--Duel Hida Tachimiko
In the end, no matter how you turned it around in your mind, it came back to one thing. Hida Tachimiko, hated you with a pure and undying passion that would see her follow you through all nine realms in order to kill you. As much as you still loved Katsuie, there was no way that you could see that would have Tachimiko give up her grudge. Which, given the mission you were on meant that you had to deal with her sooner rather than later. To have the Empire break into civil war because you hadn't wanted to hurt your former lover? That was beyond selfish.
"Brother Jubei, do you think I can take her?" You ask quietly.
"I do...it won't be pretty but I think you can do it."
"Then get me into a duel with her, prove her accusations wrong, and the Gaijin can just walk out of the city....Iuchi-sama or Isawa-sama would work best."
Kyoko frowns, but in the end nods.
"I'm having Iuchi-san look you over and give you a clean bill of health first. Then you can go murder a woman." Sora says.
Murder...honourable murder...you wish Grandmother was here to tell you what to do, but she's gone, for the first time, you are truly alone inside your own head. You push that thought to the side and nod towards Sora.
"Hai Bayushi-sama"
Yukiko gives you a clean bill of health quickly, although she does think you should ease back into fighting, she does think you're ready to go if you need to. With that done, Sora orders Kyoko to go with you to piss off Hida Tachimiko, and likely the Shiba as well...but you'll get to that when you come to it.
Tachimiko as it happens is in a simple tea house nibbling on rice cakes when you approach her the heavy straw cloak and hat are unusual, but you never really cared for Crab fashion. When she senses your presences the Hida woman looks up and glares at you....and something is different, your senses can tell that, tell that there is something deep inside Tachimiko that has fundamentally gone wrong. She truly has fallen then...may Katsuie forgive you.
Kyoko moves to speak, but Tachimiko forestalls that with a single raised hand.
"I know what you're here for...let's get this over with."
She doesn't sound angry, she doesn't even sound upset, she sounds resigned. This isn't right, you know Tachimiko, not as a friend, not as a sister or even by reputation, but you know her as an enemy does, and that is almost as intimate. You know that Hida Tachimiko, should be leaping at the chance to kill you, restraining herself only through iron will.
There's really only one response to that.
"...Who are you?" You ask quietly.
"I am Hida Tachimiko, your executioner." She says simply.
She stands and moves outside gesturing you to follow her. While you're still confused, you do so, hand not quite resting on your sword, even as the tension ratchets.
"Hida-san...what is wrong?" You try again.
The other woman laughs.
"Tell me, what do you think is going to happen? That I'm going to tell you all my secrets just because you asked nicely? No Sakura, if you want answers, then you will have to win."
She pulls out a sheet of paper, and places on the ground by the building tossing her straw cloak and hat on top of it. Underneath, Tachimiko is wearing full battle armour, twin kanabo weapons sliding into her hands. Kanabo were something between a Tetsubo and a simple hand staff, lacking the power of the tetsubo and the versatility of staves, these short clubs were typically disdained by people who preferred heavy weapons. Yet it seems that Tachimiko is supremely confident in their abilities...and you note grimly that it makes her formidable defences even tougher.
"That sheet contains a full confession that I was wrong, that the gaijin is innocent...but you only get it if you kill me Sakura. Are you ready?"
You place your hand on Sakiyarumei.
"If there is no other way then Tachimiko."
This wasn't a formal duel, you wouldn't be waiting for to take her stance and the draw. No by taking out those kanabo Tachimiko had told you what this was. A messy brutal fight in the street that would end with one of you dead.
You had no intention of letting her get the first blow. Drawing on your inner chi, you release your blade in two quick strikes. The ground in front of you is cut as the invisible blades of air leap out to strike Tachimiko in the face...only for her to simply take the blow without flinching. True you hadn't put your full power into it...
Oh shit!
She charges at you swinging those twin weapons at your skull hard. You manage to block one with your sword...but the other clubs your shoulder as you try to dodge. It's not a wound that will stop you, but it is a wound that will slow you...damn.
You strike at her again, your katana scores a grazing hit against her, and then you make a calculated feint on the backswing. Your eyes looking towards her hand....and your blade digging deep into the slight chink in her armour around her waist.
With a grunt you push back, blood flowing on the street as Tachimiko looks down for a moment.
"Huh...that'd kill lesser samurai...but you'll have to do better than that Sakura"
She swings one kanabo against you, you try to block, but it gets through slamming into your skull. The world spins, as you feel the concussion take hold. It hurts, you can't focus. Why is everything moving upside down? You can't attack like this. Instead you slide into a defensive stance and close your eyes, relying on your other senses to block two more attacks.
Yet she doesn't relent pushing you back as you try and fail to block the next set of strikes. You reel back as the feeling of weightlessness sends you through the air. Landing a dozen feet away from her, you realize if you hadn't focused your chi just so, that would have killed you...you can't let that happen again.
So you draw deep, and unleash the full might of Kaze no Kami's lesson on her. The steel armour she wears, crack and buckle under the force of your chi, deep cuts erupting along her side and chest.
She charges forward again slamming her kanabo into your skull.
Yet...this time, this time you are ready for it and shake it off as you strike at her again. Your blades hurt her more now, but it's not enough, it's not nearly enough.
With a roar Tachimiko slams into you, trying to break your defence, yet, for all her seeming ignorance of her wounds...she still feels them, the steel studs hurt as they destroy part of your arm, but they aren't the world shattering blows that you know they could be.
Pushing back, you look at her, she nods, you both know this will be the last attack. The culmination of a vendetta one way or another. You charge and strike. Her blows never come as you collapse to one knee the fatigue of the battle finally catching up to you.
You turn around, raising your weary blade once more. Tachimiko is on the ground, with one blow you could kill her...the choice is yours. Yet it is no choice at all...you will not insult her by letting her live.
Sakirayumeri comes down on Tachimiko's head.
It is finished...and as you collapse on to Kyoko, you make sure to remind her to get the letter.
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Megumi is currently out of Void, Luck and at 57 wounds
