A simple, orange vehicle dropped Saneyuki at the Futago ranch, the driver waving his hand before closing the doors. Wiping the sweat from his brow, the young man walked towards the 'main' building built from habitation-elements, the hems of his once pristine robes brown with dirt. He looked around, trying to spy a sight of a certain samurai-ko.

Ten spotted the priest first and barked, two short and deep borks, tail curled up over his back, paws set in centre stance, but his hackles weren’t raised. Alert, not alarmed. Moriko had been checking the tack for their ride and looked up, breaking into a smile at the sight of Saneyuki. Hana, with her distinctive peach throat feathers was tethered to a hitching post near a second otori. She pet this second otori and set out to meet Saneyuki halfway across the yard, Ten trotting alongside, ears pricked forward.

Finally spotting Moriko, Saneyuki greeted her with a wave of his hand, joy glimmering in his eyes. "Good day, Shiba-san!" He would wait her to get closer, smiling seemingly happily as he offer her a polite bow. The young priest worse his dark, lustrous hair on a pony tail and a faint scent of incense and sandalwood lingered around him. "I hope Shiba-san has been well since?" he asked, tilting his head to the side ever so slightly.

As they approached, Ten yawned and appeared to wink at the priest, Moriko bowed, “well met, Asako-sama. I am well, and I hope you are as well.” Away from the close, almost oppressive dark stone of the living and working areas at the Shrine, Moriko seemed brighter, lighter somehow. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

"I cannot complain." he replied, reaching to brush a stray hair behind his ear. "I mean, it's bit hot today, but one really shouldn't complain about things one can't help, neh." Saneyuki added, looking down at Ten. "And how are you doing today?" The young man, however, did not kneel to pet the dog, seeming a bit wary around the 'beast'. "Have you had your bone this morning?" Saneyuki asked the dog, chuckling softly as he looked up to Moriko. "And I am glad that you are glad to see me. It's been a while I've talked this much to someone I haven't known for ages."

Ten, though equally wary of the Man From the Shrine, wagged his tail, face splitting in a grin as he panted from the heat. “Your company is a delight, and it is an honour that I might host you at our humble ranch. Would you care for some iced tea? or would you like to meet the otori I selected for you?”

"Iced tea would be lovely." the young man replied rather eagerly, gazing in the direction of the shadow by the house. "Unless Shiba-san is in a hurry?" he asked, frowning a little. "I would not want to keep you from your duties for too long."

“My time is yours, Asako-sama,” Moriko answered, leading him towards the conglomerate of literal building blocks that housed the farm employees. “So that I should have time to meet and woo potential spouses, I’ve been relieved of my regular duties.” She didn’t mention that she’d been spending the bulk of that time with her three animals instead of with people; one might consider that dereliction of duty, but wooing was overrated when you were going to be instructed who to marry. At least, that was her justification.

Ten sprinted ahead of the pair, bounding up to the door to the common area before turning to wag his tail expectantly. When Moriko was younger, she had sprinted everywhere alongside the pup. She’d grown out of the habit, but Ten had not.

There was a faint of red on the young man's cheeks. "Shiba-san is as kind as she is virtuous." he murmured, bobbing his head as a token of gratitude, following her into the 'farm' proper, looking around. "Ah, first settlers, neh." Saneyuki reached to pat the side one of the blocks. "As old as our presence here gets."

"Your lord is most magnanimous. Perhaps I should read a prayer for them." There was a hint of mirth in his tone. "Has there been.. ah.. much of this wooing?" he asked, trying to not sound too disappointed. "So Shiba-san's ancestors were among the first settlers, yes?"

Moriko blushed, "uh, no, I cannot say there has much wooing at all." Reaching the door, she slid it open to reveal the spartan common room, the aging air conditioner humming loudly. She waved Saneyuki inside, "perhaps I have too much faith in the judges to choose well, but I am not a people person." She'd been actively avoiding any sort of gatherings, braving only the Mall occasionally, preferring to keep to the quiet and familiar surrounds of home.

"Ah." Someone the young man seemed relieved by that. "Still hopefully enough that Shiba-san does not have to explain herself to her lord." he murmured as he followed her in, not quite sure what to think about the situation.

"The nakado are well trained, I would think so." Saneyuki nodded, looking around. "Still, I would dread to walk in their geta. The decisions they make echo over decades and affect so many lives. If someone decides that the life at the temple isn't for them, they can leave. Marriage isn't as easy." the young priest chuckled softly. "For a reason too. And I think that not everyone needs to be a people-person. The city also needs its sentinels. Someone has to hold the candle, lest the night engulf us all."

“I do my best,” she chirped. It was cooler inside, not significantly, but the air conditioner also acted as a dehumidifier, taking some of the stifling heaviness from the air, letting one’s skin breathe. Taking a jug out of the little community fridge, Moriko stirred the pale contents, there were slices of lemon and orange floating in the tea, as well as a sprig of mint. Bringing glasses and the jug to the small table, “May I ask, Asako-sama, why you have not attended the events? I understand if riding an otori or playing the yojimbo is not your style, but the events have been varied.”

"I was actually asked not to." the young man chuckled as he looked for a seat. "I am terrified of the otori as I told you. And some of the trials, well. Perhaps better suited to the bushi like Shiba-san." he added. "The elders are talking with the nakado to ensure a beneficial match, I was told. So as much as I am taking part to this, it is all out of my hands." Sanyuko proceeded to spread his hands as if to make his point. "In a way, this makes it much easier. I don't get to worry as much." He seemed to have faith in his elders - and the Phoenix nakado. "Now, it would be nice to get to marry someone who lives here so I didn't have to move, but well..." there was a pang of uncertainty in his voice. "Sometimes I feel like some of the elders would rather see me move out, actually..."

The thought was quickly forgotten as Moriko served the tea, Sanyuki carefully reaching for his cup, their fingers brushing for a moment even as the young priest murmured his thanks to her. "Thank you for having me over today. As much as there are things to do back at the shrine, the elders are busy with the upcoming service and with most of people staying in the city, there's only so much for me to do. You can read the scriptures only so many times before the kanji start jumping up and down."

Moriko chuckled softly and sat, Ten throwing himself down on the floor with a dramatic huff as if disappointed by such dull human rituals. “I almost envy you that,” she admitted, “today I had to work out to make a robot serve tea—which I only succeeded at because everyone who’s programmed a robot has written a tea serving routine—and I cannot imagine that will ever be useful to me again. And yet,” the girl became thoughtful, “I do wish to show I am willing to try? that I am open to change and to new experiences.”

She sipped her tea, the mint and citrus refreshing in the heat, something he said was bothering her, but it took a moment to connect the dots, “what gives you the impression that the elders might wish to see the back of you?” She tried to sound casual.

Saneyuki smiled softly. "Apparently the governor is a huge fan of automation. If Asako-dono got things his way, large drones would cut down the woods. Progress, he calls it. He would build factories and dig deep holes into the planet's crust. We have some friends in the castle." the young man tapped the side of his nose. "So if you wonder why you had to program a drone, that's why. I don't think they care much about how much a given samurai can do. They want to find the exceptional individuals, persuade them to stay."

"Um... I just feel like I am not told everything." he shrugged, smiling sheepishly. "Probably my imagination. I mean, I'll still get to perform the rituals in three days time."

Moriko pressed her lips together firmly, frowning as he described the governor’s vision of progress, it was a deeply troubling vision. Her disposition did not improve any as Saneyuki expressed his concern. “These rituals? there’s something different about them, isn’t there?”

"Something different?" Saneyuki sounded startled. "No, as far as I know. There are some variations that have been repeating." He bit his lip. "Now, I am not allowed to officiate all of them, but I have been present to even the more secretive rites."

________

Sincerity (Deceit) / Awareness: 6d10ro1o10k3 24

Despite—or perhaps because of—what she had overheard, Moriko found herself trusting the priest implicitly. “Oh, I guess I was confused, then. I don’t really know much about how this all works. It seemed to me that it was building to something, but maybe it’s the end of the miai that’s throwing me off.”

——
[D7 LA] Lying on Me (Raw Perception 2, TN24, rolled w/ GM permission): 2d10o10 11

"I mean, the elders have been perhaps bit more busy than usual, but I thought that they've been debating the creed." he smirked. "As much as our sect might appear harmonious, people do debate and argue the finer points of the sutras. Especially the golden one." Golden Sutra was the focus of the Shinri's teachings and so that particular theological text was available both on the app-store and on actual old fashioned bookstores. "But, I think that is the way. Everyone agreeing on everything would be bit scary, don't you think so?"

Tilting her head to one side, "I'd like to think that some things are agreeable enough. That everyone should have a place to live, food to eat, clean water." Moriko was not versed in the art of scholarly debate, animals didn't tend to talk back. Of course, what constituted a place to live and food to eat varied wildly depending on one's position in the celestial order.