Redemption: The Way of Bushido

Kiyoko took her time getting ready for the day that morning. She had planned for today to be a day of training, a much needed activity in a recently war torn world. Over the past year or so the world outside of Iron had gone to hell and while the Samurai remained ever neutral she could easily foresee a time when the ninja would come with their greed and need to destroy and attempt to take her homeland again. There had been many months where she had been unable to train, her pregnancy having limited her movements for a time. Her mind churned through all her thoughts slowly as she moved about her small apartment, trying to be quiet enough to not disturb Aihi.

It was before dawn and the sun was a ways off from greeting the snowy land, which should have given her time to bathe and dress before her daughter awoke. But of course as children are wont to do, the little girl came toddling out of the bedroom holding a tiny stuffed tiger and rubbing her eyes sleepily. Kiyoko looked down and smiled at the little girl, bending down and sweeping her into her arms. “Well good morning my little flower. Was I too loud for you?” Aihi just fell against her mother’s chest and made incoherent baby noises as she looked about one bedtime story away from drifting off again. Kiyoko took a few moments to cradle the little girl in her arms, humming softly as she moved around the kitchen and began preparing tea and breakfast for the two of them.

After a one handed experiment with cooking rice and fish the mother and daughter would sit down and eat, Kiyoko patiently walking Aihi through the finer points of eating. It was a happy affair, the two of them sitting at the table and enjoying a meal as a family. Aihi couldn’t know it but it wasn’t so very long ago that there were three of them. Kiyoko doubted that the girl would ever remember her father, he’d barely been around and even now she thought Aihi was too young to remember the change. When Hagane had first disappeared their daughter had cried every night and it had broken Kiyoko’s heart. Of course Kiyoko had her own sorrows regarding the abandonment, but she had kept those to herself, at least in front of her daughter. At night it was an entirely different story. When she was alone with only her thoughts and memories for company, she would weep bitterly at all that she had lost. Just when she had begun to believe that she had paid the price for her crimes, that she could finally stop suffering for her past, she had been abandoned again. This betrayal had hurt more than all the others though. More than the disappearance and likely death of her birth parents, more than her adoptive father in Kumogakure, more even than her first husband who had sold her life for a few coins. This one had nearly destroyed her.

She had finally found someone that she trusted, that she truly believed would never leave her. A man that she had a child with, that she had seen a future with. And one day without warning he just left and never came back. At first she had been concerned for his welfare, worried that something had happened to him while he was out on patrol or some other such reasonable though horrifying explanation. But over time she learned that wasn’t it at all. It was the worst type of death; apathy. He wasn’t being held away from her and Aihi, he just simply didn’t want to return. She had placed so much effort into the future he had promised. So much time. And in the end it was all for nothing. Her darkening thoughts were typical over the past year, and as she looked over to her daughter who was trying to figure out how to stab a single grain of rice with a stick she smiled. Aihi had been her salvation. Without her Kiyoko doubted she would have made it this far. Were it not for the vast love that she felt for her daughter she would have long ago volunteered for some ludicrously dangerous mission in the hopes of never returning.

She sat there marveling at the tiny human for several minutes before turning as she heard a gentle knock on her front door. With a sigh she would rise from the floor and pad over to the front door. Opening the door she greeted Aihi’s nanny Yuka. She had been expecting her of course, she had hired the older woman when Hagane had first disappeared. It had been necessary as without Hagane’s help she simply couldn’t balance her duties as the right hand of the Shogun with her duties to her family. “Good morning Yuka-san. I’ve made tea and already fed her. She’s been up for quite a while now, so I’m sure she’ll need a nap later.” Kiyoko looked at the little girl and made a face, Aihi laughing in delight at the silliness. It was a side of her that she only showed to very select people. The willingness to break from her usual stoicism.

Leaving the room she would begin the rest of her morning ritual, bathing and brushing out her long dark hair. There were dark circles under eyes and she stood in front of the mirror for a time assessing her form and the age that she was showing. The last year had been too hard on her. She had barely slept, her face stained with the tears from the night before. And every morning she woke up, washed away the heartache and started all over again. She was not a very sociable person and so normally in these types of situations someone like Kiyoko would turn to her friends for support, but she didn’t have many. Only one in fact, Lord Oda of the Hinode Clan. They had met by happenstance at the edge of a cliff, and from there had grown to be close friends. He had brought her to meet his Clan and she had fallen in love with his people. As she stared at her worry lined face she smiled as she remembered the little ‘princess’ that had given her a flower crown that day. She still had it hanging above her bed on the wall, the flowers dried and pale now, as a reminder of the wonder that still existed in the world.

Once she was clean she would dress herself slowly, carefully tying her black silk hakama and then pulling on her shirt and sleeves, tying the silken cords to affix the material in place. Taking a piece of cloth she would tie her long black hair into a ponytail and then reverently tie her sword Redemption to her waist. She used little else in combat, she had been taught to use a Katana as her main source of defense and she had not veered from her father’s teachings. Exiting her room she walked back into the kitchen where Aihi was now helping Yuka to clean the remnants of breakfast away. Helping was a matter of perspective and the toddler was mainly just picking up soap bubbles, placing them in her open palm and blowing on them so they scattered around the general sink area. Kiyoko would lean down at the small dark haired child and plant a kiss on the top of her head “I love you, my princess. Be good for Yuka-san while I’m gone.” Yuka chuckled and nodded to Kiyoko as the Diplomat made her way out the door. “I’ll take good care of her as always, Kiyoko-sama.”

Once outside she would take a deep breath to steady her nerves. She always found this part difficult, leaving her daughter’s side. She trusted Yuka, but she still feared for the little girl. The political climate was tense and the shinobi were still not to be trusted despite what some of them had promised. Her people had been killed before when the thirst for power had become too great for the ninja to bear. She had spent a year in peace here, but every passing day she felt the tension around their small country rise, like a coiling snake ready to strike. It was for this reason that she had chosen to train today. She had put it off long enough, and she needed to learn the secrets that were meant to belong to her people. So she would head to the temple beneath the mountains, summoned there by the priests that guarded the Samurai’s secret techniques.

She had been directed by the Shogun, Kensai Tanahashi, to learn all of the exclusive techniques that the Land of Iron had access to. It was a great honour to be given that right and also her duty as the Diplomat of the Shogun. She had a responsibility to not just her daughter, but to all of the Land of Iron to become strong so that she could protect them. Descending into the mountain she would bow in reverence as she approached the stone table that held several scrolls. After lighting incense and offering a prayer to her ancestors she would gently pick up each scroll in turn, absorbing the secret knowledge that each one held before placing it down and moving to the next. Six scrolls in all she pored over, taking in their meanings as she worked through how they all connected to each other.

Rupture was the first, an aggressive slash that fit the rage of her nature, something she was likely to use often. She stepped back from the table and moved Redemption through each of the techniques, testing the feel of them along the blade in her hands. Dancing Blade Risk was next, the speed that the technique granted her was profound and she saw ways she could use it in combination with other techniques to close distances quickly and deliver devastating strikes. Flash and Samurai Sabre Technique were next, Flash being the one she was more likely to use. A deadly weapon swing followed by a ranged release of chakra. She preferred to stand close to her opponents but having the ability to damage at range, even if that range was fairly short, was not something to turn down. The Sabre Technique was an interesting one, she wasn’t sure when she might need to use chakra to alter the shape of her weapon but she practised it over and over again until she had it memorized.

Last among the exclusives were Iaido and Iai Beheading. Both incredibly potent techniques that were meant to begin with her weapon sheathed. She stood for many hours repeatedly drawing her katana from its scabbard, using her chakra to enhance her precision and strength. During her time training to learn the exclusive techniques she felt the fire of her ancestors flow through her, and she let that fire grow until it coated the blade of her sword with a helix shape that she knew would strike down her enemies swiftly. She could feel the power of fire in her very soul and where it would lead. With only a bit more chakra she knew the helix could transform into a double helix and sweep away everyone around her. She struggled to keep her fury in check as she practiced discipline, willing herself to calm in the face of all the righteous anger she held in her heart. She had no intention of burning the temple and its mysteries to the ground. With another bow to the priests and guardians and one final prayer of thanks to her ancestors she would make her way out of the mountain and back into the village of Tetsumura.

Stopping in the market she would purchase some mochi as a treat for after dinner, the sun was nearly set as she made her way back to her apartment. Her muscles ached though she did her best not to show her discomfort as she made her way through the streets, bowing her head in greeting to everyone she passed. Pushing her way through the front door of her small home she was greeted by a happily squealing child who ran to her and clung to her legs. Holding out the bag of sweets to Yuka, Kiyoko would kneel and embrace her daughter tightly. Tears pricked her brown eyes as she held Aihi close, her heart overflowing with love as she sighed happily. This had been a long year. Much had happened, too much. But she had her daughter, the one who gave her strength and hope. Aihi; her little princess, her reason to live. She had spent her whole life running, and now she had a reason to stay.

Trained :
Helix Blade - B
Rupture - B
Dancing Blade Risk - B
Samurai Sabre Technique - A
Flash - A
Double Helix Blade - S
Iaido - S
Iai Beheading – S

2175/2100

{Exit Thread}

Trained: