Malice Hearts Yin Book 1 Part 1

Chapter 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

"So this is where the kid hangs out in the day?" Satoshi surveyed the commercial district with a lipid gaze, looking tried and irritated to be out here in the heat and in such chaos. I had taken him with me on this search because he got along with commoners well. He also got along with kids, not as much as Kenpachiro, but still well enough. I also could not work alone together with Kenpachiro, it was impossible. Not that Satoshi and I got along either, but we at least could be cordial. I'd have brought Hibiki, but he, despite loving kids, was unfortunately terrible with them, so I left him behind. He also had a poor sense of direction and the bad habit of getting lost. It was fine if we were sticking together and I could keep an eye on him, but if finding Cold Child required us to split up, then he'd get lost the moment we parted ways. I really did not want to have to pause my search for Cold Child to find him.

The scorching heat of the afternoon hadn't taken the energy out of the swarm of people gathered here. As lively as ever, they bought, sold, traded, and entertained themselves. The commercial district was, as always, an overload to the senses. All around us were various smells of different street foods. Silks, jewelry, bottles, accessories, flutes, toys, etc. came in colors every shade of the rainbow. The chit chat of shoppers, merchants calling out their wears, and beggars pleading for handouts were constant sources of sound that never dwindled.

"Any sign of Cold Child?" I asked hesitantly, seeing the obvious problem but not wanting to admit to it.

"We might as well be fishin' a needle from the sea."

Everywhere we looked, we saw street children that could easily be Cold Child. They were chasing after shoppers, begging for coins or bothering the food vendors for little bits and pieces. Others watched the crowds with wide eyes, almost looking like hungry ghosts as they waited for an opportunity to swipe a coin purse or parcel.

"Asking what the kid looks like hadn't occurred to you, either." I defended, and he shot me an irritated look.

"That's 'cause I thought ya checked 'bout it with that courtesan."

My cheeks burned. "It's not like Xiaofan would have told me without asking for more gold. Anyway, it was only natural to think that very young and emaciated with crippled feet was narrowing it down. Who'd have thought that so many would match that description?"

"Their street kids. They ain't gonna be fat."

"Fine, I'll admit that's true, but being crippled should have been a little less common."

"This is China, you know, the place where foot bindin' is fashionable."

"For girls. Cold child is a boy."

"At this age, it's pretty hard to tell little boys from little girls. You, of all people, should know that."

"... Fine. I suppose so." It was especially true when all the kids had long unkempt hair and wore muddy rags. All of their faces, covered in caked on dirt, looked identical. "Well.... Cold Child is a Tōitsu-ko...."

Satoshi rewarded me with a flat expression. "I'll literally bow to your powers of observation if you're actually able to spot a Tōitsu-ko just by lookin'...."

I couldn't really defend myself here. It was true; it was pretty hard to tell.... actually almost impossible. ".... You have a point... even knowing he's Tōitsu-ko, Fujiwara still looks entirely Japanese."

"True, if the matter of his birth hadn't been such a scandal, no one would ever have thought he was anythin' but pure-blooded Japanese, Kyubei-san on the other hand.... I still have a hard time thinkin' he's even Asian."