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Post by Mirumoto Noboru on Feb 5, 2018 10:18:05 GMT -5
"And I you. Much as Doji Hoshiko knows what happened to me, I don't know that she can ever fully understand. But..." He finally straightens, looking away at first due to his natural shyness but forcing himself to glance at the Kakita. "When I look at you, I see a similar soul. One honing themselves to deal with the pain of loss the only way we know how. You as your honor your sister, and me as I..."
He looks away with shame, "Me as I blame the world around me, withdraw from it, and demand vengeance with the head of her murderer and the Clan that permitted it."
If there was something to punch to release the anger inside, it's likely Noboru would do it right now. And yet he just breathes deeply, seeking to calm himself. "I don't know that I can ever let go of this anger, that even seeing the entire Crane Clan in ruins would quell it. But I also can't take my eyes off of either of you. You and Doji-san complete me in different ways."
Noboru looks back to Uetani, this On replaced with tortured mask of emotions: desire, anger, disgust, shame, contrition. "But you're right. I... I don't know that we should be alone together, but we should see more of each other. You..." He pauses, breathing deeply as he struggles to find the proper words. "I don't think either of you can fix me. No one probably can, but I think we'd both be lesser as people and in our craft without each other."
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Post by Kakita Uetani on Feb 5, 2018 10:22:36 GMT -5
"It is not about fixing you" she says, placing a hand on his shoulder, and pulling it away again before she gets too close "You let the world tell you that what you feel is wrong, and maybe it is... unfocused, but a desire to set right what was wrong is not vengance, it is justice. There might not ever be anything that can heal the wound, and certainly nothing can give back what was taken. But you can stand there, a sword in hand, to make sure that no one ever misuses their training or gifts again."
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Post by Mirumoto Noboru on Feb 5, 2018 10:30:30 GMT -5
Noboru touched her hand before she could pull it away, listening to the Kakita closely. "And what of my blame of your family and clan? Some would call it pettiness, or simply trying to extend the very blood feud I abhor. But ultimately it..."
He paused then motioned for her to sit. "Do you want to hear the story? To understand beyond what you've seen?"
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Post by Kakita Uetani on Feb 8, 2018 2:48:02 GMT -5
"Tell me" she nods her head
"Let me understand"
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Post by Mirumoto Noboru on Feb 8, 2018 9:51:33 GMT -5
Noboru nodded then begain to collect himself, taking a deep breath. If she hadn't seen Hikari in his eyes, in his soul, he could have easily denied her existence. But they'd seen each other and their deepest pains. It only made sense to share with her, especially now.
"Two years ago, my sister Hikari served as a yoriki and yojimbo for an emerald magistrate named Kitsuki Shun. The two of them were working a case involving the Forest Killers. The evidence and testimony they were able to collect led to the arrest of a man named Kakita Ichiro as a suspected leader of the gang."
It was then that she could see the anger building in his eyes, the timbre of his voice changing with each word as he fought to hold back his rage and pain. "Before the trial, it's said a key piece of evidence went missing so the court wouldn't convict Ichiro as a member of the gang, let alone one of its leaders. At that point, it became a matter of Ichiro's honor."
Noboru looked away as he clenched his fist and released it a few times, looking ready to hit something but doing his best to not break his On in front of her. "He began claiming that Kitsuki-sama arrested him because of the blood feud and because the Dragon as a clan was acting out of jealousy, even calling the Niten inferior. Even calling Kitsuki's method inferior. That's when he demanded satisfaction, when he demanded a duel to the death."
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Post by Kakita Uetani on Feb 8, 2018 13:18:49 GMT -5
"It is as we talked of earlier. The quicker side won, and your sister was 'proven' wrong in the eyes of the courts?"
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Post by Mirumoto Noboru on Feb 8, 2018 13:57:34 GMT -5
"He was already found not guilty because of the missing evidence," Noboru sighed a little. "He just decided to add insult to injury by demanding satisfaction after the fact, and in the process his victory validated all of his statements about Kitsuki's method, about the Niten, about our clan's actions, and that he was only arrested because of the blood feud."
The last part left him looking physically ill, eyes shifting away from Uetani as he tried to keep his already poor On. "He abused the blood feud and killed my sister in the process. I should only be angry with him, yet there's also Okoro's unreturned daisho. There's the fact your clan permitted the duel to be to death and not just first blood. The fact that neither of our clans is willing to stop this blood feud because of what it would imply... and it all just eats at me."
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Post by Kakita Uetani on Feb 8, 2018 14:03:39 GMT -5
"Kakita Ichiro will not be the only Kakita to abuse their training" she says with a hint of struggle "We are the best in the Empire. We need those of skill and determination to keep those of us that will abuse our name and the art of our ancestor to keep us in check"
She looks a little sad
"It hurts... I suspect that it always will, that will be your way of keeping her alive. It is better than some of the alternatives. You found a way to use that hurt, turn it to justice. Just make sure that it is for justice, and not arbitrary vengeance..."
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Post by Mirumoto Noboru on Feb 8, 2018 14:27:31 GMT -5
Noboru looked over to Uetani, listening carefully to her advice even if he wasn't sure if he was capable of adhering to it. Instead, the Dragon just asks, "What happened to your sister?"
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Post by Kakita Uetani on Feb 8, 2018 14:42:13 GMT -5
She sighs
"It was just before our gempukku. She was trained in our Artisan school, as a sculptor. She wanted to create the perfect piece. She stopped eating, to focus on her art, and she died. The piece was considered unfinished..."
Another breath
"Pursuit of what we were taught was the only path led her to her end"
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