Kitsune Poxo
Mantis Clan
Mantis Clan | Shugenja | Earth | Thunder | Kitsune Blooded | Naval | Daimyo | Unique
Posts: 225
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Post by Kitsune Poxo on Dec 19, 2011 17:06:12 GMT -5
Daichi bared his teeth. "One of few things could have happened. A gaijin could not cross proving them lesser beings, a powerful spirit barred his entry, or he had something changed his destination. My koku sits on the last becuase the bear there is the only one in the this immediate area."
He pointed to the sleeping bear before surveying the area one more time, then eying Mitsouko. "Are you feeling any better?"
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Kakita Mitsouko
Crane Clan Mod
::Daimyo::Kenshinzen::Hatamoto of Crane Clan::Paragon of Duty
Posts: 1,952
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Post by Kakita Mitsouko on Dec 19, 2011 19:44:46 GMT -5
Mitsouko nodded. The link with that foul creature is near null , here. I feel really better. Thank you Daichi-san. So, what now? How long I need to stay here? Too many questions, of course, and though she knew the Kitsune shugenja hadn't answers to every of them, maybe he could know some.
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Kitsune Poxo
Mantis Clan
Mantis Clan | Shugenja | Earth | Thunder | Kitsune Blooded | Naval | Daimyo | Unique
Posts: 225
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Post by Kitsune Poxo on Dec 19, 2011 21:28:04 GMT -5
"I do not know, and we cannot stay too long and over stay our welcome. I plan to return you in the morning either way the negotiations go. Till then rest."
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Agasha Shodai
Phoenix Clan Mod
Phoenix Clan * The Void Master * Tensai * Taisa * Enlightened * Paragon of Compassion * Unique
Posts: 783
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Post by Agasha Shodai on Dec 19, 2011 21:32:46 GMT -5
The Mantis samurai who delivered the scroll to Asahina Yuuto did a double-take when he saw Agasha Shodai standing not too far away. The man, his minimal armor carrying the sashimoto of a messenger for safe-passage purposes, stepped over to the man that helped lead the Mantis Clan's near-constant rivals. "Forgive me, Phoenix-sama, but you ARE Void Master Agasha Shodai, yes?"[/b]
Shodai gave a brief nod.
This elicited a smile from the messenger. "Excellent! Then I can discharge my duties with a single stop!"[/b] He pulled out a scroll, handing it to him. The Void Master recognized the Kakita Daimyo's handwriting and it was all he could do to not snatch it from the other man's hands. The Mantis gave a bow that said "I respect the fact that you can kill me in ways I don't care to imagine, but no more than that..." and hastily departed.
Agasha Shodai broke the wax seal and began to read the words Kakita Mitsouko had sent to him... His heart skipped a beat as he could hear the words spoken in her voice: soft, sad, and in great pain - both physical and emotional. When he finished reading, he gingerly rolled up the scroll and tucked it into the scroll pouch at his side. The Void Master wore the pouch into battle merely to signify that he was shugenja - he had long since memorized the prayers of the spells he used in combat.
The Void Master turned to Asahina Yuuto. "The Kitsune Family Daimyo has taken Mitsouko into Chikushudo, the only other realm that interferes with an Oni bond. I have heard of the Kitsune Daimyo, but I do not know if his prowess extends to dealing with the evil of Jigoku or not. Tell the Mantis Commander that I have gone there to stay by Mitsouko's side and to assist her fight with the Oni from the Realm of the Animal Spirits. Kitsune Daichi-san will be more than capable of keeping an eye on me, I should think..."[/b]
Agasha Shodai turned to the north, casting his mind to the Mori Isawa. "Takeyabu-sama, Panda spirit of the great forest of Isawa, I beseech thy aid to enter the Realm of Chikushudo..."[/b] Distantly, the Void Master could feel the animal spirit responding to his request; it would take the entity several minutes to cross the 700+ miles from the forest to Seawatch Castle.
He looked at Yuuto. "I trust you and your shugenja are well versed in the exorcism rites? With the host's body on a different plane of reality, the Mitsouko-no-Oni will lose it's ability to effectively attack the body, but its Taint can still infect the soul and harm people; much like a Gaki can."[/b]
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Kitsune Poxo
Mantis Clan
Mantis Clan | Shugenja | Earth | Thunder | Kitsune Blooded | Naval | Daimyo | Unique
Posts: 225
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Post by Kitsune Poxo on Dec 19, 2011 21:58:25 GMT -5
OOC: Hey, it is enough your cutting into the animal spirit territory but at least get my character's name right, It is Daichi. I'm Poxo, he's Daichi there is a separation,
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Agasha Shodai
Phoenix Clan Mod
Phoenix Clan * The Void Master * Tensai * Taisa * Enlightened * Paragon of Compassion * Unique
Posts: 783
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Post by Agasha Shodai on Dec 19, 2011 22:38:41 GMT -5
OOC: Apologies - was in a hurry and just focused on your character name on your posts. I'll correct.
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quarim
Dragon Clan
Merchant*Qolat*Gaijin
Posts: 334
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Post by quarim on Dec 20, 2011 12:15:09 GMT -5
Quarim closed his eyes as he was told. He had the strange sensation he was falling. Then everything was as it should be. He could tell through his closed eyes it was bright here. So they must have arrived.
Daichi may I open my eyes now? There was no response. Daichi? Are you there? Mitsouko?
Slowly he opened his eyes as if he saw the world he would be subject to the dangers here. At first he was blinded by how bright it was. Then his eyes adjusted. He was in the middle of a desert and before him was The Great Pyramid.
He walked slowly towards it. He intuitively knew where to go. He made his way inside and through the catacomb like maze. Each step was guided by destiny. Until he entered the great hall.
On a raised platform stood the Pharaoh. Filling the room was one thousand Senpet Legionaries, the honor guard. Quarim walked through the warriors toward the platform. He knelt before it and put his head to the floor and waited.
The Pharaoh spoke to him in the Senpet tongue. It was the language Quarim heard Daichi speak earlier in the night. Any non noble of Senpet was to have their tongue cut out for speaking it. You Quarim, son of Satem, are the descendant of the last Vizier. Therefore you will be my instrument on the Mortal Plane. It was not a request. The Pharaoh was always obeyed, death had not changed that. A child has been born in the land of Rokugan, where you now travel. This child is of my blood and will restore my rule as it should be.
You will find this child and prepare the way for him. He is to rule over Rokugan. And Rokugan is to rule over the Burning Sands. In this way the Senpet Empire will be restored.
Quarim was astonished by the whole ordeal. He was being told by the highest authority to help Rokugan conquer his home. He had been planning for years for the opposite to happen. Now he would have to betray everyone. But he had to obey. This was what he had been fighting for since the day he was born.
I am forever your servant. B-but my lord, how am I to find this child?
Find his mother. She has the face of a woman, the body of a lion, the tail of a scorpion, rides on the winds like a eagle. NOW GO!
A wind picked up and Quarim felt like the world was being ripped away from him. Everything went black as he fell unconscious. His sleeping body laid at the foot of the cave back in the mortal realm.
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Kakita Mitsouko
Crane Clan Mod
::Daimyo::Kenshinzen::Hatamoto of Crane Clan::Paragon of Duty
Posts: 1,952
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Post by Kakita Mitsouko on Dec 22, 2011 1:59:13 GMT -5
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Post by Asahina Yuuto on Dec 25, 2011 2:38:43 GMT -5
Pacing around the perimeter of the hastily crafted ritual circle, scroll in hand, Yuuto lips the incantations and prayers needed to banish the oni; the current circumstances inspiring a tedious level of concentration in his practice.
Nearby, Asahina painstakingly finish their kanji strokes as wards are prepared and others clean away the injured and dead. Asahina Timaru, set above them all, a sour look of determination in his demeanor, slowly unwraps a jade figurine, the woven cloth giving way to its verdant splendor; caressing the statue, he carefully places its shine among the circle's center. What once was decoration and proper decorum to be viewed in the halls of Kyuden Doji, now exhibits under the stink and decay of fallen oni-corpse, a sentinel against festering taint.
The former Daimyo's actions, out of the ordinary and a display worthy of attention to the entirety of those assembled, brings a halt to the work around him, as he completes the ceremony. Never a man of leisure, Timaru soon finds annoyance with the disruption, a flash of his look quickly commanding such aloofness back to task. The immediate work complete, Timaru begins to make his rounds.
Agasha Shodai’s question of preparedness had left a distraction in Yuuto’s mind, the threads of thought unraveling in his mind with every passing moment. Of course I know the ritual, he thought. After all, he had learned a trick or two from the Kuni during his time tending to the recent plague, and the Asahina’s collective knowledge is not to be underestimated. None-the-less, a bittersweet look finds his face, as he indulges further into the distraction brought about by Shodai's impromptu arrival, the memories of his days with the Isawa swelling in poor form; he loses himself in a stream of consciousness of obsidian strands and locks of an earlier day, the lessons of life flickering and fluttering longingly in his eyes as time presses forward. The shugenja absently forgets himself and his duties.
A stern reprimand interrupts the daydream, bringing him back to reality,“Yuuto-san,” the coarse voice of the former Asahina Daimyo corralling him to duty, “the other shugenja are prepared,” Timaru growling as a Matsu would, “but we do not have all day.”
“Forgive me, Timaru-san,” Yuuto conforming a calmness to his face as he looks over the teal and azure robed brothers and sisters poised around the circle edge. He hurridly finds his position, letting out one last longing breath; with a flick of his wrist, and a raise of his arm, his forehead entrancing with the wind, the ritual begins – a rhythmic chanting composed in unison, to the conductor's command.
The wind, picking up strength, swirls around playfully; the shugenja coaxing and goading the oni to form. Growing to a forte crescendo, their chants tease with greater intensity, as the corpse begins to steam to twisted life. The crackles of corrupted flesh turned incorporeal soon boom into a baser bellow, the tainted whispers unfurling into the wind, but Timaru’s roar above them all reminding to be mindful, “clear your minds, for in this hour, the beast will tempt you with secret desire.”
The warning breaks Yuuto momentarily from his trance, hazel eyes honing towards corrupting spirit, his somatic components gently direct the kami to ignite the spiraling wind around daemonic form into purging flame.
"Hssss," the monster screams, the oni’s dull bellow turning to high pitch as it darts ineffectually around the circle perimeter in hopes of escape. The babbling beast bubbles it belief as it sizzles, “Mitsouko will be mine,” it rippled movements slamming violently, yet helplessly, against the ritual’s barrier. The land underneath, rumbling to life in support with earthen chains exposing, latches to slow the oni’s flight.
More intensely the terror screams as crimson flames lick menacingly upon its frame, “what do you desire,” it profanes, as the chains begin to drag along the ground and add to the oni’s lethargic fuddle; his offer making the rounds from one shugenja to the next, looking desponantly for a buyer.
The kami swirl in tempest, presenting unwavering opposition, jade statue in the middle of it all glimmering intimately; the spiritual chains dispassionately lashing the monster forcefully to the ground, the kansen released by Alesha’s betrayal the first to slide towards banishment found in the circle’s blackened center.
The oni’s desperation turns to rage, scorching flames now eating away at its decrepit form, and jade-hued chains drawing it back to the plane of darkness; the abomination begs with one last bargain, a slur on its breath,“I feel your fears – your desires – your regrets, who wishes to deal?” Failing in its fight, an uncertainty find itself among the chants of the ritual and howling winds as the monster goes silent, the kami dancing triumphantly within this divine display. In sober disposition, the oni inches to its death, a last minute glance around the circle thrashing a second life, its haggard nostrils soon catching a scent.
“Ho ho ho,” the monster boasts in baritone, a defiled smile smirking upon the corrupted face as it rises from the earthen floor; the beast’s once ineffectual clawing building to a galloping second wind, it darts towards Yuuto’s sight despite manacled restraint.
The stinking cloud, flowing and billowing within the ritual's miasma, begins to snake around the shugenja, the heavy clank of constricting chains rattling madly in the wailing tempest that surrounds. The beast begins to sniff intimately for supressed wounds, wetting its appetite, it soon strikes, “oh my, what regrets you hide,” the acidic smell of sulfur wafting intimidatingly to Yuuto’s nostrils, his entire body trembling in fear as the oni snakes alluringly to his ears. “I can make it right; I can wash your regrets away, fulfill your desires, but you must first aid my wants,” the oni whispers seductively, feeding off Yuuto’s pounding heartbeats, he hisses further, “release me, and I will solve your plight.”
His knees begin to buckle, sweat tearing down his face, as his body convulses in terror, his concentration beginning to falter, he slowly stammers, “Noo… never,” staggered breath showing a heaviness in chest, he denies within his mind the memories and failures the oni now uses for respite; the beast cackles mockingly, “give into your weakness, so that I might make you strong.” Yuuto desperately pushes back, feeling the sting, as the table begins to turn against him.
The chants continue, the rattle of chain and honeyed seduction clashing in the wind, the jade figurine glowing brightly among the elemental madness. The links strain and tug in harmony with the purification ritual, yet finding delay, begin to weaken; as the oni's haggle comes to climax, Yuuto's vision lingers, his hand quaking lifelessly to his side, as he bows his head.
Intervening in the dispute, a jade flash engulfs, a verdant explosion separating the two, flinging them to their backs.
The oni rebuked from its bargain, now screeching its desire to destroy all from its crumpled position, wriggles in agony as it attempts to regain composure. Yuuto glances to his left, as he wipes the sweat from his brow, to see the soured look of Asahina Timaru demanding an immediate resolution. The shugenja make their stand.
Yuuto nods in compliance, the movements and incantations that follow flowing instinctively. Purifying flame engulfs the stunned oni; curses and empty threats fly in response. The constricting chains yank as enraged kami purge the daemon from the land, pushing the steaming mass violently to the circle center. The sinister form succumbs to its end, dissipating slowly in high pitched scream; the elements begin to slowly relent, as the oni’s presence is no more.
“Is it over,” a timid shugenja questions as calmness sets in; a breathless Yuuto, shaking, on his knees and exhausted, replies in solemn pulse, “we can only hope.” The once stinking oni-corpse, now glowing as jade, centers the scene.
Timaru, finishing his rounds, finally begins his approach towards a humbled Yuuto with head still bowed, his eyes looking up and down the kneeling shugenja, but never saying a word.
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Kakita Mitsouko
Crane Clan Mod
::Daimyo::Kenshinzen::Hatamoto of Crane Clan::Paragon of Duty
Posts: 1,952
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Post by Kakita Mitsouko on Dec 25, 2011 11:44:48 GMT -5
Mitsouko opened her eyes, feeling the grip of an unnatural and malefic presence over her loosening more and more, fading and being drained to far away, from for her, from this realm and beyond. Though the sensation about the link with the oni had smoothed since she had stepped in the Chikushudo, she knew for sure it was over. Somehow, the link between the oni and her name had been totally, unmistakably severed. She breathed deeply, aspiring the pure air from this realm, the realm that saved her life. Few she had seen of it, but it didn't matter. From now on a deep respect for this sacred place would grow in her heart. She was maculated, Mitsouko knew it. No matter if it was just a scar in her soul, it was there and maybe could return to haunt her. But now, not only by her, but by the effort of the Asahina, Kitsune, the valiant Crane, Crab and Mantis that fought against the beast (she could imagine), she had her redemption, and so, Mitsouko was aware the beast wasn't in Nigen-do anymore.
Kitsune-san. I think we won. She whispered, a slight hint of joy in her voice. Could we please come back home?
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Agasha Shodai
Phoenix Clan Mod
Phoenix Clan * The Void Master * Tensai * Taisa * Enlightened * Paragon of Compassion * Unique
Posts: 783
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Post by Agasha Shodai on Dec 25, 2011 13:21:11 GMT -5
Agasha Shodai nods in admiration for the work of the Asahina shugenja as the Oni's physical form is destroyed.
"That is the end of this version of the Oni."[/b] Shodai answered the question that Yuuto was uncertain of. "But much as a human is reincarnated when the body is destroyed as long as their soul is uncorrupted by the taint of Jigoku, so too will the Mitsouko-no-Oni be reborn as long as the vile spell that the traitor Alesha remains on Mitsouko, granting what passes for the Oni's infernal soul to return to Ningen-do. As long as the Oni is not an Oni Lord, it will require it's mortal host to resurrect itself."
"As long as Mitsouko-san remains in Chikushudo, the essence of the Oni will have to make its way THERE before it can attempt to rebuild its body. Since Chikushudo is on the far end of the spirit realms from Jigoku, it will take time... Hopefully, enough time for me to dispel the Oni Mark."[/b] He finished, recalling how he'd ripped it from the body of the Fallen Isawa Isshin a few months earlier.
The Void Master looked to the north again. "Takeyabu-sama! Please hurry!"[/b]
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Kitsune Poxo
Mantis Clan
Mantis Clan | Shugenja | Earth | Thunder | Kitsune Blooded | Naval | Daimyo | Unique
Posts: 225
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Post by Kitsune Poxo on Dec 26, 2011 12:07:25 GMT -5
Daichi opened his eyes and looked at her. He had seated himself on his knees looking out of the cave viewing the vast ocean. The ambient light of the night sat bright outside in the clear sky. "So you feel that it has been vanquished back in our home realm? Then you have another step. You need to break it. A purification ritual is order, and soon because no doubt it's essence is coming here. Their defeat is not so easily won."
"A man once asked me 'If a million objects come to you, what do you do?' And I replied 'A green object is not yellow. A long object is not short. Each object conducts its own fate. Why should I interfere with them?" A deep and somber voice heralded the arrival of the spirit. There was no sound to the voice as it resonated within the minds of those it around it at a subconscious level. It paused for a moment before asking, "And tell me why should I interfere here?" The body of a great panda soon appeared. It stood a few meters away.
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Agasha Shodai
Phoenix Clan Mod
Phoenix Clan * The Void Master * Tensai * Taisa * Enlightened * Paragon of Compassion * Unique
Posts: 783
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Post by Agasha Shodai on Dec 26, 2011 13:32:30 GMT -5
Agasha Shodai knelt and bowed reverently to Takeyabu the panda spirit, offering thanks that the spirit had come. Takeyabu-sama was very fond of incorporating philosophy into all of their discussions. "In my youth, when I was still a selfish man, I once posed that same question to someone seeking my aid, Takeyabu-sama... The man, a heimin from another clan, replied, 'The monk that frequents our village once quoted the Tao of Shinsei and said that "The worst enemy is the absence of hope..." Will you please give me hope, Phoenix-sama?'"
"When presented by such a humble plea, I was moved to obey the Compassion tenet of Bushido to aid the man who asked so humbly and I can only hope that my words will cause you to do the same, Takeyabu-sama..."[/b]
The Void Master sat up. "Always before I have come to you for your permission to cut bamboo in the Isawa Mori and we have honored the wise taboos that you have given us in exchange for your permission: plant two seeds for each stalk cut and take no more than you can carry with the strength of your own back. But this time is different, Takeyabu-sama..."[/b]
Shodai looked long and deep into the eyes of the panda, so that the spirit could look deep into the shugenja's soul and see the truth in his words. "This time, I come to you for my own reasons... Through cruel deceit, the woman to whom my clan has arranged my marriage with - the woman who, through our journey together before the omiai was agreed upon, I have come to treasure and value more than my own life - was betrayed by a former comrade who has Fallen to the sway of Jigoku...
"The traitor was able to place an Oni Mark on her - against her will - and so the monstroscity whose purified husk you see over there..."[/b] Shodai pointed to the remains of the Mitsouko-no-Oni. "Has been tormenting her in an attempt to steal her name and become a living entity. During the fighting, my beloved, Kakita Mitsouko, was captured by the Mantis Clan, but the Daimyo of the Fox Clan, Kitsune Daichi, used his deep connection with the Spirit Realm you call home to her to Chikushudo in order to interfere with the Oni here; which WAS successful, as you can see. I do not know how much Daichi knows about dealing with Oni, but I do know that now that it's first body has been destroyed, the dark spirit of the Oni will chase Mitsouko into Chikushudo to try and be reborn."
"I beg your help Takeyabu-sama..."[/b] Agasha Shodai bowed until his forehead touched the tiles of the courtyard. "I wish only to help my future wife before anything bad happens to her; to be by her side to help her fight off this demon. I have dealt with you before and have found you to consistently been a fair spirit, so I have come to you out of respect as opposed to seeking a local spirit or brute-force my way in through the Void. I will accept any taboos you place on me and offer you whatever reward you feel to be fair for your aid. I pray that, thank to our dealings together, you view me as an honorable man and know that once I make a promise I never go back on my word..."
"Please, Takeyabu-sama, lend me your aid so that I may keep the promise I made to Mitsouko: To be there for her whenever she needed me the most. My duties as Void Master caused me to fail her once when Toshi Ranbo fell; I beg you, do not make a liar out of me twice..."[/b]
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Kitsune Poxo
Mantis Clan
Mantis Clan | Shugenja | Earth | Thunder | Kitsune Blooded | Naval | Daimyo | Unique
Posts: 225
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Post by Kitsune Poxo on Dec 26, 2011 14:45:42 GMT -5
Takeyabu-sama took time to reply. The moments passed as it contemplated the speech that Shodai gave it. Then in that somber voice replied. "You seek to enter the house of my kind. The scars brought upon it today is enough for us to shun visitors for a long time. Her son has brought much ire to the humans today by no intention of his own. You must know such a thing must be met in equal. The taboos I give will be the conditions under which you can stay within our home but what do you offer?" He seemed to make no move as to what he wanted as the offer almost as if he was weighing the shugenja's sincerity at the request.
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Agasha Shodai
Phoenix Clan Mod
Phoenix Clan * The Void Master * Tensai * Taisa * Enlightened * Paragon of Compassion * Unique
Posts: 783
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Post by Agasha Shodai on Dec 26, 2011 15:57:09 GMT -5
Agasha Shodai raised his eyes. "With Mitsouko's safety on the line? I would offer any taboo you would like: I would limit myself to no offensive magics - just self-defense and what I would need to banish the Oni Mark - while in Chikushudo on pain of being forcibly ejected back here to Ningen-do. I would bind myself to letting Kitsune Daichi handle all but the removal of the Mark for the sake of letting Mitsouko know that I am there for her, no matter what happens..."[/b]
The Void Master thought for a moment as to an offering for the panda spirit to encourage his cooperation. "And for your help, Takeyabu-sama, I offer to increase my Clan's return to the Isawa Mori by 50% - replanting three bamboo seeds for every plant we take."
"But, beyond that, if I can save my future wife from this monster being summoned in her name, I offer you, personally, a place as a guest of honor at our wedding since without your aid the wedding may not happen, Takeyabu-sama. This marriage will be one that will help bring the Phoenix and the Crane closer together and your presence might inspire the other guests to offer a greater amount of reverence to the spirits of Chikushudo in the holdings of BOTH our clans."[/b]
Shodai raised his eyebrows, hoping that these would be sufficient to enlist Takeyabu's aid.
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