Gintaro did not sleep well that night. Whether it was from the anxiety for the upcoming day or the knowledge that his daughter was alive but held captive in the New Capital, he could not say. Perhaps it was a bit of both, mixed with the nostalgic fragrance of the Old Capital, the place where he had spent much of his former life. It made his heart race, and he tossed and turned all night long. He woke well before dawn and went to the garden to stretch and do a bit of warming up. It had been some time since he had done this simple ritual, years in fact, but it felt good and right to begin once again.

When he came back inside, he saw Nō sitting around the small table in their room grinning at him with pride. Saru was also up but still appeared quite sleepy. Her eyes were barely open, and she could not stop herself from yawning.

“Yesterday, I was finally able to do it!” Nō said excitedly as soon as his teacher had entered. “Well, I was able to stand on the log at least.”

Gin acknowledged him with a smile. “That's a start. I think that earns you the day off. I am sure Saru filled you in on last night’s happenings. I will need you to be my second for today’s bout.”

“I thought I was your second,” Saru said mid-yawn.

“You are my partner. Nō is my apprentice, so he should carry my sword and serve me as a second. Besides, he needs experience and could learn a thing or two from watching. We are meeting at a dōjō so we will have to follow certain forms. Do you understand?”

“I understand!” answered Nō, trying his best to conceal his elation. “I will do my best!”

Gin sat down. “Let’s eat first. Then I have someone I’d like to see before we head to the northern district.”

After breakfast, the three proceeded once again towards the geisha district, but this time instead of walking along the main thoroughfares, which were considerably less romantic in the daylight, they proceeded into the heart of a sprawling cluster of residential buildings. It took him a bit of time, but Gintaro finally found what he was looking for. He led them to one of the buildings which had well-worn, vermillion-colored lattices down the front of it. At the entrance, they could see a list of names carved into a posted wooden sign, and among the names on that list was ‘Momoko.’

He rapped on the door while Saru and Nō glanced around nervously, for the street was completely deserted. After a few moments passed, someone came to the door and slid it open. It was not Momoko, however, but it was someone they all knew very well.

“Gin-san?” the familiar voice of Kaya resounded from within. She stepped back and looked at them with surprise. “Gin-san!” As soon as she was confident in her senses, she ran out and gave him a big hug. “You made it! You made it this far!”

Gintaro smiled nervously at Saru, who feigned anger at first but then smiled and laughed.

“It took quite a while,” Kaya said after several moments. “I was beginning to think that you had already passed through or had run into some trouble in the Middle Country.”

“There was indeed trouble,” Gin answered gravely, looking around to see if anyone was watching them. “Do you mind if we come in?”

“Of course not!” she said excitedly, motioning them inside. She was the same old Kaya, vibrant and headstrong as ever. But she seemed to have gained something in her new life that was evident in what she wore. She had parted with the lavish externals for simple elegance. She was not wearing any of her usual makeup, and she had on a plain-colored kimono. Her hair was not put up as they were used to seeing it but hung plainly down past her shoulders.

“It is a bit more cramped than my old place in Kagiminato,” she said humbly. “We just moved in a few weeks ago, so what can you expect? Come in, sit aside the table there and I will pour you some tea. I feel like we just arrived, but it already feels like home. The girls are doing well, studying, and practicing hard, working up the ladder rather quickly. Why, Momoko is already a permanent fixture at the Soyo.”

They did as they were instructed and removed their sandals at the small foyer and stepped inside the cozy room. Kaya was not misleading in her description of the place; it was indeed quite small. The left side of the room had tatami flooring, but it was old and had a strong, musty smell. In the center, there was a small wooden table, which could only fit four people who could afford to sit close together. Along the nearest wall was one wooden shelf upon which sat several hand-carved trinkets and a vase of lilies. On the opposite wall, there was a hanging scroll that read, “The Seven Sparrow Okiya.”

The far side of the room did not have tatami and was a step lower than the rest of the room, level with the ground outside. Here there was a humble, neatly swept earthen floor, which was the designated space for the kitchen. There was a dark iron kettle in the center of the hearth, and various storage cabinets for food, dishes, and tools along the walls of the room. There was also a quaint, rectangular mat aside the hearth for someone to kneel and tend to the contents within.

“So, the boy decided to stick around, eh?” Kaya asked, motioning towards Nō as they moved inside and sat down.

“He has made the poor decision to become Gintaro’s student,” Saru said sarcastically.

Kaya looked at Nō and smiled. “I think that it’s a wonderful idea! I am sure that you will not find a better teacher. Just don’t confuse his sullenness with anger. He is a lot kinder than he lets out.”

The guests sat down around the table while Kaya knelt over the hearth to boil water for tea. While the water was boiling, she gathered three circular cups, washed and dried them with a folded cloth, and then placed them on a serving tray. She then scooped a dash of powdered green tea into each with a dainty wooden spoon called a chashaku and then removed the kettle from the flame. After a few minutes, the water was cooled to the right temperature, and then delicately poured into each cup. Using a light handheld whisk made of wood, she stirred up the contents to make the tea bubble and froth. When she had finally finished, she slowly rose with the serving tray and approached the table. She knelt, bowed to each, and then set the cup before them one by one.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“I know that it doesn't seem like much,” she said quietly. “But what we do have, we can make beautiful through intention and precision. That is the essence of a geisha. If my girls are to become successful, it will not be through the flashy externals, but the commitment to purity in everything they do.”

Each of the guests took the cups, and as was the custom, rotated them twice in their palms, before sipping quietly.

“Delicious,” Nō observed. Both Gin and Saru nodded in turn, feeling completely refreshed.

Kaya bowed low once again.

“Now,” she said, raising herself back up. “What brings you here?”

Gin sighed. He first explained their dangerous trek through the Middle Country, the encounter with the Tengu, and the subsequent stay with the Truists. Saru and Nō gave commentary here and there, and together they managed to tell the story in full.

Kaya at first seemed greatly distressed, but when they had finished, she smiled gratefully. “Well, at least all that will make a fine addition to our tale.”

“Kaya-san,” Gin interjected. “I know what you are trying to do, but I think…”

“Nonsense!” she shot back, obstinately. “If you think that it’s my fault your story has garnered fame then you are plain wrong. Yes, we tell the story, but it would have been told without us. We are but a few voices among the chorus. And I think we have more of a right to tell it than anyone else because we were part of it. We are also doing it to make sure you are described fairly. Have you read the Shōgun’s report of what happened in Kagiminato? He paints you out to be a madman! We owe you Gin-san, all of us. We cannot allow those lies to prevail.”

Gin did not attempt to refute her any further, for she made a sound point.

“Let us do what we do best,” she continued, “And that is to craft a stirring narrative. You never know when you may need help, and any bystander is much less likely to help you if they think that you are as dangerous as the Shōgun would have us believe.”

“All right,” he eventually conceded. “But then tell the full truth. I am not a man raised from the dead.”

“You might as well be,” Kaya returned sharply. “But fine, I’ll tone it down on the supernatural. But slaying a Tengu is not going to make you seem any less heroic.”

“I had help,” he said, looking over at Saru and Nō. “I didn't do it alone.”

“Of course. Now, I am sure there is more. You didn't come all this way just to scold me for telling a few white lies.”

Gin chuckled. “I am looking for information about a place called Kōto Dōjō. The Usagi daimyō has promised me an expedited way to get to the New Capital, where my daughter is currently being held. I am trying to learn from my past mistakes and not rush headlong into a trap.”

Kaya was astonished. “So, you are asking me?”

He nodded. “Perhaps one of your girls may know something we don’t.”

“But, but…” she murmured, tears welling in her eyes. “I betrayed…”

“We already went over this,” he said firmly. “I forgave you. Now I need your help once again. Will you give it?”

It took a few moments for Kaya to overcome her shock, but when she did, she was quite eager. “Of course! Well, personally I do not know much about it. It has been a long time after all. But I know someone who should, and she is just upstairs.”

Kaya cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, “Fukata-sensei!”

A few moments passed, and then the soft creak of floorboards could be heard above. This was followed by light steps on the stairway leading down. An older woman appeared on the stairs, but she was dressed elegantly and seemed to emit an air of high taste.

“I was summoned?” she said, lifting her nose high into the air.

“Fukata-sensei, these are my friends from Kagiminato,” Kaya explained.

“How do you do?” she said in a lofty tone.

All three stood up and bowed politely. Despite this, the older woman gave them a squinted eye of mistrust.

“This is Fukata-sensei, a renowned teacher of geisha, and a very accomplished one back in her day. She has agreed to come out of retirement and instruct my girls, and me, the art of building a successful geisha house.”

“This one is rather convincing,” Fukata said, smiling at Kaya. “She was like a daughter to me during the war, but I could never get her to give up her vices and study under me. Now she has finally come around.”

Gin felt relieved that he had not met this former geisha, for she seemed to reek of pretentiousness. She reminded him of his daughter’s old teacher, Mokuwahara-sensei. However, if she could help him, he would be grateful.

“Fukata-sensei has lived in the Old Capital all her life,” said Kaya.

“I hope this is not their first time,” the older woman interjected. “The place has gone to the pigs as of late. I can barely walk along the main avenue without holding my breath.”

Kaya feigned a smile. “They are inquiring about a place called Kōto Dōjō. Have you heard of it?”

“Ah, yes of course. It is the dōjō in the northern district most recently owned by the Usagi house.”

“So it belongs to the daimyō, not the Shōgun?” Gin asked.

“That is correct. The Lord Usagi, like many other daimyō, have estates as well as dōjō in the Old Capital dating back many centuries, when this city was the most important in the Islands. But Kōto Dōjō, like the others, has been abandoned since before the end of the war. During the war, there was no time to teach swordsmanship as was done in the old days, and nowadays if they are training samurai, most lords do so in the safety of their own lands, far from under the Shōgun’s nose. Old Usagi may use it now and again when he is traveling through the city, as I believe he currently is doing, but for the most part, the gates are shut.”

“Thank you,” said Gintaro. “You have been most helpful.”

The old woman gave them a courtly bow. “Why of course. Now, may I resume my lesson?”

“Yes, please,” Kaya said. “Thank you again.”

When she had disappeared back up the stairs, Gin broke the silence. “So, the place has been abandoned. That’s good. That should mean that there is no standing garrison there,” he murmured, his gaze wandering as if he were in deep thought. “So, Usagi has his two sons and a small contingent that went with him to the New Capital and returned with him. He told us last night that he was summoned on short notice, so it is not likely that he brought his entire retinue. I would guess that means he has ten, perhaps fifteen men in total. Yet, they are likely his best.”

“What about the Shōgun’s garrison in the city?” Saru interjected. “If he is laying a trap for you, he might call on them to even the odds.”

“That’s true,” Gin agreed with a short nod. “Kaya, would we be able to use some of your girls as lookouts today? I need at least one stationed near the Shōgun’s Estate. If there is any movement of soldiers, could you have them find me in the north district?”

“Certainly, during the day, the girls often laze about when they should be busy practicing. I’ll send a few of them, and if they see anything, they will inform me right away. If that happens, I’ll take the message to you directly.”

Gintaro thanked her with a short nod. He looked intense, focused, and ready. He was once again thinking like a member of the Kurogumi, those special warriors that infiltrated the most well-guarded keeps and fought off many times their number through cunning and deadly precision.

“So, what do you have in mind?” asked Kaya, taken aback by this sudden change.

He looked at her with a confidence that seemed to radiate outwards. “I have a plan.”