L5r - scroll 05 - The Crab Read Free Page B

bristled at the accusation being leveled against his father, but more importantly he worried about his elder brother's reaction. Hida Yakamo knelt stock-still next to Sukune, his arms and shoulders twitching slightly. The younger brother was certain that he heard a long, low, animalistic growl escape Yakamo's clenched teeth.
    They sat before a council of representatives from the major Rokugani clans—all except the Crab. As was tradition, the council sat on a slightly raised tatami dais, while the Hidas knelt on small mats laid on a hardwood floor. Sukune and Yakamo had come to Otosan Uchi with the belief that they were supposed to fill the Crab seats on this particular council meeting. Upon arriving at the Imperial Palace, they learned that they were actually there to stand in defense of their father and their clan.
    "What offense has our daimyo caused, Mirumoto-san?" Sukune asked with as much deference as he could muster. More than any other Crab, Sukune was welcomed in the court of the emperor-—indeed, in any court in Rokugan—but there was only so much slander even he would suffer at the hands of these bureaucratic imbeciles. He was smaller, weaker, and more socially adept than most Crab, but he still held the deep-seated belief that samurai from any other clan were merely playacting the roles of bushi—of warriors—and that politicians and courtiers had no right to lay claim to that title at all.
    Mirumoto Hitomi, the representative of the Dragon Clan, seemed barely to acknowledge Sukune's presence. She stared un-blinkingly at Yakamo as she spoke.
    "The same offense every Crab daimyo has caused since the beginning of time." Hitomi spoke slowly and purposefully. "The Great Bear follows no one's orders but his own. He fails to spend the required time in the emperor's court. He shows complete and utter disregard for the decisions and jurisdiction of the other clans. He shames us all by using siege engines and other weapons of mass destruction against ordinary troops. He follows none of the rules of etiquette or manners prescribed in the code of bushido. All in all, I ask you what he does that is not offensive in some way or another?"
    The other members of the panel looked at one another with slightly dismayed expressions. Clearly Kisada's arrogance was the subject about which they wished to speak, but the young Dragon was pressing the point too hard. While they all wished the Great Bear would at least make a show of being more mindful of tradition and etiquette, none of the others would question his dedication to bushido, the way of the warrior. What's more, Hitomi seemed to take particular glee in provoking Yakamo.
    "One inoffensive action? Is that all you want?" Sukune asked. His temper too was rising, but his tactical mind told him clearly this was not the time or place to give in to the family temper. "Perhaps orchestrating our entire defense against the Shadow-lands gives you offense, Mirumoto-san, but I doubt you speak for everyone on this council. Hida Kisada has personally planned and led every major action against the armies of the Dark One in the past twenty years. It is by his efforts that the empire is not overrun by demons, ghosts, and goblins. This is a task he performs every waking hour of every day. If he has not had time to attend every function the court conducts, it is only for the sake of making sure that uninvited guests from the realm of darkness do not attend either. If you would prefer—"
    Without warning, Yakamo rose from his place, spat on the cherry-wood floor of the audience chamber, and began to stalk out of the room.
    "You see?" said Hitomi with undisguised revulsion. "You see how his son acts? And this is nothing compared to the father. He comes into this council room wearing full armor, as if to bully us into forgiving all his father's trespasses. He cannot dress for anything but a conflict, and he is so barbaric that he must let his younger brother speak for him in open court. If the