A clatter of noise like jostling floor boards echoed into the living room. By how loud it was coming from one of his guest rooms, Kajima already knew that Shizu and Azi were rough housing. And so bright and early at that.

“Ow!” That was Azi, he seemed to be on the receiving end of the tussle. “Stop Biting me already, you lewd cat! I’m not a thing too..”

“Oh, be quiet.” That was Shizu, interrupting and sounding as petulant as ever. She seemed amused. “Now, be a good little pup and hold still.”

“Stop calling me that!”

“Then don’t call me a cat! You’re my apprentice from now on, so you better show me some respect!”

“Stop biting me and I will.”

“Hmpf! I will do what I want. And I see more discipline is in order.”

“What?! Hey wait, stop, stop it!”

“Hmmm.” Kajima sipped at his tea as he tended to his work in the kitchen. “Guess they aren’t that hung over.” He sighed. “If they can be this lively in the morning they'll be fine. But I get the feeling people would misconstrued what they’re saying. Better scold them later.”

If not for how he already knew Shizu’s usual tendency to terrorize the opposite sex, he would barge in and stop whatever she was doing. But, no one’s purity was at stake, though Azi’s pride might be hurt.

Forgive me, but you’re going to have to deal with ..people.. Like her in the future. I hope you learn from this.

He was imagining that Shizu was by now sitting on Azi’s back, pinning him like she did with her brothers in their youth. She had done it so many times to Yashimu and her other brothers that it had wheedled its way into Kajima’s most memorable times. But why in this situation? Well that was easy, because both last night and this morning seemed to prove what kind of relationship they had.

Brotherly, he’d say, or well, a kind of roughly hewed bond. While not blood, it was becoming evident that Shizu liked Azi as a friend she can let loose on.

Kajima sighed a second time, and so soon. This better play out well. He reviewed how Shizu and Ozen saw Azi as an asset. It disgusted him but he understood their intentions. The people served the nation and the Empire at large. Both commoners and nobles alike, they both did the same role and Kajima had done so as well. So Ozen, acting as a King who tended to the talent pool of his people, was a commonplace course of action, just as it was for Azi to live.

***

After Shizu was satisfied and got her fill of messing with Azi, she finally released him and laughed at his now completely red face.

"Oh, I am going to enjoy teaching you many things." A sultry smile played on her lips.

Azi tried to recompose himself. He shook himself, and his face returned to its normal shade. He then spoke a single word so blunt and plain as his eyes squinted at her in derision.

“Vulgar."

Shizu flushed. Yes, she was promiscuous in her words and while what she had done only reinforced Azi’s claim of her vulgarity, she didn’t mean those kinds of lessons, the kinds.. in bed.

"Ehhhhh, No, no, no. Who said it was going to be anything lewd?"

Panicking at his misunderstanding, she frantically thought of a way to redirect. But then the grin on Azi’s face told her, Gotcha. She was being teased. Before she could smack him in retaliation, Azi got up and quickly went to the door. Before leaving he turned around with a smug smile plastered on him.

"Alright, I believe you.” Azi said. “But hurry up and wipe that blush off your face, you're getting all hot and bothered for no reason.”

“Wha What?” Shizu touched her cheeks but she wasn’t red, or hot for that matter.

“Hah, you’re so gullible.” Azi laughed and rounded the door to block the incoming pillow Shizu threw at him. It softly thumped in Shizu’s defeat and she suffered in hearing Azi’s laughter behind the door. Her cheeks puffed, going red with anger and annoyance.

“Jerk!”

Leaving Shizu to cool it, Azi made his way to his own room and found a new set of clothes that Kajima had likely prepared for him. Wiping himself down with a towel and a bucket of water that were provided with the clothes, he got dressed. His new attire was a blue and white tunic with trousers that had an eastern design. The simplistic symbols and patterns reminded him of an Eastern and Oriental culture from a piece of memory that suddenly popped up. It was a good sign he was remembering little by little.

After also changing his undergarments, he secured the clothes with a white cloth around his waist. He then took a moment to get the feel of his attire. The long sleeves of the tunic kept his forearms warm from the winter’s cold air and the pants went down just below his knees.

Both provided adequate coverage from the winter weather but was close to form fitting that it didn’t hinder his movements. Man, the tailors here are incredible. Guess you can’t beat talented craftsmen.

Grabbing a simple money pouch, leather bag, and assembling together the usual items like his notebook, some coin, and other odds and ends, Azi arrived at the dining room in time to eat. There he saw that Kajima had finished eating his own breakfast and had set out a breakfast for the two late risers.

The big man was reading from a book, likely some records related to his work or written commissions. He looked up, greeting Azi with a wave.

"Morning, breakfast is ready for you. Go ahead and eat, Shizu won’t mind if you start without her. The girl takes a while to get ready."

For a moment, Azi thought to at least wait to eat a meal with another person. The prospect of eating alone was lonely, except, his growling stomach won out.

"Thanks.” Azi said, setting his bag down. “And thank you for the new clothes."

"Not a problem.” Kajima said. “In any case, is there anything you want to talk about today? You look like you’re going out, and I can tell what for."

"Yeah, can I ask you a few questions about my task ahead?"

"Sure, go on." Closing his book, Kajima righted himself on his cushion. He could see the glimmer of curiosity in Azi’s eyes, he was willing to nurture his passion to learn.

Indeed, Azi had numerous questions to ask, but he got straight to the point and started with what he needed as he sat down. Bringing a spoonful of porridge to his mouth, he began.

"So, what are the tools of the trade for a blacksmith? I know I’ll need a hammer and furnace, but there’s more to it. Right?"

He had no knowledge of blacksmithing from his experience and whatever he knew from his remaining memories of what he called a.. college.. was insufficient. While this College was an institution of learning, it likely wasn’t tailor to deliver him the knowledge he needed for his current goals.

He did know some tidbits of blacksmithing. But, they would be of no use to him in a real-life situation as they had no factual backing to support the claims of supposed methodically. He hadn’t seen it work first hand. To ensure that his understanding was concrete and based in reality, he wanted Kajima’s long, true and tried time of experience to act as his guide. Really, he wanted Kajima to teach him as much as he could. He saw just how professional the big guy was with how intricate and outstanding his crafted weapons were.

From the smallest knife to the largest greatsword, each one that Azi had held and seen was balanced and honed with an almost perfect amount of symmetry with delicate care. Kajima was also, definitely, multi-talented. That varied knowledge of his was proof, but so was the proof in his storehouse that was chocked full of enormous greatswords to the shortest of blades. Even unique weapons like Shizu's mace-like umbrella were within his ability to create.

Kajima scratched at his growing beard. "Well to start off.” He said. “Of course you’ll need a forging hammer, but there are a variety of them for forming metals into different shapes. I'll let you use my tools in the workshop, you'll have to buy or make your own in the future though.”

“Alright, that makes sense, but where should I start for my situation with Shizu’s weapon?”

“What you’ll need for her situation right now are the right materials, which will be difficult. Her katana was made from refined steel which is only found in the Capital of the Empire, Yamato. It's difficult to create out here in the frontier. I do have the tools and you can make it in the workshop. Unfortunately, it's expensive to buy the needed materials and the process to create it is quite advanced.”

Azi wanted to sigh in defeat and wave the white flag. There were already difficulties piling up in his bid to keep his promise to Shizu. And it only got worse as Kajima continued.

“I can teach you the production method, but it doesn't fix the fact that you don't have access to the materials to make it. I also don’t have any extra materials on hand that I can give you since I have a lot of commissions I have to fill, you’ll have to source the materials yourself. Right now, I recommend making her a temporary weapon, she won’t like it, but it's better than nothing. So try your best." Kajima gave a thumbs up, a strained smile hinting on his lips.

Azi could only let out his withheld sigh. “What have I gotten myself into? This already seems impossible.” As he mumbled to himself he began to organize his thoughts on what he should ask next.

In summary, the task in front of him was going to be a challenge bordering on the impossible due to how the materials he needed were of a high quality and were not commonly found in Shisayama.

A possible solution popped into his head. For the next few minutes, Azi asked more questions concerning possible substitute materials and details concerning Shizu's weapon. He learned how Kajima made it and what Shizu wanted from its unique design. It had to be heavy, had a hidden compartment for a katana blade, and was overly offensive but durable enough to be defensive.

This will be tricky. Azi bemoaned the challenge, yet found a kindling spark of curiosity. So how do I fix it? He was imagining putting the pieces he would create all together. His own masterpiece, or well, attempt at one.

***

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Tidying up the guest room, Shizu stowed the futon and stomped her way to her room, covertly irritated. There, she was getting herself cleaned up. A bath would have been great but she could wait until tonight. Water was a vital commodity so using it for bathing was not always the go to option. A simple wipe down or a steam bath would do. The first option was easier and readily available.

Grabbing a towel she sat near the lit hearth of her room to warm up. Her room was next to Azi's and while all the rooms in the house looked alike, her’s was a bit bigger as it had been a storage room in recent times. With it came a larger closet, which she opened to then get changed into a fresh set of her usual attire.

As always it consisted of a red and white ensemble with a long red skirt that hung below her hips. The style of clothing revealed a peek at the sides of her thighs and the front of her hips. It gave a window of view from the front to the supple litheness of her legs.

Ugh, I guess this is too showy.

Azi was right about her attire being unfit for everyday use. Too eye-catching, and it could invoke a lot of wild emotions in men. Shizu had no issue with it though, she was nobility, so being showy was a somewhat normal course for her. Now though, she thought it was a good idea to cover up some more skin than usual.

It is getting colder. And well.. He.. has a point.

Because of Azi’s accusation of calling her vulgar, she’d wanted to rub it in his face that she had a formal and upstanding side to her. She didn’t show it that often to him, that noble air that inspired the common folk. Perhaps making an effort would set Azi straight. Looking for something she could use, she realized that all she had was a long strip of yellow cloth.

The rest of her wardrobe were of the same set of clothes she was already wearing. Maybe stitching and sewing a new attire was on the table. Except, now wasn’t the time and Shizu wasn’t the best at the homely hobbies. Mending clothes with a needle and string was the best she could do.

“Oh come on, you gotta be kidding me.” She groaned, rifling through the closet. “I gotta have more than just this. A longer legging or stocking, or.. Gah.. Why did I pack so much of the same thing!”

Shizu had to make her peace. She made do with a wide strip of yellow cloth and tied it around her waist.

“Hmmm.. This is more difficult than I thought.” She began attempting to form it into a bow that rested under her ample breasts and above her hips. It was small, but was another layer.

"Maybe this will draw some of the attention away from my skin." She muttered, trying to distract herself at how crooked it looked, but messing with it would only worsen how it seemed.

Fastening the bow with her best try, Shizu gathered what she needed and left the room in a hurry, she had kept everyone waiting. Hearing her approach, Azi turned around on his cushion and gave her a frown. He abruptly got up from his seat and reached his hand out towards her.

This startled Shizu. His forwardness was keen and had not a hint of his earlier teasing manner. She began to tense, ready to defend herself. Just what is he up to? She was about to slap his hand away if he tried to touch her.

Defying her expectations, Azi instead just undid Shizu's messy attempt at a bow and tied it in a neater manner. Nodding in satisfaction, he smiled at his handy work and gave it one last check by pulling on the cloth to see if it was secured tight enough.

"That should work.” He said. “I'll show you how to tie it properly next time so you can do it yourself.” His tone was so plain, yet admonishing her in some small way. “With this you should look more presentable. So? Did you get everything you need?"

“I..I umm.. Hmmm..” Shizu had no reply, and was coming to grips with her sudden growing apparent disappointment. She puffed her cheeks a little and she took a seat. "..Yeah. Just let me eat something first.."

Oblivious to her mood, Azi stepped away and let her get on with breakfast as he continued talking with Kajima. Shizu begrudgingly listened in and finished eating a few minutes later. As they were heading out, Kajima noted the somewhat dower mood Shizu was in. While he was against her agenda to groom Azi into a political piece in the noble courts, he suspected that Shizu might really have truer feelings for Azi and wanted to give her a nudge in the right direction away from the bureaucratic mindset.

"Alright you two.” He said. “I heard from Azi that you’ll be going into town. So get going and have a nice date. I got work to do so get out of here and don’t come back until dinner time."

Without letting them get a word in, he pushed Azi and Shizu out the door, not even hiding his grin. Shutting it on the way out behind them, he began engaging multiple locks on the sliding door with audible clicks, clanks, and strangely, a loud thump that was disconcerting to the pair on the other side.

"Eh? Do we really look like that in front of Kajima?” Azi asked, to no one in particular. “Hope that doesn't bother you too much Shizu."

Looking over to his shoulder, he saw the blush Shizu had on. It made him react the same way. Shaking off the odd feeling, he abruptly grabbed her hand and began to tug her away from the house.

"L-Let's get going already. I’m sure Kajima’s messing with us like how you mess with me. I’ll take point today, so follow me."

Shizu rolled her eyes at him. "Do you even know where you are going?"

"Yeah, course I do.” Azi said. “Thanks to you and Kajima, I should be able to get to where I want to go. Also, Kajima told me where I could find what I need. So come on, don't you want your weapon fixed any sooner?"

Tugging on her hand a bit more, Azi got her to pick up the pace. Shizu continued to frown at him. She didn’t like being forced to walk by another person, especially since he should’ve known his place. Azi had no right to boss her around.

"Stop pulling my hand already. You can hold it but at least let me walk next to you rather than behind you. I don't want the villagers to get the wrong idea. In their eyes, I am a proud Kujyurian knight, so I have to show some dignity. And be sure to watch your tone with me from now on. Got it!?"

Azi nodded, not really caring or listening. "Ok, but keep up. I'm excited to see the village unguided this time."

"Aren’t you getting too excited? You’re older than me and you’re acting so.. kiddish.” Shizu giggled. “You remind me of a pack of children dotting about."

Azi huffed, he seemed in a rush. In truth, all he wanted to do now was to hurry this along. There was so much he wanted and needed to do that he didn’t want to waste anymore time.

“Are you coming or not?” He declared rapidly. “If not, I’m going to leave you behind.”

Shizu went on giggling at how overly pumped Azi was. She acquiesced, quickening her pace and even letting his improper tone off the hook, at least for today. As the two began to enter the populated southern sections of Shisayama, villagers began to take notice of Shizu. What was shocking to them was how she was holding the hand of a boy who looked a lot younger than her.

The villagers whispered amongst themselves and some guessed that the boy with her was a younger brother of sorts, while others thought Shizu was helping a local village boy find his way home. What eventually became the common gossip among them was of how the two looked like a couple who were on a date. The hand holding was to blame, which clashed with the apparent rumor of Shizu’s aversion to men getting out of hand with every passing day. A different narrative was starting to drive itself in the background as these two rumors mixed.

“Oh my, oh dear. Shizu seems to have found another man to torment.”

“I hope he survives.”

“No.. he’s dead for sure. I give him a month.”

“He’s so young, but why is the missy with him?”

“Perhaps she’s into younger men?”

Not noticing the gossip, Azi didn’t hear them, no, he was intently focused in his thoughts, though their stares got to him worked up. He felt awkward. He didn’t think of himself as a shy person, yet, the amount of attention he was getting was stirring something inside of him. What impacted him the most were their eyes.. He thought they were judging him.

Shizu on the other hand brushed them off as if she was used to this kind of attention. Typically, nobles were looked upon with either fear, respect, or envy. For her, Azi could guess it was the first two, and arguably, respect was the apparent emotion espoused by the populace around them.

He could sometimes see fear being aroused when she gave a man in the passing crowds the stink eye. Nonetheless, the people still respected her, only now, a few thought twice when it came to harassing or courting her in public.

Shizu giggled softly to herself, enjoying Azi’s uncomfortable state as if he was out of his element.

Azi, trying to take his mind off the occasional leering villagers, asked, "So, why did you decide to choose me as your apprentice? Was there any particular reason?”

That was a simple question to answer for Shizu. She could be straightforward, but she took a moment to consider her answer with what Kajima discussed with her prior to today. She wanted to get across how serious she was about making him her apprentice and to establish the pecking order, so she put up a kind of air that seemed to put a tension between them.

"I was impressed by your performance during the investigation so I decided to see if you could be of use to Kujyuri.” Shizu upturned her chin as if self praising her own keen insight. “This is why I stayed instead of leaving with Ozen. You are quite smart, so I opted to stay to measure your worth while I can."

By saying this, she exposed part of her reasoning. Between those words Azi could’ve guessed that she was possibly thinking of him as an asset of sorts. Was she afraid of him thinking ill of her? Of course not. If he didn’t want to be her apprentice in the end, then he could quit. It was his choice, either way he would be benefiting Kujyuri as a citizen in the end, apprentice or not. Except, she did not expect him to turn all downcast all of a sudden.

"Oh.. I see.” Azi's previous upbeat energy sapped away from him. His demeanor changed, going depressed and somber. Shizu’s words had brought back some memories that he would have liked to have fully forgotten.

He did understand that Shizu was only interested in him for his potential talent rather than it being because they were getting along as.. potential friends. It had been a fleeting hope he had weeks ago, when he returned home with Kajima.

I’m still naive. He thought. Shizu’s a knight and I’m a peasant, our societal classes are too far apart. Being friends just wouldn’t work. This was like that time.

That time in particular was when, what he now presumed as arrogant people from his past days in that place called a college, would only be friends with him since he was of great use to them. Time had gone on and he did see past the veil of his conditional friendship, yet he clung to the hope that they would treat him well in the future, the same as always, with care and compassion.

To his knowing dismay, his memories of hope turned rotten. He was just entirely being used. They never approached or talked to him as they had in the past when all things were done. The encounter was hazy, maybe what he was feeling wasn’t really true. How could he know for sure? He had amnesia, or maybe he was overthinking things.

But..Their eyes. That was it. That was what stuck out.

To them, it was easy to throw him away. They used rumors to attack him, and began labeling him a snitch or other derision for reasons he had no idea why and the people around him ate it up. More and more colleagues began making him out to be a terrible person. Then came a sad isolation.

Azi was remembering but these new memories were taking a toll. The thought of all this happening over again seemed real with Shizu, no it was becoming real. Shizu had laid it out herself. How he was interesting to her, except only for now.

So why keep holding onto hope. He thought. I know it's going to be just the same as before.

Azi let go of Shizu's hand to begin distancing himself. It was done unconsciously, his own instinctual defense mechanisms were kicking in as his past kept coming back.

“Azi?” Shizu stepped up her pace and Azi did as well, maintaining a few steps ahead of her. “Hey, wait up. What’s wrong?”

Perhaps she had been too blunt. In hindsight, perhaps enforcing her status over him was a mistake. Shizu had layered her words with a hint of mixed twisted truths and praise. She thought doing so would be the proper action as a noble. They lived in a world different from peasants, she couldn’t be lax all the time. Yet now, she had created an unnecessary barrier between them. She even feared that their once amicable interaction might change.

“Hey, Hold on!” She called out. “Here, come on, wait up!”

In an attempt to close the gap between them, Shizu got beside Azi and re-grasped his hand. That startled him. She flashed him a teasing and sarcastic smile, dropping her noble attitude.

"Come on, you said you’re taking point today. Don’t just leave me behind."

Azi paused for a second, then gave a small smile. "Yeah, heh, I guess you are right.” He shrugged. “Sorry about that, I got lost in my head for a moment."

“You do that alot.” Shizu said, ruffling Azi’s hair with her free hand. He batted her hand away playfully, a small discomfort on his lips that Shizu returned with another teasing remark. “Make sure to not bump into anything, I don’t want you passing out from a head injury again.”

That had Azi laughing dryly. “Heh, ha ha ha, yeah. I’ve been going unconscious a lot recently. Mostly because of you.”

“Now that’s a low blow.” Shizu retorted.” The last time you passed out, you were drunk. You can’t blame that on me.”

“Yeah I can, because you challenged me to a duel.”

“No I didn’t, you’re the one that got riled up!”

“But you accepted.” Azi said. “You even asked for a rematch when I won the first round. It should’ve ended there, but you were too stubborn to admit defeat.”

Their back and forth had gotten started like always. Eventually they broke out in a fit of laughter from reminiscing about how stupid they had been last night. Shizu was glad Azi seemed back to his upbeat self.

Unbeknownst to her, it meant alot to Azi when she made an effort to hold his hand. He wasn’t going to admit that he was smitten with her, no, Shizu was a bothersome kind of girl. But one he chanced in life to get along with. She was a small light of direction in his sea of.. Blank.. and.. Confusing.. memories.