Despair and Wisdom: Imperial March

Kaigen had turned in early, because he knew he'd be getting up early.

Having goner through the usual post-waking rituals of cursing, finding his way to the latrines in the dark, finding his way back, and getting into his armor, the Hare now stood a midnight watch, looking out for people... well, people like himself, not to put too fine a point on it. With so many people around, there was an awful lot of swag to tempt the less-then-honorable.

Kaigen knew all about that, being something less than a paragon of bushido himself. But he also didn't believe in actively ripping off his colleagues. It was an established fact that in every army, there was only one thief, and everyone else was just trying to get their stuff back, but he wasn't going to volunteer for the spot.

And the Second Kaisha was a good place to start in heading that sort of thing off.

---
Let's boost that Strength... Day 1 Daily roll, Skulduggery/Earth to secure the Second Kaisha's section of the camp | TN: 2 | Success: 3 / Opportunity: 0 / Strife: 0


+1 Strength

A thin man with grey hair, wearing a nondescript kimono and beribboned saya, approaches the Hare, gives a nod.

"Volunteering for night-watch is often a good way to get on your commander's good side," he says, his tone light, his face grinning.

"Of course, when I used to do it, I'd get some funny looks. I can't imagine why."

"It's also a good way to have some time while everyone else is snoring to not concern yourself with what your commander thinks of you because they're generally well asleep by this hour."

He returned the grin.

"Or so I have heard. But I'm just a country samurai, after all. This one is Usagi Kaigen. They tell me I'm a scout."

"The commander might well be," comes an easy agreement with a nod. "But that's also part of what having a second helps happen. And I've never needed quite so much sleep as he does, anyway.

"But where are my manners?" A slightly deeper bow ensues, and then "I'm Osoroshii, Usagi-san."

After straightening, he continues. "It's been a while since I've been out to Hare lands. How are things that way?"

Kaigen bowed as was appropriate- which is to say, pretty damn low.

But nothing in his demeanor betrayed panic or even unease.

"About up to our usual standards, Osoroshii-sama. I was mostly chasing bandits before I got my orders for the Legion. A bit of courier work, here and there, but mostly... well. We're a Minor Clan. We see a fair bit of the small troubles and the big ones that everyone else frets about... well, they don't exactly pass us by, but they're kind of... removed."

"Bandits been a problem out your way, then?" Osoroshii asks. "Any organization to them, or just the usual 'Hey, let's see if we can nab some stuff other people worked hard to get' for yours?"

A hand ducks into his sleeve, pulls something out, pops it into his mouth.

"Oh, nothing too fancy. Just a few desperate idiots. We find 'em, they're not desperate much longer."

A chuckle permeates the sound of chewing.

"I've done enough of that kind of work," the shireikan says. "One of the first assignments I had with the Rikugunshokan--this was a whole before he was that, mind you--was working on some bandit issues a ways away from here. Sad lot, really; the Rikugunshokan prayed for them after it was all done, though."

He shrugs in the gloom.

"I don't know that it did them any good. But it's not really about how others act, is it?"

"I figure by the time I get involved, things are only going to go the one way. Shame, really."

"It's always possible they go another way, though," Osoroshii says. "Seen it happen too many times not to consider the possibility."

He grins.

"Part of why I'm still here, as it happens."

Kaigen just shrugged.

In his experience, if he was involved, it meant a corpse was the desired outcome.

"You live in Shiro Usagi or one of the outlying villages?" Osoroshii asks. "I know there are a few of them."

"Born in the Shiro... been living wherever they need me. Sometimes in a village, sometimes in a tent further out in the province, sometimes a tent's too luxurious. I'm the third of six, so figuring out where I'll end up is one of those questions we keep kicking down the road by keeping me actively employed."

Osoroshii nods.

"There's quite a bit of that out in the world," he says. "Still, a Legion's as good a place as any to raise your profile, make it easy for your family. Easier, anyway."

He shrugs.

"Or so I hear. Family's not the most pressing of my personal concerns, as you might guess."

A deep breath, heavy sigh.

"I suppose I ought to ask if you've had any experience with the kind of thing the Crab face when they look south."

"Does anyone who's not a Crab?"

The question appeared simultaneously sincere and rhetorical. Neat trick, that.

"Especially when it comes to Minor Clans. We don't get a lot of travel papers handed out to go see crazy stuff."

"More than you might think," Osoroshii says. "I mean, there's the Falcon not too far off from it, if we're going to talk Minor Clans. Easily spooked people, they, not a lot of good sake, fewer willing companions--which is a shame, really.

"Things occasionally crop up in other places, too," he continues. "Some chucklehead or another gets a stupid idea in mind, does something dumb to make it happen, and then there's a problem as needs to have something green shoved into it with great vigor."

He shakes his head. "You'd think people would learn."

"Ah, but it's a little learning that causes the trouble. If you're well-informed, you know where such things end. If poorly, well..."

The Hare shrugged.

"At best, they get to meet someone like me, only better."

A grunt of a laugh.

"You, Usagi-san, are going to bear some watching," Osoroshii says. "And I can't wait until you and Seppun Fumin run into each other.

"He's a good man, truly."

The Hare grinned.

"Just so one of us is..."

"He's got a...decided perspective on things," Osoroshii continues. "And, to his credit, he'll do his research. Which, honestly, is more than I can say for a great many people."

He looks at Kaigen.

"You know Meidochi well at all?"