It has been a long day. Full of reunions and cheer. But now, finally, was a chance to soak. Wearing a simple swimming outfit, she finds her way to the hot baths. A long moment of warmth. A deep sigh. It was nice to relax.

Mariko was perhaps glad to finally clear this lingering headache that had been bothering her most of the day. It was perhaps time to do something relax and actually start her day. Whatever was left of it, anyway. She entered the baths proper after hitting the showers, her hair tied up and a towel around her body. As she walked toward the baths, she did offer a glance at the refreshment machines and looked at her wrist. No, it was probably far too early to get back on that ride.

She gave a dismissive shake of her head and went over to the baths, noticing the woman in the swimming outfit. Her eyes narrowed for a moment before she went about her own business, removing her towel and getting into the baths. Tourists.

Feeling the disturbance in the water, Hashinako opens her eyes to look at who has arrived. Another woman, she sees. She offers a polite nod at her head, not quite a bow due to the limitations of, well, being in a bath. "Relaxing after a long day, -sama?" Her speech, though somewhat deferential, is still cheerful and fluid. And probably very recognizable to any who've ever watched any of her content.

The other woman sank down unto the baths until she was about neck level to get herself properly submerged in the soothing water. She was perhaps content to just go about her bath without getting too social. Sometimes these bathing successions can go by in complete silence, save for the splashing of water whenever someone new joins in. Her attention wasn't really on the other woman until she greeted her. Mariko had her eyes closed momentarily before she opened them, mustering a small polite smile at first.

"Well, I don't know if I really had much of a day, to begin with..." she said before tilting her head a little questioningly. "Huh, you look kind of familiar..."

"Ah, a late riser," she smiles gently. "I understand. I am Shosuro Hashinako. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"No, not quite..." She frowned slightly on that note. "I just wouldn't really count my mornings as part of my day. Especially, after the Nebuta Matsuri..."

Mariko narrowed her eyes at her. There was such a thing as celebrity lookalikes, especially in a city this large, but she doubt anyone would be so bold to actually attempt to assume the identity of someone else. That would be improper and a crime, after all. "For a moment, I didn't think it was actually you...Really you, huh?"

"Mariko. Bayushi Mariko." She introduced herself in that format. It was just something she picked up earlier in the day, actually. "But, you must know that too."

Bayushi Mariko wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 03, 2022 12:45 am

"No, not quite..." She frowned slightly on that note. "I just wouldn't really count my mornings as part of my day. Especially, after the Nebuta Matsuri..."

Mariko narrowed her eyes at her. There was such a thing as celebrity lookalikes, especially in a city this large, but she doubt anyone would be so bold to actually attempt to assume the identity of someone else. That would be improper and a crime, after all. "For a moment, I didn't think it was actually you...Really you, huh?"

"Mariko. Bayushi Mariko." She introduced herself in that format. It was just something she picked up earlier in the day, actually. "But, you must know that too."

Ah yes, of course. Hashinako readily recognized another face in the acting community. A nod and a pleasant smile at the fellow thespian. "It is good to finally meet you, Bayushi-sama. I had wondered if our paths would ever cross, though I thought it less likely when I left the public sphere last year."

"Cross?" She said out loud before considering, finding the idea a bit unlikely in their circumstance. "I don't think my agent had ever put an option to join Life of Togashi so I'm not exactly sure if we would have seen each other, outside of a gala or premier, anyway."

"Right, that...I had thought you gotten out of the business entirely, went off to live in some remote world to plant turnips or something." She gave a shrug on the matter. Then again, Mariko had been scarce herself too, hasn't she?

"There was always going to be a life for me after Life of a Togashi. If ever there was a chance of it to happen, it would have been in whatever project would happen next." She smiles ever so gently.

"Planet turnips? Is that supposed to be the idea for some odd farming show or the like?" She lets out a small giggle.

"That's probably the most polite of all of the rumours I've heard." She shrugged. "Some people on the Star Watch mentioned that you had some production disagreements and that it was potentially hiding a bigger scandal. The usual business you get when people see you almost all the time and then suddenly don't. It would have probably helped to show up once in a while at an event, even if you have nothing to do with it."

"So, then, are you actually back or is this not actually a comeback?" She asked inquisitively.

"Yeah, well, people have rather active imaginations." She shrugs. "You change your priorities and everyone assumes you had some daimyo's child. I just needed to take some time to do the things that I had dreamed of doing, as opposed to the thing that gave me fame."

"I suppose it depends on what you mean by back. The producers at Life of a Togashi would love for me to be working on the show again. I think I am ready to return to the public sphere, mind, but I'm not sure that is the way I would like to do it."

"Was it much of a dream role if you're already back in the public sphere? Did it prove to be not as great as you had hoped or too much of a good thing?" She asked, failing to see how it could be the latter in any way. "I'm there are a few things you could do afterwards but sometimes you go have to close a door behind you can open another. Historical dramas are probably out for you."

"It was very much a dream," she shakes her head. "But at the end of the day, we are the Scorpion. Acting in stage plays is a great deal of fun, but when we get to the end of it, it was a selfish dream. So I search for the best way I can to serve the clan again." She stretches her neck a bit. "The trick is to figure out what the best way to do that is. Acting, obviously, but the right role, at the right time. And not just the roles I want to play."

"Some people must consider it pretty romantic, doing what Scorpion performers due back in the heyday when there was nothing but a stage to act on. It's a pretty feudal dream and I'm sure that it didn't keep you fed at the end of the day. The schedule can't be good either, performing on-demand every night. Is that what you have to put up with?" She asked curiously as she shifted slightly in her seat to get comfortable again.

"Well, I wish I had some ideas for you," she said a touch dismissively. "The business doesn't exactly wait for many people. Sometimes you just have to take whatever opportunities you can find."