The shop resembled a sore thumb on the street it jutted into, a sore thumb that was broken, cracked, and swollen red, maybe some puss oozing out the sides of an ingrown nail. It made Kurinai cringe.

            “You know, somehow I thought it’d look better. Yet, I knew it looked like a public toilet stand.” Zenji said.

            “Well, the better to hide us with, I suppose.” Kurinai said.

            The windows were completely boarded over, the front door missing, and an ugly sun-faded, green-painted wood front wall made for quite the unappealing view. The boards were also starting to rip free from their nails as the sun warped them with steady rains during the years’ rainy months. Any hint of a glass window had long run off to find better places to be looked through.

            “It is ours now.” Kurinai said.

            The two nodded, slowly.

            “So, why this place?” Zenji asked.

            “It was the first place that came to mind when I was thinking of how we could keep things private without worrying about someone opening my bed chamber doors and discovering us.”

            Zenji nodded. “Well, let’s take a look.”

The two stepped to the open doorway and with a deep breath, walked in.

            The inside of the shop was not as depressing as the exterior, but not by much. It was dark, just enough light to see everything. There was a front room for displaying products and services, a table there, with a wood desk along the wall at the back with an open door to a back room with stairs just beyond the doorway going up. The floorboards were in decent shape and the rest of the woodwork was surprisingly well-kept.

            “Not too bad.” Zenji said.

            “I think the last owner tried to maintain the place so it could be sold easier. My guess anyway.” Kurinai said.

            “Let’s check out the back and upstairs.”

            “Alright. You go up and I will go back.”

            Zenji nodded, and they moved to the back of the front room.

            As they walked through the doorway, Zenji broke off and walked up the stairs on the right to the attic. In the back room, Kurinai found an empty space about the size of the front room, but with another door as well to the left.

            Where does that lead? Kurinai thought.

            “I found just an empty attic. Nothing else. You?” Zenji said from upstairs.

            “I think I found a door to a basement.”

            Zenji rushed down the stairs and found Kurinai next to the door.

            “Whoa. Open it!”

            Kurinai stepped forward and turned the brass knob slowly, the door creaking open. Behind the door was a set of stairs that wound down to the left into a cellar of some kind.

            “Did you bring a torch?” Zenji asked.

            “No. It looks too dark to go down without a light. I can barely see in here as it is in the middle of the day.”

            “Should we wait until we can get some candles?”

            “For now, yes. But let us go get some.”

            “Wait. You have to wear something else.” Zenji said.

            “Why? What is wrong going about wearing what I have on?”

            “It’s…well…too nice.”

            Kurinai thought for a moment. “And why is that a problem?”

            “It looks like you’re dressing down when you’re with me. We need to balance things out.”

            “What do you mean by that?” Kurinai said.

            “Well, it kind of looks like you have money but are buying cheaper clothes to look like you’re in a lower class.”

            “Alright. Then how do we balance things?” Kurinai asked.

            “We can just get you some bad clothes I suppose.”

            “What about all the money I have? Will not two beggars buying clothes look suspicious?”

            “Hmm…maybe? I don’t know what else to do.”

            “Could we ask someone else to buy some clothes for us?” Kurinai asked.

            “Yeah, but that might be kind of hard and then you’d have to pay them off. What if you just bought our clothes? No one would question you if you just went and got some clothes that aren’t as nice for both of us.” Zenji said.

            “That sounds like our best option right now.” Kurinai turned to leave.

            “What about me?” Zenji asked.

            “Do you have any ideas how we could get more information about this underground group that scared that man so thoroughly?”

            “Throwly? What’s that?” Zenji said.

            “Thoroughly. It means completely in this case, or sometimes carefully and fully.”

            “Ah. Well, I do have a friend from back when I—” Zenji stopped, thinking of what to say next. “Back when I worked that gang. That guy might know a thing or two.”

            “Are you sure that you can do that?’ Kurinai asked.

            Zenji nodded. “I can handle it. No one should bother me too much if I go back looking for him.”

            “Go and find him. See what he knows.”

            “Can do. Meet back here in a few hours?”
            “Agreed.” Kurinai said, then turned and walked out the open door.

            He returned and poked his head back in. “And we should probably get a new door. I’ll have some servants come and put one in to match the front with a good lock.” Then he was gone.

            “Shady friend. Got it.” Zenji said, then walked out the door and went down the opposite side of the street.

            Zenji walked slowly down the street. Very slowly. The alley where he had spent the last few years living in neared, sending chills down his back, memories rushing in from the food gang.

            I can do this…I think. Zenji thought. I just need to talk to Keliki and that’s it.

            Zenji turned the corner to the alley and stared down its long path into the depths of brick and stone. A few other boys sat along the side of the walls, staring off at some distant dream. He remembered when he was here. At least he was fed better.

            Well, not anymore, with Kurinai’s help.

            Zenji pulled himself to the moment and looked for Keliki’s dirty face, looking for the smile.

            A few boys laughed a ways off, and, sure enough, a boy with short black hair had just finished telling a joke or perhaps a good story. Zenji smiled. His stories are one of the only reasons I actually survived this place. They could pull the smile out of even the darkest places. Even his own. Especially his own.

            Keliki turned and saw Zenji, his smile widening.

            “Hey kid! Good to see ya.” He said. Keliki was a few years Zenji’s senior, so he often called the other boys kids and such. Only Slickknot was older than him in the gang. Then, in a flash, Keliki’s face went stiff. “You’re not coming back, are you? I don’t want to have to get mad.”

            Zenji smiled. “No. I just wanted to chat.”

            Keliki nodded, then shooed away the other boys and motioned for Zenji to sit.

            “What’s up kid?”

            Zenji let his smile fade a bit, then looked at Keliki. “Did you hear about the murder at the fountain in the square yesterday?”

            Keliki straightened up. “So not so good stuff then? Yeah, I heard about it.”

            Zenji nodded. “I chased down the murderer.”

            Keliki’s eyes widened. “Wait, you?” He bellowed a laugh. “You’re serious, huh?”

            “Well, yes, but it wasn’t just me. I have a friend now, well, again, and we’re trying to make a difference in this city. The murder happened right in front of us, and it was strange.”

            “Oh?” Keliki said, intrigued.

            “The guy was, weird. He was one person as we chased him, then he was suddenly a different one when we captured him in a garbage pile.”

            “Sounds fun.” Keliki said, smiling. “What’s so weird about that?”

            “I’ve never seen that. He was so different than the man we chased. It’s as if his voice even changed, too. Then, once we caught him, from the building above us, an archer shot him through with an arrow and he was dead. We couldn’t find the archer, so we ran off.”

            The joking tone that Keliki had faded away, his smile going with it.

            “What do you know about that?” Zenji asked.

            “Sorry kid. I have nothing on that. I don’t know anything.”

            Zenji frowned. “That was way too quick an answer. You do know something.”

            Keliki actually growled, gritting his teeth. “Kid, just forget about it.”

            Zenji frowned, getting frustrated as well. “I have had enough of this city and its dark secrets. I want to see something good happen on the streets for a change, not a murder and everyone just goes on with their day. Tell me, Keliki. What do you know?”

            Keliki calmed a bit, looking into Zenji’s eyes. “You’re determined to do something?”

            Zenji nodded.

            “Fine,” Keliki said hesitantly. “I might know something. But kid, for the sake of your own skin, don’t do anything rash.”

            “I’ll be safe, trust me.” Zenji said. That got a slight chuckle out of Keliki.

            “Alright. I’ve heard of…strange things going on at this pastry shop near the same square the murder happened at. It’s the only pastry shop there, so you won’t miss it. He’s called the Baker, both as the head of the shop and of, well, something else. I can’t say more. That’s all I got, kid.”

            Zenji smiled. “That’s all I need.” He stood and shook Keliki’s hand.

            “Please be careful, kid. Of the dark things in this city, this could be pretty bad, sitting in the darkest of places.”

            Zenji turned as he was walking away and smiled a devious smile. “A hero will rise soon, Keliki. You wait and see.”

            Keliki stared at him as he went, then burst into laughter as Zenji exited the alley.

            “Spoken like a true fool!”