Within A Grey Twilight

A reply letter as he knew it came from Mamoru, as Kaede was less able to commit time to write a letter and sending it back. Not that he cared given her rather atrocious writing, which often took him time to decipher just what she really meant. Which he guessed may have been a code intentionally to confuse people, although he had his doubts.

The place was a little small, filled with fabrics. There was a counter at the middle of the shop, with a woman in a purple kimono sitting there. Mostly holding a needle while she worked on another piece of clothing. She looked up the moment they entered, having a bell at the top to suggest visitors. She was a little short, with only her lips painted red. Her hair was loose, bound into a low ponytail.

She gave them a glance. Before focusing on Shinrou. Expected given that she was his contact after all, even if she gave nothing away. "Come inside, I need to take measurements."

It will be rough measurements, mostly to get it to fit. But they were willing to follow her all the same. Inside, there was everything a seamstress should have. Needles, papers, and plenty of fabric. "What is it that you want to know?"

"The Saitou clan, Saitou Sachiko in particular." Murasaki gave a glance to Shinrou. Who returned it with a small shrug. He reached into his sleeves, ready to write a check to her if it was necessary. His wealth was more than capable of covering this, to say the least.

"All right, but for a price." He wrote a sum to her. She looked at it and widening her eyes. Before she nodded. Not giving them a chance to even know anymore. "She is a visitor here, I make her clothes."

Shinrou pa.s.sed him the same photo that he gave to him. "Did she look anything like this?"

"Quite, though a little different." Even as she narrowed her eyes slightly onto the figure at the very least. It was expected, even as sisters they should have differing traits at the very least. But as long as the resemblance was still there. Thankfully, the picture was in black and white. Few will have guessed that the woman in here had red hair, even as the picture suggested that it was not black.

But he knew that it was her. He pa.s.sed it back to Shinrou, something Murasaki did not find strange at the very least. There was something more to her; Kazuho could guess the way that she did not seem fazed by this. Neither had she been particularly worried. But he knew better than to press, he was desperate and this was not a place where he could afford to make any more enemies.

And Shinrou to some extent trusted her. And he had few reasons to not trust him. Or at least believe that he will find anyone who was untrustworthy.

"From what I know, the current Saitou clan only became this after the death of the previous shogun." Just as he remembered, with the Satou clan falling from grace a year later when he killed them followed by the Sasaki not long after. It was too much of a coincidence if he were to put his mind to it. Having the Saitou clan step up after them was something that could not be ignored.

And having Rin be a part of it as well. It didn"t sound right to him.

"Is there anything wrong?"

"No, the Saitou clan was never concerned with such matters earlier on. What made the change so sudden, so quick."

"I don"t really know, but how do you even make such a guess?" She was right, he was a few years younger than Shinrou. And as such, it was perfectly reasonable for her to have come to this conclusion. But he only had his own reasonings and little evidence.

Remembering his own time as Kouya, and how he stayed in f.u.kusei. He lived in an abandoned rich estate, secluded from the world in its entirety. And kept away from it, more like a hostage too. And then saddled with the credit of killing the Satou clan lord. He knew that it was not entirely his work, it was too much to put to a twelve-year-old boy.

He didn"t need anything else to truly confirm or guess. But he had nothing solid. And he had too many people on his back. Perhaps what he needed to do was learn where Daishin was, and it meant having to at least work together with the Sasaki clan. Only they had such resources; otherwise, he will have heard about it from Kaede and Mamoru. Both of them knew Daishin and worked for him and left after he ran.

"Nothing, but thanks for your time."

"Saitou Sachiko didn"t like servants." Of course, she will not have. Having spent most of her childhood with only her mother and sister traveling the world, accompanying her to where she worked. She was never used to having servants or having to think of a permanent arrangement. Having very little need for it.

He stood up, with a clear idea what he needed to do next. Shinrou gave a nod of understanding, while Masami merely glanced back with a smile. Yuki having very little idea what was going on mostly stuck to looking at the colors on display. "Aren"t you going to buy from me, with this sum I can make a hundred kimonos. I"ll even ensure that it"s good silk."

He figured that it could not go wrong. And he had time, or he could simply wait for Sasaki to approach him.

When Sachiko came back, she had changed entirely. They were heading back, to Okiban for some reason. But she guessed it, it meant that her father was alive. A man who had never visited his daughter and she had never caught a good glimpse of in the first place.

And when she saw Isamu on the outside, she was curious to know where he was planning on bringing her. He kept his silence refusing to answer it at all. He was scowling, perhaps not being happy at being a.s.signed this job. But he could do nothing at all, hence they were both here. They did not even chat, even as she knew her pistol was always within a hand"s reach.

Pa.s.sing by the street where Mamoru worked at, she gave him a small hint that she might be in huge trouble. And to have someone follow her. She guessed that it will have been Mutsu, and she doubted they had looked deeply into her. There was very little on who she was as a child, that was definite. And only one had known her true past.

As such, she did have little to worry about at the end of the day. But given that Isamu was the one bringing her, having suspicions was common. When he stopped, to gain a look at the destination. It was the harbor. The last time only Sachiko entered and this time it was only her. She still went to check her pistol within her grasp.

And letting her deep inside. She closed the door. Finding herself facing a man, whom she knew as Sachiko"s father. She narrowed her own eyes, as the man invited her for tea. Showing her the same level of respect that she would have an equal. Despite that, she was never anything more than a servant, a p.a.w.n to someone. Even if she always knew that she chose to be here.

The Saitou clan was one which did a drastic change. And the sheer influence of the clan was the reason why it managed to garner this much support in the first place. He poured a cup of tea for her, inviting her to drink.

"Get those pistols out." She obliged, not in any mood to disagree. She removed them and put them on the table. Besides, she had warned someone. And as she thought, this was the man they were looking for. Even as she knew that she stepped into a dangerous situation.

"Why are you here?"

"I"m a humble village girl." Even as the man didn"t even change her expression. Instead, he gave a large smirk. And his eyes focused on her. She steeled her own expression to not betraying anything, she was sued to lying and having to show her expression to back it up. Certain things about her past were not fully wrong, she did come from a village in her early days. She did come from a small village after all.

Even as he knew better than to buy it. "Then, how do you even know how to use this?"

Using this was something only a small portion of the city folk knew. As such weapons lost its use out in the countryside, with most people thinking that such things are almost impossible. To be able to injure someone badly with just a small object, with it rarely being fast enough even for them to find out where.

"I learned it while I was in the city." Not a complete lie.

"Drop the act, Kaede. You worked for me, and I taught you how to lie as well as shoot." And because he thought that she had the ability to. The willingness to protect herself regardless of the cost, and having to hide her own ident.i.ty no matter where she was.

There were no words between them. Kaede knew what he planned the moment he saw this. This was a man who had planned to overthrow the shogunate for well over a decade. And his plans were finally getting somewhere. Even as she wondered why he didn"t just encourage the insurgency and let them work it out for themselves.

Or even how this was possible, that he took over the control of an entire clan with little problems.

"Since I don"t really need to explain what I intend to do, I might as well do something. Do you know anything about Kouya?"

She shook her head. Having only a brief meeting and only an exchange in the letter, she could keep it to a minimum. She could afford to forget it. He hadn"t said much about where he was, just that she be very very wary about the Saitou clan. She was inclined to believe him on it too.

"Protect Sachiko for me, I trust you in that regard. You care about her, you like her. And if you don"t, I"ll tell her all about you." This was a direct threat. Sachiko was with her father, she trusted him. Much more than her and Sachiko had been prying lately. She will take his word over hers, she knew it because of her actions. She kept her distance and such matters away from her. "Don"t even think of letting anyone know, because I"ll make sure that your little group will end."

Her hands were tied. She only prayed that they listened in, and she knew that she will have to look into a code in the future. Or have to shake off her own watchers. She was rendered useless. This was a hopeless situation.

"Leave." She got up, trying to figure out just how she could go around this. She needed more help and elaborate ploys. Anyone around her will be viewed with suspicion. Isamu merely took her out.

"Can we stop by a bar before that?" He raised his eyebrow at her suggestion. Wondering why she will be inquiring about something like this. "I need to get a drink."

He nodded. Before she looked from above and found Mutsu staring, a little pale. They didn"t need another word before he jumped and hid among the cargo. The harbor was a good place to hide for anyone, and he guessed that Mutsu will be easy to hide.

Mutsu jumped down and he turned her head. "I"ll treat you to a drink." She hoped that this will cover it on some level.

"Really? I"m rather irritated from a coworker of mine, and I do need a drink sometime." Hopefully, he might just a.s.sume it was the unloading of a ship or an object fell.

Before both of them walked away from the harbor in search of the best place to buy something a good sake.