Session Four; Playing Doctor

Dew clung to Mikoto’s kimono as she waded through the field outside of town. She had woken that morning, eaten breakfast by herself, and left with a basket to find herbs and other plants that could be used in medicinal ways. She had no idea what she was really looking for, not knowing anything about medicine besides folklore and tales. It wasn’t something people studied when there were priests around who could heal with just a prayer. But she had seen Asahina patching his own wound the first day they were in the dream world and the idea planted itself in her head that it was probably something worth learning. Today she would ask Asahina to teach her, he wouldn’t be able to say no if she already had the plants. And if he did, she’d just make sure Hikaru was nearby to keep Asahina from leaving until he decided teaching her was the better idea.

Mikoto looked at her bounty. She had some circle leaved plants, some with pointed leaves, a few thin stalks of something with some sort of seed pods, a plant that was two different colors, and a branch that had berries on it. It looked like a pretty good haul, the only thing she was missing was some sort of flower, and she knew people used flowers for medicine. Mikoto inspected the area, she could always grab some cherry blossoms on the way back, but that seemed way too common of a flower to be useful. Maybe there was a bush closer to the woods that had flowers on it; she could also pick up some bark while there. Mikoto remembered a time when she was young that she had gotten sick and in order to get better they made her drink a tea made from bark, it was terrible. But if bark is part of medicine she would definitely add it to her basket.

Near the forest Mikoto found several bushes with flowers, she grabbed the yellow tiny ones, some purple pokey things, some large white petal ones, and picked the bark off the nearest tree. That should do it, she thought to herself studying the basket now brimming with foliage. The sun had risen, warming the air as Mikoto walked back to the house, Hikaru in tow. The dew was drying off the plants creating a sweet green smell, and the scent of the cherry blossoms that surrounded the village blew on the gentle breeze that kept the spring the perfect temperature for outdoor strolls. Mikoto almost didn’t want to go back indoors. The day was starting beautifully, and even though she lacked an artistic eye for nature, she couldn’t deny that something was just better today.

The house was open on all sides when she came in, allowing the sun, wind, and outside pour into every nook and cranny. Pleased with herself, she crossed the courtyard to Asahina’s room, easily seen from the front door. It was closed, but it was late enough in the morning she didn’t expect him to be sleeping. Mikoto knocked, setting her basket on the ground.

“Asahina-san?”

No answer came. Mikoto frowned, trying again, and again there was no response. It wouldn’t hurt if she just took a small peek she decided and slid the door open enough for her to look about the room. Asahina wasn’t inside. How could he just leave this morning after all the work she did gathering the herbs so he could teach her medicine? She made her way to Shiba’s room who also was missing. That’s two for two. Believing the rest of her housemates had gone on some group outing without her, she almost passed up Daigotsu’s room. Mikoto sighed and looked at Daigotsu’s door. She didn’t want to find out everyone had left her here alone, like she had grown up, and if she knocked and Daigotsu was also gone that would clearly be the case. The door swiftly slid open, Mikoto finding herself in the presence of Daigotsu who was just staring at her as if she was expecting Mikoto. Daigotsu didn’t say anything or make a move.

“Could you help me figure out how to use plants?” Mikoto asked hesitantly.

“Plants?”

“Yes,” Mikoto found her conviction again, “I want to learn medicine so that if any of our soldiers or samurai get injured I would have knowledge to help them.”

“I can do that,” Daigotsu nodded. “What exactly do you have to work with?”

Mikoto held out her basket of plants she had picked today. Daigotsu seemed to be scanning the items, not touching any of them. She took a breath, “Matsu-san, you can put those back outside, they won’t help.”

“Oh… okay,” Mikoto lowered the basket. “Not even a little?”

“No.”

“Okay…” Mikoto had worked for a good hour this morning collecting them, there’s no way all of them were useless. Maybe Daigotsu just didn’t know how to use them correctly and didn’t want to admit it. She went out the back since it was closer to Daigotsu’s room and set her basket near the steps. She’d come back for it once she knew something about medicine to pick out the items that could be helpful.

“Let me check on Kitsuki-san and I’ll meet you in your room, Matsu-san.” Daigotsu was right behind Mikoto when she turned around and Hikaru hadn’t made a noise. She glared at Hikaru when Daigotsu walked off. This was the second time now that Hikaru had acted strangely around Daigotsu, and by strangely Mikoto meant Hikaru seemed to be instantly accepting Daigotsu.

Mikoto went to her room and waited; it wasn’t more than a few seconds before Daigotsu came in and closed the door behind her. Mikoto raised her brows, not sure what Daigotsu had planned. She wanted to know about plants, there weren’t any plants in here, and now that the door was closed it was just the three of them, alone. It didn’t frighten her, but she had been interested in Daigotsu since she met her, and there had been a time or two she had wished to have Daigotsu alone, in an empty house, behind closed doors.

Daigotsu tugged on her shozoku, pulling it off her face and tossing it by the door. “The first things you need to know are the basics of life.”

Mikoto nodded as Daigotsu circled her. A firm pressure pushed on her back below her ribs.

“Here,” Daigotsu said leaning over Mikoto’s shoulder.

Daigotsu was taller than her, not nearly as tall as Asahina but enough that Mikoto’s line of sight fell directly on Daigotsu’s lips. They were thin, had she ever noticed that before? Probably not since Daigotsu often wore her mask. It seemed to be what all the Spider Monks wore, making it difficult to tell them apart when grouped together.

Daigotsu touched Mikoto’s neck with her other hand, gently compressing the area under her jaw near her throat.

“Here,” Daigotsu removed her hand from Mikoto’s back and slid it between Mikoto’s legs pressing on her inner thigh entirely too close to other areas, as if touching wasn’t bad enough. “And here. Those are the most vulnerable parts. If you’re looking for a kill and can get one of those three, do it.”

Mikoto couldn’t resist the urge, she touched Daigotsu’s inner thigh as well, “Here?”

Daigotsu took Mikoto’s hand and slid it closer to her pelvis, “Here.” She could feel the difference in the muscle definition, where her hand now was definitely felt softer and more vulnerable. Her heart began to race. Daigotsu was so close to her, and touching her, and being touched by her, she thought maybe this was when Daigotsu was finally going to make her move. Daigotsu stepped away.

“You see, your heart pumps blood to different parts of your body,” Daigotsu tapped Mikoto’s chest, “and those three places will cause massive amounts of bleeding in a very short time. The one in your back is your kidney, you actually have two but the other is guarded by these ribs over here.” Daigotsu was brushing Mikoto’s left ribs, the brief encounter tickling her.

“In your neck and leg are arteries. You have arteries throughout your entire body, but those two are major, and large, and easier to get to.”

Mikoto nodded. Daigotsu was actually teaching her medicine and not just fondling her. She sighed inwardly, that small glimmer of hope snuffed out by how informative Daigotsu was being. This must be why most don’t learn medicine. If all instruction went the same way Daigotsu was teaching her, she could see where someone could easily get the wrong idea and no one would learn anything because they were too busy answering the call of temptation. Mikoto pressed her lips fighting the call herself.

“We can tell how well your heart is doing by listening to it, or feeling it here.” Daigotsu cupped Mikoto’s hand pressing her fingers on Mikoto’s inner wrist; she waited a few seconds, frowned and allowed a few more seconds to pass. “Your heart is a little fast, Matsu-san.”

“I’m excited to learn,” Mikoto quickly responded. Apparently it worked, Daigotsu nodded and smiled.

Daigotsu stepped behind her again, this time drawing two ovals down her back at the top portion of her ribs. Mikoto closed her eyes trying to imagine the size and position of the invisible lines Daigotsu drew.

“These are you lungs, they’re important for your heart and blood flow. Obviously you cannot survive without air, but it’s more than just breathing.”

She opened her eyes to see Daigotsu once again in front of her. She was untying Mikoto’s obi. Mikoto held her breath; this was going a bit further than just touching, now Daigotsu was undressing her. Once her belt was unknotted, Daigotsu brushed Mikoto’s kimono off her shoulders, then pulled open her hiyoku (under-kimono) and nagajuban (robe worn under the hiyoku) to bare Mikoto’s shoulders completely. Daigotsu traced a finger from Mikoto’s heart down between her breasts, the only thing keeping Daigotsu from touching the flesh there was her susoyoke, the thin slip-like underwear women wore.

“Your heart runs an artery from here to your lungs, stopping about here. Take a breath.” Mikoto did as she was told letting it out as slowly as she could to keep her heart from pounding out of her chest. “When you breathe, air mingles with your blood and returns to your heart.” Daigotsu was retracing the path she had so delicately painted with her finger.

“From there the blood runs through your body, carrying the breath of life.” Daigotsu was drawing lines from Mikoto’s heart down her torso, her belt falling away and Daigotsu pushing open Mikoto’s kimono. At Mikoto’s navel Daigotsu veered towards Mikoto’s hip and down her leg, squatting to reach Mikoto’s knee, shin, and the top of her foot. This was driving Mikoto mad. In the back of her mind she wondered if Asahina would be doing the same thing if she had found him to teach her medicine; touching her, undressing her, and not taking advantage of the situation when she had no reservations.

Daigotsu stood, starting at Mikoto’s heart again she drew across her shoulder, tugging the layers of her robe off as she went, down her arm which Daigotsu turned palm up, her fingers spreading across Mikoto’s forearm sending a series of shivers up Mikoto’s back, and touching her fingertips to Mikoto’s.

“And lastly,” Daigotsu was speaking again; apparently they were still in the lesson, “Up your neck.”

Daigotsu stepped in close to her wrapping a hand around the back of Mikoto’s neck and sliding her fingers into Mikoto’s shoulder length hair, grabbing, pulling slowly to tilt her head back. Daigotsu was almost chest to chest with her, she could feel her breath on the dip at the front of her neck. Daigotsu started at Mikoto’s heart again and slid a finger across her collarbone, opening her hand tracing her fingertips towards the back of Mikoto’s skull, encircling her throat.

There they stood, it felt like minutes passed, Daigotsu clutching at Mikoto, leaning in closer as she looked over Mikoto’s face. Mikoto could see Daigotsu’s eyes moving, like she was being studied. Her eyes. Mikoto hadn’t ever noticed them before. Had they always been that way? Daigotsu was peering at her with one eye the color of ripened blueberries and the other a rich umber. Then it was over, Daigotsu promptly released her and moved away leaving Mikoto wondering if it was all in her mind, if that had happened and Daigotsu was about to kiss her.

“Ahem,” Daigotsu cleared her throat, “It’s important to realize where the veins and arteries run for stanching blood flow when assessing a wound. Most wounds you can apply pressure to stop the bleeding,” Daigotsu squeezed Mikoto’s forearm, “But certain ones you need to cutoff the supply by tying off the limb.” Daigotsu drew a line around Mikoto’s bicep.

“Every wound that pierces the flesh will bleed, even minor ones like a prick from a needle. I’ll go over how to tell if they’re serious or-”

“You have beautiful eyes,” Mikoto interrupted. She couldn‘t take her eyes off them; she had never before seen someone with eyes like Daigotsu.

Daigotsu titled her head down, hiding her right eye, the blue one. It didn’t work very well since Mikoto was shorter, but she could read the action all the same, it obviously made Daigotsu uncomfortable for her to have said that.

“Erm,” Daigotsu blinked, “If they’re serious or not.”

“Did I offend you?” Mikoto peered at Daigotsu. Daigotsu shuffled backwards.

“Most people-um, just don’t say anything.”

“I’m sorry.” Mikoto didn’t mean to make her uncomfortable. It just came to mind and, like most things do, out of her mouth.

“It’s fine. It’s just… uh-usually it isn’t… complimented. Only inside my clan has-um, have I ever heard reverence for it.” She was fidgeting. Daigotsu didn’t fidget.

“I think,” Mikoto began, “People get so caught up in what’s different that they don’t see who you really are.” Daigotsu shrugged and rubbed the back of her neck. “You can’t be that bad if Hikaru likes you.”

Mikoto offered a smile in attempts to put Daigotsu back at ease. Hikaru must have been thinking the same thing, that or decided it was time for him to join the petting, he rubbed against Daigotsu’s leg. Daigotsu scratched at Hikaru’s head, between his ears.

“You were saying you would tell me how to identify a serious wound?” She prodded Daigotsu, holding out her arm for Daigotsu to take again.

“Yes. Let’s say you were injured here,” Daigotsu ran her thumb across the outside of Mikoto’s arm where her bicep and shoulder met. Mikoto enjoyed the sensation. “Even if it’s more than superficial, it isn’t life threatening from loss of blood. Disease is a different story, and that’s where plants come in, but that’s further down the line.”

Mikoto nodded. No wonder the herbs were useless today, she had to learn about wounds first, and the body. And she had to admit, she didn’t mind Daigotsu teaching her about her body, caressing her and being so close. Daigotsu continued to talk, continued to touch her, and Mikoto did her very best to pay attention. It was difficult though Daigotsu didn’t seem to notice the sensations she was causing in Mikoto.

There was another moment like the one when she thought Daigotsu was going to kiss her. They had moved onto muscles, strains and sprains, with Mikoto sitting on the ground one leg inclined as Daigotsu used it as a model. Daigotsu was talking about knee strains and how common they were, wrapping Mikoto’s knee. Once she was done Daigotsu became quiet again, her hand on Mikoto’s thigh. Mikoto watched, waiting to see where this was going. There were a more than a few occasions where she had almost misinterpreted Daigotsu’s instruction for foreplay. Medicine seemed to be very hands on. And though she wouldn’t complain if things did end up going in that direction, she still wasn’t convinced Daigotsu even considered her in that fashion. Daigotsu’s hand drifted up her leg, grazing her susoyoke and lifting it by an inch before Daigotsu withdrew again and hastily jumped back into instruction.

“That’s enough for today,” Daigotsu said rising and brushing out her pants. “We’ll pick back up in a day or two, give this time to sink in.”

Mikoto opened her mouth to ask a question, anything that would keep Daigotsu in the room, from keeping things from ending. Nothing came to mind. Daigotsu had already turned her back, picked up her wrap from by the door, and slipped out into the hallway. Mikoto sat there, nearly nude, swept away in her inner turmoil. So badly she wanted to rub her hands on Daigotsu, but she kept telling herself it was simply the way one learned medicine. There had to be touch, how else would you know the subtle difference in firmness where the muscles met?

If she had acted in the way her lustful desires were commanding, there probably wouldn’t be another day that Daigotsu was going to teach her. That was something to look forward to, it may not be Daigotsu naked and entwined with her, but it was another day Daigotsu would lay her hands upon her body, and Mikoto figured that would be close enough. She took a sharp inhale to calm herself. She could smell Daigotsu lingering in her room; it was earthy but sweet, reminding her of daifuku, a rice cake filled with sweet red bean paste. Mikoto sighed and flopped on the floor. Next time they’d have to learn in Daigotsu’s room, she couldn’t have these thoughts running through her head and have Daigotsu’s scent sticking around as a reminder.

Hikaru quietly stared at her.

“You don’t get to say anything,” She scowled at Hikaru, “Where were you when she was accosting me?”

Mikoto rolled onto her stomach and propped herself up on her elbows. Hikaru blinked slowly, unable to comprehend the situation.

“I know,” She said morosely, “I don’t understand either.”

She shrugged and pulled herself together. Rising and dressing slowly, Mikoto reran what had just happened through her head. She was glad they weren’t going to move to the next lesson for a few days; Mikoto was going to need that time to push the stimulating thoughts from her mind, to concentrate on learning instead of mauling Daigotsu.

***

***

Katsumi stepped outside Matsu’s room and slid the door closed, standing there, waiting to get a grip on herself. Twice she realized she had the opportunity to advance in her mission, and twice she stumbled, uncertain if it was the right moment. Maybe she wasn’t doing this seduction thing right. She wouldn’t doubt it, it wasn’t something she was ever taught or ever used. Because of her eyes she wasn’t suited for tempting most of Rokugan, and inside the Spider clan there wasn’t a need for veiled invitations for physical pleasure. This was a whole new world to Katsumi, one she didn’t fully understand and now she was supposed to just jump in and snatch up Matsu? She wasn’t even sure if Matsu was still interested. The second day they met Matsu had shown interest, but nothing since then. Maybe it was a passing fancy on Matsu’s part. Maybe she wasn’t giving the right signals on her part. Katsumi sighed. Things would be so much easier if she could just handle this the way she knew how, but appearances had to be kept up and that way wouldn’t mesh well.

She encased her face with her shozoku, having done it for so many years it was second nature, and headed back towards her room. Since she was staying in town, and living here now, she had some items she needed to attend to, mainly diet. It had only been a day, but she was sorely disappointed with the food thus far. The cooks here kept to traditional meals for most of Rokugan, which didn’t include traditional meals her clan grew up with. You could live off of rice and fish, but from past experiences after a few days without red meat Katsumi felt her spirit sicken. That was when she learned to bleed livestock.

“Servant, I require water.” A male voice Katsumi hadn’t heard before called from the front of the house.

She crept down the hallway in front of Asahina’s room and looked through the courtyard to the receiving area, where a man she had never seen before stood alone. He was average height, maybe 5’8”, thin, with dark hair in a topknot and a long face. He was incredibly unremarkable in his physical appearance. His clothes were sea green and black, which placed him as a Mantis clan member. Katsumi watched the stranger, curious on what he was doing in their house without anyone greeting him. He turned, obviously noticing her presence across the opening between them and silently watched her as well. Not my problem she thought as she walked towards the kitchen.

Grabbing an empty pitcher, Katsumi headed out the backdoor towards the cattle. On her way she grabbed a heimin who was tending to some other menial farm task. Katsumi never took care of an animal, so she had no idea what exactly he was doing but it was always easier to bleed a cow with two people. After explaining what they were going to do, and the heimin paling considerably, she had him keep the cow calm as she nicked its neck. It doesn’t hurt much, at least the cow never seems to mind the cut, keeping them still so you can fill the pitcher is the hard part. Once her jug was full she showed the man how to put pressure on the cut to stop the bleeding. After about a minute the wound clotted up and Katsumi, the cow, and the terrified heimin went on their merry way.

Katsumi, happy with her haul, walked back into the house to find the Mantis still standing in the receiving room. There was sushi on the table, most of it eaten, and a pitcher of something nearby. She glanced around, wondering where Asahina was. Surely someone was in here with the Mantis, it would be silly if he was still waiting by himself.

“Hello, Spider-sama,” the Mantis bowed, “I’m Tsuruchi Airo, from the Mantis clan. I’ve been sent here to help Asahina-sama with his growing village.”

His voice was haughty. Katsumi didn’t like that. She just stared at him, holding her pitcher of blood. She wasn’t supposed to handle these things, Asahina had said that she would handle what the Spider would handle, and this was not that. Since he wasn’t here for her and he was here for Asahina, Katsumi just decided to continue staring.

“And who might you be?”

She just stalked off. This wasn’t her problem. She did, however, need to procure some cooks trained in the delicacies of Spider cooking otherwise her pitcher of blood was going to just waste away. Katsumi dropped the pitcher off in the kitchen, warning everyone else from touching or dumping it and headed off to the Spider camp to requisition a cook. She didn’t need to ask or notify anyone, that’s not the way the Spider worked. They took what they wanted, which often left them not wanting for much.

She also had to speak with her family about when they’d be departing. Now that she was staying here, she knew that they would be splitting ways. She would be here for a significant, undefined amount of time, and not knowing when she’d see Yanagi again saddened Katsumi. Yanagi had always been there in her life, Yanagi and Koto, her father. But Koto was dead now, and Yanagi was all she had left. She wasn’t dependant on either of them; she had spent time apart from everyone she knew when she trained at the Black Silk Dojo. It was a part of growing up and she managed fine. But even during those times of separation, at least she knew they would meet again. Once the mission was over, once training was over, once the next town was rid of bandits, but there was no end to growing a town. It would be over when it was over and that may be never.

Finding a cook was easy enough, in fact she found two, but finding Yanagi not as much. She did gather the Spider were moving out tomorrow so she left a message for her brother that she would return early evening to say her goodbyes. Tonight was the last of the full moon, giving Katsumi a limited amount of daylight to work with before she was bound once again under Kitsuki’s watch.

It wasn’t long before they had reached the house and Katsumi began directing the cooks in the kitchen. The other servants politely left, not wanting to be part of something so taboo in their culture. They’d have to get used to it, granted, she had two cooks so they could work different shifts, but the others would have to learn eventually as well. First up was blood cake and whatever was left could be made up into blood tofu. With a whisk of her finger in the jug - just a small taste to tide her over, Katsumi left the kitchen and sat outside Kitsuki’s office. For now it was her turn to watch over him.