Just as the Amaterasu's first rays of light begin to appear on the East, Hinami decides to make a small tour around the city to explore what this city has to offer. She is dressed with one of her rich furisode and both, her fan and her wakizashi, in her obi.

The yang part of the city is quite pleasant for Hinami's tastes, clearly modeled and influenced by the governor's wife. She looks around curious about, well, everything. She was tempted to go the the ying part, she was not above exploring the more ruthless commercial part of the city, she had plenty of experience with that type of people during her time in the Scorpion lands alongside the River of Gold, but for now she just explores the 'Crane' part of the district.

A handful of Crane samurai were gathered along the beautiful promenade, shielded from the sun by the crimson-coloured maple trees, as they seemed to be sharing poems. Each one took their turn on the theme of autumn, each one incorporating something from the previous poem in their own, and of course trying to outdo eachother even as they praised one another.

The last one in the round was a woman with the white-hair of a Crane, but bearing the mon of the Dragon.

"izukata e
omoiyaramashi
aki no yo no
sora ni mo amaru
tsuki no hikari o"

(In which direction
Should head my longing?
On an autumn night
The skies are full of
The moon’s light…)


The gathered samurai noddingly acknowledged her superiour prose. "As expected of the Lady Cicada," one of them said respectfully.

--

Fancy poem for the Event

The young Seppun girl got close to where the group of crane samurai were reciting poems. Poetry as a form of literature was something that Hinami liked, a lot. She sat and listened as the samurai shared their poetry.

The dragon woman picked up her attention, it was not very common to see Dragon samurai, especially a white-haired dragon and a master of poetry. Her poetry was clearly in a complete different level.

Hinami inferred that she must been a crane samurai by birth. She kept observing the group.

"You are too kind," the lady responded warmly, "I could not have composed such a poem on my own. I owe it to this place and this fine gathering."

The group chattered politely amongst themselves, saying very little of actual substance apart from clearly appeasing eachother, before scattering like the birds they so resembled. The white-haired lady remained sitting on the bench, looking up at the maples with a wistful expression, before noticing the younger maiden nearby.

"... Did you enjoy the poetry, young lady?" she asked with a kind, almost motherly tone, even if she only seemed to be in her twenties.

Hinami blushed a bit when the Dragon lady speaked to her. The Seppun maiden was a trained Otomo courtier but for some reason the dragon's motherly tone broke through her On for just a fraction of time. She took out her fan to cover her blushing face.

She approached slowly, as etiquette dictates, and bowed to the dragon. '' It was a beautiful display, especially your poem, Dragon-san. Your talent is truly impressive '' She praised the dragon samurai. '' Seppun Hinami, daughter of Seppun Kentoshi-dono. It's an honor.'' She bowed again, with even more grace.

"An honor to meet the scion of such an illustrious lineage," she bowed from her seat with respect for the young Seppun maiden. "I'm Agasha Utsusemi, formerly of the Doji and wife of Agasha Ryuden-sensei. It is good to meet you."

"And thank you, for your praise. I admit it has been some time since I have had the chance to share my work so... do you perhaps compose poetry too?"

Isn't Agasha Ryuden a friend of Hantei Jama-no-kimi? She thought.

'' I do know the basics of poetry composition, but to my shame, I'm not very good at it. '' She admited her own shortcomings to the dragon poet. '' But literature is something that I enjoy in every form of expression, especially poetry. The use of phrases and expressions to create 'life' and 'meaning' to what one is feeling is something that I truly admire. '' The young maiden said.

'' Did you trained at the School of Quiet Arts, Agasha Utsusemi-san?'' She asked politely.

She nodded. "Yes, I was given the invitation to learn from the sensei there. My schooling was with the Doji, but after my gempukku, one of its sensei thought I had potential for more," there was a certain fondness in her expression as she spoke of that time.

"I am not surprised that a young lady of a noble family like yours is well-read and appriciative of litterature. The written word can also be a powerful weapon, some say; from pillowbooks that besmirch the reputation of one's rivals, to the legendary poems exchanged between the glorious Hantei Genji and his beloved lady Oborizukiyo that communicated love and emotions in subtle words and meanings."

'' I see.'' She noticed the dragon's fondness expression. '' It must be a wonderful place to behold, full of art, creativity and expressions. '' Hinami sounds interested.

'' Indeed, the word can be as powerful and as deadly as a katana. Sometimes people tend to forget how strong words can be, and how they change our perceptions of this world...'' She adds

"Spoken like a true student of the courts," she said approvingly with a nod. "I take it you did not recieve training with the Seppun then?"

'' You are correct, Agasha Utsusemi-san. '' She replied '' All my siblings have trained with the Seppun family, keeping the family traditions of serving and protecting the Son of Heavens. I was promised to be trained by the Otomo family instead. But I'm still a Seppun, as a descendant of Lady Seppun and Seppun Akagi's my duties to the Divine Emperor are the same, no matter how I was trained. '' She commented with pride.

'' Besides, both the Otomo and Miya families' duties are not so different than my own family's duty. Serve and protect Hantei's-no-kami legacy.''

Utsusemi nodded with understanding. "It is the duty of all samurai to serve the Emperor, but only the three Imperial families are so honored to serve in such a direct capacity. It is a great responsibility to live up to, Seppun-san, but I have the impression you will be up to the task."

"You have many siblings then that are joining the ranks of the Emperor's guard?"

Hinami nods. '' Ani-gimisama is already part of the Miharu. While my twin, Seppun Hikari, has trained with my uncle, Seppun Matoshi-sama, and now she is part of the Jade magistrate office. '' She told to the crane born dragon.

'' Might I ask if you have brothers or sisters, Agasha Utsusemi-san?'' She asked politely.

"Ah, I have a few siblings," she chuckled. "I'm the middle child of five children. My eldest brother, Kyuzo, is being groomed by our lord father to succeed him as Governor of Hayaku Mura, while my eldest sister, Kaede, married only a year before I did, to a good man of the Shosuro. Then it's my younger sister, Hotaru, who trained with the Daidoji and serves in Kyuden Doji as a yojimbo these days. And my youngest brother, Tsuruchiyo, is still in training with the Doji, and I've been told his gempukku will probably be next year as he has greatly impressed his sensei."

"Seems like my parents were blessed by the Fortunes to have a large, happy family."

'' I see '' Hinami nods with interest. The crane born dragon lady apparently came from a somewhat influential family, she was not a 'normal' Doji. But if she remember correctly her Rokugan geography lessons, Hayaku Mura, was a pretty unremarkable spot in the southern lands of the Crane clan. But to be able to train at the Kakita academy and to have a brother trained by the Doji was not easy. And she was married to a sensei and personal friend of Hantei-no-kimi.

Impressive She thought.

''Forgive me if I sound rude, but, what about yourself Agasha Utsusemi-san? Do you have children?'' She asked. She tried to sound older than she was but even with all her training with the Otomo family, she could not change the fact that she was a sixteen year old girl speaking with a grown up woman.

Utsusemi was quite aware of their difference in age, but it hardly bothered her, as she rather felt she was slipping more into something of a mentor-mindset with the young lady. She gave a warm smile in return. "I've been blessed with a son and a daughter. Five and three years of age now."

"As for myself, married life has mostly kept me busy. Not that I mind, I am quite fond of my children," she chuckled. "I pray I am not boring you with this?"

Hinami nods. She wondered if she would have to be married soon. She was already eligible for betrothal and her father would most likely try to engage her with someone of importance. There was this rumour that the Imperial Matchmaker would try to engage bachelors to avoid scandal. Yet there was still much things that she would like to do before fulfilling that duty to his lord father.

'' Not at all Agasha Utsusemi-san, I'm grateful for your answer. Arigato '' She slightly bowed.

Perhaps Utsusemi sensed some of Hinami's thinking. "Are you betrothed yet, Seppun-san? Or perhaps looking for a dashing prince to sweep you off your feet?" she spoke with a slight tease.

'' No, I'm not. Not yet. '' She replied. After Utsu's comment, Hinami, covered her lips with her fan. '' There's no such thing as a 'dashing' prince. Though excellent authors have created great literature works that depict such a person, in reality, they probably are only work of fiction. '' She said with sureness.