Confrontation (Closed)

[The Blue Ronin]

The gardens of Toshi Ranbo were not on par with those of Kyuden Doji, even if they had been laid out by the same Crane artisans when the city was rebuilt. And they were certainly no parallel to the wide plains of the Utaku meadows or the majestic glory of the Togashi mountains. Yes, Junko thought to herself as she walked through the gardens, katana loose at her side, her new kimono feeling good to be clean, she might no longer be a Unicorn but even if she could put aside her Clan's mon and name, she could never put aside its love for open spaces.

Still, she was a Ronin, and to be a Ronin was to go where war took her, and war was not taking her to the wild lands of Rokugan at this point. So be it. She had been to Toshi Ranbo before but never inside the Imperial Palace. To some courtiers and sycophants that might be a lifelong goal, to Junko iw as a curiosity, not unwelcome but not something she would ever probably think about again in her life except in idle moments.

Now she had her freedom, and more, a commission in the Lion forces, although she served under Haruka, a Scorpion. Very strange, but she had never been one to question her superiors, even before she had become a Ronin. And she was using that freedom to seek a little solitude in the gardens. The moon shone a milky silver light on the delicate curves of her neck and hair as she carefully unbuttoned the plain steel pin that had been securing it in a bun undoors. A quick fleck of her neck tossed the hair down her back and she carefully drew her katana. Enjoying its weight, she realised this was the first time she had drawn it since her capture. She would be needing it again, soon, so she decided to practice her kata.

The grass was springy and pleasantly cool beneath her feet. She eventually kicked off her tabi and went barefoot on the manicuredf lawn. Tiny pink camelias watched like spectators as she repeated her drills. Good, good, her prowess had not been sapped. She smiled. She spent so much time fighting that she always feared that her prowess would be drained from her by it like water in a drought. But not now. And judging by Haruka-sama's words she would not have to wait long, either, before that need to keep her skills up went quenched.

Her meditation was disturbed by the crunch of gravel. There was another in the garden. She wondered who. Her eyes narrowed and she searched for a face she might recognise or read among the low trees. She lowered her katana but did not sheath it - there were likely assassins under the command of the Hantei still around.

[Yasuki Chad]

It wasn't often that Yasuki Chad was left alone now, but the exits of the Imperial Gardens were well guarded by the Lion. He wore a white Kimono, as had been his custom since the war started, with shortened sleeves to leave his arms bear. His wounds were healing rapidly and he only had Akodo Keisuke to thank for that. The grip in his right hand remained weak though. He doubted it would ever truly heal. He'd retained his Daisho only by virtue of his position and reputation for honorable conduct, but there were limits to the Lion's benevolence.

He'd started taking late night walks in the garden for two reasons; the first was he felt trapped by his situation here. He needed to get away from his guards. There were two kinds of lion here it seemed, those who respected him as a warrior but regarded him as a traitor to his clan, and those who assumed that Yasuki was Synonymous with merchant. Either kind had begun to grate on his nerves.

The second was he felt the need for penance. He'd lead the majority of Hantei-supporting crabs to Toshi Ranbo with him. They followed his battle-plan. And while his family had fought well, so many of his family and friends had fallen. It was unworthy for a Samurai to feel regret, but Chad had never claimed to be perfect. He prayed to the fallen these nights, burning incense in their memory and asking for guidence.

He had made his offerings this night and was returning to his room when he became aware of another. A samurai-ko practicing her kata on the grass. Her form was exellent, in both senses of the phrase, and he spent a long moment watching her. Then she turned and he caught a good look at her face in the Moonlight and his expression hardened. "The Ronin." He thought. The one from the ceramony. She'd insulted his allies.

He took a delibrately heavy step on the path. She turned. As her eyes settled on him he spoke, "Ronin. You are the last person I expected to see here tonight. I believe we still have buisness with each other. Regarding your previous employers." He continued his slow walk toward her.

"You remember them, yes?"

[The Blue Ronin]

Junko's eyes narrowed. She recognised the Yasuki Daimyo. From what she had heard he was, despite his family's reputation as merchants and courtiers, quite a good warrior. And he'd seemed angry at her. And he kept his daisho. She was suddenly glad that she'd taken her shoes off - in terrain like this, being bare footed was an advantage. Still, perhaps he'd be satisfied with words.

"Chad-sama" She pronounced the last syllable quite deliberately. "Yes. I remember. Don't be so hard on yourself, you aren't easily forgotten. And before you ask, I stand by everything I said. Oh, I'm sure some Crane fought bravely, but their leaders? Incompetents and cowards. If you want testimony to back that up, I think the fact that we aren't surrounded by Crane warriors right now"

"You're angry because they were your allies. I'm not insulting you. From what I've heard you fought very bravely. It isn't shameful to have cowardly allies. I've fought alongside any number of sniveling man-boys in my day" She gave a derisive snort, almost a smirk in humour at the thought of some of the cowardly behaviour she'd seen. "It doesn't say anything bad about me. I'm presuming you fought alongside the Crane because you felt that they were on the right side, not because you loved them"

She tossed a little flick of hair from her neck. "But that being said, if you do want to take an issue with me, I'm in no position to stop you" She seemed alert and at ease with herself, but there wasn't any defensiveness to her stance. But then Chad is probably experienced and skilled enough to recognise the casual-yet-alert stance of somebody with the correct Chi balance to switch from an easy stance to the awareness and focus needed to strike siwftly and decisively. Not to say she is definitely better than him, but she has certainly dueled before.

As Chad examined her, Junko's mind raced. Was this some kind of setup, she wondered? Had somebody 'arranged' for her and Chad to meet? She didn't doubt there were a lot of people in Toshi Ranbo who'd be quite happy to see all, or even both of them gone.

[Yasuki Chad]

Far from calming the Crab Daimyo, her words only seemed to anger him further. He stopped his walk just outside her striking range before continuing. If he noticed Junko's readiness, he gave no sign.

"Kakita Shinji fought Akodo Keisuke's guard alone, and killed all 6 before being overcome by the Akodo. Kakita Hitoshi, Kakita Hiroshi, and Kakita Sojiro dove over the east gate to try and save troops who'd been shut out there with the lion. They managed to fight through Lion forces and disable the Great Ram the Lion had."

Perhaps forgetting himself he takes another step toward Junko, and continues in a low, harsh voice. The terrible scarring on his arms and the uneven light of the moon combine to give him a nightmarish aspect, and she is suddenly aware of just how much larger the Crab is then she.

"The Battle plan for the city was mine. It was never designed to give total victory over the Lion. We didn't have the forces, not after half the legions defected. We fought for time, trying to give the Pheonix a chance to link up with us."

"I gave the order to retreat. The Yasuki were to be the rearguard while the crane were to make sure of the Emperor's safety. Yet a large company Commanded by Kakita Alesha stayed with us. When the Battle Maiden Utaku Mai captured the inner gate, the battle was lost. I signaled for the crane to leave. When you ask why we are not surrouned by Crane, it is because the Crane did their duty to the Emperor!"

He advances again. Just two feet away from her he readies himself. The shift in stance is slight, but unmistakable.

"I do not know who your worked for. Perhaps you have good reason to disparage your last employer. But do not DARE extend that opinion to the entire clan of the Crane. Too many of the fallen were friends, men and women of honor and courage. I will not allow you to slight their legacy."

There is an unspoken challenge in his stance. The wrong reply could very well prelude violence.

[The Blue Ronin]

Junko sighs. "It seems I cannot dissuade you. I have no option but to defend myself. Well then. Even more than most of the duels I have fought, given that you are a prisoner and I am on probation, there will definitely be consequences to this"

Junko falls into her own stance - faintly similar to the Shinjo kata, but ragged at the edges, modified no doubt by having observed Ronin and Samurai of many Clans. As the two of them find their focus, however, they detect more than just the other Samurai's stance. They become aware of a row of perhaps as many as a dozen black-clad figures crouched on the eaves of the rooftops surrounding the garden.

One of the figures, perhaps detecting that he and his comrades have been seen, makes a short sharp stabbing gesture with the flat of his hand, and one by one, they fall silently into the garden, drawing a profusion of sharp, lethal looking weapons and closing on the two would-be duelists.

[Yasuki Chad]

He reacted slightly before Junko, ripping his wakizashi out and hurling it at one of the ninja. Unprepared for such an immediate attack it catches the man in the chest. He is thrown down behind a beautifully arranged hedge.

"ASSASSINS!" He yells, hoping the sound carries to the guards at the garden entrance, hoping those guards still lived.

The black-clad figures closed the distance in seconds. He lost sight of Junko for a moment as he defended himself from five of the Assassins. He heard her Kii shout over the clash of metal, and allowed himself to be driven in her direction.

[The Blue Ronin]

Junko's body acted well in advance of her mind, as it had done so many other times, often getting her in trouble. She could already see the splatter of blood in the air and feel the reassuring vibration of the katana's hilt in her hand as it dragged its way through the ninja's torso like a knife through butter. She used the momentum of the swing to carry her back, flipping over a nasty swing of a kusari-gama which would have surely disemboweled her had it hit. She landed, swung her katana again, went down on one knee, rolling to the side. These assassins were good, and they didn't fight like Samurai. Who was their target? Well, now she was.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Chad fighting. Well she meditated, I guess now we are allies. Funny, we were only a few days ago too, when I fought for the Doji. One of the killers had backed away from the melee of his fellows around Chad. He raised a blowpipe to his lips, aiming for the Crab's back. As her own attackers tried to pin her down, Junko leapt over one thrust, spun around and, rather than taking the momentum to hit back, dived forward, her katana severing the arm and face of the blowpipe-armed assassin.

The battle had raged only for a few seconds but already she could hear the distinct pounding of heavily armed Samurai on tiles. Hopefully the Akodo and Matsu guards were coming to their aid.

[Yasuki Chad]

The Ninja heard the Approaching Lion as well, and in a unified effort, the four facing Chad Struck. Instead of waiting for their attack, the Crab charged into them. He launched a flurry of blows, desperately working to keep them from coordinating their attacks. One became too eager and swung his kama at Chad's side. He missed and was too close to avoid a hilt strike to the throat, collapsing on the ground with a crushed windpipe.

Four down, seven.... no eight left. Their leader wasn't in sight, either fleeing under the cover of the battle or using it to get in a better position to strike.

His thoughts were interupted when one of them caught his Katana with his Kusari-gama chain. He immediatly rushed forward and buried his sword in the ninja's body but had no time to untangle the chain. With no little regret he left his Grandfathers sword in the body.

This time when his attackers charged his luck ran out. He caught the wrist of one of them who swung a wickedly serrated short sword and guided the blade into the ninja's own stomach before yanking the cruel blade free. The other took the opening provided and impaled the Yasuki Daimyo in the side. Immediatly his breathing became wet and laboured, and his movements less sure and focused. His opponant clashed his weapon with Chads and began to force the Crab back. Grunting with the Pain of it Chad stomped his wooden sandels hard on the assassins foot, crunching the bone. One quick slash later, he turned and rushed to Guard Junko's back.

[The Blue Ronin]

Junko threw a frantic glance towards the eaves. She thought she saw the distinctive silhouette of a Matsu kabuto - she'd seen that silhouette many times on the battlefields, but hadn't welcomed it. Even when she'd fought for the Lion, the arrival of the Matsu elite usually meant that her own role in the battle was over. But the edges of the garden might as well be a million miles away. Whoever these assassins had come for, it was obvious now she and Chad were their targets. She saw Chad move to guard her back, saw the blood on his side. She herself had escaped any serious blows although one of the assassins had landed a blow on the knuckles of her right hand - it still ached, but she'd fought back the pain and clung to her katana. With a kiai, she lunged forward, putting the weight of her body behind the blow as her sword pierced another attacker's torso like a needle going into a pincushion. She arrested her momentum and leapt back, feet tucking under her stomach as two blades impaled the night air beneath her. She landed, unsteady, turning her fall into a monkey-style role as another assassin's blow raked the grass where she had been only seconds ago. It reminded her of playing tag with her brothers as a young samurai-ko, before her gempukku, but now the game was actually as lethal as she'd imagined it to be long ago.

Realising that she had no time to indulge in that happy fantasy of the days before her dishonour, she heard Chad's breathing growing heavy. They needed to end this soon, if he was going to make it through, that wound would need attention - maybe from a Shugenja. "Chad-sama" she hissed over the sound of their combined heavy breathing. "The Monkey takes the tiger's tail! You know it?" She said a silent prayer to the fortunes that this kata was one Chad had practiced... or seen... or at least heard of. Tense in anticipation, she waited for him to make the first move as the surviving three assassins, sensing an opportunity, closed in.

[Yasuki Chad]

The Crab went down to one knee and drove his borrowed sword into the immaculately maintained turf in front of him. Junko jumped on his shoulders and he sprang up like a bent piece of bamboo. The Ronin women used the momentum to fly higher still, but Chad was unable to take the luxury of watching the results. The lead assassin, sensing weakness, came in fast and hard with his chokutô . Using the still buried sword the Crab deflected the strike and stomped on the flat of the blade. The cheap metal shattered, throwing tiny razorsharp shards into both combatents. The ninja wasted a precious second clutching his bleeding hand, one that Chad used to Utter a Kii Shout and grab the man with both hands, pulling him forward over the crabs extended leg, impaling the man on the buried sword. Giveing a brief horrible scream and one shuddering spasm, he lies still.

As the adrenaline runs out the pain hits him, along with a terrible feeling of drowning as he struggled to take his breath. He gazed unseeing in the direction of Junko but was unable to make out the identity of the dark shade approaching him. He falls to his knees in the dirt, his legs refusing to answer his mind.

[The Blue Ronin]

Junko spun through the air like a baton flung by a dancer, hugging her katana close to her chest to make herself more aerodynamic. The ninja who was her target stared upward, eyes wide against the black veneer of his mask. Unleashing a kiai, Junko's blade-arm snapped out like a Mantis' strike, sheering through the man's shoulder and torso. The ninja didn't even have time to let out a gurgle as Junko landed in front of him, arresting the swing of her blade and whipping it back to rake across the arm of yet another assailant who was trying to ready his kusari gama for a swing.

The Lion guards burst into the garden. The surviving ninja turned to flee. Junko thought of pursuing, but they would likely not get far if the guards were even half up to their job. And even if they got away, she had been fighting to defend herself first and foremost.

Sudden movement caught her eye and she whirled - it was Chad, falling. Adrenaline still surging in her, she clung to it like a thready rope as she kneeled. He'd taken a grievous wound and kept fighting but his body was refusing to run on borrowed time any longer. Luckily for him, Junko had seen many wounds. She carefully cradled the back of his sweat-soaked head as she examined the wound. No, the blade was impaled deep - pulling it out would be a foolish idea, provoking at the very best a tide of blood, and at worst opening something vital to the outside air.

"Easy, Chad-sama. Easy. We won. They've fled" A Matsu samurai entered the garden. "Matsu-san, get a shugenja. Quickly, please" It was all Junko could do not to bark it as an order, but she knew that the Lion had their pride and now was not the time to joust with it. "It's OK, Chad-sama. Just stay awake. Listen to me. I think our duel is going to have to be postponed. It's nobody's fault - think of the story of Mirumoto Hachiu and Kakita Nakano, and how their duel was spoiled by a lightning strike. The kami don't will that today is the day we test our honour. That day will come, and on that day I'll cut you down" She wasn't sure if he could see her wolfish smile, but she gave it anyway. "But until then, we need you to stay strong, stay awake, ne?"

[Yasuki Chad]

Becoming aware the Crab was trying to say something, Junko leans closer.

"Si....six for me."

[The Blue Ronin]

Junko stared at Chad for a few seconds, bewildered. Then his meaning struck her and she gave a barking laugh.

"Hah! Maybe, Chad-sama. But you didn't get the one who you came here for. I'll see you another time, Chad-sama. On the battlefield, perhaps. And we can pick up where we left of then"

After brief words with the Lion samurai who were attending to Chad, she stalked out of the garden. She should probably speak with Haruka.