Zen O'Clock Beneath the Sakura Tree

[Zanza Hijikata]

​

THEME​

​

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zz5AG-WwwGk​

​

​

​

Atrisia
Jar'Kai Ruins

Jar'Kai was still as it was a ruin. A ruin of rubble, craters and scorched earth. Except. Except, for a series of sakura blossom trees. They had bloomed in the decay, natural memorials to thousands upon thousands lost during the liberation of Atrisia. Sitting below one the large bent trees was warrior, a daughter of Atrisia, a masterless warrior, and a crestfallen Jedi. Her face was bent down and her single working eye closed. In her hands, was a small rice wine plate shallow, wide and red. It was filled with whatever rice wine she could afford. Next to her a ceramic jar of rice wine from which the wine was poured sat in a bed of sakura blossom petals. It was peaceful and quiet. But, in her head she could hear the echoes of war in her head. The sounds of dark side force storms ripping men, buildings, and armies apart. Ripping her left arm and crushing her connection to the Jedi and the Force. She took a deep breathe and swallowed in one gulp the rice wine.

She opened her eyes and set aside the drinking plate and bowed her head.

"I have finally returned, father, mother." lamented Zanza Hijikata, "Your foolish wayward daughter has finally crawled back into the light."

Would they accept me back into their honor? Zanza pleaded in her mind. What would the spirits of her family say. What would they judge a failed Jedi, an assassin drenched in blood, a cripple, and a vagabond. Atrisia as healing, and yet she could feel its pain and scars. Zanza touched the earth ad caressed it slowly. It was like her. Taking another deep breathe she rose up to stand next to the main trunk of the sakura blossom tree. Leaning over she picked up the rice wine jar by the rope that strung around its neck.


[Note: Short post is short but, I wanted to throw this up before I ran out of steam for the night.]


[member="Shoma Ike"] [member="Tanaski Yumi"] [member="Drake DragonsFlame"] [member="Junko Ike"]

 

[Tanaski Yumi]

Soldiers, warriors, men and women of fallen past, those that defended the weak and gave their life for others, a large memorial for those of distant battles, their spirits one with the force, free, and hopefully not filled with regret. Tanasuki had not really embraced his Riben-Jin culture much before, early in life being much more wayward, more so following in the foot steps of his mother and her days as an assassin, oh how much he regretted that. Though certain aspects of life as an assassin where fun, more often or not there were more disadvantages to it, getting targeted by bounty hunters, having authorities after you, and once or twice coming too close to Sith and Ren alike.

Though now, after just a few weeks among the Jedi and Master Junko Ike, meeting up with his sister, such a past seemed disgusting, taking another life for money, actually enjoying it. Even if those in his mind deserved death, looking back on it it just did not seemed right, and not because it was illegal. Had this effected the young Jins attitude, his usual cheery outgoing persona, not in the slightest, but it did give him very thoughtful insight to his actions and how to act more mature for certain occasions. "This place, seems as desolate as the dunes of Jakku... silent and almost devoid of life, but full of those originally living".

[member="Zanza Hijikata"]

 

[Drake DragonsFlame]

The blossoms were in season, and scattering their colour against the scorched glade. Through karmic grace, or the benevolence of an especially obstinate kami, the sakura copse and a scattering of gnarled cedars had survived Jar’Kai. A mob of bedraggled sparrows, all singed and flaked with ash, winged low and took up roost overhead of [member="Zanza Hijikata"]. Distempered light shafted through parts in the petal canopy.

Tsurugi gave the samurai charge over the clearing. It felt unseemly to intrude on what appeared to be a personal, anguished moment. It was presumed her ancestors would be touched by her solemn remembrance and so bless her. He had arrived on a morning transport, making a long sojourn towards the Core. Passing over Atrisia seemed disrespecting, the least any of their caste owed was a brief pause to acknowledge the doom that had come, pay homage to the fallen, and gird themselves with the strength of the roaming dead. Tsurugi adjusted the ride of his blade scabbards and listened to [member="Tanaski Yumi"]’s comment over a dry wind.

“Agitated dead, maybe?” He said. “I think I would be restless also, if my burial was so badly postponed. …So sorry, forgive any intrusion. Followed the paths of the cherry petals and found… here.”

 

[Zanza Hijikata]

[member="Tanaski Yumi"] [member="Drake DragonsFlame"]

Turning away from the tree and leaving her fate into the judgement of her ancestors she paused abruptly to notice two other wanderers among the ruins and sakura petals. A young boy and an older man, from the looks of it a warrior such as herself. A sly smirk strung across her lips. Sauntering over Zanza cocked a brow and introduced herslef with a curt bob of her head. Looking back up the two could see her gray battle armorweave body suit beneath a white hakama and kimono shirt and a black great cloak. One of her sleeves dangled freely devoid an arm and her right eye was covered by a tinted eye-ptach with a glass port. An atrisian swordsman hilt lightsaber dangled from her obi belt.

"Ho, ho." Zanza grunted, "And here I thought only the old and the broken wander in ruins". Banishing the remorseful and sombre attitude of hers, Zaza returned to the brazen swordswoman she had always been. Quick to throw a verbal jab and consider the consequences later. She had been this way since she was a troubled padawan and much later when she had spent her time as a merc-for-hire out in the Outer Rim - a Jedi Ronin.

"And who might you two fresh faces be?" said Zanza.

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

For over a thousand generations, Jar'Kai had been home to the Imperial City.

Today, the ruins of Jar'Kai were home to a Dark Side taint that singularly told the story of the city's destruction. A mere footnote in the larger narrative of the Galactic Alliance and One Sith war that had raged across the galaxy, claiming the lives of billions of people caught in the middle of either side.

Atrisia was a powerful reminder that no one won in war. They merely survived it.

The young Atrisian boy walked the broken stones and shattered foundations. A temporary escape from the chaos surrounding the Xiaolang Palace and the debates that locked the Atrisian Parliament in how the planet was to move forward from this predicament. From the bold pride of Kahoshi's Empire, when Atrisia's influence had spread as far as Csilla, to the repeated invasions and rumors of war whittling away at the planet, until they had arrived a broken world in the hands of a government that would have soundly opposed the majority of the planet's history and custom.

How were they to be who they were, when that Imperial culture clashed with the democratic ideals of the Alliance? In evidence of the predicament, the people of Xiaolang, when asked to elect a delegate to the Atrisian Parliament, had elected a boy whose sole qualification was his lineage. It was lip service to a direct democracy that ignored the divine right of kings with which a part of the population still found solace.

There was a warbling chirp from the Chiba protocol droid that floated in the air near the youngling's head. The sound caused the boy to look up, first at the droid and then out to where several people seemed to be gathering.

It was a strange place to encounter people, though Revma Village was not far.

"Nihao," the boy intoned politely, as he approached the group. The greeting immediately identified him as Xiaolang, culturally descended from the sea-borne pirates that had spawned a civilization on the far side of the planet from where they stood now. The Atrisian language as spoken was quite different from the Yovshin dialect spoken around Jar'Kai, the equivalent phrase for which would have been konnichi-wa.

When he'd gotten slightly closer, the youngling gave a bow toward the group as well. He was attired in an orange-and-black jacket that bore the flamebird marking of the Galactic Alliance. A training lightsaber hung off his belt, slightly obscured by the lay of the jacket.

[member="Zanza Hijikata"] | [member="Drake DragonsFlame"] | [member="Tanaski Yumi"]​

 

[Drake DragonsFlame]

Tsurugi vexed at the swordswoman’s impudence, dousing a hot note of pride and a stinging retort referencing ‘cripples and hags’. Admittedly, her brash manner excused her from challenge; his name, his conduct and honour, the honour of his family name, had not been directly assaulted or tarnished. He recalled the faint petal scent with the taste of brimstone on the air, and took back his peace. You are neither within or without, he reminded himself, you are untouched by contempt, anger, disgust, fear, sadness, surprise, or happiness. You are encompassed by the Tao and above all, you are patient.

The samurai offered a slight, perfunctory nod. “Tsurugi.”

Now a second youth had joined, in a Alliance jacket and fatigues with a droid-remote hovering on-station above his pate. The fine nobility inherent to his blood showed through his adolescence, apparent in his posture and easy, expectant gait. Tsurugi turned on his feet, bowed again in custom.

“Zǎoshang hǎo,” He said before regarding the one-armed fighter. “And you? Do you have manners enough for a name? Did you lose those with your eye~?”

[member="Shoma Ike"] | [member="Zanza Hijikata"] | [member="Tanaski Yumi"]

 

[Tanaski Yumi]

Tansuki gave[member="Drake DragonsFlame"] a curious look as he stated their own comment, was this day going to be full of philosophical rambling, may make for an interesting time, but he had not real experience in that matter, more going off what he had heard others say, just bending the words slightly to fit the situation. "Can the dead be restless, beyond the force, I had the Idea only certain people could be come ghosts, or do vengeful spirits exist to some extent... I may need to look up how to deal with those type of beings". Giving the man a closer look he appeared to be wearing armor similar to that of the Atrisian armor mixed with the style that Shri-Tal though it was battered and dented, like it had been subjected to a lot of use. "Follow the petals and you will reach the source... eh, I am no good with wise quotes".

His attention was brought back to the woman, kneeling down as she queried to the newcomers, "Looks can be deceiving, I may be over 50 years old and you wouldn't know, as for broken, one can be that form not just physical means". The woman looked as if they were putting on a brave act, to hid her current sadness, or perhaps she was able to change personalities at a whim like he could, but such matters where personal, and not the type of thing to pry into. "Watashinonamaeha Tanasuki Yumi desu, oaidekiteureshī desu".

Such a meeting did not feel like a coincidence to him, as his often quote, in the Jedi line of business there is not such thing as luck, more so when he heard a slightly familiar voice from behind, greeting the small group. Turing around Tanasuki resigned him as one of the Ike family members, [member="Shoma Ike"], a Xiaolong if he remembered correctly, one of fairly high rank person, even for his age.

He had always wondered is the Jin, his own race where decended from the Atrisian's, from what he knew their empire extended all the way to the Chiss home world, which was only on sector away from the Jin home world of Tintanag. Tanasuki turned around and gave the young boy a traditional greeting bow, "Kon'nichiwa, Ike-sama, kyō wa dōdesu ka"?

Translations
My name is Tanasuki, it is nice to meet/see you
Hello, Ike-sama, how are you today?

[member="Drake DragonsFlame"] l [member="Shoma Ike"] l [member="Zanza Hijikata"]

 

[Zanza Hijikata]

[member="Drake DragonsFlame"]

Zanza's one good eye twitched at Tsurugi's jab at her manners. Her smile cracked into a half bent frown and open grin. She landed a hand on Tsurugi's shoulder and squeezed it gently.

"Hah." she laughed, it was sharp and directed - like a threat, she continued. "I like you, Tsurugi-san, you have a...lively...sense of humor."

[member="Tanaski Yumi"], the other stranger, introduced himself in classic Jar'Kai manner. "Yo, Tanasuki. Cōshi Dō." replied Zanza in a Jar'Kai accented slang that roughly translated to, hey there, whats up.

Zanza, however, kept her eye on the unknown samurai, he was tall and broad and had a warrior's posture. Perhaps he had some experience in battle but, perhaps not. She couldn't tell, but, what she could tell is that he as not as battered or broken a she. War, continuous war, had a way have eating away at you. Like it did her. But, before Zanza could confirm her suspicions, she was meet by another pair of strangers. One was a small boy, dressed in Alliance apparel. But, what caught Zanza's attention as the boy greeted them with a xiaolang hello was his training lightsaber.

The wayward Atrisian samurai Jedi hadn't encountered another member of a Jedi Order in years. She had yet to even formally introduce herself to the New Jedi Order and come before their council to be judged for re-entry into an Order. All at once Zanza's jovial, cynical, and crass exterior faded away leaving a sombre look and tone. Then Tanasuki talked to the alliance child as "Ike-sama"

"Ike-sama?" Zanza parroted in subdued shock. "Oi, kimi..." Zanza continued slipping back into Jar'Kai dialect for a moment before closing her eyes and sighing. She had not meet anyone of that monicker - sama - in years. Were there still some nobility left from the old Atrisian Empire? Zanza's anxiousness had cut any etiquette that as left in her. She had to know, the scars in her soul demanded it.

"Boy, who are you? A Jedi of the New Order?" Zanza asked as she walked past Tsurugi and marched towards the boy ([member="Shoma Ike"])

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

Spoiler

Sorry for the delay in responding.

"Kon'nichiwa, Ike-sama, kyō wa dōdesu ka"?

Yovshin dialect. Formally, the youngling gave a bow as he answered, "I am, thank you." As he straightened back up, the boy returned the question in kind. "Tanasuki-san, I trust you are well?"

The large woman with the pink colored hair seemed to have taken an interest in him. Looking up, the boy answered simply, "My name is Shoma. Dozo yoroshiku." He gave another polite bow before he held up in hands in protest and said, "I am no Jedi. I am merely a padawan."

As he looked around the group, it seemed at rather interesting and ecclectic gathering of different people. But, that was what made Atrisia and the Alliance such an interesting place in which in live. Looking at each in turn, the boy added, "But I am also pleased to meet your acquaintance."

[member="Zanza Hijikata"] | [member="Tanaski Yumi"] | [member="Drake DragonsFlame"]​