Chapter 2 / The Differentiation Formula, Part 1

While Murasame had finished things up at the facility's site and was now returning back to his manor, he could admit that he should have thought about things with better foresight. Providing Isayuki a job was the easy part, but what about the time between here and there? It wasn't as if the boy had a place to return to until they met up again the next day. Unfortunately, he said he would take care of the details and this constituted "taking care of the details".

"Whoa! This car is so big! Everything outside looks so nice too!"

"Sit down properly, kid. You're being a nuisance."

"Ah, so sorry!"

"Didn't you already sit inside of this car? Why are you still getting excited by this?"

"It's still so amazing, even for the second time!"

Isayuki threw himself down onto the limousine's leather seat. The chauffeur was curious about the boy's sudden return, especially when the boy looked like an absolute mess. Nevertheless, Isayuki had a smile on his dirty face and Murasame ignored it, so the chauffeur provided no comments to the situation. After all, he got paid to drive, not to judge.

"Where are we going now?"

"I told you already, didn't I? Were you too distracted about riding in this limousine again?"

Isayuki drained out a sheepish laugh.

"I'm taking you back to my residence," Murasame sighed, reluctantly repeating himself. "It's a nice place to calm down for the night. After everything that happened so far, I'd say a bit of a breather is well deserved. That includes you as well. I think you've worked your pay for today."

"Did the job already start?"

"Nevermind." Murasame's attempt to be witty went over Isayuki's head. Normally, most people would have a dry response, but Isayuki's innocent nature fell into line once again.

"Am I going to wait outside the house?"

"Do you not understand the point of bringing you to my home? If I'd wanted to leave you outside, then I would have simply thrown you off into the forest by now. We're going to get you cleaned up, into a better change of clothes and get you a roof to sleep under. I didn't think I'd have to explain every individual thing to you."b

"Even though I'm nobody?"

"You're not nobody anymore, remember? You're my assistant, damn it. Don't drag such a prestigious role into the mud of your self-loathing. Are you saying I made a bad decision?"

"Of course not! I wouldn't say that, Mister Murasame! Your decisions are always great!"

"Exactly."

"While I don't doubt that you are important," Isayuki mulled, "what is it that you do for work?"

"I'm a businessman, but that's just simplifying things to make you understand it easily," Murasame explained. "I help my company run like clockwork while managing the partnerships we have underneath the conglomerate's name. I have a stronger sense in the financial branch of things, but I can do more than that when necessary."

"Whoa, that does sound important." There was a gut feeling in Murasame that Isayuki didn't understand anything he said. "As your assistant, what could I do to support you?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

Now that he thought about it, what could Isayuki do in order to help him out? The boy lacks so much experience that it wasn't even funny and if this hasty decision ever reached the ears of his parents, they would be heavily questioning his choices. After all, he knew how capable a high-level assistant had to be. His mother served as a defining example and he wasn't going to lie—Isayuki's skills were far from reaching her expertise, even if he had ten extra years to catch up.

The rest of the ride had been filled with Murasame humoring Isayuki with the sights they were passing by. He didn't consider himself to be someone who could be a tour guide, but even he surprised himself as to how easily he remembered the landmarks that Isayuki's sight gravitated towards. It was a wonder how Murasame couldn't remember faces and names.

"And this is my home."

"You live in that!? It's so big!"

The limousine pulled up to the front of the manor, driving around the front's fountain. The chauffeur stepped out and opened the door for Murasame. Isayuki followed, practically hopping out like a rabbit as his eyes sparkled to the illustrious building.

"We should wash up first. I really hate getting sweat and dirt everywhere."

The staff of the manor welcomed Murasame back the moment he walked through the doors. They were surprised that he brought a guest with him, since Murasame never really brought anyone over before, they still attended to Murasame's wishes first. He told them to get the main bathroom sorted out, a meal prepared for the both of them, and to have one of the guest rooms organized.

"A guest room?"

"Don't make me spell it out," Murasame sighed. "I can't be kicking you out into the streets as my assistant. It wouldn't reflect well on me, so until we can figure out what we can do for your situation, I think it's easier for everyone if I provided a room for you to stay in. At least, for now."

"I get to live in this big house!?"

"That's what it sounds like to me." Before Isayuki could drift off back into a spacious wonder, Murasame pushed him further into the main foyer. "Stop standing around. You got blood and dirt everywhere. If you're going to my assistant, you need to look the part. That goes for your appearance as well. No assistant of mine is going to be wearing a hospital garb."

"I don't have any other clothes though…"

"You worry about cleaning up first."

He gestured to the manor staff and they immediately bowed before heading off. None of them were shinobis, or properly trained as such, but they were still quick on their feet and before the minute had passed, the foyer was left empty, except for Murasame and Isayuki.

Once the bath had been drawn for them, the staff brought them in. For a traditional home, a mere bathroom might have suffice, but the Houou Manor had its main "bathroom" as a practical bathhouse. The main difference was the replacement of the locker room, where there was simply a room to undress and throw clothing into the laundry. Picking up towels to hide their private parts, Murasame brought Isayuki into the faucet room to wash up before the soak.

"Whoa…"

"Never been inside a bathhouse before?" Murasame frowned. "Ah, I guess that question doesn't matter if you've lost your memories."

"I can definitely feel relaxed here!" Isayuki dashed over to one of the few faucets and showerheads. "So I just wash myself here?"

"Hey! Don't run! It's not a damn playground!"

Then again, if Isayuki did suffer an accident, would he even succumb to the injuries? The image of Isayuki being impaled by the yōma's spikes flickered once again as he watched Isayuki trying to figure out how to disperse water onto himself. Murasame sighed as he approached the boy.

"Here. You turn it like this. I hope you remember how to clean yourself too, right?"

"Of course I do!" Isayuki puffed up his cheeks, almost offended.

"Soap bars on your left," Murasame pointed. "Shampoo and conditioner on your right."

"What's that?"

After Murasame had to explain to the unaware Isayuki, he took his spot across from him, having their backs turned to one more. Going through the motions of cleaning, getting the sweat off while being careful not to undo his bandages, he realized that he might not be able to soak in the bath like this.

However, the thought ran through his mind. When was the last time he even used this personal bathhouse? He constantly took showers and baths in his own private bathroom, attached to his bedroom, so he never had the reason to use this space. He often used bathhouses whenever he was traveling and the inn he was staying at had it, but never this one inside of his house. All he did know was that Ikaruga used it frequently whenever she invited her friends over.

"Mister Murasame? Could I ask a favor?"

"I thought you said you knew how to clean yourself."

"I do, but my hair is a bit tough to clean." Murasame looked over his shoulder to see Isayuki trying to soak his long hair with the showerhead. "I'm not sure if I'm getting everything."

Murasame sighed. "Stay still."

He stood up and walked over, filling an aside bucket with water. Without much hesitation, he threw the water onto Isayuki's head, drenching him completely.

"Ah!"

It did its job, as Murasame watched the dirt and blood fade away in the water's current. It wasn't without the price of Isayuki being completely frightened by the act. Isayuki tried to silence himself after his scream, but for insurance, Murasame dumped another bucket of water.

"M-Mister Murasame! P-Please warn me first!"

"Stop playing around and scrub yourself clean already. When you're done, you can head in to soak in those bathtubs back there. I'm heading out first, so make sure that you don't accidentally drown yourself again. Don't stay in it for too long either or else you'll get dizzy."

"Got it…"

Murasame left the bathroom with a new change of clothes, but he noticed that the change of clothes that the staff supplied for Isayuki had been belonging to both siblings. Murasame's blue t-shirt and Ikaruga's jogging pants; both of them were simple and nothing except the brands popped out from the outfit. He figured that since Ikaruga was around the same height as Isayuki, the staff made the decision to borrow her clothes for a bit while assuming that Murasame would be alright with lending Isayuki some clothes of his own. He didn't care about that last part though.

Murasame ended up contacting Ikaruga, just to make sure they had permission.

"Are these the clothes I'm wearing for now?"

"You're not soaking in the bathtub?" Murasame glanced over his shoulder to see that Isayuki was waddling behind him like a duckling following its mother. "You're allowed to enjoy yourself, you know. There's nothing better than soaking in water after a hard day's work."

"I, uh, didn't feel like it." Isayuki then flashed a gentle smile.

Murasame raised his eyebrow. "Is that so? Then it can't be helped."

He showed Isayuki the clothes he would be wearing and after a good fit, they strolled over to the dining hall where their food was about to be done. Of course, Isayuki enjoyed the sights while they were moving over, noticing all of the paintings and expensive decorations that were against the hallway's walls. He certainly didn't know how to value art with the scene being more akin to a kid in a museum.

The dining hall kept up the manor's appearances for Isayuki. It was large, housing an elongated table to which Murasame and Isayuki sat at one end. Murasame ended up talking about random crap to entertain Isayuki for a bit, considering how he seemed interested in anything Murasame said. That was until the chefs started coming out and Isayuki got a whiff of the food they were going to eat.

"Something smells really good!"

"You've got a good nose, don't you?"

Once the food was laid out, Isayuki started to drool. All of them were small portions, but they would collectively sate their hunger. Isayuki tried reaching out for the food with his hands until Murasame rightfully stopped him.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, right! We're supposed to say thanks for the food!"

"That too, but more specifically, I'm asking about why you were about to grab the food."

"Am I not supposed to do that?"

"You're not some orphan on the streets. Don't you know any table manners? Your memories can't be so bad that you forgot how to use a spoon and a fork."

As Isayuki looked at Murasame blankly, Murasame realized that his words hit close to the target. It was incredibly strange as to how this amnesia worked. On one hand, Isayuki was still able to function like being able to wash himself, but on the other hand, he wasn't able to remember how to eat properly. On one hand, he knew what a car was, but he didn't know what soap was.

He wondered what kind of amnesia this was.

"Do you know what chopsticks are?"

"What's that?"

"I should have expected that. I walked right into that one."

Murasame didn't understand anything anymore, but he stopped trying to understand. He felt like he was in the old song and dance for far too long already. For some reason though, he was putting up with it, despite his patience threatening to wear thin ever so slightly.

He was lucky that Isayuki learnt rather quickly. After demonstrating the mannerism for Isayuki, it was as if he had adapted to the picture perfect style that Murasame was envisioning, regardless of what Murasame had done in front of him. A regular person wouldn't even believe that Isayuki was about to devour the food with his hands a few minutes ago.

"Ooooh! The food is so good! You get to eat this everyday?"

"Whatever the in-house chefs decide to make for that day, I guess." Murasame was desensitized by the food here. He ate it without giving it a second thought, growing up with this level of quality his entire life. "You like it that much, huh?"

"I think this is the best thing I've ever tasted!"

"You don't have the memories to back that up, but I'd believe you regardless. The chefs we have in the manor all worked in Michelin Star restaurants."

Isayuki tilted his head. Murasame groaned.

"They've worked in very high-quality restaurants before."

"Ah! Then that only means that all of your meals would be high quality too!" Isayuki clapped his hands. "Only fitting for such an important businessman like you, Mister Murasame!"

Murasame had to figure out a way to adapt his vocabulary for Isayuki to not look stupefied at every second word, but that was trouble for another time. Murasame and Isayuki continued their meals peacefully and the dishes were soon all empty. For how slim Isayuki was, Murasame was surprised that the chefs needed to come out with a second and third round of food for him. That wasn't including the desserts that were brought out afterwards.

When they were done, nighttime fell. Murasame heard his sister had returned home from her classes, but there was no reason to meet up with her as of yet. She probably wanted to wash up before anything else first, so they shouldn't slow her down.

"I'm going to sleep here as well?"

"That's the plan. The guest room is up ahead here."

It was on the first floor, a distance from Murasame's room which was on the third floor. When Murasame opened the door, Isayuki dipped his head inside, as if wary that if he had come in too quickly, it would all pop as a fleeting dream. His pace slowed down as he looked around. In Murasame's eyes, there hadn't been anything noteworthy, but as the patterns were already proven, that was not the case for Isayuki. A bed, a few tables by its side, cabinets, a seating table with couches, a flat-screen television, a walk-in closet, some shelves preemptively filled with books, a desk for any needed work, and a couple of other things serving as decoration.

Isayuki blinked as he slowly took in his surroundings. "I've never had a room like this before."

"Of course you hadn't. I can see that despite this being normal for me, the everyday person could only dream about having a room like this. Six hundred square feet; that's the average space of the guest rooms in this building. Enjoy it for the night because we're heading out tomorrow morning."

"We're heading somewhere?"

"Obviously. You can't rely on a single set of clothes forever. You'll need an appropriate outfit to be my assistant as well, so we'll be dealing with that."

Murasame's hand wrapped around the door's knob. "Make sure you're presentable tomorrow. You might need to go outside with the clothes you're wearing right now, so I'd advise you to not mess them up. I've got to go wrap up some things before I head to sleep. You should get some sleep too."

Isayuki turned around with a smile, but it was obvious that he was holding in tears of joy. Murasame felt like the moment he left, Isayuki was going to start letting that out. "Thank you, Mister Murasame. Have a good night."

He closed the door behind him and left Isayuki to himself.

As he was heading back to his room, he encountered Ikaruga who had just got out of her shower. She must have returned home when they were having dinner.

"How are you holding up, Murasame?" Her concern was presented first and foremost. Ikaruga was always a caring person, after all. "I take it that your injuries don't feel as bad anymore?"

"How about we talk about something that doesn't have an obvious answer to it?"

Ikaruga giggled. "I take it that you have something to tell me? Does it have to do anything with the guest you've brought over?"

Murasame flinched. "How did you—"

"Our staff informed me of such." Compared to Murasame's position of professionalism with them, Ikaruga was in a casual relationship with those who worked at the manor. They were more similar to friends than employees for her. "They were talking to me about how it was the first time in their time working here that they've seen you bring over a guest, much less letting them stay here for the night."

"And here I thought I could take you by surprise."

"Don't worry, Murasame. I was truly surprised. I didn't think that you would bring that boy into our manor to rest. I take it that I won't need to do anything since you have things under control?"

"Well, maybe introduce yourself at some point," Murasame said, glancing to the side. "The kid might be staying here for a while, so it would be best to have everyone as comfortable as they could be."

"How thoughtful."

"No, it's just the normal thing to do here," Murasame frowned, knowing that Ikaruga was teasing him. With a defeated sigh, Murasame started to walk by. "Anyways, that's all from me. I'll let you go on with your night. Have sweet dreams and all of that."

"Fufufu…" Ikaruga smirked. "Indeed, have a good night, Brother."

-/SK-EV/-

While it was mostly a lie that Murasame had things to do before he went to sleep, there was still one thing that he wanted to check out. The fact of the matter was that as long as Isayuki was under his wing, the threat of the yōma organization would still loom over. That masked figure said that they would let Isayuki go with Murasame, but they never said anything about letting Isayuki go completely. Murasame might not need to worry about the immediate future, giving some kind of assumed grace period, but that only makes Murasame more pressured to prepare.

It can only be assumed that the yōma organization will try to retrieve Isayuki once again when the time is right. And the means, whether he liked it or not, Murasame was neck-deep in this problem. If he could enlist some help from the shinobi council, that would make his life easier, but the threat of the mole could make his words deal no damage to their progress.

He needed evidence. Not only that, he needed evidence that a possible mole could not refute. More importantly, he would likely have only one shot to bring this operation to light or else his word's reputation will be taken less seriously if he came back with repeated requests.

Where does Murasame start with this though?

He sat down at his personal computer and looked up a few things.

There was no point in using the internet to uncover underground information, but as the son of a shinobi clan leader, he could easily gain access to things that aren't supposed to be available to the average eye. Although there were too many files to sift through and the information he physically has backed-up is outdated by a year for security reasons, he could try and gather more information on yōmas in general. It wouldn't have been that difficult.

After all, there was a file from a year ago that involved a massive calamity of yōma spawning from Kyoto. Whether the organization was related to that or not, he figured that they must have had some kind of observation on the situation. An underground organization such as that wouldn't miss the opportunity to watch and learn more about the creatures they are harnessing.

After filtering his results, Murasame leaned on a hand while slowly scrolling through the reports.

"Let's see what we've got here."

To be perfectly honest, Murasame had already known the majority of what happened.

Ikaruga was actually one of the key shinobis to be involved in Kyoto's yōma problem and he had heard a bit about what went down. It differed slightly from what the reports were saying, but he can assume that the author, whoever this Kiriya was, was trying to cover for them as best as he could while being faithful to the events that took place. Of course, there were other yōma cases that were recorded happening all over Japan at that time, but Kyoto might have been the origin point.

There was no harm in checking the other cases up, but that was for another time.

As Murasame gazed through the endless documents and reports, his eyes stopped his hand from scrolling any further down. One name and their status had popped out to him, appearing to be a contributing factor to the incident in Kyoto.

"Dōgen Daishi, huh…? An evil-shinobi allied individual that was killed during this incident which, again, took place a year ago." Murasame rubbed his chin. "When did that masked figure say their director died again? Wasn't it a year as well? Might be a coincidence, but I can't take that off the table…"

For the rest of the night, Murasame went to review the rest of the documents.