Chapter 0-3

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“No,” said Kiwi’s mother, shaking her head. “It’s not happening.”

“Quite the worrywart your mother is, eh?” said the stranger, taking a sip of tea.

Kiwi glanced up and shrugged before going back to cleaning the gash on Rin’s cheek. He wasn’t really sure how this stranger had ended up in the teahouse and why in the world someone would want him for some kind of job. Any kind of job, for that matter.

“I’m telling you, miss, it’s an opportunity not worth missing,” said the man, whose voice reminded Kiwi of a dog’s growl – guttural and forced to a tone deeper than normal.

“I don’t even know who you are,” said Kiwi’s mother, who had sobered up a little in the time that Kiwi was gone. “First of all, a stranger shows up at my home in the middle of the night with my kids. Second, both of my kids have some kind of injury! All of this makes me more than a little suspicious.”

“Alas,” said the stranger. “Forgive me for not introducing myself. You may call me Sune, the wandering bard.”

“A bard?” Kiwi’s mother asked, raising an eyebrow. “Where’s your lute?”

Sune the bard sighed and put his face in his hands. “I find myself in the unfortunate situation where I am without a lute. But I care not for the lute and the beauty of its music…for I have finally discovered the definition of true beauty.”

“And what is that?”

Sune leaned in and lowered his voice. “It is you, my lady.”

Kiwi’s mother put her hands on her hips. “Flattery isn’t going to do you any good.”

“A hard one to crack you are,” said Sune, rummaging in his pockets. A moment later, his hand came out with a die. “How about we leave this decision to fate?”

“How about no,” said Kiwi’s mother, ignoring the die and pouring another cup of tea for Sune. “Please finish your tea and go.”

Sune turned to Kiwi. “What say you, my boy? Want to join the old dog on an adventure?”

Kiwi looked up and immediately jabbed the cut on Rin’s cheek, earning him a kick in the shin. “I’d go if you could pay me,” he mumbled, massaging his leg.

“Absolutely not!” said Kiwi’s mother, slamming her hand on the countertop. “I will not have -”

She trailed off as Sune tossed a large purse onto the table. He undid the string sealing the cloth and let the purse hang open, revealing the tantalizing glimmer of gold coins.

“If you wanted money you should’ve asked in the first place,” said Sune, smirking and leaning back in his chair.

Kiwi watched as his mother reached down and touched the bag of gold coins with a trembling hand. He remembered the argument he had had with his mother before going to look for Rin. If they wanted to keep the teahouse Kiwi’s father had built, they needed money. And if his mother was given the chance to choose between Kiwi’s father or Kiwi, it was not even a question of what her decision would be.

Kiwi turned to Sune, who continued to grin ear to ear. “So when do we -”

“No,” interrupted Kiwi’s mother, hands no longer trembling. She took the string and resealed the purse, handing it back to Sune. “I thank you again for bringing my children home tonight. Now please, take your money and go.”

“Mother…” said Kiwi, standing.

“You are not going anywhere,” said his mother, glaring him in the eye. Kiwi couldn’t help but notice the single tear leaking down her cheek. “I already lost a daughter. I am not about to lose my son.”

“But the teahouse…”

“It’s just a bunch of wood,” said Kiwi’s mother with a small smile. “Now take your sister and go to bed. It’s late.”

Heaving a great sigh, Sune stood and tugged at his bun of black hair for a moment before placing his rice hat back on top of his head. “At last I see where your heart lies. I will admit my defeat. As thanks for your hospitality, I will promptly take my leave. Good night to you miss, and good night to your children.”

Kiwi watched as Sune sauntered towards the door of the teahouse. He turned his gaze to his mother, who was staring at the wooden countertop blankly, running her fingers back and forth over the glazed wood. Kiwi swallowed and set his jaw, knowing in his heart what he had to do.

Kiwi jogged over to the door and opened it for Sune. As Sune passed, he cast Kiwi a sideways glance with his single green eye, almost as if he were asking a question.

Kiwi gave the briefest of nods in response.

Sune dipped his head briefly before appearing to trip over his feet and stumble into Kiwi. When Sune righted himself, Kiwi felt something heavy in the left pocket of his tunic. With a final quick apology, Sune exited the teahouse. As Kiwi watched the door fall shut, he reached his hand into his pocket, feeling the satisfying smoothness of the gold coins.

“Well that was something,” said Kiwi’s mother, giving Kiwi and Rin a forced smile. “Who in the right mind would pay so much money for you, Kiwi? That’s more than what Rao was usually paid!”

It was then that Kiwi realized that this might be the very last time he saw his family. Before he could stop himself, he walked over to his mother and wrapped his arms around her.

“I’m sorry for being a failure, Mother,” Kiwi said, squeezing his eyes shut to keep in the tears. “I’m sorry for everything.”

Kiwi felt his mother’s shoulders tremble. “I’ve said some bad things to you, Kiwikata,” his mother replied, voice muffled by Kiwi’s shoulder. “But you will always be my son, no matter what you do. And I am proud of that.”

Kiwi’s mother released him and took a step back, wiping her eyes. “Don’t worry about the teahouse, Kiwi. Someday we will get it back.”

Kiwi nodded wordlessly and walked over to Rin, opening his arms to wrap her in a hug.

“What are you doing?” Rin snapped, stepping back and eyeing him with disgust. “Are you some kind of a creep?”

“Get to bed, kids,” said Kiwi’s mother. “We’ve got a lot of work to do tomorrow.”

-

When he heard the quiet snores of Rin, Kiwi rolled out of his blankets and clambered to his feet. He pulled the purse of gold coins from his pocket and held it for a moment. Taking a deep breath, he set the purse next to Rin’s blankets and tiptoed to the window. Grasping the bottom of the glass, he opened the window, letting the cold night’s breeze flow into the room.

“Kiwi?” Rin’s voice whispered.

Kiwi grimaced and turned to meet Rin’s questioning eyes. “You know I have to do this,” he replied.

Rin glanced at the purse of coins next to her blankets. Abruptly she burst into tears. Kiwi cursed under his breath and hurried to his little sister’s side, hugging her to muffle her tears.

“Don’t go,” Rin sobbed. “I don’t want to be alone.”

Kiwi gave her a reassuring pat on the head. “After I leave, you won’t be alone anymore.”

Before his resolve broke, Kiwi released Rin and hurried to the window. He stuck his legs through the frame of the window and slid his body out of the house. Gripping the windowsill, he turned to glance one last time at Rin, who looked up to meet his eyes through her tears.

“Please come back,” Rin said in a very small voice.

Kiwi grinned and gave her a thumbs up, promptly losing his grip on the windowsill. He dropped from the second-story window and dropped onto several large sacks of trash, crushing rotten vegetables and probably something in his back.

With a groan, Kiwi hauled himself out of the trash and limped to the front of the teahouse. Sune was lying on the front porch, rice hat sitting on top of his face and snoring loudly. Scowling, Kiwi hobbled over and nudged the bard with his foot.

“You smell like trash,” said Sune without removing the hat from his face.

“You’re just smelling things,” said Kiwi.

“That I am,” said Sune, raising his hat to glance at Kiwi with his one eye. “Nothing to bring, my boy? We’ve got a long journey ahead of us.”

Kiwi shook his head, staring down at his tattered and muddied tunic.

“Don’t feel bad,” said Sune. “If you really want, you can carry what I have instead.”

Before Kiwi could protest, Sune lifted a lute case and tossed it into Kiwi’s arms. Kiwi nearly buckled with the weight of the wooden case.

“You really are a bard?” Kiwi asked, trying his best to keep the lute from crashing to the ground.

“I am a lot of things, but a liar is not one of them,” said Sune, tightening his scarf around his mouth. “And I beg of you, please don’t drop my lute. Things don’t turn out well for people who do.”

“I could’ve sworn a lute weighed less than this,” Kiwi groaned, sliding his arms through the straps on the lute case so that he wore it like a backpack.

“I could’ve sworn I didn’t pay you to hear you complain,” said Sune, setting off at a brisk pace.

“What did you pay me for?” Kiwi asked, trying to keep up as best as he could. “You haven’t told me anything about what you need me for.”

Sune said something that was lost as a sudden breeze whipped through the air. Kiwi nearly toppled but managed to right himself as the wind subsided.

“What did you say?” Kiwi asked.

“Nothing of importance,” said Sune. “Come, my boy. We have much distance to cover tonight. Unless you don’t care about sleep, I suggest you cut the chatter and pick up the pace.”

Kiwi closed his mouth and followed Sune into the night. There had been one word Kiwi could’ve sworn he had heard before Sune had been silenced by the wind.

That word was ‘kill’.