The beautiful day did not grace only Xizang, but also the open road. Travelers all over China were walking under a beautiful blue sky with a slight, tranquil wind at their backs, and birdsong echoed throughout the forests and the plains. It was all very idyllic, but despite that, Gentoku Ryuubi felt nothing but unease as she walked down the dirt road that led to her old village with Kan'u and Chouhi flanking her, with their respective weapons in hand and packs on their backs. On both sides of the road, there were a number of rice paddies, filled with men of all ages picking the rice with bended back and crinkled brow.
It had been quite some time since Ryuubi had left this place, and she had become a radically different person in some respects. When she had finally arrived in Xizang with the Zhuo army and told Ragna her story, he had given her a post in the palace serving under old Gan instead of allowing her to find work in town. Since then, she'd worn the outfit she wore now—an outfit similar to Kan'u's, albeit with a red skirt underneath the much shorter green vest, white thigh-high boots, and a pink ribbon instead of a tie. Additionally, her hair had been tied into two small buns, one on each side of her head and each trimmed with a pair of white feathers—one in the front, one in the back.
Though her overall bearing and gait had not changed, Ryuubi now looked the part of Chuuzan Seiou's descendant, even if she didn't quite believe that she was. That, more than anything, would be the biggest wedge between her and the people that she had grown up calling neighbors, and Ryuubi truly wished from the bottom of her heart that that wouldn't happen. Even if this was the last time she ever returned to this village, she wanted to remember it fondly, and not with sadness.
Kan'u's expression was relaxed and calm as they approached the village gate, while Chouhi's bare feet padded along the dirt road without pausing. Ryuubi glanced at both of them with a small smile, and her nervousness disappeared for a few moments. It's been so good to travel with Lady Kan'u and Lady Chouhi. It's been pretty pleasant so far, but now... She looked around again, and bit back a sigh. I feel ashamed to be back here.
Once they stepped into the village, Ryuubi looked around with an air of feigned casualness. The village proper was surrounded by a few trees toward the back, where the woods grew denser toward the direction of a mountain in the distance. Most of the buildings were made of wood, but they were nothing at all like Xizang's buildings; they were distinctly simple huts or stalls. A number of the villagers stopped to look in their direction, and Ryuubi could tell that a few of them were looking directly at her and whispering to each other. Their eyes burned on Ryuubi's back, and she quickly turned toward the mountain. There was a house in particular that was butting up against the forest line, but it didn't look particularly remarkable; it was this house that Ryuubi gestured to with a slight pointing of the hand. "Follow me, Lady Kan'u, Lady Chouhi. The landlord's place is over this way."
Kan'u and Chouhi nodded, then fell into step behind Ryuubi. The whispers increased in volume, and none of the villagers addressed Ryuubi directly or looked in her direction when she looked in theirs. The reception was so cold that even in the sunlight it made her shiver a bit. What exactly had she done to merit such behavior? She couldn't recall leaving on bad terms with anyone. She looked down at her clothes and wondered if perhaps she had overdressed, or if Kan'u and Chouhi's weapons were attracting more attention than she'd thought they would.
Kan'u's expression grew more tense as they arrived at the landlord's hut. "Something is wrong here, Gentoku. Everyone was staring and gossiping like a gaggle of hens. What's the matter with these folk?"
"I don't know, Lady Kan'u," Ryuubi replied. "They might be uncomfortable with our clothing. I'm not quite certain."
Chouhi shook her head with a petulant frown on her face. "They're looking at you, Gen. And they don't look happy, either. Something is weird here. I don't like it."
Ryuubi didn't reply to that, but instead took the last few steps to the landlord's door and knocked briskly. After a few moments, a fairly tall woman with graying black hair opened the door and looked down a little bit at Ryuubi, then arched a rough eyebrow and smirked nastily in a way that Kan'u and Chouhi did not like. "Well, well, if it isn't Gentoku Ryuu. Never thought I'd see you here again, brat. You look awfully fancy in those clothes of yours. Found a man to take you to bed?"
Ryuubi's face flushed red, but she could not manage to display the anger she felt, only the embarrassment at the bold statement. Kan'u, however, had no such compunctions, and stepped forward, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Ryuubi. "You are Gentoku's old landlord, correct? I am Unchou Kan'u of Youzhou, and one of Gentoku's superiors at the palace. We came here to speak to you regarding the Ryuu family home and any possessions that were still in it when you evicted Gentoku."
The landlord's smirk widened. "Yes, I am Yuiren Lo. And to be honest I'm a little shocked. Kan'u of Youzhou visiting our humble village? That jumped-up Messenger of Heaven must have quite a bit of free time if he can send a general on a pointless trip to escort a royal concubine."
Chouhi tensed, and her Viper Spear clanked in her hand. Before she could speak, Kan'u put a hand up. "Ma'am, there's no need for all of that," Kan'u replied. Her voice was pleasant, but the expression on her face was harder than a diamond. "However, I would like to give you this warning. If you insult my lord again, the results will not be pretty for you personally. This conversation is not about me or about him—it's about the Ryuu family. Now, I'll say it again. We're here to see about any of the family belongings that you still have for them."
The hidden threat in Kan'u's voice made Lo capitulate slightly; she stopped smirking so broadly and actually looked at them with a more civil expression. "I may have a few. However, when Ryuubi decided to skip town instead of paying the rent, she gave up all her rights to them. Discussion over."
For the first time since the conversation started, Ryuubi spoke, or rather, shouted. "I did not skip town! You came to my door one week early with Shang and Shen, and literally told me that if I didn't get out, they would pick me up and throw me out! How dare you accuse me of trying to… trying to...!"
The other villagers looked at her more directly now that they'd heard her outburst, which carried pretty far. Kan'u blinked, shocked at how loudly Ryuubi had spoken and how her brow was furrowed and her blue eyes narrowed in unshakable rage. Even Chouhi's tense glare lightened somewhat out of the sheer novelty of this expression from Ryuubi.
Lo shrugged, and leaned against the door frame. She spared a glance over Ryuubi's head to see that the villagers were crowding around her house in a wide semi-circle. That was more than fine with her; the girl would likely embarrass herself soon enough, and if she did it in front of an audience, that was all the better. "So you say, so you say. Regardless, what I said still stands. Those things aren't yours or your family's anymore. They're mine now. You're simply out of luck."
Ryuubi's righteous anger, had she been the Ryuubi of two weeks ago, might have crumbled at that. But she had seen firm leadership and firmer self-reliance in that intervening time, short as it was. She had seen Kan'u, Shoukatsuryou, Houtou and Ragna debate fiercely about policy without one shrinking away from the other. She had seen old Gan call Ragna a fool to his face, then get complimented by Ragna for doing so. She had seen all of them staying up till all hours of the night to get work done, and was often the only one that was awake enough to help them get to bed. Compared to all of those people—compared to all the work they did, all the sacrifices they made, all of the things they did for other people—Lo was no one special.
Though she was assured of what she wanted to do next, Ryuubi still took a moment to look around at the crowd that had gathered around them. Their faces were stern, hostile, confused, concerned, and she knew why; clearly, Lo's version of events had become the accepted truth of Ryuubi's departure, and now Ryuubi was the one set up to be the villain by coming back here to demand what should be rightfully hers after leaving in such a "cowardly" way.
When Ryuubi spoke again, the anger in her voice was more controlled, but there was a quiet, understated authority to it. As she looked her landlord in the eye, the angry red burn on her cheeks gradually faded. "Yuiren Lo. I will never deny that I did fail to hold up the commitment to pay back on the rented land. I will never claim that I should have kept my home in light of that failing; a contract is a contract, and must be honored one way or another. I am not here to dispute that." Her voice rose. "Those things I left behind are all I have left of my family that I can rightfully claim. I am not here to challenge your claim on that land. I am here simply to ask for what is left of the Ryuu family legacy. Even if the home and the land are not mine, those items are."
She then did the last thing that anyone would have expected, and slowly got on hands and knees, bowing her head. Kan'u and Chouhi gasped aloud, while Lo flinched. The villagers began to murmur and whisper even more, but Ryuubi did not raise her head to look at them and did not make the slightest sign of standing back up. "Please. Just allow me to take whatever was left behind. That's all I want."
After that, the only sounds in the air were the whispers of the villagers around the hut. Lo looked at them, then Kan'u and Chouhi, then down at Ryuubi. They all met her eyes without responding to her, but their furrowed brows and harsh frowns spoke clearly for them.
It was at last Kan'u that broke the silence. "Well? What is your answer?"
Lo's face pinched inward as she closed her eyes and frowned. "Damn it, fine. I already got rid of her clothes, but there were some papers and jewelry that I held on to. That's all there is. I'll get it for you. After that, could you try to stay away for more than a couple of weeks before you come crawling back with your tail between your legs like a dog? Have some pride."
Chouhi's eyes flashed as she stared up at Lo. "Say that again about Gen! I dare you! You're the one that kicked her out of her house—"
"That's enough, Lady Chouhi," Ryuubi said. Her voice was still velvety soft as she stood back up and bowed her head toward Lo. "Thank you, Lo. I appreciate it."
Lo let her mouth relax, and for the first time Ryuubi saw the deep, tired lines in the landlord's face and the way her gray eyes were dull and almost unseeing. It was as if the woman had aged five years since last they had met. "You're welcome," she muttered, turning away. "Wait here. I'll be right back."
The moment the woman was out of earshot, Kan'u gave a displeased sigh and turned to Ryuubi. "You have the patience of a saint, Gentoku." Her frown softened. "I'm sorry. You shouldn't have needed to do that. How disgusting that she would make you grovel for what should have been yours in the first place."
Ryuubi shook her head. "Being prideful would have just made things harder, Lady Kan'u. In the grand scheme of things, we're getting what we came here for, and that's enough."
"Aisha," Kan'u replied. Ryuubi blinked, then blushed as she realized what Kan'u was trying to say. "You've been standing on ceremony with me for a while now, and I've been addressing you by your given name since you helped me with the wounded at Kousonsan's camp. I think that as friends we should address each other more casually."
Chouhi nodded. "If Aisha is OK with it, then I am too. Call me Rinrin from now on, OK, Gen?"
For a moment, Ryuubi's mouth did little more than open and shut wordlessly. Eventually, she found her voice again, no longer looking like the somber young woman that had prostrated herself before a belligerent landlord. "I'm all right with that… a-as long as you call me Touka." She looked Kan'u in the eye, then Chouhi, smiling beautifully. "You're right… Aisha, Rinrin. We're friends. We should address each other like friends."
Kan'u returned the smile and placed her free hand on Ryuubi's shoulder, squeezing gently, while Chouhi grinned and propped her Viper Spear against her shoulder. "That's the spirit."