"I will. I promise. Utsusemi." Kenzo said. He smiled, but his brown eyes were serious. And indeed, as his eyes met hers, there was no question of the love between them.

Not that he wouldn't thoroughly enjoy being reminded of it that night, of course.

"Well." He said, his smile growing. "I also promised you some seashells, didn't I? Shall we gather some?"

Utsusemi couldn't hold back a blush as their eyes met, feeling the unspoken words of love passing between them, communicated simply by how they looked at eachother.

"... Yes," she smiled welcomingly for the change of pace. "Should we be wading into the water then for that, or look more along the beach?"

It took Kenzo a moment to respond, the blush followed by the smile briefly throwing him off.

His eyebrows went up, and he smiled cheerfully. "That is entirely up to you, Utsu. It seems to me that it might be easier to spot shells while wading, because the water washes them clean?" He shrugged, grinning sheepishly. "This is an area where I will defer to you. How did you do it when you visited the beach in your youth?"

"We used to walk barefoot along the beach," she explained with a calm chuckle. "Much safer for children, after all, and the sea tends to wash such things ashore. But, we would occassionally wade further out, as there were prettier shells there."

Utsusemi slipped off her sandals, and as she stood up, began to pull up her kimono slightly so that the hem reached her knees instead. Perhaps a little indecent for more refined onlookers, but it was better than getting the clothes all soaked in seawater. She easily fastened the adjusted kimono in place.

"Though, I admit, I also want to feel the sea water a little bit."

Kenzo had seen Utsusemi in much less, of course. Nevertheless, there was something almost unexpectedly appealing about seeing Utsu's partially bared legs. He shot her a playful grin as he stood, his eyes briefly flickering over her form. "Utsu, my goodness." He teased ever so gently, his eyes alight. Casually, he mirrored her motions, kicking off his own sandals, and adjusting up his own kimono.

He looked around, squinting. "It looks like over there, it might not drop off quite so quickly." He gestured with open hand. Looking at Utsu, he smiled, his eyebrows going up. "I've never looked for shells before, you know. How exciting. You'll have to show me how it is done. I'll just make sure we don't fall in." Once more, he offered her his arm.

"Oh? Not even when you were in Dragon's Guard, or studying at college?" she teased in return with a playful smile. Like any proper Rokugani woman, her skin was pale and well-cared for, something Kenzo already knew quite well.

Utsusemi nodded gently, taking his arm for support as she let him lead the way. Falling or slipping would still be rather embarrassing, or inconvenient. At worst, maybe a small injury.

"It's really not so difficult. Shells won't try to swim away or bite back, after all... well, unless you're trying to grab one of the hermit-crabs, but they tend to scuttle away when we humans get near. We are, after all, very big and scary to them... ah," she blushed as she realised she was starting to fall into her usual tone of how she would explain things to her children. "... Sorry. You probably know that."

Kenzo shook his head. "Indeed not." He said. "My focus was not on the ocean, after all. Even when it was, I was more interested in the larger things, like whales, or dolphins." His lips quirked. "Or the giant turtle. The thought of looking for shells, especially as a leisure activity, did not occur to me." His expression became thoughtful. "I suppose it is an important reminder that the little things, too. Something that I've been thinking about more, lately."

The warning made Kenzo turn to Utsu, his eyebrows going up, mildly incredulous. He laughed, then, openly, shaking his head as he did so. "Oh, Utsu." He said fondly. "You are a joy. Truly. I do know that, but I appreciate the warning nevertheless." He shook his head, still chuckling. "Still... help me find the prettiest ones? You have the better eye for such things.

As before, Kenzo's arm and stance were both steady. He lead them slowly along the edge of the rock until it became shallow enough to step down. He did so carefully, one foot after the other. It was still a bit of a step... Kenzo turned, offering Utsu his other hand as well to help her down.

She was still blushing as Kenzo stepped into the water, and holding on to him she followed with his guidance. Utsusemi breathed sharply at how surprisingly cool the water was.

"Sunlight tends to reflect off of the prettiest ones, I seem to remember..." she moved her feet carefully, not wishing to upset or step on the sealife.

Kenzo shot a quick glance at Utsu, her sharp intake of breath drawing his attention. He looked back to the water when he realized all was well. The wading he'd done as a child was in mountain streams; this seemed quite warm by comparison.

After a moment, Kenzo mimicked Utsu, taking small careful steps. His brow was gently furrowed with concentration as he looked down. "There's so many small pieces." He murmured, surprised. Indeed, the ground was nearly covered with tiny rocks and shells. And the occasional hermit crab, which skittered away long before they got too close.

Kenzo gave Utsu a quick smile, squeezing her hand. His enjoyment was evident on his features, as readable as always.

Feeling the comforting squeeze, Utsusemi looked up at him and smiled as well, especially when she saw how much he seemed to be enjoying himself.

Guiding their joined hands into the water, Utsusemi bent over to look around. With their hands together she turned over some shells, finding one that was whole and its surface had a pearly pink sheen. "The colours here are really vibrant. I wonder if it's the temperature of the waters, or something else that make it so..."

As Utsu guided his hand down, he couldn't help but grin at her, his eyes alight. There was something about the shared experience, even their hands linked together as they searched, that made the whole thing more enjoy.

"Oh my." Kenzo said, as the shell flipped over. He reached down with his free hand, picking it up. He studied it for a moment before handing it to Utsu with a smile. "That's a very nice one. Hmmm..." He frowned at it thoughtfully. "I'm not sure. It could be." He pursed his lips, considering. "Perhaps it's for camouflage? One wouldn't normally think of this sort of pink as camouflage, but coral can be that color, I believe."

"Here, let me." Even her most functional kimono was still nicer than his. He held out his hand, intending on tucking the shell into the front of his obi.

"Camouflage? Hm, that is an interesting theory..." she mused, passing the shell to Kenzo "Do be careful though... they can be surprisingly fragile sometimes."

Though she was confident that he was cautious when it came to preserving specimens and samples... as long as they were not lemurs.

"Shall we look around some more? I seem to recall that if you hold the big ones up to your ear, you can hear the sound of the ocean inside the shell. Besides," she smiled at him over her shoulder, "the waters feel very nice, once used to the temperature."

Having pushed her sleeves as far back as possible and tied them out of the way, so that her arms were almost completely bare, Utsusemi enjoyed the feel of the cool sea water against her skin. She briefly considered suggesting a swim.

Kenzo was careful indeed as he slipped the shell into the front of his obi. "Truly?" He laughed at that. "We must see if we can find one of the bigger ones, then."

"Oh? Are you enjoying it?" Kenzo couldn't help himself. Grinning, he gathered up a little bit of water onto his free hand. With impressive precision, he flicked the drops onto her bare arm.

He sighed pleasantly. "But yes, it is quite nice. When I was a child, I'd sometimes go swimming in a lake not far from where we lived. It was fed by mountain streams. Even in the summer it was rather... bracing. This feels much more enjoyable, indeed."

"Really? And here I thought these waters were rather cold too... but it wasn't much warmer back home, from what I remember. Maybe it's just been too long since I waded in the waters like a proper crane," she smirked, but as she felt the cool water against her skin she yelped quietly in surprise.

Utsusemi pursed her lips, preparing herself for revenge... and flicked more water back at Kenzo, eyes narrowing with mirth.

A Mirumoto mountaineer was trained to have good awareness and keen reflexes. He laughed playfully at Utsu's yelp, but that pursing of her lips gave him pause, even as they drew his eyes. The slight narrowing of her eyes made the hairs on his back seem to stand up in warning.

And yet, nimbleness and awareness mattered little when standing in water up to one's thighs. "Ack!" Laughing Kenzo did his best to twist away, but it was no use, Utsu's return fire splashing against his bare arms.

Still laughing, he stepped closer, his free hand catching hers, both their sets of fingers linking together. "Revenge, is it?" He said, his eyes alight. "If I wasn't worried about getting your kimono wet, well..." His lips twisted. "You'd not soon forget my response, I promise that."

"You say that as if this kimono hasn't been through worse already," she murmured in return, bashfully looking down as he held both her hands now. It was after all the kimono that had recieved the mud-treatment.

Still... they were almost equal in height and their footing was the same, so listening to her playful streak this time, Utsusemi tried to shift her weight to trip Kenzo into the water, like she had seen the Mizu-do practicioners of the Crane do during their exhibits.

Then again, she had only seen the move done a couple of times and never actually tried it herself...

---

D11 LA Fluff-roll Jiujutsu/Strength: 2d10 6

"Oh." Kenzo said. "Good point." His eyes followed hers, trailing down her form. His lips curled up. "Well, in that case, I suppose..."

He was interrupted by the feeling of her weight shifting. Bushi were trained on techniques, drilled repetitively until they were second nature. He was not quite so skilled in jiujutsu, but nevertheless, his muscles remembered the counter to her move. And so, without even considering it, Kenzo gave a quarter-turn, redirecting her weight around him, and down, with a splash.

Kenzo's eyes widened almost comically before the move was even finished. "Utsu!" He gasped. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean..." He'd kept hold with one hand, keeping her from becoming fully submerged. He reached for her with his other hand, leaning well over as he tried to help her up...

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D11LA fluff roll, bushi reflexes, jiujutsu/strength: 3d10o10k2 13

Her hazel eyes widened in surprise as her playfulness was turned back at her, and she still held onto him to break her fall... thankfully, he was holding onto her too, and she only ended up partially soaked in the cool waters.

"C-cold!" she hissed between clenched teeth at the suddenness of being half-submerged.

... At least she had her revenge as he tried to help her up and she just pulled him down into the water besides her. "Hmph, serves you right!"

Kenzo's concern was enough that this time, he didn't sense the shift in her weight until it was too late. With a startled exclamation, he tumbled forward into the water.

Now he was laughing again, at least. Kenzo turned over, coming to a sitting position in the water. He grinned at her sheepishly. "You're right of course. For a yojimbo to turn on his charge like that..." He shook his head, mock-sadly. "Surely there is no greater shame."

He did purse his lips thoughtfully, regarding her. "Do you find it so cold? I'm sorry." He rose to his feet, water streaming from his form, his thoroughly-soaked kimono clinging to him. "Allow me, Utsu." He offered her a hand again, smiling. "You'll be warm again soon."

"Really, it is quite the shame," she replied, seemingly cold but Kenzo at least could see the warmth in her eyes. With some hesitation, Utsusemi accepted his assistance in rising back up from the water.

"... I suppose we should wait in the sun for some time before we head back. The warmth and light should help to dry us both up." She shook her head slightly. "... When I was thinking I might want to test the waters for a swim at some point, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind."

She at least felt grateful for the fact that this kimono wasn't made of very clingy fabric, as it was made from plain cotton, and at least she didn't have to worry about the fabric being too ruined by the seawater.