The carriage rocked slightly as Makoto stepped down onto the dirt road. No cobblestones this far from the city center, but hard dirt, broken rock, and a bit of sand. The air smelled of the fresh sea breeze, sunlight quickly warmed Makoto's shoulders, wind and the unseen surf played a calming orchestra. Near at hand was a block wall which separated the road from someone's private garden. Between the road and the wall was a small greenway, and near at hand, a hunched old woman sat before a small clay grill and a dirty banner which advertised fresh grilled squid. Between the weather and the food stall, Makoto almost felt she was on a day's holiday, not in the prologue of a vampire hunt.

Ren followed Makoto out of the carriage, frowning deeply as he held his wide-brimmed hat against the wind. He moved quickly to a small pool of shade provided by a nearby tree, some double-canopied fruiting thing leaning over the wall of the nearest property. Then came Yoshida, also frowning, but certainly for a vastly different reason. Last was Ann, bounding down happily, her red leather gleaming in the light.

Ryuji came around the carriage, having done something or other with the horse team. He was grinning. "Well, this is it! Ms. Ohya said she would meet us here, at the ikayaki stand near the two-headed tree."

Makoto followed Ryuji's pointing finger. It was the tree currently sheltering Ren from the direct sun. And the squid seller was the ikayaki vendor. But where was Ms. Ohya herself? Makoto didn't want them standing out here on the road. It was conspicuous, though they were not alone out here, and to casual observation, it might appear that they were some beach-goers stopping for some squid.

Up and down the road, there were some people on horses, in singles and in pairs; A few people were walking here or there; there were some gardeners or arborists or something working outside the gate of a property a little ways back the way they'd come, and one walking vendor was making slow progress down the street, hawking some sort of item. None of these people looked like they lived in the neighborhood, so the area must draw a small number of recreationalists, or perhaps traffic between the city and the poorer districts further down the coast. How far was the southern wall? Maybe another ten kilometers? Makoto seemed to remember hearing there was a slum of some sort down that way.

Ann stretched her arms into the air and smiled. "This place is wonderful!"

Makoto didn't want to wait out here. She was eager to get started. But none of them knew which of these estates was Madarame's. The buildings were all secluded behind anonymous stone walls and unlabeled gates. And entirely foolishly, Makoto had neglected to ask the Ohya woman to describe Madarame's place, so there was no way to know which property it was. Cursing herself for being a fool, Makoto had two choices: go up and down the street and asking passers-by which home might be Madarame's, assuming it was even under that name- or wait and hope that Ohya didn't renege on her promise to meet them.

There didn't seem much of a choice. Makoto turned towards her team. "Well, who wants some ikayaki?"

"Ohh! Me!" said Ann.

"I want two!" said Ryuji.

Ren's frown deepened. Makoto took that for a no.

"Please allow me, Lady Niijima" said Yoshida, all butler once more, and he moved off towards the old woman with the grill.

Not having Ohya here immediately was a problem, but as Makoto thought about it, she was sure Ohya would show herself. The woman was a journalist, and as payment for her help, Makoto had agreed to provide details of the hunt- should it end up being a hunt. Feeling slightly more confident, she stepped into Ren's tree shade, receiving a grim nod of attention from the visibly uncomfortable dhampir. They stood in silence for a moment, listening to the wind.

"I think I know how all the vampires are getting into Tock-Yo…" said Ren in a conversational tone. He pointed across the street where an odd gap between two walls allowed a splinter of the distant ocean to be seen.

Makoto sucked in a breath, her gut tensing. "The coast… of course. Ships in port are checked, but the beaches?" She looked up and down the road. "And how many of these estates have private docks?"

Ren nodded. "I bet we'll find Madarame's mansion is a waterfront property."

Makoto shook her head. "I won't take that bet. I'm sure you're right. Tch! It's so obvious!"

Ann and Ryuji had moved towards them, certainly overhearing the conversation. Both looked concerned.

"That makes sense," said Ryuji. "Remember when the papers started blaming the wall guard for Kamoshida getting in? That pissed me off! There are so many people, so many lights! Nothing can get over the wall and not be seen. Magic or not! Kamoshida would have had to be invisible! And we know he couldn't do that!"

"Can vampires turn invisible, Mr. Amamiya?" said Ann.

Ren shrugged. "There may be a persona that can do that. I don't know. But I do know most vampires know how to swim. A noble wouldn't even need a rowboat to get into this city."

That piqued Makoto's curiosity. "Can revenants swim? Can ghouls?"

"Revenants are transformed humans," said Ren, "so if they knew how to swim before, then they probably still can after being bitten. Ghouls? No. I doubt they even comprehend that water exists."

Ann frowned in thought. "Aren't ghouls transformed human's, too?"

Makoto knew the answer to that. The memory of a child ghoul, face tight with hunger, leaping on the attack. "They're drained, not transformed. Everything that made them people was sucked out of them."

The group went silent, each frowning under the weight of their own thoughts.

"Lady Niijima," said Yoshida.

Makoto turned to find that he had no grilled squids, but the squid vendor herself.

"Lady Niijima," said the old woman, her voice vaguely familiar, "I half expected you wouldn't show. But here you are, and with a whole hunting team, I see."

"What-?" said Makoto. Then, she looked closely at the squid woman. "Ms. Ohya?"

"Bingo," said Ohya, tossing aside the accent of an elder woman. Her somewhat nasal and informal speaking voice was grating to the ears. "You're not too late. The girl hasn't passed by. I've been here since this morning."

"Which house is it?" said Ren.

Old-woman Ohya cocked a finger behind her, indicating the property on the seaward side of the street. "That one. It's a ways in. I think it's built into the cliffside. I can only see a shack when the gate opens.

"You've been spying from just across the street!?" said Makoto.

"No. I've been selling squid just across the street. For weeks." said Ohya, obvious pride in her face.

"But you've been seen!"

"That's the idea," said Ohya with a smirk. "People notice when things change, not when things stay the same."

Makoto was taken aback. That- that made a strange kind of sense. The sudden appearance of a vendor might draw attention- but not if time passes and that vendor was always there. Ohya had become a part of the street, as normal as the trees and shrubs. And perhaps that disguise of normalcy extended to Makoto and her companions- perhaps they were not the first carriage to stop for a bite of squid?

"When will the girl come?" said Ren.

"If she holds to the same schedule, she should be here-" Ohya looked at Ren and froze. "Oh! You're.. Him! Niijima's vampire boyfriend! The one she danced with!"

Makoto felt a flush of heat run through her cheeks. Ren's frown deepened slightly and he loomed up taller to turn his full attention on Ohya. Ann and Ryuji had their mouths slightly open, both turning their surprised faces towards Makoto to see what she would do.

"Ren is- *cough* - Mr. Amamiya is not my vampire!" said Makoto, sputtering slightly. The very idea that HE was HER's was ridiculous! And the vampire comment was an overt attack on her profession and her family's tradition! Ohya was implying she was some kind of- of race traitor! Makoto had worried enough about that inside her own head, but now to have it thrown at her by this- this: slime-stick of a woman!

"What's this? Ren...?" said Ohya, turning back to Makoto, her brown eyes sparkling with mischief. "You're on first-names with it?"

Makoto felt the heat in her cheeks flare into her head. This woman was going way too far! And while they were in public! across the street from their target's house! Makoto was swelling with anger at this.. this.. devil woman! But she couldn't let herself explode out here in the street. And Ohya's small smirking face indicated that she knew that, too.

"He's not an it!" said Ann, stepping into Ohya's face with hands on hips. "Mr. Amamiya isn't even a vampire!"

"Well, he's half one," said Ryuji.

"Shut up, Ryuji!"

Thump.

All heads turned to the sound. Yoshida was standing next to the carriage, the passenger door now closed (and the obvious source of the sound). He was holding his blunderbuss in his hands, its business-end pointed casually at the sky.

"Ms. Ohya," said Yoshida, "perhaps we should stick to the matter at hand? I believe you have some squid to grill?"

Ohya, her face still mischievous in her old-woman disguise, smirked at Yoshida. She didn't seem phased by the weapon, perhaps recognizing an empty threat when she saw it. And as Ohya's business was a sort of invasive journalism, she was likely well-versed in the language of threats. But the smirk on her face faded. She bowed like an old woman with a back problem. And when she straightened, Ohya was gone and an elder fishwoman was in her place.

"Coming right up, sir," she said, and then began shuffling back towards her clay grill.

Makoto watched Ohya walk away. She was still bubbling over with indignation, she could feel the anger down to her fingertips. Vampire boyfriend!

"Ms. Sakamoto? Mr. Sakamoto?" said Yoshida, "Shall we confirm the quality of the squids?"

The twins agreed (after Ann gave Ryuji a communicative glare); and after Yoshida set his gun back inside the carriage, they all walked after Ohya, leaving Makoto and Ren to stand in the shade of the tree, secluded from most of the street by the boxy body of their parked carriage. Makoto realized Yoshida thought she needed a moment, which was embarrassing, but getting her anger back down was more than enough emotion to deal with at once.

Makoto didn't like the feeling of anger. She wasn't used to it, nor did she have many reasons to be angry- other than Sae; but thankfully, Sae wasn't currently around to add yet another complication to Makoto's increasingly complex life. She took a deep breath. Another. Makoto let the anger dissipate, she re-noticed the ocean breeze, the pulse in her eardrums faded enough for the distant surf to be audible. Makoto sighed.

She took more deep breaths, focusing on the soft sounds of wind and water, the motions of leaves. Ren stood tall and silent in his shade, the sea breeze idly swaying the end of his black coat and the fringes of his hat. She found his eyes upon her. The anger was fading enough to let the embarrassment be felt now, though she wasn't exactly sure why she felt so embarrassed about the whole event.

"Sorry," Makoto said. Though she wasn't exactly sure why she was sorry. Well, she shouldn't have let herself get so angry.

"You've gotten pretty good at controlling your face," said Ren.

"Wh- what?" Makoto had not expected a complement of any kind, much less about her face.

"I've never seen you that angry…" continued Ren, (sending another heatwave through Makoto's cheeks), "But other than the blushing, like that right there, your face was… very formal."

Makoto didn't know what to say to that, her mind flailed for something to say, anything to say: "I didn't know you spent so much time watching my face."

Makoto immediately wished she'd said almost anything else. Meanwhile, Ren stiffened. She could see it in his shoulders. His eyes opened slightly wider. He took in a small breath. Makoto had spent enough time Ren watching in the past few months to know that she'd just embarrassed him.

"Your face is nice to look at," said Ren. He immediately stiffened further, seeming surprised by his own words.

Makoto felt her cheeks heat up yet again, but with a softer temperature. Ren thought her face was- nice to look at? What was that phrasing? Ren's expression wasn't offering any further clues, in fact, he was pointedly looking away from Makoto. An awkward silence stretched between them. A gust of sea air ruffled the tree.

"I bet that's her," Ren said abruptly.

Grateful for the distraction, Makoto followed Ren's gaze. A young woman in a nice, (if somewhat revealing), dress was walking up the road. She looked pointedly out of place, and young woman who dressed like that usually hired a coach. But if the young woman had spent all the money she had on a dress to look her best for an artsy modeling job, Makoto supposed she would have to walk.

"I think you're right," said Makoto. Once that girl reached the gate of Madarame's mansion, the mission would begin for real. Anxiety returned to her mind and chased out an odd emotional soup: sated anger; fresh embarrassment; and some sort of… giddiness? She didn't have time to parse that mix right now.

"I'll get the others. Ren, stay here behind the carriage."