Utsusemi had woken much earlier than expected, surprisingly well-rested. While Kenzo still slept she had tinkered around with trying to cook something for breakfast... with mixed results. There were still a lot of ingredients common to Rokugan that were lacking, and some of the replacements were... less than ideal in terms of flavour.

At least the cat didn't mind eating some of the food.

And having risen early, it was still quite early in the morning as she returned to the Kunshu Maru where Sanjuro had been recovering. Even as his condition seemed to stabilize, she was reluctant to move him around until he had regained consciousness. For once she wasn't deathly terrified as she went to check on his current condition, but she had at least come prepared to sit by his side for a while in the hopes that he would soon wake up.

He had woken up; pale, in a thoroughly sweat-soaked yukata, with shades of harrowing proportions he looked as if he aged over the last couple of days or had returned from a field trip to Meido, his cheekbones seemingly protruding more than usual. Seeing her, he stirred a little but couldn't fully trust his footing.

"It's surprising to find myself alive, Utsu. I guess you have some part in this."

He spoke clearly, but very weakly.

"!" Her heart stopped in her throat, as she was soon overcome with relief and joy to see him finally awake, and then with worry coming close behind as he stirred.

"Oh, thank the Heavens... you're awake," she pressed a hand to her lips as she almost felt teary-eyed. It took her a moment or two to compose herself enough. "Shh... don't push yourself. You've been unconscious for two days..."

In truth, yesterday she hadn't even been sure if he was going to make it.

"Some part, yes," she admitted, wiping away a few tears of relief. "But it's Kenzo-san who saved you."

"Then I owe you both."

An attempt to swallow ended in a coughing avalanche and whizzing, bending him. He was dehydrated. It had been preceded by a flash of vivid emotion when he had seen her crying, and an instinctive attempt to rise and be closer to her.

You don't owe me anything.

In seeing him awake, she had for a moment forgotten that he was dehydrated and probably starved as well, despite their best efforts to provide him with some sustenance when he was out of it.

She placed a firm and assuring hand on his shoulder, stopping him from trying to rise again. "Just a moment..." she murmured and rummaged quickly in her satchel to find the bottle with the fruit juice Kenzo had told her to give to Sanjuro. "Here, it's juice," Utsusemi removed the top and held the bottle out, offering to help him to drink. "Slowly."

He almost choked on it first, but her hand on his harm steeled him to not give up, and in the end he dutifully sipped a few good jolts before he couldn't take more.

"It's sour. I guess it should be?"

He looked up into her eyes, his own widening for a moment before he looked down.

"I'm on a ship again, but we don't move. I hear birds."

"Something called pineapple, and lemon. Not exactly sweet, no," Utsusemi gave him a reassuring smile.

Apart from her relief and happiness that he was alive and awake, she did seem to have more serenity to her being than usual. More relaxed, and more at ease, in a way, at least compared to when they last spoke. Even her hair was less formal, as only parts of it had been pulled back, allowing the rest to frame her face and neck.

"We arrived at Kameyama Jima after the storm. This is the beginning of our third day here. When Kenzo-san found you, he brought you onboard the Kunshu Maru in hopes that I could heal you." She lowered her gaze too, lips pressing together for a moment. "It wasn't much I could do, other than tend your wounds and keep you alive. Kenzo-san did all the hard work of finding a healer who could make an antidote. I was worried you wouldn't make it..." Her hand moved from his arm to brush some of the sweaty hair away from his forehead.

"We're currently docked at the western port of the island along with half the fleet, the other half is on the eastern port... not that says much, I guess. It is quite a bit you have missed."

"Hornets... I was so stupid."

He marginally leaned into her touch and closed his eyes, trying to feel out how his leg was faring, remembering it was the reason why he couldn't run from the stingers.

"No, I can imagine that. I remember where the sun was... the beaches are in-between them, right? To the south."

He sighed looking up at the changed her with awakened curiosity.

"I know the name, Kameyama Jima. It was mentioned in a few books I read."

"Yes," she nodded. "I'm surprised you remember, all things considered..."

She looked away for a few moments, busying her hands with water and cloth. "The cat made it through the storm, at least," Utsusemi glanced back to him, then back to the cloth as she wringed most of the water from it. "Yesterday there was a request from the Imperial Admiral that the Explorers were to find temporary abodes on the island, rather than staying on the ships. Though it might be best that you don't worry about that yet, as you need to rest and regain your strength."

The moist cloth at least felt cool to the touch as she wiped his forehead. He would certainly need a bath once he had recovered enough, but this at least was more for helping him feel a little more relaxed.

"So neko-sama was as unconcerned as a cat could be this morning before I came here... I let him stay for the moment with me."

He subjected himself obediently to her ministrations.

"Then I'll find some place. You can keep the cat."

She raised an eyebrow, a little surprised.

"You're sure? I'd rather have neko-sama to keep an eye on you, making certain you're not getting into trouble," Utsu chided in a motherly tone. "He's more attached to you than me, anyway."

The cloth gently patted against his neck. It wasn't much, but as far as cleanliness was a concern for now, it would have to do.

"If you're feeling hungry, I brought some food?"

"That cat cannot do that. Never have. It's not mine."

His neckbone clicked when he leaned back at her touch.

"Thank you... I'll get hungry eventually. You made it?"

"You keep saying that," she chuckled softly. "Though I suppose it's true that one doesn't own a cat, but rather the cat owns you."

As he asked if she had made it, there was a slight hesitation. Cooking, unless it meant shaping mochi and wagashi into cute animal-figures or pretty flowers, was not her strength. Something she did try her hands at several times with little luck, much to her own embarrassement.

There was the infamous burned miso, or the many times she had cut her hands while chopping... though peeling and cutting usually happened without incident. She could make tea and make it very well, but cooking remained, in her opinion, a blotch on her otherwise good wife-record.

"Uhm... yes?"

"Then we'll see what happens when it pesters me again."

He managed to restore the volume of his voice, and even smile wryly.

"I'll have it right now if I can. I want some of your cooking."

What she probably didn't know was that he had been taking over cooking not because he wanted to save himself from hers, but he wanted to spare her agonising over her own questionable abilities. Practicing excellence was somewhere at the core of who she was, even good enough was not good enough, and in her life she already had enough things to deprive her of self-confidence and a modicum of happiness. He simply wanted to make it a non-issue for her. Himself, he could eat almost anything, he was not particularly picky. It were the emotions within the effort that mattered to him, and ones he would not diminish over something as trivial as a strange taste.

His recovery, as well as his appetite, at least made her more at ease.

"Just eat slowly, alright? All you've had while you were unconscious was just water and broth, seeing as it was the only thing we could get you..."

Her hands, now clean and tidy again, undid the knot on the furoshiki for the wrapped lunchbox. Pushing the lid aside, there was boiled eggs on the side (something that she at least could do easily), and some stir-fried vegetables (lightly burned) - some of them familiar looking and others more exotic to Rokugani cuisine, as well as mushrooms. It came with something that almost looked like rice, but the grains were much smaller and the colour slightly different as well (though it was overcooked).

"There was fish but... " she paused, then shook her head with s chuckle, "the cat was faster."

"That's the way that creature is."

He shrugged, but his featured eased further at the perspective of the meal. He studied it after accepting it from her hands.

"So you would mind if I ate it whole? It looks like what I need, glutinous and without the fish."

"Please, I made it for you," she said with a nod, passing chopsticks soon after to him, an easy smile coming to her features. "You need to get your strength back, as I don't think I would be able to carry you off the ship. I'm even surprised that Kenzo-san managed to carry you all the way from where he found you."

Utsusemi bit a little down on her lower lip as she wondered if chopsticks might be a bit too hard in his condition, and with that food. "I can try to bring you up to speed while you eat? And if I can help..." she suggested with some hesitation, realising she might be getting a bit too much into her motherly role as she almost offered to feed him.

"You are kind." He said with a small smile, picking up the chopsticks and weighing them between his fingers until he was moderately sure he could handle them. He had strong hands, however, used to exertion, hardened by recent years of physical work in the smithy, so his grip was rather steady. However, he smiled at the suggestion and sought her eyes for a moment to make it clear that he wasn't offended by her caring impulses. "I'll try on my own but if I falter, you can take over." There was even a glint of mirth in his gaze. "It'd be great to know what's going on."

"Yes, of course," she nodded gently and settled herself beside him, watching him discretely.

"When the storm ended we saw land, our destination. The fleet was soon met by two warships of the powers here; the Tortoise and another group called the Tarkhanate. We managed to negotiate to be allowed to dock without trouble, and most of the day was spent looking for survivors and supplies that were lost in the storm. I'm not sure about a lot that happened that day, a lot of my time was spent tending the wounded and trying to find a cure for you." She frowned a little. "Yogo-san from the Yamato Maru did try to ask the kami to aid you, but with little success... something about the kami not being as responsive here."

She sighed a little. Even being part of a shugenja family, it was still hard to grasp the ways of the kami.

"Yesterday Cook practically kicked me off the ship for my one good," she said with some humour, "so Bellena showed me around the eastern port and its markets. Then the order was given that we should find abodes on the island, so now the explorers are settled om both the eastern and western sides. I found a nice place on the hillside on the western side... Kenzo-san is staying there too, as my yojimbo, as there is still some uncertainity around how safe it is here. Places like parts of the eastern market have been said to be unsafe to visit alone."

She chewed thoughtfully on her lower lip. "I will know more about the expedition as a whole later as there is a meeting with the Admiral and the captains this morning."

He kept her in his peripheral as he started on the box. There was some uncertainty when he lifted his right hand as it was still quite numb from the amount of stingers it had received but so far he managed not to soil his lap or the bed with her meal. He ate with appetite, albeit slowly.

"Feels like you're acclimating quickly. It's good. And that you're protected. Will help you approach all that is new from a good spot, no? I'll need to find a place for myself when I recover enough."

A pause to chew.

"Interesting the Tarkhanate has a presence here. My guess it'll be a major issue soon enough. But maybe not."

He brought some more to his lips, finally losing some grains but not flailing about it.

"It's good. The meal."