Ikuko

Daidoji Ikuko was a bushi of the Crane Clan who was outcast when she failed in watch duty, becoming the Ronin Ikuko.

Ronin
Ikuko fell asleep in one of her first assignments, when escorting a Crane caravan to Crab lands, causing the death an injury of her comrades during a bandit attack. She was dishonored and denied to commit seppuku. She was thrown out of the clan until she could once again prove her worth. Ikuko began to wonder the Empire searching for an opportunity to redeem herself.

Pirates
In 1123 she moved to the Islands of Spice and Silk to investigate about the pirates who harassed the Shipping Lanes between the Crane and Mantis. During her time there three men knocked Ikuko down and stolen her wakizashi. The next day Ikuko began to follow a group of Emerald Magistrates in charge to discover the pirates, expecting she could aid them and gaining a chance they owed her a favor. When the magistrates asked Ikuko why she was following them, the ronin saw her wakizashi, which caused some rift with the Mantis escort, An'naigako. Eventually she was allowed to explain the blade's disappearance, showing a golden cloth Ikuko had tore from the sash of one of them, which was recognized as Lion fabric.

Chukandomo
The group managed to trap the three wave men that gave evidence against the Crane Clan, who confessed they were pirates. A Lion samurai, Matsu Shindoku, had arranged the pirate activity in the Crane-Mantis route with their captain, Anjin, two years ago. They also told their activities had been stopped two months ago and that a ghost ship had begun attacking all ships in the passage. They confirmed the pirates owned Chukandomo, stole from a Mantis ship when it was being delivered to Doji Hoturi, the Doji Daimyo, by the Mantis Clan Champion Yoritomo. Ikuko saw the blade's recovery as her opportunity to restore her honor.