With the amount of drink, there began a rowdiness, and none were more rowdy than Rin. She had developed a taste for sake that rivalled her father"s.
"A game! We need to set up a game to play…" Rin said loudly, before quietening down as she looked around the room in drunken thought.
"I have a feeling you might not enjoy the game my sister comes up with, Takes.h.i.+," Gengyo told the little smith. He"d managed to get two bowls of sake down him, and with that he had loosened up ever so slightly, enough to talk to his comrades without imploding.
Takes.h.i.+ blinked like a rabbit at the warning, eyeing the door to make sure his escape route was left open. When Rin looked his way, he froze to the spot in terror, sure that something awful was to come his way.
"…Throw some cups up for me, Nii-san," she said instead, grabbing a handful of clay cups from the table. Matsudaira looked sympathetically towards Gengyo, scratching the back of his head, unsure how he might help his lord.
"Ah, Rin, perhaps we better not," Akiko said, gently grabbing a hold of her friend"s arm, "the mess it will cause is a bit much, isn"t it?"
"It"s fine, it"s fine!" Rin insisted, forcing her pile of cups onto Gengyo.
"And what might I be doing with these? Has my sister turned into a magpie?" Gengyo asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Throw them up for me," Rin said, "I want to see how many I can cut through before they hit the floor."
She drew her sword. A gasp went around the room as they spied s.h.i.+ning steel. Their battle instincts woke up. Rin was completely oblivious to their reactions and she stood with her sword in both hands, waiting for her brother to toss the cups into the air.
"That"s your daughter," Rokkaku reminded Morohira when no one stepped forward to stop her.
"Oh. So it is," Morohira said absentmindedly as though he had only just realized, "give her s.p.a.ce, gentlemen! A Miura blade cuts deeper than most!"
He was as drunk as his daughter and absolutely no help at all. Gengyo was left clutching a pile of pottery as everyone cautiously stepped away from him. His mind was telling him that such a game was certainly a bad idea, especially in that kind of enclosed s.p.a.ce, but the alcohol was telling him that it might be fun after all. "Well… I suppose a single go would not hurt. Are you ready, little sister?"
"Mhm!" Rin said seriously.
With a quickness, Gengyo cast five cups into the air, throwing them high enough that they would not be impossible to catch, but with enough s.p.a.ce between them that a single slash could not catch two.
Rin took a deep breath, completely focused. Alcohol slowed her only slightly. With a terrifying accuracy, she shattered through the first of the cups, driving straight through the centre and with her back slash she managed to catch a second cup. Just before they all clattered to the floor, she sought to get a third, but missed it by half a finger, and they all shattered on the ground a moment later.
"Two cups," Gengyo said, "not bad at all."
"I can do better," Rin insisted, "let me go again."
"Hold your horses, little Rin," Morohira stepped in, his interest piqued. "It is your father"s turn."
Rin grumbled her complaints but Morohira had already drawn his sword, an excited grin on his face, his compet.i.tive spirit completely taking over.
"Go on, Morohira!" Rokkaku shouted his encouragement.
"…Am I tasked with throwing them again?" Gengyo complained. It seemed like he had been saddled with a rather troublesome position.
"Same thrower, so we can compare points," Morohira said.
With a sigh, Gengyo resigned himself to his fate. He plucked up a handful of potted cups and resumed his position as the designated thrower. "Ready?" He asked.
Morohira did not reply. He only tightened his grip on his sword. Gengyo cast his cups into the air, five of them at once, just as he had Rin.
Morohira stood for a quiet moment. He did not move until they had all begun to come down. And then with the quickness of a snake, he lined his slash so that he cut through two at once. He tried for a third and just barely missed. Before they hit the floor, he had time for a third strike, and this one managed to catch the edge of the cup, just enough to shatter it to pieces.
A satisfied grin was on his face. "Three cups. I win," Morohira said.
"No way," Rin protested, "I can get all five if you move out the way."
"…Could I perhaps have a go?" The amiable Sasaki spoke up. When everyone looked at him in surprise, he scratched the back of his head and explained himself with a big smile. "It looked fun."
"Sasaki"s turn then," Gengyo decided, picking up yet more cups. The floor was covered in broken bits of pottery by now. "Sorry about the mess," Gengyo whispered to Matsudaira as he pa.s.sed him. The Grand General did not show the slightest bit of annoyance.
"No need to apologise," Matsudaira said, "it does look fun, after all. I might even try for a go myself, after Sasaki."
Now that did surprise Gengyo. He had to congratulate his sister internally. Everyone had doubted her game at first, and thought her to be growing too drunk and dangerous, but it had proved to be popular after all.
"I"ll go and get more cups!" Takes.h.i.+ excused himself expertly. He"d be s.h.i.+vering in the corner during their game, flinching at every sharp noise. Gengyo was about to stop him, but he had already closed the door behind him before anyone could say anything.
He shrugged and turned to Sasaki instead. "Ready?" He asked the huge bear-like samurai.
"Very much so," Sasaki said, putting forth his rare serious side "don"t go easy on me, Miura-dono."