[D4EM] Learning Or Wisdom

[Doji Hikaru]

"Nothing that could be identified." Hikaru said. "Some of the signs are unmistakable."

He spread the fingers of one hand, making a vague gesture. "Sometimes, she seems aware. She gave me leave to travel. Other times..." He shook his head. "I remember when I first became truly concerned. It was perhaps a year ago." His eyes went distant as he thought back.

"She was tired. Strangely tired. And unfocused. That was something I had never known her to be. Lady Doji... never lets her face down." His lips shifted, his pale eyes glinting strangely. "I asked her if she was feeling alright, or if I could do something for her... I can't quite remember my words. I just remember hers." He paused a moment.

Hikaru took a deep breath. "Well, I can't just let in every guest who wants to come in and make a mess of things. I finally have my garden well-ordered." He recited, his voice flat. He looked at Shinsei and Nozomi, his eyes still strange. "I had already been worried. When she said that, I was... quite alarmed." Terrified, he'd wanted to say. But he didn't.

[Nozomi]

Nozomi's countenance darkened at the story. She understood why this would concern him. It was incongruous, almost like she was losing her short term memory, becoming addled, or losing her sense of time. It did not match how Doji had been described, and it explained why Nanzi's daughter was here, not Nanzi himself. He was almost certainly watching over her, tending to her image to keep it perfect for others and conducting business far away, the always was. Her daughter looked up and then back at him, her features weirdly, deceptively aware. For a girl only at fourteen, she was very very much aware of everything going on around her.

She was, however, very afraid that Shinsei would have no more answer than her. This felt almost like a singular ailment. Unique to her, and that was even more concerning. But for the moment, she bit her tongue, waiting. She wondered if maybe atemi would help? hard to say.

[Shinsei]

Shinsei frowned outright, then shook his head slowly. "I am afraid that this is beyond my experience. I cannot begin to say what is happening to Doji, or even make an educated guess. I am sorry that you came for answers only to find none forthcoming. I will devote my attention to these matters where possible but...I find myself at a complete loss for words."

[Doji Hikaru]

"I see." Hikaru said softly. For a few moments, he was silent.

Then he shook his head. "Thank you for your time, wise one. Monk-san. Mayumi-san. It seems that I am running out of options. I can only think of a few left. Perhaps I should pray after all, that one of them will work." His handsome features were strained, the lines in them standing out.

[Nozomi]

"Jurojin and Ekibyogami are never bad choices at times like this," Nozomi offered, folding her arms and considering. "But just because the options run thin at a court such as this, where people are gathered by happenstance and the wedding, does not mean they are entirely exhausted. There may yet be new avenues available. Perhaps our neighbors to the south might have some help. They have been in these lands for a great, long time. I do not know that their envoy would know anything personally, but they might be able to be approached cautiously with an inquiry about exotic ailments their people remember."