>>5931848“True, but that’s why you will work extra hard to project confidence, dignity, and servility while you are with them, young lady.”
“It’ll be harder to do that after-” She starts, but Naoki jabs an elbow into her ribcage to silence her. No doubt he assumed she was going to say something about getting shitfaced with Akimitsu the other night, which was not a good idea.
You finish approaching the caravan. You see the 7 carts already lined up outside the gate, Kumamoto clansmen arrayed around it.
Hotaru walks up to a stout, older man with a mustache and offers him a curt bow. The three of you bow as well as she says “I hope we didn’t keep you waiting.”
“Not at all.” Says Akimitsu’s (Presumed) dad as he glances at his watch, seeing that you are quite literally exactly 15 minutes early to the agreed upon time. “We were just finishing up so we’d be ready for you. If you’d like, I’ll introduce you to everyone?”
“That would be wonderful. Thank you.”
The man beams, and clears his throat. “I’m Kin Kumamoto, and this is my wife, Tsutsuji.”
A slightly plump woman sitting on a nearby cart waves at you. Her hair is a faint purple color.
He continues. “That’s Akimitsu, my son.” He says, pointing at Akimitsu, who’s lurking nearby sheepishly. “And that’s my brother Gin, his wife, Aina, and their two kids, Fumiko and Hana.”
Gin doesn’t really look like Kin at all. He’s a gaunt man with silver blonde hair. Aina is brown-haired, short, and looks young for a woman with two kids. You don’t know which one is Fumiko and which one is Hana, but one looks like a version of their mother roughly your age, and the other one is a version of her mother that’s still a little girl. They giggle and have some private conversation while gesturing at Naoki. Naoki, meanwhile, has an impassive, blank expression.
You know him well enough to realize that he probably wants to kill everybody here and then himself.
“Lastly, this is Shota Aoki. He’s part of the family through sweat, not blood.” He says, gesturing to the last member of the party. Despite his unfortunate name, Shota is tall as hell, looks strong as hell, and is also clearly in his 50s. He pointedly ignores you as he fusses with some ropes that seem to prevent the goods from moving around.
“A charming group you have.” Hotaru remarks, politely.
“Yes, well, you haven’t met the donkeys! And who are your students?”
“Teammates. Otomo Mizutani, Masami Igarashi, and-”
“Oh, I already know Naoki!” Kin says, slapping Naoki on the shoulder. “Him and my son go way back! His arm looks better every time I see it, but it couldn’t get much worse than it was the first time I saw it, ha!”
Naoki has a forced smile, concealed behind his mask. “I remember.” He forces out, an almost imperceptible growl of repressed rage hiding in his voice.
“Well, anyway.” Kin says, quickly shaking hands with you and Masami. “It’s nice to meet you. But we ought to be going, hmm?”
“I think that would be wise.” Hotaru agrees with a nod.
