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Jinjiro rested wearily on the rampart of the Hare castle, watching the Scorpion army disassemble the remainder of the breached Hare palisade. The army of the Hare had not expected it's outer walls to last, but their destruction was still a blow to the morale of the overtaxed Hare soldiers. Jinjiro was surprised the walls had lasted this long.
Jinjiro had fought his sixth duel today, and killed his fourth opponent. It was with a certain pride that he looked back on the duels of today and yesterday. After his humiliating defeat by Bayushi Sugai, he had finally found his balance, as Toshimoko-sama had always taught. He now saw more with the inner eye than the outer, in a duel. In his first three, with Kuwanan-san, Toku, and Sugai, he had been relying on his speed and training to know the right moment to draw. These last three he hadn't thought at all, almost relying on Marako's gift, the sword given to her as the Topaz Champion, to decide when it should be drawn.
Marako. Her Unicorn steed and skills on the horse had served them well today. The Scorpions battle cry seemed empty in the face of her silent, sure attack. She was indeed a worthy companion, but the person who had surprised Jinjiro most in this battle was Naoki.
The Crab Naoki, hardly a duelist by Crane standards, had killed perhaps five samurai in duels. His style was not to strike first, but to take his enemy's blow and then kill him. The stamina of the man was incredible. Inhuman.
Takehai had begun as someone inhuman to Jinjiro. The ise zumi's ways were not his own, and Jinjiro hadn't known what to think of a man who could breathe fire and heal the wounded at first, but Takehai understood Bushido, and this made him understandable, if different.
Bushido. If any one of his group didn't understand Bushido, it was the ronin shugenja Ishi. Jinjiro had never thought much of the samurai who held no allegiance to family and no respect for honor, but he had a growing respect for Ishi. He would never admit it, of course, but the shugenja had surprised Jinjiro, and had proven himself an ally.
Jinjiro woke from his reflection on his companions to see the last light of the setting sun glare off of the three inner moats of the Hare castle. The water seemed aflame, and suddenly long shadows crossed it–the shadows of the attacking Scorpion. The moment caught Jinjiro's soul–the soul of a poet. All thought of the coming battle vanished in that moment as the artist of the sword felt a haiku well up from within him, seemingly of its own accord:
Shadows in the sun
Long darkness against gold light
With dusk comes beauty.
The moment ended. The sun settled behind the Hidden Forest, and the shadows that had captured Jinjiro resolved into a screaming horde of Scorpion bushi. Jinjiro shed a single tear for beauty lost forever, and hurried to the attack.