Deadly Snark
Tryhard As Fuck
[X] The Bayushi Labyrinth
Burden of the Emerald Empire (A Legend of the Five Rings Tale)
- Thread starter gman391
- Start date
- Fantasy
- Location
- Virginia
[X] The Bayushi Labyrinth
Year 4: Paneki IV (Winter Court IV)
---Month of the Ox, 5th Day
The red lanterns cut through the winter twilight, as the cool air hung on my skin. It was rare for someone to be out in the labyrinth in the middle of high winter. Sensible folk stayed in doors...but for those willing to risk it, the white snow changed the entire place into one of renewed wonder.
The Bayushi Labyrinth was always my favourite place to go when I was growing up. Endless passages, twists, turns and traps, all of it conspired to be the place where my body and mind could be pushed to their limit. In theory you weren't allowed in until after your gempukku, in practice, if you could make it in, you were allowed to explore.
Behind me the faint sound of footsteps, I had asked not to have anyone follow me....
I begin to hurry towards the entrance, back the way I came. Years of instinct told me that there was something wrong. The crackle of snow underneath my feet echoes too loudly, there shouldn't be anyone here. I glance up at the sun, maybe twenty minutes until the sun set, while small clouds form above the hedges around me. Small but not invisible, not to someone looking for the signs of others.
I was surrounded, and as I came up to a new hedge, cut off. They had altered the labyrinth to trap me.
My hand goes to my daisho slowly, as I close my eyes and listen. Ten on one, a death sentence by any rational logic. Not even Kisada would have gone against those odds willingly. I draw my blade along with some certain party favours and turn around. Gray masks, and nondescript clothing hide who they are. Yet their stances I know all too well, after all, they were ones I shared.
One hand on my obi, I raise my sword and point it at their leader.
"What's the meaning of this"
I know, but the script needs playing out.
"...By order of the Master of Secrets, you are to die" The lead says.
"Funny, I didn't give any orders like that." I say looking to my sides, plan forming.
"You are an imposter. Unworthy of the Shadows."
"That so?" I say lazily.
"Kill him" he says.
Three things happen in the space of three seconds the smoke bomb, I palmed in my hand went off in front of me. Two the slim bo-style shuriken I threw sinks into the leader's throat, and third, I was running up the hedge.
I land on the other side, my knees protesting, as I roll across the ground, not a young man any more, I really need to remember that. From the other side of the hedge, I hear hushed whispers. They'll be coming soon, hunting me down, I had ambushed them once, surely I couldn't do it twice. I was prey now, so they think. Idiots.
A breath and I begin to run, how much of this place had they changed? How much of it remained the same? Questions I find the answer to, as I throw myself to the ground, the triggered arrow trap going right over my head. They had changed everything they could.
I scramble up, and run forward some more, before stopping and running back my feet landing in my own tracks as I go back to the trap. I can hear the sound of them coming for me. Only one chance to get this right.
Once again I jump on to the hedge clambering on top of it, and lying down. Ignoring the branches poking into me as I wait. The sounds of people coming rewards me soon enough. I shift enough to look down into the path that I came from. Only four of them, they must have split up to try and cover more ground. They look down at my tracks, one of them making a series of hand signs to begin the search. People just don't vanish, certainly not past their prime Champions...Past my prime? That's just rude.
I rise up on my knees, as two of the assassins prepare to climb the hedges, and the third goes forward trying to see if I had somehow jumped or something to break my trail. I wait until the assassin has nearly climbed the ledge before I strike, breaking the branches beneath me as I jump at him. My sword held out like a point that goes into his skull. The first assassin falls down, as the others look up from where the corpse appeared.
Standing on the ledge, I hold myself calm, as I look at the remaining three of them. The one standing on the other ledge, snarls, and throws a barrage of shuriken at me. A sweep of my blade sends them falling to the ground.
"So, which one of you is going to put this 'past his prime' samurai down?" I ask conversationally.
Instead of answering the assassin that had stayed behind takes out a whistle to call for his companions. Well looks like a volunteer then. I jump off the hedge, my blade coming down with me in a brutal overhand smash that cuts through his shoulder almost into his stomach. Instead of pulling him off the blade. I turn around, using the dead body as cover from the last assassin's throwing knives.
The knives go deep, good throwing arm, not good enough though to stop me though. I pull my blade free, and jump back, evading the hedge assassin's own attempt to replicate my feat. The snow under my feet betrays me though as I slide down. Hedge doesn't waste the opportunity striking again, as I'm forced to block his blow. Our two blades slide against each other making sparks, as I struggle to keep him from cutting me with the no doubt poisoned blade.
I opt to get out of this through the simple expedient of kicking him in the groin hard. The slight moment of distraction is enough for me to force him away as I get up. A second kick connects with his face as the Hedge assassin goes down, neck clearly not meant to do a full rotation.
However, I took too long with hedge. Far Assassin holds up the whistle and blows. The piercing scream being as good as a firework to draw the remaining four to me. Damn, maybe I was out of shape? I don't say anything, merely charging at the last one. He attempts a decent feint with his ninja-to, but it's not enough as I dance around the attempted stab on my chest and decapitate him.
There's a few moments for me to search their bodies, I'm lucky that the 'ninja' kit is pretty universal for the Scorpion. Ten shuriken, three vials of poison, blow gun, four needles and two smoke bombs. I only need the smoke bombs and shurikens so I leave the rest.
From behind me the sound of more people coming. Fighting four on one without choosing the ground wasn't really my style, so taking a deep breath, I again climbed the hedge. This time landing on the other side without hearing my knees complain. Adrenaline is a wonderful thing.
I run forward a few steps, before turning around and taking out the smoke bombs I had. Only one chance to get this right. Four more assassins land in front of me. They look at me like I was mad to face them. I probably was, but this ground worked for me. I memorized their positions and threw down all the smoke bombs, holding a cloth to my face as I charged in. No one could see anything in the melee, we needed touch and hearing to do anything.
People are terrible at relying on touch and hearing, they hadn't moved at all, as I cut the first one down. My blade comes out as I stab into the person behind me a soft gasp tell me it's a woman. Two down, I try to pull out my sword, but it doesn't come. She's holding on to the blade?
The fist that come rocketing at my temple, gave me no time to really think about that, as I'm forced to let go and parry the blow. I hold my hands up defensively, as the thick smoke blocks us both. Neither can really see each other as anything but shadows. Fists dodged at the last moment. Kicks barely blocked, slowly the smoke clears and with it my shot at survival. I take out the shuriken and throw them blindly at my opponent. A grunt from him as I hit, having found him for certain I charge, elbow up as I slam into the assassin and push him against the hedge. His throat nearly destroyed by my charge, he doesn't manage to put up a fight, as I the knife from his waist and drive it deep into his heart.
One left, I breathe clean air again as the smoke fades and my last opponent comes into view under the last of the setting sun. Between us is the corpse where I left my sword, she looks at it and at me. The long silence fills the air. The question neither of us quite knows the answer to. Can I get that sword out of her friend before she cuts me down?
The tension breaks as she lowers her weapon.
"I want to cut a deal."
"A deal?" I ask incredulous.
"Ronin hood for information and walking out of here alive."
"How do I know you have the information I want?"
"Don't you want to know who set all this up?" She asks.
"They would have used cut outs."
"Hai, they did, but..."
She stumbles forward, on to one knee, her back filled with throwing knifes.
I run forward and grab my sword. With it in hand defensively, I move over to her, dark green eyes look up at me.
"....bastards...Yojiro's Daughter...Ekiji" She manages to hiss out.
"Who?"
The last assassin doesn't say anything as she collapses. I hold myself on guard for a long time before, I relax. There had been ten of them, I had thought that the last was placed on guard at the entrance...but no the last was guarding against defection. Yojiro's daughter....she couldn't mean Bayushi Yojiro, he had never even married...and would never have handed off the Championship to someone not even of his house if he had a daughter. Ekiji was a little clearer, if more infuriating, my cousin was named Ekiji, and in the event of my death, he would likely be placed as regent. My wife was too honourable for most of the clan to stomach.
I had leads, but somehow, I didn't think that it was that simple.
[] I ended up investigating the life of Bayushi Yojiro and discovering a certain woman
[] I interrogated my cousin
[] I looked into who was in charge of the guards for this shift
AN: This was a lot of fun to write, but exhausting. The next update will be the last Winter Court update. I hope you guys enjoyed it.
The red lanterns cut through the winter twilight, as the cool air hung on my skin. It was rare for someone to be out in the labyrinth in the middle of high winter. Sensible folk stayed in doors...but for those willing to risk it, the white snow changed the entire place into one of renewed wonder.
The Bayushi Labyrinth was always my favourite place to go when I was growing up. Endless passages, twists, turns and traps, all of it conspired to be the place where my body and mind could be pushed to their limit. In theory you weren't allowed in until after your gempukku, in practice, if you could make it in, you were allowed to explore.
Behind me the faint sound of footsteps, I had asked not to have anyone follow me....
I begin to hurry towards the entrance, back the way I came. Years of instinct told me that there was something wrong. The crackle of snow underneath my feet echoes too loudly, there shouldn't be anyone here. I glance up at the sun, maybe twenty minutes until the sun set, while small clouds form above the hedges around me. Small but not invisible, not to someone looking for the signs of others.
I was surrounded, and as I came up to a new hedge, cut off. They had altered the labyrinth to trap me.
My hand goes to my daisho slowly, as I close my eyes and listen. Ten on one, a death sentence by any rational logic. Not even Kisada would have gone against those odds willingly. I draw my blade along with some certain party favours and turn around. Gray masks, and nondescript clothing hide who they are. Yet their stances I know all too well, after all, they were ones I shared.
One hand on my obi, I raise my sword and point it at their leader.
"What's the meaning of this"
I know, but the script needs playing out.
"...By order of the Master of Secrets, you are to die" The lead says.
"Funny, I didn't give any orders like that." I say looking to my sides, plan forming.
"You are an imposter. Unworthy of the Shadows."
"That so?" I say lazily.
"Kill him" he says.
Three things happen in the space of three seconds the smoke bomb, I palmed in my hand went off in front of me. Two the slim bo-style shuriken I threw sinks into the leader's throat, and third, I was running up the hedge.
I land on the other side, my knees protesting, as I roll across the ground, not a young man any more, I really need to remember that. From the other side of the hedge, I hear hushed whispers. They'll be coming soon, hunting me down, I had ambushed them once, surely I couldn't do it twice. I was prey now, so they think. Idiots.
A breath and I begin to run, how much of this place had they changed? How much of it remained the same? Questions I find the answer to, as I throw myself to the ground, the triggered arrow trap going right over my head. They had changed everything they could.
I scramble up, and run forward some more, before stopping and running back my feet landing in my own tracks as I go back to the trap. I can hear the sound of them coming for me. Only one chance to get this right.
Once again I jump on to the hedge clambering on top of it, and lying down. Ignoring the branches poking into me as I wait. The sounds of people coming rewards me soon enough. I shift enough to look down into the path that I came from. Only four of them, they must have split up to try and cover more ground. They look down at my tracks, one of them making a series of hand signs to begin the search. People just don't vanish, certainly not past their prime Champions...Past my prime? That's just rude.
I rise up on my knees, as two of the assassins prepare to climb the hedges, and the third goes forward trying to see if I had somehow jumped or something to break my trail. I wait until the assassin has nearly climbed the ledge before I strike, breaking the branches beneath me as I jump at him. My sword held out like a point that goes into his skull. The first assassin falls down, as the others look up from where the corpse appeared.
Standing on the ledge, I hold myself calm, as I look at the remaining three of them. The one standing on the other ledge, snarls, and throws a barrage of shuriken at me. A sweep of my blade sends them falling to the ground.
"So, which one of you is going to put this 'past his prime' samurai down?" I ask conversationally.
Instead of answering the assassin that had stayed behind takes out a whistle to call for his companions. Well looks like a volunteer then. I jump off the hedge, my blade coming down with me in a brutal overhand smash that cuts through his shoulder almost into his stomach. Instead of pulling him off the blade. I turn around, using the dead body as cover from the last assassin's throwing knives.
The knives go deep, good throwing arm, not good enough though to stop me though. I pull my blade free, and jump back, evading the hedge assassin's own attempt to replicate my feat. The snow under my feet betrays me though as I slide down. Hedge doesn't waste the opportunity striking again, as I'm forced to block his blow. Our two blades slide against each other making sparks, as I struggle to keep him from cutting me with the no doubt poisoned blade.
I opt to get out of this through the simple expedient of kicking him in the groin hard. The slight moment of distraction is enough for me to force him away as I get up. A second kick connects with his face as the Hedge assassin goes down, neck clearly not meant to do a full rotation.
However, I took too long with hedge. Far Assassin holds up the whistle and blows. The piercing scream being as good as a firework to draw the remaining four to me. Damn, maybe I was out of shape? I don't say anything, merely charging at the last one. He attempts a decent feint with his ninja-to, but it's not enough as I dance around the attempted stab on my chest and decapitate him.
There's a few moments for me to search their bodies, I'm lucky that the 'ninja' kit is pretty universal for the Scorpion. Ten shuriken, three vials of poison, blow gun, four needles and two smoke bombs. I only need the smoke bombs and shurikens so I leave the rest.
From behind me the sound of more people coming. Fighting four on one without choosing the ground wasn't really my style, so taking a deep breath, I again climbed the hedge. This time landing on the other side without hearing my knees complain. Adrenaline is a wonderful thing.
I run forward a few steps, before turning around and taking out the smoke bombs I had. Only one chance to get this right. Four more assassins land in front of me. They look at me like I was mad to face them. I probably was, but this ground worked for me. I memorized their positions and threw down all the smoke bombs, holding a cloth to my face as I charged in. No one could see anything in the melee, we needed touch and hearing to do anything.
People are terrible at relying on touch and hearing, they hadn't moved at all, as I cut the first one down. My blade comes out as I stab into the person behind me a soft gasp tell me it's a woman. Two down, I try to pull out my sword, but it doesn't come. She's holding on to the blade?
The fist that come rocketing at my temple, gave me no time to really think about that, as I'm forced to let go and parry the blow. I hold my hands up defensively, as the thick smoke blocks us both. Neither can really see each other as anything but shadows. Fists dodged at the last moment. Kicks barely blocked, slowly the smoke clears and with it my shot at survival. I take out the shuriken and throw them blindly at my opponent. A grunt from him as I hit, having found him for certain I charge, elbow up as I slam into the assassin and push him against the hedge. His throat nearly destroyed by my charge, he doesn't manage to put up a fight, as I the knife from his waist and drive it deep into his heart.
One left, I breathe clean air again as the smoke fades and my last opponent comes into view under the last of the setting sun. Between us is the corpse where I left my sword, she looks at it and at me. The long silence fills the air. The question neither of us quite knows the answer to. Can I get that sword out of her friend before she cuts me down?
The tension breaks as she lowers her weapon.
"I want to cut a deal."
"A deal?" I ask incredulous.
"Ronin hood for information and walking out of here alive."
"How do I know you have the information I want?"
"Don't you want to know who set all this up?" She asks.
"They would have used cut outs."
"Hai, they did, but..."
She stumbles forward, on to one knee, her back filled with throwing knifes.
I run forward and grab my sword. With it in hand defensively, I move over to her, dark green eyes look up at me.
"....bastards...Yojiro's Daughter...Ekiji" She manages to hiss out.
"Who?"
The last assassin doesn't say anything as she collapses. I hold myself on guard for a long time before, I relax. There had been ten of them, I had thought that the last was placed on guard at the entrance...but no the last was guarding against defection. Yojiro's daughter....she couldn't mean Bayushi Yojiro, he had never even married...and would never have handed off the Championship to someone not even of his house if he had a daughter. Ekiji was a little clearer, if more infuriating, my cousin was named Ekiji, and in the event of my death, he would likely be placed as regent. My wife was too honourable for most of the clan to stomach.
I had leads, but somehow, I didn't think that it was that simple.
[] I ended up investigating the life of Bayushi Yojiro and discovering a certain woman
[] I interrogated my cousin
[] I looked into who was in charge of the guards for this shift
AN: This was a lot of fun to write, but exhausting. The next update will be the last Winter Court update. I hope you guys enjoyed it.
- Location
- Moon-Station
[X] I interrogated my cousin
- Location
- Bulgaria
[x] I ended up investigating the life of Bayushi Yojiro and discovering a certain woman
- Location
- Leeds
Why do you need hand signs for that?
Because if you're going to invent sign language, may as well go all the way.
[X] I looked into who was in charge of the guards for this shift
Year 4: Paneki V (Winter Court V)
-Month of the Tiger 13th day
I found myself, standing in front of the ancestral shrine to Bayushi Yojiro. It was late, so late that most would even call it early. There were many reasons not to be here. Not the least of which being my wife's ire for leaving her bed cold well before I had to. We did not love each other truly, but we both had loved the same woman with a true and pure devotion that even now did not dim for either of us. No it was not love, but it was affection and a deep friendship, one that produced a son that I did love dearly.
Which of course begs the question of why I am here. The failed assassination attempt had of course been kept secret. Not even the Emperor knew of the men and women I had killed that day in the labyrinth. But the words, had piqued my interest. Yojiro had a daughter, a bastard true, but a daughter, one that he could have forced to inherit, if the last assassin had been honest. Her murder argued it was, but I had to be sure, so I began to look into things. Give that there were still many who wondered at my ascension, I had decided to keep things quiet, working through careful spies, not asking the question directly, but seemingly looking into the eventual murder of Yojiro for clues.
Yojiro had originally married a young Soshi woman of some standing by the name of Kaori. They had by all accounts been happy enough together, but when the Coup took place, she was amongst the small army of assassins that Shoju had employed to make it happen. Despite overwhelming surprise, we still took some causalities, she was one of them. That had set the stage for him so it seemed. Yojiro would dance in and around beautiful women for the rest of his life, but his honour would never allow him to partake.
So we had all thought, although there were no records of what exactly happened during the heady three month celebration of the victory against the Lying Darkness. Yet there were scraps of information, of Yojiro meeting a certain Asahina Kimita former daimyo of that family. Nothing untoward in public, but a seemingly daily re-occurrence. Shortly after, Kimita had retreated from the world to help 'rebuild' Water Hammer City. Yet we had kept no spies on her, done nothing to follow what she was doing.
Which in of itself was slightly odd. Oh yes we had been banished, and only newly returned... but the daimyo were important, at least the Families of the Great Clans.
So I kept looking, and eventually found that at some point Yojiro had seemingly on a whim, sponsored a woman into the Aotora family, one of Yojiro's carefully curated new vassals to rebuild the Clan.
Yojiro did nothing on a whim. This Aotora Shiori, must be the bastard child of Yojiro. Never acknowledging her as his heir because why? Shiori had died about four years ago, but a woman still seemingly visited her shrine and Yojiro's soon after, in the dead of night.
Which is why I was here, to see who that woman was. If I was right, this was Yojiro's grand daughter.
The sound of bells tinkle in the moonlight, I slide out carefully from my hiding spot. The smell of incense wafts through the air, as I watch the young woman, quietly kneel and pray. While I have no doubt she is behind a great deal of my problems, some things are sacred, and there are questions I must ask.
"So you found me then." She says as she finishes.
"Hai, Bayushi Izumi-san, hai. It was strange to have your mother marry so high, less so, given your origins." I say.
She turns around to look at me. Her face covered in a simple mask that does nothing to hide her beauty. It also does not hide the Asahina features she carries, taken from the Isawa, a somewhat narrow face, with tighter eyes then you normally seen in the Bayushi.
"Bayushi-ue, you've figured it all out have you?" She asks.
I nod.
"You seek to regain what you believe yours by blood, and will go to any length to do so. Would that you were loyal" I say.
"If my grandfather were loyal we would not be here." She says simply.
"If you had come to me..."
"You would have used me as a pawn in your house, adopted me as your own maybe, or had me wait until I was a spinster to marry your son. I have no interest in being a puppet." She says.
"And yet, you puppet others."
"Hardly, I merely give them what they want."
"Such as the shadow brands?" I ask acidly. No I wasn't bitter that the thing that I nearly died to stop was still active. What gave you that idea?
Izumi blinks, and for a moment, I can see utter bewilderment in her eyes.
"Such as the shadow brands yes." she says though without missing a beat.
She didn't know,
I narrow my eyes, she hadn't known but then how...a second conspiracy nestled in the first. Oh she was thinking now, a name, a person that I no doubt had that worked for yet another claimant to my seat. Somedays I really miss the Spirit wars. Then at least you got to kill people who were too clever by half.
"This can end quietly Izumi-san, without the grove."
"I was about to offer you the same Bayushi-ue"
"...What?"
"Your cousin Ekiji, he's my husband, and by all accounts a better duellist than you. He plans to bring charges against you to the Emperor himself. Or...you could walk away."
"Are you trying to blackmail me?" I ask almost incredulous.
"No I am, we have enough testimony from him, from me, from Toson, from Sunetra to make sure you are placed in the Grove."
"Forgeries? They'll never go along with this." I say.
"Can you really take that chance Bayushi-ue? Can your house take that chance?" She asks.
I chuckle for a moment the sheer audacity of it all. No this woman wasn't smart enough to be behind everything, but there was always something people who worked in the shadows seemed to forget.
My blade goes through her chest.
"No" I say.
She looks at me shocked that I would draw steal in a shrine to the Fortune of Honesty. In truth I am going to have to work off a lot of karma from this.
"What you never understood, Izumi, was that the Empire comes first, it has always come first. And your games, show you as an enemy of the Empire."
"You...bastard..." she chokes out.
"Goodbye Izumi." I say pulling my blade out.
The woman collapses to the floor, and I do feel regret at this, at what I'm doing next. The Empire comes first, and the Scorpion having yet another shadow war with itself, is bad for the Empire.
So I have murdered my cousin 's wife, and now I'm going to accuse my cousin of the act and kill him too in a duel.
Some days, it just doesn't pay to leave your bed.
AN: And that brings us back to Winter Court I. Rather than jumping straight into the War right away, (I'm still trying to decide if I'll use mechanics for this or go purely narrative) the next few 'updates' as it were will mostly be side stories as it were, instead of focusing on the main narrative.
As such...
[] Write in which already introduced character should star in the first side story. (Not Hisao or Paneki)
I know I know, this is taking way too long and my update pace is atrocious, all I can say is sorry.
I found myself, standing in front of the ancestral shrine to Bayushi Yojiro. It was late, so late that most would even call it early. There were many reasons not to be here. Not the least of which being my wife's ire for leaving her bed cold well before I had to. We did not love each other truly, but we both had loved the same woman with a true and pure devotion that even now did not dim for either of us. No it was not love, but it was affection and a deep friendship, one that produced a son that I did love dearly.
Which of course begs the question of why I am here. The failed assassination attempt had of course been kept secret. Not even the Emperor knew of the men and women I had killed that day in the labyrinth. But the words, had piqued my interest. Yojiro had a daughter, a bastard true, but a daughter, one that he could have forced to inherit, if the last assassin had been honest. Her murder argued it was, but I had to be sure, so I began to look into things. Give that there were still many who wondered at my ascension, I had decided to keep things quiet, working through careful spies, not asking the question directly, but seemingly looking into the eventual murder of Yojiro for clues.
Yojiro had originally married a young Soshi woman of some standing by the name of Kaori. They had by all accounts been happy enough together, but when the Coup took place, she was amongst the small army of assassins that Shoju had employed to make it happen. Despite overwhelming surprise, we still took some causalities, she was one of them. That had set the stage for him so it seemed. Yojiro would dance in and around beautiful women for the rest of his life, but his honour would never allow him to partake.
So we had all thought, although there were no records of what exactly happened during the heady three month celebration of the victory against the Lying Darkness. Yet there were scraps of information, of Yojiro meeting a certain Asahina Kimita former daimyo of that family. Nothing untoward in public, but a seemingly daily re-occurrence. Shortly after, Kimita had retreated from the world to help 'rebuild' Water Hammer City. Yet we had kept no spies on her, done nothing to follow what she was doing.
Which in of itself was slightly odd. Oh yes we had been banished, and only newly returned... but the daimyo were important, at least the Families of the Great Clans.
So I kept looking, and eventually found that at some point Yojiro had seemingly on a whim, sponsored a woman into the Aotora family, one of Yojiro's carefully curated new vassals to rebuild the Clan.
Yojiro did nothing on a whim. This Aotora Shiori, must be the bastard child of Yojiro. Never acknowledging her as his heir because why? Shiori had died about four years ago, but a woman still seemingly visited her shrine and Yojiro's soon after, in the dead of night.
Which is why I was here, to see who that woman was. If I was right, this was Yojiro's grand daughter.
The sound of bells tinkle in the moonlight, I slide out carefully from my hiding spot. The smell of incense wafts through the air, as I watch the young woman, quietly kneel and pray. While I have no doubt she is behind a great deal of my problems, some things are sacred, and there are questions I must ask.
"So you found me then." She says as she finishes.
"Hai, Bayushi Izumi-san, hai. It was strange to have your mother marry so high, less so, given your origins." I say.
She turns around to look at me. Her face covered in a simple mask that does nothing to hide her beauty. It also does not hide the Asahina features she carries, taken from the Isawa, a somewhat narrow face, with tighter eyes then you normally seen in the Bayushi.
"Bayushi-ue, you've figured it all out have you?" She asks.
I nod.
"You seek to regain what you believe yours by blood, and will go to any length to do so. Would that you were loyal" I say.
"If my grandfather were loyal we would not be here." She says simply.
"If you had come to me..."
"You would have used me as a pawn in your house, adopted me as your own maybe, or had me wait until I was a spinster to marry your son. I have no interest in being a puppet." She says.
"And yet, you puppet others."
"Hardly, I merely give them what they want."
"Such as the shadow brands?" I ask acidly. No I wasn't bitter that the thing that I nearly died to stop was still active. What gave you that idea?
Izumi blinks, and for a moment, I can see utter bewilderment in her eyes.
"Such as the shadow brands yes." she says though without missing a beat.
She didn't know,
I narrow my eyes, she hadn't known but then how...a second conspiracy nestled in the first. Oh she was thinking now, a name, a person that I no doubt had that worked for yet another claimant to my seat. Somedays I really miss the Spirit wars. Then at least you got to kill people who were too clever by half.
"This can end quietly Izumi-san, without the grove."
"I was about to offer you the same Bayushi-ue"
"...What?"
"Your cousin Ekiji, he's my husband, and by all accounts a better duellist than you. He plans to bring charges against you to the Emperor himself. Or...you could walk away."
"Are you trying to blackmail me?" I ask almost incredulous.
"No I am, we have enough testimony from him, from me, from Toson, from Sunetra to make sure you are placed in the Grove."
"Forgeries? They'll never go along with this." I say.
"Can you really take that chance Bayushi-ue? Can your house take that chance?" She asks.
I chuckle for a moment the sheer audacity of it all. No this woman wasn't smart enough to be behind everything, but there was always something people who worked in the shadows seemed to forget.
My blade goes through her chest.
"No" I say.
She looks at me shocked that I would draw steal in a shrine to the Fortune of Honesty. In truth I am going to have to work off a lot of karma from this.
"What you never understood, Izumi, was that the Empire comes first, it has always come first. And your games, show you as an enemy of the Empire."
"You...bastard..." she chokes out.
"Goodbye Izumi." I say pulling my blade out.
The woman collapses to the floor, and I do feel regret at this, at what I'm doing next. The Empire comes first, and the Scorpion having yet another shadow war with itself, is bad for the Empire.
So I have murdered my cousin 's wife, and now I'm going to accuse my cousin of the act and kill him too in a duel.
Some days, it just doesn't pay to leave your bed.
AN: And that brings us back to Winter Court I. Rather than jumping straight into the War right away, (I'm still trying to decide if I'll use mechanics for this or go purely narrative) the next few 'updates' as it were will mostly be side stories as it were, instead of focusing on the main narrative.
As such...
[] Write in which already introduced character should star in the first side story. (Not Hisao or Paneki)
I know I know, this is taking way too long and my update pace is atrocious, all I can say is sorry.
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Sirrocco
Pedantic
Gotta say, that wasn't *my* reaction to the post. I thought it was cool. Time is what it is.
Thank you, I just know during the Summer, I had a way higher update speed, and kind of want to get back to it but finding it hard to get back to that pace.
- Location
- Leeds
Don't apologise for that, apologise for this.
We cannot catch a break.
That's just Atsuki's conspiracy. It's probably better to think of it as Izumi being his catspaw.
- Location
- Moon-Station
Edited:
[x] Minato, the new Daimyo of the Catfish
[x] Minato, the new Daimyo of the Catfish
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Sirrocco
Pedantic
errr... what?
Not sure what you mean about Year 1. Which character were you thinking of?
- Location
- Moon-Station
Minato, the new Daimyo of the Catfish
- Location
- Should be a bit higher
[X] write-in: Minoru, Imperial Heir Apparent and little Hellraiser (?)
Minoru should be like 2~3 now right? Kids that age gets into amazing amounts of trouble and she's not just any kid...
She's a future (maybe) Empress.
Minoru should be like 2~3 now right? Kids that age gets into amazing amounts of trouble and she's not just any kid...
She's a future (maybe) Empress.
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Sirrocco
Pedantic
Pretty sure that one's legit.
[x] Minato, the new Daimyo of the Catfish
There are all sorts of other options that would give us actual useful information about the shape of the world. Heck, if I really wanted to cheese it for in-game advantage, I'd go with the Shadow Dragon or something. I don't think that's what this is for, though, and I'm also curious about Minato.
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