Lord Ii stared at the flowers littering the floor. He wanted to believe he was dreaming, that this was all a stress-induced nightmare and he'd soon wake up and be shoved into countless layers of formal kimono in a few hours. But this wasn't a dream, and he was very much awake, tangled in a sea of formal kimono as blood-like sap stained the tatami floors. No matter how much he tried to create a more positive environment, another mononoke had threatened his home. Just instead of eviscerating owls, there were deadly flowers. "Furutsubaki-no-rei."

"Yes," the medicine seller said. "It is believed that a very old tsubaki tree can develop its own spirit. That is the form as a yokai, at least. Mononoke however are created by unnatural means. A death, a poisoning, a regret carried on to an otherwise natural source."

Akinobu rubbed more of the red sap off his face, attempting to remain calm despite how much his hands were shaking. "Tsubaki trees… Then why the oleander poisoning?"

"The yokai furutsubaki-no-rei is known to poison its prey though actual tsubaki is harmless and is used in medicines," the medicine seller replied. "This mononoke is likely using flowers from the garden." He turned back to the medicine chest, brushing the tsubaki flowers off and setting it back upright. He was concerned the mononoke would change the flower used to attack, making it difficult to encounter. There were fire mixtures and ones that involved gunpowder, but he'd rather not destroy Lord Ii's estate if he could help it. "I wonder what it may try next."

He peered at the nobles gathered on the other side of the room. So far, no one was really talking. Lord Goh stared horrified at the gaping hole in the floor covered with ofuda. Furi was sobbing. Lord Oku leaned against the wall shocked but calm. Hime was trying to comfort Furi. "Now. Who wants to talk about Lady Matsu?"

"What is it with you and Matsu?!" Lord Goh hissed.

"Oh nothing," the medicine seller waved his hand dismissively. "Definitely not the only clue we have to finding the mononoke's truth." He sat back on his feet, placing the taima sword between his hands as he observed the lords and ladies gathered. Eventually one of them would talk. It was like Kayo had said. They had a secret, and with stress, secrets tended to spill out.

Before the tatarimokke incident, Akinobu likely would've threatened the medicine seller for such a comment. It was definitely sharp and impolite, but the medicine seller didn't use that tone once towards Lord Ii. That was all that mattered to the samurai. He shifted his weight to one side, resting his hand on the hilt of his sword silently. His hands were still trembling, but he had to be prepared to face more bloody roots to protect his lord if they returned.

"Are you going to do something about this, Lord Ii?!" Lord Goh demanded.

Lord Ii was growing more and more irritated at the rude tone Lord Goh was taking. He'd taken it with Lord Ii himself earlier, and now he was trying to make demands like he owned the place. He wanted to snap at Lord Goh, but he kept it polite and somewhat formal. "No, actually I'm not. Someone has created this mononoke here, someone is its truth. I've worked tirelessly to make this place pleasant for my entire han the last several years. I won't have someone who is willing to murder an innocent person stay here and lie to my face about it."

Lord Goh scowled. "This is ridiculous. You're far too willing to believe this nonsense. You're nowhere near the lord your father was."

Lord Ii gritted his teeth. "My father in part created the last mononoke that murdered half the samurai here. I am nothing like him."

"The truth behind the ritual suicide," Lord Oku observed.

"Yes," Lord Ii gripped the edges of his kimono tightly. "It was the only way to make up for the damage that was done. I aim to carry on my grandfather's legacy, not his."

"A noble desire indeed," Lord Oku said.

"Naive!" Lord Goh hissed.

Lord Ii frowned. Were there not a mononoke outside, he would've had Lord Goh thrown out. Sure, he was still young, but that didn't mean he was going about this blindly.

"Is it though?" Lord Oku questioned before Ii had a chance to respond. "This han has always been known to be pleasant. Carrying on this legacy is important. It is why we accepted the invitation to come here."

Lord Goh scowled. "You're a fool, Lord Oku. This is an arrangement of status, not of pleasantries. You have no idea what it takes to run an entire han."

"I do not," Lord Oku said, "but I can already tell Lord Ii knows more than you do."

"How dare you!" Lord Goh hissed.

The medicine seller quietly listened to the conversation. It was becoming more and more apparent which one was the truth. Unless Lord Oku was an exceedingly good actor, he wasn't the source. But the medicine seller didn't quite suspect him when the mononoke first made its appearance. It was Lord Goh who had caught his attention the most. Furi was definitely a close second, but he wasn't quite certain of her involvement. Lord Oku and his daughter were simply a bizarre pair who seemed far too calm when faced with a mononoke.

He glanced to the side as the scales on the far wall tipped sideways and pointed to the back. It was only a matter of time before the mononoke returned, though it was much quicker than some he'd encountered. Another row of scales tipped to the back of the room and then another. Kayo skittered down to her knees next to the medicine seller. Even Lord Ii had approached, reasoning it safer with the one who knew how to fight them.

Without warning, the scales on the back side of the room tipped suddenly and pointed at Lord Goh. The rest of the nobles quickly backed away from him.

Dozens of iris sprouted up from the floor, winding their purple blooms around his legs. He yanked his leg out, scratching at his arm as he backed away. The itch wouldn't leave him, nor would the flowers, and he found himself scratching at his arms uncontrollably to a point that the skin simply peeled away from them. He screamed at the skin caked under his nails, finding himself unable to stop until he'd scratched too much of his own skin away. The blood soaked his formal kimono, pooling on the floor as he collapsed in a bed of purple iris.

The medicine seller didn't even have a chance to react before the mononoke claimed him. He flung ofuda at the flowers, the paper brushing right through them and plastering itself against the wall. This was one tricky mononoke, but he wasn't without his tricks. "Get over here. Quickly!"

Lord Oku and Hime quickly scampered across the room, but Furi was ensnared by creeping vines shooting off the walls. They ensnared her, pulling her back into a net woven of vines and morning glory flowers. She gasped, panicking as she fought to reach out towards Hime's outstretched arm. Suddenly she grasped at her head, screaming and clawing at her eyes. "Damn you, Matsu!" She clawed at her face, digging her nails into her skin and eyes. "You lowlife nobody! I should've known you wouldn't stay dead!"

Hime withdrew her hand quickly, diving across the room into her father's arms. "Furi. What have you done?"

The vines and flowers pulled Furi further into the wall, forcing the air from her lungs as her face turned blue.

Simple flowers had suddenly turned fatal. Morning glories could cause hallucinations and irises could cause someone's skin to itch. But in this case, those reactions had caused their deaths. He had to stop the flowers before this got out of hand. The medicine seller brushed his arms outward, dividing the room in half with a wall of ofuda. "Miss Kayo! Prepare a mixture of salt and vinegar! Use the ones in the bottom drawer!"

"R-right!" Kayo quickly set to work, pulling the ingredients out of the drawer of more questionable materials. Salt and vinegar certainly were more ordinary, but anything he kept in that bottom drawer was likely anything but normal salt and vinegar. Fortunately they looked like regular ingredients, and she quickly poured them into a bowl, mixing them together.

She peered up at him, finding him gritting his teeth and the fangs at the back showing as he used the taima sword to repel the irises and morning glories. He took the offered bowl in his free hand. "You'll want to stand back." As they backed towards the front wall, he called the ofuda back and threw the mixture from the bowl in a wide arch. As it touched the irises, they quickly withered and died, leaving Lord Goh's destroyed body behind. The mixture struck the morning glories, drying out the vines that kept Lady Furi's body crushed against the wall. Her body fell to the ground with an unsettling crunch as the remains of the bones snapped.

Kayo clamped a hand over her mouth as she attempted not to stare at the bodies ravaged by flowers. "Oh kami."

"I've really had enough of dead bodies," Akinobu grimaced.

"I do not believe this room is safe anymore, Lord Ii," the medicine seller tucked the mixture bowl back into the medicine chest. With a quick swipe of his hand, the scales all dove into the bottom drawer before closing it shut. He slung the medicine chest over his shoulders. "We must leave."

Lord Ii furrowed his brow in worry, still staring at the destruction on the other side of the room. "I thought it was dangerous to go outside with a mononoke. Though..."

"It can be," the medicine seller replied. "In this case, it is worse to stay here. When the mononoke attacked this time, I felt a slight mist in the air. It is using the straw and wood to grow the deadly form of these flowers. It is the reason my ofuda are not as effective. They are just paper."

Lord Ii rubbed at his face, attempting to remain calm though he felt like his entire body was trembling. "What do we do now? I thought perhaps Lord Goh was the source."

"He might have been," the medicine seller said, "but there is more than one way to learn a mononoke's truth and reason. Do you have tsubaki trees in your garden, Lord Ii?"

The young lord nodded. "A number. They always have such beautiful flowers. I don't want to have to dig up my family's trees, but…"

"I do not believe you will need to, Lord Ii," the medicine seller said. "However, the trees may tell us the mononoke's truth and reason."

"I'm not sure how, but after the tatarimokke, I'll believe it." Lord Ii turned to the door, hesitantly putting his hand on it. The medicine seller didn't stop him so he slid it open. It was a pleasant afternoon outside, contrasting the destruction within. "Come. I'll show you the way."

….

Author's musings

Well looks like this mononoke's a lot of trouble, isn't it? More dead by flowers in unfortunate and unusual ways. I do wonder what happened to Matsu.