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

[Psychofish]

[4k4 Jiujutsu(Striking) Damage: 24]  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Jiujutsu Duel:

As soon as Hogai took a fighting stance, he took his first step forward, about to rush the Hare. Suddenly, kicking up a dust cloud, Denbe had already closed the distance, practically an unseen blur! Hogai's eyes went wide as Denbe Hurricane-Kicked him back a few steps, taking a huge chunk out of his Health Bar! When Denbe landed, however, he saw that Hogai had used his last Void Point to put his arms up in defense over his face, minimizing his damage! {14 damage, Hogai is Grazed!}

"Good start! If you tried something like that to a Goblin, it would be a bloody smear on the Wall! But I... I AM NO GOBLIN!" Going Full Attack as well (for damage), and raising twice for damage, Hogai would rear back, and hammer his right hand into Denbe's face! {28 vs TN 14+5+10, Miss!} Denbe would skid back a couple feet, his own arms blocking the force of the blow as Hogai got overeager with his own attack.

Denbe, you have initiative and 3 free raises!  

[Psychofish]

Air hissed between Denbe's teeth as he lowered his arms and regained his balance, surprised neither his forearms nor the balls of his feet were smoking after the monsterous blow. His arms hurt- a lot. Now more sure than ever that he absolutely could not afford to let the Crab strike him, Denbe lowered his arms to tight guard- they didn't feel capable of delivering any worthwhile blows at the moment.

"By the- with a swing like that, more than goblins must fear you."

Fortunately, he was a Hare.

"Kiiiyup!!"

[Balanced stance, one raise, all in damage]
[6k4 Jiujutsu(Striking): 39 vs Hogai's TNtH+5]  

[Psychofish]

[Haresplosion: 7]  

[Psychofish]

Making another cry of attack, Denbe would attempt to catch the Crab as he regained his balance, sending a series of kicks after Hogai's torso.

[4k4 Jiujutsu Damage: 24]  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Jiujutsu Duel:

As Denbe leaned back in his upwards Flash Kick, he would kick both feet into Hogai's chest, a blow that might have broken some ribs if it wasn't for the solid muscle he had built up. However, as Denbe landed in a crouch, Hogai was already mid-fall to the ground! {24 damage, for a total of 38; Hogai is Down!}

"Uuf!" Hogai bounced one on the ground before laying flat on his back. Propping himself up slowly and painfully on his elbows, he winced one eye as he smiled to the Hare. "What are you packing in those feet of yours? Careful no one cuts them off in a fit of jealousy... heh..." Then he would fall black with a whump!

"I... think that's a surrender. Ujina Denbe, you win the first match!" Kuni Raicho would say to the smaller man, signaling him with one hand. Applauds would reward Denbe's ears.

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

One short rest later, Hida Hogai was ready for his second attempt. "One more like that, and I'll go back to my tent a happy Crab. Do me that honor, or I'll make you pay!" Hogai grinned to Denbe.

{Second initiative roll, 19}  

[Psychofish]

"I shall try and make it an encore then!" Denbe chuckled as he came in from the sidelines and readied himself to fight once more.

"Not all my performances are quite so good," he said, mentally wincing as he recalled how each kenjutsu fight had gone for him- and he'd considered himself equal between the two arts prior to now!

[3k2 Initiative: 11]  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Jiujutsu Duel:

This time, Hida Hogai was unwilling to let the Hare get the upper hand. Maintaining a regular Attack stance, Hogai would rush Denbe at the earliest opportunity, his alacrity surprising the Hare. Crab were fast outside their thick shells!

Hogai would attempt to pin the Hare down, reaching for him instead of striking him, grabbing him by the shoulder! {2 Raises called for Grapple, but Hogai blows his attack roll with a 14 vs TN 14+10} As soon as his hand connected, Denbe managed to squirm out of the Crab's pincer grip!

Denbe, initiative!  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Lore Competition:

All Engineering skills are now TN 25!

Shinjo Gemmei would follow up the Kaiu with her own bit of lore. "As I said in the previous round, there are many constellations in the sky. These patterns or clusters of stars above allow us to keep track of which stars to navigate by; else, they would all look the same. To remember which one is which, we attribute our own stories to them, attaching shapes and faces to the patterns. By giving them their own lives, they become meaningful to us, and we won't lose them in the sea of night because of it." {Lore: Astronomy of 14 vs TN 10}

All Lore: Astronomy skills are now TN 15!

"And now we enter the fifth round. We've lost two more of our number, and the presence of all of you shows the tenacity that a learned mind provides!" Kita said enthusiastically, clearly enjoying this competition.

Kitsuki Wazuka, on the other hand, seemed less than thrilled this round. She personally felt guilty as if she had gotten Kyumi eliminated, and now Sumi was gunning to eliminate her. Deciding that Law was still her best bet while it was still possible, she would call upon her Void and gun for a juicy tidbit that might keep her in another round before she changed subjects. "Like Sumi-san had said, Samurai have such rights over heimin. However, inter-Samurai disputes are usually resolved by the reigning superior in the territory. This usually involves the daimyo of the family for local provinces; the clan daimyo for inter-Clan disputes, depending on the territory where the dispute happened. For matters that effect the standing of the clan, or effect Rokugan as a whole, they are brought to Imperial Court instead." {Void Point spent, Lore: Law of 27 vs TN 25}

All Lore: Law skills are now TN 30!

Kuni Kaori would be next, and once more, she would speak of her secondary topic. "Going on what Gemmei-san has been talking about, the stars can lead to attempts at divination as well. Since the fortunes and kami are undoubtedly linked to the Heavens, portentous events can often be predicted by shifts and changes within the heavens. The passing of a comet, the twinkling of a red star, or even the light of Lady Moon herself can be used to alert the keen-minded of changes in the world below the heavens - our world." {Divination of 31(!) vs TN 15!}

All Divination skills are now TN 20!

"Going back to one of my previous subjects of expertise, the Naga. The Naga have been known to interact with us humans at select times in the past. Though they have been sleeping through most of our history, there have been instances of them awakening and influencing some key points in our histories. The largest known contributions are the battle of Beiden Pass and the Second Day of Thunder, though how many more times they have influenced our history is unknown." {Lore: Naga Lore of 23 vs TN 10}

All Lore: Naga Lore skills are now TN 15!



Matsu Seichiro, time to brain it up!  

[Psychofish]

Slipping away from Hogai's grasp, Denbe had a rather frightening vision. Mostly one involving him receiving a bear hug from the Crab. And not coming out of it so well. Guarding would only buy him time against a working grab though, so instead Denbe tried to slip inside the Crab's guard and slam a fist into the middle of his chest, somewhere near the area his last kick had landing.

If he was lucky, repeating some strong blows to Hogai's torso might wear down his stamina a little, and wear the bushi down to much to want to try grappling him.

Those firsts were scary, but at least Denbe knew how to fight back against them.

[Attack Stance, 1 raise for called shot, 1 for damage.]
[6k4 Jiujutsu(Striking): 32 vs Hogai's TNtH+10]  

[Psychofish]

[Explosive Counter: 3]  

[Psychofish]

[3k2 Jiujutsu(Strike) Damage: 16]  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Jiujutsu Duel:

Denbe would evade the Crab's grasp, going in deep to deliver a Shoryuken to the Crab's chest, the rising punch sending him back and reeling a few steps. {16 damage, for a total of 22; Hogai is Hurt!}

Hida Hogai was not the type to really give up on doing things to the Max, and called two raises for damage, though he avoided the Full Attack this time. Rather than the Crabby fists Denbe had been avoiding, he would attempt to kick his massive foot into Denbe's center, showing him what for! {37(!) vs TN 14+10+10, hit; 22 damage. Denbe was Crippled!}

... ow! Denbe, you have initiative!  

[Psychofish]

Hogai's knee came up and his body tilted back, and Denbe had a short, but very distinct "Oh s**t!" moment in his head, trying to lean his weight away and un-tense, in hopes of lightening the blow rather than trying to directly block-

"Oooghf!"

Denbe was knocked backward, tumbling head over rump before rolling ungracefully to his feet, wobbling and panting upon righting himself again. Despite his last-ditch save effort, that had hurt!

[Denbe spends a void to decrease damage by 10]

Lifting his hands again, Denbe smiled.

"You are a dangerous man, Hida-san," knowing the Crab would take it for the compliment it was meant to be. Which left Denbe to deal with the also trying to give him more of the types of blows he'd been asking for. Denbe was hurting, but he knew Hogai had to be worse off.

So Denbe figured the one thing to do in this kind of situation was to throw caution to the wind for a moment.

He rushed in with a kiai shout, springing and snapping a flying kick at the Hida.

[Full Attack, 1 raise. All to damage.]
[6k4 Jiujutsu(Strike): 36 vs Hogai's TNtbH+10]  

[Psychofish]

[Dynamite Dice: 8]