[D3 LA] Great Walls Make Good Neighbors

[Hisomu Susumu]

It would appear that Susumu had been busy while out of the line of sight during the party held by the Stag. Now, today was a flurry of activity, but for now, he quietly waited in the library. The seclusion was a welcome reminder of home, and the proximity of the library's tomes offered an excellent cover for a meeting.

A bottle of sake is out and waiting, with cups available. Though he isn't drinking yet, Susumu is reclines, glancing over a scroll with less than studious interest.

[Tyrus]

Takane had received the Spider's invitation and appeared at the appointed time. What she was feeling about the meeting was hidden behind a stony On. While not a formal Etiquette requirement she found it quite useful to be able to hide her emotions.

Takane wore a silk kimono of middling quality in her clans colors. Many expected even Crab courtiers to be clad in armor but Takane felt it would be best to leave the armor in her room.

As she arrived she bowed to Susumu "Hello Hisomu-sama, I hope the day has found you well." Her voice was soft and pleasant. She awaited an invitation to sit and join him.

[Hisomu Susumu]

"May the Fortunes favor you Anjing-san. Please feel free to sit and join me. Help yourself." Susumu rights himself and pours sake into the pair of cups.

"Thank you for meeting with me. I hope that your trip, as delayed as we are, has been a successful one"

[Tyrus]

She moved with a practiced grace sitting at the table with Susumu a polite smile on her lips "Arigato Hisomu-sama." she says as she takes the cup and sips the sake making a small noise of appreciation "The success of the trip is still uncertain but it is off to a good start."

she sets the cup down "I will admit I was mildly surprised when I got your note. What is it that Hisomu-sama wants with a young, untested courtier such as myself?"

[Hisomu Susumu]

"You are too harsh on yourself Anjing-san. You are no more young and untested than myself. And in a few ways, I believe that to be an advantage." Susumu takes a sip of his drink.

"Anjing-san, I have spent of most my life with people for whom bluntness has been a virtue. So please, you can be direct with me. If it makes you feel more at ease, I'll go first: We did not ask to be neighbors Anjing-san. The ancestral lands of the Seidou lie far to the south, and you have been moved to a strip along the north, facing those who resent the very idea of the Empire and its Clans. The Spider inhabit the former lands of the Isawa, but they were moved before we were able to call it our own. Change has been brought upon us. Whatever our feelings about that, we must adapt and overcome or be swept aside. One of us falling would put the other in tighter pinch."

"So...shall we be neighbors?"

[Tyrus]

Takane was a little surprised by his bluntness, she was experienced with it among her own clan but did not expect others to be so forthright. Her polite smile hardened as she preserved her On, a different kind of armor itself. "Well Hisomu-sama...that is quite the question. I am sure the Crab would be happy to know our southern neighbors are an ally. I will be certain to carry your words back to my lord."

[Hisomu Susumu]

"Words are easy Takane-san. I should know, I dance about with them all the time. Not to impugn the honor of any samurai, but a nice word pales to a nice deed." Susumu puts down his drink and places the scroll he's been reading on his desk, showing a map of Rokugan.

"The lands granted to the Crab by Shiba-o-kami-sama have a length of border on par with the Crane, Scorpion and Stag, yet with a higher ratio of border to total area. Furthermore, you face the Yobanjin to the north, while being hemmed in by the Bat, Dragon and your friendly neighbor Spider. " Susumu waves at his own mention. "And that is without the benefit of access to the waves. In fact, the largest stretch of open land I can see would be contested by four other clans"

"I don't say this to open harsh wounds, but to say that I have an inkling of some of the challenges unique to the Crab. Your people are reknowned for their resiliency. So, when I ask you "How can we help?" The question isn't a trite line."

[Tyrus]

"Oh! Well certainly your offer is a gracious one. Currently we simply seek to amend the Throne the trust lost by our invasion of the Nezumi. I am sure that Hisomu-sama has much more important things to attend to than worry about our clan's position." she gave him a soft smile as she sipped the sake "But knowing we have a friend so close is a great thing."

[Hisomu Susumu]

Susumu does his best to keep his face expressionless, while keeping his tone still light.

"I suppose then that you wouldn't be interested in obtaining billets of steel then. I suppose that other materials would work well enough in their place."

[Tyrus]

Now an eyebrow did raise but was quickly put back in place "Well I am sure there is much we could do with such fine materials but that is something I'm not well versed in. Are you offering the Crab trade in steel? What would you be requesting in return?"

[Hisomu Susumu]

"I believe that such an exchange could be arranged." Susumu swirls the wine in his cup. "I can think of several things in mind that the Spider would enjoy in return and several others things we could offer. But I am curious: what do you see for the future for you Clan? What do you want? "

Susumu raises a hand out, palm outstretched. "Yes, I know. You seek to win back the trust of the Throne. But what do you want to be?"

[Tyrus]

Takane took a long moment to think "Hisomu-sama you ask me to speak for my entire clan, I can only speak for myself and only as far as my lord has entrusted me. I would not presume to know Hida-dono's wishes. I myself would like to see my clan thrive. To make the best of a new situation and be the defenders of the Empire that the Emperor asked us to be."

[Hisomu Susumu]

Susumu nods slowly. "You are right. I should not ask you to speak in place of Hida-dono. I believe that for this discussion, I think it is fair to say that neither of us speaks for our Diamyo. However, I would speak in what I would present to our court upon my return. Hisomu-dono and Reiko-sama are fair individuals. I am confident that if I speak honestly and truly that I believe a course would be beneficial to our Clan, that I may at least begin the first steps of any arrangement."

Susumu thinks seriously, his gaze wandering for a moment as he thinks. "Just as you would not speak in Hida-dono's place, I feel that I should be careful with my next words: of the kami, Hisomu-dono experienced the horrors of Jigoku with an intensity and proximity that none of the others did. I believe that he wishes for no one else to undergo such horrors themselves, and would avail himself to scour any sign of its strength or spread."

There. I believe that is true enough that he would agree with those statements without accusing me of putting words in his mouth.

"Many have their solutions to this problem. To me, that would be to be well defended. Well supplied. Well funded. With allies who mutually trust one another to render aid. To me, that means gathering those who understand what those powers can do, and those who have the greatest talents to stop them. It just so happens that a number of these Clans are all arrayed together: The Bat, whose kami has been sent a neighboring spiritual realm for whom Jigoku might attack. The Dragon, who seek to be the defenders and spiritualists and he Crab, the stalwart defenders who guarded and still guard the realm from invasion."

"I believe that mutual aid, that allowing all of our groups to flourish and turn our competition elsewhere, we can be a block that thrives and can survive whatever is thrown at us, from no matter where and how the invasion comes, because we do fear that one is coming."

[Tyrus]

Takane nodded seriously to his words "Well I must say I only know about this Jigoku from stories and rumor. I was too young to remember much of when the Crab lived in the south. Even then our issues mostly came from tribes, the occasional Ogre or Nezumi from what the elders tell me."

She straightens her kimono a bit "however from what I understand it is a threat worth guarding against and so your Clan has my gratitude." She takes a sip if the sake "as for our northern boarder, it may not be the place we chose bit we are still committed to serving the Emperor and the duty he has given us." She smiled to him gently "should we find allies in this I am sure Hida-dono would be happy to hear it."

[Hisomu Susumu]

Susumu nods. "My own knowledge comes from the journals and stories of my parents, who met on the journey to rescue Lord Hisomu. They are, unfortunately, not ones prone to exaggeration or boasting, for their tales speak of monsters who I would not wish to darken the doorstep of my worst enemy, for even in their end they would make the darkness greater. And if the danger instead comes from Northern barbarians or greater southern ambitions, I see no issue in greater preparations."

Susumus studies the woman a moment longer. "I have met or intended to meet with members of the Dragon and Bat as well. Would you be interested in a joint venture if I managed to bring them to the table?"