Nakahama

Tarka tilted her head thoughtfully at the quip.

"Hmm, better an investment than a liability, wouldn't you say, Kuni-san?" she queried.

She looked down at his card.

"Then again, with arranged marriages and children following their family traditions, samurai have been 'Sustaining life through precision and pragmatism' since we were back on the home world. Though I doubt that's the kind of liaisons you arrange...at least in your professional capacity." she teased.

"Indeed," he nodded in agreement, reaching for his glass. "Another!" Iwana yelled, turning to the counter. A moment later, a small servant girl scurried to the table with a fresh glass, timidly asking Taraka if she needed anything.

"I never said there was anything wrong with marriage or having children, Yasuki-san." Iwane cleared his throat. "Just merely humored the notion that a business-like person might consider them an investment of sorts."

Taraka waved the servant girl off. It had been interesting ordering two beers, seeing if the Kuni would assume they were for the table or for her, and she'd gotten that answer....as well as a few others.

He'd been quite amusing so far...but had lost a few points for explaining himself. But she'd press the opening.

"Hm, so what does Kuni-san consider them?" she asked.

"Legacy," Iwane replied, utterly unaware that Taraka was grading him. "Duty," he added, taking a sip from his glass. "Inevitable." She could see him smirk. "Does Yasuki-san have children?" She looked perhaps too young to have settled down, but many among the Crab still married young.

Ah the words to set a girl's heart aflutter. Clearly this Kuni was a romantic.


"Hm, I'd say the store, Kuni-san, but she's really another little sister having been created by my parents. A good little sister she is too, unlike my flesh and blood one, I always know where this one is. I didn't even have to teach her to look both ways before crossing the street." she quipped.

"And has Kuni-san been sustaining life?"

"Would be a little concerning if your store went for a walk on its own," Iwane mused. "Though I am sure that one of our Kaiu cousins is dreaming of that." While most Kaiu he knew were pragmatic, down to earth people, there were always a few individuals who considered reason and the laws of physics a personal affront.

"I am unwed, Yasuki-san," he replied politely, gazing longingly at the almost empty cup of edamame. "Much to the chagrin of my parents and their parents." Long fingers tapped the table. "I believe they are working to resolve the issue." There was a pang of resignation in his voice.

Taraka followed the longing gaze, which was not on her.

"Hmm. Kuni-san, you've shown yourself quite knowledgeable. Might I ask your professional opinion on the benefits of karaage and how being on vacation negates the drawbacks of consuming it this late at night?" she queried.

Granted, Taraka was not on vacation, but surely one or two bites wouldn't hurt, right?

While Taraka was not without her charms, she was not a full bowl of edamame. "There's no harm in consuming kara-age, Yasuki-san. As long as you consume it in moderation," he replied.

"Anything in excess is bad for your body and soul." Iwane murmured. "Feel free to order some without worrying about your weight."

Iwane lost another fifty points with that remark. Taraka was definitely getting an idea of why his family was so frustrated with him.

"Hm, are you not a fan kara-age, Kuni-san? Edamame is nice and all, but I do rather enjoy the variety of possible snacks here." she asked.

"No, why?" Iwane asked, tilting his head to the side. "I prefer fried fish myself, but there's nothing wrong with kara-age." He didn't quite understand why they were discussing fried chicken. "Anything particular that you'd want, then?"

Iwane's poor poor nadako.

Taraka chuckled.

"For you to stop looking like a Sparrow after a poor yam harvest, Kun-san. It's your vacation, live a little, the night is young after all." she said, hailing down the waitress.

She ordered two more beers, kara-age AND fried fish.

"Take what you want and enjoy. That is the spirit of vacation, it won't come again for another year." she reminded him.

"I was enjoying myself, Yasuki-san. There's nothing wrong with edamame, is there?" he asked her, sounding a little suspicious. "I was planning to order more." Iwane squinted his eyes. "But thank you for your kindness."

He picked up his chopsticks again, reaching for the fried fish and plucking one into his mouth."No, it probably won't." The grumpy Kuni nodded in agreement. "Well, besides o-bon and the New Year's. Did you see last year's fireworks? Was quite something."

Taraka took out her own chopstick and went for the chicken. It really was at it's peak when it was fresh, even if you risked burning yourself.

"They were nice, to be sure. Though, I don't think I'm old enough to say, 'They were better back in the day', but I think they did cut a bit of the funding from last year's show. It felt like it was a bit shorter, at least. Hopefully this year will be a celebration of new business and we'll really see something." she opined.

Iwane chewed happily on the small fried fish, caring little for its bones. "Well, the situation is what it is," Iwane murmured, reaching for a piece of fried chicken. "With the whoring Yoritomo in the bed with the Spider, I can't really blame Hida-sama for raising the taxes. And the Crane too. You'd think the Doji would understand that the two are just trouble." He shook his head, picking up another piece of the kara-age. "So it's hard to blame the businesses for wanting to remain frugal."

Taraka chuckled a bit.

"Hmm, it may be ancient history, Kuni-san, but it's probably worth noting that if the Crane had any sort of track record of recognizing that sort of trouble, my entire wardrobe would be a much lighter shade of blue."

The Yasuki, after all, had originally been Crane who split from the Crane to side with the Crab in their fight against the Shadowlands.

She took a bit of the fish.

"Strange to think of what my life would have been like had that been the case. I spoke to a Kakita this morning. Graceful, lovely, talented, and charming, as you'd expect. But the story she told me about her under-performing childhood pet left me...a bit unsettled." she admitted.

"Now that's ancient history," Iwane chuckled, shaking his head as he reached for his beer. "Just saying that the Doji have weird bedfellows these days." She could hear the disdain in his voice. "And you'd think that the Yoritomo would remember their origins." Grumbling about the fall of the Mantis was a popular pastime in the Crab lands.

"Under-performing pet? How can a pet perform poorly?" he asked her, confused.

"By not singing on cue for one's sensei, apparently." she revealed. "I'm not in the entertainment industry, but I've heard the old adage of never working with children or pets."

The food and company had been lovely, but the beers were starting to catch up, and the rakugo performance was over.

"Hmmm, I think I'm about ready to call it a night, Kuni-san." she admitted.

"What kind of a pet are we even talking? A bird?" he asked, confused.

"Of course, Yasuki-san." Iwane bobbed his head. "The evening is of course on me." He waived for the waiter, digging out his card.

Taraka flashed him a grin.

"Alright, next time will be my treat, Kuni-san." she offers with a bow.

She was about to head out when...

"Song bird, Kuni-san, it was a song bird." she clarifies before making her....

/exit