The sun rises. Yasashi rises with it. Her duties for the day were sparse; she'd outgrown her traditional lessons, outpaced the tutors of swordplay- and had left the Archery instructor stupefied since childhood!- and had frequently been tasked with attending the Shogun in his daily duties to learn what it meant to be [i]Samurai[/i]. To learn what it meant to lead.

Years flashed by in the blink of an eye. Routines. Regimens. Lessons. So much to learn. So much to prove. So many whispered threats. So many sly insults, coy phrasings on the edge of challenges, backhanded compliments- so much to burden. Suffering fit for the Lady of Cinnabar Volcano. But in that same blink, the new dawn was welcomed. These long memories discarded. A new breath drawn.

She cleansed herself and donned her armor; plain samurai armor bearing the Shogun's colors and insignia, with the Hanabi crest kept secondary to those markings as befits her role as a ward of this castle. The ritual of caring for her Katana, Wakizashi, and Tanto were in short order; then the stringing of her Yumi bow; then it was to the stables to visit with Ajairu.

A morning routine of years habit.

She strode to the stable, courteously acknowledging the nearby peasantry, and approached Ajairu's stall. She knelt down beside the ponyta and leaned in, nuzzling into its face with her own. She ran her hand over its fiery mane, appreciating the pokemon's trust in her; these flames had never harmed her, but would sear anyone else who dared approach the Monster.

"Have you been good, my friend? Did you let the stablehand brush you down like he's supposed to?" She looked over to the side at the relevant peasant, confirming with him that the task had been seen to, before she looked back to Ajairu and continued; "I can take you out today. Stick by my side and keep calm, or I'll have to return you to your pokeball. Is that fair?"

The horse stamped its hooves and pranced, nodding and neighing. Yasashi laughed and produced an apple from the saddlebags nearby and held up to Ajairu, who vigorously gnawed at it and crushed its entirety in his mouth in the name of devouring the delicacy. Shortly thereafter the woman and her flaming steed were permitted exit from the Castle, and descended into the village proper.

Their patrol today was a lighthearted one, though she was well familiar with extended guard vigilance's and ranging patrols at the behest of the Shogun to keep eyes on the surrounding area. Going around the perimeter of the village, she was to check in with the guards stationed there and see to the changing of duties and the handling of shift transitions for the dawn. She saw the night patrol off, and welcomed the dawn guard to duty. Succinctly, it all went off without a hitch.

Just as she was beginning to relax and approach the local inn in search of a morning meal, however, a guard approached in haste.

"My Lord!" They declared, bowing to Yasashi. "There is a disruption at the Western Gate, there are suspicions over a merchant's cargo!"

Yasashi resisted a sigh, and maintained her dignified smile. She shifted her posture, remaining straight backed, but twisting her torso to give this man her full profile and attention.

"I will handle it personally, return to duty." She soothed his frantic nature with firm words, then looked to Ajairu and rubbed the Ponyta's head affectionately again. "Ajairu, stretch your legs. I'll meet you over there."

She watched as the steed pranced around her in a circle, then whinnied and cantered off ahead of her. She followed suit, laughing to herself privately as she watched Ajairu march as if on parade through the village all on his lonesome. And so it was that the Western Gate suddenly had a strange guest;

The lone Ponyta, Ajairu, prancing upon approach. This caught the guards' attention, causing them to briefly disregard Shaakira.

"Drat, it's the Samurai's horse."

"She's never far behind, act smart."

"Aye."

The exchange was in immense haste and with utter disregard to Shaakira's presence, but immediately there was a change in the behavior of the Guards.

"Just perfumes, ma'am?" One declared as if he had not just been accusing Shaakira of more. "Apologies, but Shogun's orders. Every cart searched for contraband, you understand."

The other guard, hand on the pokeball on his belt, suddenly struck a rigid posture then bowed deeply; Lady Hanabi had finally arrived, and taken ahold of Ajairu's reins. She briefly cast her gaze over the scene, before addressing the bowing guard;

"At ease, what appears to be the holdup?"

"There are, ah, suspicions, ah, my lord, over, ah, the contents of this merchant's, ah, caravan. My lord." Despite her words to calm down, he remained bowing and spoke falteringly. Yasashi appraised this behavior quietly, then looked to the other guard.

"Speak up, good man, was there an issue in the search?"

"Yes, Ma'am, the Monster." He declared in an even tone, much more reasonable in mannerisms than the seemingly panicking fellow. "It attacked us upon attempting the search."

"Ah." Yasashi turned to face Shaakira at this point. "Your companion. It is protective of you, it seems. I can understand that, I'm quite protective of Ajairu here myself- though he is hardly my own champion. You should cherish a pokemon willing to protect you and your possessions like that. I apologize for any disturbance you faced, if you will please permit this man."

She suddenly grabs the bowing man by the shoulder and hoists him to an upright position.

"To finish the search, I would gladly escort you into the town myself. I am the Lady Hanabi, Lord under the Shogun. Times of war stress us all, and we should always do our best to handle ourselves with civility and politeness."

Her tone was even and soothing, but the frantic guard looked even more panicked as she spoke. With Shaakira's consent, he would finish the search- exponentially faster than his companion had been.