[D8, LE, Open] Have Sword, Will Travel

[Ryunosuke]

Ryunosuke was not a student of a dojo, but he had heard of them. He approached the Hundred Scars, entered.


Looked left. Looked right.


And stared wide-eyed at the students as they engaged in their evening spars as the minutes ticked by.

[Hiruma Daichi]

Daichi typically spent his time exercising in the mornings, unfortunately that hadn't been the case the last few days.

That's because you're a lazy bastard.

Too busy with preparing for the art Festival he'd been putting things off as far as the world of exercising went. That would need to change though so he arrived at the dojo dressed ready to put some work in. The Ronin? Near the entrance gave him some pause and he walked over offering the man a polite bow in greeting. "Evening."

[Ryunosuke]

The wide eyes came around to meet his. The bow was deep, not obsequious, but the stare was just on this side of intense.

"It is," Ryunosuke said after a moment. "Do you belong to this dojo?"

[Hiruma Daichi]

That was a bit of a weird way to respond but Daichi rolled with it. "This one? No. They train members of the Lion armies here, whereas I serve in the Crab armies. So, the dojo I'm part of is several weeks to the south of here."

"I just come here to practice though, as the Lion have been gracious enough to open this place to their guests."

A small pause. "I'm Hiruma Daichi of the Crab by the way."

[Ryunosuke]

"Ah. I am Ryunosuke, Hiruma-sama." He paused. "I am not a guest of the Lion clan. Would I still be able to use the dojo?"

[Hiruma Daichi]

"Nice to meet you Ryunosuke-san." The Crab greeted him.

"You do have the protection of the Imperials though." If he was recalling it correctly. "And they asked that the Lion treat you properly in your time here. So, while you might not be officially a guest of the Lion, they do need to show you the courtesy you are due." Which was pretty wildly interpretable.

"So, if we go ask, you should be able to get permission to train here. As long as you don't disturb the students."

[Ryunosuke]

"Very well. I would like to ask. And then, I would like to spar with you. I believe that I will learn from the experience."

[Hiruma Daichi]

"There is always something to learn in a spar." Daichi replied with a nod, his eyes seeking out someone of import to ask for permission.

Once spotted he'd beckon Ryunosuke to follow along as he approached the Lion.

[Cearnach]

The Lion sensei did not look particularly keen, but also was not entirely sure how to navigate the politics of the situation.

"The...bokken are over there," he gestured behind him. "Have at it."

[Ryunosuke]

Ryunosuke looked over at Daichi. "Bokken are wooden swords?" He seems to have put that together from observation, but gives the impression that this is very new information.

[Hiruma Daichi]

It was something of a peculiar situation they were in, and Daichi didn't exactly envy the Sensei he had approached. It was something that needed done though, and someone had to make that decision.

"Yes." He answered the other man simply. "Generally speaking, they are used so those in training don't unintentionally maim each other while learning the way of the blade. Older samurai use them as well though to prevent accidents from happening when sparring with each other." Daichi explained as he moved over and picked up a bokken of his own, indicating Ryunosuke to do the same.

"It wouldn't do to be seriously injured in practice and unable to attend to the tasks your Lord has set for you."

[Ryunosuke]

Ryunosuke frowned at that. In his experience, if a person gets hit with a live sword, then they learn not to get hit again.

"Clan samurai have a different relationship with death than ronin do," he decided. He turned his attention to a bokken, pulling it from the stack and testing it. "It feels different, but it still has a purpose." He looked up. "I do not like it, but I am the new person, and I will try to give you what you want."

[Hiruma Daichi]

"I'm not an expert on Ronin, but I do know enough to say that the relationship with death that ronin have is only one of many differences." Daichi explained as he moved to an open area of the Dojo and begun to stretch to limber up before the spar. "Take what you said just now. You are new and you will try but you don't like it. One of the samurai under my command might say something as simple as 'As you say, Hiruma-sama'."

"To say you don't like it risks insult. To say you will try means you may not plan to succeed. There is no room for doubt though, and arguing with a superior is only done rarely and under specific circumstances." He smirked. "It's likely a difficult thing to get used to."

[Ryunosuke]

Ryunosuke turned to look at him with those wide, dark eyes. "You expect me to defer to you because your clan believes that you are important. Right now, I am unimportant. If I become important, then I may expect others to defer to me. Then, they will claim to be interested in what I like and do not like, but now, as I am unimportant, they say to me what they really mean. It is very curious. I am not sure that I wish to become important, if people will not say what they really mean, but only say "As you say, Ryunosuke-sama."

[Hiruma Daichi]

He chuckled at that. "I was not saying I wished you to defer to me Ryunosuke-san, I was illustrating the difference between how a Clan Samurai might say something and how you did." He shook his head. "That's an important thing to understand though, what you said; that people say to you now what they mean and may not say the same to you if you are important. "

"Though it also has something of a falsehood to it as there are people out there that will tell you solely what you want to hear whether you are important or not, sometimes as an act of compassion, sometimes otherwise. You can also as someone important find advisors to tell you plainly what they think. I for example trust my nikutai to give he an honest appraisal of a situation."

"It's up to you decide what you want though if you become Important, especially so for you given the Importance of the role you may find yourself in one day. That's one of the benefits of being Important."

[Ryunosuke]

"What do I want?" He gave it a little thought, lightly bouncing the bokken in the air. "Hmm..." and decided not to share his conclusions.

"I have been told that people here mean what they say, but that they say it for advantage. To get what they want. What do you want, Hiruma Daichi-sama?"

[Hiruma Daichi]

"Asking what a man wants is awfully close to asking about a man's desire." Daichi replied with a soft chuckle as he named a sin most would recognize. "But I'll answer about the things I'd like to have or to see happen." The Crab said as he raised his sword. They had spoken of a spar after all.

"More time to practice the sword would be nice." He started. "And of course prosperity for my Clan and Family. A wife I could come to love, as well as children to raise together. Most of all though would likely be an end to the threat to the south permanently." That last one was very unlikely to happen though.

[Ryunosuke]

Ryunosuke nodded. "I will remember." Then he began to move with the bokken, a strange style that mingled great speed with an almost startling amount of skill in one so young. "The balance is different," he said, wrinkling his nose a bit.

Kenjutsu/Agility roll. Practice. | 10k4 ⇒ 46

[Hiruma Daichi]

"It does take some getting used to." Daichi agreed. The young man had won the match to his dismay, but then there was no shame in losing to the descendant of a Hantei. At least as far as he was concerned. "But I'm sure you would get accustomed to it quickly.

"You have great skill in the blade."

Kenjutsu/agility day 8. emphasis void to avoid being completely shown up. | 8k4 ⇒ 42

[Ryunosuke]

"It is all my skill," he said blandly. "I am better than my father, but he is stronger. It is vexing to him, but it is the price of age." He turned to look at the Hiruma. "You also have skill. I think it is probably for the same reason that I do."