Naruto: IHCS Ch. 149

Aoki led Shiratori and Nagato through the bustling main street of the pleasure district. The noise and the powdery, perfumed air gradually faded behind them.

They turned into a relatively dim and narrow alley. The lanterns here were sparse, the light ambiguous, and there were few passersby.

A few modest-looking shops were still open, mostly general stores and cheap eateries.

Finally, their steps came to a halt in front of an old two-story wooden building.

A weathered wooden sign hung over the entrance, with the faded words "Fuji Inn" written on it.

Shiratori studied the building before him. Honestly, he would have preferred to stay somewhere on the main street.

It seemed this wasn't Aoki's first time in this town, otherwise, he wouldn't have found such a remote place so easily.

He lifted the indigo curtain, washed pale with age. Compared to the glamorous signs on the main street, this place looked pitifully shabby.

"Here will do," he spoke quietly. "It looks quiet. We probably won't attract too much attention."

Shiratori glanced at Nagato. Nagato looked back at him in confusion.

"..."

Alright then, wanting to stay somewhere nice was clearly his own wishful thinking.

Shiratori stepped through the doorway. The interior was a bit more spacious than it appeared from outside, though the furnishings were extremely simple.

A large main hall stretched before them, its old wooden floors polished to a soft shine. A few pots of nameless green plants sat in the corners, adding a touch of life.

A faint scent of sandalwood lingered in the air, mixed with the clean smell of laundered fabric.

He exhaled softly. At least it looked clean.

Behind the counter, someone lifted their head at the sound.

It was a woman who appeared to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, dressed plainly in a light mauve kimono. Her simple attire couldn't conceal her figure or the lively beauty of her face.

Though she wore no heavy makeup, her eyes naturally carried a touch of flirtation, and the corner of her lips curved into a faint, teasing smile as she polished a porcelain cup with a soft cloth.

Shiratori sharply drew in a breath. Just now, he had clearly seen the way she and Aoki exchanged glances. Now he understood why Aoki had chosen this place. He must have known the owner from before.

"Welcome to Fuji Inn. Are the three of you here to stay?"

Her voice was crisp and smooth, pleasant to the ear.

"Mm. Two rooms. Somewhere quiet."

Aoki kept it short, placing a small pouch of coins on the counter.

The woman set the cup down and weighed the pouch in her hand. Her smile deepened slightly, and her gaze slid past Aoki to linger on Shiratori and Nagato.

Shiratori's eyes flicked between Aoki and the owner, not missing even the subtlest interaction between them.

"Well now, what a pair of handsome guests."

She circled around the counter and approached lightly, her eyes brimming with amusement as she looked at Shiratori.

"Such beautiful eyes."

The woman reached out casually, fingers aiming to pinch his cheek in a familiar, playful gesture.

Shiratori instinctively took half a step back. He stared at the woman in front of him.

She covered her mouth and chuckled softly. Before she say anything, a terrifying, icy, violent aura exploded into the room without warning.

Her smile froze instantly. That presence just now... Was it her imagination?

Her face turned pale as she glanced nervously around.

Nagato immediately sensed the familiar, terrifying pressure and turned to Shiratori.

Aoki's muscles tensed at once.

What was that aura?

Shiratori's expression shifted slightly.

With a helpless sigh, he raised his hand and lightly brushed the ring on his finger, around which black mist coiled. The moment he soothed it, Rika's rage subsided. The violent, icy aura that had filled the room vanished as quickly as it came.

The oppressive weight that had smothered Aoki and the innkeeper disappeared as though it had never existed.

The temperature returned to normal, leaving only a faint sense of dread.

Aside from Nagato, no one had noticed Shiratori's subtle gesture.

Cold sweat trickled down the woman's temple, and her eyes were momentarily unfocused.

"The rooms are on the second floor. The two on the left are empty. Here are your keys."

She practically shoved the two old keys into Aoki's hand and scurried back behind the counter.

Aoki wasn't sure if what he'd felt just now was real or merely a battlefield-honed illusion. He accepted the keys and said to Shiratori and Nagato, "Let's go."

The three climbed the creaky wooden stairs in silence.

The corridor upstairs was even darker, lit only by a sliver of moonlight from a small window at the end.

He handed one key to Shiratori.

"You two take this room. I'll be next door. I'll go gather some information and be back soon."

Shiratori accepted the key, doubt stirring in his mind.

Was he really going to gather information?

He nodded. "Be careful."

Aoki seemed relieved. After a couple more warnings, he turned and headed downstairs. His footsteps faded away.

Only Shiratori and Nagato remained in the corridor.

"Was that Rika just now?"

Nagato asked as Shiratori opened the door.

Shiratori nodded. "Yeah. She didn't want that woman to touch me."

Nagato's normally composed face twisted for a second.

"What's wrong?"

Shiratori turned to him in puzzlement.

"Uh... nothing."

Nagato's expression quickly returned to normal. He followed Shiratori inside. The room was simply furnished, two tatami mats, a low table, two cushions, and a small washroom.

"Um, Shiratori, I wanted to ask you something..."

Nagato hesitated but finally blurted it out under Shiratori's gaze.

"Do you really plan to marry Rika one day?"

Rika... was already a curse now.

"..."

Why was Nagato asking this?

"Yuta..."

"I want to be with you forever..."

Rika's dark, whispering voice echoed through the room.

Shiratori let out a long, silent sigh in his heart. He gently kissed the ring on his finger, his voice soft and soothing.

"Of course. Rika and I will be together forever."

Nagato stared at Shiratori in shock, then suddenly the corners of his mouth lifted into a faint smile.

"As expected of you."

"..."

He really didn't feel like talking to Nagato right now.

Rika's voice faded into silence.

Shiratori exhaled quietly.

After a brief pause, he paced the room once, lowered his voice, and asked, "Do you... want to go out for a walk?"

Nagato blinked at him.

Go out?

Shiratori cleared his throat.

"That street outside... it looked kind of interesting."

A faint blush crept up his cheeks, and a spark of curiosity flashed in his eyes, impossible to hide.

"We'll just look around a bit and come right back, okay?"

He figured Aoki was probably already out there anyway.

Nagato remained silent. He didn't really care for noisy, glittering places like that, in fact, he instinctively disliked them a little. But when he saw the curiosity and expectation in Shiratori's eyes, the words of refusal simply wouldn't come out.

He gave a small nod.

Having reached an agreement, the two slipped quietly downstairs.

When they passed the counter, the innkeeper was distractedly polishing a cup. Seeing them, she called out with a smile, "Oh my, the guests are going out for a stroll? How energetic. But be careful, it's messy out there at night. Especially near the entertainment street. Don't let those women trick you, alright?"

"..."

"..."

Her way of speaking didn't match her innocent looks at all.

Shiratori mumbled a noncommittal reply and pulled Nagato out of the inn quickly.

Once again, they stepped onto the main street of the pleasure district. The onslaught of noise and light was just as overwhelming as before.

He took a deep breath, then guided Nagato toward the lively bar they'd passed earlier, following the flow of people and the thickening scent of sake and food.

A red sign with the words for "sake" hung above the entrance.

The doorway was crowded.

There were far more people coming and going than at any other shop.

Women in colorful kimonos, geisha and courtesans, stood on either side of the entrance, smiling charmingly and calling out to potential customers. Their soft voices and flirtatious glances painted a dazzling scene.

Nagato, expressionless, watched it all with his eyes. To him, it was nothing more than a jumble of meaningless colors, incapable of stirring even the smallest ripple in his heart. His attention was focused on observing the surroundings and identifying potential threats.

Shiratori, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. He didn't bother to hide his curiosity and excitement.

His eyes darted everywhere, wide with wonder.

A senior geisha in an orange long-sleeved kimono, exuding a confident air, noticed Shiratori and Nagato standing at the entrance. A brief flicker of surprise crossed her eyes, but she approached them with a warm smile.

"Oh my, young gentlemen, are you here to meet someone?"

Shiratori cleared his throat.

"We'd like to come in and have something to eat."

The geisha covered her mouth and laughed softly.

"Of course. Our hot oden and grilled dango are very popular. Come in, please. We've got a good seat near the side."

She led them inside enthusiastically.

The bar was even noisier and more crowded than Shiratori had imagined.

The air was thick with the smell of sake, tobacco, and mouthwatering food.

The lighting was dim, and the clamor of voices was overwhelming, a jumble of people from all walks of life.

The geisha led them to a relatively quiet tatami mat seat.

"Please wait a moment. I'll bring you the menu right away."

She bowed with a smile and stepped away.

Shiratori looked around curiously, while Nagato sat in silence.

Just then, from across the aisle, a burst of loud laughter and women's playful giggling rose up.

A burly, boisterous man sat there, wearing a plain dark kimono. His hair was messily tied back with a sweatband, giving him the look of a seasoned traveler.

Several geisha surrounded him, pouring drinks and feeding him with coy smiles.

The man was clearly drunk. His face was flushed, and he had one arm wrapped around a geisha's shoulders, boasting loudly about some "adventure" of his. The women tittered and squealed at his every word.

"Hah! When I was traveling through the Land of Stone, I personally took down a beast. It devoured an old woman..."

"Really?"

"That's amazing!"

"What happened after that? Did the old woman get saved?"

"..."

Shiratori had only glanced over out of idle curiosity at first, thinking the man was just noisy. But soon, his gaze froze.

It wasn't the loud voice that caught him, it was the man's mannerisms. Something about the way he spoke and moved felt strangely familiar.

Where had he seen that before?

But the man's face itself was completely unfamiliar.

He furrowed his brow slightly, a hint of doubt in his eyes, and studied him more carefully.

The man had an unremarkable face, the kind you could lose in any crowd.

Just as Shiratori was narrowing his eyes, the drunk man happened to glance their way.

"Pffft!"

It was like someone had suddenly grabbed him by the throat. His loud boasting stopped dead.

His eyes bulged wide.

The large gulp of sake he had just swallowed sprayed out in a wild burst, splattering all over the geisha sitting across from him.