The group, along with Peschay, make their way to the borders of the Hiramori and the Usagi, where Amos meets them and takes them on the long journey back to Hirosaka. When they arrive they find themselves in the newly-rebuilt commoner’s district, with a large community centre at its heart, full of communal ovens, workspaces, stalls and gardens. Brightly-coloured decorations hang between buildings, and people mill around the centre carrying all sorts of dolls and food. It seems that the local Doll Festival is in full swing!
Unlike some other doll festivals in Rokugan, it seems as though Hirosaka’s variant has an additional focus. Though it does feature dolls of the Scion of Heaven and their family, it also celebrates characters seen in everyday life, as well as the spirits who watch over them. Hajime comments on how different it is to the doll festivals in Crane lands, which prompts Minoru to encourage his yoriki to investigate it from every angle.
With permission from the boss to enjoy themselves, Hajime takes Peschay on a hunt for some of the delicious street food he can smell in the air, treating it as though it’s the most important mission either of them will ever go on in their lives. Eiko is less pleased at the concept of leisure time, but relents when he sees he won’t be able to get out of it, and wanders off to inspect the community centre. Minoru invites Yuzume for a drink, both agreeing that after the last couple of days they need the strongest alcohol they can find.
Eiko’s inspection reveals that the communal workshops are well-furnished, and will happily satisfy most of the needs of the community in time. Pleased with this, he finally goes to find something to eat, and bumps into a familiar face in the crowds – Shiba Kizuki, who has clearly grown stronger (and perhaps more attractive?) since the last time Eiko saw him many years ago. The Crane draws his fan and goes to greet his old acquaintance, who is pleased to see him. Kizuki comments on his new position, and mentions he’s been going by Eiko’s office every day to try to organise a meeting with his master. Eiko apologises, citing the dire need to visit the surrounding clans for supplies and support in rebuilding Hirosaka as the reason for their absence. To further his point, when Kizuki offers to get him some tea and comments on the surprising acceptability of the types on offer, Eiko comments on the speed of the restoration of the commoner’s quarter as one of the reasons.
The topic soon shifts to Kizuki and his position, and how he ended up serving as a Yojimbo for someone coming to Hirosaka. He mentions that Eiko knows full well that he wouldn’t be here if it didn’t help his ambitions in some way, and they reminisce on a shared Winter Court at Kyuuden Shiba in 1119 briefly. Eiko says that if Kizuki drops by the office tomorrow he will be met appropriately, provided that his magistrate has not been sent out of town on another mission. When Kizuki finds out that Eiko works with Minoru regularly, his interest is piqued – he seems eager to talk to him, citing how no other Emerald Magistrate rose to the position as quickly as he did (discounting the children at Tsuma, he adds with a laugh). While Kizuki makes it clear that meeting Minoru would serve his personal ambitions, Eiko hints that they certainly won’t hurt his own either. They agree to set up a meeting, Eiko saying that he’ll be at the office early so as not to miss Kizuki’s message, and then talks up Hajime as someone to get to know, thanks to their shared love of the sword. Having already met the Asahina, Kizuki says there are plenty of topics he’d like to run by Hajime, and the two agree it will be beneficial visit for everyone involved.
Speaking of Hajime, he and Peschay are taking a look at the food stands. Peschay is drooling at something made of fried dough, clutching a doll of a peasant holding a fishing net that Hajime picked out for him. Though he’s also a connoisseur of fine regional food, Hajime is a sucker for anything he can find at a festival, so this combination of dough, honey and blended nut paste is particularly appealing. As soon as they’re served, Peschay burns his fingers trying to pick it up. Hajime tells him it’s important to wait a little bit first, then immediately takes a bite of his own and burns his tongue, much to Peschay’s amusement.
They talk about how Peschay didn’t get any hot food when he was hiding in Hiramori lands, given how he was too afraid to start a fire in case he was spotted, before Peschay rounds on Hajime with his burning question: why did he study with the Kakita instead of the Daidoji? For a brief moment Hajime’s face falls, but he shakes it off and tells the boy that it was because his family wanted him to learn the way of the sword, and that the way that he learned best was by focusing on the nature of dueling and the perfect cut. Peschay supposes that you do often only get the chance to make one cut on the battlefield, and then asks Hajime why he doesn’t get a bigger sword so he can get the most out of his one cut. Finding it hard to put his answer into words, Hajime offers to show him a few things when they have some spare time, which Peschay happily agrees to.
Meanwhile, the Thankful Riches tavern has set up a drinking stall, which has proven popular throughout the night. Though they’re almost out, when they see Minoru and Yuzume arrive they manage to scrounge some more drinks together. They’re told what drinks are available, including an expensive 2-year old bottle from the Clouds Over Hirosaka brewery, which will only be harder to find in future, and Minoru suggests they start from there. The vendor comments that it’s strange to see samurai in town before the sakura bloom, aside from the Mantis, who always seem to hang around in early spring. Minoru asks if that means the Moth were also hardly around, but the vendor shakes his head, saying that the Moth were ‘their people’.
Yuzume suggests extending an invitation to the Mantis if they’re going to be in town soon anyway, but Minoru wonders if it’s wise given that they’re such a troublesome bunch. Given that the town has already seen its fair share of trouble, Yuzume doubts that the minor clan will do anything to make Hirosaka’s situation any worse. Minoru muses on how he doesn’t want any more trouble at all, and wonders how long it will be before Hajime and Eiko get into some at the festival, to which he’s assured by his advisor that the only way that would happen is if Peschay gives Hajime the slip, which would never happen. Minoru says if she’s wrong she’ll be the one who has to look after Peschay next, much to Yuzume’s horror, but at her protests he says he’ll assign the task to Eiko instead, and the two enjoy an evening of drunken banter until the festival ends.
The group reconvenes and heads back to the House of the Evergreens, where Baba greets them and lets Minoru know that a letter arrived for him, delivered by a Miya Herald. A drunk Minoru takes this knowledge in with as much dignity and grace as can be expected given his condition, and Hajime helps him and Yuzume up the stairs. Eiko collects all of the letters they may have missed while they were away, checking to see which ones need to take priority, then heads to the office to spend a few hours on paperwork that may have piled up while they were gone. Finding nothing pressing or new, aside from repeated requests for meetings from Isawa Nobuo and Agasha Touma, he returns to the inn for the night.
That night, Yuzume’s dreams are surprisingly clear. She finds herself sitting in her wheelchair in an empty white space, a familiar figure lying in front of her. She knows him as someone whose life she destroyed long ago for their careless comments, and though he’s talking to her, no sound escapes his lips. But she knows what he’s saying, because she’s played it out over and over again in her mind since the day he said it to her in person. The white space crumbles into nothingness, and a hole in the void opens up in front of her, dragging the guard down, and threatening to pull her chair in too. The guard grabs her arm and pulls her down, and she tries to get away, but every time she wrenches herself free he grabs hold of her again. A woman appears besides her, clearly not real and only wearing the face of someone Yuzume trusts – her aunt Chiaki. She gets between Yuzume and the guard, caressing Yuzume’s mask and telling her to try again. The shugenja tries to push him away with invocations this time, but it fails, and instead the not-Chiaki kicks the guard away into the void. She looks back at Yuzume with a wide, eerie grin, then vanishes.
Elsewhere in the House of the Evergreens, Eiko is also dreaming. He’s a student again, one of many from prominent families sent to the home of Doji Satsume to keep his children company and be shaped into the next generation of Crane elites. He dreams of when he was invited to the first event that Doji Hotaru attended after her gempukku, standing behind her on the dais, taking in the scene around him with his perfect memory. He can see a balcony that looks over at the ocean on a beautiful cloudless day, endless dignitaries from across the Empire, and Doji Satsume’s ever-stern gaze falling across everyone there. In the dream Eiko considers every possible imperfection he might be showing, and then Satsume’s gaze moves on to the next in line: an Asahina skilled in scrying, a Kakita with a once-in-a-generation talent, and a Daidoji who had already scored themselves a seat on the Merchant’s Council despite their young age.
In the dream, someone’s fan falls from behind a shoji screen, slowly tumbling through the air, though he’s not sure whose it is. It’s within reach, and rushes to stop it from falling to the floor so that it doesn’t disturb the ceremony. The fan feels heavy, and as he turns around he can see the rest of the room, himself included from his original position behind Hotaru, softly berating him. When he looks down at his hands they aren’t his own, and he realises that there’s something about this scene that’s been taken from him.
When he and Yuzume wake up the next morning, they feel restored and refreshed, but with the strange feeling in the back of their minds that something has been taken from them.
Eiko wakes up a very tired Hajime to tell him to come to the office for ‘something interesting’, but doesn’t do the same to the Scorpion. Once he has Hajime’s confirmation, he heads to work, while Hajime enjoys getting to rest a little more before getting ready for the day. He leaves a note with Baba for Minoru and Yuzume, reminding them to have something to eat because they’re likely in an absolute state.
And they are. Minoru is woken up by Eiko being too loud in talking to Hajime, and Yuzume sleeps through everything, not leaving her room until the hangover has subsided enough that she looks an acceptable level of grumpy. The Scorpion head to work together, the little disasters.
Back at the office, Eiko has realised the Imperials are waiting on Minoru at this very moment, as per the letter they sent to the inn. He heads to meet them, sensing the disappointment in Kazuko and Ishima, but Miya Sora seems thrilled to see him. They exchange pleasantries and Eiko makes excuses for Minoru not being there, while Sora sends servants to properly present a scroll from the Ruby Champion. Kazuko studies Eiko to gauge his reaction, and he continues to cover for Minoru by playing the compliments game, talking up their importance and how the scroll practically demands that it be opened in such esteemed company. Aware of what he’s doing but all of different minds about it, the Imperials say nothing, and wordlessly stand off against one another from behind their fans.
It’s at this moment that Hajime arrives, so casually and quietly that the Imperials don’t seem to notice. Eiko uses the opportunity to say he’s going to leave to get his tea supplies, so that they can all ‘properly celebrate’ opening this letter. Hajime tries to talk to the Imperials about the festival last night to help with the distraction, since really what Eiko wants is to find Minoru and potentially wring his neck for being too hungover to come into work on time. Ishima and Sora lose interest as Eiko leaves, but Kazuko is incredibly interested in what Hajime has to say, and turns the conversation to his travels, trying to get as much information out of him as she can about what he learned about the areas around Hirosaka. However, he realises that she’s doing this, and not wanting to volunteer any of that information when the others aren’t around, keeps his answers focused on food and the reconstruction of the commoners’ quarters.
Minoru and Yuzume arrive at the office, decrying how loud everything is, and meet an exasperated Eiko. He quickly fills them in on what’s happening, then brushes past them with his tea set, and the two realise they’re in trouble. Minoru is ready to face the Imperials as is, but Yuzume reigns him in and tells him that if they go in there, they can’t look like they drank themselves to death last night. In a moment of inspiration/clutching at straws, Yuzume decides to ask the kami to change Minoru’s face, disguising himself as a less-hungover version of himself. However, as easy as she finds it to slip into similar disguises herself, she doesn’t know Minoru well enough to instruct the spirits on how to change him, even if only slightly. Unable to call upon them again, she asks if Minoru has any makeup, which he doesn’t have. The two hurriedly eat some mint leaves and Yuzume mushes with Minoru’s face to try to get him looking a bit better, then they head inside the courthouse where the others are waiting. Evidently her efforts have only made him look worse, and have only delayed them even further, because the Imperials can barely hide how incredulous they are at the whole thing.
Minoru apologises for his lateness and gives his excuses, but the Sora and Kazuko ignore him and Yuzume to focus on Eiko and Hajime instead. Ishima is the only one willing to get down to business, explaining the letter’s provenance, and Minoru reads it to himself before revealing its contents to the others.
The Ruby Champion has tasked him with hunting down and bringing the justice the warlord Nagokita, whose crimes against the Empire and Celestial Order are too many and too vile to list. He hides in a keep across the Cherry Blossom Lake in Minoru’s jurisdiction, and his head must be delivered to the Unicorn or the Emerald Office. He hands the message to Eiko and orders Hajime to prepare swift horses. Surprised at Minoru’s tone – he has never spoken to him like an actual employee before – he hurries out to do just that, while Yuzume is similarly commanded to get paper and ink.
Once Eiko has read the letter he hands it to the Imperials, who read it again and again, growing paler with each revision – save for Ishima, who bites back the impulse to offer aid to Minoru once she remembers that he’s a hungover mess right now. Before he takes his leave, Kazuko stops him to offer him aid instead, either as an individual or as a member of the Emerald Office. Unable to think of anything in the moment, Minoru turns her down, saying that he would ask Sora for extra manpower if needed, but it is pointed out that the manpower would be of no use on the kind of hunt they’ll be going on. Minoru maintains that he needs no aid for now, says some quick goodbyes, and calls Eiko to leave with him. Eiko tries to smooth over his lord’s lack of pleasantries as best he can, then follows behind.
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