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Lilian Rook     Returning to Japan is the same as many times before. As there has been as of yet little in the way of favouring any one particular clan, save one that has since been rather gravely betrayed by the Elites it knew, and instead said Elites have chosen to take the terribly difficult route of attempting to secretly carve out independence, this once again begins on the placid shores surrounded by mist of the rustic old Japanese country town, definitively, eerily abandoned, nestled between two rocky, tree-choked cliffs; the one built on the secret underground ley-nexus and it's fantastical little lake of impossible sea-beauty called 'The Dragon's Garden'.

    However, this initial arrival through an artificial warpgate, joined up to a portable (if top shelf) electrical grid fed from hydrogen stills, is but a temporary stop. A chance to breathe in the salty air, hear the distant, sluggish lapping of waves on stones, feel the spooky tingle of a rural ghost town, complete with special exit gate and road shrines, and appreciate the modern equipment having been moved into proper supply yards and inside suitable buildings, including a goddamn radio transmission, finally. That, and behold the sky-high wall of fog that enshrouds the little oasis, and half of Japan, a few miles away in all directions.

    The main stop is what Lilian spent a year (two and a bit, actually) perfecting in Kamar-Taj; a circle of extensively etched standing stones integrated into a dizzyingly complex circle array set in 'permanent' alterations to the terrain, resembling some fantastical depiction of a tiny stonehenge 'in its prime', or 'as the druids would secretly use it to contact aliens' or something, down to its bands of stone and water, salt and burnt earth, specific cuttings and flowers. It takes only a little while for Lilian to barely explain this is going to take everyone to Mount Fuji, that it is a special exclusion zone under the independent sovereignty of the various reclusive mystics that had defended it to completion and the non-humans that had either helped them or flocked to it after, and not to open your eyes until you get there.

    Thankfully, the mountain itself is as much as it actually is in most worlds, save for the fact that, by navigating the thick foothill forests *just* right, and hitting some specific magical seals Lilian had prepared with Tamamo in advance, it *doesn't* turn into an arid frozen moonscape further up, instead remaining fantastically green between soaring white rocks and red iron sands, cold but *prismatically* sunny. The bands of fog and shadow can be seen in the far distance, but for the most part, narrow, roughshod, barely-used trails, broken up with jinzo and road-shrines, and occasionally forking off into torii that Lilian says not to approach, make the way up clear, if difficult.

    At that, she leaves it to Tamamo specifically to reveal plans up to her own discretion, and promises to get to the most important part right after. She does, however, say that they'll be meeting someone special, and she's not yet entirely sure who it will be.
Ishirou I4 is here, nodding along with the instructions, but having really spent more of his attention in the air of the town.  It's a nice place if abandoned, and enjoying the quiet of this place was nice.  He pauses, oh they're going up to a very large mountain.  He wasn't in his full cold weather comfy set, and wonders if he's going to be less comfy for it?

Though the transition wasn't as bad as he thought, it was serene too.  He rather liked that, green and the other colors seemed to blend in nicely.  Right now he's not asking questions, but rather trying to listen to the whole thing and see if he can form an understanding before anything.

Also, Tamamo had a thing to reveal first! So better to listen before speaking.  
Hellwarming Trio Utsuho: "Mount Fuji..."
Rin: "That's sorta close to home, right?"
Utsuho: "Nah, I think it's closer to the mainland or something."
Rin: "Oh. You think anyone'll think we're breaking into their territory if we show up?"

If they are, the youkai don't seem particularly worried as they join the group headed into the exclusion zone via the strange arrangement of stones. They pace around the stones at first, clearly resisting the urge to do... Something? Something. Thankfully, they're not so foolish as to actually do whatever that is, instead settling for just sniffing the stones while being uncharacteristically careful not to touch anything.

Once they're at the mountain, though, they take a few laps around in the sky to get a better feeling for their surroundings. It's a good chance to stretch their wings (figuratively and literally in Utsuho's case), but they settle down shortly afterwards once they remember that there's PLANNING to be heard of first.

They can fly more later.
Xion 'Okay, Xion. First, go to the farthest shore the ocean reaches, still within the realm of the realground. Then, ascend into the vessel that will take you, bowed-head, to a realm of spirits and magic. There, walk quietly and do not divert from the path until you reach your destination, say your piece, and leave.'

"Wow, Lilian, I feel like I've done this before." Xion comments idly as she places a bare-fingered hand against the odd mini-stonehenge and smiles. "I like your rocks, too."

"They're good rocks."

TAKEN TO THE REALM OF ~~KAMAR-TAJ~~ ~~SKYE~~ Magic Mount Fuji, in Nihon the Past-Kingdom of Legend through a bunch of rubbing specific objects on specific parts of a few maps and then using the paintbrush on the wall that you trade from the fishing village, Xion keeps her hands tucked into her hooded coat's pockets.

"For a place of light, this place is kinda obscured. Do you think it's like the inside of a pearl, and all the light reflects back in?"
Tamamo     Tamamo hasn't actually seen Lilian's new work function, before, and is immediately interested in hearing her detailed explanation of it, now that it's complete. Especially, she wants to hear about she's integrated it into the landscape, even as they travel through and are occupied by working their way up the mountain paths. This sort of thing can be very important to local geomancy.

    It's not as if Tamamo needs to spare too much attention to follow said paths. Though they're intended to get people lost, she's been this way before, and it's exactly the sort of magic in which specializes, that kind of confusing barrier that either sends you back to the start at the first wrong turn or, even worse, sends you to some entirely different place, letting you believe that's what was always at the center of the maze. Since they're moving with a group, she's at least careful enough to keep people carefully herded.

    In Xion's case, that only means getting her to autofollow, but Tamamo takes the time to point out every key item and easily missed ritual along the way, anyhow. Better to know the way than to risk becoming lost, should anyone become separated. It's mostly quite easy, if you know the way, apart from the hopscotch. Those bits can be tricky.

    "I have seen this place on but few occasions, in this era, and one may say that it, like much of the rest of the world, has gone into hiding, its walls tall and shutters closed. Such could be claimed of many times past, for always have there been secrets, that those of the mountains would keep, but of 'travel' we see even less than expected of farmers in those ages past." This could be taken as a criticism of some kind, just by the words, but her tone doesn't make it one. It's an observation and, in part, an explanation. "We did, some of us, travel this way on that rare occasion of travel. Ah, Roxas was with us, as I do recall. Has he been well, Xion? I have not heard his voice in some time, I think."

    After digressions related to that memory have passed, Tamamo continues, "Our own efforts, likewise, do benefit from discretion, if only for the safety of remaining an unknown among the unknown. For this reason, and because not everyone can be made the same offer of aid, I have preferred to speak little of the next step of this long-held plan, but I shall explain it, now. With the village of the Dragon's Garden becoming a place in which people may live, I have wished that some would be allowed to live there, in such number as may be supported by it. So many do wish for another place in which to live -- ah, or is it, a place in which to find a living? In either case, such is more, and worse, than would be termed 'an attractive offer.' There are those discarded by the cities, for whom this mountain holds their only options remaining. Among these, I would extend to some an option to take my hand, as it were."

    Looking about, "Is that all quite clear? Sakura has made the request that some be sent from the mountain to the garden, for they have their own limitations, but the details of this matter must be decided."
Arthur Lowell     Arthur Lowell is looking pretty screwed up today. He looks like he's simultaneously been not sleeping enough and sleeping too much, and also that he's fucked up emotionally but also really happy about it. Generally, he just looks like shit, and there's several bandages on his Health Vial. But here he is, and he refuses to take no for an answer.

>Arthur: Do not look into the secret of Stonehenge

    Okay, but

>Arthur: Do NOT look into the fucking seccret of Stonehenge

    Fine. Arthur keeps his eyes closed on the entire space-twisty trip over, shrugging a bit at the instruction and grinning. "Hey, if that HOW IT IS, dawg. I ain't gonna steal them TRADE SECRETS, I know a PROPRIETARY SPACEHOLE."

>==>

    Arthur's pondering this memory hard with Tamamo. "Was that the BIG PROCESSION of the fuckin', uhhh, UNWANTED DUDES? I feel like I REMEMBER THAT, but it was fuckin' AGES BACK." He shakes his head clear. "So we're tryin'a get people out of a DREARY-ASS FORCED EXILE into some RAD SLIGHTLY-REBELLIOUS INTENTIONAL EXILE. Considering SAKURA'S whole fuckin' POLITICAL MANEUVERING, we expecting TROUBLE from HOJO HOLDOUTS? I can't guess dudes feel HELLA ATTACHMENT on 'em, considering the whole EXILE THING."

    He scratches his head a bit, as he sweeps view around the surroundings. "Well, I can't help with BEING CONVINCING, but consider me ON-CALL and I'll probably JUMP IN AND YAMMER if I hear some shit I think gotta get some SPEAKING ABOUT. This sounds like a GOOD PLAN, I'm here for HELPING or at least NOT HURTING."
Hellwarming Trio Rin: "They're hiding because of all the antegents, yeah?"
Utsuho: "But we're... Fixing that, right?"
Rin: "Sorta! But what kinda livings can people make out here if they're still scared shitless?"
Utsuho: "I think that's what this planning part is for."

Although they seem to get the gist of what Tamamo is saying (even going as far as nodding confidently when she asks if everything's clear) and what paths to follow if they get lost, actually coming up with a plan requires putting their heads together. They listen to Arthur to see if there's anything they can discreetly steal from what he's saying, but...

Actually, that does give one of them an idea. "We can show 'em how we're living it up out here!" Rin suggests with audible excitement in her voice, tempered only slightly when Utsuho speaks in a relatively calmer tone.

Utsuho: "They'd have to see that we have stuff that looks good first, right? People aren't going to show up if it just looks like it's a bunch of weirdos partying in the desert.
Rin: "Yeah, so we can build somethin' up first!"
Utsuho: "Oh. Like a... "
Rin: "Spa?"
Utsuho: "That'd be pretty easy, but what about making something that'd make anyone that wants to come in feel safer?"
Rin: "They could live underground like we do. Easier to hide that way, yeah?"
Xion Following - in the sense that she finds an easy step-pace where convenient in Tamamo's wake, and also that she tries to listen to the points and concerns, Xion attempts to explain to a nonpresent camera or terrible fixed-frame vision into the Pearlescent Mountain.

"Roxas is doing well, thanks a lot for asking. We just haven't been on many shared missions since we proved we could work on our own."

She smiles lightly. "But I agree, I'd like him to come on more missions with me, too."

"So... what you're saying is that..."

Xion walks two fingers across her palm indicatingly. "We walked the people across the land to settle into a place. And we want to support more people, like that, while not messing things up with the unknown people."

She claps her hands. "So, we're here to extend the hand of the land. The land hand. We're giving the land a hand."

Arthur is self-effacing. "Well, Arthur, if you're here, that means that you can just go 'haha but actually' and teleport everyone if things go stupid. Or... take it easy?"

She pauses in her lockstep to drift closer to Arthur and place a hand on his upper arm. "I know you're not a fan of sleeping, Arthur, but it looks like you need to rest."
Lilian Rook     "You say that, Xion, but they never quite blend together like you'd think." A tired laugh. "I'm glad you like my rocks." Which she has to explain to Tamamo! Specifically the standing ones! It has to do with magic globalism roughly determining that pretty much ninety percent of 'otherworlds' culturally are all different places in the same otherworld geographically, blind men and elephant comparison drawn.

    She draws comparisons to the concept of 'a shrine boundary' and places known to 'spirit away' people, and parallel folklore from her own homeland, and has more or less worked out how to painstakingly set up otherwise gates like this by tapping small amounts of natural magic and focusing it tremendously in a dense space, then using it to 'gravity slingshot' through the otherworld without 'breaking the skin' to get in. Without ageing anyone to death through the time compression involved, like what seems to happen in every fucking country's myths at some point! Timespace math is *fucked*! Lilian is actually not good at explaining that part; it just intuitively makes sense to her.

    She reassures Arthur that he shouldn't look because it might permanently damage his sense of being able to perceive time passing.

    On the more current subject. "I think we could expect trouble from every clan at once if they knew about her. Not all of the clans send their extras up the mountain, and the proportion varies with how strong their alliances are to what groups. Some are pressed into service as monks or shinobi to fill gaps, as I understand it, many simply into labour to support growing hidden villages and temples, a few might be taken on as apprentices or wives, but some are also just . . . well, we don't know. The vein we're ultimately tapping is the Fuji alliance's, but in the first place, they're not . . . a 'labour market'. To an extent, the mountain that is the spirit of Japan takes in and shelters the lives of its countrymen and worshippers who would face a more grave fate otherwise. Can you imagine a few hundred ordinary people trying to make a living out there together?"
Ishirou I4 listens to Tamamo, getting a better feel for the situation.  "So this place can't support everyone, which...makes sense, given the situation of the world," I4 muses for a moment.  "So are we trying to make satellite colonies?  Different colonies?" A pause as he tries to figure this out, "Would this make these people their own separate nation if we help them carve a place out to live?"

"I think I get it, but what needs to be done to help these people?" I4 asks, he's coming in this situation at the halfway point, so he feels that he doesn't get the entire situation, and of course, is now asking questions to get it.  

He does nod to Arthur, "Are...you okay?" he asks, frowning.  "Is...this about what we saw?" he asks, referring to the United States mission.  That was rough and still had a firm place in his head.  I4 also did manage to keep himself from looking or scanning, because he trusts Lilian's judgment on these things.  

Lilian draws a good comparison and he frowns.  "I can imagine.  I read the report on the town that had branched off from London, and it took one person to infect everyone there with strange aliens.  One of those people got back to London and got a bunch of people killed and caused some problems and trust issues between the citizens and the law enforcement there if I remember right."

There is a pause, "So the clans would try and hinder us?"
Arthur Lowell >Arthur: You need to rest

    "Huh? Shit, homie, I got HELLA REST." Arthur laughs to Xion. "SLEPT TONS. I had a BIG FUCKED UP SHIT-KICK with LANGLY TWO." And he shoves his palms over his face and laughs into them a little. "HAHAHAAAA... And now my EXPIRATION got a little REMISSION!" He beams directly at her, planting his hands on his hips. He nods to I4 as well. "Got a hit of that HUMAN PAIN, you know? Got that brain-full of SUFFERING LIKE A PERSON DOES." For a moment, he just *roils* with some kind of hidden, manic energy, laughing in an unsteady way. Then it subsides, in a big breath of relief.

>Arthur: Explain it

    "Naw, just don't worry, homes. I'm ALL GOOD."

>Arthur: You should target whoever's good at developing hidden villages

    "Is that like a SKILLSET? Can a homie get a DEGREE in HIDDEN VILLAGE CIVIL ENGINEERING? Shit, dawg, we gotta POACH up in this bitch for real." Arthur comments.
Lilian Rook     'A pearl . . .' is something Lilian says out loud in an obviously contemplative way, and then doesn't elaborate on, in mysterious JRPG fashion. "And listen to Xion, Arthur. You look like shit." Casually kinda mean as that is, she'd used his first name and doesn't seem to have thought much of it. "Christ, what kind of painslut did I associate myself with?" is muttered under her breath, then "That's part two. I'd like to recruit as much outside help as possible, also."

    "Land hand it is. Wouldn't it be sort of sad if that village just sat empty forever? It's tried so hard to remain welcome to people all this time."

    "I guess it technically is a satellite colony, isn't it?" Lilian offhandedly remarks to I4 during the climb. "Our very own Caelton. But under the protection of a goddess, and backed by me, instead of a branch of the Pendragons and an opportunistic company. It's certainly best that we maintain this kind of secrecy if we don't want the same thing to happen as did there." She handwobbles for emphasis. "The clans probably don't care about what happens to their leftovers at all. Individual families might be able to negotiate where they go, depending on their status. But for the most part, what keeps the Urban Centers safe is almost non-expansible here; even moreso than in the west. But if they know about a secret girl whom the entire Fuji faction is directly or indirectly working with, whom Muramasa ostensibly left to inherit his forty-fifth posthumous sword, and who has unknown powers that include spying on the clans, they wouldn't sit still."

    Finally, the path arrives high up where a waterfall has carved away a cliff face, splitting on a stone arch under which some skilled and dedicated hand had carved an enormous buddha into the mountainside, palms outstretched, but which has since been defaced in the literal sense-- all its facial features have been seemingly purposefully scrubbed clear. In an ironic and very petty way, someone has erected a very, very old-fashioned torii on top of its faceless head, framing a dark cave under the arch.

    "The group we're talking to . . . Well, Tamamo and I decided our best bet was the Ayakashi Special Interests Symposium. I've spoken on them before, but the simple version is that they're a coalition of non-humans that banded together to exploit the situation right after the Onslaught and consolidate political power and meet their collective needs in a post-masquerade world. They're almost definitely the most powerful faction on the mountain, and the one that receives the largest bulk of extras; the clans typically at least attempt to curry passable favour without exception, and given what they are, they're certainly the easiest to trust to keep a secret from humans."
Tamamo     Tamamo nods to Arthur. "It was some time ago." The notion of her own village-building efforts being 'rad' and 'slightly rebellious' amuses her for reasons she doesn't explain. "There shall not need be much convincing, whether we create a spa, or not, I think. As for the clans, I think, if we accept only those who have been decided as people whose presence shall not be missed, they shall have little reason to to bar us. Still..."

    She leaves that last word uncertainly hanging, before giving Xion a nod. "I should not like to invite trouble, where it is unneeded, by speaking too loudly of matters that required only quiet voices. Though it seems to me that we will only help, there may be those that find cause to see us otherwise. Particularly, ah, should it come to light that we have taken certain stances."

    That leads into what Lilian mentions, specifically, about 'her.' Sakura. Tamamo doesn't mention what those 'certain stances' are, but 'that time a bunch of us fought with the Oda' is the obvious direction.

    At I4's question, Tamamo says, "Though I am more comfortable in using this point among youkai than I am among humankind, I hold certain authorities, by my nature." No, not the significant capital letter kind of Authority, though holding the latter is how she's gotten the former. "For the moment, I intend to use this, as well, in creating a place with which others may join, with peace of mind. In the future, I should like it to grow by the will of its residents, but it is difficult to suggest independence, at the moment. We are limited, as well, in providing safe locations. The formation of new colonies is not at all rare, in this world. And yet, those that survive are fewer. Desperation ensures that there shall always be more. I would this one be well cared for, until thoughts of danger occupy less deserved space in one's mind."

    Tamamo catches Lilian using a first name, but only glances her way.
Xion Xion nods slowly. "That's right, isn't it? Big, enormous deities don't bleed like a person does. They bleed in a different way. And you've got..."

Xion reaches up and, with a hop, brushes her fingers against Arthur's bandaged HEALTH VIAL whose current status declares his level as:

-Excuse You, I'm A Pain Afficianado-

"I'll believe you, Arthur. If you say it's so. If saying it out loud helps, that's fine too."

She smiles worriedly. "Suffering isn't a natural state. The human condition can't just be suffering."

"If you need to put a cut across God's cheek to prove it's just a title, I'd suggest pricking a finger instead of taking a grater to your chest."

Tamamo's nod brings her back. "I understand."

Somberly, she adds. "I've listened to enough hearts to know, that there's something to the old ways of trading gifts and tokens. A promise will get you only so far, but a promise and a token will get you farther. It's not enough to be good: you have to make it an offer. It has to make sense. So... We can't just show them the obvious part, that we want to help. We have to give them the tokens, that we'll succeed, that we are asking some things in our self-interest, and that they will be granted some things in theirs. It... eases things. To rely on that communication of legers and sheets and dull business. It makes 'other' into 'friend' or 'partner' or 'ally'. 'Asset', but a thing that breathes and lives and loves."
Ishirou The twink nods and listens along, once more nodding, and his understanding grows.  More so that the intended part of this makes some more sense, but the idea that they need to keep it a secret to protect it until it can protect itself...and also make sure it can sustain itself long term.  

"Mmm...given the nature of who would be here, I don't think trying to use the American's trick would work.  It'd be more disruptive, but I think the idea could be refined to work to be less disruptive.  It'd both help keep the monsters away, but keep those who don't need to know out of the know."

"It'd also be something unexpected," he muses.  "Though if you want me to head that up personally, I can.  I had some thoughts about how it was done and how to improve the idea...make it efficient," he's more thoughtful than exact.  He does look at Arthur, and nods once, "If you don't want us to worry for you, it's fine.  Don't be worried about talking if you need to though!"
Hellwarming Trio Utsuho: "Handerlander."
Rin: "Landhander."
Utsuho: "Hand... Dander."
Rin: "Ew."

With a more concrete goal identified (sort of) (after they finish messing around with Xion's wordage), the pair resume listening and trying to come up with ideas on how to proceed. They're actually trying, too, to the point that flying around just to get some movement in doesn't even register while they attempt to keep understanding the situation. I4's talk of aliens has Rin going slightly pale, though, and she bites her lip anxiously when the clans are brought up again.

"Ya think the clans might have some of those aliens in 'em, too?" Rin asks while starting to glance around rapidly, shimmying around in the air while Utsuho just floats along lazily to keep pace with the group. "If there's aliens way deep in there, they might even send some of their own to infiltrate and get everyone else infected!"

"Probably not. They'd look like aliens, right?" Utsuho suggests, gesturing at Lilian while ascending a bit more to scout ahead slightly. "If they don't care what happens, then they probably wouldn't send anyone like that, anyway. They'd save their spies for more important stuff."

That, at least, seems to calm Rin down enough that they're able to keep following and listening in. "So we gotta make sure they don't find out about what's-her-name. Sakura, right, sis?"

Yes, Rin's still calling Lilian sis.

Utsuho: "Non-humans, huh? That might make it easier."
Rin: "Yeah! We can show 'em how non-human we are, too."
Utsuho: "Unless they hate youkai."
Rin: "Or birds."
Utsuho: "But that's what the... Uh. Gifts are for, right?"
Rin: "Do we got any gifts-er. Tokens we can give 'em  that they might need out here?"
Utsuho: "Yeah, like... Tamamo, you can do area blessing stuff, right? Maybe that could help convince them to work with us."
Rin: "Yeah, and then we can get them to help us build up some cool stuff!"
Arthur Lowell >Arthur: Grin and bear it

    "FEEL LIKE IT TOO!" He declares to Lilian, before doing a short double-take. He tries to make a confused face, then a head tilt, then a headshake all in a bit too rapid a pace. For Xion, he says, "I mean, NET SUFFERING, naw, that ain't normal. But some PAIN gotta be IN THE MIX. I needed my MIX, dawg! And it can't just be FIGHTS-LOSIN' or some shit like that. It's gotta be," He slams his chest once, twice, with one fist. "DEEP in there, yo." He nods firmly, in that way that makes it seem like he just won't change opinions much, at least not right now. "Let's BOUNCE."

>==>

    "OUR OWN CAELTON, damn... Well, guess we don't gotta worry about BIG FUCKING DISASTERS on ours. DO gotta worry about like... gettin' that JE NE SAIS QUOI that makes a SUCCESSFUL COLONY. Caelton had them MINES, but I only saw the DRAGON'S GARDEN and we ain't about to HARVEST THAT..." Arthur drifts along the path near the others. Normally he walks out of a kind of respect, but this is a climb, and he feels like shit, so he's not bothering. He drifts weightlessly into the cave entrance...

    "Yeah, NO WORRIES, I can keep my PUNKISH MISCHIEF to a TWO or a THREE instead of the USUAL ELEVEN." He rambles to Tamamo. The matter of Oda comes up... and Arthur winces. "Haaaah. Jegus, right, that happened. Eugh. Really hopin' Nobuko doin' alright out there." Takes a while for him to truly consider what Lilian said before, though. "AYAKASHI SPECIAL INTERESTS SYMPOSIUM... So MOSTLY, uh, the word's YOUKAI, right?" He puts a hand to his chin and nods a few times, thoughtfully. "Yeah, guess that'd ADD UP on a couple angles. Keep us off the TOES of those CLANS, too."
Xion Xion, meaningfully, produces a standard black Swingline office stapler from a puff of black '''smoke''' and holds it out to Arthur.

"Okay! Here, use this to staple your arm or leg or something instead of jumping through a jet engine or..."

She looks up at his health vial. "... whatever a Langley Two is."
Arthur Lowell >Arthur: Staple yourself, idiot

    "Naw, naw! It ain't about, like, PHYSICAL PAIN." Arthur says, still captchaloguing Xion's stapler regardless. Surely it will never come up. "It's about hitting the, uhhh..." He snaps his fingers a few times. "Anguish. That's a good word, it's gotta be *anguish*. Immortal fuckheads can still feel pain, but it's gotta feel *wrong*, feel like losing a little too much to be nice. You know?" He grits his teeth. "It's either me happy about this or me all salty about that Grant motherfucker getting away with all his ribs."
Ishirou I4 stares at Arthur for a very long time.  "I am sure there are ladies who you have to pay for that kind of thing.  Or guys.  I am sure I read a thing for it, but uh..." he says, a bit uneasily, "Or find yourself a nice person who can give you the mental pain you desire.."

I4 looks at Lilian and Tamamo like 'come pick me up I'm scared'.
Xion "Oh. Anguish."

Xion produces the Swingline Heavy Duty 160-page High Capacity Office Stapler from her inventory - a full, press-like mechanical desk Device with a cartridge-loaded staple magazine and spring-loaded ejection, and a 'magazine' of three-quarter inch staples.

"This one will go all the way through and curl at the end, you'll definitely feel it."

She tilts her head. "Unless you mean emotional anguish. Then maybe. . ."

She shutters her blue eyes, opens them, and sighs. "... nevermind. Bigger stapler for sure."
Lilian Rook     Lilian gets a little quiet at Xion. "Wishes don't change how reality works. By default, hearts are fake things. A rock has more weight than a wish. A token has more solidity than a promise or a desire. At least, in the ways that people can see. It takes special people, with special things, to know anything otherwise. And then the magic that makes promises more real than tokens is a kind that not everyone is cut out for." From thereon, she ends up absentmindedly trying to hold Tamamo's hand.

    "I wonder if it might be a good idea to see if we can use Nobuko, after all of that." Lilian thinks idly out loud. "Youkai is a very broad classification, but it'd probably make up the largest portion of the ASIS demographic, there's no doubt about that." She sighs and has to change topics again. "He's talking about the feeling 'that life sucks'. Perfect beings, even 'elder entities', don't get that. They feel like life is what they choose it to be, after a while. I don't know how this dumb gamer bastard got to the point he thinks he's in danger of that, though. I've hardly seen him make a single good decision beyond following me." A pause. "Aliens? I . . . highly doubt that. And I don't even think that's a thing. But certainly, your help could actually be very valuable this time. Even Tamamo isn't actually 'Ayakashi', despite her flawless looks."

    At the slightly creepy buddha waterfall, the hike stops. There is, after a little while over the sound of falling water, the sound of a ringing bell, and returning one is the signal to get company to appear; specifically from the crooked mountain gate over the defaced statue.

    Even more specifically, a pair of seemingly identical kitsune, distinguishable only by a snowflake-patterned blue dress and a maple-patterned red dress, walking in that perfectly eerie twinlike lockstep on shoes that don't *quite* rival Tamamo's. Though their level of ornamentation is *considerably* lesser, especially with more earthly brown-black hair, the fact that the pair of them each have four tails apiece does speak something to their non-trivial genuity, even without the more than uncanny aura about them.

    Yes, definitely rather than 'cute fox girls', each of the beautiful young ladies projects the strangely unwholesome vibe of spying a deer walking around on two legs in one's back yard. Though they give a proper, formal greeting (together, one palm in the other's), the blue introduces herself as 'Fuyume', the red as 'Akari', and then both manage to smile at the same time with far too much canine tooth, before asking in perfect unison, "What is it that you want? Have you come to make an 'offering' to us~?"
Hellwarming Trio "More youkai? Oh, cool! This should be a cinch." Rin seems enthused when Lilian confirms that their extremely broad classification of people exists here in force, and Utsuho has to grab her by the scruff of her neck to make sure she doesn't speed ahead of everyone before the group is actually ready to continue.

Rin: "Too bad there ain't any aliens."
Utsuho: "Not yet."

The synchronized arrival of kitsune has the pair eyeing them curiously, touching down on the ground moments later in some vague sense of camaraderie/not lording flight over them in case they can't actually fly. They greet the kitsune with their own synchronized movements, spinning around each other once before posing with one arm extended upwards and one extended outwards, but mirrored from each other.

"Welcome! We've come with stuff!" They speak in unison, too, apparently having practiced at least this much despite the greeting itself not being entirely appropriate for the situation. They even reach into their pockets with synchronized timing, although Rin does seem a little slower on the draw.

Utsuho produces a clear plastic container with some deep-fried boiled eggs. The breading is still crispy in a few spots.
Rin produces a couple of grilled teriyaki chicken skewers in a paper takeout bag that's inside a slightly larger plastic bag.

Utsuho: "We've got some stuff going on. About... Uh..."
Rin: "They'll say it better than we can. It'll be really cool when it's done, though!"
Ishirou With the awkwardness of finding out about his friends more than he expected to learn, and also that Xion really liked to offer people staplers.  Not that he would need one, because the paper is such a wasteful thing, and pure digital media is the perfect future storage medium.  With that thought, he goes back on the trail, thinking about how to set up a network.  

Hmm...maybe the runes could be magic activated, as opposed to powered by electricity..?  No that seems counterproductive.  Maybe if they were layered instead of all powered at once, then you could activate layers based on need, right?  That seems like it'd need a good recon to help control it...

No this seems like you'd have to build things from the ground up to make it work.  Maximizing efficiency would require a town to be built geometrically right.  Oh no wait, you could extend the field out, and work in the geomancy within..?  

Then the two fox women walk up to them.  There are some questions, he's not an expert on the spirits of this land.  Honestly, it's not a thing he's overly knowledgeable about at all.  Though he was left to his own devices on this.  Alright... let's see...he sits down for a moment, and produces the pot he still had the soup in.  Why does he have the soup?  Because he can't get rid of it.  

He also places two bowls out and uses some elemental magic to warm the soup up.  He dishes out the two bowls and places them out forward.  "Here you go!" he says brightly.  

Plum Soup.  He places the pot back into his storage space.  
Tamamo     "I am quite good at blessings, I think," Tamamo cheerily answers Utsuho. She's still looking toward the youkai pair while she takes Lilian's hand, idly lacing fingers.

    "There is more we might investigate about the garden, I think. I suspect it to be a reason for the village's placement. Does it not seem so?" Tamamo says to Arthur. That doesn't mean harvesting, necessarily, but there's surely something resource or opportunity relevant, there. It has that kind of feeling.

    She looks a bit concerned at Xion's offer of aided masochism, more so than the unreadable expression she'd given the initial accusation, but that smooths over when Arthur clarifies. I4 receives no aid in understanding the matter, from her, apart from a 'don't worry about it' kind of small smile.

    A pair of foxes appear, and Tamamo is quite comfortable. So comfy is she, in fact, that she positively -- no, she is, in fact, radiating an aura of fluffy comfort. It is just below the level at which one would necessarily need to question the origin of phantom fluffiness. She could, if she wished, maintain such a thing regardless of her own personal feelings, but it's a fact that meeting foxes has never turned out badly, in her life. Bad things usually happened right before then, instead.

    She may have some reservations about this pair, but that's neither important, nor a fact she allows to show anywhere in her countenance. She quite perfectly hides the sharpness of her own teeth, most of the time. Lilian may recall a moment or two that were otherwise.
Xion Xion doesn't quite smile at the approach of the two foxes, the palpable aura of the 'unreal' rolling off their approach. At first, she considers them in the way of a traveller alone - she looks, and considers, and then turns her head to her companions, and then looks back.

And then her attitude shifts, as her black bangs reflect a golden glow from Tamamo's direction.

"Oh, hi there Akari, Fuyume. I'm Xion."

She returns the bow, though her hands form a fist-into-palm presentation rather than met palms. "I'm here with some friend. Would you like a popsicle?"

She smiles.
Tamamo <J-IC-Scene> Hellwarming Duo | Utsuho says, "Oh. Uh. Is this the part where we all give them a thing, or just one of us?"
<J-IC-Scene> I4 oblivious, "So it's rude to NOT give an offering right? What do they want as an offering?"
<J-IC-Scene> Xion says, "Do you do anything anyone asks you, because you'd fear it'd be rude?"
<J-IC-Scene> Tamamo says, "If your greatest wish is to be polite, it may not be the worst choice. They did not, however, ask us for an offering."

    It's true. They hadn't asked. But when I4 offers his soup, Tamamo thinks for several moments, unsure whether to share her read of the situation, before deciding against saying anything that would limit him. She's being considerate of both him and the greeting pair, in this.

    "Fuyume-san and Akari-san, is it? Shall we introduce ourselves? Ah, but I am sure you know of such things, already, to have chosen to come and meet us." Even if that's not true, Tamamo's certain they know at least everyone who'd been here, previously. "Oh, I have not, though if there are any matters that trouble you, I shall be content to lend an ear, at least. If you would come to me for my blessing, I might aid you, then." Though it's broadly a positive offer, the particulars make it a radical departure from 'an offering' in every way that matters, here.

    If Xion wishes for any, Tamamo reaches into her sleeves to retrieve some sugar cookies, in a little bag drawn tight with a bow. They're actually not that sugary, but that just makes it easier to eat more of them.
Arthur Lowell >Arthur: Try offering something?

    Arthur approaches and instantly begins another attempt to barrage their hands with his usual handshakes purely to barrel through the unnerved feeling they provoke in his head. "WHAT'S GOOD WHAT'S GOOD WHAT'S GOOD." He rambles. "Name's ARTHUR LOWELL, good meetin' ya homies. I didn't bring SHIT, dawg. But hey! I can pull somethin' together. Y'all want my GAMEBOY? Some GATES? A SUN OF YOUR OWN? I gotta get them BLESSINGS, homeslice, I need the LINE on ASIS for real. Help a HUMAN GUY out up in this motherfucker, I got some HOT CHANCES to drop on 'em, some OPPORTUNITIES here to KNOCK THOSE DOORS."
Lilian Rook     Between, largely, the collective response of the group, the twin foxes seem to find something irresistibly amusing. Gleefully humourous, in fact. Though they retain their joint, eerily restrained facade for a little while longer, it isn't long before their smiles get a little too wide, and both foxes burst out into uncontrollable giggling. Unfortunately, it isn't an infectious kind of laugh. The slightly unnatural lilt beneath it, sharply rising and cutting off at pitch, certainly 'like' a woman's laughter, but not from a human's throat, only adds to that uncanny atmosphere. As the legend allegedly arose from the sounds that foxes make alone in the wild, so does this conjure to mind the feeling of 'a dangerously good pretender'. Death wearing his three piece suit, as the uninvited guest at the party.

    However, that hair-raising moment does pass, around the same time that Arthur approaches especially. 'Akari' reaches her hand from her sleeve as if to reciprocate his daps and pounds from memory, and then in less than a moment, she has twisted up his arm, smoothly slipped under it, turned him back around by pivoting on her impressively tall footwear, and grabbed him from behind, now holding him what could be termed 'human shield' style against the group, except for the fact it appears to be primarily for her own amusement, running her fingernails over his neck and wiggling a hand under his gamer robes.

    "No no, that's fine~ We were wondering if you were 'one of those' who comes to 'make offerings'~" says Akari, now scarily close to Arthur's ear. "Though not marked by the arrow, we like this one~" says Fuyume, tittering behind her sleeve. "Oh but surely you hadn't meant to offer us 'this one' if that were the case~" says Akari. "Even though we still might take him if it amuses us~" says Fuyume. "Don't they still tell young men to be careful of women they meet in the mountains~?" says Akari. "The other one can be an 'offering' too if he likes~" says Fuyume. It goes on like this.

    However, after a sufficient amount of gamer bullying, Lilian interjects to just outright say, "Apologies, but we're here by proxy of . . . 'The Divine Child'. Please tell your director this; she'll understand. We can wait here.", and so Arthur is released, lightly pushed off the Buddha, and the two foxes hop down to the extended palm a few feet off the ground instead, still standing side by side.

    "How boring." "Yes, we already knew that." "Ahh, but I'd hoped to know what name she chose to give you~" "I'll bet it was a cute one." "That would be a child worth spiriting away~" "But not our type." "Yes, yes, don't worry about an 'offering'. This time~" "We've been informed~" "Sent out to see you, in fact~" say the four and four makes forty-four tails. The two of them find Xion's specific choice of bow evidently amusing, but then take it as an opportunity to bow, slightly, in unison towards Tamamo (and Xion actually? Oddly). "And we wouldn't dream of stealing the catch of our esteemed elder~" "Not at all~" they say, to the fox with three tails. "We won't tease you anymore~" "Not too badly~" "But it isn't so simple to invite you in." "Not if you ever want to go home again~" "We must already apologize for one more thing before the day is done~" "So let's not add any more, shall we~?" Simultaneously, "How may we help you~?"
Ishirou I4 blinks, looking down at the plum soup he will have with him until the end of his fucking life.  Slowly, he starts dishing it back into the pot and starts putting the pot away.

'Aw damn,' he thinks to himself.  'I'll never be free of this accursed thing I made of my own hubris.'  Not even the predatory fox women would take it as an offering.  'I mean, come on, it'd have to be better than the insides of that guy.  He's probably Dorito and mtn dew flavored all the way down.'

Standing back up, however, he does start taking in the knowledge he's gathered from the database and starts trying to piece together what he can know for future offerings to future spirits they might run across to prevent dangerous encounters.  Maybe one of THEM will take his forsaken soup.  

He sighs, but it is as likely to be in response to the polite 'I told you so' as it is his own lack of getting rid of this soup.  
Hellwarming Trio The foxes aren't the only ones laughing. Indeed, it appears that Utsuho and Rin have joined in their laughter despite the aforementioned lack of infectious quality in the foxes' own laughter, but the glances they exchange suggest that they don't actually know why anyone's laughing.

Rin: "Ahah... So! What're we laughin' for?"
Utsuho: "I'unno. I thought you knew."

With that actually just confirmed, they don't seem too worried at first when Akari goes for the human shield maneuver. "I mean, if you want him...?" Utsuho starts, but doesn't quite finish that thought. Instead, she actually starts to process things, putting just enough pieces together to shake her head firmly. "Nah, we need him for... Stuff. Unless he wants to go with you and..."

She cracks a grin, drawing a confused look from Rin in turn. Before the cat can ask the raven about that, however, Lilian interjects to rescue Arthur from that grisly fate, and the matter of what they're actually here for finally comes up.

Well, again.

Rin: "We're lookin' for some extra dudes!"
Utsuho: "Yeah, because we're getting a new place set up. We need... Uh. Bodies. To get stuff moving better and all that."
Rin: "It'll be really cool, too. There'll be parties every day!"
Utsuho: "I don't know about every day, but probably more than none."
Arthur Lowell >Arthur: not again

    Arthur's brain mostly shuts down when he's grabbed and, uh, *messed with*, so to speak, except to fluster out something about how, no, he's not an offering, no, and surely these lovely fox ladies can find a much better person to do whatever strange things they're talking about, and *oh god where are those fingernails*. Soon, he's deposited in a heap near the others again.

>Arthur: What was the name she gave?

    "Sakura." Arthur explains, sort of stretching his arm out after it was finessed into that odd position and getting back up after being released from the grasp. "That was her name, I mean. The one she gave us." Arthur fidgets weirdly. "Naw, never learned anything about mountain ladies, must'a been one of those school years I never got." He searches through his entire Sylladex to dig out some sunglasses to hide behind and plants them firmly on his face.

>Arthur: How can they help you?

    "Lookin' for homies!" Arthur calls back up to the foxes on the palms. "We up in this biz 'cause we got some reclaimed land that got all fucked up ages back by some Grave Blades and Antegent, but now it's *not* fucked up. Figure a place with a lot of exiles got some rootless dudes up for that kind of adventure, yeah?"
Tamamo     "Yes, you see?" Tamamo says, in reaction to Arthur's imminent spiriting away. She turns to encompass both him and I4 her view. But then, warnings about the dangers that might befall one who separates from the group have already been given, in reinforcement to certain warnings given some time ago. There's no need to keep harping on it.

    Though no offerings need be given, Tamamo still offers a gift bag of cookies to Xion.
Tamamo     "We are certainly seeking 'people,' but is that not always so? Whether one seeks an audience, an ally, or a guest. In this case, however, it is the opportunity to sell some favors for which we seek. Let us keep this in mind, though some exchange, as of pleasantries, may occur. I do not wish for any great imposition to be placed on those here, after all. Would that not be wholly unnecessary, in the midst of efforts that provide their benefits to all involved?

    But this doesn't yet answer the question. 'How may' is operative. "Oh, I do wonder. Just how might you help us, were you so willing? Perhaps you may handle such matters as are required of our exit. It would be inconvenient for only the 'particularly suited' to enter, no? And quite dull, besides. Out of consideration, I shall not demand you divulge what hazards these may be, so long as they are within your power to address."

    This might mean that she'll demand the dangers be explained if they are not within the twins' power to handle, and does mean she'll hold them responsible, if they could be addressed, but weren't.
Muramasa There's a kind of - trepidation, in Muramasa's countenance. He was never really the most sociable man, nor the most sensible, nor the most healthy; as far as the quirks of his faculties were concerned, that is. It goes without saying that he really had no idea how to approach Lilian Rook anymore, nor was he able to muster up the energy necessary to figure that out.

Setting out today, it was like walking out into a different dimension. He hadn't realized how long he'd spent dully staring at a certain letter.

The content entrusted to him had not yet found their proper recipient. ... it's no good to let things sit. I need to do my dues.

... but this wasn't the time or place to stew in his personal problems, and he'd take any chance he could to put off self-reflection if for even a little while longer.

Clad in his full white garb and a large, blue haori, he holds some kind of basket covered in wrapped cloth. "It's not so easy to welcome us in, huh ... " he murmurs, having kept to himself for the most part.

"It's a shame. I made Anpan - but if entry means a barred exit, then it seems like it was pointless to do so, hm?"

There's a tired, coyness to his tone. Who could resist some fresh, tasty bean rolls? No one with taste buds, that's who.
Lilian Rook     Fuyume ostensibly breaks synchronicity for a second, when I4t goes to take his soup back. "Ah-ah, I didn't say put that away." For some reason, she is not particularly interested in chicken skewers, and so Akari says "I'll take those off your hands before they get old, though~"

    For some reason, the two of them click back together at finding 'Sakura' an innately hilarious choice of pseudonym. This one, at least, has less of a goosebump-inducing sound to it, more along the lines of scandalous tittering. "Adorable~" "Put on the spot was she~?" "No no, I think it must be that tree again~" "Isn't that just choosing the first thing you see in the room~?" "Now, I think that tree's always been special~"

    Both their ears prick up at the same time when Muramasa finally speaks, and uses the magic word, though Fuyume lags just slightly behind Akari. "Ahh, well, with that generous offer . . ." "We should explain to our esteemed one regardless, shouldn't we~?" "Mountain climbing is hardly easy for humans either~" "My my, very well~"

    "It's like this~" "The Emergent Ones have little care for we who may only seem human if we choose--" "--But the unforgivable things they've done to the land and sea and air to kill your kind make it very difficult for even ourselves to find places to live~" "Even amongst our kind, those who need nothing from the land--" "--need either a ways to return to our own--" "--or need something 'from humans'~" "It would be very inconvenient if you all went extinct you know!" "It would make many Greater Ones unhappy as well!" "Not that they aren't already unhappy with what's happened to the land they build~" "Even those who have no interest in your kind directly--" "--find it rather convenient that your kind is so attached to the green and blue world you once nearly destroyed~"

    "But of course, we have no interest in building up your towns again~" "Haha, not even your kind do! Your Greater Ones are more fixated on colonizing the Otherside~" "After all, thousands of years won't change just like that!" "Not in the blink of an eye~" "Our kind can't simply share room with yours~" "Scandalous~!" "And so our 'clan of clans' cares most for guaranteeing a future for ourselves~" "A future with humans! Be glad~!" "And this mountain is about the last place your kind ever respected enough to leave alone." "There's no surprise that Old Fuji couldn't fall, right~?" "You have your little cities, shiny and new--" "--but the old, old, old country--" "--that existed before you--" "--is--" "--ours."
Lilian Rook     "But even then, you can't simply cram every one of 'our kind' into one 'den'!" "No no no, they'd never get along!" "So many 'dens' are needed!" "'Dens' with tunnels, in the soft earth of the Otherside." "And to each their own--" "--supply of humans~" "Ah, well, in a way?" "There aren't quite enough humans left to go eating them up like old times, I'm afraid~" "So our leader's 'grand design' is quite something~" "A place where humans go, to build 'a world with humans in it', solely for the benefit of our kind~" "A human village as the seed for a human province--" "--in a land of spirits and devils, just for us~" "Humans who still remember to pray--" "--to fear--" "--to make offerings--" "--that we might 'graze the grass' from~" "So we are afraid that if your kind were to enter--" "--It would be rather complicated to keep you from making problems for our grand fairytale you see~"

    "But if the Divine Child asks--" "--then she must see a reason beyond our sight to support you." "We would like to see your own village for ourselves." "And know what it is your want so many humans for." "Certainly it isn't such petty vanity as 'to rule' is it~?" "If you're looking to 'save them', then you're rather too late~" "But perhaps our 'grand design' would not be averse to such a thing--" "--if our esteemed elder, too, would wish to restore the old ways." "Tell us about your village." "How you would put humankind to work again." "So we me know what it is you lack." "Besides warm bodies that is~" "It seems the esteemed one has no trouble keeping warm, heehee~" "Nor are our kindred spirits amongst you--" "--poor in opportunity~" "Such a 'nurturing environment~'" "Come up here and let us sit~" "Sit and speak~" "And maybe play a game~?"
Ishirou I4 pauses packing his soup up, a smile on his face when Fuymue indicates that she will want some after all, but the other wants the skewers?  Oh, one must be vegetarian, and the other not?  It's a good thing he used vegetable stock for this soup.  I4 places the bowl back out, before putting the pot away unless stopped.  He can leave the whole pot here.  

It wasn't his pot anyway, sorry Go.

I4 does not know much about the village, he did not build it up instead he just came along for this part.  Honestly, the best thing he could do right now is to learn from experience and let those with the know-how work.  Too many hands make the dish go foul, right?  

Some things don't exactly sit right with him, while other things he hears does.    Perhaps it is just because these two's natures are predatory, but perhaps it is the whole situation of Lilian's world.  He does sigh to himself because despite everything the people of this world seem less willing to end up like Indus and the other cities did.  

He wonders if Indus can be saved, or of the humans, there are far too gone?  Would anyone want a restoration of things to how they were?  Were they too unwilling to give up their slaves?  These thoughts cause a sour look to cross his face for a moment before he shakes it off.  

"Do you make it sound so predatory on purpose?" he asks the two.  
Muramasa As I thought - bean paste really is the secret to a glutton's heart. Muramasa muses to himself.

The description provided between the different fox-women evokes the memory of that place ... what was it called? He remembered that it was some kind of problem with a hot spring, and that Bercilak had clogged the spring after they'd gone under the ground to fight a certain nuclear crow, to express his frustration towards a negligent shrine maiden.

Right. I wonder if that woman's bathroom ever went back to normal? he wonders.

He didn't like the way they talked, though - it just reminded him of the many reasons he tended to dislike 'that' side of the world in both of his prior lives. "I'm no good at games," he says, " .. and I don't fancy losing to such clever, mischief making mountain women."

" - nor can I claim to have words for the designs that will be spoken of. It'd be remiss of me to not be present, however."

    "For that reason - yes, let us sit."

... the way this world is heading, finding some common ground isn't just gravy, now. It's the only way things will get better, so ... this has to work. I wonder if Sakura thought that, too?
Arthur Lowell >Arthur: Be diplomatic

    "Oh, yeah." Arthur says, nodding a few times calmly. "If I got up in that biz, I'd see some shit I didn't like, and then I'd pick a fight and start trying to fix things and stuff. Shit, I'd be questing straight out the gate, dawg. But," He tilts his head to Lilian. "I'm following her lead. I think Sakura clocked her as someone with destiny or some shit, so I'm just following along on that. She's got some alpha-timeline shit she's doing."

    Well, there's only so much diplomacy this guy can manage.

>Arthur: What do you need those people for?

    "But, I mean, what's it *for*? Couple things. I know Sakura wants some help. I know the Dragon's Garden there could use some devotees keepin' it all cool and good. Mostly that's gonna be the one y'all care about, right? Dragon's Garden over there?" He makes a broad motion, plaintive, diplomatically enticing. Then, he trails his discussion into, "And... while I was there, I ran into an Antegent. It was a radio signal -- I mean, kinda. And it was communicating -- it *informed* on some other guys who came from wherever Antegent came from. It was using the remnants of the town there, the old signals. So if I put a town back on the map there... maybe something happens? I dunno. Shot in the dark."
Hellwarming Trio Utsuho: "Greater Ones?"
Rin: "Leaders, from the sounds of it. Youkai got theirs, and humans got theirs."
Utsuho: "Oh. Yeah, that makes sense. So if the youkai here need a bunch of places to get set up with their own batch of humans..."
Rin: "We know just the way to do it!"

With confidence brimming in their eyes, the duo exchange broad grins as they finally strike COOL* POSES, arms crossed and back to back while facing the foxes like they're straight out of a sitcom from the 1980s.

Utsuho: "We came out here because the rest of 'em are pretty cool about stuff, and they want to save the humans here."
Rin: "Rulin' wouldn't be half bad, either, but.. Uh. Nah, we've been around these kinda folks for a while now! They're really good at survivin' stuff even when they shouldn't, and the dead ones usually get lots of stuff done before they croak. Heck, we could probably get a furnace set up just like back home!"
Utsuho: "Oh, yeah. We keep the fires going in hell where we're from, and there's loads of underground youkai there."
Rin: "And the humans stay on the surface, but they know what's up. Everybody wins!"

The kitsune ask about what they lack, and the youkai Paladins exchange puzzled glances. "Uh.. Do we need anything else?" Utsuho asks, partially to Rin and partially to literally everyone else in the group. Arthur clarifies that they have to be a little selective, and Utsuho continues. "Some smart people, too because we're not gonna be around guiding their hips all the time."

A beat, and then she looks over at the rest of the group. "... Is that the right phrase?"

"Anyhow. Yeah, let's get sittin'! What kinda games you got going up here, anyway?" Rin's all too ready to bound up there, and she looks back over the edge of a hand to wave at Utsuho to hurry up.

*It's cool to them, dammit.
Tamamo     Adorable~
    Tamamo nods, smiling in agreement. Not that she'd have said such to Sakura, just to embarrass her. Most probably.

    But the unforgivable things they've done to the land and sea and air to kill your kind make it very difficult for even ourselves to find places to live~
    "And so would I seek a recovery of the world, were that not too grand a design to be easily seen from start to finish. Even the threads I follow do turn blind corners. One cannot see both the present and the end of an age in equal focus, and one may suffer for the other."

    But of course, we have no interest in building up your towns again~
    "Oh, do you not? I suppose if one were to consider towns as only now exist, it would be less agreeable, to see them scattered widely, yet of such density. I have not had occasion to see such a world, having missed some intervening time. My, but I do feel the gap of generations, now. Would you say the same were it not the towns of two centuries past, but those of ten?" There may be an insurmountable gap between the 400-year-old and the 1000-year-old, after all, but such is an unavoidable fact of life.

    But if the Divine Child asks--


PREVIOUSLY:

    "Ah! That reminds me! Lady Tamamo! Would it be um . . . well, I couldn't help but find out what you intend with this place, so . . . You know of the unwanted who are sent up the Mountain, yes? The people there are no room for. Who please the daimyo the least. Would it be possible if . . . if, um, the next time . . . we could send them here?"

    Sakura had said that, before becoming distracted by Muramasa's troubled appearance. What a kind girl, she is.


NOW:

    "The Divine Child had asked this of me, that I might find a place for some as are sent up the mountain. Do you have no concerns, yourselves, that too many humans may be present in one place, should those few cities continue to discard all those for whom they find too little worth? My, but that does seem promising -- or rather, it would be, if aught was being done for their benefit." As has been said, that's not the deal the humans getting. Not that they're being given any room to complain, either.
Tamamo     --if our esteemed elder, too, would wish to restore the old ways.
    "If the whole of the world cannot be seen at once, then the length of one pace shall do, followed by another, and another. There are old ways as I would see restored, and some for which I have never concerned myself, as never had She. Few still know aught of that age, and so, perhaps, there are matters I would only think known by my own misunderstanding. Among these are the appearance of humanity from the High Plain of Heaven."

    Instead of explaining that at all, Tamamo moves on. "A village needs men, women, and, ultimately, children, as well. If their skill is lacking, then what can be done but to teach them? But if they are to be skilled, it should be better that theirs not languish, and it then follows that those with skills unnecessary should be allowed to keep to their own places. A village, even hidden, should have those people as to provide the benefit of their trades to other towns, or else it is not 'hidden,' but 'isolated.' It should have those as would protect it from the dangers of the land and the world's enemies, both, though these no longer consist wholly of men skilled with horse and bow. Those that can take to the techniques of my own specialties shall be needed, as it is by modern technique, by the invocations of the old, and by own craft and blessing that its safety shall be assured."

    It would be easy to misunderstand. 'Petty vanity,' indeed. Even if it's stated clearly, that doesn't make all of it true. Tamamo isn't about to make the same claim about 'authority' as she'd made to Sakura, and even if she did, it wouldn't necessarily mean anything.

    "In this case, I do believe there is no difference between safety, reclamation, and restoration. If one village may be so built, then so shall another. Thus does one era pass into the next, not in the blink of an eye, but by steps taken, one after another. Should my own talents be useful to this, why, I am known for the raising of civilization, am I not?" It would be fair to guess that there's more to it than she's saying. That's the base assumption, with foxes.
Lilian Rook     "It can't be helped~" Akari says to I4. She takes special relish in specifically using the infamous modern turn of phrase. "It is what it is~" says Fuyume. "We wouldn't want to give you the wrong idea~ That would be 'tricksterish' wouldn't it~?"

    Lilian has to do some hefty radio explaining. She comes to the point of "So it's true? Your group hasn't actually roundly rejected the 'evil' spirits, have you? The common assumption is . . . Well, it's better PR to let everyone believe that 'oni' and such are all off on their own, right?" The foxes make amused little synchronized humming sounds in response. "It is and it isn't." "Of course, we'd be absolute fools to completely turn down the strength of some of our Great Ones." "But there's the matter of compatibility between them and our independence~" "One who won't cooperate without being fed a stream of human sacrifices is . . ." "No good~" "No good at all~" "Reality is never just truth and falsehood, but always--" "--a little of both~"

    They both nod at Utsuho, but it's just Akari who says. "Ah, no need to say more. We understand perfectly well how painfully inexperienced they can be~" Fuyume adds, "Though we hadn't thought it'd concern a kasha or a crow~" "That does mean that you happen to want the same humans we do, however . . ." "Yes, those that could easily be thrown away twice would be much easier to part with." Muramasa receives his own share of tittering. "Ah, really~? Is that so~?" "Men your age are usually so much more eager to fall for it~" "You sound like a tired old man~" "So cautious~" "Ah, but we won't reject such a kind offer regardless~" "Please take no offense~" It seems they did hold out some hopes of scamming him out of his room and board with a game or ten of shogi. Alas. Muramasa is not, as he appears, nineteen and single.

    To Arthur, they both nod in perfect unison. "We don't dislike heroic types like you~" "But I'm glad you understand~" Their ears flick at 'Dragon's Garden' again, but specifically only Akari's at 'alpha timeline'. Fuyume glances sideways at her when she does. The second in the perfect duality so far. Akari is staring holes in Lilian, and not just her holding Tamamo's hand either; her face, her eyes, her hairpin, her new, faded scars, and where Night Mist should be hanging on her breast under her clothes. "Ah. I'd thought something strange. Another girl of the sacred trees, is it? Very well."

    Tamamo begins, in both agreement and explanation, and Akari's tone of voice changes completely. It sounds . . . older. "You may go, 'Fuyume'." "Are you certain, miss?" "Yes yes, I see what I'm dealing with now."

    With the full breadth explained and absorbed, Akari motions Fuyume away. Her twin bows deeply to her, and then reaches up and removes a great big cypress leaf from her head, which certainly wasn't there before. Before your eyes, she loses three inches of height and three tails in a puff of purple smoke, the remaining one rather more striped, her ears more rounded, and her outfit rather more green and simple, including only sandals. The shorter girl scoops up the food offerings and hurries off back through the arch into the cave.
Lilian Rook     Akari, in her older, smoother, less eerie tones, says "And now, as I promised, my final apology of the night." and her shape, too, changes. She is the one who gains the other three inches, as her hair and fur whiten like snow, her eyes redden, and her outfit reveals many layers of red and pink and black, patterned in autumn leaves, cypress branches, spider's webs, and plum blossoms. The fact that four additional tails appear is apparently a matter of mere optical illusion, precisely hidden behind the first four with manual dexterity. However, they are not quite evenly spaced as a fan, but leave a slight, noticeable gap at her spine.

    The older kitsune motions to the empty space in the Buddha's palm, and seats herself one leg at a time. Removing a plum blossom ornament --one of several-- from her long, white, bound up hair, she lobs it onto the smooth stone, and it bursts into an entire blanket-feast of wooden casks filled with rice and wine and savoury boxed dishes. "Come come~" she says. "And you may call me Saeko no Juubi of Yakumo~ To save the young lady an explanation, yes, it is I who 'lead' our 'clan of clans', though in the sense that it is my face that humanity ascribes the wisdom of our shared future~ Come come~ You've walked all this way~ Ah, but I do expect you to share that anpan~"

    Once everyone is in their places, Saeko sparks off a little more conversation. "Now that I've verified with my own eyes, though I know that 'other histories' have their differences, I must say the resemblance is remarkable~ I was a great fan of yours, back in your day~" she says, ostensibly to Tamamo. "I'd heard that you'd decided to become 'zenko' after 'what happened then', and thought that must be a wonderful thing, and even modelled myself after that desire~ But seeing you for myself, I must say that mere 'zenko' was a diminuation; one of Buddhist pride, I'm certain~ What right have I, a mere disciple, to gainsay my elder and predecessor, Tamamo no Mae, and my lady's lady, she of the White-Gold Face? I will merely be flattered that she should take so kindly to my ideas~ Ah, to say nothing of what I have promised the Himorogikage and your cute little friend 'Sakura'~"

    "I'm aware of the places that lead to the Dragon Palace, though I'd thought them all lost myself. I don't travel the countryside like I used to. If what you say is true, you've certainly found a place that could work for 'reclamation'. A true one. Beyond the protective veil of the Otherside. For that, I am grateful. And I owe the Divine Child, and the sacred tree women in general, a debt. Of course, the idea that we spirit away humans to eat them is part fabrication, designed to keep away unwelcome interest."

    "Our very own 'human village' has its own need of craftsmen, farmers, monks, midwives, and all those sundry things. The more predatory needs of the few 'bad spirits' I've verified the loyalty of can be sated in small parts, ablated amongst the masses. For the most part, humans toil as they did to appease the gods, and their servants, for the benefit of a 'spiritual Japan', in microcosm, that we may flourish in. We have these things to give; in honest, we, too, are beginning to reach what I could deem a 'useful surplus' which I simply haven't decided how to spend yet. I might even lend those you need to teach what you do not know."

    "However, your thirst for those forty-four swords concerns me. Such a pursuit should likely bring ruin, even should I aid you as much as I can. Why do you insist on such 'unclean' business? If your desire is truly to bring back better days, then why become so entangled in the bloody affairs of powerful men?"
Lilian Rook     Immediately acquiring Muramasa's buns for herself, and withdrawing a rather old kiseru pipe, Saeko pauses in a second's idle thought. "I wonder whatever happened before? I sent out my invitations numerous times to you 'other world' types before, but I believe they were taken by a pair of cute little kitties, and nothing ever came of it."
Ishirou "Mmm, I suppose so!  Honestly, I am just enjoying the entire affair.  This has been an interesting situation so far!" I4 smiles, showing sincerity.  

Uh-huh, so that was it!  He thought it was rather odd that a fox would be interested in something not meat-related.  He'll have to see if the raccoon spirit would rather like to take the rest of the plum soup off his hands.  That'd be a load off his shoulders...

I4 follows along, after the 'transformation'.  He wonders if he should have scrutinized her longer, or if he'd been caught and that might have caused a problem?  Then again, her illusions might have outclassed his own ability to see through them.  He'll put it off to enjoying the experience, as nothing harmful was actually happening.  

Though when they are seated, he takes a moment to regard customs and his occult knowledge with being sat and dinned by powerful spirits before he does anything, taking a moment to share any relevant information he might have with others who may not know.  

"They're useful because they are strong, but a weapon that hurts its owner is of little use?" he asks, though he's more than aware of the answer to that.  Of course, she does offer aid, but there is the unspoken cost.  "I assume you need our aid in return?"
Arthur Lowell >==>

    Arthur whistles softly. "Damn. You got a way of putting off that Ultimate Self, huh? Shit, I wish I could do that." He wanders to the blanket-feast and squats at it, deciding to chow down. This dude doesn't give a *fuck* about spirit-world food rules, he will eat and figure things out later.

>Arthur: She's canny. Disclose the sword interest

    "Some shit happened." Arthur says, between bites. "On one hand, I'm basically wrapped up in this on account of I fucked up a sword hand-off once, then I tried to correct *that* and nearly loosed some fucked up supermonsters, then corrected *that* and..." He scratches his cheek oddly.

    "It's not just that though. Time shit, in this. These things gotta go where they gotta go *fate-wise*. Saw them put to use with the pylons that link our side and whatever the hell Antegent come from, and it got real bad. It wasn't just Sakura telling me to stop that, an *Antegent* asked me to stop it too. Dying-breath wish and all." He fidgets as he speaks, finally removing those sunglasses and never finding a place to settle them in his hands. "This shit can't keep going as it is. Bunkering down and waiting, I mean, it worked." He takes a big bite and chews it firmly, with some weird determination.

    "But every year this world puts off this shit, it brings in a debt. It's finding safety and stability but it's not finding sustainability, and when it does, shit goes wild with too much infighting. The swords are tied up in who knows what kind of fucked up prophecies, but I think it's one of the only landmarks I can navigate this shit by. So yeah, I got debts to figure out, gotta make right what I fucked up, but the bigger picture, pushing the stack of backlogged fate, that's the reason I'm going through on this. Well, that, and," He turns and glances to Lilian. "Princess Haughty over there got her shit straight." He taps one temple. "Pure human-brain, and the *classic* type of hero, plus fate all twisted in there. I'm backing whatever world-change shit comes out of her."
Hellwarming Trio Utsuho: "Yeah, human sacrifice is pretty overrated."
Rin: "Too much bad blood if we start grabbin' 'em off the street."
Utsuho: "Right. Just like the last time you tried it."
Rin: "... A-anyway! We only use the ones that already died, anyway!"

While Rin inwardly starts freaking out over who may or may not suspect her for something largely undefined, Utsuho just lets out an amused and mildly immature 'heh' at Akari's innuendo. "The fires won't keep themselves going. Besides, a human can be useful while they're alive as long as they can be, and then they can still be useful when they're dead. Everyone wins." She explains, nodding almost wisely at the idea of humans being thrown away twice (even if she's getting a different meaning out of that herself).

A lot gets explained, a lot gets clarified, and a surprising amount of it actually makes sense to the pair. They listen far more than they speak, and some of the logic used even makes sense to them. They whisper to each other, looking less like seasoned Elites and more like youngsters discussing the answers to a test, but...

It's sticking. A little, but it's something.

When Akari and Fuyume transform with the former identifying herself instead as Saeko, the pair barely even flinch. It's only when she explains that she's the leader that Rin actually recoils a little, and Utsuho lets out another intrigued noise.

Rin: "No self-respectin' youkai would actually eat humans, of course. It's just useful, yeah!"
Utsuho: "They don't taste that good, anyway."
Rin: "Yeah, the food humans make is way better."

The apparent acceptance of their request has the pair grinning widely, although Saeko's question has them taking a little longer to consider an answer that, if not necessarily enough for her, at least makes sense to them.

"We're in this 'cause we know these humans! They know what they're doin'." Rin reaffirms with a confident puff of her chest, and Utsuho follows that up shortly afterwards.

"Master sent us out to learn from them, and they haven't pushed us in the wrong direction yet. I still don't always get why they do all the stuff they do, but..." She pauses. "... It hasn't gone wrong yet. And if anyone's going to get all those swords eventually, it might as well be people we know aren't as stupid or nuts as other humans."

With that show of faith given, Utsuho and Rin soon have their attention diverted by the mention of previous invitations. That gets blank stares from the pair as they look at each other, then their companions, then Saeko. "Kitties?" "Kitties?"
Muramasa Almost exasperated, Muramasa's eyes crinkle as his lips form a wobbly line - almost as if the echo in stereo of 'It can't be helped~' inspired some kind of pavlovian response. "Fuu..." he breathes out.

Thankfully, Muramasa does not wind up having to play shogi, for that would have been a losing proposition. Their comments about his age strike rather close to the ore vein, he supposes. "Geh.."

Sometimes it was hard, feeling as if he was drifting between being a teenager, or being a dinosaur of an old man.

With the revelation of some of the kitsune in all reality, being tanuki, Muramasa easily undoes the knot on top of his basket to reveal the delicios anpan hidden within - some utilizing white bean paste, some using green bean paste, and the tastiest of all being made with red bean paste. There was clearly something there to cater to every anpan-loving tongue.

"- At first, I greedily sought enlightenment, as well as a dash of responsibility I felt I had to address those swords." he says, after Saeko notes her trepidation concerning the matter.

    "More importantly, I made a promise concerning them, to Sakura."

And that promise had become binding, indeed. But he felt no need to bring that up - when he'd made that promise, it had been with the intention of keeping it. Promises were important, after all.

" .. for that, I can only speak for myself. But my continued pursuit of the burial blades is a matter that is seperate from the others, so take that as you will."

"As for the other thing you mentioned .... I'm sorry to say that I have no idea what you're talking about. But, I also, have not overly involved myself in recent times."

There was no need for a Servant to act on its own accord, he reminds himself.
Tamamo     As 'Fuyume' transforms, Tamamo's eyes raise just slightly, and she says, "Oh, my, well done. I would have held some amount more skepticism, had we met with only one 'four-tailed fox.'" A few things click into place, but they don't diminish her appreciation for the trick.

    It seems the esteemed one has no trouble keeping warm, heehee~
    It's true, Tamamo is a warm and sunny presence. She keeps Lilian's hand in her own, throughout, politely ignoring the scrutiny. She even keeps ahold of her while stepping forward, only letting go when they've chosen their seats. It's natural that, if she's being shown respect to her station, then it would only more it more difficult for others to sit, should she remain standing. It does still take her a little while to sit, but that's a fact of having a dress like hers.

    There's not so much need to worry about the food. They're not in the Otherworld, anyway. Presenting a danger here would be breaking hospitality, and that's a different matter.

    I'd heard that you'd decided to become 'zenko' after 'what happened then', and thought that must be a wonderful thing
    Tamamo doesn't flinch at the memory, this time. She's had recent occasion to confront the thought of 'what happened then,' and can maintain every appearance of a good mood, her comforting aura included. She doesn't even squeeze Lilian's hand, though she does rub her thumb on its back.

    I must say that mere 'zenko' was a diminuation; one of Buddhist pride, I'm certain~ What right have I, a mere disciple, to gainsay my elder and predecessor, Tamamo no Mae, and my lady's lady, she of the White-Gold Face?
    "I seek to place little burden on you, as I did say before, though I shall be pleased to have your support in some matters, as prove convenient." Tamamo accepts the praise with grace, like a due she's used to receiving -- though it surely couldn't be, given her history. Not within her memories of standing on Earth in the flesh, at least.

    Ah, to say nothing of what I have promised the Himorogikage and your cute little friend 'Sakura'~
    "Oh, now, I wonder what these promises might be." But she doesn't ask outright.

    I'm aware of the places that lead to the Dragon Palace, though I'd thought them all lost myself.
    "It has yet to be fully explored, I shall admit, but such will occur. I am curious as to what we may find, and where such paths may lead. Having found one path, might we track, from it, another? I wonder this."

    Tamamo nods as she listens, partaking of the feast in small quantities. It's easier to do so with drink than food, particularly should she be one-handed at a given moment. Although, after all this time going out (or staying in) to eat in the British Isles, she's not quite so careful as she might have been, in that previous era, about certain things. That's likely for the good, since it's difficult to talk at all while eating with utmost formality.

    For the most part, humans toil as they did to appease the gods, and their servants, for the benefit of a 'spiritual Japan', in microcosm, that we may flourish in.
    "I imagine there would be many among the clans -- that is to say, among the leaders of the old samurai -- who would raise some objection to a vision of Japan that does not allow for the heights required for their pride to soar, but this, too, is a matter of 'space,' in part, is it not? I wonder if they would not feel more comfortable, in all things, were their walls less necessary. Ah, but I digress. I intended to say that I find no such cause for objection, myself."
Tamamo     In that precise sort of worried tone that communicates that one isn't actually worried at all, "I would, of course, find some cause to complain, should you be feeding your 'excess' to gluttonous spirits."

    Geh...
    With a glance toward Muramasa, Tamamo adds, "Oh, I would not mind a few games, I suppose, come to that. You did wish to see the village, did you not? Perhaps we would have time, there, if not here. There are some entertaining options as allow for thirds and fourths, as well."

    If your desire is truly to bring back better days, then why become so entangled in the bloody affairs of powerful men?
    These things gotta go where they gotta go *fate-wise*.
    "In that case in which I did choose to intervene, it was because I could be certain that something terrible would occur, should the wielder have been left to do as her family bade her. Apart from this, were it only a matter of dangerous items left without an owner, and others squabbling over their possession, I would be content to leave it be. However, this is not the case. I have determined that a rightful owner does exist, and that the blades should be returned to their proper place. To do otherwise is a mistake. This is my judgment." Mere certainty may not take the place of clear reasoning in the eyes of some, but hers places gravitas on those particular terms, as if there were no need for argument, and the matter had been fully settled at some prior date.

    Pure human-brain, and the *classic* type of hero, plus fate all twisted in there. I'm backing whatever world-change shit comes out of her.
    Tamamo affords Arthur a smile of... vicarious pride? Approval? It's differently-flavored than her usual, maybe more heated than merely sunny, but the moment passes without elaboration.
Lilian Rook     There should be no particular worry for I4 here, seeing all records. Though they are especially close to a more suspect place, the disguise on the banquet is only that; if Saeko is what she claims, she has more than adequate right to conjure up rice and wine, amongst other things, by fiat, and symbos of 'perseverance and hope' have no ability to deceive him. Kitsune gifts are only problematic when presented backwards of this.

    "Of course it'd only be polite and fair to receive something as well, but our kind don't deal in such things the way you think. Especially not 'my kind'~" Saeko says to I4. "In this case, you could almost consider it a payment of favours owed, in one sense. Ah, but to explain more of that would become rather too loose-tongued for my liking~"

    She stops as if to double check her memory for Utsuho and Rin. "Yes. I believe they represented your group a number of times before? Ah, but another 'faction' within it. A Concord that hires many cats~ Well, they seemed rather uncooperative; unhelpful, in fact. I'm rather refreshed by you, little kitty~"

    Despite a brief irritable interjection from Lilian at Arthur calling her 'Princess Haughty' in company this important, Saeko doesn't seem too bothered, simply drinking and smoking like a courtesan far, far too rich to be up on a mountain, as she listens, absorbing every word with little twitches of her tall ears. Her brow quirks up subtly when Muramasa first mentions 'responsibility', but in this persona, she gracefully fails to chase him on it.

    "Time and fate, is it? Borrowng against the future." She takes a long and thoughtful drag. "Did you know why it is that Sengo Muramasa believed he must arrange things this way? He has long been renowed perhaps the greatest swordsmith of history, but never an oracle. Never one with the gift. Never even particularly clever. How do you think it is that such a premonition came to him? One so timely, so specific, to so particular a man. His works 'ending a shogunate' is but a single petal of the lotus here."

    Another pause, to address Tamamo as part of the same. "Then I must apologize to you one more time than I expected I might need. The burden is mine regardless. Almost a thousand years old. Things I could have, but did not dare, do back then. The 'Tamamo no Mae' that I knew. The distortion of history to account for the arrogance of human culture. I'm afraid that even if you were to order me with 'Her' authority, I would be unable to help myself. My 'return to the past' is . . ."

    She changes tones rather abruptly, now addressing the others inclusive. "Hmm hmm~ Did you know, that when a fox obtains her ninth tail, she gains with it an Enlightenment that might be called 'omniscience'? A knowledge of all things past, present, and future, that appears 'god-like'? And upon such a thing, it is natural, as a matter of course, that she ascends to the heavens. If such a being were to remain on Earth for long, wouldn't such divine wisdom quickly turn human history inside out~?"
Lilian Rook     It seems this fox, too, has an obnoxiously Japanese talent for leaving things tactically, intentionally unsaid, when she simply moves on to light laughter in response to Tamamo. "Ahaha~ Ah, and yet, they have always pined for 'kitsune wives' ever since then, is it not so~?" She glances back to exactly where one would expect, her grin broadening to show pointed canines again. "No no, you're quite right. You're so right that it shocks me to see that you'd appear before me with only 'three'. Speaking with you . . . It certainly reminds me more than a third of her, and less than a third of 'Her'."

    After a little while longer. "Very well, very well~ I am satisfied, for now. Though, I will be along shortly~ When you least expect it~ It would be good to see little 'Sakura'; how long has it been? Sixteen years? A little more now. And your peaceful village. I think I would much like to see one from so long ago, and not so little as a mere two hundred years, yes~ I have my measure of you now, and your words are all undoubtedly true. I know what degrees to which I might trust all of you~ And I'll have, mmmm, some certain questions, later, for some."

    "But for now, it is clear beyond day that you are the ones I was meant to expect. That this is my opportunity to 'do it over again'. I would see her business done, even if it be through a gulf of many centuries and a young maiden, even if it killed me~"

    "Saeko of ten tails is with you~ Drink up~"
Muramasa A twinge of relief comes as Saeko opts into other threads of conversation; he answered the questions that were asked, but he didn't feel the need to say more than he had. Particularly, he said the only things he felt he had to say for the topics at hand. The conversation's flow was such that it went in a favorable direction, anyway.

And he was not a man who was sociable enough to be able to say anything of value in the face of what he knew, on the outset, was a cunning and wise woman. Really - I sometimes wonder why it is that it always seem to be women who stump me in these situations.

Muramasa folds one hand over his lap and thinks to himself, What she said about this world's Muramasa .. indeed. But was it a flash of inspiration that took him? For me, that life ended when it ended. Those who are die are dead. But in this case ... his machinations continued even after his death. This more than anything may be the largest deviation between himself and myself at that juncture. What is your answer - ... ?