Re: Chapter 3 - Weakness is my Strength
When the fan dropped from in front of Sakura's lips, there was a large smile on her face. She had been thinking along those lines for a short while, but she never expected the honorable Ronin to suggest such a thing.
"If I may" Sakura politely interrupted, "I believe that Kedo-Kun has an important point. The Scorpion should not aid the Crane ... with troops."
"It would be an insult, Bayushi-Sama" Sakura continued, "not only to your intelligence but to your clan's duty as well to say that we would always agree with you in the courts."
"There is a story, circulated I believe among the Dragon, that seems appropriate. There was once twins, Ueui* and Uefuta*, both Bushi from the same school. They were from a minor family, and were quite eager to see that their family earned glory and status. So, to improve themselves for the benefit of their family and clan, they became rivals. After all, who better to challenge their growth than their own twin?"
"No matter where they went and what they did, they turned it into a contest. When on the field of battle on would call out how many enemies he had slain, and the other would call out how many he had slain."
"This rivalry went on for quite some time. Soon there were rumors circulated, that the two were bitter enemies. They did not concern themselves with rumors, however, for the two knew the truth.
<Blue>"Then, at winter court, a high ranking Imperial courtier was offended by a Shugenja from the same family as the twins. He demanded a duel, and Ueui was asked to champion for the Shugenja. The Courtier then demanded that his twin, Uefuta, champion him. It was a duel to the death, and no matter who won the Clan would loose an honorable Samurai. Either way, he reasoned, he would get his revenge."
"The day of the duel came and the two brothers appeared on the dueling field together -- both wearing white. They took their stances and focused for what seemed to be an eternity. Then, in an instant blades were drawn and one brother lay dead. A moment later the second brother took his own life in protest."
"But no one knew which brother was which."
"The matter was over, for dueling etiquette required that it was settled. If the offended parties did not know which was which, that was their problem -- but now there was the issue of which Samurai was to commit seppuku. In the end, the Shugenja was given an honorable Seppuku, the Courtier was cast to the waves for his failure, and for their honor and cunning the twins' family was honored by the Emperor himself."
"The courtier assumed that the two rivals were enemies, but they were not. They worked toward a common cause, competing with each other because they knew that no matter who won it would bring honor to their family. In other words, no matter who 'won' in public, they would both win in reality."
Sakura smiled, pausing for a dramatic moment before she continued.
"Kedo-Kun, would you please explain your observations for Tenma-Sama?"
[You're not going to make me do a Storytelling roll, are you? ;p
Ueui - "First out" (oldest twin). Uefuta - "Second out" (youngest twin). Oh, and for the record, I made that story up.
I made my courtier roll as well.
19:11, Today: Daidoji Sakura rolled 38 using 6d10, dropping the 2 lowest rolls, rerolling max with rolls of 1,5,8,9,(10+6)16,4. Awareness/Courtier, TN25.]