Katsuro

Off to the side of the teahouse, a small crowd of children and a few interested adults had gathered around a somewhat unkempt-looking man.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor, long hair spilling out over his robes, his voice could could be heard rather easily from time to time as he began to get overly caught up in what he was doing before catching himself. Whatever he was doing, he obviously enjoyed it to a great extent.

Anyone inspecting closer would notice an alms bowl to his left, and two humanoid shapes, a foot and a half, maybe two feet tall, moving in front of him, made of pure stone.

"...but what will we do? cried Saya." He was saying, dramatic gestures with his hands causing the figures to move in an appropriately overdramatic fashion.

"If young brother is lost in the spirit's forest, what will we do?"

"'Fear not, Saya,' the herdsman exclaimed, 'I will find your brother!'

And so the herdsman set out. He was of poor birth, and did not have a horse of his own, so he rode towards the evil forest on the back of Sei-ba, his favorite cow." This garnered some snickers from the adults, as well as open laughter from the children.

Looking around the teahouse to see if he had disturbed anyone, Katsuro spied the men gathering around the woman in the back.

"Oh dear, that doesn't look good..." He thought, standing up and brushing himself off. "Excuse me, everyone, but we are going to have a short break for a few minutes. If you wish to get a cup of tea and relax, i will return shortly."

Trusting that no one would try to steal from a monk's alms bowl, he scooped up the puppets and placed them on his shoulders as he walked towards the table.

Placing a hand on larger man's shoulder, he smiled, "Excuse me, sir? I couldn't help but notice your friends and yourself here. If you don't mind me saying, fresh air is as key to a tea-drinking experience as the leaves themselves. If you wish to sit with the lady, might I recommend a table closer to a window?"

His words were perfectly present, although an astute listener might pick up on a little bit of mocking when he said "Fresh air." The puppets remained on his shoulders, tilting their heads and looking around at the other men, but he did not appear to be otherwise armed.