Office Hours--Divinations

[edomedpeddler.livejournal.com]

Kusuriyuri decided it had been long enough since he had opened his office. There were other factors influencing this decision, but a good part of it was he felt he was neglecting his duty.

Outside his office door and several other places around the school, signs appeared declaring the Divinations office open for any students who wished to talk, to consult, or who just happened to wander by.

Kusuriyuri knelt behind his table, shincha brewing as it was the season for it, waiting for any who would come in, wondering if a particular one would come in.

OOC: Yeah, this is a 'trap' for a particular character, but is also regular office hours. And, if you're particularly interested in a type of divination or anything else you'd like to see Kusu teach, feel free to mention it :D

Comments

[braveexplorer.livejournal.com]

"They're my parents. I couldn't have left them." She looked up again, ready to continue now. "And I had help. I had the cat and the ghosts and the stone with a hole in it, that Miss Spink and Miss Forcible gave me. Because the first time they read my future the tealeaves said I was in danger but not what sort of danger, and Miss Spink told me the stone would be 'good for bad things'. And - I didn't really believe her then, but she was right. When I looked through it it let me see where the souls were."

She decided to skip over most of the details, now. The story was long enough as it was. "So, I found everyone, and I tricked the other mother into opening the door again, because she wasn't going to let me go, even after I won. We all escaped and shut the door behind us, and I locked it, and I thought it was over then. The other father said there was only one door and one key, and I had the key on my side, so she couldn't get out. Only - this is what I was saying about the hand. The other mother swore on her right hand that she'd let me go if I won, but she lied. And when we pulled the door closed, it closed on her arm. Her hand was still on my side, following me, to get the key back."

[edomedpeddler.livejournal.com]

"Some things are much more difficult to banish to the other world than others," Kusuriyuri said softly. And not all of them had the same type of fear of their god's revenge that would prevent them from going back on their word. He tilted his head slightly, curious now. "Have you seen that hand here?"

[braveexplorer.livejournal.com]

Coraline shook her head. "I trapped it down the old well at the bottom of our garden."

[edomedpeddler.livejournal.com]

"Most wise," Kusuriyuri murmured, nodding in approval. "And the key?" he asked, curious what she did with that. Had she kept it, trying to hide it? Had she destroyed it?

[braveexplorer.livejournal.com]

"That's down in the well too," Coraline explained. "I used it as bait." She put the cup down to gesture, describing the shape of the well with her hands. "I put a tablecloth over the top of the well and put the key in the middle. And then I pretended I was just having a picnic, with my dolls, and we'd brought the key along for good luck, so when the hand came and saw it it jumped into the middle of the tablecloth and fell down the well. And then I put the planks back over the top, that were supposed to stop people falling in. They're extremely heavy. I almost couldn't lift them."

[edomedpeddler.livejournal.com]

Animated parts of something were rarely ever intelligent enough to escape simple traps. They often were given instructions to obey and barely enough knowledge and will to follow through. "You did well," Kusuriyuri murmured. He tilted his head slightly. "When you arrived here, had you thought you'd gone into the other world again?"

[braveexplorer.livejournal.com]

Coraline nodded, slowly. "I thought I might have, at first. But it didn't seem like a trap for me, just a place that was already here and I ended up in. It felt real. And most people had proper eyes and looked human. When I got out of the Sorting Room I went to see whether the grounds would fade away if I walked too far, to make sure, but they didn't."

[edomedpeddler.livejournal.com]

"This one thought he may have gone between worlds when he arrived as well," Kusuriyuri told her. "But, though it is strange, this place is not like the other world."

[braveexplorer.livejournal.com]

"It really isn't," Coraline agreed. "I didn't expect anyone else to know about it," she added, quietly. It had been her own secret for a long time.

[edomedpeddler.livejournal.com]

Kusuriyuri took a sip of his tea. "This one traveled between worlds to exorcise mononoke," he told her, explaining how he knew of the other world. "This one has been to that world many times and knows it a difficult place."

[braveexplorer.livejournal.com]

"...is that what the other mother was?" Coraline asked. "A - mononoke?" The word didn't translate, although she thought she could make an educated guess based on knowing what 'exorcise' meant.

[edomedpeddler.livejournal.com]

Kusuriyuri frowned slightly. "There are many forms of restless spirits," he began slowly. "Mononoke are those ayakashi, spirits of the air, that have gained Form and Truth from a deep Regret in a person." He picked up the tea. "It is a poor definition," he apologized. "This one would not know unless he were to meet her."

[braveexplorer.livejournal.com]

"Oh. Okay. That doesn't sound like her." Coraline sounded apologetic herself. She hadn't meant to embarrass him. "I hope you don't ever have to meet her."

[edomedpeddler.livejournal.com]

"And this one shall hope that you will not meet her again, as well," Kusuriyuri replied solemnly. He tilted his head at her a little. "It is customary to share stories, is it not? Would you wish a story?"

[braveexplorer.livejournal.com]

Coraline smiled. "Yes, please." Beside her, Berry let out a string of enthusiastic clicking sounds, which she translated. "Berry wants to hear too."

[edomedpeddler.livejournal.com]

Kusuriyuri considered a moment, taking a sip of tea as he did. "Once, this one came upon three suitors who desired to marry the only child of a family of incense makers of great renown. Everything was prepared for four, though, and this one was requested to remain, to participate. There was to be an incense battle. Are you familiar with that?" he asked.

[braveexplorer.livejournal.com]

"Um, no," Coraline admitted. She knew what incense was, but not how you'd have a battle with it.

[edomedpeddler.livejournal.com]

"It is an unusual thing, not often acted out, but some know of it through travels or interests. In an incense battle, five fragrances are prepared and those involved must decide if the five fragrances are all different or if there are ones that are the same. It can be difficult, if the one preparing is a master. She was a true daughter of her family, a master of resins and woods."

He paused. "Scent is an interesting thing. It can call up memories, bring courage, calm, excite. You have noticed this, yes?"

[braveexplorer.livejournal.com]

"I have," Coraline said, quietly. She thought about sleeping in her parents' bed, the night they disappeared.

[edomedpeddler.livejournal.com]

He noticed her quietness and thought it had to do with her story, so he continued. "Memories make the battle more interesting, more difficult. Each scent has a story, a story that is different for each person. Some scents have a very powerful story for any who encounter them, yet that story is not the same for everyone.

"There is a creature called a nue. To each person who sees it, it appears different. It may be a monkey to one, a tiger to another or any of a number of creatures. That those who see it cannot agree what it is does not make it less real. It is like a scent, bringing up different memories for each person."

[braveexplorer.livejournal.com]

"I understand," Coraline said, thoughtful. Creatures that took different shapes depending on who saw them... yes, she knew about that. "So what happened at the battle? What were the three suitors like?" She imagined there had been two unpleasant ones and one nice one who deserved to win. Though maybe not. This was a true story, not a made-up one.

[edomedpeddler.livejournal.com]

"Ah, the suitors? One was a samurai, one was a merchant, and one was a farmer. Before the answer could be revealed, the lady was found to be killed," he said, watching her carefully. "But, the suitors were not seeking her hand, in truth. They were seeking the family's treasure, the Toudaiji, a rare incense that is highly valued. They requested this one to continue the battle."

[braveexplorer.livejournal.com]

Coraline gasped at the part about the lady's death, one hand covering her mouth for a moment. It was mainly shocking because she'd thought this was a different kind of story. "That's horrible," she said, meaning the death and the fact that none of the men had cared about the lady after all. "What did you do?" Personally Coraline thought she would have left them to it, but that wouldn't be much of a story.

[edomedpeddler.livejournal.com]

Kusuriyuri nodded. "It was terrible," he agreed. "What could this one do but proceed. There was something, but it had to be drawn out and the way to draw it out was to continue with the game. Each of the suitors were a part of it, their desire feeding into the hunger of the thing that had drawn them. Another battle, this time it was to the suitors to name the scents this one prepared for them." A slight smirk curved his lips. "The scent of their sins, the scent of death, drew their confessions." He picked up his tea cup. "None of them were alive, only memories, an illusion to draw in more to feed the monster behind them. They were part of the nue. The nue was created by the toudaiji, its pride turning it into a monster."

[braveexplorer.livejournal.com]

Coraline's eyes widened. "They were created by the - toudaiji? The incense? How -?" She didn't quite want to ask how could it be alive. Buttons could be alive, and corridors, after all. She knew that already. But the question was obvious.