The Day of Thunder

[Ryoshun Yukara]

"Oh."

That wasn't comforting, exactly, but it was at least grounding. "Well... I suppose that is a relief of a sort, even if not the one I might have hoped."

Toying with a strand of her hair, she mulled over it, before opining, "I will hope we succeed in... whatever it is we are meant to do. I would like to have the time to experience those things."

[Jiyo Sora]

"Tomorrow's not promised, but... I think you'll get your chance."

[Ryoshun Yukara]

Yukara smiled weakly. "I will hope so."

Glancing at Sora, she added, "Can you tell me about it? Life in this new Empire? I have not headed inward, so I only know the foothills. The edges."

[Jiyo Sora]

"Oh, Fortunes, where do I even begin with that..."

He chuckled.

"I have gone from being an illiterate killer living in the mountains and engaging in inter-tribal murder matches to a patron of libraries. My children have never known real hunger, and where I still sometimes stop in amazement at everything we've built and done, they take things like Imperial Palaces or massive road construction projects or the existence of libraries as natural. My son, born with an eye a lot like mine, hasn't been made someone camping on the outside of the ring of tents in his band, but has been trained by Isawa scholars to refine his gift. My wife has borne five children in good health, although I have been terrified with fear of losing her every time. But that's life as an Imperial Samurai close to the Emperor. I'm certain things aren't as... perfected elsewhere. And each Clan has its own customs- the Crane, Stag, and Lion, for example, seek to draw stricter boundaries between people based upon what they do. I don't care for that in the slightest, but it must be said that even a farmer in the Stag lands enjoys more physical safety and more time to focus on work and education than in the past. Banditry will never vanish entirely, but compared to the old days of tribal raiding, even the past five years of outright nightmare have been safer, in terms of getting from one end of the land to the next."

[Ryoshun Yukara]

Yukara listened, quietly, and then muttered, "It sounds nice. Confusing, I guess... but nice."

Gazing at the water with a turbulent expression, she added, "That has not yet reached the borders. There, the displaced bandits have taken their vengeance against the innocent - and I suspect a great deal more death must be meted out, before that peace settles so far from the center."

[Jiyo Sora]

"Big changes don't happen overnight. As it is, the pace of improvement has been astonishing."

He sighed and shook his head.

"I doubt I'll see the Empire I hope for in my lifetime, Ryoshun-san, but it's something to work toward all the same."

[Ryoshun Yukara]

"Of course - though I can see how the rapid change is creating waves... waves which capsize small ships with no port to hide in."

She tried to keep her voice casual, but it did seem to be something she had thought about a great deal. "I did at one point resent the lowlanders for that - but it is not their fault, really. It is the fault of the bandits, ultimately. They choose to be what they are."

[Jiyo Sora]

"Even some of them know no better. Do you know how the last of my former tribe ended up in service to the Scorpion?"

[Ryoshun Yukara]

"I do not."

Yukara did not sound convinced that the bandits did not know better, but she also did not deny the difficulty of life, and the driving power of desperation.

"I presume, however, that it is pertinent given the context. Please enlighten me."

As she spoke, she realized she was getting agitated... her speech reverted more noticeably when she was - back to old dialect, not the modern vernacular of the clan folk.

[Jiyo Sora]

"The Hikaru had always raided. Not as a way of life, because that would have made us dependent on others, and that was a weakness we spurned. But we weren't good neighbors to have. While most of the tribe followed my friend Koyama into the Ki-Rin, some held out in the mountains. And they becamse raiders at heart. A nuisance, plaguing the Empire right at its heart. Pride, Ryoshun-san, warped into resentment."

He shrugged.

"Bayushi could have ordered them massacred, since they were plaguing his lands the most. Instead, he sent a delegation. The delegation brought gifts- supplies, food, all of that. The Hikaru planned to ambush them, of course. But the delegation stopped short, left the supplies and took their leave. Once they were gone, the remaining Hikaru came out to take the provisions. And then the Sorpion appeared in position to ambush them. From all sides. The Hikaru took the lesson, and joined the Scorpion."

He cocked his head to the side.

"Were they truly different people the moment they swore fealty? Of course not. But they learned. Such will not be possible for all bandits, and I don't carry all of the weapons I do for the fun of it. But we like to salvage who and what we can."

[Ryoshun Yukara]

"Yes, and that is admirable. I do not kill every soul in a corrupted village, even if that would be more efficient in delaying the spread of the affliction - those who survive are always at greater risk of madness and mental collapse... yet I give them the chance."

She spoke of the slaughter as if it were simply another task one had to undertake. Perfectly natural.

"It is good that Bayushi gave them that chance, but those who are too weak to turn the tables are left victims until the last of these wolves are hunted down. Until the prosperity of this new way of life truly spreads to all the corners of the world. This change will not come easily, or without bloodshed."

Her expression was hard, and she whispered, barely audible over the river water, "This is why I struggle to know my place in the future... my existence was that of a wolfhound. Without my fangs, and without my prey... what am I?"

[Jiyo Sora]

"Maybe you'll go through some change as drastic as mine. You're young yet. Again, I don't think I could even read when I was your age, let alone help found a library system..."

[Ryoshun Yukara]

"I suppose that I must undergo such a change. I am not given much choice."

Her gaze softened slightly as she sighed.

"I did not think peace would be so confusing. "

[Jiyo Sora]

"And we haven't even really secured it yet!"

[Ryoshun Yukara]

"Yes."

Shaking her head, she rose to her feet. "Thank you for your words, Jiyo Sora-sana. I have much to contemplate... and much to process. I should, however, attempt to sleep, if I am to heal."

[Jiyo Sora]

"Get all the rest you can manage, Ryoshun Yukara-san. I have a feeling your strength will be needed."

[Ryoshun Yukara]

She offered a stiff bow at the waist, and replied, "I will offer all that I can. In that case, however, I believe I will retire for the night."

Straightening slowly, she turned, using her bisento as a staff to return to camp.

/exit

(Thanks for thread)

[Jiyo Sora]

Sora sat for a moment, relishing the all-too-rare feeling of having maybe done some good of late.

Then he, too, rose and returned to camp.

[Back atcha!]