Kūkaku Shiba

Not long after Nanao left the library, she saw Wang Xun waving to her from a distance.

To be honest, she was a little surprised.

The boys' dormitory was some distance from here, yet Wang Xun had made the round trip in so little time.

Had Wang Xun's Shunpo gotten that fast already?

"What's wrong? Why do you look so surprised?"

Seeing Wang Xun's curious expression, Nanao scratched her cheek.

"Has your Shunpo improved again?"

"I don't think so. I just went a little faster."

"Really..."

Seeing Nanao's skeptical gaze, Wang Xun laughed and brushed the question aside.

Then, with Nanao leading the way, the two hurried toward the place where the man had set up his stall.

It wasn't far, and they soon arrived.

The fruit seller was squatting in an inconspicuous corner, with a bamboo basket set out in front of him.

Inside were those strange purple fruits, with the light of a few fragments mixed among them.

Before they could get close, however, the sound of a heated argument reached them.

"Ha?! A thousand? Why don't you just go rob someone, baldy?!"

A clear female voice rang out, with a roguish edge to it.

Wang Xun took a closer look.

It was the black-haired girl with the white headband who had followed Kaien Shiba yesterday.

Kūkaku Shiba stood with her hands on her hips, glaring fiercely at the stallholder.

"These wild fruits grow all over the mountain behind Rukongai, and you dare charge that much? Two hundred a jin. Take it or leave it!"

The stallholder looked honest and simple, but there was a shrewd glint in his eyes.

The girl in front of him clearly knew her stuff. Otherwise, she could simply have walked away. Why would she bother arguing with him?

At that thought, he put on a miserable expression, but his tone remained firm.

"Young lady, you can't say that. I had a hard time picking these fruits deep in the mountains, and eating them is good for your health. A thousand really isn't expensive. Look at their color and size..."

"Save it. I just tried one, and other than tasting good, I didn't notice anything special. Three hundred at most!"

Kūkaku Shiba refused to budge. Beside her, Ganju Shiba joined his second sister in facing their common enemy, baring his teeth at the stallholder.

As the two made a fuss, a crowd had already gathered to watch.

The stallholder immediately panicked. He had set up his stall here on the sly, and if the patrolling guards found him, he'd be lucky to get away without a fine.

The stallholder lowered his voice. "Please, miss, stop shouting. Eight hundred, that's really the lowest I can go. Any less and I won't sell!"

As the two haggled, two guards wearing simple protective gear noticed the gathering crowd and walked over, looking impatient.

"No stalls outside the Spiritual Arts Academy. Pack up and get lost. If we catch you again, we'll confiscate everything! And you lot, making all this noise-move along, move along."

The stallholder's face went pale at the sight of the guards, and he hurriedly bent over with an apologetic smile.

"Yes, yes, I'm leaving right away, right away..."

The stallholder hurriedly began packing up the bamboo basket, his face full of dismay and fear.

Kūkaku was also a little stunned. She had only wanted to haggle, but she hadn't expected to get the stall shut down.

"Hey, wait..."

Watching the stallholder pack up and prepare to leave, she felt it would be a terrible loss to buy at the higher price now, and her little face scrunched up in indecision.

Wang Xun looked at the chaotic scene before him and reflected that he had arrived just in time.

He took a few steps up to the stallholder. His voice was calm, yet it carried a reassuring force.

"Don't worry, sir. I'll take that basket of fruit."

"Huh?"

The stallholder, Kūkaku, and even the two guards froze for a moment.

The guards looked Wang Xun up and down.

He was exceptionally good-looking, but he wore no expensive accessories and had a mild manner. He probably wasn't some noble family's young master.

The two guards exchanged a glance.

Let's take a gamble.

"Hey, even if you're a Spiritual Arts Academy student, you can't interfere with us carrying out our duties..."

Wang Xun stepped up to the two and discreetly pressed a small bag into their hands.

"Could you make an exception?"

One of the guards secretly opened the bag and glanced inside, his expression relaxing at once.

"Of course, of course."

Wang Xun smiled as he saw the two guards off, then turned to the stallholder and took a bulging money pouch from inside his clothes.

"Let's say eight hundred a jin. Looks like you have about twenty jin left in this basket. Here's sixteen thousand. Count it."

He counted out the money and pressed it into the somewhat bewildered stallholder's hands.

The stallholder took the money in a fluster, his fingers trembling slightly. He hadn't expected things to turn around like this.

"You're a lifesaver! Thank you, thank you so much!"

Watching the two complete their deal, Kūkaku Shiba stood there dumbfounded for a moment, then felt rather dejected.

She had clearly seen the fruit first and had merely failed to agree on a price, yet someone else had snatched it out from under her.

But she had nearly gotten the stall shut down just now, so she couldn't help feeling a little bad and was too embarrassed to say anything.

Watching Wang Xun pick up the basket of fruit, Kūkaku Shiba scratched her cheek, itching for some.

Wang Xun found Kūkaku Shiba's conflicted expression rather amusing.

"Miss, I can see you wanted to buy these fruits too. It would seem rather cold of me to take them all, so how about this?"

Wang Xun changed tack, asking the stallholder for a bag before bending down and grabbing two handfuls from the bamboo basket, about three or four jin in all. He offered them to Kūkaku.

"Everyone who's here gets a share. These are for you to try, as a way of making a friendly connection."

"Huh?"

Wang Xun's move caught Kūkaku Shiba off guard, and she accepted the bag without thinking.

As soon as she took it, the fragrance of fruit filled her nose.

Looking at Wang Xun's sincere smile, then at the fresh, juicy fruits in her hands, Kūkaku scratched her messy hair.

"I know you. I saw you yesterday when I came with my big brother for his exam. I'm Kūkaku Shiba, and this is my little brother Ganju. What's your name?"

"Wang Xun, a fifth-year student at Shin'ō Academy. This is Nanao Ise, my classmate."

Wang Xun introduced them with a smile.

"The Spiritual Arts Academy has students this young?"

Kūkaku exclaimed as she looked at the petite Nanao.

"There's no strict age requirement. Anyone who passes the assessment can enroll at Shin'ō Academy."

Nanao answered.

"Oh, wow, that's impressive, Nanao."

Kūkaku praised her freely, then raised the fruit in her hand and turned to Wang Xun with a cheerful smile.

"You're pretty interesting. If you ever run into trouble in Rukongai, you can give them my name, Kūkaku Shiba!"

She weighed the fruit in her hand and asked curiously, "But why did you spend so much money on these fruits?"

"Well..."

Wang Xun looked at the stallholder.

"Sir, can you tell me where these fruits came from?"

Seeing that Wang Xun was a major customer and so pleasant to deal with, the stallholder gave it some thought.

"I picked them in a very remote place northwest of West District 2. You have to go deep into the mountains. Why do you ask, young man?"

Seeing how cautious the stallholder was, Wang Xun smiled faintly.

"Then I'll be straight with you. I think these fruits are good, and if you can supply them in large quantities, I'm willing to pay a high price for them."

"Ah, well..."

The stallholder scratched his head.

"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. I found these fruits by chance. I searched all around the area, but the fruits on the other trees were sour and astringent. Only the ones from those few trees tasted good."

"If you want to see, I can take you there and prove I'm not lying."

"So you can't supply them in large quantities? That's a shame. But I am interested in these fruits, so I'd like to see them if I can. I can pay you for your trouble."

The stallholder smiled at Wang Xun.

"There's no need, no need. You just helped me out, young man, so let me return the favor."