(Day 4, LM) Mandatory Event: Weaponry

[Mai]

"Yeah. You too?"

[Kaito Haruki]

"I think everyone who was at Hirosaka did."

[Matsu Qiang]

"Hitoshi is my Clanmate. He hit me as hard as he could. I do not know why the penalty is so large."

“Well, hitting hard isn’t against the rules, is it?” the Matsu said, a little self-consciously. “Unless you were badly hurt? You appear in good condition.”

[Mai]

"Well, I asked the kami to heal me, but it wouldn't have been more than a nasty bruise."

[Matsu Qiang]

“I see,” the Matsu said. There was a long pause as he considered her words.

Finally he bowed and said, “Thank you for explaining, Mai of the Mantis Clan. I am called Matsu Qiang. I will see what I can do about this ... situation.”

Qiang bowed once more, then moved over to watch the match currently being supervised by the Akodo general, in case he could get a word with him between matches.

[Kakita Kazuko]

(ooc: D4 LM Meditation/Void, TN20: 8d10o10k5 37 +2 VP)

[Kakita Kenji]

Haruki pulls out a fan, pretending to cool off while whispering to Kenji-san. "I didn't see where, but Akodo-sensei's eyes moved. Someone's got a bigger stake in this than they're letting on."

A little bit overstrained so that all of them suddenly started off in different directions, Kenji stopped confused for a while.

Who could be behind the intrigue? He thought

This morning they assured Doji-shiryo that everything would go well and now they have deducted a lot of points from Hitoshi,...

(Haruki you might want to ping Vutall for you investigation roll)

[Kaito Haruki]

(Yeah, probably dumb of me to use the eye thing, but this should be something that a lion never does regardless. Instead of eye thing, something fishy going on Kenji-san?)

[Kakita Kenji]

"Whatever is in motion right now, is very shameful, to all participants" Kenji whispered to Haruki. "How honorable do you consider Akodo-sensei, Haruki-san?"

---
D4 LM Lore:Bushido/Perception Target Akodo Eiko TN30: 3d10o10k2 9 XD

[Bayushi Kaidan]

He is not one to be in the limelight like this so he just kept his distance from the arguing group.

[Ikoma Eichiro]

Eichiro is done discussing, he waits until his match. For now he seems contemplative, not paying as much attention to the ongoing matches as he was before. He too takes a closer look at Akodo Eiko, attempting to assess what is going on with the honored general.

D4 LM: Lore: Bushido/Awareness TN 30: 5d10o10k4 29

He seems to be on the cusp of perceiving it, but a crack of practice weapons throws off Eichiro's attempt.

[Vutall]

As the remaining matches continue, Akodo Eiko's demeanor hs changed considerably compared to before the match with Hitoshi. He seems very reserved now and less excited or enthused about watching over the event. When he speaks, it has less fire in it than before.

Anyone paying close attention notices he is constantly looking through the crowds any time a match is not ongoing.

[Kaiu Aiichiro]

Calmed down, he goes back inside, not bringing attention to himself but neither intentionally being sneaky. Things as well seemed to have calmed up now, although the weird atmosphere still hung out in the air.
He looks who remains there and contains himself not to throw a venomous glare at all the lions in the room.

[Otomo Nobuko]

As the remaining matches continue, Akodo Eiko's demeanor hs changed considerably compared to before the match with Hitoshi. He seems very reserved now and less excited or enthused about watching over the event. When he speaks, it has less fire in it than before.

Anyone paying close attention notices he is constantly looking through the crowds any time a match is not ongoing.

Nobuko pays attention, and if it ever looks like his eyes stop on someone, she intends to follow that line of sight.

[Kaito Haruki]

Haruki knows he needs help in this, and who better for courtly intrigue than an Otomo, he follows Nobuko-Sama's example for now. There's got to be something he can learn from this.

[Akodo Kichiro]

After the competition of his match, Kichiro would find himself taking a seat among his peers in the attendance. There appears to be a tension thick in the air after the Akodo's punishment on Hitoshi was declared. He's unsure what to make of it.

[Yasuki Ginkarasu]

"What can I do, Yasuki-san?"

He fidgets a bit. "Do you want the fun question or the difficult question first?"

"So, uhm. I guess difficult one. I noticed before in the sumai event that in the match between Matsu Quiang and Kakita Kenji, that Matsu-san was penalized much less for doing much more then what just happened in Hitoshi-san and Mai-san's match. And a number of times Hitoshi-san has answered things correctly, but got no points. Is someone trying to erode the idea that the judges of the Topaz Championship are impartial? Because as a competitor, I'm not seeing that impartiality I would have expected."

[Vutall]

"Each of us judges has the authority to do as we see fit. I am not sure what has caused the discrepancy against this Mantis boy. I agree, it is something of a concern."

[Yasuki Ginkarasu]

"Is there an amount of that where we have to be concerned about the validity of the Championship? I mean, I just watched some people hit real hard in this, and no one's batting an eye, but it looked like just about every Lion competitor thought something was wrong too." He frowns, wondering what he should talk about in public.

[Mai]

Mai looks out to see if she can see what Eiko is looking for.

Investigation/Perception: 8d10o10k5 31