Chapter Text
“Thank you for your patronage”, those all too familiar words once again left the shopkeeper’s mouth. The Kirisame 2nd-hand shop is a very respectable shop in the human village. It’s the closest thing the village has to a general store, it’s one of the few places where one can exchange old belongings for money, and it’s the only shop in the village that does all sorts of repairs. As such, the owner of the store, Mr. Kirisame often repeats the parting phrase dozens upon dozens of times in a single day.
Mr. Kirisame had gotten into a very predictable routine. On weekdays he would wake up, tend to his store, and go back to sleep. On weekends, he would go shopping for groceries and materials for his wares, and then take care of his inventory. The last time this routine was interrupted was when his old apprentice, Rinnosuke decided to pay a visit for the first time in 10 years. After a short exchange of pleasantries, they ended up chatting for hours on various topics, before Rinnosuke finally remembered what he actually came there to ask about and left for the Hieda residence when Kirisame couldn’t provide him with the answer.
Kirisame would loath to admit it, but he had begun to tire of his routine, and he longed
For variety in his daily life. That one visit from his apprentice had given him a glimpse of what his life could be like instead of the stagnant cycle that it had become, and he sometimes wished that some sort of change would happen in his life. Alas, Kirisame is a creature of habit, even if he wishes for change, he could not bring about that change himself. And so, he has resigned to this repetitive lifestyle.
*ding*, the jingle of the chimes alerted Kirisame, telling him that a customer had entered his shop. Kirisame straightened his back, announced the usual “irasshaimase” to welcome customers, and got ready to serve the latest patron to his shop. As the patron made their way to the counter Kirisame couldn’t help but notice that they seemed very familiar. The clothes they were wearing, the colour of their hair, the almost trademark scowl on their face. Why, this patron looked like Rinnosuke if he were a woman. The patron finally made her way to the counter and gave a short greeting. “It’s been a while, master. Sorry to come to you like this, but I need your help”.
Kirisame paused. Confusion started to fill his mind. He had only ever had but one apprentice throughout his life, and the person in front of him was clearly not that apprentice. However, with the patron now being in front of him, Kirisame could now pay closer attention to the patron's features. Slowly, a realization dawned on Kirisame. This person didn't simply looked like Rinnosuke if he were a woman. This was, in fact, Rinnosuke as a woman. Kirisame did not know what to make of the situation that has presented itself in front of him, his jaw dropped and his face contorted to an expression of absolute perplexion. He was baffled, stupefied, completely and utterly bewildered, what could have possibly happened to have caused thi—
“It’s an incident”. “Ah”, that certainly answered most of Kirisame’s questions.