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Arataki Itto frowned at the Hanamizaka bulletin board. Yet another duel request had gone ignored by the tengu who stole his vision.
Oh well, he’d leave more around town. Kujou Sara had to acknowledge them eventually. Itto was someone who was impossible to ignore.
Whether it was his bright red horns or his ability to pester someone without ceasing, he would never go unnoticed.
He smirked to himself. Maybe he would get the Naganohara girl to make some fireworks spell out his name over Inazuma City. That would get Kujou Chicken to fight him.
But that would likely take a lot of money. A lot of money he didn’t have. Resigning himself with a sigh, he begrudgingly examined the bulletin board for any odd jobs.
An elegant note caught his eye. The crisp white paper stood out from the other dingy notices, but what truly caught the oni’s attention was what was written on it.
“75% OFF ALL DRINKS AT KOMORE TEAHOUSE! TODAY ONLY!!!”
75% off?
On all drinks?
75% off on all drinks?!
That sounded like a drink at his second favorite price: cheap. (His first favorite price was free, but yeah that wasn’t happening in these Sakoku times).
He did have enough money for one cheap drink, so… might as well, right? Shinobu would probably be mad later, but that was a future Itto problem.
Happy with his decision, the oni turned and set off in the direction of the teahouse.
Behind him, Ayaka left the Senho fog she had hidden herself with and carefully removed the notice from the board. Their bait had been successful, but Taroumaru would definitely be upset if too many people came in for cheap drinks.
He may be a Shiba Inu, but he was a Shiba Inu with an eye for profits and also a knife, so Ayaka wasn’t going to take her chances.
Itto strolled happily into the teahouse, welcomed in by Kozue, whose signal of four discreet knocks on the boards of the teahouse went unnoticed by the oni, but heard by everyone inside who was in the know.
Taroumaru sat respectfully on the counter and Ayato stood beside him, idly polishing a cup. The noble really did not know how to clean a cup, but like many things in life, it went unnoticed by the oblivious oni.
Said oni’s eyes lit up when he saw Ayato, and Ayato almost felt bad for what was about to happen.
“Aya-bro!! It’s good to see you, my guy! Didn’t know you worked here. Anyways, I’m here for that sweet 75% off deal you got going on. Can I get a seat?”
Ayato smiled his fake polite smile. “Of course, Itto. We actually have a free room at the moment, if you like. It’s no extra charge and perhaps we could engage in the game of cards while you drink?”
“Sounds great, buddy! Lead the way.”
The pair moved to one of the teahouse’s private rooms, specifically the one that neighbored Thoma’s. Ayato craned his head subtly to hear Ayaka bustling around Thoma’s room, and Thoma’s faint, but constant today, mumbling.
Taroumaru brought Itto’s milk tea and placed it on the table, next to the card game Ayato and Itto had begun.
Ayato examined his cards as they lay on the table. Yes, he had Itto backed into a corner in this game, and in the teahouse as well. He needed to play his ace in order to win. With his winning card in his left hand, he knocked on the floor four times with his right.
He looked up at Itto, who was blissfully unaware of how soon his situation, both in the game and in real life, was about to change.
“Itto, would you mind if I eat my lunch here? I’m technically on my break and want to make the most of my time.”
“No prob, Aya-bro. Feel free to eat. Just make sure you get ready to eat defeat once I beat you in this game!”
“Sure, sure.”
As soon as he finished his sentence, Ayaka slid open the shoji door, holding two sealed pots along with a set of chopsticks. She placed them on Ayato’s side of the table and stepped back into the hallway. However, her brother knew she had her ear pressed to the wall, straining to hear whatever was going on.
Ayato removed the caps on the pots and watched as the steam curled into the air from the one filled with warm soup.
“Oh, my dude, what are you having right now? Looks fancy.”
The noble shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s nothing much, just some natto and miso soup. It’s a simple meal.”
“C-come again?”
“Natto and miso soup. Both were made with some very fine soybeans.” Cold azure eyes locked onto Itto’s wide red ones.
“I heard oni are allergic to beans, but that just sounds like an old wives’ tale to me. What are your thoughts?” Ayato laid down his ace, winning the card game, but that went unnoticed by the oni in favor of what was happening now. His nose was beginning to feel just a bit itchy.
“Well, yeah it’s true and I’m fairly allergic so I’ll just be heading outside right now. I’ll make sure to pay that dog guy on my way out.”
“Wait for just a second, bro.” That word felt foreign in Ayato’s mouth. He picked up a soybean from the natto with his chopsticks and examined it. “I have a few questions to ask you before you leave.”
They both glanced over at the door. It suddenly slammed open and Ayaka stood in the doorway, holding a box of fresh soybeans, with a handful ready to fire in case the oni tried to escape.
Arataki Itto sighed deeply as he resigned himself to his situation. “If this is about my debt at the moment, Kuki Shinobu is balancing the gang’s checkbook and figuring something out. If this is about my bulletin board posts, I can head over and take them down. If this is about-…”
“That’s enough at the moment! As my brother said, we just have some questions,” Ayaka said defiantly as if sweat wasn’t beading on her forehead. She steadied her stance into her fighting position, beans at the ready.
“Th-that’s okay! I’ll stick around! Just… please don’t toss the beans!” Itto had his hands raised in the air as if he could placate the girl into not hurling beans at him. Little did he know, Ayaka wasn’t going to let him leave until he answered their burning questions.
“Ayaka will not toss the beans if you choose to cooperate. What do you say?”
“…Alright. What do you wanna know?”
“How are you not affected by losing your vision? Others have been crippled by the loss but you’re here walking and talking… a lot. How are you resisting this?”
Itto’s clawed hand traced his collar where his vision was.
“I dunno. Might be because I’m an oni. I also haven’t had my vision for too long. Shinobu’s also been trying to figure it out but she’s stuck. Might just be luck, I guess.”
Both Kamisato siblings grimaced at his answer, and Itto, surprisingly, noticed and sighed.
“Look, I don’t know how it works. Who knows how these things work? Kujou Sara just took it and I didn’t really change like others who lost their visions.”
Ayato packed up his soup and natto, having barely picked at them. He wasn’t in the mood to eat anymore. He rested his chin on his hand as it was propped up on the table, finally showing the deep exhaustion he was feeling.
Itto’s heart twanged with empathy.
Ayaka piped up from the doorway. “Itto, my brother and I have been taking care of someone very dear to us who recently lost their vision. The reason we lured you here today is because this person dear to us is catatonic, and unless his vision is returned, we fear he may never come back to us. We were hoping you would have answers, but I guess you do not.” Her grip tightened on the box as her eyes filled with tears of frustration.
The oni’s face turned into one of unusual seriousness and he looked both siblings in the eye.
“You know, I’ve been hanging around Yashiori island recently. Right near the Watatsumi camp. Apparently, they’re getting ready to mobilize and head east in a few weeks. I dunno what they’re planning, but they have the doggy general and the fish priestess there at the camp. It’s gotta be something serious. My granny thinks they might be going to fight the Shogun and get the Vision Hunt decree repealed.”
The siblings shared a quick knowing glance and finally, Ayato spoke up with a slight smile on his face.
“It seems you’ve been of quite some help today. Consider your milk tea on the house. Ayaka will kindly put away her beans while I go check on our extended guest next door.”
As the siblings stirred into motion, Itto grumbled, “Man, if I knew it would be free, I would have gotten something nicer off the menu.”
Ayato tossed him a quick glance. “Don’t push it. I’ve already worked hard enough convincing our manager to give you such a great discount. I will be the one to pay for your drink, with interest.”
“No problem, man… I gotta say,” Itto’s tone turned from joking to gentle. “This dude you’re doing all of this for must be pretty special to you guys. I hope he knows that you two care about him a lot.”
The commissioner looked at the shoji wall that separated him and Thoma.
“Ah, Itto. I know he knows.”
Days later, the Shirasagi Himegimi made an impromptu trip to Tatarasuna to evaluate the status of the now silent Mikage Furnace. The Yashiro commission’s guards were especially diligent in their duties, protecting their mistress from nobushi and kairagi who were gunning for a hostage. They even kept the soldiers of the Tenryou commission and their nosy lead detective from surveilling her.
However, they failed their duty one night. It was the night of a new moon, and there was no moonlight to glimmer off of the Senho fog’s ice crystals as they crossed the sandbanks between Kannazuka and Yashiori island.
Ayaka materialized from her fog on the beach near Musoujin Gorge. The rain from the eternal thunderstorm froze as it touched her cold skin. She shivered. The Senho fog was useful for disguise, but it was awfully cold, even for a Cryo user.
She felt eyes on her and sensed a presence to her left, hidden in the bushes. Lightning flashed and illuminated the brush, and also the metallic tip of an arrow pointed directly at her neck.
“General Gorou, I appreciate your sense of caution, but you know I… dislike the Vision Hunt Decree just as much as you. I have sent correspondence to Lady Sangonomiya. She is expecting me. We have much to talk about.”