�Miroku, it�s good to see you again,� Mushin said as he put his drinking container back around his neck after he took a few deep gulps from it. �I didn�t expect you to actually come here. Did you recieve me letter?�
�Yes Mushin, I did,� Miroku said with a nod. He looked at Hachi & motioned that he could go off on his own. �Did the girl leave her name with the message?� He asked as he looked at Mushin.
�The letter she sent, was signed with the name Yamahoshi,� Mushin answered as he & the monk walked inside the Temple. �Would you like to see the letter yourself, Miroku?�
�That would be nice Mushin,� Miroku answered as he followed the drunkard into a study. He watched Mushin as he sifted through some parchments until he held one in his hand, reading over it, before he held it to Miroku. "Is this it?"
"Yes Miroku, that is the letter."
Mushin, guardian of Miroku:
I am hoping you, or the monk, Miroku,
both still live at the Temple I am sending
this to. If you are, then the Gods have
been good to me. Mushin, my name is
Yamahoshi, and two years ago, I took bed
with the monk that you watch over. From
this union, I bore him a child, that I have
named Aiji. Please let him know of the
child Mushin, but please tell him not to
attempt to see me. I fear he would not be
welcomed by my family with wide open
arms.
Please send word of my letter to him as
sson as you can. I do not want it to be
too late before he finds out about his
child. I hope for it to reach him before the
abysal hole in his right hand swallows him.
Sincerely,
Yamahoshi
Miroku sighed. "I see," he said as he set the paper down onto the table by him. "and you think I should go see her?"
"Yes Miroku," Mushin answered, sipping from his drinkning container. "I think you should go see her & find out if this child is indeed yours & not someone else's she is trying to pass off as yours for some type of support."
"I suppose I should go..."
"Then I shall get a horse ready for you so you won't have to walk all the way there."
"Do you know where this village of hers is?"
"I wouldn't be ready to send you off if I didn't Miroku."
"How did you find it out if there is no mention of it in this letter?"
"I simply asked the messenger Miroku. Do you think I am such a drunkard that I wouldn't even think of asking of where the message came from?"
"Sometimes I wonder."
"Hmph."
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Miroku sighed as he walked through the village that Mushin said Yamahoshi was living in. He had spent most of his time so far, asking around about Yamahoshi, trying to see if she did still live there, & if so, where could she be found. He had settled down under the roof of a small dining house, & was drinking sake, when a rather built man approached him, putting his hands on his hips & staring at Miroku with an angry glare. Miroku rose his eyes up to meet the glare of the man. "Can I help you sir?"
"Are the monk that has been asking around for Yamahoshi?" he asked, his tone more demanding than questioning.
"Yes I am. What is it to you sir?"
"I am her father. My name is Kakoku. As protector of this village, I demand that you leave at once."
"Lord Kakoku, I wish to show you respect, but so far, you are making me not want to, by showing me nothing but rudeness. I will not leave this village until I have Yamahoshi & seen the child that she bore of mine for myself."
"What child do you speak of?" He demanded, but his eyes showed that the monk was not supposed to know of any child.
"I was at my Temple a few weeks ago when I recieved word that I had a child from Yamahoshi after she apparently took bed with me more than two years ago. I would have come sooner, but I doubted it. Now I wish to find out for myself if she didn't. And by the look on your face as I speak, there is a child. Now take me to your hut & let me see my child."
Kakuko growled in anger at Miroku & knocked him upside the head with his fist, knocking the monk to the ground unconscious.