Visions of Beyond

[Trydian]

Trydian smiled, but it was probably from the sake settling in his system. His clothes were unique for this country's way of dress and his hair simply fell to his back. He didn't care if he had to change how he looked, if it would please Chizuru and make her servants feel more at ease around him. “I can't really change my hair color, but I can change anything else that needs to be adjusted.” Trydian wasn't the type to care about looks, unless he was admiring a woman. He noticed the women gave him some special attention, but it could just be because of the company he came in with.

Snickering at his barbaric comment, he realized how different he must look to Tamotsu and the Shogun in the room. “I'm ready for the ceremony, but I want to something special for Chizuru. Do you have any ideas?” Trydian drank the last cup of sake and expected more. He wondered if he would need to be dragged back to his private quarters.

Chizuru would not be in a good mood when she found them.

[Kirin]

Tamotsu sighed heavily. The woman leaned against him, snuggling against his body.

"I suppose that if you dress like you are going to soon be either the Emperor or hold some sort of power, I think that would be suitable enough. You don't have to change your hair color." Tamotsu seemed at ease compared to how he behaved when around Chizuru.

He continually drank sake as he spoke.

"What special thing you have in mind? Oh! You know." He tilted his head upwards in thought. "Cha-no-ya." He said quietly. "It formal tea ceremony. I can teach you how."

The woman looked up at Tamotsu. She was clueless as to what Tamotsu was saying. He looked down at her and told her so she understood. "He wants to do something special for a woman he loves dearly. What do you suggest? I told him to do the cha-no-ya."

The woman tilted her head. "Hai, cha-no-ya is a good idea."

Tamotsu smiled and looked at Trydian. "Every woman want man to do cha-no-ya for her. It's..uhh...uhhh... romance. You need special clothing. It very formal."

[Trydian]

Trydian ignored the woman begging for Tamotsu's attention, but it was a humorous thing to witness. When Tamotsu mentioned the tea ceremony, he could only remember an informal one from his past. Tamotsu would have to have a lot of patience with Trydian.

“If the cha-no-ya will impress her, then you can teach me all I need to know, until I master it.” Trydian watched the women flirt with random men in the bar. “Can you make these women do anything else?” He was curious as to what talents they might have, not that he would encourage any to be demonstrated on him.

Hearing the title emperor was odd to Trydian. He hadn't really thought about his title. Knowing he would be required to wear formal clothing, Trydian made a disapproving face, but it was quickly recovered with a look of content.

“Whatever you need me to learn, consider me your student.” Trydian said seriously, almost in a slurred tongue. It was rare that Trydian had the ability to put his pride aside. He would learn this cha-no-ya ceremony for Chizuru and hope that she would see him in a different view.

[Kirin]

A mischievous smirk from Tamotsu was all the answer that he would give Trydian.

So, Trydian wanted to learn about the cha-no-yu and he's genuinely serious in the Empress' affairs. I guess I have no choice but to teach him., he thought.

Another cup of sake was gone before he could even respond.

"I can't really make women do more than what they do now. They like any human woman, I guess. But they no sing good." He laughed heartily, which brought over icy stares from the Shogun's guards.

The guards continued on their game until one man finally lost his temper and almost flipped the table over. Tamotsu rose an eyebrow and the woman curled up against him fearfully. Tamotsu just made a face. This guy was making a spectacle of himself. Tamotsu finished the next cup of sake and placed the cup on the table. The man was yelling about dice roller cheating. Tamotsu sighed.

"Oi! Might I offer my services to be an impartial dice tosser for your game?" Tamotsu waved at the Shogun's men.

The man who was originally tossing the dice just nodded. "Fine. If it will shut him up."

Tamotsu stood. "Do you want to play?" He asked Trydian. The woman cleaned up Tamotsu and Trydian's dishes and scurried into the kitchen.

[Trydian]

Trydian was up on his feet in minutes, the loud man bringing him into a stance. Half-expecting the entire place to turn into a riot. During the hectic moments, Trydian snatched the coin purse from Tamotsu. Chizuru had called him a thief and by trade, that was what he was. Tossing the coin purse to the large man, he would have nothing to do with their strange games.

“Buy yourself and your men a drink, or whatever you want. Everyone wins. Spend, until it's empty.” Trydian was annoyed. Tamotsu had called him barbaric. Smirking, he waited for Tamotsu's reaction. Luckily, they had paid for their drinks and meals, before everything had happened. The men went back to their tables.

Trydian woudn't be caught dead gambling with mortals. He had his sense of pride. His habit of being aware of his surroundings, told him that Tamotsu had something to do with the men's sudden anger.

“We should get going, if you want to teach me anything.” Leaning back in his chair, Trydian drank the remainder of his sake.

[Kirin]

Tamotsu's eyes widened in disbelief. He wanted to object, but he also didn't want to offend the Shogun's men. His hands pressed against his cheeks. He watched the men count the money in Tamotsu's coin purse, then thank him and Trydian. In a weak voice, he just told them that it was fine. He heard Trydian speak to him, then he nodded.

"We'll go back." He sounded a little dismayed, but it wasn't that big of a deal.

Tamotsu's face was red both from the sake and from what had just happened. He stumbled to the exit. The women all bade Trydian and Tamotsu farewell. Tamotsu rubbed his face as if to rub away his embarrassment, but he couldn't.

"I'll teach you after funeral." The fact of the matter was that Tamotsu and Trydian still had two more hours until the funeral. "I could use more to drink. But now I have no money."

But he had to pretend to be more of a good boy for Trydian. The man was only following Chizuru's orders. Tamotsu and Trydian would have probably been involved in a bar fight if Trydian didn't do what he did. Tamotsu spent the walk from the bar to the palace trying to rationalize what happened, but his intoxicated mind couldn't seem to make anything make sense to him.

"You prevented bar fight with action." He admitted finally.

The truth was that the coin purse was a small sum of money. He was on the Imperial salary now. He made enough to feed a hundred families for a year. But he had also lost enough to feed twelve families in that single action.

"Shogun's men scared of Empress' guards. They scared and mean to me. You should be careful around Shogun men, too."

He didn't think he did anything wrong by saying Trydian was barbaric. "You're smarter than other gaijin here. I underestimated you. Sorry."

[Trydian]

Trydian hardly said a word to the barmaids or owner. He hardly said a word, unless provoked into conversation. Chizuru had asked for him to watch over Tamotsu and it appeared that he had a few enemies. The money wasn't his concern, but he did feel some regret, when Tamotsu explained that it was his income. Back where he came from, he hardly had to worry about money, or how to survive each day. This was a new world, with new laws.

“I doubt Chizuru- the empress, would want to see you covered in bruises again. You won't be able to serve her with broken bones.” Trydian assumed from Tamotsu's explanation, that this was a common event. “I'll ask her for some money and pay you back.” If it kept the man happy, there would be no harm.

“I'm not afraid of Shogun. They can just try to fight me. Back in my homeland, I would have killed them back there.” Trydian listened to his own words. His action had been one to stop violence, which was unusual for him. Xanathi men didn't normally attempt such an option.

Compliments were rarely spared on him, so he took Tamotsu's with caution. “I don't know what a gaijin is, I'm just doing my job. I accept your apology...” It was strange, connecting with someone he barely knew. Trydian found that he was enjoying himself, even if they had almost been responsible for a brawl.

Walking back, they would both be a little drunk and scuffed up, but not enough to raise concern with Chizuru. The funeral was not something he was looking forward to.

“I suppose your funerals are long too?”

[Kirin]

"Eh, no. You're right. I wouldn't be able to serve her with broken bones. But it's fine. You don't need to give me money back. I'll be fine. Karma, neh?" If it couldn't be helped, it was chalked up to karma. Karma encompassed all things. Tamotsu never understood it.

"Funerals don't really last that long. It depends on how long it takes for body to burn. Too much..formal..for short funeral. Stupid idea, but it is the way it has always been. Prayer first, burn body second, short prayer next. People leave. Monk collect ashes. I take them, scatter them in sea. Or bury them. I'll probably bury them. She didn't like boats." Tamotsu's shoulders rose.

He shook his head. What a waste. Why did his sister have to jump to protect the Empress like that? She was not in danger. In fact, the Empress was resilient to fire. Amaya didn't know that. Amaya was only a maid and he was a bodyguard. He knew the Empress fairly well. Tamotsu smirked.

"A gaijin is a foreigner." He shrugged. "There are a lot of them in the city."

[Trydian]

Trydian looked at Tamotsu with a rare curiousity. He seemed to know personal details about the servant, who died to protect Chizuru.”Were you two close friends?” Trydian could understand loyalty, if Tamotsu was simply being respectful toward another servant. Chizuru's world was still fresh and new to him, but his thoughts and behavior were slowly changing.

“If someone died back home, we simply burned them and left, or piled them in a mound. The afterlife rarely means anything to us.” Thinking back on his lack of traditions, he realized how bleak his existence had been. There was little celebration, or remorse for the dead. It was a wonder he hadn't become completely stoic, given his circumstances in which he was conditioned.

The term gaijin was less offensive, now that he understood what it meant. Being a foreigner, he knew he would have to earn their respect. Sighing, Trydian wondered how he could give his own respect. “I will kill the vampire for revenge.” Revenge was an easy problem solver and it solved a lot of past issues. It was the one solution he enjoyed revisiting.

[Kirin]

Tamotsu looked down. "She was my nee-chan. Nee-chan means younger sister. I only have one sister left now. Older brother go missing in war." He didn't want to disclose that he was too late to rescue his brother from the necromancer. "I see sister later. We talk about family. She works for the Shogun now."

Their family had been split apart, mostly due to the war. Her sister was a guardian of the Shogun's. And she did a fairly decent job. She had the unsavory task of killing distant family members and clan rivals like the members of the Hinode or the Kuroda. Tamotsu had a more peaceful job for the most part. He usually protected the Empress, but she had sent him away while Trydian was breaking into the palace.

"The Empress is very religious. She believes in karma. I find karma confusing. I guess that she's lucky. The gods seem to smile on her. She prays all the time. She might be the first ruler to ascend into the stars. It's hard to talk about. She might become kami and be forced to hand over the throne to another like our founders did."

[Trydian]

Trydian gawked at Tamotsu for a second, before catching himself. After learning Amaya had been his sister, he felt the guilt return with a vengeance. Not only had he taken the man's money, but if he hadn't been present, the woman wouldn't have died. He would owe a lot to Tamotsu, but it wouldn't bring back his sister.

Having lost contact and bond with Sebilla, he could only relate a little. It was like his sister was dead, yet he knew she was still alive somwhere. Trydian doubted she was waiting for him and more-than-likely scorned his very existence. Putting his head down, he suddenly felt very uncomfortable, as if he should be talking about something else.

Emotions were never an easy thing to confront and he'd rather confront the Shogun. He didn't care that Chizuru was religious, unless she attempted to use her light magic on him again. Trydian was not religious, nor did he believe in Karma, or honoring the dead.

Clearing his throat, he interrupted the heavy silence. “I had a sister once. She's my twin and I was once bonded to her. Some evil King destroyed that and forced me to be bonded to him. Chizuru practically saved me from that...I guess I owe her my life.” Thinking about the past, he wondered where he stood in terms with Sebilla. “I'm sure that my sister is my enemy now. I reassured Chizuru, that I wouldn't hesitate to kill Sebilla, if I had to make the choice. “

Walking away from Tamotsu, he decided he'd rather focus on the funeral and tea ceremony. “You should be thankful your sister loved and treated you like an equal.” As far as Trydian was concerned, the only one he could trust from his family still was Caela and Igraine. He would have to send a message to Igraine as well, but that could wait. Trydian regretted giving the money to the Shogun, since he could use a drink right now.

[Kirin]

"I am thankful. I am thankful that all of my family treats each others like equal. You do what you think is right at the time. No one knows what will happen. I guess that is what the Empress calls karma. Oh well. We should go get ready for funeral." Tamotsu was walking towards the palace anyway.

He wanted Trydian as a friend because part of him thinks he is calculating and part of him knew that having Trydian as an enemy would make his life harder. Things like "wa" were foreign to him. Old ideas brought over from The Valley confused him. The only thing he knew about was "qi" because that was how he learned how to kill efficiently if he didn't have his sword.

The palace was somber and quiet. People moved around quietly and guards led both men to their respective quarters so they could get ready.