II.

Fuuka, from what Mai and Takumi could see, was a thriving, bustling town. There were dozens of traps and carriages going along the street, several people walking on foot, and even a few solo horseback riders.

"You Tokiha?" a tall young man with short cut orange hair asked her. There was a young woman clinging to his arm with salmon colored hair in a spiraling drill form on either side of her head.

"I am," she confirmed.

"Name's Yuuichi Tate. This is my wife, Shiho. Captain Kanzaki apologizes for not coming himself to collect you and your brother, but there was an unavoidable matter he had to attend at the Inn," He stooped to pick up her bags, "With your permission?"

"Of course," Mai curtsied slightly, feeling somewhat out of place doing so.

Shiho, however, smiled, "So nice to see a bit of refinement out here. Lord knows Mayor Fujino tries to instill some class in these scoundrels, but boys will be boys."

Yuuichi carried the luggage to a waiting trap, and then aided Mai and Takumi into climbing into the back, the ushered Shiho onto the front seat beside himself, "We'll give you the nickel tour, free of charge."

A flick of the reins, and the horse started to pull the trap. Yuuichi proceeded to describe the town around them in somewhat colorful terms.

"Behind us, of course, is the Fuuka railway station. If'n you're like the last cook that Captain Kanzaki hired, you'll see it again in about six months' time. That corner on the left there is the offices of the Fuuka Star. It's our local newspaper, but really it's more like a gossip rag, what with owner and editor Chie Harada in charge. Next door to that is Sennou Apothecary. Aoi's been runnin' the joint since her old man passed, but their stuff is a cut above the usual snake oil you'll typically find in these parts. Opposite corner is Zaizen's funeral parlor. Poor guy's been busy a lot of late, what with the feuding between the sodbusters and the ranchers. Next door to that we have Nao's Tavern…but they're competition to Captain Kanzaki's place, so you'll want to stay out of there."

"Tavern?" Mai mused, "I thought places like that were called saloons out here."

"Mostly are," Yuuichi spit a bit of tobacco from his mouth to the ground below, "Fact, we got one of those opposite side of town. Nao says 'tavern' sounds more classy. But it's not exactly a good place to be seen. 'Specially not you, Mr. Takumi."

Takumi blinked, "But, I don't work for Captain Kanzaki."

"It's a horrid place," Shiho said, "It's an open secret that Nao Yuuki is running a cathouse out of that place," she gave Mai a stage whisper, "Soiled doves, 'n' all."

Mai cast Takumi a look, saying sternly, "Well, if I find Takumi at Nao's, his next stop will be Mr. Zaizen's."

Yuuichi chuckled a bit at that, "Over there you'll see Kuga's Hunting Store. She sells knives, rope, shootin' irons, rifles, bait. Been doing a fair bit of business, herself, what with the heat between the cattlemen and the sodbusters. But she's also vowed that if anyone uses any of her guns to shoot each other, she'll personally track 'em down and plug 'em. She'd do it, too. She's a mean cuss when she wants to be, though Mayor Fujino seems to be able to bring out a soft side to her from time to time.

"Her neighbor across the way is Kaiji Sakomizu's General Store. Sells seed, flour, sugar, molasses, all the staples you could want.

"Then there's John Smith, Attorney At Law. Word is he just signed a big contract with Mr. Homura, owner of the D'Artai Ranch. Word is Homura is also looking into minin' and drilliin' in the area.

"Oh, and here's our town sheriff, now. Howdy, Haruka."

"It's Sheriff Armitage when I'm on the job, Tate, as you damn well should know," the honey blonde folded her arms over her ample chest, "And who've we got here."

"New hire for Captain Kanzaki's inn. Mai Tokiha is the new cook."

"Let's hope she lasts longer than the last one," Haruka Armitage sighed, "And can cook better. Had a steak made by that last girl, tougher than my boot. I gotta get to the station, though. Word is someone tried to rob the train. Gotta get a statement and all that."

"These two were on the train, Sheriff," Shiho chimed in, "They can give you a statement."

Natsuki Kuga slipped quietly into Nao's Tavern. The place smelled of cigarette smoke and hot beer. She nearly collided, on her way in, with Tomoe Marguerite, one of the ranch hands at the D'Artai ranch.

"Kuga," she nodded, "You're looking as pissy as always."

"Marguerite," Natsuki nodded, "You're looking to get you tail kicked, like always."

"You gonna be the one to do it, Kuga?" Marguerite asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Given that you can't even finger that knife on the back of your belt without me noticing, I'd say I stand a better chance of seeing you in the ground than you do me,"Natsuki said evenly.

"Hey!" Nao called from the bar, "There will be no fighting in my establishment…until I have a chance to sell tickets to the match. Marguerite, you had your fun. So skedaddle."

Tomoe tipped her hat with a hungry grin, "Another time, perhaps."

Natsuki was tempted to help usher her out the door with a bootprint to her rump, but decided against. Mostly because she was hungry and if she did that, Nao wouldn't serve her.

"Still can't believe you let that animal play with your girls," Natsuki sighed, sitting at the bar.

"Neutral ground, Pup. My loyalty is to greenbacks, not to the ranchers or the sodbusters. Lucky for you, you always have the dough, so you're one of my favorite people."

"Lucky me. I'll take my usual," and then, in a low voice only the two of them could hear, "And any information you got."

Natsuki slipped a gold coin in a pair of one dollar bills and slid it to Nao, who slipped the coin out of the bills and into a hidden pocket in her skirts.

"Here, you're change," Nao slid over an envelope stuffed with everything she'd overheard over the last month, which Natsuki quickly made vanish into her shirt.

Just then, one of Nao's "soiled doves" slid up to the bar. Natsuki knew her as Miya Clochette, and she also knew her as Tomoe's personal favorite, "Well, well, if it isn't Miss Natsuki Kuga. Too good to have a little fun with us, Kuga?"

"Hey," Nao slammed a glass down on the counter, "You want your pay, don't bother the customers. Not 'less they ask you to. The Pup isn't interested in those kinds of services. We serve better beer than Kanzaki's place, and our cook doesn't make charcoal out of the meat…though I hear he got a new cook today, so maybe that'll change."

Just then there was an eruption of squeals and fawning sighs, and Mayor Shizuru Fujino stepped into the building.

"Now, now, girls, I'm only here to chat with the proprietor,"Shizuru smiled sweetly at the young ladies flocking around her.

Miya slammed back a shot, "There's another stuck-up one who never uses our services."

"Well, now, Miss Clochette," Shizuru sat between her and Natsuki, "I couldn't possibly avail myself of your ministrations when I know you have another whom you favor. I can give my heart to only one."

"In other words," Nao shot Miya a dirty look, "Scat."

Shizuru chuckled as Miya left with a noticeable pout, "My but she has a severe dislike of you, Natsuki."

"Yeah, well," Natsuki sipped her beer, "The feeling is mutual."

"You casting judgment, Pup?" Nao arched an eyebrow.

"This?" Natsuki gestured to the house of ill repute around her, "Could care less. People gotta scratch their itches. It's the person she favors that I worry about. She's loyal to Marguerite, Nao, not to you."

Nao shrugged, "I know. But I still get my sixty percent, either way. And if she makes trouble…"

Nao made a slashing motion across her throat, "I've been known to cause an accident or two when people don't play nice."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear any of it,"Shizuru smiled, then turned to Natsuki, "Sheriff Armitage is looking for the daring robber who attempted to strongarm a train, today. She has…suspicions."

"Let her suspect what she wants," Natsuki shrugged, "She's gotta prove it before she can do anything about it."

Just then a huge man walked over to the bar, "Nao…I wanna spend the night with the new girl."

He nodded to the far end of the bar where a thin girl with her hair tied in two long, thin braids was humming merrily to herself as she swept the floor.

"Yumemiya's not on the menu," Nao said simply, "She's an honest hire, not one of the service girls."

"I thought the customer was always right, Nao."

Nao's eyes narrowed, "I'll ask her. But if she says 'no', then…"

The man threw a small burlap bag on the counter, and it made a distinctive sound when it landed.

"Persuade her," he said.

Nao sighed, "Like I said, I'll ask her."

Natsuki hopped off her stool and grabbed Nao by the arm, hissing quietly to her, "Nao, you can't. That girl is just a child. She's…"

"I know," Nao said in a low voice, so as not to be overheard, "I'll take care of it. Have a little faith, huh?"

Nao went over and spoke quietly to the girl named Yumemiya, too low to be heard by those at the bar, though she occasionally looked at them and pointed at the man.

She came back, "Alright, she says she'll do it. But first…"

Nao poured him a large mug of beer, "Drink your drink. She has to get ready for you."

"Fine."

He swallowed the mug of beer in an instant, "Ready or not, here I..."

And then he fell face forward to the floor.

"Lucky it was just us in here, right now," Nao sighed, then showed Natsuki and Shizuru a small glass bottle from under the counter, "One drop in a beer, out cold. Two drops, you wake up half a day later with no memory of what happened. Three drops…three drops and you never wake up again."

She clapped her hands, "Nina, Erstine!"

She turned to Yumemiya, "Take off your stockings."

Two young women, older than Yumemiya, came at once, "Take this lout upstairs, strip him, and put this," she handed them the stockings, "on his bed. He'll wake up convinced he had the time of his life. Arika, you make sure and blush demurely when he says you, got it?"

"Sure thing, Big Sister Nao," Arika Yumemiya said.

"Just one more reason I will never use your side business,"Natsuki sighed, "I might wake up missing something vital."

"Like your virginity?" Nao winked, causing Natsuki to turn bright red and Shizuru to chuckle a bit.

"You're incorrigible!" Natsuki snapped, "Wrap my dinner to go. I can't eat here, now."

"I couldn't run a cathouse or a spy ring if I weren't a bit shameless, now, could I?" Nao grinned, "As for him, I'll tell him Yumemiya said once was enough and that was that."

"Solicitation. Fraud. Tampering with a beverage…" Shizuru counted off on her fingers, "This place is certainly interesting."

Nao shrugged, "We both know you won't take a bribe, so what do I have to do to keep you from telling Armitage about this?"

"Why, Nao," Shizuru batted her eyes prettily, "Surely you know that getting to see your cute face is compensation enough for my silence."

To Natsuki's surprise and amusement, Nao actually blushed as Shizuru left the room, "Join me for dinner, Natsuki. I could use the company."

Nao sighed, "I can't figure that one out."

"If you do, tell me,"Natsuki shrugged. Nao looked at her, then flicked the foam from a beer at her.

"You heard her, Pup! She invited you to dinner. It's rude to keep a lady waiting!"