Spiritual Purity [Temple of Shinsei, Permission Only]

[Kuni Yotsuo]

"I have actually enjoyed my visits to Sakkaku. I look like a saru spirit when I go there," he replied. "They trick each other all the time, but that's just how they play. I wouldn't want to meet them here in Ningen-do, but when you go there you have to play along with the trickery to fit in."

"When I go to Chikushudo though, I look like a red panda."

[Vutall]

"From my understanding, and I am no realm walker, the borders between Sakkaku and Chikushudo are not material and instead more like clan borders. It may be hard to know where you are at times."

[Kuni Yotsuo]

"Yes and no, from what I've seen. They can travel between them as easily as we're walking down the street, but there's a distinction in which one you're in. Very different looking, but very similar at the same time. It's like looking at two different forests with two different types of trees. They both look like a forest, but you know it's not the same forest. When they travel between them they seem to fade out of the forest they're in. I've never been able to do that though, since I'm from Ningen-do. When I'm in one I'm there and can't go between them. Maybe it's something I would need to learn to be able to do. But I guess for the spirits from those realms they'd see less of a border than I do since I have to specifically prepare for one or the other."

[Vutall]

"Very interesting. Once you are an adult, many will seek you out for this ability"

[Kuni Yotsuo]

"Once I'm an adult, my ability is going to be used by my family to combat evil however they can make use of it. To see how the lower realms interact with others. That's probably going to mean they'll limit access to my gift for anything that isn't family business," he says, a hint of sadness. "I hope to be able to help people with it. But the help I get to provide probably won't be as direct as I want. Most of my visits and interactions with other realms will likely get recorded and protected in Kuni libraries."

[Vutall]

"You never know what your future will bring, but that course does seem the most likely."

[Kuni Yotsuo]

"I've already been told about certain parts of my future that are already being planned. I was told that my spouse will be selected for spiritual sensitivity, to try and see that my gift is passed on to children, and that once my duty starts taking me to lower spirit realms I will not be allowed to have children after that, to make sure that those realms will not be able to impact any children born after. Which makes sense to me," he explains, basically admitting that he was told he'd be used as breeding stock one day, and then as a work horse when that time was done.

"I was selected for the honor of coming here because the Kuni want to ensure I have a wide and open world view. They want me to be able to think and react without making assumptions about who I'm speaking with, because Spirits are even more varied than the clans and individuals in them. I need to be able effectively react to unexpected situations is what my master said."

[Vutall]

"Kuni san, you shouldn't be so open with other clans, it could give them leverage over you, and the Crab."

[Kuni Yotsuo]

"I mean, that's the Kuni's duty, to help fight evil from other realms. I don't see why talking about that would create leverage. Nothing I've said is a secret. Other clans already don't particularly like the Kuni too much from what my master told me. I haven't been given any secrets or anything."

[Vutall]

"You have a unique gift. For example, another clan could steal you away and deny the Kuni a valuable resource through a marriage deal at court."

[Kuni Yotsuo]

"They could attempt it, yes. But that's not leverage. I might not be famous, but I'm not a secret either. If they intended to keep me secret they would not have sent me to this school led by the Ruby Champion."

[Vutall]

"How astute of you. But my dear child, EVERYTHING can be used as leverage. Never forget that."

[Kuni Yotsuo]

"Yeah, but not as leverage to take the thing that you are leveraging. That's like trying to use a rock to weigh itself. You couldn't take Kyuden Hida by leveraging the fact that it's Kyuden Hida. You'd need something else like an army to do that."

[Vutall]

"At court, dear Kuni, all words are like an army."

[Kuni Yotsuo]

"If words were all people needed and could do what an army could do, we wouldn't need actual armies. Would be a much more peaceful empire if that was the case."

[Vutall]

"That is true, but even when an army wins, it is words after the battles that finally resolve it all. You will see in time, dear child."

[Kuni Yotsuo]

"Probably," he replies. "Knowing what words to use in court is going to be important for me to learn, for talking to shiryo. But it won't help too much when I need to talk to inugami or tanuki. I'm not going to ignore it, but it will have a different use for me than most."

[Vutall]

The woman nods at that but stays silent in response.