#Episode 10: Weight of Schools

#Scent -- The Crossing of Three Paths

Rain was falling. Half the roof of the mountain temple's main hall had collapsed, and beneath the remaining half, charcoal embers were dying. Rainwater pooled in the courtyard. One stone lantern had fallen, and the stone steps beyond the temple gate were slick with moss. This place had once been a temple that enshrined a mountain kami, but now it was a yoma den.

Masamune stood before the main hall. His sword was drawn, one foot set forward, the point raised at an angle. It was the posture of Katori Shinto-ryu. Something inherited from his master -- shoulders low, center forward, moving before the opponent moved. A sword that seizes sen(先). That was Katori's teaching. Masamune had honed that stance for twenty years. Even in the rain, the blade did not waver. Rain ran along the blade and fell drop by drop from the point.

Maria knelt at the edge of the courtyard behind a fallen stone lantern. A Tanegashima rested against her shoulder. To keep the rain from wetting the powder, she wrapped the firing mechanism in oiled cloth and set only the muzzle above the stone lantern. Ordinary teppo could reach no farther than the far side of the courtyard. Maria's teppo was different. A design brought from Portugal. The barrel was longer, the powder charge was different, and the bullet weight was different. Not merely across the courtyard -- beyond the temple gate, below the stone steps, to the place where the forest began. A teppo that could fire from a range no other gun could reach. Foreign technology. It was not learned from a master. She had learned it with her own hands while crossing the sea. No fellow disciples, no dojo. A path that belonged only to Maria.

Enku sat inside the main hall. Between collapsed pillars and broken roof tiles, he sat cross-legged, both hands on his knees, reciting mantras. A small fire burned before him. The ceiling leaked rain above it, yet the fire did not go out. It was not charcoal fire. It was the goma(護摩) of Shugendo. A fire that gathered and burned the mountain's spiritual force. Around the place where that fire burned, the air was different. When rain fell there, it rose as steam. Not the smell of incense -- the smell of the mountain itself. Soil, moss, and old wood. What Enku had realized through mountain austerities was not how to burn yoma with fire, but how to create ground that yoma could not endure. Where sacred fire burned, a yoma's flesh slowly burned away.

The temple gate broke.

The doors flew inward and struck the floor. Dust and rainwater rose together. What stood behind them was not human. It was three heads taller. Red skin, black armor. Two horns. An iron club in its hand. A great oni(大鬼). The one that had trampled the village below the mountain. Four ko-oni spilled in around the great oni's feet. One held a club, one held a stone, one was bare-handed. They roared and rushed into the courtyard. They were lesser yoma, but there were four of them. Behind the great oni, more growls came from outside the gate. There were still more beyond it.

Masamune moved first. Without breaking his posture -- he advanced his forward foot one more step and raised the blade. Katori's teaching. If you seize sen, you are one beat ahead. Before the opponent raises the club, the sword descends first. The leading ko-oni saw Masamune and charged. Before the motion of lifting its club had finished, Masamune's uchigatana came down on a diagonal. A single line was drawn from shoulder to waist. The ko-oni staggered and fell. The motion had beauty -- not the beauty of a warrior, but the beauty of geometry. Shortest distance, smallest motion, optimal timing. What twenty years had honed was not strength, but angle.

Thunder rang out. A roar crossed the courtyard. Maria's teppo spat fire. While the smoke was washed away by rain, a scream came from outside the temple gate. A ko-oni that had not yet entered the courtyard had fallen. Below the stone steps -- far from the courtyard. At a range no one's arrow and no one's gun could reach. Maria's eyes were already searching for the next target. Pouring powder into the empty barrel, dropping in a bullet, tamping it down with an iron rod -- her hands moved as fast and smooth as flowing water. Before reloading was finished, her eyes were already on the seams in the great oni's armor.

The fire inside the main hall flared. Enku's mantra deepened. The range of sacred fire expanded. Heat that began on the floor of the main hall spread into the courtyard. Smoke rose from gaps between the stones. When one ko-oni stepped into that smoke, its sole hissed as it burned. It screamed and lifted its foot. Ground of Holy Fire(聖火). Ground that burned yoma feet. A battlefield Enku had made. On this ground, yoma were worn down merely by standing. They lost strength merely by breathing. To humans it was only warm stone; to yoma it was like standing on coals.

The great oni roared and stepped into the courtyard. Perhaps it felt the heat of Holy Fire, because it drew back one foot, but it was not like the ko-oni. The great oni's flesh was thick. Even on Holy Fire that immediately burned ko-oni, the great oni endured. It was only worn down slowly; it did not stop. It raised the iron club and brought it down toward Masamune.

Masamune stepped aside. The iron club struck the stone floor. The floor cracked. Fragments flew. It was not a weight that could be blocked with a blade. Masamune kept the Katori stance and circled in. In the opening just after the iron club fell -- the instant the great oni's arm pointed downward, his sword drove into the side gap between armor plates. It was not deep. The armor was thick. But blood seeped out. The great oni turned its head. Eyes full of rage.

Thunder rang again. Maria's second shot. The bullet struck the great oni's shoulder armor. It did not pierce -- the great oni's armor was not like a ko-oni's. But the shock carried through. The great oni's form swayed one step. Masamune did not miss that moment of imbalance. He reversed his grip on the uchigatana and thrust upward from below. A gap in the armor -- the joint beneath the armpit. The point drove in. The great oni screamed. This was not a Katori technique. It was the uchigatana licensed technique in Masamune's hand -- Single Flash(一閃). A move available to anyone who had mastered the uchigatana, regardless of school.

The great oni swept the iron club sideways. Masamune stepped back. Wind brushed the space before the blade. Two ko-oni ran toward Masamune's back. Enku opened his eyes. The mantra rose by one syllable. The Holy Fire before the main hall flared like a flash. The ko-oni screamed and stopped. The heat underfoot had intensified for an instant. In that gap, Masamune turned and cut down one ko-oni. The other staggered, failed to withstand the heat of Holy Fire, and fled out of the courtyard.

Only the great oni remained. It was slowly being worn down on the Holy Fire, but it still stood. It gripped the iron club in both hands and glared at Masamune. Masamune lifted his sword back into the Katori stance. Rain ran along the blade. The stance of sen(先). The stance of one who moves first. The great oni took a step. The iron club rose.

At that instant, three things happened at once.

Masamune sprang forward. Katori's sen -- before the opponent could strike down, the sword arrived first. The point aimed at the great oni's neck. The great oni swung the iron club downward and twisted at the same time. The blade missed the neck and cut the shoulder. Deep. The great oni staggered.

Maria's third shot flew in. From far away -- from behind the stone lantern -- the bullet struck the great oni's chest. This time, it was an armor seam. A gap opened by Masamune's sword. The bullet drove in. Black blood spilled from the great oni's mouth.

Enku's mantra reached its peak. Holy Fire flared one last time. Fire surged up under the great oni's feet -- blue fire. Fire condensed from the mountain's spiritual force. The great oni's black armor heated and cracked. The great oni roared, but there was no strength in the roar. Its knees buckled. The iron club fell to the floor. Rain washed over the club. The great oni fell. Holy Fire wrapped around the yoma and slowly burned it.

The rain began to stop. Light came down through the clouds.

Masamune was cleaning his sword. He slowly wiped the rain-wet blade with a cloth. He wiped away the great oni's blood and the rainwater together. He sheathed the sword. One deep breath. He released the stance. When the tension finally left his shoulders, it became clear just how long he had been carrying it.

Maria began to disassemble the teppo. She had fired three shots in the rain. The powder might have taken on moisture. She wiped each component, checked it, and assembled it again. Masamune came closer.

"You shot from far away."

"Ah, yes." Maria answered while looking into the muzzle. "My gun reaches far. Farther than this country's guns."

"A distance Katori does not teach," Masamune said. It was not praise, but a statement of fact. "Your gun reached where my sword could not. Because the school is different."

Maria stopped her hands for a moment. Her expression asked whether the word school fit her at all. A skill that belonged only to her, with no fellow disciples, no dojo, no master. Could that be called a school?

"I learned alone," Maria said.

"That is why no one knows your gun," Masamune answered. "An enemy seeing it for the first time does not know your range. That is your strength."

Enku came out of the main hall. The goma fire had already gone out. With the Holy Fire gone, the courtyard was only wet stone again. Enku's face showed fatigue.

"Maintaining Holy Fire is not easy," Enku said. "It borrows the mountain's force. It was possible because this mountain is still alive."

"If the mountain had been dead?" Masamune asked.

"It would not have kindled. Shugendo can be used only while the mountain lives. It is not learned in a dojo -- it is learned in the mountain. So for our school, the dojo is the mountain."

The three sat in the courtyard. Light fell from the sky after rain. Masamune's sword, Maria's gun, Enku's fire. Three different paths met in one place and formed one battle. They were not the same technique. They had not been learned under the same master. They were not even people of the same country. Yet the fight was one. Masamune's sword seized sen(先), Maria's gun reached where others could not, and Enku's fire burned the ground beneath the yoma. The weight of three paths came together and felled the great oni.

Masamune looked up at the sky. "Honestly, a sword alone wasn't enough."

"Nor a gun alone," Maria answered.

"Nor a fire alone," Enku said, closing his eyes.

The three said no more. The weight of schools was proven not in words, but on the battlefield. The sunset sank beyond the collapsed roof.

#Law -- Session Actual Play

Kuro(GM) / Hana(Masamune) / Mei(Enku)

Kuro: Episode 10. School demonstration. Demonstrating Licensed maneuvers from three schools. Scent/Law fully separated. Maria is an NPC. Start with school rules.

[Core School Rules — Summary]
School = replaces that skill's Licensed maneuver and secret art(Master-stage maneuver).
Weapon licensed techniques(uchigatana Single Flash, etc.) are usable regardless of school.
3 school types:
 Famous School: fellow-disciple negotiation+2. Expulsion risk.
 Secret Transmission: master NPC connection. Secret missions.
 Self-Taught Style: unreadable in first duel(-2). Disappears afterward.

Kuro: Sheet check.

[PC]
Masamune (samurai 5th dan): Courage+3, Finesse+1, Physique+2. Energy 11, Wounds 6(3+Physique 2+Tough), Defense 14(heavy armor).
 Swordsmanship(4/Master): +3. School: Katori Shinto-ryu(Famous School).
 [Licensed Replacement] Attitude of Sen(stance): maintain for 2 Energy. First attack+3. On release, Defense-2(1 breath).
 [Secret Art Replacement] Heaven-Earth-Man(Kata): 4 Energy, 1/round. 3-strike chain. If all 3 strikes hit, +2 Wounds.
 Added: fellow-disciple negotiation+2. Uchigatana basic attack 1 Wound(critical 2). Uchigatana Licensed "Single Flash"(school-independent, 3 Energy. After attacking, next time hit, automatic counterattack opportunity, including if defense or evasion negates the damage).

Enku (esoteric monk 4th dan): Courage+1, Wisdom+2, Physique+2. Energy 10, Wounds 6(3+Physique 2+Tough), Defense 10(unarmored).
 Exorcism(3/Licensed): +2. School: Shugendo-ryu(Famous School).
 [Licensed Replacement] Goma Formation(stance): maintain for 2 Energy. Own zone becomes "Holy Fire" — yoma take 1 Wound each lull.
 Added: mountain fellow-disciple negotiation+2. vajra: staff type standard(Core Zone ±0), Exorcism skill +1 Wound(against yoma).

[NPC]
Maria (gaijin 3rd dan): Courage+2, Finesse+2, Physique+1. Energy 12, Wounds 4(3+Physique 1), Defense 11(Nanban bulletproofing).
 Archery(3/Licensed): +2 (covers bows and teppo). School: Nanban-ryu(Self-Taught Style).
 [Licensed Replacement] Foreign Design(aptitude): teppo range 3 zones. Reload remains 2 Energy.
 Added: unreadable in first duel(-2). Tanegashima direct shot 2 Energy, base 1 Wound(critical 2+Pierce), range 3 zones.

Mei: What does a school replace?

Kuro: The skill's Licensed maneuver and secret art. Weapon licensed techniques are separate.

[School Replacement — Examples in This Episode]
Swordsmanship Licensed: "Swordsmanship weapon defense technique reservation cost -1" → Katori "Attitude of Sen(stance, first attack+3)"
Archery Licensed: "reload 1 Energy" → Nanban-ryu "Foreign Design(aptitude, range 3 zones)"
Exorcism Licensed: "yoma+2" → Shugendo-ryu "Goma Formation(stance, Holy Fire zone)"
Uchigatana Licensed "Single Flash" → school-independent. Usable when wielding an uchigatana.

Hana: Masamune can use both Katori's "Attitude of Sen" and uchigatana "Single Flash"?

Kuro: Correct. School(skill axis) and weapon(weapon axis) are separate. They are compatible.

Kuro: Battlefield.

[Zones]
Rear Zone: mountain path(Maria deployed).
Front Zone: temple courtyard(Masamune deployed).
Front Zone/barrier: main hall(Enku deployed, Goma Formation zone).
Flank Zone: beyond the temple gate, stone steps.

Maria range: Nanban-ryu Foreign Design → 3 zones. Can shoot from Rear Zone→Flank Zone.
Normal teppo: 2 zones(Rear Zone→Front Zone only).

[Enemies]
Great Oni (Elite, upper): Physique+3, Courage+3. Energy 11, Wounds 5(upper Elite), Defense 15. Iron-Club Smash(Attack A, 3 Energy, 1 Wound+Domination-1). On Critical Hit, 3 Wounds.
Ko-oni Squad (6 Minions): Physique+0, Courage+0. Club, Wounds 1, Defense 11. Uncommanded, frenzied. Energy 10 base.
 4 units enter Front Zone + 2 units wait in Flank Zone.

Hana: If Maria has 3-zone shooting, she can hit the ko-oni in the Flank Zone too.

Kuro: That's the core of Nanban-ryu. Basic teppo has 2 zones, but Foreign Design gives 3 zones. Reload remains 2 Energy, so the range is strong but sustained fire is slow. The exact opposite of Inatomi-ryu(rapid fire 1 Energy).

Kuro: Round starts. Count 16.

Kuro: Apply Self-Taught Style effect. Maria's first duel — both Great Oni and ko-oni are meeting Maria for the first time. Defense technique choice -2.

[Self-Taught Style — Unreadable]
Maria(Nanban-ryu/Self-Taught Style): first-duel opponents take -2 to defense technique choice.
→ Great Oni takes -2 penalty when dodging/defending against Maria's shooting.
→ Applies only in the first round. Disappears afterward(studied).

Hana: Masamune. Energy 11(recalculated after allocation method). Activate Attitude of Sen! 2 Energy(11→9). Maintain stance. Attack ko-oni A. 2 Energy(9→7). First attack+3. 2d10 + Courage(3)+Swordsmanship(3)+sen(3) = +9. 2d10 = 8, 5 → 13 +9 = 22 >= Defense 11. Hit! Minion dead instantly(Wounds 1→0, 6→5).

Kuro: Ko-oni B and C charge. Masamune has spent only 4 Energy so far. He could reserve parry with the remaining 1 Energy, but he is choosing to save it and see the next breath. Attitude of Sen applies Defense -2 on release.

Hana: I'll maintain the stance and wait for the next breath. No maintenance cost, so the stance stays.

Kuro: Ko-oni B attacks, 2d10+0 = 9 vs Defense 14, miss. Ko-oni C also 7. Miss. Attitude of Sen gives no Defense buff, but Masamune's Defense 14 is solid.

Hana: Next breath. Uchigatana Single Flash! Single Flash is a school-independent weapon technique.

[Single Flash (uchigatana weapon Licensed)]
School-independent. Usable with Swordsmanship Licensed(3 points) or higher while wielding an uchigatana.
Energy 3, attack. On hit, 1 Wound. Can be reserved(next time hit, automatic counterattack 1 Wound, including if the damage is negated).

Hana: Single Flash! 3 Energy(7→4). Against ko-oni B. Total 19 hit. 1 Wound, ko-oni B defeated(5→4). Additional breath would exceed the limit.

Kuro: NPC Maria. At count 12, she shoots ko-oni E in the Flank Zone. Range 3 zones(Rear Zone→Flank Zone). Teppo fixed target 11. Direct shot 2 Energy(12→10). Total 20 >= 11. Hit! 1 Wound, Minion dead instantly(4→3). On the next breath, reload(2) then shoot ko-oni F again(2). 10→6. Total 17 >= 11. Hit, Minion dead instantly(3→2). Flank Zone remaining 0.

Mei: She cleared all the way out to the Flank Zone at 3 zones.

Kuro: With basic teppo 2 zones, she could not reach the Flank Zone. Without Foreign Design, 2 ko-oni would have entered as reinforcements.

Kuro: Count 10. Great Oni enters the courtyard. Front Zone.

Mei: Enku deploys Goma Formation! Declare stance, 2 Energy(10→8). Maintain stance.

[Goma Formation — Shugendo-ryu Licensed Replacement]
Type: stance (maintain).
Effect: own zone becomes a "Holy Fire" environment. Yoma take 1 Wound each lull. Humans unharmed.
Enku is standing in the Front Zone(courtyard), so the zone currently covered by Holy Fire is also the Front Zone.

Kuro: Great Oni enters Holy Fire. Apply 1 Wound reduction each lull.

Hana: Masamune, 1 ko-oni(C) remaining. Handle it on the next breath. Horizontal slash, 2 Energy(4→2). Total 17 >= 11. 1 Wound, ko-oni C defeated(4→3). No ko-oni remain in the Front Zone. Maria has finished the 2 ko-oni in the Flank Zone.

Kuro: Count 8. Great Oni vs Masamune. Iron-Club Smash, 3 Energy. Total 19 >= Masamune Defense 14. Hit! 1 Wound. Masamune Wounds 6→5.

Hana: Counterattack! I should have reserved parry, but I didn't. Improvised dodge 2 Energy(2→0)? Ah, after Single Flash+horizontal slash I only have Energy 2 left, and parry needs an existing reservation. I just take it.

Kuro: Right. Breath management matters.

Kuro: NPC Maria. Shoots the Great Oni. Self-Taught Style unreadable still applies(first round). Defense 15-2=13. First reload 2 Energy, then direct shot 2 Energy. 6→2. Total 22. Teppo has fixed 11, so it simply hits, 1 Wound. Great Oni 5→4.

Hana: Unreadable -2 is big. Defense 15 becomes 13... Though teppo uses a fixed target anyway, so the difference is not huge.

Kuro: The value of Self-Taught Style appears more with defense techniques(parry, etc.). If the Great Oni tried an improvised parry against Maria's shot, it would take -2. This time it didn't defend, so it didn't matter.

Kuro: Count 6. Lull processing.

[Lull]
Holy Fire(Goma Formation) effect: Great Oni -1 Wound. 4→3.
Energy reset. Enku's Goma Formation stance remains maintained(not reset at lull).

Mei: Holy Fire is good. 1 Wound each lull gives an advantage in a long fight.

Kuro: That's Shugendo-ryu's design. Instead of the basic Licensed "yoma+2," it converts into sustained damage. Lower offense, but battlefield control.

Kuro: Round 2 starts. Everyone's Energy resets. Highest Energy is Maria 12. Masamune 11. Great Oni 11.

Mei: Maria fires first to keep the Great Oni in check. Self-Taught Style unreadable ended in the first round, so this is pure firepower. Direct shot 2 Energy(12→10). Total 18. Fixed 11 hits, 1 Wound. Great Oni 3→2.

Hana: Then Masamune. Reserve parry! 1 Energy(11→10). Reactivate Attitude of Sen, 2 Energy(10→8). All ko-oni are cleared, so Great Oni 1:1.

Kuro: Great Oni Smash, 3 Energy. Total 19 >= 14. Hit! Masamune's parry triggers. 2d10 + Finesse(1)+Swordsmanship(3) = +4. Total 18. Short by 1 against 19, failure.

Hana: Barely short. I take it. 1 Wound. Masamune 5→4.

Kuro: Count 8. Masamune uchigatana Single Flash! 3 Energy(8→5). Total 19 >= 15. Hit, 1 Wound. Great Oni 2→1.

[Self-Taught Style Disappears] Maria's unreadable(-2) applies only in the first round.
That first shot in round 2 landed as a pure hit without that modifier.

Kuro: Lull just before round 3. Holy Fire adds 1 Wound. Great Oni 1→0. Defeated!

[Combat End]
Great Oni: Wounds 0. Defeated. Ko-oni 6 units annihilated(Masamune 4, Maria 2).
Masamune: Wounds 4/6.
Enku: Wounds 6/6 (only maintained Goma Formation).
Maria(NPC): Wounds 4/4. Cleared the Flank Zone thanks to Foreign Design 3-zone shooting.

Hana: What about Katori fellow-disciple effects? If there is a dojo nearby?

Kuro: Added benefit of Famous Schools. Both Masamune(Katori) and Enku(Shugendo-ryu) have fellow-disciple negotiation+2. Lodging/information/repair. Maria is Self-Taught Style, so no fellow disciples. The weight of schools is not only combat. It works outside combat too.

Kuro: Three Ways and Six Hearts.

[Three Ways and Six Hearts — Episode 10]
Masamune: Loyalty (忠)(holds the line while preserving the school's teaching) / Hegemony (覇) temptation("Is seizing sen justice?") → maintains Loyalty (忠).
Enku: Truth (真)(borrows mountain spiritual force to purify the battlefield) / Compassion (慈) temptation("Is this fire protection, or domination?") → maintains Truth (真).
Maria(NPC): No Heart (無心)(skill learned alone, a gun no one understands) / Hegemony (覇) temptation("Where does power come from?") → maintains No Heart (無心).

Hana: Masamune is Loyalty (忠)?

Kuro: Faithful to Katori's orthodox sword method. The Hegemony (覇) temptation is "Is it right to strike first?" Enku's Truth (真) is the pursuit of the mountain's truth. It contrasts with Genkai(覇) from Episode 8.

Kuro: Rule summary.

[Episode 10 Confirmed Rules]
1. School Licensed/secret art replacement: replace a skill's Licensed maneuver and secret art with school-specific maneuvers.
2. Weapon Licensed separate: lower weapon-specific Licensed techniques such as uchigatana Single Flash are usable regardless of school.
3. Katori Licensed "Attitude of Sen"(stance): maintain for 2 Energy. First attack+3. On release, Defense-2(1 breath).
4. Nanban-ryu Licensed "Foreign Design"(aptitude): teppo range 3 zones. Reload remains 2 Energy.
5. Shugendo-ryu Licensed "Goma Formation"(stance): maintain for 2 Energy. Holy Fire zone → yoma take 1 Wound each lull.
6. Self-Taught Style(Nito-ryu, etc.): unreadable in first duel(-2). Disappears after first round.
7. Famous School: fellow-disciple negotiation+2. Lodging/information/repair support.
8. Secret Transmission: master NPC connection. Advice in crisis.
9. School+weapon dual use: school(skill axis) and weapon(weapon axis) are separate. Compatible.
10. Holy Fire zone: affects only yoma. Humans unharmed. Sustained damage.
11. Single Flash(uchigatana weapon Licensed): 3 Energy. After attacking, next time hit, automatic counterattack opportunity, including if defense or evasion negates the damage. School-independent.

Mei: Secret Transmission schools didn't appear.

Kuro: Seika's Abe-ryu(Secret Transmission) appears in Episode 13. Maria's secret art "Cannon" appears in the Episode 15 sea battle. Masamune is Episode 11, Enku is Episode 12. That's all for today.

"A sword alone was not enough. Nor a gun alone. Nor a fire alone. Only when the weight of three different paths came together did it become one battle."