Chapter XI

  “Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without

  fighting.”

  “The Art of War”

  ~by Sun Tzu~

  The Koga would contact me from time to time with small tasks. I had to steal an artifact from the Nigata and hide it in the belongings of a visiting courtier. Listen in on financial plans being discussed by visiting merchants. Steal an original copy of the “Emerald Sutra” from a corrupt merchant. Little tasks like this were common. That was soon to change. I had been reading in the library during my second year at the school. While reading I was approached by a samurai of the Aka-Inu House. They were a small House whose lands were nestled in the middle of the Okayama territories to our south.

  "It looks to be a long night." he said.

  It was the code I had heard several times this year. I looked up slowly at him trying not to draw attention to us. We were alone in the library. Good.

  “Best if it is.” This was the counter phrase to his statement.

  He continued as he sat down. "Nokizaru Daiki sent me. There will be a retinue of the Karafuto House coming to negotiate with the Bandai in a few weeks. We need you to incite as much strife between these two Houses as possible. We need a war.” I nodded before he continued. “Or as close to it as you can get us. Do you understand?" I nodded again.

  "Domo arigato, Hiro sama." he rose and left. I finished my book.

  Afterward, I went to court. The Nigata Daimyo, Shun, was not present. He was first cousin to the Emperor and as such could usually be found within the imperial city of Teikoku Toshi no Kyoto serving as an Imperial aid. His Shugodai was Nigata Chosan. She was conducting court that day. I walked into the middle of a session on a Honshu courtier’s behavior in Toshi Towada. The topic of the Karafuto did not come up that day, or the next.

  To ask questions about a subject that hasn’t been mentioned, without looking suspicious, is almost impossible. It had to come up on its own before I could broach the subject. On the third day I finally heard it. A Karafuto Shogun was coming to discuss a trade agreement between their House and the Bandai. The Bandai Champion Shigeru, Champion is how they referred to their House Daimyo. He had to earn his position by dueling the previous Champion. The duels were usually just to the first blood, but some were to the death. Anyway, Shigeru would be coming from Toshi Towada to meet with them. The Karafuto Shogun would bring one hundred men, his aids and servants. As well as his daughter. They said she was a samurai-ko of great promise.

  All I could do was prepare my equipment, weapons and drugs. I wouldn't have anything solid to work with until they arrived and I could see what kind of Giapanese they were.

  They weren't scheduled to arrive for another two months. I used this time to find out what I could about them. The Shogun, Karafuto Kasuga, had a good record and was not known for any vices. I got a message through my only contact in town back to the Koga. I needed something to go on. The results didn’t help much.

  He was an honorable man with an honorable family. His daughter, Karafuto Eisai, thought guarding the north was the most important assignment any mononofu could have. She was an exceptional soldier, but usually people sided with her because she was incredibly pleasant. Most of the other Houses’ courtiers and samurai couldn’t bring themselves to disappoint her. This was terrible news. Their Daimyo sent them because he could trust them. These just weren’t the sort of people that lied. I would have to frame them for something when they got here. I hated that.

  To get my mind off of this I walked down to my local merchant, a man by the name of Shinnon Jira. He was a merchant of the Bandai, his family being vassals of the Towada. He was a pleasant man in his late twenties with long hair like the Bandai and a short mustache. I chose him because he seemed honest. He wasn’t, but most thought he was. This kept me on my toes when dealing with him and I always knew what to expect.

  Samurai frown on any mononofu getting involved with the workings of money, and since the Bandai assumed I was samurai, I had to be discreet. Jira understood this and though he might be able to use it against me, he wasn’t quite sure what my idea of fair recompense would be.

  I walked in to the small tea-house, covered in my brown cloak. I sat at a table near the

  back waiting for him to finish giving his orders to the boy he used as a runner. When he was done he looked up and saw me at my usual table so he came over and sat next to me. “Kumikazu sama, have you eaten rice today?”

  “I have not, my friend.” He waved a girl over and ordered us some food. While we waited I asked him, “And how has the RyuKyu silver been doing over the past few days?”

  “Ah, the day has been so long I cannot even muster the energy to lie to you. It has done well. One to two against the Shikoku you traded for last week.”

  “There now. You see? You are not too tired to lie. I believe you meant to say one to two and two copper? Did you not?”

  “Ah, as I said my friend, fatigue. It will be the end of me. I must learn to rest some time.” I smiled at the crook. He reminded me of home.

  “I will be happy to drop one copper off the trade if you buy dinner.”

  “Yes. A very fine trade indeed.” He paid the girl when she brought our rice and tea. She made sure to count it before she left.

  “And your friend who needed the silver. Did she find the Hokkaido wanted her pearls as badly as she thought?”

  “Wayo san? I do not think she has returned as of yet, my lord.” He was being careful with that ‘I do not think’ in his reply.

  “Oh? But I saw her arrive just last night. I would have thought she would come to you

  immediately.” I said mockingly. He thought a moment.

  “Yes. I was so tired when I spoke to her that I forgot.” I nodded with a grin.

  “Let me see the ledger, Jira san.” He removed a small book from his kimono, with a smile. I spent several moments looking through it. I saw no trace of forgery, and all of the information looked legitimate. It showed I had earned double my silver from her transactions, thirty silver, eight copper. I was very pleased. “Do you have my money, Jira san?” He nodded and handed me a small silk bag. I removed the silver and counted it. “You are two silver short, Jira san.”

  “My apologies, Kumikazu sama.” He handed me the difference.

  While I put it away I said, “You are so incorrigible, my friend. Are you sure you are not a Koga?”

  He became honestly upset at that. “My lord, I do have some honor!”

  I wanted to kill him. But instead I looked sorry and said “My apologies, Jira san. I was

  attempting to make you laugh. Not insult you.”

  He calmed some. “No, it is I who should apologize. I should not be so sensitive, my lord.” He seemed to be thinking. “Kumikazu sama, why do you do this? I know it's not my business to ask, but…”

  I looked at him. “Because it is fun, Jira san. It is fun.” I gave him a big smile, while he laughed for a moment.

  Once I had made up for my ‘insult’ I said my goodbyes and left. I put the money in my kimono and found a hidden spot in an alley. When I felt none could see me, I removed my cloak and stuffed it into my silk backpack. Then I just walked out the other end of the alley and back to the castle. I had been sending my mother the extra silver since I got here. One of the benefits of a secret contact from the Koga. She didn’t know where I was or what I was doing but it sure paid well. I don’t know what she thought of that. So far I had about three hundred silver at home.

  Eventually I stood with all of the other citizens of Shiro Nigata at the gates of the castle. I saw the Bandai Shogun’s honor guard approaching in the distance. Brave men with bold blue and white banners. At their head road Ren, Shigeru’s eldest son. I bowed with the others as Ren passed.

  He was the Daimyo of the Towada family and everyone loved him. Women adored him for his skill and handsome features, while men followed him blindly because of his charisma. I’ll give the pretty Bandai this much, he looked impressive. His father rode just a little to his left rear, looking dour and, well, mean. Across from him rode Mito Uji, the Daimyo of the Mito family. They killed Ino. Behind them rode Daimyo Nigata Shun. He was a pretty man and more than a little effeminate.

  There was a great celebration that night. Dancers, jugglers, and all sorts of other artists were there. My friends and I all became very inebriated. The next day we found ourselves in class with aching heads.

  Ashi announced, “Class! Your Champion wishes to meet you!”

  We all knelt and bowed as he walked in. We were in the dojo, where we would have conducted Jujutsu practice followed by weapons training. NOT the katana. Then we would have left to let those past their second year practice with their swords. Shigeru told us to rise as he walked down our ranks still looking angry.

  “They look good, Ashi san.”

  “Domo arigato, my Champion.” Ashi walked behind him with a very relaxed smile on his face.

  “Who is your best duelist?”

  “Mito Renkoiji, my Champion.” He nodded to that. Renkoiji was almost through with his

  second year of the sword.

  “And who is your best with a spear?”

  “Towada Hotei.” Hotei was about to begin his sword training in a few months.

  “And who is your best Jujutsu student?” They were still walking past the three hundred of us gathered here.

  “Fukushima Saburo, my lord.” Shigeru stopped and looked at him.

  I was very proud, my friend was mentioned to Shigeru. I glanced at him and he was beaming with pride. It would take me a long time to knock that out of him.

  “Is there a student here who could defeat all of them?”

  Ashi turned his head slowly with a grin and said, “Nigata Kumikazu! Come here!”

  I didn't know he even knew my name! I couldn’t stop to think. I got up. Stepped out of rank. And ran to my right to clear the students in front of me.

  “Yes, Sensei.” I bowed to them.

  Ashi walked to the wall and retrieved two long yari. They were practice spears, wooden poles about twice the length of a Bo staff. Shigeru looked at me and spoke.

  “You will defeat me, Kumikazu san. Yes?”

  This was bad. If I won, Shigeru would lose face. If I lost I would be disobeying him. Causing me, and my Sensei, to lose face.

  “Yes, my Champion.”

  Ashi handed us the spears. I stepped back and realized that near the entrance stood Towada Ren, Nigata Shun and even Mito Tsubasa. We bowed to each other and it began. He lunged forward with a strike to my stomach. I parried it away to my left with the middle of the spear, and followed that up with a ‘butt strike’ to his head, but he ducked it. When he swung up towards my stomach, I cart-wheeled in the air over his spear, and swung for his head with what would have been the bladed end, in a pulling motion from my left to my right. He ducked and hopped back driving for my chest with the weapon when he landed. I stepped out of the way and began to spin the spear from my right hand, behind my back to my left. This was to give me room. When he slashed down at me with his yari, I spun to my left swinging the spear wide in a tripping maneuver. At the last moment, I brought it in and drove up for his chest, knocking him to the ground. It was over very quickly.

  Everyone was silent. I glanced at Ashi expecting him to be concerned but he was smiling.

  Shigeru was starting to get up. I bowed to him.

  “I hope that was satisfactory, my lord?” He rose to his feet and watched me with a slight smile before returning my bow.

  "Ashi san, bring him with you when you come to see me after practice."

  Ashi bowed to him and sent me back to my rank in class. The training was grueling that day, but once it was over Sensei told me to get cleaned and changed, then wait for him outside of his suite. I took my time knowing that Ashi would be hours with the duelists. I was still at his shoji screen before he arrived from the dojo. A half hour later he stepped out of his room.

  "Are you ready, Kumikazu san?"

  I bowed to him. "Yes, Sensei sama."

  He bowed quickly. "Let us go then."

  We walked to the top floor of the castle to the suites belonging to the Nigata Daimyo. A servant waved us in and bowed when we got to the room. We bowed back as we walked through the doorway. I heard the servant close the screen after we were inside. I knelt with Ashi before Shigeru. He returned our bow and watched me some more. I got the feeling he was looking for a hint of something from me. The three family Daimyo sat near him. They all seemed to be watching me. I thought it best to sit with my eyes directed at the ground.

  "We need you to perform a task for us, Kumikazu san." Shigeru said.

  "Yes, my Champion."

  "There is a Karafuto representative coming here to make a trade agreement with the Bandai. He is bringing a daughter with him. This girl considers herself a great warrior though she has never been tested. She will want to duel with one of our Iaijutsu students. I need you to fight her… and lose. Can you do that?"

  This disgusted me. The Bandai! They are supposed to be this great House of moral Samurai! Something the rest of us are supposed to aspire to and emulate! Not… …To paraphrase one of my sensei in the Bei-oshi, they wax poetic about what it is to be a samurai, but they lack the courage to do it. I never believed her until now. They could find any number of samurai that could lose to their Champion and beat a girl but they needed one that could beat their Champion and lose to a girl.

  They claim to be great samurai, but always come looking for a Koga. The Honshu claim to be great samurai. Their motto is “The Mountain does not bend.” And they would die before allowing this kind of a meeting to occur in regards to their business.

  "Yes, my lord."

  "Do not lose too easily. I want this girl to think she won fairly. Boost her and her father's egos a little."

  "I will make it last several moments and then lose from fatigue, there-by proving her endurance is better than mine, my lord." Judging by his grin, he liked my confident attitude.

  "Very good. You may go now."

  I bowed and said, "Arigato gozaimasu for this opportunity to aid my House, my lord."

  He bowed. "Do itashimashite, Kumikazu san."

  I left thinking, maybe this would provide me with what I needed to do my job. A chance to get close to her... no. That is not true. At the time I was hurt. By this point in my life I had killed more people than syphilis but on some level I was still a child. A kid who dreamed of meeting his heroes and when he did? They turned out to be just men.

  With no other choice I waited for my prey. Two weeks later they arrived. The Shogun was a great powerful looking man. Confident in his abilities. His daughter though, she looked to be about sixteen. Long black hair, and a face… well the kind of face wars were waged over. The Shogun and his retinue were welcomed with a large celebration that night. The next day they were given a tour of the Nigata castle.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  When they came through the dojo at midday, class stopped. Eisai made a comment about

  testing her skills against one of the Bandai's students. She said that since she would be no contest at Iaijutsu, how about Kenjutsu instead? They pulled me out of class and introduced me. One of the other students was sent to retrieve two bokken practice swords from the wall. When he returned I took them and waited for Eisai to finish her preparations. I bowed and offered her a bokken in each hand when she was ready.

  "Your choice, Eisai sama."

  She took the one from my right hand and we prepared for the match.

  I fell into a left handed stance to throw her off balance. She began to sidestep around me to my right. I followed and waited for an opening. She lunged with a downward strike. I knocked it to my left and swung for her chest. She dodged easily. We continued in this manor for several moments. I would strike and she would block, she would strike and I would block. I don't remember all the attempts each of us made, but the crowd wasn't bored. Halfway through the fight I changed to a right handed grip.

  That gave me such an advantage I had to really slow it down a bit. She was becoming very tired while I was sweating but still feeling quite fresh. I made her work for the remainder of what felt like half an hour before giving her the opening she had wanted. I acted frustrated and tired and went for a big overhand slash. I screamed, Kai! as I dove for her. She slipped right, barely, and was able to stab me on the stomach as I passed her. It was a good hard hit and took me a few moments to recover. The dojo filled with the sound of raucous applause. It had apparently been a very good show. I bowed to her.

  "Domo arigato for the lesson, Eisai sama."

  She bowed back. "It was my honor, Kumikazu san."

  I offered to put the bokken away for her so she might continue her tour. She didn't seem a bad sort of samurai. They left after she had caught her breath. Ashi excused me from training the rest of the day. I went and took a long bath. I always had to be careful when bathing to make sure none of the Bandai were around. This was one of those few times I could bath in the light because everyone was somewhere else.

  It took little time to find out what rooms Eisai was using. I already knew the best entrances and exits having been here for two years. The meetings and dinners for all of the dignitaries went well. While they discussed, I planned. I misted into town and stole a small metal locket with the Mito family crest from a merchant. I then prepared my narcotic for the blow-gun. I broke the chain of the locket and set it in the silk package with the drug prepared darts of my fukiya. There was another dinner planned that night, so I hid the package in my room and calmly went to dinner.

  I walked into the main meeting hall of the castle. The celebrations had begun before I got there. There were many people present, most of them entertainers, acrobats, actors, and musicians. My friends found me quickly. I spoke with them jovially while looking for Eisai. It was quite lively with all of the entertainers performing around the room. I noticed most of them were students of the various schools. My friends made me stand with them near the artists. Eventually, I saw her and made my excuses to my friends.

  “Karafuto Eisai sama?”

  She looked up. “Nigata Kumikazu san, it is good to see you again.”

  We bowed to each other.

  “I had hoped to talk with you tonight, if you were not too busy?”

  “It would be my pleasure. Were you hoping for lessons on Kenjutsu?”

  I shook my head with a laugh. “No, only practice can help me there.”

  “It will be a moment before dinner is served. Will you walk with me through the gardens while we wait?” she asked

  I waited until we had gone a short distance away from the banquet hall before speaking.

  “Did you enjoy your tour of the castle today, my lady?”

  “Yes. Though not as much as defeating you.” she said while looking directly at me.

  I was becoming irritated. “Perhaps next time I will make it more difficult for you to win.”

  “Oh, I have no doubts as to that, Kumikazu san.”

  “Of course with your superior abilities, I do not know.”

  “Oh, I think I could only defeat you seven or eight more times before you FINALLY won, Kumikazu san,” she said.

  “Only seven or eight?”

  “Yes,” she nodded.

  “I once heard a man say, “It is not nice to kick a man when he is down, my lady.”

  “It is also not nice to hand someone a victory, Kumikazu san.” She watched me while we

  walked.

  I nodded. “Then why did you take it?”

  She stopped walking. “…I was not fast enough to catch it. I believed you had become

  frustrated.”

  “…I was not allowed to cause you a loss of face.”

  “Yes. I thought as much.”

  “Are you angry?”

  She thought a moment. “No, I suppose I am not. I just wondered. Are you the best they have?”

  “For a student, yes. Who else would you trust to lose and not make it look sloppy?”

  “I suppose that is flattering, in a way.”

  “It should make you feel that way.” I put a small inflection on the word ‘should.’

  She looked at me. “What do you mean?”

  “Nothing. Why?”

  “The way you said that. As if it was designed to make me feel flattered.”

  “I would not know, my lady.”

  “Yes. You would. What is it you are not telling me?”

  “My lady, where I come from we treat everyone as equally as we can.”

  “Go on.”

  “It is just… I have heard some talk, in the courts here. There are those who wish to misuse this trade agreement. It bothers me because they would not do it to a major House, but yours is so small they feel they can get away with it without your knowing.”

  She was shocked. “You are sure?”

  I stepped back a pace. “My lady, why would I lie?”

  She was confused. “What can I do?”

  “I am not sure. Warn your father so he may at least be prepared.”

  “Yes. That will do for a start. Tell me what you have heard?”

  I started to spin a tale of how the Bandai were going to give them just a little less silver on all of the goods they sent. I told her how everyone knew the Karafuto were notorious for not coming off of their island, so they would never know what the fair price was. She believed every word. I made sure she agreed, on her honor, not to tell anyone where she had gotten the information. She wanted to know who was behind it but I explained it was court. Ideas fly around all day with many people bringing up new thoughts, and many more agreeing one minute, and disagreeing to the same idea from the same person the next minute.

  “Why are you helping me?” she said suddenly.

  “Because they are trying to misuse you.”

  “But they are your House. Should you not be loyal to them?”

  “No. This is not my Champion’s work. It is the work of the courtiers. They have hounded him and the Daimyo until they have started to give in. If I can make it go badly for them then they will lose any control they have over my lords.”

  That she understood. It was a lie, but it sounded great! She still wanted to know who she was up against. I told her I would try to find out for her, for a price.

  “What price? You sell your loyalties now?”

  Before she could go on I leaned in and kissed her on the neck.

  “…I did not expect that,” she said with a smile as she touched the spot I had kissed.

  “That was the point.”

  Soon we heard dinner was about to be served. I walked her back to the hall with instructions to act happy like nothing had been said. She agreed and I left her to join my friends when we returned. My associates and I were seated at the far end of the room but I could still see where she sat. More entertainers came after dinner, but my target had become tired. Soon I saw her leave for the night.

  The meetings the next day were tense, but not too serious. I sat in the crowd of courtiers and samurai, not directly involved in the negotiations. Eisai came to me in the gardens afterward.

  “Things seem to have gone well today.” she said as we walked.

  “Yes. From what I can find out they are trying to be subtle, not offensive. The word I got was that they anticipate little supervision from your House when the actual products are being handled. It is then that they will skim some of your product from the shipment.”

  “That is months away. Is there nothing we can work with now?”

  “I am still looking. You may be able to thwart their efforts by insisting on Karafuto supervision of the transports after the trade is made.”

  “That sounds a little offensive. Does it not?’ she asked.

  I shrugged. “I am hoping it will send a scare into whoever is behind this. Maybe they will lose their composure and finally give themselves away.” She nodded. “You must remember to stay aware of those around you. Trust no one in these negotiations.” She nodded again.

  Over the next week I continued to feed her fabrications about the Bandai courtiers. I built up her distrust of the Bandai a little at a time. Whenever I heard a Bandai complain about them, I would feed her that courtier's name. She being a samurai would be more direct in her treatment of that person. She couldn't help it. By the end of the week the negotiations were going badly and her distrust was seeping over to her father.

  I had noticed more and more people watching us as we met up in the gardens so I arranged it with her for us to meet in her quarters from now on. When I first broached the subject she looked at me as if I had ulterior motives. And truth be told, if I had been of any other House, I would have.

  “Are you sure this is not some ploy to get me alone, Kumikazu san?” she asked suspiciously.

  I shook my head. “My lady, I am not trying to get you to spread your legs.”

  “Spoken like every man in Giapan,” she smirked.

  “…I am simply trying to help both of our Houses.” I said.

  She nodded. “So you are saying you do not see me that way.”

  “No. I am saying I am trying to see you as a friend and I would be grateful if you did not test me.”

  “Because we would not be friends anymore?” she asked.

  I looked at her. “Because I would fail the test.” I smiled.

  The truth is she was very tempting but there was no way I could disrobe in front of her. With what I knew was needed in this situation… It – just – was – not – going – to – happen.

  Later that day things continued to escalate in court. The Shogun had gone so far as to threaten

  one of the Bandai present at the negotiations. Ashi had seen that Eisai and I were talking a great deal. He wanted to know if I knew what was going on, so he pulled me aside the next day after class.

  “What do you know?”

  I shrugged. “The first night I spoke to her she was fine. But ever since then she has become more and more suspicious, sensei sama.”

  “Has she mentioned why?”

  “No. She has not actually said she is speaking to another Bandai, but she has implied it.”

  “Any ideas who?” he asked.

  “It has to be someone with access to her. Someone who could get to her when we are not able to see.” I shrugged.

  “Well, she seems to respect you, Kumikazu san. So stay close to her. Try to calm her down. And find out what is going on!”

  I bowed in acceptance of this great responsibility. I hated that I gave him the idea to see who she was talking to. It could lead him to our meetings at night, but sometimes when you are improvising a lie you have to go with it. I went in search of Eisai as that is what they would expect. I walked up to her in the garden.

  “I need you to slap me and walk away. They think I am the one helping you.”

  Without thinking she slapped me so hard across the face I almost lost my footing. By the time I looked back she was storming off. I saw several Bandai looking a mix of surprised and disappointed. I walked away like my heart was broken.

  Now, the Mito are a family of… … …above average ability in the art of stealth. And I had no doubt that everything I said to Sensei went directly to them. Since my lie to him gave away my contact with her at night, I knew I would have to check the rafters for the sleazy Mito that would be hiding in the shadows. Finding them was easy. Their Daimyo had stationed two above her room. I simply went to mist and slid my way onto her balcony. Then it was just a matter of waiting on the balcony until she came out after her maid had left for the evening. When she finally came out and saw me crouched in the shadows she said,

  “Surely you have some lead on who is behind this?!”

  “Eisai, we are being spied on.” I whispered. “There are men listening in so keep it down.”

  She nodded. “All of these people are nothing.” She whispered as she stepped closer.

  I whispered, “Like ants, they are nothing on their own, but together...”

  “My Daimyo is depending on my father for this trade, Kumikazu.”

  “I understand. I want it to work out as well. You must stay strong and get the best results for your House.”

  “I am already at the point of hurting someone over this,” she said out of frustration as she

  leaned against me.

  “This will work out. We will solve this.” I rubbed her back with my hand.

  “Domo arigato, Kumikazu.”

  I continued to stir up the situation until finally, some courtier I never bothered to meet, said, “Perhaps, the young lady simply does not understand courtesies. The Karafuto have never been very civil.”

  She heard him. With the Karafuto’s distrust growing as the week passed, the Bandai were also becoming less courteous in response. They had been insulting her and her father for days. She finally snapped. She shoved the little man across the floor until he met the wall. Weapons not being allowed in the meeting hall she picked up a small table and charged at his cowering form.

  “I will kill you!” she screamed.

  It was then I found out how brave Daimyo Shun was. He was not allowed to carry any weapons here either and yet he still jumped in front of her with his arms out to stop her.

  “Eisai san! You cannot do this!” She slowed for him, still angry. “This will not help matters, and would only hurt your honor. The man is no samurai.”

  She set the table down and walked out of the hall. As she left she said, “I will find out who is responsible for this travesty!”

  Her father suggested they all retire from the meetings for the rest of that day. Everyone left angry and confused. The treaty looked as if it would not be signed. I was succeeding. I told myself the reason I wasn’t happy was because I had too much to do.

  That night I changed into some darker clothes and wrapped a sash around my head and face to hide my features. I crept out of my room. I had access to a balcony at the end of the hall. Eisai was staying two floors up and on the other side of the castle. I went right for the shadows under her balcony and clung to the wall, waiting for her to sleep for the night. I could hear her storming around and her maid trying to sooth her. Eventually the maid left and she came to the balcony.

  “Where are you?” she said.

  I heard her pacing the balcony. She kept leaving and coming back to the balcony while I waited below. When the Buddhist temple rang the hour of the Ox she finally blew out the lamps and went to bed. I waited another quarter of an hour before I went to mist and crept up to the rafters.

  This was not going to be easy. The two Mito were on far sides of the room from each other. They were settled in for a long watch so that helped. Because of their sitting position against the supporting pillars that meant they wouldn’t fall the minute they blacked out. I misted up behind one of them and reached around with my sleeping potion tipped dart to prick his neck. He made a startled noise and reached for the wound but was out before he could do more. I just had to grab him and ease him back against the pillar.

  His friend could not see him that well in the darkness but he heard something. He was looking in his friend’s direction intently. So intently that he did not see me mist far out to the side and come up behind him to do the same to him. He gave a startled sound which caused Eisai to stir below. I held him up and pulled my fukiya. Before the girl could get her wits together I shot a dart into her neck and she quickly passed out.

  I put the weapon away and feather fell with the Mito to the floor next to her. Then I quickly misted to his partner and did the same with him. Once I had carried him about halfway to the bed I laid him on the floor on his back. These Mito were not wearing armor, which had made all of this easier. I removed his obi and opened his kimono. Then I placed his pants and daisho a short distance from the bed as if he had dropped them there.

  I walked over to his friend and did the same for him. Next I recovered my darts. The obi is a long strip of material that wraps around your waist several times. The two I had were more than long enough to tie Eisai’s hands to the furniture near the head of her sleeping mat, and her feet to furniture I moved to the foot of the sleeping mat. I grabbed the corner of the sheet and threw it off of her. Then, I opened her light kimono to expose her body. I used one of the Mito’s wakazashi to cut her under garments off and threw them to the side. I set the wakazashi on the pile of her torn clothes. Once she was nude I placed the broken necklace in her hand.... This is the part that still causes me to lose sleep.... I finally worked up the nerve to do my job.

  I took the sash from her sleeping kimono and wrapped it around her neck before I took another short pause. I strangled her with it. When I was sure she was dead, I got up and removed the bottle of sake I had in my kit. I poured it over both Mito samurai. I then took the one near the bed and placed him on top of Eisai between her legs with his arms out to the side. It would look like he passed out on top of her after he had his fun. I then placed a simple note in the hand of his partner that read,

  “Kill the disruptive bitch.”

  and the empty bottle of sake in his other hand. I took a moment to make sure I had not missed

  anything and then climbed out over the balcony and went straight for my other jar of sake.

  I had wanted to get drunk, to forget. But once I was back in my room, I couldn’t. I tried. I drank the whole bottle but it wasn’t enough. I sat there all night with my disgust and misery. I told myself I was just having trouble sleeping but I knew it was because I felt I owed her at least this much retribution.

  I was being shaken. "Kumikazu! Wake Up!" It took me a while to clear my head and realize it was Saburo.

  "What’s wrong?" I sat up.

  "We are at war! That’s what’s wrong!"

  It had worked. Why wasn't I happy about it?

  "What? War with who?"

  She was just a girl. I didn't care about her.