Satoru continues his search, heading out into the peasant's quarter to find the families of Koiichi and Shinichi.  Asking around the neighbors, Satoru comes upon Koiichi's home first.  It's a small building, but elegant and well constructed for the area.

Satoru stepped into the door way, waiting to see signs of life before fully announcing his presence.

Only silence greets Satoru.

ooc:  make a perception/investigation check (the notice emphasis applies) raw perception if you don't have investigation

Satoru wished to speak but instead he reached out with his senses, his eyes looking for signs of life, his ears to hear a sound, any sound.

[Private to GM: 12:25, Today: Satoru rolled 26 using 7d10, dropping the 3 lowest rolls, rerolling max with rolls of 2,4,9,4,5,8,4. percep/invest. ]

There is only silence, but the subtle smell of death--recent death--is present to your senses.

Satoru walks into the house, the need for immediate answers driving him forward.

He steps into the house looking for any sign of life or for the unfortunate inverse: signs of death.

The home of Koiichi's family is simple--two rooms and a water closet--in the entrance room, there is nothing, only several pairs of shoes, neatly put away on a rack.  In the dim light of the doorway, however, you can see the screen separating the two rooms is spotted with something dark.

Satoru stepped around the screen careful to make as little noise as possible, attempting to be on guard for any surprise, noting in his mind that surprises are obviously never prepared for.

In another life, Satoru had been a samurai who had survived to see the aftermath of battle.  This was like that had been.  Blood was everywhere.  Corpses lay upon the ground in awkward positions with defensive wounds crisscrossing the arms and hands, expressions locked in surprise and horror.  Not one of these people--two men, three women, and two children--was samurai, but they had all been slain by those trained in the arts of war.  This, then, was the fate of Koiichi's family, and likely Koiichi himself.

OOC: perception/investigation check for more information

Satoru's face was impassive, a relfex of that same past life where such carnage was commonplace. He glanced around the area for a moment, searching for signs or that damnable evidence the Kitsuki put so much faith in, anything to confirm that these strange creatures may have been guilty of the murders. Satoru had already decided these creatures had no honor, he reached into the bag of crystal weapons he still carried and drew the largest weapon his hand could find.

[Private to GM: 14:09, Today: Satoru rolled 37 using 7d10, dropping the 3 lowest rolls, rerolling max with rolls of (10+5)15,5,2,9,3,1,8. perception/investigation.
PS, is Koichii one of the dead bodies here?
Also if I do not have the bag of crystal still with me, I assume I had since I forgot to say I put it down anywhere, let me know and I will ammend my post.]

The dagger that you draw from the bag gleams brightly in the dim light, but it is merely the reflection and refraction of the ambient light in the room rather than a reaction to foul magics.  These servants of the Crane were killed swiftly, if brutally--single strikes to the throat as well as to vital organs predominate the death wounds; there are no visible signs of the torturers techniques on any of the bodies.  Among the dead is a familiar face, whom you tentatively identify as Koiichi--barring someone who is more familiar with the late Doji Kusanagi's servants.

Satoru sdhakes his head and exits the dwelling, quickly heading to the other servants dwelling, assuming the worst.  During the walk he calls to a servant and orders him to fetch the magistrates and eta to cleanse the servants house and begin a official investigation in ernest.

Shinichi's home is less well kept than Koiichi's--though their compensation was equal, it seems that the rumors of Shinichi's gambling and poor luck were true--but more occupied.  Outside there is an older woman wailing her grief.

Satoru steps in front of the woman. "Forgive me for interupting your grief." he says quickly to get her attention. "But why do you cry, so?"

"M-m-my son and his family are dead!" she wails, "I came to visit them on his day off, b-b-but when I went in they were all dead!  There was so much blood!"  It's obvious that the woman can't have been here long, already there are people looking around at the two of you, though no one has stopped or asked what has happened yet.