Weeks passed as the group travelled through the country, eventually coming up on a port town about three quarters of the way through their journey. What amazed and perplexed Sen was the massive wooden ships that were anchored in the harbor. He had never seen anything like them in his life, and judging from Maru's equally surprised expression, he hadn't either.  However, when he glanced back at the group, Naoyuki's face was painted with recognition, and Avery was looking surprised at what Sen guessed was a familiar sight. They decided that it would be best to let Seiko keep Hashi and the other yokai back until they could asses the situation in the town first, since Naoyuki tactfully reminded everyone that foreigners didn't always quite know what to do with yokai.

"Western ships..." Naoyuki muttered as they paused by the docks at look at the floating wooden beasts. "Well, this is a surprise."

"I'll say," Avery agreed, narrowing his eyes as he began to pace down one of the docks passed confused sailors who all began to whisper as they watched a large gaijin dressed in Japanese clothing walk past them. "By God..." Avery stopped when he got a look at the ship's back, eyes widening. "That's the Efa!" He ran up to the ship and placed his hands on its great wooden hull with a shake of his head, "It's Conner's! Then he's here?" 

"Is that good?" Yuzuha asked as she cocked an eyebrow and watched him step back away from the boat with a furrow of his eyebrows.

"I'm not sure, being honest..." The group saw him trail off before he gave a sputtering squeak and sprinted past them to another one of the large ships. "Morrigan!" He half screamed as he flung himself practically onto the ship's side. "She made it! Oh, thank the Lord on high!"

Naoyuki dropped his voice and leaned over to Nobuhiko, "Is he alright, or...?"

Nobuhiko furrowed his brow, "I think I should be asking you that question, Mister 'I Can Speak the Gaijin Language'."

"English," Naoyuki hissed, "it's called English!"

Avery realized that the group and every assembled sailor on the dock was staring at him like he had grown a second head and coughed as he stepped away from the ship. "This is my ship - well, my father's ship, really. The Morrigan. That's her name."

"I thought that your ship wrecked," Maru walked up to get a better look at the ship itself. It reminded him of the ships he had seen in old drawings from Ming, but the sails were different and the hull itself was built differently as well.

"I was captaining another ship after one of our captains tried to fight the guards in Ming and lost. Should have stayed with my lady," Avery ran his hand over the ships' hull again with a smile. "Girl's unsinkable."

"Get those barbarians away from my ships!" Maru and Sen turned to the sound of someone shouting and saw a contingent of tall, bearded men coming towards them, all of them around Avery's height and dressed in strange clothes.

Avery retracted his hand and walked back around the side of the ship so that he could see who was coming towards him, and the moment he did, the men all stopped and stared as Avery blinked and took a step forward, "Conner?"

Maru followed Avery's gaze to the man in question and got a good look at him. The man was tall and looked enough like Avery for Maru to know exactly who he was without his large Western friend ever uttering his name, but the red hair was a shocking surprise, and so was the full red beard that accompanied it. His hair was curly and hung to his jaw and he wore strange clothes that fit close to his body with high collars that looked dreadfully uncomfortable. At the greeting, the man cocked an eyebrow and turned around to the door where his brother stood before his hand fell away from his chin, his eyes widened, and his jaw almost hit the floor. "Avery?" Avery's brother stammered out his name, but his reaction wasn't what Maru had expected from a sibling, though if what Avery had said about his brother was true, then it wasn't a surprise. There was no genuine look of surprise or happiness. Instead, the look that crossed Conner's features and vanished as quickly as a morning fog was one of absolute mortification that was quickly replaced by a calm scowl that Maru quickly assumed was his usual façade.

"Conner! What are you still doing here? I figured you would have been on the first boat back to England."

"I wanted to, but dealing with these savages has been good for business," Maru saw his brother cast his eyes back to him and Nobuhiko and frown. "Who are they? Your servants?"

"Hardly. They saved my life and have been my travelling companions for the better part of a year. You don't actually think that they're savages?"

"Avery, these people do not even know what a rifle is. They still believe that their rivers have gods and ghosts in them!" Maru didn't need to speak their language to feel the insulting barbs in Conner's voice, and judging from Avery's face, he wasn't happy about it.

"And we don't have strange stuff back in Wales?"

Conner stared at him as he crossed his arms over his chest, "Good God, you have gone native... You and father have a habit of that."

Maru watched as Avery's upper lip twitched and his brow dipped for a brief moment before he folded his arms across his broad chest and squared his shoulders. Both men were imposing, but Avery had the sheer muscle to make Conner pale in comparison when he drew himself up to full height. "You have a habit of not caring about these people. Father saw the same thing in the people of Ming that I see in the people of Nihon."

"You are even using their vocabulary now... Listen, Zipangu is going to be a goldmine of commerce just like Ming turned out to be. I already have buyers for most of our things." Something that he must have said hit something in Avery, because Maru saw his eyebrows raise ever so slightly and his arms slacken even more so. Conner must have seen the reaction, too, because Maru watched him begin to seem devilishly pleased as he moved his hands from his arms to his hips and smirked at Avery. "Impressed?"

"Conner... What in the devil are you selling?"

"Father's foolish ban on the sale of firearms was costing us. So, I may or may not have... tweaked our selling requirements."

That made Avery angry. His arms fell from his chest and Maru swore that Avery was going to deck him, "You what? Conner, we swore-!"

"Swears are not in a legal contract, Avery, and the old man isn't here," Conner let his eyes drift back to Maru and Nobuhiko and wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Now, grab your things. We need to get you out of... Whatever that is and get you looking like an Welshman again."

"I'm not just leaving my travelling companions-"

"Fine, fine! We'll feed and pay them and then send them on their way! Are you satisfied?"

---

"Your brother's a prick," Naoyuki muttered as the group all tidied up in the room that Conner had given them.

"Yeah, he tends to be like that, more often than not," Avery snorted as he buttoned up his overcoat with a wrinkle of his nose. "I miss your clothes already. I hate this stupid thing."

"He reeks," Maru added with a wrinkle of his nose as Sen nodded in agreement. "Does he bathe?"

"Once a month, maximum."

"That is disgusting," Nobuhiko followed up with a disgusted peal in his voice.

"Honestly," Yuzuha agreed with a nod. 

Emi and Hachirou were staring transfixed at a rather large and slightly ominous portrait hanging on the far wall, and when Avery saw what it was, he chuckled, "Found a good old painting of Jesus, eh?"

"This is him? Your God?" Emi asked as she pointed at the picture. "What on earth is he doing on that... stake?"

While Avery began explaining the ins and outs of his religion to the two Buddhists, Maru saw Naoyuki begin poking around the room. Digging through drawers, going through papers, and when the mercenary caught him looking, he frowned, "Just looking..."

"For?"

"Anything. I want to know who this ass is selling his guns to," Naoyuki dropped his eyes back to the documents. "Call it me attempting professional sabotage." Maru decided to help. He jumped in to help going through the documents that Naoyuki was pulling from the drawers by the handful. "One thing I appreciate is the fact that the gaijin are just as bad as we are when it comes to assuming who can and can't speak our respective languages."

"I'm surprised that you're so smart, really."

"Shut the hell up, Rat Man."

Sen watched them for a moment before he turned and looked over at Emi, Hachirou, and Avery. Emi was looking rather horrified as Aver wrapped up his explanation. "You killed your God?"

Hachirou was staring at Avery with his eyes narrowed, "I'm more confused about this whole single god thing when you clearly have three."

Avery looked partly defeated as he shrugged, "Being honest, it's all as insane to me as it is to you."

Nobuhiko seemed to be listening in and looked over at Yuzuha, who hadn't been paying attention, and he seemed to silently ask her if she knew what was going on, prompting her to reply with a confused look and a shrug. She turned to Sen and moved to stand beside him. She didn't say anything as they stood off to the side while the groups did their own things before she reached down and took his hand in hers with a satisfied smile. Sen blinked and looked up at her before looking down at his hand, shifting to stand slightly closer to her without saying a single word.

"So..." She cleared her throat as she began, "When you... you know... go to Tenbayama... Will you take any of us with you?"

Sen looked back up at her and blinked in confusion. "Well, yes, if any of you want to stay."

"My uncle told me about this special member of the Blades," Yuzuha spoke, shifting her weight from one leg to the other. Sen could hardly believe that she was being nervous about the whole thing. "He said that they were the guard to the Deishi specifically. There's usually only one of them, and I..." She paused and shifted again before she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, "I... want to do that. For you. If you wind up being the Deishi, I mean. If you'll... have... me."

Sen watched her and had to keep from laughing as she kept her eyes shut as she waited for his response. He settled for getting her attention by squeezing her hand. When she looked over to him, he gave her a small smile, "Yes. I'd like that."

Yuzuha looked down at him like she wasn't quite believing what she heard, but after a moment, she smiled and squeezed harder. Sen didn't want to tell her that she was hurting his hand, but he settled for it when he saw her heave a heavy sigh of relief. "Good," she whispered.

---

The dinner was about as uncomfortable as everyone expected. Avery was sat up near his brother, the others all shoved unceremoniously towards the other end of the table. Avery managed to keep Naoyuki up close for translation purposes, but everyone else was left at a loss for what to say. Sen and Maru both kept glancing up at Naoyuki, who kept furrowing his brow before casting nervous glances down towards Yuzuha.

"What are they saying, Bird Boy?" She asked with a scowl.

Naoyuki cleared his throat and shifted before turning to look at her, "They, uh... They want to know why you're dressed like a man."

Yuzuha's frown deepened as she gave Naoyuki a long line of expletives to say, but judging from his tone, Naoyuki toned it down quite a bit for the sake of not offending their reluctant host. Sen glanced at Hachirou and saw him staring at the eating utensils before whispering, "It looks like it's going to hurt my mouth."

Emi nodded beside him as she rolled one between her fingers, "I agree."

For most of the dinner, however, Sen was feeling lightheaded. There was more of the whispering beginning to kick up in his mind again. His question soon became where the artifact was as he slowly turned his attention away from the incomprehensible conversation going on at the head of the table. How had these people have come into possession of an artifact that belongs to the Deishi? While they were distracted, Sen slipped quietly away from the table, following his strange compulsion through the repurposed building as the whispers intensified in his head.

The halls all felt much smaller than they were as his attention narrowed down to a focused points, guiding him quietly through the hallways and corridor, sliding into smaller rooms one by one until he came to what he felt like was an old storeroom. Various items were stacked around, all seemingly unrelated to the business of trade in the slightest and most of them from Nihon. Sen looked around, blinking hard against the strange feeling in his skull as he tried to figure out exactly what he was looking for. The whispers pulled his eyes hard to a box in the far corner, and when he approached, he figured out what he was looking for.

Sitting on top of the box was an ancient looking mirror, and when his hand touched it, memories came flooding into his mind. Though not as strong as ones he had last seen previously, they were no less vivid in his ears.

"We must trap it in the mirror."

"And? What then?"

"We wait. When it weakens, we can release it and destroy it before it gets too far."

"And this will work? Are you certain?"

"The fragments of the Tatarigami are too dangerous to keep contained for long. Unless we destroy them, the world will never know peace." Sen pulled his hand back and shook his head as the voices all but ceased. He grabbed the mirror in his hands and flipped it over. The once glossy surface had long been covered in grime, and he felt nothing of the sinister presence suggested by the memory.

"That is either very good or very bad," he murmured as he began looking around for an exit, seeing a window close by that he quickly slipped out of without another word to anyone. His feet hit the ground outside, and soon he hurried across the port to the road nearby where Kanko waited. She looked at him quizzically until she saw the mirror clutched tightly in his hands. "I need to see Lady Murakami about this now."

Kanko didn't give any of her usual sass. She nodded and quickly gestured for Sen to follow her into the nearby woods, slipping into the trees as silently as a ghost. Sen followed her to the row of carts and carriages, all waiting for the group's impending return. As if she was expecting him, Seiko emerged from her carriage as they approached, and when he held up the mirror, he saw her eyes light up with recognition.

"I have not seen that in quite a long time..." She looked at the mirror, "But I am concerned that it does not pulse with energy anymore. That means that the fragment is gone," she walked forward and touched the mirror, and Sens aw the front part ripple as if it was made of water. "And it was freed recently."

---

"Where did Sen go?" Maru asked Yuzuha as the group all departed the dinner led by Avery, who was walking faster than Maru had ever seen him move.

"I don't know," she hissed quietly in response. "He slipped out when I wasn't looking!"

"Hopefully he didn't get himself into trouble," Emi wrung her hands nervously as they exited the building and headed for the woods.

As he turned the corner, Avery looked down at Maru and then motioned for him to follow him off towards the docks while the group continued on, and once they had found a quiet placed, he sighed. "Listen," he began as he moved his hands to his hips, "I know I said I'd pay back that debt you owe me for saving my life. This... this is looking like the way to do it."

Maru looked up at him and turned to face him, "What?"

"I'll go with Conner, see if I can learn what he knows and find some way to report back, maybe via my supply chain or... or something..." Avery frowned and sighed again, "We need to know how much he's selling and if he's more than just a business partner."

Maru crossed his arms and nodded, "Yeah... Not a bad plan, but..."

"I know that I owe you. Don't worry."

"You don't owe me anything," Maru shook his head and looked up at Avery with a scoff. "You saved my life just as many times! I'm more worried that your brother might catch on."

Avery chuckled, "Conner is nothing if not predictable. Out of all of my siblings, I know him better than anyone else. I'll be okay." the two looked out over the water for a long time before Avery turned to look at Maru, "Thank you for saving my life, and for bringing me along. You didn't have to do any of this."

Maru laughed as he looked back up at Avery, "Thank you for not stabbing me in the back when you had the chance. I owe you."

There was a long time of silence between the two of them before Conner's voice called from an open window, prompting Avery to throw his eyes in a roll, "That is, unfortunately, my cue."

"So... This is it, then?" Maru stood beside Avery as they overlooked the dock.

"I... I guess it is," Avery looked at him and smiled. "I'll be in Nihon for a little while longer at least, so long as Conner doesn't have me shipped back. He needs my expertise with the language and locals if he wants to turn a profit. I need to figure out what my brother is doing and how he's tied to the Sayonakidori. Him telling me about the business change tells me that he trusts me just enough to maybe let me in on his scheme. Maybe I can be useful."

"You've always been useful," Maru elbowed him with a nod. "We'll find a way to meet up again."

Avery smiled down at him, "That's a promise."

---

"They have a what?" Maru flinched when he made it to camp and heard Emi shout loudly. That didn't happen often. When he cleared the trees and found the assembled group, Emi was holding her head and staring wide eyed down at the ugliest piece of junk mirror he had ever seen. "Do you have any idea how horrible that is?" She asked shrilly as she looked up at Seiko. "A tatarigami is one of the most powerful yokai in existence! If these people have even a fragment of its power, then they are in terrible danger!"

Naoyuki looked between the various members of the group before he frowned, "Is it wrong that I really don't care about the gaijin? I mean, the tatarigami is a problem, but I say we let the tatarigami just kill them all. That solves our problems."

"That would be fine," Hachirou frowned, "if that tatarigami weren't known for corrupting everything they touch and spreading calamity wherever they go."

Naoyuki sucked on his teeth and grimaced, "Okay, so maybe them having it is bad..."

"Could they have sold it?" Nobuhiko asked with a concerned frown as Maru moved to stand beside him, trying to catch up on what was going on.

Naoyuki's eyes lit up, "Maybe! I found some ledgers when I lied and said that I needed to take a piss, right? I snuck into one of the rooms and paid off a few servants to pretend like they didn't see me, and when I did, I found out that they were making a lot of sales to some group called Ousu. They didn't say what, but they're making lots of money off of them."

That name sounded familiar, but where Maru had heard it, he wasn't sure. That part was genuinely beginning to concern him. He realized now that he had holes in his memory - gaps where he knew that things should be and just weren't. Remembering them took a great deal of effort. More than it should. Sen seemed to notice his confusion and concern and turned to look at him with furrowed brows. 

He quickly shook his head as the group continued to brainstorm their plan when Naoyuki finally looked around, "Hey, where's Avery?"

"He decided to stay with his brother and feed us information how he could. He thinks that he might be able to figure out what's going on," Maru supplied, "and I think it's a good idea. We need all the help we can get right now."

As the group separated, Seiko moved to stand beside Maru, dropping her voice low enough so that the others could not hear her, "You are worried about something."

Maru briefly looked up at the others before he also lowered his voice to just barely a whisper, "I'm missing parts of my memory, all of it related to these groups and things happening here."

Seiko raised he brows and looked down at the ground, seeming to be carefully searching her thoughts. "Concerning, indeed. It takes quite a hefty bit of magic to do that. I can't think of many more ways to do something that precise. Do the others know?" She asked as she turned to look at the group standing a ways off, her eyes, Maru noted, pointing directly to Sen. "Out of everyone, that has the potential to impact him the most."

"I need to figure out exactly what's going on first," Maru muttered. "I can stop it if I know what it is."

"Just be careful," Seiko rested a hand on his arm. "Things like this tend to get tricky quickly. That is when you need your companions the most."