Despair and Wisdom: Imperial March

Having enjoyed a restful snooze beginning in the mid-evening and tracking through to just before midnight, Kaigen was wide awake and refreshed for yet another midnight guard stint.


This close to civilization and with new ashigaru signing on, he actually had a bit more to do then usual, but that was fine.

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Day 5 Metagame roll- Skulduggery/Earth to secure the Second Kaisha's section of the camp | TN: 2 | Success: 4 / Opportunity: 1 / Strife: 2
- Burning an opp to soak 1 strife, +2 Legion Strength

As the Usagi made his rounds, he crossed paths with a pair he had met a few nights ago. The Crab guards that had helped with the resolution of a certain Yogo.

"Evenin', Usagi-san." said the senior guard who had not actually been formally introduced. He gave a respectful nod as bowing while patrolling was somewhat of an invitation to miss an intruder.

"Night all clear of naked weirdos so far?"

"So far, but there's plenty of time yet."

He made a face, then grinned.

"Usagi Kaigen, Second Kaisha."

"Hida Kei, Sixth Kaisha." the senior of the duo replied.

He looked pretty much like what you'd expect from a Crab bushi. A large muscular man, who'd nose had been broken at least one.

His partner was a slightly smaller woman, though she looked no less tough.

"Hida Kannon, Sixth Kaisha." she responded.

"Still, you made the right call. Better to be overly cautious the further we get South. If he'd tried that nonsense on the Wall, especially with no jade around his neck? "

Kei shook his head.

"Let's just say the 'medical evaluation' the Kuni would have performed on him may well likely have been post mortem."

"As I told Toritaka-sama, my main regret was that I waited as long as I did to alert someone else. That kind of delay could be dire, given what we're up against..."

The Hare didn't have a lot of Shadowlands expertise, but they had been founded as hutners of Maho-Tsukai, after all.

"Been dealing with ordinary bandits for too long. Glad the wake-up call was something I had the luxury of."

That got a derisive snort from Kei.

"Careful, Usagi-san. A naked Yogo might pop out and demand your heartfelt thanks. Clearly he was just making sure you were ready for what was to come." he said, clearly not believing that for a moment.

He shrugs a bit.

"Everytime we get new koma at the Wall, there's always some bright spark who is determined to ignore the warnings. When we're lucky, it just gets that particular one killed. Can't say I envy Toritaka-sama. If a chain is only as strong as it's weakest link, there's clearly some origami in his kaisha." he offered ruefully.

"While we in the Second are just a company of heroes."

He winked.

"I think we've got some ground to cover before the Legion really... comes together. It's certainly the largest force I've ever worked as part of. There's a lot of adjusting, all of us coming from different places with different ways of doing things."

That prompted a comment from Kannon.

"Not a lot of time left for that to happen, Usagi-san. We'll be in Crab land soon. While the danger is greatest at the Wall and beyond, there's still the potential for danger on the route their that goes beyond hungry bandits." she commented.

Kannon looked pretty grim about the whole situation.

"And problems have a way of multiplying themselves out there. Either you stomp them out and burn them to ashes, or you get killed by your past. It is a very unforgiving part of the Empire."

"Surely you're not suggesting that simply gathering a bunch of samurai and sending them out in a hurry might have been, perhaps, a less than ideal solution to a dire situation."

The delivery was deadpan, of course.

That elicted an eyeroll from Kannon.

"Including those three who think they're going on a flower viewing trip?" she remarked back, careful not to name those three lest someone take it the wrong way.

She studied the Hare.

"So why are you here, Usagi-san?" she asked in a no nonsense sort of way.

"Well, the direct answer is, my orders said to."

He shrugged.

"And far as it goes, I'm... reasonably sneaky, reasonably good in a scrap, and perhaps most importantly, my parents have five other children, so I'm not exactly... crucial."

Kei nodded.

"Practical answers, Usagi-san." Kei commended. "I would wager that Yogo-san was sent because he annoyed someone so much they wanted him dead or worse."

Kannon, however, disagreed.

"Really, Kei-san? If a baby Yasuki courtier can tear those reasons apart, his resolve is far too weak." she said.

She looked the Hare dead in the eye.

"Listen carefully, Usagi-san. If you want to serve in such a manner that doesn't result in scores of innocent deaths at the best, you need to dedicate your entire will to that and that alone. Not thinking about what your lord thinks about you, or how good you are, or how much you don't matter. Those are just pathways for things to find and turn you. Your will needs to be a seemless wall, because the enemy knows how to work even the slightest crack to break through." she said determined.

That got another shrug, and absolutely no shift in his expression whatsoever.

"I don't think about those things unless someone asks me to. I have my orders. Any other reasons are sort of beside the point."

That seemed to satisfy Kannon.

And Kei certainly didnn't have room to argue.

"Well...then we should probably continue our rounds Usagi-san. Don't hestitate to whistle out if you run in to trouble."

"Of course- and you the same, eh? I may not be as fleet of foot as a horse, but I'm always looking to improve..."

The guards nodded and departed, resuming their patrol for naked Yogos and worse.

[Feels like /scene to me!]