"You're welcome." Shigetoshi said sounding slightly confused by what Tatsuki said, but assumed it was a compliment. Or at least he hoped it was. With Tatsuki just fine in the kitchen, Shigetoshi headed out to the main counter. Mr. Ito is already waiting for the Innkeeper and the young man hurries up a little so he doesn't make him wait more. The family man is eager to get going because he wants to check out right then. However Shigetoshi has to bid him to wait.

"I'm terribly sorry for the delay. But I haven't had a chance to tally your final total. If you could wait but a few minutes, I'll have it to you as soon as possible." The harried Innkeeper said finally. Mr. Ito frowned, but finally nodded his head. Wiping the mental sweat from his brow Shigetoshi did the calculations as fast as he could. The young business owner came up with a total, double check it, wrote it down and passed it to Mr. Ito. The other man looked at the total than back at Shigetoshi. The look in the other's eyes was all the warning Shigetoshi needed. Mr. Ito was going to contest the total. 

About an hour later the Ito family finally left. Shigetoshi slumped down onto the counter and groaned. Elsewhere he could hear the Fujiwara sisters laughing. The Asian sighed out a thousand years worth of happiness in one go. He had broken even on the Ito family despite his best try to earn some money. The father was a penny pinching scoundrel. He wouldn't take responsibility for anything his children did. What was the world coming to? 

"Tough time?"

Shigetoshi looked up into the the crevice filled face of Mr. Inoue. The older man was smiling gently. "I cannot say I am sorry to see those four go." Shigetoshi picked himself off the counter and made a noncommittal noise. It wasn't good to talk ill about customers, even if they had paid and gone. Mr. Inoue seemed to pick up on that and dropped the subject. "I was wondering if you were free, I need your help."

Shigetoshi nodded his head. He reached under the counter and pulled out his tools and followed Mr. Inoue back to his room. By the time he was finished repairing, it was after lunch. Thankfully the Fujiwara sisters had taken care of that as promised. They even saved him some food since he had missed the main meal. The married sisters did take advantage of him and quiz him about Tatsuki. At first he had tried to keep Tatsuki's privacy, but they had ways of interrogation that would make the Shogunate and the Samurai envious. 

After they got every possible ounce of information out of him, which wasn't much, he was able to escape. He busied himself by cleaning rooms, both occupied and unoccupied. He checked the hot springs water temperature and for cleanliness. By the time the sun began to sink below the horizon, Shigetoshi was tired. He hadn't gotten much sleep last night, mainly because of Tastuki's late arrival. Though he didn't pay that any attention. He was more worried about Tatsuki. Was he back? Did he get there okay? If he had been quick, the younger man should be back soon. Letting his worry move him, Shigetoshi went to Tatsuki's room, then the kitchen. He was in neither place. Then he saw a small paper pinned to the table with a knife.

The black haired man drifted over and pulled out the knife after seeing his name. He smiled a little at the note and his worry went away. He was back and safe. He didn't have to go after the other man. It was a relief. He can't resist, at this point, poking around the kitchen to see what had been procured for dinner. He's a little dismayed at the quality of ingredients and amount of meat. He mentally tallied how much it would have cost and how much he needed to give back to Tatsuki for reimbursement. The Inn wasn't wealthy and neither was Shigetoshi. Though he would make due. After all, it was better to make the customers happy. He'll just be a little more frugal in the future. 

Shigetoshi washed the rest of the dishes left over from lunch and made sure everything was in order before going to fetch Tatsuki. He opened the door to the public hot spring with enough noise to alert anyone of his presence. "Tatsuki-san?" Shigetoshi asks as he steps into the cool dark outside.