Warning: action of intended rape (skip the bottom if you don't want to read)

The Changes

"Have you seen this man?"

I was shown a paper of a pale-skinned man who has dark eyes and dark hair. I thought for surely he was gone but I am being shown an image of him by these people. I frowned as i thought of why they asked for him.

There were two men staying at Yasumi. One is bald and fat while the other has wispy white hair and resembled a skeleton. They came in during the mid-afternoon and sat near the entrance. I frowned at why these strange men would ask for him.

"Did he do something wrong?' I asked.

The skeleton man looked hard at me with glaring eyes.

"This man is a merciless killer. He had killed women, children, and men alike. A dirty bastard also, raping the women before doing them in."

i was appalled by what this man has said. I was considering myself lucky that he left two days ago. I began remembering how I was always arguing with him and was very disrespectful with my manners.

"Sir, are you alright?" the bald man asked.

I gave a small smile. "Y-yes...I just didn't expect to hear such a gruesome thing from a person."

Both of them laughed at me. Something about their laugh upset greatly but I held my anger as I reminded myself that they were still customers.

"You sir...are very naive!" the bald man wheezed out.

"There are gruesome things that any person could do," the skeleton man said, "So have you seen this man or not?"

"...I saw him left this village but I do not know where he was headed."
The skeleton man nodded and rose up until Naoshi-san appeared right beside me.

"Haru-kun, I need your assistant with the futon!"

"Lady Naomi?"

What surprise me wasn't the name that the skeleton man had said but Naoshi's reaction to the name. There were some similarities with the name. Maybe this person is related to her.

"H-huh!?" she sputtered, her eyes moving quickly around the room.

"No...excuse us, miss, we thought you were someone else," the bald man said quickly.

I felt Naoshi-san moved closer to me than where she last were. Her body was tensed and rigid, not like her normal stance where it was full of spirits.

"I-I...see," she responded and then, turned to me,"Haru-kun, I will, umm, be at the table...well to-to make a wish."

After saying that, she left in a hurry. I was confused by her words. Did Yasumi ever have a table well and if so, what is it?

"I'm sorry for my fellow worker's manner."

"No...it's to be expected," the bald man said.

"We'll be going now. Thank you for your work," the skeleton man said, leaving some coins on the table.

What an odd day it is today. I looked at where the men had sat and thought about their words. '...raping women before doing them in.' I blushed and trembled slightly at the memories when he first saw me. It was a good thing that he left, thus I would never see him again.

U*U*U

Thud

I awoke suddenly from a sound outside of my room. I waited for it to happen again or someone to knock but I heard nothing. I was still suspicious thus i raised from my mattress, unlocked the door, and slowly opened it. I heard a muffled cry and saw two shadows moving.

"Look like we found some good money, eh Ruchi?"

A harsh whisper respond to the other. Is this a robbery? What should I do? I was panicking at the thought that these men would get away so I resolved to get someone when they are farther somewhere. Their voices grew farther until I'm sure it was alright to get out of the room and head to Lady Chouko's room. What stopped me from waking Lady Chouko right away was the two doors that shouldn't have been left open. Motoki-san and Naoshi-san were gone.

U~U~U

"Look for any signs of tracks, Haruto-san."

"Hai!"

I have alerted everyone in Yasumi about the girls' disappearance and we alerted the village to search for them. There has also been signs that other valuables from their rooms were taken. The villagers began separating into groups and scout the areas for any clues. I was with Kyo-san, a soba shop owner, and Nobu-san, Kyo-san's son.

I looked at everything as closely as possible to see if it could lead me to anything. I couldn't find anything. I was covered in sweat and grime as the sun was rising. I then noticed that I had searched farther than expected, thus I was alone. I'll need to go back to the others.

U*U*U

We had given up searching for Motoki-san and Naoshi-san. No matter how far we looked for any trace of what had happen to them, we could not find it. Two weeks have passed and Chitaka has went back to its usual routine with a small uneasiness in the air.

"Teko, orders for 2, 6, 7!"

"Hai! Lady Chouko!"

Ever since the disappearance of the girls, working has become difficult as more customers come day after day. It was odd seeing as there were many travelers for this time of year when winter is setting itself. Lady Chouko forced herself to hire new workers but in her sorrow, she could only hire one. Teko-san has been in Yasumi for four days and has acquainted himself well.

Teko-san was a respectful and friendly person. His deeply light-colored brown hair combined with his honey-colored eyes and cheerful voice, Teko-san had charmed everyone except me. At first, I was charmed by him but a feeling was crawling toward me to be wary of him. More than once, I have seen him looked at me with strange eyes.

I was serving three men at table 4. Each one of them seem to have a thick clothing underneath their coats. There were similar travelers like them and whenever someone serve them, they stopped talking or began to whisper. I heard snatches of their conversation, never understanding what they are.

"Cover...ix...poi...neila"

"...good...rd...us"

"...get...there...b..re"

"...ll...em...heads"

"...fight...rich"

U~U~U

"Customer at table 4. Is there someone who could take it?"

"I will!"

I went toward table 4 to see a lone man which was a surprise for me as I have gotten used to seeing so many people together. I couldn't see his face for his hood has set itself to cover his eyes. He turned toward to the direction I was at without me saying anything or standing near the table. I hurried to serve him.

"M-may I get you anything, dear customer?"

"...six meat and breads if possible," he said.

"Please wait for a moment."

U*U*U

"Thank you for the wait. Here are your orders."

I set three plates in front of him and waited to see if he is satisfied.

"...thank you for the foods and..."

I waited for him to continue. Is there something he is unsatisfied with?

"...tell me about this village."

"Huh?"

I was confused by what he said. Why does a traveler what to know about Chitaka? A memory of myself appeared. I felt myself smiled at it. Chitaka is a good village.

"If you prefer not to, I will keep to myself."

"No...it will be a pleasure to tell you about this village. Just let me inform Lady Chouko so she won't be angry."

U~U~U

I sighed blissfully as I dipped myself in the hotspring. Today was tiring, but business was doing well. It made me extremely pleased that I have some money that I truthfully earned. If I tell him that I was able to earned some money on my own, he will be surprise. It'll be nice if I could see his expression and what he'll say.

I suddenly felt a shiver. Was it that cold right now? I thought the night air was fine. I might as well hurry and go back to my room. Chitaka was a good village with its friendly villagers and cheerful, yet busy feeling it gives off. I started humming quietly, thinking and hoping.

~Hmmm Huummm
Hm..Hm..Huuuuu
Hmmm Huu-

Slam!

I couldn't momentarily breath as I was suddenly pulled out of the water and my body hit the ground. My arms were pinned down forcibly by someone and someone's weight was upon me. I wanted to scream but I thought of the possibility of someone finding out who I am. I whimpered instead and saw who it was.

"So I was right on you being a woman," Teko said. His eyes now filled with something fearful.

I felt a hand to my bum. It felt disgusting and I struggled the best I could to stop him or if possible to get away.

"It's no use struggling, Haruuu," he whispered in my ears, "You being a woman hiding as a man is really amusing and good."

His hand began roaming across my body. Teko leaned himself toward my neck and I felt his teeth bit down. Fear run through my entire body as my mind started to imagine what will happen to me. I was scared. He'll rape me. That thought alone brought to fight against him.

"N-noooooooooooo"

I heard a slight tsked and the side of my face. Against my will, tears welled up in my eyes and fell.

"Shhhhhh, it'll be fine, Haru. Everything will go back the way it was after I find out how you taste. An interesting woman you are."

I-I couldn't do anything to protect myself. I won't be able to look Father or him in the eyes. I will be defiled. Teko moved himself, his left hand moving my legs and I bit my tongue, preparing for the worst.
I waited, but there was nothing. Then for some reason, Teko's hand let go of my hands and I heard him run away. Somewhere in my shocked mind, I heard screams of fire and soldiers and cries of the villagers.

U*U*U

A/N: For those of you who already figure out that Haru was a woman, good job. For those of you who might not, not like its gonna make a difference so don't worry. Look like something big is going on with all those customers/travellers. Motoki and Naoshi...I hope they're alright. And there's Teko, what a horrible guy trying to ahemdoahem Haruto in.

The skeleton guy and fat guy are bounty hunters. There are more of them and if I have to rank most dangerous job in this story, this is one of them cause they are hated... a lot. Sai's wanted cause of his betrayal of SOL and something else but they gave a completely horrible reason.

Next chapter Sai's pov. Have fun ^^