The Day of Thunder

Satsuki had been awake long before dawn, and working without pause on the ritual and the scrolls. I swear, if mom asks me to copy any scrolls when I get home, I'll burn something down, she thought as she often paused to rub her eyes on the way to the Headwoman's house. Her wrist also was feeling the amount of brushwork she had been doing the past days now.

Maybe against her better judgement though, she was making this visit. To Chouri. Because there was a final note to the ritual, and... well, this seemed fitting, perhaps.

"Hello? Chouri-san?" she asked out loud as she knocked on the doorframe to the house.

The young woman answered the door with a bow and a smile. "Togashi-sama, please come in," she said, stepping back and heading into the hearth room. "Please, make yourself at home. I'm happy to offer tea, but I'll understand if you don't wish to."

She politely bobbed her head in greeting. "Thank you, Chouri-san, but... uh, maybe ano---hmm, sure, why not. If it's not an inconvenience to you." Surely Chouri wouldn't drug her tea now, right. Right?

"Not at all," she said, taking a pot down from where is hung to the side of the fire. "It's kind of minty, fair warning." She poured Satsuki a cup and then one for herself.

"So, what can I do for you, Togashi-sama?"

Minty... she took a whiff of the tea to confirm that. "Smells medicinal," she remarked with a small half-smile, as it reminded her of some of the stuff Nadare made.

"It's about the ritual. I was among those who found your notes," Satsuki took a careful sip of the tea, as she braced herself for the minty flavour. "It should be ready now. A big project, but working together, it was accomplished. Gotta say, for not being a shugenja, your theories were very good."

"It is. It's for clearing the lungs," she replied with a nod. "It doesn't do anything to people without lung problems or a cold aside from making their breath smell good."

The minty flavor is indeed cool and refreshing; she can taste some honey in it as well, but nothing untoward.

"I don't really know anything about elemental magic, but I know dream magic. The Nezumi are obviously much more refined with it than I ever could be, but I know enough to do that. That said, if you were able to construct the scrolls from it, you probably are aware of the caveat with it."

Minty fresh breath. Maybe not a bad thing today!

"Mm, I don't know dream magic either, but my father and I have been working on something similar the past years. Similar but not the same." Just a lot of the mechanics seemed to hold much of the same ideas.

"... And yeah, I'm aware of the caveat that comes with completing the ritual. It's why I came to see you today, actually. What had been your plans for that?"

"Interesting. I wish I could learn more about it," she said with a smile. "Sadly, the time for that has likely long passed. My original intention was to read it myself. My actions led to this, so I should be the one to take responsibility for it."

"The time for it has passed, yes, but don't let that be a regret to hang onto you." Satsuki sipped the minty tea once more. Chouri had a lot of regrets and sins already to atone for, she didn't need to trouble herself with one as inconsequential as that.

"... Well, that certainly makes things easier, that you're of that opinion. Because as I thought about it myself, it seemed... well, right is the word, I suppose," she nodded slightly. Her tone was soft as she spoke. "Justice would have to happen at some point, and I suppose this is the closest you might come to a choice about it."

"I think we've all had enough of threats and dangers this past week after everything that's happened, and I don't want to come across as threatening you, as I want you to make this choice; what is redemption worth if it was forced, right? But I don't foresee many peaceful outcomes if you choose not to."

Chouri nodded. Looking to the side, as if to look through another screen, she said, "The last thing anyone needs is more turmoil than there already has been. I am simply glad to be free in my last days." She turned back to Satsuki and smiled. "I am grateful to you all for that."

She shrugged. "Besides, there's no point in a lot of trouble for what would probably only be five more years, anyway. May as well do something helpful with this life."

"You were the one who broke free. None of us could have done it for you," Satsuki remarked in a tone she probably felt was too similar to how her own parents would sound like. Stupid insightful and enlightened parents being all wise and such.

"Apart from the obvious danger we're up against, is there anyone in the village that might try to stop you from doing this, that we should be aware of?"

"Not that I'm aware of, outside of Bitchface and whatever nonsense she comes up with," she said. "There's no way she will be idle tomorrow, though. If I had to guess based on what I know of her, you'll have your work cut out for you."

"I don't doubt it. But I like to think that us visitors here have proven we're no pushovers for her tricks and monsters. The Empire has already denied the enemy once and we'll do it as many times as necessary." Satsuki spoke with conviction and faith in this.

"How many more rites are left in this village's ritual? One more today and one tomorrow?"

She nodded. "Yes. Both are obviously going to be deviations from the standard. We'll see how they take that."

"You expect them to... I don't know, rebel against it?" she asked, unsure of what it would entail exactly to change the expected rituals for the locals.

She tapped the side of her head. "The Harbinger influences people's minds. If their conviction isn't firm, she can get in, talk them into sacrificing themselves. Ordinarily they know better than to throw themselves at people carrying around extremely long, sharp objects, but suicide by samurai isn't out of the question."

"We hope it doesn't come to that." Though she couldn't very well tell people to not defend themselves if villagers decided to go on a murder-spree. "Do... do they know about the Harbinger, or Yume-Jigoku at all? I was told you and Enrou did, but no one has told me what everyone else in the village might have known."

"I hope not as well, but if there's no avoiding it, it is what it is," she said with a shake of her head. "They don't. She presented them both in an idealized light, and refers to Yume-Jigoku simply as "the Dream." I barely knew what they were until I drew the metaphorical short straw of people who owed Tsubaki favors."

"She?" Satsuki looked for a moment to her teacup, then back to Chouri. "Do you mean the woman known as Tsubaki, as she was then, or the Harbinger as she is now? Sorry for so many questions, but... I'm just trying to understand the villagers' situation, and how much they have either been willingly practising these rituals for the enemy, or how much they have had wool pulled over their eyes."

One was more damning for the villagers, the other more damning for the one who fooled them. Neither a pretty outcome.

"She - the Harbinger when she possessed me - did the speech making. I try to be kind, but I'm not especially charismatic, so I handle the day to day running of the village," she replied, taking a sip of her tea. "Doji Tsubaki as she was then was the one who promised to stave off my death when I was thirteen in exchange for a favor."