The New Winds

Early in the morning, the students wake up with a piece of a parchment pinned with a familiar dagger into one of the dojo door’s pillars. Underneath it, there’s a small stool with voting urn, more charcoal and several pieces of paper. On the notice, is written with charcoal:

Write your name and then vote for the student you think fits the best award from the following list (only one name per entry, please):

The most
- Charismatic
- Beautiful
- Brave
- Smart
- Tough
- Trusted
- Generous

At the end of the lessons, extra-official awards will be granted to the names that accrue most votes for each category.

((Posting in this thread does not take up a timeslot. Please nominate a student for each category in your post))

- Charismatic - Kokyou
- Beautiful - Kuni Yotsuo
- Brave - Otomo Nobuko
- Smart - Asako Saburo
- Tough - Moto Ichiro
- Trusted - Yogo Otoko
- Generous - Kaiu Aiichiro

Aiichiro thought several times on who to write for each category, taking the battle against the attack over Mai and the fake goblins on deep consideration. Generous was an easy one — a gift was not a donation, and the only person he saw giving a donation was Ginkarasu saying that the money he got off his mochi would be sent to the wall.
Smart, trusted and tough were equally as easy. Brave required some thought — bravery was not recklessness, and although many students stood to distract the Zokujin they would have died if they were really goblins. The one person who both obeyed orders and followed the Otomo thinking he would die, even with a last moment declaration he pretended not to hear, was Kenji.
Beautiful was kind of hard, but he remembers interacting with a very pretty boy on the courtier training room. Charismatic was one of the hardest categories. He mostly got around people whom he didn't see interacting outside his bubble. Kokyou he thought of as annoying, and social bravery should not be synonimous with the social entrancing that was charisma. Ginkarasu sold all his mochi on half the days, and frequently got around imperials. Kenji almost everyone should know, but mostly because of the romance, as he was talked about everyday.
But if charisma meant being captivating and easygoing, he had some answers in mind. Kazuko was good at that, Nobuko too, and one of the Utaku girls were good at that. Oh. He just had the perfect idea! ...Uh, it did say students. Probably a lizard would not be considered one. Hm. Casting a vote to help the less likely to be voted one should help.

- Charismatic - Utaku Nesrin
- Beautiful - Bayushi Jiro
- Brave - Kakita Kenji
- Smart - Kuni Yotsuo
- Tough - Kaito Haruki
- Trusted - Iuchi Prashant
- Generous - Yasuki Ginkarasu

Saburo blinked when he looked at the thing. Well obviously he didn't belong on the list, so he was just going to quietly not even think about any of that. It had actually been such a relief to see his name removed from the... OH KAMI THEY'D ASK HIM WHY WOULDN"T THEY?!? Gah, he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.

So, this was not terribly difficult. Jiro had struck him as the most respectful and reasonable of the courtly trained, so he signed him up for the charismatic spot, though there were a few other good candidates. He caved in to any concerns over rumormongering since this was going to their teachers and wrote Sasaiko's name under most beautiful, managing not to blush. Nobuko was nominated for bravery mostly because he was convinced she was touched in the head for charging the goblins like she did. Aiichiro had actually managed to outdo basically all of them in the matter of lore, so obviously he was where he belonged. And, while many others had done harm to the goblins, Ichiro had taken one hell of a hit and kept going. Otoko really was sort of obviously one of the more trustworthy he'd seen here, particularly considering some of her own concerns. And when it came to generosity...

...
...

Fuck it, Miya were generous, right?

- Charismatic Bayushi Jiro (e.g. I'm pretty sure he has dirt on me by now)
- Beautiful Toritaka Sasaiko (e.g. Don't Judge Me)
- Brave Otomo Nobuko (e.g. Most Insane)
- Smart Kaiu Aiichiro (e.g. NEEEERD)
- Tough Moto Ichiro (e.g. I'm legitimately scared of him and respect him all at once.)
- Trusted Yogo Otoko (e.g. Anyone that goes that far out of their way not to curse anyone...)
- Generous Miya Wyn (e.g. What? He's a Miya. It's what they do.)

"Hmmm..." Charismatic and beautiful were easy, himself and Sakura-chan. Kenji stood up to him and that was real bravery. Saburo was just...too damn smart to pick anyone else. The rest were harder

-Charismatic: Zashi
- Beautiful: Doji Sakura
- Brave: Kakita Kenji
- Smart: Asako Saburo
- Tough: Kokyou
- Trusted: Bayushi Kaidan
- Generous: Kaito Haruki

Well, that's unexpected. I wonder which sensei assigned this one.

But Sasaiko replies.

The most
- Charismatic: Miya Wyn (diplomat in training)
- Beautiful: Doji Sakura (Doji's a good bet, yes?)
- Brave: Kokyou (quite a bit of chutzpah, this one)
- Smart: Kaiu Aiichiro (does it need explaining?)
- Tough: Kaiu Yotsuo (solid guy, clearly)
- Trusted: Asako Saburo (does it need explaining?)
- Generous: Kakita Kenji (benefits of training)

Ginkarasu looked at the list in a sort of horror.

Popularity contest.

Oh no.

Closing his eyes for a second, he steeled himself to the task. Opening them again, he filled out the list, best as he could.

Kenji made friends wherever he went. Organized a Go tournament for everyone.

He quickly wrote down Otoko's name and hoped it would not hurt her. He knew a tiny portion of the pain she felt, knew that she hid herself. But those actions she still did anyways were beautiful.
Yotsuo faced a future darker then any Ginkarasu knew.
Aiichiro was who he thought of when the word smart was even thought.
He trusted Miya Wyn enough to dance in the rain with him, without harsh judgement or thought of folly.
Nobuko gave him music and knowledge, all without any cause he could see.

- Charismatic: Kakita Kenji
- Beautiful: Yogo Otoko
- Brave: (He really wanted to write in the ashigaru who helped the bushi students but finally chose a student's name) Kuni Yotsuo
- Smart: Kaiu Aiichiro
- Tough: Kokyou
- Trusted: Miya Wyn
- Generous: Otomo Nobuko

This was... it had to be some sort of game. He didn't really understand why this was being put to the students to do this but he knew that sometimes in Sakkaku they liked to play games with each other. Participation might promote vanity in some, but it might also reality check others that don't place as well as they might believe in the voting. He didn't see it as productive, but... participation.

Also... being honest and revealing his inner feelings and opinions was uncomfortable. Best to learn to get over that discomfort. He'd likely be doing a lot of uncomfortable things in the future.

Charismatic: Otomo Nobuko
Beautiful: Kakita Kenji
Brave: Moto Ichiro
Smart: Asako Saburo
Tough: Kokyou
Trusted: Kaiu Aiichiro
Generous: Utaku Ichiro

Bayushi Jiro, freshly attired in the regulation student clothes, cast a weather eye over the list. Hmm...

The most
- Charismatic: Kakita Kenji--the leader, the one who got others to follow. That was Charisma.
- Beautiful: Kokyou--Jiro bit his knuckle, stifling a giggle as he wrote it down.
- Brave: Matsu Qiang. For a moment, Bayushi Jiro considered writing himself down, but in all honesty his great accomplishments on behalf of the clan were shared operations, with both Kaidan and Otoko showing strong support. Since one could not write "the Scorpion clan kids!" without signalling that some dark, shady activity had occurred, he was forced to consider the goblin attack. Of the heroes that rushed the horde, waving steel around, Kaito Haruki had annoyed Jiro severely once, and Moto Ichiro had confounded a perfectly good political marriage with absurd questions of love, so Matsu Qiang got his vote for Bravest-while-not-mildly-annoying-Bayushi-Jiro.
- Generous: Kuni Yotsuo Perhaps also the most naive, but Yotsuo's interpretation of Agasha-sama's intentions was perhaps the most generous that Jiro could imagine. And...well, most likely it would be a true prediction, now that the Scorpion would be looking over her shoulder. Jiro smiled to himself as he wrote the name.
- Smart: Iuchi Prashant--there was only one who outwitted the evil mastermind Bayushi Jiro during this dojo experience. Game recognizes game. It is known.
- Tough: Yasuki Ginkarasu--who endured his trials in spite of some of the worst luck Jiro had ever seen.
- Trusted: Bayushi Kaidan--This one gave him the longest pause. Trust was not something that came easily to Bayushi Jiro...but Kaidan had proven himself time and time again.

Ichiro had not had as much time as most to socialize with others so he was not upset to not see his name much on the listings. Nor did it give him many options as to who to fill in for what so he did his best with what little he had remembered. That made trying not to list anyone multiple times especially difficult....

- Charismatic: Kokyou
- Beautiful: Otomo Nobuko
- Brave: Kaito Haruki
- Smart: Iuchi Prashant
- Tough: Moto Ichiro
- Trusted: Togashi Dao
- Generous: Utaku Nesrin

Well, this is an interesting development. Who would have thought something so distinctively childlike would be done at this place? Oh well, better get to it.

Charisma is about who has made the least enemies and keeps everyone's spirits up, so that is definitely Sakura-san.

Sabaru-san is hands down the person that Haruki looks up to throughout this whole thing: not only did he come into the biggest spotlight a child could go into a year before they graduate, but he did so while being VISIBLY sick, and he ignored whatever negative thoughts came his way and took the top position and never gave it up. So he just had to put him down as the bravest person here.

Seeing Asako Sanzo's name in the top of the class, Haruki just had to chuckle. There shouldn't have been any doubts in Haruki's mind, but whatever was there was shattered in that moment. With that in mind, Haruki knew who he was writing down for Most Trusted student.

Aiichiro-san is hands down the smartest person here, but could you expect anything less of a Kaiu?

Yasuki Ginkarasu gave up his free period to work for his clan. So to maintain the face of the dojo, he wrote down Ginkarasu for most generous, for he gave away all of the time he was supposed to have.

Now for the big question, should Haruki write his own name down for toughest? Well, gotta be honest, so he's gotta compare himself to who else would be considered tough. Moto Ichiro and Togashi Dao, they're tough for sure. However, being able to punch really hard isn't as tough as being willing to take a hit for everyone else right? So all he needs to do is find a way to make it look like he's showboating, better use those calligraphy skills then.

The last catagory was strange, beautiful? Why would a samurai think about looks like that? Well, best to show his devotion to bushido and choose the least likely candidate, Kuni Yotsuo.

D10 Tiger: Calligraphy/Intelligence, hiding who wrote this entry: 5d10o10k3 24

Nesrin dithered for a long time, starting to chew the end of the charcoal absentmindedly before the taste registered. She grimaced and looked at the piece of burnt wood. It just wasn't fair to everyone to let her vote. There were so many that she'd barely talked to and only knew from seeing them here and there in class (and in the rumors) and...

One more hard test. Charisma, there were a lot of effective samurai here, but she ended up writing Nobuko down. She just _handled_ everything with such aplomb and grace. Add in the aura of an Imperial family, and...well, she would be a leader someday, Nesrin was sure.

There were so many pretty almost adults here, so that one was hard too. In the end, the Yogo girl's remarkable height and grace had really made an impression early on, without even removing her mask. Nesrin regretted not finding her more often during her quiet hours, but thought that a beauty that could strike someone when they couldn't even see your face must count for something.

Brave though, that wasn't hard at all. The way Prashant simply dove into the fight despite being a shugenja had impressed her, and he jumped right into every hair-brained scheme the group of Unicorn had put forward too. Smart was harder simply because she hadn't paid the attention she could have during the more academic trainings, as she focused hard on grasping the unfamiliar material herself. In the end, she kind of had to assume the scores they'd gotten reflected Asako-san's smarts more than anything she could have observed.

Tough? Obviously Moto-san. He was going to be a solid member of the White Guard someday. And trusted? Well, all of her clanmates, but that didn't seem quite fair, since she couldn't really write them all down. She thought for a long while, and then laughed a bit as she wrote in Kokyou. She trusted him to be exactly as he appeared, and oddly felt that he would definitely jump in to support pretty much anyone that needed it.

Generous was a bit tough when they, as students, had so little of their own to give here. But there was time, and teaching. In the end, though she thought she probably shouldn't list anyone more than once, she filled in Prashant's name for the teaching he'd done and his generousity of spirit in always seeming to think the best of people.

The most
- Charismatic: Otomo Nobuko
- Beautiful: Yoko Otoko
- Brave: Iuchi Prashant
- Smart: Asako Saburo
- Tough: Moto Ichiro
- Trusted: Kokyou
- Generous: Iuchi Prashant

Nobuko took one of the slips and a piece of charcoal and gave the listings very serious consideration. The fact that the sensei were asking their opinions on this must mean it was important to them.

Vutall wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 19, 2020 9:03 am

Otomo Nobuko

The most
- Charismatic - Kokyou (Who could think otherwise with all the rumors about those who swoon over him?)
- Beautiful - Utaku Ichiro (He as perhaps the most beautiful person she had met)
- Brave - Yasuki Ginkarasu (It was a quiet bravery that should be honored)
- Smart - Asako Saburo (Clearly, as the top student, this honor went to him)
- Tough - Moto Ichiro (No doubt in her heart as to this)
- Trusted - Kakita Kenji (She had trusted him with her life!)
- Generous - Doji Sakura (The young Crane was always giving and willing to help whenever she observed her or others spoke of her)

This all seemed like a courtly game to Otoko, a fact that soured her slightly. Perhaps it was her own sense of self deprecation that didn't like elevating others overly, especially not at the sake of others. All of this voting involved emotional judgement, on her part and of others. A Yogo didn't trust emotional reactions.

Still, in the end, she was also dutiful. The sensei had asked for this, and she was in no position to refuse. That didn't mean she'd rush into it. Indeed, it took almost the entire hour of the tiger before she wrote in a small, simple script that matched her vocal tone.

Charismatic - Kokyou
Beautiful - Utaku Nesrin
Brave - Bayushi Kaiden
Smart - Kakita Kenji
Tough - Otomo Nobuko
Trusted - Asako Saburo
Generous - Mai

At this point Kaidan was confused. He knew little of each student to actually summit something honest. So he decided to give in random names.

- Charismatic Kokyou
- Beautiful Soshi Shiso
- Brave Yasuki Ginkarasu
- Smart Miya Wyn
- Tough Zashi
- Trusted Bauyshi Jiro
- Generous Doji Sakura

Kazuko finds the dagger familiar, but can't quite remember where she saw it before... Oh well. This just seems to be another test to see which one of them made the most connections or is the most popular. One last courtier game, huh? Well, she'll bite. She thinks long and hard about her interactions with the other students here, before finally writing down the names and submitting them.

Charismatic - Kokyou
Beautiful - Otomo Nobuko
Brave - Kaito Haruki
Smart - Kaiu Aiichiro
Tough - Moto Ichiro
Trusted - Kakita Kenji
Generous - Doji Sakura

Matsu Qiang thought it peculiar that the students had been set to "vote" on these categories rather than have the teachers just decide who was the bravest, smartest or toughest. But since this was what they had commanded, Qiang gave the matter some thought before scribbling names onto the paper with charcoal.

The most
- Charismatic: Kakita Kenji
- Beautiful: Bayushi Jiro
- Brave: Kitsune Setsuna
- Smart: Kakita Kazuko
- Tough: Togashi Dao
- Trusted: Bayushi Kaidan
- Generous: Kokyou

Wyn of course has been helping organize this whole thing and was really glad to see Kokyu had followed through with the posting, he filled in his own nominations.

Charismatix: Kokyu - I mean no one could doubt him as most outgoing at least.
Beautiful: Doji Sakura - Wyn thought about it for a while and put down the adorable Crane smith.
Brave: Kuni Yotsuo - The things he faced in life left this unquestionable.
Smart: Kaiu Aiichiro - He was definitely the most intelligent and well learned of them.
Tough: Yasuki Ginkarasu - The little guy was super tough and never gave up.
Trusted: Iuchi Pranshat - After what they had done the other day he trusted the Iuchi fully
Generous: Toritaka Sasaiko - This was a hard choice he leaned toward with Mai or the Toritaka, but in the end could only put down one name.

(Hare timeslot)

Sakura, who as usual woke up late, looked at the paper confused. What was this about? Voting for something?

She frowned, but did it. It was rather biased however;

The most
- Charismatic: Zashi
- Beautiful: Zashi
- Brave: Zashi
- Smart: Asako Saburo
- Tough: Zashi
- Trusted: Zashi
- Generous: Zashi

(Hare)
After Kenji had talked once more, he quickly went to the canteen to get some food. As he passed by he saw the list that had been hung on the wall with a dagger.

What is this supposed to be? Kenji got frightened, but then he started to write names on pieces of paper.

Who was the most charismatic student? He thought, he had met many people here, had many conversations and from his point of view he had made many friends. In fact, he felt that Ginkarasu was probably the most charismatic, after all, an Imperial had only good things to say about him, despite his marks.

He did not have to think long about the most beautiful student, his heart was faster than his head and the name Kazuko decorated the note.

Who was the bravest? Kenji wrote down Zashi, the little Shugenja had opposed him directly, which was probably not normal for Shugenja and twice as rare for members of small clans.

Smart? Aiichi there was no doubt.

Tough? First he thought about writing down after the Lighthearted Moto, after all he had thrown himself into a massacre without a weapon, but Kenji chose Saburo after all. His always grim friend had fought over his own limitations, for that you have to be tough and strong-willed.

He would like to enter Aiichi or Kazuko a second time, but he wasn't allowed to, so he had to choose someone else.

He wrote Otomo Nobuko on it. She had set some threads in motion and she had trusted him. Trust that Kenji now tried to give back.

Last but not least Kenji knew directly who he had to register as the generous one.

Doji Sakura

The little blacksmith had done so many things just to live out her art without expecting anything in return. Hopefully this would not be her undoing one day.

---
- Charismatic: Yasuki Ginkarasu
- Beautiful: Kakita Kazuko
- Brave: Zashi
- Smart: Kaiu Aiichiro
- Tough: Asako Saburo
- Trusted: Otomo Nobuko
- Generous: Doji Sakura

---

Kenji then pulled out another piece of paper and wrote three more categories on it:

The most sneaky: Bayushi Kaidan
The humblest: Kuni Yotsuo
The funniest: Kokyou