On Friday, Crimson Gold Agonies hit the amazing milestone of 100 subscribers! We’re really excited and grateful to have so many people interested in our show after only six episodes, and it means so much to know that you’re listening to our adventures.
As a thank you to you all, we’re releasing Downtime, a character study that Charlie wrote soon after we started playing, on a chapter-by-chapter basis every Tuesday and Thursday for the next 3 weeks. Each chapter examines different relationships between our main characters, their motivations, hobbies, secrets and anxieties. If you were involved in our 100 Rumours campaign, you might spot something you wrote in here too! And feel free to keep sending them in - you might find them in some future works as well.
This story is spoiler-free as of Episode 4, and though dubiously canon, takes place around Episode 4-5.
Once again, a big thank you to all our listeners for your support. We can’t wait to see what the next few months bring!
The past few weeks in Hirosaka have been unrelentingly busy, Minoru realises as his eyes glaze over at the papers in front of him for the fourth time this morning. It occurs to him that he hasn’t had more than half an hour to just relax since he first left Kyuuden Miya, and that was months ago. He’s known this all along, on some level, but it’s the first time he’s let the thoughts form into something cohesive that he can actually do something with.
And if he’s this burnt out, he wonders, then what about his colleagues?
Well, his yoriki. They’re his staff now, aren’t they? Is it appropriate to think of them as his co-workers, his equals, now that he holds this position? Is that somehow improper? Would it be right to try to put distance between them?
It can’t be. He’s worked with them for almost two years now, and even if he hadn’t, Kitsu Shogo never made any secret of the relationships he’d formed with them over time. Surely following his predecessor’s approach won’t ruffle any feathers, or upset his new shadow in the Seppun.
Besides, he thinks as he shoves himself away from the desk, he actually might miss them.
Minoru finds Hajime where he always does: training in the pathetic excuse for a courtyard that they’ve patched together out of rubble and good intentions. It’s little more than a swept aside corner of the magistrate’s grounds, with weapons and test dummies along a wall of rocks, all shaded by the luckiest tree in Hirosaka. Not only did it not burn in the calamity, but it’s even threatening to bloom in the early spring.
It’s enough to make Minoru wonder if the kami knew this would be where Hajime would spend most of his time, so that when the tree finally blossoms, the wind can sweep the petals around him as he practices his kata.
As if he needs any more help looking like someone that walked right out of a pillowbook.
When the Crane sees Minoru walking towards him, he stops midway through an arc of his sword - left-handed, this time - and sheathes it in the blink of an eye to bow to his magistrate. It’s not as low as it should be, but there’s no disrespect behind it; rather, it’s the kind of bow one gives because they have to keep up appearances, and comes parceled with an eager grin.
“Bayushi-sama, good morning!” Hajime’s voice is brighter than Minoru expected, and it takes him a moment to remember that when they shared the same responsibilities, he would have been out here training, too. There’d be none of the constant administration and decision-making clouding his thoughts and leaving him tired barely a few hours into the morning. He wonders briefly how rusty he must be, if Hajime can disarm him now with words alone.
“Good morning, Asahina-san,” he manages, restraining some of that infectious cheerfulness lest anyone accuse him of impropriety. “How fares your morning training?”
Had he not known Hajime for so long, Minoru might be shocked to see the duelist become even more enthused as he summarises his routine, and all of the ways he’s hoping to improve his technique in the hopes of sparring with the Shiba and the Mirumoto who’d recently come to town. He makes little secret of his excitement at the prospect, and it’s with a sinking feeling that Minoru realises he’s left Hajime without a regular training partner ever since they came back to Hirosaka. They used to practice together every day, for hours on end, but lately Minoru has only been able to make time for a few quick matches with him each week.
Perhaps that should change.
When Hajime finishes his report, Minoru takes a second to collect his thoughts and straighten his back, then smiles at the man he used to call ‘partner’. Even though it’s hidden under his mask, it’s easy to read in his eyes, and he hopes it conveys that he’s not here with more work for Hajime to do.
“Are you long into your routine, Asahina-san? I find myself with some spare time,” he lies. “And wondered if you might want someone to practice against?”
He knows the answer before Hajime says anything. The Crane wakes up before the sun to practice, and often doesn’t stop until someone makes him. From the position of the sun in the sky to the sweat on the Asahina’s brow, Minoru knows he’s been at it for hours now. It doesn’t stop him from being hopeful.
Hajime looks torn between his love of dueling and his need for rest for a split-second, and then his stomach answers for him with the most deafening growl. His eyes widen as he tries to figure out if it’s even possible to turn Minoru down now that he’s his boss, but he doesn’t need to worry for long. The Scorpion raises his hand and shakes his head with a chuckle.
“Maybe after you’ve had something to eat. Why not take the rest of the day off to relax, and we can schedule something for another time?”
The relief on Hajime’s face is palpable, and his shoulders relax as he exhales ever so slightly, before once again displaying his enthusiasm.
“An excellent idea! Thank you, Bayushi-sama. I’ve been meaning to take Soshi-san to a nearby restaurant for some time now - they actually serve lemon-infused sake with their late breakfasts! Can you believe it? At this time of day? I think if I hurry we should be able to get there before they run out.”
Hajime moves to leave, then stops with one foot in the air and turns back towards Minoru, realising his assumption.
“That is, if Soshi-san is also free.”
Minoru sighs a little under his mask, delicately enough that Hajime won’t see or hear, and nods.
“Yes, Soshi-san and Doji-san will both have the afternoon off as well. I just haven’t spoken to them yet to tell them.”
“Oh! Well, if you’ll permit me to tell Soshi-san, then we won’t waste any time getting to-” Hajime looks pained as he realises he’s being too informal, and tries to correct the slip-up. He knows as well as any of them do that Minoru’s under close scrutiny these days. “Um, it won’t waste your time to look for her.”
“An excellent idea, Asahina-san,” is all Minoru can say, before giving Hajime permission to leave. As the Crane skips off toward the tent they call a library, Minoru wonders, had he not been made magistrate, if he’d be the one getting to go for breakfast instead.
Soshi Yuzume isn’t alone when Hajime comes to find her. When the duelist enters the tent, he finds himself walking right into the one kind of combat he has no time for - verbal sparring. Sakai-no-Doji Eiko is sitting at one end of a long table, piles of scrolls placed neatly in front of him, glaring coolly at Yuzume as she reorganises them with the kind of manic pace one might usually reserve for life-threatening situations.
Though for her, perhaps it may as well be.
“If you could kindly explain why we’re swasting another day organising our filing system instead of looking for the correct zoning paperwork for Matsu-san to begin reconstruction of her family home, it would be much appreciated, Soshi-san,” Eiko says, fanning himself slowly.
“I’ve already told you, dear,” she frowns, and though Hajime can’t see that side of her face from where he’s standing, he can certainly hear it in her voice. “Your colour-coding system is completely unintuitive, and relies on the researcher being able to differentiate between four different shades of orange.”
“I fail to see the issue. The topics are separate but related, and anyone with an education worth having will know the difference between those colours in an instant.”
Something about that gets her hackles up, and if it were possible for the shortest of their number to loom over anyone from a sitting position, Yuzume would be doing it now.
“Subsections!” She seethes, slamming both hands on the table. “We need subsections, not a bloody kaleidoscope!”
Eiko’s glare becomes slightly more heated, and he flicks his fan closed to point it accusingly at his counterpart in one swift motion.
“Subsections imply a relationship to a single broader topic, when the subject may in fact be relevant to several, and they force the researcher to look through a more complex index before beginning their work! They are inefficient.”
“What if the researcher can’t see in colour?”
“Then we’ll also use symbols!”
Hajime decides that now is the right time to interrupt, because this is a fight the two have had before, and will again, and it stopped being even remotely amusing about two months into his initial assignment to the group. He steps forward and clears his throat, causing the two to snap briefly out of their paperwork-induced rage and turn instead towards him, polite and demure smiles plastered onto their faces even though they both know he’s caught them going at it. An instinct leftover from the courts, he supposes.
“Asahina-san,” Eiko says carefully, his voice all controlled, mellow tones. It’s a far cry from how he sounded five seconds ago. “Do you require our assistance at all?”
Hajime shakes his head, then looks to Yuzume. “Bayushi-sama’s given us all leave for the rest of the day. If we hurry we might be able to-”
“Breakfast,” the shugenja realises, lips curling in anticipation. They’ve talked about this for days now, ever since Hajime came back from the market district with news about what eateries might have survived the winter’s calamities. Neither of them thought they’d get the opportunity to go any time soon, and she meets his eyes with barely-concealed glee.
Hajime gives her a short nod, and is surprised to see just how quickly Yuzume scrambles from her seat on the floor to her nearby wheelchair. A second later and she’s already next to him, closer to the entrance of the tent than anything else, with a determined look in her eyes.
“How much longer do we have before midday?”
“Perhaps an hour? Slightly less?”
She blinks once, twice, then looks over her shoulder to Eiko, who, if offended that he hasn’t been invited, does a remarkable job of hiding it.
“Subsections and symbols. No more than two types of orange.”
“I believe I have the afternoon off as well, Soshi-san,” he says through pursed lips, folding his arms over his chest in annoyance.
She rolls her eyes, as though such a thing would stop him from taking advantage of her not being there to prevent him from implementing his desired system, and exits the tent. Hajime offers Eiko a sympathetic shrug before turning to follow her, and the two make their way hurriedly to the market district to make the most of their half-day of vacation.
Eiko bites the inside of his cheek and stares after them a moment, then looks back down at the scrolls in front of him, ready to put them back where he’d originally filed them before Yuzume barrelled in demanding change. He takes one in hand and turns to place it on a shelf behind him, before realising - to his horror - that in the dim candlelight of the tent, the orange seal on the document is actually salmon.
With a cough, he quickly puts it in its proper place, before deciding that he too is done working for the day. At least Yuzume never has to know.
