Return to Yakisoba Yashiki, or, The Extraction of Toyotomi Hideyoshi

Gathering / Conference

When Ryūzaki Sanosuke and his dinner companions, Aoki Michiko and Shigeaki Fujino arrived at the door of Yakisoba Yashiki, they found the final member of their party already waiting for them. With her long black hair, slender build, eccentric jewelry, and fine yukata open lazily to reveal smallclothes beneath, this could only be Shigeaki Tōno. Sanosuke seemed to appreciate the view, and not just of Fujino's aunt. Yakisoba Yashiki felt like a different place with the sun shining merrily over green grass below.

The Silver General approached Tōno and made his introductions. The other psychic could have been Fujino's twin, rather than her aunt, and Sanosuke could not but telepathically express his amazement. Fujino was able to confirm that this was, indeed, the woman they'd been looking for. Michiko, for her part, appeared most unimpressed with Tōno's unconventional presentation. After a spot of small talk, the doors to the mansion opened. Beyond stood a diminutive kyonshi, unmistakable by the Tianchaoren dress and charm upon her head.   This in itself was not too surprising. Sanosuke and his allies had dealt with a "kyonshi incident" at this very place not so long ago. That the master, Hospodar Mikhail, might have a backup seemed hardly worth comment. This one, however, did not seem so inclined to let Sanosuke and his party in without a reservation. Her intentions became clear as she unsubtly stuck out a hand and fixed a greedy gaze upon the Silver General. Sanosuke fished around and found one of the candies he'd liberated from Haro Uin previously, dropping it in the outstretched hand. That seemed to do the trick.   As if experiencing a sudden jolt of memory, the kyonshi hostess welcomed Sanosuke with a warm assurance that his reservation was ready. They weren't to be the only people dining there that day, however. Upon entering the mansion's familiar dining room, Sanosuke and company found five seats at the long table already occupied. Although they hadn't met face-to-face, both The Silver Crow and the Silver General recognized each other from reputation alone. While the others took their seats, Magoichi explained that they were here on business, having tracked the missing Toyotomi Hideyoshi to this very location. It was at this mansion that the trail went cold. When asked if he'd seen anything strange, or any sign of the missing man, Sanosuke could not say he had. At least, not anything strange that could be tied to Hideyoshi.   Soon he, too, took his seat. As he did so, Sanosuke heard something muttered between two of the other Saika Ikki. Perhaps, by their descriptions, Terasawa Tsuyu and Nakamikado Rui. Regardless, the smaller one seemed to be suggesting, from what Sanosuke picked up, that the Silver General was one of the lords they'd planned to overthrow. That sent a jolt through him, but Sanosuke managed to keep his composure and telepathically checked with his sources before saying anything. From what he learned there, it seemed that the Ikkō Ikki as a whole were in the lord-overthrowing business. As a part of that conglomerate, the Saika Ikki would naturally have similar objectives. Whether they still intended to fulfill them now that they were in service to the Aotsuki Clan was another matter. In either case, and with Aotsuki Tsukamoto's reassurance, it seemed they thankfully did not represent an immediate threat to him or the Silver Meteor Storm.   The women who had arrived with Sanosuke all placed their orders: the house yakisoba for Fujino and Tōno and a salad for Michiko. When encouraged to order more (as this would be on the Meteor Storm's tab), the imperial scholar politely refused. As Michiko politely informed him, she tried to strictly eat vegetables when possible. The kyonshi girl who had been hanging around took these orders, but before she left to place them with the kitchen, she hesitated. That man they were looking for, Toytomi Hideyoshi, was he a stout, muscly sort with short hair and a gourd at his hip? Saika Magoichi suddenly came alert. That was a fair description of exactly the man they were looking for.   Still expressionless, the hostess informed them all that Toyotomi Hideyoshi was still in the building, but not in good condition. He'd arrived earlier in the day, after having been "dumped by his girlfriend," and had gotten handsy with the help. So, the hostess had personally killed him and stuffed him in a toilet. A stunned silence draped itself over the room at her words. Eventually, on Sanosuke's prompting, Fujino begrudgingly left to check the nearby toilets. She returned not long thereafter, dumping Hideyoshi's soiled body upon the table. His eyes were rolled up into the back of his head and his skin pale. Worse, varied caricatures of a foreign-looking woman had been tattooed into every inch of exposed skin.   After it set in that the fouled corpse in the middle of the table wouldn't make for a great dining experience for his guests, Sanosuke grabbed Hideyoshi's corpse and hurriedly tossed it into the corner of the room. It hit the wall with something between a thud and a splat, then crumpled ignobly to the ground. Sanosuke had to ask at that point: had the hostess... drawn on Hideyoshi. She answered that yes, she'd been practicing her art. The face imprinted upon Hideyoshi's flesh was none other than Victoire Frankenstein, a personal idol of the Hospodar's. Since she'd had to draw Frankenstein from reference, the hostess thought she'd done a pretty good job.   That seemed like too much to get into at the moment, so Sanosuke did not pursue it further. Finally, the hostess left to fetch their orders. At much the same time, Saika Magoichi requested that the corpse be released into their care. It was, after all, their mission to recover Hideyoshi, alive or dead. Sanosuke did not refuse, but he covertly asked Fujino to make sure that Kuroda Kanbei knew about his hand in the matter. As it stood, he still owed the abrasive necromancer a favor, and this should fulfill the terms of it well enough. Gingerly, Magoichi and company picked up Hideyoshi's still-damp body and carted it out of the Yashiki, much to everyone's relief.   As the others left, what seemed to be a housekeeper in the Western style entered the room. She stalked over to the table, annoyance clear in every part of her body language, and jumped up onto its surface to clean the spot where Hideyoshi had lain. As she kneeled, giving Sanosuke a good view of the pitch-black flesh covering every inch of her, he realized where he'd at least heard about such a creature before. This must be Kenas-unarpe Kamui, whom both Maxim and Fubuki had tangled with in the past. Maxim, especially seemed to consider this maid to be a wicked and dangerous opponent. At the moment, she seemed pretty cross, but far from a danger to himself or his guests. With a few more frustrated remarks, the Kamui finished her task and left the room without viciously attacking a single person. Even primal goddesses have their bad days, it would seem.   Finally, the kyonshi hostess arrived with their food. Despite what they'd actually ordered, it was no less than four heaping helpings of yakisoba. When Michiko made to complain, the hostess cut her off with an assertion that this was not the "Salad Yashiki." They'd take yakisoba or nothing, and it didn't have any meat in it anyway. That quieted any further complaints, but Sanosuke could see Michiko's disapproval visibly building.   After an admittedly delicious meal, the Silver General and Shigeaki Tōno finally got to the real reason for why they'd met in the first place: the newspaper. Tōno explained her plan to have a daily issue containing things that she found interesting, and her sponsors didn't find inconvenient, gathered by use of her teleportation and telepathy. She'd sell them in various cities for a nice sum and everybody would profit. Once Sanosuke started to probe, it became increasingly clear that, just as Fujino had warned, Tōno had not really thought this out. Most important was the matter of what "Tōno thinks is interesting" versus "what the people actually need to know." After some negotiating, Sanosuke managed to define it as two issues, one of interesting tidbits and one of important announcements, produced weekly rather than daily. Tōno agreed, although her enthusiasm was noticeably dampened as the task became more complex.   Surprisingly, despite her poor mood, Michiko cut in at this moment. It would be important, especially with someone of Tōno's temperament running things, to have a skilled editor on staff as well. Although she did not say as much, Michiko seemed to be volunteering herself for that position. Perhaps the reach and ambition of this project had exceeded her doubts regarding its founder. Sanosuke was in full agreement, and Tōno did not argue either. Having an editor would only make her own job easier, after all. With that, it seemed settled. No doubt within a week, Japan would enjoy its very first newspaper.   Meanwhile, outside, the Saika Ikki were making a startling discovery. Toyotomi Hideyoshi was not truly dead. He'd had all the ki drained from his body, which seemed strangely similar to what Haro Uin had been able to do. As Aotsuki and Abe no Seimei telepathically discussed the fallen Daimyō's situation, Saika Magoichi made the mistake of infusing Hideyoshi with a bit of her own ki to wake him up. It's not clear what happened after that, but Aotsuki did have to specify that he wanted the recovered prisoner alive, if at all possible. He did give them permission to knock him out, at least. The Ikki had to wait around for a short time while Fujino finished her meal, but it wasn't long before they and a comatose Hideyoshi were bound back for Ōtsu Castle.