[Day 5, Early Afternoon] A Slight Change of Pace (Open)

[Susaki Tanabe]

"That's the rub, isn't it? Whatever bonds we might forge could well go nowhere. Which means all of us are off-balance for the foreseeable future."

He nods "Yeah, makes you wonder about the system neh? Like someone gets along super well maybe even finds love but gets matched to someone else? Think its ever happened at one of these things?"

[Shiba Raizo]

He nods "Yeah, makes you wonder about the system neh? Like someone gets along super well maybe even finds love but gets matched to someone else? Think its ever happened at one of these things?"

"I'd bet it almost always happens. Or close enough."

He glanced over at the sparring Sparrow and Crab.

"Hm. Good form there."

[Suzume Senseki]

Yasu sees the movement, sidestepping with a relatively small movement to deflect his bokken with the shaft of her weapon, lunging through the opened space with a shout. She doesn't expect to connect, having barely felt out the Sparrow's defenses, and shifts back into a more guarded stance before coming forward with a low sweep aimed just below the knees.

"Hmm, not as such. We work from master to apprentice. So I'll share a style with my sensei's other apprentices, but another Kuni will probably have a rather different one, favor a different weapon, and so on."

The conversation lends itself to remaining somewhat cautious in style as well. It take more focus, and breath, to trade rapid blows.

The Sparrow's low, guarded stance is consistent enough to avoid the lunge, with a minor change of his footing, and the low sweep is avoided with a step back and a deflection with the bokken's blade. The style is kept rather conservative and cautious after that, as well, as he takes another step back, returning to a solid gedan stance and slowly advancing to try a strike at her side, not fully expecting to actually hit her.

"Un!", he says with interest, nodding as they move. "So the Naginata is something you took from your master, then? I assume your more... mystical training must equally vary, then?"

Another step to the side, not particularly quick, and an attempted advancing strike at her legs. "That must create a rather strong bond between sensei and student, eh?"

[Kuni Yasu]

Yasu holds a bit on that slow advance. It's certainly slow enough to push back on, but seemed worth seeing what happens closer in. Bringing the butt down to block almost more like a staff drew out the real strike, and she had to step quickly herself, dropping the blade to knock Senseki's away with the other end as she flowed past and around. "Hah...and that's why I should keep you over there, eh?" Despite that, the practice blade had swung up behind her, butt held low to the front in a more aggressive hasso-no-kamae stance rather than the previous defensive one."

Circling a bit, she nods. "It does, and it does. The lines from master to apprentice are a thing we keep track of the way others recite their genealogy. Are the Sparrow all trained together as most schools seem to work?"

This attack, when it comes, is faster, having taken the measure of the Sparrow. There's a pat, pat, pat of her bare feet on the mats to circle to the Sparrow's right before pivoting, the blade swing sharply for a shoulder with a precise shout. The move and momentum leave Yasu more open, but still far enough away for some maneuvering room, perhaps.

[Susaki Tanabe]

"I'd bet it almost always happens. Or close enough."

He glanced over at the sparring Sparrow and Crab.

"Hm. Good form there."

Tanabe frowns a little "almost enough to make someone question the system a little bit." he said before taking a breath and letting his smile settle on his lips again, focusing on the form

"So when you're not patrolling mountains or being forced to come to miais what is it you like to do Shiba-sama?"

[Shiba Raizo]

Tanabe frowns a little "almost enough to make someone question the system a little bit." he said before taking a breath and letting his smile settle on his lips again, focusing on the form

"So when you're not patrolling mountains or being forced to come to miais what is it you like to do Shiba-sama?"

"Well. You have to understand that I haven't had much time to work on that. I like traveling, something I've discovered because it happens to square well with marching all over the place. Otherwise..."

He grimaced.

"Not really sure. I think we can rule out poetry."

[Suzume Senseki]

Yasu holds a bit on that slow advance. It's certainly slow enough to push back on, but seemed worth seeing what happens closer in. Bringing the butt down to block almost more like a staff drew out the real strike, and she had to step quickly herself, dropping the blade to knock Senseki's away with the other end as she flowed past and around. "Hah...and that's why I should keep you over there, eh?" Despite that, the practice blade had swung up behind her, butt held low to the front in a more aggressive hasso-no-kamae stance rather than the previous defensive one."

Circling a bit, she nods. "It does, and it does. The lines from master to apprentice are a thing we keep track of the way others recite their genealogy. Are the Sparrow all trained together as most schools seem to work?"

This attack, when it comes, is faster, having taken the measure of the Sparrow. There's a pat, pat, pat of her bare feet on the mats to circle to the Sparrow's right before pivoting, the blade swing sharply for a shoulder with a precise shout. The move and momentum leave Yasu more open, but still far enough away for some maneuvering room, perhaps.

The Sparrow actually let out a soft laugh as the Kuni blocked his attack and pretty much pushed him back before circling him. "I guess! Should've expected you wouldn't let me in so easily", he says as he follows her with his eyes, circling slowly to the right by pivoting his feet. This time he needs to move more to avoid her strike, sliding one feet then another to the left and using the bokken to touch the naginata's blade and deflect it away a bit. He sees the opening she leaves, but his counterattack is slowed down by his effort to parry her strike, so his next attempt - a touch her calf - is probably not so hard to avoid if she can notice it in time.

"The Sparrow... well, most, maybe all of us receive at least some of our training in Kyuden Suzume and its surroundings, so I guess there is... some less variety. But then we do receive training from particular sensei later as well", he adds - and a change in his face seems to indicate no small amount of respect and admiration for the one who trained him. "That probably leads to some specialisation, at least. Suzume Yoshie-sensei, for example... she is a master of the sword and a skilled duelist". The smile widens even more. "And it's to her I owe some of my skill. Others would probably be more skilled in other weapons or skills... maybe even somewhat more trained in courtly affairs."

"If I may ask, Kuni-sama - that made me curious, what was your schooling and your sensei like?"

[Susaki Tanabe]

"Well. You have to understand that I haven't had much time to work on that. I like traveling, something I've discovered because it happens to square well with marching all over the place. Otherwise..."

He grimaced.

"Not really sure. I think we can rule out poetry."

Tanabe gave him a raised eye brow pausing in his moves "Well surely you do something in your free time even while marching, writing, playing music, listening to music, playing games, even just like drinking or sharing stories." he explained

"You can't tell me when you break for camp at night you just stare at the wall of your tent Shiba-sama." he said with a bit of a amused chuckle.

[Shiba Raizo]

Tanabe gave him a raised eye brow pausing in his moves "Well surely you do something in your free time even while marching, writing, playing music, listening to music, playing games, even just like drinking or sharing stories." he explained

"You can't tell me when you break for camp at night you just stare at the wall of your tent Shiba-sama." he said with a bit of a amused chuckle.

"Actually, when I break for camp, I make sure my men are squared away where they're supposed to be, then I report to my gunso, then I make sure my men are fed, then I eat. That's where the stories come up, unless I've got first watch, in which case I'm off by myself. If not, I generally grab some sleep right after dinner, so I'm rested enough for second or third watch..."

Spare time was plainly not something he got a lot of.

"And while marching? I mostly curse under my breath, unless one of my men fucked up, in which case I curse out loud. I hate almost all of our marching songs."

He sighed as he finished up his form.

"Sometimes they send me off to keep an eye on the ronin. They tend to have jokes and songs I haven't heard a million times, so that's generally a bit more interesting. Of course, they also have the crappy duties..."

[Kuni Yasu]

The Sparrow actually let out a soft laugh as the Kuni blocked his attack and pretty much pushed him back before circling him. "I guess! Should've expected you wouldn't let me in so easily", he says as he follows her with his eyes, circling slowly to the right by pivoting his feet. This time he needs to move more to avoid her strike, sliding one feet then another to the left and using the bokken to touch the naginata's blade and deflect it away a bit. He sees the opening she leaves, but his counterattack is slowed down by his effort to parry her strike, so his next attempt - a touch her calf - is probably not so hard to avoid if she can notice it in time.

"The Sparrow... well, most, maybe all of us receive at least some of our training in Kyuden Suzume and its surroundings, so I guess there is... some less variety. But then we do receive training from particular sensei later as well", he adds - and a change in his face seems to indicate no small amount of respect and admiration for the one who trained him. "That probably leads to some specialisation, at least. Suzume Yoshie-sensei, for example... she is a master of the sword and a skilled duelist". The smile widens even more. "And it's to her I owe some of my skill. Others would probably be more skilled in other weapons or skills... maybe even somewhat more trained in courtly affairs."

"If I may ask, Kuni-sama - that made me curious, what was your schooling and your sensei like?"

The shifting movement has put the other pair in her line of sight, and she a small smile offers evidence of her distraction. Spotting Senseki's counter a bit too late, she catches it against her calf with a grunt that's half pain, half amusement at her foolishness. Hopping aside, she resets her guard with a laugh. "Well Kuni-sensei'd be smacking about the shoulders for getting distracted like that, for one."

"Otherwise...everyone's got their own way of teaching. Kuni Mari-sensei studies manifestations of the Ta...ah..corruption in plants. So we do a lot of work learning care and containment of such things, the danger of spores, demonic runners, and exploding seed pods. Some people greatly underestimate plants when there's obvious things like ogres to pay attention to." She's very matter of fact as she speaks, pausing just long enough to lunge toward the Sparrow's shoulder.