I sighed as I sunk to the floor of the tea shop. It had been a hell of a day but luckily the shop was about to close for the night. The relief didn't last long however, as the sound of the bell at the entrance rang.

"Happy face, Ine-chan," Yoshino chirped as I left the kitchen and went into the dining area of the tea house. A fake smile plastered on my face I approached the strange looking man that had just entered.

"Hello. Welcome, I am Nakago Ine, the owner of this shop. What can I get for you?" I asked politely. The man was dressed in brown clothing with a dark brown vest. Shoulder length orange hair peeked out from underneath an aviator hat and a pair of goggles.

"Pleased to meet you, Nakago-san. My name is Hayashida Heihachi," he paused to rub the back of his neck, nervously. "I gotta tell you in advance, I'm short on cash, but I can chop some wood for your business in exchange for my tea."

I pondered for a moment, tapping my chin lightly with my index finger.

"Why don't you have a seat, I'll bring out some tea and we'll discuss it."

The man bowed and took a seat a table near the door. I hurried back to the kitchen to find Yoshino beginning to clean up.

"Yoshi-chan! Do we have any tea left?"

"Yes," she responded. "There is some I poured from a leftover pot on that tray." I turned and found the tray she mentioned and picked it up.

"Can you handle things back here? I'd like to go out and sit with a customer."

She sighed and then laughed at me. "So how cute is he?"

My face flushed but I answered her anyway.

"Adorable." And with that I was gone. Taking a seat across from said adorable man and placing the tea tray on the table. "Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all Nakago-san," he responded with a smile.

"You can call me Ine."

"Ine-chan, I like you already, your name means rice plant and there's nothing I love more than rice. Please call me Heihachi."

"Thank you, Heihachi-kun. Would you care for some tea?" We each took a cup from the tray that rest between us. "So…about chopping some wood for my friend and I, it's rather late tonight, but we would be delighted if you could return tomorrow."

"It would be my pleasure. I am always sure to pay off my debts."

I smiled at him and noticed the sword on his back, attached to it was a cute, ghost-like charm and I assumed him to be samurai. Funny, he didn't look like a samurai, more like a mechanic to me. I sipped my tea and decided to question him about it.

"I see you are a samurai."

"Used to be. I'm more of a drifter now. I bet you see tons of samurai in and out of here. It's a nice place."

"I do. I like your charm, it's cute."

"Thank you, Ine-chan. I picked it up in a village a long time ago. It's been attached to my sword for years now."

"You are a drifter?" I asked and he nodded in response. "How long do you plan to be in Kogakyo?"

"Not too sure. The people around here sure are nice. I'll probably stay for quite a spell."

"Well Heihachi-kun, please feel free to visit our teahouse whenever you like. You will be more than welcome here," I replied.

We carried on general chit chat for a little while longer until Yoshino appeared from the kitchen. "Ine-chan, everything is clean and it's time to close."

I looked around and noticed the shop was empty except for the three of us.

"Heihachi-kun, this is my best friend, Yoshino. She helps me around the shop. Yoshino this is Hayashida Heihachi."

They exchanged greetings and I gathered mine and Heihachi's empty cups and the tray I had brought them in on. We both stood and I saw Heihachi to the door. He thanked me again and said he would be back the next day. Once I closed the door and locked it Yoshida eyed me curiously.

"So…You like him don't you?"

"Yoshi-chan! I only met him tonight, but he's…adorable," I said, using the same adjective I had described him with earlier. "He's laid back and nice and he seems very honest."

"Ine-chan I've known you for twelve years and…I just want you to be careful. You've met lots of wonderful men and every time you've only ended up hurt."

"Yoshi-chan, thank you. But I'm already twenty-two and I've never even been in love before. I really want to know what it's like," I responded, following Yoshino into the kitchen to clean the tea cups and put the tray away.

"Love will find you. Be patient."

I washed the cups Heihachi and I had used.

"Easy for you to say, you have a boyfriend, Yoshi-chan."

"But I wasn't looking for him when I found him," she argued.

"Okay, okay. I promise not to get my hopes up. Will you get the profits for the day and bring them to me?" As she was retrieving our money, I put the cups away with the others. Yoshino returned and handed me the jar we kept our daily profits in. I sat down at our table and lit a cigarette before dumping the money out. Yoshino lit one as well.

"I thought you quit," she stated.

"I thought I did too. I will soon, but you have to as well."

She groaned. "Fine."

I counted out the money and separated it into four piles. I pushed a pile to Yoshino and set one aside for myself. One of the piles would go to my parents in my old hometown and the other was for items needed for the shop. I began humming as I placed the shop's money into a bag.

"You're thinking about that samurai again aren't you, Ine-chan."

"He was so cute. I can't help it."

She sighed. "When he left did he say he would be coming back tomorrow?"

"Yes. He's going to pay for his tea by chopping wood for us."

"Really? You believed that story?" she asked seriously.

"What? Do you want to be the one that chops wood?" I shot back. She kept quiet. "Let's head to bed. I'm tired."

"Sounds good to me."

Yoshino and I went into our respective bedrooms and I laid there staring at the ceiling for quite some time before falling into a sleep with dreams filled of the orange-haired samurai.