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Description

    Rai carefully placed Crimson Melody upon the pedestal, both in reverence and contemplation. A scabbard had been prepared long before she had set out to reclaim the Odachi. Rai’s personal residence in New Luxerion had been prepared at the same time that construction on Whispering Blossoms began. One of the many features built was her own personal dojo. In this secure area, the blade would be safely kept until needed.

    In the quietness of the room, Rai allowed herself to unwind and to think. To think on recent events concerning her family’s oath of vengeance and her place in all of it. Rai had spent years preparing for this hunt, even before she chose to take a primary role in it. Yet she could not help but feel a strange sense of tiredness regarding it all.

    The moment she was old enough to understand, her parents, mostly her mother, had explained the violent nature of their family’s past. Her mother had been upfront and honest about the Haguro family’s history and how it was not free from bloodstain. Her grandfather, the previous Oyabun, had tried to make changes to the way the Haguro family and those under them handled matters and for that, there were those that chose to rebel, to cling to the olden ways. The same group that were now scattered in the wind, and who might one day return given the chance to strike at them once more. That so long as they were out there, that there will always be a dagger in the shadows, waiting to bury itself into the Haguro Family.

    All of this, Rai was made to understand. Yet the role of retaliator was not forced upon her. Rai understood that it wasn’t her parents’ intent to pressure her into the role, but simply to make her see the gravitas that comes with their name. Her mother and father themselves already shoulder a lot of responsibility in managing so many branches to their companies and all the good and bad that comes with it. Rai knew that were there a different path, that her parents would have taken it. Which was not to say that they did not do what they could to try and give her a semblance of a normal life. Then again, Rai knew a long time ago that normal was something she could coexist with yet never truly grasp. The fact that she was part yokai cemented that.

    And so it was that she took the mantle. It wasn’t the act of the executions that weighed on her, lord knows she was more than a capable fighter. Rather it was the encounters with those that had struck at her family and the varying ways that they conducted themselves, that which drives them forward. Ankoku for example had been a greedy bastard content to hoard riches. Then there was the recently executed Tsuyoshi who retained a sense of honor, choosing to bind himself to an already dead master.

    They all had different reactions upon facing her, many of them regarding her as lesser for the unrelated fact that her father was a foreigner. As if that changed the fact that her father had been right there with her mother, fighting to strike down all those that betrayed the Haguro family. She was more amused than angry at them calling her a halfbreed. Funny how they thought less of her yet here she still stands while they become food for the worms.

    She was no stranger to mazes of rituals and ethics as well as the delicate intricacies of interactions. She couldn't help but laugh inwardly at the way that some of them were so adamant of clinging to olden ways but are so blinded by it that they couldn’t see the hypocrisy of their own words and actions. Her grandfather saw that the world was changing and had tried to steer them towards a new path and their reaction was to take up arms and rebel.

    Rai wondered if her grandfather didn’t foresee the outcomes of his actions, or perhaps he had too much faith in his once retainers. Then again, perhaps he did know the risk, and maybe that was why he sent Rai’s mother abroad to study, ensuring that should he fall, that there would be someone to take his place. After all, her mother did return and realized the dream that the previous Oyabun had.

    So many hypotheticals and questions that may never receive an answer. As Rai gently settled her hand upon Crimson Melody, the heirloom blade gave no reply. Taking her exhaustion and releasing it in a single sigh, Rai turned and headed for bed.

    Perhaps a run in the morning will allow her more time to think.

Description

    Rai carefully placed Crimson Melody upon the pedestal, both in reverence and contemplation. A scabbard had been prepared long before she had set out to reclaim the Odachi. Rai’s personal residence in New Luxerion had been prepared at the same time that construction on Whispering Blossoms began. One of the many features built was her own personal dojo. In this secure area, the blade would be safely kept until needed.

    In the quietness of the room, Rai allowed herself to unwind and to think. To think on recent events concerning her family’s oath of vengeance and her place in all of it. Rai had spent years preparing for this hunt, even before she chose to take a primary role in it. Yet she could not help but feel a strange sense of tiredness regarding it all.

    The moment she was old enough to understand, her parents, mostly her mother, had explained the violent nature of their family’s past. Her mother had been upfront and honest about the Haguro family’s history and how it was not free from bloodstain. Her grandfather, the previous Oyabun, had tried to make changes to the way the Haguro family and those under them handled matters and for that, there were those that chose to rebel, to cling to the olden ways. The same group that were now scattered in the wind, and who might one day return given the chance to strike at them once more. That so long as they were out there, that there will always be a dagger in the shadows, waiting to bury itself into the Haguro Family.

    All of this, Rai was made to understand. Yet the role of retaliator was not forced upon her. Rai understood that it wasn’t her parents’ intent to pressure her into the role, but simply to make her see the gravitas that comes with their name. Her mother and father themselves already shoulder a lot of responsibility in managing so many branches to their companies and all the good and bad that comes with it. Rai knew that were there a different path, that her parents would have taken it. Which was not to say that they did not do what they could to try and give her a semblance of a normal life. Then again, Rai knew a long time ago that normal was something she could coexist with yet never truly grasp. The fact that she was part yokai cemented that.

    And so it was that she took the mantle. It wasn’t the act of the executions that weighed on her, lord knows she was more than a capable fighter. Rather it was the encounters with those that had struck at her family and the varying ways that they conducted themselves, that which drives them forward. Ankoku for example had been a greedy bastard content to hoard riches. Then there was the recently executed Tsuyoshi who retained a sense of honor, choosing to bind himself to an already dead master.

    They all had different reactions upon facing her, many of them regarding her as lesser for the unrelated fact that her father was a foreigner. As if that changed the fact that her father had been right there with her mother, fighting to strike down all those that betrayed the Haguro family. She was more amused than angry at them calling her a halfbreed. Funny how they thought less of her yet here she still stands while they become food for the worms.

    She was no stranger to mazes of rituals and ethics as well as the delicate intricacies of interactions. She couldn't help but laugh inwardly at the way that some of them were so adamant of clinging to olden ways but are so blinded by it that they couldn’t see the hypocrisy of their own words and actions. Her grandfather saw that the world was changing and had tried to steer them towards a new path and their reaction was to take up arms and rebel.

    Rai wondered if her grandfather didn’t foresee the outcomes of his actions, or perhaps he had too much faith in his once retainers. Then again, perhaps he did know the risk, and maybe that was why he sent Rai’s mother abroad to study, ensuring that should he fall, that there would be someone to take his place. After all, her mother did return and realized the dream that the previous Oyabun had.

    So many hypotheticals and questions that may never receive an answer. As Rai gently settled her hand upon Crimson Melody, the heirloom blade gave no reply. Taking her exhaustion and releasing it in a single sigh, Rai turned and headed for bed.

    Perhaps a run in the morning will allow her more time to think.