Having finished the second day of the competition the competitors and various VIPs were invited to a feast at the estate of Kakita Toshimoko, head sensei of the Kakita Dueling Academy. While there the PCs overheard part of a tense conversation between their host and his brother-in-law, the Emerald Champion Doji Satsume. Toshimoko criticized Satsume's parenting while Satsume responded with the wish that Toshimoko might have to deal with children of his own.
This was soon interrupted by the appearance of Usagi Kamahime, still searching for her rival by stalking various competitors until she could get a good look at them.
Shortly after the assembled guests presented their gifts to the host. Particularly notable were the Dragon's gift of a fine set of sake cups, the Crane gift of (I didn't write this down and can't quite recall it now, but it was a great gift. Let me know and I'll update it), and the Lion's gift of an elaborately decorated tessen. Unfortunately following the traditional ordering of the clans left no room for the Minor Clans, something that Hitoshi, already drinking a bit too much, took offense at, leading to an outburst in which he challenged Toshimoko to a duel. Thankfully Mirumoto Tetsuzae came to his aid and, with the wisdom of the Dragon, was able to talk him down before things escalated any further. Ashamed, he humbly offered his own gift of a Mantis-made boat while Osamu helped smooth things over further with the additional presentation of exotic spices unknown in Rokugan.
Returning back to the inn the party discovered Agasha Hanori passed out drunk in front of his room. Not only that, but with a letter indicating that his fiancée's father, the powerful and influential Otomo Saneda, would be arriving in the morning. A man who was already quite disapproving of his future son-in-law. Due to the actions of Kasuga Osamu in particular, they were able to help sober him up enough that he should be able to avoid completely embarrassing himself.
The iajutsu tournament on the third day saw a number of notable wins and upsets. Mirumoto Tetsuzae and Akodo Tadashi advancing to the semi-final round at which point they struck one another simultaneously. An event that saw Akodo honorably granting the match to his opponent.
Notably Hitoshi also managed to make it to the semi-finals after a quarter-final match where Bayushi Sakue seemingly paused slightly before drawing her sword, giving the Mantis the time needed to strike first. That wouldn't be the last strange event surrounding the Mantis as in the subsequent round, while dueling the expected favorite Kakita Riku, he was struck with what turned out to be a live blade, being seriously injured as a result.
Mirumoto Tetsuzae, Akodo Tadashi, and Kasuga Osamu noticed a suspicious figure leaving the dueling grounds with what appeared to be a sword identical to Kakita's and took off after them. A member of the Badger Clan, currently a guest of the Unicorn, saw the commotion and boldly sprang into action as well. Chasing this figure down they managed to corner Bayushi Sakue on the docks where, having met up with two thugs that Osamu had previously encountered, she was attempting to dispose of the sword in the river. Quickly drawing her own sword in response, a fight broke out. One that saw her disarmed and captured along with one of the thugs.
Returning to the academy grounds they were able to interrupt Riku's impending seppuku. A hearing was hastily convened where the party was able to give their testimony to the Emerald Champion. In the course of which Tetsuzae gave credit for the disarming blow to Akodo while Osamu reported on what he suspects was evidence of smuggling and a subsequent attempt to intimidate him into silence. When Sakue was called in to give her testimony of the matter, she instead simply asked her daimyo and uncle Bayushi Shoju for permission to perform seppuku without saying anything further. An action he may have anticipated given the speed with which he assented. After some short preparation, the dishonored woman showed tremendous resolve as she ended her own life in the courtyard, the very scene of her crime.
In light of the incident, Kakita Riku withdrew from the tournament and forfeited her points. Given the honor showed by both Mirumoto and Akodo and how their duel would have decided who led the scoring by a single point, the judges decided to grant something never before seen and award both of them the position of Topaz Champion for the following year. The matter of how to divide the ceremonial Topaz Armor, being left to them to decide.
It appears that many new bonds have been formed over the course of these three days with numerous important persons taking note of the party's actions, whether that will turn out to be for good or ill still remains to be seen.