While the teens were learning how to craft a riverboat from scratch, Moriko and Kazue were enjoying their time in Ekuihey both received some guidance about protocol and mao help guide them through the few parties scattered throughout their stay, and while dang they had a lot of fun trading off who was the lead and trying to not giggle too much when Kazue fumbled a little as the lead. There was a reasoaller person was supposed to lead, and even Kazue's greater experience as a dancer couldn't quite make up for the difference.

  They were perhaps not quite as decorous as they should be for occasions such as balls, but it was also a strategy. It left them looking harmless in political circles, and thus either ignored or uimated. There robably more to gain from pying the game properly, but the amount of effort and training it would take to master their parts wasn't yet worth it. They would only be involved in such matters on rare occasions if they had anything to say about it, and the gains wouldn't be worth the effort.

  Moriko showing Kazue around the city was their other major pastime. The shopping tio be list-oriented for now, as they wao wait until the end of their trip to leverage their status as avatar and tractor of the Azeria duo purchase their items, most of which they inteo have shipped to the dungeon directly.

  She alsht Kazue to slightly less reputable areas, in part to hit up some dive bars. Not that Kazue could drink a lot, her tolerance had only slightly improved. She had, at least, gotteer about not getting carried away.

  The other thing that drew Moriko to the poorer areas of the city was the feeling that this was where she was more likely to find people in need of a little help. Asking fuidance had bee part of her daily prayers, and she was slowly being attuo this gentle response. She'd also beeating on readings about free will and the intervention of deities. Generally, this was the way it was supposed to work; a mortal has to prove that they are dedicated to receiving this guidance, lest this faint brush of the god's will interfere with the mortal's own.

  Some gods, whom Moriko wisely refused to name even in her private thoughts, were known tet themselves in moments of inteion. It robably best to not imagine a younger woman scolding her aunt for letting her passions trol her instead of being in trol of her passions.

  Moriko's first opportunity to help came when she heard a faint otion, and she and Kazue followed this sound to find a back alley where a group of young teens were having some sort of fighting petition. She had no idea why they'd decided to create a ring of bodies at this interse and challenge each other to 'duels', but it robably best to redirect this energy.

  They fell back behind a er and discussed some ideas. In the end, they used a bit of magic to disguise themselves to match the crowd and made their way into the group. While Kazue could use her shape-ging to assume the right size, she'd o call up a spirit to access the right magic to shrink Moriko to the appropriate height. And both of them required a bit of illusion to disguise their clothing. her of these really fit the type of magic granted by Sakiya's grace.

  The first step was to get their attention without sg them off. That was easily done: She challehe winner of the st fight, and handily won while being careful to not actually hurt the kid. This set off a of challenges which she enced by taunting the crowd, even challenging them to take her on two or three at a time. Eventually, her oppos were whittled down to one; a boy with a fire in his eyes that drove him forward to try even when he knew he wasn't going to win this time either.

  Moriko giggled as she flowed out of the way of his tired, desperate punch, then grabbed his wrist and held his hand up high, "I decre this ohe winner!" The crowd's fused rea elicited mhter from her. "This was such a passiohering of fighting spirit that you've garnered a bit of attention!" and with that she dropped the boy's hand, stepped away, and whispered a healing prayer, direg a flow of vitalizing energy outward to all within her range.

  "Now, this was amusing," she tinued as Kazue dropped the spells disguising Moriko, "but if you really want to show your stuff, you should be applying to one of the temples to be accepted into a monastery. Especially Sakiya's, but I might be biased there." Wind stirred by her chi began whipping around her body as she grinned and waved at the crowd, and then turo the boy she'd decred the winner.

  "That was an impressive dispy of spirit, you really should apply to Sakiya's temple. You evehem Lady Moriko sent you!" And with that, she leapt into the air and ran off ughing. Kazue had dropped her disguise as Moriko started ing up her short speed hastily cast a short-lived flying spell to follow her, the fre of Kazue's red hair and tails no doubt sparking rumors amongst the teens.

  They set down a few blocks over, well out of sight of the rowdy group. "That was fun!" Moriko said as Kazue shook her head.

  "You are badly behaved," Kazue said, trying to look severe despite her smile, "but I think that broke the group up for now. Hopefully, the ones who really want to prove themselves will take up ygestion. You certainly caught them off guard!"

  "A little dispy of fighting skill and a fun, showy power; why wouldn't they fall in love with the idea?" Moriko fshed her wife a grin. "I think it will be enough to draw a few of them at least. Most of them weren't serious enough about the fight itself, they were there for the show and to mess around I think. Or to not be shown up by their friends. e o's go back to showing you the city."

  That intervention was much more fun than ahat Moriko had to cope with ter that day. A shouting mat a bar turned out to be one person being obsessed with someone who was not ied. A misalig of passions, one who had too mud another who had none, in this text at least.

  It wasn't a particurly fun versation, but it was hard for the pursuer tue that a priestess of Sakiya had nothing to say about matters of love. It turned into an impromptu therapy session that included a remihat one should not let their passions trol them and that to push one's passions onto another was ao the prote of free will. In the end, Moriko reehat they seek more seling at the temple.

  This process also gave the other person reassurahat they were right to be true to themselves rather than bending to the desires of another.

  That also ended Moriko and Kazue's enthusiasm for that day's explorations.

  But the day was the outing that Moriko had been looking forward to the most: taking Kazue to visit the monastery. In this case, she was showing Kazue off as much as showing the pce to Kazue. Bringing one's spouse for a tour of a monastery or temple wasly a o, but it wasn't against any rules either, so long as it didn't interfere with any duties or responsibilities. And currently, she had none, so she just o avoid messing with other people's duties.

  There were more than a few double-takes as they swept along oour. They might know Moriko, but she was looking a bit different with fancier clothes and a little bit of training on 'being a dy', and she'd never brought personal guests to the monastery before, so she was not as instantly reizable when walking close by Kazue's side.

  Though some of those double takes might have been from the kitsune having bee a little bolder about her wardrobe and she was amused at the amount some people had tle to keep their gaze above shoulder level.

  Moriko had made sure t a spare ge of clothes, specifically, her old uniform. After they'd had lunch with Master Theodoric, Moriko asked in a theatrically humble tone of voice if her master would honor her by letting her demonstrate how she'd grown since she'd st been here. His assent came with ughter at her antics.

  The training ground quickly had a rge audience, and Moriko faced off against Theodoric wearing her gi. The signal to begin was given, and Theodoric simply shifted his feet and beed her forward with a serene smile. So she took the moment to offer a short prayer to Sakiya, letting her goddess's grace fill her before Moriko called upon her martial skills.

  Her body blurred as she snapped across the training field, her passage leaving a crag boom. Her leading punded with a crackle of electricity, the test development in her path to travel the skies, but that force did little as her fist was caught by his palm.

  She hadn't slowed her flying momentum, however, and simply let that arm rex as she flowed forward, her sed puning slightly closer to striking his face before it was caught. Now her momentum had been pletely halted, and Theodoric twisted his hands to grasp her forearms and used his leverage to toss her away from him.

  As he did so, their shadows crossed. And distorted, growing long and stretg out instead of separating. Moriko's form snapped back toward her master in mid-air, and he blocked her sudden flying kick with crossed arms and a smile of approval.

  Moriko didn't aowledge the warm glow that his approval gave her, alessly pressed her attastead. Wind, lightning, and shadow; those were her elements now, and she flowed seamlessly between them. Her feet ouched the ground as she stantly moved, her will and chi providing enough force to let her kick-off of the air itself.

  It was as tiring as if she rinting for every sed of the match, but that was something she could do too, and hearing Kazue cheering for her was more invigorating than she could have imagined before this moment.

  But her master wasn't reguting himself to a matg skill level and was very cautiously on the defensive as he let her try everything she could to break past his guard. Every blow was avoided or deflected, even when she'd mao attack from opposite sides ihan a sed's difference.

  The matded with a fsh of fire as Theodoric's bzing fists nded iomad chest at the same time. Moriko felt ribs crack from his blow, and more ribs crack as she struck the arena's wall. Kazue was there an instant ter, her hands lightly toug Moriko's skin as she called upon a nature spirit to guide her into a healing spell.

  Theodoric had ruck her that hard before. Moriko wasn't even sure she would have survived being hit like that a few months ago. She felt a little giddy from the implied pliment. Or maybe that was from Kazue's kiss once she khat Moriko was okay. Or both.

  Moriko couldn't stop smiling as she got back to her feet and bowed to Theodoric, "That was quite the powerful blow, Master."

  He bowed back to her as he replied, "Thank you. You have grown quite a lot, and you seem happy in your new life. I am gd that you have tio advan your skills as well as having broadened your path successfully. That estic rebound using our shadows was an iing trick I've not seen before."

  "I've always been a striker more than a grappler, so I decided to try and work Ozuran's gift into a form more suitable for my style. This is what I have e up with so far. I am pleased to have shown you something new."

  They tio talk for a little while more about what Moriko had been practig while the crowd dispersed, and then Moriko left to up and ge back to her dress while Theodoric escorted Kazue to the gardens, where she and Chaxiss enjoyed a versation while they waited for Moriko to meet up. The kitsune might not have been much of a gardener in her first life, but her experiences as a dungeon had left her with a lot more insight and uanding, and her ability to i with the minor spirits only helped.

  After that, it was time to return to the castle, and tomorrow would be another ball, which would be their st before they left the city to tiheir trip.

  Zagaroth