Session Two; Same Day, Different Tricks

The canvas colored roof of Morasahi’s tent greeted her when she opened her eyes. She sat up, half expecting this to be a dream, to come to her senses and be back in the gloomy world she spent the last two days. Nothing changed. She was in her sleeping kimono, covered from the waist down by her blanket, which had fallen when she sat up. There was noise all around her, coming in from the cracks where her tent brushed the ground, the sound of people talking, walking, eating, and shouting. The sound of setting up, cooking, and working. It was the sound of life, something she had missed but hadn’t known until now. The silence from the last two days along with that terrible screeching, it was gone from the world, but not from her memories. She smiled, closing her eyes and just listening to the world.

Session Two; A Childhood Lost

Mikoto had been quiet throughout the conflict between Shiba and Daigotsu. She was literally in the middle of things, making sure to be out of the way enough so she wasn’t blocking their conversation, but close enough to prevent any swings from one to the next. At least that was her hope. The Lion fought, not as often as the Crab, and more times than not it was just words being thrown around during a rowdy night drinking. It rarely led to anything. The Phoenix weren’t like that, always saying what they mean, at least that‘s what she was told. And the Spider? Mikoto really had no idea. She assumed they were constantly battling amongst themselves, they were tainted and even Lost, and the firm grasp of Jigoku surely had something to do with their violent nature. She had watched the two cautiously, until they suddenly started talking about uniforms. The fight had just died.

Session Two; Enter the Dragon

Katsumi surveyed the scene, or what remained of it. The world still stood as it had before the ogres, but their bodies faded away like all the others had. The tent was toppled. That’s right, the tent, and those bats. She glanced over towards the strange cave, sitting there where she was almost certain it hadn’t been the day before. There wasn’t any movement but never had she seen so clear of a sign on where to go next. If the bats had been causing the problems, and they still had to find the problem, then the cave was where they needed to head. Katsumi leaned her bisento against her shoulder and watched Matsu go through the motions of cleaning off her already clean blade before sliding her katana back into its sheath. Shiba was collecting her spear that was sticking out of the ground at least five feet behind where the ogre had been. And Asahina stood stringing a bow. He seemed to always be ahead of the game, or at least cresting the lead. First to run after a task, and now preparing for the inevitable fight against aerial creatures. Katsumi absently gazed at the cave, wishing she had a bow to conquer their foe with.

Session One; Four Heads are Better than None

Katsumi stared at her hand, trying to figure out the ancient kanji calligraphed below the descending numbers. She knew how to read and write well enough, but these words, they weren’t ones you’d see in your day to day encounters. They were old, really old, making it difficult to gain insight on the matter when she had trouble deciphering the magic script telling here what to do. Oh how ridiculous that would sound to anyone but her, and not because she was living these odd happenings. The Empire was a strange one when it came to accepting the curious conjurations of the realms. If you’re born with white hair, you’re destined to become great; if you’re born with one eye colored different than the other, you invite evil spirits wherever you go. Yes, Katsumi knew the unwavering resolution of cloistered minds all too well. To anyone else, one would be mad to say such things. To anyone else, except the Spider.

Session One; I Like the That

As they approached the Scorpion tents, Mikoto wished she had been more clear on which one the girl was in. There were more than a handful, and searching each one would take up time they probably didn’t have. The group as a whole stopped, each person looking around, probably attempting to guess which place to start like she was. She eyed each tent in view, it had to be a big one, no way someone could be held captive in something made for just sleeping. That one. Mikoto took a step forward and then she heard it, the muffled cry of a young girl. Her eyes darted towards the noise, it was just a bit smaller than the one she had chose, but that didn’t matter now. They knew where the girl was. Without thinking she rushed towards the tent, Shiba had apparently had the same idea as she charged ahead of Mikoto, katana in hand.

Session One; Killing Grounds

Now that they knew the plot, Kyuzo checked his hand to see if they were correct in their assumptions. Apparently so. The calligraphed  kanji had changed once again, this time reading, “Fix the problem.” That was easier said than done, he had already considered many methods to stop the duel as soon as they discovered there was foul play. Even if it wasn’t the next task in this ‘game’ they were playing, he wasn’t about to let an honorable iaijutsu duel be perverted by a murderous plot.

“Okay, let’s stop this from happening.” Kyuzo said. Shiba and Matsu nodded in agreement, setting off in their own way to figure out a fix for their problem. Daigotsu didn’t move. Of course not.

Kyuzo leaned close to the Dragon’s chair, getting a better look at the scorpion dagger. Perhaps if he removed the weapon… He brushed at the haori, it didn’t budge. He tried to pick up the dagger without moving the haori, again to no avail. When his hand got close to the object it hit some sort of invisible wall. A thin layer of air that prevented him from moving or touching anything that wasn’t part of this world. So much for that idea.

Session One; Dark Plots

Morasahi hustled to the dueling grounds, keeping pace with Asahina. What she would find, she couldn’t even fathom, from the start of this morning life had been a series of unexplainable events. Her hand had told her to go there, yes, her hand. As if waking up, standing, fully clothed, and in some strange place wasn’t odd enough, the Spider, Daigotsu, was just as peculiar, and then there was that shadow beast, and the noise, and that Jashuwa who had such a story to tell them. Dead, he had said she was dead, and bestowed upon her a series of numbers counting down to the end of the game. A game for her life. The script on her hand clearly read, “Get to the dueling grounds.” And so, if she were to win this game, that’s where she had to go. Asahina seemed to be the only one as eager as she to wrap up the day, the week for that matter. This game was to be a week long, and the sooner it was over, the sooner she could return to a place where things actually made sense.