Yasuki Odai
Rogue, Ruffian, Rapscalion
Crab Clan
Posts: 157| Likes: 91
Of course I have what you need...
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Post by Yasuki Odai on Oct 2, 2014 5:15:30 GMT
Mattori nodded, silently pouring the tea with a profound grace, for a ronin at least. He seemed to visibly wince for a moment at Sojiro's use of the honorific, but the moment was there and gone again. "Of course, Kakita-sama. This is... Bayushi Satomi, an old friend and colleague of my patron, Yasuki Odai." The ronin could not help but allow himself a moment of mirth at the unlikely gathering that had assembled, but the reality of his task swelled in the back of his mind and sobered his thoughts.
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Kakita Sojiro
Crane Clan
Posts: 26| Likes: 13
Rings: Fire 5
Air 4
Void 3
Earth 3
Water 1
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Post by Kakita Sojiro on Oct 2, 2014 6:34:18 GMT
Sojiro grimaced slightly himself at the "sama" on the end of his name. It made his teeth grit for a second, but the grimace turned into a smile - not the polite, false mask of the courts, but a genuine one reserved for actual appreciation of the moment. So it's going to be like that...
He turned and bowed to Satomi. a full bow as opposed to the abbreviated one. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Bayushi-san. I am Kakita Sojiro, assistant Sensei of kenjitsu at the Kakita academy, currently on hiatus to further my own studies." He wasn't sure how that last comment would be taken. Most samurai equated Kakita with iaijitsu, not kenjitsu. Sojiro had seen every response from interested curiosity to disdain and the assumption that being a kenjitsu instructor meant his iaijitsu was poor. He was hoping for interest - he hadn't sparred with a Scorpion in a long time, and he was certain that their style had many things to teach. The Crane took a seat beside Mattori, far enough from the ronin that between the two of them the entire room and the street beyond could be observed, with Satomi literally watching behind them - watching their backs while they watched hers. Later on, he would question why in Jigoku he had trusted a Scorpion he had just met to watch his back... but at the moment, he just went with it. It felt right.
He took the cup of tea Mattori offered him. "Thank you. And Mattori-san? No one who has fought at my back and who I've bled beside has any reason to call me sama, much less anyone who has possibly saved my life. San will do just fine." He grinned, taking a sip of the tea as he did so. It was clear the Kakita saw the ronin as an equal, social propriety be damned. He also seemed to be making a subtle statement to the Scorpion by addressing her as San - the same title he used for Mattori. This man is worthy of your respect, regardless of his station, and I will stake my own honor on that.
"So. Yasuki-san. His name is one I haven't heard in awhile."
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Kakita Sojiro
Crane Clan
Posts: 26| Likes: 13
Rings: Fire 5
Air 4
Void 3
Earth 3
Water 1
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Post by Kakita Sojiro on Oct 2, 2014 7:41:08 GMT
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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 Oct 2, 2014 12:49:03 GMT
The Kakita calling her -san was just enough clue of how one can be easily forgotten in this damn Empire. From the day she left Watchtower of the East on, people happily dropped -sama of her name. If she started to take insult on it, she would spend her life losing duels.
She never learned how to duel with both eyes closed, mimicking the feat of some legendary blind duelists, nor she had time to, for what matters; and her deficiency on depth perception was a huge hindrance to such activity. Since she lost one of the eyes she had a hard time adapting, using parallax motion to measure things and distance, and to command her troops in field, a trick not so effective within short distances.
Calling duels for perceived insults was the same than losing honor twice, in her case. Being so, her feelings about duelists were cold, at best.
Being so she reciprocated the bow in every measure, although the duelist words and gestures were mismatched as his eyes.
I don't remember you from the duelists in the Crane field fighting for the Yasuki provinces, Kakita-san.
Not a kenshinzen of course.
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Yasuki Odai
Rogue, Ruffian, Rapscalion
Crab Clan
Posts: 157| Likes: 91
Of course I have what you need...
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Post by Yasuki Odai on Oct 2, 2014 20:12:27 GMT
He quietly observed the moment between the Scorpion and the Crane, and marveled at the perplexity of it. Here he was asking for help to save his boss, on one hand from an ex-Crab-turned-Scorpion whom he wasn't sure he trusted, and on the other hand from a Crane who he couldn't help but like, but whom his boss would only begrudgingly accept assistance, he was sure. It was quite the comedy of errors, or would be if the situation were not so dire.
"Yes, Yasuki-sama. I fear that he may be in trouble, and the circumstances require me to be somewhat selective with whom I ask for assistance," Mattori interjected between Satomi and Sojiro, not that he feared that they would goad each other too much, but more that he wanted to keep tension to a minimum. It would keep things simpler, he thought. He hoped, at least.
"It has been a while, Kakita-san, but I have few options. Do you by chance have anything for me?"
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Kakita Sojiro
Crane Clan
Posts: 26| Likes: 13
Rings: Fire 5
Air 4
Void 3
Earth 3
Water 1
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Post by Kakita Sojiro on Oct 3, 2014 1:16:13 GMT
The comment about the Yasuki wars brought back a few memories to Sojiro. Unconsciously, he began to roll the jade bead through his fingers as his eyes focused on something that seemed to be far away.
"There are two reasons for that, Bayushi-san. The first is that I wasn't there for most of that war. I was away, hunting.... things. There were far more important things to fight and kill over than a rich merchant family who chose to move from one clan to another. If they wanted to leave, then so be it. I saw little reason to kill Crab samurai over the Yasuki family's decision and the Doji family pride when there were actual threats to the Empire that needed to be dealt with."
Realizing what he was doing, the Crane dropped his hand back to his side, closed his eyes for a second, and then opened them again, refocusing on the here and now. There was still something smoldering in them though, the embers of an old fire that had been fueled by rage. He blinked once, refocused on Satomi, and the embers went out.
"I was there for the end though, after my allies and I had dealt with threats in the north. The other reason you wouldn't have seen me among the duelists is fairly simple. I don't fight like a duelist on the battlefield. Iaijitsu is a wonderful thing, something I love, and studying it can certainly improve your ability to fight. But relying on a system designed for one-on-one dueling when you are facing an enemy army is just foolish. Relying on a single attack to defeat your enemy when that enemy is armored and that single attack leaves you wide open to be countered if it fails is foolish. War is no place for iaijitsu." He grinned at her.
"My philosophy isn't very popular among certain members of my own family, but that doesn't make me incorrect. I do love iaijitsu, but I won't pretend that it is anything more than a sport - a dangerous game, complete with it's own rules, and played mostly in the courts of the empire. I value victory in battle far more than my love for my favorite sport."
He turned to address Mattori after the man had spoken. "Interesting. It just so happens that I do have something, Mattori-san. I had intended to bring it to your attention later, but since you've asked..." he pulled a letter from the inside of his haori, looking slightly bent and a bit worse for wear. "This is the last letter I was asked to deliver to Yasuki-sama. I've held on to it since receiving it, because when I arrived at my destination, there was no one to deliver it to. I was hoping you could shed some light on that, but now I'm wondering if this isn't related in some way to your troubles." He set the unopened letter down in front of Mattori.
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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 Oct 3, 2014 1:30:47 GMT
I like kemari. She said simply.
Then, turned and waited to see if whatever the man brought to Mattori was related to Odai somehow.
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Yasuki Odai
Rogue, Ruffian, Rapscalion
Crab Clan
Posts: 157| Likes: 91
Of course I have what you need...
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Post by Yasuki Odai on Oct 3, 2014 2:06:28 GMT
Mattori's eyes narrowed slightly as Sojiro pulled out the letter, but otherwise showed no outward signs of the rush of excitement he felt. "We shall certainly see." He went to pick up the envelope, but stopped suddenly. The storm had picked up, the rain hammering down on the roof above them, and the streets around them were inky black outside of the intermittent illumination by crackling shards of lightning. It was during one of these brief flashes that Mattori's attention was caught, and he casually slipped the envelope into his haori before returning his gaze to his companions, his face unchanged but his eyes burned with a sudden concentration.
"I do not wish to alarm you," he said, voice casual but with a very serious undertone, "but I believe we are being watched."
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Kakita Sojiro
Crane Clan
Posts: 26| Likes: 13
Rings: Fire 5
Air 4
Void 3
Earth 3
Water 1
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Post by Kakita Sojiro on Oct 3, 2014 2:27:58 GMT
"Then we should welcome our guests appropriately," Sojiro said in a very casual tone of voice. "Bartender! A bottle of your strongest drink please. And a candle, if you would." A moment later the man appeared at the table to fill the Kakita's strange request. Sojiro calmly removed the top of the bottle, sniffed, and then nodded with a satisfied look on his face. He lit the candle with the tinderbox he usually used for his tobacco and waited, not taking a drink from the bottle. For a moment a small, vicious smile played across his face. It was gone in an instant, replaced by a somewhat bored looking expression that revealed nothing to the casual observer. He held the open bottle in his hand, but still did not drink from it.
And he waited.
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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 Oct 3, 2014 3:16:56 GMT
Whatever you are thinking on doing, we have much on gain if we bait "them" to a desert place, and not make a show of it.
Being forced to quickly kill or deliver someone to the authorities just because they have a huge audience, would not bring any advantage.
By the way, if they are minimaly intelligent, they'll not attack while we are sipping tea by the porch of this inn. Of course, "they" were on a blind spot to her, so she could only guess and trust Whitebraid and Gruffy-san weren't just overreacting.
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Kakita Sojiro
Crane Clan
Posts: 26| Likes: 13
Rings: Fire 5
Air 4
Void 3
Earth 3
Water 1
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Post by Kakita Sojiro on Oct 3, 2014 3:42:28 GMT
"I like the way you think, Bayushi-san," he murmured, just loud enough for her and Mattori to hear. "Mattori-san, shall we take a walk to somewhere a bit more secluded?"
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