[D5 EE] Final Rites (OPEN)

[Kaiu Hiroji]

"And if you'd done less, more might have. Was it not you who put it on the ground? Who finished it off? Crab always get the jobs no one else will take." One corner of his mouth twitched upward at the black humor, then settled again. "Her sacrifice gave you that chance. And so the rest of us live on. Like a stone cast into a lake, gone, but there is still a ripple, touching and changing everything."

Hiroji considers this for a moment. The grief and pain in his look lessen for a few moments as he thinks on Tomonaga's words.
"You speak wisely Tomonaga-sama. Thank you, I will think on this." He glances once again at the Unicorn's body.

[Otaku Kitakuhime]

Proudly wearing the white of death without the warm cover of her Clan colors, the Otaku heir arrives astride her moonlight pale warhorse. She doesn't seem to bother with the cool evening breeze, the chatter, the noise or with the sadness in her heart. Kitakuhime's face shows serenity, instead.

The dark edge cast by shadows of this land tries to reach the departed Shiotome, but the warming light of Amaterasu-no-kami still enriches the altar where her cousin lies resting. She knows, deep whitin herself, that this is how the Shiotome should cease their servitude in Ningen-do: with an honorable and glorious death in defense of her kin.

Learn your way to Yomi, Chi-Pu-senpai. I'll need your valuable lessons once I depart.

--
PM if you approach.

[Moto Khulun]

The presence of Kitakuhime gets a nod from Khulun.

[Otaku Kitakuhime]

Kitakuhime raises her hand and touches the white choker tightly wrapped around her neck. She looks to Khulun and nods, but her eyes return to the horizon soon after that.

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"Minna-sama." Dong-Ha's voice boomed in the evening air. "We have come together to celebrate the passing of Otaku Cho-Pu, daughter of Otaku Xiu-Fang and Otaku Jin, who served her clan as a second in command to Otaku Kwan shawish."

"Many were her brave deeds and many stories will be told of her, tonight... and all nights to come." the young mystic spread his arms wide open, addressing the audience.

"None could question her honor." ¨he brought his hands together with a an audible slap.

"A true child of the Shinjo-Kami she was, a child of the wind!"

The Unicorn mystic paused, turning to look over the gathered audience. "I call forth those who remember her, and those who wish her to be remembered. Speak now, let her to the Meido with your words word in hear ears. Let Emma-O know who is entering his realm!"

[Shimizu Ryori]

The young lion steps forward, his sister remaining in her spot as he approaches to speak. He bows respectfully in the direction of the other members of her family before beginning.

" I met Otaku Chi-pu-sama about a week ago in Lion lands. I spent some time traveling with her on the road. She was a wise counsellor, with brave a truly noble heart. " He smiles "She spoke with integrity, and with the insight that comes from being a veteran of many battles, both in the field, and across the negotiating table. "

He pauses "She confided in me that she looked forward very much to the family she might one day have, but what she felt was most important was the happiness of the family she already had, her younger sisters in the Otaku family. She always, always thought of them before herself. "

He looks toward Kyra "When we met Chi-pu-sama, Gekkou-san, Tianna-san, and Kitakuhime-sama on the road, the first discussion we had was about the Otaku name, which led to my revealing of my personal token of Lady Matsu. "

He withdraws a small wrapped item " Because of that discussion I aquired a gift for my escorts at the next village we came to, unfortunately I had not yet had the opportunity to present it," he unwraps a small statue, well crafted by Kitsu artisans, of one of the ancestors, and not just any ancestor, but one of the eight Kami.

"May Lady Shinjo guide your way, may she blaze the trail that leads you to the next life, and may your path lead you back home to us soon."

He places the small metal statue next to the body's head, and bows once more, quite low in honor to the deceased, before returning to the crowd.

[Moto Khulun]

Moto Khulun gives off a powerful ululation and then urges her mount forward and says, “I am Moto Khulun, and I would speak for Otaku Chi-Pu-nikutai.”

“She was my leader and my honored battle sister, and dear friend. I was fifteen summers when I first rode at her side and she was everything I knew an Otaku to be, fierce… strong, and as beautiful as the radiant sun. I would never tell her this, but she was all that I thought a warrior could be,” she says honestly to the gathered samurai.

“Otaku-nikutai was the first into the fight and the last to leave it, she was selfless beyond measure. A pure spirit that shone brightest when our days were darkest. She had the patience to take me under her guidance, to lead when I needed to see the path; to chastise when I had fallen short of her demands. I would not be the warrior I am now, if not for her.”

“She died as she lived, protecting others… of all the ten-thousand things in this world it took a serpent large enough to consume the moon to slay her, it is known nothing less could do the job. Chase the wind, dear sister… chase the wind and tell our ancestors you died on green earth. You brought us home Chi-Pu-no-shiryo, now rest,” she says in ending.

[Kaiu Hiroji]

Hiroji steps forward, his expression aflame. "SHE WAS A HERO!" His voice rings louder than anything anyone has heard Hiroji say or yell before, perhaps except for his final battle scream last night.
"She fought like the wind and without her neither I or the others who fought the dragon would be here! A samurai like no other!" After his outburst, Hiroji backed down, looking flustered.

[Soshi Taira]

The scorpion stepped forward next, reaching up to remove the iron mempo which blocked his face.

His expression was gaunt, as if chiseled from stone. In a level, baritone voice, he began to speak, his voice carrying across the gathered samurai. It was the voice of a man who had learned to be heard in a melee.

"I did not know Otaku Chi-pu. Before last night, I could not have picked her out in a crowd. I had never even heard her name, and indeed, I did not until after she fell."

He cast his gaze over those gathered, daring anyone to take offense, before stating, simply, "I can say, however, that any praise offered her today will pale in comparison to what she did last night. In that storm, against a dragon gone mad with rage, she was a beacon, leading the charge."

Spreading his arms, he gestured over the plains. "The wrath of the heavens poured down, as we struggled for our lives in that storm of mud and thunder, and in the middle of it all, she struck. And struck again! Time and again, she and her steed dove back into combat, breaking the back of the monster which threatened us all, and when she was caught in its coils, she did not cry out to be saved, but fought on."

Lowering his hands, he cast his gaze to the shrouded woman. "She died in the very front of the battle, shielding us all from harm. In that night I came to know Otaku Chi-pu better than I could have in years of friendship. I saw her for who she was, and I know that her soul walks with her ancestors now. The trail she has blazed is one all should strive to follow, for her dutiful strength could not be matched."

Bowing deeply to the shrouded body, he stepped back, and replaced his mempo, statement given and done.

[Ide Amaya]

Amaya steps forward. She knew the fallen warrior only a little, but she does know where she was while Chi-Pu was giving her life for the safety of them all.

She gives the only gift she has: a song. The wrenching emotion burdens every note, but her voice carries clear and sweet and despairing across all who had gathered. Tears stream freely down her face as she sings, but her throat never catches or thickens.

Finally, the last long note fades and Amaya steps back into the gathered crowd to allow another their turn.


---

Song: Half Pain - Bana
Perform: Song / Awareness + Voice + Void, 2 CR - 51

[Usagi Tomoe]

The small Hare stepped forward, her white robes caught in the breeze.

"Otaku Chi-Pu was a kind, honest and honorable woman... I wish I had known her better when she was still with us. She showed a great understanding for knowledge, and an earnest interest to learn all she could to protect her people in these lands they had returned to. She showed full faith in me and my abilities when I offered her what help I could, and I can only say I wish I had done more for her when she was still alive."

"For someone like me who knew little of the Unicorn before coming here, Otaku Chi-Pu was a paragon that showed us all in her bravery how true the Unicorn still are to the ideals of the Empire founded by the Kami, even after all this time apart. May she now ride by Lady Otaku-shiryo's side."

[Seppun Hideo]

Hideo stepped forward himself.

"Otaku Chi-Pu was a Paragon of everything a samurai would want to be; courageous, kind, and strong. She served with honour, and while I knew her very little, the little time I spent conversing with her I shall remember fondly. Her name and her actions will always be remembered by all her kin, and those gathered here from the rest of the Empire who were blessed to share this time with her."

He then stepped back after he finished, looking over the gathered crowd to see who spoke next, his eyes stopping on Amaya after a few moments

[Ide Amaya]

Dazed, her face marked with tears, Hideo's eyes catch her own and she drifts towards him.

[Akodo Runno]

In a show of solidarity with her comrades, and in deference to both the clan hosting and a fallen warrior, Akodo Runno joined the crowd of mourners. She was, it seemed, far more in control of her emotions then her fellows. While the others spoke and sang to the fallen, the Lioness watched with a sort of impassive expression.

So it goes.

[Seppun Hideo]

Dazed, her face marked with tears, Hideo's eyes catch her own and she drifts towards him.

Hideo moved the rest of the way towards her, giving her a polite bow. "Good evening" he said quietly, to avoid disrupting those who spoke.