Visions of Beyond

[Kirin]

"Katsu-chan, Amaya is your assistant. She will do whatever it is that you ask of her. Amaya is going to help you fit into our customs and make things easier for you. If you require anything, let her know. I do not mean to make you think that I am pushing you off on someone else. Amaya is a faithful servant and I think she will be a good help for you." Chizuru smiled.

Amaya kept her head low. She was silent.

"Plus, Amaya knows many languages. She has traveled more than most people in the Empire as part of the Wandering Tenpo. A group of merchants and craftsmen that sell their wares everywhere. She is most informed. You may leave." Chizuru walked out of the room and the screen slid shut behind her.

Amaya turned to Katsumi. "You are tall, Katsumi-sama."

[Katsumi Viora]

Katsumi blushed horribly again when Chizuru called him Katsu-chan.
That's still so adorable..
He thought to himself as he listened to her speak explaining what was going on and who
the maid was..A content smile was on his face,trying not to cover it again with his sleeve
to hide his blush..He bowed his head to Chizuru.

"Understood Chizuru-chan."


He said softly before he turned to Amaya..he canted his head he was very careful not to smile fully here in fear
that his fangs would startle someone and give them the impression he was like the undead that had caused
such a problem here.
He laughed softly..


"Well thank-you..I hope it's not a problem to you."


He said softly,his hands clasped in-front of him,he still blushing lightly..

[Kirin]

Amaya sighed. "Well, it will be a problem to our seamstress, but she will be fine. She is very skilled." She motioned for Katsumi to follow her. "First, I must bathe you. Then, I will find you a kimono that I can temporarily alter for your wings. Then we meet again with the Empress and she will discuss what she will decide for you to do."

Amaya was very organized and she believed that she should keep Katsumi organized as well. She was leading Katsumi to a bathhouse. "There are different rituals in bathing. Well, this one is suitable for the Empress and she feels it is suitable for you. I will fetch your kimono while you are being bathed. Don't worry, you'll be well-taken care of. The Empress would not want anything to harm her honored guest."

It was clear that Amaya had no idea that Katsumi was Chizuru's lover. She led Katsumi through the door and slid open a screen. Maids were busy filling a basin with water and heating a tub. There was all sorts of soaps and shampoos. A maid bowed to Katsumi. In the broken common tongue, she spoke. "Take clothes off. Please."

[Katsumi Viora]

Katsumi was blushing,he'd listen to Amaya,he nodding time to time making sure
to take in all she said..He was used to being ordered around and being organized..
So this wasn't a chore at all..
The bathing part was a bit strange though,Katsumi felt rather uncomfortable
He wasn't used to others being around when he was bathing..let alone was he used
to having outsiders touch his body..
Don't be like your father..there's nothing wrong with these people..
He sighed softly,playing with his hair a bit out of his nervousness..


"Understood,I trust you all."


He said softly as they walked along until they got to the room where the others were preparing his bath..
He bowed his head back to the maid he was still blushing as he then nodded..He'd go to where he could take off his robes and the clothing underneath it..which only consisted of a simple black sleeveless top and Hakama pants and then of course his sandals...He tried to be as proper as he could be under such circumstances,vying to wrap something around his waist until he was in the tub if he had to..He was rather built,his skin flawlessly pale and untouched besides the fancy elder tattoos that covered both arms all the way up and halfway past his shoulders..He kept his wings folded,he brushing a bit of his hair from his face..He'd follow any other instructions given without hesitation..

[Kirin]

The maid didn't understand what Katsumi said to her. She smiled and nodded in response. The maid motioned for Katsumi to take off his towel. The maid and one other began to lather Katsumi with soap. They were talking amongst one another, giggling briefly at what the other would say. Names popped up in their conversation, then the conversation paused. The maid that was in charge gestured to the tattoo.

"What this mean?" She ran her finger across the elder tattoo.

The other maid grabbed Katsumi's hand and guided him to the tub.

"You sit down on bench. Tell if it is too hot." She said.

Both of the maids began giggling again.

[Katsumi Viora]

Katsumi felt very uncomfortable but wasn't willing to be rude and say anything not wanting to anger the maids or Chizuru in some manner..
He'd follow the maid's instructions and move when needed be,he was still blushing lightly..
When the maid ran her finger along the tattoo he gasped softly,shivering looking away.

"..It..It grants me..magic...and helps make what I already have,stronger."


He tried to be as simple as he could with his explanations,he was feeling so out of place
here..Katsumi's wings twitched slightly as he remained still on the bench,he eyed the few maids that were giggling his brow
arched.

[Kirin]

Feeling guilty, the maid bowed.

"I sorry. I tell story about Empress." The maid poured a couple of drops of scented oil in the water. She just looked at Katsumi as though he were anyone else.

"Correct me if I say wrong words, please, Sir?" She asked him. The maid at the bathhouse that was talking to Katsumi was just a kid.

She blushed and giggled. "Empress go on big ship to island last year. She tell their King she is in charge here. King tell her to put weapons away. King gives her and guards big..ah..dinner. Empress say she doesn't like food. They sing for her and dance. She say singing bad to her guard. King hear her and the people in the village chase her and guards out. The people almost get to her ship, but she leaves as quickly as she can and come back here."

The maid looked over as Amaya walked in. Ayama was wearing only a towel. A couple more maids rushed to Amaya and began to wash her as they did Katsumi.

"When you ready, we finish bath." The maid speaking to Katsumi mumbled. She was nervous around Amaya.

[Katsumi Viora]

Katsumi canted his head..

"..You don't need to be sorry,I'm not mad."


He said smiling softly then nodded,he'd listen to her story quietly..He then nodded once more as she finished..


"A good story..thank-you---hmn?"


His head turned a bit seeing someone else walk in but he didn't turn fully,his wings twitched..
He knew it was Amaya and wouldn't turn..He suddenly felt uncomfortable again he didn't see how it was
proper to be bathing like this but still,he would play along.
He nodded to the maid again.


"Alright,you can finish up."


He said calmly,he'd allow the maid to do what she needed to do he not wanting to interfere with her orders..
His head canted slightly.


"That's a shame,no one is really bad at singing..it's just another way of letting your emotions out and expressing yourself.."


Amber eyes turned to the maid.


"Do you have any ways you like to express yourself?"


He asked,he wasn't sure how else to clarify it to her the language boundary was sort of hard
for him to work around but he'd try to make small talk with the maid(s) the best he could so they
wouldn't seem so uncomfortable...

[Kirin]

The maid nodded and sighed. "Please get out of tub and dry yourself off."

She waited for him patiently. The maid smiled and offered Katsumi a new kimono. "I cook." She answered his question calmly. She laughed softly. "Would you like massage?"

Amaya was calmly letting herself be washed and pampered. She didn't seem to mind Katsumi's presence. However it may be, Amaya didn't too much take notice to Katsumi's naked body.

"You are uncomfortable, Katsumi-san." She allowed one of her maids to wash her hair.

[Katsumi Viora]

Katsumi got out of the tub and took a towel drying himself off as the maid instructed before he set the towel aside and took the kimono..Despite having wings he wasn't clumsy with them at all,they mearly an extension of his own body as he carefully worked around them slipping the wings into any of the modifications that Amaya had spoken of for his wings..He quickly tied it and got on whatever else was needed such as his sandals and Hakama..He wanted to keep on that much anyways unless told otherwise..He smiled at the maid.


"Cooking?..I see,you should be thankful to have such a wonderful talent..As long as it makes you happy that's what matters."


He said,not wanting to make a long-winded comment and confuse the maid with what he was saying..
He had not bothered drying off his wings,any water remaining would immediately evaporate leaving no
trace his wings were wet in the first place..
Katsumi shifted his shoulders some his wings folding fully to his slender back..
His head canted lightly,hearing Amaya..He blushed slightly but did not look at her.


"...I am somewhat,it's a new experience for me but..I'm calming down a bit...At my home,it isn't proper to
bathe or be bathed by someone who isn't your lover..I wasn't expecting Chizuru-chan to accept such a thing as this.."


He trailed off a moment,before continuing.


"But,as I told Chizuru-chan,I am willing to learn and take part in whatever needed be without hesitation.."


He said and then looked back to the maid,he still blushing..


"...A massage?...could your gentle hands tend to my wings in such a manner?...They are a bit sore from my travel here...But please,do be careful..they're very sensitive..."


He asked,he'd sit down if needed be so the maid could get at his wings..He let them remain loose against his back she having free reign of where she chose to massage his wings at and how she wanted...

[Kirin]

Amaya was calm. "Here, everyone is pretty much the same, male, female. We are not quite as shy as you. Everyone has a place in society, from the Empress to the lowliest butcher, we are all the same in the end. We live life here as karma dictates and once we die, we all wait for our next life to begin. Who knows what we'll be? Maybe when I die, I'll be reincarnated as the Shogun. Or I may be a pirate." Amaya shrugged and settled in the tub. "You'll see. Things are different. As much as we are prepared to die, we take life fairly seriously. This bath is not just for your body. It cleanses your mind and your spirit."

The maid began to massage Katsumi's wings. Her hands were unsure as she rubbed where she thought bone was. It had to be like the wings of a bird, she thought.

Amaya continued. "You never know. Maybe that maid massaging your wings will be the next Empress. In this Empire, the Heir to the throne is not always going to be the Empress' children. Not that she has children, mind you. It will be whoever shows the greatest aptitude to learn the Way of the Pheonix. People whisper that if anything were to happen to the Empress, her sister would take her place. But it is a rumor. We will not let anything happen to our Benevolent Empress. Her people love her and she seems to love her people."

[Katsumi Viora]

Katsumi sat/kneeled so the maid could get at his wings properly..Of course,his wings would be exactly like a bird's but of course far bigger...He closed his eyes relaxing more as he listened to Amaya speak,he smiled faintly..Only speaking once she finished.


"...Reincarnation..I haven't heard about such a thing for so long..I used to read about it so much back at home..Of course my kind ..we're stuck in the fabric of time..no one beginning..no end..If we are taken out,we eventually are brought back by another family member or a loved one..only a few of us have been killed and left to be as such..but even then..despite not wanting them back in our lives..they seem to always find a way to slip back through the cracks and torment our eternity yet once more..Even our ancestors find ways back..but..thankfully it has been on more of a teaching level..then on a level in which they wished punishment upon us.."



He sighed softly.



"I wish my family was as accepting of others as it was here..maybe just maybe...we wouldn't of had so many die in the name of my family then."


He muttered his amber eyes opening as he stared off to the side some..


"i would never let anything happen to my precious Chizuru-chan...I've been gone for far too long,I don't intend to make the same mistake ever again."


He said softly..

[Kirin]

Amaya finished her bath and was getting dried off. She sighed softly. "I apologize for comparing our two lands like that. I don't wish to offend you. You have your ways and we have ours. I hope I can help you with understanding our ways."

As soon as the bath was over for the pair, Amaya turned to Katsumi. "Would you like me to give you a little tour? Just of where you'll be staying." Amaya was friendlier now that she had a bath.

[Katsumi Viora]

Katsumi faced Amaya once it was proper to..He shook his head lightly.


"...You don't need to apologize to me,you've done nothing wrong..despite the location of both our homes..we both lead entirely two different life-styles."


He explained then nodded,smiling faintly.


"Yes,I would like that..and I trust in you as my teacher for this new experience."


He laughed softly,a boyish grin following.

[Kirin]

Amaya blushed faintly, then nodded. "Very well. Are you ready to go?" She adjusted the obi and said something to the maid about tea later. Amaya walked out of the bathhouse and waited for Katsumi before she began. She gestured to a garden. "Do you have gardens in your homeland? We like our gardens to be orderly."

And the garden was orderly. There was a single pond surrounded by bonsai trees that were older than she was. A single gravel pathway snaked through the garden in such a manner that one would not be able to get a terrible view of the garden. Even so, moss was the prevalent ground cover and moss hung off the trees. There were flowering plants, but none were in bloom at this point of the year. There was still a significant chill in the air.

"This is one of the Empress' many gardens. Her father had this planted to ease his busy mind after bathing. Near the end of his reign, there was a lot of war because of the undead taint upon the land. There was the complete annihilation of the Usagi clan, which I thought was impossible. They refused to fight because no one ever taught them how. They were strong allies, almost all farmers. During this war, many of the smiths of the Kuma clan, a clan known for making most of the weapons and armor for the military, were also lost. But what caused the war was the murder of Emperor Byakko's closest friend, Lord Shun of Kitsune, by the army of undead. It was done in cold blood. The Kuma warrior and The Monkey Princess barely escaped from the undead army before they encroached completely upon Takahashi, one of our harbor cities."