An Obon night

[Ashken]

"His name is Yuma"

Initially he was going to make a mental note but opted to pull his phone and essentially left a note for his brother, the note only had Sayako's and Yuma's name, and a simple, nice people. Usually, he was able to tell things to this brother, but it helped when he was forced to stay hidden.  

"I don't know if it knows its dead."

Tenko bit his lip as he put the phone away, "That can be a problem", hopefully nothing talking could not solve, but having experience that vary same feeling, he had a better understanding of the frustration that could come from feeling like the rest of the world is ignoring you. As she started to walk, he kept close, but tried to be quiet, so that she could focus. 

"Right here"

He whistled as he paced around the tree, the markings, the energy, this tree had been blessed, to his experience, there were usually two extremes for such a tree, either to honor the resting place or to seal something they could not destroy. It didn't mean it had to be either of those things, and he hoped he didn't have to take his brother up, he was the more studied of the two about these kinds of things. 

"But they won't say anything."

He stopped pacing around and crossed his arms, he wondered what kind of spirit was being restless in this situation. He wished he could be just a tiny bit more attuned to the spiritual world, he would think being a spirit would make it easier, but for some reason whatever bound him to his brother limited much of that. She spoke once more clearly directing her conversation to the spirit. 

"What is it you need I can't help if you don't help me understand."

He normally punched things if they miss behaved so he was letting her speak and hopefully find out what was bothering the spirit, but as she tried to reach out something caused her to stumble, he quickly placed himself between the tree and her, turning towards her "Are you okay" he extended his hand, to help her up. The blue flame on his eye flickered the hand he had not extended to help her up seem to flicker in the same spiritual flame, "Hey buddy" He looked over his shoulder "The lady is trying to help." he took a deep breath trying to calm his temper, "If you want help you might want to ask nicely..." he didn't want to threaten the tree, as much as a part of him was ready to pick up an axe and start chopping, though that would be a quick way to release something he was not sure should be released. 

He focused his attention to Sayako, still standing firmly between the tree and her, "I can't see it," he admitted with some frustration in his voice, "Do you think a visitor did something?" sometimes some of these trees were homes to well respected spirits, so maybe the displeasure was directed at a visitor who wrong it. He was trying to stop himself from jumping headfirst at the first thought, his brother would be more than upset if he got them hurt. 

[lilyanatos]

Sayoko wasn't sure what happened or why she had stumbled and she wasn't sure what was going on now. She took a deep breath her eyes glued to the tree and where she could see the spirit. It wasn't talking because it couldn't talk. It wasn't an earth spirit. It took her a moment to steady herself and thanks to Tenko he was blocking any other issue she might have had. She finally got her barings again. "Give me a moment. They can't talk. Something happened to their ability to do so." She said softly and then tried another way to speak to it.

The doll in her hands suddenly glowed for a second causing Sayoko to go to her knews and seemingly have passed out she hadn't but the doll was the one in charge at the moment. "I am trapped here. I wasn't supposed to be here. I should be a home with my family. but i'm here trapped i can't get out. I don't know why. but this girl she can help me. I'll just use her." Sayoko's voice was soft but firm. "you can't use me like that. You are currently controlling my doll and I will not let you stay within it if you wish me harm." She looked almost different when she spoke to the doll.

She was working so to speak so Tenko actually seeing her talk and the ethereal glow that made her look even more pale then she was initially was almost mesmerizing. The spirit seemed to growl at this and Sayoko held a small tailsman close to herself. "I need to get back to my children and you will help me child." She looked up at Tenko and mouthed doesn't know they are dead. Hoping he would understand it.

[Ashken]

He gave her the time and space to get her baring, using himself as a Shield much as he would for his brother.

"Give me a moment. They can't talk. Something happened to their ability to do so."

So maybe it was not being purposely malicious, unable to communicate, he could understand how it could come off wrong, specially it was desperate for help. He nodded, "Any ideas?" he asked. It seem that she beat him to it as Yuma started to glow.

As she went to her knees he took a step forward, but before he could ask if she was okay, she... no someone spoke through Yuma.

"I am trapped here. I wasn't supposed to be here. I should be a home with my family. but i'm here trapped i can't get out. I don't know why. but this girl she can help me. I'll just use her."

"Calm down" he spoke firmly, if he needed to take action he would, but at the time it seem Sayako had things under control, and he was going to trust her to lead the way. 

"you can't use me like that. You are currently controlling my doll and I will not let you stay within it if you wish me harm."

It didn't take long for Tenko to start grasping the situation, and he could see how it was affecting Sayoko, not knowing her limits, he wanted to act quickly, though the diplomatic one was usually his brother.

"I need to get back to my children and you will help me child." 

He nodded as he saw Sayako mouth the fact the spirit was unaware of their situation; he was not sure he knew how she had ended bound to the tree.

"Hi," turning around he tried to find the right words, "We want to help" he said truthfully, "But you can't force her, or me" he was not going to volunteer Toya's body, "We might be able to take down the talismans..." unless she had allowed anger, some other unfinished thing to anchor her there probably was not much keeping her bound to the land of the living, "Truth be told... you might not get a chance to say goodbye..." he stated at Sayako hoping she would stop him before he said anything that might anger the spirit more than help. 

[lilyanatos]

She was alright for the moment but she was coming close to being overwhelmed with just the amount of resentment or was it concern and need in this spirit. She took another breath and she looked at the spirit as Tenko spoke to it. She also had to smile a little bit when Tenko realized what was going on in a sense and she would stop him if his words angered them more. It was truth what he said she wanted to help too but she couldn't help without knowing what was happening. She took a moment and waited for the spirit to speak again. It was confined in the doll right now. She could trap it within the doll if she needed too but that was something that took more power then she had right now. She knew how to do it and sometimes it just happened but at the moment she knew she'd have to force it and she couldn't. She had to get the spirit to agree.

"You don't understand I must get home. I've been gone for at least three days now" The spirit was getting more and more concerned and it seemed like it was mixed with confusion as to why they just couldn't step out. "One of my children is sick i really do have to get home." Sayoko listened carefully and she finally began to see little bits of the appearance of the spirit and then she started to get a sense of what it was that had happened and her eyes went wide as she touched her doll onces more talisman in hand still so that the spirit couldn't jump into her this way.

Sayoko took a deep breath as she saw what the spirit had gone through. "I'm sorry but you can't go home. but they didn't mean to trap you here as well. I can let you go but I have to get permission they don't know you are here. If...If you allow me to talk to the priests and priestess I can get you out of there. Or i think i can get you to your old family home if you would like to stay in my doll." She said softly she didn't know if the spirit would agree but doing this would actually likely make her pass out for a bit as she had a pounding headache now.

"What do you mean I can't go home"[/b] The doll seemed to levitate as if the spirit was going to throw itself at Sayoko and Sayoko had stopped touching the doll before it did that. She shuddered a little bit at the anger and desperation in the spirit. "Your decendants didn't know did they." She said softly and coughed a little bit. "you've been dead for a good decade. but i can tell that your family came to retrieve your body but you couldn't go because of what's trapped her and you accidentally got trapped. But you were helping them but something went wrong. I couldn't tell what. but you were trapped with what was being trapped within the tree. i...that's all i can understand. Please calm down and we can come up with a way to help you. do you remember. Your daughter the one who was sick she came to visit you for awhile."

The doll came to rest back down at the ground and it seemed its head tilted for a moment. "I'm not dead I can't be dead. Im not dead."[/b] However, the spirit didnt seem to be angry anymore but more confused. Sayoko closed her eyes trying to keep herself calm and with it. "You remember don't you?" There was no answer from the spirit inside the doll. Sayoko looked at Tenko her eyes dulling a bit something that happened when things went to the point she was being overwhelmed and since Obon also had the spirits in a sense stronger because of the visits the recieved she was only one little girl so it was starting to get to her. Everything she had seen she didn't want to disturb the tailsmans on the tree it was keeping something evil under it.

A moment later the doll spoke again. "I...I remember now. I was here to help to protect them priests but something went wrong. I..."[/b] The doll fell to the ground and for a split second Sayoko could see the spirit very clearly and there was a smile and a mouthed thank you before the area went still and the tailsmans blew in a sort of wind that only passed them. Sayoko moved to pick up her doll and stood unsteadily.

[Ashken]

"You don't understand I must get home. I've been gone for at least three days now"

He rose an eyebrow, three days, he wondered if her timing was right or if she had lost track of time, without actively needing to eat, or rest in the same way he did when he was alive it was easy for time to slip through his fingers. Hearing her speak he understood where a lot of her frustrations and fears were coming from, he carefully though what he could say, this a mother in need, and he hated that his options where currently limited, but knew better than to start ripping down protections and charms with reckless abandon, he didn't have his old strength.

"I'm sorry but you can't go home. but they didn't mean to trap you here as well. I can let you go but I have to get permission they don't know you are here. If...If you allow me to talk to the priests and priestess I can get you out of there. Or i think i can get you to your old family home if you would like to stay in my doll."

Sayako seem to have a plan, it was not often that they left people behind, as much as some of the more senior members had harden their heart, they knew better than to sacrifice people for the 'greater good' so whatever happened to this woman either was, truly accidental or the tree held something truly dangerous. He could see that this interaction was starting to become much for her, so he attempted to intervene. "I know I might not look like it, but I was being trained as a priest I we can help." he was starting to consider if he wanted to wake his brother up, but before he could make that decision the spirit seem to become irate causing the doll to levitate.

"What do you mean I can't go home"

Sayako's connection allowed her to see and understand more about the spirit than the spirit herself seem to be remember, stuck in their grief they had lost themselves. He wondered who had kept this girl hidden from some of the less scrupulous members of the Ise, unless she had some noble blood in her veins he could see a few of those men and women wanting to use her and train her as a tool... Probably for the best that she managed to fall through the cracks, she wanted to heal, they would have sent her out to destroy. Although he understood Sayako meant the best, he was concerned that the spirit would lash out more in anger at realizing they had lost decades of life. That there was a chance their daughter was no longer alive that her world moved on without her.

"I'm not dead I can't be dead. Im not dead."

"I know its hard..." he said softly, "But she's not lying" he raised his arm up covered in the blue spirit flames, suddenly the physical arm went limp leaving up the ghostly construct, maybe by demonstrating his own state she would understand that they were not just some kids trying to fill her head with doubts and promises.

"You remember don't you?"

He didn't blame the spirit if she didn't remember, he himself didn't remember how he died, and the person who might know something claimed to have also forgotten. Seeing how overwhelmed Sayako looked he moved closer incase he needed to help her, something told him that she was pushing herself harder than she was used to.

"I...I remember now. I was here to help to protect them priests but something went wrong. I..."

Although the Spirit seem to find the answer within them to feel at ease, Tenko was not exactly ready to lower his guard, he moved towards the unsteady Sayako and offered him a hand, realizing he had forgotten to take control of the arm again he quickly did and raised the physical arm, "Are you feeling okay," he asked, he was not trying to baby her, but he knew how hard and heavy it felt to feel that emotional toll, it was draining in ways that exercise or sickness did not drain you.

He knew he needed to report this tree, have some of the senior members check the seals, ensure that if there was an evil locked that it was not clawing out any time soon. "I'm sorry I keep asking" he grew up in this life and saw many get hurt when assisting spirits, "Uhm... I..." he bit his lip he wanted to praise how brave she was, how cool it was to see her in action, amazing she was able to handle things with words, but he was struggling with is words, "Want a drink? I know where the vending is..." it was a shine, but plenty of visitors came around... and right now he didn't exactly feel safe next to this tree.

[lilyanatos]

Sayoko was extremely unsteady on her feet right now and while she was holding her doll she didn't have the strength to pull it up to hide her face not that he hadn't seen her speak to the spirit without realizing that the living saw that it was just that Yuma made it easier for her to speak. She shook her head when he asked if she was okay. She wasn't okay it was too much for her. She tried to be strong and brave but having come here through all the din and then this happening she was pretty much spent much to much excitement for one night. Still she tried to steady herself with his held. She was thinking about a drink actually and she wasn't at all upset about him asking if she was okay.

"D..drink would be nice. t..tired." She said softly her voice almost angelic when she spoke which was a bit different from how she'd been talking to the spirit. She went to move on her own and barely got a step before she teetered almost falling though she did right herself and would just accept Tenko's help to move to the vending machine and to sit down somewhere she was dizzy. Seeing what spirits did becuase they took control of her doll was always alot for her but one that had been so antsy and then the evil that was under that tree. It weighed her down too much for her to even think straight at the moment. "N..need pr..priests to know...antsy cause evil." She said softly trying to form words a bit better but it was hard she wasn't used to talking without Yuma infront of her face but she just couldn't do it right now. She wanted her big brother too but if any of her big siblings found her like this she wouldn't be able to go out on her own for days and she didn't like that idea.

[Ashken]

Seeing how much their little adventure had drained out of her, he made sure to stay close, he didn't want to be pushy about helping her mostly because his brother usually hated when he would hover over him like a hurt puppy. 

"D..drink would be nice. t..tired."

He nodded trying to focus his vison to the horizon, while giving glances to the side to make sure she was keeping up okay, seeing how she was struggling just holding her doll he didn't want to bother her, although he truly found it difficult to understand why someone so pretty would rather hide behind their doll... The only explanation in his mind was maybe much like his brother dealing with all the spirits and such just made it hard to connect with the living, he was not going to question her, he did plenty of teasing and learning living with his brother, and then plenty of stepping up to those who would try to bully his brother over the years. 

As he readied to guided her towards the nearest vending machine, he saw as her balance almost failed her, "Please, if you need just use my arm" he outstretched his arm so that if she wanted, she could hold on, "The Vending machine is not too far, and there a small table and chairs"

"N..need pr..priests to know...antsy cause evil."

"We can handle that once you gotten some rest", he knew it was important, but first he wanted to make sure she was safe and away from the grudge tree. "Any preferences on a drink?" he asked in preparation to selecting things from the machine, "Water? Soda?" it had been a while so he was not sure what there was available, and he was hoping to keep her mind away from the feelings that the spirit flooded her, if it had been anything like some of his experiences, those feelings could linger and just drain you for a while. 

The vending area was simple a small structure with an awning that protected a number of machines and garbage containers against the weather, near it where a couple of small circular tables, their small umbrellas closed and just enough illumination to keep people just safe enough, as they got closer, they might even see something trying to pass itself as a Tanuki sticking its paws on one of the vending machines, making eye contact two the two of them approaching and darting into the night.