Iai Kata Da Vida (D2 LM Open)

[Kakita]

“You have been on quite the quest it seems.” He replied with a nod.

“And yet much further to go. I believe one of the children of Shinjo has come to the wedding. You should seek her out if that is your destination.”

[Nozomi]

"Sora ... err, Jiyo-sama mentioned that one of K...Shinjo-sama's kids was here." It was painfully obvious how little she liked honorifics, and in this situation where it was just the two of them and Kakita did not seem to be a man standing on ceremony she was struggling to remember. It wasn't that she didn't know. She did know what was growing to be expected. She just didn't care. Koyama and Sora were old friends. "I'm meaning to see her at some point in my time here."

"As for a long quest, I think that applies to all of life's journeys. We are all on one, whether we realize it or not."

[Kakita]

He nodded, “I believe the same. We must simply learn to embrace the path we find ourselves on and realize that it will all happen for a purpose.”

[Nozomi]

"In reality," she said, motioning for her daughter to take up a stance opposite to her and bringing her tonfa up, nodding across. "We have no choice in the matter. Whether we like it or not, we are on the path. The waters of the tide will carry us. It is by our will that we guide that path. You seem to have a sense of it. May I ask what brought you to the Bat?"

She wasn't going to press if he didn't want to share, but she was curious. She and her daughter bowed, and they began to move. Mayumi was almost entirely on the offensive, whereas Nozomi slipped into a mixture of offense and defense. Each thrust of the younger, less trained soul was knocked to the side, and every third took a small blow to the ribs, getting a wince. "not so open. The bisento won't save you if someone gets in under your guard." For a mother, Nozomi was a taskmaster as a teacher. She did not go easy just because it was her child.

If anything, she was harder.

[Kakita]

He smiled, “The short answer… Destiny.”

He paused for a brief moment, “I used to go by a different name. Live a different life. That man was the son of a chief… a prodigy in his dojo… wily, creative, carefree.”

He tilted his head ever so slightly, “One day he heard of a village being harassed by a mountain troll… so he traveled to prove himself. He met an old woman in the mountains near the cave of the slain troll… she trained him to create steel worthy of a defender of the realm. Her husband trained him to become one with the blade he had fashioned to matched his soul.”

His complexion darkened slightly, “And they told him of a lurking threat among his kin back home… but by the time he was prepared to face it… it had been years. He returned home to learn of the death of his father. And learned of the death of himself. That man was no longer welcome… so he traveled back to the lands of his senseis… took on a new name… an old one… and was welcomed by the humans who call that land home.”

[Nozomi]

They both listened between the traded blows and paused after a moment to hear the majority of the story, curious. Nozomi nodded at points while the girl was in rapt attention. The stories of samurai were fascinating things to her. When it was over, she grunted once and regarded him more directly, her tone respectful but gruff as was her custom.

"The world has changed around each of us. The lives we once lived, they are not always possible anymore. As if the person we were died. In some cases, the process is quite intentional, and in others unexpected and unintentional. Your story is quite different from the one I know of another whose life was lost and begun again, but there is that similarity. We have moved on, and begun again." She cocked her head a little. "It sounds as if you may be very well suited for what is to come, though."

Because despite everything, while some celebrated the freeing of Hisomu, she was certain that the battle warned about would still happen. "Though the days are peaceful, there will come a day I think when we have to stand against the darkness again."

[Kakita]

He nodded, “I have been born to confront the darkness. I know not if I am to succeed, but I know that I will do what I must.”

[Nozomi]

The two took a moment and she directed Mayumi to continue her practices as she turned to speak with him. "The war with the darkness is one that is not won, not in truth, but is a battle of eternal stalemates and relentless, endless push backs. What battles you finish in this life, will be taken up by Mayumi's generation afterwaards, and the next after that. It is a war that long predates our presence, and will last long after we are gone. We have but to stand and be lights within our own times."

It was less of a pious witticism. She'd seen Jigoku, though admittedly from a distance. There was an endless nature to the place, a refusal to relent in its eternal war. The Stag and the Nezumi held it at bay for now, but the thousand year conflicts were a thing that lingered in her mind. The war did not end. They simply played their part. But she'd seen it pushed back, and she knew it was possible. Even hell itself could be defeated.

[Kakita]

He nodded firmly, “You speak the truth.”

He smiled softly. “You are blessed to have a daughter with such spirit…”

In another life perhaps I too could have had such a child…

[Nozomi]

She nodded. "She takes after her father. Nobody will tell that girl where she will or will not go in the end." Not even the emperor, she doubted, which made her glad that the little brat didn't actually talk to Shiba. He was a man of great forebearance, but best not to test what a loud mouth brat could get into with an emperor.

"Like all children, I believe she will be great in her time. Greater than her mother." Of that? She was absolutely certain. She knew exactly what her father was, and what it meant. In reality, she believed that Mayumi was much more important than her, and that a lot of her life's goal now was making sure she lived to see that potential.

[Kakita]

“That greatness will be in large part because of you rather than in spite of… You have every reason to be certain of that.” He said confidently.

“History, present, and future are all one. Linked together through bonds of destiny.”

[Nozomi]

She chuckled. "I will always have a mother's pride," she said, her arms folded and her lips pulled in a smile as she looked at her daughter. The next words out of her lips were the crack of a whip. "Your guard is slipping. I will smack you in the rear the next time you do that, girl! Guard up!" Mayumi only grimaced at the edge of a grin. They were clearly very much used to this being how her mother showed her pride in her daughter.

"It's all one great weave. I've learned to embrace it all. Some parts are more difficult than others."

[Kakita]

He nodded his head before turning towards her and bowing.

“You have walked a difficult road for others. For that you have my respect. Your words today have helped embolden me for what I must do.”

He bowed deeply, “I thank you most sincerely.”

He then stood upright, “Please enjoy the rest of your day. I hope to see you again.”

He turned to leave but stopped near the entry. He faced the bird in the rafters and offered an equally low bow before turning into the street.

[Nozomi]

She returned his bow before he departed and turned her head. "A smart man always acknowledges their elders," she said, winking back at the crow and giving it a mischievous grin. "That one has a future if he can see that. But, for now, practice." She moved to take up a defensive position in front her daughter once more. This wasn't going to finish training itself, was it?

/scene (unless Crow wants to say something hehe)