Mitsuha

Something made me laugh today, but I won't say what. Write it down and the inspector will turn it into an entry.

• TogashiNot writing it down is itself an entry, Doctor.
  MitsuhaDoes your ledger count even my laughter now?
  TogashiCounting is my job.
• ItsukiDoctor, I saw you laughing to yourself in the copying room earlier, I saw everything
  MitsuhaIf you saw it, forget it. That's part of your training too.

Here, even a drop of ink has a price on it, but someone washed their brush clean after using it last night. The spot was still wet, so I simply pretended not to notice.

• SoyoThat brush only ever touches the paper I made. A hand's habits always take after its teacher.
  MitsuhaOld man, is that a compliment or an accusation?
  SoyoDepends on the price.
• ItsukiIt wasn't me! I'm famous for going to bed without washing my brush
  MitsuhaThat's nothing to be proud of.

The inspector went digging through three months of ink expenses in the copying room today. Anyone hunting for a crime that isn't there always starts by peering into someone else's inkstone.

• TogashiNot three months, six. The Doctor's arithmetic runs soft, so I merely counted on your behalf.
  MitsuhaWhile you're at it, count up your own expense claims from those six months too. My arithmetic's soft, so yours ought to balance it out nicely.
• ItsukiI use my ink sparingly. I really do.
  MitsuhaYour inkstone's the cleanest of anyone's. I can't tell if that's something to boast about or worry over.

His brush tip had split, so I left a new one out for him, and three days later it's still sitting untouched. Wonder who he inherited that habit of never letting go of old things from.

• SoyoThat brush handle is from the year I first started making paper. Wear like that only comes from a good many sleepless nights.
  MitsuhaThose sleepless nights, I can't repay those. But I'll see to it your paper's never late in payment.
• AyameIf you need a new brush, just say the word. Ten brushes wouldn't even register against the seal's upkeep budget.
  MitsuhaWhat I need isn't a brush, my lady. It's a nap.

The ceiling thread has been swinging only west these past few days. Thirty years reading the stars, and I've seen a night like this only twice, both times someone was gone by the next morning.

• KohaWest-side gossip has tripled in price this month. Care to buy a sheet, Doctor?
  MitsuhaGossip that's gone up in price is usually gossip that's already too late. I'll buy a sheet anyway.
• NagiThe west wind has always belonged to us.
  MitsuhaFine, keep the wind. But it's my children sleeping beneath it.
• TogashiFile your astrological findings as a formal document. What you post on a window isn't a finding, it's a rumor.