I need a little help with my L5R character

Hello everyone. In this 4th edition L5R campaign my Crane just died. My GM says I can make a Imperial character now. I decided he will be a Seppun Guardsmen (Bushi). I picked out his Disadvantages (Idealistic, True Love, Lost Love, Bitter Betrothal, Dark Secrete [He has a lover other than his wife and he hates his wife and want to marry his lover in secret.])

Now I need to pick out some advantages, buy and upgrade skills, and improve attributes. Maybe even get a Kata or something cool like that.

Do you guys have any suggestions?

Thanks for your help in advanced.

First, I would definately invest in Kata. Which ones depend on your Rings, of course, but I have a personal preference for Water and Void if you can afford them as a beginner.

After that, you may want to look at anything that gives you an Advantage in combat. Figure out his style of fighting and define that (duelist, mass combat, defending others, etc.). Also, as a member of an Imperial Clan, foster those connections and resources! Lording over a village can be nice, as it gives you a "secret hide-out!"

Note: Seppun Guardsman starts +1 Agi, +1 Per.

This emphasizes Water and Fire rings- solid choices for a straight-up bushi, though I usually prefer to emphasize Air and Fire.

For Kata, Striking as Void is solid for a duelist, but it does the Seppun Guardsman no particular good outside of a duel- unlike the Kakita, he is not tooled for Center-to-Strike style combat. However, duelists are important for Yojimbo, so if this is a politics-heavy game, you should stand ready to defend your charge.

Striking as Water has much higher requirements- Str 4, Per 4. If you can afford that however, the greater mobility will always be useful.

Other than those, might I suggest the following-
Advantage- Wary. Good for bodyguards.

Jiujutsu skill- never be unprepared for combat. If you wish to further emphasize needing no weapons...

Advantage- Hands of Stone. Important for unarmed specialists.

Rings- Focus Fire and Water if you are a troubleshooting agent of the Seppun or member of the Emerald Legion, focus Air and Fire if you have been trained for social.

Skills- Investigate, Courtier, Etiquette- the holy trinity of skills that every samurai should have at least some of, unless you're a Hida. Vital in social scenarios, but Investigate is also used for ambushes. Sincerity is good too.

Iaijutsu up to 3 gets you free draw. This is good, even if you aren't a duelist, what with the whole always being prepared thing.

Kyujutsu is great if you are a traveller. Useful in mass combat, useful on the road. Also useful for hunting.

Hunting, if you plan on travelling a great deal.

Games: Letters can be surprisingly useful in social settings, and can be useful for detecting hidden messages in letters. Calligraphy does this as well, I think.

Re: Not liking your wife- that's not really much of a dark secret. Being Maho-tsukai, or a subversive agent of the Kolat, those are Dark Secrets. Being a Ninja is a dark secret. Not loving your wife is... kind of expected. That's just my opinion though, your GM may differ.

I think the Dark Secret isn't that he hates his wife, but is supposed to be that he's cheating on her. Still not a very 'Dark' secret, though.

Sorry, should have been more clear. Mea culpa.

Revision: yeah, cheating isn't much of a dark secret either. It might be a secret, but it's not going to get you banished or something.

Unless your spouse is an important political appointee. Then I could see it qualifying... hm. This bears thinking on.

As an Imperial, Sacrosanct is a must-buy advantage if your GM allows.