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Post by Shoju2 on Nov 15, 2011 14:31:15 GMT -5
This is an open RP taking place within the Dragonfly Province to start. Anyone is welcome to join.
This is a good place to read about the ronin if you want some backstory.
Toturi's supporters could use the simple story that they are looking for the ronin, a man who made an impression on the day the Spider Emissary died, and has become increasingly distant and plagued by his thoughts.
Hantei Supporters could use the simple story that they are passing to or from Dragon lands.
Spider... Welll, I'm sure any spider wishing to participate don't need help with a cover story.
The time since the Spider had revealed himself in the court of Toturi III seemed like a blur. The flood of memories that had come back to the man since then were not pleasant. He remembered the woman he loved. He remembered her fleeing on his horse. He remembered that he couldn't remember. He vaguely remembered his parents, his training, his life. It was as if his mind was shrouded in a dense slow moving fog that drifted through his memories, clouding some, and revealing others, only to cloud those later. This Sake house was quiet. The Brother's War had certainly managed to thrust all Samurai in the Empire into one type of action or another. It had pushed The Ronin away from the Shogun. He had looked to the Shogun as a puzzle piece in a life that had been fractured. He had hoped to find in the son, what his father had found in the father. Sadly, all he found was more questions. Why one brother or the other? What made Kaneka more right to sit upon the throne than his brother? Why were the Clans of the Empire lining up on either side ready to slaughter each other again in the name of a man whom held a name he didn't comprehend? While he couldn't remember Toturi I well, he did have memories of him. The niceties that he had bestowed on his parents after becoming Emperor. The training for himself. Some of it, surely was diluted by the Sake he was medicating himself with currently. The memories came and went, the fog in his brain hiding and revealing what the Sake wasn't. The Geisha played and sang quietly to his left. The Sake bottle sat at an angle in his lap. His eyes glassed over. Play it again Ranita-chan. Your voice, soothes me. The Geisha smiled and began to play again. As the melody began, she smiled at the man. My sama, you have come to me again, and again over time, and yet you still don't tell me your name. When will my sama tell me? The mans expression became darker, and his voice almost a whisper. My name is lost to the sands of time. I dare wager no man alive could answer that question. He took a drink from the bottle, and fell over, breaking the bottle, and causing quite the disturbance.
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Zeure
Crane Clan
Crane Clan ? Samurai ? Duelist ? Artisan ? Guardian of Metal ? Unique
Posts: 826
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Post by Zeure on Nov 15, 2011 17:48:52 GMT -5
The moon was out and not quite full; here in the Tonbo lands the only sign of war was the lack of people and the supplies being prepared to ship south. This was the reason that Jak had been drawn here. Large quantities of supplies in one location would draw anyone with a nose for it; but when one had the tribe to consider.... Humans didn't understand the rules of possession. He was scouting out the men that would be guarding the supplies so that when the tribe came he could direct them at the best time. The rooftop of the house that he was on was curved in the typical rokugani fashion, and Jak chose it because it was loud and noisy, and people would expect that and not look this way.
From within, Jak heard an even louder noise, something crashed and there was a loud thud. Being of the curious type, even for a nezumi; he crawled along the roof til he was at the window of the room. Through the wooden cross beams typical of such construction, he peered into the room and saw a man laying on the ground. The smell that hit Jak as he drew his face in closer was that of Sake. The samurai drink that clouded the mind... He understood that this man was 'clouded'.
Heh, Samurai....I would have never guessed that I would miss them. Yesterday's travels with the Kakita and the Mirumoto were so distant, but fondly remembered.
"You should help-help him, lady. He is drunk-drunk."
And that is when it was apparent that a very non-human looking face was peering into the room, hanging upside down from the roof.
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Post by Shoju2 on Nov 16, 2011 7:16:10 GMT -5
The woman stared at the..... thing looking in the window at her, her eyes grew wide, her complexion paled, and she screamed
uh oh OH OH OHNNNNNNNNNNNNNNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII![/i] [/size][/color]
And she collapsed on the floor, spilling the items from a small table and knocking her Biwa to the ground in a loud commotion.
Her collapse only stirred the Ronin, who mumbled under his breath.
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Zeure
Crane Clan
Crane Clan ? Samurai ? Duelist ? Artisan ? Guardian of Metal ? Unique
Posts: 826
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Post by Zeure on Nov 16, 2011 13:12:03 GMT -5
Jak sighed.
Some humans...
Most people couldn't stand the sight of a Nezumi. It was an unfortunate truth, this is why most of them kept underground until absolutely neccessary. Jak on the other hand, has had many dealings with the samurai and learned several things about how to treat humans. For instance, Jak thought that it would be impolite to leave the room the way that it was right now. He took a moment to shuck his bow and quiver and push them through the opening in the window and gently lean them against the wall. Then, in a feat no human contortionist could follow; the window holes were just big enough to allow his head to pass through, which mean that his body could pass through as well.
Now, standing in the room, Jak pulled the top half of the Ronin's body up and leaned him against the wall. A slight utterance escaped the Ronin's mouth which Jak ignored. Then, he went over to the fallen woman and picked her up in both arms. He looked around the room for somewhere to set her so she could rest comfortably.
Though his intentions were noble; if a samurai were to walk in and see this with no context, or wake up in same situation, they might think that Jak was attempting to carry off one of the women. Of course, this was preposterous; no nezumi would ever care enough about a human woman to do this, but....
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Post by Shoju2 on Nov 16, 2011 15:52:06 GMT -5
As the Nezumi held the woman, two things were becoming apparent. Someone, or several someones were now rushing down the door, throwing open doors, and clamoring about an "oni" and the drunk samurai now propped up against a wall was starting to come to. His hair had falled out of the top knot, and the silver strands clung to his stubble. He was mumbling about something. A name... Heiko maybe was about the only intelligible word coming from him.
Soon, Jak would have a drunk, but conscious samurai, and several other men to deal with.
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Zeure
Crane Clan
Crane Clan ? Samurai ? Duelist ? Artisan ? Guardian of Metal ? Unique
Posts: 826
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Post by Zeure on Nov 16, 2011 17:23:48 GMT -5
Hmmm, this could get bad...
Jak had decided that the best spot for the woman was the stacked mats where she had so recently been kneeling while playing her instrument. Jak gently sat her down so as not to cause more commotion. He looked up and noticed that there was a cross beam that was exposed in the ceiling that had a very small placement above it where Jak could hide for the moment. Dealing with one Samurai who did not know of him was ok, but several possibly armed men...this was not in Jak's mind a good idea.
He grabbed at his bow with his tail and wrapped around it a few times to secure it and then crouched and leapt straight up. His claws digging into the timber he managed to secure enough of a hand hold to swing himself up and onto the wooden beam, narrowly escaping the door to this room being thrust open. He put his hands over his mouth to help muffle his breathing and any words he might like to say. And too late, he noticed that he had not grabbed his arrow quiver.
Damn...
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Post by Shoju2 on Nov 17, 2011 10:17:53 GMT -5
This is the room. Hurry, open the door![/color]
The Ronin was slowly gaining consciousness again when the door burst open. two men, one obviously the "muscle" and one.... more "businesslike" spill into the room. They begin to survey the room. A drunk Ronin against a wall, a Geisha lying on the floor.
Check to see if she is alive! The smaller man said.
NO WAY! She screamed ONI[/i].[/color] The larger man shook his head. I've heard stories of foul creatures who can take the shape of those they kill. If I stick my hand down there, I'm as good as dead.
The two men squabbled back and forth for a minute as the Ronin came to. His head throbbed from the Sake in his veins, and the wound now present, and bleeding from where his head hit the floor. He began to try and stagger to his feet, mumbling under his breath, clearly [/i]the fine bottle of Sake he had purchased when he arrived was also very strong.
As he scraped and shambled to try and get to his feet, the two men stopped what they were doing, and slowly turned their heads. It was as if they couldn't figure out if he were alive, or recently returned from the dead.
It was then, the large man noticed the quiver. HEY! You know the rules old man! NO ONE is armed in the Jasmine Dragon! He drew a small tetsubo from his back and began to make his way towards the ronin. If you hurt one hair on her head, I will bludgeon you until not even the SHADOWLANDS could find use for you! He advanced across the room, and raised his tetsubo, ready to strike.
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Zeure
Crane Clan
Crane Clan ? Samurai ? Duelist ? Artisan ? Guardian of Metal ? Unique
Posts: 826
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Post by Zeure on Nov 17, 2011 13:14:19 GMT -5
Damn it again
Jak's inability to grab multiple things with his tail was now getting this clouded human in trouble. It was entirely his fault that he was about to get beat over the head with the spike club that the Hida had used in the Yesterday.
Jak thought quickly, What can I do...
And then it hit him, this one was angry but also scared; maybe Jak could use this to his advantage. Hoping that the shadows of the height mixed with the fact that he was wearing a hood would help enhance his attempt at intimidation.
He snarled and hissed in an intimidating way and stretched one hand down. He protruded his claws as much as he could and pointed at the club man. And in the most deep voice he could muster he spoke:
"YOU leave-leave that one for me!" He gestured at the ronin. "I'm still hungry and if you touch-touch my meal, I will eat-eat your SOUL!"
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Post by Shoju2 on Nov 17, 2011 14:37:18 GMT -5
The Large man turn and spun. He saw that claw. He sw eyes... and a face that looked nothing like a humans face. OH MY KAMI! IT IS AN ONI!!!!!! The large man shrieked as he ran out of the room screaming. The tetsubo clanged against the floor, and the smaller man lay sprawled in the hall, when he saw the figure in the raptors, he too began screaming.
GET OUT, RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! SAVE YOURSELF! IT'S AN ONI ATTACK UPON THE JASMINE DRAGON!
GET OUT, RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! SAVE YOURSELF! IT'S AN ONI ATTACK UPON THE JASMINE DRAGON!
The two men, and all of the guests of their small geisha house had spilled out into the streets now, screaming and running. The commotion in the streets was reaching a crescendo, and people began filing into the streets from other buildings.
back inside
The Ronin was to his feet, and the Sake in his veins was making him feel like vomiting was the next course of action. He saw the Geisha lying on her pillows, and figured that he had bored her to tears yet again, and she had fallen asleep playing him that haunting song as he drank himself into a stupor.
He didn't want to ruin her room, and the commotion in the halls had died down, so he figured it would be better to vomit in the hall than in his loves room. And so he did.
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Zeure
Crane Clan
Crane Clan ? Samurai ? Duelist ? Artisan ? Guardian of Metal ? Unique
Posts: 826
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Post by Zeure on Nov 17, 2011 14:47:52 GMT -5
"Heheheh, works every time."
Jak dropped down to the floor and walked over to the ronin and patted him on the back.
"There there, you be alright now."
He moved back into the room and grabbed up his quiver. He took a moment to snuff out the lights in the room and then peered out the window.
Hmm, lots of people....really hard to escape now...
He continued his train of thought, really sort of ignoring the human who was emptying his stomach onto the floor outside.
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Post by Shoju2 on Nov 18, 2011 10:26:48 GMT -5
The Ronin stood and wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. His head was starting to clear after relieving his body of some of the sake. He looked around. Things were in a commotion. He could hear things going on outside. Screaming, yelling, guards being summoned. He couldn't make sense of it. How long had he been out? Oh the Sake. It always played hell with his mind.
He looked around, and there was Ranita, crumpled on her mat. He walked to her, slower than normal as he was still rather intoxicated, and picked rolled her over. She was alive, and starting to stir.
She was coming to, and mumbling about something. As she opened her eyes, she saw The Ronin in front of her. She smiled a little, and embraced him, whispering in his ear You killed the oni didn't you?
The Ronin's eyes widened, and for the first time, he smelled it. It wasn't the taint he smelled. It was fur. A smell like what he had smelled while scouting for his twenty Goblin winter. Nezumi.
The ronin caressed the side of the geisha's face, and looked her in the eye There is no Oni Ranita-Chan. The ronin stood and looked towards the window. You have some explaining to do. He said as he slowly stood. What brings one like you so far into the Empire?
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Zeure
Crane Clan
Crane Clan ? Samurai ? Duelist ? Artisan ? Guardian of Metal ? Unique
Posts: 826
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Post by Zeure on Nov 18, 2011 14:39:27 GMT -5
Jak looked over his shoulder as the ronin advanced on the woman and saw her caress him.
They must be mates
He crossed his arms and continued to look out the window waiting for some kind of opportunity to present itself. Or he would just have to crawl back out the window and onto the roof to lay low for awhile until the commotion died down and he could leave.
As the ronin lobbed his questions, Jak just sort of let it roll off of him. He turned, still with his arms crossed, his mantle swinging in the sudden movement.
"It depends on what you mean-mean by so far into the empire, Heiko....san, yeah, Heiko-san. My warrens are-are in Phoenix lands. I came-came to scout. Humans are fight-fighting each other again, like in the Yesterday. We must-must be careful or we will meet the Tomorrow. This....place is not war-warring yet; but it is helping. So I stopped here to see-see."
The nezumi was assuming that the ronin was uttering his name in his sleep. Nezumi do not have a strong grasp of human names, the don't seem to mean anything. To Nezumi, names are powerful and meaningful in a way that humans rarely understood. And to not call someone by a name was unfathomable. Unless their name had been stolen, then they were outcast anyways.
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Post by Shoju2 on Nov 21, 2011 12:43:56 GMT -5
At the sound of the name Heiko, the Ronin's face hardened, and his eyes narrowed. Where did you hear that name? The Ronin's heart began to ache. And what would make you think that it's my name?. The Ronin's emotions were overwhelming as his mind remembered the woman he had loved so long ago. The edges of the memory were beginning to fade.
You say your warrens are in the lands of the Phoenix? I've never seen one of you outside of the few that scout for the Crab in the Shadowlands.
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Zeure
Crane Clan
Crane Clan ? Samurai ? Duelist ? Artisan ? Guardian of Metal ? Unique
Posts: 826
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Post by Zeure on Nov 21, 2011 13:14:50 GMT -5
"Umm...in sleep, you say-said name. Jak thought it was yours."
Jak shrugged and turned back to face the window so that he could watch the other humans while they decided what to do.
"In Honored-Treaty-City, Jak was friend to samurai chief. He help Jak find-find a place for tribe to nest. In the Isawa Forest, we hide. Plenty of food, plenty of fun. No monsters to fight."
Jak turned back to face the beleaguered samurai. A pleading look in his face and his hands outstretched palm up in a friendly gesture.
"Jak has been friend to samurai, will samurai be Jak's friend? I save-saved you from the big man with the club. He was going to smash you, but Jak stop-stop him. Will you tell everyone that you slay-slayed an oni? As you say outside, I escape through window. Did not mean to do this. Jak was not trying to frighten people. Jak be your friend for a long time."
He nodded several times to emphasize the point and if the ronin could guess what a nezumi smile looked like when they were being friendly, Jak was smiling. Though the toothiness of it would have frightened a lesser man.
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Post by Shoju2 on Nov 22, 2011 12:34:07 GMT -5
The Ronin nodded at the nezumi's mention of the name. He had dreamt of her again. I assure you, I am not Heiko. The sake's effect was wearing off on him for sure. He was still mostly drunk, but not completely drunk.
The Ronin nodded again Sure. I'll say I killed the Oni. Though... I think both of us will be banned from this establishment! The ronin let out a large laugh, at that.
The Geisha, sitting with her head cradled in her arms that sat against her knees looked up, and simply stated But wont they wish to see a body?
The ronin looked down at her, and sighed. The sake had made him miss that point. Ranita-Chan is right, Nezumi. Without a body, this will get messy. The ronin walked to the window, and looked outside. The crowd in the streets was beginning to grow.
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