<div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Suzume Kyou</div><div class="spoiler_body">Name:      Suzume Kyou<br/>Clan:      Sparrow<br/>School:   Suzume Bushi School<br/>Age:      18<br/>Height:   5’10”<br/>Weight:   180<br/>Build:      Medium, with good tone.  <br/><br/>Description:   The lithe beauty of a young man of the Crane clan hides very nearly the full strength of the Crab’s young warriors.  Kyou is both of these things, yet neither.  Though he maintains manly stoicism, his eyes offer warm camaraderie and compassion.  He does not anger at petty things, but can be provoked to violence for the suffering of common folk that many would overlook.  Some might think his poverty marks him as a child of heaven wallowing in the mud with peasants.  Kyou smiles in quite pity.  He knows his place in the celestial order better than such fools.  He stands above those he rules, yes, for he is their protector.  They stand beneath him to lift him on their shoulders.  <br/>   Kyou does not voice such radical ideas.  He fights for his country, hoping for a chance to stand against the taint.  At court he brushes clean his hakima and tells stories, offering charming smiles to the girls while his eyes promise that there are secrets in his tales he has yet to reveal.  <br/>   There are always more stories to tell.  <br/><br/>Honor:      6.5<br/><br/><br/>Air (3)<br/>3   Reflexes<br/>3   Awareness<br/><br/>Earth (3)<br/>3   Stamina<br/>3   Willpower<br/><br/>Fire (2)<br/>2   Agility<br/>2   Intelligence<br/><br/>Water (2)<br/>3   Strength<br/>2   Perception<br/><br/>Void (2)<br/><br/><br/>Athletics         0<br/>Battle            0<br/>*Caligraphy         1<br/>Courtier         0<br/>Defense            0<br/>Etiquette         1<br/>Iajutsu            0<br/>*Investigation         1<br/>*Kenjutsu         3   (Katana)<br/>Kyujutsu         1<br/>Lore: Bushido         0<br/>*Lore: Heraldry         1<br/>*Lore: History         1<br/>*Lore: Theology         1<br/>Meditation         0<br/>*Perform: Storytelling      3   <br/><br/>Merits:  <br/>(4)   Benten’s Blessing<br/>(7)   Paragon of Compasion<br/>(3)   Voice<br/><br/>Flaws (Max 10)<br/>(4)   Cursed by the Realm: Sakkaku<br/>(2)   Idealistic<br/>(2)   Lechery<br/>(3*)   Overconfident<br/><br/>Technique:  <br/>1:   All Things In Time:  <br/>--The Suzume watches the flow of combat to discover the perfect time for his assault.  At the beginning of each Combat Round, before the first character has taken his Turn, you may reduce your initiative score by 5 to add 1k0 to all your attack and damage rolls for the Round.  <br/><br/>Defense:   20<br/>--Damage Reduction   3<br/>--Increase the target number of all athletics and stealth rolls by 5.  <br/><br/><br/>Outfit:   <br/>Hakima and Robe under Light Armor and Wooden Clogs.<br/>Straw Pack, Cloak and Hat<br/>Chopsticks<br/>Gourd of Water and Gourd of Sake<br/><br/><br/>Katana<br/>Attack Roll   4k2 <br/>Damage      6k2<br/><br/>Wakasashi<br/>Attack Roll      4k2<br/>Damage   5k2<br/>Range      20’<br/><br/>Yumi:  <br/>Attack Roll   3k2<br/>Amunition:   20 Willow Leaf Arrows<br/>Damage   5k2<br/>Keywords:   Large<br/>Strength   3<br/>Range      250’<br/>Special Rules:    Increase the TN of all attack rolls by 10’ if used from horseback.  <br/><br/>20 Questions:  <br/>--1.  My name is Suzume Kyou.  I am a warrior of the sparrow clan.  Do you know what that means?  Let me tell you a story...<br/>--2-3.  Once upon a time there was a man named Suzume Akira.  He worked hard for many years ruling his land, defending his people, and serving his Daimyo.  He had a wife named Moemi, three daughters--mighty Sayuri, beautiful Azuza, and wise Kurumi.  He also had a son, Kyou, which means Apricot.  After many years, Akira was rewarded for his service with permission to retire to a monastery and live out the rest of his life in peace and comfort.  Before he left, Akira told young Apricot the story of a child with mythical powers born from a giant peach, who slew many ogres through strength and wisdom.  Then he left his sword to his son--who was soon to begin his schooling in the arts of the Suzume Bushi--and left his children in their mother's care.  <br/>4.  See above.  Kyou wears a straw hat and cloak over his somewhat mended indigo hakima and kimono. <br/>5.  Trained in swordsmanship and storytelling by his mother's father, Kyou grew up surrounded by myths and legends.  What he longs for most is to live such a mythic life himself.  <br/>6.  Kyou's living hero and most trusted confidant is his older sister--   --the eldest of the Akira's children.  He admires both her honor and her strength.  <br/>7.  Kyou is a dreamer--it is his greatest strength and greatest weakness.  Legends of heroism give him strength while distorting his judgment.  <br/>8.  <br/></div></div><br/>Kyou sang as he strode through the forest.   His fine new kimono was in the pack over one shoulder.  His armor was on under his full straw cloak.   He wasn't going to a battle—he hoped—but it was good exercise to travel with it on.  (And it was a pain to carry in the pack.)  Though not a trained singer, Kyou had a good head for lyrics and an amazing voice.  He also had high standards, so he rarely sang unless he was alone.<br/><br/>The young samurai paused at the sight of some blood on the raod.  These were dangerous woods—even if the 'mythic foes' within proved to be bandits in masks it was still a hard road for one lone warrior, and there was no reason to suspect they<em>weren't</em>mythic foes.<br/><br/>Compassion and a sense of adventure came alive in Kyou as he crouched to study the marks.  Killed on the road.  Surely it was human blood.<br/><br/>Careful not to touch the unclean substance, he started down the trail, then paused and mae his way over to a waterfall.  He took a stick and tried to pull the body behind it closer too him and out of the water.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide</div><div class="spoiler_body">Investigation 19</div></div>