The Last Customer

Amidamaru gazed at the deserted hut which had once been the center of metal craftsmanship in Kouku's central town. He had visited this place every time he was sent on a spy mission and he had been dropping by even if the master of the house would no longer come out to greet him. The Kasai warrior felt a pang in his heart as his friend's death sunk into him little by little. I will avenge your death, Mosuke. He swore by his sword.

"You are here again young man," greeted the dead blacksmith's old neighbor.

"Yes, I was just reminiscing those days when Mosuke's still alive."

"You must have been a really good friend of Mosuke's," the old man smiled.

"Are they going to tear down this place?"

"Yes, it is considered unlucky to leave the house of a murdered man who had no relatives standing."

"His precious work place would be turned into rubble. Why are traditions like that?" the Kasai warrior groaned.

"In order for us to move forward, we must let go of everything that's making us live in the past. Would you rather keep this as a reminder of his ill-fate?"

Amidamaru grew silent.

"Well, if you really want something to remind you of your friend, you can take those," The old man pointed at the pair of rusty crossed daggers hanging by the wooden front door. "They look ancient but they are very important artifacts. Mosuke's family belongs to a clan of skillful blacksmiths. Did you know that those daggers had been a gift to Mosuke's ancestor by the king of Kasai during early times?"

"Oh," the Kasai warrior looked startled. Only the descendants of people who had been serving the Kasai royal family for generations knew about this household secret. This story was part of Kasai's history way back to the rule of the ancestors of the Douji and Asakura clans. He had been telling this tale to the prince ever since he was young.

"Perhaps that was during those peaceful times when the four kingdoms were not at war with each other. Did Mosuke tell you about it?" he asked.

The old man shook his head. "A young man told me. Come to think of it, he was Mosuke's last customer before he died."

At the Kasai palace training grounds...

Anna enjoyed the warm sunlight kissing her skin. Lying down on the green carpet of grass surely felt good. Who would have thought that doing nothing and marveling at the clear blue sky above her would be so reinvigorating? She looked at the Kasai prince who was lying down on the grass beside her from the corner of her eye. He was repeatedly throwing the Asakura family's heirloom carelessly and catching it in one hand.

"Stop throwing it up into the air, Yoh! If you lose that don't expect me to help you find it," the blond girl scolded him.

"Oh, sorry Anna…" Yoh sat up to put it on the pocket of his trousers.

His personal maid instantly grabbed the brooch from him and pin it on his dress shirt. "You should always wear this, Your Sloppy Highness. Didn't Amidamaru tell you that this little piece of metal here is the symbol of Kasai's next heir? Wear it proud."

"I'm sorry… I won't play with it anymore…" the prince plunged himself into the soft grass once again.

"Oh stop saying sorry most of the time, Yoh," the blond girl followed suit. "Anyway, is it really alright to just lie down here and do nothing?" Anna turned to her side to face the prince. She felt a tinge of guilt for neglecting her duties as palace maid. "Your father would surely fire me if he finds out I've been joining his lazy son in his unproductive activities."

"We're not idling around, Anna. We are just relaxing for a bit," the prince grinned at her. He noticed the silver chain hanging around the girl's neck. He pulled it out so he could see the three-rose pendant he gave her. "I'm glad you are wearing this."

The blond girl felt her cheeks heat up. She just realized how close she was to the prince. She pulled the necklace from his loose grip and hid the pendant under her blouse. "Well, it was of cheap material anyway. The other palace maids wouldn't possibly think that I've stolen this from the treasure room so it's alright to wear it."

"Now I'm a bit ashamed. If this was ever written down in history then the very first gift given by the king of Kasai to the queen of Kouku as a token of their friendship is a cheap pendant. Maybe I should ask Mosuke to forge you a silver necklace…."

"Who is Mosuke?" Anna raised an eyebrow.

"You don't know him? I thought he was famous in Kouku?"

"You are speaking to a princess who was never let out of the palace grounds," the blond girl said a-matter-of-factly.

"He is no other less than the most skillful blacksmith in your kingdom."

Flashback…

Yoh stood in awe in front of a hut where clanking and pounding of metal could be heard inside. This could be the place that his white-haired friend was talking about.

"You sure are an early customer of Mosuke's," an old man in a cane approached him slowly.

"Good morning Grandpa! Mosuke is an early worker, too."

"Why don't you see him then? I believe you have been standing there for a few minutes already."

"Er… I'm just marveling about those artifacts," Yoh pointed at the crossed daggers hanging from the door. "Did you know that those had been a gift to Mosuke's ancestors by the king of Kasai during early times?"

"Oh? I did not know that," the old man scratched his chin slowly.

"They say that when the four kingdoms were still in good terms, the king of Kasai requested Mosuke's ancestor to forge him a piece of jewelry which he will pass down to his next heir. The blacksmith worked so hard to produce the king's request. The Kasai monarch was delighted to receive such perfect piece of jewelry so he rewarded the blacksmith generously and had given him two daggers as a gift. Mosuke's ancestor forged the two daggers in such a way that they would cross each other as a symbol of the two kingdoms' unity."

"Such a beautiful story... But alas, the friendship of the kingdoms was not as strong as the crossed daggers."

End of Flashback

"So have you met him during one of your missions?" the blond girl asked.

The prince scratched his head as if he had remembered a humiliating incident, "Well, yes. He was a bit unfriendly and too serious about his work. He did not talk so much. But I told him that I know Amidamaru and he lightened up a bit."

"Mosuke is Amidamaru's friend? Isn't being friends with a citizen of Kouku or Kaminari a form of treason in your kingdom?"

"Yes but Amidamaru is a royal spy. He can always reason out that he's just gaining the trust and confidence of a Kouku citizen for mission purposes."

"How very convenient," Anna said sarcastically. "Sometimes I envy spies. They go to different places even dangerous ones and meet new acquaintances and perhaps enemies. I'm always stuck in the palace so I have only few friends - my nanny who is already dead and Ren."

"I have friends but I don't see them often." The prince began to enumerate, "There's Horo-Horo, Faust, Amidamaru, Manta, Ryuu, and… Anna. We are friends right?" The prince suddenly inquired out-of-the-blue.

"Well, you could say that. What will be your alibi if you get caught being friends with an enemy?"

"Hmmm.. I've never thought about it," Prince Yoh scratched his cheek.

"It is so just you, Yoh," Anna rolled her eyes. "You should just deny it and tell everyone you don't know me. That would make things simpler AND you won't get hanged because of me."

"But that would also be a form of betrayal to you. I promise, Anna, no matter what happens I'll never stop being friends with you," the prince assured her, "…even if we are rivers apart, even if I die trying to fulfill my promise."