by Nikita Thorn
“How many alts can you have again?” asked Seiki.
Ippei looked as if he wanted some more context to the question, but proceeded to explain. “Depends on how many you can afford. You pay per character, and you have to pay extra if you want to change customizable things like your features and your voice.”
“It’s like when you created your character,” said Kentaro.
“I didn’t get to customize,” said Seiki. “My version was free.”
“I play stock, too. Most people do, since the rig already costs a fortune,” said Ippei. “So, this thing about the shadow organization…”
The samurai trailed off. Seiki followed his friend’s gaze to the front of the kakigouri shop, where a young man in black and yellow was making his way toward them. His headband was also black, with a familiar motif that had appeared on countless Festival flags throughout the City.
Seiki’s breath caught even before he could read the man’s label. Indeed, it was a Rogami Clan Messenger [Level 25].
The NPC gave a low bow once he was close enough. “Seiki-san, my master Lord Zengoro of the Rogami Clan extends his invitation. He requests that you join him at the Usukumo Mansion at your earliest convenience.”
The man’s expression was completely neutral, giving no hints as to the nature of his message. The mention of the Rogami Clan, however, inevitably drew the attention of the crowd, and several people turned to look.
“That’s the people they made this festival for, right?” someone whispered.
“So, apparently no one really has the patience for the long game,” said Kentaro.
Seiki drew a deep breath. Perhaps the perfect time to go into an intrigue-filled meeting was right when you had just got out of one. “My earliest convenience happens to be now.”
The messenger gave a dutiful bow once again. “My master Lord Zengoro will be happy to hear that. He also asks that you come alone.”
Ippei shifted uncomfortably, and Seiki turned toward his friend. “The worst they can do is kill me, and I can rez in the City Morgue. And… think about it this way: if they really wanted to kill me, they would have sent a Clan Assassin and not a Clan Messenger, right? This is a good sign.”
“First of all, there aren’t really Clan Assassins,” said Ippei. “And, look, they’re asking you to go alone into their clan hall.”
“I don’t think it matters,” said Seiki. “If they want to kill me, they can kill me anywhere.”
“The problem is if they don’t want to kill you.”
Seiki had to admit that the thought was a little disturbing. “Uh, I have Infinite Blood Rush?” With the move, he could always reduce his health to a low enough level and escape through death.
Kentaro smiled as he continued to lay out his tiny Bag Charms. “You know, Ippei, sometimes you just have to trust Seiki to do his thing.”
The samurai thought for a moment, before heaving a sigh. “You’re right.” He looked at Seiki. “They mess with you, you give them the nastiest kind of hell, okay?”
“I will.” Seiki grinned as he retrieved the teleportation scroll from his pocket and returned it to Kentaro, before removing both his inventory pouches and dropping them on the table for Ippei to keep. “It’s cleaner this way. They kill me, nothing drops. No potions. No post kit.”
Ippei let out a solemn chuckle. “Just hell. I see.”
“Maybe you do know how to play this game after all,” said Kentaro thoughtfully.
Seiki simply gave an ambiguous nod. At least, on this front, he thought his friends would find some comfort in the appearance of him having things under control.
Less than ten minutes later, as the gray walls of Usukumo Mansion came into view at the edge of West City, Seiki finally concluded to himself that he had no idea what he was doing.
Several groups of Rogami Clan members were loitering near the entrance, their levels ranging from low double-digits to about the mid-twenties, and their expressions were anywhere between curious and irritated. Seiki’s heart beat faster at the sight as he realized the whole clan was well-informed about his arrival.
Designated to meet him in front of the territory was a girl in a long light gray kimono. Petite in frame, her eyes were expressionless on her pale face, giving her a doll-like look. Her bangs were cropped way above her eyebrows, and the rest of her long black hair was loosely tied at her waist. Her complexion was very pale, rendering her appearance almost monochrome, like a mistake in the surrounding world of color. A curved white wand shaped like a sickle was thrust through her obi, its long black tassel hanging from the handle, which marked her as one of the caster classes.
Her label read Hanna of the Rogami Clan [Level 26], and Seiki was not quite sure what to make of her.
“Hello,” she said, her tone unreadable, neither overtly friendly nor hostile.
Hanna invites you to a group.
Seiki quietly accepted.
“Wanna check?” asked Hanna. “No Backstab.”
Seiki did a very brief inspection. Her abilities identified her as a houshi. There was, indeed, no Backstab, but that did not matter. If PVP was enabled in the clan territory, anyone except her would be able to walk up and attack him.
“I’m gonna check yours now,” announced Hanna. This was perhaps common courtesy, since she was not obliged to tell him in advance. Her eyes glanced into the air for a second. If she had been surprised by the unusual variations or the Free Slot, she betrayed no reaction. She then beckoned him to follow her through the threshold.
You have entered the Usukumo Mansion private territory. Custom combat rules apply. PVP status: enabled.
Seiki noted that she had not asked for him to remove his weapons. This, too, he took as a positive gesture, even when he knew that, armed or not, there was still nothing he would be able to do against the whole clan.
The territory looked very different now that the hosts were in, and somehow felt bigger than Seiki remembered. The Rogami made way for them as Hanna silently led Seiki down the main path. Several of them stopped to openly stare, but no one attempted to approach. Whispers rose behind them, however, something regarding invasions, and several more mentions of Sheathed Blades.
There was no doubt that the whole clan was fully aware of what he had done here.
The short walk to the command building at the back of the territory was uneventful. Hanna made no mention of the defensive Enchanted Panels in the ground-floor hallway, and, since Seiki was now considered a guest, their effects did not activate. He doubted he would have noticed them at all if he had not been in the territory before.
It was not until halfway through the hall that an icy mist swept across the back of his neck. It was gone in an instant, but was enough to make his skin prickle. Seiki had somewhat been expecting it and had forced himself not to react. He counted one second before slowly turning to look.
Standing in the corner was Rieko of the Rogami Clan [Level 27] in her striking white and red kimono, who must have slipped out of one of the side rooms after they had walked past.
Rieko’s mouth twisted into a sneer. “The galls, boya.”
What Seiki had felt was most likely her Life Drain, kept very limited and withdrawn as soon as he noticed it, right before it could start eating away at his health.
“Don’t touch him, Rieko. Zen would be mad.” Hanna’s voice was still expressionless.
Rieko crossed her arms over her chest and raised her brow. “I didn’t.”
Hanna hesitated for a moment, then, perhaps seeing that it was not going to escalate, gave a shrug and continued to head to the stairs. “Let’s go, Seiki.”
Rieko scoffed. Seiki felt her eyes following him until the second floor finally broke her direct line of sight.
“That went better than I thought,” said Seiki. From the way the obake always acted, he had assumed she held tremendous power in the clan, but it was clear that she deferred to Hanna’s authority, even when the houshi was a level
lower.
Hanna cast a quick glance his way, a hint of mild amusement twinkled in her eyes, but she said nothing.
The next floor also appeared to be empty, except for his old friend the Yureimusha hovering in its usual spot in the middle of the tatami floor. Seiki had left the main ingredient in the loot box, the named nodachi sword, allowing the clan to recreate the guardian right away. It had, however, lost two levels and was now at Level 24.
Seiki’s guest status now earned him a respectful nod from the ghost samurai, and he secretly wondered how long he would have if Hanna chose to remove him from her group before the guardian decided he was the enemy again.
Luckily, they crossed the tatami floor without incident. The back panel that had been earlier destroyed by Gin had now also been fixed. Hanna slid it open and led him up one more flight of stairs to the top floor, where she stopped and nodded to him to proceed ahead into the hall.
The third floor only had one occupant.
Sitting crossed-legged on a floor chair in the middle of the hall was Zengoro of the Rogami Clan [Level 30]. The Rogami leader appeared to be a well-built man in his late forties, clad in black armor. He sported a mustache but no beard, and his hair was held in a high, slightly disheveled ponytail.
The man lifted his gaze from a document in his hand, before slowly placing the paper face down on the floor. His expression bore no overt hostility, but Seiki supposed the man had nothing to fear from someone only a little over half his level.
There was another cushion on the floor in front of the man, which Zengoro gestured toward as Seiki approached.
The Rogami leader had no visible weapons on him. A brief glance, however, showed his Equipment Slots fully occupied, meaning that he had them in his inventory. Seiki chose not to be caught inspecting, and he placed his Hikari on the floor beside him as he sat down.
“So,” Zengoro began, his guarded, penetrating gaze fixed on Seiki. “You wanted my attention. You have it.”
The man’s expression was impossible to read, and his tone held nothing but mild curiosity. At least, this was looking like the beginning of a conversation.
Seiki thought it best to get straight to the point. “I want to stop this thing between some of your clan mates and me from going beyond the personal level.”
He was not sure how aware the Rogami leader was regarding the situation, but Zengoro did not seem at all surprised. “If you’re talking about the incident last week out the West Plains, let me remind you that the conflict didn’t even concern you in the first place. That was between us and the Fuoka Army.”
“I know. And I don’t deny my part in it. I don’t think I would have stepped in if it hadn’t been Rieko. I just want to make it clear that I have no intention to involve the whole Rogami Clan.”
The Rogami leader raised an eyebrow. “After spilling twenty-two of our Sheathed Blades down South City for a charity case?”
Seiki knew this point would come up, and he kept his gaze steady. “I did what I had to do.”
Zengoro let out a snort, but Seiki thought he saw a spark of amusement flash in his eyes. “So what do you propose?”
“We both walk away from this. I don’t interfere in your clan business, and your clan leaves me and my friends alone. In the future, if I see people extorting items off low-level players, it’s between me and them, not your whole clan.”
Zengoro suddenly chuckled. “I see that Kojiro left quite an impression.”
The statement itself was vague, but made it clear that the man was fully aware of what had gone down in a particular Wilderness spirit shrine. Seiki said nothing.
A smile now touched the corner of Zengoro’s mouth. “All right. Suppose I accept your truce proposal, but I ask that you let Kojiro kill you so he’ll get over his sulking?”
Seiki had already considered this point beforehand. “That’s not how you stop bullies.”
“And what makes you think I have any interest in doing that?”
“You can’t build a functional clan on a rotten core, and you wouldn’t have gotten this far with that kind of culture. I chose to bet on that.”
Zengoro waited for a moment, but Seiki offered no more clarifications. The man smiled. “How about this? What if I want to kill you? You see, when you run a clan this size, you can’t let people get the idea they can just walk in, kill a guardian, discard some valuable stuff and leave a memo without any consequences. My clan members are probably expecting something.”
“I’m fine with it, if everything ends here.”
The answer seemed to take Zengoro by surprise. “Okay, so you’ll actually do that.”
“I have more important things to worry about now. My friend also has no interest in clan drama and… I don’t want to waste his time.” The last bit was honest, and Seiki had not realized how strong this had been as a motivator until he had said it out loud.
“I get it,” said Zengoro, his tone turning conversational. “One thing led to another, and eventually you realize you don’t want to be doing this. Still, like I said, I can’t just let you walk out of here. Unless…” He paused for a moment to study Seiki. “Unless you’re not the main perpetrator. Unless you’re only in for the ride. It’s obvious you didn’t plan the whole invasion alone.”
“I’m not here to discuss anything else.”
“I’m giving you an out.”
“I know. And I’m not here to discuss anything else.”
Zengoro chuckled. “Okay, I know it was Gin. He left his stupid pipe on my daybed to make sure I know. How did someone like you get mixed up with the Bandits anyway? But… I guess you’re not here to discuss that either.”
The shift in tone was catching Seiki a little off-guard. “No.”
Zengoro smiled. “I like you, Seiki. Now if you could tell me what this is.” The man leaned closer and placed an item on the floor between them: the mysterious unlabeled object that was the Shadow Key. “You do know what it is, don’t you? That’s why you left it.”
There was an excited spark in the man’s eyes, which meant the Rogami Clan had no idea what the item was, and they must have put it into the guardian as an experiment, as Ippei had suggested.
Seiki blinked. “That wasn’t why I left it.”
“You left it with your message. What was I supposed to have taken it to mean?”
“I wasn’t thinking,” Seiki admitted. “I wasn’t planning on taking it, so I should have put it back in the guardian box.”
Zengoro burst out laughing. “And I thought you were offering to tell me what this thing is in exchange for a truce. But here you are, offering nothing. And I have no idea what Gin was doing here, and you’re saying it’s completely unrelated.”
Seiki drew a deep breath. Somehow, he was finding it more and more difficult not to directly ask Zengoro what he knew about Gin’s intention and the Shadow Key. This man was in the same situation he was in, surrounded by clues and things that seemed connected but elusive.
Still, with so little information himself, Seiki hesitated to reveal too much. “I’m not here to talk about this item, whatever it is, and I’m not asking for a favor. Like I said, I just wanted to deescalate the conflict. If you decide this is between me and some of your clan members, that’s fine. I just want to make it clear that I have no intention to drag in anyone else from your clan. And none of my friends are involved.”
Zengoro looked a little disappointed. “Is that all?”
“Yes.”
The Rogami leader thought for a moment, before a smile returned to his face. “All right. I’ll think about it.”
It somehow sounded like a challenge, although Seiki was not sure what for. The man waited, perhaps expecting Seiki to bargain, but since Seiki had no idea what options he had beyond taking the man at his word, he simply nodded. “That’s good enough for now. I’ll be on my way then.”
Zengoro made no attempt to stop him as Seiki got to his feet. Hanna, who had been standi
ng at the back of the room, nodded as a signal that she was going to accompany him back out.
“Now I’m sure you know something,” said Zengoro thoughtfully. “That’s interesting.”
Seiki looked back. The man was unconsciously turning the Shadow Key between three fingers, but his gaze was still fixed on him. If the Fear effect activated, he gave no outward sign he felt it.
“This dropped off a rare Elite boar god. We’ve been trying to run that mob ever since, but this is the only one that ever dropped.”
Seiki hesitated. The statement confirmed what he had already suspected, but Zengoro had no way of knowing that. This was most likely him venturing a step forward. Taking a deep breath, Seiki finally said, “I’d check the clan boxes in the storage building if I were you.”
The Rogami leader bolted up as if something clicked in his mind. “Wait. Stay,” he cried, raising his hand, before glancing at his clan mate. “Hanna, will you?”
With a nod, Hanna quickly disappeared down the staircase, and Zengoro turned his attention back to Seiki. “Don’t you want to know what Gin left for me?”
Seiki knew it would be a lie to say no, and Zengoro most likely noticed, as he immediately took his chance. “Stay, then. No matter what Hanna finds or doesn’t find, stay with me till she gets back and you have yourself your deal. None of my clan members will come after you or your friends.” He paused for a moment, before adding, “On top of that, from now on if you get into trouble and the Rogami Clan happens to be nearby, we assist. You’ll have my word on that.”
Seiki stared. Zengoro was smiling, in his eyes a spark of gleeful triumph, one that signified an offer that could not be refused.
Chuckling, Zengoro beckoned again to the cushion. “Come on. Wait with me. She won’t be long.”
Seiki suspected the man had already made up his mind when he had promised to think about it, but had been saving it for leverage. There was something devious about the method, but Seiki saw no way to argue, and he warily walked back to the seat and sat down.
Zengoro’s smile turned into an almost delighted grin, but he said nothing more as he picked up his piece of paper to look through it once more. Fortunately, the houshi girl was back before the silence could get awkward. She shuffled over the tatami, her footsteps blurring into one long hiss as her long gray kimono dragged across the floor.
