The New Winds

Kenji sat in his room and finished his morning prayers as someone scratched his door,...

Nobuko scratched at his door very early in the morning and called out, "Kenji-kun? Are you awake? I would like to speak to you."

Kenji opend the door and smiled. "Nobuko-chan (?*), what an honor to welcome you so early! Come in, have you had any rice?"

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* Never clarified if -chan is appropiate between the two, just rolling with the flow right now

"I have not," she admitted as she entered quickly and took a seat. She pressed her hands into her legs and her whole body was so stiff there was no chance of mistaking her as being anything but extremely nervous and worried.

"I will eat after I have spoken with you."




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OOC
Perfectly appropriate in private!

Kenji looked concerend "Please have a seat" he offered her. After taking place in front of her he gave her a welcoming smile. "How can i help you?"

She forced a smile, but it fell apart as she bowed to him in her seat, a little over dramatically, but she was feeling terrible about this.

"I have come to apologize to you, Kenji-kun. I have made a decision that may make you think badly of me for doing so."

"What would that be?" Kenji inquired with a soft tone.

She sat up, took a deep breath, and admitted with all the drama a teenager could possibly put into a sentence, "I entered my name into the Iaijutsu tournament as the final accountings were being processed last night, before the feast. I will be competing with you directly."

Sort of.

Kenji looked suprised: "Then apologies accepted." he said formally.
But in a more concernd not he said: "Are you sure about that?"

The ease of his acceptance threw her off. She had expected him to tell her not to, that it was not her place. That the new event for courtiers who were never expected to defend themselves were supposed to be.

"I-" she stopped, looking very much unsure of herself, but then nodded in a small manner, "I have to be. It is already done."

"Have you trained the way of the duel, at least? You could be seriously hurt when facing the wrong opponent" Kenji said with concern

"I have lived and studied at the Kakita Academy since I was eight years old. I was given the same beginning lessons as everyone else in the art of the sword before my studies moved to focus on the arts.. While Iaijustu was not what I trained for directly, I have done the basic forms as part of my physical training and exercises since my arrival. I will not claim to be as skilled as anyone who has studied it in truth, but I believe I know enough not to disgrace our teachers."

She gulped and added quietly, "I remember my lessons well, basic as they are."

"It's a bold move Nobuko-chan, but i wish you luck, but don't expect me to go easy on you if we end up together. I plan on being the finalist to hononr my Sensei and my Ancestors" he said with confidence

"I do not expect to win. I expect nothing from it," she admitted, feeling ashamed that she felt this way. "It's... I was only ever training to be a good wife. To run a household and be able to entertain my spouse's guests appropriately. Perhaps indulge our lord by giving a performance or an art piece during a court attendance. But everyone I've spoken to at length since this tournament began has said how they expect for me to do great things or... win the Debates. And possibly the title. But if you aren't expected to be good at something, then no one can expect anything of you. You can't fail. You can only... meet expectations, or exceed them."

Kenji remained silent for a moment: "I don't think i can fully understand your reasoning behind your action. But it's kind of you to give the other courtiers a chance at victory. I just hope you're not going to be hurt in the Iaijutsu Matches." He said with a smile. "I don't think i can get the title either, but i want to show everyone how good my dueling skills are, i trained so long for it, I think I would be devastated if I failed today."

"You do not need the title to be sure of your skill, Kenji-kun. But I know you wish to show the world how well you've trained and mastered the art. And... You aren't mad at me, for giving you one more person to fight through?"

"Why would I? It's a Samurais's right to wield the blade, i won't deny you that or be mad at you for that." Kenji answered simply

"Because I'm not supposed to," she answered. "I'm supposed to stand back and allow another to be my champion. That's what courtiers do. The last time I did something that I wasn't supposed to, you ran to save me. Why wouldn't you be mad at me for doing it again?"

"This tournament is different from a battlefield, Nobuko-chan, it follows rules, structure, etiquette. I fully hope that in a real fighting situation you're giong to step back, but today we're getting blunt swords and healers on our side." he explained. "That's why i'm not mad."

She remained quiet for several long moments as she nodded, still looking like there was something sour in her stomach, "Alright. If there is any real trouble I will fall back to where I should be. I hope that... if that happens again... that it does not, but if it does... it is you that comes to my defense once more."