Sanosuke Tracks a Vandal

Criminal Activity

Sanosuke had an inkling of what that poster might be from his previous encounter with the demon Studiose. Deparing the Mōri domain, he gathered Ryūzōji Ryōka and Shigeaki Fujino and made for the seat of the Hashinara Clan’s power.   Upon arrival, the source of Nobuhara’s worries was immediately evident. Posters were everywhere, far more than seemed possible for a single person to put up. Tsutsumi Hōzan has gotten a lead on a pink-haired, “intense” girl plastering them everywhere, but had not been able to track the culprit down. Indeed, two members of the Tsutsumigumi were nearby, peeling Sanosuke’s face off the wooden bridge with an air of drudgery.   Fujino suggested they start at The Tanuki’s Delight, and so that was their first destination. Upon entering the dark lobby, Sanosuke was intercepted by Uchiwata Kōchiyo, the proprietress. She might know something about the posters, she insinuated, but would need something for it to be worth her troubles. Ever the negotiator, Sansouke slid her some coins, which promptly vanished.   The man behind the posters was in the third room on the first floor, she revealed, and was behind on his rent. That’s why she was telling this to Sanosuke in the first place, and also why she didn’t really care what happened to him. The Silver General dropped her a few more coins for her trouble and the missing rent, and then climbed the stairs. The first door smelled oddly of brimstone, and the second had a strange stain on it, but the third was what they had come for. Upon knocking, the portal was opened by a scrawny man with fine hair covering his eyes and a religious-looking robe. He didn’t have the bearing of a priest, but rather a scoundrel as he made attempts to drive Sanosuke away. Upon reference to the posters, however, he seemed to give up.   Throwing the door open, the man who called himself Crow revealed that the entirety of his rented room was covered in a nearly foot-thick carpet of the things. They had all, apparently, come from a small leather backpack that could not possibly have contained that many. The more he sorted and sent his girl to go plaster around the city, the more seemed to appear from that infernal rucksack. Sanosuke probed further, and found that a little “yōkai” boy with a tail and claws had hired Crow to put the posters up. He’d paid in strange currency that nevertheless seemed extremely valuable.   Crow was able to produce these exotic coins, large and heavy, gold alloyed with something else, and bearing the smug face of Solomon herself. These, and a lead bottle, inscribed with some faded rune and corked with crystal, had been tendered for the job. An extremely generous payment for such a simple task, or so Crow had thought.   Now understanding the situation to a degree, Sanosuke immediately set about separating the man from his treasures. First, he claimed them as fairly worthless and offered an official compensation from the clan in exchange. Crow, however, was a more canny appraiser than Sanosuke gave him credit for. The coins were still gold, and worth their weight in it. He could sell them anywhere, and didn’t want to get involved with the ruling clan.   With that attempt stymied, Sanosuke instead offered to take the man to an appraiser and pay him directly what the curios were worth. This he accepted cautiously, and Sanosuke sought about his connections for someone who would ensure that he got the best of the deal. Eventually, this resulted in Kikutaka Ikue paying a visit to The Tanuki’s Delight. She put on the air of an experienced jeweler, something that seemed to naturally fit her fine clothing and well-groomed appearance. She claimed the coins to be an impure alloy, worth little even if melted down, and the bottle simple led with a worthless quartz cork. Her deception was so complete that Crow agreed to let the items go if Sanosuke would just take care of the rest of the posters. Sanosuke accepted these terms, but not before making it seem as though he was doing the man a great favor. Dejected and left with nothing, Crow departed, stating that he’d likely move on to Osaka, as the Tsutsumigumi were getting too close for comfort here.   When he was gone, Ikue commented on the true value of the items. The coins were indeed gold alloyed with a metal she couldn’t identify. They would be worth a fortune for their composition alone. The bottle was indeed lead, but was corked with pure diamond as far as she could tell. Fujino helpfully pointed out that the sigil engraved on its surface looked demonic, and indeed the vessel felt quite a bit heavier than it should. Once the false appraiser had departed, Sanosuke was interrupted by the appearance of an intense-looking girl with pink hair and shining eyes. He had never seen her before, nor recognized her voice, but she treated him like an old acquaintance. It had been, according to her, only a week or so since they had last met, but that didn’t fit anything the Silver General recalled.