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Definitely being directed AT the spirit, considering it was already proving difficult.

"Hmph. Two out of three positives. I suppose it will have to do." she huffed, leashing her reigns and sliding free of the saddle. She knew she didn't strike nearly as imposing a figure while dismounted, but she kept her head held high as she took a step forward, pausing to hold her hand out in front of Tsuyoshi, palm up. "May I borrow your katana, please?"


[Vitals
Void Points: 1/2
Wounds: 0/10 (Healthy)
Attack Stance, ATN 20]

"Reasonably. He has clearly been here since the war. The story of the nameless samurai that defended this bridge, and the signs of the battle here... I'd wager he was the source. And Kakita have clearly visited this place and ritualized their arts in the time since. If he had killed any of them they would have sent shugenja to banish him." she responded coolly, taking the sword in hand and holding it at her side, emulating a duelist's stance as she approached the ghost.

"One thing I know for certain, is that my purpose is ordained by the Kami, for the good of the Empire. To be Miya is to walk the path of the divine, their blood in my blood. We prefer the path of nonviolence, so that all may hear the Empress' words with ears unclouded by bias or anger, but when needs must, I will not hide from a blade if it means failing to fulfill my life's work. Come then, Duelist. Challenge my fate, and witness my worth with your own eyes!" And with that she took Center Stance.


[Vitals
Void Points: 1/2
Wounds: 0/10 (Healthy)
Center Stance, ATN 20]

Tsuyoshi nervously opened his mouth, stepping up not far behind and trying to think of how to stop the tiny terror as she began to announce her thought process and then boldly declare her challenge, and-

The Crane paused, frozen as he listened to the speech, seeing her square off against an immovable obstacle. Facing it head on, shoulders squared, bringing all of her might and determination to bear directly against that which impedes her path.

Embodying the soul of a true sumai.

Still a hint of nervousness, he smiled and squared off, standing back and giving her an encouraging thumbs up. She could do it! Her speech had inspired heart in him, even exhausted from his duel.

"Just to be perfectly clear on the rules, this duel is to first blood only." she stated carefully, the nervousness of the situation she had put herself in starting to leak through. She knew she was facing a far superior opponent, so she tried to get a closer look on just how injured this ghost was - if such a thing was even possible to 'injure' - calling more upon scholastic theory of dueling rather than any training or experience, considering she had absolutely none.


[Awareness/Iaijutsu (Assessment) 3k3 untrained vs. TN 10 + ?? to assess wound level
Roll: 9, 5, 8 = 22]

[Vitals
Void Points: 1/2
Wounds: 0/10 (Healthy)
Center Stance, ATN 20]

Elsewhere...

"So, cuz, what was the deal with that strange ghost bridge thing we had to cross on our way here? I've been thinking about it ever since we bumped into those Crane at that sake house," Mokuami would say to Michiko and Sugimoto.

"I don't know," Michiko responded, annoyance in her voice as they walked south along the road.

"Well, the Crane probably knew about that ghost, yeah? They must've. I hope Chiharu-san's gonna be okay!"

--------------------

Iaido Bridge

The ghost would not respond to Ayame's question, eyes focusing intently on hers as he settles into his center stance.

Ayame learns that the ghost's wound level is Dead.

The ghost does not raise. Getting a 16, he learns Ayame's Reflexes (3).

Neither beat the other by a large enough margin to gain the assessment bonus.

Ayame, if you don't want to forfeit, give me a contested Void/Iaijutsu [Focus] roll (with +1k1 for being in Center stance last round).

The ghost's Focus roll: 22

The ghost's Strike roll: 32+5

--------------------

Ayame, you do your best to emulate an iaijutsu duelist's stance. Tsuyoshi's sheathed katana seems large and burdensome, its weight unfamiliar to you. You try to adjust your hand to its unfamiliar handle, but the whole thing seems alien to you.

You try your best to force it. Metal sounding as the weapon rattled in its saya. All the while, the ghost's blank eyes staring seemingly into your very soul. When was the correct moment to strike? How long do you wait? How close to you near? You tense to draw the weapon then second guess yourself over and over. Just as you think you've reached the perfect distance, you ready yourself. Right... about...

The duelist's blade would fly from its sheath, arching through the air as it cut through Ayame...

.....

.....

Ayame, you are on a bridge. Possibly the same bridge? You look around, and you seem much... taller? Your feet are so far away! And your clothes... they aren't the same as the ones you were wearing. You don' own this much blue, for starters. Are you wearing Crane clothing? It's hard to make out, since there's very little light from the lantern.

... nighttime? Plus, there were so many other cues off. The sounds of cicadas. The smell of distant vegetation... crops?

You find yourself turning around... are you not controlling your own body? You look out into the river as you sigh wistfully in a deep voice. You find yourself pulling down the mask over the lower half of your face and look upon your masculine reflection. Your face... his face. It was the same as that ghost's! But still flesh and blood. Still alive.

A sound, the creak of a board. Pulling the mask back up to your nose, you turn around. Someone was there, in a cloak. You couldn't make out their features, or anything about them. You find your hand has gone to your blade, but it relaxes. You nod to the stranger.

"I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else," you... he would say. "I did not mean to scare you. I'm waiting for... someone."

The figure would nod their hooded head and continue, their footfalls upon the bridge as they crossed until the person reached the other side.

You would once more wistfully look out upon the river, resting upon your folded arms upon the balustrade. "Oh Sakura, my Sakura. Please, come with all due haste. One last meeting upon this bridge as rivals, then after tonight, we will be one forevermore. My heart longs for you so, with an indescribable ache as if the Amaterasu's dawn will never come. But our love will endure the ages, for nothing will keep us-"

Another creak of wood, closer now. Turning your head to the right... the same hooded figure as before? "Please, do not mind me, I am-

A flash of steel cut through the night. Suddenly, you feel like you're drowning. You feel yourself reaching up to your throat. It's so hard to breathe! You pull your hands away... blood, so much blood. You try to look upon the face beneath the hood, but it's so dark, you can't see... it's getting so hard to see.

Stumbling back, you nudge the lantern, which falls from the railing and extinguishes in the river below. Can't breathe. Legs failing you. You fall. You clasp at your throat instinctively. You feel his heart pounding hard, so very hard. He gets to his hands and knees, and tries to move forward. He reaches for the cloak of the person standing there, but they step back at the last second. You fall again. You try to look up, but with no light now, you cannot see a thing. The bridge below you is slippery now, wet. You're so warm but getting so cold, so fast. His heart, you can't feel it anymore. You can't see anything. You can't feel anything. You can't. You can't...

.....

.....

Chiharu, Tsuyoshi, as the ghost's blade connects with Ayame, he immediately dissipates into an ethereal mist and vanishes with the wind. Ayame is unharmed, now alone on the bridge.

Ayame, your eyes sting as if readjusting to the bright sunlight as if you had your eyes closed for hours. You were about to strike the ghost, but then... it's unclear. He's not here anymore, and you don't seem to be injured. Though you are definitely cold, your body temperature several degrees below what it should be.