Once More, With Feeling

Chapter Six

Douma spent an afternoon organizing which of his followers he would be sending back home to his temple with the new disciples. He'd already sent one group and he had eaten a few others so he was lacking in spares. Word had been sent back that the first group was doing well and he couldn't wait to go back and see for himself. But going back would mean leaving Gyutaro and Ume behind and he wasn't sure if that was the best idea. He even briefly considered taking them with him but that was ridiculous.

In the end he decided to leave himself with just four of his followers to tend the house and run errands. Three for the morning and one for the evening. The other half dozen he would send home with the new disciples and a message that he would return soon. This would, unfortunately, mean he had to stop hosting dinners. It wasn't like he needed any of the services that his followers supplied aside from themselves, but it'd look strange to outsiders if he stayed alone.

With a smaller party came smaller quarters. He organized for himself and his followers to move to a slightly smaller, shaded home. As Douma rested in the darkest room of the house that morning, he was told that Gyutaro assisted with the move before he went to work. It was a nice surprise, though he suspected Ume might have snuck a few trinkets with her when he went over his things that night in his new home. He didn't bother to verify it though since he intended to find something to eat that night and he now preferred not to involve himself with the two on the nights he ate.

He was fortunate to find a new face in the crowds at night in the rich district. A woman named Shion. Pregnant, no less. She said she was a maid visiting Yoshiwara with her lord as well. Low ranking and lost. She took one look at his clothes and trusted him immediately to get her home. Douma didn't actually believe her story because he doubted she'd be working as a maid while she was so pregnant. He overlooked it because the idea of eating her was too irresistible.

"Thank you, sir, I don't think I would have been able to find my way out of that crowd without you," she said, flushed. He had subtly guided her to an abandoned food vendor stall at the edge of the rich district so she could rest. She had been wandering around for a while before he found her, and her feet ached.

"It's no problem at all! I just can't believe you'd be left alone in your state," Douma said. He frowned thoughtfully. "Did something happen...?"

"Yes! We had just finished settling in in our house and had gone shopping for essentials."

Douma lifted his hand towards the back of her neck, nodding along.

"Then a monstrous boy came to harass us!" Douma pulled his hand back. "He didn't even seem to care he was so outnumbered! All day he continued to come back and yell at the guards. He was so violent I was sure he would find a way to kill my lord's men! We were fortunate that they are very skilled."

"Oh my! What happened to the boy?"

She frowned. "I'm not sure. As soon as the blood started running the crowd started panicking and I got separated from everyone else. I didn't want to agitate the baby so I rested where I was allowed... He'd been at it almost all afternoon, I wouldn't be surprised if the magistrate arrested him!"

Douma sighed and stood up, extending a hand to help her to her feet. "We should get you home now! Do you remember the name of the house you were staying?"

"I think so..."

Hopefully he would catch her wandering around on her own again. He was able to take her near enough to her home that he dropped her off quite quickly and estimated where exactly she had been when she ran into Gyutaro. After that, he just had to follow the smell of blood that he was able to recognize as Gyutaro's. It still smelled fresh, so the boy had to be alive.