It had been dwelling on his mind since the reprimand meeting. The look of disgust from the Lord Magistrate. The way her hand had fallen to her sidearm, as if on instinct. Yet even with all of that, he had made note of her mannerisms, the hidden little ticks that had shown she was not being completely honest.

It was always there, at the back of his mind. But given the developments of the past few days, there was something that needed to be addressed.

He had sent a message that he would like an appointment with the Lord Magistrate, and arrived to the Castle at the time he had indicated. All he could do now, was wait to be ushered in or politely turned away.

The servant Ryuu had seen before was there to greet him, though the young woman only manage to mumble something before she looked away, visibly disgusted by the Spider samurai. She would, however, take him to the nondescript purple door, the servant shyly knocking and pushing the door open.

In her room sat Agasha Kaori, her fingers dancing on a densei as she raised her gaze. "Good afternoon, Daigotsu-san. Please enter." She did not look particularly pleased.

He bowed deeply after he entered, respectful of her station, and of the office of the Lord Magistrate. "Good Afternoon to you as well, Agasha-sama. Thank you for allowing me a few moments of your time." His voice was warm, if distant. Ryuu's posture was at military regulation, hands behind his back.

"This one is not seeking to overstep his bounds or wear out my welcome here. Only to do that which I should have done upon my arrival." His icy blue eyes looked to the Lord Magistrate, before lowering his gaze. "Is there anything I could be of service to, to you or your honored staff?"

Kaori looked at Ryuu and shuddered, steeling herself. As the Daigotsu samurai began to talk, she leaned into her desk, bracing herself against her elbows. Despite Ryuu presenting himself as only was proper, the Phoenix magistrates seemed rather pensive. "Hmmm."

"There is something Daigotsu-san could do, I think." Kaori mused, with mirth gleaming in her eyes. "Daigotsu-san could tell his kin to avoid any and all trouble." She looked markedly at him. "Your little delegation has not gone unnoticed, and while a samurai should strive to serve their lords with distinction..." Her fingers drummed the table. "...one has to consider balance in all things."

"We are burdened with an abundance of eagerness and youthful miscalculations. My fellows and I will of course strive to be good guests here, especially given your hospitality towards us, Lord Magistrate." He replied, mentally taking note of her disposition, that look in her eyes.

"May I ask, has there been something more that has caused concern about our delegation?"

"One could say that, yes." Kaori nodded, pushing away the densai she had been . "As for other things, no I would not think so. At least as far as my office is concerned." Tapping the desk with her hand, Kaori squinted her eyes. "Prey tell me, Daigotsu-san, why do you think Shiba-kami chose phoenix as his banner?"

Ryuu thought for a moment. His lips pursed into a hard line as he shook his head. "I do not have any inclination as to why Shiba-kami chose the Phoenix as his. Other than as a demonstration of fidelity and honor to the Empire, but that is only on initial thought." He did not blink, keeping his focus on the Lord Magistrate.

"It goes beyond that, Daigotsu-san." Kaori smirked. "Whenever we stumble upon something revolutionary or indeed, thought-provoking, one can think the person who walks out of that as someone new. The person that was before the revelation is gone. A new person has born. And that is why Shiba-kami chose the Phoenix. Or so we are taught." She looked at Ryuu, disgust evident in her eyes. "That we would remember that we must be reborn every day to truly be alive."

"That is something I will strive for, then. I was always taught to be adaptable in the field, to apply what I learn to beat serve my Lord." He replied, taking the words deep in thought.

The disgust was apparent, but Ryuu did not let it affect his On. He had seen that look time and again.

"Lord Magistrate. I wish to inform you, there is a possibility that I may end up here on Asakaze, when all is said and done. If that is the case, I would without question submit my records of office to you, and hope that I could be of service to your office. But I did not want to blindside you with that information months from now."

"Very good." Kaori smiled. "Only by dying we are only truly reborn. Still, one wouldn't recommend Daigotsu-san to actually throw his life away." Like some Crab had done. "Well, if things come to that, I shall discuss the arrangements with your lord." She huffed softly. "I am sure we could find some use for a man with your.. talents."

He bowed. "Of course. It is not my place to assume what ever duties shall be, but I thought it prudent to simply bring it up." He regarded her, taking the signs of annoyance at the thought in stride. "I... would like to humbly make myself available to you and your office, should you all deem it helpful. I fully understand that your magistrates and yoriki have everything well in hand, I am just a guest who seeks to be beneficial to their host."

He bowed again. "If it is simply to help keep my fellows in line, then I happily will fulfill that duty to the best of my abilities."

"Yes, yes." Kaori sighed, tilting her head to the side. "Your diligence is admirable but as long as you wear black, you might as well as lay back and enjoy the sights. Go see the farms, I have been told that the lemons are blossoming." Which was basically the lord magistrate telling Ryuu to fuck off and sit tight. "And that would be lovely. We would not want any more rogue investigations."

"Then I will not take up any more of your time, Lord Magistrate." He bowed deeply, before taking up his military posture.

"Very well. Have a good day, Daigotsu-san." the lord magistrate bobbed her head. "Carry the Fortunes." She smirked. "The actual Fortunes."

Were he brash, the comment might cause him to lash out. But he was not. "And may they favor you, Agasha-sama." Bowing again, he turned, and made his

/exit. Thank you for the scene!

/scene! No worries!