A Yogo in court! Yogo Aya's interest in politics was less than nil, but the Lion could demand her support, and so she appeared.

Alright, this wasn't too hard. Step 1: Find someone supporting the SC Step 2: Listen to their arguments Step 3: Point out flaws in their arguments, and refute them.

She found a likely target, listening to them witter on about the Heaven's themselves supporting the return of the dead Emperor and his right to govern. Now she just had to do step three

"Are you fuckin' stupid? Did your mother drop you from the top of the temple steps on your head? Only an idiot would think killing an Emperor would make you an Emperor."

Imperial Support roll TN 15, 8

Nailed it. Maybe I have a future in politics.

(Pm if approached)

For the Naga he nodded and deftly offered the secret Naga hand gesture for whaddup my naga.

Smooth.

"Where one came from is not as important as where they are going." He turns his head, his gaze lingering on each of them - and the crow - for a long moment. "Like rivers flowing from the mountain, you have been brought here by forces you do not yet understand. The Emperor is no longer of this world, and an Emperor from another world now walks among you.

“So, I suppose you’re all wondering why I called you here today,” Moto Baatar began. Seated on a three-legged stool, the young Unicorn addressed a handsome black horse and a small white dog. The dog sat attentively on its hindquarters, while the horse was clearly more interested in eating hay than listening to whatever nonsense its rider was on about.

“Dark tidings from the Imperial Court,” Baatar continued, attempting to affect the dramatic voice the Scorpion actress had used. “An Emperor slain, and a ghost Emperor risen. As a clan, I believe we have an obligation to support our Lion hosts in this matter. What say you?”

The small dog yapped.

The Unicorn sighed. “Yes, Gölgee, I’m pretty sure the Lion are in favor of extra treats,” Baatar said in a long suffering tone. He tossed a small morsel to the puppy, who instantly devoured it.

Politics, Baatar reflected. It’s always politics.

He had an audience now! Moto Baatar gained confidence in his courtier abilities as his words were finally having an effect!

"IF A WAR IS GONNA HAPPEN, WE SHOULD BE READY TO FIGHT!" he exclaimed.

"I would hope that you would recognize the many years of training and the great deal of resources the Scorpion spent on making you into the woman you are today, and how childish it would be to throw that away on personal opinions."

Her expression turns serious as she carefully sets her chopsticks down on her plate and folds her hands into her lap. "You are young, Sara-chan, but please believe me when I tell you that I have seen this sort of behavior among other actresses. They get so caught up in playing the leading role that they forget they are nothing more than supporting actresses in the only performance that matters."

"The Scorpion are what matter, my dear." Uruwashii motions to the mons on Sara's kimono. "And obedience is a virtue. The Scorpion have given you everything. If I instruct you to kill a man, I expect you do to so without question. If I tell you to seduce someone, I expect you to be naked and on your back without so much as a peep of protest. And if I tell you to speak openly in court about a subject you disagree with, I expect you to do so with all the gusto your fluttering little breast can manage."

She makes a dismissive gesture with her hand. "If there is a chance that you will simply stab yourself out of principle or spite or whatever emotion has replaced loyalty in your heart, then you are... simply of no use to me, nor to the Scorpion. And that would be a true disappointment, because I believe you have a very promising career in your future."

Uruwashii sighs and gives Sara a tired smile. "So tell me, my dear, are you a loyal Scorpion, or should I seek to marry you out to a more appropriate Clan?"

Motaro doesn't even glance in Iko's direction.

"Put down the quill. Your masters do not need a report just yet."

“So, I suppose you’re all wondering why I called you here today,” Moto Baatar began. Seated on a three-legged stool, the young Unicorn addressed a handsome black horse and a small white dog. The dog sat attentively on its hindquarters, while the horse was clearly more interested in eating hay than listening to whatever nonsense its rider was on about.

“Dark tidings from the Imperial Court,” Baatar continued, attempting to affect the dramatic voice the Scorpion actress had used. “An Emperor slain, and a ghost Emperor risen. As a clan, I believe we have an obligation to support our Lion hosts in this matter. What say you?”

The small dog yapped.

The Unicorn sighed. “Yes, Gölgee, I’m pretty sure the Lion are in favor of extra treats,” Baatar said in a long suffering tone. He tossed a small morsel to the puppy, who instantly devoured it.

Politics, Baatar reflected. It’s always politics.

>HONK!<

The goose waddles forward and snatches up Kayou's hat in its beak.

The box contained a severed hand.


Upon closer examination, it was more like a sculpture of a hand, wrist, and partial forearm. It seemed to have been formed from numerous small, segmented pieces of jade.

Sara almost drifted off, but something caught her ear.

"You naga measure how chaste you are?" She asked curiously, her ears emerging from under the water.

Gossip and Rumors:A servant sings to herself as she carries tea down the hallway:

"The call her Homu~ra! Homu~ra! The walking libra~ry! No one you see... knows more history than she~!"

Mogami watched from the walls as the refugees poured in to Toshi no Omoidoso. A sea of people, samurai and peasants alike flooded the area with an army hot on their heels.

She watched as numerous samurai of the Lion clan, as well as their guests from the Naga, Dragon, Mantis, and Phoenix all did what they could to get people through the walls. Suddenly, something in her made her have a horrible realization.

She sprinted down the wall, screaming as loud as she could.

"CLOSE THE GATES!"

Stares from those around her tore at her soul.

"BY THE HEAVENS CLOSE THE GATES!"

Her budoka kept pace behind her, keeping those who would try to stop her away from her with their Yari.

She reached the gatehouse after what seemed like an eternity.

"Shimizu-san, you MUST close the gates this instant. We could be letting the enemy in!"

The poor guard looked at her confused.

"...but Matsu-san, to do so would be to condemn those outside to death...Surely you can't..."

Mogami snarled.

"Close the gates damn you! The Kitsu daimyo told me that it would be an unfortunate but necessary sacrifice. You MUST obey!"

The man grimaced at the gruesome order but as Asako Kashiwagi brought his entourage through, the guardsman gathered his strength and motioned for the other samurai at the gate to assist him and the great gates began to close.

Breathing a sigh of relief as the heavy doors shuddered closed, Mogami then took to the wall again to attempt to begin a headcount. Stares from those who heard her shouting follow her, but she keeps her eyes down. Now was not the time to answer to anyone for her actions, but instead the time to sort out the mess that had ruined her battle plans.

"Tsuruga, Fuwa, help me count."

It took time, but eventually she felt like she had the numbers right. It had been a few months since she had been home, but she still knew Toshi no Omoidoso well.

"There are some warehouses unused that can be used for housing. These people need shelter."

She made her way through the crowds to the district she had in mind, and after tense negotiations with the proprietors of said warehouses, she secured enough to house a great number of the new refugees.

"Now comes the hardest part, convincing Shimizu-sama to let us use some of our stores to feed these people."

Mogami's two budoka stayed quiet, their faces somewhat grim by the events so far.

She made her way to the Shiro and begged for requested another audience with the governor.

"Shimizu-sama, I know we have just spoke about what we need to survive this fight, but the situation has just changed drastically. We have nearly a thousand new bodies inside the city. They all will have proper lodging, but they will require some of our food stores."

She took a deep breath before she made her request.

"I urge you, release some of our stores to help these people. To have hungry or starving masses inside our walls when the fighting begins proper will only bring chaos and disorder. Bodies that could be used to fight will be tied up with keeping the peace instead, not to mention the disease that could spread from those dying from hunger."

Her logic one through, and with her request listened to and granted, Mogami found a private room to the side of the court, ordered her budoka to stand outside, and then in the privacy and darkness that surrounded her, she wept.

"Think nothing of it, Baysuhi-san. One of the interesting aspects of being daimyo of the Shosuro is the sheer number of people that appear in your bedroom in the middle of the night to deliver messages and updates. If anything, I appreciate being given time to make myself presentable."

Maintaining the androgynous reputation was important for Setsuna. So much so that they were wearing their mask in the middle of the onsen. But, with so much commotion going on at the gates, there had to be enough time to take a bath uninterrupted.

Right?

After some searching, Seitouna finds a group of heimin gathered inside a small sake house. Despite the refugees searching for shelter throughout the city, there do not seem to be any of them within the establishment.

The heimin are gathered in a circle and seem to be having a meeting, save for one of the heimin, who is standing awkwardly while the others are seated.

"We gotta have more meetings," the seated leader of the group is saying as Seitouna enters. "I'm telling you guys, we gotta be more organized. So this is what we gotta do. We gotta sell more drugs... and we gotta make more crimes happen."

"We gotta have more meetings," the seated leader of the group is saying as Seitouna enters. "I'm telling you guys, we gotta be more organized. So this is what we gotta do. We gotta sell more drugs... and we gotta make more crimes happen."

Kanade aimed her bolt at of the uppermost intruders, hoping to knock some people off the wall.


18 Success