Being a child, and being distracted by the prospect of lunch, Hiruto's eyes seemed to glaze over slightly as the story went on.

He was able to maintain his Face, listening and nodding here and there, but Sanjiro especially might recognize that his mind was elsewhere.

When Ichiko chimed in, he glanced over, then to their instructor, and then out the window where he broke into a soft smile, heaved a deep breath and returned to listening.

Shino clasped her hands and put both index fingers to her lips. To a lot of other people in her surrogate household, this was a cheeky little gesture when she was thinking or didn't want to talk. To her, this was a warding charm to banish bad luck. Talk of demons was always bad luck; it was never good to attract their attention.

Shino could only offer a bemused glace at Akiro about the story. On one mind, according to all her training, acting on unconfirmed information was always stupid, and if he had asked her, she would say that of course it was bad that he didn't know if it was real or not. He should be working harder to confirm that it's true. False stories, especially when pursued so single-mindedly, would lead one to be easily manipulated, and Akiro was already dangerously easy to manipulate. Ichiko obviously agreed with this line of thinking.

However, spirits and demons were not within the realm of common sense. The Scorpions were a superstitious lot solely because the fickleness of spirits were one thing they could never spy on, learn about, or account for in their missions.
Shino touched her thumb to her forehead, disguised as an itch. She traced a symbol, normally marked in ash, to ward away bad attention. Then she looked pointedly away from Akiro and toward Someisa-sensei.

The elderly teacher listened to the story quietly and seemed captivated by it. Was it true interest or had she just trained in feigning interest for so many years? Nonetheless, after Akiro finished the story she does answer the question in a soft and serious manner.

"I wish you luck on finding your answers, Battue-san. Although you should know that unlike youkai, baku are stuff of dreams and not really tied to specific forms. They can alter their forms into whatever mortals can dream up. It could have been a unique look to that one. Even if you were to encounter the same one, it could look entirely different."

Having delayed starting today's lesson enough though, and realizing that she would need to cover the basics again, she started the class.

"Now, let's start off easy today, children. Who can tell me the four cardinal animals of the sky?..."


----->

The class went relatively smoothly from there, although it was likely those who were particularly studious would feel that today's lesson was very easy-- perhaps somewhat mitigated by how Someisa Yui gave them all plenty of opportunity to show off what they knew instead of spending almost any time lecturing herself.

Soon enough it was time to break for lunch. As the weather was fine on this day, the children were encouraged to go out to the yard. One of the teachers had laid out mats under the emerald green trees that made up the school yard. Children from across the school were already gathering with their wrapped lunchboxes-- perhaps some of them having helped put out there mats.

The children were allowed to mingle, although for the most part their clothing colors gave away that most tended to divide themselves by clan. Although with three out of every four wearing the brown and green of the Owl, that really just meant that the handful from any other given clan tended to just stick together as clumps between them.

The prospect of food did much to lift young Hiruto's spirits, and his mood seemed to improve as some of the children spread out into the yard.

He selected a little green place under a spreading maple tree, sat down in the bole of the roots and began to arrange his meal in front of him with practical consideration, an expectant smile upon his face. He did not bother with a mat, it was just another bit of decoration in his mind.

He had engaged with the lesson, but he had not stood out in any capacity, largely blending in with the other less exceptional students. But some of the finer points were already being driven out by immediate prospect of rice, fish, a small selection of sauces and some delicious looking bean paste.

He took a mouthful with his chopsticks, smiled, and sighed contentedly. He looked far more at peace that he had been after their first lesson, and listened as the breeze rustled the leaves in the branches above his head.

Shino made her way out of the classroom with a resolved sigh. At least Someisa-sensei always smoothed the tensions in her class. Normally, that meant boredom for Shino, but she had gotten plenty of excitement with the transfer student so the relaxed pace gave her plenty of time to study him.

Shino walked through the crowd, listening quietly to the chatter. Lunch was the biggest rumor mill of the day and the juiciest gossip always twisted itself through the air at this time. She didn't spend too much time eavesdropping today though, instead making her way over to Ichiko's mat.

Taking out her bento box, she took her time opening the box and unpacking the various levels. A large egg and rice level with various seared river fish and cooked lobster. Her family had left specific instructions against sashimi, so the chefs always heavily fried and seasoned her food. It was always delicious but she usually liked trading with some of the other kids that did get sushi and sashimi. The local delicacies were just more exciting sometimes.

She looked around at the other kids close to make sure she and Ichiko had a little privacy before she began.

"So, the new boy provoked quite a reaction from you. Do you wanna talk about it?" she began mildly.

Akiro had taken in with the boys, moving alongside Kano and Sanjiro. "Are you two new to the city too?," he asked looking at their heraldry. "How interesting would it be to be a scout for the Crab clan," he mused as he looked at Kano.

"No, no my Father is a shipwright." Hiruto explained in between bites of his lunch. "We moved here when I was very young" he added, completely oblivious to the fact that he was still very young.

"I don't know much about our Scouts, other than it's very dangerous." he mused as he selected another fat rice ball. "I've never seen the Shadowlands, but I know that the Hida school sends people's into them, alone, as part of their genpuku." he said very seriously. "If that is their final test as Bushi, and the Scouts must go there, well, all the time I would guess, I'd guess they would have to be really tough." he nodded to himself as he took a bite and chewed, swallowed, then looked back to Akiro.

"But if you think you might be interested some day, we could sure use the help." He cracked a small smile. "Your father does not expect you to take up the family trade?" He asked curiously in turn.

"He probably does," he laughed off the question, his right hand finding its way to chop sticks. In truth he always held a closer calling to his mother's teachings, but such teachings were heretical in the restrictive order of Rokugan. The Ujik ways were barely accepted, but their sorcery was not.

"So your family have have a ships?," he probed Kano further. "I ask because I have never been on one."

Hiruto smiled. "Well he designs them, and helps with the building. We don't actually own any of our own." he admitted simply. "But there are a few still up on the stocks we could probably go see, if you really wanted to." he offered instead, then he paused as if puzzled.

"It sounds as if you have travelled all over the place, but you have never been on a ship?" he asked with a slightly raised eyebrow.

*BAM!!*

While not deafening, the sound of the impact that rang out across the school grounds was more than enough to grab the attention of all the children in the school. The source? The body of a boy, fairly dark-skinned compared to most anyone else in the school and rather scrawny and dressed in the teal and sea green of the Mantis clan who had crumpled to the ground, his lunchbox having been dropped to his side upturned and a red mark that would surely form into a bruise on the side of his face.

Over him stood a rather fit boy dressed in the familiar Owl Clan colors, probably a Hantei or a Hyobe from his rather solid build, stood flanked by a smaller member of the same clan and a large boy in dark blue-- no doubt a Crab-- to his other side.

While everyone's attention had been drawn their way, what was being said by the leader of the three boys as he pointed an accusatory finger towards the fallen boy and sneered something with visible contempt on his face.

Like many of the other children, Hiruto stood and stared at the sudden disturbance. He seemed uncertain at first, and glanced around while he tried to listen to what was being said. "I think he just hit him..." he said softly and superfluously to those nearest to him.

Shino perked up with interest. This was a rather public place to be having such an out of control spat. This was sure to be the creation of a variety of new rumors. The lunch
yard was always where the politics of the school seemed to twist and change.

She wormed her way through the crowd trying to get a good look. She would surprise herself if she didn't know of the influential faces on campus, but if she didn't, now was the time to learn cause they just became interesting.


OOC: Roll to put faces to names? What is that, culture?

"He's stupid and silly," Ichiko's curt reply came at his cousin's observation.

"A laugh is all one should afford to a fool like that," a harsh tongue revealed.  "He should have been silenced the moment he walked into class."

She pulled out her food, the small box of stable foods she had grown up with and began to eat.

---

A curious face sprang up from its lowered attention, its lines shaping an annoyance at the disturbance the meal it had before it.  Ichiko had a habit of sticking her nose into matters that did not belong to her, and her cousin saw the features of her disapproval slipping on her face, as she placed her box of food to one side of her.

With the school grounds considerably more quiet after the initial exchange-- with everyone's eyes on the interaction, the voices can be heard much more clearly by everyone near by.

The large Owl Clan boy, no doubt in his last or second to last year, grabs the fallen scrawny Mantis Clan boy with both hands, dragging him back up to shaky feet, before screaming in the other boy's face in a threatening manner, "Stop lying!!" he boomed in a ferocious voice, "Admit what you did and maybe the magistrates will have mercy on you!!"

The other two boys, the one that was clearly another Owl Clan and another who based on clothing was a Crab Clan boy stood firmly behind the lead boy, very much showing signs of solidarity.

Hiruto approached the scene slowly, not timidly per say, but obviously unsure about just what was going on. He looked around as he drifted, almost as if expecting some kind of intercession.

His eyes flicked over the faces of those involved, and while he did not flinch at the barking voice of the older boy, he did not seem especially bold himself.

A glance over his shoulder checked for any that might have followed him...

Shino smirked when she heard the lead voice. The hothead, Hantei Ichiro. She remembered hearing of him when she joined the Detective Club, the bossy brat that tried to order even the seniors around and threw a fit when they wouldn't listen.
The dumb muscle-headed Crab, Hida Niro, was not really worth remembering in her opinion. He was a force to be accounted for in Ichiro's collection, but he wasn't an independent player in her eyes.
The other Owl boy, Kasuga Asato, made her grin. The childhood sweetheart of one of the many groupies that she could always rely on to spread a rumor like wildfire. He must've inspired Ichiro into action.

Hantei Ichiro, such a big personality but so easy to manipulate. She crossed her arms smugly, commentating her knowledge of the three bullies to Ichiko and the rest of the Detective Club members in hushed earshot.
She didn't know the Mantis boy, but she never liked the Mantis Clan anyway. They were her father's most frequent enemies: pirates, smugglers, and thieves that masqueraded as a real Clan. Her father stemmed the tide of their contraband mainly because of his control over a main tributary of the river and canal system.

Then Hiruto unsteadily walked forward.
She rolled her eyes, then put a delicate hand on his shoulder, holding him back.

"Don't." she whispered in his ear.

"I thought you didn't want to be gossiped about as the Cucumber Thief. That Mantis boy is not of your family, your Clan, or your friends. Do you plan to go against a Hida for him?"


OOC: Gosh I feel evil now...
Devil on your shoulder Hiruto! :D

Perhaps the seeds of doubt had already been planted before Shino's intervention, or perhaps she had sewn them herself in that moment.

However the doubt had come tone there, Hiruto paused and frowned slightly, obviously conflicted.

He took a deep breath, cast his eyes over the scene before them once more and let it out in a sigh. "You are probably right."He admitted. He almost seemed ready to say more, then held his tongue.

"Thanks" he said instead, turned, and with a last glance over his shoulder returned to what was left of his lunch.

Yuki had remained quiet as she usually was during class observing the actions and words of others. Her response to the query of the first teach given in excellent calligraphy with precise strokes telling of a parchment stained with dirt once thought to be disposed of until she turned it sideways and folding some of the crumbled edges in to form the kanji for life out of the various dirt streaks.

Astrology class always held her attention as she appreciated both the practicality and beauty of it. The star charts held her attention throughout  the entire introduction of the Unicorn student. Only after the teacher began the lesson did she realize the class had started. Her answers were knowledgeable yet simple at the same time.

Her lunch was a simple box of crab and shrimp sushi as most of her lunches were. The chopsticks were stone filed to sharp points at the end. Yuki had just gotten comfortable when the commotion happened. She really didn’t care about the Mantis boy, but instead what the leader was saying. She couldn’t quite hear, so she grabbed her box and chopsticks to walk over to a couple of feet behind the Mantis. She stood there eating her sushi standing up while staring at the rambunctious Owl. No move was made to assist or hinder him. Simply staring at him while she ate with unblinking eyes. She had seen enough bullies before to know their first physical action after yelling at her would be to shove the Mantis into her or knock the box of food out of her hand. In the former, she could easily side step out of the way, and the latter move the box out of the way when they go to strike it.

It seemed as if none of the other children in the courtyard were going to intervene in this assault. However, just as the trio were seemingly about to drag the smaller boy off, a loud booming voice shot out across the school ground.

"JUST WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!!" the voice, far too deep to by that of a child. In fact, it would be immediately recognizable by most of the students as those same shouts were quite often directed at them when they slacked off during athletics lessons.

Hyobe Goro, the physical education teacher, could not have been more directly the opposite of Hanako Momoko, the geisha-like teacher who was almost as tiny as her own students and dressed like a child, or the wizened Someisa Yui who seemed like everyone's grandmother and always spoke gently.

No-- Hyobe-sensei was a giant of a man in both height and girth, well known to have been a famous wrestler in the years before the birth of any of the current students of the school, though perhaps an older sibling might have been alive during those years. His exterior was always gruff and prickly, although he was known to be slow to let any real anger affect him and quite dedicated to the students.

He stormed across the courtyard as a speed that one simply would not have expected of a man of his girth, and without appearing to be running either-- simply his long stride. "Ichiro!! Put Riku down at once!!"

The lead boy, the large Owl Clan, apparently Ichiro did release the small Mantis boy, apparently named Riku, right away before backing away from the smaller boy. He gave a somewhat unconvincingly sincere bow before immediately bragging, "Hyobe-sensei! I have great news!! I, Hantei Ichiro, have personally rooted out and unmasked the infamous Cucumber Bandit!!"

Riku stumbled away a step or two upon release before looking to Hyobe Goro pleadingly. "I didn't do it! I swear it wasn't me!!" tears already streaking down his face from both the pain he must have felt from this beating, but probably more so the emotional turmoil he had suddenly been thrust into.

Hyobe Goro gave a low grunt before folding his arms and narrowing his eyes. "What is this about a Cucumber Bandit?... Has Reju Tsukitomo been putting stupid thoughts in your heads again?" It seemed that the news of the thefts hadn't reached everyone's ears.

Ichiro seemed a bit surprised at that... or at least he acted surprised, though his acting left quite a lot to be desired. "What?!! Surely you have heard of the Cucumber Bandit, Hyobe-sensei! It's been the talk around town. A child has been sneaking into the market at night and stealing all the cucumbers for the past few weeks."

The teacher's expression didn't change, still seemingly wholly unamused. "What does this have to do with you picking on Riku?"

Riku could only add, "I didn't do it..."

Ichiro grinned like a Chesire cat at the chance to be able to show off his brilliance to a teacher. Jabbing a thumb towards the more lanky Owl boy (in fact, upon closer inspection, wasn't this the same boy who implied Hiruto was behind it this morning?) "Once Asato here told me that Aika said the word is that a Mantis Clan boy was behind it, I simply looked at what each person from the Mantis clan was having for lunch. And I found that Riku here has cucumbers--"

Almost as if they had rehearsed it, the boy in the crab outfit-- a Hida if Shino was correct-- lifted Riku's upturned lunchbox from the ground. The ruined contents of Riku's lunch could then be seen and, aside from rice, he did indeed have a large amount of pickled vegetables including what was unmistakably chopped pickled cucumbers.

Ichiro grinned brilliantly as he declared, "And therefore Riku is the Cucumber Bandit and I have caught him!!"

Hyobe Goro seemed to consider this only briefly before looking to Riku and asking, "Is this true?..." But finding the Mantis boy without the ability to speak anymore for himself, he turned a glance towards Asato and said, "Well-- so get Aika. She's a witness too, right?"

For those with a keen detective mind, Ichiro's deduction here doesn't seem quite right...

(I am going to give each of you a starting clue. But if you think your character would see the other holes in this story, feel free to use those clues too.)

Yuki stood there placid as the whole scene went down quietly munching on her sushi. In the world of adults, generally if accused by someone of higher status then the accused usually issues a challenge for a duel. In the world of children, adults will at least listen to a logical argument. She finished her last roll and swallowed as she stepped forward to pick up a piece of the pickles cucumber with her chopsticks and holds it up for everyone to see. “Excuse me Ichiro-san, but just to clarify something. Did you catch the cucumber thief or the pickled cucumber thief? I am no chef, but I believe that pickling cucumbers would take longer than the couple of weeks it has been since these thefts were happening. It is an easy mistake to make. I’m sure you will certainly catch the real cucumber thief before long. You are a very driven individual after all.”

She turns to the Mantis boy and holds up the pickled vegetable for him to see. “Can you please tell us who pickled this cucumber or where they got it pickled from? If it came from a merchant, they would be able to collaborate your story. Speak up now because a ‘I didn’t do it won’t save you.’”

Shino clicked her tongue irritably. It was a shame to make an enemy out of Ichiro; he would've been so useful manipulated from afar. But Shino couldn't stop herself from getting involved now. She'd told Aika about suspecting the Mantis after all, and she wouldn't let such an obvious bully to ruin it for her.

"Hyobe-sensei, if I may interject, Aika's not really a witness. A lot of us have heard the rumor that the Mantis may be behind the cucumber thief. Some of the girls were gossiping about it before classes.
But Ichiro-san is the only one choosing to challenge a Mantis to a fight over it. Isn't this improper? I thought the magistrates were the ones that would deal with this kind of thing, not us kids." Shino said, with her best 'innocent but worried' look and tone.

She left the implication that Ichiro was a boy stepping into a man's shoes hanging in the air. It was a shame they were children, but if Ichiro had flung around these accusations as a full samurai, he would've been impugning Riku's honor.
Maybe she could still get those two to fight it out.


OOC: I'm trying to deflect attention away from Aika and back onto the fight between Ichiro and Riku as the main issue here.

20:15, Today: Bayushi Shino rolled 14,2 using 3d6,1d12, rerolling max, unique dice with rolls of 5,(6+2)8,1,2.  Courtesy(Air): Deflect Attention.
Keeping
5: Success
6: Explosive Success, Strife
2: Opportunity, Strife
2: Blank

Opportunity (Air)
1+: Act subtly so that a number of characters in the scene equal to opportunity spent do not notice you attempted an action.
(Hyobe-sensei)(I wanna keep my 'good girl' image with the teachers)

This message was last edited by the player at 00:23, Wed 30 June 2021.

Hiruto looked ashamed as Goro-san intervened. With a backwards glance to Shino, he approached as well and straightened his kimono, or perhaps obscured some of his bull, before he spoke.

When he did speak however, it was with surprising confidence. Goro-san being his favorite instructor.

"Pardon my intrusion." He began. "But I also do not believe this boy is the one who has stolen the cucumbers." he gestured to the Mantis suspect.

"All the descriptions I have heard have included a large round boy, some have even looked at me strangely because I am that shape as well. But he is obviously too thin to match the real thief." he shrugged. "I mean no offense." He added to the boy offhand.

Hyobe-sensei listened to all the explanations of the rebuttals, though his stern and thoughtful expression made it a bit difficult to discern precisely which side he was leaning towards once the ideas had been presented.

Riku only offered the soft rebuttal of "My grandmother made them..." as he did seemed cornered on the explanation as to where the vegetables came from.

Ichiro waved a hand dismissively, "Cucumbers are cucumbers. If he is Mantis and has cucumbers, he must be the culprit." Though his words suggested bravedo in the face of such opposition, there were some micro-expressions of nervousness and his tone wavered just a little as though Yuki pointing out what she did give him some second thoughts about his conclusions, but perhaps his pride wouldn't allow him to back down so easily.

The, shooting a look to Shino he added, "And you know as well as I that the magistrates have their hands full with crimes by and to samurai! They aren't going to interfere in a matter between merchants and children." Though it certainly seemed as though his goal was less about getting justice so much as seizing on an opportunity to gain some fame and recognition for resolving the matter.

The more lanky Owl boy did interject here as he was now eyeing Hiruto. "But they are right in one thing, Ichiro," he stated suspiciously, "The only eye witness said the culprit was as short as a child, but larger than a normal child."

To this, Ichiro did have an answer though, "Certainly! But if he were wearing a large coat or a large bag to carry vegetables, maybe he just looked large!" Still, his own allies starting to lack conviction clearly made Ichiro uneasy.

Hyobe-sensei shook his head after considering all this. "I have no idea what you are all going on about. I didn't hear anything about all the city's cucumbers being stolen. I am tempted to resolve this with a sumo match." That almost certainly wouldn't go well for Riku. Ichiro's clearly flawed deduction being declared right simply by beating up a boy half his size would hardly seem fair.

But it did seem as though Ichiro might already be on the verge of withdrawing his accusation if just a couple more holes could be poked in his case.

Yuki considered what little evidence there was and how deciding things by sumai wouldn’t go very well for the young mantis boy. She then decided that she needed to sow more seeds of doubt in Ichiro. “Tell me this Ichiro-san. Are you accusing a member of a Great Clan for stealing for when they are known to have enough wealth to provide their own with what supplies they need? Would it not make more sense that a lord less ronin without the resources of a patron would be desperate enough to steal food? This has been going on for weeks which seems more like desperation than getting a thrill out of stealing for its own sake. Also consider this, do you know what influence his family has? Even if he is Mantis, they still have acquired enough influence to rise up to Great Clan status. Even if you are right, you have no idea what wasp nest you are kicking by trying to have him officially arrested. He says that his grandmother made the pickled cucumbers. Do you know who she is or what his family is capable of? Have you considered all the possible consequences of your actions? Also think about what if you are wrong, and his grandmother can prove his innocence. Wouldn’t that label you a fool in the eyes of the magistrates are taint their view of your judgement in the future should you call on them again? Anyone who wants to rise up in station needs to have the credibility and confidence of his peers to hold future positions.”

Shino sighed at Hiruto's response. Why did she even bother? The suspicion would probably land back on his plump honest head again after that admission. She could only lead a horse to water...

Shino raised an eyebrow at Yuki's continued arguments. Shino herself had been rather satisfied with getting a sumo match between the two. Now Yuki was revealing all the holes in Ichiro's arguments and weaknesses in his position that Shino would've preferred to go unsaid. Ichiro would be shamed to be sure, but he would seek revenge now, and he would lose some of his effectiveness as a manipulatable pawn. Shino had no interest in the gratitude of a random Mantis boy that didn't even have enough friends or guts to defend himself properly.

Still, she would stick by her fellow Scorpion's decision. She wouldn't allow the perception of dissention within their ranks. Perhaps there may still be a way to manipulate Ichiro afterwards.

"What do you mean? The magistrates are charged with protecting the civilians. Even if a child may have committed the crime, it is against the civilian merchants. Are you saying the magistrates can't do their jobs properly? Oooh, Ichiro-san, you're being so bold today. Insulting both the Mantis Clan and the magistrates of the city in one go?" Shino looked appalled and concerned, then broke into giggles.