Toturi's Camp [open]

[Daigotsu Thrakhath]

Togusa handed the piece of jade back to the Lion samurai-ko who had demanded the test. His unburned hand clenched involuntarily as the tension of awaiting the Emperor's judgment started to get to him.

His fist did not open when the Emperor pronounced his fate.

"If this is the Emperor's will, I will accept it," Togusa said, his voice unshaking. "I only ask that I be allowed to carry out the sentence myself." When the Emperor nodded, Togusa stood from his kneeling position and faced the court. The hatred he could feel in the expressions of those around him made him wince, but he suppressed it as best he could. "Do I have a second?" he said, not knowing what to expect.

[Akodo Tsanuri]

Ikoma bowed before the Emperor and stood up.
If you agree I can be your second. If not, there are for sure some who will gladly fulfill the will of the Emperor.

[Daigotsu Thrakhath]

A slight widening of Togusa's eyes as he looked at the samurai-ko who had spoken was the only sign of his surprise. He nodded in her direction and turned to face the end of the hall, where a pair of servants were carrying a mat into the makeshift court. He stared at the mat for a moment as they laid it across the ground before him, and the gravity of what was about to happen set in. He felt his gut churning as he slowly knelt on the mat, and he heard the swish of cloth and the hiss of steel against leather as the Lion moved behind him and drew her blade.

Another servant bowed and placed a pillow on the floor in front of him, a smaller sword carefully laid across it. They'll likely melt it down once I'm through with it, Togusa thought unhappily. He hadn't exactly expected anyone to trust him when he'd first presented himself, but the visceral reaction of the court to his very presence had taken him unawares. Numbly he reached for the blade that had been placed before him, and as his hand grasped the hilt, his life flashed unbidden before his eyes.

The tiny house in an out-of-the-way Unicorn province where he'd grown up.

The bandit attack where he'd killed his first man.

The sohei who'd saved the village from them, but had arrived too late to save his parents.

His brutal training with those same sohei, and the strange sense of honor that he'd felt in their presence despite their individualistic outlook.

The battle with the Yobanjin, and the friends he'd made, and lost.

He stared at the sword in his hand as the point of the blade turned to face him. My whole life has been leading to this, he thought. He sensed the air moving behind him as Homura raised her katana. In that moment, time around him seemed to stop, and his senses detected things with a perfection he had never imagined possible. Every detail of the weapon in his hand leapt out at his eyes with perfect clarity. His ears picked out all the distinct voices in the whispers around him, though he could not quite make out their words. He breathed in deeply, and the rich scents of the court filled him in a way that nearly brought tears to his eyes. He let out the breath slowly and closed his eyes. A profound silence filled the room as all eyes fell on Togusa.

The blade plunged forward.

There was no sound.