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Post by tsuruchi kasumi on Apr 7, 2014 12:33:25 GMT
Just great, Kasumi thought, more political problems. "Can you provide me with this information you received," she asked, "or with the names of the people you received it from. Secondly, what conspiracy? There have been more than one in the history of the empire unfortunately." With the issue of taint she had heard about, she had to make sure if Kousei and Kurimuzon were actually talking about the same thing. "And lastly, in order to be complete, I would like to have the names of those other individuals you mentioned. Just to make sure that I don't forget to ask someone for their testimony. In cases like this it's very important to hear everybody, as I'm sure you can understand."
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Post by Asako Chisato on Apr 7, 2014 13:07:33 GMT
It would be difficult for anyone NOT to notice the near distressed look on the Asako damiyo's karo's face as she darted through the palace. In her arms she carried a simple folded kimono and a large tome of some sort. She was followed by a pair of male servants who brought with them simple food and tea.
By the time the magistrate had returned, the Karo was just outside his door with the legion guard.
"Tsuruchi Kasumi san? Thank you for your patience... my daimyo can be... forgetful at times. I hadn't been aware of his need for me until word from you had arrived." She casts a glance at the legion guard who looked very nervous, he had probably gotten a severe talking to by the karo while she was away.
"He should be ready to see you now." She gently kneels at the door and slides it open, bowing to Kasumi to let her through.
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Post by The Storyteller on Apr 7, 2014 15:14:16 GMT
Posting as Yasuki Kaneka
General Kaneka received the Emerald Magistrate in a clearly stressed state of mind. His advisors were in the room with him, and he listened to the first question with a grim face. He was the most interested in getting the nonsense attack reasons revealed, but having Yasuki Hachi as the head of the investigation said little to him about its integrity. He was attacked in his bed by the current Champion of the Clan he was joining by demand of the Empress (though, he was sure, it involved a political machination that took him completely unprepared), his new and sweet spouse has gone hurt and was confirmed to be tainted. If so, is Reiha tainted as well? What about Kuon, the new Shogun? After the polite introductions demanded by etiquette and Kaneka personally checking the Order of Appearance, he listened to the magistrate's question: "Can you please tell me what happened the evening of the attack on Yasumi Nozomi-sama?'With a deep and noisy breath he spoke, looking askance to Kasumi: Dear, I was marrying. I was surrounded by other samurai and in company of my bride. I drank a bit. I was happy. Nozomi was perfect in every sense. Smart, beautiful, witted and fiery. I felt a lucky guy for being married to her. Really lucky. Then, following the protocol, we retired to our bedroom, for the night. I really didn't pay attention to anything else but Nozomi. Ahhh, there's the monk. A Dragon Monk. With a complicated name, I guess. He offered to bless us. It was strange, but Nozomi felt like a good idea. He stood with us performing a ritual. It seemed rather inoffensive. Whatever, we came to our room, the monk blessed the room as well. In retrospect, maybe he did more than he told, like opening the secret door. Maybe he's involved somehow.A curious look to her, a raise of brow, and Kaneka continued. Well, then, after the monk left, we talked a bit, and prepared to rest… His pause showed a bit of modesty about his subsequent activities with his bride in their bedroom. Then, the wall opened and a silhouette showed up, all of sudden. I grabbed my sword to defend my spouse and myself. It was indeed an utter surprise to see I was facing Hida Reiha. "My champion". he sneered. Unfortunately, Nozomi grabbed her sword as well… and got that violent strike… I really thought my flower was dead… Furrowing, Kaneka paused and seemed thoughtful for a moment. Then, Kaiu Satomi and the guards showed up. That woman seemed to know what was happening. She interposed between me and Reiha, and kind of tried to get Reiha to her senses. Kaneka was feeling overwhelmed by the events, and pressed to act like a samurai under the orders of a daimyo, a thing he wasn't accustomed to. It was indeed a living hell to him. I'll tell you… I'd kill Reiha for that, if not by the baby on her belly, regardless her being my champion. She is mad. Possessed, tainted, manipulated, I wouldn't mind. She attacked me with no apparent reason and I don't mind who she is. I rather renege to all of this, depending on the result of this trial, and get the life my father had, than to submit to a mad leader.
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Moto Arandaru
Unicorn Clan
Posts: 199| Likes: 103
In Kyuden Seppun, eager to find a way to save the Empire!
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Post by Moto Arandaru on Apr 7, 2014 16:41:47 GMT
POSTING AS BAYUSHI SUNETRA, SCORPION CLAN CHAMPIONHearing Himitsu's words didn't make Sunetra flinch. Hers was an expected answer given her station, her character and her amount of loyalty displayed. Her own strength of will however wasn't the thing that was needed to put to the test though. The lady Bayushi made a few steps towards Himitsu. Her feet didn't produce any sound, neither did the wood creaked or trembled as she paced closely. Sunetra stood tall, her body fine, lean and athletic. Given the fact that she'd received a samurai training would almost give Himitsu the "idea" that this woman might have also received a "ninja" training...or so as rumored."You might as well tread in the woods, once everything is settled." she whispered closely to her."...And the Scorpion might as well afford a fallen ally...once more." she let Himitsu ponder the words carefully.
Then she flashed her icy blue eyes from the shadows, to the door and back to Himitsu."My brother has begun an investigation regarding the recent incident. She's a Mantis, Tsuruchi Kasumi married to a Crab and mother of 2 children. She is clever and will seek to ask questions quite delicately. Deal with this. The next day, you'll announce your abstinence from court." her mellow voice attaining a grim and abrupt tone. "While your position as a governess might be intricate, you'll have your needed paperwork carried out by your karo, who in turn will accompany your "double" back to Shiro no Shosuro. From the moment that the retinue reaches Friendly Traveller's Village and the travel paper gets signed by the magistrate Hiruma Usigi, you're permitted to scour Yasuki Yashiki for the best of the Empire's interest." she rose and headed off for the shadows once more."I have heard that there are three enemies abound, Himitsu. Three of them are known to us, two of them are under control, one of them is our own pawn. There is one however that is the most seductive of all. Tread carefully Himitsu-san, you are a woman, you're deadly and you're beautiful. There isn't any advantage of any of them once you're "of no use". "There was a tap in the door as a servant would do, announcing that the morning letters have been delivered. Once Himitsu's eyes shifted back to Sunetra... ...she wasn't there.
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Post by Shosuro Himitsu on Apr 7, 2014 16:55:00 GMT
All the while the Bayushi spoke Himitsu could feel her blood cooling in her veins, her motions became slightly flawed and it showed in her calligraphy in the most subtle of mistakes. Eventually her focus became entirely on the words pouring over her ears, a slight shiver at the intensity of this other Scorpion woman's presence, she wore her station and her power well and this Shosuro had all the respect she could muster for that even if she hid it well. Theirs was not the straight and well known path, nor would they ever be so much as accused of being merciful.
As she departed she rested her eyes as the messenger moved. There was a slight distaste in her mind about the errors that had been made, but she was no Crane, the message was plenty clear enough and only the most conspiracy minded fool would ever possibly come close to dreaming up what this all was about. With a delicate shuffle she would organize things to be carried out to the city, relaxing back once more into what would likely be one of her last days walking in the light.
In a matter of days she would be maneuvering in a way that ensured no one would know her presence, no one would suspect a thing, and the mistake of last night's events would not be made again. It only makes sense after all. But there's bound to be more to it than that. She could only wonder what traps or temptations might be in place ahead of her, but she already mentally prepared herself in the way she did for her missions in younger days, and to anyone else nothing would even seem so much as off with her.
For now all she could do was wait until either questioning or travel came to pass.
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Post by Daidoji Kousei on Apr 7, 2014 17:16:07 GMT
Kousei hesitated and then rose to his feet. He indicated a space on the floor.
"Please, sit. My brothers and sisters are always telling me I should be more civilised - let us discuss this over tea." He went to the door and asked one of the guards to call for a servant who was duly dispatched for tea. They returned swiftly, and as it was poured Kousei continued.
"The person who tipped me off to this conspiracy - calling themselves the kolat - in the first place was a childhood friend of mine, Daidoji Kanjiro. In his own words, his standing in the clan has been destroyed by persons involved, but there is something about him now that I do not entirely trust. Nonetheless, the information was remarkably similar to that obtained by my two friends, Satomi-sama and Chisato-sama, by different methods.
Together we were aiming to prevent Reiha-dono from ever being activated at the wedding, but the kolat are both skilled and subtle, and unfortunately we were unable to do so. Please tell me, did we at least prevent her from killing anyone?"
Again, Kousei paused and sipped his tea. His knuckles were white where he gripped the cup and his jaw tense as he considered what to say next, and Kasumi could observe some internal debate going on inside.
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Post by tsuruchi kasumi on Apr 7, 2014 17:20:30 GMT
Kasumi nodded thanks and entered the room once more and bowed to the Asako daimyo. "Asako-sama," she said, "I trust you are well. My apologies for my haste, but I have a lot to do, so I will come to business immediately. Can you tell me what happened the night of the wedding?"
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Post by Asako Chisato on Apr 7, 2014 18:11:20 GMT
Chisato is very well cleaned up now, though his new kimono is rather simple and orange, he looks just as done up as his servants, who are cleaning up a small meal Chisato just finished. As Kasumi enters, Chisato's karo follows. He bows to them both, and the karo bows deeply.
"Tsuruchi san, welcome back, have some tea, its the empress' favorite blend." The karo moves to prepare the beverage for them both.
Chisato looks up to her and gives a small smile, one hand resting on the rather large book, and responds to her question, "Why, yes." He looks to her for the next question. The karo, almost unnoticeable, twitches. He looks to her then back at Kasumi.
"Oh! Uh, you want me to go into detail, well... easier said then done. Where should I begin? How about with what you asked me, the wedding." Hes clearly rambling trying to find his voice, or a logical way to disseminate all of this information, he clings to what he knows. Families.
"Well, the night of the wedding. The merger of the house of the empress and the house of Yasuki, adding Kaneka sama to the crab's ranks. You asked about the wedding so I'll start with my arrival...
"My retinue was worried I'd be late, and were quick to gather to me, you see, I immediately dispatched them to find assistance from trusted companions and friends, those that had been made apparent to be trustworthy for their part in the disastrous peasant massacre a few nights before. My retinue went to find the monk named Te, who had befriended the bride before, and the governess of Shiro no Shosuro, Shosruo Himitsu san." He breaks into the flow of the story with much more relaxation now that he had begun. "I found Daidoji Kousei san myself and sent him back to the quarters of Kaiu Satomi san, who when I had just seen her the moment before, asked for me to send him to her."
He nods his head in thought, "I was unsure if my message had reached Te san, but I know my message reached Himitsu san. My messenger came back, saying that she said I had treated her like some common ruffian... I knew it was likely trouble to ask for her assistance, but I know she is a very influential woman... but she did give my courtier this..." he produces a tiny little netsuke of a scorpion, no bigger then a centimeter across. "I took it to mean that she agreed to my message... but I guessed wrong, I never saw her at all! Thankfully she wasn't needed, but it goes to show you what you get for trusting a scorpion!" He harrumphed.
"They are not all bad I suppose, some of them are quite friendly and helpful, and some of them when they join other clans keep all the best qualities and lose the bad ones... oh the things I could tell you about the scorpion families..."
He looks as if he is about to ramble on and on at this point, but his karo interrupts before he says anything else too damaging that didn't involve the case. "Your tea, Asako sama, its getting cold, and you should rest your voice for a moment."
He nods and goes to his tea, finally giving Kasumi a chance to speak. Clearly there was much more that needed to be said.
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Post by tsuruchi kasumi on Apr 7, 2014 18:14:40 GMT
Just great, Kasumi thought, not for the first time today, first taint, now the Kolat. She had studied law and the history of law enough to have heard about the Kolat, although she didn't know all the particulars. She took a sip of her tea before continuing. "The only dead is a geisha who was also present," she said, "and Reiha had a miscarriage unfortunately. But what do you mean with 'activated' by the Kolat? Do you know how that goes, what one has to look for? And do you know who did the activation?"
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Post by tsuruchi kasumi on Apr 7, 2014 19:16:48 GMT
He had been right, she thought as she sipped her tea, it was very good tea. "What did you wanted to ask Te, Kousei and Himitsu," Kasumi asked next. This was going to be difficult as she had the feeling he was not the most coherent person. Scholars, she thought.
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Post by Asako Chisato on Apr 7, 2014 19:23:13 GMT
"Oh, thats an easy question to answer! I needed to get as many eyes and protective swords as I could watching Reiha sama, Kaneka sama and Nozomi san. Kousei san though, I had to send to Kaiu Satomi san, and also pass along the message that she might need a duelist to represent her soon... I told her she was daft, that as she holds her own daisho, she'd have to duel as well to protect her honor."
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Post by tsuruchi kasumi on Apr 7, 2014 19:39:41 GMT
"So you had reasons to assume they were in danger," Kasumi asked next, "why not just tell the commander of the guards and have them post extra guards?" She made a mental note to check Shosruo Himitsu as well, just to be complete.
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Post by Asako Chisato on Apr 7, 2014 20:29:56 GMT
"We couldn't trust that they wouldn't have their orders influenced by their Champion, who we knew to be compromised, or that they were not already kolat themselves, of course. Are you paying attention?"
His karo clears her throat.
"Oh! I haven't told you about the kolat part of this yet, had I... why'd you ask me to start at the wedding then?!"
"She didn't know, Asako sama, shes just trying to do her job."
"Right, right, of course... you were saying?"
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Post by Daidoji Kousei on Apr 7, 2014 20:53:10 GMT
"A dead geisha?" For the first time Kousei looked bemused more than anything else. "Where did she appear from?" Seconds later the news about Reiha hit home and he bowed his head in sorrow. "I am sorry to hear of the tragedy regarding Reiha-dono. Whatever she did, I believe she was not acting of her own volition.
"I know very little about the Kolat - only what I have been told or witnessed - but I am led to believe that they have techniques that mean that that you carry out specific orders upon hearing a certain word. A sort of brainwashing that only takes effect when it is triggered. That was the 'activation' I spoke of. As to who said the word to Reiha-dono, well there was a heiman that Satomi pointed out to me. He was dressed like a servant... with dark hair? Quite unremarkable unfortunately, except in his ability to throw off pursuit."
The Daidoji grimaced. "I am sorry, Kasumi-san, I know this is not particularly helpful. I wish there was more I could do. There is also something else you should probably know. Regardless of the outcome of your investigation, I have heard that there is one within my own clan who is already pressing Lord Kurohito to order my seppuku. His name is Doji Aoshi. We are... not friends."
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Bayushi Satomi
Unwanted Betrothed
Scorpion Clan
Posts: 1,080| Likes: 322
Rings: Earth 4 * Fire: 5 *Air 3 * Water 1 * Void 3
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Post by Bayushi Satomi on Apr 7, 2014 21:05:24 GMT
Be welcome, Tsuruchi-san... Satomi said, putting the pen and her diary aside, with a nod of acknowledgement. Please make yourself comfortable, I know you have been visiting other persons before me, so I'm not sure if I suggest a tea or not... Though I'd love to have company to a cup of the finest blend the Kaiu lands can produce.
Her lips smiled, though her eyes did not; her tone was quite soft for a general, but she was a Kaiu with eccentric tastes and manners...
Ah, then Hachi-sama chose an assistant to represent him, and it's Takeshi's spouse, Kasumi-san! Delegating this task is really a smart thought and knowing how and when to do it shows the Emerald Champion's wit.
Isn't a shocking realization that we had so many opportunities to meet each other before in the Crab lands, or when you married one of my dojo companion's... and we just met here and now?
Two servants came and one of them served tea and finger food for two. Satomi handed a bunch of sealed letters to the other, and when both were gone, the Kaiu general returned the attention to the Emerald Magistrate:
Very well, I'm being questioned about the events of the last night. It started long before the last night, my dear, but I myself already treaded the path you're going into. Not everyone wishes to have the truth revealed; and you must understand that more than one died while investigating the same things you are.
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