By: Chisa Yap
Thanks to Togeriso for giving me a theme (and more importantly) a deadline to work with, Jeremy Puckett for running a Rokugan campaign, and Jamie Palmer for being Hotaru.
Many thanks to Ricepaper on their outstanding performance in criticking my fanfic with less than a
day of leeway. They roxxor!!
1121 17th Day of the Hare
Taisenko slowly rolled the hammer's handle in her hand, being careful to not make the motion noticable.
It would be very unfortunate to be caught in court with a hammer in her hands. The fact that it was only
a hand's width long and used for only fine detail would probably be irrevelant for the casual observer.
The Kaiu surveyed the room without moving her head and was pleased to see that no one saw the movement under her kimono sleeve.
Stifling something between a sigh and a yawn, Taisenko slid the hammer back further up her sleeve. Although court was not nearly as boring as she had feared it would be, Taisenko still missed being away from her forge.
The Crab woman stood smoothly, standing head and shoulders above most of the rest of the crowd.
Taisenko scanned the room trying to decide who to talk to today. The Lion had been most gracious hosts for the last couple of months, but Taisenko had received the impression they were tired of her constant
questions about how they produced their armor. Thus, she had requested permission to travel to Crane
territory to study their sword folding techniques and had arrived here yesterday.
It was very hard to relate to the Crane, their priorities were so different than those of the Crab.
Taisenko was well studied and knew much about history, geography, engineering, the Shadowlands, and had even made a special attempt to learn which lords were which. Unfortunately, her lack of training in
diplomacy was finally catching up with her.
Kaiu Taisenko was offically on leave from the Wall to personally study the history of armor and weapons by the clans to understand their effect on battles. Taisenko's personal goal was to one day make o-yori,
great armor, that would be as effective as the current version but lighter and thus less encumbering. If she
could manage this, it would revolutionize how battles against the Shadowlands were fought.
Unfortunately, no one believed in the threat that resided in the South and everyone was afraid that
their techniques would be used against them if commonly shared. This meant that Taisenko had to be
discreet of the actual nature her studies - and with this Kaiu discretion while she was working on a
project was as unusual as an honest Scorpion.
Taisenko knew better than to ramble about her projects, but it was really hard not to talk about her
ideas. On the Wall, the Kaiu would gather together for tea and riceballs and sit around all night discussing
different ideas and giving each other advice. Those times of friendship and brotherhood always helped
Taisenko to smile regardless of how desolate life on the Wall could be.
After a few minutes, Taisenko spotted Kakita Yoshi talking to a female Kakita. The Crab woman could not
believe how beauty the other woman was with her hair done in an intricate top knot and her gorgeous kimono that was designed with cranes frolicking in a koi pond. The volumous kimono slid over the Kakita's body making the water designs seem to flow like real water on silk.
The Kaiu drew a deep breath and uttered a prayer to Benten, Fortune of Beauty. "Give me grace of words
this day, Lady." Then, steeling herself, Taisenko walked to the duo and waited as they finished the
current topic.
Lord Yoshi greeted her warmly as she approached. "Kaiu-san, I have something for you," he said as he
reached into his kimono. "It appears that you have been leaving various papers lying about." The Kakita
daimyo unrolled a scroll revealing it to be a tentative battle plan for theoretical encounters that Taisenko had written up for the magistrates she had been assigned to work with when she had been assigned to the wall.
The scroll consisted of a drawing of several warriors from different clans fighting a single foe with notes
by Taisenko about what she had noted of their fighting prowess. Unfortunately, this was her private copy soit had some rather unflattering details of several of the magistrates.
"I found the crying Scorpion hiding in the corner most...intriguing." Yoshi was much too polite to smirk, but Taisenko noted the gleam in his eye.
"Well, you know, sincerity," Taisenko grinned,thinking of the story of the Crab warrior finding the Scorpion weeping and stating, "How sincere."
However, this was apparently the wrong thing to say as Yoshi stiffened noticably. "Yes, sincerity. I really
must be going." The Crane lord handed Taisenko her scroll, made a very brief good bye, and left.
"What did I do wrong?" Taisenko muttered despondantly. "I thought Cranes liked witty jokes."
"Honestly, you Crab do not know much, do you?" the Crane girl replied, pulling out her fan. "What reaction did you expect when you insult a man like Yoshi-sama?"
"I did not insult him," Taisenko growled.
"When you compare the Crane virtue to a Scorpion, of course it is an insult," the girl said as she fanned
herself.
"That was not what I meant," Taisenko gasped, mentally cursing at herself, horrified that the Kakita lord
interpretted her comment in that fashion. "I simply meant-"
Before Taisenko could explain herself, a bushi with the Daidoji mon approached with a quick bow.
"Hotaru-san," he addressed the Crane, "if you are ready, we may begin the iaijutsu contest now."
"Excuse me, Kaiu-san, I must go now," The girl, Hotaru, replaced her fan as she moved to leave.
Taisenko followed her. "I would love to see your swordmanship," she tried tentatively. Crane loved it
when you complimented them.
"I am sure you would," Hotaru replied, her eyes wary. Inwardly, Taisenko sighed, trying not to grind her
teeth. It was always the same, people trying to find meaning where there was none.
The duo quickly arrived at the dojo. Taisenko found a place to sit in the audience as Hotaru entered the
dojo floor. Straw dummies were arranged neatly in a row on one side while dueliests performed warmup katas on the other side.
Hotaru's cuts were quick and smooth, much like the firefly that she was named for, but they also seemed
without much power. Taisenko marveled at how Crane katas always looked more like a dance or a bird in
flight than a true fight. Watching the Kakita, Taisenko contemplated a Crane design for a sword later.
"Thank you for this beautiful sight and giving me inspiration, Benten-sama," Taisenko thought.
After a few minutes, the duelists were called to finish their katas and lined up. Each person's name
was called and they ran across the room to strike at a straw dummy. A few sliced off dummy heads, others removed legs or arms, and an exceptional few fairly made the targets explode into straw bits after hitting them with their katana empowered by the force of their chi.
Finally, it was Hotaru's turn. The girl took a deep breath, stilling her face. Time stood still for a brief second before the Kakita gave a loud "Kiai!" and charged at the strawman. Her katana blazed as it flew from its sheath, striking the dummy squarely in the torso...and becoming stuck there.
There was a slight delay before a polite applause rose from the crowd. Hotaru kept her back to the audience as she tugged at her katana a few times before she was able to dislodge it. Failing miserably to hide her red face, Hotaru bowed and quickly fled the dojo.
******
Later that night, Taisenko was walking through the Fantastic Gardens, when she stumbled upon a shrine to the Fortunes. Smiling to herself, Taisenko decided she would stop for a while and give a prayer for her
kinsmen back home. The Fortunes were favored by some of the Crab. After all, who would not appeal for
longeviety from Jurojin or strength from Bishamon when fighting on the Wall?
Taisenko was a bit surprised to see that there were fresh ashes left on Bishamon's shrine. Someone had
been here recently. "I suppose it was one of the Daidoji," Taisenko thought as she swept the area clean
before she placed her own incense. "After all, what other Crane would need to worry about strength?"
******
The next day, feeling refreshed from her meditations the night before, Taisenko decided to visit one of the
koi ponds to sketch some of its inhabitants for a design for a piece of armor she wanted to make for a
Yasuki cousin. The Kaiu grabbed a handful of fish food and tossed it to the center of the pond so the fish
would gather there.
Unfortunately, Taisenko snapped her wrist a bit too much and accidently released her hammer from its catch in her sleeve. With a loud, "plop" the hammer landed in the middle of the pond scattering the gathering carp. This resulted in Taisenko spending the next several hours removing her armor, retrieving her hammer, and drying in the warm sun as the unhappy fish hid under the rocks decorating the pond.
"Stupid fish," Taisenko grumbled good-naturedly as she finished the task of redonning her armor, "if you
acted like that in Crab territory, you would have been eaten by an oni a long time ago."
Gathering her materials, Taisenko debated between looking for secret tunnels in the kyuden she was
staying at again or trying to gain access to Kakita forges so she could work on a few of her designs when
she noticed Hotaru walking nearby. Hotaru was carrying a satchel and seemed to be laden under its weight. Taisenko crammed the rest of her scrolls into her satchel and hurried to the Kakita. She had not seen the Crane since yesterday's exhibition and wanted to comment on the girl's performance.
"Hotaru-san!" Taisenko called. The Kakita stopped and turned to source of the voice. Taisenko trotted up,
her armor clanking heavily.
"Why do you wear that?" Hotaru asked, indicating the o-yuri that Taisenko wore, disdain heavy in her voice. "Do you distrust your hosts so much that you feel a need for protection?"
"It's not like that at all," Taisenko answered. "I never had a chance to learn how to use armor since I
always worked in the forges back home. So, now that I am away, I am taking the time to get acquainted with how to wear armor. I figure if you are going to craft something you should know how to use it."
Hotaru seemed bemused by this statement, so Taisenko continued with, "I wanted to talk to you about your performance yesterday."
Wiping sweat from her face, Hotaru replied, "I do not have time right now, I have to deliver this my
sensei."
"It seems pretty heavy," Taisenko offered, "I could carry it for you." The Kaiu quickly grabbed the
satchel and was startled to find that it weighed no more than seven or eight pounds.
"I can handle it by myself, thank you," Hotaru snatched the pouch back, "I must go now."
As the Kakita hurried away, Taisenko wondered, "What did I do this time?"
******
Taisenko frowned bitterly as she lit the incense stick that she had placed on the shrine to Benten. After her
short conversation with Hotaru, the Kaiu had made an appointment with Kakita Yoshi's secretary. Upon
meeting him, she requested for travel papers to return to Crab territory. She had been granted them almost
immediately. Taisenko would be leaving in the morning.
Sighing, Taisenko bent her head in prayer. "Benten-sama, why cannot I ever say the right thing?
It is so hard to talk to someone who is not of the Crab Clan. Is it me? Is it them? I just wish you could
give me a sign. Please."
Taisenko sat there in meditation, time marked by the incense as it burned. Finally, the Kaiu sighed and was
preparing to return to her room to finish packing when a figure entered the shrine. It was Kakita Hotaru.
"What are you doing here?" Hotaru asked in her melodious voice.
"The same as you I suppose," Taisenko said with a small smile, "praying to the Fortunes." The smith
moved away from Benten's shrine. "I am done here if you wish to use Benten-sama's shrine."
"You pray to the Fortune of Beauty?" Hotaru asked, confusion in her voice. "I thought the Crab respected
strength above all else."
"Actually, I worship all of the Fortunes, I simply ask Benten for help more." Taisenko grinned, Hotaru was
not the first confused by her choice of patron. "You are right, we do respect strength. And I have strength
in plenty." Taisenko flexed her muscles from hours at the forge. "Thus, I do not need Bishamon's help as
much."
Hotaru clutched her candles closer to herself. "I see." An uncomfortable silence descended. Not sure what to do, Taisenko said, "If you do not mind the company, I would stay here a while."
"I am not here for Benten," Hotaru admitted. She loosened her grip on the candles and showed them to
Taisenko. They were inscribed with prayers to Bishamon.
"Oh," Taisenko said, understanding dawning as she thought of how Hotaru could not strike the strawman
through and how she had labored to carry the satchel. The Kaiu also thought of her prayer to Benten and the travel papers that were crinkled in her obi. "Well," she said as she seated herself before the Bishamon's
shrine, "not all strength comes from the body. Sometimes it comes from the soul."
"Spoken like a true diplomat," Hotaru smiled and sat beside Taisenko. Together they lit the incense.
Hours later, when the Crab and Crane left talking amicably about swordmanship, Taisenko's traveling
papers were left sitting on the ground between Bishamon and Benten's shrines.
The End