Chapter One

The First Drop of Rain

“Thank you! Please come again!” Domoto Tsuyoshi called out as the last customer exited his ramen shop.

 
His assistant, Tom, was wiping down the tables, calling it a night. “Boss, business is picking up, ne?”

 
Tsuyoshi nodded. “At least we’re making a small profit. At this rate, we can afford to expand our menu.”

 
“Oooh… what did I just hear? Profits? Then you can spare some change in exchange for our services,” a voice came from the open door.

 
Tsuyoshi and Tom looked up to see Sakamoto Masayuki, the local mob boss. “You need to be protected from the big, bad people out there. And that’s exactly what we’ve been doing for you,” Sakamoto said, gesturing to himself and his henchmen. “So, how about showing some gratitude to us?”

 
Tsuyoshi frowned at Sakamoto’s sly grin. “But I already gave you money last week! I don’t have anymore to give!”

 
“Oh, but last week was so long ago… And now I’ve gotten some help, they need to eat too,” Sakamoto drawled, patting Tsuyoshi’s back in mock affection.

 
“Yeah! So hand it over,” a scruffy looking man quipped from behind.

 
Sakamoto scowled. “This isn’t your place to speak, Morita.”

 
Morita Go slunk back, shooting Sakamoto a glare.

 
“Enough talk, just hand it over, Domoto. You know how this works, so stop making it difficult for us all,” Inohara Yoshihiko said, a bored look on his face.

 
Tsuyoshi sighed, taking out a handful of notes and shoving them into Sakamoto’s waiting hand.

 
“You’re so generous, as always,” Sakamoto grinned, waving as he left the store.

 
When they were gone, Tom came to stand beside Tsuyoshi. “I’m sorry. If only I didn’t ask, they wouldn’t have known.”

 
“Don’t worry about it, Tom. They would have asked even if I didn’t have any money,” Tsuyoshi replied, patting Tom on the shoulder. “Let’s clean up and call it a day, shall we?”

 
Tom gave his boss a small smile and went back to closing the shop up.

 
“Have they gone?” a whisper was heard just outside the shop. Tom raised an eyebrow and looked over at Tsuyoshi.

 
Tsuyoshi shrugged, walking over to the entrance. Peeking out, he nodded to Kokubun Taichi, his neighbour. Taichi had his back pressed closely to the side of the entrance.

 
“What are you doing?” Tsuyoshi asked, squatting down and meeting Taichi at eye-level.

 
Taichi raised a finger to his lips. Tsuyoshi mirrored the move, except he had a questioning look on his face.

 
“I said, have they gone?” Taichi whispered again.

 
Tsuyoshi nodded slowly. Taichi gave a relieved sigh, standing back up.

 
“Great! I can sleep well tonight!” Taichi proclaimed before going back into his lot.

 
Tom shook his head as Tsuyoshi came back in. “I’ll never understand him.”

 
Tsuyoshi picked up a bench and placed it on the table. “Maybe he’s just misunderstood,” he said quietly.

 
“No, you’re misunderstood. He’s just strange,” Tom said, pointing at Tsuyoshi for emphasis.

 
Tsuyoshi had a thoughtful look. “How different are we?”

 
“Well, for one, he doesn’t own a shop, so there’s absolutely no reason for Sakamoto to harass him for money. So there’s no reason for him to worry about Sakamoto and his gang. Second, he stays in his house the whole day! He doesn’t talk to anyone, unless they go in and talk to him first.”

 
Tsuyoshi passed another chair to Tom. “But I don’t talk to many people either.”

 
“Are you kidding? What are those you’ve been serving the past few years? Animals?” Tom asked, his voice raised incredulously.

 
Tsuyoshi smiled. “All I ask are their orders and thank them for their patronage.”

 
“That’s more than Kokubun says to anyone,” Tom grumbled, putting away the remaining chairs.

 
Tsuyoshi shook his head slightly. In the end, we’re both outcasts.

 
After everything was kept away, Tom said his goodnight to Tsuyoshi and left for home.

 
Alone, Tsuyoshi took the lantern off its hook and retired to the living quarters at the back of the store. He set about feeding his dog, Kenshiro, and starting up the bath.

 
Kenshiro yipped happily to see his owner. He jumped on Tsuyoshi’s lap and began to lick his face.

 
Tsuyoshi laughed. “Okay, okay! I missed you too!” he laughed, ruffling Kenshiro’s fur.

 
After a relaxing bath, Tsuyoshi prepared his dinner. It was dark and raining heavily by then. Kenshiro’s ears flopped down and he hid under the table.

 
“Come here, you scaredy cat,” Tsuyoshi said, petting Kenshiro to calm the dog down. Kenshiro whined in Tsuyoshi’s arms as the orchestra of thunder and lightning continued outside.

 
Soon, it was time to turn in. Tsuyoshi was about to blow out the lantern when he heard a crash at the front of the store. Kenshiro bolted for the table.

 
Wary, Tsuyoshi stepped cautiously into the dark room, a broom in hand.

 
A burglar?

 
Fumbling behind him, Tsuyoshi grabbed his lantern and shone it into the dark room. Everything was still, everything was in its place.

Tsuyoshi lowered the broom in his left hand, thinking it was probably the wind. Suddenly, a faint thudding was heard. Tsuyoshi raised his broom again, eyes darting around, trying to locate the source of the sound.

Kenshiro whined. Tsuyoshi turned around and put his finger to his lips, signaling Kenshiro to be quiet. He jumped when the thuds got louder.

Following the sound, Tsuyoshi found himself at the front door of his store. The thudding began to get softer. Tsuyoshi removed the wooden board that was his door panel.

 
He looked out to see no one. Goosebumps covered his entire body. Shivering a little, Tsuyoshi reached for the panel when a sudden flash of lightning illuminated the body at his doorstep.

 
Swallowing his own yelp of surprise, Tsuyoshi wanted to jump back in surprise when the body suddenly reached out and grabbed him by the ankle.

 
Tsuyoshi managed to hit the person with his broom a few times, when he came face-to-face with a bloodied samurai.

 
“He…lp me….” the samurai said, falling unconscious.

 
Tsuyoshi considered dropping the samurai in front of Taichi’s front door. Taichi was better at healing, and he probably needed the extra friend.

 
But, recalling the silent plea in the samurai’s eyes, Tsuyoshi sighed and dragged the unconscious man back into his store.

 
A curious Kenshiro creeped out from the tea table. He sniffed the stranger a few times. The unconscious man grunted and sneezed when Kenshiro sniffed close to his face.

 
Kenshiro wagged his tail impatiently as Tsuyoshi set about cleaning up the samurai’s wounds. “You seem to like him,” Tsuyoshi commented to his dog, surprised at Kenshiro’s response to the stranger.

 
By nature, Kenshiro was a shy dog, choosing to hide from people he was not used to. It had taken Tom 3 months of coaxing before Kenshiro would come out from under the table when he was around.

 
With the samurai cleaned and bandaged, Tsuyoshi took time to look at the stranger properly. He had a handsome face, and there were scars on his upper body, indicating this samurai was no stranger to fights.

 
A shoulder-length crop of hair framed his face. The man’s nose was slightly small, and it wrinkled from time to time. Tsuyoshi found the reflex action absolutely adorable.

 
With slow, even breaths, the man looked peaceful. The only indication that something was amiss was the bandages wrapped around his body and the white-knuckled grip he had on his sword.

 
Tsuyoshi took a closer look at the katana. The sheath was a dark blue. There were intricate gold designs all along the length. The top of the sheath, where the blade was housed, was tied to a dark purple braided thread.

 
The grip of the katana was dark blue as well, but it was decorated with the emblem of a sakura in glittering red thread. Tsuyoshi recognized the emblem as that of Lord Kitagawa, the feudal lord that presided over this region.

 
His curiosity satisfied, Tsuyoshi covered the injured samurai with his blanket. He owned only one futon, so he made himself comfortable on the floor next to Kenshiro.

 
Tsuyoshi was expecting Kenshiro to settle down next to him. Instead, Kenshiro trotted over to the samurai, giving him a few sniffs before burrowing under the samurai’s arm.

 
“Traitor…” Tsuyoshi grumbled, blowing out the lantern and drifting off to sleep.

 
******************

 
Tsuyoshi opened up his eyes to the sun shining in through the bamboo window blinds. Groaning, he tried to move his stiff body, every muscle protesting to the treatment it received the night before.

 
Sitting up, Tsuyoshi was suddenly aware of a pair of eyes looking intently at him. Whipping his head around, he stared back at the samurai, who was already sitting up. Kenshiro was lying down quietly on the samurai’s lap, enjoying the feeling of the stranger petting his head.

 
“You’re awake,” Tsuyoshi said, eyes wide. He wondered briefly if he was in any danger.

 
The samurai nodded, and did his best to bow. “Thank you.”

 
Tsuyoshi rubbed the back of his neck, turning his attention to the floor. “What was I supposed to do? Leave you to your death outside?”

 
“Not many people would help a stranger. Especially one who’s bleeding at their door,” the samurai shrugged, letting Kenshiro lick his hand.

 
“Well, I’m not most people,” Tsuyoshi mumbled, recalling all the names he had been called by the townsfolk.

 
Freak! Weirdo! Crazy! We don’t want you here! Get out of town!

 
Tsuyoshi squeezed his eyes shut. “Leave me alone,” he said quietly.

 
The samurai cocked his head to the side. “Hmm?”

 
Tsuyoshi snapped out of his reverie. “It’s nothing. So, what’s your name?” Tsuyoshi asked, changing the subject abruptly.

 
“Domoto Koichi. And you?”

 
Tsuyoshi’s eyes widened. His jaw dropped. “DOMOTO?!”

 
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ End Chapter One ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

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