Masumi

Masumi
The Masumi members with Seiichi Samura; from right to left, Sumi, Ro, Moku
General Information
Japanese	巻 (ま) 墨 (すみ)
Rōmaji	Masumi
Leader(s)	Ro
Other Notable Members	Sumi Moku
Affiliate(s)	Kamunabi Chihiro Rokuhira Iori Samura
Previous Affiliate(s)	Seiichi Samura
Status	Active
Debut
Manga	Chapter 50

The Masumi (巻 (ま) 墨 (すみ) , Masumi) are a clan of ninja that have existed for centuries. The Masumi support the Kamunabi in the present, as they had done with the Kamunabi's precursor organization during the Seitei War. Three members were assigned to protecting Seiichi Samura at Senkutsji Temple, and after the events at the temple on the 9th of November, they are now allied to Chihiro Rokuhira.

They serve as key supporting allies during the Sword Bearer Assassination Arc.

Strength

The Masumi's invisibility on Samura's battlefield.

Being a clan of trained ninja, the Masumi are powerful combatants. They have expert knowledge of various sorcery-related spells, encompassing the entirety of the Kamunabi's extensive Level 2 library. The Masumi frequently make use of spell inscriptions on scrolls and the like as part of their arsenal both in and out of combat.

In standard combat, Masumi members Ro, Sumi and Moku use dual katana, and have enough skill with the weapons to hold off an onslaught of tree branches and Datenseki-wielding sorcerers for a noticeable amount of time. Their speed is also notable, Ro and Moku having caught up to a bus and saved the passengers within after the vehicle was bisected by Kuguri.

Sorcerers of the Masumi clan have trained to cloak their scent, sound and hostile presence in combat; making them the ideal choice to be assigned to Senkutsuji Temple in order to safeguard Tobimune bearer Seiichi Samura.

The Masumi had a treatment room set up within Senkutsuji designed to assist sorcerers with exhausted sorcery recover their abilities faster; here, Sumi aimed to help Hakuri accelerate the recovery process from several days to 30 minutes.

Sumi draws a mandala for teleportation.

One spell used by multiple members of the Masumi consist of mandalas on the ground. These can transport up to four individuals to a specific location when activated using a hand sign, the mandala disappearing in a flash of black afterwards. Moku and Sumi used one to bring Uruha and Hakuri directly to Senkutsuji from a nearby train station, and later Sumi drew one to transport Samura, Uruha and Hakuri away from the battle at Senkutsuji. Ro has also used one to bring his allies away from Kuguri and directly to the Kyoto Bloodshed Hotel.

The Masumi prepare a memory seal.

Among the spells the Masumi have available to them, the range varies from the comparatively basic sealing of objects within scrolls, Sumi carrying a motorbike sealed within a scroll on her person, to a highly complex spell layout designed to render an individual impossible to be recognised by anyone other than the Masumi; including the subject themselves. The latter was used on Iori Samura at her father's request in hopes to ensure her a safe life, and after Iori began subconsciously breaking the seal the Masumi planned a second, stronger seal. Due to the strength of the memory seal, the Masumi borrowed the Kyoto Bloodshed Hotel's barrier lantern to use as a power source, and the first seal also required several lanterns to power it. Sumi was apparently capable of tracking the seal's effect after the seal was constructed.

Sorcerous abilities and equipment aside, the Masumi also utilise various pieces of conventional weaponry, Ro in particular having used smoke grenades to obscure his position and thrown shurikens with explosives attached with devastating accuracy, hitting a moving car and killing its driver.

Members

Members

Ro

Clan Head

Moku

Sumi

Chosen Masters and Affiliates

Seiichi Samura

Former Master

Chihiro Rokuhira

Current Master

Iori Samura

Protection Target

History

Past

The Masumi are a ninja family with centuries of history. Over the years, its members have attended and served their chosen masters faithfully, serving as tools more than people.

During the Seitei War, the Masumi aligned themselves with the precusor organisation to the Kamunabi, and almost all of the Masumi perished during the war. Following the war's conclusion, the Masumi's remaining descendants continued to serve the Kamunabi.

Samura commands the Masumi not to sacrifice themselves.

Three years before the present and fifteen years after the Seitei War, following Kunishige Rokuhira and Misaka's murders at the hands of the Hishaku, current clan head Ro was assigned to Senkutsuji Temple alongside his subordinates Sumi and Moku in order to guard former Tobimune bearer Seiichi Samura who had been interred there for his safety. While originally they treated Samura as they would any other master, including attending to his supposed needs, Samura was heavily opposed to the idea of the Masumi doing everything for him and viewing themselves as tools, preferring them to work alongside him rather than for him. Samura additionally noted his total disapproval for the idea of the Masumi sacrificing their lives for him.

Six months after Kunishige's death, Samura made his sole explicit request as master for the Masumi, to fake his daughter Iori's death, ensure nobody would be able to recognise her as his daughter and wipe her memory of any ties with himself, as well as his own memories of her, in order to move her away from the Kamunabi's surveillance and ensure she lived a life of safety. He wrote a note which he gave to Ro to hand to Iori wherein he apologised for bringing her life nothing but pain.

Sword Bearer Assassination Arc

Sumi and Moku bring Hakuri and Uruha to Senkutsuji

Prior to Hakuri and Uruha's arrival at a train station near Senkutsuji, Sumi and Moku moved to the station where Sumi prepared a transport mandala to quickly get Hakuri and Uruha to Senkutsuji. Moku was still surprised the Hishaku had successfully destroyed Kokugoku and Sumi encouraged him to focus on their duty first. Uruha stepped off the train and recognised the two as being from the Masumi, and Sumi and Moku greeted him in turn. Sumi was grateful to see Uruha was alive and Uruha credited it to Chihiro and Hakuri, and Moku mentioned Samura was waiting for them, Uruha noting it had been a long time since they had met. The Masumi then activated the mandala and sent the four to the temple entrance on a cliff.

The four entered, Sumi noting they had been informed of the plan to transport the Enchanted Blades. Samura then rushed over to them, initially mistaking Hakuri for Chihiro given Hakuri smelt like him. Sumi quickly elaborated that Hakuri would be the one transporting the Enchanted Blades, while Uruha and Samura exchanged greetings. The elderly monk in the main temple hall suddenly hit a specific drum using a hammer, informing Samura the enemy, an army of Datenseki-wielding sorcerers, had arrived. As Samura and Moku moved out to marshal the temple's forces, Sumi escorted Uruha and Hakuri to a treatment room to recover his sorcery faster, estimating Hakuri would be treated in 30 minutes.

Moku would later return to the treatment room, informing Sumi, Uruha and Hakuri that there were over double the forces compared to Kokugoku. He asked about Samura's location and Sumi told him he had left to fight, prompting Moku's slight frustration. Hakuri was concerned, not knowing how Samura could fight if he was blind, but Uruha and Moku assured him if Samura was fighting the best course of action was to stay out of his way. Uruha then explained Samura's fighting style to Hakuri.

As a Hishaku Sorcerer arrived at the temple and destroyed much of the main temple hall using his tree sorcery, the Masumi observed that the enemy would be arriving at the treatment room soon. Moku mentioned they should evacuate and Sumi added Hakuri wouldn't be able to recover if they were moving, Uruha commenting on how only 10 minutes of Hakuri's treatment had progressed. A message then arrived from Chihiro describing how the Hishaku's forces were concentrated at Senkutsuji. Sumi realised the importance of evacuating Hakuri and Uruha quickly, ordering a nearby monk Fuura to escort them out. Sumi and Moku then prepared to join Samura in battle.

The two entered a room where Ro was sleeping, Sumi and Moku quickly waking him up to aid in fighting. The three entered the main temple building to assist Samura, the three utilising their ninja arts to hide their senses from Samura and thereby avoid detection; though Samura quickly noticed the foes they were cutting down, begrudgingly permitting their assistance so long as they didn't risk their lives. When Uruha and Hakuri were forced into the building, Ro and Moku continued to assist Samura and Uruha in fighting the enemy sorcerers while Sumi prepared a mandala to transport the sword bearers and Hakuri out.

Sumi teleports Hakuri, Samura and Uruha.

Through Uruha's assistance, Sumi managed to transport Hakuri, Uruha and Samura away to the entrance of the temple, and Ro prepared to hold off the enemies with his comrades in order to buy the escaping trio time. As they were gradually overwhelmed, Samura then re-entered the temple, now with Tobimune in hand, and he used Crow to decimate the enemy sorcerers, yelling out that the Masumi were fired. The Hishaku sorcerer quickly teleported out.

Moku was shocked by the devastation, wondering what had happened, and Ro responded it was Tobimune's sheer power. As the group reconvened, Ro apologised for Samura needing to save them, but Samura brushed him off, telling him to thank Hakuri instead. With Ro noting Samura's possession of Tobimune gave them a large advantage, the group planned to head to another Sanso and resume Hakuri's treatment there. On the way out, the group spotted the condition of Ryo Fuura, who had given his life in order to protect the sword bearers. While Sumi noted his death had contributed to a great turning point in the conflict, Samura grudgingly noted it was just the beginning.

The Masumi and all the monks in the area were then knocked unconscious by Samura as Samura discussed his motives with Uruha before killing him and leaving. Later in the night, past midnight on the early hours of November 10th, Ro greeted a recovering Chihiro within his hospital room, introducing himself and reporting his perspective on the prior day's events, concluding by noting the Masumi's desire to do what they can to resolve the situation. He sympathised with Chihiro in their shared lack of understanding on the situation, and told him that the Masumi plan to work with Chihiro to confront Samura in several days' time.

Three days later, at 11:20 am on the 13th of November, the Masumi and Chihiro sat around a cafe table, where Ro noted Chihiro was the Masumi's new master for the time being. Ro told Chihiro that the Kamunabi leadership intend for them to take pre-emptive action against Samura and the Hishaku. While the Hishaku had left no trace, Moku pointing out they had been lying low for four years, Samura's trail could be easily tracked via Owl's massive spirit energy signature. Given Owl's nature as a detector of spirit energy, Chihiro drawing Enten could draw Samura to their location whenever they wanted.

However, Ro acknowledged that Samura was the only person that could pressure the Hishaku, Sumi bringing up that focusing on Samura could allow for the Hishaku to take action; hence confronting Samura was out of the picture. Instead, Ro brought up their leverage; their knowledge of Samura's daughter Iori. The Masumi told Chihiro of how they had hidden Iori's identity, and discussed how the Hishaku would likely try to reach her to gain an edge on Samura, Sumi bringing up while she could track the seal's status and it appeared unimpeded, the Hishaku were notable for accomplishing unprecedented things. Through locating and protecting Iori, the four of them could gain an advantage over Samura and the Hishaku, thus the group decided to head to Kyoto in order to locate her.

During their conversing, Ro internally took note of how much Chihiro had gone through in such a short period of time, noting the way Chihiro was bearing the circumstances all on himself would wear himself out. Even if Chihiro himself was alright with it, those around him left behind would be saddened. Though Chihiro may be stressed, Ro reminded him they were a team, and they should work together.

One topic of discussion Chihiro brought up was that while his knowledge and usage of Enten's abilities was honed well, his swordsmanship was lacking, especially in comparison to veteran swordsmen like Samura. Ro and Chihiro concluded that Chihiro would be focusing on improving his blade skills in the near future. As the four headed on a train to Kyoto, the Masumi listened to Chihiro's explanation about Tobimune's feathers and how Samura could use them for detection.

Later that day, the four approached Iori's school, where two Hishaku sorcerers Kuguri and Toto were holding the class hostage. Ro created a distraction for Chihiro to lock blades with Kuguri, taking the opportunity to escort Iori away to the hallway where Sumi was. Sumi verified the seal was deteriorating and Ro briefly realised in surprise that Iori was unconsciously trying to break the seal on her memories herself before announcing she would be under the Masumi's protection, and that her life would be changing for some time. Escorting her outside, Sumi summoned a motorcycle from a scroll and drove Iori away. The two Hishaku sorcerers boarded a car and followed, with Ro in hot pursuit.

After Ro and Sumi had extracted Iori, Moku joined Chihiro as Kuguri and Toto left in hot pursuit. Chihiro was momentarily frozen, seeing and hearing the students refer to him as a murderer, before Moku approached him and Chihiro hastily reassured him he would focus on chasing the Hishaku. Moku calmed him down, reminding him to follow the plan (offhandedly calling it 'Operation: Easy Does It') and head to the location they had chosen while he and Ro followed the Hishaku duo.

The Masumi resist the Hishaku to kidnap Iori.

Using two shuriken, one with an explosive attached to it, Ro killed the driver and detonated the car. Kuguri then sped out of the car, sprinting down a street and bisecting a bus in his way. As Kuguri was about to reach Iori, Chihiro confronted him on the streets, Sumi sliding the motorbike down and hitting a button labelled katana to launch a katana into the air, Chihiro grabbing it and clashing with Kuguri. Meanwhile, Ro and Moku rescued the civilians who were inside the bus.

Sumi handed Chihiro the katana's sheathe before driving away with Iori once again, while Ro and Moku remained on-scene as Chihiro clashed with Kuguri. Ro was confused when Kuguri began voicing his internal conflict between focusing on his mission and wanting a proper sword fight. After being disappointed in Chihiro as a proper opponent, Kuguri began charging at Sumi and Iori once more. Ro and Moku moved to intercept him but were interrupted when Chihiro successfully emulated the Iai White Purity Style, speeding to Kuguri and clashing with him once more, successfully diverting his attention from the escaping Sumi and Iori.

Chihiro held off Kuguri long enough for Ro to draw a mandala on the ground. Ro called to Chihiro and used a smoke bomb to obscure the mandala long enough for Ro, Moku and Chihiro to make their getaway. At the same time, Sumi and Iori had made their way to the Kyoto Bloodshed Hotel, where Sumi greeted the general manager Yojiro Sengoku and briefly noted the hotel's continuing construction upwards. She told Iori that while detection sorcery could not penetrate the hotel's barrier, the number of detection-immune locations in Kyoto was few and so the Hishaku would likely comb through them in short order; but they should be safe for some time. Ro, Moku, Sumi, Chihiro and Iori then reconvened within the hotel's Pine Room.

Before talking to Iori, Ro noted to Chihiro in a hallway outside that Iori's subconscious bond with Samura was strong enough to begin breaking the seal itself with the right prompting, so they should avoid mentioning Samura at all costs. He added they were preparing a stronger seal to fully amnesticise Iori, set to be completed within 24 hours.

Upon meeting with Iori, Ro introduced the Masumi and attempted to paint a more positive picture of Chihiro, but the latter resolutely accepted he was a murderer, but he would protect Iori nonetheless; a statement that prompted Ro's frustration and caused Moku to start massaging Chihiro's shoulders to relax his expression. Iori was adamant that they explain the truth and who Samura was, and Ro revealed the Masumi had manipulated her memories for her own safety, advising her that hostile forces would pursue her and her sealed memories may not be pleasant.

Hearing Iori's dissatisfaction and discomfort at being denied the truth and pondering how he would feel without having lived with his father, Chihiro proposed they tell Iori the truth as she would be amnesticised within 24 hours anyway, leaving the choice up to Iori herself, an argument Ro could not counter. As Ro and Chihiro began telling her the truth behind her lineage, Ro offered snacks to her. When Iori later collapsed from the shock of the onrush of information, Ro and Chihiro placed her in a bed.

As Ro and Chihiro were telling Iori about her history, Sumi and Moku ascended to the roof and began preparing the first stages of the seal, Moku remarking they would be up all night. Sumi noted they would need to write out everything about Iori to ensure her memory was completely sealed. Moku asked why they were on the rooftop and Sumi informed him sorcery was prohibited within the hotel, a rule set up by the hotel to ensure the hotel's various clientele did not engage each other. In addition, the hotel staff had studied under hotel general manager and master of the Reigen One-Sword Style Yojiro Sengoku, and had learnt the style from him.

Sumi and Moku prepare Iori's new seal.

Throughout the night, the Masumi rotated between teaching Chihiro battle techniques, working on the seal and watching over Iori. At one point when Chihiro was practising the Iai White Purity Style, Ro entered the room and asked about the difficulty Chihiro had voiced he was having. Chihiro stated he was having trouble maintaining spirit energy in his swordsmanship during the style's regrip, which Ro admitted was a notable drawback to the style. He advised that Chihiro needed to be able to merge with his katana using spirit energy, using it as a natural extension of his body. Having experienced in syncing using spirit energy through Nishiki, Chihiro understood Ro's meaning.

By the time morning rose on the 14th of November, Ro was on the roof with Sumi and Moku on the final stages of preparing the seal. Ro then headed down an elevator to Iori's floor, seeing a group of yakuza approaching Iori. Ro quickly dispatched the yakuza and the two began making their way to the roof, Ro assuring Iori that the seal would haze over the events of the prior days in regards to her acquaintances at school; though those who died could not be brought back. While Iori was quick to succumb to her guilt and blame herself, Ro interrupted and stated it was the Masumi's fault for constructing an improper seal; this time, with proper knowledge of family dynamics, they could ensure the seal would not be broken.

Ro added that the only thing needed to activate the seal was the key for the hotel's barrier-powering lantern on the roof, which the Masumi had acquired permission to use as a power source. After Iori told him that Chihiro had headed downstairs, Ro had confidence he would get the key back to them. Ro asked Iori once again if she had decided for sure that she would return to school, and after some thinking Iori shakily replied in the affirmative.

The Masumi and Iori face the hired criminals.

The two arrived at the roof, Iori still stuck with the decision internally. Moku asked where Chihiro was and Ro replied he had gone downstairs to get the key after Sengoku was killed. Ro then turned to Iori and assured her they would return her to her normal life once the key was upstairs. They were interrupted by Kuguri's arrival in an elevator, Ro quickly locking blades with him. Sumi quickly escorted Iori to where Moku was gesturing at them, and Moku turned to see a horde of seemingly-brainwashed yakuza attacking from the outside, crazed much like the ones at Senkutsuji; though their skill was lesser, their numbers were a notable threat. Meanwhile, the hotel's clientele began arriving from the elevators.

Seeing the relative lack in quality of the hired criminals compared to Senkutsuji, Ro quipped to Kuguri that the Hishaku seemed to be lacking funds, though Kuguri ignored the jab in favour of vocalising that the entirety of the hotel's clients were approaching. Later, Ikura appeared in an elevator, and Ro was surprised to see he had the key, right before Iori fully broke the seal and began fending off several of the yakuza with a katana.

Soon after, Chihiro and Hiruhiko arrived at the roof and Chihiro used Iori's model of the Iai White Purity Style to swiftly strike Hiruhiko. Ro immediately recognised Iori had broken the seal on her memories as he continued fighting the yakuza. Seeing Chihiro observe multiple threats in Hiruhiko and the yakuza, Sumi urged him to focus on Iori while she approached Hiruhiko and Toto. After Iori voiced that she wanted to see her father, Chihiro unsheathed Enten and a nearby Hiruhiko activated Kumeyuri. Immediately, Owl disappeared overhead and Samura arrived with Tobimune activated, two gigantic black wings keeping him aloft.

Samura used Crow as Hiruhiko called Banquet, before Samura quickly decapitated Hiruhiko and Toto and picked up Kumeyuri. Turning to Ro, Samura asked if they had broken the seal. Ro nervously denied it and Chihiro replied Iori had done so on her own, and Samura told the Masumi to redo it. Iori then spoke up, asking if Samura had nothing to say to her after so many years. The group were then interrupted as Banquet's effects came in full force, Hiruhiko and Toto's bodies as well as Kumeyuri melting away while the building appeared to move nauseously around them, Ro quickly recognising it was their inner perception affecting their surroundings.

The Masumi, Samura, Iori and Ikura affected by Banquet.

While the Masumi, Samura, Iori, Ikura and Chihiro were affected, the yakuza were not, and they began to pursue Iori once again. Chihiro yelled at Samura to protect his daughter before turning to leave, and as Moku asked where Chihiro was going Chihiro replied he was pursuing the culprit. Samura then swiftly cut down the attackers approaching Iori.

Amidst their disorientation standing near Ikura, Moku asked Ro where Kuguri had went and Ro replied he had ducked away when Samura had arrived, adding that more important was their need to escape. The elevators then opened to reveal a mass of corpses animated by Kumeyuri's Play. The corpses managed to fatally wound Samura through Hiruhiko's heavy focus on strengthening Banquet, Ro screaming at the sight, though Samura used Suzaku to heal his wounds, quickly dismantled the corpses before moving down to Hiruhiko's location. With no other opposition on the roof, the Masumi and Ikura regrouped with Iori.

As the hotel began rumbling due to Hiruhiko's partial destruction of the building, Ro wondered what was going on and Sumi helped steady Iori as the floor split apart beneath them, Iori uneasy at the sight. Iori later gazed in shock at Samura's Suzaku flames repairing the damage to the building.

After Samura defeated Hiruhiko and the latter retreated with Kuguri and Toto's help, Ro took Kumeyuri. When Chihiro and Samura began their fight, the Masumi, Iori, Ikura headed down to the courtyard where they were, the Masumi aiming to delay Samura as Chihiro readied Aka: Suzaku. The Masumi were defeated in three seconds, but it was enough for Chihiro to prepare his attack and clash blades with Samura, damaging Tobimune.

Samura immediately repaired Tobimune using Suzaku before activating Crow while Chihiro used Kuro, goldfish and feathers flooding the area and preventing the Masumi, Iori and Ikura from seeing anything. Moments later, the darkness cleared and Iori spotted Chihiro and Samura in the air some distance away, immediately chasing after them. After Ro's sunglasses were healed in a burst of flame and he received contact from Kamunabi Headquarters, the Masumi followed, Moku carrying Ikura on his back.

The Masumi and Ikura arrived in the courtyard to see Iori punch Samura, who soon after moved to apologise to the Masumi. Ro commented they were even after Iori's punch for the time being and asked if Samura was willing to bet on the future. After Samura agreed, Ro reported that they had received a notice that the Hishaku were attacking Kamunabi Headquarters, to Chihiro and Samura's shock. Chihiro asked Samura to support him in his endeavors so they could deal with the Hishaku and the Enchanted Blades together. Moku commented 'together' was a word Samura couldn't say before and Ro gave Samura back his sunglasses. Samura put them on before preparing to take himself and Chihiro to Tokyo.

Etymology

• 巻 (ま) : Means 'book' or 'scroll'.
• 墨 (すみ) : Means 'ink'.

Trivia

An illustration of Ro by Hokazono spelling out the Masumi's correct reading.

• The Masumi's name was written as Makizumi in Chapters 55 and 56 in both the Japanese and English versions of the manga. Takeru Hokazono noted this was a mistake and this reading was later changed to Masumi.