I ran the beginners game over the last 2 weeks, and there is a few interesting scenarios that happened. So instead of sharing the whole story, i just pick out the juicy bits and explain them.

the peasant Ryu:
the PCs helped the peasant but didnt really want to interact with him. they still learned that he served Doji setsume, and then they most certainly didnt want to interact with him, as if they were afraid.

Hitochi & doji Setsume:
they didnt really "like" Hotichi, but they still, on the behalf of the ghost of doji setsume, prevented the judges from making hitochi fail some of his tests, to the extent that another PC almost failed his gempuku to ensure hitochi succeeded his. This PC was Doji Ren and it would have caused great shame on the crane, which is quite controversial in this situation.

ronins at the sake house:
it went as expected, but it was great fun when the phoenix shugenja approached one of the ronins, shouting "WE ARE A PEACEFUL CLAN!" before decking him with a table, knocking the ronin out in a single hit.

showdown with the villain:
the monk in the party had managed to catch up with the villain, and did a flying kick at him, which missed, since he was first in combat, the rest got into range and was about to unload on the villain... when the slowest, the Akodo, said "i challenge you to a duel!". being surrounded with no chance of escape, the villain accepted, and the entire table got frustrated, because they were ready to unload and now they couldnt do anything without loosing honor and glory for interupting the duel, none more so than the monk, who REALLY wanted to punch something. So isntead, they prepared for a full burst once teh duel was over, but the akodo oneshotted the villain due to the villain being compromised and suffered a crit of 14, which he could not negate.

the topaz champion:
the group got back to the contest and managed to eliminate the NPCs and the akodo won, with the monk being the runner up... but the most interesting story is about the shugenja, who only really had to duel 1 person, the lion shugenja NPC. the PC antagonized the lion to such a degree that he would not hold back at all, and while the PC won, it caused him to become compromised. so with no chance to unmask, except in front of a huge audience, he continued being compromised, and choose to challenge the akodo for the title of topaz champion... which he lost due to being compromised. In short, he lost his shot at a title because he was kinda a **** towards a NPC.

Hitochi's future:
the PCs gave him the gifts of a 1000 enemies, and clues that hitochi's father isnt who he thinks he is (he believes his father is a drunk in slow tide harbor), and have now set out on a journey to find his father, in a boat that was supposed to be a gift, that he was never allowed to give.

I will continue with the 2nd premade, but players get to make their own characters at this point, or remake the existing ones, with the reason that the PCs are not the only people that the ruby was impressed with, and wishes to join the ranks of her order.