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[BerkaZerka]

Mythic Nippon: The Demon God of Sendai



Story Three---

Prolog___
It had been just over a month and a half since the return of the Heroes of Sendai from their mission to Hirosaki and the fall of the traitorous Magistrate Ho Kasamatsu.

During this time much had transpired –

Jie Hu Okamura, the Halfblood Samurai, had been found, jailed, and then subsequently chosen to serve Noburu Saito and the Samurai of Sendai as a Yoriki-So (or Junior Yoriki), under Yoriki Keitaro Hokusai's watchful eye, until he could prove himself worthy of the honor of full Yoriki-ship.

The position had become available, with the departure of the unusual Priest Kirito Kirigaya, who had been called back to the Temple of Five Gods for unknown reasons.

The Samurai of Sendai meanwhile, traveled to Edo to compete in the famed Dragon Boat Races and had actually managed to finish the race in a very respectable 8th Place – also winning 3rd Place for the ‘most impressive ship’ – and winning a Siberian White Tiger for their troubles (or at least that is what everyone who saw Udo’s peroxide-bleached tiger thought when they first laid eyes on it).

As for the City of Hirosaki and the fate of Magistrate Ho Kasamatsu – The Daimyo Shinsen Hasekura had secured permission from Edo to marshal force against the Hirosaki; and the Armies of Sendai and Morioka marched forth.

Interestingly enough, a war never occurred. It was upon the Army’s arrival outside Hirosaki, two weeks after leaving Sendai, that the city was discovered to have been completely sacked and burned to the ground. A great siege had occurred against Hirosaki, but sometime well before the Daimyo’s forces had even arrived.

Signs indicated that a large Ebisu invasion force had wiped out everything before them and then retreated back across the sea to their home on Hokkaido. Apparently, the Ebisu King had not kept his end of the bargain when left by the Samurai of Sendai – though to be fair, the Samurai never really had any way to ensure that he did. He had gotten vengeance upon Magistrate Kasamatsu for kidnapping his daughter the Princess.

And so war was averted before it had really begun – thanks to the Samurai of Sendai (and a fat Ebisu King bent on making a real bastard pay).

Then, with Hirosaki empty, the Armies of Sendai and Morioka stayed on to begin rebuilding and a new Magistrate of Hirosaki was called – Rai Higoshi, the nephew of the Daimyo and an ambitious social climber. Though a man of renowned political savvy, one quietly wonders if the Daimyo presented him with the position just to get rid of him – perhaps feeling that the new young and up-comer was a threat to his own position.

[BerkaZerka]

15th Day of Mid Summer, 1297 (Patriot's Day)
The Daimyo’s Grand Tournament

Today the Samurai of Sendai and the little fox girl Kioko, found themselves attending the biggest event that the Mutsu Province had to offer – The Daimyo’s Grand Patriot’s Day Tournament of Fighting Schools.

Held once a year as part of the Patriot’s Day celebrations, all of the martial schools and potential champions in the region, gather together for a truly momentous tournament – comprised of three tremendous events (Archery, Unarmed, and Swordsmanship).

In addition to being one of the only times of the year where the Daimyo actually makes a public appearance, it is the chance for the best-of-the-best to compete with each other, prove their courage in conflict, and to bring honor to themselves and their schools. The highlight of the proceedings being the awarding of the Grand Championship prizes to the winners, personally handed to each, by the Daimyo himself.

Even before the events had actually started, it had been a long day for the Samurai of Sendai – they having spent the entire morning seeing to the security and assigning their Doshin to various watches around the area where the events would take place. That and the fact that every Magistrate in Sendai was already there, including Noburu Saito himself, Rai Higoshi of Hirosaki, and Mikio Amori of Aomori to overlook and scrutinize every detail in preparation for the Daimyo’s appearance later in the day.

Already, it was late in the afternoon and things had been progressing smoothly.

The Archery Competition had been first, with its four events (Rapid Shooting, Long Range Shooting, Mounted Shooting, and Trick Shots) being held outdoors, on the fields of Sendai’s Zen Archery School.

Yuki’s Mother, Headmistress Akiko Shirahata, was last year’s reigning champion and competed again this year, to ‘at least make it challenging for her daughter Yuki’, she had said with a wink.

As it turned out, Headmistress Akiko, pretty much schooled everyone again this year – but was actually prevented a complete shut-out by Miya (who somehow managed to win the Mounted Shooting event). The final outcome was Yuki in Third Place, Miya in Second Place, and Headmistress Akiko in First.

“Moma Shirahata really shoots good!” little Kioko marveled after watching the events.

Then afterward, everyone headed over to the Grand Tournament Hall in the Military District to watch the next events.

“Hey! How come Moma Shirahata didn’t get her trophy?” Kioko asked in alarm.

“Don’t worry Kioko,” Yuki’s mother Akiko replied, “The Daimyo will personally hand out all the Championship prizes at the end of the day in the Grand Tournament Hall.”

“Oh yeah,” Kioko agreed, as if she had known that all along.

Once inside the Grand Tournament Hall, the Unarmed Competition then took place.

The surprise of the day was how well the Half-Blood Samurai, Jei Hu, had done (being best known as a swordsman and all). He fought up through the ranks without much effort, and easily bested Udo to secure Third Place. Unfortunately, his luck ended there, when Roka KO’d him with a single lightning fast kick to the face.

Roka then went on to fight last year’s reigning Champion – the huge Sumo Benjiro Abukara – a former Top-Student of Master Kaito Nakamura’s School of Martial Combat.

Roka entered the ring, flexing to his adoring fans, his muscles doubling in size and awesomeness (when he activated Heavy Hitter). He then bowed to his opponent – some large nameless sumo dude as far as he knew. He was pretty large, after all.

‘This is gonna suck...’ Roka thought to himself, though he showed nothing but confidence on the outside. ‘The sumo dude is gonna be a tough one to handle. Hopefully the sumo dude will fail regarding his grapple moves.’

Then the gong sounded and the Sumo got the jump on Roka – but Roka surged to slip into his attacks first – Criting with a brutal punch to the Sumo's face for 18 Damage (with Heavy Hitter) and breaking the Sumo's nose - KO'ing him!

Making sure to double-tap, Roka then landed another solid blow, fueled by Grievous Injury Technique – to bypass Vitality and go straight to Wounds for 14 more Damage!

The force of the blow blasted the huge Sumo Wrestle right out of the ring and onto his back in a cloud of dust – causing the arena to fall silent in baited breath...

“HNNNG! Damn, Sumos weigh a lot...” Roka grunted thought he amazing move.

Then, the Sumo shook off the KO, convinced himself that he wasn’t really hurt that bad, activated Heavy Hitter himself, and rushed across the ring at Roka like a charging bull!

He then threw a Combo Power Sumo Slam on Roka – literally picking up and bum-rushing Roka fifty feet backwards, before plowing him headfirst into the ground – with Sumo Guy still on top and now trapping Roka in a Hold afterwards!

Roka took an amazing 56 Damage and was utterly crushed! But focused Ki Energy into his Brass Body Technique at just the right time allowed him to avoid being instantly Disabled! He then surged to shrug off the KO!

Seeing that Roka was still alive, the huge Sumo guy grinned widely and gave what could only be described as a 'hearty grunt' of approval...

Roka coughed, having been almost crushed by the Sumo.

“Agh, you got a damn good attack...” He muttered, readying his fists while the sumo was on him.

He then went into action, throwing a nice one-two punch into the Sumo's rippling fat rolls, doing a devastating 24 Damage Crit on the first. Unfortunately for the Sumo, with only one luck point left, he was only able to counter the Crit, and still took enough damage to be wounded.

Roka didn’t even have to throw the second blow. The Sumo shook off the KO and then stood up holding his chest and spitting out blood – yet he still smiled broadly and bowed to Roka – the Winner of this year's Unarmed Grand Championship!

The crowd went wild for Roka (their hero) and the final outcome was officially posted as Jei Hu in Third Place, Sumo Benjiro Abukara in Second Place, and Roka in First Place.

Roka was able to bask in the glory of his win for a short time, before the Swordsmanship Competition started and he was quickly forgotten (except by his loving Minions of course).

Though unarmed fighting was respected and held in high regard of itself, it was considered secondary in importance to skill with the sword – and it was the Swordsmanship Competition that the people remembered and talked about for the weeks and months that followed each tournament.

As it went, the competitors all showed great skill and promise, putting on a good show for the crowd, but as it goes, only one can be champion and after a while, the bouts narrowed the potentials down to the final two competitors – Jei Hu, who had just beaten Kaitaro, leaving his Superior Yorik with Third Place – and General Kaori Meji, General of Sendai’s Army, and last year’s Grand Champion.

One of the two would be honored as a hero tonight, the other would be forgotten like all the rest, but right now, both held out for that glory; it was in their reach and they would take it – it promised to be a good match…

As this was going on, Keitaro’s Doshin Miko, had been arrested by Jei Hu’s Doshin and taken out of the Tournament Hall for some reason.

Not that Keitaro could do anything about it at the time, as it occurred right at the start of his match with Jei Hu, but Rai had intervened and taken custody of Miko to lead her away (having just left with her moments ago) …

[BerkaZerka]

During all this time, watching the events, Yuki had a chance to scan the crowd with her All Encompassing Sorcerer’s Sight (a little thing she created by combining Spirit Sight and Read Aura) in order to get a read on all the Nobles that were hard to ever get a glimpse of. Nothing out of the ordinary could be seen until her gaze passed over the Magistrates and High Nobles, all sitting together on a slightly raised wooden stand to either side of an empty more ornate section.

While the Magistrate and company were unsurprising for themselves, Yuki could see – standing in the air directly above the Magistrate’s section was a large air elemental – already manifested yet invisible to everyone else, because it was not currently moving.

As Yuki was taking note of this and beginning to wonder how it could be there in a magically warded area, three more air elementals entered the hall – though these ones were unmanifested and simply rose up through the floor, taking positions high above the crowd.

Then suddenly, a hush fell over the arena, and all eyes turned to a double set of great black iron doors that led into the hall from the far side. With a loud creak, two large Samurai dressed in highly lacquered ornate black lamellar armor with matching katana and wakisashi opened them.

These two stood aside once the doors were parted, and in walked the Daimyo Shinsen Hasekura with Exalted Patriarch Yukio Onishi on one side, Grand Premier Kenji Nogachi on the other, and his personal contingent of sixteen Samurai Honor Guards following close behind. At once, everyone knelt in a show of respect and awe, as the Daimyo and his group walked across the area and took seats on the ornate section of the stands with the Magistrates and other nobles. At a nod of the Daimyo’s head, everyone then stood back up and the silence was broken, as the tournament once again geared up to get back under way.

The Daimyo appeared to be in good health, in his late fifties perhaps, and was wearing gold and black-colored divine armor, adorned with the Sendai Ancestral Blade and a matched set of Katana and wakisashi in gold leaf and green jade scabbards. Each of his sixteen honor guards were armed as the two large Samurai who had opened the double iron doors.

As everyone remarked one to another at what an honor it was to be part of such a rare public appearance of the Daimyo, Yuki tried to get a read on the Daimyo and his coterie, and noted that something was blocking her sight on the Daimyo – and this in a magically warded area!

Were the Daimyo should be, there was instead a complete void – a lack of anything at all, which her Sorcerer’s Sight could not penetrate. Was it some kind of enchanted item shielding the Daimyo from prying eyes?

Looking at the rest, Yuki noted that both the Exalted Patriarch and Grand Premier with the Daimyo had Spirit Sight up and were also scanning the crowd. Even the Chief Magistrate Noburu Saito had a small Lopan out and was looking around warily – most likely reading Aruas of anyone that might threaten the Daimyo. All of them seemed unconcerned about the air elementals however, and were most likely the ones that had control over them.

The two large Samurai who had opened the iron doors, began to close them again – when someone on the other side abruptly stopped them. They bowed to whoever it was with some apparent degree of embarrassment and self-abasement, before that person walked in, which was odd in itself – as only the Daimyo, his personal contingent, and the Magistrates were allowed to use that particular door.

Those of the crowd who noticed fell silent, as an ancient-looking, blind-eyed and bald headed old man slowly walked into the area with four serious-looking (but young and stunningly beautiful) Samuari-ko in yellow and white-trimmed lamellar armor.

The appearance of the old man caused a sudden stir among the Magistrates and High Nobles, who began to murmur nervously amongst themselves, as the mysterious stranger approached the Daimyo. The fact that they were doing nothing to stop the old man and that the Daimyo waited patiently for his approach, was enough to let everyone know not to interfere (at least for the moment).

Who was this old man, that he was afforded such surpassing grace from even the Daimyo himself?

When the old man had finally reached the Daimyo’s stand, he and the four Samurai-ko knelt before him. Upon being bidden to rise, they faced the Magistrates and the four Samurai-ko again knelt, but the old man simply bowed, and the Magistrates bowed back.

With the protocol satisfied, the old man and his Samurai-ko climbed into the stand and sat down with the Magistrates and other Nobles – to the apparent (and rather quickly hidden) displeasure of both the Daimyo’s Exalted Patriarch and Grand Premier…

As Yuki observed, she could see why the High Priest and Master Wu-Jen of Sendai might have been a little put off. While the old man appeared normal in every respect, aside from himself being a tremendously powerful Wu-Jen, the four Samurai-ko that were with him were not even human – but rather evil spirits known as Shuten-Doji – or vampires! Full of essence not their own…

Then Yuki noticed something truly shocking! The old Wu-Jen had a very faint spiritual line of attunement emanating from him – much like her own and those of a few of her fellow Samurai!

Then after another nod from the Daimyo, a gong sounded and Jei Hu and General Meji were directed to a raised ring directly in front of the Daimyo and Magistrate’s stands. A Ring Judge walked out and the three of them knelt to the Daimyo once more and set themselves to start the Final Match!

---

[OOC – Rai has just taken Miko out of the Tournament hall and has missed the arrival of the Daimyo; Jei Hu and General Meji are set to fight for Grand Champion; everyone else is in the Hall, having seen everything mentioned above.]

[Not Aman]

"Better be in the spotlight for a couple moments then be the steps tool for another's road to fame, I suppose." Roka says, shrugging sadly, until he sees the Samurai-Ko.

"Woah. Old Man got a good taste in women." Roka says quietly.

[killa_robot]

Looking around, Yuki notices Roka.

"Congratulations on the tournament Roka!"

She says excitedly.

"Pst, guess what."

She continues in a whisper, going closer to Roka.

"Those samurai-ko are actually vampires! I wonder just how much our Daiymo trusts that Wu-Jen to allow him to bring vampires that close to him..."

[Aeon_spiral]

Formalities satisfied Keita quickly rushes out of the stadium to find Rai and Miko to get to the bottom of this disturbing chain of events.

[Continued in The Jail house ... Thread]

[Not Aman]

"Ha ha, thanks Yuki.... Wait what? Are you sure?.... I really don't want to get infatuated with another demon..." Roka says sadly.

[killa_robot]

Yuki makes a pouting face.

"Of course I'm sure. Ask one of them yourself if you doubt me!"

[Not Aman]

Roka grimaces, and takes one look at the vampire samurai.

"I'll... I'll take your word for it, ha ha." Roka says, shaking his head. "Too bad you or Miya didn't win in the archery contest. Your mom's a good shot, ha ha."

[killa_robot]

"Well of course she is, she's taught Miya and I everything we know!"

Yuki replies boastfully. She then gets quiet.

"But I sure did terrible, ugh...."

[Not Aman]

"Don't worry, ha ha. You did better then poor Udo. I'm gonna have to do something about him at some point in time..." Roka says, shaking his head.

[BerkaZerka]

In the Main Ring meanwhile, the General and Jei Hu meet for their match.

Jie Hu looks at the General, and before doing anything else bows very deeply. So deeply he almost looses balance at first. And smiles, a genuine smile. He wasn't expecting to go this far in the tournament, and he sure didn't expect to be facing the General either. When he stood back up as normal, he looked the General straight into his eyes.

"My name is Jie Hu Okamura, the Half-Blood Samurai." He said, with the hint of a smile.

Jie Hue readies his blade, prepared to combat the greatest swordsman he'd ever have the honor of facing (or so he thinks). All the dangers, all the fights, all the masters he had bested... it all boiled down to this one moment, between him and the general of the greatest armies of earth.

Jie Hue raises his blade - and readied to strike.

"Well met," the General replied and bowed back to Jei Hu. He then drew a deep breath, activated Amazing Celerity and took up the Vengeful Counter Stance with his double katana pair.

Jei Hu knew that this was not going to be easy.

When the gong sounds, General Meji is off with alarming speed, causing Jei Hu to surge in order to go first.

Throwing a double Multi Attack at the General, Jei Hu swings his blades four times, ready to add Crashing Mirror to any strikes that get through the General's defenses. Unfortunately, the General expertly parries all four attacks - slicing Jei Hu twice in the process for 9 Damage and then 17 Damage! (Though Jei Hu burns his last Luck Point for half)

Seeing that it's unlikely that this is going to last very long, Jei Hu Surges for Vengeful Counter Stance and braces for the incoming onslaught!

Surprisingly, the response is not just a flurry of multi attacks like has been seen throughout the tournament so far.

Rather, the General first tries to Feint Jei Hu with a false attack and the gambit works - setting Jei Hu flat-footed against the General's next attack.

The General then dumps 7 Accuracy for +7 Damage with Power Attack and spends 2 surge for True Strike with Grievous Injury Technique. That coupled with the fact that he has Surprise Strike, takes +5 Damage for the Crit, and Jei Hu fails to Crit his Parry Roll, brings a superbly precise stroke - ending on the half-blood Samurai's bare neck for 36 Damage!

The General however, pulls all but 10 points, Wounding Jei Hu for just 1 Wound Point of Damage and winning the match without spending his last Action for the Round (or taking off his opponent's head).

Following the match, General Meji bows to Jei Hu, the Ring Judge, and then to the Daimyo and Magistrates stand.

Walking off the ring, he adds to Jei Hu - "You have incredible skill. Now you begin to hone it with discipline."

[Fireplay]

"Well of course she is, she's taught Miya and I everything we know!"

Yuki replies boastfully. She then gets quiet.

"But I sure did terrible, ugh...."

Miya raises an eyebrow at Yuki's comment.

"Actually... Oh nevermind." She smiles to her friend. "You did wonderfully Yuki, 3rd place is not something to be ashamed of."

[Not Aman]

As the fight ends, Roka raises his hands in victory.

"Ha ha! That was a great fight, and even better, I made more money then a peasant would in his whole lifetime." Roka says, smiling.

[killa_robot]

Miya raises an eyebrow at Yuki's comment.

"Actually... Oh nevermind." She smiles to her friend. "You did wonderfully Yuki, 3rd place is not something to be ashamed of."

"I suppose. You did great though Miya! You actually beat my mom at the mounted challenge!"

Yuki exclaims.

[Fireplay]

"I'm still not quite sure how I managed that last shot during the mounted contest." Miya grins with a mschievous smile.

[Daedalus]

Jie Hu, completely awestruck by awesome swordmanship the general displayed, stood there a few moments before reacting. He then turned to him after hearing his praise, He bowed to him saying "Thank you for the lesson." He then bows to everyone else in the order they stature demands.

He then proceeded to find Roka. He wanted to talk to man that managed to down him in 1 kick. (after getting healed up.)

[Not Aman]

OOC; I'll assume finding Roka is easy enough, ha ha.

"Ah, the new Yoriki-So." Roka says, surprised seeing the half blood. "What do you need?"

[cool74]

As Rai returns to the turnoment he finds his team mate Roka and says, "Hi congrats on your win in unarmed. Who won the swordsmen competition?"

[Tanstaafl]

Udo Kuwabara glumly strokes Bleach the tiger, "It's alright, Bleach, maybe next year..." He stares at his Tiger, whom he has been able to communicate with quite well. Even more-so than Yoshi,
"That was an exciting tournament though, the Chinese man knows how to fight, if nothing else, and Roka beat up the Sumo rather masterfully. The archery contest was rather neat as well. And I got to head butt Keitaro, albeit in a swords-contest! but it was fun while it lasted"

He nods, but now what? Might as well wish congrats to Roka... And like everyone damn person in the team, he goes to find Roka. "Congrats for winning, Roka" he says, smiling meekly.

[Not Aman]

"Ha ha, thanks guys. As for who won, well, I doubt the winner would come and hang out with us, so that would be General Meiji. Good fight by the Yoriki-So though." Roka replies, laughing.

"Also, Rai, what's going on with MiKo? Or whatever her name was?"

[cool74]

Rai responses, "Miko is accused of stealing from a noble house. Honestly I don't believe it especially because Keitaro said that Jie used it as a distraction from there fight."

[Not Aman]

"... Looks like Keitaro is going to be a sour loser. Unfortunate." Roka says, shaking his head. "I don't know miKo at all, honestly, so I can't say anything, but I'd hope we'd wait until judgement day before we start deciding our thoughts on the matter."

"Whatever, not my buisness. Aiko, mind getting me something to drink?" He then asks, turning to one of his adoring minions.

"Of course." She replies and goes away.

[Daedalus]

Rai responses, "Miko is accused of stealing from a noble house. Honestly I don't believe it especially because Keitaro said that Jie used it as a distraction from there fight."

Jh just gives Rai an annoyed look "First off all, i dont know you well enough to let you use my first name. Secondly, it's Jie Hu. You might want to obtain that information beforehand, to not risk looking like a fool. And thirdly why would i do that? don't you think i have enough problems as it is with me being a... halfblood."

JH, quite offended doesn't wait for Rai to reply before turning to Roka.

"Takemura-Senpai, Glad to have met you in the ring. I came here to congratulate you on winning the unarmed event. That was one giant of a man that you took down, thats no small feat." He smiled towards him.

[Aeon_spiral]

Keitaro enters the Arena (or the part of it where his companions would be) And looks around for Roka. Upon seeing a gaggle of woefully woo'd women he knows Roka is nearby. "Roka! Roka where are you?" He pushes through the crowd until he sees him. "Roka may we have a word somewhere more... private?"

[Not Aman]

Roka looks at Keitaro, concerned.

"I'd love to talk Keitaro, I'm certain you could use someone to talk to, but I can't be late for the award ceremony. Maybe later?"

[Aeon_spiral]

Roka looks at Keitaro, concerned.

"I'd love to talk Keitaro, I'm certain you could use someone to talk to, but I can't be late for the award ceremony. Maybe later?"

"Right, congrats friend! I'm sorry i forgot to say that didn't I?" Keitaro sighs, "Yeah meet you before dinner? Anywhere in particular?"

[Not Aman]

"Just come to my home before the party.... Which I was supposed to mention after the ceremony. We should be able to talk for a bit then." Roka replies.

[Aeon_spiral]

"Just come to my home before the party.... Which I was supposed to mention after the ceremony. We should be able to talk for a bit then." Roka replies.

"Oh a party!? Perfect. yes I will meet you there. Congrats again!" Keitaro bows politely and walks off on his own for a bit. Thinking to himself about what he is going to do about Miko...

[Tanstaafl]

"Ah yes, Roka" Udo proclaims, remembering, "Here's your sword pair you lent to me" He holds them in front of him, to be given back to Roka.

[BerkaZerka]

Another gong sounded – and the First Place Champions of the three Tournament Events were all called forward.

The Magistrates and High Nobles looked thoughtfully at the three Champions and chatted amongst themselves about the matches, discussing some of the highlights they had seen and the moves that had impressed them the most. The Daimyo also looked interested in what he had seen, but spoke to no-one, while his Samurai Honor Guard, the Exalted Patriarch, and Grand Premier of Sendai kept a watch on things. The old man and his Samurai-ko also sat silently, observing the proceeding with a strange dignity.

“Akiko Shirahata, Roka Takemura, General Kaori Meji” the Chief Judge called aloud, motioning for the winners to take the stand before the Daimyo.

A hush fell over the crowd, and after the three had knelt to their Lord and the Magistrates, the Chief Judge spoke once again – “My Great Lord, it is my honor to present to you: the Grand Champions of this year’s Grand Tournament of Fighting Schools, held in your most bountiful honor – “

“Akiko Shirahata, Grand Champion of the Archery Competition!”

“Roka Takemura Grand Champion of the Unarmed Competition!”

“And General Kaori Meji, Grand Champion of the Swordsmanship Competition!”

The Daimyo regarded the three champions standing before him a moment and then spoke – “Ah, it is good to see you standing here once again Headmistress Shirahata, and you as well General Meji.” Then addressing Roko, he went on – “And you, young Takemura, you have brought much honor to your family here today. I will be keeping my eye on you and, if you continue in this path of excellence, I have no doubt that you shall one day serve among the finest Samurai of Sendai.”

Then turning to the Chief Magistrate, the Daimyo added, “Chief Magistrate Saito, your Yoriki have all shown themselves remarkably well today. Clearly you are cultivating well-honed swords and even sharper minds. In this you honor Sendai.”

“Thank you my Lord Hasekura,” the Chief Magistrate replied with a low bow.

Then the Tournament Directors brought forth the prizes to be awarded to the winners and the Daimyo stepped forward to hand each one from a Tournament Director to the recipient – which was a tremendous honor to be sure.

To Yuki’s mother Akiko, the Daimyo first handed a small coffer of gold ingots and then an ornate masterwork gold and ivory greatbow.

To Roka, the Daimyo also handed a small coffer of gold ingots and then a masterwork silver and jade accented breastplate.

Then to General Meji, the Daimyo handed another small coffer of gold ingots and then a masterwork silver edged katana and wakisashi sword pair.

At that, the three before the Daimyo knelt again humbly, and offered a collective “We thank you Great Lord,” before backing away the appropriate distance and turning to go off to one side of the area.

The Daimyo contingent then stood and once again everyone knelt, as the Daimyo and those with him moved to exit back through the great double iron doors they had originally come in through – only this time, the Daimyo motioned for the old man to accompany him.

Leaving his four Samurai-ko in the company of Magistrates – which appeared to be exactly what none of them wanted, judging by their shocked (yet quickly hidden) looks concerning the matter – the old man stood and walked with the group alongside the Exalted Patriarch and Grand Premier, who had since reigned in their emotions and seemed completely at ease with his presence now.

Yuki, watching the proceedings, noted the three unmanifested air elementals go out with the Daimyo, while the manifested one continued to hover unseen over the Grand Tournament Hall.

Once the Daimyo and his party had gone, everyone turned and knelt to the Magistrates before starting to filter out excitedly – going over the day’s events and ready to hit the local taverns and geisha houses en mass – yes, today would certainly be a good day for all the local businesses!

As the area slowly cleared out, Chief Magistrate Noburu Saito came forward with his younger brother – Chief Scribe Juro Saito.

After the appropriate protocol, Chief Magistrate Saito spoke – “You and your Doshin have done a fine job here today, seeing that things have gone smoothly and no harm has come to our Beloved Daimyo.”

“You honor me with your service and I want you to know that the Daimyo and Sendai value it as well. As token of this appreciation, you will all take this evening off and join me at my home for dinner and entertainment.”

[BerkaZerka]

Rai meanwhile, suddenly felt ill. For some reason his head was spinning and he felt like he needed to lie down.

Something in seeing the Daimyo for the first time triggered something in him and whatever it was flooded his mind so deeply as to be completely unintelligible at the moment…

[BerkaZerka]

Yuki's Mother waited for the Chief Magistrate to finish speaking and then slipped in behind her daughter Yuki. Little Kioko was with her and grinned from ear-to-ear.

"Guess what?" Kioko said to Yuki excitedly - "we have a present for you!"

"Yes," Yuki's Mother confirmed, "I want you to have this," she said, handing her masterwork greatbow to Yuki.

"I have one already, from last year, and it would be a shame to hang this one on a wall, when you could bring it the honor and renown it deserves by actually using it in your defense of Sendai."

[BerkaZerka]

Then the four beautiful Samurai-ko move over from the stands, to smile and wink at Roka as he talks to the Chief Magistrate.

Roka can't help but notice how incredibly sensual-looking they all appear ...

[Daedalus]

Jie Hu just stood there a little dumbstruck. dinner... at his place? Oh maaaan, im so going to jail again... Oh well... i hope those samurai-ko will be there, atleast then it would be interesting.

[cool74]

Rai as the daymio leaves starts to fall to his knees as he becomes nauseated. He is breathing harshly almost as if he has suddenly gotten ill. The room spins around him as he comes closer to passing out. 

[killa_robot]

Yuki's Mother waited for the Chief Magistrate to finish speaking and then slipped in behind her daughter Yuki. Little Kioko was with her and grinned from ear-to-ear.

"Guess what?" Kioko said to Yuki excitedly - "we have a present for you!"

"Yes," Yuki's Mother confirmed, "I want you to have this," she said, handing her masterwork greatbow to Yuki.

"I have one already, from last year, and it would be a shame to hang this one on a wall, when you could bring it the honor and renown it deserves by actually using it in your defense of Sendai."

"Really!?"

Yuki asks excitedly, giving Kioko a hug as she does. 

"Thank you mom!"

She says, giving her mother a short bow.

"I'll make sure it gets put to good use, and bring honour to our family."

She says proudly.

[Aeon_spiral]

Rai as the daymio leaves starts to fall to his knees as he becomes nauseated. He is breathing harshly almost as if he has suddenly gotten ill. The room spins around him as he comes closer to passing out. 

Keitaro rushes to his side and catches him as they were fairly close to each other standing watching the ceremonies. "Hey, you okay Rai? Let's get you indoors somewhere and out of the heat." Keitaro calls over a healer from the arena (the ones who healed after matches) and asks for him to see to Rai, of course he stays with him.

[Not Aman]

Then the four beautiful Samurai-ko move over from the stands, to smile and wink at Roka as he talks to the Chief Magistrate.

Roka can't help but notice how incredibly sensual-looking they all appear ...

Roka smiles back, until remembering Yuki's statement about them being vampires, and turns away from the vamps.

"My lord, thank you for the invitation." Roka says to the magistrate, bowing.

[cool74]

Rai tries to stand and response but the moment he puts more weight on his feet his world turns black and he falls.

[Daedalus]

"Thank you." JH adds after pondering if he should excuse himself from the party or not.

[BerkaZerka]

Keitaro rushes to his side and catches him as they were fairly close to each other standing watching the ceremonies. "Hey, you okay Rai? Let's get you indoors somewhere and out of the heat." Keitaro calls over a healer from the arena (the ones who healed after matches) and asks for him to see to Rai, of course he stays with him.

Outside, a Priest of the Temple of Five Gods responds to give Rai a look-over.

"I'm sorry," he says, "with all the competitors advancing today, you'll be hard pressed to find anyone who can heal anyone until tomorrow. You better just get him someplace he can lie down for now."

Rai tries to stand and response but the moment he puts more weight on his feet his world turns black and he falls.

"Yep. Probably should get him plenty of water too. He may just be overheated..."

[Aeon_spiral]

Outside, a Priest of the Temple of Five Gods responds to give Rai a look-over.

"I'm sorry," he says, "with all the competitors advancing today, you'll be hard pressed to find anyone who can heal anyone until tomorrow. You better just get him someplace he can lie down for now."

"Yep. Probably should get him plenty of water too. He may just be overheated..."

Not knowing what else to do, Keitaro slides Rai over his massive shoulders and carries him to his horse. He then Rides off towards the Hokusai homestead outside of the walls to make sure the workers there can keep a watch over him and hopefully he can get a good meal and some rest. he of course will return to the grand feast with the Magistrate as he has unfinished business to attend to...

[Tanstaafl]

Udo stares oddly as Rai fell to the ground. Raising his eyebrow, he shrugs as Keitaro swiftly ptakes off with him outside. He turns his attention to the Chief Magistrate, he bows, "Many thankings for the invitation, Chief Magistrate."
He stares oddly at the Samurai-Ko (the vamps, though unbeknownst to him) before looking over his group once more, specifically at Roka. One day... I'll honor my family too I'm just not sure how at this point, definitely not by fighting...

[BerkaZerka]

Chief Magistrate Saito raises an eyebrow at Rai's 'fainting spell' but just says, "I trust that will be taken care of prior to our dinner. See you all there."

He then takes his leave of the Samurai, who are now alone with themselves in the Grand Tournament Hall. Looking around, they see that only the Doshin are left there, cleaning up, and the four Samurai-ko, still undressing Roka with their eyes...

[Not Aman]

Once the magistrate leaves the group, Roka bows, and then returns his stare at the vampire chicks, internally debating his predicament. Physically they rival the succubus (maybe). However, knowing his luck, these demons are likely aiming to kill him. Decisions decisions...

"Screw it." He says simply, heading towards the vampires.

[Fireplay]

"Really!?"
Yuki asks excitedly, giving Kioko a hug as she does.  
"Thank you mom!"
She says, giving her mother a short bow.
"I'll make sure it gets put to good use, and bring honour to our family."
She says proudly.

"Screw you, I wanted a bow too." Miya pouts. <--Berka do not use that against me.  

"Hmm... What happened to Rai? Did he eat anything unhealthy?" Miya asks.

[killa_robot]

Chief Magistrate Saito raises an eyebrow at Rai's 'fainting spell' but just says, "I trust that will be taken care of prior to our dinner. See you all there."

He then takes his leave of the Samurai, who are now alone with themselves in the Grand Tournament Hall. Looking around, they see that only the Doshin are left there, cleaning up, and the four Samurai-ko, still undressing Roka with their eyes...

Curious as to why four vampires came with old "Uncle Kenjiro", Yuki decides to flat out ask them. Not wanting to get the attention of too many of the Doshin, she tries to do so quietly.

"Pst, why were you four with Uncle Kenjiro? How do you know such a great Wu-Jen mage?"

She asks. She's both curious of the vampires connections with him, as well as the mage himself, as he seems to have the same attunement they have.

[BerkaZerka]

"Hello Roka Takemura," the Samurai-ko all say together in a creepy sing-song unison...

Then one steps forward to speak and Roka notes that they are all well above the normal level of human attractiveness, yet not quite on par with the Succubus Lilitu in that regard. Maybe they are not as powerful as the sex demon after all.

"We have heard of your great exploits," the apparent leader of them says, and Roka is relieved to find that they are not nearly as creepy when only one of them speaks at a time.

Then Yuki approaches to ask them some questions.

The Samurai-ko smile and answer, "We are Master Yunikawa's Personal Guard. We go where the Servants of the Iron Circles cannot."

At this last part, the one talking looks up and points to the invisible Air Elemental still hovering near the ceiling of the Tournament Hall (which right now, only Yuki can see).

"You see, Master Yunikawa is a great Wu-Jen of tremendous power over all of Creation, yet even he cannot prevent the Elemental's one-minded ire at the site of the Corrupted Ones."

[Not Aman]

OOC: When Roka was first made, I had no idea that Lecherous was the most dangerous flaw in game. XD

"Ladies." Roka replies, and then Yuki cuts him off, before he could say another word. Looking up at the ceiling and seeing nothing, Roka shrugs, unconcerned.

"So what have you heard of me? I'm surprised my fame has reached the servants of a powerful wujen. Woah... Yuki, didn't that guy we saw before we went to herosaki mention that their master knows about what happened with Sakura?"