Restless Tide, Forsaken Thunder

[Zak the Panduh]

義 tab 勇 tab 仁 tab 禮 tab 誠 tab 名誉 tab 忠義

Tales of Raitaro

乂 | Biography; the birth of a half-blood, creating turmoil within a family.
乂 | MiT; Learning techniques and completing missions.

 

[Zak the Panduh]

tab Betwixt Two Shadows

Raitaro is the product of two lesser noble members of the Raiu and Seiryuu clans remarrying after being widowed. Raitaro's father, member of the Raiu, lost his wife to a grave illness. His mother of the Seiryuu clan, hadn't seen her husband since he defected from Zaishin alongside Yusuke Seiryuu in pursuit of the sudden upsurge of Yokai. Both were left with a son, inheriting the bloodline of their clan in full, of whom were already showing great promise as formidable warriors for their respectable clans.

The birth of Raitaro wasn't intended, as both of his parents were fully invested on training their children in the sword styles of their family. It even caused a small rift between his parents for some time; his father wanting his mother to get rid of the unborn child, while his mother's compassion for life and the unborn child itself would not allow her to do so. She'd go on to give birth to the child, much to the disapproval of her son, step-son, and husband. For the first couple of years, the full-blooded son of the Seiryuu clan would experience a delay in his training, forcing him to study on his own or with another master of the Seiyruu clan's sword style. This was a bigger issue than anyone else in the family could see, outside of Raitaro's two older brothers, who had a rivalry with one another that dated long before the two were considered 'brothers' by way of marriage. The birth of Raitaro couldn't have happened at a more inopportune time - when his mother was going to train the full-blooded Seiryuu son in the higher, more powerful forms of the Seiryuu sword style. A deep loathing began to take root in the elder Seiyruu brother's heart towards Raitaro.

It was decided by Raitaro's father that he'd take the surname of his family, after finding out that their child inherited the genetics of both Seiryuu and Raiu clans. Despite their efforts of trying to keep this secret, members from both sides would find out over time and display their disapprovals of Raitaro's dual heritage. The tensions between the two clans due to the recent events infected the love between Raitaro's mother and father like a plague. His father resorted into forcing Raitaro to fully train in Raiu sword style only and renounce any relation to the Seiryuu, for he carried the Raiu clan's name. At seven years old, his training with his father and the elder Raiu brother began. The training regiment was brutal, even for someone as young as Raitaro was at the time. He struggled with mastering the breathing technique of the sword style, which only irritated the elder Raiu brother, as someone who mastered it with ease at Raitaro's age. He believed that even with their father's help, that Raitaro would continue to struggle, simply because he was not a pureblooded Raiu clan member.

Raitaro himself began to doubt his own talents as he grew older, despite his willingness to train tirelessly for days on end just to reach a fraction of the skill his two elder brothers had. He'd spectate their spars (which were more like battles between the two) admiring the mastery over the clan's styles that they had obtained, hoping to improve via visual stimulation. Regardless of how many times he mimicked their movements, when it came time to train with his father, any progress that Raitaro felt he made, was gone in an instant. Without his father's permission, he went to his mother to learn more about the Seiyruu sword style. Private training sessions were held in secret while the eldest son was off doing his patrols around the city. His mother's less oppressive methods of training helped Raitaro pick up some of the basics of the Seiryuu clan's style much easier, despite still struggling to use them effectively. These meetings however, were short lived, as he was caught training with his mother by the elder Seiryuu brother after returning home early from his patrol. The sight sent him into an outrage, challenging young Raitaro to combat out of spite. Instead, Raitaro's mother stepped in to protect him, which only fueled the elder Seiryuu brother's rage. His pride in his clan and his abilities prevented him from seeing how his mother could ever love a 'half-blood'.

It wasn't long before Raitaro's father heard of the news, disappointed in both Raitaro and his mother for their actions. The actions of the elder Seiryuu brother were conveniently left out, for as soon as their father heard of Raitaro's secret meetings with his mother, it was all that he needed to hear. He refused to continue Raitaro's training in the Raiu clan style as punishment, feeling betrayed. However, he left the duty to the elder Raiu brother, who immediately refused. There was no point in wasting effort on a 'half-blood' who struggled with the most basic techniques of the style, he felt. An even greater rift between the family was created, and Raitaro's guilt only continued to weigh on him further at this point. He was deemed a failure in both of the clan's sword styles and had only caused nothing but chaos in the family since he was born. Both of his elder brothers continued to sow the seeds of self-doubt and shame upon him, a loathing for their half-blooded younger brother that was stronger than the rivalry they had with one another.

"You will never be one of us." Those very words cut through him as if it were a sharpened blade, as Raitaro now understood how much his pureblooded siblings hated him.

[ Trauma Narrative :: Unclaimed ]


tab The Incarnation of Death

Being around his family was the most difficult part of Raitaro's everyday life since that day everything fell apart. Despite his mother's unconditional love and care for him, he could not fully accept it as such without feeling the looming hatred of his siblings nearby. He resorted to taking the traditional path given to commoners, enrolling in a training program for the chance to prove that he was capable of becoming a Samurai for the city of Zaishin. He hoped to regain the respect of his father this way, while training in the styles of his family on his own. Or, at the very least, master the techniques which he has struggled with from the start and display his improvement for a chance to resume training under his father. It was here where he improved his proficiency over the katana blade and discovered his prowess in close combat. These small accomplishments did nothing to ease his anxious mind, which only negatively affected any little progress he was making in the program.



[ Trauma Narrative, fear of Oni-kin/Otakemaru developed :: Unclaimed ]


tab A Broken Sword, Reforged


[ Possible Growth Narrative, leading up to present-day Raitaro who has fully committed himself to mastery of his bloodline. ]

 

[Zak the Panduh]

The mastery over one's breath was key to learning the fundamental of the Seiryuu clan's sword style. Even as he recalled the training his mother offered him, the memories of the multiple times he failed at it were projected the most. His heart rate was already beating rapidly out of anxiety, so he focused on trying to slow it down. To focus. A deep breath in, followed by a slow exhale. Raitaro knew if he were to make any progress, he'd have to heed the blacksmith's words about leaving the past behind him. [ Total Concentration: Water Breathing | Learned ]

Taking his place in front of a training dummy, Raitaro prepared himself to learn the second technique of the Seiryuu clan style. It helped that the dummy took more of a human shape, rather than the typical straw-based ones he was used to seeing. This aided in helping the future Samurai envision his intended location for a sword strike. His mother's reassuring voice filled his head, encouraging him to stay calm and focus, always. Resting a hand on the hilt of his sheathed katana, his gaze settled on the training dummy until a thread formed from his sword to the center of the target. [ Line of Interval | Learned ]

I can see it! Raitaro refrained from letting his excitement get the best of him, in fear of losing the thread. The visualization was clear, the thread marking the upper torso section of the dummy. He'd transition into the first form, which compromised of a basic horizonal slashing attack. With a sudden draw of his sword, Raitaro took a step forward and swung his blade, feeling the fruits of his focus set in, as the movement itself felt much faster and stronger than usual. The thin blade of water that followed the strike was projected forward, following the thread until it met with the training dummy, cleaving it in two. [ First Form: Water Surface Slash | Learned ]

Raitaro was starting to realize how much more comfortable he was becoming with the Seiryuu style now, and wondered if it had anything to do with her strong affinity to the water element. While ninjutsu wasn't a major interest for the young swordsman, getting acquainted with some of the basics would help him understand it more. The ability to manipulate water itself, was the most fundamental skill any water user could have, so he spent a few hours practicing the manipulation of small puddles in his area. [ Water Manipulation | Learned ]

Some time passed before Raitaro got the hang of manipulating water. Almost as if it was natural to him, he also discovered that he could do so while wielding his katana. The next technique took water manipulation to what he assumed to be the next progression, by channeling the element itself. He did so, onto the finger tips of his free hand and flicked droplets of water off of them into the open space ahead. [ Trick of Water | Learned ]

The water droplets splattered onto the ground below, Raitaro twirling his fingers in the general direction of the droplets to gather them back up. They pooled together on the ground before raising off of it in the shape of a small sphere to the young swordsman eye level. With further manipulation it turned into a mirror, allowing himself to see his own reflection as well as the area behind him. [ Water Mirror | Learned ]

Using the basics of water manipulation he learned just moments ago, he gathered a small portion of water in his mouth to spit out at the mirror. It came out more like a sputtering spray between his lips the first time, so he gave it a second try with more effort. A jet of water was expelled, piercing the mirror and reverting it back to its liquid form, splattering on the ground beneath his feet. [ Fish Spit | Learned ]

By this point, Raitaro felt relatively comfortable with his ability to manipulate water. He decided to apply it in a way that would be more aligned with his capabilities as a swordsman, such as creating a weapon out of the element itself. By manipulating the liquid into his palms, he focused on creating the shape of a short sword, a Wakizashi, that he could use as a makeshift weapon. He gave the weapon a few practice swings, finding that he could use it with the same proficiency as a weapon made from traditional steel. [ Water Sword | Learned ]

One of the biggest threats to the way of the samurai were Yokai, who were also their natural enemies. Most of their kind resorted to trickery and deception to defeat their enemies, relying on genjutsu to confuse the mind. Raitaro practice stopping his own flow of chakra in the event that he should succumb to any illusions, as this would provide some sort of defense against those who preferred the genjutsu arts over straightforward combat such as bukijutsu. [ Release | Learned ]

Mastering quick and sudden movements were common in Raiu clan techniques. Despite his struggle with the style, many of them relied on some use of the body flicker technique. Raitaro hoped that mastering this technique would help get a better grasp of the Raiu clan sword style in the future. He practiced moving at high speeds to different locations in the school until he was exhausted from overuse. [ Body Flicker Technique | Learned ]

[ Mission: Learn a Technique | Completed x10 ]