Chapter 4: In the bump in the night
I don't own L5R or Rwby: they go to their rightful owners
It had been several days since Cao had arrived at Beacon, and by this point he was thoroughly to the point of madness. He had always been on the move, staying place for a short time before removing on to get more goods. Being stuck in a town of its smallish to middling size didn't suit him. He preferred either small country towns or massive cities. It also didn't help it was run by the Sotora clan. The highly militaristic people were plain and downright boring in their aesthetics, and not known for their economic qualities. As a result, he was stuck in an uninteresting and bare bones city.
"You need to chill out Cao." The head Ronin said as Cao paced around like a caged animal
"There's nothing here! Hell, these accommodation for us are pathetic. We sleep in tents for crying out loud! It also doesn't help that dealing with the Sotora samurai is a chore. They are so dour and stern you can't hardly get anything out of them." Cao said with frustration, running his hands through his hair firmly
"Why don't you try to find that Rose girl? Surely she would know something you could do in this place." The head Ronin asked as he lit up a wooden pipe
"I doubt a workaholic like her would know the popular tourist destination." Cao answered, dismissing his leader's idea out of hand
"Then just ask a Sotora." The leader said bluntly as he smoked
"Why didn't I think of that?" Cao asked dumbfounded
"You've been pacing for an hour. That's why." The leader bluntly answered
"Oh." Cao said just as bluntly as he leader
Cao then begin to walk the streets, looking for a Sotora to show him around. Though there were no shortage of them, he had to be picky about who he asked. He didn't want to seem strange or weird to them, simply a traveling Ronin wanting to see the sights. However very soon he ran into Azura and Ruby out doing some shopping.
"Greetings Cao-san." Ruby said to him as he passed, causing him to turn to see her
"Ms. Rose. It's an honor and a surprise to meet up with you so suddenly." Cao said with a smile and bow
"I would like to introduce you to my friend Azura Sotora." Ruby would say, motioning to the older blue haired samurai
"It is an honor to meet a member of the esteemed Sotora clan." Cao said with a bow of respect
"I'm sorry that you have yet to become acquainted with a member of my clan." Azura politely replied to this newcomer
"I do not mean this is a demeaning or dishonorable way, but I've found your clanmates to be less than social at times." Cao said, choosing his words carefully
"Unfortunately, you are correct in that assessment. I try to be a bit more open and social than my peers." Azura replied
"So, what has you away from your stand?" Ruby asked
"I wanted to get a better look of the town. Do you know of any good places to go to and see?" Cao asked politely
"I would recommend the Shinto shrine. Its not that large, but it is available to all. Its over on Kaito street past the leatherworker's guild." Azura answered, pointing to the direction the street is
"I thank you greatly Azura. May you have a productive and fortune filled day." Cao said as he smiles and gave a flourish bow to the two before leaving them
"So, he was the Ronin that saved you?" Azura asked with an eyebrow raised
"Yes. I first met him at the tavern and served him." Ruby replied with a nod
"I don't know about him. He's hard to read." Azura responded bluntly
"Why? He seems nice." Ruby asked confused
"When people act that pleasant and eager to please it's an act for the light. Usually in the shadows they are doing something they don't want people knowing about." Azura said as he began to walk
Ruby was left stunned. If what Azura said was true, what could Cao be hiding? Was it related to why he had no master? As she rushed to catch up question after question began to run through her young curious mind. As she thought she rubbed her thumb around the ruby on her locket. That night, she was going to see if Azura's thoughts had any merit.
Later that night
To sneak out of her home, you needed to deal with Zwei. Both Tai and Yang were heavy sleepers, but Zwei easily wakes in the presence of people entering his space. Living with the corgi for so long however made it easy for Ruby to find his weakness's. After coming back from shopping, Ruby went out and bought Zwei a bone to chew on. The resulting happy frenzy tired the corgi out and was in now a rare state of deep sleep. When she creeped down the stair slowly, the normally energetic little dog didn't even notice as he sawed logs in his fluffy doggy bed.
'I'm glad that bone worked. Otherwise I'd be in big trouble right now.' Ruby thought as she quietly unlocked the door to get out, then locked after her
The normally bustling and busy streets of Beacon now were deathly quiet. Only the occasional ashigaru or samurai guard walked the streets with a torch for any signs of shady behavior. Ruby had to avoid them for risk of being questioned and sent back home. Using her knowledge of the city, she stuck to the shadows and used every back alley and street she could to reach Cao's stand without attention. What surprised her was his stand was bustling with activity even in the middle the night.
"Come on lads. Your getting paid to move this cargo out, not huff and puff like little girls." A Ronin taskmaster with a whip said
"Keep it down Borno. We don't want the guards coming here and asking questions." The lead Ronin snapped
"Sorry about that boss. Just keeping them moving." Borno replied
"I also want them moving quietly. If the guards check those crates, then we are good as dead." The lead Ronin ordered
"Yes sir." Borno replied as he turned his stern gaze back to the peasant laborers
Ruby watched from the shadows. From the massive trade wagons, they pulled out large crate from secret compartments. She instantly realized they were smuggling something into Beacon, but what she couldn't tell. Then from the shadows beyond the stand walked Cao, reading a scroll before stopping next to the other Ronin.
"What's our progress?" Cao asked
"About half the cargo is unloaded." Borno replied
"As long as we get it out by morning is all that counts. Last thing we need is the Sotora's finding out we are smuggling drugs in and feeding drug houses in this place." Cao replied
"They wouldn't. I wouldn't be surprised if some of them went to those houses." The leader chipped in
"We can't take any chances. If they find out they will rip this entire place apart to find everything. We will be finished." Cao replied firmly
Ruby put a hand over her hand in shock, not trusting her voice. The Ronin were committing an extremely dishonorable act smuggling drugs in. The question then asked who was using these drugs to warrant this much smuggling. Supply to meet demand. Then the question of how the Sotora's could allow this, or at the very least not know about it. They were practically doing this in the open. They even had lamps out to see what they were doing.
"Any news from the bosses up north?" Cao asked
"We are getting a special job sometime in the next few days. That's all I know. They are sending someone down with the details." The leader answered
"If their someone down, then this is something big and important." Cao said with surprise
"Don't I know it. The only other thing that was on the letter was it is volunteer only." The leader solemnly said
"That's the kind of thing that gets you adopted by a crane family…" Cao said in surprise, and almost happy to hear that
"It is. If you survive. You're not really thinking of doing it are you?" The leader asked surprised
"I've dreamed all my life of becoming a full Wei samurai. If the crane will give me that chance, then I will settle for being an Asahina pacifist for all I care." Cao said giddy with joy
"Wei samurai?" Ruby muttered to herself quietly
"If you really are going to do it, just keep your head about you." The leader said with concern
"Don't worry. I wouldn't dream of screwing up something like that if I can help it." Cao replied
As she listened to all of this, she tried to move and accidently kicked a rock. The rock then made long range echoes that moved towards the stand. The entire operation stopped at hearing that like deer in the headlight. Upon realizing her mistake, she stopped and hide in the alley, not moving and barely breathing.
"What was that?" Cao asked, confused and nervous in equal measure
"Should we check?" Borno asked quietly
"Shut up and listen." The leader said to them as everyone waited in deafening silence
That deafening silence lasted for only a minute, but for all involved it felt like hours. Everyone, from Ruby to the lead Ronin heard and felt each individual heartbeat quite vividly. The only noise that occurred during that entire minute was a brief gust of wind. After that the members of the Scales of the Carp calmed down.
"Must have just been some brick or something falling off…" Cao said quietly
"Borno, get those men working double time. The longer we take increases the risk of being caught." The leader sternly said to the taskmaster
"Your heard him maggots, get moving. Double time." Borno snapped at the peasant workmen, trying to keep his voice down
At that the peasants began their work anew and at the desired increased rate. Ruby took that time and new commotion to sneak away before she got caught. Cao looked one last time in that direction, and after seeing nothing turned to go to sleep. Whatever was out there wasn't a threat, that's if there even was something.
Ruby rushed back to her home as fast and sneakily as possible. She then quietly opened the door, locked it behind her, and snuck up to her room. After closing the door, she panted and slid down to the floor. This revelation was too much and a lot to take in.
"Cao is a smuggler, and a Wei? How did anyone not find this out?" Ruby muttered to herself
She then began thinking about what to do with this information. The first idea she thought of was naturally to tell Azura so that the Sotora's can act upon it. Then she thought of the consequences. If they could get into the city this easily, they already have people in place. If Wei were already inside, then they could easily figure out who ratted them out, and then Ruby and her family would be their target number one. Despite not wanting to, she would have to keep this to herself for her and her family's safety. However, a new question filled her head.
"What is this secret mission they were talking about? And why here and now?" Ruby asked herself
I need to thank wolfpackrwby88 for explaining why I had not yet gotten any reviews. I will no longer beg for them and I'm sorry for doing that. Typically, I don't like doing that, mostly because I average 1 review every other chapter. I guess I'm just not used to not seeing at least something and need to learn some patience. Other than that, have a great day.