Funitsu
The Scorpions
The Scorpion clan is a loose confederation of noble and less than noble families with the same goal as everyone else in Japanese society (after you put aside all that silly bushido garbage they tell the samurai): to gain power. Scorpion power exerts itself in two ways. The more public form is the Grand Domain (Duchy) of Sasori, of which all other Scorpions are in fief. Sasori operates in conventional ways. It regulates trade, fights its neighbors for territory, and determines whether or not to support the latest emperor. For several generations now, Sasori has been held by the Bayushi family, known for their school of samurai. This particular Sasori is a rather imposing daimyo of some twenty years now. She is Bayushi Zanako, Grand Daimyo of Sasori.
Now it's true that when people think of Scorpions, feudal government is not on the top of the list. The most insignificant domain within Sasori takes only a couple city blocks of ___, and is called Shosuro, the safest and most crime-free district of any large city in Japan. In this district is a academy of the same name, created for the betterment of widows and orphans. It supplies such unfortunates with community and employment. Any mention of a connection between Shosuro and the Japanese mafia is purely coincidental.
Now in theory, Shosuro is a noble Scorpion house. And it really is when one confines the term to the Board of Trustees of the academy, but there are also several thousand full members living throughout Japan. And there are considerably more associate members when one considers the Merchant Associations and Better Business Bureaus that are organized by Shosuro. In some cities, nearly every working person is Shosuro, or will be soon if they have an ounce of self-preservation. Thus, the house of Shosuro is sort of a headless monster feeding off crime, merely craving the means of increasing its own wealth.
Somewhere in between the Grand Daimyo of Sasori and Shosuro Academy is the Scorpion Clan. It is rumored that a council exists to govern the clan, but is unclear whether this body is interested in anything more than the transactions of the Shosuro business. There are also two well known schools of Shugenja within the clan. One is more closely affiliated with Sasori and is called Yogo, emphasizing protective spells. The other one, biased toward stealth and deception, is called Soshi. Each school was originally a family operation, but Soshi especially will take an occasional promising candidate from Shosuro. Still, nearly all graduates of Soshi are noble.
Funitsu
At the head of the Soshi family is Lord Soshi, named Kaigomoto. He had three children: Kaigen, Funitsu, and Tsutsako. Strangely enough, each child was born to a different wife, who died in childbirth. Kaigomoto did remarry a fourth time, but (luckily?) she never had a child and lives to this day. Her name is Karasuko. She is noble Shosuro, possesses rather odd magical powers, and is uncharacteristically uppity to her lord, but she has always been good to her step-children. Kaigen, the elder boy, is destined to be the next Lord Soshi. He was trained as a shugenja, but his own preference was for a more martial training, learning the way of the samurai from the Bayushi. Tsutsako was beginning her own training as a shugenja, but disappeared only a couple years ago, after Funitsu left for the capital. Funitsu and she were very close, and she was the family favorite, but her disappearance remains an absolute mystery.
Not destined to rule over the estates of Soshi, Funitsu was at least marked from the beginning as a prodigal shugenja. Soon after graduating a full Soshi, Zanako surprisingly chose him over the best Yogo candidate to be Envoy of Sasori to the Imperial court. She gave him the following directive, "You represent the Scorpion clan, the Duchy of Sasori, and the House of Soshi. And you know that the interests of the three will rarely coincide. Betray Sasori, and you will be dismissed. Betray Soshi, and you will be disowned. Betray the clan, and you will be dismembered. Fare you well, little shugenja."
Maybe it was not all that bad. At court, Funitsu found Emperor Nobunga to be very inconsistent if not incompetent. He was in fact a living terror to the local municipal Shosuro with his frequent binges of morality laws and town curfews. It was not a very hard decision to steer Clan Scorpion behind an ambitious daimyo named Akechi. Several distracting town revolts followed by a relatively bloodless coup resulted in the capture of Emperor Nobunga by Akechi's forces. It was turning out rather well. Scorpion had its stability, Sasori had a grateful ally, and Funitsu had a wise and reasonable emperor to handle. It looked like the next twenty years would be a breeze...
Glossary
Terms from D&D Oriental Adventures
Bayushi, a family/school of samurai
Yogo, a family/school of shugenja
Soshi, a family/school of shugenja
Shosuro, a family/school of rogues, a district/barony within a major
city, and a general term (used almost interchangeably with Clan
Scorpion) for a network of rogue and ninja guilds.
Other terms
Sasori is the largest domain within the clan and the title of the
highest noble. It is Japanese for scorpion.
People
Zanako = Duchess of Sasori
Kaigomoto = Funitsu's father. Still living.
Karasuko = Funitsu's step-mother. Karasu is Japanese for raven.
Kaigen = Funitsu's older half-brother.
Tsutsako = Funtisu's younger half-sister. Missing.