After taking a much-needed break, the Heroes of Hirosaka meet the Hiramori for dinner. About fifty samurai are spread around in the hall, filling it with warm discussion, while Daidoji Dae and his family look on, with the magistrate team sitting close to them as their guests. Lady Flute technically joins them, but is often out of her seat making sure things are just so. They are served a dinner of river fish and eel, unlike the majority of the Hiramori, who seem to be eating stewed game while they chat in their indecipherable accent and idioms.
In a bid to put their guests at ease, the daimyo and his family make small talk with them as they eat. Daidoji Dae starts by asking Yuzume if she has visited any of the local shrines and monasteries, and the two begin to plan a tour that the lord seems rather eager to take as early as the next day. He confides that he’s keen to find the right place to settle down and retire, and an annoyed Lady Flute politely reminds him that Lady Hotaru has not yet granted him the right to do so. She claims that this is because the Crane Champion still needs him, which seems to stroke his ego enough to convince him to delay the tour until a later date.
The two sons were noticeably quiet during this conversation, and so Eiko leans in to talk to Lei, asking him about the pet cat, Stinky, that he has brought to the table. This kicks off a conversation about previous pets their two families have owned in the past, and Daiyun reveals that he ‘gave up Stinky’s littermate due to his husband’s allergies’ after they found the cats two years ago, around the time Lei came home from the courts. Eiko also learns that he and Lei have a love of brushwork in common, and floats the idea of a private viewing of Lei’s work by the artist, but once again Lady Flute interrupts. She claims that Eiko will already have seen his work during his visits to Kyuuden Doji, clearly hinting that there is no need for this meeting, but Eiko is able to maneuver around her and carry on the conversation. Lei eventually mentions his sister, and when Eiko presses for more information about where she is, Lady Flute begins to run an even more aggressive interference, speaking to Lei on entirely different subjects in a bid to get his attention. All that Eiko is able to learn before Daiyun and Saburo get involved is that Daidoji Lananh came home from an important assignment two years ago.
After the meal, Yuzume decides to try to make up for the lost gift and haiku fiasco from earlier in the day, and gives a performance for the room using illusions made from smoke. She chooses to show the Battle of the Tidal Land Bridge, where she recalls that the Daidoji earned the respect of the Crab after helping to slay an oni. Feeling as though she has been unfair to Eiko, she asks if he might help her with narration, to which he agrees. One by one the candles in the room begin to flicker and dim, and smoke begins to pour from them, moving through the room and taking the shapes of two armies, Crane and Crab. After a short display they come together to charge toward Yuzume, who creates a terrifying and cruel oni right in front of her, its horn mirroring the one on her own mask as it surges forward as if from within her. She depicts a hard battle before a final charge against the oni engulfs it and brings it down, the illusions vanishing in a puff of smoke before reforming into the Daidoji mon.
Eiko narrates along with her, at first recounting the tale as it was taught to him, but then having to improvise as Yuzume goes wildly off-script, clearly not telling the story accurately. He tries to include some historical facts, but ultimately gives up and leans into the dramatic angle while Minoru and Hajime whisper to one another to play the performance up.
Thankfully, the audience prefers the theatrics over the history – while at first they seem irate, focusing that anger on the Scorpion in particular, once the oni appears they start getting into it, and by the end of the show they can’t stop talking about it. Eiko and Yuzume share a smile, proud of themselves.
Next, the servants remove the tables from the room to set it up for entertainment and relaxation, while Lady Flute wheels a tired Dae to bed. Lei also takes his leave, while Daiyun hangs around, as close to the group as he can be while they are swamped by samurai chatting excitedly about their performance. Eiko is able to slip away in the hopes of setting up a conversation with Daiyun and Hajime, wanting to foster more positive relationships with the ruling family and his team. It works, and the two duelists talk shop as the Hiramori set up a stage for a puppet show.
Everyone takes their seats and is treated to an incredible display, with the intricate puppets seeming to move on their own, casting shadows against revolving backdrops. Eiko recognises the story as being about the Foxfire War that eventually led to the founding of the Hiramori and Hiramichi families, and realises that it’s being used to convey a secret message to someone else in the room. Combining this with his knowledge of the Battle of the Tidal Land Bridge, and the audience’s initial reaction to the telling from earlier, he realises that some circumstance led to bad blood between the two families, causing the Hiramori to withdraw from the battle altogether. The message reflects this theme of familial strife and duty, and though Eiko does not see who the message is for, Minoru does.
One of the puppets looks like Daiyun, with its shadow matching his profile at the right angle, and the real Daiyun’s face is aghast. Minoru realises that he is being told to do something that he doesn’t want to do: to make a choice. The puppet show’s final scene is one of a puppet wielding a katana against one holding a yari, and the performance ends on the sound of a sword being drawn. Eiko knows that this is not at all how the Foxfire War really ended.
Daiyun storms out of the room, to mixed reactions from the Hiramori – some are insulted on his behalf, while others seem more okay with the insulting, and it feels as though the room might erupt into fighting at any moment. Saburo meets his husband in the hall and calms him, and Lei reappears to talk to the puppeteers, but the only thing that seems to stop the onset of a fight is the soothing music of Lady Flute, following Lei back into the room.
In the hopes of keeping things calm, Yuzume and Hajime make polite small talk about the puppet show, focusing on the technical ability rather than the plot. Minoru drags Eiko somewhere private to discuss what they had both picked up on, disguising their conversation as chatter about the show, and moving on to discussion about the potential heirs disguised as dinner. To justify them moving away in private to discuss this, Eiko then talks about an invented financial statement from Hirosaka’s reconstruction at great length.
When they return, more performers are playing music, and Lady Flute is dragging Lei behind a shoji screen for a private chat of their own. Lady Flute cannot believe Lei could have done such a thing to his brother given the difficulties he’s going through, revealing him to be the mastermind behind the puppet show. Lei snaps back that he knows what his brother needs, unlike how Lady Flute could not even see her own sister. She is taken aback, but then calmly says ‘you did it again’, prompting Lei to apologise. The two leave from behind the screen in separate directions, but not before Lady Flute stares off in the direction of Usagi Nao, one of the dinner guests. Eiko tries to strike up a conversation with Lei again to let him know that he is there for anything he may need, which is received politely, if not enthusiastically. Eiko takes his immediate leave after this, prompting Hajime to follow him and ask for a very detailed breakdown of everything that he didn’t notice going on, causing the courtier to perk right up. Hajime invites him back to his room for tea and a game of go, and the two wander off to enjoy each other’s company.
Minoru waits behind while Yuzume socialises, and as they leave he asks her what she thought of the play, where she reveals that much like Hajime, she picked up on none of the hidden messages being thrown about. With no way of getting any more information out of this evening, Minoru suggests that they crash the tea party their coworkers are throwing, mischief in his eyes.
Back at the guest house, Hajime has brewed tea for himself and Eiko, and the two are chatting over a go board. Eiko summarises the strife between the heirs, and speculates on how much of Lady Flute’s damage control is manipulation. Hajime wins the game of go using a technique he picked up from Minoru, who he plays with more frequently. At this point Minoru and Yuzume arrive, only allowed in once they reveal that they have snacks. Minoru gently laughs at Eiko’s go loss, and the two trade dramatic yet good-natured barbs while Hajime and Yuzume pretend not to treat it like a hugely entertaining spectator sport.
Minoru brings up the puppet show again, hoping to figure out just what is going on between the heirs. He posits that if they can solve it, it might be something they can use to Hirosaka’s benefit. Eiko says he has something that could help with this, and leaves for a moment. Hajime asks Minoru for a game of go while they wait, and Minoru recommends Yuzume sit with the duelist since he will certainly need the assistance. She makes idle small talk disguised as whispers of advice, seeing if it will psych out Minoru, and Hajime’s own strategy is what wins him the game.
Eiko returns and immediately comments on Minoru’s loss, much to the amusement of the other two, but quickly turns the mood serious when he places a bag on the table. Inside is his personal chop, as well as a symbol of authority that denotes him as a personal representative of Doji Hotaru. Minoru is surprised, and further still when Eiko admits that he has held this position since before he served Kitsu Shogo. Hajime is impressed, and knowing that this authority means that they can easily resolve the issues of the Hiramori, asks who they should speak to. Eiko suggests that they maneuver someone sympathetic to Hirosaka as the next heir, but says that the group shouldn’t get used to leaning on his position too often. Minoru claims that without speaking to Lananh, they can’t make that choice. He begins to hatch a plan with Eiko in the hopes of drawing Lananh or other important players to them by displaying this seal in the open. Hajime says he can work on Daiyun in the meantime. Yuzume, however, is less focused on the plan and moreso on how Eiko has hidden his position from them for so long, clearly disappointed even as she agrees to speak to Daidoji Dae. That leaves Minoru to speak to Lei.
With their plan ready, Minoru falls back to being snarky with Eiko, and they continue an evening of snacks and games.
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