Promise #12 Do Not Let The Village Revolt Against You

The sun peeked above the horizon. The team of shinobi crowded around the outside of their hideout waited for her. They were dressed in casual wear that matched hers. Basic cotton yukatas of dull colors. When she had dressed that morning, Matsuda had made sure that she had a dagger strapped to her arm. He advised she wouldn’t need it during this phase of training, but better to not die because of misjudgment.

The oldest of the shinobi was a full-grown man. His hair-covered muscles rippled under his yukata. Matsuda claimed the leader of the group she was training with was as aggressive as a tanuki. She didn't know what one of those was but meeting the man now she imagined it was a ferocious beast. He had a scowl on his face that seemed to never leave. His eyes were bloodshot from a lack of sleep. She wondered if he had even slept since the morning before last.

"You're Shizu?"

She nodded and bowed. "Good morning, senpai. Thank you for having me today."

He growled and stood her up. "When you're with this squad there will be no bowing or calling people sensei or senpai. Here we are equals. Only two things are above us." He held up two fingers. "Death and money. Got that?"

"Yes, sen—" She paused and bit her lip. "Yes, I understand."

A smile crossed his lips. "Good. They say you've already killed a man, that correct?"

Shizu's face lit up. "Yes! With the kitsune. They had me kill men all the time."

He laughed. "Cute, kid. Those weren't really killing though if they were stuck to a post. No matter, you managed to get on Kamezo-sensei's good side, and you got stuck with our squad. So, I'm sure he believes you can do well here."

“I will make sure to honor our clan with your team.”

“Not mine,” he grumbled and jutted his chin into the crowd. “Hojo’s leading this expedition.”

A tall lanky boy, not much older than Shizu, held a hand in the air to indicate he was the leader.

The others crowded and talked at once. They introduced themselves, but it was all so fast that Shizu couldn't keep up with any of the names. All she could do was smile and bow to each of them, hoping she didn't come off as too rude. The only one she did manage to hear was the leader's name. Hojo. When they were all done, only one question remained in her mind.

"Um...Hojo. What is money exactly?" She had seen it the last time she was in the village and heard about it, but the kitsune had never instructed her on it. Perhaps it was because they had no use for it. She wasn't sure. Kamezo-sensei talked of the coins being payments for her food and training, but she couldn’t fully grasp onto the concept.

Hojo crossed his arms. "Of course, those foxes still fail to teach the basics." He held a finger up. "Money is how you buy the goods and food you want." He lifted another finger. "For the Hikage clan, money is how we survive. People pay us in money to stay protected, but we also take it from those who have too much so we can stay alive and eat." Another finger. "Your job with us is to steal that money. Understand?"

"A little. But why do we use money? Why not just take what we want?"

"If it were that easy, we would be doing that already," Hojo chuckled and ruffled Shizu's hair. "Unfortunately, there are some in the city that work for the daimyo and money is also how they operate.” He scowled. “We cut their funding as best as we can and they can't fight us."

Hojo headed toward the village. "Either way, Shizu. Money is how this world operates and sometimes you have to confine yourself to these limits."

Shizu stayed close behind Hojo. They were entering parts of the city where regular citizens were walking through, and she didn't want to say anything that brought suspicion on them. The others in the group took off in opposite directions. Some climbed up the walls of the buildings to hide amongst the rooftops, while others blended into the thick crowds.

They turned the corner and stopped in front of a large house. It stood almost twice the size of the buildings next to it. Small blue and red flags fluttered against the outer walls with different writings on them. Women leaned out from windows, staring down at the streets, and calling out to the passersby.

Screams of pleasure that Shizu reverberated outside. She reached for her dagger, but Hojo stopped her.

“Not here.”

A young man traipsed out of the brothel and glanced down at Shizu with a large smile on his face. “I’ll be excited to see you in there during my next visit.” His tongue lolled in his mouth, slurring his voice.

Hojo growled at the drunk man until he scurried off down the street. “Ignore them. Stay close.”

"What is this place?" Shizu asked.

"Brothel. Your first stop and mission. The others will guard the building until we get out."

Shizu took a step back and shook her head. "No!” She wrapped her arms around her body in a tight embrace. Her body shaking uncontrollably. “I don't want to go in there. I did good, didn't I? What did I do that failed you?" She looked around the street to find an exit. Any way to escape from the brothel. She had done good, and they still were sending her there.

Stolen novel; please report.

The other shinobi from the team stood in different locations across the street making it impossible to run anywhere without bumping into one. There were no openings for her to run off. Her throat burned as tears rose. There hadn’t been enough time to prove she was worth keeping.

Hojo wrapped a hand around her bicep and squeezed gently. His voice softened to half the gruff nature it held before like soothing a child. "You're not going in there as a working girl. You've not done anything wrong. We just need to add a bit of a disguise for you. We can't be having you look like that and expect to steal from someone. You're too cute for them to not notice you."

“But at a brothel?”

He shrugged. “Where else would you go where people know what’s attractive and what’s not within the populace?”

Hojo pushed Shizu forward and the two walked into the brothel. It smelled of a sickly-sweet perfume. She gagged and covered her mouth, hoping for a small breath of fresh air that wasn't so heavily scented. Blankets of various colors covered the walls, keeping the light of the outside world at bay. Small lanterns dotted the room, keeping it dim enough to not see anyone too clearly.

Around the room women sat with their feet folded under and wearing the most beautiful kimonos Shizu had ever seen. Each one was a different color with flowers in patchwork designs. She wanted to reach out and touch it, imagining the cloth was smoother than water. The women all grinned up at her with small red lips. Some of their eyes glazed over as if not truly seeing her. Their white painted faces made them look like the ghosts of princesses.

Hojo pushed her to a small counter. The woman standing behind it was older than the others. She didn't wear makeup that hid her age like the other women did. Her hair was held back into a bun and frayed in multiple areas. Her smile was softer than the others as she looked down at Shizu with a sadness.

"What's this now? Got a new failure from the clan for me?” She leaned across the counter and sniffed the air exaggeratingly. “The last one you gave me didn't last the week. She looks like she won't last the afternoon." She paused and narrowed her gaze at Hojo. "Is she at least a virgin? You know my boys won't find interest in her unless they know she hasn't been deflowered yet."

Hojo shook his head. He dropped his voice, so Shizu had to strain to listen. "She hasn't gotten there yet. Kamezo-sensei sent her to us. But well," he looked down at Shizu. "She's got that natural pretty to her, you know. I need her to look more like a man and the only way I know how is with your trickery."

The woman chuckled. "Trickery? It's paint not magic, boy." She looked down at Shizu. "What's your name, girly?"

"Shizu," she said meekly. The conflicting messages of her purpose here mixed with the perfumes sent her head spinning.

The woman nodded. "Interesting. Not exactly the most masculine of names to go around saying, but then again no one will be asking for your name." She held out her palm to Hojo "You know the fees."

Hojo grumbled and plucked out a few coins from the small bag at his side. He slipped them into her hand quickly. She counted each one as she placed it in her pocket.

"You overpaid; you know?"

He nodded and turned his head to look at the women still lining the side of the room. "They for sale today?"

The woman clicked her tongue on the roof of her mouth and pocketed the money. "Not for the intentions you want them for." She pointed behind her. "My other girls are in back."

Hojo shook his head, still looking at the women. "None of that today. I just...want to enjoy some entertainment.” His cheeks burned a soft red and shifted where he stood. “Not like that though!" His gaze darted away from Shizu and let out a low hum.

She sighed and shook her head. She didn't argue with Hojo anymore and turned her focus back on Shizu. "First we need you to find some bindings. You're starting to poke through.” She tapped Shizu’s chest with a sharp nail. “Then we can talk about getting your face changed out."

"My face changed out?" Shizu reached up and touched her cheeks. She had enough from the different blades slicing her body from training, she didn’t think she could handle someone else with the blade cutting off her face.

The woman laughed. "Oh, you poor thing. Nothing so horrible. You shinobi and your minds always going to violence." She shuffled around the counter and grabbed Shizu's hand. "Like I said, it's just paint. No magic no knives. Well, maybe a knife." She laughed again at Shizu's shock. "I'm not going to stab you. The knife is to help with the paint if needed."