Sasha emerged alongside Sayuri and took in their surroundings with less understanding, after all, the whole country and the every day customs were foreign to him. If they'd been stranded in the US or even Russia he would be able to navigate them with some ease even under strenuous circumstance, but presently it was up to Sayuri to do that for them. He glanced down at her as she scanned the streets with intensity and glanced even further down at her stomach as it let out an audible growl.
He couldn't help but let out chuckle before settling the sunglasses on top of his head.
"Me? Commit a crime? Alone? Unheard of. I need an accomplice." He went along with her bit. _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
Sayuri deflated, feigning disappointment or feeling it somewhat sincerely.
“I can’t believe you would let me down like this.” Sayuri sighed before bumping Sasha with her hip, still playful no matter her disappointment. “I guess we will resume our journey on foot until good fortune falls upon us.” She decided.
She was able to discern which direction they needed to start off in and did just that. Given her earlier carelessness on the train, she was less chatty and more attentive. Especially since she wasn’t as familiar with the city. She looked around corners with purpose and still made sure to avoid main roads as much as possible. There would likely be cars coming and prowling the city knowing this is where they got off. While Sasha had superhuman healing abilities, she still felt guilty that he got hurt when she was supposed to be transporting him safely. She hoped she wasn’t losing value.
While walking, Sayuri’s superior hearing picked up a civil dispute unfolding just ahead of them. She wasn’t sure which of the buildings the kerfuffle was coming from, or that it was yakuza related. But she couldn’t take a risk, she grabbed Sasha by his elbow and pulled him behind the corner of a building; poking her own head around to spectate on whatever was about to happen. The establishment they were about to pass, was a whiskey distillery. If they had made it close enough to it’s doors, they would’ve seen that its was completely empty. Devoid of patrons and employees alike. Save for two gentlemen, one was quite old, short. The other much younger, younger than Sayuri probably. They were arguing, voices getting louder and louder, one trying to drown out the other. Sasha wouldn’t be able to understand what they were saying, but Sayuri could understand that the old man was accusing the younger of stealing and being lazy. Supposedly there was going to be a big group renting out the distillery for a business meeting tomorrow night, and the younger hadn’t done anything to prepare.
Sayuri kept watching; the younger wasn’t owning up to anything, and the older wasn’t relenting. The result was the younger throwing his hands up before walking off.
“Guess he quits.” Sayuri whispered over her shoulder to Sasha, reporting on what she was parsing from the situation.
As the young man walked off, Sayuri could hear the old man begin to snivel and rub the backs of his hands on his eyes. He was muttering about needing help, that he couldn’t do this on his own. Then, Sayuri got an idea.
“I know I haven’t had the best ideas, but I might have an idea. Still trust me?” Sayuri asked Sasha.
Sasha had stopped alongside Sayuri, watching the argument take place and the subsequent fall out. He felt a little guilty watching the scene, it felt a lot like going through someone's dirty laundry that they did not meant to leave out. As someone who had lackeys working for him, he understood that sometimes conflict was inevitable, but on the other hand, if anyone dared to speak disrespectfully to him or anyone else in his family for that matter, they wouldn't have the same opportunity to walk away.
He looked down at Sayuri as she spoke and quirked a brow. She had a plan? For what?
"I do...but what are we trying to achieve?" He asked. _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
Sayuri paused, trying to formulate how best to explain her thought process but ultimately decided that less is more.
“Uh well, I was going to take advantage of this situation in exchange for something we need?” Sayuri began, answering it more like a question. “Money, food, maybe lodging if it works out that way? We need all those things so I would take any one out of the three.” She added, sensing some apprehension from Sasha.
Sayuri, did not feel bad thinking about preying on the weakness of others. For her, it had always been a means for survival. And she wasn’t going to hurt the old man, not for no reason anyways. It wasn’t really taking advantage of him either, if there was work to be done and they could do it for him, it would be an exchange. She didn’t know anything about whiskey, but she was prepared to make it up as she went.
Sasha let out a "thoughtful" little hum and rubbed at his chin.
"Well, we do need those things." He said, assenting before cocking a cheeky smile. "Shall I follow your lead?" _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
Sayuri smiled then, peaking around the corner once more to make sure the younger man was not coming back. Then, she looped her arm through Sasha’s and led them somewhat hurriedly around the corner.
“Excuse me,” Sayuri called out to the elderly gentlemen, though not too loud. Sayuri was loud by nature, in the volume of her voice as well as in the way she carries herself. But for this trick, she wanted to be small; pious and polite. Older people were often more endeared to the younger, when they are obedient and fall into traditional roles. The old man had to do a double take, not sure he heard her the first time. He wiped at his eyes quickly before turning to meet the couple at the door.
”I’m sorry, the distillery is closed right now. I don’t know if it will be open again.” The old man said to Sayuri, not giving them a second look as he tried to shut the door between them.
Sayuri waved her hands, urging him to wait.
”Sir, I am so sorry to intrude. I did not mean to eavesdrop, but I couldn’t help overhearing your dispute with your employee.” Sayuri began.
The old man looked embarrassed by this and started to apologize again. This time Sayuri took a chance, reaching out and grabbing the old man’s hand to make him pause in his ramblings. She smiled and furrowed her brows, a vision of sincere empathy.
“Ojiisan, it’s okay. I want to help. My husband,” Sayuri began again, taking her hand back to gesture at Sasha. “He is a whiskey sommelier from America. We hated seeing that employee be so disrespectful. If there is work to be done, we would love to volunteer our help.” Sayuri explained.
The old man looked uncertain, but you could see on his face that he was considering his options. He did acknowledge his concerns aloud though.
”Well I’m sure you young people have somewhere to be and something better to do anyways. Surely something better than working for an old man.”
Sayuri shook her head and smiled still.
”The funny thing is, my husband foolishly messed up our travel accommodations. We’re on our honeymoon and traveling through, but since he’s a foreigner, he booked us in the wrong city on the wrong night. We were just trying to figure out what to do when we overheard your argument, it feels serendipitous doesn’t it?” Sayuri spun her story.”We have nowhere to go so…Perhaps we can help each other?
The old man was quiet, contemplative. He had only been looking at Sayuri up until now, now he was studying Sasha.
“Is the process very different in America?[i]” The old man asked, seemingly to Sasha though still in Japanese.
[i]“He doesn’t speak Japanese, Ojiisan. He promised my parents he would learn when we got engaged but he still hasn’t, can you believe it? Maybe you can help us with that too.” Sayuri explained with a laugh as though it were true.
The old man was quiet again before looking back to Sayuri, she appeared to be the shot caller.
“I will give you dinner, and a room for the night. But you have to start work right now, and you can’t quit before the morning!” He proposed with a skeptical brow, expecting Sayuri to back out still.
“We’ll start right now, you won’t be sorry.” Sayuri challenged, sticking out her hand.
The old man took it, shaking it firmly. “I’m Botan.” He introduced then.
“Sayuri. This is Sasha.” She said before releasing Botan’s hand, he then extended it to Sasha for a shake as well.
Sasha had called his aunt Lucinda when it was decided he'd take on this job in Japan and he'd asked her to teach him a few common phrases. She was only able to teach him a handful of phrases that might be useful to him, polite introductions mostly and how to ask for directions to the nearest toilet, so nearly the entirety of the conversation between the man, Botan, and Sayuri was lost on him. Still, whatever had been said seemed to have been compelling as they hadn't been dismissed by the old man.
Sasha smiled that charming smile of his, the one he used cordially in business meetings or the occasional court case, and gave Botan a firm handshake before bowing politely like his aunt had instructed him.
"Nice to meet you. Thank you." He managed. _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
Sayuri looked at Sasha with surprise, not expecting him to actually know any Japanese. It immediately gave her pause, and she wondered what the context was for him knowing Japanese, did he not actually need her to get around if he can speak the language? Botan gave Sasha’s hand a firm shake before looking back to Sayuri.
”His Japanese isn’t so bad, he must be learning.” Botan said, appearing somewhat pleased.
”He just wants to impress you,” Sayuri chuckled somewhat sheepishly before looking to address Sasha directly. “Manager Botan has agreed to let us help him in exchange for a hot meal and board for the night.” Sayuri explained to Sasha in English.
Of course Sayuri didn’t know the first thing about whiskey or the process of distilling it. But she imagined Botan would explain things to her, to relay to Sasha, she could learn on her feet, they had little options to do otherwise. Who knows, if Sasha knows Japanese, he might know something about distilling whiskey for real.
“I let him know you’re a whiskey sommelier in America, so I think we can be of use to him.” She added, looping Sasha in on the grift as much as she could without revealing themselves.
“Ah, yes, a sommelier, the family business.” Sasha said, reacting how he thought he ought to despite the only knowledge he had regarding alcohol was how to drink it. He would never consider himself too much of a drinker, but when his family celebrated, they often celebrated big and loud with plenty of alcohol flowing, though it was mostly vodka and the medovukha his дедушка was fond of. Still, if Sayuri thought they could pull their grift off, he’d follow her lead. He bowed again. “Thank you, we will do our best.” _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
Sayuri and Sasha were led into the establishment by Botan. He put the ‘closed’ sign up in the window before locking the front doors and giving Sasha and Sayuri a frantic tour. It was apparent he was eager to get them started on whatever work he needed, but it was imperative that they knew where everything was and the process that Botan adhered to. The building itself was single level, the floors were a polished cedar that Botan proudly proclaimed he hand waxed himself. Tatami was more traditional, but Botan explained that the cedar was chosen specifically because it was rot resistant. There was an entryway with some traditional art hung up, accompanied by photos of a younger Botan in front of the distillery when first purchased. Just beyond the split level entryway, was a bar with a long horizontal mirror behind it, and a low hanging lamplight. Across from the bar was a general seating area, it was unremarkable in truth, any allure evaporated at the bar. But the sight to behold, was when Botan took them into the back of the establishment. Behind heavy swinging doors, were dozens of copper column stills. They were sort of pots that operated in continuous batches, the wash fed in a the top, and the steam rising from the bottom. Botan explained to Sayuri that the columns at as a heat exchange and the alcohol condenses, becoming whiskey. Botan’s own brand of whiskey was rich, but the peat was subtle. It had a sweet, and herbal aroma. Botan gave them both a sample in wooden cups, they were made white oak, meant to complement the flavors of the whiskey. Sayuri was not a sommelier and didn’t feign any type of refinement as she tossed her head back and swallowed quickly.
“Don’t drink it that way! You’re not tasting anything like that!” Botan scolded, swatting at Sayuri before taking back her cup. He signed and gestured for her to watch before turning the spout attached the column, the pour was small but they were supposed to be. “Swirl your cup, smell it,” - Botan demonstrated as he explained, swirling the cup and then waving it under his nose. “Then, when you drink, hold it in your mouth before swallowing.” Botan finished explaining before passing the cup back to Sayuri.
Sayuri parroted what Botan had done, swirling her cup so the liquid managed a small whirlpool. She held the cup under her nose and smelled with intention before taking a small sip and holding it in her mouth. It tasted of hojicha and green apples, Botan was right, this was the correct way to drink it.
“This is amazing…” Sayuri said under her breath, daring to hand her cup back to Botan in hopes he would top her off.
He gave her a disapproving look, like he knew exactly what she was thinking.
“You can’t work drunk!” He didn’t seem mad, not sincerely anyways. But he was right, they had an agreement.
He continued the tour to an upstairs space, there wasn’t much up there. A couple of rooms, one of which was certainly Botan’s. There was another that seemed like a pseudo store room. Here, he procured a couple of generic uniforms, tobi workwear in a sage blue with navy trim. With them came a couple of plan tan aprons that tired around the waist. Sasha and Sayuri had changed in front of each other a couple of times now, never mind being naked in a shared bath. They stood in the storage room, back to back again, disrobing and adorning new identities once more.
When Sayuri turned around, she observed with a chuckle that as expected, the uniform was a little small for Sasha. His neck tattoos threatened to reveal themselves in tandem with the ink on his wrists. Sayuri invited herself to adjust his shirt, shifting the fit and adjusting the collar to hide the body art. She tugged his sleeves down too, fingers lingering on the seam.
“I assume we’ll wear gloves…Maybe just keep your hands behind your back or something in the meantime.” Sayuri suggested.
Sasha had certainly become accustomed to Sayuri's touch over the last few days, but even now the slightest brush of her fingertips on his skin made his face hot and his skin prickle. His cheeks were pink, but he still grinned down at Sayuri as he watched her hands tug at the hem of his sleeve.
"If you think my tattoos will cause us trouble, what about yours?" He asked her. He stood quite a bit taller than her, so perhaps it was just his vantage point, but he could see the top of her koi fish back piece where the neckline of her garment peeled away from her. He reached down and placed his fingers against the tattoo, tracing over the edge of it, before lightly tugging at her own uniform. _________________ Butts n' butts n' butts n' butts.
Sayuri had to bite back a grin, she liked that Sasha was taking opportunities to play; to flirt. She remembered in the love hotel, that Sasha gave her a good lecture about how he would never take advantage of her. Which she knew came from a honorable place, but she kind of wished he would take advantage of her. She knew that Sasha wouldn’t be who he was if he did, but Sayuri couldn’t help but imagine what that would look like if he did.
“Guess you’ll have to watch my back for me.” Sayuri said, allowing herself to be touched and teased by Sasha, she even allowed herself a pleased grin before refocusing on their current task. Since they were changed, Sayuri led them back to where Botan was waiting downstairs. He explained to them, and Sayuri reiterated to Sasha in English, that the storage room they changed in, would be their room for the night.
“There is a futon and a quilt rolled up in the corner, behind some boxes. Pat it hard a few times to loosen up and dust, or shake out any spiders.” Botan explained.
“So there’s a futon and stuff up there for us to sleep.” Sayuri passed on with a nod, omitting the part about spiders.
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