[Post here first!] Main Gate

"Oh you are very kind! And so pretty!" Haya exclaimed seeing Nakatani and greeted her with a warm, compassionate smile. To Haya she seemed to have an honest and almost innocent vibe to her, and a presence that seemed to lighten the room. While the servant girl was preparing the tea, Haya worked with Marutaro to the best of her efforts.
"Hmm... he has kind of... a slimmer face. And his eyes aren't that big. And the ears should be higher up." she said and scratched her chin trying to concentrate on getting it right. Almost to the point she would feel responsible for Marutaru getting it completely right. He seemed like a gifted boy and she smiled softly to him. "Don't mind that, with your skill black and white will portray the image just fine!" she said encouragingly feeling almost unable to resist to tousle the boy's hair.

As the servant girl poured tea for Haya and served it, Haya noticed that a part of her wrists got exposed, revealing bruises. She gave her a look of concern and half way opened her mouth, but ultimately just smiled softly as the servant girl served her tea. No one - woman or man - should have to wear bruises like that. They were not bruises of battle, they were bruises of abuse and it saddened Haya to see them on such a sweet young girl. Haya then turned to Yamazaki.
"If it isn't too much, I'd think the sketch should be handed out to samurai patrolling the city and roads. If we put them in bars and inns, he will surely scurry away when seeing them and I might never find him." she said and crossed her arms. It was a polite question, but in her mind that was the only right way to go about it and her face expressed just that. 

These days the main gate was closed more often than not, part of the heightened security around the mansion, and, as Antoni might have noticed, around the province in general. Banners waved and snapped above the gate, which was indeed made of some very fine quality wood, bonded with ironwork. The style was plain but it looked eminently functional. Antoni wouldn't have to knock, as there were some guards standing by holding spears and wearing armour bearing the sakura flower crest of Clan Hizashi. One of them stepped forward, his posture was alert but he seemed to be used to visitors arriving and didn't immediately start any threatening moves. He greeted the clearly foreign-looking man with a kind of nod, a slight unspoken suspicion in his expression as he noticed the orange-coloured eyes slitted like a cat's. "State your name and your purpose for visiting. Is anyone expecting you?"

"What services might they be?" Asked the guard, leaning on his spear. "If you're looking for a job as a guard, that post's filled," he added, deadpan. He had Antoni pegged for some kind of foreign mercenary, judging by the swords and the scars.

When she was pouring she noticed the smile that Haya was giving her. She seemed like a kind woman, someone who cared about the people around her. Someone who searched for real justice in the world. But Nakatani couldn't confide in her now, she had to remind herself that she was one of the servants in the mansion. A guest shouldn't have to worry about her, they should feel at home and safe. So as soon as she finished pouring she would make sure her wrist would stay hidden under her garments and would not show again.

The tea would be served without spilling a single drop of it, like always. Even though Nakatani could be a very clumsy girl, the things she was good at, she excelled at. Each person would get their cup before she would pour one for herself as well and put the teapot away for now.

She would take the sketch gently as if she was being handed a very expensive piece of parchment and took a look at the features on the drawing. "I am afraid I have not seen anyone like him in our mansion. I am sorry." she bowed her head slightly as an apology and handed the paperback.

"I am sure Furusawa-san must be very tired from her journey to Kiyonai city. If you don't have any more business with her Yamazaki-sama, I would like to escort her to one of the available guest rooms."

Antoni Sulek

This seemed to get the guard's interest, and he made a signal for the gate to be opened from inside. "You may enter, Sulek-san," he said, not knowing what name was his surname and what his given name as foreigners had things around all back to front most of the time. He talked to a fellow low ranking samurai inside. "Yamazaki-dono might want to see this visitor. He might be able to help with that other thing." The spearman went back to his post, leaving Antoni in the hands of this second samurai. He was now a guest inside the mansion complex, and was treated with courtesy, but he before he went any further he was asked to give up his swords. The samurai showed him inside the small guard post a rack where all other visitors had left their weapons, mostly the subtly curving long swords that many Tawakoshi were seen wearing, but a few assorted other weapons as well. "You will of course have them returned to you when you leave, or if you have need of them before then," said the guard. There was no taking no for an answer, so if he refused to give them up he would not be allowed any further.

Assuming he did so, Antoni would find himself escorted to a room still in the outer complex of the fortified mansion. A servant explained to him that he had to take his boots off before he went inside, and was given water to wash his hands and feet. The room was utilitarian in nature with straw mats covering the floor and not much in the way of furniture to speak of. Once inside he would have to wait for this Yamazaki that the guard had mentioned, but he was fed an assortment of snacks and given tea to drink.

Presently an officious-looking man with a thin face, immaculately oiled hair, and a starched-shouldered outfit arrived. "You must be the guest that I've heard of," he said. "The one who hunts monsters and reverses curses. I am Yamazaki Junichiro, an officer of House Hizashi. I'd like for you to tell me more about these service that you say you can provide. Do they involve magic? What kind of investigations are you able to perform? I am also somewhat interested in the potions you mentioned."

Haya was surprised how the servant girl spoke on her behalf. She wasn't used to that, but before opening her mouth to tell that she wasn't actually that tired, the thought flew through her head that the servant girl, rather than speaking on her behalf, was taking responsibility in making Haya feel well treated. She then rested again with a soft smile and nodded slightly.

"Well I don't know exactly what my brother is up to, but he was behaving very strange up to the time that he left. He has stolen a prized item of the Kuzuyama clan. An ancient book to be exact." she said and sighed. "What he wants down here in Kiyonai is still a mystery to me, but he managed to bribe and deceive some of our most loyal guards while turning them against each other causing discord and strife. He's such a man I'm afraid, that will turn friends against friends for his own ambition. A guy you have to stop before you see the consequences of his actions." she said with a serious expression before following the servant girl.

As they walked the hallways of the Hizashi Mansion Haya was again in awe of what she saw here in Kiyonai.
"I'm relieved I don't have to find the way myself! This place is so big!" Haya said amazed. "What was your name again?" she asked softly thinking she'd better explain that she wasn't that tired. "You said that I must have been tired from the trip, but actually I didn't come to Kiyonai today, I came yesterday so I'm quite well rested. But though Kiyonai city is really beautiful, the trip to here from the inn I'm staying wasn't exactly uneventful. There are some dangerous people around." she said thinking back on the situation where she only just managed to avoid a dangerous fight.

Nakatani would wait for the two to finish their conversation before leading Haya into the mansion. She smiled when the woman mentioned how big the place was. "I have been here so long that I barely notice the size of it anymore. The better you get to know those halls, the smaller the mansion becomes. But I can understand your reaction Furusawa-san."

They would navigate through several halls, sometimes meeting other people or servants that Nakatani would bow her head to in respect. "My name is Nakatani, I am one of the main servants of the mansion and I will be responsible for your comfort during your stay here. If there is anything you would desire, feel free to ask me or any of the other girls that may tend you." She smiled again, it was nice for Nakatani to be able to serve a female for a short while. She was still very shaken by her kidnapping and unsure if the man who had caused it had ever been caught. "You will have to excuse me then for assuming things. Let me show you to your room either way. You can settle in with your things. After that, you are free to roam the courtyard, have a bath or even ask the guards for your brother if you would wish to do so." By then they would arrive by the guest room where Haya would be staying. When she mentioned that there were dangerous people around, Haya might have been able to notice that for a moment fear would strike Nakatani's eyes, but she decided to not let it get to her and continued on. She would open the door to a spacious room. There would be a bed, a balcony with a view of the gardens, a table with beautiful flowers displayed on it and beautiful decorations on the walls. It was minimalistic, but everything about it said wealth and luxury. "Would you wish for any food or drinks to be brought, Furusawa-san?"

<< Exit to Guest Room >>

The guard regarded Ryuzo through half lowered eyelids, as though bored of taking people's crap day in, day out. As luck would have it, he was one of the Katashima men who had come with Genji to Kiyonai, and did not take kindly to having his lord insulted. "Eh... well, you do appear to be a noble of sorts, although if so, where is your entourage? Unless you have your documents, you're not coming in, even if you say your name is Raizo Hizashi-dono or whoever you claim to be. We take the security of Lord Genji's mansion very seriously. Ne, Onishi, have you heard of a "Raizo Hizashi"?" He called over to the other guardsman.

"You mean Ryuzo?" said the second guard, also a Katashima native. "Well... Ryuzo-dono is Kojuro-dono and Anzen-dono's father," he scratched the side of his face, "I caught a glimpse of him once when we first arrived, but that doesn't look like him to me. Papers or no entry. We better fetch Yamazaki-san to double check everything is genuine. Sorry, 'sir', but I'm sure you understand we must observe protocol."

The first guard put his hand on the hilt of his sword, thumbing the tsuba to expose the blade. “Hizashi or not, nobody insults Lord Genji like that!” he said, a look of rage making his nostrils flare. Apparently he was ready to slice Ryuzo in half, and take the consequences. Just before it came to blows, the second guard let Yamazaki through the gate. “Put away your weapon,” he commanded the angry guard, “Unless you want yourself and your family put to death for striking a noble. This is Ryuzo Hizashi, Lord Genji's brother, and I doubt Lord Genji would wish him cut down for a mere impatient choice of words. Ryuzo-dono is probably out of sorts at the moment and didn't mean any insult against Lord Genji.” The guard seemed to somewhat regret his outburst, clicking the sword back into its scabbard, but continued to regard Ryuzo with a malicious glare, even when he bowed and muttered the briefest of insincere apologies.

“Ryuzo-dono! Welcome back,” Yamazaki bowed deeply to the former Hizashi lord. Although the province had passed into Genji's hands, he remembered Ryuzo well up until the day he had renounced his position as the head of the clan and rode off to the Shrine of Reason to become a monk. “I'm sure you must be exhausted from your journey, and to receive such bad news of both your brother and son must be unsettling. Please come inside.” Yamazaki had always had respect for Ryuzo's studious nature, being far more of a scholar and a bureaucrat himself, than a warrior. “I'm afraid you won't be able to speak with Kojuro-dono yet,” he said with a small sigh, “But let me have the servants bring you a meal and some sake and prepare a guest room.”