The Magistrate's Office

Inaba sat in seiza, working away at several documents with his practiced calligraphy. Some time during the mid-day, a junior policeman announced the arrival of a new prisoner.
As was customary, the prisoners were to be processed through the Kiyonai magistrate, the actual work left to assistants, as the province took official custody and decided their fates. Ketsueki would be brought to the front courtyard in her cage, not to be released until the doors of the compound - two thick oaken doors that were barred with a piece of heavy wood - were shut. Two guards flanked the door, should she still attempt to flee. They never did. It was all a show, as most prisoners knew they were properly confined within these walls.

Inaba came strolling out, nodded in approval, and the guards brought her into the building. Here prisoners were instructed to sit in seiza before him (their legs physically forced and bound into position if they were stiff or broken from recent violence or torture), while he read out their accusations and confirmed their identities. A couple times, a mix-up had resulted in the wrong prisoner being received.

Ketsueki was sat before the junior magistrate. Here, judgement was often swift and unfair, frequently steeped in heavy bias around gender, social class, and perceived loyalties. It wasn't infrequent that members of the samurai class had charges dismissed entirely, and often crimes of heinous nature.

Quietly, he looked up at her only after writing some things down on his paper.

".. Tell me your name."

"Ketsu...e... ki..." He slowly narrated, as much to her as to himself, as he wrote down her name on the paper, "...Aki... yama." Then he jotted down some more things, leaving a long and drawn out awkward silence. As this was his fist chance to observe her response to a question, perhaps he was making notes of her demeanor.

"..You're in a dishonorable place, Ketsueki... what do you think your father would think of this?"

"Hmm..."
He looked over one of his documents, searching for a name. He could have swore she sounded familiar.

"Seya... is that correct?"

Inaba looked completely unimpressed and unphased. Clearly he had been through so many trials and lies that he couldn't help but feeling very jaded about the whole thing, and in particular the prisoners. His tone had a flatness to it that suggested a complete indifference to her condition, and an adherence solely to the court's proceedings.

"Describe to me the events leading to your arrest."

"I see.. and your family name is on this list. It marks the most loyal retainers to the Hizashi clan that had been lost."
Inaba hadn't forgotten about the bandits, but he had already written that report and would advance it through the appropriate channels. But this was highly important.
"You say you are the last survivor..."

He jotted down one last thing, and then looked up to her.
"This has its implications. And they're serious. Look. I'm tired. And I really wanna get outta here. I need you to do me a favor. Don't tell anyone that you came here tonight. If anyone asks tomorrow morning, tell them you just arrived and left my office. And when tomorrow morning comes, I need you to take this letter to the House of Falling Blossoms Tea House and present it to a man named Omura. You stand out like koi in a crystal pond. He'll know to recognize you, and he'll introduce himself. Arrive alone. Do not bring anyone with you into the establishment."

He handed her a letter, sealed with the official seal of the Kiyonai Magistrate.