[The Black Watch] Kitsuki Tamoha

[MorkaisChosen]

Air: 3 (Reflexes 3 (12xp), Awareness 3)


Earth: 2 (Stamina 2, Willpower 2)


Fire: 2 (Agility 2, Intelligence 2)


Water: 2 (Strength 2, Perception 3)


Void 2


Honour: 5.6 Glory: 1.0 Status: 1.0


Insight: 129


Skills: Courtier 2 (2xp)


Etiquette (Courtesy) 2 (2xp)


Investigation (Interrogation) 3 (5xp) (Second attempt at Search without a TN increase)


Kenjutsu 2 (2xp)


Meditation 1


Sincerity (Honesty) 3 (7xp)


Lore: Law 1


Calligraphy 1 (1xp)


Iaijutsu 3 (6xp) (Draw a katana as a free action)


Lore: Bushido 1 (1xp)


Clear Thinker (2)


Irreproachable (2)


Read Lips (3)


Can't Lie (-2)


True Love (-3)


Outfit: Traditional clothing, Katana, Wakizashi, Knife, Calligraphy Set, Travelling Pack, 5 koku.


Kitsuki's Method: Free Raise on Investigation rolls, add Perception Trait to Armour TN.

 

[MorkaisChosen]

"Stubborn" is probably the best description for Kitsuki Tamoha. Her parents' love of learning didn't quite pass on to form the same temperament in her- Tamoha seeks not knowledge, but truth. Her personality became quite apparent during her training at a dojo of the Kitsuki Investigators in a multitude of incidents; sleepless nights spent reading to prove minor points she felt her sensei had made inaccurately, teaching herself to read lips when nearly all her peers had given it up as not worth the effort, and giving as much of her attention to her warrior skills as to her study of the etiquette and investigative skills that make a Kitsuki Investigator.


It was always her goal to become a magistrate- a bearer of authority, empowered to find the truth and punish those who concealed it, needing nothing but her own skill. That's not to say she didn't appreciate the aid of others- but so many times in her youth, she saw people failing to keep to the standards she held herself to. Perhaps it wasn't their fault- as a trained courtier, Tamoha is aware that such standards are unrealistic at best- but she still feels she should be able to stand on her own feet should those she works with fall behind. Thus she carries her full daisho; she is a samurai, and feels it is her duty to speak for herself, whether with words or steel.


So it was that after her gempukku, Tamoha was assigned a task suiting her abilities- investigating the disappearance of a young Miya Herald and the Mirumoto bushi assigned to guard him for this mission, who was bearing a message from the Dragon to the Lion, but never reached the border. Tamoha was joined by Akodo Kanade, sent to work both as a bodyguard and a reliable Lion observer in the investigation.


Following the Herald's assumed path, Tamoha noticed signs of a fight- partially obscured, but the freshly-churned earth of the road, looking as if it had been scraped to remove footprints, was enough of a clue for her to start really paying attention. A few minutes later, she had found some tell-tale drops of blood, and followed the trail, eventually finding the fresh graves of the two young samurai.


It was at this point that the ronin attacked. Three of them, poorly equipped and not looking too well-fed, but far from harmless. Kanade was a few metres away, but sprang into action against two of the ronin; the third headed straight for Tamoha.


Despite the katana at her side, he wasn't expecting a kimono-clad investigator to be quite so quick on the draw, and her steel danced forth. It was a close fight- the hungry desperation of the ronin, who knew the punishment for this would be severe, against Kanade's firey fury and Tamoha's icy calm- but in the end, the Lion and the Dragon were victorious.


Marking the position of the graves (it would, of course, be wrong to touch the dead bodies), and replacing the dead samurai's weapons by their sides from where the ronin were carrying them, Tamoha found the message the Herald had been carrying, and the two continued to the dead pair's destination to complete the task for them, sending messengers from Lion lands to inform the appropriate people of the position of the dead samurai, the circumstance of their death, and the vengeance that had been retaken from them.


That was not all that happened on the road, however. Mortal combat to save another's life can forge a strong bond, and combined with the contrast of Kanade's firey passion with the familiar introspection and objectivity of the Dragon Clan, this left Tamoha with a deep fascination with the Lion bushi. They would have to part ways once the task was over- but Tamoha let herself enjoy the time with her counterpart, and when the time finally came to return to their respective lands, it was all Tamoha could do to avoid saying anything to the Lion. Fruitless, perhaps, but she found herself caught between honesty and truth (not quite the same thing) and the shame she would find should such a thing be found out. Silence was the only option.


And so she returned, rather melancholy- though as always little of her mood showed in her face and speech, but rather more in what she didn't say anything about- to her home. It was not long before she was assigned to the Emerald Magistrates, a great honour for one so young, perhaps a reward for returning the body and weapons of a member of the Imperial Families from an unmarked grave- and perhaps also an opportunity seized by her Dragon Clan superiors to get her compulsive truthfulness somewhere where it wouldn't spike the wheels of their own courtly intrigues.


There are still two things that occupy her mind from that case, though. The first has already been made clear- she hasn't forgotten the courage and firey honour of Akodo Kanade- but the second seems far less, but potentially far more worrisome.


Why would three ronin dare to attack an Imperial Herald? Perhaps they were just that hungry and desperate. But perhaps not...

 

[MorkaisChosen]

Combat stats


Combat:


Initiative: 4k3


Armour TN: 23 (Unarmoured)


Katana: Attack: 4k2 Damage: 5k2


Health levels


Healthy - 10


Nicked (+3) - 14


Grazed (+6) - 18


Hurt (+10) - 22


Injured (+15) - 26


Crippled (+20) - 30


Down (+40) - 34


Out - 38