Apology Tour, I Still Suck At This [D9, LE]

Suzume Chihaya · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 3:29 pm **Posts:** 850

Chihaya started to respond to Degarashi and his verbal trap, beginning a playful response, and then a bloodcurdling yell split the dojo, sending her into a sudden turn, right foot sweeping into a wider stance, the bokken clattering on the dojo floor as she half reached for her blade - and then realized what she had heard.

With a scowl, she knelt and picked up the practice weapon, shaking her head.

"I half thought an angry ghost had appeared..."

Giving Akodo Ren a look, she kept her thoughts to herself as they went about their... lesson.

Glancing back to Degarashi, she stated, dryly, "At least last night, none of you assaulted my hearing so directly."

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

Suzume Chihaya wrote:

Chihaya started to respond to Degarashi and his verbal trap, beginning a playful response, and then a bloodcurdling yell split the dojo, sending her into a sudden turn, right foot sweeping into a wider stance, the bokken clattering on the dojo floor as she half reached for her blade - and then realized what she had heard.

With a scowl, she knelt and picked up the practice weapon, shaking her head.

"I half thought an angry ghost had appeared..."

Giving Akodo Ren a look, she kept her thoughts to herself as they went about their... lesson.

Glancing back to Degarashi, she stated, dryly, "At least last night, none of you assaulted my hearing so directly."

One minute the world was nice and peaceful. Degarashi was having a pleasant conversation with the Sparrow, discussing the idiocy of the night prior, and enjoying some harmlessly flirtatious banter. Suzume-shoi even looked like she was about to smile as she opened her lips to reply.

Then a portal opened, and whether it was to Sakkaku or Jigoku or Gaki-do or Nintendo, the most unpleasant screeching sound issued forth from within. The Scorpion had to close his eyes against the pain, and before he could cover his ears, the damage was done. He blinked a few times, trying to regain his bearings when Chihaya turned back, murder in her eyes, and said something to him.

"Nnnng nnng mnng nnngnnngmnhnnnng."

He'd probably have heard it fine if not for the ringing in his ears.

For some reason, as Chihaya spoke, Degarashi's attention drifted down from her eye, focusing squarely on the shape of her mouth and the curve of her lips.

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Read Lips: 3d10o10 26
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Then he laughed. "Ie, not the manner of assault anyone at that table was hoping for, I imagine."

Suzume Chihaya · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 3:29 pm **Posts:** 850

Chihaya shook her head, bemused, resting the bokken on her shoulder.

"Yes, and like that conversation, we seem to have lost where we were."

With a chuckle, she added, quietly, "You may say you can swim, but then you ask to ride across the river, all the same... but I've been stung before, Bayushi-san. This sparrow has already had to teach one scorpion that, swim though it might, it could not fly."

A soft sigh, and she added, "I appreciate your compliment, however... I pray my husband shares that opinion when next he returns from his duties."

There was a chink in her armor - and it would be telling indeed if, or perhaps when, Degarashi exploited it. That she chose to say as much was, perhaps, an opportunity, for him to use as he pleased.

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

Degarashi pursed his lips at that, regarding Chihaya with a newly thoughtful expression. Usually the Sparrow dodged, or deflected, or took to the skies where she remained comfortably out of reach. But this time she'd struck back, lunging towards him and landing a blow that exposed her armor more fully.

A feint, not unlike what a Bayushi might have tried. Normally Degarashi might have smiled at such a maneuver, but this time he didn't. Instead he placed his bokken before him, point down, and folded his hands over top of it.

"Only a fool of a man would return to you with anything short of eagerness in his heart. I pray as well, Suzume-shoi, that your husband proves to be such a man. But, should those prayers go unanswered, I should hope you find the company of one who respects not only your strength and beauty, but also your freedom to choose with whom you spend your time. Should such a man exist."

Suzume Chihaya · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 3:29 pm **Posts:** 850

That brought a faint smile.

"Hmmm, should such a man exist indeed."

Glancing at Seppun Horonigai, she added, "Yet we Suzume are monagmous creatures... in a valley so small, everyone knows everyone, and also their business... we've adapted to that by learning to love those we marry - if at all we are able.

In her eye there was something... wistful. Worried? Longing?

"In that regard, I can understand the distress of my young friend."

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

Degarashi took a step closer to Chihaya. Then another, until he was standing just outside the range that society demanded. His eyes slowly moved up to hers, glanced over to the Seppun princess, then back to the Sparrow.

"For once in my life I have some measure of that understanding as well. It is a thing to be celebrated, certainly, and a thing I wish to respect. But it can also be a source of great pain, and if there is one thing I understand above all else, it would be pain." He paused to breathe, feeling his chest tighten at his own words. "If I can offer relief from that pain, I want to. If I would merely create more pain, say so, and I'll not speak on it again. But to see such pain, and not try to act? That would be truly shameful."

Suzume Chihaya · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 3:29 pm **Posts:** 850

For a moment she began to wonder if they were talking about different things, if messages were lost in translation... yet his motion gave her some idea what he meant, or she thought that it did...

"Unless you can recall my husband from his duties for a day, I think all you can do for me is be a friend. In that, at least, you have my thanks, Bayushi-san."

Glancing toward the Seppun, she added, "And for the princess... there is nothing either of us can do, save be a friend. To lose her engagement, even in favor of the sister of your clan champion, will cause her distress for some time, I suspect."

Pulling her own bokken down from her shoulder, she examined the wood, as a place to put her gaze, and added, softly, "Even if I sought... a temporary reprieve... for me it would become a betrayal, I would pin myself up in a grove within my own heart. No matter what anyone else thought..."

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Scorpion lore: https://orokos.com/roll/801452

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

Degarashi nodded briefly, glancing once again towards the Seppun, then towards the rest of those present. Sensing the briefest of windows, Degarashi quickly leaned in and...

... pressed his forehead against Chihaya's. His eyes were closed, his voice low, and his hands still folded and unthreatening. "I understand, Chihaya-san. I am ever as you need me to be."

And then he simply rocked back, eyes open and clear, unhurt, and faintly smiling.

Suzume Chihaya · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 3:29 pm **Posts:** 850

That caught her off guard, and she almost flinched, but did not, instead seeing what he planned to do.

And then she stepped back, and gently bopped him on the head with her fan, extracted from her obi.

"You should know not to start rumors, Degarashi-san."

Returning it to her obi, she kept her expression surprisingly neutral, her On serene, all emotion carefully tucked away.

With a small nod to the dummy, she added, "Your muscles will not master that kata without practice, Bayushi-san." Whatever was under the surface, she hid it from the untrained eye, and perhaps hiding it was, in itself, informative.

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https://orokos.com/roll/801491 :: 30 etiquette

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

Degarashi accepted the admonishment in stride, chuckling pleasantly. "Perish the thought. That was for you and you alone."

For his part, Degarashi's On had also snapped firmly back in place. So firmly, in fact, that his motions among the kata were perhaps a bit too stiff and rigid. And if Chihaya's sudden neutrality hid secrets to convey between them, Degarashi's may well have done the same, as he focused on his movements once more and did not, outwardly, appear to probe the Sparrow's armor any further.

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Etiquette: 6d10o10k3 49
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Shosuro Kitamaru · **Joined:** Thu Apr 16, 2020 9:12 pm **Posts:** 265

Kitamaru was not in the habit of dark chuckles.

So there was none. Though it's likely because the Shosuro was minding their own business.

Or minding someone's business that wasn't Degarashi or Chihaya's.

Kata kata kata.

Suzume Chihaya · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 3:29 pm **Posts:** 850

She gently tapped his leg, behind his left foot, with a bokken.

"Bayushi-san, too stiff. You aren't moving your feet and it is ruining your balance. Slow down if you must, and let the motions become natural."

Whatever he was hiding, she lacked the skill to perceive.

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

Degarashi spared a glance over his shoulder when Chihaya said he was too stiff, but there seemed to be no subtext to that particular observation, so he simply nodded and did his best to relax, moving back into the proper movements without much difficulty. He felt like he'd seen something, though...

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Fluff Investigation, VP 1k1 cause he's curious: 6d10o10k4 31
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As he moved, he became more fluid with the kata. As his fluidity grew, his On relaxed. And as his On relaxed, his body occasionally messed up a movement here or there as a muscle twitched from some inexplicable nervous energy.

It was incredibly inexplicable, because Chihaya rolled a 9 on her perception.

Suzume Chihaya · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 3:29 pm **Posts:** 850

Despite her best effort, he noticed a few small changes, though she was oblivious to his own secrets.

Watching his movements, she nodded, and then said, "You're getting it. Much faster than my students, I must say. You surpass the children in your progress, Bayushi-san. I shall have to exhort them to try harder when I return home."

Her tone was dry, but there was a hint of humor hiding in it.

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

Degarashi turned slightly and bowed his thanks for the praise. "Arigatou, Suzume-shoi, this one has discovered that the proper motivation works wonders. Your kata works wonders for cooling down."

When he turned back once more, the set of his hips was perfect.

Suzume Chihaya · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 3:29 pm **Posts:** 850

Interesting turn of phrase...

With a suspicious glance at the man, she wondered if perhaps he was making a fool of her.

Not that I need his help to do that...

Chiding herself, she stepped away a few paces, resuming her own stance, this time planting her feet evenly beneath her shoulders, left hand grasping the saya of her katana, twisting it so the curve faced upward, and the tip pointed almost directly downward.

Then she closed her eye, steadying her breathing, almost as if meditating.

It was an odd stance, unlike any he was likely to have seen.

Shosuro Kitamaru · **Joined:** Thu Apr 16, 2020 9:12 pm **Posts:** 265

Kitamaru felt a shift in the air of the dojo.

True, whatever apocalyptic fighting aura Ren had was surely overwhelming even to the Fortune of Sumai, but a Shosuro knows subtle things, and by comparison to Osano-Wo fleeing Ren's jiujutsu, this was indeed quite subtle.

The Scorpion halted kata and looked in Chihaya's direction. The fox masked Kitamaru's head tilted slightly.

Perhaps in curiosity, or perhaps not.

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

As Chihaya adopted this new posture, Degarashi's focus shifted once again to the Sparrow, and he relaxed his kata so that he might more closely observe what she was about to demonstrate. Everything was, after all, a new opportunity to learn, and any such opportunity that permitted curious glances at Chihaya had a certain extra appeal.

Suzume Chihaya · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 3:29 pm **Posts:** 850

She seemed to have completely silenced her mind, no longer paying either man any heed.

Unfortunately, it was rather boring, as she didn't do anything flashy or exciting. She hardly moved at all.

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

Degarashi somehow managed to find interesting things to look at while he waited to see what Chihaya was up to.

Apology Tour, I Still Suck At This [D9, LE]

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