by Nikita Thorn
“Free sample,” said Yubaba. “Remember, if you need potions in the future, come to me. I have batch discounts, and special rates for long-term customers.”
“Thank you, but I can’t possibly accept this.” Seiki tried to give it back to her, but she refused.
“Don’t you understand the concept of free samples?” she cried in annoyance.
Seiki sighed. “Okay.” He then thought of something. “How about you let me give you something in return?” He looked in his cloth pouch and found nothing of value, except perhaps the mysterious Blood Essence thing that he got from the Inoshishi quest, which he asked if she wanted.
Yubaba shook her head and chuckled. “You’re a funny lad, aren’t you? Sell that at the market and get yourself a nice basic weapon. If you really want to give me something, get me thirty Red Thistles. That’s what it took to make the potion.”
“Alright,” said Seiki.
The old woman continued to chuckle in amusement. “Remember, come find Yubaba at the West Gate if you need your potions.” She clapped Seiki on his arm, then walked away and started talking to Oni [Level 5], who was standing around, no doubt giving out some more of her free products.
Now that the show was over, everything slowly returned to normal and the people continued to go about their business. The sun was high in the cloudless sky, making everything look extra vibrant with colors.
Seiki decided to finish his task before exploring more of the city. He stepped through the door into the cool shaded interior of the Ichikeya Inn. Before him was a large room with wooden tables and long benches, half-full with people in all kinds of attire with many a fancy weapon. He noticed a long staff with copper rings propped against the wall beside one table. On someone’s back was a large ornate crossbow. Lively chatters and the enticing smell of food filled the air. At the back was a stairway that led up to the second floor.
A nameless inn maid approached him, one of the many in identical light green kimonos. “Young master, would you like a table?” Politely and efficiently, she led Seiki to one near the staircase. “Please feel free to order our dishes, tea and sake!”
The inn was buzzing with conversation. Seiki sat down and scanned the room for someone called Mimura.
Across the room, Yukiko [Level 13] yawned. Her tablemates, Haru [Level 8] and Yuta [Level 10] were drinking tea and poring over some parchment.
At another table, Ashiga of the Red Dawn Clan [Level 18] was sitting alone, staring at the door.
Three people who had been eating nearest to the door, all from Ishibashi Clan, got up and left. Two more visitors arrived, Goro [Level 4] and Kenichi of the West Hills [Level 6].
Someone was complaining loudly about how expensive it was to have armor repaired, and a man’s voice yelled out for more sake.
There was no sign of the person he was looking for, and suddenly Seiki realized he had no idea where to begin. He had expected to find a Mimura [Level 20] there waiting for him once he found the inn. It turned out this task was not as simple as he thought.
A girl approached him and he recognized the light green kimono of the inn maids. “Welcome, young master. Is this your first time at Ichikeya? Can I get you anything?”
Seiki looked around. “Is this the only inn around the West Gate?” he asked.
The inn maid smiled. “Yes, it is. In fact, it is the only inn in West City.” It was then that Seiki noticed that she had a name: Fuyu of Ichikeya [Level 15]. Surprised, he looked again at her uniform, which was exactly what the other nameless maids were wearing: a green simple kimono and a yellow flower-patterned obi.
Seeing his puzzlement, she winked at him, in a way that Seiki thought he was supposed to understand. “Do you happen to know where I can find someone called Mimura?”
Seiki thought he saw recognition in her eyes when he spoke the name, but she just asked politely, “Young master, perhaps you would like to order something? I’d recommend our freshly-made dango and freshly-brewed matcha.”
Seiki tried to explain. “I’ve got to find Mimu—“
Fuyu interrupted him. “Young master, I’d really recommend our dango and matcha!” she said, as forcefully as could possibly be said through a smile. Then she gave him another look, which was again probably meant to be understood but which ended up confusing Seiki even more.
“All right. Dango and matcha it is,” he gave in.
Fuyu looked relieved and soon brought him a plate with three skewers of dango, green, pink and white, and a bowl of matcha.
Seiki was about to ask whether she knew where he could get the information he needed when she gave him another look, one that he understood this time, which meant to stop asking questions.
Unable to interpret her mysterious signals, Seiki sighed and decided to just wait and see.
The gooey flour dessert was surprisingly pleasant, despite being very sweet, and it made for a wonderful combination with the bitter matcha. Still, Seiki could not help but feel there was something slightly amiss about the whole experience that he could not quite yet put a finger on. He finally attributed it to the lack of any real physical satiation that one could expect from eating.
Seiki glanced around again. The table creaked as someone sat down opposite him. Seiki turned and looked, half-expecting to see Mimura.
It was not Mimura, but Hatsuo [Level 22], a large man with short hair and a rugged bearded face. He had on a loose brown yukata and wore a thin red and white headband across his forehead. The man’s menacing expression immediately put Seiki on his guard.
“So, Seiki, is it?” said the man. His voice was rough. He had put one arm on the table, his hand clenched in a tight fist.
From his fighting experience, Seiki was immune to empty threats, and it would take much more to intimidate him. He defiantly met the man’s eyes. “Yes.”
“What are you doing here?”
Kage had not asked him to keep the arrangement a secret, but Seiki knew how to tell when someone was simply looking for trouble and he felt no obligation to give that Hatsuo any information.
“That is my business,” he said.
“Who sent you?”
Out of the blue, the inn maid Fuyu rushed to the tableside. “Oh, it’s you, Hatsuo-san!” she exclaimed. “Can I get you anything?”
“Go away, Fuyu,” said Hatsuo.
Fuyu rolled her eyes. “Hatsuo-san! No need to be so cold! Do you know this young master over here?” Fuyu’s voice darkened as she whispered, “Hatsuo-san. Seriously, no trouble in my shop!” Then she looked at Seiki and said brightly, “Young master, perhaps you would like some more tea?”
Before Seiki could reply, a pigeon fluttered in and landed unceremoniously on the table. Hatsuo grabbed it and untied a small rolled-up paper note from its leg. After finishing reading it, he looked Seiki up and down once more, then stood up.
Fuyu seemed relieved as she quickly threw herself on the man’s arm and said, “Hatsuo-san, there’s a free table over there. I’ll get you some tea!”
“I’m leaving,” said Hatsuo. He glared at Seiki, shook Fuyu off his arm, and strode out without another word.
Fuyu looked at Seiki, a pleasant expression still on her lips. “Our sincerest apologies for that, young master.”
“Uh, call me Seiki, please,” said Seiki. This whole ‘young master’ thing was starting to get on his nerves. He could see Hatsuo exit the inn and turn to the left, walking off in huge strides.
“I have no idea what he wants,” said Fuyu, shaking her head. Then, with a childish demeanor, she bent down, put her elbows on the table and propped her chin up with her hands. Her large round eyes stared at him with interest. “What do you want, Seiki-san?”
Seiki was puzzled. “I just need to find someone called Mimura.”
Fuyu pursed her lips as she thought about it, with her eyes glancing toward the ceiling and a finger tapping on her lips. “I’ve never heard of anyone called Mimura.”
“I thoug
ht you did, because you were…” Seiki trailed off as her expression of puzzlement did not change. It was starting to make him feel that he had misread her in the beginning. He changed his mind. “Are you here all the time? Do you know all the guests?”
Fuyu nodded.
“Do you know where I can… look for a person?”
“Maybe the Bureau of Records?” said Fuyu. “They have information on everything. But mostly, it is just about which clan is the most powerful at the moment.”
Seiki sighed and got up. “I’ll go check other places then, but I’ll be back in a bit. If you see someone called Mimura, could you please let him know that I’m looking for him?”
A very brief impenetrable look flashed on Fuyu’s face, and her countenance changed. “Ah, Seiki-san, leaving so soon?” She seemed more adult in an instant. Then, she added softly, “The view is very nice from the second floor. Wouldn’t you like to see it?”
“Uh, maybe some other time,” said Seiki, not sure what she meant.
Fuyu reached out her hand to snatch his yukata sleeve. “I’m sure you’d love to see it,” she insisted.
Fuyu invites you to a group.
Seiki looked at her in surprise, but was only met with the same polite smile. He accepted.
You are now in a group with Fuyu [Level 15].
“Follow me,” she said.
After telling him to take off his shoes at the shoe rack by the wall, she led him up the wooden stairs. As soon as his foot touched the first step, Seiki gave a start as something flashed in his mind.
You have entered the Ichikeya private territory. Custom combat rules apply. PVP status: enabled.
“What is it, Seiki-san?” asked Fuyu, innocently. “Is something bothering you?”
Seiki did not know what to think and simply shook his head. Whatever it was, he was in it now. They continued up the stairs.
The second floor had a long corridor in the middle, with sliding paper doors on both sides dividing the space into different rooms. At the end of the corridor, one door was left slightly open. Fuyu nodded at him to go in.
Seiki slid open the door and found that it was a spacious room with large windows. In the middle of the room, a cleanly-shaven man who seemed to be in his thirties was sitting on a dark red cushion on the tatami floor: Mimura of Ichikeya [Level 21]. He was dressed in a simple white kimono and a dark blue hakama. A long sword in its dark blue sheath lay on the floor beside him.
The man had clearly been expecting him.
“Come in, Seiki-san,” he said pleasantly, gesturing to another cushion opposite him. “Please have a seat.”
The man spoke in a calm, controlled manner, making him extremely polite but completely unreadable. Seiki could not help but feel a little out of place in such a formal atmosphere.
“I heard you were looking for me?” asked Mimura.
The meeting was nothing like what Seiki had initially imagined, and he was not sure why the formalities were necessary.
“Yes,” said Seiki, cautiously. Then he remembered Kage’s warning about staying in character, and thought it was best that he got it over with as fast as possible. He handed Mimura the wooden box. “Kage asked me to give this to you.”
As Mimura took the box and slowly studied it, the room fell into a moment of stiffening silence.
Seiki waited. Another uncomfortable half a minute passed.
“I should, uh, leave,” Seiki began, breaking the silence.
Mimura looked up with a very slight smile, and suddenly seemed to have decided that he wanted conversation after all. “Where are you from, Seiki-san?”
Seiki hesitated. “Kakura Village?” he ventured.
Whether that was a satisfactory answer or not, Mimura’s face betrayed a reaction. “Well, how did you come across this man Kage?”
“It was by chance. He just, uh, attracted my attention.” Seiki then explained the encounter in as few words as he could.
“And you just agreed? Even when he was a complete stranger?”
Seiki was not sure what the man actually meant by that. In the end, he just nodded.
“Did he promise you anything?”
“No.” Then Seiki remembered and added with a small chuckle. “Only to make my life miserable if I gave the box to someone else.”
Mimura laughed. “Very well.” He clapped twice and a door behind him slid open, revealing a man sitting on the floor, who seemed to have been there for a long time. Seiki was surprised to see it was Hatsuo [Level 22], the rugged man from earlier.
Hatsuo came in, sat down beside Mimura. He was holding a black tray, in the middle of which lay a single small pale orange cloth bag that looked rather heavy.
The contents of the bag clinked gently as he put down the tray. “This is as you have ordered, Mimura-sama,” Hatsuo said in a manner full of deference.
Mimura turned to Seiki, gesturing to the bag. “Please accept a gift from Ichikeya as a token of our appreciation for your service.”
“Thank you for your service to Ichikeya, Seiki-san,” Hatsuo chimed in, sounding very sincere. He bowed politely, causing Seiki to hastily bow in return, out of instincts from having taken years of aikido.
Ever since he had entered the inn, Seiki had felt that certain things did not make sense, and now he was starting to put together what had happened earlier, from when Hatsuo approached him at the table and that incident with Fuyu.
“It was all an act,” said Seiki slowly, as thoughts pieced together in his head. “That whole thing earlier was just a show.” Now he was certain it had been a test of some kind, though of what still remained unclear to him. Seiki gave Mimura a questioning look.
Mimura smiled, this time seemingly genuinely pleased. “Hatsuo here works for me. So does Fuyu. You must understand that, with the kind of business we run here at Ichikeya, we need to take necessary precautions.”
“The second floor of Ichikeya is a private terrority,” Mimura explained further. “Only people we trust are allowed here. When Fuyu realized you were telling the truth, she decided you could not have been a spy.” He paused for a moment, perhaps for dramatic effect. “Or an assassin.”
It took Seiki half a second to recognize the man was not joking. “Assassin?”
“But even if you were,” Mimura continued, his voice still polite and pleasant. “We were prepared. Hatsuo was right outside from the beginning.”
One more thing now became clear to Seiki. He realized Mimura had purposely spent a long time pretending to look at the box to give him a chance to attack, if that had been his intention.
“And, there is always another level of precaution,” Mimura said, gesturing to Seiki’s right hand side.
Seiki almost jumped off his cushion as he turned to look. A man clad in all black was less than a foot away from him: Junbe of Ichikeya [Level 20], a pale man with beady eyes, holding a bared dagger in his hand. He had appeared so silently that Seiki had taken no notice.
“Ninja’s Camouflage,” Seiki reminded himself as he drew in a long breath. Kage’s words made sense now: these people were dead serious.
Mimura seemed to be enjoying Seiki’s reaction. “Well, Seiki-san,” said the samurai. “I hope we meet again, hopefully as a customer next time. We deal in… rare goods.”
He then waved his hand at Hatsuo, who took the cloth pouch from the tray and presented it to Seiki with both hands, his head bowed. Now that it had come to this, Seiki thought it would be impolite not to accept. Then, as if orchestrated, the door slid open, with Fuyu behind it, ready to show him out.
Seiki could feel Mimura’s eyes on his back as the door closed behind him. The man was absolutely like nothing he had expected.
“Well, that went well,” said Fuyu, in a soft sing-song voice, perhaps to herself. Seiki could not tell whether she was pleased or disappointed.
As Seiki followed her down the corridor, curiosity got the better of him. “Do you get a lot of… assassins?” The
fact seemed rater far-fetched.
“Oh, yes,” said Fuyu, casually. “People are always making attempts at Mimura-sama’s life. So, I’d say about twice a week.”
“Oh,” was the only thing Seiki could say. Then after wondering for another moment, he muttered, “Why would they even want to do that?”
“Fame, maybe. Or to get their name on the public records. You know, now that Mimura-sama is a prominent figure, everyone wants to get his name on their kill list.” She shrugged.
“Kill list?”
Fuyu ignored the question and went on. “Or maybe they want to take over Ichikeya.” She stopped and turned to him. “You’re new to the city so you might not know this, Seiki-san. If someone manages to kill all of us, they can claim our territory. The second floor of Ichikeya is highly coveted. Do you know why?”
“No.”
“You will soon,” said Fuyu, with a wink. “See, Seiki-san? That’s how I realized you really didn’t know anything. You’re probably wondering why we have to be cautious when you’re still so... inexperienced. You see, once you’re in, you can always invite someone else in, so we had to make sure you weren’t sent by any of our enemies.”
They made their way back down the stairs and Seiki found himself in the lively crowd again, amid sounds of laughter and clinking plates and cups.
You have left the Ichikeya private territory. City combat rules apply. PVP status: enabled.
Seiki thought of something. “I have to pay you for the dessert earlier,” he said. He was sure Mimura had given him some money in the orange pouch.
Fuyu shook her head. “Food is on the house for anyone who has business with Mimura-sama. And I do hope you come back as a customer soon.” She gave a slight bow. “Remember, Seiki-san, everything has a price. That’s our business motto. If you want something, for the right price we can get it for you.”
Seiki was about to take his leave when an angry yell burst out from the crowd. “There you are!”
Taka of the Shadow Manor [Level 19], one of the ninjas that had been after Kage at Manji’s house, had been sitting at a table, and now that he had spotted them he showed himself.
