How could Misao put it into words? 'I'm a ninja and I know how to fight stuff and get disguised and sneak around and pretty much everything – except for the seduction (which I could? possibly? use on Aoshi-sama).' No. She could put it into words but she couldn't say it out loud. Who could she ask? Omasu? Okon? They'd laugh.
So, this called for library perusing. The Aoiya had a rather large library within which could be found a diverse collection. Poetry books, novels, history, geography, old ninja techniques… Pretty much anything. (Misao had been unfortunate enough to find a badly-hidden Edo-period sex manual. Thankfully, she only opened it to the front page, without perusing any of the vividly-illustrated contents.)
At two hours past bedtime, Misao crept into the dark library, lighting a lantern and setting it on the floor as she began to look through the shelves. Oh, there was that sex manual. She set it aside, slightly curious. She looked some more. Aha! Something that looked about right. 'Kunoichi – The Temptresses of the Ninja World'.
Pulling a few more books on 'Ninja Training', she sat cross-legged on the floor and began to look through them. The first was more of a weapons manual, the second a bunch of myths and legends about ninja and their origins. Misao snorted. '…It has been said that ninja can shift appearance from male to female and from human to animal. We cannot substantiate these claims, but pretty much everything in this book is pure speculation (read: utter bullshit and drivel) and they can do pretty much everything else – so why not, huh? Nobody's going to read this far into the book anyway – so I'm just going to write all sorts of stuff in here. Frogs are actually a type of blowfish. If you rub onions on your face and dance naked on top of Mount Ueno at midnight, all your problems will be solved…' "This guy definitely wasn't paid enough." She shook her head, laughing a bit.
After reading a few more bogus stories about the prowess of ninja, Misao picked up another book which gave detailed diagrams of how to break into castles and walk on water. Finally, she picked up 'Kunoichi – The Temptress of the Ninja World'. She hoped it wasn't an erotic novel but an actual textbook. She was disappointed. The inside of the front cover had an almost naked woman on it, a few strategically-placed pieces of fabric covering her. The first page all through to the tenth page were also semi-erotic pictures of the same woman. Misao flipped through them until she hit something that looked like words. 'Chapter one. Akiko rode a horse and her breasts were bouncing very much. She slipped off the horse and the bottom of her kimono got stuck, causing it to fall off. Then she fought some people in the buff-' "What the hell is this shit?" Muttered Misao. "I wanna punch the guy who actually let this be published."
She clicked her tongue. Idly, she picked up the sex guide and flipped through it. The book fell open to a page. What Misao saw on that page made her clap her hands to her mouth and jump back. "Oh my god, what the fuck is that?!" she exclaimed. "…That's not what it looks like, right?" She gagged. "I hope to god that's not how it works…"
There was the clearing of a throat behind her and Misao spun around, her face red. Aoshi must've entered the library silently and was standing behind her, looking confused and slightly amused. "Aoshi-sama!" To put it simply and succinctly, Misao's thoughts went like this: 'Oh shit'.
He gestured to the pile of books and the horrifying erotic picture on the floor. "May I ask…?"
Misao put her hands up. "I-it's n-not what you think it is!" she exclaimed.
"And what is it that I am thinking?" he asked, raising an amused eyebrow. He was laughing at her, wasn't he.
"Whatever you're thinking – it's wrong! T-this is research." She stood up. "Research." She repeated more firmly.
"Hm." He nodded slowly and peered past her at the manual, still laying open on the floor and raised both eyebrows. "Before you do your research…" he said. "You should check your sources."
"H-huh?" Misao's face reddened further and she dove to close the book.
"To answer your questions from before – that is a drawing done by someone with an overactive imagination, which is not at all what looks like in real life – any of it, and no – that is not how it works. Nobody is that flexible without having their spine and a few other bones broken." He turned around to leave. Misao did not imagine the note of pure amusement in his voice. "Good luck with your… Research."
Misao covered her face with her hands. "So… Embarrassing…" she groaned.