|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed May 23, 2018 7:16 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed May 23, 2018 8:59 pm
 |
|
|
|
@ Naohiko:
Worst. Lecher. Ever.
Yes, Ichi was practicing her kata with a bokken. Fully dressed, nothing lewd. Mind you, she's still pretty endowed so there was a certain... draw to watching her as she swung the weapon overhead.
Though she only did it like... twice more before lowering her arms and turning to face you. She isn't wearing her quasi-ruined red-and-white kimono like normal, but a full-bodied gi (more of a pastel version of the Hare color palette). Complete with cute headband and everything.
Her face would sour.
"Took you long enough, Naohiko-san. I thought you'd be here half an hour ago. Did-" She paused. "Did you really bathe first, knowing you were going to a spar?" Another pause. "Your hair looks dry... how casually of a walk did you take to come here?"
--------------------
@ Kaichiyo:
"... something to that effect," he would respond flatly, then pausing for a bit.
He would sigh audibly, looking down as he did so before lifting his gaze once more.
"I'm sorry, I... we should try and make this civil, I suppose. I've been planning this conversation since I first heard you were coming to Rokugan, to this winter court. Running simulations in my head. All my life, I..." He would trail off.
"This is surprisingly difficult. How... how is Aunt Haruka? Let's start with that."
--------------------
@ Gendo:
Gendo, as you open the door, SOMEONE RUSHES IN, AS IF TO TACKLE YOU! Roll me a Raw Stamina to stay on your feet!
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Plainsfox rolled 6 10-sided dice:
6, 7, 8, 7, 5, 1
Total: 34 (6-60)
|
|
|
Posted: Wed May 23, 2018 9:18 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Raganui Minamoto rolled 5 10-sided dice:
4, 4, 3, 9, 4
Total: 24 (5-50)
|
|
Posted: Wed May 23, 2018 10:17 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 26, 2018 10:11 pm
|
|
|
 |
Her head tilted ever so slightly, expression relaxing a bit as he exposed a more vulnerable side right from the start. Though her brow furrowed slighter still at the address. It wasn't exactly common practice to refer to fellow "family" members by blood family terms, but as far as she understood things, Haruka had been Himura's only child, so... she had to chalk it down to strange mannerisms, at least for politeness' sake. "Hm? She is in good health, and now that the worst of my sister's illness seems to have passed and her recovery going well, I daresay my mother is even in good spirits. For the most part. Sometimes it's hard to tell with her."
Her brow furrowed further and her lips pursed as she tried to figure the best way to break whatever this ice was. There was something deeply personal going on, and it bothered her to no end being so grossly uninformed when it appeared to be so important. "You... have me at a disadvantage, I suppose. I was born after the Kraken were fairly well established, and this is my first visit to the Empire proper. We've had Dragon, and even Kitsuki visitors from whom I've heard many grand stories of my grandfather, but um... I do not know your story. How do you know my mother?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 26, 2018 11:39 pm
|
|
|
|
@ Naohiko:
(Ties go to the defender)
Ichi's face turned a touch more serious when Naohiko made his suggestion, tightening her grip on her bokken. "Boys don't bathe with girls. Why would you even sugg- wait. Hand to hand? Is that what you had meant yesterday?" Ichi's stance would relax and she would lower the practice weapon so the point was towards the floor. "What did you have in mind then, Naohiko-san? I'm not sure we're on the same page."
--------------------
@ Gendo:
Roll of 7 for Raw Strength to 'tackle' = Fail
The intruder pounced at you as soon as the door opened, though the individual seemed to... misgauge your body proportions, impacting your abdomen and chest when they thought your head and shoulders would be in their place. Bouncing off, you reach to grab the person.
30 seconds earlier
Emi stood outside of Naohiko's room (or so she thought), coyly looking down the hall in both directions. No one in sight.
Placing the platter and teaset she had brought (which were all empty) onto the floor nearby, she would reach back and untie her hair, letting it fall free. Puckering her lips a few times, she would ready a knock in the door, but she would hesitate. Looking down, she would open the front of her kimono to shoe some chest. Gauging her work, she would adjust her breasts upward to fill out the kimono a bit more, and finally opening her kimono a teensy bit more.
Nodding with self-approval, she would waggle her fingertips in anticipation, she would instead clear her throat. "Himura-sama, it's me. I have what you wanted," she would announce, her eyes twinkling. Hearing the footsteps near the door, she would hunch down ever so slightly. Her samurai would open the door, and she would pounce~
... before bouncing off of her intended target who only slightly stumbled back. Reaching for her, he would grab instead her loosened kimono, disrobing her further as she fell to the floor of the room, landing face down. Turning her head, she would see not her darling Naohiko, but instead, someone much taller, with an eyepatch. Someone familiar to her...
"G-Gendo?!" she cried in alarm. Turning her gaze away from him, she moved to sit herself up, shyly covering her bare chest with both arms, her back to the tall Kraken.
Setsuna's gaze would turn upward toward the ceiling, intently looking at... something... like a bug was flying around. He seemed completely oblivious to the humans in the room at him.
Give me a Raw Intelligence check to see if you recognize this girl, who apparently knows who you are. Maybe she's a friend of that softspoken smith who helped you during the Crafting Competition?
--------------------
@ Kaichiyo:
"I don't know her personally, but..." Senzo started, pausing. The gears would turn in his head as something processed.
"Wait... hold on. You... don't know of me," he said slowly, as if having to hear it aloud for it to register. "By the fortunes, you really don't know me, do you? You didn't ignore me on purpose during the Shogi tournament because you didn't know me, and your clanmate wasn't acting, he really is an idiot." Clenching his kimono at the knees with both hands, he gritted his teeth angrily for a few moments, before forcing himself to calm.
"Mother sent Haruka letters every year. Did she not receive them? Not once? I know she talked of me, and in the end, I had to write them myself as I transcribed for her. I know they were estranged after Himura's death, but please tell me Haruka was not that spiteful, Kaichiyo-san." There was a bit of distress in Senzo's voice now.
Kaichiyo, give me a Raw Intelligence roll vs TN 10 to remember a childhood memory of your mother burning letters after reading them, including one time you asking her about it when you were much younger (seeing one sealed letter before she got home from someone named 'Kanata') and she refused to discuss it with you. If you hit TN 15 (an effective raise), I'll add in recollection of never seeing her pen any responses.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 27, 2018 12:00 am
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Paidi tou Selini rolled 5 10-sided dice:
1, 1, 3, 10, 8
Total: 23 (5-50)
|
|
Posted: Sun May 27, 2018 3:54 am
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 27, 2018 4:12 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 27, 2018 6:07 pm
|
|
|
|
@ Naohiko:
"Well... yes? I suppose, by your standards? I'm a Hare, I'm required to be proficient in jiujutsu..." she started to explain. "However, I prefer the katana. It tends to do the job better when it comes to killing maho tsukai." She would start haphazardly swinging her bokken around, letting the wooden weapon woosh through the air as she did so.
After Naohiko picks his weapon, Ichi would take a fighting stance, gripping her weapon tightly with both hands.
Naohiko, roll in-
Suddenly, Ichi would look to the door, which promptly was followed by a couple polite knocks. "Did you bring a friend, Naohiko-san?"
--------------------
@ Gendo:
Failure on the memory check
Quickly pulling her kimono back on and covering herself once more, she would wrap her arms around her to make sure it stayed closed tight as she turned around.
"Wait... what attack? What are-" The girl's eyes would go wide, and she would hold her hands to her cheeks in alarm. "Oh! Oh no! Something happened! Naohiko-sama bravely defended someone and got hurt in battle! That's why you're in Naohiko-sama's room instead of him!" Clutching her hands together before her, she would give Gendo a pleading look. "Please, tell me Naohiko-sama will be okay!"
Setsuna would pant happily as he continued to watch whatever he noticed buzzing around the room.
--------------------
@ Kaichiyo:
Also failure on the memory check; wtf, guys...
Senzo would let out a long sigh. "Very well. I don't know what you're in the dark about yet, so please, don't hold it against me if I repeat anything you already knew." Senzo would look across the room to Kaichiyo, locking eyes with her.
"Kitsuki Himura was a great swordsman. His wife, Kitsuki Kaoru, bore him two daughters. One is your mother, Haruka; the other was my mother, Kanata. I think they were born about five or so years apart. However, upon my mother's birth, Kaoru fell victim to an illness which she never truly recovered."
So far, parts of this check out. You do know that Himura's wife died of illness complications, but after a prolonged period of time. The two daughters is new to you though, you thought Haruka was an only child.
"From my mother's rendition of events, your mother traveled a lot with Himura. He had a sort of... insatiable wanderlust, which ultimately drove him to great and heroic things. He would settle from time to time, such as when our mothers were born. But from my understanding, he would rarely stay in one spot for too long. I know of Aunt Haruka's bardic renditions of many of Himura's great deeds, and they are so vivid because she was there for many of them, watching from the sidelines. My mother, though..."
"My mother never got that opportunity. She says grandfather was torn on what to do about his wife; if he tried to stay at her side, she chided him for doting on her, encouraging him to follow his passion. My mother said that she stayed home caring for Kaoru because someone had to. All the tales she told me of Himura, were second-hand renditions she heard from her sister, your mother."
"I think that's ultimately the thing they never saw eye to eye on. Both blamed the other for not doing enough to care for Kaoru; Haruka said Kanata didn't do a good enough job taking care of her and failed in her duty, while my mother said Haruka was more at fault for not doing anything. But until the day she died, Kaoru insisted things were the way she wanted them. Her death took a lot of the light from Himura, and while he continued on for years afterwards, he never truly seemed to enjoy his actions."
"The thing that they disagreed on most, and that drove them apart, was when Himura died. There was no accusational finger pointer this time; instead, mother said Haruka proclaimed that she would see an everlasting homage made to Himura, in the form of a true Family named after him. Kanata disagreed, and felt that the Dragon would benefit more by the more humble path of having them stay in their ranks, spreading the ways of both Himura's teachings and swordsmanship styles, which had the potential to uplift our clan be the undisputed masters of the blade in only a few generations' time."
"However... that hinged heavily on Haruka. She alone bore the knowledge of Himura's style from her years of observing him first-hand. Kanata failed to convince her to stay. I believe that when your mother left to Toshi Ranbo that day, it was the last time they shared a spoken word with one another. While my mother attempted to reconcile after years had passed, it seems the attempts were a wasted effort."
Senzo would break from speaking for a bit, giving his throat a chance to rest for a few moments. "As you mentioned when you entered the room, you have some understanding of my intentions. I want to see Himura's teachings return to the Dragon Clan. While outwardly, many boast and advocate in the Himura family's glory - especially since the event mirrors the ascension of Iweko as divine empress - it does not change the fact that my mother was left to bear the fallout of your mother's actions of acting without permission from her daimyo. She was denied any station of importance, instead relegated to menial and meaningless duties. I swore I would do whatever it would take to bring the Himura style back, and restore my mother's lost honor."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 27, 2018 6:20 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 27, 2018 10:54 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed May 30, 2018 5:07 pm
|
|
|
|
"That's... I... why would..?" she stammered, blinking in shock. "How could she keep something like that from me!? This is rather exceptionally important- Rrrr... hm hmmm hm mmm." her frustrations quickly devolved into melodic humming, calming herself for a minute with at least half of a soothing song. "Mmf... Forgive me. This is just... a lot to take in. Almost unbelievable, save that I believe that at least you believe what you are saying to be true. Which... is complicated. I really need to confront my mother about this."
Kaichiyo's eyes drifted down to her katana. Her mother was wielding Himura's signature blade, but her two swords still held great significance to her. One her mother's old sword, during her travels with Himura, of which no small stories were in her repertoire. And the other with her now, the spare blade Himura himself had kept with him. The tsubasa had been changed to reflect the change in clan, but the sword was still held by the legend himself. Still held the secrets to her clan's techniques, in a spiritual sense.
"Hiten Mitsurugi. Strictly speaking it was not grandfather's style. Hiko Seijuro no Mirumoto was not satisfied with the gap between the traditional Mirumoto style and the Taoist sword style, finding the arts of Iaijutsu to be far better suited to awareness, speed, and defense, he combined the three to be both a one-against-many, as well as a Duelist's style. The Mirumoto, prideful in their traditions, did not take kindly to his ambitions, and while he was recognized for his skill, he was ultimately shunned and all but cast out for his audacity."
She paused for a moment and stroked the length of her grandfather's sword, both remembering the tales fondly while still wanting to be delicate with her apparent cousin. "It is a tradition the Mirumoto refuse, but a Kitsuki... well... Grandfather took to it exceptionally well, and made it his own. The legacy he built with it is undisputed, certainly, but... well, I can't speak for the politics of the Dragon, as I have never known them personally, but the way my mother tells it, she left because this ambition of yours, to see Himura's teaching flourish within the Dragon... it's impossible. The Mirumoto and Togashi would not allow it. It may have been passed on to you or me, perhaps one or two of our children if we were truly resourceful and lucky, but it would have eventually been snuffed out. Just one of many in a long line of self-made styles that never got schools or dojos of their own, because the established schools are too set in tradition, and powerful enough to squash any who would challenge that tradition."
"That's not to say I approve of my mother's methods, if this turns out to be true. Especially if she truly didn't get the Kitsuki daimyo's blessing. I value my heritage, and regardless of my mother's wishes I have every intention of reconciling that relationship if such a thing is possible. But I hope you can understand how complicated this makes things for me. The Kraken have become more than just our family legacy. I have the lives and livelihood of all my clanmates to consider. We are a diverse group of industrious people on the very edge of the world, so far removed from the Empire's mainland. All that we've built, the bonds we've grown... I couldn't just upend and displace all of that. Heh. Your cousin Haru wouldn't let me if I tried. If his current course sticks, he has every intention of challenging me for leadership. I can only imagine his passions would redouble if the fate of the clan was at stake. Surely there is some sort of compromise we could reach?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2018 2:37 pm
|
|
|
|
@ Naohiko:
As you begin to open the door, a hand grabs the frame and forces it open the rest of the way. Yoritomo Shohei, the large Mantis that Naohiko hasn't seen for a couple days, stood before him. Looking down at Naohiko, he would smirk. "Good morning," he would say with forced politeness in his voice.
Two kama hung at his obi, the morning sun shining into the courtyard reflecting off their steel sheen.
"I hope you don't mind, but I happened to be in the area. If you two are about to fight, may I watch?" He wouldn't take his eyes off of Naohiko's the entire time he spoke.
Naohiko, if you want to resist balking, you'll need a Willpower/Etiquette (Courtesy) roll!
--------------------
@ Gendo:
"Oh, phew. I was so scared," the girl said, placing one hand to her chest over her heard as she sighed with relief.
She seemed to pick up on something, and studied Gendo for a moment. "You don't remember me," she'd state to him.
Gendo, what is your response? If you want to lie to her, that would involve a Sincerity [Deceit] roll.
--------------------
@ Kaichiyo:
"....."
Senzo would not interrupt, politely letting Kaichiyo finish speaking her mind before interjecting.
"Personally, I just want it for the record that I find your repeated insinuation that my claims are sullied by falsehood to be distasteful. My entire life, I've listened to the many tales of Kitsuki Himura from my mother, but been told that I shall never be allowed to learn the sword style of my own grandfather. Tell me, Kaichiyo, what makes your clanmates more worthy to learn the style than I?"
He hands would clench as he sat there. "Perhaps it is as you say, that my wishes are futile and wasted. Mother was denied a marriage of stature deserving of a daughter of Himura, instead being arranged to marry a ronin. A ronin, Kaichiyo. Not long after I was born, the Dragon sent him off to die in a battle against the Unicorn, so all he was is a stranger that briefly flitted through my mother's life. I enrolled in the Kitsuki Investigator school per my mother's insistence; I don't know if she wanted it that way to keep me, her only child, out of danger, or perhaps she felt it was one of the few traditions she still had some control over. I obliged her, though I admit my decision was ultimately swayed due to her failing health in her later years. But now that she's passed, all I have to my name is a legacy which I've been denied time and again."
"I've excelled in the art of the blade during my post-gempukku years. My sensei has commented on my aptitude many times. He has told me that I'm more than ready for the next level of teachings at our school and he hopes I would pursue the path of the Justicar in my future, but I'm holding out for what should be my birthright as much as yours. Tell me, Himura Kaichiyo, my cousin who wears my grandfather's name and craft with honor and pride - will you truly deny me what those you've traveled here with take for granted?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 03, 2018 5:47 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
