Receiving a letter from Agasha Hanori, everyone was summoned to Otosan Uchi. Upon arriving there he introduced them to Doji Hiroka who, on behalf of Agasha's new father-in-law, had a matter of some delicacy that she wished them to investigate. After a dispute over his lifestyle his son, Otomo "Doji" Hiroshige had been living in Slow Tide Harbor under the name of "Doji Hiroshige". Following several months of sending letters home begging for money a retainer was eventually dispatched to bring him home, but was unable to find him. He had been staying at The Inn of Many Paths, but he had not been seen by the owner in over a week while leaving an unpaid bill. They were asked to Find Otomo Hiroshige and bring him home.
Arriving in Slow Tide Harbor the party went to introduce themselves to The governor, Kasuga Mugatsu, and state their business in town. While there they noticed his prior meeting with a gaijin named "Stark" who apparently had some business interests in town that the governor was encouraging of. The governor appeared well-informed of their purpose in town and had himself brought in their prior acquaintence Kasuga Osamu to act as their local liason with the clan.
First asking about Hirohige at The Inn of Many Paths, the owner mentioned that after his disappearance men had come looking to collect on money he owed, sent by Kizo and Doro. In addition his friend, Kakita Amano had come by many times inquiring about his whereabouts. She also mentioned two other friends she recalled from before he vanished: a Tortoise named "Toru" and a gaudily-dressed ronin whose name she did not know. Went to Splendid Visions and spoke to Kizo who was familiar with Kakita Amano occasionally buying some of his sumi-e paintings for the shop. He was able to provide directions to where Kakita lived, an apartment above a nearby sandal-maker's shop. The landlord, however, stated that after becoming concerned for his safety he had fled to some flophouse in The Wallow, although he presumably was still in the habit of smoking blue flamed opium at The Golden Dream. The town magistrate, Kasuga Mikoto, didn't seem especially concerned with the disappearance and identified not only the location of The Golden Dream, but that it was owned by Boss Hana. Arriving there the place was packed with customers. The manager was persuaded to admit that several of their regular customers had gone missing recently: Otomo "Doji" Hiroshige and his friend Unknown among them. Toru specifically had been thrown out five days ago for getting into a fight with other patrons. Apparently their increase in patronage is largely due to offering opium laced with Blue Flame, a gaijin drug that makes the effects of opium even more intense. Kasuga was able to procure not only a dosage of the drug, but that they were getting it from a gaijin named Carlito who could be found in The Dockside.
Following up that the ronin Hade worked there led to The Waiting Cat, a gambling house. Indeed he had both lived and worked there, but had been fired recently due to his worsening opium addiction. A patron overheard the inquiry and was able to offer that he had been involved with a prostitute named Ikue working at a brothel in The Dockside. Kasuga Osamu engaged the man in a game of shogi, barely losing. Akodo Tadashi was not so lucky, losing not once, but twice to this rather skilled player. However it seems that the best strategy was no strategy as after surrendering to the void Mirumoto Tetsuzae was able to bring a measure of honor back to the party with a victory.
After spending some time canvassing the area Kakita Amano's new home was found. He last saw Hiroshige only a few days before he vanished. With some gambling winnings in hand he had treated Hiroshige and Hade to an evening at the Golden Dream, but one that soon devolved into bickering over money and their debts to one another. Hade left to see his lady friend while Hiroshige stormed off home. After noticing that he had disappeared Kakita happened across an alley near the Golden Dream that had evidence of a struggle. He tried reporting it, but the magistrate's yoriki didn't seem to care. He seemed convinced that Hiroshige's disappearance may have been due to either Kizo or Doro, to whom he both owed a good deal of money. After a good deal of... active coercion he eventually led the way to the alley. Though specific evidence of the struggle itself was long since gone a broken portion of a straw hat that Kakita identified as belonging to Hiroshige was found along with a scrap of rough clothing heavily stained with raw opium.
Taking Kakita to another local opium den, The Green Rest, the place seemed to have had better days and the manager was clearly desperate for customers. He recalled Toru having visited, but that he too had gone missing. The owner of the establishment, Boss Yaguro, insisted that it was likely either Boss Hana or Kizo who had been responsible for the various disappearances. Belying his gentle, grandfatherly appearance he was adamant that Kizo was a major crime boss who had been operating in Slow Tide Harbor for decades. When asked about his source of opium he identified his former supplier Kasuga Yumiko as a major smuggler who has recently started working with Kizo while Hana is getting her supply from Carlito. He has gone back to infrequent deals with members of the Scorpion Clan, although given the current state of his business, he likely hasn't needed to re-up in some time.