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Snippet #2645931

located in Alternate Universe || Edo Japan, a part of Recrudescence, one of the many universes on RPG.

Alternate Universe || Edo Japan

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Character Portrait: Tatsuya Minamoto Character Portrait: Ayla
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One month.

The household had been filled with humans for a month. And not the humans he was accustomed to either, the servants and that girl his father had adopted for whatever reason. No, these were foreign humans, and he found, not much to his surprise, that he didn’t like them being present. In fact, he hated it so much that he was actually spending a great deal more time around the town and in the surrounding areas, because the townspeople who knew him respected him and were tolerable, and those that were not left him well enough alone.

Not like the humans in the complex.

He supposed that it might have been, at least a little bit, his own fault. Tatsuya was used to living in a certain way, and making certain… lifestyle choices that humans sometimes did not approve of, and he’d not bothered to consider the negative consequences this sort of thing could have when he had to occupy the same area as them for an extended period of time. His father had enacted a strict “no fraternizing” policy with the servants, one that all of his sons kept to even after his death: the Fujiwara estate was staffed by people who were well-paid, discreet, and never involved with the family, outside the occasional casual friendship, and even those were strikingly rare. This was better for everyone; it prevented a lot of awkwardness and unanswerable questions.

The same rule, for Tatsuya at least, had never applied to guests of the estate, and being of the avowed opinion that any woman was allowed to choose what she wanted to do for herself without the input of her father or brothers or whatever, had taken the opportunity to invite several of that Akarui’s female relatives, retainers, and servants of various kinds to his bed. Most had accepted, and if that were simply the end of it, as he’d explained it would be, there would have been no problem.

Unfortunately, someone had run their mouth, and now he was being accused by an insistent general of the visiting household of being a rakish philanderer, which he was, but the issue was that this particular human believed that he should compensate for his behavior by marrying the girl in question, something about preserving honor or some such horror as that. She didn’t get to have an opinion of her own, of course, and so while he was relatively sure she was not especially interested in coercing him in such a way, her father saw opportunity, and was attempting to exploit it.

Honestly, Tatsuya would have told him where he could shove his honor, guest or not, but the disappointed look in his sister’s eyes had stopped him. It had also enraged him, and he’d left before he’d done something worse. Who was some insolent human to tell him what was right and wrong? Who was he to make Reiko so ashamed of her brother? What right did he have to say any of those things in front of his sister? He hated that it had happened and he hated how that look in her eyes made him feel, and he’d decided it was better to get away from it than anything else.

It was really just one in an irritating series of incidents that had been regularly driving him from his own home of late, something he found ridiculous. Honestly, he’d sooner have sent the humans packing, stupid alliance be damned. Heisuke was an entitled little upstart prick, and frankly, Tatsuya didn’t care if his house had an alliance with puny human lords or not. What was the worst they could do? Send their armies to Hokkaido to lay siege to his castle? Not likely; that would be sending lambs to slaughter.

So it was in a foul mood that he stomped into town grumbling invectives under his breath. He needed some kind of distraction, and his best option right now was probably the okiya.

"Now where did he go," Ayla muttered beneath her breath, releasing a frustrated sigh as she glanced back and forth. Normally, she could find him with a quick sniff of the air, and follow his scent, however; Aram had a tendency to just disappear sometimes, and it irked her to no end. It didn't help that the part of town she was in, was filled with overwhelming scents, and some even burned her nose. They were supposed to be getting a few things from the vendors, and she told Aram to stick with her, so that they could have some left over money to put aside, but apparently he had different ideas. Instead, she continued venturing around the area, stopping every so often to glance at a vendor's item.

There was one that caught her attention, but as she made to question the pricing on it, a familiar scent hit her like a stone wall, and her eyes widened a fraction. She tried to calm the beast in her as she lifted her head in the general area it was coming from. Strange, how she could smell him, and not her brother, however; those thoughts were immediately banished when Aram's scent came from the same area. Something or someone somewhere must really have it out for her, and she rubbed her temples in a frustrated motion. Maybe she would be lucky and Aram would be no where near the Minamoto male, and she could avoid him like the plague that he was. Or he could be somewhere near the man, instead.

"Only one way to find out," she muttered to herself, taking off in a slow walk. Aram, however, was no where near the man, but instead, currently stalled by a small group of people asking him questions. He was, after all, a doctor in the village, and most of the questions were related. It didn't take Ayla long to find the Minamoto heir, and her lips pulled back into a slight recoil of disdain. But she managed to smooth it into a fine line and walked so that she was next to him. It was apparent he wasn't going to stop any time soon, and swallowing her pride, Ayla popped the question.

"Have you seen a bird man walking around with a stupid grin on his face?" she asked, giving the only description she could of her brother.

Tatsuya, still extremely agitated, was parting his lips to tell her to fuck off when two things hit him at once. First, that Reiko would be even more disappointed in him if she found out he’d been cruel to her friend, again. Secondly, the question she’d just asked him was absolutely bizarre, so much so that it almost defied any attempt to make a snarling reply. Instead, he furrowed his brows, turning to look down at her with obvious perplexity on his features. She was walking beside him, forced to hasten where he strode casually due to the height difference.

“What?” the question was inflected flatly, almost as though he were still actually processing it. When it did finally catch up with him, he frowned skeptically. “You’re asking me… if I’ve seen a man with feathers?” He shook his head slightly, muttering under his breath.

“I really need a drink.”

Ayla's expression flattened, and she glanced up at him. It was partially her fault, the description she gave him was rather vague. She'd been told by Aram that people used to call him the Crane Doctor because he reminded them of such, and she found it silly. "A man who reminds people of a bird," she corrected, "but he has been known to put feathers in his band," she continued, arching a brow when he mentioned he needed a drink. It took her a second to realize he needed an actual drink, and not what she assumed it to be. Reiko had, after all, told her what they were a while ago. She shrugged her shoulders, rolling them slightly, before folding her hands into the sleeves of her kimono.

"If that's what you need, I won't keep you from it, however," she stated, facing forward so he would miss a spark of mischief crossing her features. She had promised Reiko she wouldn't cause trouble for her family, but that didn't mean she couldn't prod the bull either. "I think I'll tag along for the moment. A drink sounds interesting, and I wonder how much you could drink before you fell under," she continued, lowering her speech towards the end like a whisper.

Well, worse things had happened in his life than a pretty woman inviting herself along for a drink with him, he supposed. Even if he found her insufferable, he was willing to bet a little alcohol would blunt the edges of his irritation. That was why he was after the stuff in the first place. “Suit yourself,” he replied, shrugging nonchalantly. “But I’m not carrying you home after you pass out.” She spoke like she’d stay conscious to see him fall under, but he very much doubted it.

A few more cross-streets put them in front of the Red Lotus, the only okiya in town, one that doubled as a higher-class bar with professional entertainment. The girls there weren’t lacking in talent, either, which meant that there was always nice music to add to the ambiance, something he appreciated more than his attitude might suggest.

He opened the door and gestured Ayla through first. His own presence went immediately noticed behind, with an older woman who appeared to be the owner of the establishment immediately breaking out into a brilliant smile. “Tatsu-chan! It’s been such a long time.” She flowed over to them more than she walked, laying her palms on either side of his face and raising herself to the tips of her toes. He, surprisingly enough, leaned down obligingly, and she kissed him on the cheek before moving her hands to his shoulders. “You know, I keep waiting for you to change, and you never do.”

Her eyes moved past him to his companion, and the smile remained. “And a welcome to your lovely companion. Would the two of you be wanting a private room?” She arched both brows, tilting her head to the side. The occasional streak of silver in her inky hair caught the light, glittering like one of her ornaments.

“Just the table on the engawa, Setsuka-san,” he replied, “And some of your hot sake.” She nodded sagely and gestured to one of the other girls, who immediately bowed before them and led them onto the covered porch, where a low table and several cushions waited. Though the early spring air was still chill, the view looked out towards the ocean, which, considering that the sun was just beginning to set, was truly spectacular.

Tatsuya settled into one of them, and it wasn’t long before the girl was back, this time with several jugs of heated sake, which she set on the table with a skeptical look at himself and Ayla. To be fair, this much would be enough to put four humans out for a long time, but he doubted it would do the same to the two of them. Reaching into one side of his haori, he withdrew an elegant, carved pipe and some tobacco, packing the bowl with the plant and striking a match against the side of the table before lighting it and shaking the match out. “So why’re you looking for a bird-man anyway?”

"I heard they make good stew," was her curt reply, though she was only half-joking. He huffed, the sound actually amused, a small smile playing over his lips. She reached for one of the empty cups before pouring herself some of the drink, staring at it for a second before downing it. The smell of his smoke, however, was enough to cause her to crinkle her nose a bit, the only sign of some discomfort. She shook it from herself though, and continued with her explanation. "This particular bird-man that I am searching for happens to be my brother. It seems he has been lost... again."

He seemed to do that a lot, or so she thought. "He's not particularly good with navigating the place yet. And he is conned very easily," she stated, her face pulling into a flat expression. If she had the choice, he wouldn't be the one buying things. Ever. She could understand his need to help people, but they weren't in the best position at the moment to help, at least not in that way. Their home was still under the weather so to speak. The roof was still partially collapsed, the door that was supposed to be their front was hanging by a thread on a hinge, and their futons were not the most comfortable of things to sleep on.

"And I worry about him," she spoke, the slightest hint of emotion leaking into her voice, and softening her features. He was all she had left, and she'd be damned if she let anything happen to him. She knew he could take care of himself well-enough, but still, it did not stop her from worrying. Shaking the thoughts from her mind, she decided to focus on something other than that. "I didn't take you for the type, but then again you're a fucking asshole, so it's not a surprise," she stated, gesturing to their current place. She held no malice for him at the moment, but it was what she resigned herself to calling him. He'd get no formalities or politeness from her.

He was saved from the need to comment on her family situation by the return of an old mode of address, and he snorts, smoke billowing from his nose in a way that was strangely reminiscent of the way dragons were depicted. He seemed to suit his name quite well in that moment, as it turned out. “The type? To come to a place like this? It wasn’t obvious?” He exhaled again, fragrant smoke wafting into the air. “Though… I expect you’re thinking something different about my reasons than I am.”

He opened one of the jugs of sake, taking out the stopper with a pop sound, holding his pipe in his teeth while he poured two bowls, pushing one deftly over to where Ayla was sitting. It came to a stop at the edge of the table, steaming slightly from its heat. “I am, after all, an educated fucking asshole.” He’d never felt the need to pay for the more erotic services offered here, but he was a welcome patron nevertheless, as perhaps most aptly demonstrated by Setsuka’s reaction to his presence. Still, he wasn’t the kind of person who felt the need to explain himself, especially not to strangers.

"Never said you weren't, and I'm not one to judge on appearance." she chided, taking the cup and holding it instead of drinking. She of all people should know better than that. "You are, after all, Rei-Rei's brother," she would expect nothing less of her family. "But I've been wrong before," she spoke, finally downing the cup. She remained quiet for a moment longer, grabbing another cup of sake and leaving it to warm her face a bit. For once, it felt nice, to just sit where she was and allow the surrounding area out of her senses. It felt familiar, in a sense, and she felt a bit at ease.

She hadn't counted how many drinks she had after that, but it was clear the drinks were finally starting to take hold of her. "Has anyone ever told you that you look like the sun?" she stated out of the blue, referring to the coloration of his hair.

There was a moment when, much to his own embarrassment, Tatsuya nearly choked on the mouthful of sake he was swallowing. He recovered quickly, though, and stared across the table at her, trying to decide what to make of that statement. In the end, he decided it was meant innocently, the sort of innocence brought on by the first stages of amicable drunkenness. With a blink of surprise, he realized that they were already through three of the jugs, and the fourth had only about half the contents left. He was starting to feel the blur at the edge of his senses, but not to any great extent.

“Funny how appearances can deceive, isn’t it?” he muttered into his cup. “Has anyone ever told you that you look like snow?” For a moment, he contemplated his own words—the more obvious comparison was the moon, of course, and he could have even hinted that he knew what she was by that reference. So why compare her to the snow? He pursed his lips momentarily, then shook his head. He must be really out of it, or maybe it was just the warmth of the sake. Glancing outside, he noted the moon herself rising, a thin sliver of crescent tonight, and its light glinted off the drifts of snow and ice that were still left from winter.

On impulse, he reached out with a hand, making a casual flicking gesture. The nearest snowdrift reacted instantly, hurling its powdery flakes back up into the air, where they caught the light and glimmered as they fell slowly down towards the earth. Chilly, lovely, present. Hm.

Maybe it was the more apt comparison, after all.