"Mai-chan, you know that you don't have to escort me to the ward office. I can deal with this myself."
"Ami-chan, Sakuya-sama ordered me to make sure that this business was conducted without interference," Mai replied as she and Ami marched line-abreast down the street toward the local ward office, located several blocks from the outer ramparts of Kunou-jou, the keep of Nerima's resident nobility. "Given what we all know now about Tatewaki-sama's eagerness to bed Akane-chan..."
Ami groaned. "Don't remind me."
Both then fell silent as they made they way into a small crowd gathering near a local market, a block or so away from the Nerima ward office. Looking at the two teenage slave girls, one would be hard-pressed to think of them as slaves. They were dressed in matching white, cherry-blossom imprinted kimonos, both made of the finest cloth available. They walked as any proper noblewoman would walk in such dress, with short, light steps, their hands crossed in front of them, they almost totally obscured by their kimono sleeves.
However, since they both were slaves, Ami and Mai had tattoos on their body, both located on the backs of their wrists, where the faces of one's watch might rest on the skin. Unlike other slaves, who were most often given tattoos which revealed all sorts of information to those who could recognize such after a detailed inspection, those indentured to the Hana Clan of Hokkaido only received a monochrome copy of the clan's mon, a tiger grasping the symbol of the Dual Empires (the chrysanthemum of Japan embossed with the T'aegeuk yin-yang of Korea). Once the slave had finished his/her service to the Clan, the tattoos were automatically lasered off.
To add an additional mark of ownership to their slaves, the Hanas also insisted that their slaves wear either necklaces (for men) or silk neck chokers (for women), each bearing an enamel version of the clan mon. Earrings, which often were worn by pleasure slaves to mark their avocation, were eschewed by the Hanas since all their slaves were selected for skills beyond their abilities in bed.
"There it is," Mai declared, she pointing at a nearby building.
"Okay," Ami replied as they moved to cross the street.
Entering the ward office soon enough, both girls made their way to the place where the local Servant Registrar office was located. Since both the Saotomes and the Tendous had declared Nerima as their home district, it was to here that official registry of Ranma, Yumi and the Tendou sisters had to be done. Sitting behind the counter was an alert-looking woman dressed in a plain kimono. A convict's tattoo was visible on her breastbone just above the flaps of her clothing. A quick glance there told Ami that this particular woman had been arrested and enslaved after being caught plying her normal avocation, most likely while she was pretending to be a geisha. Her eyes reflected the chilling sheen of someone who had undergone a considerable level of hypnosis to ensure that she would perform well in her new "job."
"May I help you?" the clerk asked, her voice politely neutral.
Ami drew out her mistress' special hanko and the papers concerning her new servants. "These people have been taken on into my mistress' personal service this day. They are all residents of Nerima district. Please have their personal records changed accordingly."
"Hai."
The papers and the hanko were taken by the clerk. First, the hanko was scanned to identify its owner. That information was contained in a special binder the clerk immediately looked through. Once the match was made, she then stared at Ami. "Your mistress is Susumu Marie-kooshaku, Lady of the Imperial House of Peers. Current residence: Hana-jou, Rishiri-tou, Hokkaido?"
"Hai," Ami replied.
The hanko was returned to her. "Five slaves," the clerk said. "One Class-A yoojimbou, Saotome Ranma. One Class-S yoojimbou, Saotome Yumiko. One Class-C yoojimbou, Tendou Akane. Two household servants, Tendou Kasumi and Tendou Nabiki."
"Hai."
"All full-use?"
"Hai."
The clerk nodded as she got to work with the registry. Letters was prepared for the Imperial Family Registrar of Japan to have all the persons in question deleted from their birth families' records. A letter was prepared for the Fuurinkan School to have Nabiki and Akane struck off the nominal rolls. Once that was done, Ami then produced three final letters. "These are copies of a letter of marque issued by the Joint Privy Council in concerns with the former Tendou Kasumi, Tendou Nabiki and Tendou Akane," she declared as she handed it to the clerk. "Please attach them to their records. A family from Europe, the Chardins, expressed interest in obtaining the services of one of them from their father in answer to a debt he incurred with them some years ago. They also requested the assistance of the Kunou Clan to see this through. If any representatives of the Chardins or the Kunous come here, please show them this."
"It will be done," the clerk promised.
"Thank you," Ami replied with a bow before she and Mai turned to walk away...
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(Posted Sat, 26 Mar 2005 09:15)
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