Burden of the Emerald Empire (A Legend of the Five Rings Tale)

Month of the Serpent, 26th day (End of Spring)

You didn't used to feel old, in truth you still aren't, by most standards you're just beginning to leave your youth for a comfortable middle age. That doesn't really help as Daio manages to get another shot off at the archery range. Where you learned to love the arts of hand to hand, he took up kyujutsu...and is good at it. The small private range is isolated in the middle of the Imperial palace

You've gone through two shots while he's on his third. Your shots haven't missed, but the speed and ease with which he pulls back the large daikyu bow makes you feel not nostalgic, but old, to be able to just loose yourself in that.

Daio lowers the bow and turns to you.
"You alright?" he asks.

"I should be asking you that" you say.

The ever present Seppun are far enough away that for once, you both can afford to be less rigid about things.

Daio turns away and takes another shot, hitting the bulls eye with the arrow easily.

"Why shouldn't I be?" He asks.

You take your own shot, your aim slightly off.

"Well, you are my younger brother shouldn't I ask that?" You say.

"Heh, younger maybe, but a better archer than you" He says making the shot you missed.

"Remind me how our last little martial arts match went?"

Daio frowns at the memory of you throwing him around the ring.

"Just got lucky" he says as you take a shot.

"Lucky, is that what old Matsu Kenji-san is teaching you?" You ask.

He takes a shot his aim spoiled by the mention of his teacher.

"...ah, that's cheating Sensei is scary." He mutters.

"You'll have to get used to it Daio, women are scary." You say taking your own shot.

"Is that why you and mom don't talk?" He says.

You let out strangled noises as your arrow hits home.

"I thought we agreed no drama today Daio" you say turning to him.

Daio shrugs and sends another arrow down the range.
"We did, but we've been on this range a dozen times now and you and mom still won't talk to me or each other."

"That's between us." You say, watching the arrow go home.

"...No its not. You've wrapped yourself up in making sure the mission to the Inner City goes well, but everyone else can feel the air between you. I know that you and mom fought over the concubine thing...but you didn't make her unwelcome." Daio says facing you again.

Distantly a part of you wonders where the little boy that wanted to stay with this brother went.

"Mother...its complicated." You say.

"How, was I complicated when I caused problems?" He asks, looking at you with a face too like your own.

"You were never a problem Daio." You say.

"That's because mother and Kaname-san made sure I wasn't, and you never thanked either of them." Daio says.

You narrow your eyes.
"What's this about?" You ask.

Daio looks to the side.
"It's about not wanting to leave mom crying" he says softly.

"What?"

"Of course you wouldn't know, she doesn't dare show weakness to you of all people." Daio says stepping towards you.

Distantly you can see the Seppun just outside of earshot but not sight, tense up, ready to rush if anything happens.

"I didn't make her cry." You say staring him down.

"Then why won't you tell me what happened?" He steps forward.

"Because...." you trail off.

"Because?" Daio presses.

Your reason is simple, because whatever your own feelings towards her, you don't want to ruin a relationship between her and your little brother. Telling him, you don't know what it'd do.

"Because you love her, and I won't make you choose between us." You answer at last.

Daio's fist clenches even as you hold up a hand to make sure no one interferes.

"You're always like this, deciding you know best for me, even though I'm nearly an adult now. End of the summer, I'll leave, will you still keep things from me then even after I pass the trials?" He says.

"Daio..."

"Don't Daio, me Hisao, that's not even what I'm going to call myself in four months. You won't tell me what's going on between you and mom, and you don't want to let me go be the Lion Champion like you decided I would be, do you?" He glares at you.

You don't understand his anger, you've tried to be with your family, you honestly have, but this anger, this...need to make his own decision, to not listen to you, you have no idea where it came from.

"No that's not it at all--"

He cuts you off. "Then what is it...am I an adult or not?"

"You are, or will be, Daio you're not making any sense."

"Gah, for someone who gets people you're dumb!" He throws up his hands and turns away.

Dumb...you hadn't been called dumb since...Itsume-sensei. You can't help but laugh about it.

"What?" Daio turns back. "What's so funny.?"

"You called me dumb...is that...is that really an insult?"

"Shut up..."

You shake your head. Dumb...but he's not wrong is he, with you not understanding him right now.

"What do you want to call yourself?" You ask.

Daio blinks.
"Takeshi, I was going to call myself Takeshi, after the last Akodo champion before our grandfather."

"...Takeshi, maybe I am dumb...but tell me what I'm missing." You say.

The young...man, you realize distantly looks at you.
"What did I want when I first came to live here?"

Now it's your turn to blink as you find yourself violating every decorum to put a hand on his shoulder. Was that it, was he worried that you and he would fight like you and mother did, that you wouldn't want him as family anymore?

Dumb might run in the family.

"Takeshi, Daio...you will always be my little brother, and I'll always wish we could have spent longer together, but we both have our duty. But that duty will never make you someone I don't care about."

Takeshi looks at you and then at the hand.
"Thank you, big brother." He says.

Then the sound of a messenger needing to talk to you rings and the moment is broken. The two of you give an awkward chuckle, as he bows and lets you get back to work and you watch him go.

Maybe you should make up with your mother eventually...but lies, and potentially risking not only your children but your brother are hard to stomach.

You turn to the messenger to find out that progress on the Hub Villages are even better than expected, and Noritoshi is floating making them a city in their own right. Do you

[] Yes
[] No

If Yes what do you call the new city
[] Write in (Names are subject to veto)

Year 9, Month of the Rooster 19th Day.

The Imperial Gardens were a magnificent spectacle in many ways. Countless hours had gone into planting and guiding various forms of life into creating a wonder world where beauty and mystique went hand in hand.

So of course the Imperial Onsen, more accurately named 'Imperial Pool' found itself here, fed by no less than three hot springs created as a dedication to your birth actually, the large baths were more than any one person could really use, but spent most of their time divided into several sections to allow the various functionaries and luminaries of the capital to take a bath in relative peace.

Today was different, the entire onsen had been set aside for your personal use, well you and your family. The noble scions of the Toturi family were not great in number, but even as old Kaneka seemed to delight in playing with Minoru at one end of the pond you absently wonder if your father had ever wished he could do that with you. Maybe it was hard to say...and unbidden the reports you had read the other day come back to your mind.

Word had come back from the Inner City, while the Jade Legion reported hideous losses, the support from the reinforced guard detachments in the Shining Wheel City, had proven enough to see them through the throne room. There they had found something you still didn't know how to deal with. The corpse of your father, bound by the mask of Fu Leng to serve as the protector of Otosan Uchi. While like life, the shade was no great warrior but his words, his voice had some sort of quality to them that had led to the remaining forces nearly tearing themselves apart until Shinjo Gan had attempted to stop by demanding how the Emperor could fall so far.

The Shade (You refuse to allow it the same name as your father) answered that his soul had not gone to Emma-O as was right, but had instead been captured in the Mask of Fu Leng, there it had been extracted by one of the remaining Onisu, and then bound to the city.

It was sickening, although it seemed the Shade still possessed some of your father's wits about him. Gan and Shem Zhe had wheedled out of him (And Shem Zhe believed that it had been done intentionally) That while the Kitsu had been right that the city was cursed, they had been wrong in their interpretation, it was not beyond redemption. Daigotsu was no god, although his machinations had been sublime and further enhanced with the skill of Shahai...the curse wasn't because of Fu Leng.

"Hisao you promised that today you would leave your work at home" the slightly irate voice of Kaname says.

You shake your head. "Sorry, was looking at my uncle and wondering if my father ever wanted to do this with me...and one thing led to another" You say.

Kaname's gaze slightly softens as she slips in beside you, handing over Yuina. The ivory haired little baby is unnaturally quiet as she stares up at you. Despite the rumours of her being a strange child, you can't help but smile down at your daughter.

Yuina reaches up with one hand for your face and tries to push your mouth into a smile. Her chubby little arms and fingers hardly have the strength for that, but you oblige her anyways. Her face lights up seeming happy that she did the thing.

"She's getting big." you comment.

"Hai, not too long before she'll be running around. But for now she's being carried everywhere." Kaname agrees.

"She has your eyes." You say looking down and giving Yuina a little tickle.

"And your stubbornness" Kaname says looking at her as well.

"I thought today was supposed to be a fun day?" You say quietly as Yuina frowns and pokes at you and Kaname.

"She doesn't want to see us fight" Kaname chided.

"Whose fighting?" You ask.

Now Yuina and Kaname poke you. Most powerful man in the Empire silenced by his daughter and wife, would anyone believe this.

"Sorry, sorry..." You say.

Yuina smiles again and you look to see if your brother and mother are around, and they are, but they're off in their own world talking.

"They've been doing that a lot lately, even with the time you spend with him" Kaname says.

"Its only natural, he is going to become Akodo Takeshi in a week." You say.

"They'll miss him you know" she says.

"Our daughters...of course...Takeshi is...a man I'm proud to have as a brother, even if I can't say I had much of a hand in it."

"You did the best you could." she says.

"Hai" and you lift up Yuina to give her a soft kiss on the forehead.

To which she simply rolls her eyes but smiles still.

"I should have listened to you" you say softly.

"It can't be helped now, you made a choice where everyone could hear it...I suppose I should be glad that you didn't send her to grow up among the Badger" Kaname says wryly.

"I'd never do that, the offense would be too much..." you say.

"Enough, no work today."

The hot water of the spring is meant to soothe away worries. In the end its your wife's cautious but genuine forgiveness that does far more as you both dote on your youngest daughter.

Then Daio and your mother come back. They look at each other for several moments before Daio says.

"...Hisao, can mother come live with me?"

You blink, whatever you had been expecting it, wasn't that. It wasn't that at all.

[] Yes
[] No