Into the pouring rain, in the cold, there he was. The berserker to be. Relentless in his quest to become a real Crab Chad!

"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiii...." He gather the strengh in his lungs as the weather mistreats his existance, and then he exhales, "Daaaaaaaaa-ahhhhh!!!!!"

Umbrellas were without a doubt the most important item to carry at all time on the World of Dreams. Well, after the daisho of course, but that goes without saying.

Under the protection of one, Kanna was visiting the New Grove, kinda perplexed at the legends around it. What was the point of trapping into the mortal world a spirit that had sinned when there was already a full karmic system to deal with that? That sounded like vigilantism, vengeance, sadism even, but certainly not justice. She wondered what Saibankan thought of the actions of the clan that had birthed.

Oh, and the weird Crab all the rumors were about was there too.

"Good morning Crab-sama.

If I may, strange place for workout no? Or maybe the creepiness reminds you of your duty against the darkness and bolster your motivation?"

Noticing a figure approaching elegantly, the dampened Crab straightens up and listens attentively. Then, he provides a bow, "Good morning. Yes. You are sharp! It is exactly that."

"Ever seen the ravages of Jigoku with your own eyes? I've seen pictures of course, but if my years as a journalist have taught me anything, it's that no retelling, no matter can how good, can substitute for firsthand experience.

Kitsu Kanna, Ikoma press, by the way."

He blows some air up to take his fringe away from his left eye at no avail, it was too soaked and heavy to move. "Kaiu Setsu, KHII's Chief Engineer, an honor to meet a Lion here in the World of Dreams."

With a deep sigh and a moment to rub his chin, Setsu recalls, "I've seen monsters slain when I was a small child. My grandmother was a fierce Hida bushi. But after that episode we moved to the Kaiu forges and I spent much of my youth there. So... I won't be much of a source for a jounalist. On that topic, I mean."

"Kaiu raised and trained then?

Can understand you were quite busy in the last decades. On the World of Dreams for business? Or did you manage to negotiate some holidays for your hard work?"

"Is this on record?" He asks politely, not noticing any cameras like yesterday.

"Oh no, simple curiosity. I do interviews, but of the formal variety, where you sign some paperwork beforehand, and again after listening to your own record, so there's no bad surprise on either side.

Issues with paparazzi? They're everywhere with so many idols on planet."

"That's admirable." He mentions, rethinking actions of his own.

The Crab scratches the back of his head with a sheepish grin. "Not really paparazzi, but people are kind of liking to make fun of me, so... I just want to make sure they do get a good time if more news about a certain dork pop up."

Then, Setsu nods, "Yeah, Kaiu raised and trained. I've been here for some time though, working on KHII's manufacturing pipelines over the planet and making sure our engineers have what they to attend to the major market demands in the Empire."

He takes a moment, and asks, "What about Kitsu-san? Specially here in the rain today?"

"At this exact moment I'm on a break and doing some tourism. But otherwise I'm on planet to conduct interviews. The Winter Court brought in town a great number of honorable samurai still relatively unknown outside of their home clan but deserving at least one portrait in the Lion press. You wouldn't happen to have military achievements and an honorable legacy to flaunt by the way?

That aside, happy to hear that the Pincers alliance runs strong. Some were worried that the Scorpion concessions, like tolerating a temple to a Dark Fortune, would brew trouble."

Knowing all too well not to speak iill of an ally, Setsu just maintains a flat thin smile to the temple topic. Then, he adds, "Unfortunately, I don't have much I can openly share. Much of my current work in under NDA since I lead many of the R&D teams. What I can say, though, is that I am a military enthusiast, from a family of great warrior-scholars, and that I hope that my work is serving the defense of my Clan, Allies and our Empire as a whole."

He puts both hands at his waist to show pride and comments, "So much of an enthusiast, I am actually training to become one of our famous berserkers."

"A berserker?"

Kanna was perplexed.

"Do you have permission from your lord for that career change? Your clan trained you for your engineering job for what? A decade? Throwing that away doesn't seem to match with the pragmatic reputation of the Crab."

He smirks at the intended reaction. Then, he nods, "It is not a common path, but it is one that is openly available to all bushi in the Crab. Following my family's motto of "a sane mind with a sane body", I believe it is only fitting. My contributions to the Clan will be ever much more so guaranteed, knowing that the intellectual investment provided to me will last for much longer with such adamant health, resistance and strength. If so the Fortunes permit."

He grins and scratches his head again, "I thought the Lion also had their famous warrior-poets, no? Scholars and fighters all in one."

"A warrior can write poetry during the many downtime of war. They cannot manage a work site far away from the battlefield in between two attacks.

I definitely approve of the mens sana in corpore sano part. Akodo-kami himself ordered all samurai to follow that path. It's the sudden job switching, apparently without warning anyone concerned firsthand, I'm puzzled about."

He raises an eyebrow at her concerning statement warning, but keeps the grin, "Ah! We wouldn't see it as a job switch. It is a path of improvement within the Clan. Much appreciated, in fact. I have faith I won't be sent to the frontlines in battle if I am of better service producing resources. Until, of course, I am needed there."

"More of a reservist then?"

This sounded more and more like the man was shooting for an honorary rank within the Crab army rather than an actual fighting job. Made more sense.

"If I may ask, why the sudden motivation? Upcoming marriage?"

Kanna could very much imagine a traditional Crab family asking of their potential son-in-law to provide some sort of military credentials before allowing the betrothal.

The Kaiu Engineers are bushi, as strange as one may think it is. The M word does give him a blush that is hidden by the cold of the rain. With a shake of his head, he replies. "I wouldn't say it is sudden. Also, I've been wanting to do so for a long time. My grandmother was a Hida Berserker. So, there's that. I just haven't found the proper place before, and this certainly looks like it. The technique requires one to connect with a certain kind of environment."

"Are you talking about this grove in particular? Or is the World of Dreams as a whole inflaming your berserker blood?"

Kanna wondered if, had she been blessed by the spirits, she would have seen Crab ghosts in ancient armor and tetsubo flanking the Kaiu and encouraging him in that path of direct action.

"I meant the Grove, but now that you mentioned..." He rubs his chin, wondering if the World of Dreams aspect of the righteous virtues would have something to do with that.

"You're the Jigoku specialist, you tell me. For someone like me who has never seen one with her own eyes, all creatures of the dark are movie zombies. So basically junkies at en even higher degree of decomposition.

I wonder how does the Scorpion make sure the addicts on their last straw don't try really stupid things actually."