The long wet walk

[Kakita Sojiro]

Sojiro began handing out strips of cloth cut from his hakama, then started cutting longer strips from the canvas tents that Hiroshi had found.

(OOC This is a continuation of the Kakita counter-ram group's portion of The Fall. We decided to start a new thread for it.


His arm was no longer numb, and now in addition to the burning ache coming from the wound, he could feel a grinding sensation in his left forearm, most likely a fractured or broken bone. His wounded thigh was also stiffening up.

He sighed and started handing out "bandages" with his good arm, asking Hiroshi to help him with the cutting so as not to use his left arm during the process. His biggest concern was Hitoshi, who was coughing up blood.

"Hitoshi-san, let me see that wound. It concerns me."

[Kakita Hiroshi]

Kakita Hiroshi helped Sojiro and continued to search the tent remnants to find better bandages for Hitoshi – the soiled canvas weren't the best choice for his wounds...

“Ah, I think I found something,” he said, pulling out some linen shirts. “Perfect for bandages. I also found a hakama, but I do not think it will improve your fashion right now, Sojiro-san. It's in worse a condition than yours, I'm afraid.”

With a painful hiss, he rose to his feat, and tore the shirts into rags. “Allow us to see to your wounds, Hitoshi-san, before the ground here holds more of your blood than your body.”

[Kakita Hitoshi]

"I am fine, but as you wish" Hitoshi said, falling back on pride. Sojiro and Hiroshi swiftly began to check over him, and it became apparent what the problem was. At some time during the battle he had received a blow to the side, and whilst his armour had stopped the cut the sheer force of it had broken the bones and driven them internally. It was possible that one of his lungs was scratched or pierced.

Hiroshi and Sojiro shared a glance. They really needed a shugenja to tend to the worst of the damage, and not before too many days passed.

[Kakita Sojiro]

"Hitoshi-san, coughing up blood is not my idea of fine."

As Sojiro and Hiroshi checked Hitoshi over, they both came across his damaged ribs. The two men shared a concerned look. Finally, Sojiro spoke.

"You have several broken ribs, Hitoshi-san, and they may have punctured the lung beneath them."

Saiko let out a low whistle as he tied together a make-shift sling for Sojiro. "That's not good."

"No, it's not. Saiko-san, I need you to set my arm. I think it's broken. Hiroshi-san, I think we may be able to use those hakama for extra padding around-" Sojiro's face momentarily drained of color as Saiko set his forearm bone, then proceeded to use a tent pole that he had cut in half to splint it. The Crane ground his teeth and continued, his mismatched eyes deliberately not looking at his arm or Saiko as he did. "- Hitoshi-san's ribs, but we'll need to wrap them up. Carefully." He looked directly at Hitoshi. "No armor until we get you to a shugenja, and no combat unless absolutely necessary. We have no way of knowing how badly injured your lung is, and any more stress there might be fatal."

Saiko let out a short laugh as he wrapped Sojiro's arm into the sling and set in on his shoulder. "Sojiro-san, is the entire Kakita family stubborn and insane? All these years I had thought it was just a part of your charming personality."

Sojiro returned his laugh with a smile. "Really, just the Kakita family? You seem to be conveniently forgetting that we are cousins, Saiko-san. And also forgetting who the first madman to follow me off of the wall was."

[Doji Naetaru]

Over the outskirts, a loud moan could be heard...one of pain.
A man staggered a considerate distance ahead. He was holding a staff with his hand, limping. He was wearing a tattered shugenja garb and murmuring in agony.
Asahina Edo would never imagine the fate that had befallen him. He was asked to stay behind with the forces of Asahina Yuuto. He had to remain back to tend the wounded, but once he took off the regiment to attend to his comrades in need, he was found by a couple of Lion samurai.
He saw the trio from afar...if only he could reach them before dying...

[Kakita Hitoshi]

Hitoshi smiled wanly. "Mad is going to be Mitsouko-sama when we try to explain what we're doing here rather than with the rest of the army."

Despite his light tone he knew the gravity of the situation, and let the others bind his ribs, trying to remain impassive whilst they did so. It was not easy, but the last thing he wanted to do was to throw up over his comrades.

As he relaxed and allowed his awareness to expand from the tight knot he had formed inside himself, he became aware of a loud moaning sound. For a horrible moment he thought it was himself, but then realised it was coming from a figure ahead of the trio. He nodded at the silhouette behind the other four. "Someone's coming."

[Kakita Sojiro]

Sojiro looked up from his somewhat pathetic attempt to help Hiroshi wrap Hitoshi's ribs with one hand. All he could make out was the man moaning, and what were once the clothes of a shugenja.

"Hell's teeth!" He tried to get up to go to the man, but his wounded leg seized up on him and he ended up falling over sideways into the mud, completing his new fashion statement and halfway concealing his face in the process.

With Hiroshi bandaging Hitoshi, Hitoshi not moving because of the bandaging, and Sojiro laying on his face in the mud, Saiko was the only one available to help the poor soul approaching. The young Dragon ran over to him, ignoring his own wounds in the process.

"Shugenja-san, I am Mirumoto Saiko of the Dragon clan, please, let me help you!"

Picking himself up out of the mud, Sojiro took in the whole scene.We could forget about Permission City and start our own infirmary right here. Or maybe our own morgue, he thought to himself. Outwardly, all he could really do is groan in displeasure and pain while trying to wipe the mud off of his face. He got the distinct impression that Hitoshi was trying hard not to laugh at him, either out of respect, pain, or possibly both.

[Kakita Hiroshi]

(OOC: Actually, there are four of us. Sojiro's NPC is with us ).

Hiroshi turned his head, hoping it's not a stray Lion, because he felt his legs will refuse to move for a while.

“It looks like... not a Lion,” he said with slight relief. “It's either a wounded Asahina, or a dead one, only still walking, judging by the moans. Anyone have jade to check that?”

Having noticed the quizzical and surprised looks of his comrades, he explained: “I am not insane, there were tainted engineers working on those fields, before the Phoenix Inquisitors took care of them. You never know, what will come out of this marsh after such a battle...”

[Doji Naetaru]

Edo turned his face over to the young Mirumoto.
His forgotten icy gaze giving way to pain.

"Thank the Kamis to find you here Dragon-sama. Please forgive me of my lack of proper etiquette, but I am afraid that it won't be long before Emma-O greets me."

He tried to stand again on his walking stick with his sole hand. The other hand had been cut from its root, blood spattered over his deep blue kimono.

"I was away from Asahina Yuuto-sama's contigent and sadly I had to pay dearly for it..." he looked in his eyes.

"And the Lion I met weren't understanding either. It's madness..."

The rain was cascading from his cheeks and Saiko wasn't sure if he was wincing in pain or he was getting drenched by the water falling...

[Kakita Hitoshi]

"I have no jade on me, so we may have to simply pray that the fortunes are on our side, Hiroshi-san. Please, if you wouldn't mind helping me up."

Leaning heavily on Hiroshi the young magistrate made his way towards the shugenja, trying not to laugh at the sight of Sojiro falling prostrate in the mud, and coming up covered in the stuff.

"It may not be long before Emma-O greets any of us Asahina-san" he said, stopping a reasonable distance away. "But in the meantime is there anything we can do for you?"

(OOC - Thanks Hiroshi, counting never was my strong point!)

[Doji Naetaru]

Edo panted a bit more, he closed his eyes wincing in pain. He looked at Hitoshi as he addressed him.

"Sama, the question is...may I help you?"

His words seemed almost impossible regarding his situation.

"Don't be alarmed, but I think I can assist you should you require some more wind in your lungs. Kaze no kami has helped me hold my pace steady. I can assist you to march some more, possibly reach the destination you desire. And then inform someone to come help me. Yuuto-sama made it clear that we were to meet at the apothecary tent near the main contingent of the Crane army"

His vision blurred for a while and he prayed once again that his soul wouldn't escape his lips. He had one last service to offer...

[Kakita Sojiro]

(OOC Sakio isn't an NPC, he's my friend's character. The player is having some serious issues staying in contact with people ATM, but I know the character pretty well, so rather than just latting him kinda "disappear", I've been having him do the things he would do. Everything posted from Saiko up to this thread came from him.)

[Kakita Hitoshi]

"It is very kind of you to offer your help Asahina-san, but surely if you were to pray to the kami on your own behalf you would live to help many more than if you were to spend your prayers on one simple bushi."

Hitoshi was trying to be mindful of etiquette, despite the sawing pain in his side. Then he collapsed, and would have hit the ground had not Hiroshi caught hold of him and lowered him gently.

[Kakita Sojiro]

Sojiro managed to get back to his feet, spitting out a mouth full of mud as he did so. He wiped his face clean just in time to see Hiroshi catch Hitoshi as he fell. He limped over to the fallen bushi as quickly as his legs would let him, reaching his right hand into an internal pocket in his hakama as he went.

"Hiroshi-san, I've got him. Please speak with our Asahina comrade." As he spoke, he placed his hands where Hiroshi's had been, slipping a small piece of jade to him in the transition, unnoticed by those focusing on the collapsing samurai or the mutilated Shugenja.

(OOC I have the jade in my inventory)

[Doji Naetaru]

Edo stood on his feet and smiled.

"Your intentions are noble Kakita-sama, but I am afraid I have not much wind left to assist everyone of us. Please allow me to perform my duty."

He raised his hand facing the storm, the rain was whipping his face mercilessly as he whispered some soft words to Kaze no Kami. His eyes replaced by white bulbs. His voice rose as he bellowed moments after the murmuring finished.

"Leave samas, gather your breath and depart. Danger's closing in!"

The three of them felt a surge of cold energy passing through their bodies. Their limps once sore and pained now simply numb, their breathing returned, their heart soothed, their spirits calmed, for a moment they felt a bit refreshed. They could possibly manage to escape.