Kyouka's new army gives a cheer. The old woman says "No. My husband was going to name it, but someone cut his throat, and I'm terrible with names. Folk've been calling it the tavern on the corner."
They find the temple on a quiet hill of the city, the wooden exterior blackened from fire damage, the doors broken and lying adrift. Inside, on the shrine, sits Inazuma, her face familiar to Jian from their brief interactions. She looks up at them and nods.
"I'm sorry for your loss." Kyouka nods, before pondering, "Then, how about the "Wayside Tavern?" That sounds nice, and discreet." She hums, looking around the tavern to see how big it was.
Jian approached the kunoichi, he pulled the poison from his sleeve, 'This should be quick and painless. They asked me to get information about your helpers from you, but I know you won't tell us.'
It's moderately sized, big enough to fit maybe 30-50 patrons. "Nah, no need to be sorry, this was decades ago. Wayside Tavern has a good ring to it."
"You're right, I won't." She takes the poison. "He was a horrible man, you know that, right? I don't regret killing him."
“Yes, that was thoughtful of you. Thanks, sis.” Midori looked at her clone again. “Hmm, I guess she can speak on her own, but won't know what to say unless I tell her. I'll need to give her precise instructions, at least for now. Maybe when my mastery of the spell improves... but that is for the future.” She turned back to look at her sister. “I'm out of things I want to test right now. Do you have any suggestions or ideas?”
'I've heard the rumours, but I've never met the man,' Jian said, 'I'm sure you had good reasons to kill him. Did the guards deserve death too?'
“Tempting, but no, I had enough for now. Though I guess a brief kiss won't hurt...” Midori quickly instructed her clone to move closer and kiss her on the lips. Then the fake dissolved, leaving the sisters alone. “Well, that was fun. It ended up going in an unplanned direction, but I don't mind.” She smiled happily before getting serious again. “How is the investigation of the lord's death going? Any success in finding the one responsible?”
"Mm. Well, I'll just say this up front. Do expect things to get roudy from now on." Kyouka hums, before looking to see if it had a second floor, and a washroom. "Anyway, we'll be needing a feast, and probably all the booze you have. So, I won't be taking anymore of your time. Though, do tell me if you need employees to keep the place running. And inform me if we run low on supplies." She said with a nod, before dismissing the old woman. Kyouka then calls for Ujo, Grugga, Ya-Ming, and Santo to join her. Once they were gathered, "So, what do you think? Am I worthy of being your leader now?" She asked with a grin.
"I don't know. All I know is that he needed to die." She raises the vial of poison. "Thank you, for this."
The woman nods, and the feast begins to start, the mercs drinking and eating merrily. Kyouka's ad hoc lieutenants look at her, before Ujo nods. "We're in this together now." Grugga slams his chest. "We'll take the heads of all those pompous yakuza!" Ya-Ming simply says "Fuck it." Santo chuckles. "Whaddaya askin' me for? You're already my boss."
“I see... I hope they are doing a proper investigation and not just looking for someone to pin the blame on...” Midori sighed and stayed silent, unsure what more to say.
"Good. For now, we'll discreetly amass our numbers." Kyouka nods taking a tankard to drink. "Mmh. But, we'll be needing a bigger place. Somewhere we can train. Picking a fight just for a workout is bound to gather unwanted attention. Any ideas of a dojo, or a cheap mansion we could buy?"
