Shadow of the Orochi

Chapter 1

The trouble with sliding doors made of washi paper was that Nobushi couldnt slam them open to convey anger. Though she wasnt above breaking everything in sight because of her anger, there was a time and place for everything. Unfortunately, this wasnt any of those. So she held in her frustrations like usual and gently eased the door aside.

After that meaningless waste of time downstairs, Nobushi felt she was long overdue for some good relaxation and the closest thing she could get to rest. Thankfully she didnt have to look around the rented room to find the kid. She was exactly where she thought she would be. Flat on the floor with her nose buried in a pile of scrolls from the heavy pack Nobushi had to carry.

The kid of course had a name, and an expensive one at that. Misaki Matsudaira. Matsudaira. Nobushi unconsciously shuddered at the name as if a cold chill blew through. She, like everyone else, knew them as one of the most powerful clans in the Empire and the only one that remained neutral in the civil war. Which is the one of the reasons why Nobushi accepted the job. Out of respect. The other was for money.

To get wealthy of course meant they must have cornered a very lucrative area of the market, though for the life of her, Nobushi couldnt figure it out. The inner dealings of the Matsudaira clan was private to only a select few. And she doubted they would confide any of them to a child, even if she was their sole heir.

"I had thought this place had an affluent establishment, before all the ruckus from downstairs transpired," she muttered, barely looking up from her scrolls, "Have you any idea how difficult it is to translate these scrolls with such a clamor about?" However, Nobushi could see that Misaki didnt really care since she barely looked up from her ancient text that looked nothing more than fancy squiggles to the ronin.

Not wanting to talk about that, Nobushi waved aside the complaint and flopped on the floor. Compared to hardened dirt her back was accustomed to, laying upon the mat made from rice straw was absolute bliss. She let out a breath of relief as she enjoyed the sensation.

"Baka! There are futons in the other room, you know," Misaki muttered while squinting at the partially faded scribble. Nobushi arched her head to the other room for visual confirmation. It was only early in the evening, but she didnt have any actual plans of sleeping. Not that she could in the first place. Though if the rice straw mat was bliss then the cotton-padded mattress would be akin to heaven.

Then Nobushi heard a stomach growl, and for once it wasnt her own. Though she indulged herself on tea, the kid still hadnt eaten yet. "If you are hungry, then you should order something." Nobushi called out without getting up.

It was a fairly straight-forward affair and Nobushi couldnt imagine why the owners of the Eagles Roost would refuse her. At least when one had money to spend or a name that was comparable to legends in terms of wealth. Otherwise, keeping a full stomach was a game one could never win for long. But it sure beat losing and in the poorer parts of the Empire, some did. Like in Genfu.

Men could die for a bowl of noodles just as easily as they could for their Emperor, it turned out. It wasn't hard to imagine which type of man was more dangerous in a fight. At least in Nobushi's experience.

There was no response and Nobushi arched her head back to glance at Misaki, who hadn't even showed any signs that she heard her. That or was outright ignoring her bodyguard. Neither sat well with her. So she called out once more before giving up entirely, "Even scholars need to eat, kiddo."

Even the elegant sort who spent all day sitting around doing nothing had to eat from time to time. Usually the problem with that was that they ate too damn much, and bloated up like the Okiharus. Nobushi would hate to see a couple from his old stomping ground let themselves go, but some common folk didnt know how to restrain themselves when faced with wealth. They couldnt just enjoy it, they had to engorge on it.