Inspecting the Paper

[Kuni Yotsuo]

"I've never been to Tengoku or Jigoku, but I have been to Yomi. Going to Tengoku without being invited by the heavens would be presumptuous and potentially insulting. Going to Jigoku would be dangerous even if I'm only a spirit traveling there. I visited my grandfather in Yomi though, and I was specifically seeking him out, so it is possible to search for individuals that reside in other spirit realms, but it can be difficult. The 'eyes' are just representative. When I go to the other spirit realms I usually don't look like myself, instead taking the appearance of something that would normally live there. Well, except for Yomi. I looked like myself when I went there, because I didn't wish to insult my ancestors by presenting myself as someone else."

[Toritaka Sasaiko]

It will be about that time that Sasaiko turns a corner and sees the two Crab.

Seeing them, she bows. "Minna-san. I trust the day finds you well."

[Kaiu Aiichiro]

He looked genuinely in awe as the Kuni explained their visits. "I see. I'm not even sure if they are on Yomi, although I really hope so, but I have some ancestors of mines that I would really like to see where they are. Only two, actually. I'm not asking you to seek them as it is not... That important." He cut brieftly what he was talking about, the two words more sonorously griefed, stopping to talk until he heard a different voice, then becoming startled and remebering to keep composture, bowing in answer. "Who's Minna-san?"

[Kuni Yotsuo]

"I never travel without someone overseeing me. Back home it was my master, here it would be one of the sensei. I would be willing to help, but you would have to convince one of the sensei to permit me to and watch over me during any attempts. I'm still learning to control my ability after all. I'd welcome the experience, but I won't do so without approval."

Turning to the new arrival in the hall, he bows. "It has been a fine day so far," the Kuni replies. "Just looking around for holes to patch. Trying to make sure that nobody else is hurt like Mai-san was last night."

[Toritaka Sasaiko]

Sasaiko nods.

"Heard about that. A form of gaki, if the rumors are correct.

"And 'minna-san' is a polite address to multiple people, to answer your question."

She looks at them. "Find any holes?"

[Kuni Yotsuo]

"All the ones I could find in the dormitories have been patched, but we haven't found any more. The gaki last night was a Mokumokuren. They use the holes in paper walls to target people, which is why I started doing this earlier this morning. The work we did then, has held up and dried and I was just trying to make sure nothing needed redone and that there weren't any that we missed," he explains.

[Toritaka Sasaiko]

"Could you use another pair of eyes?"

[Kuni Yotsuo]

"That would be helpful. I've learned a bit about searching and keeping watch, but I don't have the best senses for it," he replies with a nod.

[Toritaka Sasaiko]

Sasaiko nods and looks about...

(Investigation 14; what do I get here?)

[Vutall]

After some time, with the help of Sasaiko, the three students are able to check the entirety of the dojo, finding a few more holes in the different barrack, forge, and kitchen areas.

[Toritaka Sasaiko]

At one such, Sasaiko asks "Which wards are you using on these?"

[Kaiu Aiichiro]

He helped, mostly on silence, not mastering the subject the two were talking about.

[Kuni Yotsuo]

"No wards. The danger comes from the opening itself. The gaki exists in the border between it's realm and Ningen-do and it can only look through the holes. Fixing the holes should cause it to move on. I'm not aware of anyone ever defeating or even fighting a Mokumokuren. Just fixing the holes and forcing it to leave," he replies as they continue their work.

[Toritaka Sasaiko]

Sasaiko, upon hearing the words, racks her memory for information on the named spirit (Lore: Spirits 15)...

[Vutall]

Sasaiko can recall learning about a strange spirit from Gaki-Do called a mokumokuren. In fact, the Toritaka seem to treat the spirit as a quite serious threat, where much of the empire thinks them to only be legends. The create has no true form, and is a st of eyes that appears in shoji screens, feeding on those who are too careless to avert their gaze. It can be defeated simply by patching the holes.

[Toritaka Sasaiko]

Sasaiko nods.

"Patches will do well enough in the interim. I imagine there will be panels replaced entirely, however, and I can guess that the students may be put to such tasks."

She considers.

"Of course, it might be that some enterprising students could get ahead on such a task and be rewarded for their initiative. Were they thus ambitious and skilled."

[Kaiu Aiichiro]

"We are doing this more because it is necessary than to gain anything. At least on my side that I can speak of." He says, looking at the paste.

[Kuni Yotsuo]

"Yeah, I'm not overly worried about what the shoji screens look like. They provide some privacy and now they don't let that creature threaten us," he replies. "If the sensei want us to replace them completely or want to have them replaced, I'll wait for those instructions, but for now this should keep us safe."

[Toritaka Sasaiko]

Sasaiko shrugs and continues pasting.

"It has been only a short time so far, but what do you think of this place so far?"

[Kuni Yotsuo]

"It's cleaner and the people are more pleasant than back home. But Kuni are not known for being very cheery. It's also nice to see people from all the different clans and duties."