Session 17: Little Boy Blue

Party: Daidoji Jinsoku, Hida Ganko, Doji Natsuki, Yoritomo Shohei, Togashi Amajino

The group gets up in the morning to talk strategy and divide tasks.

Hida Ganko offers himself up to guard Doji Chi, as he feels she is most at risk, together with Matsu Mizuki (eager to make up for her earlier failings), thus avoiding the festival.
Jinsoku and Natsuki take interest in a messenger asking them to come to the merchant Watchful, who should have "important information" for the magistrates' ears only.
Yoritomo Shohei and Togashi Amajino check out the celebrations, following the procession through the city.

Jinsoku and Natsuki witness, after arriving at the merchant's district, the assassination of Watchful. With her being Soshi Seiryoko's main merchant, this feels like the recent opium unrest may have something to do with it. The attacker, a lanky man wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat on a dark charger, cuts the head off of Watchful and impales it onto his nodachi, but loses this long blade to Jinsoku's skillful disarming manoeuvre. Undaunted, the man draws his katana, slashes at Jinsoku and rides off, his horse getting hit by one of Natsuki's darts on the way out.

The pair then investigates best they can in the vicinity, but only turn up a few notes in scorpion clan cypher. They decide to return to the others.

Amajino and Shohei witness what is largely an uneventful parade, though they spy a large fire outside of the city, or at least the massive plume of smoke going up. When they see Shosuro Jocho, he informs them their ploy worked: two men were caught trying to pretend to be Thunder Guards: Bayushi Kurin and Mirumoto Kurokun.

Hida Ganko and Matsu Mizuki, after arriving near the temple, take up station. Before heading out to the celebrations, Isawa Nagitoro blesses Ganko's Tetsubo so it glows with the golden light of the phoenix's flames. Ganko, in the temple of Amaterasu, shields the child with his body from strange shadow-beings that strike at them, while Mizuki fights them off in the streets around the temple. Kakita Michitaka, also present as one of Chi's guardians, eventually joins the fracas in the street.

The group reunites at the temple and exchanges information.
Shosuro Jocho is called upon to check the cypher that the Crane found, while Shosuro Kimi guides Amajino and Ganko to two samurai infiltrators.
When the prisoners are asked a question, they start transforming into hideous creatures, leading to their timely death at the hands and tetsubo of the magistrates. From the body of Mirumoto Kurokun, a scroll is plucked instructing him to seek out the ronin Fade and join forces.

When the party finally ends the day in their residence, Daidoji Jinsoku gets a "nightly visit" from Matsu Mizuki. She says she was cold and lonely in her room and tries to share his futon, which he refuses. She then states her intention to reclaim what is rightfully hers before moving close to him. The scream he lets out when she pulls his jawbone out of his skull before he wakes, disturbs the peace of the house.

His face is whole when he touches it, but a black mark shaped like a hand is burned into the tatami next to his bedroll.