Dale Furutani - Kill the Shogun

Breathing hard, Kaze glanced over at Nobu, who was shakily getting to his feet. Then he looked around and said, “Quite a mess.” He looked at Akinari and told Nobu, “You’ll need a coffin.” Glancing at the yojimbo, who was clutching at his wound and turning white with shock, “Maybe two.” Kaze walked over to the yojimbo to see if he should deliver another blow to put him out of his pain. The yojimbo stopped breathing, taking the decision out of Kaze’s hands. Kaze saw the other two were still unconscious.

“I think we’re all better off with Akinari in the void. He’ll be reincarnated, but with the life he led, it’s probable he’ll come back as a particularly annoying mosquito. I’m sorry about the yojimbo, though,” Kaze remarked. “He was just doing his job. I wish he had done it less well, so I didn’t have to kill him.”

“I said you’re a devil, and it’s true! Boss Akinari suspected me because of your habit of sneaking into my room to talk to me. Now he’s dead.”

“Better him than you,” Kaze pointed out. “Boss Nobu,” he added.

Nobu scratched his head. Then he smiled. “I suppose you’re right. You’re still a devil, but this might work out to everyone’s advantage. Except, of course, for Akinari and the yojimbo.”

“What about the rest of Akinari’s men?”

“They’re my men now. Those two are still out, and the yojimbo is dead. No one knows what happened here except the two of us. I can say I slipped and hit the wrong guy, and then you managed to get free and kill Akinari and his yojimbo. No one will challenge me if I take over and blame all this on you. If that one”-Nobu pointed with his chin at the man Kaze had knocked unconscious-“dares to mention that I’m the one who threw you the sword, then he’ll be sorry. As far as the gang is concerned, you’re the one who did it all.”

“Happy to be of service, Boss Nobu.”

“Now I can be of service to you. You said you needed money.”

“Yes, and some help with other things.”

“There would be plenty of money if I could deliver your head to Lord Yoshida.” Nobu grinned, to show he was making a joke.

Kaze also smiled. “As I told the late Boss Akinari, it would be inconvenient for me to lose my head now. If I get some money and help from you, I am close to fulfilling a quest, and also discovering who actually tried to kill Ieyasu.”

Nobu sat on the dais recently occupied by Akinari. Ignoring the unconscious men and dead bodies in the room, he said, “Tell me more.”

I rasshai! ” The servant greeted the man at the door to the Little Flower Whorehouse with an enthusiastic shout. He also gave the man a close examination, because he was a stranger.

He was dressed in good but not sumptuous clothes, in the style of a merchant. He looked to be in his early thirties, with muscular shoulders and arms. He was not carrying a sword, so he was a commoner. Outside, the ink of night had painted the street. Some establishments had brightly lit lanterns hanging in front of them to advertise that they were open and to guide patrons to their door. At the Little Flower, however, only the light that discreetly spilled out from the door marked the entrance.

“How can I help you, sir?”

“I understand that you cater to, ah, special tastes at this establishment. Fresh taste. Young taste.”

“Well, yes sir, we do. However, you must understand that such entertainment is very expensive. I am sure the esteemed gentleman is very prosperous, but since you have not honored us with your presence before, I want to advise you that an evening’s entertainment might be very dear.”

The merchant reached into a sleeve and brought out a pouch. He poured out some of the contents into his palm, and the servant’s eyes lit up at the sight of gold. “Welcome, welcome, sir!” The servant slid open an inner door. A guard at the door immediately looked up, ready for trouble. The servant gave him a sign that all was well and asked him to fetch the owner of the brothel because an important-that is, rich-guest had arrived.

Within minutes a woman in a fancy black-and-yellow kimono arrived, with two young serving girls trailing her. “I am Jitotenno,” she announced, sitting on the tatami mat. She bowed until her head touched the ground. Her posture was humble, but Kaze suspected the woman was not. Her name, which had been taken when she entered the Floating World of prostitution and entertainment where few people used their own names, was the name of an empress who had ruled Japan a thousand years before.

The serving girls helped remove the man’s sandals, which looked new, and replace his tabi socks, which also looked new, after washing his feet. While they did this, the brothel owner cooed over the new customer, making small talk and flattering him.

Kaze was the customer. After getting money from Nobu, he had gone from the gambling house back to the theater Nobu offered to put him up at the gambling house, but Kaze decided it wasn’t wise to dangle too much temptation in front of Nobu, and simply said he would make his own sleeping arrangements. Kaze didn’t want his head removed by Boss Nobu, and he was careful he wasn’t followed to the theater.

At the theater, he had a tearful reunion with Momoko. At least it was tearful on her part. He was surprised that both Goro and Hanzo seemed happy to see him again. Kaze looked over the costumes at the theater but didn’t see anything he thought was suitable for the part he was going to play, so he gave Momoko money to buy an appropriate merchant’s outfit.

The Little Flower Whorehouse was a fortress, so the best way in was through the front door. To do that, Kaze knew he needed money. With money, all barriers would fall, and he could get them to usher him into the building and show him its inhabitants.

“It is most fortunate the gentleman arrived now,” Jitotenno said. “We are about to have a viewing.”

“Viewing?”

“It is an opportunity for our esteemed guests to see the children, and to select the dear one they would like to be with. As you can guess, our clients demand freshness and newness from our children. Since we run only the finest establishment, I have many agents looking for orphans and other children that we can introduce to our clients. We always have new children for our guests.”

Kaze’s heart sank, not only at the thought of a steady parade of new flesh coming through the Little Flower, but also at the thought that the child he was seeking might have already been sent away.

He was led to a veranda facing an inner courtyard, open to the sky. As Kaze had suspected, this was how the Little Flower provided light and air to the building. Three other men were already sitting on the veranda, comfortably ensconced on zabuton pillows, drinking sakè served to them by a young girl. The courtyard was lit by several torches and, although it was mostly white sand, it was tastefully landscaped with rocks and a few evergreen plants.

Kaze was seated comfortably and given a saucer of sakè. He gave a polite bow to the other three. They bowed back but didn’t say anything. Apparently the Little Flower was not a place where adults engaged in much conversation. When Kaze was settled, the showing began.

Jitotenno walked to the left side of the courtyard and slid back a shoji screen, revealing two musicians. One man proceeded to hit a shime daiko drum, and the other man held a staff festooned with bells, shaking it in rhythm to the drumming.

Jitotenno continued walking around the veranda. At the far wall she slid back another screen. A half-dozen children spilled out of the room behind the screen and into the courtyard. There were three girls and three boys, and Kaze judged their ages to be between seven and nine. Two of the boys engaged in a mock sword fight with light bamboo poles, and the third started fussing with a kite he carried, although it was obvious he wasn’t going to fly it in the confined courtyard. Two of the girls knelt in the sand and started playing cat’s cradle with a piece of string, and the third started bouncing a shuttlecock on a decorative oibane paddle.