The Day of Thunder

Apparently a meeting was planned for the evening, and so Yukara had opted to get cleaned up. She was... whole... again, and so she had washed and then moved into the bath with a comfy sigh.

Ah... this was nice.

Weird, but nice. It was hard to avoid feeling drowsy in the hot water, and so she floated under the surface, half-awake.

With destiny coming to a head, with all of the hassles, with all of the interpersonal strife at a low simmer...

Sora needed a soak.

So he entered the baths with an almost furtive air, looking to get away from-

Ah.

Well then.

"Ryoshun-san, afternoon."

Yukara almost didn't respond, her arms floating on the surface of the water as she meditated... the tips of each finger ending in glistening jade talons.

Then she twitched, seeming to realize she had been spoken to, and opened her eyes, sitting up a little to see who was speaking to her.

Ah, Oji-san. He looked older than before.

Her hands now quite normal, she ran one through her hair, and furrowed her brow. "You seem rather stiff, Jiyo Sora-sam. Is something wrong?"

"Just stress I've been sublimating for about a week, coupled with some minor injuries from last night's little dance in the graveyard..."

He settled into the water and almost hissed in relief.

He glanced over at her.

"I meant what I said, by the by. I would have warned you if I'd thought you were in any danger."

Ah, yes, that dredged up a sore spot.

Yukara frowned, but did not comment for a moment, flicking through mental options. Finally she rolled her eyes back up to the ceiling so she could state, simply, "I believe you, I suppose. It does not make it any less unpleasant to discover you are functionally an experiment."

Now that she was looking away from them, her hands were once more tipped in jade, almost as her own gaze was driving the form of her fingertips.

What strange trickery.

"No, I'd say your fury was entirely well-placed."

He glanced at her again with a sardonic smile.

"If it'll make you feel any better, I could tell you about all of the other times I've fucked up in a social setting and caused people I care about grief. Of course, we might be here in time for the next Day of Thunder if I do... or we could get dressed and you can show me how much harder you hit than a zombie."

Beat.

"Or I could shut up."

She listened quietly, but finally reacted to the last line. "Zombie? What brought that on?"

A pause, "Did I miss another demon?"

Waving one hand, talons tracing a lazy pattern as she continued to rest with her eyes shut, she added, "If so, I assume it has been dealt with, as I have not seen any zombie about."

"Seven zombies, one scared old man turned monster. Four samurai."

He shrugged.

"We won. Anjing, Genji, and Ai all got it worse than I did. I just got clawed up a bit."

"I did not hear about it. I am glad you are all well."

She sighed, and then opened her eyes, and once more her hands reverted to normal.

Looking over at Sora, she inquired, "So tell me, rather than me inflicting some form of punishment, can I instead ask you for a favor?"

"I think I can safely say you're entitled to more than one, Ryoshun-san."

"Hmmm."

She considered for a while, and then inquired, "Then I shall use one of them."

Taking a slow breath, she continued, "Do you know much about spirits?"

He actually perked up a bit.

"Yes, as it happens... I'm a pretty mediocre scholar in general, but the Spirit Realms have always been of... interest to me."

"I am glad to hear it."

She closed her eyes again, resting with her head and hands above the water. Again, they... changed.

"Do you know much about Bakeneko?"

"Spirits of Chikushudo and Sakkaku. Mostly attuned to Fire, and fond of living among among humans and pranking them..."

He looked around to make sure "Hoto-Hori" wasn't present.

"A lot like Kitsune in some ways."

"Ah."

She considered that.

"Well... do you know if any of their... spirit... or power... lingers in humans if they, perhaps had children? And how many generations those might last?"

What an oddly specific question.

He cocked his head at her.

"It would be a near-certainty that the first generation would inherit the traits of both parents. It would be less likely to express itself with each subsequent generation without more bakeneko blood, but Spirit Realms are odd. I would say stronger impressions are rarer the further you get from the source, but are not impossible for... well. At least seven generations, if some of the old shugenja from the tribes are to be believed."

"Hmmm."

She stretched, the jade talons on each finger dripping water, and then she opened her eyes and they vanished.

"Do you know if an individual has any... say? If it can be brought out - or if it can appear later in life, perhaps?"

"That's sort of... corner case, we don't really have a lot of examples to guide any response to that question."

Sora half-lidded his eyes.

"I would say that behavior or actions akin to a bakeneko's would allow for greater expression of the ancestry. ALternately, with Yume-Do so close about us, if one were to dream it into being..."

"Dream, huh."

She gazed thoughtfully at the water's surface, and then muttered, "Well, that certainly sounds right... but it might have been my imagination."

After a moment, she dipped a little deeper, blew some bubbles, and then flopped back against the side of the pool, letting the steam continue to ease sore muscles. "Well... thank you for the information. Do you know how spirits pass between realms? I have wondered how my... how one might come to Ningen-do."

"Based on a rather obnoxious fox I've known for the last twenty-five years or so, they come and go as they see fit... but only to their home rounds. Truly free travel is very difficult."