The New Winds

Cleaning was important, but meetings could not be avoided. Praying for forgiveness for her lax tending, she sat at one of the tables in the mess hall (though it was hardly a mess), and awaited her... question asker.

Kenji was a bit nervous, he hoped to answer, even though he himself didn't know what exactly the question would be.

He had put the mask into his kimono and went to the meeting point, when he saw Ototko he bowed briefly.
"Good morning, Yogo-san. I don't want to take up too much of your precious time, so this is the mask.

Kenji took the mask from his kimono and showed it to the young scorpion. It was a beautifully crafted porcelain mask depicting an ape's face.

" A,,,. Spirit gave it to me,... he said that if you put it on and do a somersault, you would turn into the animal of the mask, I wanted to ask you if you can investigate if this mask is really of magical origin".

Otoko gave a seated bow, but before she could respond, the Crane already had the mask out. She frowned a bit behind her own. It most certainly wasn't a normal Scorpion mask, nor did it look like any actor's mask she'd ever seen. "...What kind of spirit?"

"When i remeber correctly,..." Kenji began putting the Mask between of them and shoving it to Otoko "It was cat-like"

"...Cat like." Otoko reached out and quite delicately took the mask in both hands, think fingers barely gripping the sides. "How so was it cat like? When and where was this?"

"I couldn't sleep the night before last, so I went for a walk.... Then I found a cat mask and got the urge to put it on, which I didn't.

Kenji tried to get all the details together

"Then there were Doji-san and Zashi-san, both of them had found masks too and we met this little girl and her cats,..... then she had asked some questions and the next thing I know I was a monkey chasing a cat. Kaito Haruki-san was there, too. "

"Doji-san and Zashi-san... you mean Doji Sakura-san? I have met both of them then. Do you know if either has tried the mask on yet?" Might make her job easier.

"Yes, Doji Sakura-san. I don't know if the two of them have tried the masks on yet, but Zashi-san seemed to act like this was nothing abnormal for him." Kenji explained

She raised an eyebrow. "...Is that what he said? Perhaps that's true for a Fox. Why did you not go to him first to ask?"

"Well he acted like it was no big deal for him, but i wanted to ask someone else before i confront him. I want to be sure that these Masks are indeed magical"

Otoko nodded slowly before slipping off her mask and slipping on Kenji's.

"And? Can you feel something?" Kenji asked

Nothing happens from just putting on the mask. ((Reminder to Kenji: To activate it, the spirit told you to do a somersault while worn. ))

Otoko just sat there. "...Cool, but otherwise, no."

"I think you have to do a somersault to activate it? At least that's what the spirit said"

"..." A long moment of silence before she took it off and placed it on the table again. "Well then, I guess we will never know."

"Can't you ask the kami inside the Mask?" Kenji asked "Please, Yogo-san, you are Shugenja, you are able to ask such things"

Otoko frowned a touch. "The only amulet I have prepared for communing with the kami is of water. I could certainly try, but I warn that they and I do not get along."

"Leave it then, I don't want to cause you any trouble. But I still want to thank you for your help, Yogo-san."

Kenji bowed briefly.

"But you have intrigued me, doesn't Shuguenja normally use prayer texts to speak to the kami?"

"Perhaps normally, yes. The Iuchi use amulets." Reaching into her sleeve, she pulled out a meishodo, dangling it between them.