[D1, LM, Expecting] Yoriki Academy

[Daidoji Sae]

Sae entered the Dojo of the Hundred Scars confidently, clearly more comfortable than among the rigors of court. There were a few short discussions with curious Lion students of all ages:

* No, she did not want to wrestle.
* No, she didn't think that made her cowardly, but they could finish that discussion outside and then she'd have to clean her sword.
* Yes, she was a real Emerald Magistrate.
* Yes, she'd killed people.
* No, she did not want to talk about it, what is wrong with you? Get back to your exercises.

After the kids were shepherded away she allowed herself a moment to breathe before taking up a bokken and beginning a slow kata, as she waited, trying to replace the ache in her head with an ache in her arms.

The Matsu had come highly recommended, now it was time to see if they had been right.

[Matsu Masumi]

Training might have been familiar to Masumi but that did not mean she found much comfort in it. There was always some sort of mistake she made, something else she needed to focus on. Raw might didn't matter much when her siblings were so much larger than her.

When she stepped into the dojo, she waited at the periphery and did not interrupt the kata. It was a fine opportunity for her to spot any potential vulnerabilities that would need to be compensated for... Certainly she would never speak of such things out loud to her superior. To take orders from a Crane... I'll never hear the end of it from Mother.

[Daidoji Sae]

Snip

Sae continues on, her movements slow and regular until, with her back to Masumi she utters:

"The morning is not long enough for you to to simply stand there, Matsu-san. If you do not come and join me I shall start quizzing you on Tangen's writings."
This was punctuated with a thrust of her bokken.

[Matsu Masumi]

Snip

Masumi's shoulders tensed, not out of frustration but rather embarrassment. To her credit, it did not carry into her voice when she said, "Of course, Daidoji-sama." Her words came out clear and distinct, if not a bit loud; she'd always needed to enunciate clearly among so many... passionate siblings.

She took up a bokken as well before taking to the mat. For the time being, she assumed that Sae simply wanted her to follow along the kata...

[Daidoji Sae]

Snip

"So, you are Matsu Masumi-san." Sae does indeed not pause her own exercises, giving off a vague sense of a woman who put a great deal of value on follow through.

"Hmmm." Sae lets the silence continue on for a few moments.

"Tell me honestly, no dissembling, no platitudes. Are you ready for your duties? Are you of sound mind and body? Do you have the skills needed to do what we have to do?"

[Matsu Masumi]

Snip

The silence does nothing to unsettle her, not when there is a task at hand. But the question, well, is not so welcome. "I would not be here if I was not, Daidoji-sama. I earned this position not out of undue favors but through diligence." That may be an overestimation of her scholarly work...

[Daidoji Sae]

Snip

That earned a long piercing look from Sae as if she was searching for something on Masumi's face. She doesn't appear to find it.

"Very well, we will work together. You will faithfully carry out my instructions, and in return I promise to provide you with everything you will need to become a Magistrate yourself one day. I will not ask you to risk your own honour if I am not prepared to risk my own. And should you find yourself need to inconvenience those greater than yourself through your duties, know that I will always back you."

Finishing her kata with a slow thrust of her blade. "Just make sure you can explain yourself to me afterwards. A Winter Court is too dangerous a place for casual accusations and arrests."

Turning to Masumi as she rests her bokken on her shoulder.

"Another question. Say you need to take me into custody. Show me how you would do it."

[Matsu Masumi]

Snip

Masumi did not flinch under the examination. The first words, however, revealed her surprise. Was it an option to be rid of me so soon? It didn't seem very fair to her, although she at least had passed this initial assessment. "I would be shocked to imagine that the various clans would send... unworthy representatives." Based on her impressions, this was going to be the easiest time of her life. Soon that could be proven very wrong.

"I would first wish to inspect your capabilities, your demeanor." Masumi wrinkled her nose. "It is difficult for me to imagine you would be belligerent. If you were, then I would opt for this option." Sae had ordered her to show how it would happen, after all.

Like a lioness pouncing on her prey, Masumi lunged forward in hopes of tackling her superior to the ground. Defense wasn't exactly her concern. As long as she could handle the brunt of any first counter, she was confident she could maintain a proper hold!

[Daidoji Sae]

Snip

"That's a good st-"
Sae has time for her eyebrows to rise slightly before she's flat on her back staring up at the ceiling after receiving a full Matsu.

Calmly. "First, nice technique. Certainly the best way to subdue one single target.

Second, my general preferred method for taking someone into custody is to say " 'Please come with me'. Or, 'you will be escorted to the nearest Magistrate's office'. I have not had to crash tackle someone in quite some time."

Sae looks over at Masumi who had her in quite an arm-lock and then slowly and deliberately taps the mat with her other hand.
"We can talk through arrest protocol in greater detail at a later date."

[Matsu Masumi]

Snip

"Are people usually so compliant?" Masumi growled as she got into the spirit of grappling. "I assumed that people of the less lawful variety would also lie about submitting without a struggle." When the taps came through, she let go and rolled off, a bit sheepish as she rose to her feet on her lonesome. Am I supposed to help the Magistrate up? She narrowed her eyes, watching to see if there was some sort of expectation for that.

[Daidoji Sae]

Snip

"It depends on who you are arresting. Most samurai will not wish to be scene brawling in the street with an emerald magistrate, and should they flee they confirm their guilt.

Besides, I suspected my struggling would have limited effect. Indeed, I have found letting a Matsu wrap their arms around you is a poor way to conclude combat."

Sae rolls over to her side and then stands up, popping her back for a moment.
"I am not quite so old that being tackled to the floor does lasting damage, but do keep in mind that particularly senior samurai should not be borne to the ground."

She would probably regret this, but duty was duty.
"Now, let's see how you fair with a bokken, strike at me."
She raises her own and slides into a defensive posture.

[Matsu Masumi]

Snip

"I would think that intoxication might convince some samurai to be more resistant," Masumi mused out loud. "It may set a good example to deter future offenders too." That line of thinking rarely worked out but such was her understanding of society.

"Daidoji-sama appears to be in peak health." Masumi took a moment to look her superior over before averting her gaze. It wouldn't do to be too invasive. "But yes, I will have to restrain myself with particularly senior samurai, even if I do not care for their hypothetical actions." Deserved or not, she refrained from allowing herself to bask in wrath. Too often it clouded judgment.

Even if it put her at odds with her siblings, she was still proficient in her kenjutsu. She swooped in, relying on leverage to send power through each strike without compromising her balance. Her restraint here came through in the form of never connecting her bokken with Sae; any opportunity and she would withdraw her attack.

---

D1 LM Sending Sae to Horny Jail? Bonk! | 6k3 ⇒ 45 (TN: 25)

[Daidoji Sae]

Snip

The Magistrate keeps her defence up, but Masumi continues the full Matsu and she struggles to retain her stance as the blows whip in so fast it's hard to follow again and again.

Finally she lifts a hand. "I think we should stop there, while I still have a shred of dignity." Sae lowers her own bokken, looking down at it ruefully. "You have the best of me, I would blame my age but that has hardly stopped Kakita-sama."

Thoughtfully, after a few moments. "But this is a good thing, it means I have been blessed with a yoriki who is skilled in the martial arts. I pray you will not have to use them during our time in Kyuden Ikoma."

Looking over at Masumi.

"Any questions before we move on to something more intellectual? I trust you have done your reading?"

[Matsu Masumi]

Snip

"A shred of dignity?" Masumi shook her head emphatically. "You have been on the defensive to test my abilities. This is no reflection of how we would fare in a true battle." She'd heard enough about the Daidoji's ability to persist through grueling injuries.

Masumi pressed her lips together. "We are of the same mind. I can't imagine having to rely on my martial skills during a time like that." She inclined her head. "If another Matsu is to come under your service as a yoriki, then I hope you will expect that they will be of comparable, if not better, skill." There was that Lion pride again.

The reading. If she were a few years younger, then her cheeks would have turned red. Instead she was merely on the meeker side. "Of course." Whether or not she fully comprehended it was another question entirely.

[Daidoji Sae]

Snip

"I have finally reached a station in life where I can afford to be modest and not be passed over."
It's not quite a smile, but her eyes twinkle for a moment.

"And of course, I will inform my next Yoriki from your Clan that I shall expect even more. I will let them know Masumi of the Matsu requested it."

Sae crosses her arms and cocks her head slightly at Masumi's answer.
"So? What did you make of it?"

[Matsu Masumi]

Snip

Humility certainly wasn't something the Matsu preferred. As for Masumi, she simply kept her mouth shut. What a charmed life the Crane live... or is this something that comes with the Emerald Office?

Masumi smiled ever so softly at the prospect of a future Yoriki approaching her for some answers. "I will have much to explain then."

The best she could offer was a truthful answer. "There is a lot about ambition. I assumed it would focus more on how people actually lie." She shook her head. "A very cynical work. I did not enjoy it."

[Daidoji Sae]

Snip

Sae actually smiled at that, if only for a moment.

"An honest answer, thank you."

Gesturing with her bokken. "How people lie is not as interesting as why they lie. And that is where ambition is relevant. Cynical or not.

One quote that has stayed with me is:

You may always trust a peasant over a nobleman. The nobleman is ambitious. The peasant only wants to eat. In other words, the nobleman has betrayal in his blood while the peasant only wishes not to be betrayed.

Now that is cynical, yes. But would you say that is wrong?"

[Matsu Masumi]

Snip

Masumi bristled. While she would never condemn lying wholly, that was much too absolute, she did not think so kindly of liars. The reasons behind the lies all felt like excuses to her.

After considering it for a moment, she found a contrarian argument that could be had. "I would say that a peasant would lie to feed his stomach then or conceal the fact that he had. 'Oh not me, I have no idea who went into the shed and pilfered the rice storage.' " Her impression was... not good.

[Daidoji Sae]

Snip

Looking and sounding exactly like a schoolteacher who has just lured their student into a 'cunning' trap.

"Ah, but you see, again that is the 'how' of the lying. With 'why' you have already answer, they are hungry. But the noble, they are ambitious, but for what? It could be to advance their own station? Perhaps for wealth? The hand of another? Revenge maybe? Or to leave a legacy behind? The why drives the issue. All the great tales start with a why, and the great cases as well."

Pausing for a moment before continuing.

"It will also not be the peasant who sends a trained duelist to protect his reputation, or sends a hired brotherhood to kill you or who whispers in the ear of those who chose what you can and cannot investigate. At worst he may come at you with a rusty hoe, and I have no doubt you would strike him down a few second later."

[Matsu Masumi]

Snip

This conversation was going exactly how Masumi had anticipated: poorly. To understand the reasons behind deception welcomed sympathy for miscreants! She couldn't excuse them, not when people chose ambition over the good of the Empire. "I would like to see someone try to send an assassin against me," she said, arms firmly crossed. It would be so pleasing to crush someone so cowardly. "But I understand the point you're making. Samurai have much more potential than peasants for deception as it is with many other things, combat being foremost of them all."