Chapter 3: Intrigue
A blanket of silence fell over the Serenity House. The last of the patrons had bid farewell to their companions before scattering into the shade of night like blossoms carried by a tempestuous wind, and now all was returned to its natural state of stillness. Hisana usually took comfort in the silence as she went about her nightly routine. But, tonight was different…
Kneeling in front of her vanity dressed in a white under-robe, she mindlessly ran a brush through her hair as she stared into her reflection. Her mind was deeply tormented by the night's events. Her behavior was a far cry from impeccable with her tongue being partly to blame.
Still absently brushing her hair, Hisana's mind slowly began to grow numb under the burden of her thoughts. Exhausted by the mental gymnastics of scrutinizing every misstep, she could no longer focus on a single musing; her musings disintegrated until only a void of blackness filled her mind. She probably would have continued in her deadened state if her senses had not been awoken by the sudden scraping sound her door made when sliding open. Startled, she snapped around to face the disturbance; her muscles reflexively grew rigid and her heart pounded so hard she could feel her pulse beating in her throat.
"I'm sorry, Hisana. Did I scare you?" Azumi began the moment Hisana's eyes met hers.
"No, it's alright," she replied, managing to feign a reassuring smile.
Azumi eased her way into the room, swiftly turning to the door behind her. After sliding it shut, Azumi shuffled noiselessly into the room. "I saw your light on and figured that you were still up."
"Is there something you need?" Hisana asked, her voice tinged with concern. It was a rare event, indeed, for her to receive a guest so late at night.
Azumi stopped short of her friend before dropping to the floor in seiza position. Azumi sat only a mere arm's length in front of Hisana. "Oh, I just wanted to know how your service went."
Hisana bowed her head soberly in reply.
"That well, huh?" Azumi chuckled softly. "You're too hard on yourself sometimes, Hisana."
"Perhaps, but not this time. I argued with one of the clients."
"Hisana!" Azumi giggled, not believing her friend possessed the type of disposition required to argue with anyone. "You're so calm and gentle. I'm sure what you thought was an argument was nothing more than an innocent response on your part."
Hisana inclined her head to reveal a faint smile. "I believe it was with the noble."
Azumi's eyes gleamed at the word "noble." Her once straight posture quickly disintegrated as she leaned forward. "What was he like?"
Hisana's gaze lowered and trailed to her right as she thought of the appropriate adjectives to describe the noble. "He was," she began thoughtfully, but found herself unable to articulate her impression of him into words. "He was," she began again still at a loss.
"Go on!" Azumi exclaimed in a hushed voice.
"Prideful." Hisana's eyes darted up to Azumi's face in time to see the young girl's expression deflate.
"Prideful?" Azumi spoke the word as if it had a bitter taste on her tongue. "Was he handsome at least?"
Hisana averted her gaze from Azumi's the moment she felt her cheeks heat.
"You're blushing, Hisana! He must have been handsome. What did he look like?"
Choking down her embarrassment like bitter medicine, Hisana managed to regain her composure rather quickly. "If it had not been for his attire, I don't think I would have thought him any different from us plebeians," she prevaricated.
Azumi lifted a brow, telegraphing her skepticism. "You just want to keep his memory all to yourself!" she teased playfully.
Hisana's brows raised and her eyes widened at the thought. If only her friend knew how incorrect she was… If possible Hisana wanted to permanently erase the whole evening from her memory.
"Come, Azumi. It's getting late. Why don't you go on and get some sleep, and let me forget this night ever happened."
Azumi gave a smile to hide her disappointment that Hisana was ushering her off to bed. "Alright, Ms Hisana." She squeezed her friend's hand before leaving.
The moment Hisana fancied herself completely out of earshot, she made a soft vow to herself: To never revisit the night's ghosts again. Afterwards, she leaned down to extinguish the small flame that had been lighting the room before turning in to bed.
- -
The morning rays poured into the room, coloring it a vibrant gold. Tempted to fight the urge to wake, Hisana turned on her side, but at the last minute her obligation to duty got the better of her. Opening her eyes, she lay still for a moment. Her mind focused on the morning hum of the restaurant as its inhabitants began their daily routines. She took in the sounds of clacking doors and squeaking floorboards.
'Time to wake up, Hisana.' With clumsy movements, she lifted herself into a sitting position. Immediately, she felt a cloud of grogginess fill her head. Still somewhat disoriented from having just woken from a heavy sleep, she stood and took a few wobbly steps over to the worn kimono she kept near her bedside.
Upon fitting herself into the robe, Hisana noticed how heavy her limps and body felt. 'Like lead,' she thought wordlessly to herself. Once dressed, she raked her fingers through her unruly hair as she crossed the floor to the door. Outside the bedroom, she shuffled down the corridor, passing a very cheerful Dr. Toya on her way.
The doctor's glassy eyes shone brightly the moment he spotted her. "Hello, Hisana," he greeted kindly.
"Dr. Toya," she said, bowing slightly before passing him on her way to the residential dining room.
"Hisana!" the ever effervescent Yumi greeted from her seated position at the table. Yumi was the second youngest of the hostesses; she only beat Azumi, the youngest, by a year.
"Yumi," Hisana said, politely acknowledging the redheaded girl. "What is Dr. Toya doing here? Has Aya's condition worsened?"
"No, silly! Have you forgotten that this is the 10th day of the month? Dr. Toya always comes on the 10th day to check on Mistress Hideyoshi. Aya is doing fine. She should be back to work today!"
"Thank you, Yumi, I had forgotten that today was the 10th," Hisana said before darting out of the room just as Azumi was entering.
"What was that about?" Azumi asked a shocked Yumi.
"I don't know. She said something about having forgotten today was the 10th."
"Oh, yes. She visits the local memorial to meditate for an hour on the 10th day of every month. She's very insistent that she does this."
"Do you know why?" Yumi asked tilting her head; this gave her round features the appearance of puzzlement.
"No. She'll never tell me why…"
- -
Kenji and Byakuya met the next morning in a small room furnished simply with a wooden table lined with chairs. "How are you liking your accommodations?" Kenji asked, trying unsuccessfully to break the ice.
Byakuya thought the question over for a moment before finding it slightly offensive considering his relative position in the scheme of things. "You said you had information."
"Indeed," Kenji replied, plopping a few black and white photos down on the table. Both sets of eyes looked them over in silence for a few moments. "Apparently, the girl in the photo is the operative from the Band of Wolves who works at the restaurant we visited last night."
"The pictures are of poor quality," Byakuya noted as he shuffled through a few of them. "Who took them?"
"An unidentified source handed them over to one of my officers."
Byakuya lifted a brow. "Unidentified?" His voice scrutinized the word as if it had a double meaning.
Kenji chuckled at Byakuya's expression. "Yes, according to my officer, she received a small parcel containing these pictures and a note explaining them. Here," he said pulling a folded sheet of paper from his kimono and handing it to Byakuya.
Byakuya examined the letter to find that Kenji was not trying to deceive him. "Had the officer been in contact with this unidentified source prior to this incident?"
"Yes. The source calls himself 'Pathfinder.' My officer seems convinced that his information is legit, and I have no reason to question her on the matter. She's very thorough."
"These pictures are too blurry. The only certain conclusion we can draw from them is the girl possesses dark hair," Byakuya said before adding, "If this information is even reliable."
Kenji put a hand to the back of his neck as he stretched lazily in his chair. "Just what I was thinking. Assuming the information is reliable, then, we can narrow down the hostesses working the restaurant by half. The House has 6 girls and only 3 of them have dark hair: Azumi, Aya, and Hisana."
"We could bring all three in for questioning," Byakuya stated flatly.
"Under normal conditions I would have suggested we do the same, but right now," Kenji began, his brows furrowed. "News of 'them' apprehending three harmless girls for interrogation probably won't play too well given the situation."
Byakuya's stoic expression was quickly marred by a brooding stare. He wasn't keen on the method of operation Kenji was hinting at…