[ We find Our Heroes assembled in a courtroom. The room is simple; a forty-by-twenty foot room with a chair at one end, and several cushions laid out for everyone else to kneel on. ] [ Currently, all of you are in here and seated, along with an Ikoma most of you do not know, who is serving as a sort of stenographer. Kenji and Alci's mother, Chikako, is standing to one side of the chair; she is fully armed, which consists of two katana, a wakizashi, and a tetsubo, not to mention her fists. ] [ Tia is absent, as the poor dear couldn't stand the proceedings. ] [ Istvan kneels or sits on a cushion seperated from the rest placed before the chair. The rest of you get to decide where you are, which is half the fun! ] [ Session Start! ] * Patrick is next to Seylin wherever she is! * Istvan kneels on his cushion, several sheets of paper written in not- so-neat dwarven laid out before him. He looks relatively calm, all things considered. (Robin: Who else is here?) (Also, is it an empty chair?) ( The crew, KenjiMom, Taka, Musa, an the Ikoma Omoidasu. And the chair is currently empty; I'll fill it after y'all desc. ) (The Matsu isn't there?) ( ! Yes, he is. My bad. He's sitting near the front row of the cushions, looking confused and angry. ) ( I'm plenty enough M for the entire coutroom!) (The cushions are in rows like seats would be in a Western courtroom, or are they lining the walls?) ( One row before the chair; the rest line the walls a small distance behind. ) * Takara is kneeling before the chair, royal purple kimono not wrinkled in the least. It has a white flower stitching today. Her hands are folded, her eyes are closed, and she seems exceedingly calm. [ The row before the chair, but behind Istvan, consists of; Takara, Matsu Seiryou, Seylin, and the Omoidasu. ] (Patrick will just have to lurk somewhere nearby. ^_~) * Patrick lurks. ^^ * Alcinoe is kneeling in the back rows, likely next to Kenji. She's wearing a kimono, yup, and her sword's on her. Her mouth has thinned into a hard line, and she's looking (glaring?) steadily ahead. [ There is a clap at the single entrance to the room. "" says Chikako. ] * Istvan rises. * Alcinoe rises. It's the thing to do! * Seylin stands. * HKenji stands. * Takara stands, opening her eyes. * Patrick stands. * WillS stands. * Seg is now known as Matsu_Seiryou * Matsu_Seiryou rises, trying to glare at anybody but the judge. * Seylin is dressed in a deep blue blouse that ties at the neck, with sleeves that widen at the elbow, and a pair of loose, flowing black pants. They're probably the nicest clothes she brought with her, even if they do scream "gaijin." [ The door slides open after everyone is standing, and Hosokawa Hanatarou walks in, still small and mousey of frame, but wearing nicer clothes and a distinctly judicious demeanour as he enters and sits in the chair. Chikako lets you know that you can sit, now. ] * HKenji has a seat. * Takara kneels. That's the... um, thing to do. Just like standing was before. * Seylin carefully kneels back down. * Alcinoe is back on the ground. * Patrick kneels in his position, wearing clothes that are Gaijin Incarnate, but he doesn't look like he seems to care. * Istvan kneels back down, closing his eyes and nodding slightly as he recognizes who the judge is. * WillS sits back down on his chair. * Matsu_Seiryou carefully returns to his non-standing position, trying to keep a reasonable expression. Failing, but trying. [ After you all sit, Hanatarou says, "" Amazingly, he doesn't mispronounce Istvan's name. ] I'm innocent of the charges, so I ask you to begin the trial, Lord Hosokawa. [ Hanatarou nods impassively. "" ] * Takara nods, stands, and bows. Upon straightening, she begins: "" ( Let the record note that Tia-san is really big and strong. ) * Takara nods to the Matsu in question, then looks back to Lord Hosokawa. " * Takara falls silent for a moment. * Takara looks to Istvan, now, and her voice hardens slightly: "" * Takara looks back to Hosokawa, her voice softening again. "" * Matsu_Seiryou straightens his spine with indignity, but doesn't otherwise react. Yet. * Istvan gestures to request that a question be asked. [ Hanatarou holds up his hand briefly. "" ] I ask the court to question the witness as to her experience in judging the tones of voice, body language, and other subtleties involved in communication of those speaking the "Common" language in general, and specifically those of people raised in the dwarven land of Moradin's Deep. [ Hanatarou looks thoughtful for a moment, and then says "" ] * Takara nods once and does just that. "" * Takara pauses another moment, then adds, "" * Takara falls silent, again, and folds her hands. [ "" ] * Takara bows her head. * Istvan scribbes some notes while this is being resolved. [ "" ] [ Chikako looks warily at Seiryou. ] * Takara nods and sinks back to a kneeling position. * Istvan glances over at the Matsu, scowls a bit, then goes back to his writing. * Matsu_Seiryou shifts his position to a slightly more authoritative one, pulling his meager size to its maximum height - an effect made slightly comical by his (badly) Matsu-red-dyed hair spiking a bit stiffly upwards, as if to add a couple more inches - but managing to lend himself at least an air of competance. His expression is clouded with anger, but he schools it carefully to a 'proper' indignance. * Matsu_Seiryou bows formally to Hosokawa-sama, and somehow manages to include his wife in the gesture without -quite- bowing a second time, before beginning. "" * Istvan raises his hand to request a question be asked. [ Hanatarou rolls a 20 for keeping his face straight as he nods. "" ] Lord Hosokawa, I request that you ask the witness if, prior to his being swollowed up by the earth, he demanded that Tia be turned over to his posession in order to settle the matter of his supposedly damaged honor. [ Hanatarou thinks about this for about half a minute, then nods. "" ] [ Hanatarou nods. "" ] * Istvan nods and scribbles something quickly in his notes. * Takara hasn't closed her eyes again, as she's gazing at Istvan. It's not angry or frightened; she's simply watching. * Alcinoe shifts a little. She glances at Kenji. * HKenji looks over to Alci, catching her glance. * Alcinoe offers a very weak kinda-not-really smile and goes back to watching the proceedings. * Matsu_Seiryou barely contains a malicious grin for Takara as he makes this request. [ Hanatarou looks at Seiryou for a moment before turning to Takara. "?" ] * Takara nods. She closes her eyes for a moment, then opens them and takes a breath. Her voice projects to fill the entire room: "<'I did not know this before, but the girl who ran into you is the daughter of the Earth Dragon, which explains her unusual appearance. She was so upset by her blunder that the kami went out of control.'>" * Takara falls silent, looking at Hosokawa. She doesn't seem shaken by the Matsu's move at all. [ Hanatarou nods. "" ] * Matsu_Seiryou bows politely, "" he says, managing to convey that he fully believes she might do just that, <"as evidenced by her testimony before this court."> * Matsu_Seiryou bows again, formally, and resumes a passive posture, clearly finished but awaiting the court's pleasure. [ "" ] [ Chikako shifts her balance from one foot to another. ] * Matsu_Seiryou bows once more - he seems to do this a lot, even for a samurai - and returns to sitting as he had prior to his testimony. [ And then the session adjourned for a week due to scheduling conflicts. Afterwards, Istvan used the Chewbacca Defense, and everyone's heads exploded. ] [ Session End! For now. ]