Jade Legacy [L5R 3eR] - Act 1: Atsumari/Gathering

[Rain Yupa]

@ Scorpion Shenanigans:

Jiro would chuckle a few more times, before settling. Hida Hogai looked awfully interested in coming over with all the laughter, but whatever it was, it must have passed and he did not make his presence known. At least, not yet.

"I suppose I did. But if his cover is a monk, wouldn't it seem suspicious if a samurai's servant would report to him for any reason? It seems dubious to me, but... well, you do seem pretty confident about it. I had assumed you were kidding at first." He would pause, then inquire further. "You mentioned the Kitsu girl was involved too. What is her role in this?"

--------------------

@ Lioness Shenanigans:

Kyumi can see that Kenichi is bothered by what had happened during the Lore competition. But not so much that it happened to him, but how it might have impacted Kyumi. That's all she gets from her roll without any raises.

There was an odd reaction in Kenichi's face upon Kyumi's question. It was entirely possible that he wanted to talk to Kyumi alone, and not having Toyoko here was definitely a boon. But it was more of a bittersweet victory, as he was about to explain.

"Oh, ah... my clanmate showed up. Koan-san won the Poetry Competition, and he was here waiting for Toyoko before I even got out here. He had bartered with the Seppun magistrate to share the banquet with her, and he left with her almost immediately after she left the room. Whether she was telling Makoto-san or myself, she did say aloud, 'Sorry Kyumi' as she rushed to Koan-san's side."

There would be an awkward pause for a few moments, before he would speak up once more. "K-kyumi-san... would you like to.... ah... damn, I'm no good at this..." he started to ask her, clearly unsure of himself.  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Jiujutsu Duel:

Zanzen would body check the Phoenix, nearly knocking him on his behind in the sparring area. Isawa Sosuke was breathing heavily, pausing to wipe the spittle from his chin. {9 damage, for a total of 27; Sosuke is Injured!}

"Huff... huff... you really... want to win this... don't you?" Sosuke had been holding his knees as he was bent over, trying to get his breath back.

"Very well... I'm just a... simple yojimbo... after all..." Using willpower to stand up straight, he would turn to Kuni Raicho and shake his head.

"Victory is yours... you determined Crane, you..." Sosuke would bow to him, and after having some difficulty standing up, would bow again to Raicho, before turning and walking away.

"The winner of the match is Kakita Zanzen!" Kuni Raicho would signal to the Crane. She smiled, as much as a miserable woman like her could smile, and there would be many claps from the observing samurai for the good match.  

[Psychofish]

"Well, well. Isn't that something..." Denbe sat forward, looking over the two combatants with great interest... and then simply smiled. Perhaps the Crane was beginning to pick this art up already; a fascinating idea.

"Your clansman is next, is he not? How do you suppose he shall fare?" he asked the Scorpion as he watched Zanzen go, and looked for the next set of competitors. If all went well, he would be facing one of them before long, though for the moment he had to not let himself get arrogant and think too far ahead of the recovering Crab he had to face next. Hogai-san was not going to make it easy, he was certain.  

[Sutiiven]

@ Jiujitsu Duel:

As Zanzen was declared victor of his match, a pair of individuals would approach the competition. One's arm was draped over the shoulders of the other, whom seemed genuinely annoyed to be required to fulfill this duty.

"You are so lucky that even in your current state you could probably demolish me in hand to hand, because I would quite happily beat you sober if I had the chance" snarked the smaller one.

It would be the two members of the mantis clan, the courtier Hisashi and his compatriot Susumu. He would approach Kuni Raicho with the stumbling bushi about his shoulder. "I don't suppose this fool hasn't missed his match, has he?" He wore a slightly exasperated look on his face, but he didn't seem like this was too uncommon - merely just horrific timing on the part of the other mantis.  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Jiujutsu Duels:

After Zanzen would be led off to clean his wounds, the final pair would match up for the first round.

"We know Ujina Denbe and Hida Hogai will compete in the second round. This will determine Kakita Zanzen's next opponent: will it be Shosuro Naizen, or Yoritomo Susumu? Step forward, and find out." she would say aloud, stepping back and allowing the two men to step forward.

Naizen would approach, still draped in his black and red robes, and he would bow to the Mantis without a word.

Susumu would swagger in, read... wait, swagger? Throwing down a hollowed gourd to the ground, rice wine would spill out of it. "Oh, don' look at me like that..." he would say, his voice slurred. "Anyone who fights with their fists while sober, they don' know what they missing! Ha!" He would adjust his bandana and pull off his vest, revealing a heavily tanned chest from all his time out at seas. Not bowing to the Shosuro, he would simply hold out his fist thumb jutted out to the side, and slowly turn it downwards.

Round 1

Naizen clearly wins initiative, darting towards the Mantis. His attempt at an equally speedy flurry of blows would find that it was rather difficult to hit their marks. Susumu attempts a powerful counter-attack, but Naizen quickly ducks and evades it.

Naizen would attempt to maneuver around, jabbing in to try to discover a weak spot in Susumu's drunken stance, but found nothing - yet. "STOP fightin like a lil girl! We're MEN, you and I and you!" Susumu would call out, hauling back and kicking Naizen square in the chest! {9 damage, Naizen is Grazed!}

Stumbling back, Naizen would rush forward almost immediately, hoping to catch the Mantis off balance! His own fist would whisk by, Susumu preternaturally avoiding it. "Too SLOPPY, man!" Calling two raises for damage, Susumu would slam his fist into the side of Naizen's skull, following through and driving his opponent's head into the ground! {22 damage, for a total of 31; Naizen is Out!}  

[Sutiiven]

@ Jiujitsu Duel:

Hisashi would run out to the center of the ring to stabilize Susumu as soon as Naizen dropped.

"Now now, Su-chan, no killing the other children. It's not polite" the courtier would chide using the diminutive suffix to refer to the drunken sailor he was propping up.

He would glance over to Raicho. "You'll have to forgive my brethren; he's an idiot. But I do believe that makes the round his?"  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Jiujutsu Duel, Continued:

Susumu would give a dirty look to Hisashi, and grab the Courtier by the front of his kimono. "Why I outta... if I weren' kicking this guys a**, I TOTALLY would kick yours right now, ya stupid b*****d." Susumu would scowl at Hisashi, before laughing and pushing him away. "I ain' so far gone that I need a crutch. Let me be, and stop fretting like a woman, Hisashi."

Kuni Raicho would ignore Hisashi's question, more keen on tending to the falling Scorpion than answering something so completely obvious.

Naizen would eventually be slapped awake by Kuni Raicho, kneeling by his side. "Come on. Even the Phoenix and Crane did better than that, and they are just as trained as you are. You're required to fight one more time, so don't embarrass yourself this time." she would explain to the Scorpion.

Naizen would sit up, holding his head, with obvious telltale signs of a headache, despite only being able to see his eyes. "..." He would look not to Raicho, but rather, to Susumu, who was doing squats to keep his blood pumping. Naizen would nod, and eventually get to his feet.

"'Bout time. My buzz issa gonna wear off if ya nap lassed any longer!" Susumu would bounce on his feet, ready to commence the beatdown.

"Are you ready, Naizen-san?" Raicho would ask, ALMOST concerned.

The Shosuro would shake his head no, but immediately respond, "The choice is not mine."

Kuni Raicho would nod, and step back. "Then samurai, honorable or otherwise... Fight!"

Round 2

"Wait... what?" Susumu would ask as Naizen once more attempted to get the drop on him, though the failed punch into Susumu's washboard abs would hurt Naizen more than anyone. Susumu would attempt to feint in return, and almost succeeded, but the Scorpion wasn't quite so easily fooled.

Naizen continues to suck for his d10 rolls, blows far too clumsy to threaten even the most untrained samurai. Rather than fancy tricks, Susumu would simply raise once for damage. An uppercut would almost lay Naizen out, dishing out 8 damage {Total: 15; Naizen is Hurt!}

The blow severely hampers Naizen, as he continues to fail to break a 10 with his rolls (seriously, not a single roll has been over 10 yet). Feeling confident, Susumu would double raise for damage, but bit off more than he could chew as Naizen avoided him. "Hold still, ya little bugger!" he cursed, glaring at the Shinobi.

Desperate times called for desperate measures, and Naizen began to play the Full Attack game, even though it was not his style. Barely able to hit this time, he would do a piddly 4 damage with the hook to Susumu's face, not even Nicking him! "Hahaha! You even hit like a girl! Like Hisashi! But you ain' gonna be a pretty one, not after I'm through wit ya!" Full Attacking himself, Susumu would drop everything into damage, as he buried his fist into Naizen's gut something fierce! {18 damage, for a total of 33. Naizen is Out!} A large wheeze could be heard as all the air was knocked out of the Shosuro's lungs, and he would crumple like paper onto the ground, struggling to breath.

"THE CHAMPION!" Susumu would bellow out, hitting himself once in the chest proudly.

"Not yet, Susumu. You have two more opponents to get through first." Kuni Raicho calmly explained, once more kneeling beside Naizen, making sure he was still alive. "We still need to see if Naizen wishes to fight once more," she would explain as she attempted to revive him once more.

"Don' bother. I conceed the third match to 'em. I won two outta three, so I proceed anyways. I'm tired of fighting him, I want to beat up that pretty Crane boy next!" he boasted, turning and grinning right at Kakita Zanzen, before picking up his gourd.

"... very well. Yoritomo Susumu wins the majority of the matches, and proceeds to the next round. Now will someone please come clean up this Scorpion?"  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Jiujutsu Duels:



Kuni Raicho would yawn, before finally speaking once more. "Now that we've cleared out the clinger-ons, we can get to the real action. We only have three fights left, and its time to start the first of which. Ujina Denbe, Hida Hogai, it is your turn to fight!"

Hogai would approach the fighting ring, limping somewhat from his injury before. He would smile to the young Hare, that he had a distinct height advantage over. "Greetings, Ujina Denbe-san! I know I'm not the picture of perfect health, but if you go easy on me, I'll give you a stump to match my own," he would warn, shaking his left arm at the Hare menacingly.

{Initiative of 13}  

[Raganui Minamoto]

@ Jiujutsu Duel, belated:

Zanzen, once Sosuke had given up, bowed to him. "That was a hard fight, your endurance is amazing." Taking a few wobbling steps, he crossed out of the arena before falling face first to the dirt, worn out.

As the next fight went on, he'd slowly recover himself enough to stand again, looking for something to lean on.  

[Plainsfox]

@Jiujutsu Competition

The Scorpion held himself rather stoically as Naizen squirmed like an arachnid trying to avoid being squished underfoot. Kojiro valiantly suppressed his urges to face palm as the Shosuro was flattened for a final time. "I'm going to see to my clanmate, Denbe-san. Good luck in your matches." With that, the Scorpion moved to help the servants with his comrade. "You should've joined me in the poetry competition, Naizen-san. I doubt haiku and rhyme would abuse you so.


@Scorpion Shenanigans

Kojiro made sure that the coast was relatively clear before continuing. "I see... any rate, we are unsure of Lady Kyumi's role in all of this. However, that's where you can help us. Naizen-san has been temporarily incapacitated by the jiujutsu tournament and we need someone to observe and perhaps interfere if the situation calls for it. With your reputation, you may just be the ideal choice for that. I leave this task for you, if you are willing to take it."

The Scorpion would move away and head towards his tent. "Thanks for cheering me up, Jiro-san! That Nan-Tu-Ket place sounds interesting if so many funny people come from there!"

OOC:
Awareness/Deceit
Results: 16  

[Sutiiven]

@Jiujitsu Competition

Hisashi would pay no mind to Susumu's threats nor his insults - the man was far to drunk to be taken seriously beyond the fact that he had just, ahem, OWNED his opponent. He would allow the man to stumble around and make an a** of himself as he wished.

"Pride of the Mantis, you are" he would say about his drunken clan mate to no one in particular.  

[Psychofish]

Denbe gave a small, but good spirited laugh as he stepped back onto the field, and bowed to the crab. And looked up. Way up. He knew he was slightly small, and Hogai rather large, but it hadn't seemed so much so until he had to think about fighting him.

"Once more, I admire your resolve Hida-san. Let us both fight our hardest then!"

And dropped into a fighting pose... trying to figure out how exactly one went about hitting an object so much larger than themself.

[3k2 Initiative: 13]  

[Mongooseh]

Kagae would start repaying attention to the fights seeing as Hogai was now fighting again. He had to resist the urge to cheer Hogai as it might bring attention to him so he resorted to cheering within his mind.

'Go Hogai!'  

[Psychofish]

The Crab bushi are known for strength and stamina. If I allow Hida-san to grab me, or gain momentum, I'm not sure I will be able to do much but retreat. If I want to win, I'll need to start with an advantage. And for that...

Denbe lowered his guard and changed his posture as if he meant not to fight, but simply to... run?

I'll have to hit him my hardest, I suppose.

The Hare's legs pumped as he bolted across from the far edge of the ring at full speed, looking like he simply meant to collide into the Crab at maximum velocity until he suddenly took flight- slinging himself into the air with a battle cry and spinning over once, a heel unleashing itself from the twister and flying at Hogai.

[Denbe makes a full attack with Leap of the Hare, and a single raise, all into damage.]
[6k4+3 Jiujutsu(Striking): 23 vs Hida's TNtH+5]