The New Winds

Please use this thread for roleplay or observations for the Taryu Jiai tournament!

Tanshin looked on as the other participants prepared themselves for their duels. The ones he felt closest to himself in Taryu-jiaj were Kitsune Zashi, and Asako Saburo of his own clan.

He could not help but feel anxious that we would not be participating in the first round. It was strange, he did not have any particular interest in being names Topaz Champion, as it was clearly intended for bushi. Still, he had grown his competitive nature, and felt a bit slighted that the small pool of shugenja natural disadvantaged him to the bushi, who had more opportunities to prove themselves.

Tanshin quietly hoped for the young Kitsu to best Zashi, though he felt that Zashi was the better of the two.

He was shocked as the two unleashed their spells nearly simultaneously.

Hearing the judge call a tie felt disappointing, while at the same time, he felt a small bit of relief that he would not have to face Zashi.

Saburo, between matches, watched Zashi and the Kitsu's displays impassively, quietly observing them. He had never seen Zashi work, so he had no way of telling the young man's capacities, but unlike his cousin, he had a strong inkling that there were four very close to evenly matched individuals on the field. For all of the raw power of the Isawa technique and its value in providing focus in one's specialty, he had seen Mai grow, and he knew that her school was centered on the Water. He had little doubt of the kind of raw power she had over what he assumed was her affinity. Likewise, he assumed much the same of Sasaiko in the earth. The nature of their respective training meant that the four of them were almost certainly in the same basic category of skill and raw power. It would be the finer points that would decide matches, possibly even down to minutia of seconds.

He grunted and nodded. "A close match between those two. I'm looking forward to seeing Toritaka compete. It will be an unorthodox pairing." Hazrat wasn't a meishodo user after all.

"I had occasion to speak with Hazrat-san at the Shrine to the Fortunes. We had a small conversation regaridng the approach to the kami. It was a pleasant experience. I wish him well. "

Tanshin slipped a bu into his hand and showed it to Saburo. "I think he will win."

Saburo looked down at the coin like one would a piece of cow dung and raised an eyebrow in a 'seriously' sort of look as he glanced towards Tanshin. His arms stayed folded and he didn't move. "In case you were not aware. Toritaka Sasaiko and I are engaged to be married shortly after this tournament is concluded," he said in an icily-cool tone. He didn't bother to say 'I'm not betting on these matches, and I'm certainly not betting on my fiance's match.' However, his eyes definitely said it for him. "I'm quite certain that Ide-san will perform admirably, but I have faith in my fiance's gifts with her family's chosen elements. It will be a good match to watch."

His tone was measured and normal by the time of the second comment. He doubted Tanshin would press the matter of betting. He was certain some people would be sneakily taking bets, but he also doubted that they'd do so openly where the Crane might see them.

Tanshin shrugged.

"It would be ashame if you were to be paired next round."

"My only true concern if that happens would be that Taryu-Jiai is not Iaijutsu. In Iaijutsu, the precision of skill is often shown through the calculated careful cutting of a target rather than the shedding of blood, a testimony to the mastery of the blade wielder." he said, his tone immediately back to its usual neutral state, focusing on other thing. "There are reasons we don't do this very often, and why many priests have swordsmen as seconds for disputes, even sometimes between shugenja. The power does not lend itself to the precision and care of the katana's edge. There is hazard in this if we are not careful, though it is good to see both Zanshi and his opponent have skill. I would endeavor to do the same with my fiance."

He quirked his lips in a small smile. "But I hardly think it a bad thing to have the chance to spare against one's future wife. How many can say they did the same before their wedding night? If she beat me, I suspect our children would hear the tale for quite some time."

Tanshin grinned.

"Toritaka Saburo does have a certain ring to it."

...

He looked confused. Looking over at Tanshin, he cocked his head curiously. "The Isawa would almost never consider the marriage of an ishiken out of clan. Our negotiations are that Toritaka-San will join the Asako. The tournament does not factor into that."

Perhaps later, as Saburo and Tanshin face one another, Sasaiko looks on in hope.

Kick his ass, Saburo-kun! she thinks.

Having decorum, though, she says nothing. But her eyes are riveted upon the match, and she could swear she feels some pull from the two of them...

A few moments later, seeing the gout of flame erupt around Saburo and the sudden rush of healers toward him, Sasaiko starts forward herself, ready to, to, to...

She is not sure, suddenly, whether to try to reach her affianced or to avenge him in the moment. Seeing Saburo burned, barely breathing, her heart clenches within her.

She moves toward him. What little she can do, she will--at the very least, she will be by his side as she has sworn to be, in her heart if not in the words that the Empire would recognize as binding.

Saburo watched the final match, between Sasaiko and Tanshin. The conversation was not impossible to hear under the circumtances. It was hardly whispered. His lips pulled in the rictus of a snarl at the child before him treating the fact that he had come a hair's breadth from killing his own clan member in a bout as a cause to try and justify her walking away from the duel. As much as he was concerned for her well being, given Tanshin's display of an utter lack of control, there was a cold rage that he had to still.

In his mind, he was less... polite. 'You are a piece of shit. And, unless my lord demands that I acknowledge your presence, you do not exist. May the kami have mercy on you and teach you the humility of a shugenja and the bearing of the Phoenix before you bring shame to our clan at the name of the Topaz Champion, you worthless offal. I will have no more to do with you and I personally hope she beats you into the ground, however unlikely.'

Someone had once told him that Taryu-Jiai was important to view, because you rarely got to see it.

His own matches over, he found his way to watching the finals here.

"Yasuki-san," Saburo said, his demeanor easing almost immediately at this point, though the vicious and angry red scarring across half his face was a sight to see. He turned and bowed to him. "I hope the Iaijutsu duels have proceeded smoothly. How did you fare?" His voice was strained. He didn't look well, but he was stubbornly remaining right now, and his injury at least had been dealt with.

"I am hopeful that Toritaka-san will prevail." He didn't actually believe she was a better duelist. He just... well, yeah.

He looks up and bows to the Asako. "Oh? Not Isawa-sama?"

He perks up a moment. "I managed to defeat Utaku Himeko-sama, but lost to Matsu Qiang-sama in the second round."

He looks around briefly, "Hey, you're real smart. Can I ask you a question on something that happened here? Or would it be too distracting?"

"Who? Him? No, I am not supporting that person in this duel," he said icily. "If you need to know the reasons why, the spectators can fill you in. I'm told that the proctors had a word with him when he almost killed me."

"Matsu-san is a very skilled man. You did well to get that far. And you may ask. I could use a distraction from the discomfort of my wounds."

He's clearly very surprised that a clanmate would choose to do such a thing, but it's clear he shouldn't talk about it any more.

"Well, uhm. What reasons would someone have to send an unlabeled gift to someone during an event?" He asks. "I've been at a loss, trying to figure out what's most likely."

His eyebrow, the good one, raised. He was paying attention to the duel but he was considering his words carefully. "That would depend upon the gift, its actual source, and the person sent to. There are several possible answers to your question. If an unmarked gift were sent in a public venue where all were witness, such as yesterday evening, the intention of that gift would be to draw the attention of everyone's eyes and make sure that they remember it, likely to alter people's impressions through that gift in some fashion."

"A gift so offered, if unmarked and unclear? Might be considered to have an ulterior motive, and to be intended to affect things in a way not intended by the recipients of the gift." His tone was carefully neutral. If this was about Aiichiro and Sasaiko, yeah. That merchant and he were going to have words today.

"Do you think there's any chance someone's working on behalf of the Fortunes? Or is that just absurd? I know I haven't heard Aiichiro-sama talk about Toritaka-sama." He sighed. "I should probably not use names or something, but I bet you're smart enough to have known who got gifts."