Bayushi Yojiro

Bayushi Yojiro known as the "Honest Scorpion" or junshin by fellow Scorpions, lived a difficult life. Yojiro was at heart an honorable man, who followed bushido as best he could all his life. This frequently came into direct conflict with his life and duty as a Scorpion. Generally untrusted due to being a Scorpion by the empire, and scorned by his clan for being too honest, Yojiro eventually found his way to a position as a magistrate, a job which suited him well.

Youth
Unfortunately for Yojiro, he was a Scorpion with a Lion's heart. When he was young he read books that talked about honor and duty,and when his father took them away from him, he arranged for the books to be sent to him by the Lions and Cranes he met in Court. His closest friend, Matsu Agetoki assisted Yojiro in his search for bushido. The young Yojiro's favourite story was the tale of Shosuro. He wept when he read the words describing her sacrifice and her loyalty, not only to the Scorpion but to the whole the Empire. His father, Bayushi Noburu, made him enter in the Bayushi Courtier school and train him as an advisor to the Scorpion Champion as a favor for saving the Champion's life.

Yojiro found he had a natural talent for understanding what the other courtiers were doing, but did not have the drive to duplicate it. He was a quick student of political games and could easily construct scenarios to trap the unwary, but could not bring himself to deceive someone who placed their trust in him. He was more than willing to trick those who were in danger to the clan, but he could not learn to hate his enemy. Bayushi Kyoto, the head of the school, knew that something had to be done to make Yojiro desire to use the techniques he mastered. For this, he set a plan and called his finest student, Shosuro Tage, to carry out the plan. She informed Yojiro of a Crane samurai who had been visiting a Scorpion geisha house. Afraid that the Scorpion would use his nights of indulgence as a political lever, the Crane killed everyone in the geisha house, burned the building to the ground and went back to his homeland without a sign of regret. She ordered Yojiro to destroy the man's honor and kill his family in avenge for the innocent Scorpion lives.

Yojiro was incensed. Such a man deserved every horrible thing he could do to him. Using the skills he learned at the courtier school, he began spinning a web of intrigue which would culminate in the death of the Crane's family, apparently at the bushi's own hands. Such an event would surely destroy the man's life, his honor, his history and his future. On the eve of the event, Tage stopped Yojiro as he was about to issue the final order. She told him that the Crane was innocent of everything that she and Kyoto had said. She told him the geisha house had been burned down by Scorpion agents and the geisha inside have been killed in order to test Yojiro's loyalty. Yojiro was to continue with his plan against the Crane. Tage said that if he could have done it out of hate, he could do it out of loyalty. If he was doing it because he hated him, he did it because he wanted it done. If he was doing it out of loyalty, he was doing it because his lords wanted it done. She also asked Yojiro whom did he serve: the Scorpion or his own selfish sense of honor. At this moment, Yojiro realized he had no choice, but to destroy the man. He knew that if he refused, his kinsmen would kill him. He hesitated for only a moment, then issued the order.

After this "initiation", the Scorpion began to call him "the honest Scorpion" behind his back, and Yojiro was considered a junshin, which is not well-considered in the Scorpion Clan. Courtiers from other clans learned the nickname and, ironically, used it as a compliment.

Bayushi Yojiro did not wear a mask, using only a high-necked collar to conceal his lower face as a nod to clan tradition. Being conscious that he couldn't bring himself to arbitrarily hurt innocents because his conscience and sense of honor, he became a magistrate, and soon he was considered a honest and trusting person in Empire, becoming one of the Emerald Champion's most loyal magistrates. He was still serving the clan, but other Scorpion samurai thought he could hardly progress further in the Clan of the Secrets. However, Yojiro's keen mind and unswerving loyalty did not go unnoticed by Scorpion Clan Champion Bayushi Shoju.

His devotion and loyalty to the clan, however, is unquestioned. Bayushi Shoju's first orders to Yojiro were to keep a subtle watch on his wife Bayushi Kachiko to make certain "her indiscretions do not endanger the clan". Yojiro followed his daimyo's orders to the letter, staying close to the Lady Scorpion as often as he could. And while he was not immune to her allure, his loyalty proved to be a suitable shield to her more dangerous charms. Such virtue was found frustrating by Kachiko on more then one occasion.

Clan Coup and Exile
Shortly before the Scorpion Clan Coup, Bayushi Shoju came to Yojiro with Itsuwari, the Scorpion Ancestral Sword. Shoju told Yojiro that he was to distance himself from his clan, and to protect the sword and watch over Kachiko and Dairu if the Coup failed. At Shoju's command, he made the Empire think he had abandoned his clan during the coup, so when Shoju's coup failed, Yojiro's reputation as the honest Scorpion left his position as a magistrate untouched, and when the clan was dissolved he remained in service. However, spent the next several years in dishonor for his "betrayal". But Yojiro was following his clan and his new champion, Bayushi Kachiko.

While the Scorpion where exiled in the Burning Sands, Yojiro remained in Rokugan on Kachiko's orders. He made a point of leading the Imperial Legionnaires in their scouring of Scorpion lands. He would subtly ensure that the Legion was going in the wrong direction whenever he could, ensuring as many of his fellow Scorpion could escape notice. He was considered a traitor by many of his brethren who did not know the true purpose of his station.

Master of the Secrets


In 1132, near the end of the War Against The Shadow, the current champion Bayushi Kachiko made a move that shocked many samurai of their clan, naming Yojiro her heir as Scorpion Champion. Shortly thereafter, she disappeared. During the Battle of Oblivion's Gate, he adopted a new trademark, wearing a massive armor and for first time using a fearsome mask, which would remain his identification mark while he was the Master of Secrets. At that time, Yojiro had little battlefield experience, and he wished only not to die in the battle, which would leave the Scorpion leaderless. During the Great Clans' race toward Volturnum, he proved his mettle, leading the Scorpion armies to victory against a force of ogres four times as large as his own. Afterward, it seemed none would question Yojiro's right to rule his clan again.

The War of Spirits
Yojiro would lead the Scorpion in the War of Spirits and eventually would use his clans reputation as betrayers to lure the armies of Hantei XVI into Beiden Pass where they would be destroyed.

Bayushi Baku
At the end of the War, Yojiro sought out Bayushi Baku at Traitor's Grove. Crane Clan Champion Doji Kurohito had bargained for those spirits who remained loyal to Toturi during the war. A ritual had been devised that severed a spirit's connection to the Spirit Realms, rendering them mortal once more. Yojiro wished to offer Baku this option, in recognition of his service during the war, but he was unable to find Baku.

The Shadowed Tower
In 1159, when the threat of the Shadowed Tower was finally revealed to him, Yojiro discovered at its heart was his close friend and ally Shosuro Furuyari. Yojiro's attempts to deal with the Tower failed as Furuyari could easily guess what his next move would be. To do something Furuyari would never suspect, Yojiro passed on leadership to Bayushi Sunetra. This was only known to Yojiro, Sunetra, Shosuro Yudoka and Yogo Koji. Koji's magic disguised Sunetra as Yojiro, which allowed Yojiro to act freely against the Tower. Progress was made almost immediately. Furuyari was uncovered to be none other than Bayushi Atsuki, and after a year of fighting the Tower the organization was destroyed in 1160 and Atsuki was forced to flee.

Retirement
Following the destruction of the Shadowed Tower, Yojiro retired in earnest to tend a small shrine dedicated to Tengen, the Fortune of Writing. It was here that he, six months prior to the Rain of Blood, was assassinated by Shosuro Aroru. In actuality the death was feigned to allow Yojiro, in the guise of Masatoyo, to aid Shosuro Yudoka and Aroru to root out any remaining Shadowed Tower cells. When attempting to destroy such a cell in Beiden they discovered that it was in fact a cult of Bloodspeakers serving the recently returned Iuchiban. They destroyed the cult, but were caught in the Rain of Blood moments later. Yojiro helped Aroru overcome the rain.

Death
Yojiro visited Winter Court in Kyuden Otomo during the 1168-1169 winter under the guise of Bayushi Moyotoshi. He was murdered in his sleep by a Moto who was avenging the death of his cousin Moto Ogedei, a murder most likely committed by someone else using the Moyotoshi name. It is highly likely no-one but Scorpion Clan Champion Bayushi Paneki himself were aware that Moyotoshi was in fact Yojiro.