Heirot

"I wouldn't mind selling it, I never wanted to wear it in the first place," she said and smiled. "I don't know how much we could get for it, but I do believe it is quite expensive," she said and folded the kimono, placing it in the box she had retrieved the one she just put on from.

"I'm ready, if you are," she told the woman.

"Alright. It will go for a lot of money, a lot more than I can get in a lifetime." Amane told her. "Let's go then."

Amane walked upstairs, opened a room to the right and put a small token on the mat inside the door and closed the door then walked outside.

Hikari nodded, and lowered her head to follow behind Amane. She hoped people would just think she was a servant girl. If she had her head lowered, maybe she wouldn't look as prideful as a girl of her stature should look. Maybe she would look as meak as a feildmouse.

She carried the box with the white wedding kimono inside. "What will we do with the money we get for it?" she asked the woman helping her, curious of what one could do with money that came from a simple kimono. To her, kimono's were common, and her family bought them all the time.

"Now sure, depends on the buyer, but I can fetch a good price for it if it's completely clean." Amane told her.

She headed off for the edge of town going towards the nearest town. "We have to hurry." Amane flipped up her hood up and chose a good pace.

"Hurry," Hikari muttered to herself and rushed after the woman helping her once she realized she had gotten a head. She wasn't used to all this rushing about. She was only used to taking her time, since time was all she had.

Amane stopped at a couple of stands, one for food, one for weapons and the last for clothes.

"How much will you give me for a kimono." Amane asked the man.

He took a tabacco pipe out of his mouth and snuffed out the pipe. He walked over to his stand and asked, "What kind?"

Amane looked at Hikari, "Show it to him please."

"A wedding kimono," Hikari said and opened to box to show him the kimono that she had been wearing yesterday. Would this man know to be on the look out for a girl trying to sell her wedding kimono? She hadn't thought of that and was now worried...

The man took a quick look at it then at the woman.

"I heard a rumor that some well-off girl ran away from her wedding. You aren't her are you?"

He picked up his pipe up from where it lay and lit it again.

"Never heard anything about that. Have you Hika-chan?"

"N-no...." Hikari stuttered and then blinked several times. She looked to her friend who was helping her. "Haven't heard of that. I don't listen to gossip..."

"I see." He sat down on a makeshift chair and took a puff of his pipe. "Well I suppose I can buy it for 700, you'd get no more from any one else. Take it or leave it. Oh and if you walk away now I won't buy it for any more than 650."

Amane looked around at the other shops. Few shops could buy it for the full price and most stores looked pretty poor around there. "I won't sell it for less than 800."

The man chewed on the edge of his pipe and patted the side of hist stomache. Amane knew he was laughing at her. "Make me an offer that I can't refuse and I might buy it for more than 900." He watched Hikari and Amane one right after another.

"What kind of offer?" Hikari asked, not really sure what the man was implying. She wasn't good with street talk, or selling things... all she had been taught was how to sew, how to speak, how to read, how to right, and how to think...

The man got a look on his face. Amane knew what he wanted.

"That's up to Hikari to decide if she wants to trade that for money. If she doesn't we'll take the 800."

She whispered into Hikari's ear, "He wants the same thing that the guys in the brothel."

Hikari looked at the man in utter horror. How dare he presume such an act! How dare he think she would go through with it! I lady of her statue and morals.

She looked the man up and down. "No thankyou," she whispered to her new friend.

"Well take the 800 sir." She told him firmly.

He looked a bit disappointed but counted the money and gave it to Amane then accepted the box from the two women.

"Too bad." He muttered.

Amane nodded and headed away.

Too bad? Geeze, was everyone in this world so corrupt.

"I can't believe he asked that!" Hikari squealed as soon as they were outside. "Who does he think he is? A person of royalty... Well I never..." she breathed, folding her arms.

"Well, we have the money... what now?"