Rin was not unfamiliar with a boat. Many a spring had found her, in her childish days, venturing to the capital and back by boat. She was entirely unfamiliar with rigging and steering and navigation. Still, though she could not bring herself to match Shou's enthusiasm, she, in her own quiet way, pro...

"Um..." Rin looked down at her feet. "Well, I suppose your enthusiasm may catch others. Maybe."

She cleared her throat.

"So, do you intend to circulate the finished product, or is it intended to make a gift?"

Rin allows a slight blush to color her cheeks. "I was happy to help. I hope that you get a lot of people to contribute, cousin."

"Oh, thanks! There are indeed some passages that make a lot more sense if you substitute sword for soul. My mind was stuck on a literal interpretation, but for a poet such as Kakita it makes a lot of sense to substitute one for the other to improve a sentence's flow. Some passages though... They le...

I think this may have been asked before, but I'm having trouble finding the answer. If we have a named disadvantage in the event, are we required to choose its approach in order to trigger it? Does it trigger regardless of approach?

Rin carefully studied the Hida's positioning and mirrored her movements. She planted her feet, thighs straining mightily to heft the ball into the air, which she did! But she also lobbed it at an angle behind her and to the right, forcing her to spring after it. As she flew through the air, she thre...

"I am sorry to disappoint you, cousin, but today I've been mostly cooped up in the Academy, except for dinner..."

She blinked, then her eyes widened.

"Oh!"

"Quiet nest of spring...
The voice of a thousand birds
clamor for summer."

She flushed a little. "Is that...any good?"

Rin tilted her head in consideration for a moment before speaking. "I think, possibly, that Shosuro-san might be forgetting the significance of a katana. It is not just material, but metaphor. When one conceives of the katana as "soul" as well as "sword," the passages become more closely aligned."

In the midst of her training, from the opposite side of the Training Grounds, a throaty shout signaled another proto-samurai hard at work. Pale blue training clothes ruffled thunderously through the former silence, accompanied by the shriek of air parted by a swiftly-moving bokken. It would seem tha...

Her cheeks colored a little. "I am no poet. But if it would help you, cousin, I will try my best."

Umm...

She scrunched her nose in thought.

"Would you want the first one now?"

Rin couldn't help but smile at the poem.

"I am sure it couldn't." She looked down at her hands. "You have a way with words, cousin. I find that I cannot hold onto my anxiety when you put it that way."

"I am a student of the Academy, Kakita Rin," she said, smiling quietly. "And I would be happy to help, if I can."

Quietly sat in the academy's library, Kaoru was reading a borrowed copy of The Sword , diligently taking a few notes here and then on a small piece of paper. Her focus appeared intense, and she was progressing slowly, frequently coming back to already read passages. Her ears however were as attenti...

"I suppose they all do precisely as they're told," Rin mused, then shrugged. "It won't help them, I don't think. Not for tomorrow, at any rate."

Yuji blinked at the sudden sound. Where had a twig come from? Perhaps he had simply not noticed one? He looked over towards the sound of the apology. "No apology necessary...." he said looking at the source in the dim pre-dawn and lantern light. "....Kakita-san. It is a public space after all, I as...

A twig snapped a few steps away, breaking, if only momentarily, the meditative silence. That break was prolonged by a quiet gasp of "-oh! Sumimasen!"

The inn door opens yet again to reveal another samurai, this one sporting the fine clothing and strong jaw of the Kakita family. Somewhat tall for a young lady, it seemed that time had chosen to grow her long and leave the filling out for later, for she remained slight except in the shoulders. Casti...

That is great art for your avatar, Hirame.

Name: Kakita Rin Clan: Crane Age: 16 Height: 5'7" Hair: White and thick, worn long Eyes: Blue Build: Slender, boyish. Occupation: Future Bushi Marital Status: Complicated, please see Doji Atsumu, matchmaker, for details. Like Ahiru, Rin is a cousin of the main Kakita line. Although her blood ties ma...