==This piece was drawn in mid-2023. Following my first art commission, my Ko-Fi supporters voted for me to begin uploading art here, including pieces that have been up on FA that I still like. This is one of those pieces.==

The tabby leaned over the grill, smelling the sear of the seasoned fish laid across the bars with a pleased expression. As a proud samurai, he wasn’t a glutton. No, to waste food needlessly and fatten oneself would do disservice to his lord and the empire. No, he was an artist and an appreciator of art. And cooking, despite what many would say, was a craft easily elevated to a high skill in his eyes. He worked effortlessly to convince others of this; almost anyone could make a meal. Few could elevate art to an experience.

Across from him knelt a local servant, a meek-looking black cat with a ponytail, her hands clenching uneasily into her thighs.

“It’s a shame to enjoy art alone,” the Dragon samurai observed, his very voice coaxing the servant into a nervous bow. “A pity my intended dinner guest earned himself disfavor with such a cowardly act of malice last night. An even greater pity his crime was so easily discovered.”

The Kitsuki feline raised his gaze. “Come now, you need not prostrate yourself before me this entire meal,” he urged, gesturing with a hand as if to raise her chin from across the grill. “You are my guest, and I would very much like your ear, your gaze, and your voice. Think of yourself…as a temporary geisha. In the honorable ways, of course, not the other ways. This meal, this preparation…your own little Floating World with me. The more you relax, the more I can share with you.”

The comparison wasn’t entirely unpalatable, apparently, as eventually the girl’s eyes raised, first across the sizzling fish above the hot coals and then to meet the samurai’s. “I…apologize. I shall be better company, even if I pale in comparison to your intended guest.”

“On the contrary, I prefer you to him,” the Dragon said, hand waving in the air as he casually lowered a samurai to the level of a heimin (or at least raised one to above a samurai). She gasped, and he grinned. “What? Have you broken another samurai’s katana? Have you desecrated a wakizashi?”

“No!” she protested.

“Then I believe you to be of greater honor than he,” he assured. “The Celestial Heavens will smile upon you, and they will frowm upon him. Why would I then, if it would not make my meal unclean, forsake one that pleases the heavens for one that disappoints them?”

She gulped and nodded. Even if she hadn’t been a little convinced and proud of such undeserved praise, she would have agreed anyway. Why would one disagree with one so unapproachably above them?

“Kitsuki Juro, by the way,” he offered with a nod of his head. “May I have your name?”

“...Sana, Kitsuki-dono.”

“Please. This is our little Floating World, remember” he tsked. “If you must be formal, please call me Juro-san, Sana-chan.”

The way her cheeks flushed red made him laugh. “Y-yes, whatever you ask, Juro-san.”

“Good, good. A pleasure.” Juro turned his eyes to the fish. “...I hear your father was the one to catch these. That his favor earned you station in this manor as one of the lord’s personal servants. Is this true?”

“Yes, Juro-san.”

“Tell me, then…you surely honored him by learning his craft at first. What makes these fish worthy of a samurai’s dish?”

The girl looked at the fish. “Well, your work with the grill and seasoning has clearly provided much,” she offered honestly, though she quickly caught his look; he wasn’t looking for praise. “...I suppose it is the freshness, and the smoothness of the skin. The scales did not yield as easily to your knife as they could have. The meat was not too soft, and it was thick even after preparation.”

“All good details! You have a keen eye, then, Sana-chan,” the Dragon encouraged with a single clap. “Now then…you were present for the crime and its proceedings. You saw the crime scene. You know the participants, both being locals. Tell me…how clear was it my intended guest was the perpetrator?”

“My lord, I did not see…”

“I’m not asking if you saw the crime happen,” Juro corrected. “You did not see these fish caught or their journey, yet you could tell they were fresh. Similarly, you saw the end stage of a crime’s journey. You understand the people you serve. So…tell me about what you can conclude.”

“...the wakizashi was buried in an unclean place, one that was not open when the guests arrived,” she observed, wracking her brain harder than she’d ever before. “So it would have to be a local samurai. It was not the most accessible weapons in the storeroom, so it was a choice to dishonor that particular honored guest’s. And there was an argument the previous night, one that implied a long-standing grudge. Your intended dinner guest for tonight…he was very smug when the crime was discovered and brought to my lord’s attention. It…seemed like things might have been connected, were it my place to say.”

“Ah, wonderful! Absolutely wonderful, Sana-chan,” he cheered, applauding the girl to her distinct embarrassment. “Yes, yes! These are all the very things I noticed as well. In addition to the fact the katana was broken with a left-handed swing, and only one here beyond myself uses their left as much or more than their right. You have deduced the crime just as I did. Ah, forgive me if I tested you, but I always find much greater joy in eating with one that is similarly wise than one that is a fool.”

“But Juro-san,” she pressed, head tilted. “You did not need to deduce. You told my lord you saw him leave the room with the weapons last night.”

“Yes, I did say that! Quite a conclusive way to have the true culprit caught. It would have been much harder to convince the guest to confess or for your lord to take decisive action had I tried to convince them by my family’s methods of investigation. All that matters in the end, before most in Rokugan, is a samurai’s word.”

Slowly, her eyes widened. “...m-my lord, you are known to be truly honorable,” she stammered, a deep fear washing over her. “S-surely you do not mean to imply…”

Juro grinned. An honest, bright, joyous grin. “Ah, how I love to eat with an insightful guest,” he purred, then sniffed the air. “Oh! They smell just about done. Sana-chan, would you be a dear and get the rice? I’ll get the last bits ready and we can dine together, in our little world free from consequence.”

Sana did. After all, how could she question a samurai? And despite his near-admission of falsehoods in his speech…he still seemed like such an honorable young man. And appearances, it seemed, meant everything.
______________________________________________________________________

I had a cursory glance at Legend of the Five Rings (4th Edition) a long time ago. Well, a friend mentioned possibly planning a campaign, so I started reading the books. What hit me, like a flood, was a rare case of deep inspiration. Character after character flooded my mind, and, sure, while I have no idea if my interpretations will be possible, correct, or in-line with the canon or my friend's design...I didn't have many avenues to vent my hyperfixation. And, well, I did say I needed to draw spontaneously more, especially if I'm to improve...so...two birds, one stone!

The character:
This also serves as the first piece of art for my cat Jules Tiago! In Rokugan, though, there is no hypnosis. Rather, he puts his insightful mind and understanding of psychology to work in reading others and the situation around him. He is still very much passionate about cooking and considers it a high artisinal skill rather than a simple craft. He also evaluates others based on their honor, not status. He has little qualms back-talking those of high status if he does not like them. Luckily, he has two things going for him, each empowering the other. He is uniquely attuned to mischief in spirit, and he exudes an aura that makes others believe him to be truly honorable. And, in truth, he thinks his deceit and trickery is for honorable causes, so it all works out~

The art:
Another one where I tried putting a lot of things together! A slightly tricky pose, sharp perspective, clothing feel, many things like that. I really wanted to do Jules justice, and, in the end, I think I succeeded! Jules has been deserving of art for a while, and he's genuinely a character that loves his element. I think this gets across his mood fantastically, and that's all I want from my art: authenticity of vision and emotion.

Art and Juro aka Jules (c)  MavenTreecat

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