Chapter XX: Gathering of Wealthy Scions II

Onin

Sengoku Empire

The Great Plateau

Month of the Pangolin 8, 172 ,328 DE

Surprisingly, the Cultivator's snide manner and tone of voice do not seem at odds with his decidedly androgynous appearance. Looking at the quality of his formal kimono, he should be the scion of some wealthy clan, but unless he is slumming in Quad Twenty, he is not from he Sengoku Empire. With a Cultivation level reaching the upper ranks of the Foundation Establishment realm at less than twenty years of age, he exudes the arrogance of one of the true elites of the Cultivation world. After completing the entrance examinations, he will be taken away by one of the Twelve Great Cultivation Colleges or at worst scooped up by one of the more powerful sects that hover around the entrance exams. He obviously knows his worth to those from beyond the Kami Kaze Mountains. The most likely reason for him to intervene between me and this collection of idiots is to show off his power.

I glance at the new Cultivator. "Who the fuck are you? I didn't cat piss to go with these five pieces of cat shit. Do you think reaching the middle of Foundation Establishment give you the authority to tell me shit?"

The Cultivator.

"Hoshino Ken, you should be more careful about who you provoke. You'll get chewed and spat out by that Beast if you're not careful." The comment comes from a female Cultivator, who I do not recognize, but when I glance at her, she shift her hateful glare from Hoshino Ken to me.

Appearing to be about the same age as me, a few years younger than Hoshino Ken, the female could be considered pretty by Cultivator standards but not exceptionally so. Her features are those of a pure-blooded Ningen, as the humans that lives east of the Kami Kaze Mountains call themselves. Piled up in an elaborate hairdo, her long hair has is in place with long, silver pins. Like a number of the younger Cultivators, she wears a formal kimono in the elaborate style commonly worn by only the nobility.

As Hoshino Ken looks toward the girl, his snide expression changes to one of cold rage. "A newly minted, faux noble has no place interfering in my business."

The female Cultivator gives Hoshino Ken a smug smirk. "Oh, Hoshino-sama, I should apologize for speaking out about the dangers of that Beast in human skin. There is no way an up and comer like myself would possibly be aware of something the scion of a fallen clan like yourself would not. The dignity and knowledge of old blood that has made the last of it contributions to the Empire more than two centuries ago is beyond my limited, newly minted understanding."

Leaning back against the armored casing for his steamer bike's boiler, Vorn has his hands clasped behind head and an amused smirk on his lips. Unlike Vorn, Hoshi has a hostile scowl on his face, while staring at the female Cultivator. He seldom shows hostility toward anyone, and this female Cultivator does not look at all familiar. Why does he dislike her?

"Ogawa Tokiko." Hoshi spits out the name in a hostile growl.

The female Cultivator, apparently Ogawa Tokiko looks toward Hoshi. "Fatty Okada. Are you here to try your luck in the entrance exams along with that vile Beast?"

Seeming to leash his hostility, Hoshi puts on a disdainful expression. "With us here, you have no chance of getting into anyone's Engineering department."

While laughing, Ogawa Tokiko sneers at Hoshi. "You're name is Hoshi isn't it? Did you backwater trash father name you Hoshi because it sounds so much like Hoshino? Do your country bumpkin parents worship a loser clan like Hoshino."

Straightening his back, Hoshi does his best to look proud and noble, but with his ball-like shape, it does not work to well. "My clan has a five hundred year history of nobility. Whose asshole did your grandfather shove his head in to scam a noble title?"

Ogawa Tokiko sniffs and raises her nose high enough in the air that she probably has trouble seeing Hoshi past her chin. "You're just as vile as the Beast. My grandfather gifted the plans for the electric generator that phony Grandmaster Jones stole to the Imperial Engineering Society. He was awarded a title for his generosity in advancing the level of Imperial Engineering."

Hoshi laughs mockingly. "Grandmaster Jones would never steal from another Engineer, especially not one as incompetent as your grandfather."

With her face turning red, Ogawa Tokiko angrily stamps her foot on the ground. "That hack Jones stole dozens of my Grandfather's designs. Do you think some idiot gaijin with half a face could create anything?"

Thinking I will not notice them, the four idiots grab their leader and slink into the crowd. I could stop them but this girl Ogawa Tokiko bothers me. The name Ogawa sounds vaguely familiar, but I do not remember why. Managing to separate the girl's scent from the surrounding crowd, I realize shy the Ogawa sounds familiar. "You're the little bitch with those gold furred dogs."

Ogawa Tokiko's head snaps around, and she glares at me, once more. "You finally recognized me, you filthy Beast? You killed my dogs!"

Giving Ogawa Tokiko a predatory smile, I let loose a nasty snicker. "You never should have sicked those poor, dumb animals on me. They were scared, they were ready to piss themselves. The knew I was an infinitely more lethal predator, but they loved you so much, they charged straight to their deaths. Dogs are stupid but they're loyal, even when the loyalty is undeserved. You killed your dogs."

"Damn gaijin animal! You didn't have to kill them! They wouldn't have killed you! They would have just bit you a little!" Ogawa Tokiko's expression looks like she could as easily explode in violence or tears.

"If you wanted the dogs to live, you shouldn't have sent them after me. If you want to attack me, I can reunite you and your dogs. In Limbo, that is."

Someone behind us burst out laughing. "This is too funny. None of you have any friends here, and you're ready to tear each other apart. Low class trash will always be low class trash."

Turning around, I see the Tokugawa clan Okama that was in charge of the group that nearly killed Hoshi. Before I do anything, Vorn holds up his hand. "Leave him to me. Cowards like him piss me off.

Getting off his steamer bike, Vorn stands up to his full height. As he towers over the entire crowd, including the gaijin, many among the onlooker tilt their heads back slightly, and their eyes open wide in a mixture of surprise and shock.

Vorn give the okama a smile that could be interpreted as neutral. "With your behaviour in Shizukana Gake, we had the chance to be introduced. Vorn Bjornsonner or Amber. It'll be a pleasure to beat you into a corpse."

A condescending sneer twists the okama's face. "Bjornsonner? Are you pretending to be a prince, gaijin?"

"Make way! Imperial Watch coming through!" A squad of guards dressed in Sengoku military uniforms, who had been sitting and watching the show, pushes through the crowd. The Martial Warrior leading the squad has four Core Formation Cultivators backing him up.

All the Cultivators between the guard and Vorn, no matter what their station appears to be, move aside, opening a path for the patrol. As the guard squad steps out from the path through the crowd, Tokugawa okama moves into their path. "Captain, you should move along and forget you ever saw this. You don't want to get in the middle of Clan Tokugawa business, do you?"

Showing no signs of servility, the Martial Warrior stares calmly at the okama. "Do you intend to impede the Imperial Guard in carrying orders directly from the Emperor, Tokugawa-kun?"

As he clenches his fist, the okama's face turns dark red. "That's Tokugawa-sama to you, Captain. Or do you want it to be former Captain?"

The captain's expression does not shift in the slightest. "If I arrest you are for impeding the Imperial Guard from carrying out the Emperor's orders, not even your clan's Sacred Elders will do anything to me. Step back! Now!"

Looking like he wants to kill the guard captain, the Tokugawa okama back off and stalks into the crowd, heading back the way he came from. Whether junior here for the entrance exams or the older Cultivators, everyone makes way for the okama, but many of them flash dirty looks at his back.

After the okama disappears from sight, the guard captain approaches Vorn and bows. "Bjornsonner-sama. May I ask you to give the Emperor some face and not get into a brawl on the streets?"

Vorn nods his head. "As long as no starts trouble with us, I won't go looking for trouble with others. I'll have my chance to discuss things with them during the entrance exams sparring sessions."

The guard captain bows, once more. "Thank you, Bjornsonner-sama."

Turning to me, the guard captain gives me a cold stare. "Raymon-san, you may be Grandmaster Jones' Apprentice but this is the Sengoku Empire not Shizukana Gake. As long as you behave yourself, the Empire will not be unjust with you."

I flash the guard captain one of my most obnoxious smirks. "If the rabble learns to behave, I won't have to spank them. Teach the trash to mind their manners, and I won't have any reason to kill people."

The guard captain scowls, but he does not push the matter. Turning toward the crowd, he makes a sweeping motion with his arm. "Break this up. The Emperor will not tolerate street brawls during the entrance exams. If you are not lodging in this quad, I would suggest leaving. No matter your origins, if you cause trouble, you will be jailed until the entrance exams are over."

Under the guard captain's iron gaze, the crowd disperses. The Hoshino idiot and the Ogawa bitch glare at me until the people on the street block me form their line of sight. Some of the Cultivators enter stores and restaurants, where they can watch us without the guard captain going after them.

With the crowd no longer blocking the street, the guard captain turns back to me. "Follow me, Raymon-san. I will take you and your companions to the lodgings for the Shizukana Gake contingent."

Pushing our steamer bikes, we follow the guard squad through more than half of the quad. The guard captain finally comes to a stop in front of an inn built in a mixture of modern and old architecture. Constructed as a number of free-standing buildings inside a walled compound, the inn looks to be designed to cater to larger groups that desire private accommodations.

The guard captain gives me a cold stare. "The Shizukana Gake student, who are travelling as part of their school contingents are lodged here. The entrance exams start the day after tomorrow. I would recommend staying inside the inn as much as possible. We do not wish to offend a man like Grandmaster Jones, but if you start trouble, we will jail you the same as anyone else."

As the guard patrol leaves, Vorn stares at their back until they turn a corner. "Calling that strange would be an understatement."

Apparently thinking that we cannot detect their presence, the patrol squad stops around the corner. The captain extends a clumsy Yuan Qi aura back toward us, but I do not give any sign that I notice his actions.

Looking at Vorn, I shrug. "I didn't think anyone here would know who I am."

"That's what's strange. You saw that guard captain watching the whole encounter, didn't you.

I nod without speaking.

"He didn't care about me and wasn't paying attention to anyone but you. Until the okama showed up, he didn't show any sign of doing anything. I can't tell if he was there to protect the okama from you or just to keep thing from getting out of hand if went too wild."

"Other than knowing that the Tokugawa and Hoshino clans have a long history in the Sengoku empire, I don't know shit about anyone that there. Other than the okama's clan, the Tokugawas, I can't think anyone who would know I was coming. My guess is he was there to protect the okama, but why did they get the Imperial Guard involved."

Vorn shakes his head. "I don't know. From the intelligence briefs I read on the Sengoku Empire, there is a lot tension between the old nobility clans and the Sengoku Imperial clan. That's why that captain's what's actions bother me more than anything."

"We're just here for the entrance exams. We'll be gone in a week. If we can through it without any trouble, they can kill themselves off afterward for all that I care."

Getting on my steamer bike, I ride into the inn's yard with Vorn an Hoshi right behind me.