D2 EM - Replacing the Lost

Kayou · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 2:51 pm **Posts:** 419

Kayou nods. "You memory is good, Matsu-san. But when Hantei-no-kami gave to Akodo-no-kami the Tao, Akodo-no-kami read it and said, 'This way is not my Way.' Akodo -no-kami ordered the Tao would not enter any Lion dojo. Hantei, in his wisdom, commanded that Akodo-no-kami reverse that order, so a copy of Tao is now included in every Lion dojo. But they are never opened, as Bushido is the Way of the Lion, and the Tao is the Tao, the two rarely meet."

Matsu Mogami · **Posted:** Fri Apr 10, 2020 4:50 am

She nods in sudden understanding.

"So then my own actions have been an affront to the way of our clan? That could explain some things...but why has my father, a General, allowed me and even praised me for my work so far?"

Kayou · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 2:51 pm **Posts:** 419

"Remember the key lesson of Leadership, Matsu-san," smiled Kayou. "It it works, and brings victory, it is honorable. Sometime new things must be tried, especially in a changing world."

Matsu Mogami · **Posted:** Fri Apr 10, 2020 4:57 am

Mogami nods again.

"Then please, I am ready to hear your lessons, sensei."

She calls back to her budoka

"Come closer and listen. Your duty now is to learn, not guard."

Kayou · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 2:51 pm **Posts:** 419

Kayou smiles and waves them closer. "Let us begin.

'The tao that can be described
is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be spoken
is not the eternal Name.

The nameless is the boundary of Heaven and Earth.
The named is the mother of creation.

Freed from desire, you can see the hidden mystery.
By having desire, you can only see what is visibly real.

Yet mystery and reality
emerge from the same source.
This source is called darkness.

Darkness born from darkness.
The beginning of all understanding.'"

She will try to draw the budoka as well as Mogami into engaging with the text of the Tao. How it feels to them, what they think of it. She treat all as equal when discussing the Tao, all insights are valid.

OOC: And bedtime for the nun's player.

Matsu Mogami · **Posted:** Fri Apr 10, 2020 5:32 am

The three of them for that moment were all equals, no caste system, no variance in status, wealth, or skills, just pure equals in learning. They all asked and listened to the answered to their questions, contemplating each in their own ways. After a long period of silence, Mogami turns to her two budoka.

"I have need of speaking with the Sensei in private. Go through the temple and pray at each of the shrines. Read the inscriptions there if you can. Later, if there are words that you cannot make sense of, tell me and I will show you their meanings."

Once the two men depart, Mogami drops her voice quiet.

"Kayou-sensei, there is something strange I feel that perhaps you have insight on. I don't quite know how to put it into words...."

Togashi Tsukimi · **Posted:** Fri Apr 10, 2020 1:24 pm

Kioka wrote:

"Why?"

A simple enough question, but it was spoken in a way that gave it a certain weight.

Tsukimi's fingers touched the prayer beads she carried with her as she was reminded of her sensei's teachings.

"My teachers told me the story of when the Falle One would attack Rokugan at the Dawn of the Empire, he appeared before the first Hantei and his siblings, demanding they face him and fight for the throne. Only Togashi, who had stood apart from the original tournament, answered the challenge. The Fallen One told Lord Togashi to pick a weapon to fight him, and Togashi answered; I choose humanity."

She smiled serenely. "In the same way, the Little Teacher also placed faith in humanity, to defeat the greatest evil. The Thunders were heroes, but they were above all, human."

Kayou · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 2:51 pm **Posts:** 419

Matsu Mogami wrote:

Once the two men depart, Mogami drops her voice quiet.

"Kayou-sensei, there is something strange I feel that perhaps you have insight on. I don't quite know how to put it into words...."

"Speak and the words will find a way, Matsu-san," says Kayou gently.

Matsu Mogami · **Posted:** Fri Apr 10, 2020 2:09 pm

"When I saw you, and constantly throughout this morning I have felt multiple..."

She pauses thinking for the right words.

"..I'm not sure. It's like something keeps guiding me to be here with you. It's not an emotional feeling, but instead like something is reaching inside of me and pushing me to speak with you or be near you."

She frowns and pauses again, unsure how to continue.

"Perhaps like the feeling one would get if assigned to be a yojimbo and their charge was in danger? And when I listen to the feeling, I am rewarded with a feeling of contentment and joy."

Kayou · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 2:51 pm **Posts:** 419

Kayou looks puzzled for a moment. "Perhaps this is just the place you need to be in your Tao, Matsu-san. One may not know their Tao until they begin to walk it. So it was with this one, what she thought was her way, was not. But the one she found . . . she cannot imagine a better one."

"You have been seeking a path, all your actions say as much, but so far it has only lead you in circles . Now, they part, and a way out is shown. This one may be a guide or perhaps just a sign that you must set out in a new direction. Time will tell."

Matsu Mogami · **Posted:** Fri Apr 10, 2020 2:25 pm

Mogami gives a hum and looks contemplative for a while, letting the advice sink in.

"You may very well be right, sensei. However I also need to ask..."

Her voice drops a little softer and quieter

"Are you in any sort of danger? Could the Heavens be guiding me to you to protect from something?"

Kayou · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 2:51 pm **Posts:** 419

Kayou thinks. 'this one does not believe she is in any more danger than anyone else in this trying time. She is known as an ally of the slain Emperor but many more powerful people were as well. She can think of nothing that places her in usual danger."

Matsu Mogami · **Posted:** Fri Apr 10, 2020 2:59 pm

"I see. Perhaps it is nothing then. Maybe just the joy of finding one I thought to have passed on to the next life is still here in the flesh. I will keep track of the sensation though, if it continues perhaps someday we can determine what it means."

Kioka · **Joined:** Mon Apr 06, 2020 10:21 pm **Posts:** 86

Togashi Tsukimi wrote:

Kioka wrote:

"Why?"

A simple enough question, but it was spoken in a way that gave it a certain weight.

Tsukimi's fingers touched the prayer beads she carried with her as she was reminded of her sensei's teachings.

"My teachers told me the story of when the Fallen One would attack Rokugan at the Dawn of the Empire, he appeared before the first Hantei and his siblings, demanding they face him and fight for the throne. Only Togashi, who had stood apart from the original tournament, answered the challenge. The Fallen One told Lord Togashi to pick a weapon to fight him, and Togashi answered; I choose humanity."

She smiled serenely. "In the same way, the Little Teacher also placed faith in humanity, to defeat the greatest evil. The Thunders were heroes, but they were above all, human."

"Mm." She gets up and gets a scroll from a far corner of the room and comes back.

She opens the scroll and reads:

"Legend said that just prior to the Battle of the Cresting Wave - during the building of the Kaiu Wall - Kuni Hohiro went to pray. Feeling powerless to help stop the hordes of Oni lead by The Maw awaiting the Crab, Hohiro pleaded and begged the Fortune Osano-Wo for help.

Seeing that Hohiro was weak and asking for help, the Thunder God ignored the boy's pleas. Hohiro returned day after day, making offerings, and praying with all his heart. Still Osano-Wo did nothing but watch. Then, after many days, Hohiro left the shrine, convinced the god would never help him. Hohiro cursed Osano-Wo's name and said he would find a way to stop the Shadowlands himself. Impressed with the boy's new-found confidence and anger, Osano-Wo created the Jade Hand from the scale of a Dragon and gave it to Hohiro."

Togashi Tsukimi · **Posted:** Fri Apr 10, 2020 3:25 pm

Tsukimi listened intently to the story, nodding along and at its conclusion.

It seemed to her that the relic was something that one needed to prove worthy of, rather than just expecting it to be given to you. At least to her.

"It seems to me that there is more to such a nemuranai than merely just waiting for a blessing. There is no fate but what fate we make for ourselves," she said, repeating the words of her Champion.

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

Seppun Chiyo wrote:

Suzume Chihaya wrote:

"Well enough - the monks are finally assenting to my recovery enough to allow me to live outside the Temple, so things are looking up. This one is Suzume Chihaya, by the way."

A faint smile.

"And you, Seppun-san? Have you had rice?"

"Not yet, Suzume-sama, but that is normal for me. I try to rise early so that I may greet my ancestors either in the temple or at the dojo for the day. Plenty of time for food afterwards, neh?" she replied presently.

"I feel such routines may become a grounding point for me in what I assume will be a tumultuous few days. But what is this of your recovery?" Chiyo asked, a note of concern edging her voice.

"Ah, I had a bit of a dangerous encounter, a few weeks ago."

She smiled faintly. "I was able to resolve a long running problem, but had to spend a some quality time with the physicians here at the temple, as a reward for my efforts."

Kioka · **Joined:** Mon Apr 06, 2020 10:21 pm **Posts:** 86

Togashi Tsukimi wrote:

Tsukimi listened intently to the story, nodding along and at its conclusion.

It seemed to her that the relic was something that one needed to prove worthy of, rather than just expecting it to be given to you. At least to her.

"It seems to me that there is more to such a nemuranai than merely just waiting for a blessing. There is no fate but what fate we make for ourselves," she said, repeating the words of her Champion.

"Well said. It was given to one who needed it when they did, but only after they showed they could and would act for themselves."

Togashi Tsukimi · **Posted:** Fri Apr 10, 2020 5:19 pm

"There is much wisdom in what you said," Tsukimi acknowledged with a deferential bow of her head.

"And it is something I shall have to reflect on much in this difficult time. It is, after all, in times of adversity that the strongest steel is forged."

Kioka · **Joined:** Mon Apr 06, 2020 10:21 pm **Posts:** 86

Togashi Tsukimi wrote:

"There is much wisdom in what you said," Tsukimi acknowledged with a deferential bow of her head.

"And it is something I shall have to reflect on much in this difficult time. It is, after all, in times of adversity that the strongest steel is forged."

"Do you believe jade will be an asset against the returned?"

Togashi Tsukimi · **Posted:** Fri Apr 10, 2020 5:28 pm

She certainly hoped it wouldn't be needed.

"I... don't think they are afflicted with that kind of darkness, but I've heard the purity of jade holds protective properties, even against other kinds of spirits?" Tsukimi didn't hide that she was unsure about the subject.

D2 EM - Replacing the Lost

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