The next day after the grand opening, Yasu went back to the slave market.  He needed to find at least three more servants who knew how to play the koto.  He had made a mistake yesterday, thinking that he would be able to play the koto alone for the customers.  However, by the end of the day, his fingers were hurting and had blisters on them.  

Gin walked beside Yasu with a grim face.  He did not expect Yasu to buy more servants at the slave market.  The less people who knew about Yasu’s revenge plan the better.  

By the time they arrived to the slave market, the market doors had just opened for the day.  

“Good morning, Young Lord.  Welcome back.” The slave seller said as he remembered Yasu’s face.  “I hope the slaves you bought didn’t cause you any trouble.”  

“They haven’t.  I’m here for more slaves.”  Yasu told him.  

“Great!  Great! We received a new batch of slaves yesterday.”  The seller said.  

“I’m looking for talented slaves, those that knows how to play instruments, especially the koto.”  Yasu told him.  

“How fortunate!  The slaves we received last night are from a scholar's house.  The minister was found to have embezzled large amounts of money from the Emperor’s emergency relief fund.  The minister was beheaded yesterday morning, the rest of his family was sentenced to slavery. There should be someone from that scholar's family that has talent in the koto.”  The slave seller gossiped to Yasu. “Follow me, Young Lord.”  

Yasu and Gin followed the seller to the cells.  In the last cell, was a family of four huddled together. Their faces, haggard.  Their eyes, read and puffy. Their lips, dry and cracking. Their hair was messy and their clothes hung off of their body.  They held each other with warriness and a hint of fear.  

“Now because they have been in prison for two weeks, they haven’t been trained properly.  I just received them last night and haven’t broken them in yet. They might give you some problems.”  The slave seller warned Yasu before turning to the family of four. “Any of you slaves know how to play the koto?  This Young Lord here is looking for talented slaves.”  

The four wary slaves looked over at Yasu.  They didn’t make any movements nor did they speak out.  

“Look here.  Answer back while I’m being nice.  Do you or do you not know how to play the Koto?”  The seller sternly said. “Make me lose face in front of my customers and I’ll make you regret it.”  

The family of four looked at each other before the oldest one there steps forward.    

“We know how to play the koto.” 

“Just you or all of you?”  The seller asked.  

“All of us.  We are a family of gentlemanly scholars, we also know how to read and write.”  

“I’ll take the whole family.”  Yasu said as he looked at the seller.  

“Because these slaves knows how to read and write.  They’ll cost more than the ones you bought before.”  

“We can negotiate a price.”  Yasu told him.

The seller and Yasu walked into the slave owner’s office, negotiating the price for the four new slaves.  After awhile, Yasu walks out of the office with the slave contracts in hand, while the seller releases the slaves into Yasu’s custody.  

Once again, Gin took it upon himself to lead the slaves, giving them warnings and telling them of the rules.  The family of four walked hand in hand to the bathhouse with Gin waiting by the door.  

Yasu bought new clothes and handed them off to Gin to give to the new servants.  Afterwards, Yasu took them to a restaurant and fed them a hot meal. This was probably their first hot meal since their family fell into misfortune.  

With Gin sitting beside Yasu, the family of four ate silently.  Tears fell down their faces as they ate. The realization of their new fate came to the forefront as their new Master sat in front of them.  

“Please, Young Lord.”  The oldest of the group pleaded.  “Let my husbands go. My family is innocent of the crime that we were accused of.  Let them go and I’ll do anything you want.”  

Yasu continued eating as if he didn’t hear the man speak, while his spouses complained about him sacrificing himself for them.  

“We’re not going anywhere without you.”  

“Where would we go?  Who can we trust? Who will shelter us?” 

“We’ve already lost so much, how can we lose you too?”  

One after another they complained to the man who pleaded for their lives.  

“My master spent a lot of money to get the four of you.”  Gin interjected. “How can one person pay off a mountain of debt for the four of you?”  

“We’re not splitting up!” The youngest shouted.  “We flew to the highest branch together. And we fell into misfortune together.  We will stay together until the end. There will be no one sacrificing their life to save the rest.  That’s the end of our discussion.”  

Yasu placed his chopsticks down and took a sip of tea before he spoke.  

“I run a small teahouse.”  Yasu told them. “I bought the four of you to help me play koto for the guests.  As well as help maintain the teahouse, the courtyard, and the houses. I will not treat you unkindly as long as you do the work I ask of you.  I also ask for your loyalty. Those that break the rules, dies. There will be no punishment or second chances with me.”

The group of four looked at Yasu with a worried expression.  

“I can give you all a chance right now to decide your fate.”  Yasu continued. “Either come back with me as my servants or I can sell you back to the slave market.”  

“If you’re sold back to the slave market, who knows who’ll be your new master.”  Gin interjected. “They’ll probably split you guys up and break up your family. At least with my Master, you’ll stay together.  My Master is fair and just. He’ll not mistreat you.”  

The family of four looked at each other before nodding their heads.  Without words they knew each other’s decision.  

“We’ll stay with you, Master.”  The oldest of the group said.  

“Serve the Young Master well and there’ll be a chance of you winning your freedom.”  Gin told them.  

“Is that true, Master?”  The youngest asked with eyes wide open with hope.  

“I don’t like owning slaves.”  Yasu told them. “But I am in need of servants.”  

With those simple words Yasu won over the family.  

“Then let me make the introductions.”  The youngest said. “My name is Haru. The oldest in our family is Fuyu.  The second oldest is Aki and then Natsu.”  

Haru looked a couple of years older than Yasu.  With short brown hair and light brown eyes, his smile and his eyes still held innocence in them.  It was as if the hardest thing that life ever gave him was the downfall of his family that happened two weeks ago.  

Fuyu had a stern look about him.  With his hair tied in a bun, on top of his head.  His eyes shifted between Yasu and Gin as his full lips frown.  Aki kept his thoughts hidden, with his bangs covering his eyes.  His thin lips were frowning as well. Natsu followed along with his two older husbands and kept quiet.  There was a slight light of hope in his eyes, but it was too early to hold onto hope. Their future was still undecided.  

“We are all married to each other.”  Haru told Yasu. “I married into the family five years ago.  The others have been married for more than that. We are a family of gentlemanly scholars, with the head of the household a small minister for the bureau of finance.  The crimes against him are false. He never embezzled money from anyone. We are an upright family! Those charges against our family are false and the evidence made up.  The court didn’t even give us a chance to speak against the charges. All they did was announce the charges, present the evidence, and sentenced us to slavery.”  

“We’ve never stolen anything from anyone.  Especially from the Emperor. We’re no fools.”  Fuyu added. “What was done to my family is unjust.  Our family does not have deep roots here in the capital, nor do we have any power or backing.  We only had ourselves to rely on.”  

“What did you guys do for a living?”  Gin asked.  

“Fuyu, Aki and Natsu were all teachers for the Nijo Academy.  While I was preparing to take the government exam to become a minister.”  Haru told them.  

“Other than the koto, what other instruments do you play?”  Yasu asked. His question brought them back to the reason why Yasu bought them.  It was as if he didn’t care for the conversation.  

“Fuyu is proficient in the shamisen.  While Aki can play the flute as well. The four of us can play the koto better than others.”  Haru confessed.  

“Good.  You all start today.  One person will play the koto for two hours.  After two hours you’ll trade off with each other and continue until the work day ends.  If you want to play another instrument, that is fine. As long as the customers can enjoy the music you play, I do not care which piece of music you choose to play.”  Yasu told them. “You’ll get a place to live, three meals a day and one day off a week.  You will also get your wages at the end of each month. As long as your duties are done for the day, the remaining time will be yours to spend it how you like.  If you are in need of anything, let Gin know. He’ll be able to get what you want.”  

After Yasu explained to them their duties, they all left to the Black Fox Teahouse.  Gin introduced the new servants to the old servants and showed them around the teahouse, the courtyard and to their new home. 

Kazno moved out of his room and into Kou’s room to make room for the new family servants.  Kazno and Akeme began training the four new servants before the teahouse opened.

That day the new servants took turns playing the koto in the pavillion.  While those that didn’t play the koto helped prepare snacks and cleaned the dishes.  Those with idle hands dusted, swept and wiped down every surface of the property. 

By the end of the day, the family of four laid out their beds on the floor and held each other tight.  Their bodies were tired from all the hard work, but their hearts felt light. Their new Master was someone that they could see themselves working for.  Any thoughts of leaving were gone.