Hachi had no issues holding his emotions. He had a great deal of practice with the art in the past. However much the desecration of the area outside of town makes him feel, as he looks over the wall, he won't give in to those feelings.
He had done a ritual just the day before, and it was not a problem to call for the servants to bring the small torii gate out. However, they had disassembled it, and left it in pieces. So, the tensai sighed, and worked to put the puzzle back together again.
Once that was done, he couldn't find any of the servants, so had to lug it out of town himself. This was not a quick process. He had to stop often, as the weight of the torii gate, even a smaller one like this, combined with the coughing fits, makes him slow.
When he arrives, he notes that others are already present. Not many, not as many as he expected, or would have thought would be working on this. Not enough, perhaps? All he can do, though, is all he can do.
So, as the shugenja he is, he gets to work. He works with the Earth kami, using rituals he remembers being quickly trained in by his grandfather, to quiet the spirits around him. It is grueling, but then so is Isawa training. And he is able to do it.
He eventually finds his will running out of him, and so calls on some of the earth kami he has quieted to help sustain him. This turns out to be wise, as mere moments later a spirit, a true one, not one of these ones that had taken on flesh again, attacked him. He is expecting a difficult battle, but the kami of the earth around him seem to swirl and beat the spirit back, preventing it from even touching him.
Tired, and now out of favor with the Earth kami, he coughs, then plants the small torii arch, and leaves it there, as a sign to all that more needed doing.
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Still Soul: Medit/Void, VP for 1k1, TN 15:
18, pass.Ritual Implements: Craft: Woodworking/Int, VP for 1 phantom rank, TN 20:
27, should have called a raise.Earnest Prayers: Theology/Int, VP for 1k1, 3 Called Raises, TN 35:
For the marbles, got a 37!Earth's Touch, Willpower, FR to lower TN, TN is 11:
34, no problem.Resisting Toshigoku: Etiquette/Willpower, Earth's Touch bonus, TN 20:
42, no problem.