"May your day be well," the priestess said with the friendliest smile she could muster.

Damn drunkards wasting my time.

She found an unoccupied space to settle down and spread out her notes on the mythical killer plaguing the city. No leads, an inconsistent pattern, and not enough resources. A standard for my life. The woman crossed out the man she had spoken with from her paper. And no more time.

A stray breeze tried to pick up the notes, and one managed to slip away.

Thankfully it didn't go too far, as a woman dressed in a teal-kimono with the Dragon mon manage to catch it in her open parasol. Picking up the note with a delicate hand, she glanced around for whomever was the rightful owner, rather than looking at the note itself.

The Yogo stuffed her papers hurriedly and approached the woman with due haste. "Thank you, Dragon-sama." She looked to the woman's hair and then to the note. "It would have been wiser for me to conduct my work inside."

Utsusemi's eyes likewise went to the other woman's hair, and then the note, before passing it over to the Scorpion. "Think nothing of it, Scorpion-san. And one could not fault you for wanting to work outside in the lovely autumn weather we have been blessed with."

Her head craned slightly to the side as she gave the papers a curious glance. "A writer, perhaps?"

"Not in the artistic sense," she replied, "I merely take notes." The Scorpion replaced the paper among the others and then gave the stranger a proper bow. "I am Yogo Akarei. Once more, I thank you for your assistance."

"Agasha Utsusemi, yoroshiku onegaishimasu," she bowed lightly in return. "Only glad to be of assistance, Yogo-san. Perhaps some company as I rest my feet will be an acceptable favour in return? It is not often one gets to spend time with someone who has such a bold and striking haircolour as yours."

"That is no problem at all." The Yogo allowed the other to find a suitable location for the two of them to converse. "My hair is a gift from my mother," she explained with a bit of amusement, "It is completely natural. I never bothered to dye it."

"Oh, that sounds fortunate. Many samurai would be happy indeed to be blessed so. Fortunes know I would not mind such myself," she chuckled and brushed a lock of her own hair.

"How did your mother have such beautiful hair?"

Internally, the Yogo let out a sigh. She kept her feelings on the matter suppressed and decided to answer truthfully. "My mother was born in the Kitsu family. Red hair is common among her family line."

"Is that so?" she found a comfortable seat to relax. "I always assumed it was a fashion-choice for the Lion I have met, as it is for the Crane who dye their hair white."

"Sorry... I am certain you must get questions about it all the time, no?"

The Yogo shrugged. "It is admittedly rare. I imagined that the white hair was natural." She furrowed her brow behind her mask as she thought on the matter and then concluded that it did not matter to her in the least.

"It is my most distinguishable quality," she stated plainly, "It is no trouble to speak of it."

"Oh, how I wish it was natural," she chuckled. "Much less upkeep would be needed then, though I imagine that the fashion then would be to have black hair instead."

Her parasol was closed, seeing as they were in the shade, and it was placed carefully by her side. "Most distinguishable, I agree, though I am certain it overshadows your other qualities. We women are more than just our looks after all."

"Therein lies the reason why I have not bothered to dye my hair a more common color," the redhead remarked.

The Dragon's last remark caught her off-guard. Akarei looked away briefly and then back at the beauty sitting next to her. She gave an awkward, genuine smile and then nodded. "I prefer to be remembered due to other qualities."

"And what are these other qualities, Yogo-san?" she asked in a kind, almost motherly, tone. "A keen mind, or perhaps an artistic soul?"

"The first one, Agasha-sama," she replied, a bit flustered. The Yogo was still caught off-guard by having someone seemingly interested in her own nature. "I have never created any great pieces of art. It is a wonder to me that the kami accept my offerings of poetry."

"A great mind is a great gift," she nodded slightly. "For both you and for the Empire, as it is great minds who drive us forward and reach new steps."

She could relate a little to that. Her husband, and his brother too, were both talented and intellectual - both driven by new ideas and a yearning for knowledge. Sometimes she felt she had come far in her years as an Agasha, learning all she had, but sometimes she felt completely out of her league.

"I am no shugenja, Yogo-san, but perhaps the kami appriciate the sincerity of your offering?"

The priestess bowed her head in deference. "You are too kind," she stated, still embarrassed by the attention.

"Your assumption is correct, Agasha-sama. For example, the fire kami enjoy sacrifices which are close to those who beseech them." She gave a soft smile. "However, too much of the same gift and it will come off as disingenuous. Gifts close to the heart are especially potent."

Poor thing, seems no one really has given her any compliments beside commenting on her hair. She felt a pang of sympathy for the young Yogo. How unfair the world truly was.

"Ah, that does make sense," Utsusemi nodded. "I did not know the kami were so cultured in their ways, but I admit most of such is very much beyond my comprehension. My husband is a shugenja, but there is still too much I don't understand about how the kami seem to act. According to him, they seem to delight in creative pursuits, which makes when you say you offer them your poems. Perhaps I shall offer some of my own poetry to the kami as well?"

"The air kami are much more invested in the emotional aspects of poetry and the like," Akarei continued, "Fire kami err on the side of caring about importance. They take pleasure in the immediate gratification that is destruction. Of course, that is not the only purpose of Fire."

The priestess smiled nervously. "Well, the kami demand that it be something emotionally significant to the giver." A pause. "Um, that is not to say that your poems would be unimportant to me, Agasha-sama. I..."

She breathed a quick chuckle. "Please, no need to be flustered, Yogo-san."

"I am a poet, so I must apologize for the enthusiasm of my offer. It might have been a bit pretentious of me to think that the kami would care for the word of someone who cannot even hear them?"