He talks like a gentleman, like you imagined when you were young (closed, in progress)

[spiaconcioccie]

WHO: Izumo-no-Okuni (spiaconcioccie) and Giuseppe Adama (l-giuseppeadama
WHAT: A friendly (??) walk and talk
WHERE: The beach
WHEN: Afternoon, December 26

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[l_giuseppeadama]

He was intrigued, very intrigued. That it was one of the beautiful young women whose company he had enjoyed on Solstice who had contacted him held promise of some many different potentials. It went without saying that he would meet her. He walked onto the beach quite a way down from where she had asked him to wait scanning about in what may have seemed idle attention but it was more or less a facade he sometimes used to mask intense concentration.

Not that he didn't enjoy being on the beach. It was actually one of his favorite places in winter. He continued to glance around and though he saw her gave no indication as he continued to the spot she had suggested. Finally he reached the spot and stood starkly still as he gazed out over the rolling surf.

[spiaconcioccie]

She was so lost in thought, wondering if Gipo would know anything about the red-eyed "demon" Okuni constantly kept her ears open for because of the travelling he'd done, among other things, that she didn't notice he'd been standing down the beach for his own reasons. If he'd heard anything about Kyo, or Kyoshiro if he was passing himself off with that name, she'd be very happy to know it.

But when he drew closer to her, Okuni snapped back to reality and the present. She took the last few steps and looked up at him. "Something on your mind today?" she asked, sounding calm and happy.

[l_giuseppeadama]

He absorbed the question but continued to stare out over the sea for a few more minutes. He turned and looked at her.

"I miss it sometimes," he said quietly.

[spiaconcioccie]

She raised an eyebrow. "What do you miss?" Although part of her knew the answer already, asking was the polite thing to do and didn't give away that she'd looked up a few little things about the man already. And right now, Okuni had to stay polite.

[l_giuseppeadama]

He turned to look at her but kept his face impassive. Everything about this place was going to be a dance and a duel. Although that was exciting it also held an element of danger. Not that he hadn't experienced danger over the last few years.

It was a danger different then he might have anticipated when he embarked on his expected career. It was by his own choice that he'd ended up in a totally different place. Still he was surprised where that choice had brought him but he'd done well with it all the same.

He'd survived this far by being methodical and careful. So he had to figure out the character of this relationship before he let it go too far; dance or duel? The answer would be an intriguing one.

It was time to answer her question in any case. "Being out there," he said using his head to indicate the expanse of water in front of them. "Shall we walk then?"

[spiaconcioccie]

Okuni was a dancer, not a duelist. There was only one thing she was after in the end, though her loyalties to get that had taken changing paths over the years. But she knew the risks that came with her path and she wasn't quite as helpless as she seemed, should it ever come to that.

She'd make her steps carefully, avoiding his toes, and see what dance this ended up becoming.

"Walking is nice. But if you miss being out there, you had to have a reason to come back to dry land," she thought out loud. He'd tell her only as much as he wanted to, of course.

[l_giuseppeadama]

He eyed her speculatively, perhaps barely keeping the Not so fast from his glance. His brother's death was still a deep pain that whenever he thought of it ripped at his gut; he wouldn't even try to touch the still scorching anger at his father that had, for all intents and purposes, destroyed his very soul.

"Not open to discussion," he said. The words were clipped, not quite allowing the anger to come through. Perhaps if she was listening very carefully though she would be able to hear the barest whisper of the pain.

[spiaconcioccie]

She tried to read his gaze and had the feeling that she might have inadvertantly pushed too far too fast. At least she knew what subject to avoid asking about in the future.

"I'm sorry. Whatever your reason, you're here now and hopefully you'll find something interesting to do in this city."

[l_giuseppeadama]

He smiled at her now. "No need to apologize. It is what it is."

"Perhaps I'm hoping something interesting will find me. In case it doesn't though, tell me something interesting about the relationships between the powerful people in this city." He was reasonably certain she would understand what he was asking. He wondered how she would choose to answer.

[spiaconcioccie]

Something interesting? She didn't know as much as she used to about Vescovo, not since her firm link to them was severed, and Monacello was always a mystery. The young Don of that family was unpredictable. And yet she did notice one thing lately. A strange thing, but one nonetheless.

"Lately, people have been more eager to ruin buildings and livelihoods rather than lives. The murders that make the news don't seem to be related to the powerful people. Bombing and arson are the new keys to fear. It makes one wonder why such indirect methods are in play." It was as if people were suddenly collectively unwilling to risk their own death by taking the life of another.

That couldn't be said about her employer, but she suspected that Oriya was an exception to many rules.

[l_giuseppeadama]

Here finally after all of the little conversations he had been having since he arrived he was finding out something truly useful. Something he would need to consider if he implemented the vague plan that had been forming gradually in his mind.

The switch in tactics was potentially provocative though with more of an air of finality. Destruction of the infrastructure was a tactic as much limiting on the attacker as the one attacked. It not only removed the target's control, it constrained one's own options. However it also had a potential benefit.

"Strange that, destroying the source of another's livelihood also negates its potential value to one's self. It leaves me wondering what they hope to gain. Perhaps they think leaving the elite unable to sustain the services their own people and the rest of the populace rely on will cause their organization to crumble more quickly than just eliminating people who could potentially be replaced though. It's really a more devastating tactic in the long run.

[spiaconcioccie]

"I don't know the reasons for things, only that they're happening in a way I haven't seen before and I've lived in this city my entire life. As long as there are people interested in what I'm selling, the rest of it isn't my concern." A wry smile crossed her face for a few quick seconds before the bitterness in it faded. Of course she had her motives and plans, but they were for her to know and others to only guess at.

The wind blew stronger against her back and made her shiver briefly as they kept walking slowly. Okuni had chosen her words very carefully.

[l_giuseppeadama]

Interested in what she was selling of course, the timeliness of her profession even had it's own well known reference. "So you've isolated yourself from all the finer things of this life then? You sell, but do you gain anything if there's nothing left to buy with your hard earned remuneration? Perhaps you are after something more substantive then."

He noticed her shiver and wondered if it was because of the wind, which admittedly had gotten more noticeable, or because of what he had said. Taking off his jacket he draped it across her shoulders.

Then he took a chance and grasped one of her hands in his, turning her partly toward him his eyes locking briefly with hers, "and what would that something be I wonder?" It was certain they both had their secrets.

[spiaconcioccie]

She shook her head slowly. "Every once in a while, I gain something more useful than money. But aside from that, I live more comfortably than a large portion of this city because there's no point in an extravagant life like certain important criminals do." Okuni said nothing about his last point. She doubted that Gipo would have any answers for her, despite his travels.

When his coat draped over her shoulders, she took note of the polite gesture. Such a gentleman...a rare breed anywhere lately. It was a refreshing change from most men she interacted with. But the touch and turn was unexpected, making her eyes widen.

"What I'm after is a person from my past. If I heard where he was, I could look for him after years of wondering." It was true, but not a complete truth.

[l_giuseppeadama]

So she had no need for the extravagant. That did have it's place. It often made sense if one could be satisfied with comfortable to not push for more. He had the resources to do either, but other than the indulgence of taking a larger room at most places he stayed rarely exercised it. His party was the one other contradictory example that he allowed himself and this one had been rather quiet in comparison to past excesses

[spiaconcioccie]

Her reaction had been surprise more than real pain. That had been dulled over the years, but people rarely seemed sincerely interested in her as a person. And Okuni had turned the last one who did over to his death. She didn't know if she was capable of doing the same thing again, if circumstances repeated themselves completely.

"You did nothing wrong. I wasn't expecting a personal question or the touch, that's all." The look on her face was normal again, the traces of hurt back under her working face and tone. Okuni didn't pull her hand back, to show that it really didn't bother her.

She thought for a moment. "When I ran into him last, he was passing himself off as an herbal healer in Rome, probably looking for the next conflict to get himself involved in. The side he chose would have won, given his skills in combat."