[Day 11 - EM] Scimitar Champloo

Moto Batzurig · **Joined:** Sun Apr 26, 2020 3:05 am **Posts:** 275

With the elders and non-combatants seen to, Batzurig entered the dojo and announced himself as the Rokugani were want to do and then removed his heavy furs and leather coat and set it along the side out of the way. He sat in the center and focused on his training and then began a series of kata and training steps with his Moto Scimitar, the blade cutting through the air with speed and power.

His thick arms were covered in tribal tattoo sleeves to honor his ancestors. Once he finished those steps, he then began squats and what modern Rokugani thousands of years from now would call burpees as he conditioned his body as his sensei taught him. This was why he was the superior swordsman; he was always focused on the body and mind.

Plus sweating made him look good.

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

After a time, the Dojo was visited by another. Dressed in simple utilitarian kosode and hakama, in the dun brown of her clan, Chihaya was ready for the unexpected, or so she thought.

Chihaya bowed to the shrine, offering a short prayer for the fallen, and those still fighting.

Then she strode into the dojo, pausing as she saw the muscular, tattooed man.

Huh.

After a moment of shock, she finally managed, "Good morning... uh... samurai-san. Have you had rice?"

Moto Batzurig · **Joined:** Sun Apr 26, 2020 3:05 am **Posts:** 275

“I had plenty of rice, but no goat no chicken… no yogurt, piss and blood, I practically starve, sayyeda,” he said approaching the woman and extending his hand.

“Moto Batzurig, you come to train?” he asked.

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

Chihaya listened to the tirade with an expression that went politely blank.

Oh kami, it was too early for this shit. Sayuyeda? What was that? Was that an insult? What is a yogurto?

Then he held his hand out.

She looked at it.

After an awkward pause, she looked up from his hand to his face, and then back to his hand.

What did he want her to do with it?

Moto Batzurig · **Joined:** Sun Apr 26, 2020 3:05 am **Posts:** 275

“Oh… I forgot you lot, bow,” he said derisively.

He bowed and then added, “Anyway, plenty of room to do whatever is you came to do, sayyeda.”

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

A moment of silence.

"Ah. We lot."

She quirked an eyebrow.

"And you lot? What do you do?"

Sticking out her hand, she raised an eyebrow.

If he spits on it or uses a yoguruto, whatever that is, I will be ever so angry.

Another beat, and then she added, "And by the Kami, what is a Sayue-eda?"

Moto Batzurig · **Joined:** Sun Apr 26, 2020 3:05 am **Posts:** 275

“Sayyeda,” he repeated and then firmly grasped her hand and shook it. “It is word of respect, it is know… well not here, obviously.”

Once completed with the handshake he added, “You understand? Like how you say san or sama, I suppose.”

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

He took her hand and, Chihaya having no idea what to do, she just offered a fierce grip, before he pumped her hand up and down.

Her shoulder now quite loosened up, she reclaimed her hand, discretely wiping it on the inside of her sleeve.

"Ah, I see... I confess I had never heard the word before. This one is Suzume Chihaya, Shoi and sensei for the Sparrow clan. Tell me, is... goat... commonly eaten by your clan?"

How astonishingly barbaric.

"And for that matter, what manner of animal or plant is a 'yoguruto'?"

Moto Batzurig · **Joined:** Sun Apr 26, 2020 3:05 am **Posts:** 275

“Goat is good eating, and make for good game as well, get the cousins together for some buzkashi! Goat, steer, horse,… meat is meat, keeps you fit in the saddle,” he replied.

“And yogurt, not animal come from milk and things, good eating. Put on naan, butter, spices, goat, good eating. You do not eat well I see that now, when siege is done you come to Unicorn we fill you with food,” he said proudly.

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

"I... I will take your word for it." More strange words, too fast to catch or question.

She was a Sparrow, and during bad winters sometimes you did what you had to do - but it was still uncomfortable to hear it all said so openly.

With a faint shrug, she added, "Perhaps it is because I do not ride, but I have found my diet keeps me fit for my own duties."

Stepping further into the dojo, she began to stretch, arms over head, and then behind her back.

"Your kin have a way, but we also have ours. If you intend to live in the empire, you will have to grow used to our customs, strange though you may find them."

Moto Batzurig · **Joined:** Sun Apr 26, 2020 3:05 am **Posts:** 275

“Moto will be Moto till the end of days,” he said proudly.

“Who are your people, Sayyeda Chihaya?” the Moto warrior asked with interest.

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

That brought a laugh.

"Perhaps, but the Moto of tomorrow may differ from the Moto of today. It is the nature of living things to grow and change."

With a faint smile, she added, "We Suzume live in a hard valley to the south - we protect the emperor's sacred land - keeping it from any who would despoil it. Our people are storytellers, warriors, and farmers, when we must be, for our land is cold, with strong winds, fierce rains, and rocky ground."

Moto Batzurig · **Joined:** Sun Apr 26, 2020 3:05 am **Posts:** 275

That got him thinking of the future if only briefly and then the past and how things have changed for his ancestor and he had to agree, change would come. Hopefully it would be a good change. He responded, “Well then, Suzume-shoi, the city must be thankful to have such a favored family of the Emperor. So you are Imperial? Like the… Oto-omo?.”

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

Chihaya chuckled. "Not at all - we are a minor clan."

She gave a faint shrug. "Sometimes an individual does something especially noteworthy, and they are given a task and land by the Emperor, to start a new clan."

Sometimes noteworthy didn't mean 'good.'

"Many samurai look down on us, because we field smaller armies, or serve in a more particular role, yet our clans were created at the decree of the emperor himself - so there is honor in our duties, nonetheless."

With a faint chuckle, she added, "And though Great clans are loathe to admit it, sometimes we produce warriors every bit their equal. Not long ago, a Suzume wore the title of Emerald Champion, and the great clans were so embarrassed by his victory that they felt the need to slander him as a pretender."

Moto Batzurig · **Joined:** Sun Apr 26, 2020 3:05 am **Posts:** 275

The Unicorn bushi listened and missed the context at work between the clans and just said, “I pray you made those clans pay in blood for slandering the good name of your kin.”

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

That brought a laugh.

"Oh, they slandered behind their fans, but in the end, He was Emerald Champion, and they were not. Forcing them to live with that was a punishment more cruel."

With a faint shrug, she widened her stance, steadying her breathing.

"The Suzume do not have an army so strong as to crush a great clan, but we do have the ability to make known the tale of his victory. And each time, we deliver a tiny cut to their pride."

Taking her saya in her left hand, she twisted it, flipping the tip of the scabbard up, and then drawing her blad in a vertical arc. Unlike previous practice, this time she moved with speed, a quick 1-2 tempo.

Beginning her kata, blade flicking forward and back, alternating attack and defense, she added, "In the end, he fell in a kharmic strike when facing down the daimyo of another clan. It was unfortunate, but he died honorably, killing a traitor who had attempted to take the life of the Emperor. I can only hope that I will do so well, when my time comes."

Moto Batzurig · **Joined:** Sun Apr 26, 2020 3:05 am **Posts:** 275

"I prefer a victory where I live and my enemies are dead," he responded dryly.

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

"That sort of victory is simpler, I agree."

She paused, blade held level. "Yet we are commanded to respect the emperor's peace - even if many often seem to forget that fact."

Moto Batzurig · **Joined:** Sun Apr 26, 2020 3:05 am **Posts:** 275

“I have heard the stories of how peaceful your summers are, sayyeda. It seems the Emperor’s peace is rather… dubious,” he said chuckling.

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

"Hai... as I said, many often seem to forget that fact."

Turning, she let her blade flip in a low arc as she switched her grip, ending in a stroke almost directly opposite the previous stance, striking into the blind spot.

"Tell me, how do you resolve disputes between families within your own clan? I presume you do not duel - the art was not invented when your founder departed."

[Day 11 - EM] Scimitar Champloo

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