Patreon LogoYour support makes Blue Moon possible (Patreon)

The Rokugani Way (me and Anjeru)

Raziel99

Raziel99

Pulsar
Joined
Jan 15, 2009
It had been a few years since the Scorpion clan managed to kill the Emperor. But they had failed to kill his son, and the whole clan was exiled, cast down to Ronin status, hunted by everyone else. But even through wars, the life goes on. Samurai must be trained for battle, Shugenja must be brought into their orders and taught the ways. The Fates must be pleased.

The lands of the Dragon clan were rather diverse in their own rights. Near the borders, where Togashi Yokuni ruled as Clan Daimyo, to the rolling hills of the Mirumoto provinces, where Mirumoto Hitomi sat in Shiro Mirumoto. It was in the hills, just outside the village at the foot of Shiro Mirumoto that Mirumoto Terao was practicing. Finding more solace among the wide hills and clearer air than inside the dojo, his blades cut along invisible foes, keeping his mind clear as he dodged and slashed over the hills, careful to stay away from any of the farmers.

Terao was around average height of 5'8'', his hair shoulder length and tied back. He wore the green kimono of the Dragon clan with the Dragon mon on the back, the Mirumoto mon on both shoulders. He also had light armor on, like he usually did.
 
Agasha Yune was of the Agasha family, of the Dragon clan, the oldest born to her parents. This caused the young woman of seventeen years to strive to be the best, not just of her family, but of the entire Dragon Clan as a whole. The 5'6" woman was clad in the green kimono of her clan, the Dragon mon on her back, and the Agasha mon on her shoulder. Her hair was long, today tied back in a pair of mid back-length braids. She, too, wore her light armor over the material of her kimono.

Eyes as black as coal and an attitude that spoke of dedication, yet of solitude; that was often how the clan members spoke of her. She excelled in her schooling and often times pushed herself beyond her limits in her quest to be number one. Mirumoto Terao was all the stood between her and that goal - no matter the heights she excelled to, the young man of same age seemed to be one step ahead of her. Many times they had dueled, only for unconclusive results. How frustrating that had to be. Especially since she trained more, she studied more, she pushed herself harder yet he...he was still better. She didn't understand how this could be.

Today, he was training outside the walls of the Mirumoto Bushi school, honing his skills on his own as she often did. She, too, had come out this far to do exactly the same. To see that he was here made her seethe, if only a little. She was fair, a beauty among the clan, but never was she interested in that. She simply strived to better herself and her skills with her daisho - truly, it was all she seemed to live for. She said nothing, just watched with narrowed onyx eyes, before she decided to retreat. To find a place to train alone. As she always did.

Her footsteps would be heard to him. Just, if he chose to turn, to speak to her, to initiate any sort of interaction that she herself would not, was yet to be seen.
 
He was always trained to keep his mind open, stretching out with all of his senses. So, of course he heard her movements, her footsteps in the grass. Just as much as he heard the farm animals and the farmers working in the fields for their living. He turned, and he stared down his rival. Agasha Yune was a strange one, to be sure. Coming to the Bushi school instead of the Shugenja school. Not unheard of, but unusual. He kept his blades drawn as he approached, obviously looking to settle their score, something he knew that she would be more than happy to do.

"Agasha Yune." He said in a rather casual voice as he watched her try to walk off. "A surprise to see you outside of the village, or even the castle at times. What would bring you to this part of the province?" He held up his blades in a rather warding manner, his blue eyes boring into her black ones. "I do believe we have a score to settle."
 
It was his words, more than the sudden arise of his voice, that caused her steps of retreat to halt. So, he, too, was seething at the unconclusive results of their duels. It was such a shame; she deserved to be the best, more so than him. Her slim form of only 120 pounds turned to face his own, though the remained several feet apart from each other. His blades were raised, warding her off, simply waiting.

"Mirumoto Terao...the same could be said of you. Even if this is not your first time praticing outside the confines of our walls, it's the first I've seen." She replied simply. Ever so cool and aloof. It was only in the heat of a duel that her passionate nature would rise, almost like a phoenix rising from the ash. Her flat onyx eyes stared back into his own as she raised her own daiso, simply watching. Waiting. "I am here to do what it is that I always do - to train. I'm going to prove that I am better than you. That, truly, I am the most gifted of our clan."
 
He listened to her, and when she finished, he let out a short laugh. "Best in the clan? If you think defeating me will prove that, you have a long road to go in your training. Even if you manage to defeat me, you have the winding path until you can take on Mirumoto Hitomi, and she holds the original blades of Mirumoto himself! And if, by some FLUKE, you defeat her, you have to take on the Togashi if you want to be the best of the Dragons. And Mitsu, and Yokuni, will destroy you.

"But no matter." He took a advancing step towards her. "I have the blood of Mirumoto running through me. You will not defeat me." And with that he launched forward, his katana coming at her from the right side in a heavy swing while he used his wakizashi to block his front. He weighed more than her, a good 170 pounds, but he was sue to using speed and momentum in his fights.
 
His words were meant to mock her and, as he intended, it sparked a flare of her passion. "It's on no consequence now," she said. He charged her, arcing his blade from the right in a swing, the other cleverly protecting his front. "My goal, for now, it to best you!" Her black eyes flashed with passionate fire as raised a blade to block his arcing blow. His weight caused her to stumble back, just a step, even as she blocked with all her strength.

"I train harder! I train longer! I push myself until I break - it's not fair! I should be better than you!" she snapped out. Duels, especially with Mirumoto Terao, caused her to become fired up when normally, she seemed so emotionally cut-off. Her feet pushed her off her heels, jumping her back a step, before she charged. She held a blade before her, to protect her as he often did himself, her other coming down at him vertically. They were likely to clash, again, and again. Blade against blade. It seemed an almost enternal dance that they partook of.
 
Her outbreak hardly pulled a physical reaction from him. Her movements almost threw him off balance... almost. He took a slight leap backwards, crossing his blades, and doing a intricate grasp of her blade in the cross, moving off to the side slightly as his blades slid upwards, moving hers below them, then pushing off to stagger her the best he could. He made sure to do a quick kick to help the stagger before taking another step back, and taking a defensive position.

"I have the blood of Mirumoto guiding my hand. I will not be defeated by you." His frame stiffened, ready to spring at any movement made by her. There was no way that he would let her get the best of him.
 
Yune staggered but brought the blades up quickly in cross, almost as he had, taking the brunt of his kick against her weapons. A slight stumble before she quickly steadied herself. "Your blood will not overcome my dedication." She stated confidently. It was preposterous that his blood was what caused him to be greater than her. Preposterous, indeed. Her lids lowered a slight, onyx orbs scanning quickly. Absorbing. Studying. Anticipating.

Hiking up her blades again, she charged forward once more. Raising a blade to slice down at him from his right, but when he would go to block, she would bounce off his blade, spinning around to strike at him from the left. The semi-long braids of her raven hair flying out as she moved. "I'm just as good as you are!" she said, determined.
 
He watched her study him, making sure to show her nothing: no opening, no weakness - just strength and waiting. When she did strike, she obviously forgot that he had TWO swords to block with. His right hand easily moved and blocked her blade, then his left came up to block her other blade. "You keep making simple mistakes." He said, jumping back.

He was about to launch forward to attack when he heard a scream from the village, and he faltered, turning his head towards the village at the base of Shiro Mirumoto. He could see the large carriage that was at the heart of the village, and raiders jumping out, some with torches and bows, others with spears. Terao looked at Yune before breaking away, sprinting towards the town.

The raiders weren't very good at looking around, as two got stabbed through their hearts, falling down with a small outcry. The Samurai were coming out from the castle already, taking care of those going towards the gate. So Terao decided to clear out the town as Shiro Mirumoto was defended from the front.

They were stupid, but they knew tactics. Two archers narrowly missed him, and he ducked behind cover from a house. He sheathed his blades, pulling out his bow and stringing a ya to it, getting ready to fire. He peered around and saw 4 men, and he came around, plunging the arrow through one's skull, then getting another through a throat before having to take cover again.
 
Just as he charged her, the scream vented through out the expanse around them. He faltered, stopped and stared at her a moment, then turned and bolted back towards the village. "Tch!" As much as she hated it, their duel had, once again, proved to be unconclusive. Still, no winner stood among the two of them. A soft frown curved her pink lips, before she, too, ran on quick feet towards the village.

Already the samurai were spilling forth from the castle to fight off the raiders. Yune's only concern was to protect the villagers. To kill the raiders before they dared to hurt her clan - violence against her people was one thing Agasha Yune could not, and would not, tolerate. Blades at the ready, she dashed forth on quick feet to come weapon against weapon with a spear weilder.

She bounced off and, as the raider tried to regain his hold on his weapon and thrust it at her, she dropped, kicked a leg out and came up at him from below on his right. His arm was severed instantly and as the limb fell and he screamed, she flipped and brought her other blade across his throat. Instantly, the blood spurted and he dropped. Dead.

No time to waste, she moved on, having to duck behind a building to avoid taking an arrow, or several, to her person. When the archers aiming at her paused to restring, she dashed on speedy feet to the another building. Arrows following, striking the ground inches behind her feet each time. There was another raider here and she spent a moment, glancing blade against blade, before she managed to take him down. After all, she was a great deal smaller than the large raiders.
 
Terao took out the other two archers rather easily, destringing his bow and putting it back on his back before unsheathing his blades again, charging forward. He used his momentum to take on a few spearmen that were facing away before cutting down one that turned towards him. There were two heads on the ground, one that was barely hanging onto the body as Terao continued on.

It was at the center of the village, where their carriage was, where he saw a Ronin in light armor, his blades drawn and butchering the nearby villagers. Terao rushed forward, blocking a blow that the Ronin did, staring him down before pushing the blade back. They traded blows for a while, a clear circle around them to let them fight it out alone. Soon, though, Terao knocked the katana away from the Ronin, and plunged his family's Wakizashi through his heart. He pulled it out and let the man fall, looking around.

The fighting was lessening, and there were no guys around him, so he took his bow back out, stringing it quickly and getting a arrow notched. He saw Yune coming towards the center, resisted putting a arrow through her. It was then that he felt the piercing pain through his right shoulder, and he turned his head to see a arrow sticking out the back, almost into the shoulder blade, but just over enough. He turned quickly, pulling the string back and shooting a arrow through that archers head. But he fell to his knee the moment afterward, holding his shoulder where he was shot. Not mortal... but Yune would have easy work right now.
 
Yune was charging through to the center of the village, her small frame and two blades holding their own against the raid. It was then her onyx eyes saw the arrow lodge itself in Terao's shoulder from behind. He snapped around and took out the archer, before dropping to his knee. For a moment, the spiteful, short-tempered samurai was torn. She could, at last, rid herself of the burden that weighed upon her day after day. It didn't take long for her to come to a decision - there was a raider coming at him, sword raised above his head to bring it down upon the injured Terao. Yune dashed forth and put herself between the man and her rival. His sword glanced off her own two, but sliced across her upper arm, giving her a painful cut.

Her teeth grit together and she used her weight to throw him back, putting her strength into the blades to push him away from Terao. The raider actually stumbled, surprised a young girl could hold such strength. Yune took the oppurtunity to slide down and twist around sharply, tripping the raider onto his back. He barely hit the ground before her blades were buried in his chest. He gurgled blood and she tore the blades free, before stabbing them in again. When he was dead, she pulled her swords free.

Glancing around, she saw that the majority of the raiders were dead. A couple stragglers were being taken out by their fellow clan samurai. Yune's onyx eyes found Terao's blue ones - instead of taking the chance to finally rid herself of him, she had protected him. Was she a fool? Would she live to regret it? Perhaps... but Yune had more honor than to take him down when he was injured protecting their home. She stood, blades resting at her sides. Vaguely, she was aware that her right upper arm was bleeding, blood droplets falling from her fingertips.
 
Terao could feel the blood dripping down his back, and knew better than try to rip the arrow out. It didn't go all the way through thanks to his armor, but the armor held it in relative place, the movement he made shaking it. He would need someone else to do it. It was at that revelation that he saw the swordsman coming towards him, and it would take too long to draw his Wakizashi...

She was a blur to his vision, Yune was, and she took a hit to her arm to save him, knocking the guy back with surprising strength that Terao hadn't seen from her before. She stabbed the man through twice before turning to face him, and he could see the uncertainty of her actions in her eyes. He finally managed to stand up again, doing his best to not move his armor so it wouldn't move the arrow.

"Thank you." He said, before walking past her to where his house was. He figured that a Shugenja would be there soon to take out the arrow, so he made sure to be careful, laying face down on a cot near the front. It wasn't too long before a Shugenja did come in, using some of her magic to remove the arrow and heal the wound a little. It was then bandaged, giving it some strength to heal better.
 
Agasha Yune knew he was reading the uncertiantity of her actions in her eyes, yet thanked her for saving his life. It must have been hard, she could only imagine how hard, to say those words to her. Why? Because it would be the same if she ever had to say them to him. They were honorable samurai, despite their intense rivalry. She simply nodded her head as he walked past her to return to his home. Likely, to get the arrow removed and his wound treated. It was then she remembered her own wound. The adrenaline had eased and suddenly, she could feel the pain and weariness she had managed to push off.

Silently, she, too, returned to her home which in truth did not lay far from her rival's. Her family was bustling, fixing things, righting things. Like a ghost, a dream, she simply went around them and disappeared to her own room inside of the dwelling. Took her blades and armor from her person. Then, went about treating and bandaging her arm.
 
Terao let the shugenja check out his range of the shoulder. It was relatively fine, just sore from the stab. He'll heal. She left, leaving Terao alone in his dwelling. He laid there for a while, before finally sitting up. He moved to another room, picking up his armor from the floor. It would have to be repaired, and he preferred to do it on his own. He worked for a short time before checking it out. Seeing that it was fine, he put it down near his other equipment, taking the bow from the other room, and leaving his house with only his kimono and daisho.

He slowly walked around, taking in assessment of the damage, and some fresh air. But soon enough, he made it to Yune's dwelling and slowly walked in, looking for her. It wasn't too long until he did find her. "You saved my life." He said softly.
 
Yune sat in her dwelling, on the floor, for awhile after she took care of her wounded arm. Thinking back on the raid. Of the raider coming at Terao, bringing his blade to...kill him. If she hadn't put herself between the two, she most likely would've been freed from his shadow. With a soft sigh, she righted her Kimono over her shoulder, though the bandage could be seen since the sleeve of her kimono had been torn as well.

By the time Terao came into her dwelling, she was still sitting there. Except she had released her hair from the braids now that she no longer needed the raven lockes out of her face. The raven curls spilled across her shoulders and down to her mid-back. She had heard his steps, but didn't turn her head to look up at him until her spoke. "It would seem I did," she responded softly, still just sitting on her knees, back resting the wall.
 
He watched her, waiting for her to do something before those bitter sounding words. When there wasn't any, his eyes narrowed. "Are you just going to sit there?" He said, in a equally bitter tone. "Or are you going to stand up so we can settle this? I think this is the perfect time." He stretched slightly before his hands rested on the hilts of his two blades, ready to draw them.

"Come on, I don't have all day to wait for you." His eyes were narrowed slightly, waiting. He figured that she would jump on the opportunity. To finish the duel once and for all. And both were injured, so the victor would be the one who could take the pain the most.
 
His tone was bitter. She could hear the acid in his words. Did he truly hate her so? Did he really want to end it this way? Whatever it was that he wanted, Agasha Yune wasn't one to disappoint. Her arm still hurt and it was a tad weak, but she wasn't about to let on that it was causing her some discomfort. Perhaps, she would regret saving his life after all. She slowly stood from her spot and reached down to pick up her daisho.

No longer were they covered with blood, and she simply held them in her hands for a moment before she gave a faint nod. When she spoke, her words were cool, almost distached from the whole situation. "Shall we finish it here, or take it outside?" she asked.
 
He watched her finally stand. Maybe he did it a little thick on the bitterness of his voice, but nothing he could remedy now. He slowly drew his blades as she got a handle on hers, the two of them taking up positions. "In here." He said softly. "Plenty of room, nobody will bother us. It's just you, and me." He slowly fell into a defensive stance, waiting for her.

HE was already analyzing everything, and he knew he would have to rely on his wakizashi more now, since any big shock through his right arm would undoubtfully hurt like hell. He stayed defensive, no need to open a hole in his defense for her to exploit.
 
She cocked her head and simply watched him for a moment, onyx eyes staring back into his blue hues as he stared her down. Waited for her to make a move. Somehow, the lust she normally felt to take Terao to task had diminshed some. It didn't excite her, like it had before the raid. Why in the hell had she saved him? Tch. Emotions were a weakness. A weakness she couldn't afford if she really wanted to become the best. Her eyes narrowed a slight and it began to seem like they spent an enternity staring each other down before, finally, she moved.

She dropped her shoulder and dashed forward, bringing blade against blade, pushing against his hold. Bringing up a knee to aim a hit into his side. However, her moves, her movement, seemed a little off at first, as if her heart weren't in it. As if she was just doing it to appease the bitterness she'd heard in his voice. If he wanted to finish this at last, who was she to deny him.
 
Terao would have noticed that her blows were half hearted... if it wasn't for the fact that he had to block two blades with his left-handed wakizashi, which was a difficult task to do on its own. She was attacking fast either way, and blocking with the shorter blade was tolling with his left arm. He was unable to stop the knee hitting him in the side, and it was enough to knock him down, having been worn from the wound and the blocks.

"Well, are you going to end this?" He asked, in a rather low voice. His head hung down, waiting for that blow to come. It would come, he knew it... any moment now, she would be dropping that blade on him. Any moment now...
 
At last there it was before her. The sight she had longed for all time. So why did it not please her? Why wasn't she more excited? Why...wasn't she bringing the blade down on him like she should be? Her hands fell to her sides and they gripped her swords almost unbelievably tight. After a moment, she tossed her blades to the ground, a loud noise echoing through out the room. With a sigh, she turned away from him and looked down at her feet.

"No." She said the one word softly. So softly. Her fists remained clenched at her sides, silence prominant in the room for a good minutes, though it must have felt like an eternity later when she spoke again. "I have no desire for more blood, more death, not...right now."
 
He listened to the clang of the blades hitting the ground, picked his head up and looked at her. He heard her say no, saying she didn't want more blood right now... He stood slowly, and then he did something for the first time since he had received them: He undid the belt that held his daisho to his waist, sheathing the blades first before letting them fall to the ground. He moved closer to her, his chest almost pressed to her back.

"Fighting is our way of life." He said softly. "But you are right. We need our time of peace between fights and wars. It is something that all Samurai should learn." His left hand came up, gently resting on her left shoulder.
 
It was a surprise to her when she heard the drop of his own belt and blades. Their rivalry had seemed so intense before now. Had seemed like the most important thing to her in the entire span of her life thus far. And now, he was standing just behind her with his hand gently resting on her shoulder. Never would she thought they, who had seemed to hate each other so intensely, could have a moment of peace together. The act of her saving his life had, at least for the moment, sent ripples through their hate. If...it had truly been hate. More accurately, she was most likely just jealous. Frustrated, that she could never best him.

Yune was silent for a long moment, judging the situation almost like she would their duels. After a long moment, she turned a slight so that she could turn her onyx eyes up to his face. "Do you hate me?" she asked.
 
It was like they were frozen in time, standing in the middle of the nearly empty room, his eyes on the back of her head. They had been rivals for a year now, aiming to have a clean choice at who was the better. And now their weapons were dropped, and they were the closest they ever got to each other. His mind was rather calm, empty, as he waited for the first move.

He saw her head turn, heard her question. "No, I don't hate you." He said softly. "You are a interesting opponent. No less." He was waiting for some ploy, something at least interesting to happen.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom