{"sf1_id":109195,"sf2_id":"yndMPzl1","title":"Chapter Fifteen: Additions","author":"The Roseblack Dragon","words":3686,"posted_at":"2009-11-17T05:04:00.000Z","tags":["Character Development","Feudal Japan","Fox","Human","Lizard","Plot Development","Violence (Not In Yiff)"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/109195-chapter-fifteen-additions","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/yndMPzl1","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/d4/c3/d4c3aec1-b401-443e-beb7-199e980371ba","description":"#16 of Tales of Ippon","content":"  \n_New faces may not always be friendly..._  \n  \n  \n  \n\"Shidomori-sama!\" The red-scaled boy skidded to a halt before her and bowed.  \n  \n\"Hagane-kun, what is it?\" She blinked, still focused on the conversation with Aoi  \nand Tsukino moments before.  \n  \n\"You... you need to see her.\"  \n  \n\"The Visitor?\" She titled her head in a smile, as he blinked in awe, wondering how  \nshe knew.  \n  \n\"Please come with me?\" he nodded and motioned for her. She shrugged and  \nfollowed, up the hill and through the fortified fence that led to her house. The guards bowed  \nas she passed and she followed Yureitsia through the garden. He led her to the third guest  \nroom, and he nodded quietly, opening the door for her. An oddly familiar voice sounded on  \nthe other side, but the language was not her own, but the ‘English' she had heard from Shuji's companion.  \n\n* * *\n  \n\"Oh, another meal is it? I don't get how you people can live on such small meals  \nbut I-\" She blinked. Standing at the door of the room she had been staying in since her arrival  \nwas... She shook her head and blinked, it was as if she was staring at a mirror. The other  \nversion of herself was equally shocked as she turned to the Red-scaled one that she had  \nseen at first.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"Nandeska kore?!\" she hissed at him, making him duck.  \n  \n\"W-wakarimasen, Shidomori-sama...\" the rest of his words were too low and fast  \nfor her to understand, but she assumed he was explaining her arrival.  \n  \n\"Fune wa doko?\" the ‘other self' asked. The Red's reply mumbled quickly as he  \nkept his head down. She sighed and nodded, \"Yoroshi. Kairo.\"  \n  \n\"Hai,\" he bowed fully and then hurried off. The other one stepped inside and  \nclosed the door.  \n  \nShe nodded and bowed her head, imitating the others, \"Hello.\"  \n  \nAn eyebrow perked, and the bow was returned, \"Hero. You, en-gurish?\"  \n  \n\"English? Yes. You speak English?\"  \n  \nThe other ‘self' shook her head, \"Atashi wa, U-su-ya-mi. Wakaru ka?\" she tapped  \nher chest as she punctuated the word in the middle.  \n  \nAfter a moment she nodded, \"Ah! Yes!\"  \n  \n\"Anta ka?\" She gestured to the still seated Englishwoman.  \n  \nShe nodded, \"Rosaline Ashdrake, Captain of the ‘Wanderer'.\" Another bow and  \nshe smiled.  \n  \nUsuyami shook her head, \"Iiya... Namae.\" She pointed to herself, \"Usuyami,\" and  \nthen followed with the gesture to the other.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"Ahh... Rosaline.\"  \n  \n\"Rosarin,\" She nodded, and then looked at her closer... noting that Rosaline's  \neyes were not green, but a stunning violet. Beyond that, they were indistinguishably alike.  \n  \n\"I take it you're the one in charge?\" Rosaline asked, either not realizing that she  \nwouldn't be understood, or not caring.  \n  \n\"Nanja?\" Usuyami blinked, confused.  \n  \n\"You,\" she pointed to her, \"in charge?\" she adjusted her seating pose to look  \nauthoritative, a trick she had learned from being captain.  \n  \n\"Aaaa... SO-ka! Hai. Atashi wa Daimyo desu,\" she nodded.  \n  \n\"I'll... take that as a yes.\" She smiled and nodded back.  \n  \nUsuyami laughed. She found it amusing that she could communicate with this  \nother version of herself with only a few gestures between them. She would have to teach her  \nIpponese. She nodded, \"Anta wa fune no taicho?\"  \n  \n\"Uhhh?\" Rosaline blinked.  \n  \n\"Fune,\" Usuyami nodded, pointing to the small model of a ship her father had built  \nwhen he was younger. She followed that with the same posture Rosaline has used for  \nauthority and nodded, \"Taicho.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Rosaline blinked and looked and then nodded, \"Ah, yes, I'm the captain,  \ner ‘taicho'?\"  \n  \n\"So desu... Mmmm...\" Usuyami rubbed her chin. \"Matte kudasai?\"  \n  \nThat one Rosaline knew. She had had that said to her, and it meant to stay put,  \nShe nodded and bowed a bit, still slightly shocked over the encounter.  \n\n* * *\n  \nUsuyami slid the doors of her quarters open, stepping in, still awed by meeting  \nsomeone who could have been her twin. She shook her head to clear it, the whole encounter  \nwas simply too strange for her. It was a few minutes later when the doors slid open again,  \nand Tsukino helped Aoi in. Usuyami gasped and stepped over, helping as they carefully laid  \nAoi on the futon, helping her sit up a bit.  \n  \n\"Thank you, Tsuki-chi.\"  \n  \nThe cobalt vixen nodded bowing politely as she backed up and headed out. Aoi  \nstopped her, \"Tsuki-chi... remember what I said.\" She nodded and smiled; But Tsukino  \nsimply blushed and bowed excusing herself silently.  \n  \nUsuyami blinked and looked to Aoi, \"and what exactly did you say?\"  \n  \nAoi grinned a bit, laying back with a sigh, \"You'll see.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Usuyami huffed and laid herself in the futon alongside, \"If you weren't injured, I'd  \ntickle you until you told me.\"  \n  \nAoi smiled and scooted closer, \"you'd be tickling me for a LONG time then... for  \nwe both know how well I can keep a secret.\"  \n  \nUsuyami snickered and kissed the Kyujin she had spent her life with, \"Mmm, and  \njust who trained you how to keep secrets, again?\"  \n  \nAoi smirked and nosed her love, \"it was your father, actually.\"  \n  \n\"Oh, you!\" they laughed and cuddled, careful of Aoi's injured leg.  \n  \nAfter a few moments, Aoi sighed, \"We have some time to spend here before you  \nmust leave, yes?\"  \n  \n\"Mmm, I should leave soon, but I can spend a few more days here. This is my  \nhome, after all.\" She smiled softly and licked at Aoi's cheek, curling up close to her,  \nexhausted from the day...  \n  \n=========================================  \n  \n\"So, there I was, twelve bandits around me, the town in flames; but I wasn't  \nscared.\"  \n  \nThe gathering of girls all squealed in excitement, having been listening to the  \nwandering samurai for nearly two hours. The stranger had come to the inn from the cold  \nnorth, and in the wet season, the small inn hardly had any customers.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"Well what happened?\" the youngest girl asked, tugging at his sleeve.  \n  \n\"I'll tell you,\" he grinned, red scales glinting in the candlelight as he stood. The  \ngirls all leaned back a bit as he growled and then thrust his arms into the air, \"I â€\"roared- at  \nthem and beat them senseless! The bandit leader challenged me then, and we fought up on  \nthe dam that kept the town from flooding. He was an expert swordsman, but I put a stop to  \nhim too!\"  \n  \nMore cheering squeals of excitement erupted from his audience as he  \nembellished with gestures and poses, \"the town was still on fire, and it was SO bad that they  \ncouldn't put it out... so I shouted at them to run for high ground, and I cut the ropes on the  \ndam. Once the dam broke, the rush of water put out the worst of the fires, and the town was  \nsaved!\" He laughed a bit flopping back to sit down.  \n  \nThe girls all swooned and huddled around him again, one of them rubbing his  \nshoulders, \"Oh, my! Master Rihatsu, you are such a hero!\"  \n  \nHe blinked and laughed, \"A hero? Me?\"  \n  \nThey all nodded, and he snickered, leaning back in the embrace of so many  \nwomen, \"Well, if you wonderful ladies insist, who am I to argue?\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; They all laughed and the merriment continued far into the night. It was after the  \nsake had run dry and the travelling samurai that had come to the Four Forest Inn was well  \nasleep with four of the girls, that the doors opened again, and five large, hooded men stepped  \ninto the lobby.  \n  \n\"Hello gentlemen, what can I do for you at such a late hour?\" the mama-san  \nsmiled, her teeth yellowed with age and too much pipe-weed.  \n  \n  \n\"You have young boy here, samurai. We here to collect him.\" The first said as he  \npulled back his hood, revealing his ochre fur and dark stripes.  \n  \nThe old kibajin woman blinked, tilting her head, \"you're not from here, what could  \n  \nyou want with that young samurai?\"  \n  \n\"He kill my men, we come to return favor,\" the large foreign feline growled.  \n  \nThe old woman sighed, \"so sorry, I'm not about to have any bloodshed in my Inn.  \nYou will have to wait until morning.\"  \n  \n\"We take him outside. You tell which room.\" The male snarled, long fangs  \nglimmering.  \n  \n\"So sorry, my girls are with him sleeping, if you wake them, it will disturb the  \nwhole inn, and I'll lose many customers.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; The foreigner nodded to another of his band, who dropped a large sack on the  \ntable in front of the woman, she perked a long eyebrow and opened the sack, gasping at  \nwhat it contained. Gold coins, a vast number of them. Not the wide stamped ‘ryo' of Ippon,  \nbut a smaller, thicker coin, emblazoned with strange symbols that were remarkably similar  \nto Ipponese Kanji. She pursed her lips and then nodded, \"third door. Left hall. Do be as quiet  \nas you can?\"  \n  \nThe foreigner bowed oddly and then nodded as the males softly tramped down the  \nhall. The scuffle was minimal, a muffled snarl and then a dull smack, followed by silence.  \nSeveral moments later, the men came back through, carrying the samurai's belongings, and  \na large wrapped bundle that could only be that same samurai.  \n\n* * *\n  \n\"Wake!\" the voice snarled as a thick foot connected with Rihatsu's ribs, jarring  \nhim back to life. He coughed and curled up, getting his breath back after the heavy impact.  \n  \n\"Wh-what?!\" he snarled, coughing still as he struggled to his knees, looking for  \nhis attacker. He saw them clearly after a moment. Five males, all dressed in long silks with  \ncollared vests over the sleeved robes. The largest and closest, likely the one who had kicked  \nhim scowled down at him.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"Good. Stand. Not kill while sleeping.\" He growled, arms bared, unlike his  \ncompanions. They all wore their black hair pulled back in long braids, and the orange and  \nblack furred one held his tail wrapped around his waist as if it were a sash.  \n  \n\"Who... are you?\" Rihatsu hissed as he stood up on shaky legs. A heavy impact  \non the side of his head sent him spinning back to his knees. His eyes recovered in time to  \nsee the leader's foot touching the ground again.  \n  \n\"My name Shai Ti Chen of Mequon. Those men you killed today were mine.\"  \n  \nRihatsu coughed and laughed a bit, \"Killed? I didn't kill them... I just beat them  \nup.\"  \n  \n\"You flood town, all men drown,\" the foreigner snarled, \"Now I take revenge from  \nyou.\"  \n  \nRihatsu blinked and then huffed, \"All right, fine... they drowned... you realize they  \nwere attacking the town? Hurting innocent people?\"  \n  \nShai scoffed, \"town insult me. Men teach town that I not to be insulted.\"  \n  \nRihatsu blinked, and then stood. Once on his feet the Tiger lunged again, but this  \ntime the impact was stopped by Rihatsu's arm as he grunted under the blow, \"Well then,  \nyou're the one who I should have beat up then. Shame you were hiding.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; The tiger snarled and pulled his leg back, unfolding his arms and nodding, \"Not  \nhide from boy like you. Come! We fight!\"  \n  \nRihatsu was up and in motion before the tiger finished speaking, but his attack  \nwas parried expertly, and the tiger made to bash his head in. the pair stuck, grappled and  \ntwisted for the better part of ten minutes, neither landing a solid hit, but plenty of grazes and  \nglances. They squared off, eyeing each other closely as they breathed hard and heavy.  \nRihatsu took a breath in and nodded, \"Time to finish this...\"  \n  \n\"You take words out of mouth,\" Shai tightened his stance and lunged, palm  \nleading as he followed with his knee. Rihatsu didn't block, he spun past the attack, leaping  \nat the last second and crashing into the pile of loot the bandits had gathered, and as he  \nrolled away he gripped his sword in his hand and rushed. Shai turned at the last moment,  \nand caught the blade along his armguards, but Rihatsu followed through and added a kick  \ntoppling the larger tiger and standing on him, blade at his throat.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"Yield!\" Rihatsu commanded.  \n  \n\"You cheat,\" Shai hissed angrily, \"use sword in Man's fight.\"  \n  \nRihatsu scowled, \"I said Yield!\"  \n  \n\"Never,\" Shai spat defiantly. The other Bandits were gathered around but they  \nknew not to interfere.  \n  \nRihatsu frowned, \"Go, then. Leave Ippon, and never return. Then next time I see  \nyou, you will die.\"  \n  \nShai shoved the smaller lizard off and waves his men away, \"Next time you see  \nme, you no have chance to cheat.\" He strode away after his men, tail lashing about angrily.  \n  \nRihatsu watched after them and looked to his blade  \nthoughtfully, \"Humph... ‘Cheating'...\"  \n  \n===========================================  \n  \nSunlight shone through the treetops, casting dappled light across the forest. Birds  \nchirped and watched as two figures stepped and swung their swords in measured unison.  \nThe larger Jirajin smirked as he glanced to his left at the smaller human who was focused on  \nher kata. He smiled a bit and changed forms, noting how she gave a soft yelp of dismay as  \nshe corrected herself.  \n  \n\"You must be adaptable, Hikamori,\" he spoke calmly, changing forms again as he  \nturned his facing and moved. She followed, half a step behind, silently fretting over the  \nrandomness of the changes. \"Combat is not about what you are doing, it is anticipating your  \nopponent's actions... so that when they strike!\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Steel rang on steel as she parried the sudden attack reflexively, looking at him in  \nfright as he nodded, pleased by her reaction, \"you will be prepared.\"  \n  \n\"Y-yes sire,\" he panted, still uncertain of how much he actually meant to attack  \nher or not.  \n  \nHe stepped back and sheathed his blade with a smile, \"Let's have lunch.\"  \n  \nShe watched in awe and confusion as he shifted from the stoic, almost stern  \nmanners he took when they practiced; to a smiling, carefree fool of a samurai who was more  \ninterested in food than the possible dangers around them.  \n  \n\"Aren't you hungry?\" he asked, holding up a set of rice balls.  \n  \nShe nodded and sheathed her blade, stepping over and sitting down on the  \nblanket they had set up. \"You still haven't told me where we're going.\"  \n  \nHe blinked and made a muffled questioning sound as he swallowed, \"I didn't?  \nOh... well, we're going to Tetsumo.\"  \n  \n\"Where is that?\" she blinked, confused nibbling her lunch politely.  \n  \n\"Hmm... I'd say another week and a half of travel... maybe two weeks.\"  \n  \nShe coughed and Shuji groaned as he ended up with rice on his face, \"Two  \nWeeks?! That's a long ways off! What are we going there for?\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"We're meeting a friend, and I have to get a message to my clan, to have them  \nprepare the army for an attack on the Gasaran.\" He finished his rice ball after picking the rice  \noff his face.  \n  \nShe nodded and lowered her head a bit, \"So it's really going to be war, then...\"  \n  \nShuji sighed, \"One way or another, I'm afraid. I'd rather it be on our terms than  \ntheirs though.\"  \n  \nKasumi looked at him, \"I don't want to die.\"  \n  \nHe blinked and nodded, setting his last rice ball down, \"Neither do I.\"  \n  \n\"Does it frighten you?\" she asked, tilting her head and looking through her  \neyebrows at him.  \n  \nHe shook his head, \"It's not fear... but more that I actually enjoy my life to the  \npoint that I'm not ready for it to be over yet.\"  \n  \nShe blinked and frowned, \"what does that mean?\"  \n  \nHe laughed, leaning back slightly in mirth, \"it means exactly what I said. There's  \nplenty more in life that I haven't done yet. I'd like to do those things before I die.\"  \n  \n\"Oh.\" she thought to herself for a moment and then looked at him, \"What kind of  \nthings?\"  \n  \nHe blinked and leaned back farther, relaxing, \"Hmm... Well I know my Clan would  \nlike to see me wed... so perhaps starting a family... I sometimes imagine what the lands  \nbeyond Ippon are like too... Maybe I'll see them sometime.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; Kasumi eyed the samurai who had taken her in and found herself thinking in  \ndirections she wasn't sure if she should be thinking or not. He was still such a mystery to  \nher. She slowly ate her food, adding up all the things that made him in her head. Smooth  \nscales framing his brilliant eyes and accenting his handsome features. The long, silver-white  \nhair he normally kept tied back, he'd left loose, so it draped over his strong and sculpted  \nshoulders. She noticed how at his shoulders and down his arms, his azure scales, like all  \njirajin's, became thicker and more pronounced. His hands were spread out, propping himself  \nup along straightened arms. His chest was firm and toned, the white swath of thicker,  \nunscaled skin visible to her, as he had left his dogi off for their practice. She jumped and  \naverted her eyes, quickly taking a large bite of her rice ball when he looked her way and  \ncaught her staring.  \n  \n\"Hm??\" he blinked, wondering what she was staring at, but she blushed and  \nshook her head dismissively, focusing on her rice ball. He chuckled softly and shrugged,  \nleaning back again, but not taking his eyes off her. She didn't notice, which he was thankful  \nfor. He marveled at her adaptation. She took to the role of Samurai as a fish takes to a pond.  \nHe smiled more, seeing her in the colors of his clan, and his mind wandered a bit, imagining  \nwhat she would look like in something more ladylike.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"Did I get some on my face?\" she asked suddenly, breaking him out of his  \ndaydream.  \n  \n\"Eh?! Oh, sorry... I was just... wondering why you cut your hair so short,\" he had  \nto work to get the fib out, but it was easier than he'd thought. She had caught him staring at  \nher.  \n  \nShe blinked, not expecting that. Absently running a hand through her trimmed  \nhair she blushed, \"W-well, I don't know... it always got caught on things when I was...\"  \n  \n\"Running from getting caught with something that wasn't yours?\" he grinned  \ntauntingly.  \n  \nShe huffed and glared, \"I only took what I needed to live!\"  \n  \nHe shook his head, \"I know, I was just taunting you. There are thieves who steal  \nfor sport and profit, and there are those who steal out of necessity. It seems a bit ruthless to  \nfault the latter, doesn't it?\"  \n  \nShe pursed her lips, mollified and sighing. After a moment she looked over at  \nhim, \"There's more to being Samurai than being able to use a sword, yes?\"  \n  \nShuji blinked and nodded, glad for the subject change, \"quite a bit, I would say.  \nWhat's on your mind?\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \"Well, I... I've always seen samurai as being violent, short tempered, selfish, and  \narrogant,\" she looked a bit angry at her description, \"you've managed to upset that idea, but I  \nwonder what makes them become like that?\"  \n  \n\"Authority, usually. Many samurai these days tend to abuse their authority. They  \nbecome hungry for more power, and tend to look for ways to oppress those beneath them to  \nmake themselves feel more superior,\" he frowned, angered by the idea. \"But there's much  \nmore to it than that. A Samurai's first duty is to his liege. It is the duty of the liege to look  \nafter the farmers and merchants; so his samurai should attend to that.\"  \n  \nKasumi nodded thoughtfully, seeing the ideal in her head as it was explained to  \nher.  \n  \n\"Of course, there is much more to it than that. The Second duty is that of  \nperfection in all things. Samurai are meant to lead by example, in setting perfection as their  \ngoal, a Samurai will inspire those around him to achieve the same,\" he nodded shifting to sit  \nup.  \n  \n\"I haven't met many perfect samurai,\" she groused, eyeing him.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; He laughed a little, \"Well, my grandfather believed: ‘True perfection is  \nunattainable... But it is the effort one puts toward such a goal that in the example we should  \nset.' I rather like that saying.\"  \n  \nShe smiled, \"It's a good one.\"  \n  \nShuji stretched, \"Mmm, beyond that, the rest is up to the individual samurai.  \nWhat you choose to pursue is your choice, but if you remember those two things, everything  \nelse follows.\"  \n  \nShe blinked, \"It's really that simple?\"  \n  \n\"Well, at the core, yes. There are all kinds of other rules and manners, but that's  \nall based on situation, and who you're near... even then those fall into those two concepts.\"  \nHe smiled and nodded, finishing the last rice ball after.  \n  \nShe nodded and thought a moment, but then he suddenly reached over and  \ngrabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her close and snarling. She struggled and shrieked,  \npushing away from him, but he held on tightly. Beating against his chest after a moment she  \ncomplained, \"L-let go! Stop!\"  \n  \nHe did as she said and let her go, earning a glare and a smack across his face,  \nwhich did little more than make her hand sting, \"I don't think I deserved that... Look behind  \nyou.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; She blinked and rubbed her palm, turning around a bit and gasping at the spear-  \nstabbed rat clad in black cloth with a short stabbing sword. She scrambled back, ending up  \nin Shuji's lap as she quailed from the body, \"W-W-What?!\"  \n  \n\"Assassins...\" Shuji hissed a bit, pulling his spear from the body with a  \nsickening ‘slurp' of blood and viscera. \"Likely this one's been searching for us for a while. The  \nGasaran must be getting word of our alerting the clans to their offensive.\"  \n  \nShe shuddered and curled up a bit, \"I... I've never seen someone k-killed...\"  \n  \nSoft hands wrapped around her shoulders as Shuji held her gently, not speaking,  \nbut holding her softly. After a moment of contact she turned from the corpse and buried her  \nsmall face against his chest, trembling. He blinked and gave a soft sigh, encircling the  \nsmaller female in his arms, remembering his first experience with combat-related death.  \n  \n\"It gets easier,\" he whispered softly, \"it does get easier...\" he sighed and ran his  \nfingers over her hair, remembering that despite her talent, she was still not yet completely  \nSamurai.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n","series":{"name":"Tales of Ippon","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/106411-chapter-fourteen-redirection.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/109197-chapter-sixteen-bonding.json"}}