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____________________________________ The snow falls as Mizu and (Y/N) walk through the forest, soon seeing the clearing through the trees. "Finally we're almost there." (Y/N) says with a heavy breath, her breaths visible in the cold air. "Nearly, now come. We can not afford to waste time." Mizu says as he takes (Y/N)'s hand in his and helps her continue walking.
The pair walk up a steep hill, seeing an overview of Kyoto once they reach the top. "It's gorgeous.." (Y/N) says after she had caught her breath. "It is." Mizu says with a small smile as he takes off his orange tinted shades. "Let's go. The faster we get there the less chance we miss Heiji Shindo." Mizu says after a moment (Y/N) takes a deep breath before nodding her head in agreement. Mizu puts his shades back on and the two continue their journey.
Mizu and (Y/N) were in a long line of people waiting to be allowed into Kyoto, and after a long wait they finally made it up the line. In front of them was a woman and her daughter. "Come on, people. Keep it moving. Let's go." A guard says as people hand him their travel permits to check. The daughter looked back at Mizu and (Y/N) and was frightened by them, making (Y/N) frown slightly and lock pinky fingers with Mizu.
"Next!" The guard calls out. The woman and her daughter step out, handing the man travel permit. "This travel pass is invalid." The guard says after glancing at the pass. The woman leans closer to whisper to the guard. "It's my husband's.." the guard looks at her for a moment before responding with another whisper. "It's invalid without him." He whispers before calling for the next person in line. "He died. I make the baskets. He only sold them. Please.. or I can't feed my children." The woman says pleasingly, trying to convince the man to let her into Kyoto. "You know the rules, woman can't travel without a chaperone." The guard says, not feeling any remorse for the woman.
"Next!" The guard says as the woman sobs on the ground next to the line of people. Mizu and (Y/N) step up, letting go of each others pinky fingers. "Travel pass." The guard says, wanting the travel pass from Mizu. Instead of the travel pass Mizu pulls out some tsuho coins and hands it to the guard. "Next." The guard says, allowing them into Kyoto. Mizu and (Y/N) look at the crying woman with pity before turning away and walking into Kyoto.
As they walk into Kyoto the sound of the woman's sobs is quickly drowned out by the bustling noises of people talking and children playing. As they walk further into the city Mizu attempts to ask people for directions only to be ignored. Mizu and (Y/N) hear the sound of hooves getting closer and closer until a trio of men riding horses is right in front of them.
"Watch it, assholes." The man on the middle horse says. "Apologies. I'm looking for something but Kyoto's.. very big." Mizu says with a sigh as (Y/N) stands straight with her hands crossed over her stomach. "Do you know where I can find the Shindo dojo?" Mizu asks, looking at all three of the men. "Shindo? That's our dojo. You two wanna apply?" The man on the left says with a disbelieving and unamused tone. "You two look like a blind beggar and a common whore." The man on the right says, using a stick to hit the glasses off of Mizu's face. Mizu sighs heavily before putting his glasses back on and turning back to the men.
"If you would please show me how to find your dojo, I would be grateful." Mizu says, bowing his head respectfully to help prove his point. The men sit in silence before the one on the left breaks the silence. "Sure. Follow the road to the shrine. Once you go around the gates, you'll see the sign across the puppet show. Good luck." He says to Mizu before they all take off on their horses once more, kicking back snow onto Mizu and (Y/N). "Fucking assholes." (Y/N) grumbles under her breath as they wipe the snow off their shoulders.
Mizu and (Y/N) walk past a puppet show, having followed the directions from the men. As they walk past it they see a place with a men talking to women through bars and decide to check that place, thinking it was the Shindo dojo. As Mizu walks upstairs the quickly turns around once and tries to walk back down after realizing this is not the dojo, making (Y/N) laugh quietly.
Two women walk out past the Noren curtains and put their hands on Mizu's shoulders. "You look lost, lost boy. Come on inside. Rest" One of the women say as they start dragging Mizu back inside. "I'm looking for the Shindo dojo.." Mizu says before seeing a naked man being thrown out of a room, quickly putting on this clothes before walking past the women and Mizu and walking out of the building. "Which.. this I see is not." Mizu says awkwardly. "This is better. This is the Shindo house." The other woman says as she grabs Mizu's face.
"If you wanna show off your sword skills, you can do it here." She says as she moves Mizu's face from side to side, her words making (Y/N) cringe and walk up the stairs to stand next to them. "We can polish the tip up for you." The first woman says flirtatiously. "I must decline. My business is urgent." Mizu says as he steps away from them and goes to (Y/N)'s side.
The second woman gasps in shock from his decline. "Most men grab first, ask prices later. You're different.. Polite, sweet." The woman says as she moves her hands from her chest down to Mizu's lower area, Mizu grabs her hand before she is able to touch him. (Y/N) silently watches the scene unfold with an unusual blank expression.
Mizu brings the woman's hand back up before letting go of her. "But firm." The woman says before dropping her seductive tone. "Okay, lost boy. Walk easy to the Kamo river. Take the bridge to the temple with the thousand creepy statues. It's on the hill just past." She says with a normal tone, no longer attempting to seduce Mizu. "I wish you a successful day of business." Mizu says with a small bow.
The puppet stand behind Mizu and (Y/N) falls down and they see Ringo, Mizu sighs and (Y/N) laughs quietly. "How much for one night?" Mizu asks the women as Ringo and (Y/N) wave at each other. The woman holds her hand up to show 5 and Mizu looks back at Ringo before asking "how much for three?"
