Days passed by with no further incidents as Seiko found ways to get the group in to see Kohaku. She kept the details to herself as she worked her magic, but by this point, Maru had nothing but complete confidence in her for better or worse. He pushed in another trunk of essentials into the second of two ox carts as he watched Sen and Hachirou help hitch the animals up to the first. It had been quite some time since he had travelled by cart anywhere, let alone to the capital.

"Can you fit?" he saw Sen look over and ask Hashi, who poked his head inside of one of the ox carts and turned back to Sen with a small shrug of his shoulders. "What do you mean, you don't know?"

"So, this city is your capital?" Maru turned to see Avery one-arm a massive box of items up into their cart and turn to look at him as if he hadn't. "You ever been there?"

Maru shook his head, "No. This will be my first. What about you, Nobu?" He turned to ask his friend and got distracted by watching Sen trying to help shove Hashi up into the first ox cart, grunting while he tried to shove him up with his shoulder.

"Once when I was younger," Nobuhiko had stopped carrying his things to watch as Sen finally managed to shoulder Hashi into the cart, and soon the yokai's head popped out with a satisfied smile. "How strong is Sen, Maru?"

"Too strong," Maru muttered before he saw Emi and Hachirou round the corner with kanko and Tama, seemingly with the last of the supplies.

"Hoshiga told us that you had a quick way to Heiankyo," Hachirou leaned on his naginata as he watched Seiko's servants finish loading up the ox carriage. "I fail to see how this will be quick."

Kanko snickered, "Oh, silly monk! We won't be walking!"

Seiko chuckled as she approached the group from where she had been stroking the ox's face, "See, the carriages are a front, really. Who needs to walk when you have magic?"

"Magic?" Avery looked over at Maru. "Now you're telling me that we can magically move from one place to the next?" He paused and slowly turned to look at Kanko, "We... We can't actually do that, right?"

"Tail Magic," Kanko supplied with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Only kitsune can use it. It's onmyodo with more perks."

"More like fewer restrictions," Tama corrected as he handed Kanko a small satchel of food before turning to Seiko with a bow. "I will remain here and watch over your home, my lady. I assure you, it will be in one piece when you return to us from the capital."

"Tama," Seiko gave him a fond smile and rested one hand on his shoulder, "you needn't worry yourself. I know that our home is in capable hands."

Without another word, she turned to Kanko and nodded, prompting the other woman to walk beside her as the two knelt down and placed two painted strips of paper on the ground. The symbols seemed vaguely familiar, and he realized that they looked much like one's he had seen Ujiyo paint on his own paper slips before. The two briefly chanted something in that strange yokai language before reaching up and pulling the air before them apart like a curtain to reveal a large black space with the tiniest speck of light shining in the distance. Without prompting, Tomo and some of the other kitsune began to move the carriages through the open space as Kanko rolled her eyes and looked back at the group, "Hurry up! This takes a lot of energy to do!" Sen and Hashi stepped into the space together, and it felt like all of the air had stilled. There was no noise aside from the snorting of oxen and the sound of shoes as the group moved along. It was a space of absolute perfect stillness, though Sen could see Seiko walking beside them with a look of concentration hard on her face with her brow furrowed and her hands folded tightly in front of her.

The speck of light gradually grew closer, and Seiko looked to Kanko, "Can you take it from here?"

The other fox nodded as Seiko stepped quickly up into one of the carriages with a sigh and Kanko seemed to assume the burden. Emi looked to her, "So... They sustain the magic for this journey themselves? Remarkable!" It was as if they had emerged from a cave. The speck of light became a column, and when they made their way through to the other side, they found themselves standing in a road. "This puts us half a day's ride from the capital," Seiko's voice came from her carriage's window as she smiled out at the blinking party. "That way, we'll look like we've been travelling."

"That's a neat trick," Yuzuha looked around with a small shake of her head. "You do this often?"

"It takes a great deal of energy to move my attaché wherever I need to go, so I try to limit how often I make trips like these," Seiko admitted, and Sen had to agree that it must have taken no small amount of energy considering how pale she seemed to be. Her eyes also seemed to glow with more amber than usual. Sen had to wonder if it was because of the magic or because it had taken so much magic out of her that made her mask seem to slip slightly. "The sooner that we arrive in the capital, the better. I need to rest."

---

Tomo hobbled along, changing between his human and badger forms to scout ahead and check the road until he came tumbling back for what Maru assumed was the fourth or fifth time, looking rather pleased on his long badger face. "We're almost there! Look!" He gestured with his nose as they rounded the bend in the road.

The city was unlike anything that Sen had ever seen before. In the light of the setting sun, the buildings seemed to blaze a deep red and stretched out for what felt like miles. There were so many streets and buildings that covered such an area that Sen didn't even know was possible that he wondered whether he was imagining it or not. As the sun began to sink, lanterns began flickering on, dotting the landscape like little stars that began to light storefronts and street corners. He wondered how people managed to sleep in a place that was always alight. Even from a distance, there was noise. It felt alive, almost like a hive of bees with people coming and going from every entrance and people carousing the streets doing shopping or looking for places to keep themselves entertained. From where they stood, Sen could see the palace in the city, a sprawling complex of buildings ringed by stone and wooden walls, and something about it seemed eerily quiet when compared to the rest of the city as if it was its own world sequestered off from everything else.

"Welcome to Heiankyo," Seiko gestured to the city with her wooden fan as she leaned out of the window. "My residences are close to the palace. We can rest and plan once we arrive."

The wide central boulevard that they travelled up cut through the heart of the city, and the separation between districts was painfully noticeable when they were cut by wide streets. The central street was filled with carts, people, and palanquins that carted nobility through the streets in shaded seclusion. Business districts gave way to residences and then residences gave way to manors, and it was then that Seiko's procession turned down the street and slowly made their way to a manor house at the far end of one of those narrower side streets. Sen hurried up to one of the carts and helped Hashi out as Hachirou assisted, the yokai grunting as he hobbled out on stiff legs. Seiko disembarked, looking somewhat pale still, but not nearly as exhausted as she had been. Kanko, on the other hand, looked as though she had been down with a fever for days. 

"Send word to Machifusa," Seiko turned to Kanko despite their fatigue as they led the party into the house and some of the servants took the ox carts around the back entrance, "to meet me at the kagura performance tonight. Tell him that it's about the Emperor's Onmyoji." Kanko bowed and hurried out of the house.

"Kagura?" Yuzuha stepped forward angrily, "To hell with a play! We need to meet with the onmyoji! Hashi's sick!"

Seiko turned to look at her with an exasperated sigh, "This is why I am arranging things. Machifusa is an old friend of mine, and more than that, he is about the only man in the entire capital that can arrange a meeting with Kohaku. The kagura performance is a convenient meeting place that won't arouse suspicion." Seiko dropped her voice as her countenance became grave, "This is not some stupid little farming village. We are in Heiankyo. Every move you make here is part of a performance, and there are always other performers looking to steal your role and break your legs. Learn to play the part and do so quickly."

It was something that Hashi didn't miss. When Seiko mentioned it, memories of days spent minding every word, every gesture, and keeping a close eye on those of other people were agonizing. He didn't miss it. In some ways, he figured as he watched the group begin to strategize as he tried to massage the pain out of his Rotted arm, being a yokai was much, much simpler. He never had to mind who he spoke to or speak in triple meaning. Hell, now he didn't have to speak at all. He had Sen instead of back-biting courtiers, and that was so much of an improvement that he couldn't think of words to describe it. He looked around the house made of elegant wood and stone. He had seen the houses of the upper class nobles from the street and been inside of one of them in his entire life. Seiko's home felt different. Maybe it was the energy kitsune of her stature exuded, but the space felt... claimed - lived in - much different from the air of sterility he had felt all those long years ago. He finally decided to pull his eyes away from the ikebana arrangements and focus on what the group was saying, not liking his thoughts dwelling much on his old memories of Heiankyo.

"We will take the time to go and try to get a feeling for the religious tempo here," Emi and Hachirou nodded in unison, something that Maru was still trying to get used to. "We might be able to learn something from the monks."

"Be careful," Tomo cautioned as he scampered up, "because the monks here are just as involved in the politics as the nobles."

Hachirou snorted, "What else is new?"

Sen turned to Yuzuha expectantly, and the onna-buegisha shook her head. "You can go ahead," Yuzuha nodded as she fiddled with her wooden talisman hanging from her neck, "I need to look up a combat school here."

"I can go with her," Nobuhiko nodded. "They might be a little more receptive." Yuzuha frowned and rolled her eyes, "No offense, my lady, but you are a woman."

"A woman who could beat your skull in if you say that again."

Naoyuki threw his own eyes in a roll and turned to Maru, "I'm going to look someone up. You won't regret it if I find them. Trust me?"

"Friend of yours?" Avery asked with a smirk as Naoyuki grinned up at him.

"Buddy, you have no idea. He's a blacksmith who has been supplying us with ammo on the sly. Codename is Outaka. He knows pretty much everything, so if the Sayonakidori so much as piss in this city, he'll know about it."

"He also sounds like he expects payment for that kind of thing," Maru raised an eyebrow, "which I doubt that you have..." He trailed off when Naoyuki held up a rather hefty sack of coins with the most self-satisfied smirk a human could possibly make. "How...?"

"The Otomo pay disgustingly well," Naoyuki snickered as he waved and turned for the door, "and Outaka and I go way back. He won't charge me... much. Avery, come with me. You mentioned wanting to set up business contacts? Outaka is your guy."

Avery frowned as he followed Naoyuki from the house, "He better not be shady. I only do legitimate business..."

As the group all dispersed, it only left Hashi, Sen, Maru, and Seiko standing there. With a smirk, she turned to them and raised her eyebrows, "Then I suppose we best prepare ourselves for this performance, no?"

---

"It feels like I'm wearing art," Sen muttered as he looked at the painted sleeves of his haori in awe, prompting Hashi to chuff out one of his laughs beside him. The design of a stream with fish leaping up a waterfall on his back looked more like a painting than a piece of clothing that could be worn in public. 

Tomo snickered from the far side of the room, "Believe it or not, when we spent most of our time here in the capital, Tama used to wear things like that all the time!"

"Tama?" Sen turned to the mujina and asked as his eyes widened in surprise. He could hardly imagine the unassuming Tama wearing fine clothing.

Before Tomo could elaborate, Maru walked in once again dressed like a sunbeam in a bright yellow kosode and haori. "Wow," he whistled and walked up to Sen, walking around him to admire the haori. "That must have been expensive. This is partially woven..."

Seiko followed him in not much later dressed for an evening out in her darker hues. She looked the group over and gave a satisfactory nod of approval, "Tomo, the house is yours."

"Of course, my lady."

"Come with me, you three. We have a performance to catch."

They took a cart through the slowly darkening streets until they came upon the playhouse, Tentatively following her inside, Maru took up a seat beside her in one of the back rows while Sen and Hashi got a seat somewhat closer to the stage. The entire space was lit by lanterns and candles, and Sen looked completely awestruck by the building. Part of it made Maru want to laugh had something about the sight of a simple playhouse making Sen flabbergasted not been somewhat sad. The stage before them was lit, a large dyed curtain behind it rippling as the staff and performers passed behind it, and it wasn't until he heard someone mutter apologies that Sen himself even realized that someone was approaching Seiko from her free side.

Maru guessed that it was the person they were supposed to meet - someone that Seiko had named as Machifusa. Whether that was his real name or not, Maru couldn't be entirely sure. Machifusa was a courtier, if Sen had to guess by his elegant sokutai and black mesh hat. One of high rank, too, if the colors meant anything. He sat down on the opposite side of Seiko from Maru, never once looking at him as he turned to the lady. "This is an odd time."

"The wind has begun shifting, so I came to the capital," Seiko replied, and Maru decided to listen in closer as Sen returned his attention to the stage. "Storms are on the horizon, as I am sure that you have heard."

Machifusa nodded and snapped a fan open, waving it slowly, "True enough, though frankly the storms are the least of my worries. Can you believe that we have birds nesting in our homes? During this time of the year, too. Dreadful little nasty things."

"Have they entered the palace yet?"

"Luckily, no. Imagine it, a bird infestation in the palace! Perish the thought!"

"That would be rather tragic, wouldn't it? Machifusa, I know it has been quite some time since we last spoke, but would you happen to recall our mutual friend?"

Machifusa snorted and looked at her with an amused smile, "Milady, we have many mutual friends."

Seiko finally turned to look at him, and Maru saw a certain look come into her eyes that Machifusa returned. Their faces, however, somehow remained as casual as if they weren't speaking in codes. "Oh, come now! The only mutual friend we ever discuss! Imagine if he heard us gossiping."

"Oh, I figure he'd enjoy it. What of him?"

"I heard a rumor that he finally took an apprentice," Seiko turned her eyes to the stage, but it was Machifusa's expression that caught Maru's eye. His eyes widened for the briefest of moments before his fan fluttered almost nervously.

"Did he?"

"I think our friend from the Heike would like to know. They always did have a good rapport. Can I trust that he will hear of this?"

Machifusa snapped his fan shut and nodded casually, but Maru could see his hand working on the fan, "Oh, he will. Ah, I just recalled that I had an appointment for a tea ceremony this evening! Pardon me, my lady. It has been enlightening, as always."

"Good luck with your infestation, Machifusa," Seiko smiled at him as he bowed his way out. She turned to look at Maru with a small nod, "and with that, we will see what Kohaku wants to do."

"Infestation?" Maru asked as he scooted closer to her and dropped his voice as the musicians began to file out onto the stage.

"Nightingales," Seiko supplied as she too dropped her voice and leaned in. "They have begun infiltrating noble houses via contracts. Let's not discuss it here. Kyo has eyes and ears everywhere."

As she finished, an announcer made his way onstage and bowed to the assembled crowd, a fan in his hand, and cleared his throat. "Tonight, we tell a tale of a mighty warrior of who you all may know. The Mibu are an ancient clan of mighty warriors whose specialty was slaying demons. One day, a Nue descended upon the temple of Byodo-in, slaying many monks and injuring many pilgrims. In desperation, Emperor Go Kashiwabara sought out the Mibu to help slay the beast, but all of their senior warriors were already slaying demons on behalf of the court. One person from the Clan rose to the occasion," the announcer snapped his fan open, prompting the audience to gasp, "a fifteen year old boy named Sadayoshi, handsome and youthful. He told the Emperor that he would slay the beast, and despite the urgings of his mother, left his home for Byodo-in accompanied by his two young retainers!"

The announcer hurried off the stage as the musicians picked up their instruments and the flute began to trill, summoning three boys adorned in shimmering costumes and makeup to the stage. Maru leaned over to Seiko, "That name, Mibu, sounds familiar."

She chuckled and looked to him with a small smile, "I am not surprised. The Mibu clan is a kuge family, and Sadayoshi's branch are the unofficial Imperial Demon Slayers. The Emperor won't touch the Sayonakidori with a stick. Instead, he and the Bakufu turn to the Mibu."

Maru knew then why the name sounded familiar. He recalled Kazegumo saying that once he had gone to Kyo with his master and the grandmaster at the time in a vain attempt to persuade the Emperor to hire them on as a permanent contract. They didn't even get a genuine audience and the Bakufu had laughed them out of house and home. He vividly recalled the bitterness edging Kazegumo's voice when he recited what they had been told:  Why would we need you servant birds when we have the noble Mibu? Maru wondered as he watched the play act out whether it was merely the noble lineage of the Mibu that made the court turn the Sayonakidori away or if there was something else there. Kazegumo had returned to Kyo again a year or so ago and returned just as bitter and dejected. The Emperor claimed it was a matter of cost, but what seemed to have stuck most in Kazegumo's craw was the mentioning of the Mibu. As the drum beat reached a crescendo, he recalled one other detail that made him furrow his brow. 

And here I thought, Kazegumo had snarled quietly as Maru had left the room that day, that we had ended the tyranny of those pompous Mibu at Toki-ji.

"Toki-ji..." Maru muttered, making Seiko look over at him as the play slowly seemed to be reaching its climax on the stage before them.

In front of the, Sen couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity with the story being told before him as the actor in the white furred costume and fanged mask of the nue wheeled wildly onstage before him. He racked his brain trying to figure out why the whole story seemed to familiar when it hit him.

I knew a man who slew a nue once. 

You're lying.

Ha! Am I, now? Well, let me tell you a story. Once, many years before I was born, a young boy was born into a noble family. They had sworn many ages ago to defend the court from demons and were known as mighty warriors. This boy was... oh, maybe fifteen or sixteen when the Emperor called his clan to Byodo-in to slay a mighty nue who had become enraged and attacked the temple...

"Myugou..." Sen muttered as the nue onstage dropped down onto one knee and slid its other leg out, striking a fearsome pose and cocking its head jerkily from side to side, "who were you?"

Hashi glanced down at him and saw his brow furrowed in frustration or concentration. With Sen, Hashi often felt that the two expressions went hand in hand more often than not. He had a hunch that he knew what he was realizing. The pieces were all beginning to be dropped onto the table, he supposed, and now Sen was just trying to figure out how they all fit. Hashi wanted to help him, but he remembered the promise he made. He hated himself for making it, but what could he have said to Myugou? No? He watched as Sen tried his best to puzzle through it when the crowd burst into cheers as the three boys slew the nue, and the actor collapsed onto a platform as the curtains quickly shut around him.

The group watched the rest of the show in silence, and when the musicians gave their final bows, Sen and Hashi stood, quickly losing Maru and Seiko in the bustle of the crowd.

"Did you enjoy the show?" Sen started and turned to see one of the young performers staring up at him expectantly, his eyes wide. He recognized him as the one who was playing the young Sadayoshi. "My troupe came from Kanto at the request of one of our patrons! You don't seem like you're from Kyo either. Did we do a good job?"

"Sensaburo, please!" The announce rushed up and grabbed the boy by the shoulders, pulling him back and making both of them bow, "I am so sorry, my lord. The young master gets excited too easily..."

"It's fine. I had never seen a performance like that before," Sen nodded, trying his best not to seem uncomfortable after having been assaulted by questions. Sensaburo seemed like a nice enough kid, at least.

"And your yokai? Did he like it, too?" Sensaburo piped up again, his voice clearly excited as he spoke, his eyes lighting up.

Sen glanced at Hashi, who nodded with one of his small smiles as he began signing in small little gestures. "He said he enjoyed it a lot." He couldn't help but smile at the large grin that came onto Sensaburo's face, "And he also said that you were a marvelous performer."

The announcer beamed with pride as he patted the boy's shoulders, "His mother may finance our troupe, but Sensaburo here is already quite the performer. We're happy that you enjoyed the performance. Seikogimi has always been very generous with her donations, but her taste in guests is always impeccable."

Sen turned to where the announcer was looking and saw Seiko speaking with a young woman, Maru waiting diligently by her side. The woman came and went quickly, vanishing into the crowd as Seiko and Maru made their way over. She caught sight of the announcer and the boy and gave them a radiant smile, "Well, hello, Sensaburo."

"Hello, milady! Did you enjoy the performance?"

"It was lovely. Do say hello to your mother for me, won't you?" The boy nodded excitedly before both he and the announcer bowed and hurried away to prepare for the next show.

"Who is his mother?" Sen asked as Seiko chuckled.

"Her name is Sayagimi. Her mother was the daughter of Mibu Sadayoshi, famed demon slayer for the Shogun and Emperor, and, according to legend, murdered by his own apprentice."

"And his apprentice?"

"That is a story that is rather famous here in the capital. Mibu Sadayoshi's apprentice was well-known and much loved until he attempted to kill the Shogun's family. Nobody ever found out why." She paused briefly before she turned to Sen, "I spoke to one of Kohaku's allies in the court, and he followed through - faster than expected, I might add. He already knows of your arrival, as he is wont to do. You apparently interest him, so he has agreed to meet with you."

"Interest him?" Sen asked as Hashi nodded in agreement with the confused sentiment. "Why?"

Seiko's eyes had an almost mischievous gleam to them as she spoke, "Who wouldn't be fascinated to see the new potential Deishi in the flesh?"