Throughout the night, Masumi had punched so many miscreants... In her dreams! They were deadly assassins who dared to attempt something at the Winter Court of all places. Well, if anything, dreams weren't known for being very logical. Giving them all a good kick had still been satisfying.

She'd ridden on that joy by being extra meticulous with her makeup and hair. It carried in her step as she walked around the castle, all the while resisting the urge to practice some of her punches.

And then she finally noticed the carnage. And then more carnage. ... Was that not a dream? Her jaw dropped for a second before she composed herself. She waltzed up to the first monk she could find and asked, "So... What happened?"

The monk looks up from scrubbing up the local blood-stain and shakes his head. "These guys came after Tatsuya! And then the bushi showed up. The whole complex must be cleansed!!"

"You are doing an admirable job cleansing the complex," Masumi said, wrinkling her nose. "The bushi. Who exactly? How many came for Tatsuya? I assume he's well?"

The grunts of people getting punched in her sleep were real fighting grunts then... Hmmmmmm...

"I guess so. The Crane priest looked after him. Um...let's see, there were a bunch of people from the delegations and then Lady Matsu showed up and just...well...it was Lady Matsu. But it turns out there were nine guys. I heard Daidoji Sae is investigating with the Emerald Champion."

"I see. I assume most, if not all, of the transgressors are dead then." Masumi again wrinkled her nose. At the very least, she knew her superior was alive and well enough to head the investigation. "Did you recognize any of these attackers? Were they staying here also?"

"No...they were all strangers."

"Is there an entrance they could have used to breach from here?" Masumi glanced around herself before looking back at the monk. While it was possible that they'd broken in from somewhere else, she wondered if the miscreants would have taken the path of least resistance. "Are there no monks on nocturnal duties?"

"I guess they just came over the wall. Killed a couple guards and a Seppun on the way in, the Emerald Champion said. We usually sleep at night!"