The New Winds

Please conduct your match here

A trifle disappointed to be facing off against his dearest friend this early in the match, Bayushi Jiro nevertheless found himself a victim of his weight-class. Apparently, the slender, effeminate boys would be spared having to wrassle the muscly bushi lads. Well, the prospect of evading an entirely foregone conclusion appealed, at least.

He presented himself in the field and bowed deeply to Nobuko, the light glinting from the golden filaments of his mask. When he rose up, he fixed her with a cold gaze that, while not immediately threatening, showed something of the coldness at the heart of a true Scorpion. For this moment, an aura of the danger that surrounded even the most fragile of the flowers of the court seemed to rise around him. What need had a flower like this to fear from predators? His every glance was poison.

Initiative=42
Intimidation/Willpower=23
Raw Willpower+Honor=35

Strength=3
Using Earth, perhaps unwisely.

Nobuko joined Jiro in the ring, bowing to him with a smile. While she did not expect him to go easy on her, she was pleased that if she lost, it would be to a friend. And if she won, it would also be with a friend.

Perhaps it was her excitement at seeing him that made her utterly ineffective at appearing at all intimidating - despite obviously trying very hard to imitate the very look he threw her way. Perhaps she simply wasn't that frightening to begin with. Perhaps it was the lack of a mask. In the end, however, she failed to come across in any way a real threat with how she fixed her eyes in a mock glare.

On the other hand, she wasn't scared off by him, either. His look was very cold and those with fainter hearts would probably have been shaken. This, however, was not likely due to her familiarity with him, but the strength of her honor.

After the initial bows, she fell into the basic sumai stance and grinned at him, hissing in a conspiratorial whisper across the short span between them, "No one else can hear us at this distance, so I am pleased to greet you as Tomohiro, my friend! You look well!"



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OOC
Ring selection: Void
Strength: 3
Day 2; EA; Sumai Event; Initiative: 4d10o10k3 47 Fast!
Day 2; EA; Sumai Event; Intimidation/Trait; void for Skill; Comrade Bond: 6d10o10k4 14 ...but not very scary
Day 2; EA; Sumai Event; Raw Willpower + Honor: 3d10o10k3+7 30 ...but also not intimidated by him.

Jiro grinned. "And you have truly blossomed, Nobu-chan. Moto-san is a truly lucky man." He held out his hands. "Now come and hit me. But, you know, not in the face, if you please."

"Well, as sumai is more about pushing someone out of the ring..." she teased just before rushing him, "I'll do my best!"

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OOC
D2; Sumai Event; Contested Jiujutsu/trait: 5d10o10k4 46 vs Jiro's Jiu/trait
If she wins the contested roll she deals: 4 damage after keeping low dice.

Jiro tried to follow the sensei's instructions, planting his feet in the style of the Hida. Turns out, sensei wasn't really talking to him. The Otomo girl carried him a fair distance, despite his manful attempts to resist.


Jiujustu/Stamina=16 4 owies incurred.

In this case, it seemed that whatever inner strength Nobuko was pulling from had given her the edge she needed to move Jiro just that much closer to the edge of the ring. She did not stop to think about it, but pressed on, doing her best to keep her grip in place.



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OOC:
Win one Contested Roll: +2 ToP
(46-16=30; 30/10=3) +3 ToP
Total: 5 ToP going into Round 2

Round 2
D2; Sumai Event; Contested Jiujutsu/trait: 5d10o10k4 46 vs Jiro's Jiu/Trait
If she wins the contested roll she deals: 1 after keeping low dice

To suggest that Jiro was surprised would be an understatement. He was, to put it mildly, alarmed. He scrabbled backwards, and managed to get a respectable enough plant in his feet, only to have Nobuko push him over like so many dried leaves. Blasted Hida.

Jiujutsu/Stamina=25

Jiro's footing was definitely stronger and it was more effort to pry his roots from the ground. Again, she didn't think about it, trusting in that well within her to keep her going. There was no contemplation, only action.


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OOC
Win one Contested Roll: +2 ToP
(46-25=21; 21/10=2.1) +2 ToP
Total: 9 going into Round 3

Round 3
D2; Sumai Event; Contested Jiujutsu/trait +VP: 6d10o10k5 53 vs Jiro's Jiu/Trait
If she wins the contested roll she deals: 2 after keeping low dice

Jiro's last stab at the Crab technique was still broadly creditable, but nowhere near where he might have been had he listened to his own body and instincts instead of the instructor. As it was, his legs struggled against the tide, and then Nobuko simply lifted him bodily into the air, walked to the edge of the ring, and deposited him gently outside of it.

He blinked, unsure of what he had just experienced, face momentarily expressionless.

Jiujitsu/Stamina=15

Sure to her word at the start, she had done her best not to hit him in the face. Panting a little as she stood just inside the ring with him now outside it, she grinned at him, "That was better for me than I thought it would be."

Then she bowed deeply to him, "It was an honor to face you, Tomohiro. I shall see you this evening, yes?"


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OOC
Win one Contested Roll: +2ToP
Win 3 Contested Rolls: +10ToP
(53-15=38; 38/10=3.8) +3ToP
Total before Ring Choice applied (if applicable): 24




D2; Sumai Event; Meditation/Void: 7d10o10k4 27 vs TN30: failed to regain any void

Jiro returned the bow from muscle memory, brain temporarily fried by the bizarre turn of events. He snapped out of it just as she was finishing her question. "Oh! Yes, this evening. Yes."

"Then I await your invitation," she said, turning just as the judge of the match came over to formally declare her the winner. She bowed again, looking for all the world as delicate as the paper she folded.