Kenshin came and went, and came and went, adding bundles to the stack in front of the table. Hideki was also working, removing the canvas wrapping from each bundle in turn and unrolling a few feet of cloth, then carefully rewrapping it and labeling it by material, color and pattern. The silks went on one side, the cottons on the other.
As the morning wore on a thin layer of clouds had moved in from the west to meet the rising sun, and the breeze had grown stronger. A gust of wind swirled into the warehouse, spilling a stack of labels onto the floor. Hideki scrambled to gather them up and weight them down with a ceramic cup. When he looked up, there was a woman in the doorway.
She was tall and elegant, impeccably dressed in a deep blue kimono. Her glossy black hair was parted down the center and gathered into an elaborate knot at the back of her head, complementing the symmetry of her oval face.
"Eri!" Hideki grinned and gestured her in. "Come in, have a seat, make yourself comfortable. How is everything?" He crossed to the stack of silks, checking labels and selecting one.
"Quite well, thank you." Eri slipped off her lacquered wooden clogs and settled herself on a cushion behind the low table.
"I got the silks, and a bunch of cottons too. I think you'll like them." He laid the roll on the table and started to remove the canvas wrapping.
At that moment Kenshin returned with another roll of cloth over his shoulder. "Ah, Kenshin-kun! Are there many more of those?"
"Only three or four more, that there are." Kenshin knelt and laid the bundle next to the few remaining unlabeled ones, resting on his knees for a moment.
"Great, great." Hideki turned to Eri. "Eri, this is Himura Kenshin," he continued, indicating Kenshin with an outstretched hand. "He's just passing through town; I hired him for the day since Yasunori-kun is away. Kenshin-kun, this is Yukawa Eri, my best customer and the finest clothing maker in all of Japan."
Eri blushed and smiled behind her hand. Then to Kenshin, "Very nice to meet you."
Kenshin got to his feet and smiled back. "Very nice to meet you too, Eri-dono." To Hideki, "I will continue, that I will."
"Yes, good, bring the rest of the cloth and then we'll break for lunch."
"Hai." Kenshin turned and walked back down the steps. Eri watched him go, a thoughtful look in her eyes.
"Anyway," Hideki continued, "take a look at this." He finished unwrapping the bolt of silk and unrolled a few feet. It was a pale lemon yellow, accented with sprays of soft pink blossoms at intervals along one edge.
Eri's calm gray eyes widened in excitement. "Ohhh, gorgeous! And it looks like yellow's going to be the new style this season." She stroked the fabric and tilted her head to one side. "These flower petals can go on the sleeves. What do you think?" She draped a fold of the cloth over her own long kimono sleeve.
Hideki grinned and waved his hands. "Great, of course, but you know I have no eye for that kind of thing. Anyway, there's another yellow, a couple of blues..." he was rummaging among the rolls of cloth again. "By the way, how's your husband? I haven't seen him around for a while."
"Shinichiro is..." She trailed off, frowning. "I don't know. I'm worried about him. There's something bothering him, but he won't tell me what it is." She paused, absently stroking the yellow silk, then leaned forward conspiratorially. "I think it has to do with those three men."
Hideki looked up and raised his eyebrows. "What, the ones with the horses?"
"Yes. Since they came to town Shinichiro'd been asking around about them, trying to pick up gossip. But then they came to our house -- our house, can you believe it? That was a couple of nights ago. I got home just as they were leaving. Since then Shinichiro won't talk about them at all, even when I ask." She paused, lowering her voice. "I'm pretty sure they're samurai."
"But you don't recognize any of them?"
"No. But I'm sure Shinichiro knows who they are. Certainly after that visit." She glanced at the open doorway, quirking her eyebrows, then turned back to Hideki. "That's why I'm wondering about your Himura-san. He's carrying a sword. I wonder if he's connected to them."
Hideki thought about it. "I... don't think so. Kenshin-kun just got here yesterday afternoon. And he looks like he's been sleeping in a hedge. Those three horsemen are staying at the best inn in town." He paused, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "Though I was wondering about that too. Maybe Shinichiro might have known his parents--" Eri laid a warning hand on his arm at the sound of Kenshin's footstep on the stair.
"That's all right," she said, "we can discuss it later." She glanced up. "I'll take all the silks, and I'll also want several rolls of the cottons."
Kenshin had knelt to lay down another bundle of cloth. He leaned on it with one arm for a little longer than necessary, then took a deep breath and straightened up.
"Maybe you can show me the patterns?" Eri continued. "I want nice bold stuff, for yukatas."
"Sure." Hideki got up to rummage among the stack of cottons, Eri watching him.
There was a crash, a thud, then silence. Hideki and Eri looked up with a start.
"Kenshin-kun?" Hideki called. "Kenshin!" No reply. They exchanged a wide-eyed look and bolted for the door.
