Samoorai Yak

Chapter Two

Forever Yung

"You come seeking a way to find Egg Foo Yung, have you? I am saddened to tell you that Egg is a prisoner of the Yakooza." Zhu Ro said. Rena and I had just finished explaining to him why we were here.

"The Yakooza are gangsters - Egg Foo Yung is in serious trouble!" Rena said quietly, and Zhu Ro continued on. "As you may know, foreigners are only allowed to visit Hamamitsu. Egg is not beyond reach, but going to him will not be easy. I can help... for a price."

"What favor do you ask of us?" I asked, and Zhu Ro answered. "I bought an imperial jade statue, but the delivery ship, the Lotus Blossom, was lost in Hamamitsu Skyway. If you wish my aid, bring me the statue!"

Downing the rest of our tea, Rena and I stood up to head back to the Santo Oro to sail out of the dockyard of Hamamitsu and into the skyway.

We soon found the wreck of the Lotus Blossom, and judging by the scorch marks on her toppled masts, she was hit by a sudden storm.

"I have the statue! Let's get clear of this wreck!" Bonnie said as she emerged from below decks with a solid green statue in her hands, and Ratbeard added, "Before the tea-keeper gets a mind to double-cross us!"

Sailing as fast as the wind allowed, the Santo Oro returned to Hamamitsu, and I carried the statue all the way up the hill to Zhu Ro's teahouse.

"Ah, you have returned! Very good. I see that when it comes to finding cunning pirates, Avery has not lost his touch." Zhu Ro said, rubbing his hands together in satisfaction as I gently place the statue onto the bar.

"Just out of curiosity, why do you need this statue?" Rena asked, and Zhu Ro smiled. "You see, I wish for a permit to sell noodles from this fine teahouse, and such a permit is costly. The official who can grant me this permit will only be appeased with a present of fine imperial jade."

"I need you to present the statue to Sosei Wearu, the magistrate. It would be unseemly for me to give it to him. Bring me the permit he gives you." Zhu Ro said, and I sighed. "Very well, but I'm going to need a cup of iced tea first if I'm to make it without dropping that heavy statue!"

After I had my tea, I carried the imperial jade statue all the way to the town hall, distinctive with its size and the blue shingles on its roof.

Inside the town hall, a Bull wearing fine robes was kneeling down at a table, a paintbrush in hand as he wrote characters on a roll of paper, and he looked up at me with the imperial jade statue as I stepped forward.

"Oh my! Is that a fine statue of imperial jade in your hands, or have you come to request a noodle-house permit?" The magistrate, Sosei Wearu asked as he put down his paintbrush.

"Both." I answered, panting as the imperial jade statue got heavier by the second. Sosei Wearu stood up to take the statue from me, and he set it on a corner of the table. "How fortuitous!"

Sosei Wearu then hurriedly finished writing on the paper before rolling it up and handing it to me. "Here you go! This permit allows you, or any other bearer, to sell noodles! Good day."

We walked back to the teahouse, where Zhu Ro was waiting for us expectantly. "You have returned with my noodle vending permit, yes? Excellent."

I handed him the rolled-up paper, and Zhu Ro slipped it inside the sleeve of his red robes. "Egg Foo Yung is a prisoner of the Yakooza, a shadowy criminal empire. They are a blight on the realm of MooShu, but still useful to... people such as we."

"Not far from here is Heavenly Mists, an incense shop run by Shiro Kujo. Kujo is with the Yakooza, and can help you see Yung. Do not tell him I sent you." Zhu Ro said, and with that, my trusted associates and I left his teahouse.

The Heavenly Mists incense shop wasn't hard to find, as we could smell its wares as we walked around Hamamitsu to find it. We opened the sliding doors to the shop, and a shaggy brown Yak wearing short-sleeved brown robes looked up at us.

"Welcome to my humble shop. May I interest you in some incense?" The Yak, presumably Shiro Kujo asked he swept his arm around his shop.

I shook my head both to refuse his offer and to shake off the vague sleepiness induced by his incense, and I pointed my finger at him. "We were told you worked for the Yakooza, and can help us find them."