his eyebrow rises.

"Should I be worried about the bottle?"

[Jiyo Sora]

"Oh, it's pretty mild stuff compared to that metal polish we had the other day. But it's something of an acquired taste. Hikaru beer. The way we used to make it in the Spine of the World."

[Otomo Gusai]

"Worth trying," Gusai says. "Still in production?"

[Jiyo Sora]

"In Ki-Rin lands. A lot of Hikaru followed Koyama into the clan. I suspect the recipe will change over time."

[Otomo Gusai]

Gusai nods. "Most things do," he says. "The way my mother cooks isn't the way hers did."

[Jiyo Sora]

"So. Give it a try. A little piece of the past, fated to go as it all does."

[Otomo Gusai]

"Destiny ever goes as it must," Gusai replies, taking the drink and drinking it.

'Definitely a different thing."