"Ah, I'm forgetting myself," Ayame realized with a gasp, then sent Quinlan a devastating little glare over her shoulder, as if it was his fault she forgot the procedure.
"First..." she opened the sacred duel with a bow to her opponent, and the brat vanished into it.
It was the single most serious gesture Quinlan had ever received from her.
She bowed low and complete, naked in the brazier light, honoring him the way the rite demanded an opponent be honored. Then she straightened, turned to the open hall around them, and bowed again, to the ancestors whose floor they stood on.
"Fujimori Ayame petitions her ancestors to witness." Parade-even, every syllable in dress uniform. "A sacred duel, under terms sworn almost a year ago. The loser submits to the winner. The verdict of this floor is truth."
She settled into her stance, and the ceremony burned off her like morning mist.
