[Day 5, Early Morning] Start the Day Wrong (Invite Only)

[Jiyo Sora]

Sora had convinced his children that their mother really needed their help in the library again, and thus, he was alone when his guests arrived.

[Togashi Satsuki]

Satsuki was well-prepared for a study session! She even had some scrolls and writing implements with her.

All part of the clever ploy.

Dressed down from the previous day, she didn't wear the decorative green robe over her white and red ones. "Uncle Sora, I'm here for the study session," she announced at the door.

[Jiyo Sora]

"Do come in, dear niece of mine, I think I've stashed everything flammable..."

The room was looking a bit spartan.

[Togashi Satsuki]

Satsuki closed the door behind her after stepping in, and looked around for a moment.

"Wow, you weren't joking. Did the kids break the nicer things?"

[Jiyo Sora]

"No, no, I just... cleared the floor in case space is at a premium. Before anyone else gets here... what do you know?"

[Togashi Satsuki]

Satsuki looked slightly down at her shorter uncle, raising an eyebrow. "That's a very open-ended question, Sora." For a moment she looked very much like her father as those green eyes scrutinized him with an unknown purpose.

"Is this about... Hikaru-san's quest? Because I know of that. I haven't had the chance to speak with Yatsufusa lately, so I don't know there. Takurou-san had had some bad dreams, but... he often does, and I feel terrible by prodding him about it."

She took a breath. "Or is it more?"

[Jiyo Sora]

"I spoke with Yatsufusa yesterday, and think his visions are related to what's going on, but perhaps not... directly. Your question about the Crane is well-placed, and it is very much at the root of what I wish to discuss..."

[Togashi Satsuki]

"Right, so," she put down her stuff somewhat unceremoniously, as it had just been part of the ruse. "I'll start at the beginning!" The statement was accompanied by her drawing a circle with her finger in the air, as if she was physically looping back the events.

"The reason I'm here and not mother is because father's been more and more reclusive lately. Like, not in the usual way. In a troubled way. Hoshi and I pressed him on this, but all he would say about what troubled him was strange dreams. Hoshi, Taiyo, and I decided then that we have to step up to help our parents; Hoshi is staying by father's side as much as he can and helping mother with the needs of the clan, and Taiyo is helping her with overseeing the needs of the Saru."

"And when I spoke with Hikaru about auntie Doji, I can't help but feel that there might be a connection. Because, I feel there is something to father's words in that he didn't specify that the strange dreams are his. I don't know how this could be connected, but I don't think it's a coincidence that they are both plagued with such weird dream-states. And I believe something is happening, to keep auntie Doji away from the wedding of her daughter and favored vassal - that woman practically scaled a mountain to see my parents wed, so I doubt she'd be easy to keep away from this event. I promised to help him to look into this... I don't particularly like auntie Doji, even if she is nice and terrifying at the same time, but she is family - and family is important. And if I fail... something bad could happen to father? I don't want that!"

Satsuki paused to clear her throat.

"So I meditated on this, in hopes that some of the flashes of foresight that I have would reveal itself. In trance, I heard the voice of a young man, a messenger who said he had a message for me. When I asked them who it was from they only responded "I was told it was very urgent, Togashi-sama. Accepting the scroll, I unrolled it to read. The characters in the writing, they were twisting on the paper, but I could understand it: Sweet wisdom drips from the depths of the night sky and runs in black creeping rivulets into cracks and crevices. Find it, drink, and know truth." The princess shuddered at the memory of what followed. "Then the ink began to liquefy and drip from the paper, over my fingers. The messenger gone. I let go of the scroll and awoke from my trance. With no ink on my fingers of course. I spoke with uncle Yuzuru about this, and I agree with him that whatever the meaning behind this vision was, it can only be further explored when the full moon rises... and yes, I know the risks that entails for me. My grandfather up there still hates me."

She frowned, taking a moment to calm herself.

"Day after I helped Hikaru in the library to examine the writing he had from auntie Doji. I can honestly say it's not any form of writing I know, or that is known to Tengoku from what father has taught me, or that I've heard about. That writing, it's outside of normal bounds of what we even know of how the world works - it's not just something foreign. It's... not something of Ningen-do at all, of that I'm certain." She was quite worried as she spoke. "Just looking at the thing for as long as I did, it felt like something was trying to dig into my skill. Like long fingers, squeezing and pressing in."

"Same day, when you reported to uncle Yuzuru about the matter of the bear, Takurou told me he'd had a dream that something was afoot, but he didn't know what or the meaning behind it. I don't know if that was related to the poor mother bear or not."

Stopping, it seemed she had told all she had to tell now.

[Nozomi]

There was a creak in the floor boards that sounded rather ... intentional as it came down the hall. If someone could have intentionally stepped on the creaking floorboards, this person was taking the time to make sure that they did so. A few moments later, there was a gentle rap at the door, and a look outside of the chambers would find the old monk and friend of Sora there, arms folded.

Mayumi was not with her. She was spending most of the day in the company of the Little Teacher for reasons that were not clear, and this served Nozomi's needs very well. If this was about what she thought it was about, she didn't need her daughter hearing anymore. She was good at keeping secrets, but she didn't need that to be pressed further.

"It's Nozomi," she said after a clearing of her throat.

[Jiyo Sora]

The Whole Sad Story

Sora... nodded.

"That.. lines up with a lot of my own suspicions. I think we'll have plenty to talk about this morning. Now-"

"It's Nozomi," she said after a clearing of her throat.

"Come in, old friend. I think we've got a lot of ground to cover and precious little time."

He didn't bother with introductions- Nozomi and Satsuki had met, after all.

"Satsuki was just getting me up to speed on some spiritual menace. How are you on that front?"

[Nozomi]

"Come in, old friend. I think we've got a lot of ground to cover and precious little time."

He didn't bother with introductions- Nozomi and Satsuki had met, after all.

"Satsuki was just getting me up to speed on some spiritual menace. How are you on that front?"

"It depends in part," she said once she had bowed and closed the door behind her. Her voice was pitched low as she spoke, clearly meant not to carry. She extended her awareness around her to feel if others were present as a precaution, settling herself. "I would know the topic we're speaking of before commenting on how much I'm aware, to be certain first." It was a bit of a roundabout, but she'd promised the Doji that she would be discrete about the matter of his kami's health.

"In the end, the empire faces several spiritual dangers daily, I fear. Which one specifically?"

[Jiyo Sora]

"It depends in part," she said once she had bowed and closed the door behind her. Her voice was pitched low as she spoke, clearly meant not to carry. She extended her awareness around her to feel if others were present as a precaution, settling herself. "I would know the topic we're speaking of before commenting on how much I'm aware, to be certain first." It was a bit of a roundabout, but she'd promised the Doji that she would be discrete about the matter of his kami's health.

"In the end, the empire faces several spiritual dangers daily, I fear. Which one specifically?"

"Satsuki's aunt's health, her father's state of mind, my own suspicions, and the worries and actions of a couple of younger men I kind of want to punch in the balls for being indiscreet, even though we're working on the same side of the issue. Oh, and some things I've informed the Emperor about, and a matter I think the Little Teacher may recall with the proper stimuli..."

He paused.

"And a few thoughts that have just occurred to me about the why of some things that have happened this winter."

[Nozomi]

"Satsuki's aunt's health, her father's state of mind, my own suspicions, and the worries and actions of a couple of younger men I kind of want to punch in the balls for being indiscreet, even though we're working on the same side of the issue. Oh, and some things I've informed the Emperor about, and a matter I think the Little Teacher may recall with the proper stimuli..."

He paused.

"And a few thoughts that have just occurred to me about the why of some things that have happened this winter."

She nodded, taking in each of the things and narrowing her gaze. "The Teacher did warn us that just because we saved your uncle Hisomu did not mean we had escaped the battle that was to come. Its form changes, but its inevitability is nevertheless clear. There will be a time of struggle, one that we prepare for. That time is likely coming." It was a vague enough hint, but an acknowledgement that she was well aware that Jigoku would have its due.

At Sora's comment about discretion, she smirked a little. Oh, she'd been about to say something on the subject. "I appreciate, old friend, that you're making an effort to keep discreet. From the little I know and have heard on some of these topics, we do not know what exactly is going on. It may be very dangerous to jump to conclusions." she frowned for a moment and closed her eyes. "I have heard that there are concerns of your aunt's health, Togashi-sama. I fear that we have no more answers or obvious clarity on that topic. Something is wrong, but what that something is precisely? I am not sure. It is not something that we can likely determine here, with her far away and..."

Her eyes opened and she regarded Jiyo Sora carefully. "I suspect that there would be resistance from her immediate family to investigating too directly." There was a slight hint of a warning there. Hikaru was not being half as discrete as he thought he was, and she remembered Nanzi. There was no way in hell he was going to allow his family to appear weak or vulnerable, which a disease clearly would do.

[Togashi Satsuki]

Satsuki nodded to Nozomi as she entered, and as the two old folks began to speak she sat down to listen in.

"Wait, who else besides Hikaru is---- Ooooh, is this why there's all sorts of talk about this Kakita guy going around? What's the deal there anyway? I haven't talked with anyone else about this but you two, Hikaru, and Makime Ayano whom Hikaru brought along to study that text. She also agreed that it was wrong and unnatural."

The young woman crossed her arms with a frown. "So my cousin is being difficult about this? Why? If something is wrong with my aunt, which it clearly is," that writing was more than enough proof, "then she should be looking for help too from family! I at least, intend to get answers."

She didn't have the relationship to Nanzi and his ways like these two did, as he had always been amiable to family, if somewhat stuck-up in her opinion.

[Nozomi]

"I will be honest. I try not to follow rumors and gossip. It rarely ends well," Nozomi muttered, her countenance a little darker. "I've spoken with Kakita briefly in the past. But, when we did, it was over matters of a life well lived and philosophy. Not our current concerns. If he has been speaking about other such matters, I would not know. Doji-sama is the only one who has spoken to me of this matter, and I only speak because it is clear that they have confided in the two of you, and he had mentioned speaking with Jiyo-sama. I have promised not to speak with others on it."

She breathed carefully, reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose. "I suspect that there has been more talk about this by more tongues than is due. We have a dangerous lack of information at present, but people are understandably nervous. It makes tongues wag." A grunt. "As for your cousin, I presume that you mean Nanzi-sama's family. Nanzi is ... a good man."

She gave Jiyo Sora a look when she said that, warning him to let her finish. "He is. He is one of the bravest men I have ever known, right alongside Sora here, Yamadono, Dawei and the Chief of Chiefs, who went into the darkness with Hantei. Nanzi risked his life for the empire more times than most of us have ever even imagined, and would sacrifice everything for his family. But... just because he is courageous and means well does not mean he isn't prone to great foolishness at times. He's very concerned about appearances, about perception, in ways you and I are not, Togashi-sama. For me? I don't care what people think of me. If I have to bash some fool's head in later in life, because they're being a fool, I'll get to it and I'm not worried about perception doing what needs to be done. Nanzi is deeply concerned about not only doing what is right, but being seen as one who is doing what is right, and being seen as strong and perfect at all times. So... if his wife is sick? he would prefer to handle this away from the public eye, quietly, privately, to avoid the appearance of weakness. I almost guarantee that is how your uncle will think of this talk, which is why I council being very careful in how this is approached."

[Togashi Satsuki]

Satsuki sighed heavily, leaning back slightly to look up at the ceiling.

"People are so fucking difficult." An expression she probably hadn't learned from her parents.

"So what do we do? What can we do? I've given Hikaru my word that I'll help him, because this is my family too. Not only my aunt, but if this has entangled father into it too, I must do everything I can," the princess said with a determined conviction.

"... The vision I had, I spoke with Yuzuru about it. And no, I didn't mention anything about auntie Doji to him. Anyway, we're both agreed that the vision I had, the message I recieved in it, it's something that will be made more clear when the full moon rises." Her green eyes studied Nozomi for a moment. "This isn't a secret as such, to those who are close to my family, but the moon... doesn't like me. My family. A couple of years ago, during the full moon, Lord Moon took control of me, used me to hurt my brother - if father hadn't intervened at the time, I don't know what could've happened."

"However, I'm willing to take this risk to get to the bottom of things. If it means we understand more of what is ailing my aunt. I'll... just need people around me then, to stop me, in case things go poorly."

[Jiyo Sora]

"Well. Again. The Emperor knows. And thus, so does Yuzuru, most likely."

Sora put his hands behind his back and started to pace.

"The Boss was asked about his own family's resilience, and mentioned that the Kami are susceptible to the... how did he put it? The Jealousy of the Realms?"

He glanced at Nozomi.

"And we all know a round that has it in for Tengoku's children. So. What vector of infection could there be, hm? Especially when Lady Doji doesn't exactly like to go to places she sees as dirty or disagreeable?"

He sighed.

"So then we come to the vision I have of this winter. A vision of filth-a very familiar filth- spreading beneath the snow. While a crowd of black birds looks on and... cackles. My son Soryu has has the same vision in a nightmare, despite my not telling him anything. Satsuki has a vision of a man offering... a rather grim present. Others have visions of a coming darkness."

He took a deep breath.

"But getting back to lady Doji, it was the birds that spurred my suspcion. Nozomi may call Nanzi a good man. I regard him as a man capable of doing brave things in the service of his self-image. But I absolutely agree that he is more foolish than malicious. Nozomi... do you remember Nanzi's bird? From the end of the expedition?"

[Togashi Satsuki]

"All realms have power," she clarified. "The nature of Ningen-do is that nothing is eternal - all living will die one die, though it can take a very very long time with exceptionally powerful beings, such as the Kami."

Satsuki crossed her arms, feeling a little overlooked with what she had said, but she dutifully adressed Sora's points. "A realm's influence can be spread in different ways. That one should be closed off from us, but, anything created by it still in Ningen-do might still carry its influence, whatever it touched might still be infected too. So it could be anything from a creature or an item."

She looked between the old people. "What's this about uncle Nanzi?"

[Jiyo Sora]

"Your uncle Nanzi, the hubristic imbecile, picked up a pet on our journey south. Your mother encountered it too. It looked like a bird. A large, black bird. But it was... wrong."

[Togashi Satsuki]

Satsuki rose from her seated position and paced, hands linked behind her back.

"... I did wonder why mother didn't seem to have such strong ties to uncle Nanzi, as the stories say she helped him sneak into Tengoku when he was courting Doji..." she murmured, putting together more pieces of the puzzle. "She adores Doji's artistry and beautiful creations, so I thought it weird that my parents have kept them at a distance. Politically, we have been disengaging with the Crane at most turns."

Her green eyes fixated on Sora. "If uncle Nanzi found a bird in that accursed land, mother must have felt the same thing too. You know she is sensitive to the presence of other realms, and along with aunt Reiko was perhaps among the few who truly understood the danger of what you were up against on that expedition."

"Question then is... what has become of the bird? If that is what it truly is."