Interlude: Conflict Resolution
Mari took a breath, ensured that her face was on properly, and then knocked softly.
The door opened within moments; either Ami had been about to go out or she was expecting a visitor.
"Mari?" she said, raising an eyebrow. Clearly she had not been expecting Mari to be the visitor.
"Yup," she said, offering a grin that combined amusement and world-weariness. "Won't be but a moment. Hazō came to me about your little kerfluffle this afternoon, asking for advice on how to handle it." She rolled her eyes.
"I see," Ami said. "I had believed he understood me better."
"Yeah, well, he's Hazō. Always brilliant when it comes to changing the world, usually an idiot with people. Anyway, he's angry enough that it's going to make it hard for him to work with you and this plan you're putting together is too important to mess up. Could you come for dinner tonight, around seven? Just the three of us. I can play mother hen and get things sorted out so he can get past it and we can do what needs done."
Ami studied her for a long moment but Mari's face was water, calm and clear and expressing only the aggravation of needing to mother a teenager.
Ami snorted. "I suppose. He still owes me dinner at the Yabai Café for making me late, but I suppose I can come to that giant pile of yours."
"Heh. Thanks. Sorry for this...you know how he is."
"I thought I did."
Mari chuckled and shook her head. "See you tonight."
o-o-o-o
"Ami."
"Hazō," said Serious Ami, nodding without a smile. Hazō had proven unable to keep up with Effective Ami and Mari had made it clear that the boy was too emotional to be useful. Serious Ami could at least offer him the balm of social conformity, even if it was ridiculous and a waste of everyone's time. She still would not offer an apology, of course.
Hazō was standing on the far side of the heavy oak monstrosity that was the Gōketsu dining room table. The desired seating arrangement was clear; Mari at the head of the table to moderate, Hazō to her left and Ami to her right. The messaging was interesting; the room was lit with candles instead of those lantern seals with the pompous name. The table settings were black-varnished wooden chopsticks and bone-handled soup spoons on ivory rests. Serviceable, no ornamentation. The kind of thing one might see at a midscale restaurant; they looked out of place in the large stone room with its elegant wall hangings that showed landscapes on the east and west walls and the Gōketsu crest on the north. Mari might as well have whispered in her ear:
We care little about appearances and more about effectiveness, yet this situation is significant enough that we have to spend time on this conversation.
Each placemat had a storage seal at the center, another at the top, and a third just beyond that. Presumably each contained a single course and the seals would keep them hot or cold until the diner was ready.
We are a major clan with significant resources. It is inefficient to annoy the head of a major clan, or to reveal that you think he's slow. Normies still put stock in social niceties even though they're stupid and a waste of time.
A rotating platform between their three seats held another storage seal which Mari tapped, unsealing a lightly-steaming tea pot and three freshly-poured cups. She spun the platform and silently gestured for Ami to choose, offering a small smile as she did. She was turned slightly so that Hazō would not see the sardonic twist to the smile.
You are a guest and we are showing you honor. Hazō is still willing to work with you.
Serious Ami nodded and chose a cup, seating herself and unsealing her first course without waiting for invitation. A large bowl of soup with udon noodles and bits of meat and vegetable. The message went back to Mari:
I understand your point, yet I will not be bound by social convention and I do not count myself his inferior.
Hazō sat as well, choosing a cup of tea and unsealing his own meal. He was attempting to use the Iron Nerve to show himself calm and unruffled. It was adorable; Ami had grown up with actual Kurosawa who had the training. He was still angry but he had completely missed the silent conversation that Mari and Ami were having.
Mari stood at her place, looking back and forth between them and sighed.
I stand outside this issue and intend to be a moderator, not a mediator. "Okay," she said. "Let's get this dealt with. Ami, Hazō, you need to get past this and find better ways to work together in the future. The political stuff that's going on is too important to screw it up."
It is to your advantage to slow down and take his feelings into account more.
"To this goal: Ami, I would like to introduce you to a Gōketsu family tradition for conflict resolution."
Free-Spirit Ami mentally rolled her eyes; the moment anyone formed a group they insisted on binding themselves with rules and restrictions and conventions. Didn't they realize that those things were nothing but handles and levers?
Analyst Ami mentally cocked her head in interest. Sometimes conventions allowed for faster information interchange and the restriction was an acceptable trade-off.
"And what might—"
Mari grabbed Ami's hair and slammed her face into the table.
The impact left her stunned for a split second, just long enough for Mari to grab Ami's left arm, pull it up into a joint lock, and drape a leg across Ami's back with Mari's foot on the table.
Chakra surged through her, forcing her to her feet. Mari was a taijutsu expert but she weighed virtually nothing. Chakra-boosted strength would throw the woman off and across the room, giving enough time to escape. Parameters needed to be updated; the Gōketsu were unable to—
Mari didn't move. Chakra adhesion had locked her left foot to the floor and her right foot to the table. Ami thrashed, trying to roll to the right in order to twist out of the lock, simultaneously grabbing Mari's knee with her free hand and digging her thumb into the joint. Enough pain would break any—
The thoughts scattered and the joint strike got lost as Mari lifted Ami's head and shoved it down into the soup bowl.
The salty broth stung her eyes and flooded her nose. She had been inhaling and a few drops of it went into her lungs, making her choke and cough. She struggled, trying to spill the soup so she could get air but the bowl was too wide and too low.
Mari pulled her up again.
"You are extremely good at what you do, Ami," she said calmly. "But you don't always think all the way through your actions." She rammed Ami's head back into the soup bowl.
Ami was ready this time; she kept her eyes closed and started drinking the moment she was under. She tried to twist her left hand so she could get her nails into Mari's neck, but her former teacher had her wrist locked tight.
Mari pulled her up again.
"You want to mess with Hazō? That's fine, up to a point. Bringing Akane into it, with something that might damage her reputation? No. I will not allow that."
"Let me go! Ahh!" She gasped as Mari leaned slightly forward, increasing the pressure on Ami's shoulder.
"Furthermore, you need to be thoughtful about how far you escalate," Mari continued, acting as though she hadn't even heard Ami's demands. She pushed Ami's head back into the soup but Ami had drained the bowl and it amounted only to having her face mashed into boiled vegetables.
Mari released her hair but leaned farther forward, using the joint lock to ensure that Ami could not raise her head. With the freed-up hand she picked up the teapot and slowly poured its contents over the back of Ami's head. Ami immediately started drinking but the liquid flowed in faster than she could consume it and soon she was underwater again. Another attempt at a joint strike against Mari's leg brought only a punishing twist on the armbar that made her grunt in pain and give up the attempt.
Mari took back the grip on her hair and eased off on the joint lock enough that she could bring Ami's head up into the air again.
"See, if you escalate to the point of openly defying a Clan Head, of implicitly telling him to his face that you don't care about his feelings or his authority, that he matters nothing to you...well, that makes him escalate." She laughed softly, the sound dark and low. "Or, in this case, makes
me escalate. Hazō had no idea what I was planning; he only asked for advice, not action. You need to understand that Hazō is not a lone actor. When you deal with him you are dealing with the Gōketsu. Mess with him, spin him around, tease him or make him look a little bit foolish...fine. He needs to learn to cope with those things. Demean him, make clear that he—and, by extension, the Gōketsu—are insignificant to you? Worse, do it outside where there were people nearby that definitely saw what was happening and might have heard the exact words? No. There are limits, and you crossed them."
Facets flickered by, looking for the one that could resolve the situation.
"I'm going to let you up now. I don't expect you to apologize—we both know that you still don't think you did anything wrong and your apology would be worthless. Instead, you will make clear that you understand the lesson."
The redhead took her leg off of Ami's back and stepped away, taking care to not leave herself vulnerable when she released the armlock.
Ami pushed herself to her feet, blanking her face as she analyzed the situation and considered tone and inflection. This was definitely time for Danger-Mitigation Ami to guide.
"I understand the lesson," she said, eyes locked on Mari's as she bowed very slightly, more of a shallow nod. She would not grovel. Ami was not a primary combatant but everyone in the room knew that Mari could not take her so easily without the advantage of surprise. Hazō would not even be a factor.
"Not to me. To Hazō."
Rage flickered through but she dismissed it. "I understand the lesson," she said to Hazō. She did not repeat the bow. Through this entire scene, the boy had not moved. He sat in his chair, silent and attempting to Iron Nerve his way to an appearance of calm disinterest.
"Hazō?" Mari asked. "Is there something you'd like to say to Ami?"
Hazō considered her for a moment. Strangely, he had deactivated the Iron Nerve, allowing her to see his true feelings...and there was no delight at her pain. The rage was gone, replaced by nothing more than acceptance, perhaps closure.
"Get out," he said calmly.
Danger-Mitigation Ami studied him for a moment and then turned and left. Neither of the others moved.
I am confident enough in your good sense that I feel no need to ensure you do nothing inappropriate on your way out.
