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

[Rain Yupa]

@ Martial Duels:

At this point, Sozen would have little to lose by dropping his last Void, reducing the wounds to leave him Down, rather than Out. "Huff... huff... you win, Kakita. I submit..." he said, wobbling on his knees with the massive blood loss from the dual cuts across his chest. He would collapse onto one knee, and servants would rush to his side.

"Get away! I can... I can walk on my own..." he would yell to them, struggling to get to his feet. Looking over at Zanzen, he would nod, though he would not smile. "They said... there will be an iaijutsu tournament on the last day. We'll have a rematch then," Sozen would promise him, before hobbling off to get his wounds treated.

Winner: Kakita Sozen

Though the first round was officially over, Benjiro would call forth two of the competitors with byes on the first round: Hida Hogai, and Bayushi Kojiro. They would start the round to allow proper healing to be applied to the original contenders. The winner of this would face Matsu Seichiro at the end of the next round.

Calling them up, the larger of the two would step forth. Hida Hogai was a great man, well over 6' tall with a stocky build. Clad in full heavy armor, decorated with mons to the Crab Clan, he would raise his masakari, or one-handed axe, high in an early sign of victory. The lower half of his face was covered in a bushy beard, an unruly mess of tangles. More notably than that, however, was the absence of his left hand, severed at the wrist and long since healed over.

"Bayushi!" he called out... excitedly. "Let's show these samurai how real men fight and beat the s**t out of each other! What say you, little Scorpion?" He laughed heartedly at his suggestion... but he was sincere enough in it.

Bayushi Kojiro, I need initiative!  

[Plainsfox]

My pincers are a match for yours, Hida! Kojiro bowed deeply as he held his Kusarigama in his hands.

OOC Initiative is 6k3, last 3 dice are explodydice. Init is 48  

[Raganui Minamoto]

"I will look forward to it." He walked after the man, closing his brown eye. "After we get patched up, perhaps you would enjoy tea some time? Perhaps you can enlighten me more on your want for revenge. I understand if you wish to keep to yourself of course."  

[Agent Sinistra]

@ Go Competition:

Rain Yupa

Kenichi would apparently learn fast, realizing what Kyumi was doing. If she kept on challenging him like this, there would be no way he could win. Rather than abandoning his hard-earned territories, he would begin consolidating his liberties to minimize the damage she could do. {Games: Go check of 18 vs TN 20, Failure 1/3}

But it wouldn't be enough, as he had realized that, whether by cunning or luck, she had forced him to fight for a lost cause, and there would be nothing he could do to regain that corner of the board.

"... maybe some of the things I heard about the Lions are true. That hurt," he openly confessed as he gauged his chances.

Ooo... Kyumi hadn't quite meant it like that. She began to look a bit flustered. Here she thought she'd been doing a good job at being eloquent, and yet... Well, she'd appeared to have been much sharper than she intended to be.

She attempted to mask her uneasiness by focusing on the board. Rather than attack this turn, she began to consolidate her territory.

"T-That came out a bit sharper than I intended it. My apologies." Kyumi sounded much meeker than she had before, though she tried to make up for it with a somewhat halfhearted smile.

((4k3, 23 vs TN 20 ))  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Martial Duel:



{Initiative of 24}

Not only was Kojiro's pincers ready, they were quicker too! He wins initiative against his one-pincered foe!  

[Plainsfox]

Kojiro will shift to attack posture and raise once (in addition to two free raises) to attempt to knock Hogai off of his feet.

5k3. Total: 15  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Go Competition:

"... what?" he asked at her response, before realizing how she had taken it. "Oh! No, no no no! I meant the moves you were making! It cost me a lot of pieces! It wasn't anything you said, I swear by my honor!" {Only 13 Etiquette sweatdrop }

"It was a thinly veiled complement about the tactical prowess of your Clan, nothing more. I... I think I should simply be quiet now, though. I have both offended and dishonored you, my lady Kyumi.

He bowed his head to focus more on the game, no longer apparently able to look Kyumi in the eye. {Game: Go check of 20 vs TN 25, failure 2/3}

He no longer seemed able to focus on strategy, the misunderstanding leaving the poor young samurai so bewildered his strategy was shot and he began to make constant blunders which was easily costing him the game.  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Martial Duel:

As soon as the match began, Bayushi Kenjiro would lay into the Crab, his chain weapon... bouncing harmlessly off of the warrior's heavy armor.

"Haha... what? Wait, really?" the jovial Hida would ask, tilting his head. "Tell you what. One more try, Bayushi! Put all your heart into it!" Grinning broadly, he would put up his dukes... er, duke?... as he readied himself for another chain weapon attack. {Full Defense, defense roll result of 21}

Kojiro, he's calling you out!  

[Plainsfox]

Kojiro growled and tried to summon his inner strength to let him focus enough to crack the one handed Hida's shell.

OOC Spending Void point. 6k4 Attack; Total number: 36  

[Plainsfox]

Explody Die  

[Plainsfox]

Damage. 3rd die is explody die. Damage is 7 pts.  

[Agent Sinistra]

@ Go Competition:

Rain Yupa

"... what?" he asked at her response, before realizing how she had taken it. "Oh! No, no no no! I meant the moves you were making! It cost me a lot of pieces! It wasn't anything you said, I swear by my honor!" {Only 13 Etiquette sweatdrop }

"It was a thinly veiled complement about the tactical prowess of your Clan, nothing more. I... I think I should simply be quiet now, though. I have both offended and dishonored you, my lady Kyumi.

He bowed his head to focus more on the game, no longer apparently able to look Kyumi in the eye. {Game: Go check of 20 vs TN 25, failure 2/3}

He no longer seemed able to focus on strategy, the misunderstanding leaving the poor young samurai so bewildered his strategy was shot and he began to make constant blunders which was easily costing him the game.

"I... Oh..."

Kyumi felt her cheeks begin to color with embarrassment. It would figure that she'd end up misunderstanding what he said for something else. And now the entire conversation had been ruined because of her.

She quickly moved her pieces on the board. She went to capture more territory without thought of whether the strategy would work or not. So long as it brought about a speedy end to the game, she was fine with it. If she managed to win, it would feel like a hollow victory.

(( 4k3; 17 vs TN 25, Failure 1/3 ))  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Martial Duel:

Deciding that fancy doesn't suit Kojiro versus a Crab, he went for a more direct approach, whacking the warrior across the face with his weapon! Though the blow was light, it left Hogai Nicked!

"Come on, use your katana! Enough of these games!" Hogai goaded, gauntleted fingers stretching and clenching around the haft of his battle axe. "Maybe you need some motivation, yeah?" Marching right up to the Scorpion, Hogai would attempt to help the smaller man see his point, Crab Style! {46 on his attack roll}

All the evasiveness in the world wouldn't protect Kojiro from Hogai's cleaving axe! {Kojiro takes 16 damage, and is Hurt!}  

[Plainsfox]

Kojiro shouted loudly as he dropped his Kusarigama. He was ashamed that the duel had progressed this way and he prayed to his ancestors to guide his blade....not that they would listen, but it was all he had!

OOC Dropping Kusarigama and drawing Katana. Full attack w/ Katana. Spending Void point to negate wound modifiers for this round. Last three dice are splody dice.

Attack # is 28

One raise used to reduce Hogai's TN to be hit. Other raise reserved for damage  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Go Competition:

Kenichi would equally be silent, his face nearly as flushed as Kyumi's. Though Kuni Raicho remained oblivious to the whole thing, the two had caught the attentions of the man and woman at the other table, who had apparently finished their game, and were watching you with keen interest. That is, they were watching the players, not the game.

{Games: Go check of 14 vs TN 30. Failure 3/3}

As traditional in Rokugan, Kenichi plays until all his stones have been used up, most of it was simply choosing where Kyumi would capture them; the table is almost entirely covered by white stones.

Winner: Kitsu Kyumi
Winner: Tamori Makoto

Asahina Kenichi would stand up and bow deeply to Kyumi, but far too embarrassed to say another word. He would prevent eye contact and move away from the table, joining the other samurai from theirs, as well as the uninvolved courtier, would all meet at Kuni Raicho. Upon Kyumi's arrival, the next round's match-ups would be announced.



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

This round, Kyumi would be pitted against a thin, scrawny girl in her early 20's. With a pair of spectacles and a satchel full of books and scrolls (which she set beside the table with an audible THUD), she would address the Lioness.

"My name is Asako Sumi of the Phoenix Clan. Let us begin, shall we?" she would say in a quiet voice, barely over a whisper. She would grab a handful of white stones, her frail thin hands far smaller than Kyumi's, hiding the amount within them. She would indicate for Kyumi to pick odds or evens; if it matches, Kyumi plays Black (and goes first). Otherwise, she will play White (and go last).