As the warmth began to ease the chill of recent events, Nozomi was preparing for the final departures that would come in the next few days. This impromptu 'court' was finally over, and she and her daughter were alive. But there was still a small matter of business to attend to. She had avoided this for fifteen years, but she could do so no longer, not with her intentions. And so, Nozomi sent word, asking to meet with Bayushi, should the kami have the time and inclination to do so.

She was alone today. Mayumi was in the care of the Order on her orders and she'd meet up with her afterwards. Given the nature of what might be discussed, it seemed wisest and best. As she set out candles and made sure that the room was well lit to banish any shadows, she finally relaxed a little bit and breathed in and out slowly, waiting for the sound of the door. Her senses extended out from herself as before, in case there were others present, but she was considerably less... worried than she usually had been. When the door opened, she bowed low to the soul who entered. "Thank you for meeting with me, -sama."

Bayushi nodded to her. "It's been a long time in coming." He's dressed in a sumptuous red silked kimono with a fairly simple obi with a subtle pattern woven into it. He takes a seat.

Trailing quietly behind him is Shosuro who is... Somewhat present, but easy to ignore at the moment. It was likely a habit when accompanying him like this.

Nozomi was distantly aware of Shosuro's presence, though it was hard to focus on it. That made her stomach lurch again a little, though she was more aware of the why of it than she had been. For now, however, it was her father who held the center stage of this conversation. She had put on the fine, if plain, kimono that Kuni had prepared for her for this meeting. She didn't clean up that well, but she did at least clean up.

Rising from the bow, she looked across at him, keeping her gaze somewhat down and carefully not meeting his gaze. "In truth, longer than it should have been. But we have the opportunity to do so now." she was admittedly not quite sure how to even begin...

"Indeed," he replied with a nod. "My wife spoke of you to me some years ago."

She nodded, looking uncomfortable. "I believe that she and I met, when I was still a child a very long time ago," Nozomi said, glancing just to the side. "Your wife is a unique woman, and memorable in a way that it seems most people cannot quite recall, but which I can never quite seem to forget. Her daughter reminds me of her a little."

...

"I wish to apologize... I have been avoiding this meeting, for a long time. And in speaking with Shosuro," she managed to notice and indicate her. "I do not know that it was wise of me to do so. But I am hoping there is a chance to make up for lost time still. I wish to help your daughter."

"Indeed." He simply nodded. "She has told me some about your conversations. Her mother's nature isn't as... stable in her as it is in Hanako. What did you have in mind?" Bayushi was a Kami who kept everything under a mask, literal or metaphorical. Still, despite his calm tone, there is something about his expression - a certain tightness in his eyes perhaps, or how he glances toward Shosuro. He's worried, and for him to let even that little bit slip is exceptional.

She nodded, catching some of that raw nerve that was just underneath the surface. She understood a parent's intuition. She leaned forward, resting her chin on the steeple of her fingers as she spoke, her voice now pitched lower, keeping it so they couldn't be listened into, if anyone were that bold. "Yes, I had an idea on that. When I looked for answers...," which was to say when she looked into his daughter's soul. "What I saw was something opposite to the Void. That which is in with and part of everything, suffusing all was opposed by that which is simply not. Nothing. In the Void, I could find the only answers I've begun to feel exist to this. It's the only defense, where the Earth chi is a defense against the darkness of Jigoku and its touch."

She frowned, her lips tightening. "The gifts and secrets we have begun to develop are derived from Shinsei's own teachings and understandings, almost like lesser mirrors reflecting his wisdom, as well as things gleaned from others. From Shoji Haka's prayers, we developed a use of the connection to the void which senses the connection in all things, like a second sight of sorts. There is the gaze that I use to help a person see their strengths and weaknesses, like but not equal to Shinsei's own gaze." She breathed in and out. "I believe it may be possible to harness the inner connection to one's void in a similar fashion. I do not recommend the elemental kami's help. Their prayers do not usually last more than an hour at the most. But these lesser effects can be harnessed and maintained with the right focus and training."

"Shosuro, you mentioned that this might not be possible because you aren't a monk. I'm still not sure that's true. Fifteen years ago, I was Rappa, just a killer for the Hikaru in my former life. I am nothing like Kuu in my focus and study of meditation. I do not think this is quite so ... limited, but it may be difficult. Still, if the blood of Tengoku has helped protect you thus far, then it may be the very thing that permits you to break these limits. I'm going to carefully work with Shinsei to try and develop this kiho." She paused for a moment, considering. "I think, Bayushi-sama, you would understand this. I believe that knowledge of this thing... it's dangerous. It noticed me when I went looking for it before. To know more is to put oneself at greater risk. I want to be careful just what I tell others, and to minimize who, if any, ever learns these things. Do you agree?"

"I agree," he replied with a sure nod. "If you learn more about it, please keep in contact."

"I will do my best to learn it. If it requires more dedication, then we can cross that bridge when we come to it."

"Bayushi... if I may be so bold as to ask. What do we know of your daughter's unusual gifts?" She said it carefully before looking at him, far more directly, in the eyes this time. This man could probably conceal the infestation if he wanted to, she had little doubt. He was the one among them who was strongest in deception, and she had reason from the vision to suspect that he might be touched as she was. And even if he couldn't, her own ability to perceive the darkness was poor without the aid of a kiho, and even then that had been fickle fate and Shosuro's willingness to play along.

"I call them gifts because, even if we have reason to be concerned, until we are certain, until we know exactly what it is she struggles with, what I saw all those years ago that stuck with me? We don't know. And if I relied solely on assumptions, I might never have come to your daughter and spoken to her. I want not to assume anything. And likewise, I will report what I learn of this to you." And to Shinsei, but while she didn't say the teacher knew, part of her imagined that Bayushi knew that he knew.

He considered the answer. There didn't seem to be anything unusual about him that would suggest corruption, but this sort of thing could be subtle. "She was surprisingly normal until she was around four or five. I started noticing that my attention would sometimes slip from her unintentionally around then. The next year was when your dream happened. We suspect that only happened because of your slight connection to whatever it is that influences her and Hanako. Since then, her abilities have only gotten stronger, but so have the side effects. She began to be able to see in shadows almost better than light, and later could blend seamlessly into the shadows. Now, I've seen her step into one pool of shadows and step out of another. She became less noticeable even than before, and it is sometimes hard for even me to remember her exact features. She only recently learned to suppress the effects through focus, temporarily and through great effort on her part."

"Her mother is in a more extreme state, but she is not getting moreso. She has always been the way she is, as far as I can tell. While she holds onto a solid identity, her features can be mutable when she needs them to be. There are times when she almost seems like a ghost."

'When your wife and I met... I was but a child. She was, I suppose you might say, in a state between forms. She had no face," she said, trusting that he would react to the statement just about as his daughter had. She frowned for a moment, reaching up to brush her lips. "I... I don't have any power like what Shosuro has. And, no matter how sometimes it might be convenient, I am as memorable and difficult a woman as I have always been. But... I believe I know some of the connection. I have been thinking about this a lot. Nobody who has seen her has ever commented other than barely that it is odd that they cannot remember."

And she looked at Shosuro. "I think the only reason Bayushi and I can notice and remember you is that we are touched, at least to that level. Knowing that this exists. It is aware when something looks for it. I felt something, something very old that did not want to be noticed when we were close to the crater years ago, as I told you. It is not of Jigoku but it was there. Slumbering or resting, watching us. I think just knowing, truly knowing and believing that it exists? It causes one to be touched very slightly. It is more aware of those who are aware of it. It is the only way to make sense of the fact that he knows as do I, yet I have no power at all. And... I will for the moment assume, Bayushi-sama, that you do not as well. I have only two ways to tell the signs. My eyes, and a gift that I learned from Shinsei, and I would not use that gift on you without you asking. My ability to notice the signs is ... not very skilled."

"We know so very little. But the fact that just knowing seems to tie us to it? That is why I do not wish this shared unduly. If there is risk? I do not want others to share it that do not need to." Not to mention spreading that corruption.

"I agree with that. Even those tasked to hunt things with that corruption should only know what they need to to fight it," he replied with a nod. "At the same time... enough should know that much. It thrives in darkness, and that likely includes the darkness of ignorance. It won't likely take kindly to our information trading, so be careful. You will likely become even more of a target. We can't afford to lose this knowledge, even as it affects us."

"And added to this is the fact that, just by trying to use this knowledge in the production of a kiho for the purposes of dampening its impact, I will almost certainly draw its attention. Even if successful, it is impossible to say just how thorough the protection is until it is too late." In other words, there was only one way to test it, and such could be lethal.

"I will be traveling to one of the temples the Dragon intend to build in the south, once the materials start to move. I am guessing this will take about a year. While I am waiting, I will be working on this. When I reach the south, I will share what I can, and as soon as I finish the project, I will send word." There was a pause and then she sighed. "I have avoided my old stomping grounds too long. It is time to return home."

She didn't say it, however, but a year was also enough time for her daughter not to join her, to be an adult in her own right. Elsewhere.