Session Seven; Turn of Events

It had gotten dark a while ago, though Mikoto knew the sun was still up. It was just that the trees blotted it from view as it slowly sank below the horizon, a horizon she couldn’t see because she had gone so far into the forest she no longer knew where it actually ended. Hikaru and Hinata had led her there. It was on her orders, but originally she had believed they were just going to wander around town. Even after they had entered the woods, she had believed it would be just a short trek. Now, after several hours of tramping through bushes that pulled at her kimono, sinking into soft ground, and tirelessly following her lions, she had to find Katsumi or else she might not ever make it out of here. She was lost.

She wasn’t just lost she was also hungry. She was tired. And, most of all, she was angry. She was getting married tomorrow and not one of those she lived with was going to be there if they were all gallivanting in the woods. They probably didn’t even care, too busy with their stupid hunting trips and their stupid group outings that she wasn’t even invited to. Tsuruchi invited Shiba right in front of her, but did he think to even offer Mikoto the chance to decline? No, no he did not.

And what was Katsumi thinking? She was most obviously out here; otherwise, Mikoto wouldn’t be out here. Hikaru and Hinata were following Katsumi’s scent, so she had to be out here with everyone else, hunting and foregoing the wedding. Mikoto’s anger melted into sadness. Katsumi didn’t want to come to her wedding. She could empathize with that. If Katsumi were getting married, Mikoto knew she wouldn’t want to be there seeing Katsumi promise herself to someone else. It would be too hard to bare witness to, especially with the way she felt. Mikoto knew she was teetering on the edge of adoration for Katsumi, with the long drop to love lying below her, and Katsumi was like a weight pulling her off the cliff. Mikoto wondered why she hadn’t seen it before. Katsumi was already at the bottom, or at least in the same precarious situation Mikoto was. She probably felt the same way as Mikoto did for her. In addition, Mikoto was marrying Katsumi’s brother, that could make things more complicated for Katsumi’s feelings, she reasoned.

Hinata ran ahead, bounding through the trees and out of sight. Hikaru chased after her and Mikoto followed suit. They must be getting close; her lions hadn’t raced off like that the entire trip. Then Mikoto smelled it, something savory and warm, something was cooking. Her mouth began to water, it was past dinner and she was starving. She had skipped breakfast, and only eaten a small amount for lunch, too nervous about tomorrow and too preoccupied with where Katsumi was. Her stomach gurgled in response, as if agreeing that whatever it was that smelled so delicious needed to be consumed right away.

There was a glow ahead, a light beckoning Mikoto towards it. The trees thinned out. She could see shapes around the fire. Then she was out of the woods, stumbling into a clearing where a huge fire blazed and everyone turned towards her rather rambunctious entrance. Asahina sat on a rock next to Tsuruchi; Kitsuki wasn’t far away. Shiba was braiding Sara’s hair. And closest to Mikoto sat Katsumi, wide-eyed and unmoving, shock coloring her face.

“Matsu-san,” Katsumi shook her head in disbelief, “What are you doing here?”

“What are you guys doing here?” Mikoto demanded. “Aren’t you supposed to be in town?”

No one responded. In fact, no one moved besides Hikaru who padded towards Katsumi to nuzzle against her. The fire popped loudly in the quiescent scene, the only other sound being the cicadas calling to one another.

“I’m so hungry,” Mikoto groaned as she moved closer to the static group. She halted after a few steps, her unease growing as the silence continued from everyone. Katsumi hadn’t stopped staring at her, still looking for an answer as to why she was there. “I was looking for you,” Mikoto admitted, offering a contrite smile.

Katsumi didn’t give the reaction Mikoto had believed would come. Instead of opening her arms to her or being pleased that Mikoto had come just to spend time with Katsumi. Katsumi’s face darkened, her eyes narrowed, and her lips thinned. Mikoto could see the muscles in Katsumi’s jaw flex. She had never seen Katsumi angry before, but this was exactly what she would expect it to look like. Katsumi grabbed her bisento and marched towards Mikoto. She didn’t understand what she had done wrong, all she did was come looking for Katsumi. Katsumi gripped Mikoto’s arm, tugging her along back into the woods.

“But-but food,” Mikoto stammered as Katsumi dragged her away.

Session Six; The Art of Words Part 2

The first leg of the trip was silent as the grave. Kyuzo was deep in thought trying to figure out what to do with the new friend of theirs. She obviously was coming to town with them, but after that, what would they do? And why was she out in the woods? And even further, what was she doing awake? The Naga were supposed to be sleeping, at least, that’s what he believed. Yet here one was, being hunted by her kinsmen, triumphing, and now attached to his side and following them back to the city he was running. Not to mention whatever happened in the woods with the spirit that turned her Naga friends against her. That was also something he would have to worry about. First, what he was going to do with her needed to be worked out.

“We…” Shiba was the first to say something in over an hour, “Should probably not be walking into town with a… Naga.”

Her timid voice floated effortlessly across the space between them. She was behind Daigotsu, who was behind the Naga, which was behind him, and Tsuruchi took the lead.

“Honestly, I’ve thought about that, and the thing is… I don’t want to…” How could he say this in a way that others could understand? “For lack of better words, I don’t want to hurt her feelings because I don’t want to make her mad.”

The Naga had already proven to be dangerous if she misunderstood something, the scene with Shiba being threatened was the first example that came to mind. What would happen if Kyuzo angered her? Maybe she’d go on some sort of killing spree, or find other Naga and tell them that he was the one that shunned her. He didn’t even want to consider the things she was capable of with her pearl magic and her ability to explode heads and take out three Naga simultaneously.

“If Asahina-sama wants to bring a Naga into town, who is really going to stop him?” Tsuruchi reasoned.

“Yeah.” It was a good point. Kyuzo was the leader of the town; if he wanted to bring her there, no one had any place to object.

“Especially a wounded one,” Tsuruchi added. That was another good point. Kyuzo had saved her life, or tried to at least. Honestly, her anatomy was so vastly different he had no idea if he even helped. It appeared he had, but he couldn’t really say.

“Perhaps, after all the unfortunate events that have taken place, this could be seen as a sign of good luck and prosperity for the town,” Kyuzo remarked.

Daigotsu scoffed. Kyuzo shot her an annoyed look, which he was nearly certain she didn’t catch. The Naga, however, was holding out something small and fuzzy to Daigotsu. He peered over his shoulder and realized, as Daigotsu accepted it, it was a rat. Kyuzo shook his head and returned his attention to the path before him.

“We can’t have her stay outside of town after her troop has just been murdered and she’s wounded and we have no idea what is going on,” Tsuruchi attested.

“I agree. Perhaps she can live in the temple,” Kyuzo suggested.

“I don’t think that will be the best choice,” Daigotsu gave her input.

Session Six; The Art of Words Part 1

Kyuzo was up at dawn, always rising just before sunrise. A routine that had become so ingrained in his being he had long ago stopped being surprised that it was nearly the same moment everyday when he opened his eyes. Today was another day he wasn’t looking forward to. He was restless. It had been a long month of training in order for him to accompany the Scorpion scouting party on a mission. A long month of little improvement on his part, he just wasn’t getting how one could make themselves lighter than they were. Maybe he just wasn’t suited for the art of silence. He’d keep at it, at least. Nevertheless, that didn’t solve how much he desired to be out of this small town where everyone bowed and addressed him as their lord. Just for a few hours. It wasn’t as if he wanted to run away, he just wanted a break. Even when he was painting, he didn’t really get that break. It was the same four walls, the same scenery, and the same people constantly interrupting him.

Kyuzo took a deep breath before leaving his room. He had dressed and was ready to begin another day of solving menial problems, if there were even problems to solve. The town seemed to function rather well on its own. The only issue that had been brought to Kyuzo’s attention so far was the unfortunate business with Tsuruchi Airo. A business he would rather put out of his mind than use as an example of his brilliant leadership. He was still uncomfortable about the way everything happened. Seeing the ghostly Airo following Negisa around town after she had taken him to enact ‘justice’ was even more discomforting. Then he had simply disappeared shortly after the new Mantis delegate, Airo’s brother, Tsuruchi Meintaro, had arrived. Kyuzo had decided he wasn’t going to postulate on what happened to Airo, he truly didn’t want to know, and so he didn’t ask.

Stepping outside into the backyard, Kyuzo found what he was searching for, or perhaps whom he was searching for. The Soshi twins were diligently directing a few Scorpion add onto the complicated obstacle course he had been running for several weeks. A man was hanging rings on the opposite sides of a beam, as if you were to swing from metal ring to metal ring across the beam, however, instead of some child’s game one would have played years ago, the man was stepping into each ring, and making it look rather easy as well. A deception, Kyuzo had learned from the first day, the Scorpion took a joy in perpetuating.
“Pardon me, Soshi-san,” Kyuzo addressed the two.

Both turned at exactly the same moment, and in tandem greeted him in return. “Asahina-sama, good morning to you.”

They had been acting like this since the day one of them informed him they were twins. It was easier before, when he had just believed Soshi some sort of shugenja that could manipulate time and always end up wherever he was looking for her at. Now they were nearly connected at the hip, speaking the same thoughts at the same time, and when they weren’t doing that they were finishing each other’s sentences without ever overlapping a syllable. Because of this, he tried to spend as little time as possible with them when the two were together. One at a time they were easy enough to handle, but both ended up disorienting him with the constant switching between who was talking.

“Good morning to you,” he responded, getting formalities out of the way. He had an express purpose for seeing Soshi, even if both of them were together. However, he also felt he knew the answer before he even asked it, seeing as how they were building more on the scouting course. “What’s the progress on heading out with our scouts? Are we going to have to train ourselves more? I just want to get the lay of the land, and I know I’m not catching on as fast as I should with this…”

Both Soshis held up one of their hands to indicate for Kyuzo to stop.

Session Five; One Life Begins, One Ends

Kyuzo stepped back from the cherry tree to better see the big picture instead of focusing on the small details. He looked it over and nodded to himself. It looked real enough, he had done a fine job with shading so the tree gave the illusion of gentle motion in a breeze. It was serene. At this moment, he couldn’t think of anything that would improve upon it more than he already had today. It was good before, but now it was starting to become a tree and less a picture of a tree. He went through the motions of cleaning up his painting station wondering what he was going to do next. Kyuzo had thought running a town would be much more time consuming than it was turning out to be. With Daigotsu running construction, Matsu the guard, and Kitsuki handling the trading and income, there wasn’t much to take care of himself. On top of that, they were waiting for the bulk of their new population to arrive, so everything was just continuing as normal with very little guidance from him. The city was running smoothly and would continue to do so until they had to expand.

Expanding, that was a thought. Kyuzo had toured the town but he hadn’t seen much beyond the hill they inhabited. He knew there was a forest to the southwest, and a river that ran through the town, but besides that, he wasn’t aware of much of the countryside. There had to be rice patties somewhere. And what was beyond those? It suddenly occurred to him he hadn’t given much consideration to which way the town would expand, or how far, or even what was out there. For all he knew there was another town within a few hours travel. In addition, the Scorpion weren’t very forthcoming with information. They spoke to him with riddles and half-answers.

He sucked his teeth and headed towards the inn the Scorpion had last been spotted at. Shiba quickly tailed after him. She was exceptional at the part of being a yojimbo that required her always to be there, he never had to find her before he left the house, or even in the house. Usually she was near enough she could drop whatever she was doing without a moment’s notice. Kyuzo liked that, not having to tell her what to do.

Soshi wasn’t hard to find, she was standing outside the inn as if she were waiting for someone. It was probably him; she did odd things like that. Like the day he met her and she was in their house tending to Tsuruchi, apparently waiting for him as well then she began talking to him as if he should have known all along whom she was. She knew everything about him and even then some. Granted, the house wasn’t exactly a strange place for someone to be waiting for him, but she popped up whenever he thought of her, and sometimes when he didn’t.

“I’ve decided,” Kyuzo said as he approached Soshi, “I’d like to accompany your group on a scouting mission.”

“It’s inadvisable, Lord Asahina,” Soshi began in that sultry sweet voice of hers, “for you to join us on a mission. Of course, it is still your choice. However, things can get hazardous and if we couldn’t manage to handle the situation, one or two lost scouts aren’t a big deal, but a lost daimyo is.”

Kyuzo had thought she might try to talk him out of it. The Scorpion were a secretive bunch, and choosing them for scouting was the most logical choice, but requesting to join them wasn’t something most people did. They were tight knit and lacked trust in their fellow man, especially if you weren’t a part of their clan. Probably even if you were a part of their clan.

“Perhaps Shiba could accompany you, then? I think the experience would be well worth the risk.” Kyuzo hadn’t even asked Shiba her opinion on the matter, he didn’t mind volunteering people for jobs, but this was a little different, perhaps he should have discussed it with her first.

“What do you think?” He asked Shiba. “Would you like to go? Get out of town for a bit?”

“I am here to protect you,” Shiba responded.

“Alright, that settles it,” Kyuzo nodded and turned back to Soshi, “We want to go.”

Session Four; It All Can Change in a Night

Dew clung to Mikoto’s kimono as she waded through the field outside of town. She had woken that morning, eaten breakfast by herself, and left with a basket to find herbs and other plants that could be used in medicinal ways. She had no idea what she was really looking for, not knowing anything about medicine besides folklore and tales. It wasn’t something people studied when there were priests around who could heal with just a prayer. But she had seen Asahina patching his own wound the first day they were in the dream world and the idea planted itself in her head that it was probably something worth learning. Today she would ask Asahina to teach her, he wouldn’t be able to say no if she already had the plants. And if he did, she’d just make sure Hikaru was nearby to keep Asahina from leaving until he decided teaching her was the better idea.

Mikoto looked at her bounty. She had some circle leaved plants, some with pointed leaves, a few thin stalks of something with some sort of seed pods, a plant that was two different colors, and a branch that had berries on it. It looked like a pretty good haul, the only thing she was missing was some sort of flower, and she knew people used flowers for medicine. Mikoto inspected the area, she could always grab some cherry blossoms on the way back, but that seemed way too common of a flower to be useful. Maybe there was a bush closer to the woods that had flowers on it; she could also pick up some bark while there. Mikoto remembered a time when she was young that she had gotten sick and in order to get better they made her drink a tea made from bark, it was terrible. But if bark is part of medicine she would definitely add it to her basket.

Near the forest Mikoto found several bushes with flowers, she grabbed the yellow tiny ones, some purple pokey things, some large white petal ones, and picked the bark off the nearest tree. That should do it, she thought to herself studying the basket now brimming with foliage. The sun had risen, warming the air as Mikoto walked back to the house, Hikaru in tow. The dew was drying off the plants creating a sweet green smell, and the scent of the cherry blossoms that surrounded the village blew on the gentle breeze that kept the spring the perfect temperature for outdoor strolls. Mikoto almost didn’t want to go back indoors. The day was starting beautifully, and even though she lacked an artistic eye for nature, she couldn’t deny that something was just better today.

The house was open on all sides when she came in, allowing the sun, wind, and outside pour into every nook and cranny. Pleased with herself, she crossed the courtyard to Asahina’s room, easily seen from the front door. It was closed, but it was late enough in the morning she didn’t expect him to be sleeping. Mikoto knocked, setting her basket on the ground.

“Asahina-san?”

No answer came. Mikoto frowned, trying again, and again there was no response. It wouldn’t hurt if she just took a small peek she decided and slid the door open enough for her to look about the room. Asahina wasn’t inside. How could he just leave this morning after all the work she did gathering the herbs so he could teach her medicine? She made her way to Shiba’s room who also was missing. That’s two for two. Believing the rest of her housemates had gone on some group outing without her, she almost passed up Daigotsu’s room. Mikoto sighed and looked at Daigotsu’s door. She didn’t want to find out everyone had left her here alone, like she had grown up, and if she knocked and Daigotsu was also gone that would clearly be the case. The door swiftly slid open, Mikoto finding herself in the presence of Daigotsu who was just staring at her as if she was expecting Mikoto. Daigotsu didn’t say anything or make a move.

Session Three; All Roads Lead Together

“What a spectacular match,” Anjin began talking to the person closest to him which happened to be a Scorpion. The clan didn’t matter; he was speaking loud enough so all those passing could hear as well as all those filling in the seats around him that had held the entire Spider traveling party just moments before. He had always had a way with words and he liked Asahina, so a little boasting was the least he could do in order to shine a more positive light on the duelist who bested his new yojimbo, Daigotsu. He very much appreciated Daigotsu as well, she had proven to be efficient enough to reach the finals and losing to a Kakita Duelist wasn’t something to be ashamed of; it was expected to happen.

“To win the tournament is one thing; but to win it in such magnificent style is unprecedented. It’s legendary! Such deeds of heroics shall surely be spread far and wide. Poems will be spoken of this man.”

Speaking of his bodyguard, Daigotsu wasn’t in sight. When the duels started he had been approached by Daigotsu Yanagi, the same man he spoke with the day before about assisting Anjin with matters outside of his abilities. Yanagi had introduced Daigotsu Katsumi, though no introduction was actually needed. Anjin had already met Katsumi in some strange clouded world, along with Asahina Kyuzo, Shiba Morasahi, and Matsu Mikoto. It seemed far from coincidence when Katsumi was the one tasked to protect him, more like destiny revealed. She probably slipped away to wherever it was the Spider had disappeared to after the match was lost. Anjin supposed it didn’t matter too much at the moment, the closing ceremonies were going to start soon and he had a perfect seat to watch from, a seat Daigotsu had procured for him.

It wasn’t long before the crowd settled back into the benches provided. It seemed to Anjin that more people were interested in shows of strength than the actual tournament as the crowd was at least halved in size from an hour ago when Daigotsu and Asahina had taken their positions across the dusty field from each other. It was unfortunate that so many were unaware of the power the mind held, and how much wealth could be gained simply from listening instead of applying brute force.

The Mayor began with all due respect given to the samurai who attended; so happy this year he had the honor of holding the championship in his lands, lands largely unaligned. It was a humbled and gracious speech, the perfect start to a long line of others more boastful and less appreciative that were to come. Teachers and dojo daimyos took their turns, speaking both of their schools and their students who placed first in the various competitions over the last three days. Asahina was awarded several scrolls, recommendations and vouchers along with flattering speeches about his skills. Somewhere around two hours, the ceremony finally came to a close, leaving Anjin wishing more Crane had spoken, since they were the type to have the most flowery, drawn-out speeches. He wouldn’t have minded another hour.

Session Two; The Winner Anounced

Katsumi surveyed the scene, or what remained of it. The world still stood as it had before the ogres, but their bodies faded away like all the others had. The tent was toppled. That’s right, the tent, and those bats. She glanced over towards the strange cave, sitting there where she was almost certain it hadn’t been the day before. There wasn’t any movement but never had she seen so clear of a sign on where to go next. If the bats had been causing the problems, and they still had to find the problem, then the cave was where they needed to head. Katsumi leaned her bisento against her shoulder and watched Matsu go through the motions of cleaning off her already clean blade before sliding her katana back into its sheath. Shiba was collecting her spear that was sticking out of the ground at least five feet behind where the ogre had been. And Asahina stood stringing a bow. He seemed to always be ahead of the game, or at least cresting the lead. First to run after a task, and now preparing for the inevitable fight against aerial creatures. Katsumi absently gazed at the cave, wishing she had a bow to conquer their foe with.

“By the way, the bats…” It was Shiba’s whispering voice. She did this nearly each time she spoke, start off but never finish her thought until everyone was staring at her waiting for that last word to come. “The bats, they went that way.” She was holding her spear with one hand, but pointing timidly towards the cave with her other, barely gesturing at all.

Katsumi watched her; this one wasn’t much of a talker, or a leader. Come to think of it, she wasn’t ever first to strike either. The spear had been the most aggressive Shiba had been since Katsumi met her yesterday, and even that missed probably thrown off by shaky nerves. Shiba seemed to need someone to lead her, which could be something to work with. She smiled to herself as Shiba fixed on Katsumi, obviously noticing just then that she was watching Shiba.

“The bats went over there.” Shiba was pointing with more conviction now that someone was paying attention to her. She was waiting though, Katsumi could tell, probably for someone to give her an order. “So… we should probably go after them.” Shiba finally suggested. Katsumi continued to stare, wondering if the Phoenix would go mad without receiving a response.

“So you saw which way the bats went?” Asahina ruined it. Shiba quickly refocused her efforts to be helpful on Asahina.

Session One; Tournament of Shadows

The city was crowded, more so the closer Katsumi got to the registration booths. She had noted the sheer amount of people the day before, when her traveling group first entered the city and set up their tent. Katsumi had never seen so many people, even though the Topaz Championship was the smallest jewel-named tournament the Realm had to offer, it still invited several students from across the land, from every clan, coupled with the town’s own population there were easily more people than the small villages Katsumi had grown up around. Even the Black Silk dojo couldn’t have held this many people when it was still operational, before it was burned to the ground. That was back when the Empire had declared her clan outlaws, when they were actively hunted, and all because of what? A little trickery and espionage. The other clans partook in those activities daily, and had been for centuries. That time, however was over, and now here she stood, proudly wearing her clan’s mon upon her back and there was nothing the rest of the Empire could do about it, no matter how much they sneered and turned up their noses at her. It really didn’t bother Katsumi, she was used to scowls and stares, she barely noticed them anymore.

She glanced over the list of events, pinned to the walls by the each of the tables used for registering competitors. It was a silly list, full of frivolous events that had no baring on what a real champion should uphold. Things like painting, origami, even flower arranging, made up the bulk of the itinerary. The real events, the ones that took strength and courage, were saved for the last day, no doubt set-up that way so people would be inclined to spend more coin to cure their inexorable boredom during their wait. Katsumi stepped up to the table, a middle-aged man sat on the other side, carefully dipping his brush in ink, preparing to register the next guest. His hair was graying and he wore the clothes of the eta, though Katsumi noted they were clean and fresh, probably something provided by the city.

“Hajime-mashite, please state your name, clan and school you are representing.” The man said without ever looking at her. It was amusing to Katsumi, for a great many years she had been treated no better than the common folk, and now here she was, looking down at one of the working class and he wouldn’t even make eye contact with her. Such was the life of a samurai, what amazing things a simple title could change.

“Daigotsu Katsumi. Spider clan. Order of the Spider Monks.”

The man stopped mid stroke and dared a glance up at Katsumi. Curiosity and unease filled his dark eyes which he quickly shot back down towards the paper and began brushing her clan name again. He swallowed, an act that obviously did little for him since his voice cracked and wavered when he spoke his next words.

“Domo arigato gozaimasu. What events would you like your name assigned to, Daigotsu-sama?”

“Jiujitsu and kenjutsu.”

“Very well, jiujitsu will be held on the second day and the kenjutsu tournaments are currently scheduled for the final day. Please enjoy your visit, we would like to have you again.” The man bowed his head to nearly touching the table, with that Katsumi nodded and made her way back to the Spider camp.