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Legend of the Ronin (Legend of the Five Rings)

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Canon Omake by Ria: Grandmotherly Advice
  • Threadmarks
    • And Courtesy of Ria once again

    It's a beautiful spring day. The breeze is scented with the flowers from my mother's garden and the sweet sound of birds singing fills the day with joy. It's an idyllic scene, one I have seen and enjoyed countless times. But today, as the door shuts behind me for the last time, I can't take any of it in.

    My name was Kakita Sakura, but I no longer have a Clan, a family or a name.

    I aimlessly wander through the Kakita lands, not sure of what to do or where to go. I feel...strangely removed from the situation, numb as it were. The realization hasn't really hit me yet that I have nothing. No Clan, no Lord, no family, no duty… Nothing. I've lost everything because Hida Takamona was jealous of the attention her adored older brother gave another woman. Of course Takamona had to accept Kakita-dono. Marriage is duty. But being interested enough in another woman to take her as a lover? No, that she couldn't bear.

    A flash of desire courses through my body as I remember him. Kakita no Hida Katsuie, my handsome, virile lover. I can see his face in my mind's eye, see his smile, the smoulder of desire in his eyes. I can feel his kiss, his hands on my body, his flesh against mine. Even now a rush of heat engulfs me as I think of him. And despite everything that's happened...I can't say with certainty that I regret a single moment.

    I stop to sit under a tree to rest and eat. I lay my daisho across my lap reverently. I remember the day that I received it, at my gempukku.

    "To you, my daughter, I give the daisho of your grandmother Kakita Misaki-shiryo, she who was the personal hatamoto to the Kakita Daimyo. Wear it with pride and humility both, Sakura-chan, and may her example ever be an inspiration to you."

    As I finish eating, my fingers gently trace over the tsuba. It's all I have left now to remind me of who I was. My eyelids feel heavy as the balmy afternoon calm lulls me into sleep.


    "SAKURA!"

    My eyes fly open as my hand tightens around the hilt of my katana. I look around, searching for who could possibly be calling me by my former name. But I see no one. That's strange, I thought for sure I heard it. I must be imagining things.

    "SAKURA, YOU WORTHLESS GIRL! HAVE YOU NO PRIDE? NO SHAME?"

    Again...I still don't see anyone. Why does that voice sound so familiar?

    "YOU AREN'T EVEN WORTHY TO LOOK UPON MY DAISHO, NEVERMIND WIELD IT. HOW CAN YOU BRING SUCH DISHONOUR ON MY NAME?!"
    "G..g...grand...mother…??" Did I really just hear my grandmother's voice? But she's dead! Am I going mad?

    "It wouldn't surprise me one bit if you were stark raving mad, given how you've been behaving, you lecherous little fool!"

    It's a stupid question I know, but...I just have to ask, just to be sure.

    "What...how, really...are you...talking to me?? Is it...your spirit talking to me?" I'm embarrassed asking but...I can hear her in my head...and she seems to be able to hear my thoughts too...

    A rude noise echoes in my ears. "Well at least you've only lost HALF your wits.You didn't think that I could let this kind of thing just slide did you? Well, Sakura? Have you nothing to say for yourself?"

    My name is no longer Sakura...I have no name… is the first and probably inadvisable thing that comes to mind.

    "Well if you don't remember who you were, how will you ever find a way back to being worthy of MY daisho," is the immediate, snarky reply.

    Whaaaaaaaat?

    "Did you think that I would leave my daisho, my honour and my soul, in the unworthy hands of SOME HONOURLESS RONIN? Even you can't be that stupid. I don't care what it takes Sakura, but you will find your way back to honour and you will ensure that you leave my legacy unbesmirched!!"

    Well there's not much I can say to that. Grandmother always did have a sharp tongue and a very stubborn w…

    "At least my stubborn will, as you call it, made sure that I had the good sense not to do something as colossally idiotic as get caught sleeping with the Daimyo's husband!"

    I let out a sigh. "Yes, Grandmother."

    I have no name, no clan, but I have a duty now. One laid by my revered Grandmother, even if she is a mean old bat.

    "I HEARD THAT!"

    She's still my grandmother...and it's a goal...
    I will earn myself a name back...they say ronin have more luck in the Hinterlands…and I always did want to travel.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Luck?
    [X] Yes
    [] No

    Void luck roll?
    [X] Will void
    [] Will not void

    We got a pretty reasonable roll, and it wasn't enough. Gonna need Void to change things, I'd say.
     
    Luck?
    [X] Yes

    Void luck roll?
    [X] Will void

    We should do our utmost to get the ranting old bat off our.... i mean, to restore our grandmother's soul.
     
    You can check probabilities here, by the way. We don't know the TN, but seeing as 20 wasn't enough, not voiding if we go for a reroll might be a bad idea.

    gman391 said:
    Hey, I didn't chose this disadvantage, Misaki did through Snow, somehow.
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    Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. And it turned out to be every bit as amusing as I'd hoped, so yay! :D

    Of course, there's still the -1k1 once per session, but we should hopefully be able to take the hit if we're not being stupid. >.>

    By the way, what's the condition of our wakizashi, and what else do we have with us?
     
    @Snow
    As a rule Kakita trained swordsmen don't use their wakizashi in combat, so she didn't check. As Megumi is not a filthy Mirumoto trained ninten user, she doesn't want to use her soul to fight.
     
    Alright let's see how this goes

    4k3 base+ 0k1 (Benten's Blessing) + 1k1 (Void)=5k5
    2016-04-01 18:05:30 Megumi Luck Reroll Courtier 2, 5, 9, 9, 10 2, 5, 9, 9, 10 2, 5, 9, 9, 13 5k5+0 38 yes    
    38=Success
    Void 2 remaining
    Luck used for this Arc.
    Update later today.
     
    Arc I: Drunken Questions
  • Threadmarks
    • --"Is there nothing I can do to ease your burden, Kaiu-sama? Regardless of my soul, my honor remains intact. It will not sit easy without offering aid to one who should be respected."
    ----------------------------------


    As Tanako turns away from you, you feel a pang of guilt. You saw how heavy her burden is, how much pain she is in, and you came with a selfish request. Kaiu make blades for lords, for heroes, not for ronin, but you were going to ask anyways...no, you have to do the right thing. To be the samurai that your mother, and grandmother wanted you to be.

    "Is there nothing I can do to ease your burden Kaiu-sama? Regardless of my soul, my honour remains intact. It will not sit easy without offering aid to--"

    "Shut up" she barks.

    "Kaiu-sama..."

    "You want to help?" She asks looking you up and down with suspicious eye.

    "Hai." You say quietly, the fog of the evening cloaking both of you.

    "Why?"

    "I..." you struggle for words for a moment.

    "Kaiu-sama, you have every right to turn away from me, but, I...am no stranger to pain, and compassion is a virtue too. I have nothing to offer but myself, but if that can help in some small way, I offer it, because it is the right thing to do."

    "...I suppose. There's nothing you can do to help Megumi-san. Whatever pain you've felt, it is not the pain I've felt. But, if you want to join an old woman drinking her sorrows away, I won't stop you." Tanako says.

    With that, the Kaiu begins to make her way through the fog down the mountain. There's a heavy silence that falls between you and her. A silence born of two people who have nothing in common, but still want to talk. Well...you want to talk...she just wants to drink.

    With the steady miles eating stride of someone who marched in formations way too often, Tanako leads you to a small building at the border of this ward and the Mori Ward.

    Looking up at the leering wolf sign, and the words underneath, you realize that this is a sake house in a temple district.
    'Mercy of the Wolf Sake House'
    Not what you would have chosen for a name, but no one asked you.

    Tanako, steps inside, striding towards a booth with that odd mix of quiet confidence and sadness you associate with someone who spends most of their time drinking. Sitting down the old Crab doesn't even say anything, as a large bottle of what looks like shochu is put before her. Taking out a worn old cup carved with a frog motif, Tanako begins drinking.

    Looking around you see that there is a sort of unintended melancholy aesthetic from the bare rocks and paintings of empty tundra. A few other monks, including one old woman who seems to be an abbess going by the robes, are also drinking.

    Well you can see this place is going to be a wild party. Still, this isn't about you right now, but about the woman drinking alone.

    So you follow after Tanako, and sit down in the booth. A Waiter primly asks if you have any money, but Tanako waves him off.

    You end up ordering
    [] Shochu
    [] Sake
    [] Tea

    Tanako raises an eyebrow slightly, but continues her own quest to drain the bottle.

    As you wait for the waiter to come back, you study Tanako a bit more, trying to search for a topic of conversation.

    "Never fails though." Tanako says randomly.

    "Kaiu-sama?" You respond surprised.

    "Never fails that some asshole samurai hears about me and comes wandering by to ask me about making a sword or why I don't make swords anymore."

    "My apologies…."

    "Should just retire, but then I'd have to give this baby up," Tanako says as she gestures to her bottle of Shochu, at least you think it's Shochu

    "Right"

    "And that ain't happening, not after everything. Fuck, in the middle of nowhere while the Empire gets ready to burn, no family, no friends, just a random ass ronin and my soju"

    You realize that Tanako isn't really talking to you.

    "Of course, that's basically the best I can expect, after everything. But fuck it, I don't care if they make me a ronin. I ain't doing that shit anymore, I'm not taking sons and daughters away anymore."

    What the hell was in that shochu?

    As Tanako throws the empty bottle to the ground, and the waiter comes back with another and your beverage. The old woman stares at you.

    "So the fuck you think you using a sword for eh? Going to kill a few people, protect a few fat merchant bastards? Maybe fight for justice? The fuck do you think you are?" She spits.

    You think if your sword wasn't already half melted, the amount of acid in Tanako's voice would do it anyways.

    [] What say?
     
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Sake

    So she isn't drinking alone.

    [X] "Kaiu-sama, my Grandmother's blade is- damaged. As is my soul. This? This is the first step in rebuilding. Why should my deficiencies drag down my ancestors?"
     
    [X] Tea

    because I might end up needing to helping her stagger home, a much less daunting prospect when sober.

    [X] "Kaiu-sama, I think I am someone whose soul has been... damaged. For my grandmother's sake and my own, I thought to see it whole once more."
     
    [X] Sake.

    [X] "Kaiu-sama, I was born and raised a swordswoman. As you said, the Empire is burning and people are dying. I'd like to make it up to the ancestors I've failed, I'd like to repair my grandmother's blade... but honestly, I'd also very much like not to die myself.
     
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    [x] Sake

    As for the other... yeah, I dunno. She's Kaiu. She's royally sick of being asked to forge swords, which then kill people. She's been approached by many, many Ronin, who've probably tried all sorts of approaches before to try to convince her. Also, we're an ex-Crane, which probably isn't helping us with her.

    Wait, wait, @storybookknight put in a different vote than the other two. Actually, that one looks pretty good.

    [X] "Kaiu-sama, I was born and raised a swordswoman. As you said, the Empire is burning and people are dying. I'd like to make it up to the ancestors I've failed, I'd like to repair my grandmother's blade... but honestly, I'd also very much like not to die myself.
     
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    Sirrocco said:
    As for the other... yeah, I dunno. She's Kaiu. She's royally sick of being asked to forge swords, which then kill people. She's been approached by many, many Ronin, who've probably tried all sorts of approaches before to try to convince her. Also, we're an ex-Crane, which probably isn't helping us with her.

    Wait, wait, @storybookknight put in a different vote than the other two. Actually, that one looks pretty good.
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    Actually, all three of us had slightly different tones to the same basic tack. @Simonbob had a slightly more positive tone to my sight (focusing on benefitting ancestors primarily), I had a slightly more selfish and remorseful tone, hoping it might cause her to see herself in me and @storybookknight had the most selfish and practical in my sight.... i might overthink things... -g-

    -alyxe
     
    I think the main benefit is that I am playing on her sympathy. She sounds like her primary motivation is that she wants to avoid making things that kill, and we would like not to be killed... I dunno, trying to find common ground.
     
    barenhart said:
    Actually, all three of us had slightly different tones to the same basic tack. @Simonbob had a slightly more positive tone to my sight (focusing on benefitting ancestors primarily), I had a slightly more selfish and remorseful tone, hoping it might cause her to see herself in me and @storybookknight had the most selfish and practical in my sight.... i might overthink things... -g-

    -alyxe
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    Welp. I guess I was rolling ones on that perception/investigation check, then.

    I like @storybookknight's vote because it suggests that fixing our sword maybe *won't* add to the death toll on her conscience. That hint of "scared, idiot kid who feels drawn to defend her Empire, but who would very much like to not die", I think, helps.

    cokerpilot said:
    Your vote is broken
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    Yet another perception fail. Thanks.
     
    Changing vote.

    [X] "Kaiu-sama, I think I am someone whose soul has been... damaged. For my grandmother's sake and my own, I thought to see it whole once more."

    Works for me. We're not saying we'd use it to kill, or not. Hm.....

    I'll leave it there. We can offer more, if it looks like she's in favor.
     
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