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Too little too late. Her attempts at offense were ultimately simply ignored, leaving her back line completely open once more, and the few pieces that remained were captured in short order, putting her king in checkmate within only a few moves. It seemed divine inspiration was a fickle mistress.

She adopted that telltale pout that usually meant she was about to do something of great bravado, but... well Toku Seiichi beat her to it, to be perfectly honest. With her bravado stolen and her pride shattered by one of her own clansmen, she had nothing to do but shake her head and smile sadly. Lose with dignity, huh? What would mother say now? ...heh, she'd probably challenge her opponent to a duel and negate the loss that way. Maybe if it had been someone other than Gendo...

She shook her head again and stood to match Gendo's bow. "Well played. You had me right from the start. It's sad to see two Kraken wiped away in the first round. All our hopes rest on you now, Gendo-san. Hehe, though I suppose I should be rooting against you so my side can still claim victory."

The Match-ups
NORTH vs SOUTH
Moto Guntomar (+1) vs Shosuro Nene (+3) - South Check
Ide Seibei (+1) vs Asako Mina (+1) - North Advantage
Shiba Noburo (+2) vs Tara (+2) - North Advantage
Ide Urako (+2) vs Shosuro Kyouya - 10/17
Toku Seiichi (+0) vs Mirumoto Katsunan (+1) - South Checkmate
Akodo Tamafune (+2) vs Morito Denbe (+3) - North Checkmate
Himura Naohiko vs Kitsuki Senzo (+3) - South Checkmate
Bayushi Kojiro (+2) vs Ikoma Ryobe (+2) - North Checkmate
Kitsune Ippei (+0) vs Yoritomo Katsue (+0) - South Advantage
Akodo Masaru (+4) vs Kuni Taniko (+3) - North Advantage
Daigotsu Josuke (+1) vs Shinjo Hideki (+2) - North Checkmate
Matsu Ami (+3) vs Kakita Mitsuko (+1) - North Checkmate
Himura Gendo vs Himura Kaichiyo - North Checkmate

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@ Kyouya:

Urako would wave somewhat dismissively. A slightly rude gesture, but her attention was fixated on the game, so it was likely she didn't realize she did it. Tapping out another rhythm, she listened to some of the matches finishing up, and she made a bad move, allowing you to capitalize.

Urako gets 28 to your 29, and loses 4 points

She swore silently to herself, realizing she's getting in a position that'll be pretty difficult for her to come back from, and the composure she had before was quickly unraveling.

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@ Tadao:

"... and just like that, it seems two more battles are over! And bad news for supporters of Daimyo Minami, as the North have taken both of those fronts!"

Two tables next to one another have apparently finished. The Crane that sat next to Kaichiyo would stand and bow very respectfully to her opponent, Matsu Ami. Ami, on the other had, wouldn't be quite as courteous with her return gesture, but instead, seems a bit taxed over her win. The Crane would then depart.

Beside them, the Unicorn who boasted before would laugh heartily despite his loss. "A fine match, a fine match. It was a pleasure doing battle with you, Josuke-san!"

"... Likewise," he would say lowly, and bow his head in respect.

The Unicorn, Hideki, would begin departing, though he would near the table Kyouya and Urako was playing at. He would give a friendly wave at his clanmate, and offer her some encouragement. "It's just you and Guntomar now, Urako-san! Do us prou-

"I KNOW! I know!" she would repeat, the stress getting to her. She quickly made a move, apparently without really having a plan, and Hideki would frown. He would put his hands up defensively and back away without another word.

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@ Naohiko:

"Hmm?" Kioko would glance over at Naohiko, then back at the shogi games. "Oh! Oh yes, I'm quite enjoying spectating them. More than I expected to, even."

Naohiko, you think you see the slightest hint of a smirk rather unbecoming of her status, but a fan blocks your view almost instantly before you can be certain.

"Mm..." Suddenly, the fan would snap shut, and Kioko would give a cute smile, like before. "Well, it could be that Setsuna-chan is Gendo's good luck charm! In fact, I'm sure of it!"

Kyouya would only smile softly in response to her opponent's dismissal. And here she was thinking the Urako was unflappable. Moving her pieces daintily, she tried to make it seem she was still unsure in her actions, even though she knew full and well what she was doing now that she was in the lead for now.

Int/Shogi: 4k2 (with 3 dice for kabooms)

15 + 17 = 32!

"Hm.." Kyouya would say, not stopping her advance at all, but kicking herself for letting the piece go swiftly. It was only a matter of time before the haste of the Unicorn bit her once again. She was tempted to add to Urako's melody, but chose not to. She wouldn't want to seem like she was mocking her opponent.

Int/Shogi: 4k2 (with 3 dice for kabooms)

28 + 16 = 44!

"Points for effort, my dear," Kyouya almost purred, moving her pieces around easily. "If this were war, I would have you captured and propose you defect to my army; That was well played." Her eyes narrowed behind her mask, matching the warm smile on her face.

"Although next time, we should pick a tune that keeps its tempo even, okay?"

Int/Shogi: 4k2 (with 3 dice for kabooms)

36 + 16 = 52!

With that done, Naohiko would politely excuse himself from Kioko-hime's presence. With no idea on how to find Usagi-san and no desire to treat with the Scorpions after Kojiro's brush off, Naohiko would try to find the nearest teahouse.

The Match-ups
NORTH vs SOUTH
Bayushi Kojiro (+2) vs Mirumoto Katsunan (+1) - Evenly Matched
Daigotsu Josuke (+1) vs Shosuro Nene (+3) - Evenly Matched
Himura Gendo vs Tara (+2) - 20/20
Akodo Tamafune (+2) vs Kuni Taniko (+3) - Evenly Matched
Ide Seibei (+1) vs Shosuro Kyouya - 20/20
Matsu Ami (+3) vs Kitsuki Senzo (+3) - Evenly Matched

Bye: Yoritomo Katsue (South)

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@ Tadao:

"Citizens of Rokugan! Hark, and listen!" Ikoma Tadao would announce as the next set of Shogi combat would be readied, the competitors taking their seats.

"The first assaults by Daimyos Kita and Minami have concluded, and there were heavily casualties on both sides! A mixed result of victory and defeat, both of which left a sour taste in each lord's mouth. While fighting for the honor of their children, apparently their enemy had taken that opportunity to make an aggressive strike into the other's territory, ending years of an uneasy truce in one bloody day! That outrage... that outrage simply could not stand." Tadao would shake his head, emoting a display of equal parts sorrow and shame.

"Down on the battlefields, the generals rallied, and made their own battle plans. Their orders still stood, and while some of their own peers have been slain, they know the other side have had similar difficulties. That said, there was definitely a shift in morale: Daimyo Minami's forces currently held more land. The southern forces have pushed farther into the North than was deemed acceptable; if the North wanted to have a shot at victory, they had to push out the invaders, or else it would quickly become a battle for not victory, but mere survival!"

Tadao would gesture at the now-condensed line of tables - 7 in total, with an empty seat on one side in the central table. "A new dawn rises - a blood-red sun breaks over the horizon to the East, staining the lands crimson, reminding the surviving soldiers of the horrors they witnessed just yesterday - but they were not allowed a reprieve. The enemy gave no quarter, and in this war, on this day, whomever took charge first would likely live to see this red sun set."

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@ Gendo:

You sit on the north side, controlling the white pieces. The woman across from you seems oddly at-ease. Though she definitely doesn't seem to fit.

She is a deeply-tanned woman, with tightly-woven black hair and large brown eyes. Her style of dress is definitely that of someone far below the station of samurai - she did not seem to have a wakizashi either. Yet, here she was, shoulder-to-shoulder with her superiors.

And apparently, she made it past the first round.

She would politely nod, turning it into a respectful bow, though you aren't certain if it would normally be considered "respectful enough". While that could simply be because of the table being in the way, she didn't back up to give herself room either. It was really kind of a mystery.

She went ahead and made the opening move.

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@ Kyouya:

Across from you, interestingly enough, sat another member of the Unicorn clan - apparently the only one who survived the preliminaries. He was a larger fellow, definitely well-fed and quite healthy-looking. He did seem a bit nervous, sweating very slightly. He, like most Unicorn you've seen, was fairly well-dressed, but perhaps slightly better than most, with displays of gold here and there. He did the shaved pate thing, with a little square cap atop his crown. Age-wise, he seemed to be maybe a year or two your senior.

"Hah!" he would laugh once upon the narrator's break in speech. "Three Scorpions to one Unicorn? Things look awfully bad for me, don't they?" Smilingly with a rather overfriendly presence, he would bow his head in greeting. "Miss... Kyouya-san, was it? If you wonder why so many of my clanmates are glaring in our direction, it's become all their hopes now rest in a fellow who played his first game of Shogi less than a month ago. And I was taught by the person you defeated in the last round. Hah!"

He would unfurl a fan and wave it in his direction as he would gesture at you with his free hand. "Black player, ladies first, avatar of Benten... pick any reason you'd like, opening move is yours. Hah!"