Baby, don't curse me. [D1, Early Morning, Open]

Bayushi Degarashi · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:02 pm **Posts:** 1027

Though fully aware of the chaos surrounding the gates as refugees begin pouring into Toshi no Omoidosu, a different urgent matter sits at the forefront of Bayushi Degarashi's mind; it's been nearly a week since he last visited the shrine. The risk of Hitomi's curse was simply too great to ignore.

Having dressed in some of his finer courtly attire, Degarashi approached the shrine, purified himself before entering, then found a moderately comfortable spot to sit and offer his prayers of remembrance. With the events currently unfolding as they were throughout the empire, it just simply didn't do to allow an inconvenient curse to add itself to the equation.

Kodama · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:17 pm **Posts:** 404

The one-armed monk walked reverently within the shrine, moving to kneel before it to honor the heroine, as he did most mornings.

After, he moves to replace and then straighten the scrolls for visitors to read. Tidying was good work in a place like this.

Bayushi Degarashi · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:02 pm **Posts:** 1027

Degarashi finished his prayers and watched as the monk prepared and organized the shrine, noting before anything else the unmistakable lack of appendage. He weighed briefly the consequences of offering to assist, thus calling attention to the handicap, or simply doing his best not to stare in an unseemly fashion.

Then he realized he was staring as he thought about convention, and managed to squeak out a brief "Ohayo," once he was certain the monk wasn't too busy.

Kodama · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:17 pm **Posts:** 404

The monk turns at that, then bows deeply.

"Morning, Bayushi-sama! If I have disturbed your prayers I ask forgiveness."

Bayushi Degarashi · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:02 pm **Posts:** 1027

Degarashi rose, returning the monk's bow with an equally deep bow of his own. "Not at all, I was quite finished with my remembrances. This one is known as Bayushi Degarashi."

Kodama · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:17 pm **Posts:** 404

"An honor, Bayushi-sama. I am Kodama, of the Order of Reichin, Fortune of Heroes. I am studying here in the city and do what service I can for the shrine while I'm here."

He bows again at that, then on straightening squares his posture to a degree.

Bayushi Degarashi · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:02 pm **Posts:** 1027

"Fortune of Heroes you say?" Degarashi turned from the monk to the shrine, then back again. "What do you know of Hitomi? I've heard little beyond the rumors of her... curse."

Kodama · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:17 pm **Posts:** 404

A brief nod, "I am not an expert, having learned her tale only over the last winter." He gestures to the area the shrine holds its scrolls.

"She was a samurai-ko beset by many trials. Not every decision was wise in hindsight, however she carried her honor throughout a number of betrayals to the last. Managing to do so is one reason she is remembered so. She and her brother swore service to a lord of the Dragon during a war between Dragon and Crab. She defeated the Crab having chased them through Beiden Pass. The Dragon lord, Mirumoto Turan, later commanded her to seize a castle of the Lion. The castle was defended by one whom she loved, and she refused to do so. She faced the Mirumoto lord without weapons nor armor and slew him in their duel." He bows to the shrine before continuing.

"She led her soldiers away, escaping the Dragon army, and ended up here in Toshi no Omoidoso. Her lover had been tasked to bring her to justice caught up to her here. It is he who was cursed for the betrayal, after one of his officers cursed her with maho. She died after the encounter."

Bayushi Degarashi · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:02 pm **Posts:** 1027

Degarashi nodded, listening intently, making sure not to interrupt the monk. "A sobering tale, certainly. It is never a simple matter to face one's honor and duty against one's own heart." Not that Degarashi had much experience with that. "I wonder idly how my brother might approach such trials, were they his instead."

Kodama · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:17 pm **Posts:** 404

"Each would no doubt approach them differently, if in fact we were called upon to face something similar. Hitomi-shiryo's example is held up because of the singular nature of it."

Bayushi Degarashi · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:02 pm **Posts:** 1027

Degarashi allowed himself to smile, just a bit, though there was a chill behind it not easily attributed to the lingering winter. "We all, as paragons of honor and duty, stand as such grand examples, with equally grand tales to follow. Oftentimes I find myself wondering what such praise feels like, but I know it is unbecoming to want for such things." He was silent a moment, composing himself once more.

"I apologize for my words, I'm certain your duties are strenuous enough without accounting for my eccentricities."

Kodama · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:17 pm **Posts:** 404

"Quite alright, Bayushi-sama. I happen to know Reichin-no-kami, now Fortune of Heroes, was long considered the opposite of a paragon of honor or duty. A hero is rarely always such, far more often it is that they find a thing they seek to defend and then manage, at whatever cost, to do so."

Bayushi Degarashi · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:02 pm **Posts:** 1027

Degarashi folded his arms within his sleeves as he considered that, his mind jumping back and forth between the words of his parents and those of his instructor. "Something to defend? Beliefs that you would rather die than forsake, yes? I see much of that, and I see it doing things to my clan that I cannot fully grasp the consequences of. Yet I can't help but understand the need all the same."

Kodama · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:17 pm **Posts:** 404

"Death is sometimes the cost, hai." He gestures with his un-armed shoulder, "It may at other times cost an arm or a leg."

"The big, dramatic evils are often the easiest to align oneself against, although coming out on top is the trick. How many more subtle small ones need be stopped to prevent the big or the dramatic from occurring at all?"

Bayushi Degarashi · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:02 pm **Posts:** 1027

Degarashi's eyes flashed at the monk's words, and he found himself nodding and speaking before he realized it. "Yes, the unseen, the subtle, the... hidden evils. Those things which pass beneath notice, killing in the barest of ways, but killing nonetheless, doing in years what others fail to achieve all at once..."

He blinked, then coughed, forcing his thoughts back to the present. "It is the goal originally tasked to my Clan to defend against such things. Yet it is hard to balance such ideals in recent times, it seems." He sighed again. "I apologize once more, my mind is more troubled than I had originally believed upon coming here."

Kodama · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:17 pm **Posts:** 404

He waves his one hand, "No offense given, Bayushi-sama, so I cannot forgive. You talk in a moment of calm in order to struggle with philosophy and paths. It is my duty to help those who do so."

Bayushi Degarashi · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:02 pm **Posts:** 1027

"Fortune smiles upon me, then, to have such concerns when you are around to assist with them. Though it is your duty, I thank you for your thoughts. They have brought me a measure of peace." He bowed his thanks to the monk.

Kodama · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:17 pm **Posts:** 404

Kodama bows in return.

"This one can only wish for peace. To offer it to others is my hope. To know it fruitful is kindness indeed."

Baby, don't curse me. [D1, Early Morning, Open]

Who is online