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Never a day in her life had she been water

"You are ruffly "Both about the water and about the drink"

"Akira-san is rarely "

Mariko froze Refused to turn around Then thought better of it

Noas not the time for indecision of any kind Death follows indecision, like a twisted shadow It was so her brother said A word of caution too often levied her way

Though she could not iht, Mariko knew it belonged to the leader of the Black Clan To Ranmaru

Far from its most pliableraces

The same instant Mariko turned to face hiain she sensed a leashed sort of power, like a coil about to spring

"If Akira-san says you are water, you are water," he continued

Mariko’s right shoulder lifted, e one of Kenshin’s many nonresponses to her frequent questions She held fast to her coets me another bottle of sake, I can be water"

His smile was pointed "Allowto his left or right The boy with the spiked topknot and the haunted gaze surrendered his bottle of spirits before Mariko had a chance to blink

Why do they obey hiht the faint scent of pine and steel He poured a thin stream of rice wine into her cup with steady hands Hands that were remarkably clean Hands that ers in the folds of her nonexistent kiht against it Fought against the urge to be the proper young wo, she lifted the cup in a salute, then downed its contents in a single gulp

Of course this would be the , wretched sort of cough The hter Save for the boy with the ht find a

A box of paralytic scorpions? A jar of venomous snakes?

"This little runt can’t hold his drink," a burly man with arms of knotted pine and a kosode of burnished black leather announced through his laughter Though tinged by aave her bordered on dismissive Indifferent

Unease sparked once ht her unworthy of their attention, Mariko would lose this precious opportunity to endear herself to their leader

The leader of theher

But she could not readily pretend to be so she wasn’t And she wasn’t a skilled drinker Nor was she a skilled fighter On the surface, she wasn’t a fearsome enemy at all Mariko wasodd Curious Clever Perhaps too clever, as her father always said It had never been h she had always taken it as one

But perhaps it was better this way These men would not want to see Mariko as odd or curious or clever Those were characteristics that would warrant concern in any unknown Maybe it would serve her well to don a different disguise One of a bu fool desperately in need of direction Desperately in need of the Black Clan’sto keep them in her thrall

Mariko set down her cup, then cleared her throat with a series of raps against her chest, willing her nerves silent She grinned up at Ranmaru sheepishly "I’ve recently left ho the road And I have not yet spent enough tirateful for the drink Would you allow rin widened "Then perhaps I can learn fros"

Ranhtful, his broad lips pursed to one side "While I would nor footsteps crashed through the underbrush at the edge of the forest, disrupting the peaceful grove of maple trees across the way

"Takeda Ran nearly three heads taller than anyone present, shouted into the night sky "I will not bear this insult a single day htened The

A moment passed in stillness A moment laced with tension The sort meant to be bowed by a sword