The Day of Thunder

[Togashi Satsuki]

She looked between them all. "It really is weird to think of how much has changed in such a short time, huh? The world that we're growing up in is so different from what our parents and Lady Makime grew up in. Who knows how different it will be when we are older and our children is growing up?"

It made her pause a little in her stride to look out over the fog, and she imagined what it could look like here if the fog lifted, and she'd see people out working in the field together - working together for a better tomorrow. Quickly she fell back in with the others to resume walking.

[Makime]

"Lord Akodo is a skilled judge of character." Makime responded, she didn't add the immense weight she had felt at being elevated. Or how much of herself she had left to live up to her Lord's expectation.

Then she stopped and turn back around to look at the Bat. "What?" A glance into the fog and she shakes her head, "...never mind let's keep moving."

"Most of you were there when the demons revealed themselves correct? Tell me what you remember of that day. I have Ayano's recollection but...more perspectives would help me understand what sort of threat we might find ourselves dealing with."

[Ryoshun Nao]

"It was foolish. There was no hiding from them. But, it was the only way she found moments of peace, before she reached father." she explained. Nao looked to the others. "My sister told me what she experienced that winter, but I'd like to hear your stories too."

[Doji Hikaru]

Hikaru glanced at Satsuki. They had known each other long enough that he could recognize her hesitation. And so, with a minute sigh, Hikaru began his tale first. He tilted his chin up as he began to speak, as though bracing for a blow. After all, he knew neither he, nor the Crane as a whole, came out well in the story. With one exception.

"For the first part, I can only relay what I have heard, as I did not experience it. But many reported having strange dreams the night before, in which they were surrounded by darkness, saw glowing green light, and heard a voice. Ryoshun Rei-sama said as much in court." He inclined his head to Nao. "We may call this the first reveal of the demons."

He took a deep breath and went on. "The first demon that I saw was in the duel between Lord Kakita and Hadananzi. Kakita had coated his blade with jade dust. When he cut the demon with it, the wound burned, and his blood was black." Hikaru grimaced. "Despite losing, he cut at Kakita then. Up until then, he'd behaved as the picture of honor. As always." His right hand clenched, nails pressing into his palm.

Unfortunately, there was more. Still grim-faced, Hikaru went on. "The next reveal came at court, after. The one we knew as Doji Tsubaki approached to speak to Emperor Shiba. I could see Doji Dojihime-sama wanted to speak with her, but Tsubaki ignored her. When the Emperor addressed her, her..." Hikaru swallowed, the memory making bile rise in his throat, "-flesh seem to melt away into a thick black liquid."

"It called itself Harbinger." Hikaru said, his tone as grim as his expression. "It spoke of how it had wanted to come here, but Lady Doji stopped it." Well, that at least brought a smile to his lips, if only for a moment. "It spoke of traveling through Yume-do, and learning of us through our dreams. It told us to join it and gain power, or suffer."

Hikaru shook his head again. "And then it vanished, leaving nothing but burns on the mat." He waited, lips pressed together, and eyes downcast, for someone else to speak.

[Ryoshun Nao]

"My sister felt that something was trying to reach those at court through their dreams. She attempted to investigate it, to learn the nature of it." Nao spoke. "Our father protects Meido from an approaching threat. Rei-oneesan thought it might be connected. She thought the Void could help her identify it. But, she doesn't have our mother's ability to travel the Realms. She doesn't understand Yume-Do beyond what a normal dreamer does."

"The Harbinger toyed with her. It manipulated her into setting the stage for its introduction. It used her." Nao's hand gripped her spear tightly. "That will not happen again."

[Togashi Satsuki]

"It's as Hikaru says about the duel," she nodded in confirmation as she was holding her tongue on personal opinions there. "The injured demon turned into a sinister bird and flew away faster than and arrow, even when uncle Shiba gave order to pursue it, no one could follow it or see where it went."

Satsuki sighed. "I was in the courtroom when the Harbinger revealed itself. I was mostly concerned with finding my fellow Dragon to make sure they were alright after what happened at the duel, so I didn't see the suspicious behavior of the one who called herself Tsubaki. Either there was some foul spell or just the shock of everything happening, but none of us were able to do anything about that evil presence before us until they were gone." So a whole string of failures for everybody.

Wow, they really had been a pathetic bunch there.

[Makime]

Makime shook her head at their words, "Such hesitation invites disaster. Failure...but mostly of the Emperor's guard." Her tone is ice... there's a sense she is holding back her full thoughts. She dos give one final, personal musing, "Even Ayano. I had thought her better trained."

She continues, "It is concerning that the Lion's allies had been so thoroughly infiltrated by this corruption. One very nearly weds a daughter of Doji and granddaughter of Lady Sun, the other trusted to serve as a emissary to the Emperor's court." The Lioness grips her sheath, her knuckles going briefly white.

"How many people failed, one stacked upon the other compounding until Lady Sun's chosen has not one but two blades poised to strike him down. Unthinkable. Shameful."

A moment passes before she shakes her head and her tone soften, "...and yet failures happen. Let the shame you feel push you to learn from the mistake. And next time you will be ready."

[Doji Hikaru]

Hikaru looked away, but he nodded grimly. "The Crane have spent much of the last five years trying to correct our errors. By the grace of the Fortunes, I pray that we may eventually do so, even if it is the work of a lifetime."

His chin tilted up once more, and he looked back to Makime. "I do not know if Ayano-sama told you, but in the days before the duel, it seemed to me that Hadananzi was..." Hikaru grimaced, "-targeting her. For what sinister purpose, I do not know. In retrospect, it was quite unsettling."

Respectfully, he bowed. "She may have seen no more than the rest of us, but she did withstand more than most. She impressed me." He straightened, expression neutral, eyes respectfully down. As he had learned in the court of Lady Doji herself.

[Makime]

Makime stopped and look back over her shoulder, her eyes and expression are unsettling cold...dead even.

Her tone is measured, no rise or dip, each word falling like the blow of a hammer on an anvil. "I am well aware that my daughter was indulging in her hobbies and letting her desires blind her to the very face of evil. Twice over. And...so...is...she."

"Your praise is noted." And she resumed walking. "She learned from her mistakes."

[Ryoshun Nao]

"You burned down the demon's tea house, didn't you Satsuki-chan?"

[Togashi Satsuki]

"You burned down the demon's tea house, didn't you Satsuki-chan?"

Hikaru is either brave, dumb, or both, she thought as she saw him press Makime on what seemed to be a sensitive topic. Another thing to note down for Ayano in her letter.

"Mm," Satsuki nodded to the young girl. "The demon posing as Doji Tsubaki owned a teahouse of sorts in the capital. All the ones there were arrested to be questioned, and uncle Shiba wanted the teahouse itself cleansed away to remove any possibility of hidey-holes or stuff that could spread corruption to others. So after the Imperials had cleared out the place of people and anything of importance, I burned that shit to the ground." There was no love in her tone for the enemy, at all.

That had been a rather satisfying conclusion to not being able to do much of anything during the big reveals other than be scared in the aftermath. "I don't know what has become of that plot of land afterwards though. Maybe a shrine to purify it, or something."

[Doji Hikaru]

A child (figuratively speaking) of Doji wasn't going to miss the subtext in Makime's words. It was only after Makime looked away that Hikaru closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Well.

"There were others, in Crane lands." Hikaru put in, sounding subdued. "They were destroyed as well. Perhaps not quite so dramatically as this first one." He inclined his head to Satsuki. "But thoroughly nonetheless. No chances taken." His brow furrowed. "I know she was active in other lands as well. I believe they were destroyed, but there is a worry in things you do not see done yourself." Crane perfectionism had its upsides and its downsides.

[Makime]

"The rotten tree had deep roots." Another shake of the head, "A most painful lesson. This Tsubaki had been corrupted from the start?"

[Togashi Satsuki]

"It would seem so," her voice lowered a tad more, "like this Hadananzi."

A hand was raised to quell the possible interruption, because officially Hadananzi had been murdered and replaced by this demon-raven, masquerading as him after the wedding.

"I don't have definitive proof, only the words of Sora, whom I don't think would lie about this. But uncle Nanzi found this... bird, during the expedition to save uncle Hisomu. I know mom was skeptical of it, and others had some concerns too, but assumed he knew what he was doing. Perhaps that's why mom grew distant from Nanzi in the years after." Satsuki didn't know that her mother had been taking all precautions possible to protect her children from harm.

She sighed and shook her head. "Sora said he suspected that this bird Nanzi brought and Hadananzi were connected, or the same. And he would investigate further. A whole lot that did considering what happened, but I don't know if he uncovered the real connection there."

[Doji Hikaru]

As Satsuki spoke, Hikaru gave her a sharp look, but then quickly looked away. He, too, knew the official line. And like her, he didn't really believe it. However, with Doji incapacitated, the question of what to do about it kept him up at night as much as any nightmare invaders.

Instead, clearing his throat, he answered Makime. "The demon claimed that the mortal Tsubaki was long dead. In this instance, it seems safest to assume that it was not lying, and all of her works may be tainted."

Another few moments, and he looked back towards Satsuki. "Has your father spoken about this?" He asked. His pale eyes were a touch wide.

[Makime]

Again the Lion daimyo stopped and turned, "Nanzi is an ally of the Lion, a Daimyo of the Crane, and husband of Lady Doji."

She locks eyes with Satsuki, "I like you girl but do not say such things in such a manner without more proof then the words of Sora. Not everyone is as forgiving as I."

"...I will make a few of my own inquiries when I return home."

[Togashi Satsuki]

Satsuki's eyes met with Makime's, unflinching and stoic. In her opinion, people were way too concerned with keeping up appearances, than the truth. Still, she relented, out of respect for the older woman who she held a great deal of respect for, and nodded.

She didn't think uncle Nanzi had done anything to hurt Doji on purpose; he loved her. Of that she was certain from the tales her mother had told. But people were complicated, and destiny worked in funny ways.

Averting her gaze from Makime, she looked at Hikaru, then shook her head. "No, he hasn't spoken on it, as such. I suspect that the enemy is doing their utmost to cloud his visions and senses, for he's... more withdrawn, and concerned. He's worried, and that's unusual enough for me to know something is wrong."

[Ryoshun Nao]

"Father is concerned, too." Nao said. "This corruption could affect other realms."

[Togashi Satsuki]

She placed a gentle hand on Nao's shoulder, squeezing it to reassure the girl. "Your father is very powerful, I'm sure he'll prevent Jigoku from seeping into Meido as well. And we'll put a stop to it from even happening."

Though even her mother had the same concerns, and had told her that even the other realms were frightened of this upset to the balance.

[Ryoshun Nao]

"Mother is with him now." she nodded, gripping the spear tighter again. "Together, they will weather any storm."