Motoyoshi Kazumi, youngest of Ketsurui-Motoyoshi Katsuko walked beside another Nekovalkyrja. Whereas Kazumi's ice-blue hair shone in the bright light of Yamatai's sun whereas her companion's, Koyama's jet-black seemed to drink it in. Both were of a height and complexion but the similarities ended there. Not quite voluptuous as her mother, Kazumi still had a sway to her walk. Whilst her companion adhered more to the traditional Yamataian aesthetic yet had a presence and manner of her own.
Heliotrope met gold as one listened patiently as the other spoke in a somewhat animated manner as the pair walked. Looking away after a moment, the dark-haired of the two squinted, one eye partially closed against the glare.
"You will just have to try harder then," the golden-eyed female stated as a matter of fact.
"I have been!" protested the other. Looking back to her friend, the eye that had been mostly closed cracked open. "I have given you less-"
"If by that you mean putting the books in front of me and essentially saying," her voice coming close to mimicking the others, "Get on with it." which earned her a sniff from Koyama.
"It is called homework for a reason, 'zumi'." chided her dark counterpart, "And if you cannot finish it in time, I could always speak to your father. He was the one who taught me some of this you know." this, in turn, earned the patient woman a tongue stuck out at her.
"I'm not my dad," she fired back.
"No. You are not Yaichiro-san." a shot across the bow which had also earned Kazumi a tweaking of her nose quicker than she could react. In response, the young Motoyoshi rubbed her delicate nose furiously. "He is talented. In his area. Just as you are in your own. But you are like him in some ways you know of and in others, you do not. He is a curious male, dedicated, innovative. You are the same as he is in that regard. Although... one likes to spy and ferret out secrets while the other merely asks politely. Especially when the game night is on the line. You know we all agreed work comes first, then play. All of us. Homework counts as work."
"I apologized for that! Besides, how does any of what you're throwing at me help with my job?" protested Kazumi as color tinged her cheeks. She got a 'Ha!' in answer. She had her response in record time. Numbers didn't lie. There would always be a pattern to find, to deduce. She had been teaching her friend chaos theory. It, as Koyama had put it, was a good foundation for learning how to crack cryptographic systems. Useful for the younger of the pair and her profession.
And then she laid into the icy-haired Neko again.
"You tried to look at their character sheets thinking you were being clever. That was cheating. What if one of the others had caught you? Besides, there are other ways, better ways to find out what you want besides trying what you had done. So forward, not sneaky enough." Koyama twirled a finger in the air letting her flicked ear to return to being pointed toward the younger Neko. Then leaned over to her in a conspiratorial manner.
"You confuse them and let them babble it out to you. Misdirect, appeal to their egos, tease it out. Or, you extrapolate what they can do based on how they act on the roll of the dice. Watch them close. The face tells the hands also tell. The posture tells."
Kazumi chewed at her bottom lip at this, "And if you can't? I know the devil is in the details, but what you're saying doesn't work for everyone." her friend arched one of her sharp eyebrows in response.
"You change tack of course. But you do not try to edge a sheet of paper far enough toward you to use your skin vision to look at what is there."
"Has anyone told you, you're relentless? You remind me of my Ojisan when he is on a roll with one of his speeches." Kazumi said with a weary sigh.
Koyama smiled a small, knowing smile. "I'd answer that, however, it would seem we have ice cream before us." nodding toward what looked to be a small parlor for the decadent icy treat. Both had worn something for Kyoto's hot summertime weather. One had more to work with than the other of course.
With a nod in another direction, Koyama added, "And a mother in our midst. Yours, to be exact. Get your ice cream, 'zumi. And go spend time with her. She deserves it, as do you." Kazumi suddenly yelped, looking at the seemingly more mature Neko incredulously. She'd been pinched! With a small huff, Koyama nudged her young friend ahead of her and then glided out of the parlor as if she had done no such thing.
Kazumi had made her way to the counter, glancing up at the menu, uncaring as the cashier seemed to stare. She knew what she was wearing. A laced halter bathing suit of a shade of lavender that complimented her pale complexion, blending with her hair as it deepened from arctic ice to a darker shade of purple more akin to one of the colors associated with her clan. It clung to her frame enough that when she finally glanced back to the cashier, the Neko had to clear her throat.
She chose one of the odder combinations reserved for those of age. "The apricot and pistachio please, no cone. A cup, were the apricots soaked? They were? That will be lovely then, thank you." she had asked if they had been soaked in white wine. They had been, the combination was a dangerous one. And for a moment, the fruit, one she enjoyed made her think of her sister. So named, she wondered how Kaoru was doing. Then again, she wondered what her older sister would think of everyone in their summer wear. Heaven's forbid. She could be serious, but when she wasn't...
With a blink, the cup of ice cream held out for her to take, Kazumi wore her most winning smile. On reflex, or rather to tease, she adjusted her stance just a little to the side. It earned her a wavering smile in turn as she swiped her KS card through the reader. With the bit of plastic in hand, she flicked it to and fro easily before it was hidden again. And with a warm, loving smile, found her mother, glasses atop her head at one of the benches.
"Mom!" she called with a wave while drawing near.