As a child, she was more than a bully. Untouchable, because of her father's rank, and by her own gender not often suspected, and it was because of this that Mai Kaitchu found herself, once her father had fallen from favor, so outspoken against anyone she might consider a bully...and why she found her way to Ainu.
When we knew her, our Sister Mai, not yet initiated, was dedicated to the defense of the people, of all the people, from anyone who might do them undo harm, and that led her to us, between the Emporer and Kusari, between Kusari and Bretonia, between the Hogosha and the merchants. She wanted nothing more than to stand between those with power, and those without, and we suspect it was because of her time as she with power.
Beyond believing herself a defender, Mai was a performer. Whether in bouts on the practice floor, or duels in the sky, in the halls with a flower in her hands, or alone on the coms, what she did, she did for an audience, for the joy and education of whomever was watching. She'd catch their eyes, our eyes, and you could see the glitter, there, and she'd draw out your smile...whether she was dancing on the floor...or even pulling apart a fighter, but then only with a mournful glance. She knew they were dying, and didn't believe they deserved it.
In that manner, she'd beg pilots to pull off, respectful even of the lives she'd set herself to end. Mai never wanted to hurt anyone. Mai could never bring herself to believe the worst of people, and that led her to the end. She found herself trusting, and let down her guard.
If there's anything Mai would have wanted us to learn from her life, it is that everyone is worth a chance, and everyound is worth respect, and we're better off if we're, even if it kills us, simply to respect our opponents. Does the Emporer realize that Mai is a person? Can we please recognize that Kogen himself, is a person, a son, a husband?
I sit with the Moutian,
Until only the mountian remains.