AA307 - Two Of Them Are (Patreon)

Shion’s face was still covered in silk bandages as she rained coins down on the table, but James could imagine her smug expression.

“Those are all low-denomination coins, fool,” Shugen said scornfully. “Useful for buying lunch, but this handful falls well short of what we need.”

“Hmph! Who says you’re getting any of it? This is my money.” Shion scraped the coins off the table and into a bag that she hadn’t owned this morning.

“I don’t think we were followed back here.”

Mitsue slid into a chair at the table. He looked tired.

“We came in the back entrance for discretion’s sake, but she insisted on joining you in the public area,” he continued. “Which is hardly ideal. Hopefully, there isn’t too much crossover between the information networks of the back-alley criminal gangs and the respectable merchants that are flocking here.”

“What… did you do, Shion?” Suki asked.

“I made bank, that’s what I did,” Shion said. She found her own chair and flopped down.

“Nothing too egregious,” Mitsue said. “Any rumours you hear about a Green Silk Devil are probably exaggerations.”

“Exaggerations of what?” James asked.

Mitsue sighed. “She seems to have a talent for finding the seediest areas in a given neighbourhood. This is not a wealthy or well-policed city; it has its fair share of poor and desperate citizens. Some of them are criminals.”

“Don’t be such a stick-in-the-mud,” Shion interjected. “Just ‘cause they don’t dress nice, or smell nice, or act nice, doesn’t mean they can’t be fun to hang around.”

“For some definition of fun,” Mitsue agreed. “The street thugs that accosted you in that narrow alley were certainly looking for fun.”

Amilie looked a little sick. “You mean they—wait, what am I saying? This is Shion.”

“Yes. Once she had finished savagely beating them—”

“Hey!” Shion interjected. “I just roughed them up a little; they were all fine afterwards!”

“Three of the five could walk,” Mitsue admitted. “And agreed to take her to a gambling den.”

“Wait,” Arjun said. “How did she do that if she didn’t speak the language?”

Shion kissed her knuckle. She didn’t really, since her face was covered by silk and her lips were missing, but she went through the motions.

“I speak the only language that type understands,” she said.

“They were… highly motivated to understand her pantomimes,” Mitsue said.

“And she didn’t have any money to gamble with,” Arjun added.

“She encouraged them to… sponsor her first few throws,” Mitsue said. “She won the money legitimately, and her victims were not left out of pocket. Still, I don’t think you could say that it was legitimately earned.”

“Even so, that doesn’t sound so bad?” Suki said. “I don’t think we should try and get any more money this way, but if Shion-san has had her fun and got some spending money out of it, I don’t think it’s a terrible result.”

“Actually…” Mitsue drew the word out. “There was another altercation before we left. Another group came in and attacked Shion.”

“Why?” Suki asked.

“I don’t know, but I suspect they had some connection to the first group. Members of the same gang, perhaps?”

“I take it they weren’t much of a threat,” Arjun said.

“You got that right,” Shion said. “I gave them the old one-four.”

“One-four?” Katarzyna asked.

“I think it refers to the remarkably sturdy chair she was beating them with.”

“Yeah! One chair, four legs. Shame it broke in the end.”

“Mhm-hm,” Mitsue said noncommittally. “Unfortunately, there were witnesses to this beating. I’m unsure of the structure of the local criminal underworld, but I suspect Shion might have made a gang leader cry for his mommy in front of them members of other gangs.”

“Wait, how do you know…” Arjun asked.

“That is what she told him to beg for,” Mitsue clarified. “His begging was sufficiently piteous to cause her to stop beating him.”

“Oh… that isn’t good,” Arjun noted.

“Whadda ya mean? It was awesome!” Shion said. “I really worked through some issues, you know?”

“What I mean is, we were going to comb the underworld bars to see if we could find anyone who’s against the dragons.”

“And?”

“And, now they’ll be all riled up and looking for anyone who knows this Green Silk Devil. Folks new in town who don’t speak the language are going to be very high on their list.”

“I don’t think it’s necessary to trawl the bars,” Suki said. “I already heard a little bit about the Dragon Resistance.”

“Is that what it’s called?” Arjun asked.

“That’s what they called it. They didn’t know much themselves. But one of them told the other that the Resistance can be contacted at the Sevenfold River Sect.”

“That name sounds familiar,” Kana said. She gestured for the innkeeper to approach. Once he passed through the sound ward, she spoke to him in Dragon Tongue. He bowed and looked at Shugen, who said something about bringing… something. The innkeeper bowed and left.

“What’s a sect?” James asked. “Is it like a cult?”

“A little, but it is more like a martial arts academy,” Shugen explained. “Sects train warriors to empower themselves with magic. It’s one of the ways a human can become more powerful.”

“And who do they do this for?” Mitsue asked.

“Themselves, mostly,” Shugen said. “You’ll find similar schools that train warriors for one government or another, but to count as a sect, you need to be independent, using the power of all those that trained there to acquire resources.”

Mitsue frowned. “Would that not make them a government?”

“Sometimes,” Shugen answered. “But for the most part, the resources they seek are different from what a mortal government values. So they coexist.”

“We can see for ourselves,” Kana said. The innkeeper had returned with an ornately decorated scroll. She indicated for it to be handed to Shugen.

Shugen took it with a grimace and unrolled it without ceremony. The innkeeper backed away, bowing low.

“This is… a request from the Sevenfold River Sect for the honour of hosting us… for as long as our schedule permits,” he said.

“Every organisation of importance seeks my favour,” Kana gloated. “The hard part is remembering their names.”

“That’s a lead, then,” Arjun said. “And I’m not sure how long this scam is going to keep paying for our room, so maybe we should go straight there.”

“I’m not sure how the Dragon Resistance is going to react to us showing up with a dragon, though,” Katarzyna mused. “Especially one that’s pretending to be a part of the power structure.”

“The impression I got was that the Resistance weren’t officially condoned at the Sect,” Suki said. “They were hiding there.”

“This kingdom does pay tribute to the Dragon Empire,” Mitsue put in. “The Resistance must be, at the very least, discouraged, and more likely illegal.”

“We could ask questions in the background while Kana-san hogs the spotlight—” Arjun stopped himself. “No, that’s just what some dragon cops looking to root them out would do.”

“We could… observe them,” Suki said thoughtfully. “See how they react to a dragon in their presence, and tease out some information.”

“See which one tries to kill her,” Shion said. “That one will be your boy.”

“We’re not going to leave her out as bait, Shion-san,” Suki said.

“I care not if they try to kill me,” Kana declared proudly. “It just confirms how important I am.”

Shugen snorted. “I’ll send a message then,” he said, “Letting the sect know we’ll be visiting them tomorrow.”

No one objected, so he went to find the innkeeper. Suki watched him go with a small smile, then waited for him to return before speaking again.

“There was something else I overheard,” she said. “About a week ago, there was a bounty hunter from Nagato looking for a necromancer.”

“You think he was after our guy?” Katarzyna asked. Suki wrinkled her nose in distaste.

“Please, Katarzyna-san, find a better way of saying that. But absent the implication that we have some connection to that horrible man, I do.”

“A week ago, huh?” Arjun mused. “I take it no one knows where he went.”

“No one here,” Suki agreed. “If you do end up trawling the dive bars in this city, maybe you can find someone who talked to him.”

“Count me in for the dive bars,” Shion stated. “That gambling place didn’t have much to drink.”

Mitsue spared her a disapproving glance. “You… liberated three bottles of what I can only describe as tainted paint thinner from the other gamblers and consumed them all. I could smell them from thirty feet away.”

“Yeah, like I said, not much,” Shion agreed.

“Aren’t you underage? And a robot, besides?” Arjun asked.

“I don’t get drunk, if that’s what you’re asking, so my age doesn’t really matter,” Shion said. “I just like the taste.”

“Judging by the smell, perhaps kerosene would suit you better,” Mitsue retorted.

“That’s… alright,” Shion allowed. “Matsuri would get me some from time to time. But back alley grog is better.”

Mitsue shook his head. “Moving on, was there anything else you overheard?”

Suki shook her head. “Nothing that seem relevant to us,” she clarified. “A few things that might matter if Kana intended on agreeing to any of these proposals, but—”

“But I do not,” Kana agreed. “If we are finished for now, I need to return to the adulation of my petitioners.”

She went back to her audience table, signalling for the next fan to be brought in.

“It’s like a handshake event, except the fans don’t know it,” Suki said softly. “I should start playing again as well.”

She looked at James. “Do you want to listen?”

“Are you— have you—” James stopped himself. He didn’t know what to say. Suki just smiled. He had no choice but to give in. “Yes, I’d love to.”

It only took a few bars for the music to carry him away, back to the hotel in Okinawa.

“Thank you for not telling anyone,” Suki said, dressed in a bikini and sarong that made it difficult for James to think.

“You know I wouldn’t. But Shugen…”

“He doesn’t remember. Three months of language and sorcery lessons. He got a bit bored at times, but the food and the scenery were good.”

James had to look away, to preserve his composure. He looked out at the sunset over the beach instead. “Is that… fair?”

“I don’t know,” Suki admitted. She came up beside him and leaned against his arm. “I don’t have anything to compare it to, except… it’s normal for people to not remember their dreams.”

James found himself putting his arm around her. Her skin was so warm and soft under his hand, and there were so many other places he could touch…

“We could do the same thing,” Suki said. “I could spend three months tutoring you in Tenran.”

“I don’t think,” James said, keeping careful control of his voice, “That I could spend three months in paradise with you and concentrate on languages.”

Suki giggled. “Six months, then,” she offered.

“That’s not—I mean, if I stayed here that long, I wouldn’t be able to hold myself back from something I’d regret.”

“Would you?” Suki asked, looking up at him.

“I don’t know,” James replied. Part of him desperately wanted to find out. “Do you… want to…?”

“I want to make you happy,” Suki told him. “I want to give myself to you, honestly and completely, when you’re ready to accept me. I’m afraid I don’t have any curiosity left about the act, and I don’t feel any of the urges that other people talk about, but I want to be yours, now and forever.”

“And…” James didn’t want to ask the question, but it had been burning in him for a while. “Is that your choice?”

“It is!” Suki said, smiling radiantly. “Choosing you was the first free choice I made after deciding to seek freedom. I made decisions before then, it’s true, but they were all based on reasons. Then you asked me out, and I said yes, not for any advantage, but because I wanted to.”

She moved around to embrace him properly, resting her face on his chest. Other parts of her… James forced himself not to think about it. His traitorous hands ran down the smooth skin of her back…

“I want to,” he blurted. “But I don’t think I’m ready for it.”

“That’s fine,” she said. “Really, Shugen might get suspicious if two of us turn out to have a miraculous gift for languages.”

“Yeah, uh,” James swallowed and said what might be the hardest thing he’d ever said. “I should go now.”

“One kiss?” Suki asked.

“Anytime,” James said eagerly. A moment later, his lips were pressing against her warm mouth, his tongue brushing against hers…

Then he was back in the tavern. The transition was so smooth he didn’t even jerk in surprise.

Just a dream, he thought. He looked at Suki, and she winked back. Reluctantly, he turned to leave.

“Going so soon?” Shugen asked. “The soldiers and the delinquent are going out to find some bars.”

“I need to rest in our room,” James said. “For reasons.”

“Good idea. I’ll come with you,” Shugen said, much to James dismay.

“I could use some quiet time as well,” Mitsue agreed. They all headed upstairs.

“Do you think Harue will come back soon?” James asked as they entered his room.

“The kitchen closes in an hour; she won’t want to miss that,” Mitsue suggested.

“Jokes on you, I’m already back!” Harue said, sticking her head through the wall.

“Did you deliberately wait until we mentioned you, so that you could play that prank?” Mitsue snapped.

Harue stuck out her tongue and walked the rest of the way into the room. “Yes and no,” she said. “Yes, because that was hilarious, and no, because I needed to talk to you guys privately. I brought back something that shouldn’t be seen in public.”

She pointed at James’s bed. “I left it under your pillow.”

“What is it?” James said, staring suspiciously at his pillow. It was sitting significantly higher than it should be. “Did you steal it?”

“I discovered a religion!” Harue said, ignoring his question.

“The Temple of the Dragon God-King is hardly a discovery,” Shugen said. “If those pious cowards had any use at all, they would be working against us, not proving helpful.”

“Ah, but that’s the thing: they worship a different dragon. Or dragon god? Not sure.”

“What makes you think that?” Shugen asked. “Given that you can’t speak with them.”

“They had a big mural! Or a fresco! Or a mosaic, maybe?” Harue looked thoughtful. “It showed a great big dragon, black, red and golden, coming through a portal.”

“That would be Orochi,” Shugen said dismissively.

“And it showed another dragon, kicking his ass!” Harue asserted, jumping into the air with excitement. “They were silver, blue and white.”

“That sounds like Hebe-Ichigo,” Shugen said. “Though beating the Eternal Emperor wasn’t something she could do in my time.”

Harue shrugged. “It’s a painting, not a verified video. The point is that the temple is still standing, with all the little worshipers and priests running around, instead of being on fire.”

“Showing us that even in a subordinate kingdom, opposition to Orochi is… tolerated,” Shugen agreed.

“Yeah, so anyway, that’s their Holy Book, I’m pretty sure,” Harue said.

James lifted the pillow. For a second, he thought he must look like Vincent Vega peering into the briefcase, a golden light shining up at him.

There was a lot of golden. He was looking at a large, thick book. Its heavy cover was encrusted in gold and gems.

“You stole this, didn’t you?” he said, feeling the dismay wash over him.

“I dunno if you could say that,” Harue denied. “It was sitting right out in the open where anyone could grab it! It might have been available for loan, you don’t know.”

“So you just checked it out on your school library card?” James asked sarcastically.

“Couldn’t read the signs,” Harue said, shrugging. “Or talk to the librarians, for that matter.”

James turned to Shugen. “What do we do?”

“We don’t let anyone see it; that’s certain,” Shugen snapped. “But… it might well have valuable information in it.”

“I’m a helper!” Harue said brightly. Everyone glared at her.

“Can we get her to put it back?” Mitsue asked. Harue pouted.

“It might already be too late. If this temple does have a significant following, then the faithful will be outraged by the desecration.”

“No problem!” Harue declared. “If you’re not going to read it, I’ll just have it show up in some other religion’s temple.”

Shugen slapped his hand down on the book. “That would cause a riot, at the very least. In the worst case, it could start a civil war.”

“Sounds like fun!” Harue said, her smile widening.

“No,” James said as firmly as he could. “We’re in this town; we don’t want a riot. Shugen—”

“I’ll read it and see what it says,” Shugen said. “Then… we’ll find some way of disposing of it.”

“It seems a shame to destroy it,” Mitsue said. “But it’s too dangerous to keep. Perhaps the others will have found a disreputable pawn shop.”

“Not for this,” Shugen said. “It’s too distinctive and too valuable. They’d refuse the sale and turn us in for the reward.”

Mitsue nodded in agreement. “Then… I don’t have Harue’s abilities, but I can find some place to hide it until we’ve left the city.”

Shugen grunted. “That could work, depending on how long it takes for the faithful to work themselves up. It’s a tricky balance, though. If they find it quickly, they might connect it with us, and if it takes too long, we’ll have deaths on our conscience.”

Shugen picked up the book and started leafing through it. “Hopefully, the others won’t be staying out too late tonight. I’ve a feeling that we’ll want to leave as early as possible.”