This particular white-haired Asahina was found within the shrine to the fortunes on her knees in meditation, listening intently in search of guidance. The spirit activity had indeed increased with excitement, and the smallest pleased smile found itself on her lips at the change.

Routine had seemingly taken over Kaoru's days, as she found herself always in the garden at dawn (unless the weather disagreed) and at the small shrine at dusk. In both instances, with the intent to serenely read and write first, and to catch the rumors running around second.

So here she was, sat before her writing case, in a nook of the temple. Aware of the presence of the Asahina but not reacting to it yet.

She eventually decided to break the silence preemptively, before the situation accidentally turned into a jump scare. She rose to her feet and bowed exaggeratedly so the soft rustling of her cloth might be heard ahead of her voice:

"Asahina-sama, does the night find you well?"

One eye opened, and then the other as Sakura emerged from her meditation with the appearance of the Scorpion, and she gave a polite seated bow. "I think it does, actually, Shosuro-san? Yes, I think so. And yourself? You're well, and enjoying the championship, I hope?"

A pause and then! "Oh! Um! I'd enjoy the pleasure of Shosuro-san's company! If it's not asking too much? Please sit?"

"The day has been long, busy, and filled with interesting events, the tournament itself being the centerpiece of them.

And, sure. I am Shosuro Kaoru, daughter of Shosuro Nagisa, currently going through training to become an advisor for my lord. Nice to meet you."

"Oh, I see! An advisor? That's exciting?" Was it a question? It sounded like a question. "I'm, um, Asahina Sakura? Daughter of Asahina Sayuri, former Topaz champion and darling of every Winter Court she attends?" A pause of consideration, and then she adds, "Youngest sister of Asahina Tenshin, um, the Emerald Magistrate? I'm not really training for anything specific? Um. I... art? With um, a focus? on ...locating significant spiritual activity? in a given area?"
She flustered tremendously. "I appreciated your assistance here, the other day, with the rejuvenation? here? It ...made a difference."

"To do what must be done, such is the life of the samurai.

I just hope our initiative did not accidentally accrue the tensions between the brotherhood and Kakita-domo, turning this short-term improvement into a long-term disaster.

Being an advisor is always instructive and often imaginative. Your lord asks a question, and you must find ways to gather as much information as required to answer it, frequently in very little time. Sometimes the answer simply awaits at the library. Often you end up asking around people ranging from the cook to the the local imperial envoy to connect all the dots. It's meticulous work but rarely boring indeed.

Actually, I think I've caught a glimpse of your brother on my first day in Tsuma. He was working hard on cracking a criminal case."

"Hm, those are true words, Shosuro-san.. I hope so, as well! That's the last thing we want. Well. Not the last thing, that would be a spiritual disaster, but something close to it would be happily avoided?
Your work sounds similar to aspects of my own? Spiritual activity is so mutable, it can change on any given day, even in a given hour. In my experience, I've had to track down all sorts of information."

Regarding Tenshin: "Oh did you? That's interesting... What sort of crime was committed?"

"Opium trafficking. As for the details, you'll have better luck asking your brother than myself.

By tracking down information, do you mean investigating physical manifestations of the spirits? Like, rumors of ghostly appearance reach your ears, and you hunt for first-hand witnesses, exact location and time of the sightings? Close to magistrate work?

Or is it more of a historian, tracking down what happened in a particular building through the decades to understand the root cause of a nowadays spiritual imbalance?

None of that? A mix of that and of many other things?"

She nodded at the suggestion of talking to her brother directly.

"Oh! Um, all of the above? I think? It depends what's asked of me, what direction I'm pointed in, where I'm sent to go and what I need to look for? Though, overall, not so much investigation- more categorizing what's already known and taking notes, though more often a visual account is why I'm sent where I'm sent..." -the stuttering, fillers, and questionable cadence seem to melt away as Sakura's asked more about her spiritual role. "If I can provide any assistance through ritual cleansing or communing, that comes first."

"Okay, so you're more of an expert that's being called when strange things happen to determine what is this about and what needs to be done? A bit like a medical expert asked to look at strange symptoms but for patients of the spiritual variety?

That seems to be a job as fascinating as it is demanding. Out of curiosity, how many years have you had to dedicate solely to learning about spirits? My own training was not very specialized until maybe two years ago, eagerly mixing the sword, the fan, and the brush before that.

The opinion on my sensei on the subject was that if I needed to have a wide base of knowledge, theoretical and practical, if I was to work efficiently with samurai of varying specialties.

Ironically, the spiritual angle was the one we didn't get much time to explore, as time waits for no one."

"Expert is... a liberal term, for what I am, I think," Sakura counters humbly and looks down at her hands for a long moment.

How many years? "Um. Sixteen? I ...I have the honour and privilege of sensing their activity for as long as I can remember? It touches every aspect of my life and what I do. It has its benefits but can lead to, distractions? My sensei deals with um, a lot of frustration, as do I, when it comes to focus or specialization?" she gave a self-depreciating smile.

"If you want to talk about, um, the spiritual angle, as you say, I'm happy to! Any time! Just, uh, find me? Here or elsewhere?
Or any conversation, really! I'd love to hear more about your training, as well, Shosuro-san."

"If you're not an expert after sixteen years, who is? I can understand there are likely people with several decades of experience on the subject, but you still own a depth of knowledge only a modicum of the empire's samurai can boast having.

My own training was... organic? My sensei's opinion is that the fundamentals must be worked on over and over until they're fully mastered, and then the rest will ensue. So repeating the base exercises for the body, studying the fundamental books for the mind, performing the traditional plays for the soul. The first years were very intense, very crammed with stuff to learn and to do, and then the focus gradually shifts on how to use this base as a stepping stone to progress further on my own.

If you will, I had to learn to learn."

"Oh, um, thank you," Sakura flustered just a bit.

"That does sound intense! The thought of the kind of focus and mental strength, um, fortitude? to do something so repetitious until it becomes rote, it's a skill that escapes me and one I've been in awe of."

"Our sensei looked at us, saw different raw materials, envisioned different blades, and chose the appropriate forging techniques. You may have broken under my training, but I would have likewise melt under yours.

The empire needs many different kind of samurai to thrive. Difference is a strength, not a weakness."

"Indeed; and may we all live up to our potential."

"On the subject of spiritual guidance, I'm not sure I've understood right: You're planning a festival for Kisshōten tomorrow? The whole deal, with the statue paraded through the city? Is this an usual tradition of Tsuma on this day of the year?"

"Wait, what? There's a parade?! That's so cool, I didn't know that! With a statue? Through the streets! I can't wait to see that!"

"I mean, it's usually how festivals go, but, like, I cannot ensure that will happen. It's your city, your delegation, your festival, I had taken for granted you would know all about it."

"But it's not actually a festival? It's more a celebration? that the Crane thought would be nice organized show of small enjoyments and fun activities for us all to enjoy together?"

"Uh, yes? If you say so."

Admittedly, Kaoru was having a hard time processing the concept of affirmative-interrogative form.