The New Kids On The Block

[ThatGuy]

Yutaka was covered in a cold sweat as he moved his head back and forth, tortured by the images that sleep had conjured for him. He woke up with a sudden jerk. Catching his breath, he tried to remember the nightmare he just had. But the harder he tried, the further it got. Ever since they got to Jianyu, he found himself having nightmares every time he closed his eyes. He found himself in a stranger’s house, a woman lying next to him. Very delicately, he tried to sneak out of the bed without waking her up. Thankfully, it seemed she was a heavy sleeper, as his violent waking hadn’t affected her in the slightest. Tiptoeing over to his clothes, he picked them up from the floor and threw them back on. Without making a sound, he left the room and shut the door behind him.

With a sigh of relief, he tried to find the exit. Leaving in the morning was his least favorite part of a one-night stand. Sometimes you were lucky and they were on the same page, but oftentimes they would try to get him to stay a little longer. Which was only made more awkward by the fact that he couldn’t remember their name. After finding the front door, he took a step out and locked it behind him.

The man had bought a new pair of clothes to travel around Jianyu. He wore a large coat to cover his tattoo and brand, along with a face mask and a bandana to hide his hair. It was a shame that he couldn’t wear his favorite hat, but it was a dead giveaway. After taking in his surroundings, he realized what street he was on and made his way to the inn that Misaki was staying at. Technically, they both had bought the room, but Yutaka knew the girl would need some space. It wasn’t that he tried to annoy her, it was just something that would inevitably happen. So to avoid having his throat slit in the night, he managed to kill two birds with one stone by hooking up at the bar.

Making his way through the building, Yutaka made his way to their room and knocked on the door. He didn’t know how Misaki would react to the door being opened suddenly, and he’d like to keep his bones intact. As he walked into the room, he found Misaki already up and ready.

"I’m starting to worry about the budget. I’d *really* rather not have to cut back on my drinking any more than I already have been."

[Amy]

Getting to Jianyu had been slightly easier and way less painful than Misaki expected it to be. Probably in part because Yutaka’s little figurines had sold for a little more than they anticipated so they had been able to stock up on plenty of supplies but also because the closer they got the less talkative Yutaka became and the less she had to ignore him or try to think of some response. It made sense, of course, considering how much trauma he suffered while he was there. Hell, Misaki hadn’t even been able to make it into her own hometown, the one time she went back to visit after leaving, without vomiting a kilometer away. All things considered, he seemed to be handling it decently well if not going through their supply of alcohol a little too fast.

They had secured an inn as soon as they arrived but it had quickly become apparent that they were going to have to come up with some alternative plans. Days after arriving Misaki hadn’t seen a single criminal higher than a money runner. They were all older teenagers with high hopes to make it up to captain one day and while they would probably know where to find Taichi all it would do is alert the whole gang that they were being looked into. And as big of an ego as Misaki had she was under no illusion that she could take on an entire chapter of the Yakuzo. To be honest with herself, which she rarely did, Misaki wasn’t even sure if she could best one of their captains. But she wasn’t going to give up without trying and finding out where her own weaknesses were. If she lost and had to come back, that’s exactly what she would do.

All she had to do was not die, and not dying was something she had excelled at her entire life.

Her plan was exactly what she was contemplating when the door opened, preceded by a knock. She rolled her eyes at Yutaka’s words, waving her hand aimlessly in the air.

“Just cause you don’t want to use it doesn’t mean this isn’t your room too. Don’t knock.” A sigh fell from her mouth as she let her chin drop in her hand. As much as she was so tired of hearing about his alcohol needs she did understand he needed it for his ability. Which meant that she needed it for his ability. “You making figures isn’t sustainable right now. You have to drink so much it cuts into the profits too much and if we flood the market the money will run out anyways.”

This was not a problem she often ran into, escorting around the empire made good money but she hadn’t risked taking a job coming into Jianyu seeing as how she was traveling with Yutaka. They only had a few days of money left and the only option left was to work the streets however they could. A bitter taste formed and disappeared in the back of Misaki’s throat as she accepted what may have to be done. It wouldn’t be the first time, and likely not the last, but it never got any easier to swallow. They would exhaust all other options first but Misaki was willing to do whatever she needed to raise her chances of success.

“Let’s hit the streets. A town like this, someone is sure to need help. We’ll stick to the residential areas where it’s least likely you’ll be recognized.” Misaki was already walking towards the door, clearly uninterested in any opposing thoughts Yutaka might be having. She bounded down the stairs and out onto the street, wincing at the sudden brightness. Adjusting quickly, Misaki led them both to the quieter part of the town where the population was older and the shops quieter. They weren’t immune from the touch of the Yakuza but it was much less profitable for them to come to this part of town.

“Are you good at anything that isn’t conning? I’d rather not have to resort to robbing these grannies.” She glanced sideways at Yutaka, grinning slightly.

[ThatGuy]

Yutaka bit his tongue when Misaki mentioned that his drinking was cutting into the profits. She was under the impression that he needed to drink a considerable amount of alcohol to use his ability. He decided not to correct her. It’s not like he told a lie, right? There was no way he was going to compromise his way of life by telling the truth. When Misaki mentioned going out on the streets, Yutaka followed without a word. They needed money, and he needed booze, so he wasn’t going to try and press his luck. When they arrived and Misaki asked him if he was good at anything other than conning, he stroked his chin and thought.

"Hmm... I... Can do Sumo? Card tricks? Also, how dare you insinuate that I’d steal from an old lady? I have a little more class than that!"

It wasn’t long after he spoke that he spotted an old lady dragging along two large bags of supplies. She was going to tear them! Not to mention that someone could easily rob her. It was time for Yutaka the Good Samaritan to make an appearance. Giving Misaki a quick wink, he turned and made his way over to the struggling woman.

"Woah, please, let me help you, ma’am. It breaks my heart seein’ ya do this all by yourself!"

"What? N-no, I couldn’t possibly…"

"I insist! Trust me, it’s nothing."

"Bless your heart, what a sweet young man! Where did you learn such good manners? Certainly not here."

Yutaka gave her a big smile, it wasn’t visible through the mask, but his eyes should have been enough to get it across. Swinging the bags over his shoulder, he started walking alongside the elderly woman.

"No right or wrong place to learn manners! You got me, though, I’m not from around here."

"What brings you to Jianyu?"

"A new start,"

"This isn’t the best place for that. Surely you could have made a better living in your hometown."

"No… We couldn’t stay."

"We? Are you on the run?"

The large man gestured towards Misaki, quickly thinking of a good lie. If he were a betting man, which he very much was, he’d say that this lady owned a shop of some sort. Either that or she did some serious buying in bulk. If he played his cards right, he might be able to get them a temporary job.

"My fiance... her parents didn’t approve of the marriage. Couldn’t stand the thought of their daughter marrying a big oaf with no money. So now we're here."

You could practically see the woman’s heart melt. She looked over at Misaki and back at Yutaka with a proud look on her face. He didn’t want to pat himself on the back quite yet, however, nothing was set in stone. But at the very least, he could tell he had her sympathy.

"Nothing more romantic than a forbidden love, eh? I’m so happy to see young people following their hearts! Too many people ignore the call and regret it in their later years… Might I say, Miss, you look beautiful? A beautiful couple indeed."

Yutaka made sure that the lady wasn’t looking at him as he gave Misaki a shrug and another wink. Surely she wouldn’t see herself as above something like this. They had both done far worse. Playing off of an old lady’s kindness was nowhere near as reprehensible as murder. Hopefully things would turn out as planned, but if not, there was nothing wrong with spinning a story to make an old lady’s day!

[Amy]

There was such a thing as too many surprises, Misakai sighed to herself, promising to give Yutaka that important lesson later. She hadn’t even had time to respond to his useless answers before he was running off to help some old lady drag around what looked like trash bags. It wasn’t that she had anything against nice old ladies but she had been hoping that for just once they could be on the same page before they started doing anything. He was completely unpredictable and it truly drove her mad. Unpredictability was not a good trait in her line of work. Whatever though, she thought as she rolled her eyes and pushed all of her annoyance aside. Might as well put on a smile and make it look good. Maybe Yutaka would finally be lucky after all.

She stepped close enough to hear the conversation so that she knew what story he was weaving but she tried to stay far enough away to not be invited into the conversation. Better to let one person weave a tale than try to have two do it at once. Especially two people who were still barely more than strangers to each other. She wondered what he was thinking, what his angle was? Taking odd jobs helping some of the older people out wasn’t the worst idea but it also wasn’t very lucrative. Every day would be different and you could never know when someone was gonna treat it like you did them a favor rather than a job. The truth was, it just wasn’t sustainable either.

Misaki made sure to smile sweetly and wave back when Yutaka waved over to her. Her smile faltered slightly when she heard him utter the word fiance but she recovered quickly. Hopefully the woman’s eyesight was too poor to see the fire that now burned in her own eyes. Always so unpredictable.

“Oh, dear,” she sighed, walking closer to Yutaka and the woman. “I’m afraid my sweet dear Yutaka here doesn’t know when to shut up.” She placed her hand on Yutaka’s arm in a slightly less than gentle hold. “We’re supposed to be keeping a pretty low profile just in case my family tries to track me down. Your compliments do wonders for my spirits, though.”

Now that she was closer to the woman, Misaki was getting suspicious that the woman may indeed be useful to them. Though her clothes were dirty and disheveled it seemed to be caused by nothing more than the hot day and the packed dirt roads. The clothing was clearly high quality and soled shoes covered her feet. Her nails were manicured though caked with dirt and she smelled lightly of wildflowers, some sort of perfume.

“What’s your name, Ma’am? We can walk together while my dear big oaf carries your bags for you.” Misaki patted Yutakas arm before offering her own to the old woman who gladly took it.

“The name’s Ume dear, I let everyone call me that so don’t fuss none about being respectful. I’m old enough to decide how much respect I want. And what about you dearie?”

Misaki smiled down at the woman easily, letting her eyes crinkle in the corners.

“My name is Misaki. Please tell me if I’m being too nosy but I am curious what you’re lugging around town during the hottest part of the day and with no one to help you?”

“Ah, not nosy at all dear. It’s fabric for my store. I run a small shop up here making and selling dresses. My usual delivery boy wasn’t going to be able to come until tomorrow but I have orders that need to be started today. So, here I am! Very thankful that you two lovies came along at the right time.”

“Oh, I’m also thankful! How terrible to be delayed like that though. Does it happen often?” Please say yes, Misaki begged the universe.

“More often than I’d like,” Ume grumbled, the wrinkles on her face growing deeper. “Last month I was late on two orders because of them. Say my business is low priority, can you believe that?”

“Not at all! It’s very inconsiderate of them. You know, my fiance would be happy to help you out with your deliveries for more than just today. We’re pretty desperate for work and I’m afraid neither of us have had much luck. All he’s really good at is moving heavy things and most shops around here don’t want to pay a saleswoman sadly. Think I can’t do the job.”

Misaki shrugged sadly, letting a few tears well up in the corners of her eyes. She never had a hard time playing a misfortune soul.

“I would love to help you two out,” Ume said with grave sincerity in her voice. “But the shops here don’t do as well as they used to now that those criminals are trying to take everything over. I don’t think I could afford to keep you both on. But why don’t you two stay for some tea and we can brainstorm together?”

“That sounds lovely!” Misaki exclaimed, perking right up. She hadn’t given up yet, there was still a chance they could turn the old lady around. That, or maybe she knew someone else who could help them.

“Keep up, Yutaka dear, we have a tea time,” she called behind her, smiling sweetly at Yutaka.

[ThatGuy]

It took everything in Yutaka to laugh as he saw the look in Misaki’s eyes. Was it because he fabricated a story where she was his fiance? Or was it because he dived headfirst into the ruse without consulting her? Probably both. He really had to give Misaki her credit, though, she was a damn good actor. Not only that, but she managed to maneuver the conversation like a professional. Not only did she establish that they were hiding, but she also managed to casually plant the seed that they were the employees the old lady needed. Now they had a name to work with: Ume. When Misaki mentioned that they had tea time, he let out a hearty laugh.

"Haven’t had tea since I went to propose. I almost burned the place down tryin’ to make it!"

He definitely could have done a better job with that one, but Ume seemed to like it all the same. She really was a sweet old lady, which just made Yutaka more confident that she’d figure something out for them. Ume turned to Yutaka and gave him a big smile.

"It’s the thought that counts, dearie. I’m sure she loved it after the scare was over."

Yutaka followed behind them as they made their way further down the road. Eventually, they stopped in front of a building that turned out to be her fabric shop. After being shown where to drop off the supplies, Yutaka started to take note of the place. It was actually pretty nice for the area it was in. Most would just be a shop front and a storage area, but this place had at least three rooms on the bottom floor. After dropping off the two large bags of fabric, Yutaka followed the old lady to the back room where she immediately got started brewing some tea. It was quite cozy there. Not only did she have a small kitchen, but there was also a dining area. Misaki and Yutaka took a seat at the table as Ume insisted.

"It’s not much, but I’ve put a lot of years into this place. I hope you both can get comfortable."

"It shows! This room is cozy, and that shop front was something to behold. I had no idea there were even that many colors!"

"You flatter me."

Yeah, that’s the idea. Yutaka thought to himself. Having a room in the back to relax was nothing out of the ordinary, but something about this place felt like home. Yutaka wondered if she might be living above the shop. It was quite common for someone who owned a business like this to stay close by. You never know when there might be a burglary. When the woman provided them all with tea, he pulled down his face mask and went to take a sip.

"Careful now, it’s still hot! Wouldn’t want a handsome man like you hurting themselves. Misaki must have her hands full with you, so full of enthusiasm and handsome to boot."

Ume laughed as Yutaka set his cup back down. It was always nice to be complimented on your looks, even if it was by an old hag. Where were his manners? A sweet old hag. The large man sat there, blowing on his tea in an attempt to cool it off. He wondered who would be the one to bring the topic of work back up.

[Amy]

Misaki was careful to look around the shop as though she was an intrigued customer and not as though she was planning to rob it. An instant realization hit when they walked inside and she saw that the sign was still set to Open. She was not busy enough to hire them both and pay them both. Not if she could just walk out in the middle of the day without putting up any sort of be right back sign. Which meant they now needed two plans. Get hired and stay hired. It sounded real easy but Misaki doubted it would be. Few things ever were.

“Oh yes,” she sighed as she wrapped her hands around the tea cup. “Women are always trying to steal his attention away from me but I don’t make it easy on them. Yutaka knows who’s in charge, right?”

Giving him a sweet smile, poison behind her eyes, she took a small sip of her tea. Letting her eyes slide away from him Misaki continued to look around the shop. It must have been a lot busier before for the size of it. If business hadn’t been so good no way would she have committed to a building of this size. Which meant, with some help, they could get some of that business back. But they couldn’t do that before they got hired because then they would risk missing their opportunity. A new opportunity could always be created but that was one more step than they needed right now.

“How lo-” Misaki’s question towards Ume was cut off by the jingle of a bell behind her shoulder.

“Hold that thought dear, a client is here to pick up her dress.”

Misaki turned in her seat slightly, tilting her head back so she could keep an eye on the exchange. The woman was beautiful and well dressed, likely not from the immediate area. She seemed pleased with her dress though, ooing and ahing over it appropriately. But it was the last thing she said to Ume, after she paid, that caught Misaki’s attention and caused her to turn back around and sip her tea in satisfaction. Plan achieved.

Shifting her eyes to Yutaka once again she smiled, much more sincerely this time around. She kept her voice low, hearing the jingle of the bells again.

“Looks like your luck might be turning around after all.”

“What a lovely young woman! I just love seeing that smile, it’s never once gotten old. Did you two enjoy your tea?”

“Yes, Ma’am, it’s wonderful and just what we needed after a weary day. I think we should probably get out of your hair though, you did say you had several orders you needed to start on.”

“Oh, dear, you’re right. Why don’t you two pop back in when you have time and until then I’ll ask around and see if anyone has any jobs they need done?” The look on her face was truly apologetic and it made it that much easier for Misaki to grab her hand and pat it gently.

“We will most definitely be back. If there’s time I would even love to try some things on. Let’s go, you big oaf! Maybe next time we come back we’ll be able to upgrade you to a pack mule!” With a bright and cheery laugh Misaki half dragged Yutaka out of the shop as he called his goodbyes to Ume.

Once they were away from the shop, definitely out of sight, Misaki released Yutaka and let her face fall back into its normal level of cheerfulness.

“Usually, I would chew you out for making such rash decisions without asking me,” she started, voice only slightly harsh. “But, in this case, I think you might have solved our housing and money problems.” Misaki whistled softly to herself as they went back to the inn so she could fill Yutaka in on the plan.

[ThatGuy]

The next day, Yutaka hid in an alley outside Ume’s shop. Misaki had come up with such a wonderful idea! If it wasn’t for the broken jaw he’d receive, he’d have kissed the girl. The plan was simple enough, they were going to disguise themselves as customers and enter the shop. One would get her help with an order, while the other would loudly complain about the wait time and lack of help. If they did this enough times, the old lady would have no choice but to consider hiring Misaki. After a ‘chance’ encounter, boom, they’d have a job and maybe even a place to stay.

Misaki was the first to enter, so the large man decided to give it a few minutes before he’d enter. It would be too suspicious if they came in together. After waiting a sufficient amount of time, Yutaka used transformation jutsu to take on the visage of a much shorter, middle-aged man. He walked into the store and started to look around, impatiently waiting for Ume to finish with her current ‘customer’. He gave a few loud sighs for dramatic effect before eventually speaking up.

"Oy! Lady! I’m kind of on a time crunch, are you gonna help, or what?"

"I am so sorry, sir! Please let me finish up with them first. I’m sorry for the wait."

Tapping his foot, he stared down the two as they continued with their order. Some people might feel bad about being this rude to such a sweet old lady, but Yutaka regularly swindled people out of their money. Not to mention his past as a Yakuza. This was nothing! After sucking his teeth and scoffing, he spoke once again.

"Un-fucking-believable. There’s got to be another place in town. I don’t have time for this shit."

Storming out of the store, Yutaka looped back around into the alley he was hiding in before. After dropping his transformation, he waited a bit longer. They’d probably be at this for a good chunk of the day, but with luck, it’d all be worth it. After a few more moments passed, the large man transformed again, this time into a young man. After Misaki left the store and returned to the alley, he spoke once more.

"I didn’t lay it on too thick there, did I? Ah, whatever, it’s your turn to be bad cop now.

With a wink, the man casually walked into the store, browsing a bit before eventually calling Ume over. The most difficult part was changing his voice, but thankfully, Yutaka already had some experience in that department. Plus, what were the chances that she would even recognize the voice of someone she barely knew?

"Ma’am? I’m looking to buy a dress for my mother. She’s had a rough year, so I want to get her something nice for her birthday. But I don’t know the first thing about fabrics! Do you have any recommendations? I’m in over my head here!"

"Oh certainly, dearie. Let’s see…

[Amy]

It was truly one of her better ideas and she refused to think about the fact that this would have been impossible without Yutaka. Mostly because if it had just been her she would have had many other options anyways and would never have had to resort to ruining an old lady’s day. But it was what it was and the woman was going to end up better off in the end so it helped her feel a little less worse. As Yutaka had kindly pointed out the night before - it was better than straight up robbing her. Having taken on the form of a random passer-by, Misaki stood in the shop chatting with the woman. She explained that she had seen a woman the day before in a stunning dress and had been directed to this shop to get one of her own. She made sure to keep up a steady stream of conversation and never give her a chance to excuse herself to go help Yutaka in disguise.

After he left the shop angrily, Misaki began to look uncomfortable as she spoke with Ume, becoming more and more hesitant.

“I’m sorry, Ma’am. You’ve been really very helpful but I’m not sure you could have this done in the timeline I need it in. I’m terribly sorry for wasting your time.” Shaking her head at Ume’s assurances she left out the door but didn’t drop her appearance until she saw Yutaka in the alley.

“It was fine. She’s already pretty confused and upset after I left without placing an order. Keep it up, we’ll be in for sure.”

Misaki waited in the alley for a few minutes after Yutaka walked off, choosing another random passer-by to change into. She did her best to walk a little differently and talk a little differently but she didn’t put too much thought into it this time. This time she didn’t try to speak to Ume while Yutaka had her attention, she just browsed for a few moments then peacefully left. Then, Misaki repeated that once more. She didn’t want Ume to get suspicious that every new customer was angry and unreasonable. But the third time, that was when she had to put on her act.

“Excuse me, I would like some help.” She called quite loudly when she walked into the shop.

“Yes, miss, of course. We are quite busy today so I do have to ask that you just wait until I’m done helping this man. Please look around all you would like and I promise I will be with you soon.”

Misaki sighed heavily but did as Ume said, browning the racks of pre-made dresses and fabric swatches. She didn’t wait long to start sighing loudly, tapping her foot against the floor. Finally, she threw her hands in the air and stormed towards the door.

“You know, my sister said her best friend was so happy with this shop but I have no idea why! Trust me, none of my friends will be hearing such lies from me!”

Misaki stormed back to the alley, breathing a sigh of relief when she was back in her own skin. She leaned against the wall, lifting her head towards the sky. It was all worth it, she told herself. This was only the first step of the plan after all.

[ThatGuy]

"Oooh so busy today… I don’t normally get so much business! I’m so sorry about that, young man. I can have this dress ready in about three weeks."

The old woman seemed overwhelmed already, if Yutaka wasn’t such a scumbag, he might have felt bad for her. But if she thought she was under a lot of pressure now, she was in for a long day. Giving Ume a disappointed look, he broke the bad news to her.

"Oh… I uh… I need it sooner than that, her birthday is in a week and a half. I’m really sorry, but I think I’m going to have to go to another store. But you’ve been a huge help! Please, take this at least."

Yutaka gave the woman a single coin and, after a quick bow, made his way outside of the store. She seemed devastated by the loss of so many potential customers. Good. It seemed their plan was working. After a few more incidents like this, she’ll be begging Misaki to work in her store.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

The large man let out a groan of exhaustion after collapsing into his bed. It had been a long day. Not only was he not used to using chakra this much, but coming up with fake reasons for needing fabric all day was draining. Sitting back up, he started to take off his shoes. There was no way he’d be going to the bar tonight. He might as well get a little use out of the room they bought.

"Hats off to ya, Misaki. That was a damn good idea. After another chance encounter with the happy couple, Ume will definitely be looking to hire you at the very least."

Yutaka started getting ready for bed, taking off his heavy jacket and bandana. He’d probably need to wash up tonight, if for nothing else than to spare Misaki’s nose. She was lucky, she didn’t have to walk around in such warm clothing in a crowded city. But it was obviously Yutaka’s only choice, if he was recognized, then taking down the Oni branch was going to be a hell of a lot more difficult.

"Hope ya don’t mind pretendin’ to be my fiance. Old ladies are suckers for a good love story. Plus, we bicker like a married couple already."

Letting out a laugh, the man thought about having a drink. Given their financial situation, he decided it was best to hold off until they got a job. Who said Yutaka couldn’t make responsible decisions? Reaching into his coat, the large man pulled out a deck of cards. They had a couple hours to kill before it was night.

"Wanna play a game of cards? Just a friendly game, unless ya got the itch to gamble. I won’t cheat."

Though it wasn’t likely the conman would be believed, he really did mean it. There was no point in cheating when there was nothing on the line. Plus, he enjoyed a ‘fair’ game when he wasn’t losing his life’s savings. Regardless of the girl’s answer, he would play a few games before washing up and heading to bed. They had a big day tomorrow.

[Amy]

Misaki groaned and kicked her shoes off into the corner, letting them lie where they landed. She would take care of them later, or tomorrow, whichever. It didn’t particularly matter since they hopefully wouldn’t be there for much longer. Their plan had worked perfectly as planned and both she, and Yutaka, were exhausted. Most of the people she dealt with were run of the mill civilians and she pretty much never needed to fall back on using jutsu or chakra to accomplish her goals. The day had shown her how out of practice she was and she was thinking she might have to handle that. Later, though. For now, only rest.

With a heavy sigh Misaki flung her body onto her bed and cradled the pillow to her chest. She gave Yutaka the grace of opening one eye while he spoke so that he could see she was in fact listening.

“We’ll see what she thinks when we go back in a couple days. I want to pop in and out a few more times tomorrow but slower than today. Make her think she’s already losing the business she almost gained.” Misaki yawned and pushed herself up on her elbow. “Don’t much care what the ruse is as long as it works and as long as you don’t start thinking art imitates life.” Waving her hand, she gestured for him to bring the side table over to where their beds were. “Deal ‘em up.”

– - – - –– - – - –– - – - –– - – - –– - – - –– - – - –– - – - –– - – - –– - – - –


“If you try to hold my hand one more time I’m going to snap it off of your arm,” Misaki said with a sickly sweet smile on her face, batting her eyes at Yutaka. It was several days after they had met Ume and they were on their way back to her shop in their own skins. Their plan had worked well, now it was all about closing the deal.

“Ume! It’s your favorite future married couple!” Misaki called out loudly as they entered the shop, giving Yutaka one more warning glance to not overdo it.

“Oh, dearies, am I glad to see you. Come, have some tea and let me complain to you.”

Smiling sweetly at the woman, Misaki allowed herself to be ushered into the back room. She opened her mouth to ask the woman what was wrong but Ume didn’t give her a chance.

“Do you remember the woman who was here the other day? I had no idea but apparently she’s very influential and the past few days tons of her friends have been coming in but I’m only used to one or two customers a week! How is an old woman like me supposed to keep up with three times that many in a day! These old hands can’t handle it. I don’t suppose you’re still looking for work??”

Misaki honestly felt a little bad as tears welled up in the corners of Ume’s eyes. The last few days must have been extremely hard on the woman who was trying so hard to keep her business afloat. A victim of a world she didn’t belong to. Ah, well, Misaki comforted herself. It would all turn out well in the end.

“Ume, I’m so sorry and so happy for you! I did sort of get an offer yesterday at a shop further in town but I’m sure they get people looking for jobs all of the time.”

“I can’t afford to pay you that much though, so I don’t know what to do. You young folks probably need a place to stay?”

Misaki frowned, trying to seem worried. “You’re right, we’re staying at an inn right now and won’t be able to afford to for much longer. The inn costs thirty ryo a day and that only includes dinner.”

Ume sighed, dropping her head into her hands. “Even if I got every bit of business that came in the past few days I couldn’t afford that. Probably twenty at most. I have a spare room but I can’t imagine a young couple like yourselves wanting to be housemates with an old biddy like me.”

Misaki grinned. “Well, it’s certainly not ideal…what do you think Yutaka? Could we make it work?”

[ThatGuy]

As much as he wanted to get some jokes in, Yutaka held it back. He could be a good boy for a bit while they fixed their financial issues. So he played the role of the lovable young man once again while they met with Ume. Yutaka put on a big smile as she offered them a room. Their hard work had paid off, and the old lady was positively overwhelmed.

"Beggars can’t be choosers. You’re a lifesaver, Ume. We’ll be on our best behavior. Don’t want to interrupt your peace."

"Nonsense! This place could use some of that youthful energy. But it’s not a free ride! I’m going to put you to work."

"Misaki is great at this kind of stuff, and I can take care of all the manual labor. It’s a damn shame that you’ve been doing it all on your own!"

"So delightful! Come, I’ll show you guys around."

After setting down their tea, the three made their way up the staircase. The second floor was more spacious than he had realized. Much more room than a lonely old woman needed. With a smile on her face, Ume opened the door to her spare bedroom. The fact that it was already set up triggered Yutaka’s curiosity. Did she have guests often? Was this not the first time she’d rented out that room? Or maybe she used to have family stay with her. After noticing that there was just one bed, the large man turned to Misaki and gave her a wink.

"You guys can stay here, make yourselves at home. I’m sorry I couldn’t get a bigger bed, you two won’t have much elbow room. But I hadn’t expected someone of Yutaka’s size to stay here. No offense, dearie. You needn’t worry about meals, I love cooking for guests. Now, I need to take care of a couple things in the shop. I'll give you both some time to settle in, but plan on working tomorrow. I’ll let you know when dinner is ready."

As the old lady left, Yutaka closed the door behind her, wasting no time in walking over to the bed and laying down. Thankfully, his legs didn’t hang over the side, that was more than he could say about his bed at the inn. Letting out a sigh of satisfaction, the large man gave Misaki a cheeky smile.

"I’m callin’ dibs."

[Amy]

Misaki didn’t bother trying to race Yutaka to the bed, not wanting to cause any sort of ruckus that would draw attention to them. She merely rolled her eyes and flopped into the single chair that sat by the window that allowed her to look out over the streets. “If you’re not going to be a gentleman by letting me sleep in peace then you better at least be gentleman enough to keep to your own side of the bed.” She leaned her head back until she was gazing at the ceiling, taking note of how clean it was. Ume was definitely on top of things even in her old age. “And if you can’t manage that we’ll see how well you do without any fingers at all. Be pretty hard to deal cards.”

There was no seriousness to Misaki’s voice as she threatened Yutaka. The man has given no indication that he would try to take what wasn’t his and more than that, they were pretty equal in strength. Plus, she was faster. So if he suddenly decided he had a death wish then she would not be in so much danger that she would have much trouble getting out of it. Misaki couldn’t relax even as she rested her body. They had to go back to the inn, square up for the day, and bring their stuff back to Ume’s house. Luckily or unluckily, neither of them had much stuff. Misaki only had a small bag with a couple changes of clothes, cleaning supplies for her weapons, and a few toiletry products. Yutaka seemed to have even less than she did.

More importantly, she needed to get started on the next part of the plan. They weren’t going to remain employed for very long if they didn’t get some actual customers into the store. Which meant Misaki needed to go get fitted downstairs with Ume and explain to her the plan to make up for the “terrible service” all of those people have experienced. As nice as it was to have some downtime after the craziness of the last few days it couldn’t last. But she also felt weird leaving the room to go find Ume when she clearly wanted them to rest. Misaki sighed heavily, finally closing her eyes and letting herself relax just a bit. If Ume didn’t come back within the hour she would take matters into her own hands.

Luckily, it was only about twenty minutes later that Ume was knocking on the door. “Come in!” Misaki shouted after making sure Yutaka was ready and settling herself on the edge of the bed so that Ume thought they had been resting together.

“I hope you two had a nice rest.”

“Yes, of course, it was just what we needed!”

“Great. I would like to go over a few details about you working here. I won’t be able to pay you full time every day, we’ll have to base it off of how many customers I get or something similar, you understand? Maybe a commission basis?”

“I understand, Ume! And actually, for the first few days I was thinking maybe I could help you in another way. You mentioned that you had a hard couple of days with all the extra business yeah?”

“Yes,” Ume sighed. “It was horrible, so many people got mad that I was helping someone else.”

“It’s okay, Ume, we’re here now. But since that did happen I was thinking maybe I could wear some of your dresses around the busier parts of town and advertise your shop for you. That seemed to work to get you business the past few days and maybe it could work again and this time you’ll have me to help you.”

Ume’s face brightened at the suggestions, her hands slapping together in joy. “That’s a wonderful idea, dear. I’ve always wanted to do something like that but I couldn’t imagine my body would bring anyone here for business!”

Misaki laughed, hugging the woman softly, allowing herself one small eye roll. “Don’t be silly, Ume, you’re beautiful. I don’t suppose you have anything for Yutaka to do while we go and get me fitted? I’m sure there’s something you must be behind on that his big muscles can help with.”

“Oh! Oh yes, I have just the thing,” Ume said with a smile, her eyes shooting to Yutaka’s.

As if Misaki was going to let him lounge around while she worked.

[ThatGuy]

Yutaka gave Misaki a look that told her that he would get his revenge. Holding back a sigh and putting on a fake smile, the man got up and followed Ume. She brought the large man outside to the alleyway behind her shop. It was an absolute mess. There were open crates everywhere.

"These are an eyesore. Be a dear and break some of these down for me, will you?"

"Leave it to me!"

He’d get Misaki back for this. But in the meantime, he got to work. It wasn't until the sun was already down that he finally finished his task. Yutaka’s arms were sore, and he was soaked in sweat. There were far more crates than he initially thought. It was rough, but he managed to break every single one of them down, piling the wood neatly behind the shop. Taking a deep breath, he made his way back inside, where he found Ume and Misaki getting ready for dinner.

"Sorry, I normally have dinner ready earlier than this, but we got so carried away! I had a couple dresses in her size already, and she makes them look so beautiful!"

"That’s my darlin’ Misaki for ya. I jus’ finished breakin’ down all of them crates. Got the wood in a pile in the back, I wasn’t sure if ya were gonna throw it out or not."

"Wait… You broke down all of them?"

"Of course. Gotta pull my weight around here!"

"I only meant for you to break a couple down, but this is a pleasant surprise! How lucky I am to have met you two!"

"Nah, we’re the lucky ones! Especially considering we’re getting home cooked meals."

Being the good actor he is, Yutaka laughed alongside the old woman. In reality, he was quite crestfallen. He had busted his ass for no reason! This was why the man preferred to con people, it was far less work, and the effort was rarely wasted. After joining the two at the table, he realized just how hungry he was. After dinner, Yutaka and Misaki wished Ume a good night and returned to their room. When they finished getting ready for bed, the large man spoke.

"I’m a gentleman, so I’m not gonna touch ya… Unless ya ask me to. But if you ever start to get lonely or bored, ya can always make your way to my side o’ the bed."

Yutaka didn’t actually get his hopes up, he just liked teasing the girl. She never gave much of a reaction, but he always got a laugh out of her sighs and rolled eyes. She seemed completely immune to his charm, which just made it all the more fun for him. Who doesn’t like a challenge?

------------------------------------------------------

Yutaka found himself covered in a cold sweat, his violent awakening having woken Misaki up. With a quick apology, the large man got up from the bed and tried to catch his breath. It was the damn nightmares again. Was it going to be like this every night? He needed some fresh air. After throwing on his clothes, he made his way down the stairs quietly and slipped out the back of the shop. After a few deep breaths, he took out his container of sake and drank the entirety of its contents in one go. As the warmth of the alcohol filled his body, he felt the echoes of memory retreat. It would keep them at bay for the time being. Laying on his back, he looked at the night sky as he slowly started feeling the full effects of the sake.

"Yutaka? What are you doing out here at this hour?"

The large man jumped up and tried to compose himself, not wanting to ruin his image as a respectable young man. Seeing him sneak out and down a bottle of sake might give her the wrong idea. Deciding there was no point in lying, he decided to use the truth in a way that could save face.

"Sorry ma’am, I didn’t mean to wake ya! I suppose ya should know now that we’re living together. I get real bad nightmares, alcohol is the only way I can get a good night’s sleep."

"I’m sorry to hear that, dearie. But you need to be careful with alcohol! It’ll only make things worse in the long run. Here, I have some calming tea. It should help."

"You’re right, Ume. I’d love some tea."

The sweet old lady didn’t ask any more questions, she simply made a few comments about the tea while she made it. Yutaka drank down the tea, it was hard to tell if it had an effect or not through his buzz, but he appreciated the gesture. Ume gripped his shoulder in a reassuring manner before making her way back to bed. When he finished the tea, Yutaka did the same, apologizing for waking Misaki again as he returned to bed. As soon as the man’s head hit the pillow, he drifted back to sleep.

[Amy]

Misaki couldn’t hold back an impish grin when Yutaka gave her a withered look. Maybe that would teach him to be more polite. Probably not, but it at least made her feel better to know that he was suffering. After Ume showed him to his work they went into the workshop where the old woman got started, wasting no time at all.

“You’ll need to take those off,” she said, waving her hand in Misaki’s general direction.

Misaki glanced down at her clothing before shrugging and stripping off her clothes layer by layer. “All of it?”

“You can keep your undergarments on, it’ll make the fit more exact.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Misaki replied dutifully, stopping her undressing when she was standing on the pedestal in just her bra and panties, having tossed all of her clothes into a corner of the room.

“Oh, well aren’t you just exquisite,” Ume said when she turned back around and laid her eyes on Misaki. “You’re certainly going to make my dresses look good.”

“Pft,” Misaki scoffed as Ume began to take her measurements, tapping and pulling on her arms and legs to adjust her. “Please, Ume, let’s be serious. Your clothes are going to make me look good.”

“Dearie, if I had your body I wouldn’t be living in this big ole’ place by my lonesome. Take the compliment.”

A more sincere smile grew on Misaki’s face as she placed her hand on Ume’s shoulder. “Used to live alone. And thank you.”

Several hours later and some lessons in the kitchen, Yutaka finally made his way back inside and would be met with another impish grin as he spoke to Ume. Misaki was sure he would try to get payback for this but she could handle it. Dinner itself was rather peaceful with some quiet conversation and creating a schedule for the next day. But when dinner was over and everything was cleaned up, Misaki was glad it was time to retire. She was exhausted.

She waved her hand at Yutaka dismissively when they got back to the room. “I’ve never been that bored or lonely in my life.”

It seemed like only minutes later that Misaki was perched on the balls of her feet, weapon in hand, looking around the room for a threat. It only took a second after that to realize that there was no threat, only Yutaka having a moment. When he apologized she simply grunted at him in response, laying back down and quickly falling back into rest. His demons were his to deal with.

—--- —------- —-------- —-------- —------- —--------

“I cannot get over how beautiful you look. I could put you in the window and you would bring business just like that.”

Misaki’s smile was tight as she stared at herself in the mirror, hardly recognizing the face that stared back. She had bathed that morning and Ume had done her hair in an elaborate braid. The dress was a deep royal purple, low cut and form fitting through the waist before flourishing out into a beautiful skirt. Misaki hated it. She hated how much she looked like her sister.

“Well, true as that may be I think we oughta stick with the original plan and head to the more populated areas. Gotta get the rich people back in,” she finished with a wink in Ume’s direction. “You’re coming with me for protection, let’s go.” Her eyes landed on Yutaka’s through the mirror, clearly no room for opposition in her eyes. They had things to talk about and couldn’t do it while Ume was home. He would just have to go into a henge once they were away from the shop whether he liked it or not.

“Alright, there’s not a super extensive plan here. I’m mostly going to draw a lot of attention to myself and tell people where I got the dress from. You just stand around and make sure no one tries to cause any trouble and if you heart anyone talking about me but don’t seem like they’re going to come talk to me, then you as my fiance should know where I got the dress from."

Misaki sneered at Yutaka with the last sentence. It was clear that she was trying to act like she was joking but even she knew that she was failing miserably. Not giving Yutaka time to respond, Misaki dashed forward, nearly disappearing into the crowd. She continuously struck up conversation after conversation with every other woman dressed like she was. It was so easy to get the conversation where she needed it because all she had to do was compliment the other woman’s dress and ask where she bought it. Almost every woman responded in kind, which gave Misaki the chance to show off and explain the detail in which Ume worked. The fitting, the measurements, the care, Misaki bragged about it all and emphasized how affordable it was.

It was basically torture but she could endure because she had to.

[ThatGuy]

Yutaka looked at Misaki and tried to hold back a laugh. She looked great, but was clearly hating it. Which made him feel a little bit better about the day before. When she mentioned bringing him along for protection, he gave her a mock salute. It was a much better job than breaking down crates. He put his face mask and bandana back on as they left, dreading the fact that he was going to be in the sun all day. When Misaki gave him the rundown, he laughed before making a cheeky comment.

"This certainly sounds like making money off of your pretty face. Thinkin’ of a career change?"

Deciding to not poke the bear any further, he walked away and watched her from a distance. For something she hated doing, Misaki was certainly good at it. Every girl in the city seemed to want to know where she got her dress from. Every guy in the city seemed to be stuck staring at her dress. Surely they were admiring the fabric. Some unsavory types were admiring the fabric a bit too much, however, so Yutaka retreated back into an alley and, when he knew he didn’t have any eyes on him, used his transformation jutsu. He took the face of a youth that he had seen in the previous town, it wasn’t likely to cause any trouble. As the group of men slowly stalked Misaki, Yutaka did the same to them, following them closely.

"It’s our lucky day. I don’t see anyone to protect her, once she’s away from the crowd, we’ll grab her. Mistress Akane has a room that we can be as loud as we want in. Plus, she’ll pay us good money for her when we’re done."

"She’s beautiful, ain’t she? The kind of beauty that could kill, or one might kill for."

"Who the fuck are you, kid?"

"Just an admirer. What about you, scumbags? Yakuza?"

"Oh? We've got a hero? You must have a death wish."

The four men turned to Yutaka and surrounded him, all putting on their best intimidating faces. The man simply laughed, they were at the bottom of the barrel when it came to Yakuza. The only thing he had to worry about was accidentally dropping his transformation.

"Oh no, you’re not going to hurt me, are you?"

Not putting up with the man’s lip, the four Yakuza pulled out their blades and gave him one last chance to change his attitude. Eager to antagonize them, Yutaka blew the head of the group a kiss, prompting them to move to cut the large man. He caught his attacker’s hand mid-swing and flipped them over his shoulder, knocking over another one. With a smile on his face, Yutaka punched one of the two standing Yakuza hard enough to knock them out cold. Turning around, the large man grabbed the final man standing and threw him into the two he had knocked down earlier. As they all tried to get up, he dropped his knee onto one of their backs, pinning the whole group down.

"You were even weaker than I expected. Would be a shame if Taichi knew just how weak his new recruits were."

"Wait… How do you kno-?"

"Don't ask questions that you don’t want the answer to. Tell you what, if you tell me what I want to know, I won’t tell Taichi about this whole situation. You know how he feels about weakness. So… Where do you guys buy your girls nowadays?"

"W-we pick them up off the street, but I don’t know where most of them come from. Akane is the one who handles most of that. I don’t know how or from who, but she’s buying a steady supply of slaves off of someone."

"Man you’re pathetic. Get out of here. And you guys, keep your fucking eyes to yourself! This is Yakuza business! Ya wanna get involved?"

Yutaka turned to the small group of people that were watching the incident after addressing the Yakuza directly. They quickly averted their eyes and scurried off. Standing up, he walked away from the group. No matter how much they wanted to attack the man with his back turned, they knew they stood no chance. When the group left, Yutaka returned to the alley and dispelled his disguise. That wasn’t the smartest move, but he got a little bit of information at least. Making his way out of the alley, he continued to watch Misaki, waiting for her to finish so he could give her the little information he had gathered.

[Amy]

“Well if that doesn’t bring in more business, I don’t know what will,” Misaki said to Yutaka after finding him in the streets. The sun was starting to sink lower in the sky and if Misaki had to talk to one more person about what she was wearing she was liable to take it off and just give it to them. It was easy to admit though that the day had gone extremely well. With her over the top flouncing around and drawing attention to herself she had talked to dozens and dozens of people, making sure to mention the extremely affordable prices and custom fittings. She had also made sure to mention that the shop was closed that day due to Misaki’s promotion of the shop but that they would be open tomorrow. Hopefully, once was enough and she wouldn’t have to come back down and do this again.

Women were not the only ones whose attention she was drawing. Ume hadn’t been kidding about the criminal presence in that part of town and she had felt their eyes following her around and they were most certainly not admiring the fabric draped around her curves. She didn’t mind if she made herself recognizable as some silly shop worker because it would make it easier to talk to people. But she also didn’t need anyone getting too interested and causing her other sorts of issues. If she got into an altercation now it would make things much harder later on.

As they walked back towards the shop, Misaki began undoing the braid that Ume had pinned to her head with what seemed like a thousand pins. Slowly, her hair began falling down onto her shoulders in slight curls from the braid.

“Shit always gives me a headache,” she explained while digging her fingers into her scalp. “You find out anything interesting while I used my pretty face to save both our hides?” His earlier comment had not gone unnoticed. When he explained what happened while she was busy modeling she shook her head. So fucking unpredictable. The information about Akane was nice to have but at what cost? They had probably already reported back to Taichi that some guy knew who he was and was asking questions about the girls. It was possible that Yutaka was right and they wouldn’t risk telling Taichi and looking weak but Misaki had her doubts. Yutaka was some random thug who was stronger than them on the street but if Taichi found out that they hadn’t told him things would probably be worse for them.

There was nothing to be done about it anyways, she would just have to keep it in mind as they continued in their endeavor. Ume must have known what a trying day they would have as when they got within a few yards of the house the most delicious smell was in the air and led them both right to the kitchen. Sitting down to a meal, Misaki couldn’t help but wonder what tomorrow would bring.

~End~