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Post by Shoju on Jan 11, 2012 15:26:35 GMT -5
NO! STOP! Shoju lept, and began to chase the undead behemoth. If he hurts that child, I will make YOU ALL SUFFER Shoju yelled at his men as he chased him, and pulled a small vial of blood from his obi, and spilled the blood. The Undead shot straight as a board and froze in place. As it did, a flaming arrow pierced the back of its head, igniting the undead. Shoju rotated his hand, and the burning undead rotated, facing him.
Jade powder?! You were going to kill... A CHILD Over Jade Powder? Shoju's voice dripped with disgust, and he balled his hand into a fist, ending the life of the undead.
As the husk of the undead fell to the ground, Kiga and Rochuzo caught up to him. Kiga addressed him Shoju-sama.... something is wrong...
Shoju looked at around at the town. He couldn't make it out either, but he could feel it. Something, was indeed very wrong about the situation. The Boy had led them into a trap. The question, was could they escape before it was sprung?
Back out of here. Back to the hotel we go. Quickly.
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Utaku Mai
Unicorn Clan
*Battle Maiden* *Paragon of Honor* *Goddamn Rockstar*
Posts: 484
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Post by Utaku Mai on Jan 11, 2012 15:40:37 GMT -5
The innkeeper ran toward his son, his desperation obvious in his gait. He managed to close the distance, and in a fluid movement, swept him up in his arms and carried him to the relative safety of the fort. No sooner was he able to cross the threshold then a fresh volley of flaming arrows loosed themselves upon Shoju and his followers. Most of them seemed to miss the tsukai by a wide margin, but a few came right toward them.
No sooner had Shoju given his command to fall back that they could see the way to the inn blocked. Every last person who could fight to defend Kibukito stood before them, wielding katana, scimitars, even butchers knives and tree branches. Some looked fearful, but they all looked determined to destroy this evil in their village once and for all.
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Post by Shoju on Jan 11, 2012 16:31:59 GMT -5
As the trio deflected the arrows, Rochuzo screamed AMBUSH!
Shoju turned to see the way back to the inn blocked, and smiled. So now you fight to save your town. NOW, You show backbone?! I spared the child, Do not take my appreciation for the truly innocent for granted. If you stand against me, I will crush you[/i]. [/color]
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Utaku Mai
Unicorn Clan
*Battle Maiden* *Paragon of Honor* *Goddamn Rockstar*
Posts: 484
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Post by Utaku Mai on Jan 11, 2012 17:50:05 GMT -5
The air began to crackle with anticipation. One of the men, a farrier, big enough to be a Hida in his past life, shook his sizable belly with a mirthless laughter. On his shoulder he had a hefty club studded with nails and other scrap pieces of iron.
"You thought we were weak because we are exiles?" He asked, his voice becoming almost jubilant in the joy of battle that he was about to take part in, a joy he never thought he would experience again. "You're wrong to underestimate us so. Even in exile, we too are Rokugan!"
Another volley of flaming arrows sailed past the trio. None of them found their marks, and Shoju wondered how their aim could be so poor.
Then he realized that the crackling in the air was not metaphorical.
Flames born from the first arrows finally gained ground and spread to the wooden shingles of the inn, creating a huge blaze. The barrels of pitch were set alight, swirling a thick black plume of smoke upward as they were rolled into the doorways. Anyone holding out in the inn would be burnt to a crisp within minutes if they didn't feel like taking their chances with the mob.
The Hida spat in the dirt in front of the bloodspeaker.
"Crush us? Crush me? I'd like to see you try, spawn of Evil!" And with a vicious shout, he charged.
-----
"Smoke! I see it!"
The signal was lit, and the black smoke wafted into the air. The distant echo of voices could be heard. Mai rode out of the treeline, raising her clad arm so that it gleamed in the sunlight. Everything, every leaf, every rock, every tree and snowflake, was in perfect focus. Ren was on edge, her mane standing back and her teeth were bared. The unicorn horn of her barding shone like a knife.
"To me, everyone, to arms! We ride in defense of our families! We ride for Bikami and Kibukito! We ride for Rokugan!!!"
And with a shout and kick, Mai charged, leading a thundercloud of hoofbeats and warcries behind her.
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Post by Shoju on Jan 12, 2012 10:29:28 GMT -5
Shoju heard the commotion of the Unicorn charging towards the fray, and saw the Inn on Fire, and Obutsu, Senzo, and Saiten engaged with villagers. This, was not turning out to be the day he had planned. Shoju turned to Kiga and Rochuzo. This one, is mine. Clear a path to the others, and deal with the villagers. Shoju cocked his head towards the rushing sound of the Unicorn. We will have company soon. Best to deal with this quickly.
Kiga nodded, and He and Rochuzo began fighting back towards the others. The villagers were fighting hard, and their resolve was greater than some would expect.
Shoju turned back towards the charging former crab, dodged his wild swing with his Tetsubo, and let the blood fall to the ground. I don't think you are weak because you are an exile. The Crab began grasping at his throat, as Shoju smiled, pulling the dagger from his obi.I think you are weak because you don't recognize true power The Crab fell to his knees, his eyes rolling back in their sockets. The darkness within you is strong Shoju almost giggled with glee, and plunged the dagger into the back of the crab's throat. Your blood will serve me well.
As the Crab's lifeblood fell on the snow, Shoju closed his eyes for a moment, and his hands began to smoulder, then catch fire... though you could see his hands through the fire and they didn't burn. As Shoju advanced towards the Fort the villagers had made, he began launching small barrages of fire towards it. COME OUT AND FACE ME!
Shoju's small band were fighing valiantly, and making their way towards their master, and the fort. They were slowed by the advance of the villagers, And soon, Rochuzo fell. As he did, he plunged his katana into the heart of a Villager, and the two of them spilled their blood on the ground as they fell.
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Utaku Mai
Unicorn Clan
*Battle Maiden* *Paragon of Honor* *Goddamn Rockstar*
Posts: 484
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Post by Utaku Mai on Jan 12, 2012 12:21:01 GMT -5
The cohesive unit of the villagers began to break apart as they began to engage the bloodspeaker's followers. They tried to fight smarter, staying just out of range, knowing their deaths would only strengthen their enemy. It was a hard fight that not all of them could withstand, and the hidden fire archers could only do so much to incinerate the bodies as they fell, but they fought all the same, bolstered by the knowledge that even in their dishonored state, they had the support of the empire.
The noise of the cavalry began to become deafening. Within moments the gap was closed again by half, and the horsebowmen began to shoot in the narrow range between accuracy and safety. Arrows found their marks, the jade heads burning and melting to slag as they pierced and buried themselves into tainted flesh. Mai found the scene opening before her eyes as Ren ran closer, and saw the man in the middle, launching fire despite the wounds that he must have sustained. She adjusted Ren's direction with her knees by a hair's width, putting him in her direct line of charge.
Ken'o, the bloodspeaker. The man out for vengeance against an Empire who stood for everything that he lacked.
The man who made Haru's sacrifice necessary in the first place.
"The Bloodspeaker is MINE!"
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Post by Shoju on Jan 12, 2012 12:37:55 GMT -5
Jade.... Shoju scowled as a third arrow pierced him. The Jade was really beginning to be painful. Shoju let the flame extinguish from his left hand, and tore at the arrows that were burning him, while still maintaining a defensive position.
The voice from behind claimed him as its target. He turned, and saw the Battle Maiden. He scowled, and threw the jade arrow he clutched to the ground, and pulled the one in his thigh free and buried it in the neck of a man who ran towards him, fury consuming his motives.
As He began walking towards her, He noticed a familiarity about her. As he walked, he whispered an incantation, and the Dead former Crab lurched to a standing postion. KILL Was Shoju's only command, and it began to lumber towards the fort. The more Shoju walked towards her, the more the outside commotion of the battle left his senses. Something was drawing him to her. He just couldn't figure it out yet.
the others
It turned out that while Obutsu wasn't a very good shugenja, he did relish in making people bleed. He ran through the villagers, screaming a song of death in a gleeful voice as he cut at them. He wasn't trying to kill them, He was merely trying to wound them. He knew that his master, and Kiga needed the blood. It would help them. It was a task he took much pride in.
His new khadi existence allowed him to shrug off most of the cuts, and blows that the villagers could get on the madman as he ran. He was finally, truly alive.
Senzo was running out of arrows, and when heard the battle maiden's cry, he used his last few arrows to set the buildings near Shoju ablaze. Maybe, he could help buy his master some time.
Kiga cried as he battled the villagers. He had grown to love and hate these people all at once. He loved them because they were there for his mother. He hated them for the very same reason. No one dare spoke up, no one dared argue, no one dared do more than just exist in the mountain town. Content to be a part of, yet not accepted, in an Empire. He whispered a small prayer over those he killed.
Saiten saw the cavalry, and broke off from his fight with the villagers, and scrambled to inflict damage on them from behind. He knew that Shoju would never be able to hold Kibukito now.
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Utaku Mai
Unicorn Clan
*Battle Maiden* *Paragon of Honor* *Goddamn Rockstar*
Posts: 484
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Post by Utaku Mai on Jan 12, 2012 13:22:13 GMT -5
The archers cursed from their position in the fort, and aimed everything they had at the huge man coming toward them. He walked on, reacting to the arrows in his chest and gut as no more than needle pricks, smiling as he rose his tetsubo above his head to strike. The innkeeper, armed with a scimitar, swung as hard as he could at the undead's midsection, his paternal instinct taking over what he lacked in training or finesse.
Taro heard his lady's warcry, and broke away from her side to find a target of his own. He carried a lance with a head with fine steel, a sharpened finger of jade tied on hastily to make a double-tip. The other cavalry did the same, soon to fill the open space of the battlefield.
Villagers began to fall back, running away before the cavalry could claim them along with their foes. A few continued fighting, knowing they wouldn't survive the crush, but staying behind to allow others to live on.
And Mai...the cries and metallic clangs had become little more than whispers in the air blowing past her. The bloodspeaker walked toward her, as if accepting the inevitable. Her katana moved low in her final furious push toward her target, ready for the moment of contact. She was silent and swift as the wind, moving with her silvery white steed toward her goal.
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Post by Shoju on Jan 12, 2012 14:27:21 GMT -5
The slice from the innkeeper cleaved his undead former friend, and his torso heaved, and fell back onto the ground, tearing from his body the rest of the way. His legs wavered, standing for a moment, and then fell. The former Crab crawled, and gnashed, and swung his tetsubo wildly, the misery on the undead's face was apparent.
The battle maiden's cavalry charge was certainly turning the tide of the battle. As she drew in closer, charging towards Shoju, time stopped for Shoju. The hair. The armor. The body. Was it her? Shoju's dagger fell from his hand, and the tears began to fall fresh against his cheeks. She had come back from the grave to avenge his failings. To avenge his madness.
Senzo could see the paralyzed expression of Shoju standing there with the battle maiden bearing down on him, the building on either side of the street burning down around him. what is he doing!? was the only thought screaming in his head. He was too far away to do anything. He had moved from the inn, to the wall, to another building now.
Obutsu stopped and smiled as he felt a sense of pride at the villagers in full retreat. He was so enthralled with the song of blood in his head that nothing else could be heard in his head.
Kiga had cleared away from the villagers, and out fo the way of the bulk of the Cavalry, and was attempting to use Maho to deter them, injure them, and slow their advance in any way he could. While some were injured, and some gave chase after this other Maho-Tsukai, The Battle Maiden leading the charged was preparing to cleave his master.
Shoju was still fixated on her. How could this be? How could his love be back from the dead? How could she be here, and whole, and pure, when she had been lost to him? The tears were flowing freely. She was everything that he couldn't give her. You are my Shi no Tenshi
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Utaku Mai
Unicorn Clan
*Battle Maiden* *Paragon of Honor* *Goddamn Rockstar*
Posts: 484
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Post by Utaku Mai on Jan 12, 2012 15:13:13 GMT -5
The innkeeper hacked away at the decapitated undead in a panicked frenzy, black blood splattering in all directions until he finally managed to remove the hands, arms, and finally, head. With the legion finally unable to move, the father looked at his stained hands, then rubbed them on his kosode front, finding to his horror that the bloody clothing only seemed to spread it around. He ran to a nearby snowbank, scrubbing himself with snow, desperate to save himself from the influence of the Taint.
The distance between Mai and Shoju shrank even smaller, and time seemed to freeze, allowing him to take in completely the visage of the young woman in the saddle.
She had a lean build, suited almost perfectly to the ethereal white horse she flew upon. Her long black hair was tied back behind her, though a few hairs had come loose, whipping back and forth in the rhythm of her charge. Her brown eyes were fierce, full of fire and spirit, penetrating him with a focus that seemed to burn through him. The blade she carried was polished to a high shine, and seemed to flow into her arm without any break between steel and skin.
Her pale jaw was set, and her lips formed one silent whispered demand...
Justice...
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Post by Shoju on Jan 12, 2012 15:27:30 GMT -5
As Shoju stood there, staring at her bearing down on him, he realized... This is not my Tenshi[/i]. Panicked, he closed his eyes as he heard her call for justice, and the earth swallowed him, and she rode past. After she passed he ascended from the earth, the tears on his face flowing. He was angry. Angry at himself. Angry at this... Woman. He had let his mind deceive him, and this woman had almost killed him. Shoju Brought the earth up in front of her, cutting her off, and spun forcing an Air Kami to bring the burning building down behind him.
They weren't completely cut off from the rest of the battle, but interfering would prove a time consuming prospect.
You shouldn't have come here Battle Maiden. All you will find is death.... suffering.... and agony.
Shoju picked his dagger up from the ground, and turned to face her.
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Utaku Mai
Unicorn Clan
*Battle Maiden* *Paragon of Honor* *Goddamn Rockstar*
Posts: 484
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Post by Utaku Mai on Jan 12, 2012 16:28:51 GMT -5
The moment seemed perfect. The man didn't even make an attempt to dodge. Mai could feel the blade as well as if it were her right hand, feeling the cold slice as it cut through...
...Nothing.
"NO!!!"
She screamed, looking desperately around. It was impossible, he was just here. She scanned the area, knowing he couldn't have gone far.
The earth moving beneath her, and Ren's reactionary rear, came as such a surprise that for the first time in her life she lost her seat on her horse and fell.
Her training took over -- she hit the ground belly-first and rolled to minimize the impact, losing her breath in the sudden rush of momentum but, thankfully, avoiding any broken bones. Ren seemed to sense Mai's presence underneath her, and managed to leap out of the way of her fallen companion without causing additional injury.
She looked up at the bloodspeaker with disgust.
"You presume...you dare to invade my clan's land...to perform your perverted rituals...to threaten my people...and not expect retribution?"
Bruised and scraped, she found her feet and, slowly, brought her katana before her in her favored kenjutsu stance, both hands on the hilt to favor strong forward movement.
"And now, you think you could even take me in a fight?" The thought was almost funny to her, but there was no laughter, no joy in the task she was about to perform. There was only the burning hot focus, the anticipation of putting down this great evil before he had a chance to hurt anyone else she cared about. Finally, a tensioned band seemed to snap inside of her, and she ran forward to strike.
"See how easily death comes to the Utaku!!!"
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Post by Shoju on Jan 15, 2012 16:59:06 GMT -5
Shoju smiled as the Battle Maiden Charged. She was cut from the same cloth as his beloved Tenshi. In this moment. In the thrill of battle, in the heat of the moment, he could think about her, and it wasn't painful. He thought of everything that he had shared with her, and saw it mirrored in this battle maiden.
Shoju's words brought a barrier that looked like glass, but with the hue of blood in front of him as a shield. He gripped the dagger in a reverse handed fashion. You know not what you interrupt Battle Maiden. My Will will be served.
As she closed the distance, Shoju's free hand began to burn. The fire this time, a more blood red than fire.
He stood poised behind the blood shield. It was as if he wanted[/i] the battle maiden in close quarters.
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Utaku Mai
Unicorn Clan
*Battle Maiden* *Paragon of Honor* *Goddamn Rockstar*
Posts: 484
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Post by Utaku Mai on Jan 15, 2012 22:34:11 GMT -5
Mai saw the shield rise up in front of her, and could scarcely react as her blade hit the crystal in her attempt to slice the strong edge of her katana across his left side. Scraping a line as she moved forward in an attempt to shatter it, her blade could find little hold in the barrier except for a high-pitched grating noise and several sparks. Undaunted, she moved to the left of the shield, forcing the bloodspeaker to turn and engage her without the wall's protection between them. His taunt fell on deaf ears, but his smile...Mai determined not to let that smile unnerve her.
Forced to get much closer than she was generally accustomed to, she changed tack, warily. Putting herself too close would be a juvenile mistake, though her separation from Ren and a cavalry charge was already putting her far closer than she preferred. While Ken'o had a size advantage, she judged herself lighter and quicker, able to keep just out of the reach of his dagger while still keeping him in a threatened range to her own blade. Her lessons in footwork would not even need to be recalled to be implemented.
With a highly trained movement, her twin grip twisted around the fulcrum of the katana's handle. With only a slight shift between her right and left wrists, the blade's direction twisted off of the protective window to bear down on her enemy's right shoulder.
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Post by Shoju on Jan 16, 2012 7:52:52 GMT -5
Shoju exhaled with a might, and propelled himself back, away from the strike. He judged the woman to be skilled with a blade. Not as skilled as the man who killed him, but skilled enough.
So the boy made it back to whatever town it was that he was from them? Shoju threw a ball of fire towards her. And the Unicorn just had to come. I mean, these people can rot for all you care as long as there isn't someone igniting the sparks of revolution eh?
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