The Sheathing of the Sword [DRAFT; DISCARDED]

The Daughter of the Dragon

"Nani!?"

Takamura nodded, her eyes narrowing as she thought quickly. "That seems to be the case."

The two of them had moved to the backroom behind the bar, in order to grant them privacy. Kyoji was still thoroughly confused about what had just occurred, and unbelieving of Takamura's words.

"But..but how? She didn't make one mention of Hatsumomo! What're you talking about?"

The innkeep shook her head. "Misaki warned you to be careful. What should a member of the Japanese mafia care for a little boy? Especially one she never met?"

"How do you know she never met m--"

"It is the nature of my business to know, Kyoji."

The boy gave her an inquisitive look. Takamura did have a way of knowing things. He used to think it was as she said, and that she simply became well-informed by the nature of those who gossiped over drinks at her tavern, but he had begun to suspect something else entirely -- after all, Misaki had said that Takamura had once belonged to a crime syndicate...there was definitely more to this woman than just a simple barkeeper.

The itako raised the kiseru to her pink lips, brow furrowing in concentration. "But why?" she murmured. It seemed as though she were almost speaking to herself. "Why would the Yakuza show an interest in Hatsumomo? Do they think they can use her as a bargaining chip to secure my services?" Her nose wrinkled in distaste. "Cowards, the lot of them." 

Kyoji was still confused. "But how did you know they've got Hatsumomo?"

Takamura gazed at him, the depth of her onyx eyes seemingly limitless. "Do you not recall what Misaki told you before she left? 'Be more careful, Kyoji-kun,' she said. Have you forgotten who else said that to you?"

It dawned on him then. Hatsumomo. She said it when they first met. He'd been utterly inebriated at the time, but he did have the uncanny ability to recall most everything after such a mind-blurring state. Why didn't he see it earlier?

"But," Kyoji began, "how could she know? How would she know what Hatsumomo told me the first time we met? She wasn't there!" He didn't bother asking how she knew that either. He already knew the answer.

"You forget," Takamura responded, "it is also the nature of her business to know as well."

Kyoji frowned. She wasn't wrong. "So what're we going to do? We have to go back and get her!"

"Patience, Kyoji," the innkeep said, "we've yet to even determine their objective. Haven't you been told that 'haste makes waste'? Rushing in without knowing the situation will only end badly for you."

He huffed. "We don't have time to wait. The Yakuza have Hatsumomo, what more information do we need? Need I remind you that this is the Yakuza!?" Kyoji pointed an accusatory finger towards Takamura, anger overtaking him. "You, better than anyone, should know what they are capable of doing!"

"And I do." The itako's eyes narrowed dangerously, throwing Kyoji a look that chilled him to the bone despite himself. "I know better than you. Which is why I also know that the Yakuza will not hurt Hatsumomo recklessly, cowards though they may be. 'Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.' You'd do well to remember that, Kyoji." The comely barkeep blew away smoke with a lazy wave of her japanese hand-fan, the sensu. Her kiseru's smoke went out instantly, and she pulled it back up her sleeve as opposed to her usual place in her hair. "What troubles me, however, is the reasoning of why Hatsumomo was taken. No doubt they realize I care for her. But surely there's something more to thi--" Takamura's eyebrows rose in surprise, as a dark thought came to her. She mouthed something wordlessly, realizing the potential implications. "Could it be?"