Late at night, within the neighboring city of Haneba, an exquisitely dressed woman in her twenties raised a tiny cup of shochu, and at the sign of her guest, she took it to her carefully painted lips. At the edge of the cup, a small drop of alcohol tried to escape with her bright red lipstick, only to be subtly caught by her tongue, keeping her perfect look intact under the bright moonlight.
"Say, has anyone ever tried to buy you out of here, Mei?" a man seated in front of the girl asked with a voice showing signs of ebriety.
"Oh, Daimyo-sama, you jest. The lady owning our establishment would never allow such a thing. Not when someone as important as yourself is so kind as to visit me~."
"Hm, good to know. I was worried I may have to outbid somebody soon just to keep you here."
"That would be hard to explain to your wives, right, Daimyo-sama~?" the girl said while playfully hiding her face behind a fan.
"Haha! You got that right. It feels better to have you stay here! Don't worry, I'll keep visiting as many times as you want me to."
"It is an honor to hear that, my lord," the woman said, bowing her head all the way to the floor—reaching the feet of the daimyo.
Little did the man know, Mei had no plans to accept being bought out by anyone, and her owner knew this. This ambitious young woman would not call herself satisfied as long as she could aim higher, and she was aware her beauty could bring her much more than this.
Now, one step away from becoming an oiran, the young lady had found favor with the most influential man she had ever met—the daimyo of Haneba, ruler of the province neighboring Harubana.
Suddenly, the night the two were supposed to spend together was interrupted by a loud knock on the door. This was unusual and would only happen for urgent situations, so Mei got up slowly and opened the door. At the entrance, a man dressed in beautifully decorated armor took a deep bow.
"Daimyo-sama! An urgent message has reached the palace!"
The Daimyo stood up, and while showing a displeased face, took the paper scroll from the soldier, sighing out an "What is it now?"
Soon after reading the message, the his face turned pale. The man signaled for Mei to bring his clothes, and left.
Now, alone in the dark room, Mei took a seat at the window.
"Wait just a bit more… Soon, you will be free of your burden, and we'll regain our old lives…" the woman whispered as she glanced at the ever-changing clouds.
*****
The first ray of sunshine reaching Izumo's face signaled the start of a new day. The boy got up, folded his futon, and placed it in the same old drawer.
Without wasting too much time, he performed some quick stretches to help with his muscles still sore from yesterday's fight, and after washing his face, he went down the stairs to the kitchen. There, his mom was busy preparing breakfast.
"Morning!"
"Oh, good morning! How is your face?"
That question was the trigger for Izumo to remember the humiliation he felt yesterday, his gaze dropping to the ground.
As far as he could remember, he had not once reached old age in those many lives. Hence why childish problems such as losing a fight to the local bully still bothered him.
"It's fine. The hit was not that terrible," the boy answered as he sat patiently at the low table.
"Fish? I don't remember this day being any special…" the boy continued. "And where is Dad? He sure wouldn't want to miss such a delight."
"He left early; he had some business to attend. Don't worry, I made sure he got to eat his share."
"I see, so am I in charge of the store today?"
"Oh no, we wanted you to have a free day all for yourself. Go out and play with your friends! Mom will take care of things here. It's been a while since I spent my time working. I wonder if I still have my charms~."
That was a jest. Despite her age, Izumo's mom did not look a day past 30. At first glance, there was nothing special about her looks, but she excelled in the basics. Her soft skin, straight hair, and height were all perfectly average. But her big eyes, slim figure, sharp facial features, and the way she took care of herself placed her at the top of any local beauty ranking done by the drunkards in the bar. Whether that was a thing to be proud of or not, nobody could say for sure.
"You know, those looks of mine made the store what it is today! Men and even women from all species would gather whenever I was at the front. No wonder my kids took after me with those good looks of yours! Hihi!"
"Ok, Mom, enough with reminiscing, or is it daydreaming? I'm off to train!"
"Stop right there!" the lady ordered in a stern yet soft tone.
"Huh?"
"I said you should go out and play. What part of that sounded like training to you?"
Izumo was not too keen on going out with his friends now, after what had happened not even a full day before. Even so, after taking a look back at the face of his mom, he understood there was no room left for negotiations.
"Ok, Mom. I'm off to play!"
"Good. Have fun!"
Izumo had made the correct choice. He knew how convincing his mom could get.
"I wonder if Sis got that hardheadedness from you," he whispered to himself. Or at least he thought he kept his voice low enough, but soon after saying that, he felt a presence so ferocious his fighting instincts kicked in. No, fighting could not save him this time, for as he turned around, he saw the smiling face of his mother getting closer and closer while holding a sandal in her hand.
Izumo did the most logical thing at that moment. He ran as fast as he could, feeling as the flying sandal augmented by wind magic barely missed him.
*****
Finally running out of breath, Izumo took a seat on the bank of the river passing the city, still thinking about the presence he felt and how it was more menacing than many of the enemies he had faced in his many lives.
One could only wonder what this woman used to do in her younger days.
After catching his breath for a minute, Izumo got up and looked towards the tree where his group would usually gather. He did not know how to face them. While in hindsight, the defeat he had suffered was just another one of the many stemmed from their duels, he couldn't shake the feeling that it was obvious how he lost his cool, gave it his all, and still lost in a shameful way.
Besides that, he feared that he might be called out for adopting a fighting style that he had never before used in this life.
That's why Izumo decided to walk around a bit more. Maybe by some twist of fate he would meet someone he knew, and he would find an excuse to not show his face at the usual meeting spot.
But, as fate would have it, he ended up stumbling upon the person he wanted to see the least. On the other bank of the river stood Ken with his sword in one hand, pointed at two kids.
Wait….kids?
When Izumo finally realized the gravity of the situation he was looking at, he quickly jumped to the other side of the river using the wind currents and put his hand on Ken's sword.
"Oh? Look who dares touch my katana! What makes you think you're in a position to do such a thing?"
"What is wrong with you? Pointing this thing at kids?" Izumo asked as he stiffened his grip on the hilt of the sword.
"No," Izumo continued. "There's no point in asking you what happened. I have more trust in those kids," he added.
"Oh, look at you! The brave hero of Harubana came here to tell me what I, his soon-to-be superior, am not allowed to do. And you don't even understand your position well enough to know when to watch that tongue of yours?"
"My what—"
Before Izumo could continue, Ken's elbow suddenly hit him in the stomach, and before he could take some distance, the boy was kicked to the ground.
"Don't pretend you didn't see him yesterday! That samurai who watched us, he came to me after the fight. That's right, he was measuring our strength, and it is clear who he liked better! He told me he will contact me again in a couple of days. I guess you will soon have a new superior to bow your head to, HAHA!"
Izumo could not believe the words he was hearing. The samurai who watched them yesterday must have really been his chance at advancing towards his goal, and he had blown it.
The two kids hid behind the frozen Izumo and tried to help him get up off the ground, but the boy would not respond, his mind having drifted away.
"Don't just stand there! Get up and kick his ass, please!" the little boy of the pair asked, but it was in vain. Izumo didn't respond. Had he given up? Only he knew what was going on in his head.
At least I can serve as the punching bag and let those two run away. Haha. I guess cannon fodder is also needed on the battlefield… he thought.
Thus, Izumo stayed there waiting for Ken to launch his next attack. He was ready to take it if it meant he could stop the swordsman from bullying the little ones.
While waiting, Izumo wondered what Ken would use to hit him. Would he stick to using his feet, or will he decide to take advantage of the chance and give Izumo a permanent handicap with his sword?
The answer: neither of those happened.
A soft hand grabbed Izumo by the arm, and one second later, it flung him across the river.
Looking back at what happened, Izumo couldn't believe his eyes.
Below him, there was a sly foxgirl waving at him with a smile on her face before turning her attention towards the armed and power-drunk Ken. Next to her, a small girl with a tengu mask bravely took the young kids on both shoulders and ran away with them, but not before preparing them with an "excuse me!"
At the sight of his friends popping out of nowhere, Izumo was too distraught to react to himself falling. Luckily, Kotaro caught him on the other side of the river in a princess-like position.
"What are you staring at me like that for? Come on! Let's run!"