Walking down the street of a busy port town in the domain of Choshu, Fumiko finds that the town is rather disarrayed. Soldiers in uniforms unfamiliar to her are milling about, securing the hastily vacated weapon stores and ammunition dumps of the shogun; his soldiers having been absent for several days.
It was not always this way, Fumiko once lived with her family in her father's large estate, given to him by the Shogun for his past loyal services. Now she lives in the same house but in isolation and loneliness. Recently Fumiko received the devastating news that her father and older brother have died in the ongoing Boshin war, likely killed by the guns of the Imperial Army. Fumiko passes a unit of the city guard being disarmed by the new occupants, and she ducks down to hide her face from them. The occupation of the city had been mostly without violence, but Fumiko still feels fearful that the Imperial Army and their citizen supporters might discover her family's allegiance to the Shogun. Now she finds herself walking among the common folk, hoping to find some way of keeping the family estate intact. Fumiko walks towards a less busy stall and asks a nearby merchantman where she might find work.
"I'm sorry, I don't know any jobs that need a fragile-looking woman like you," says the merchant. "You should try to find work in a brothel with a body like that."
"What? No! I wouldn't do that!" Fumiko protests, but the merchant has already laughed and turned away. He doesn't want to be bothered with an angry young lady who was obviously born in abundance, he has his own worries in life. Angerly dismissing the rather bold suggestions of the perverse merchant she walks further down the street. As the street opens up into the docks, she sees the stars and stripes of the American flag waving in the sea breeze, no doubt a product of the Emperor's need for more guns. Fumiko stops to watch as a group of young men come ashore from a ship carrying crates and barrels; dressed in rough clothes with rifles slung over their shoulders.
Walking through the town and breaking away from your fellow soldiers, you notice Fumiko watching you and you smile at her, noticing her alluring beauty. Fumiko notices you staring and blushes, continuing to walk down the street when suddenly you realize she would make quite the eye-catching cook for your barracks; "Excuse me miss," you say in fluent Japanese.
Fumiko turns to face you and asks hesitantly, "Yes?"
"Forgive the sudden introduction, my name is Captain Charles," You explain hurriedly with a charming smile, "Would you like to earn some extra money? I heard you questioning some of the merchants about a job."
"Oh... um..." You begin, unsure how to respond.
"I could use a good cook," you say, gesturing to your barracks. "I have a small group of officers, but I need someone to prepare meals for us all. You are definitely something nice to look at as well, so I think you'd be perfect." You look at her expectantly with a flirtatious smirk, awaiting her reply.