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 Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 11:55 am
❀ October 30thAs a man, Yuudai had certain obligations toward his family, his sisters in particular. He might have been the middle child but that didn't negate his responsibility as the only son by any means; in fact, at times he felt that it enhanced it, because he had to strive to be wise and just like his elder sisters for his younger ones. Or, in the case of Junko, to prove to her that he was more capable of making rational, mature decisions than she, as despite the fact that she was eldest, her record in just that was far from pristine.
Still, there were certain duties that he would never overlook, no matter how his sisters felt about them. One such matter was, of course, concerning men.
Natsuko liked to believe that she was mature and able enough to make her own decisions regarding young men, but of course she wasn't. Barely sixteen, she was more often caught by a flight of fancy than any real regard, trailing along after the most flattering suitor until either she or he lost interest. It was ridiculous, and shameful; she was going to ruin her reputation one day, and he tried to convince his parents of this, but they seemed content to let her do as she pleased as long as she completed her chores and didn't elope.
So, naturally, it fell to Yuudai to police her activities with men. For the most part, he was able to properly scold her and drive away the boys who were only interested in a brief, fun time, but once in a while a more persistent young man came along. Had any of them been worthy of his sister's time he might have relented, but her taste was proving to be as poor as her head was empty.
The young man she was currently stringing along, for example, was hardly the finest specimen of the species Yuudai had ever met. Arrogant and self-serving, he was more infatuated with his own charms than he was any traits of his sister's, save for perhaps her pretty face and pleasing figure. He was the sort of man who took a wife for her body and used that until it was no longer fascinating to him, and Yuudai would never let such a thing happen to one of his treasured sisters. Not even Junko, whom he butted heads with more often than not lately, but especially not Natsuko; she hardly knew enough to watch out for this sort of thing as it stood.
And that was, of course, why Yuudai was knocking on his door. They family wasn't a close one to his own by any means, but they weren't enemies either; this mean that he would have to be polite for as long as it took to get the young man on his own, and then he could commence with teaching him exactly what it meant to mess with one of the Koga girls.
The exchange at the door was brief, largely because Yuudai had gained a reputation for being overprotective and hot-headed when it came to his sisters. While he kept his temper very well the majority of the time, as with anything there was an exception to the rule, and family was both the most important thing to him as well as often the source of much of his ire. More than the fact that this man had been flirting with his sister, though, the idea that he was swaggering down the street with all the arrogance in the world in his step was enough to convince Yuudai that his inevitable thrashing was a good thing. Pride went before a fall, and all that entailed.
And so it was with dusk falling around them that they met on the battlefield, Yuudai tightening the bonds that kept his sleeves close to his arms, his opponent shifting his weight from foot to foot. Neither of them wasted time with trash-talk; Yuudai because it wasn't his style, not unless he was battling Ran, and the young man because he was overconfident in his own abilities. Yuudai landed two hits before his opponent was able to properly recover and brace; he'd always had speed, speed that made up for the less-than-average power behind the moves, largely due to his thin frame and delicate bone structure. It wasn't to say that he couldn't pack or take a hit, but he would always favor speed over strength.
His advantage didn't last long, however; he grit his teeth against two sharp, hard blows to his ribs, breath hissing out as his sandals skidded in the dirt. The mood shifted, imperceptibly at first, but Yuudai's fist glanced sharply off the young man's cheekbone and immediately doubled over the knee in his gut. The instructors had often told him that in a real battle, it would be over quickly if the warriors were skilled. That might have been true, had this been a real battle, but truth be told, the two men were more intent on beating each other senseless than they were fighting with any intent to kill.
Still, eventually the upper hand had to be gained; Yuudai planted his foot in his opponent's chest, breathing heavy as he drew the back of his hand across his jaw. Blood smeared against his skin and he spat, a long, curved splash of red against the dirt. Dramatically, he pointed one slender finger at his fallen opponent, the blue-tipped nail unwavering while he addressed him.
"From this point onward, you will leave my sister alone. I don't care how she provokes you or flirts with you; I've bested you and now you have to leave her alone."
From the dirt, the man scowled and wiggled, bringing one hand to up to attempt to shove Yuudai's foot aside. As the blonde Lunarian was putting almost all of his weight into the gesture, however, he was unable to do so. "Or until I kick your a**."
Cornflower blue eyes narrowed. "If you come back and defeat me later, fine. But until then, I expect you to be only a respectful and distant customer at the ryokan; nothing more."
When he was satisfied that he wouldn't get any more lip from his sister's ill-fated suitor, Yuudai stepped back and offered his hand. Bad-temperedly, the man swatted it aside and stood up, brushing the dirt from the seat of his pants and the back of his legs as he did. They looked at one another for a long moment, expressions equally disfavorable, before the slighted man limped away.
Well. For at least one more day, his sister's virtue was safe.
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derivative generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
3!
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Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 4:07 pm
❀ September 14thThe leaves were changing, and the season was dying around him. Yuudai had changed much in his absence, and it had been long; nearly a year he had been separated from his family and friends, communicating only through long letters, if even that. The separation had been difficult for him but also necessary -- not his choice, but one that he understood was essential to growing as a man. He had barely returned home, had only taken the time to drop off his things and gain his bearings, before he sought out his best friend's family.
It might seem strange doing so, but it had been understood since they were boys that Yuudai was as much a son of the Saito family as Ran was, and vice versa. While his own parents might have deemed him at an appropriate age and maturity level to begin taking on more responsibility at the inn, he knew that he wouldn't feel settled in his heart or spirit until he had the approval of Ran's parents as well. There were many ways for a man to prove his worth, of course, but the most prominent that came to mind was a test of his strength against a strong role model's; notably, Ran's father.
His time away had been spent in personal reflection as well as building strength. Yuudai had always focused much more strongly on the domestic aspect of his life, securing a position for himself in his family's inn, and he had admittedly neglected the warrior aspect of his life. That could be tolerated no longer; he would be graduating the academy soon, and he would be expected to take his place on the battlefield and fight for his family and what he believed in. He couldn't do that if he carried on as he had.
And that was why he was in the back yard of the Saito family compound, his tonfa gripped loosely in his hands, chest rising and falling heavily from the strain of battle. He and Ran's father had been exchanging blows for the better part of an hour in a practiced dance, and though Yuudai had trained, his muscles were aching. It was only to be expected -- Ran's father was strong and seasoned, and he would consider it an insult to Yuudai's efforts to take it easy on him -- and while he wasn't a warrior, that didn't mean this was an easy battle.
He drew in a breath, ducking his head a bit as he darted at the other man. Yuudai was at a disadvantage in both height and frame, being willowy and fine-boned, but that wasn't necessarily a damning circumstance. He had speed and precision on his side, as well as the advantage of regular training.
Still, that didn't mean that he wouldn't have a beautiful, flowery pattern of bruises decorating his ribs by the time the fight was done.
His tonfa were in a defensive pose, protecting his arms as he ducked in and under the swing of his opponent's. Ran's father grunted when the wood of his weapons impacted his chest, but in the next moment Yuudai felt an arm come down hard between his shoulder blades, elbow grinding into his spine as he was shoved forcefully away. Staggering, his sandals skidding across the grass, he grasped out a swear and turned quickly, trying to ignore the pain in his back and regain his bearings.
The only problem with this particular fight was that it was entirely silent. In the entire time that Yuudai had been acquainted with Ran's family, he'd barely known his best friend's father to speak more than two sentences at a time, but when he did speak, it was meaningful. Battle was not the place for conversation, and he knew in the past that he'd taken unnecessary hits because of his arrogance and propensity for conversation.
That in mind, he made a conscious decision to limit himself, even from muttered phrases to himself; they would do him no good, and would simply distract him from the fight.
After a few more turns, Yuudai's breathing was more ragged, but then so was his opponent's. The battle had gone on long enough, and he knew that it would end soon; there was no reason to draw out what was proving to be an even match between them. Still, it was important to Yuudai to have this victory, to be able to prove not only to himself but to those important to him that he had learned, had grown. He would win.
Pivoting, he took advantage of how quickly and deftly he could change direction, driving his shoulder hard into the other man's. To his surprise, it seemed the battle had taken an equal toll on his opponent's, and Ran's father staggered back, fell; his shoulders hit the ground hard, breath coming out in one wheezing gasp.
Wanting it to be over, and more than that, wanting to prove that he could end it on his terms, Yuudai quickly angled his arm over Hideharu's neck, his knee positioned on his chest.
"It's over," Yuudai said, sounding a little breathless, and possibly.. surprised?
"It is," Hideharu agreed, his voice coming out gravelly and deep.
Near instantly, Yuudai stepped up and away, offering a hand to help the man he considered his second father rise. They clasped hands for a moment, silence passing between them that was both significant and earned, before they each took a respectful step back.
Yuudai twirled his tonfa in his hands, knowing he would retire them now; they were wooden, and while effective, were getting older. He needed to move forward in his life both literally and symbolically.
"You've grown." The words, delivered shortly and curtly, meant more to Yuudai than any eloquent exclamations would have. Despite the pain he could already feel along his ribs, he took in a deep breath and smiled. "I have something for you... rather, Ran will give it to you."
With a sweeping gesture, Hideharu indicated the weapons held loosely in Yuudai's hands. "They will replace those. They're important to our family, to our culture... and you have become a man. I'll leave it to my son to present them to you."
A strange feeling was unfurling in his stomach, but he didn't quite have a name for it. There was pride, certainly, and accomplishment... but a bit of a sadness, too, something wistful. Things would not be the same anymore, not after he graduated from the academy and took his first real steps into the war.
Between them, unspoken, was the knowledge that from this day forward, Yuudai would firmly stand on the opposite side of the war from their family. It was a marked point for him, the true passage from his childhood into the future of the man he would become, and he felt a little unsteady about it.
But he had made his decision.
((OOC: I have permission from Logue to use Ran's father in this solo.))
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