Mōri Matches: Day 4

Dawn arrived, the sun rose, and the Mōri Clan's Martial Arts Tournament began once again. Each of the Hashinara Cardinal Generals had opted to attend this morning in the company of their retinues. Each, that is, except Hashinara Yoshitakatomo, whose personal business kept her* in the Dreamlands for now. In place of the Daimyō, Sheele Hashinara Kiyowara took her* spot in the box. Other guests might be forgiven, however, for assuming that Tōdaisen Nobuhara was the clan's true representative.   As was familiar by this point, Mōri Motonari and her wife Kikkawa no Myōkyū took turns welcoming the various dignitaries and announcing the day's events. First among these was the independent quarterfinals. Those who succeeded would proceed to the semifinals. Between Fubuki and Randi Carter, who would claim this honor? Odds seemed to be generally on the cold-eyed oni, but one voice cried out in support of Randi as the two took to the field. This rather loud Kyūso had apparently dropped quite a hefty bet on the Dreamer and was expecting a great payout in return when she won.

Perhaps there were a few more incidents of interest happening in the stands at this point, but none of them were interesting enough to draw attention away from the morning's third match. This battle saw Maxim of The Wolfpack and more broadly the Hashinara Clan, facing off against Gotō Mototsugu, a ghost. Mototsugu boasted a unique fighting style which involved splitting her top half from her bottom half and distracting her opponent with repeated kicks from behind. It had been strangely effective up to this point. Whether the same tactic would play out against a heavily armored veteran like Maxim, however, seemed doubtful. Odds weighed quite solidly in the Knight Commander's favor.