Sweet and Sour (Day 9, LM)

[Doji Misaki]

Misaki had some to see the ruins of the Camellia House after the news it had burned down. She had felt sad, angry, depressed... but even if she thought it unfair, she understood the reasoning. Understanding didn't make the feelings go away though, and she found herself wandering the town aimlessly.

With the warmer morning, people had started opening up shops and stalls as the smoke slowly cleared and the day brightened, and Misaki gained some measure of respite in the bustle. Finding herself near a candy stall that was in the process of opening, she made the decision that some candy floss might improve her mood... though she recalled suddenly she'd not brought any money with her.

[Jiyo Sora]

A rolling trio of mini-mayhem approached the stand, the bells in PHi's hair tinkling, two puppies trotting along behind them and nipping at one another, and Soryu looking curiously overweight, somehow.

"Okay, let's- SORYU! Take Chomper out of your kimono!"

"Aw, Phi..."

"Someone had to make that thing, and Chomper's... look, he sheds..."

"Daddy says you wrapped Hsieh-Hsieh in his good kimono. More than once."

"That was different."

"Look, Dad's got another busy day and Mom's relaxing as best she can given the whole 'supernatural war' thing, so let's just focus on not causing any headaches today, all right?."

"Well-said Shirayuki, and I think we could all go for some..."

Phi trailed off. Elbowed her sister in the ribs. Sent a mild kick into Soryu's ankle. And bowed, as both of her siblings struck back- Soryu kicking her. in the ankle in return, Shiryuki tweaking one of her belled braids, which caused an interesting musical note accompanied by a yelp stifled by gritted teeth, before they realized why she'd done it.

"Er, good morning, Doji-sama, has Inair-no-Kami blessed you today?"

[Doji Misaki]

Misaki couldn't help but hear the commotion approaching and it put a soft smile on her face despite herself. As Phi greeted her, she bowed slightly, "He has, thank you. What brings all of you out to the town here? Enjoying it without your father a bit now that it's warming up a little?"

She talked to the children quite respectfully, hands folded in front of her.

[Jiyo Sora]

"Oh, you know, Dad's got this whole..." Shirayuki gestured to encompass... everything. The scorched spot where Camellia House had stood, the very air they breathed, all of it. ".... thing to deal with, and Mom's getting closer and closer to her due date, so..."

Phi finished the sentence. "So we figured we'd enjoy the warmer weather, yes."

Soryu piped up. "We're gonna get some candy! Do you want some?"

[Doji Misaki]

"I think I would, hai."

She inclined her head softly, "I didn't know your father would be dealing with that situation. Nor that your mother was almost due; Do you know if the baby has a name yet?"

[Jiyo Sora]

"Oh yeah, Dad handles all kinds of... he calls it 'troubleshooting' for the Emperor." Shirayuki was clearly proud. "The Libraries are his main thing, but that involves a lot of travel, and he's often the senior Imperial on the spot when things happen."

Soryu seemed more focused on the second part of the Crane's statement. "Not sure yet! Mommy's pretty big, so she'n Daddy keep talking about 'more twins.'"

Phi cut in smoothly. "My sister and I are both named after old friends of my father's, and Soryu... sort of named after Dad, in a way. I would expect more of the same." She approached the proprietor and gravely held up four fingers.

[Doji Misaki]

Misaki gave a nod, turning to Soryu and Shirayuki as Phi went and got the sweets, "Ara ara. That's not a bad naming system certainly, honoring those important to you. Maybe one of your mother's old friends this time?"

[Jiyo Sora]

"It's funny... she never really talks about her past."

"Mommy was in the Isawa tribe!"

"Yeah, but she... doesn't really talk about it."

[Doji Misaki]

"Well, I'm sure your father has plenty of old friends' names to go through then. He seems the sort to make a lot of friends. What do you two think?"

She couldn't help asking the question, since kids said the darndest things when their parents weren't around.

[Jiyo Sora]

"A lot fo friends? Huh. Dad? I suppose you could say that," Shirayuki found the idea rather humorous, "some of the time, anyway."

"Well, he does..." Phi approached carrying the four treats carefully.

"... but he says he likes using names that they're not using anymore." Shirayuki supplied.

"Daddy still calls uncle Koyama 'Kozan' sometimes, if I get a brother, I bet that's what he'll pick!"

[Doji Misaki]

"That was the man who got me with that rogue splash attack in the hotsprings, no?"

[Jiyo Sora]

"Oh! No, no, that was Uncle Kyosei. He was an Isawa. Uncle Koyama was a Hikaru like Dad." Shirayuki grinned as she took her confection from Phi.

"I mean, Dad has been around for a long time, I half-expect him to suggest the name 'Fu Leng' since Hisomu-Kami isn't using it anymore..."

"That's a silly name for a person, though."

"Soryu!"

"Aw, Phi..."

[Doji Misaki]

"Thank you very much for the assistance Phi," Misaki said as she took the one that was offered to her.

"And I'm sure your mother and father will choose a perfectly wonderful name all the same."

She looked at the twins as she leaned a little bit against a fence behind her, the confection a nice break from the taste and smell of smoke, "You two are starting to get closer to your gempukkus, no? I would guess you're closer to my age than your father is, after all."

[Jiyo Sora]

"Oh, yeah, you're way younger than Dad. Yeah, we're... Getting close."

"Well, up to a point..."

"Phi hasn't got much interest in swordplay, so she's hoping to follow in Mother's career path."

"And 'Yuki here has some sort of mystical gift which I lack, so I think..."

"Training with the Brotherhood, at least in the near future."

Phi did something a bit odd as her sister spoke- she winked at Misaki.

Soryu seemed occupied with his treat, letting his sisters talk to the Crane.

[Doji Misaki]

"Oh, what is your mother's career path?" she asked with interest, listening closely as she nibbles at the fluffy cane sugar. She notices the wink and also has questions about Shirayuki's gifts, but takes things one step at a time.

[Jiyo Sora]

"Mommy's a Scribe!"

"Yes, Soryu." Phi sighed. Her brother could be such a pest sometimes, but he was only seven. "Mother does a lot of the actual literary work of the Libraries. She wrote the best history of the expedition to rescue Un- Hisomu-Kami."

No bias there.

Shirayuki giggled. "And she usually salvages whatever Dad writes and fixes up the calligraphy if it's something important. Poor Dad. Loves reading and writing, but..."

"... he got a late start and it shows."

[Doji Misaki]

That all made sense to Misaki; She'd wondered about Sora and the libraries. It wasn't as if he seemed unintelligent or uncouth, but he DID seem more like a man of action than one of details. That his wife was a scribe made everything click just a little bit more.

"So following as a scribe then? I do a lot of writing myself, but nothing of the sort I would suspect would ever end up in a library."

[Jiyo Sora]

"Daddy says if his crap can get in, everyone should give it a try."

"Soryu!"

"Aw, Phi..."

"It IS how he phrases it sometimes, Sis..."

"Be that as it may." Phi took a cleansing breath. "I think you might be surprised at what we put in there. One of the things I do to practice is copy texts so they can be sent to the other branches in the system, so I read... a lot. Yes, we have epic histories like Mom's account of the mission to rescue Hisomu-Kami, and we have artistic and philosophical offerings- I can't wait to copy Uncle Ayumu's latest!-but we also copy things like farming methods. Folktales picked up from farmers. Accounts of old tribal customs. Really, a bit of... everything."

[Doji Misaki]

"Ah. Well... I more meant that... You see, most of my writing is a lot of notes, scribblings, journals. I don't think I've ever written anything that's an organized piece of work. Still, maybe I should visit one of the libraries soon. If nothing else, to see your mother's histories and your father's... poo writing."

[Jiyo Sora]

"She said poo!"

"Yes she did Soryu, now shhh."

"Aw, Phi."

Shirayuki cut in. "Oh, you absolutely should, they're great- just... there's transcriptions of Nezumi Memory sticks about some of their forging techniques, there's descriptions of weird animals you don't find around here, there's..." She trailed off, realizing she was firing up a ramble. "All kinds of stuff."

"You know, Doji-sama, I might be interested in helping you organize some of your work. Getting it all neat and tidy so others can benefit from it..."