Chapter XVII

  “Maneuvering”

  “The Art of War”

  ~by Sun Tzu~

  Four months later I received a summons from my Daimyo. I had received many from him in the last four months but this one wouldn't be so short and sweet. I followed the servant through the city to the castle. The city reminded me of how happy I was of the change. I was thinking how not that long ago I didn't think I would ever get to see my old friends again, but now I was around them most of the year. I loved this town.

  Since I hired Nokizaru Anaido to handle my money he had managed to grow my profits to 1000 gold pieces. The 350 silver a month from the Nigata lands wasn't hurting me either. But it was becoming clear I needed to do something more with my money than just let it ride. It was becoming boring.

  The servant took me to the fourth floor where an open shoji screen showed me Masao sitting with a young samurai-ko. Her back was to me so I could not see who she was but she looked to be an Onmyoji. She wore a scroll case on her hip and had no daisho. Just a wakizashi, denoting her station as samurai. She sat with an arrogance not even Masao possessed. I bowed to my lord after I entered the room and sat a small distance from her.

  "Hiro san, I believe you know Nokizaru Ketsumempo?”

  I looked a little too quickly then and couldn't help but smile. It had been several months since I had seen her last.

  “You will be working with her on your next assignment." I nodded and he continued. "The RyuKyu have been smuggling gaijin weapons onto their islands. They have been warned by the Emperor before about this. You will find the weapons and destroy them. Make sure the RyuKyu know that the Emperor is not to be disobeyed. You are acting on Imperial decree, yes?"

  "Yes, my Daimyo."

  "Take this letter. It is from the Emperor and you are to leave it where the RyuKyu will find it when the job is done."

  "I understand." I took the folded piece of paper from him.

  "Good. Now, you two go make your preparations. I want this completed as soon as possible."

  We both bowed and left.

  Once we were alone I turned to her. "Have you eaten rice today?"

  "No. But, I have been dying to see this mother of yours whom everyone talks about. Shall we go to her home?"

  I agreed. It took an hour of them chatting and laughing at me before we could get enough privacy in the garden to discuss our plans.

  Once I was sure we were alone I said, "I believe our best chance will be as merchants. There are many that deal with the RyuKyu on their islands and we would blend in well."

  "We would need a great deal of gold, Hiro san."

  "That is not a problem. The problem will be in finding the right ronin to play our yojimbo."

  "You wish to tell others of our mission?"

  "No. They need only know that they are to escort us, and will be paid well to keep their mouths shut."

  She thought on that a moment. "Where will you get the money?"

  "I will locate a merchant who can stand to be “not so rich."

  "Ah. And the men?"

  "If I cannot find any around here then ronin tend to stay in Umeko Mura. It is a small town just a quarter of a mile from here."

  "And how do we outfit ourselves without raising suspicions?"

  "My uncle is a great tailor. We should be able to get the clothing together quickly enough. The weapons we can procure from the castle. The rest we can get bit by bit."

  "Not bad, Hiro san. Our Daimyo was right about you."

  I nodded at the praise though I was sure she was just being kind. I couldn’t imagine Masao saying anything good about me.

  She went on, "So, we are to be Koga merchants with our entourage then." She said this not as a question but a statement of fact. It bothered me to correct her.

  "Um… no, Ketsumempo sama. We are to be Bandai. Koga anything raises too many suspicions."

  "Oooo, that will be fun.” She had a scary devious smile when she said that.

  "I suppose." I said coolly. "Who would suspect the... beautiful... Bandai merchant's daughter of sabotage?"

  She nodded. "Yes."

  We discussed the necessities of the plan a little more. This gave me the time I needed to get over her and keep my mind on the job. We decided she would collect the weapons and miscellaneous items: mirrors, fans, food, that sort of thing. Enough for ten men we figured. I would go resolve the money issue, not hard to do. This was my town after all. Then, I would start on the clothing with my uncle.

  I left to start getting the information I would need. I had heard talk over the last few months about a friend of mine who was having some difficulties, a merchant by the name of Goemon Riko. I had done work for him as a child and he was a good man. Relatively honest, but of late his luck had been so poor that it was rumored if you spoke his name you would have a bad day.

  I stopped by a tea-house, “The Mandible,” where Riko was a frequent customer. He liked to conduct his business here so I thought I might catch him while he was in.

  “Riko san, how have you been?” He looked up from his books.

  “I have been better.”

  “The day is young yet.” He laughed. “What makes your day so bad, Riko san?”

  “I have a caravan coming from Teikoku Toshi no Kyoto and it’s late. I have three employees that want more pay. I have a Hokkaido in town that keeps under bidding me. I owe four very nasty people money. And my head itches.” He scratched his head for emphasis.

  I ordered us some sake. “I may have some friends that can find the caravan for you. Where was it last seen?”

  “Shiro Masa, but can you trust these men?”

  “Yes, they are Koga samurai. Next, are the three employees worth the extra money?”

  “Two are, the third one will leave if I pay them more and not him.”

  “Fire him and give them his share.” He smiled and nodded. “The Hokkaido, maybe I can do something there. Where can I find him?”

  “He is staying at Juko’s inn, but his days are spent talking to the merchants. He could be anywhere in town.”

  “What is his name?”

  “Obihiro Ninba. Domo arigato Hiro sama.”

  “Do not thank me yet. I have not done anything and we are not through. Who are the people you owe?”

  “Nokizaru Daiki, Shotoku Junghai, Goemon Eita, and Goemon Jute.”

  Junghai was a smuggler and not a very nice one, while Jute was the head of the Yakuza, also a very mean woman.

  “The Koga Shogun, a family Daimyo, and two crime lords? What were you thinking?”

  He cringed. “They were backers for the caravan. That is all.”

  I nodded. “I will talk to them for you.”

  “Domo arigato again, Hiro sama. You are a wonder if you can help me.”

  I got up and started to walk out, but stopped and turned. “Riko san? Go see Warayumi. She has an ointment that will help with the itching.”

  I turned and left as he was giggling. After leaving Riko, I walked to the palace. Daiki was visiting Masao for a few weeks, as usual, so I knew I would be able to find him in the gardens. He must have enjoyed bringing his daughter with him, he loved her very much.

  I walked through the castle out onto the paths between the great trees. It all still took my breath away when I saw it. The powerful oaks and pines, balanced against the smaller cherry blossom trees and flowers. I walked along the primary path from the main hall until I stumbled upon Masao holding court. There were twelve people present, not all of them were of our House. I found a spot and knelt in the back. Masao noticed.

  "My young friend, I believe you are supposed to be somewhere else. Are you not?"

  I walked forward and knelt before him in a deep bow. "Yes, my Daimyo, but I must speak with Daimyo Daiki to complete some preparatory work."

  He nodded. "Yes, Daiki san, would you please walk with our friend while we finish up here."

  Daiki bowed to him and rose with me. When we had walked far enough away not to be heard he said, "What can I do for you, Hiro? You know I hate being pulled away from court."

  "I will be brief, my lord. While Ketsumempo and I have been getting prepared for our mission. I ran into a small snag. I had to spend some time with a merchant I believe you know by the name of Riko."

  "Yes, I have heard he has run into some problems with his latest endeavor."

  "Yes, my lord. I was hoping you would do me the small favor of letting him be while I send someone to track down the problem."

  Daiki thought for a moment. I knew he wasn't going to bother the man anyway but this put me in his debt. Something he lived for and because of that he would look out for Riko while I was away.

  "Yes. I can see no reason to decline such a simple request, but Hiro san, how does this aid your mission?"

  "Arigato gozaimasu, for doing this for me my lord. As for how it helps. We need some money and material to support a proper lie of who we are. One of Riko's problems will do that but I need Riko to think all of it was just out of my generosity."

  He shook his head. “Your plans are more convoluted than mine, Hiro san.”

  “Is that a compliment, my lord?'

  “No. And you be sure to keep my daughter safe.”

  “I will, my lord.” I smiled and bowed.

  He returned it and walked back to court with a smile while I walked out of the gardens. I found a guard who told me Eita was eating on a balcony on the third floor of the castle. With that information, finding Lord Eita was easy.

  I approached. "Hiro san, have you eaten rice today?"

  "No, but I would be grateful for whatever you can spare, my lord."

  He smiled and sent a servant to retrieve my meal.

  "What brings you here? I know you are too busy to visit with me right now."

  I nodded. "I came across a minor issue while getting ready. I wanted to ask you to back off of Riko the merchant, my lord."

  "Why so?"

  "I was looking for funding for this job and he gave me the answer without knowing it. But I have to do this favor for him as well so that when I take the money from his competition it just looks like another favor." He shook his head.

  "Sounds complicated. You are going to wear yourself out, Hiro san."

  "Yes."

  He laughed. “Hiro, you are rich. Why not just pay for whatever you need out of your own pocket?”

  I sort of leaned my head to the side and asked, “Where would the fun be in that?” He laughed. “To be honest...”

  “Oh this is a first.” he commented.

  I looked unamused. “To be honest, I have heard of Riko's issues for a while now and this has provided me with the chance to do something about it.”

  “I did not realize you even knew the man.”

  “Yes, from my childhood when I played peasant. He was one of the people I would work for in town.”

  He nodded. "I can leave him be. I was not going to bother him about it anyway. Not for a while yet."

  A few moments later the food arrived. I ate with him for a short time on the balcony. The conversation was pleasant but I couldn't stay too long. When I left, I headed to the heimin quarter

  of the city to find Junghai. I knew he operated out of a certain dull looking building near the south wall. Finding it was easy enough. I had passed it many times before. I walked up to the ronin sitting next to the door. He had been doing a good job of looking unimportant.

  "I want to speak to your boss."

  He looked at me warily. "What about, Shotoku sama?"

  "A friend of mine who’s caravan he backed with money."

  The ronin nodded and rose. He knocked on the door and walked in saying, "Please wait here, Shotoku sama."

  I nodded to him. A few moments later I was invited in by the ronin. Another one walked me through the small building as his friend stepped back outside and closed the door. There were several drab boxes stacked throughout the building and I saw more men moving them around near the back. We walked to the door of an office where my escort knocked on the heavy wooden door. It opened and the ronin motioned for me to go inside. In front of me sat a fat old Shotoku samurai sitting behind a desk. He had two yojimbo in the room standing on either side of the door. I stepped to the left and knelt where I could see all three of them. My escort closed the door.

  "Junghai san, I have come to request that you leave Riko san alone while he tries to straighten out this mess of the caravan."

  He laughed. Loud. "You request?! That I didn't expect!" He continued to laugh. "Tell me boy, why should I care what you want?"

  "Because it is in your best interest."

  "Is it? And what happens when I tell you, no?" He was trying to look menacing. He succeeded.

  "Actually, Junghai san, it never occurred to me that you might be that stupid." He appraised me with a shrewd glint in his eye. “…Your next question will be, “Who am I to come into your place of business and talk to you in this manner?”

  His yojimbo were slowly moving their stance to a defensive posture. "…Well? Who are you, boy?!"

  “Shotoku Hiro." I said flatly.

  "...I thought you were older?"

  "I hear that a lot.” I don't but I wasn't here to insult the man. Too much. “I would consider this a personal favor, Junghai san."

  "...Yes. Of course I will leave him be, Hiro sama." He bowed. When I returned it he continued. “But, the investment is quite sizable and I am not so large that I can wait on it forever.”

  I paused a moment. “Is that a threat?”

  “No. No, no. From what I have heard of you that would be a mistake. No, my point is I understand you want to protect your friend but his luck could put me out of business. I don't suppose you have an answer for finding the caravan do you?”

  “I am not a miracle worker. I cannot promise the caravan will be found at all... How much were you expecting to make from your investment with Riko, Junghai san?”

  He relaxed a little before answering. “He had assured me of a 50% increase so I gave him 150 silver.”

  “So you anticipated a return of 225 silver then?” He nodded. “I can buy you out for 250. Does that sound acceptable?”

  “Very much so. Domo arigato, Hiro sama.” He had a relieved smile on his face.

  “How will you feel if the caravan is found and turns out to be worth more than 250?”

  He shook his head. “I will still have made a good profit. That is a good day for me, Hiro sama.”

  “Good. I will have a man bring you the money this evening.”

  “Domo arigato. I suppose in return you will want me to stay away from investing with your friend Riko from now on?”

  I shook my head. “No. I am just trying to change the man's luck, Junghai san. You may run your business how you feel is best.”

  He looked pleasantly surprised by that. “It is none of my business but I suppose you will go and buy out the others now?”

  “I have already spoken to the two noblemen who invested with him. They prefer favors to money so it was really just conversation to get their agreement.”

  “Noblemen, like most people, prefer favors when they are not having money problems.” He said. I laughed a little before he continued. “But you will have to buy out Jute. My understanding is she needs the money as much as me... For an additional 50% increase on her investment? This is going to be a very expensive gesture, Hiro sama”

  I thought on that and sighed. “You are assuming he did not promise her more?” He looked at me with a slightly confused look on his face. “Jute and Riko were together at one time.” Now he understood. “And it is my understanding that once a man has been between a woman's legs he generally gives her better dealings in business.”

  He looked off into the distance and said, “Jute is a handsome woman. Hmmm.”

  “Yes, and I have to counter what she was promised.”

  “...And she is not with anyone at the present.” He was still staring at nothing.

  “Junghai san?”

  “I wonder if...”

  “Junghai san, focus.”

  When he came back to his senses I said, "Domo arigato, for your cooperation in this, Junghai san." I bowed slightly to him and he returned it with a smile.

  I like making friends. As I left I realized it was getting too late in the evening to visit with Jute so I headed home for dinner. Jute would still be up, and working, but at this hour it would be those things that are best done in private. Not an appropriate time for a friendly visit from a known killer.

  When I got home I found that Ketsumempo was visiting with my mother, along with her father and his whole court. Daiki had brought eight of his closest advisers and their staff. I immediately understood why Mother needed a larger home. There must have been twenty people in here. Not counting her staff, of which even the groundskeeper had been drafted into serving food with the maids.

  Thankfully, I at least had missed all of the embarrassing stories about ‘when Hiro was a child.’ We had dinner and pleasant conversation about our time together in Shiro no Nokizaru. All of us questioned Daiki about his time in court today. We even discussed the pressures of being a servant during these visits with Daiki's court servants, many of which were also helping to serve the crowd.

  Mother was so happy. Eventually, the night came to a close. I retrieved 250 silver from my hidden chest where Mother kept my money. Daiki was happy to lend me the service of one of his yojimbo so I had the man deliver the money to Junghai for me. Since Ketsumempo was returning to her father's suite with his court I spent the rest of the evening helping Mother and her staff clean up.

  In the morning I went in search of Jute. I knew where she conducted her business. The nice part about having been a peasant child in this town is I had worked for most of the people who lived here. Including the criminals. Himi, Goruchi, Cho and I had been runners for Jute on more than one occasion. I found her establishment easy enough. I even knew the two men manning the door. A ronin named Cuchari and an old Komono by the name of Kara.

  I briefly explained why I was there and then inquired as to how their friends and families were doing. After a few moments of discussion Cuchari went inside to let Jute know I was here while Kara informed me as to how his granddaughter was doing. The girl apparently was ill even after several visits from the doctor.

  “She just seems very weak. I had almost thought she was faking it but the doctor believes it is a real problem.”

  I nodded to him. “Go to the castle when you can and ask for Gunso Toritono. Be sure to tell him I requested his help on this. Anything that has stumped a Goemon physician should be taken very seriously, Kara san.”

  He returned my nod. “Can the Gunso help?”

  Just then Cuchari opened the door to invite me in. I said as I began to leave him, “He is the best onmyoji healer we have. He should be able to resolve it for you.”

  “Domo arigato, Hiro sama.” We bowed as we parted.

  Soon I was meeting Jute for the first time in years. She pleasantly invited me to the back room where we could talk. She was older, in her middle fifties and incredibly pretty. Crime suited her.

  “I ran into Junghai last night, Hiro sama.” she said as we sat down to some tea.

  “Ah, so he informed you about my looking for you and why.”

  “When he could.”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  My eyebrows rose as I sipped my tea. It was very good. “Meaning?”

  “The great oaf made several passes at me.”

  “You of course rebuffed his crude attempts.” I said.

  She nodded. “No. I drank too much sake and couldn't keep my hands off of him.”

  We both laughed far too hard to be dignified. Once we settled down she continued. “You are an old friend and very dangerous, Hiro sama. For either of those reasons I would be careful not to lie to you. I am doing very well financially.” I was surprised. “The ‘pity me’ story I spread around is just for my competition's ears.”

  “Using their sympathies against them Jute san?”

  She smiled as she sipped more tea. “With that in mind, I of course have no problem backing away from Riko. He has always been a dear friend.”

  “That is pleasant news. You do understand I would have no misgivings if you wanted the same offer I made Junghai?”

  “He said as much. I just think once the cargo arrives it will be worth more than that?”

  “Why is that, Jute san?”

  “Last night Junghai mentioned something you said to him yesterday. About how you wished to change Riko's luck.”

  “Yes. If anyone needs a change of luck, it is Riko.” I smiled.

  “And I think if anyone can change it for him, it is you.” I looked at her puzzled. “You four boys have always been the luckiest people I have ever known.” She grinned.

  I spent half an hour catching up with Jute and how she had been doing these past few years before I had to leave to continue with my ‘favors.’ I knew at this hour any samurai assigned to the Toshi Guards would be training in the practice yard of the castle. So I went there to find my old friends. Taisa Sashi was now in command of Gunso Kiki, Gunso Kajiru and Gunso Kai. They had all been promoted since I had served with them last. They had been in the middle of Kenjutsu practice with their men until Kai spotted me.

  “Taisa!!!” he yelled across the yard.

  Before I could respond, “Taisa!!!” came from all of the men present.

  Apparently it was a tradition of theirs. I hadn't realized, until then, just how little I went to the practice yard at practice time. My friends handed the command of their units off to their subordinates and came over to see me. Once the greeting and bowing was done Kiki handed me a bokken and took her stance.

  I just looked at her. “I have no idea what you want me to do with this.” I was still holding it blade side down when she attacked.

  “Kyah!” And she swung down towards my chest. I smiled and blocked her blow with the blade while stepping in to tap her chest with the butt of the handle. “That does not count!” she yelled as she circled back towards me to prepare for another strike.

  “We think it does,” said Kajiru, nodding along with the others.

  “Kyah!' she yelled.

  I flipped the bokken right side up and blocked her next swing. We continued to parry several times. Me smiling and joking, “I think you are letting this get to you, Kiki san.” Her cursing me, “I am going to cut that smug smile off your face!”

  In reality she was very good. The fight lasted a long time, until we were both sweating profusely. Certainly to the point where the other mononofu had stopped practicing and instead gathered around to watch the fight. Attacks, parries, spins and counter swings went back and forth for several moments until I noticed both of us would pause between attacks to catch our breath. And the whole time with those three idiots commenting!

  “Taisa Hiro, I really think you need more of an upward motion on that maneuver.”

  “It was a downward swing, Kai!”

  “Maybe both of you need to meditate on the essence of the bokken?”

  “Shut up Sashi!” said both of us in unison.

  The men loved it. Especially the comments from our friends. Their commanding officers. We were getting nowhere. This fight kept going. So I cheated. Her last blow made me step back a pace closer to Kajiru, so I took his bokken and stepped back with two swords.

  “Oh you admit you cannot beat me, Taisa Hiro!?”

  I smiled. “I admit, I want this fight to end before those men...” I indicated with a jerk of my head the group of samurai around us, “...are Taisa themselves.”

  I came at her with both swords flying. I put everything into it that I had and she managed to parry every attack. She was incredibly fast. Somewhere in all of that she slid low to my right and took her sword in a slicing motion across my mid-section. Cheers erupted from everyone, for her. I just looked at her with her arms raised in victory and that big stupid smile on her face.

  “That – does - not - count.” I said.

  “I am pretty sure it does.” She smiled.

  “There is going to be no tolerating her now.” said Sashi as he shook his head.

  All of us went to get cleaned up and met in the hot baths. This was one of the few places in Giapan I could get undressed without worrying about other people seeing my body. I noticed the others had picked up several battle scars. I had too for that matter but nothing compared to the truly scary things that had been done to my body by my own House. Anytime I found myself in a bath with anyone that I knew, I always had to give them several moments to get used to it before they could stop staring. The scarification from the Bei-oshi was the worst for people. It looked like they had scooped out portions of my flesh and replaced it with quicksilver. Maybe they had. I was passed out during the whole thing so I couldn't be sure.

  Sashi asked, “What brings you to us today, Taisa sama?”

  “Work actually. I have to take care of something for our House and while getting ready for it I came across an old friend in need. I was hoping I could convince you four to look into it for him.”

  Kai asked, “What is it your friend needs?”

  I explained to them what had happened to Riko and what I had been doing to help him over the past several hours.

  “Well of course we will do it. I am just not sure we can get the OK for a company of men to go with us.” said Kiki.

  “Both Shogun Eita and Daimyo Daiki are investors in the cargo. So you probably can if you mention that to your commanders.” I said.

  They all nodded.

  Being a Taisa, Sashi had over 100 samurai at his command. These were broken into three squads, Kajiru commanded thirty samurai archers, Kiki commanded thirty mounted samurai with

  No-Dachi, which is a katana with a four to five foot blade. Then he had Kai commanding thirty samurai with spear. Ten of them were officially engineers who reported directly to Sashi but in reality five of those were ninja for scouting and... special needs. Very early in his career Sashi had acquired the habit of augmenting his forces with Ainu scouts when he could find them. In addition to all of that he had thirty heimin and ten eta, ten heimin for supply, with ten to care for the animals: cavalry horses and messenger pigeons. Ten as cooks and cooking staff while the ten eta were for handling the dead. As options for discovering the lost caravan go, I thought these guys were a pretty good one.

  The last thing on my ‘To Do’ list was Obihiro Ninba, the merchant. I lied a little to Riko when we spoke, on many points. I had heard about the merchant before. He had chased one of my old friends out of business. Okane had started as a peasant and worked her way up to money lender. Ninba had been in town for less than three months and he was able to put her out of business already. She had no name by birth so no one cared enough to get involved. I was no better. I was ‘too busy’ at the time. Now she was living as a cleaning servant for one of the inns. Not a good life for a seventy year old woman.

  Her investments had a string of bad luck associated with them. Bandit problems, fires, boats sinking and so on. Until finally no one would do business with her for fear of her luck rubbing off on them. I was noticing a trend in this town concerning our merchants. Okane could have taken what profits she had and lived a good life until she died. Instead she took what she had and paid a local Kokujin to grant a daisho to her daughter who had to move away with her family to serve in his household as a samurai-ko.

  Riko didn't know Ninba the Hokkaido merchant stayed at “The Foreign Shade” sake-house. But I did. I sat down at a table in the corner and ordered a bottle of sake. Then I waited. Not too long after I was settled, I saw another Hokkaido come down the stairs. There had been several in this house already, but this one was greeted as Ninba sama by the staff. Without being too obvious I took note of his face, then I paid my bill and headed home.

  I had sent a pigeon to Yoshio yesterday. It would be a week before the men I asked for would arrive. During that time Ketsumempo and I worked and began gathering the equipment we needed for the cover story I had come up with. This left us with ample time together and of course nightly dinners with her father and his court. I had asked Anaido to hold off on the trading of any goods and instead focus solely on money for the next few weeks. Money was his favorite anyway so he did not mind. In reality I needed the use of his storehouse for our cover story and the men from Yoshio when they got here.

  Soon I had word from a sensei of the Bei-oshi that the ten students I had requested were housed at my storehouse. They were in their first month of training. I waited until nightfall to go and speak with them. When I arrived, I misted up over the wall to settle into a corner and observe the students.

  They sat as individuals with a good distance between them. Not anything like my friends and I when we waited for a mission to start. These were ten lone ninja. I folded the shadows around me and misted my way to the front of the group then just went solid and looked at them. Their sensei was the only one that noticed and bowed to me from where he was sitting. I waited for the students who finally noticed their sensei's movement, then noticed me, and finally bowed to me as well. I returned it and told them to rise.

  “Do any of you know why you are here?”

  One of them said, “My lord, we would not even know what town we were in if some of us were not from here.”

  I smiled. “I remember those days. You wind up on some barren rock wondering 'who would live here' and before you get an answer you're off jumping around until you're sick.” A few of them laughed. “When I requested you, I asked for the ten students the sensei thought would be dead before the end of the year.” None laughed at that. “Can you tell me why you think I would ask for the ten most likely to die?”

  One said, “Because the mission is incredibly dangerous?”

  I shook my head. “No. This mission is a vacation compared to some of the missions you will run this year. I just wanted the chance to warn you. To give those of you smart enough to learn, an opportunity to survive the Bei-oshi... Do any of you know why they are so sure you ten will not make it?”

  They looked at each other but none of them had any idea. I walked to sit down closer to them.

  “When I went through the Bei-oshi I had three close friends. One of them, Ino, died because some mononofu got lucky and hid in the shadows as we ran by. Ino was one of the few to die because of bad luck. We still lost almost 60 classmates that year but almost none were due to luck.” They looked a little confused. “The vast majority of the ninja we lost in my class were due to them being too proud to get help.

  Consistently they would wander off on their own, pretending to be the spirit of death and when they got overwhelmed, as all do in this business, they died.” I could see that made an impact on them. “This mission will be mostly gathering of information. I need spies and I hope to use this opportunity to encourage the ten of you to start acting like a team... instead of the soon to be deceased.”

  We broke them up into two groups of five. One group to observe Obihiro Ninba at his room in town and collect information. The other five dressed as heimin would follow him and his men. The Sensei would help when he had to. They had a week to get me everything I needed.

  I spent the time looking for my ronin. I had decided that with everything going on in Toshi Goemon, we would just skip looking for ronin here and move on to finding them in Umeko Mura. I collected Ketsumempo and we rode the short distance to the nearby town.

  While we rode I asked her, “Have you ever heard of this odd little town?”

  "Why do you call it that?"

  “It serves some unorthodox duties for our House. Mostly crime.”

  “What kind of crime?”

  “Hostage storage, drugs, prostitution, officially it is known for gambling.”

  “Officially?” I nodded. “Officially, gambling is a crime,” she said.

  "How sheltered are you?" I asked.

  "What do you mean?! I am not sheltered!"

  I laughed, she was beautiful when she was angry. "How many gambling houses are there in Goemon Toshi?"

  "None. …Why?"

  "How many gambling dens are there in Shiro no Nokizaru?"

  "Are you insulting my father?!"

  "No, I am simply trying to find out what you know?"

  "The answer is still NONE!"

  I nodded. "There are six that Masao knows about. There are four at your home that Daiki has not told you about."

  "You lie."

  I nodded again. "Often. Yes. But not now. There are two more in Goemon that Masao is unaware of, but the Machi-bugyo will find them soon enough."

  "But... why would they allow it?"

  "We need the money that gambling provides, and you get good information out of people who are in your debt."

  She thought a long time on that before she nodded her understanding. "Why do you know so much about what goes on?"

  "I am friends with most of the heimin and hinin in Goemon Toshi."

  "Why?"

  "Because I like them, and no one has the courage to tell me otherwise."

  "I do! You should not associate with those people. It is not proper."

  "Ha! Oh you are a brave one. It does not count when you say it."

  "Why not?!"

  "Because you only did it to prove me wrong."

  The trip to Umeko Mura went quickly. Once we had recovered from our small trip we began our search for the men. The first day proved useless. All the samurai we saw were men of lost hope; they had given up. We needed men who had held on to their honor despite their situation. The second night was much better. We walked into a drab sake house and looked around. She was the first to spot him.

  "There." She pointed at him.

  In the back corner sat an older samurai, drinking but sober.

  "Yes. That is our man." He watched us as we approached him. I spoke first. "May we sit, ronin san?"

  He appraised us for a few seconds. "Who am I to tell you what you may do, my lord?"

  His voice sounded like granite being sanded. We sat down across from him.

  "My friend and I are looking for some samurai to accompany us on a trip."

  "How many men?" he asked.

  "Ten at the most."

  "Best I can do is six, no less."

  "Six would be sufficient, if they can keep their mouths shut."

  "That would depend on the work, my lord."

  "The work is simple escort duty. You guard us and our things. Nothing special. We pay four silver per man, per month. Payable upon completion."

  "For how long?"

  "Two, maybe three months."

  He thought a long time on this, trying to decide what trouble we intended most likely.

  "Yes. My boys can do that."

  "We will want to meet them first." Ketsumempo stated.

  "I can take you to them."

  He finished his drink and rose. He took us to a dive of an inn. We waited outside while he went in to get his ‘boys’. A few minutes later he returned with four men and one woman. They were all younger than him. We talked to all of them for a few hours and found that their leader was named Masakari. They were six samurai, Hoko, Yumi, Menuki, she was the duelist, Jerukukami the Onmyoji, and the youngest, Kubikiri. They were formerly of our House but had been ronin-ized when their lord made some blunder in front of Daimyo Masao. Kubikiri had been a courtier when they were first ronin-ized but even he did not know what that blunder had been. All of the others had spent time with him teaching him weaponry. That of course was against the rules of society so I loved these people immediately. I tested Kubikiri in fencing and found that he was pretty good. We discussed where they had been and what they had done. From what I could tell they were all very experienced by now. When we were satisfied, I gave them a retainer's fee of 10 silver and told them where to meet us in two weeks.

  We were very optimistic for the entire ride back to Goemon Toshi. We went to her suite in the castle while we discussed our plans. I had caught her up on all of the details by this time. Suddenly she turned to me after I had closed the shoji screen.

  “I am so excited at how well everything is coming together,” she beamed.

  Then she stepped towards me and we kissed. It surprised me, and I didn't know why, but this caused some very odd feelings in my stomach. I pulled her closer as we kissed. The feeling in my gut got worse when she pulled back a little and said, "You are very handsome, Hiro."

  "I know." I smiled.

  She laughed. What followed, well, it wasn't perfect. What first time is? But it was close. It was also a bit addictive. We had things to do during the day but the nights were cool with a good breeze coming from the north. Holding her every night felt... I cannot give it justice but it felt better than anything I had ever known. I wanted that time with her to never end. Unfortunately my ninja had finished their work and had everything I needed. So I would have to pull myself away from her for a night or two.

  The merchant, Obihiro Ninba, had six samurai who had been given to him by a family Kokujin. Any other people he needed were just hired when it became necessary. Like the men who pirated Okane's shipments. They worked for the information of that shipment and kept what they captured as payment. The bandits that hijacked Riko's caravan worked for that information. The reward was the caravan. I liked this guy. He was cheap and effective. He was still going to die, but I liked him.

  He kept over 4000 gold pieces in a warehouse he rented from old man Fujibayashi Chujitsuna. That was how he could afford to underbid Okane and Riko. Assuming he was going to do to Riko what his records and journal say he had done to Okane. He would survive off of those funds until Riko was out of business and then return his prices to normal until he recouped what he lost fighting Riko. Then he would pick another one of my friends to run out of business.

  He also stored all of his goods at the warehouse; silks, steel, armor, weapons, cooking ware, art, rice, wheat, dried fish, everything. His samurai were broken into three groups. The two who guarded the warehouse during the day, the two who guarded it at night and his two personal yojimbo. One bodyguard always traveled with him while the other was awake and vigilant the entire night. This was going to be easier than I thought.

  I spoke with Cho and had him store 10 wagons for me in an out of the way part of the warehouse district. Next I went to the samurai district of the castle. I knew many of the men here but only as acquaintances. I knew a gifted onmyoji named Teruo who was a master of fire. I located him in his two room home in the bachelor section of the samurai quarters. Once he invited me in I asked, “Teruo san, I find myself in need of your service.”

  “Of course, Hiro sama.”

  Due to my rank with our House he didn't have much choice but my asking him was flattering.

  “When you start a fire, do you have strict control over it?”

  “Yes. I do.”

  “I need you to keep this secret but I need a building destroyed tonight, but I have to be sure the fire does not spread.”

  “How big is the structure?”

  “It is a warehouse.”

  His eyebrows rose. “Some merchant insulted you, I take it?”

  I smiled. “No. It is business. And I need it to stay quiet. Can you meet me near the Yoriki hut in the warehouse district near the middle of the hour of the Tiger?” Tiger fell from 3 am to 5 am.

  He agreed and we shared tea for several moments before I had to move on. Next I went to speak with the ninja's Sensei. With all of the information already gathered they spent their time observing our prey and his men to make sure nothing unexpected came up tonight. As for their Sensei he was stationed at Anaido's warehouse. He greeted me as I entered. It only took a few moments to explain the plan and make sure he had everything he needed to complete it. Once that was in order all that remained was to... wait. I wandered the castle thinking over my plans. To my surprise, Ketsumempo just happened to be home. We discussed our plans for the evening and finalized any details that were missed until then. We were very busy.

  The city's warehouse district is never still. Even at night people would be moving around. Some doing legitimate business getting shipments ready that had to leave tomorrow or moving stock from one merchant to another as well as criminals conducting business while the Yoriki was a little less attentive. This would be to our advantage. Our plan was to begin after it was dark in the middle of the hour of the Dog from 7 pm to 9 pm.

  It was almost that time so I had to rouse myself and Ketsumempo from our dream. We both seemed to be taking our time as we untangled ourselves from her bed.

  "I will go and check on things," she said miserably.

  "I need to make sure everything else is in order." Before I left I pulled her aside and kissed her goodbye. "I will see you soon?" She nodded with a smile.

  I donned my ninja uniform and slipped out of the castle to the inn where Ninba slept. I was to meet the ninja's Sensei there.

  “How goes the plan, Sensei san?”

  “We are ahead of schedule, my lord. The merchant and his men came back early to get ready for a dinner they were to attend. He and his yojimbo have been subdued along with the two mononofu from the day shift at his warehouse.”

  “Fantastic. Be sure to take everything from their rooms. Money, armor, clothes. Leave them only their undergarments and wakazashi. Drop them off as we discussed and place their items in our warehouse. Once that is done, meet up with us as soon as you can.”

  He nodded. “Yes, my lord.”

  I met up with the rest of the ninja at Ninba's warehouse. The two samurai that guarded it during the night had been subdued and were on their way to the drop off while I assisted the remaining ninja in loading up our eight carts with the merchant's product. It was hours of loading and unloading. Sensei with his cart and the last remaining cart joined us before too long. We had started a relay. When one was full it would leave for Anaido's and return. We had most of it empty by the time I had to go meet Teruo. He would only be a short distance away.

  “Sensei?” He stopped loading and came to me. “We have more than we need. Stop what you are doing and take everyone back home.” He nodded and bowed. I returned it while saying, “I will meet you there when I am done here.”

  I saw them closing up the place while I walked off to get Teruo. He was waiting for me in the shadows of another storehouse just down from the closed up Yoriki hut. He followed me without comment. By the time we got there the place was still and quiet. Sensei and his men were long gone.

  I pointed. “I need that warehouse and only that warehouse, burned down to nothing.” He nodded.

  After a few moments of arm waving, dancing and some kind of light singing I noticed flames slowly come to life all along the base of the building. The entire building was encircled at its base. I stayed there with him controlling it until the alarm was sounded across the district. Someone had noticed the fire. A fire in a Giapanese city was a serious problem. If they got out of control, and they did, then fire would destroy everything. With all of our structures being built out of wood it was not unheard of for an entire city to be decimated by a large fire. It was only a few moments before the Bikeshi showed up and began to fight the fire.

  I had Teruo stop what he was doing and moved him to a more discreet location from where he could continue. I pulled the shadows around us as he worked. The Bikeshi did a good job but they were not able to subdue the flames until the entire structure was gone. They were, of course, able to keep it from spreading. This was no small victory for them or our city.

  Teruo and I slipped away as they were finishing up and making sure everything was doused in water. We parted a few blocks from there. I told him I was in his debt and he told me he was just happy to help. After that, he headed back to the castle while I went to join my associates.

  Ketsumempo was directing the Sensei and his students on what to put into our two carts. Only the Bandai items would be going with us. The rest stayed here. They were just about done by the time I arrived. They inquired as to how it had gone and were very pleased no one else was hurt. Most of the ninja would get some rest while two went to keep track of our Hokkaido. I didn't want any surprises so they were tasked with tracking them until the merchant left town.

  Once we finished up, Ketsumempo and I strolled through the Toshi. It was early morning by now. Thankfully, we had rested before all of this started. This helped, but all of the running around, loading and unloading, did make the two of us a little fatigued. Still, the walk was part of the story. We strolled through the peasant's part of town where I told her all of the stories that had happened to me there as a child. On the way we saw many people I knew and I introduced her to many of them. Once they knew whose daughter she was they became very respectful but very honored. We continued in this relaxed fashion until we found who I was looking for, Chi, on his morning patrol with his Doshin and the rest of his unit.

  “Hello... Chi.” I sneered.

  He bowed and sneered back, “Hello, Hiro ssssssama.”

  Everyone else relaxed a little when they saw us laugh. “Doshin Arisu, how are you this morning?”

  She bowed and responded, “Very well, Hiro sama. Domo arigato.”

  Arisu was a very gifted policewoman from what I heard and, as an aside, I think Chi had a bit of a crush on her. I introduced Ketsumempo and her lineage. They were all very flattered that I would go out of my way to make them known to her.

  Chi asked, “How goes your stroll?”

  Ketsumempo replied with a smile. “Very interesting. Hiro was showing me all of the places he adventured with you as a child.” He looked a little concerned but she went on to ask, “And how is your morning stroll?”

  Doshin Arisu replied, “Better than last night.” We both looked a little confused at her. “There was a fire in the warehouse district. All of us were rushed out of our homes to help out. It lasted almost an hour.”

  “Is everyone alright?” I asked

  “Yes, the Bikeshi kept it under control. It just took forever. Poor old man Chujitsuna lost his warehouse though.”

  I asked, “Fujibayashi Chujitsuna?” They all nodded. “The only money he gets is from renting that place.” I looked at Ketsumempo. “He is one of the people we used to do jobs for as children. He is a very nice man.”

  She asked, “Is there nothing that can be done for him?”

  I smiled. “Yes. There is. My lady, let us go visit my old friend Chujitsuna.”

  Doshin Arisu and Chi just smiled and bowed goodbye.

  We returned it as we headed off towards Chujitsuna's home. We knocked on the wooden door to his small home. He answered looking very red eyed and sad.

  “I bumped into Chi a few moments ago and he told me of your loss.”

  “Your sympathy is very flattering to me, Hiro sama.”

  “Actually I came to do more than flatter. I cannot see you go hungry when I can do something about it. Would this help, Chujitsuna san?” I asked as I handed him an Oban.

  His eyes lit up as he said, “That would cover a new warehouse and then some, Hiro sama.”

  “Then perhaps two would be better.” I handed him a second Oban.

  He was ecstatic. After many thanks were given I went away very happy with Ketsumempo. Later that day Ninba and his men made a loud ruckus after waking up in the ditch behind an opium den. That would be where customers of the den were dumped when they had outstayed their welcome. They were very disagreeable to Doshin Arisu when she arrived with her men. Since they swore they were samurai the Yoriki had to be called in while they were being bound and detained, in their undergarments.

  Yoriki Kenshin is not known to be a pleasant man at the best of times. Once he arrived on the scene and was faced by seven men claiming to be samurai without any proof to support it he of course drug them before the Machi-bugyo, Goemon Tadao. By this time there were witnesses that could attest to Ninba's identity so they were released. The Machi-bugyo was kind enough to grant them clothing and katana.

  Without ceremony the night guard from Ninba's room committed seppuku. One of our Castle guards was quick enough to ascertain what he was doing and took his head off before he uttered a sound, which would have dishonored the Hokkaido samurai. After seeing this, and having learned the fate of their warehouse, the merchant took the rest to his rooms at the inn. They found nothing there so they quietly left town. I had released the Sensei and his ninja upon hearing this. By coincidence, the path back to Shiro no Shotoku was the same as Ninba's path home to Hokkaido. It is odd but no one ever saw him or his men again.

  I soon learned that Taisa Sashi and his men had found the caravan. Some ronin had attacked it and taken everything. They apprehended the ronin and brought everything back with them. All goods had been given over to Riko, to include the things that the ronin had taken from others. Though this last part was not common knowledge. The ronin had been executed or killed, so the only ones that knew were Sashi and his men. Riko was very pleased at the profit he was making, as were his backers.

  And all was right in the world... I can be such a yarou… Let’s just say 'yarou' means jerk. I headed to the “Natsuki Saki-House.” I walked in and found the owner, Nokizaru Osamu, managing the place. He recognized me as I entered. I had never done much work for him but I knew of him. He was known as a decent man.

  I walked over. “Osamu san. How are you today?”

  He gave a small bow with a smile. “Very well, Hiro sama. Domo arigato for asking. How may I help you?”

  I had returned his bow. “I am here to steal Okane from you.”

  His face faded to a look of concern. “Is something wrong?”

  I shook my head. “No. My man Anaido is swamped and needs the assistance of a good merchant like Okane. It pays very well.” I smiled.

  He smiled instantly. “That is wonderful news, Hiro sama! I was hoping something better would come along for her. I will go get her!”

  And then he ran upstairs. I waited in the main room of the inn. There were many people enjoying their breakfast and the place was busy enough that no one even noticed me standing there. Soon he returned at a much calmer pace with Okane in tow.

  She walked up to me with a look of disapproval on her face. “I do not need charity.”

  “Yes, well Anaido needs the help so you are coming.”

  She was quiet and angry the whole way back to “The Lotus Tea-house." Once there I found Anaido and explained what I was doing. He was very happy to help. She would get a quarter of what I made. That should get her back on her feet soon enough.

  A few days later Ketsumempo and I met our six ronin at the shack we stipulated to them when they agreed to work for us. I had spent the past few days paying my uncle for his work and material. And trying very hard not to let that girl distract me at every turn. I handed the men their traveling papers, clothes and weapons.