~~~

For the seventh time in twenty minutes, Himiko got up and slid the door panel across, the skin of her feet shivering slightly as the draught increased its desperation to get in.

‘Every single day,’ she muttered, returning to her chair at the side and picking up the stack of rice paper.

‘It’s from the mountain?’ asked Miho from nearby, turning a small ornament in his hand and poking a dusting brush into its little crevices.

‘Hell is more likely. For some reason, it seems to accumulate just outside the front of this place and then rushes in. Always at this time of day. When I’m sitting here, trying to relax with my late morning green tea.’

‘Why don’t you use some kind of latch?’ Miho glanced over at Aya, who was wiping the table surfaces in the reception area with a scrunched up cloth. She looked up and, almost imperceptibly, shook her head. ‘On the door, I mean…’

‘Oh, I’d never thought of that,’ said Himiko, eyes on the rice paper. ‘A latch for the door. What a large brain you have.’

‘It would keep the wind out. Might make the door rattle a bit, but-…’

‘Just focus on the dusting.’

‘Err…yes, sensei.’

‘I told you, don’t call me that.’

‘Okay…boss.’

‘Meishin will do. Or Himiko if it’s off hours.’

Miho bowed slightly and continued with his chores, while Himiko went back to her own toil; the ryokan accounts. Judging by the range of facial expressions she was cycling through, they weren’t in very good shape.

After dusting the other ornaments laid out on the window-side bench, Miho moved across the reception to the same table Aya was wiping. He noticed the scrunched up cloth and lack of bubbles in her bucket, but didn’t say anything. For all he knew, her technique was the superior one…though she was taking quite a long time to do it.

‘It’s bad luck,’ she whispered to the cloth in her hand.

‘Sorry?’

‘To put a latch on a ryokan entrance. Creates an unwelcoming aura. Not good for business.’

Miho stopped dusting the green bottle in his hand and looked around the reception area. Him, Aya and Himiko. No sign of any other life.

‘I know. It’s her belief, not mine. Safer just to keep your head down, do your chores.’

Aya finished wiping her table, put the cloth in the vaguely soapy water and dragged the bucket over to the next table.

Miho quickly dusted the remaining ornaments and plant pots and followed after her. Before he could get out his next question [why doesn’t she put up more promotional signs?], the door panel slid open again and a fresh burst of chilled mountain air forced its way in.

‘Not even two minutes,’ shouted Himiko, grabbing the panel and yanking it back across. ‘You’d think it’d take a rest at some point…’

Miho opened his mouth to respond but a quick kick to the shin from Aya stopped him from saying anything.

‘Work,’ she said, about as far under her breath as she could make it.

‘Yes, meishin,’ he replied, picking up a ceremonial tea pot and dusting the bottom.

‘I have to admit,’ said Himiko, observing them from her seat. ‘The two of you are quite an effective team.’

‘We’re doing two separate chores,’ Miho answered, confused as he received another kick to the shin.

‘Diligent, too. Unlike those two flighty girls…’ Himiko looked down at the rice paper accounts, running her finger along the staff salary column. ‘It seems to me that you could probably handle all the chores yourself, the two of you together.’

‘All of them?’ Aya burst out, then instantly kicked her own shin. ‘I mean…it’s not impossible, but-…’

‘For instance, if I sent you, Aya, out now to pick vegetables for dinner, I’m certain you’d be back within the hour. If I asked you, Miho, to clean all the rooms and tend to the plants outside, you’d probably have it done within two.’

‘Four might be more realistic…’

‘Those two silly girls, on the other hand. I send them out to Nirisaki first thing this morning, with the simple task of buying vegetables for dinner, and they still have not returned.’

‘That is odd,’ muttered Aya, moving a step closer to the front window and peering out.

‘Not odd, Aya, it’s a pattern of behaviour. Admittedly, they’ve never been this late before, but their general attitude and performance…’

‘Should I go and look for them?’

‘You?’

‘They may have been attacked by bandits.’

‘I just said, your duty is to go out and pick vegetables for tonight’s meal. Fuki, shungiku, mountain asparagus, anything else you can find. Miho, you will stay and dust the rest of the ryokan. And wipe the surfaces too.’

Hearing his own name along with wipe the surfaces led Miho to instant puzzlement, mostly because he’d been so busy dusting the ceremonial tea pot that he’d missed the talk of Aya going out to pick vegetables, and when he turned to gauge her reaction to it, his foot clipped the side of the bucket and slapstick ensued.

The ceremonial tea pot slipped out of his hand…he tried to adjust and catch it with his other foot…and ending up kicking it with surprising force at the welcome board behind the reception desk.

Somehow, it survived that impact unscathed, but not the collision with the stone floor.

The sound of shattering enamel was excruciating.

As was the wait for Himiko’s reaction.

‘Don’t say anything,’ whispered Aya, her eyes closed.

Fortunately, the draught saved the day, blowing the door panel open yet again. Getting up to deal with it, Himiko looked out at the bridge indicating the start of the ryokan grounds and shook her head.

‘Change of plans. Miho, you go with Aya to pick vegetables.’

‘Err…’

‘Understood,’ interjected Aya quickly.

‘I expect you both back within the hour. And don’t go too far up the mountains.’

‘Yes, Meishin.’

Aya nudged Miho, who was standing like a stuffed bear, staring at the mess he’d just made. He blinked back to life and turned to Himiko, his hand pointing back at the piece of tea pot on the floor.

‘Don’t bother,’ she replied, sitting back down and picking up the accounts. ‘You’ll probably break something else while clearing it up.’

‘I’ll pay for the damage.’

‘With what?’

‘Err…’

‘Ah, more days of work. Good idea.’ She twisted the string of the green necklace, eyes lighting up. ‘Off you go then. I’ll stay here a while, try to remember how much that tea pot cost.’

‘Yes, Meishin,’ said Aya, throwing the cloth in the bucket and dragging Miho by the arm to the front door.

~~~

A little while later, on the sparsely forested slopes not far from the ryokan, Aya and Miho stood slightly bent, picking fuki out of its native soil.

It wasn’t hard work, the roots were relatively loose, and all the stalks they’d got so far were completely undamaged, which meant Miho had plenty of time to talk endlessly about the tea pot debacle.

‘Why did I try to catch it with my foot? What part of my brain thought that would be helpful? It doesn’t make sense. Reflexes are fast, but they shouldn’t be that stupid. I still can’t believe it happened. I’ve never been that clumsy before. Apart from the time I broke the pot back home. But that was only cos I’d slipped on the dog.’

‘Here, take this,’ Aya said, clearly not listening to a word he was saying.

Miho took the fuki by the end of its stalk and dropped it in the basket with the others.

‘What do you think?’ he continued, pulling up a fuki of his own. ‘Will Himiko add another week to my total?’

‘If she does, you can count yourself lucky. Another boss would’ve fired you on the spot. Or given you a beating.’

‘I wouldn’t mind being fired…’

‘At least with Himiko you’ve got a chance.’

‘She was quite calm, when the tea pot broke.’

‘That’s her style.’

‘It’s probably because of that green necklace she wears. Must have a soothing effect or something.’

‘A bit of a reach.’

‘Or that tattoo she has on her breas-…near her collarbone. It’s very distinctive. I wonder where she got it from.’

Aya threw another fuki directly into the basket then picked it up and moved along the slope.

‘Do you know?’ Miho asked, trailing her.

‘About Himiko’s past? Only that she’s managed this ryokan for the last four years.’

‘And before that?’

‘No idea.’

‘She’s never talked about it?’

Aya stopped, kneeling down to inspect a bush of extremely ripe-looking red berries. She picked one off and held it to her nose.

‘Not those,’ said Miho, swatting it out of her hand. ‘They’re poisonous.’

‘How do you know?’

‘My sister ate some when she was young. Barely survived.’

Aya looked back at the berry bush, tilting her head slightly as if that would confirm what Miho was saying to her. It must’ve worked as she nodded, picked up the basket and moved on.

The rest of the slope was close to desolate, in terms of edible vegetation at least, so they headed back down into the denser part of the forest. Miho asked again what Aya knew about Himiko’s past and got the same blank answer.

‘Aren’t you curious about what she did?’

‘Not enough to get fired.’

‘You think it’s that bad?’

Aya put her hand in the basket and shuffled the fuki around, looking for the other vegetables they’d picked. ‘We need more shungiku.’

‘Should be closer to the stream.’

Aya didn’t bother nodding, she just moved past Miho and followed a dirt trail through a thick clump of trees. He caught up with her quickly and restated his previous question.

‘She’s too old for you,’ Aya replied, tagging each tree trunk with her hand as she passed.

‘What?’

‘And you’re too young to interest her.’

‘I’m not-…I have a girlfriend already. Or I did.’

‘If you say so.’

‘It’s true, her name’s Yuki. I’m looking for her and…I mean, I was looking for her before I ended up working here. That’s why I don’t mind if Himiko fires me. I need to get back on the road and-…’

‘Wah, she’s there.’

‘Huh? Where?’

Aya hurried ahead, jumping over a little stream in one bound, and coming to a stop in front of the tired-looking figure of Sachiko, who quickly wrapped her yukata tighter around her chest.

‘Hey, where have you been? Himiko’s been looking for you.’

Sachiko stared at Aya’s face, as if she were seeing it for the first time.

‘Did you not get the ingredients?’ Aya asked, looking at the tall woman’s empty hands. ‘Ah, doesn’t matter, I guess. We’ve almost picked enough anyway.’

‘How much farther is the ryokan?’ asked Sachiko, her eyes briefly flashing the tiniest glint of purple as Miho appeared behind Aya, carrying the basket of vegetables.

‘Err…as far as it usually is.’

‘Weren’t there two of you?’ added Miho, scanning the path behind.

‘The other one left.’

‘Other one? You mean Frog Face?’

‘She met a young man at the market and went off to have sex with him.’

Both Aya and Miho stared gormlessly forward at Sachiko’s face until Aya managed to shuffle out some words. ‘Are you serious?’

‘It is normal for young girls without brains.’

‘She just went off…no message for Himiko or…’

‘I repeat, it is normal for young girls without brains. She will stay with him until he tires of her and then probably turn to prostitution. Another two years and she’ll be in the ground.’

‘I’m sorry…you’re talking about Frog Face, your best friend…right?’

‘Yes, I was quite sad. But now it is done.’ Sachiko looked at Miho’s face, and then the basket in his hand. ‘Your load is still small. I will help you pick more.’

‘I think you better go back and see Himiko first,’ said Aya, shaking her head. ‘She’s pretty mad.’

‘No. I will pick vegetables. With the boy.’

‘Me?’

‘Obviously.’

Aya glanced at Miho, who shrugged, inadvertently tipping the basket to the side and almost dropping half the fuki onto the ground.

‘You go back, tell Himiko I am here,’ continued Sachiko, gesturing with her hand in the wrong direction. ‘Tell her I am making amends.’

‘And Frog Face?’

‘That too.’

‘Okay…if that’s what you want.’

Sachiko nodded, allowing her yukata to spill open a bit and a dried blood stain on her undershirt to be revealed. Or it would’ve been if Aya hadn’t been looking at the path back to the ryokan, and Miho at the basket. Realising her lapse, Sachiko pulled the right side of the yukata tight and then, as Miho’s attention returned, grabbed him by the forearm and led him off down the side of the stream.

‘What exactly do I tell Himiko?’ shouted Aya after them, but they either didn’t hear or didn’t care as there was no reply.