Tenjo awoke to sunlight streaming through a large pair of open windows, landing on her face. It blinded her as she opened her eyes, forcing her to raise her left hand to shield them. As she did, she noticed it had been rebandaged, this time with standard white cloth.

She was in a small room, filled with plants. Plants lined trays both inside and outside the large windows, they hung in pots from the ceiling, and they filled the corners of the room. Despite that, they room was remarkably clean, not a single speck of dirt visible anywhere on the floor around her.

It was on that floor that she had been sleeping, in a cot that was made with simple blankets, neither heavy nor light, which slipped off her as she sat up. Her sword was gone, she realized, and so was her knife. She spotted the former leaning against the wall in one of the corners, and the latter placed on the windowsill, both half hidden by leafy growths.

As she picked up the katana, Tenjo unsheathed it and looked at the blade. It was a ragged mess of nicks, dozens of small wedges taken out of the blade where it had crashed into other swords. Without her aura forming the cutting edge around it, she was doubtful it could even make it through a sturdy piece of cloth.

It was strange how so many years of swinging it could leave it in perfect shape, yet she had spent two days using it as intended in combat and it was half destroyed. Maybe people weren't really that different in that regard.

She sheathed the sword again, and put it back in her belt before adding her dagger. The view out the window showed that she was still on the same level of the city. It faced away from a street, letting her see all of the levels stretched out below from her position, washed in the light of the early morning as the sun started to rise in full.

From another room she heard noises, and also became aware of a tantalizing smell drifting over from there. Following her nose led her into a small kitchen, with two places set at a table with three chairs.

A man stood cooking at a stone counter, the origin of the scent that had drawn her here. As Tenjo watched him, she became aware that almost every item on the counter had a faint aura of magic around it, and so did he, one similar to Meng's but smaller and more subtle.

After a few seconds passed without him noticing her, she knocked twice on the doorway, her knuckles rapping on the stone and echoing in the confined space. The man started to turn for a second, then stopped as something on the counter caught his attention and one of the sources of magic started to fade.

It strengthened again as he called out to her, the flow becoming steady. "I wasn't sure if you were going to wake up in time for dinner. You can take a seat; I'll be done in just a moment"

"Where is this place," She asked. "How exactly did I get here?"

"Hmm?" He replied. "I found you collapsed on my doorstep, so I figured I should do the right thing and offer a hand to a stranger in need."

"I'm in your debt," Tenjo said, giving a bow that he couldn't see, before realizing her error and sitting down.

"If you don't mind my asking, how did you come to be unconscious in that specific location?" The man asked. "To be honest, it's the first time anyone has passed out at my house, or to my knowledge anywhere on this street."

"I was travelling for several days," She explained. "I haven't had anything to eat in that time, and due to the need I had for urgency I didn't sleep much either. I was also recovered from a recent wound."

She glanced down at her arm, freshly wrapped and treated. "I suppose you were aware of that last part."

He gave a polite chuckle. "It must be rather difficult, being a disciple of the blade without a school. I travel plenty myself, but I just can't imagine giving up all of my comforts like that."

He turned around, whatever he was cooking finished, and she was able to see his face for the first time. "I'm Hitoshi, by the way."

"My name is Tenjo," She responded. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Despite his strong white hair, he was almost as young as she was, no more than a two dozen years old at most. His face was warm, a constant faint smile bordered by what was not quite yet a beard.

"Likewise," He said, putting a large bowl of soup on the table. It was filled with another enchantment, the only element of it visible to her eyes being the character on the side, a small red jewel embedded in the middle.

"You have a lot of enchanted items," She said. "If you'll pardon me asking, is that common for people in this city? In the village I came from, most people would have only one or two at most."

"More than that is common," Hitoshi said, laughing. "But I exceed the norm for just about any city I've ever been to. I'm a mage who specializes in enchantments, so you can consider this testing out my wares before I sell them. It also means I don't have to pay for them to be recharged every few months."

"Then are there a lot of mages in Oukon?" Tenjo asked. "I'd never met one in person before coming here, but now I've run into two of them on my first day.

He continued to put more plates and bowls on the table, each one filled with a different dish that was enough to make her mouth water just from looking at them.

"Never? In my experince traveling, basically every village had a mage, and if not, shouldn't traveling mages at least have passed through every so often? You said that there were enchanted items, so who recharged them? Where did they buy them from in the first place?"

"I didn't really spend any time in the village itself," She admitted. "I've spent every day training since I first awakened my aura, and I wouldn't have noticed a mage walking by without one."

Hitoshi sat down across from her, his smile growing larger. " You must have been pretty dedicated to spend all day, everyday training for years. I think I'd die if I worked that hard every day. No wonder you have so many questions about everything, if you’ve basically spent most of your life training. You’re a little like a child who just stepped out into the world for the first time "

Tenjo felt a hint of embarrassment creep over her. She opened her mouth, then closed it again without speaking.

Something he had said then clicked in her mind. He called her a wandering disciple without a master. That was technically correct, though she hadn't really thought about it. She couldn't exactly go seek out one of the masters who had made her an offer before after refusing them, and returning to her grandfather would be an impossibility after she had run off without a second word, even if she returned with Daichi.

Her hesitation must have been obvious to him, as he hurriedly apologized.

"Sorry, I guess it's a bit mean spirited of me to tease you for not knowing things," He said. "I mean it when I say it's really quite admirable to be so dedicated to your path."

"No, that doesn't bother me," She said. "Sorry, I just got distracted thinking of something else."

His widespread grin returned instantly. "Related to swordsmanship, no doubt. You were even mumbling about techniques and styles in your sleep."

Now Tenjo visibly blushed, and she filled her mouth with food to avoid responding. The meal was leagues above what she normally ate, each dish perfectly pairing with one another, and bursting with their own distinct flavors as well.

He continued talking non-stop as they ate, somehow able to hold an almost entirely one-sided conversation while still matching her dish for dish in food consumption.

"I own a house here in Oukon, but I really spend most of my time travelling. You're pretty lucky I happened to be home when you picked this place to fall over on," He said. "I grew all of this food myself. Magic makes farming a breeze, which is why just about every farming village has their own resident mage."

She nodded, shoveling noodles in her mouth while trying her best to not completely abandon any semblance of good table manners.

"I just got back from another trip two days ago, and I'm already itching to go on another one," He continued. "To be honest, I kind of have to travel, because my goods aren't good enough to have many people buy them if I stay in one place. There's just too much competition in this city compared to smaller towns where enchantments are rarer."

He stopped to give another chuckle, this time pantomiming stroking his mostly non-existent beard. Somehow his plate had become empty again in the time it took him to finish his story, and he covered it liberally in food once more while pouring both him and her a cup of tea.

As an afterthought, he pulled out a small jar of honey and stirred it into her cup. "It's been so long since I hosted anyone, I completely forgot that little ceremony. You know, in the rest of the Empire they considered it to ruin the fine flavor of the tea. I can't say I haven't picked up the view at all. For expensive tea, it seems like a bit of a waste to mix something in after spending all that money on it anyway."

When the table was almost empty, he at last leaned back against the wall behind him and patted his gut affectionately. "It's been so long since someone was able to keep up with my eating, I think I got a little carried away."

Tenjo couldn't help but agree, her stomach feeling as though it had been stretched out beyond its natural limit.

"Could I ask you a question about the city?" She said. "I'm sorry to bother you with it, but I haven't had a chance to really speak with anyone else."

"Go for it," Hitoshi replied instantly. "I may not be here often, but I know all about everything important. Namely, the best places to eat, the best places to buy food, and the best restaurants. Despite they impression I may have given tonight, I don’t typically cook."

"How would one get in and out of the city without having to go past the guards?" She said.

He quizzically raised both his eyebrows in an exaggerated look of shock. "I'll confess, that was an unexpected query."

"I'm looking for someone who was brought to this city against their will," She explained. "I need to know how someone would bypass the gate guards in order to try and track them down."

"Would that have anything to do with the bandages you had around your arm when I found you?" He asked. "Or more specifically, with the group that they typically can be found with?"

Tenjo straightened up at his words. "You know them?"

"I know of them," He corrected. "I'm guessing that you aren't a member though, if you're not going to call them by name."

"That's correct," She said. "I've had an encounter with one of their members, but that wasn't a very civil exchange."

As she spoke, she motioned to the injury on her arm.

"Ah, hence the aforementioned bandages," Hitoshi said. "In that case, let me give you a little bit of an explanation."

"They're a group of swordsmen and mages that operate outside what could be called traditional, or moral means. They supposedly originally started as a group called the Rising Blades, which consisted of masters and disciples of the blade who spread their techniques and styles freely for the sake of growing stronger."

He paused. "Eventually, they moved on to less savory means, namely human experimentation."

The smile he had worn for almost the entire time was completly gone for once, and he let out a deep sigh before continuing.

"This is all thirdhand things I've heard, from all over the Empire, but supposedly they use warriors to experiment on with their methods of becoming stronger, and also capture people with certain ancestries in order to attempt to replicate inherited abilities or traits."

Tenjo suddenly recalled the strange transformation that had overtaken the man she fought, the way his body and aura had suddenly shifted, giving him a massive boost to power and speed.

"If they've gathered enough test subjects to get results, shouldn't the Emperor have done something about this by now?" She asked.

"Think of the size of the Empire," Hitoshi replied. "Seven continents, Dozens of nations, hundreds of provinces. If the lone person goes missing here or there, it's almost impossible to keep track. Add in the nature of swordsmen, who often die randomly in duels or combat anyway, and there's no real way to tell who they have used in their experiments, or how many people."

She felt a chill run down her back as she imagined Daichi's current situation. "That only makes it more important I find them here in Oukon as quickly as possible."

"I was trying to warn you off, you know," He said. "If you're that insistent, I can at least get you started on trying to find them."

"I'm in your debt again," Tenjo replied, standing and giving another bow, this time one he could see.

"There's not any need for that!" Hitoshi said, his smile now incredulous. "If anything, you should just consider yourself lucky you've met me of all people, someone who knows this kind of thing."

"They tend to work with local criminal groups in one way or another," He said. "They have plenty to offer, and they can get safe space to hold those they capture, and information about the area. They can also recruit from among them as well, offering entry as a reward for those who work for them."

“So I should to look for criminals?” She asked. “Could you tell me where I would start to do that here?”

“Sorry,” He shrugged. “It’s not like I have their exact location or anything. I don’t really deal with criminals. In fact, I make an effort to avoid that, for my own safety.”

"I'm truly grateful for all that you've done for me," She said. "However, I need to take my leave now. I’m still pressed for time."

“I can’t convince you to give this up?” He tried one more time. She shook her head in response.

"In that case then, at least swing by again if you're ever in town, assuming you don't die a quick and hideous death," Hitoshi said. "I probably won't be here, but I'd like to hear about your experience. I bet all of this will make a pretty interesting story someday."

As she stepped out into the street once more, Tenjo had been armed with her new knowledge and a full stomach. She set off along the road, heading the same way she had been going before she had collapsed the previous day. It wasn't until she came to the first intersection that she realized the glaring problem with her route.

She still had no idea where she was going.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter end

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