Nurarihyon no Mago Vol 3 Chapter 3

Nurarihyon no Mago 3rd Novel: Kyoto Fantasy Night Talk
Story 3 - Yoshiwara Cat's Cradle
Chapter 1
Every evening, Yoshiwara is enveloped in a beautiful commotion.
The sound of prostitutes and geisha playing the likes of shamisen and koto spills out of the brothel's tatami rooms, patrons clapping their hands as they dance to the players' tune.
The oirans’ lovely voices are sometimes shrill and the drunken guests' laughter is sometimes boisterous, but even so there is not a frown to be seen. Lovely voices and laughter, things which never fail to add colour to Yoshiwara.
Even so, amidst tonight's Yoshiwara was a clamour of unrest.
Policemen carrying short truncheons and lanterns ran through the throng of guests and prostitutes in pursuit of someone.
The ones they were chasing were a group of thieves who had attacked a rice merchant's treasury about an hour earlier. Having heard that one of the 3-man group had apparently taken refuge in Yoshiwara, the police had returned with truncheons in hand and bloodshot eyes. Without retreating, they persistently searched for the group, shouting gruffly, “Out of the way!”, “Step aside!”, “Search over there!” and similar sentences, conveying their murderous intent.
–––––– How troublesome......
From a 2nd-floor tatami room of that very brothel, a man gazed down at the policemen boorishly plowing their way through the town’s chic nightly atmosphere.
That man was the very thief who was being pursued.
He was about 20 years old. Though he appeared composed, there seemed to be a sort of loneliness in his eyes, and his hair was fashioned such that one portion was tied back to trail behind him.
Out of habit, he played with the string in his hands as he sat on the window frame and absently gazed down at the street below.
“It is rather noisy outside, isn’t it.”
The oiran in the room spoke to him.
Her name was Shiragiku. She was the highest-ranked oiran in the brothel, and this room was for her personal use. The brothel was called “Akizukiya”. Speaking of Shiragiku of Akizukiya, she was such a famous and popular prostitute that there was no end of the wealthy merchants who would buy her out of bondage.
“Where did you go tonight?”
Shiragiku asked.
She was well aware that the man was a thief. Naturally, she also knew that the people below were in pursuit of him.

Chapter end