Dale Furutani - Kill the Shogun

Normally, a group of children playing would bring joy to Kaze’s heart, tinged with sadness over the loss of his own children in the war that made Ieyasu Shogun. In this case, there was only sadness. The play of the children had no spontaneity or laughter. It was a carefully rehearsed sham to display human flesh.

Kaze closely examined the faces of the girls. It had been years since he had seen the child, but none of these girls looked even remotely like Kaze’s former Lord and Lady. Kaze’s heart, which was already low at the sight of these children, sank even lower when he saw that none of the girls was the child he was looking for. For the first time in almost three years of searching, Kaze was discouraged.

Kaze looked at the faces of his three fellow customers, and he had to fight to keep a look of revulsion off his own face. The others were watching the children intently, two watching the girls and one watching the boys. On their faces were expressions of pure lust, the kind of lust a drunken teenage boy might have when he went to a brothel to lose his virginity. To see this expression on the faces of grown men when they were looking at children disgusted Kaze.

To Kaze, once a child was past infancy, it was a small person. The child was expected to work and learn and contribute to the household, especially if it was a farm household, as most were. Even though a child was a small person, there were many things that a child could not do until they had gained the experience of years. A girl might be married at fourteen, but at the age of the children in the courtyard, they were supposed to be years away from the mysteries of sex. To see how grown men could view such unformed beings as sexual partners was beyond Kaze’s understanding.

Jitotenno, who had moved to the right side of the courtyard, raised her hand, and the musicians stopped playing. The children immediately dropped their toys and sat on the sand, in a clearly rehearsed move.

“Now, esteemed guests, I would like to present to you the most delicate flower of the Little Flower. She is our most favorite entertainer, and has been for years, Little Chrysanthemum, Kiku-chan!” She dramatically slid open a screen and a frail girl stepped out of the room and onto the veranda. She was dressed in the finest silk kimono, a deep red with a pattern of yellow and white chrysanthemums on it. A matching obi was tied, and her hair was dressed as if she were going to a shrine on New Year’s Day.

Kaze’s breath caught in his throat. Her face was a younger image of the Lady’s. The same smooth cheeks, the same small mouth, the same delicate eyebrows that perfectly accented the eyes. Those eyes, however, were not the Lady’s eyes. The Lady’s eyes were always lively and full of joy. This child’s eyes, her daughter’s eyes, were dull and lifeless. Her look was distant and withdrawn, as if by crawling into some secret place inside her, the child could also withdraw from the life she was leading. It was a younger version of the face Kaze carved on the Kannons he used to ease the dead, but without the peaceful grace and tranquility.

Kaze had found the child.

He wished he had brought his sword with him-although he knew that he would have had to surrender his sword at the door of the brothel-just so it would be nearby in case he decided to abandon his plan and cut his way out. Kaze knew that there were probably several thugs someplace in the house, but he didn’t care. No one would stop him from saving this child, now that he knew she was here.

Kiku-chan took a shakuhachi, a bamboo flute, from her obi sash and brought it to her lips. She started to play. It was a slow, plaintive melody that carried across the courtyard with surprising power. The music filled the space and spilled out of the top of the courtyard and into the open sky. Once again, Kaze’s breath caught.

It was the same melody Kaze had faintly heard that night in the theater. Slow, haunting, ineffably sad. Through that music, floating across the roofs until it barely reached the theater on the other side of the block, Kaze had made contact with the daughter of the Lady and had not even realized it. Tears formed in his eyes.

Kiku-chan continued her playing for several minutes; then she put her flute back into her obi sash, gave a deep bow to the men on the veranda, and went back into her room. Jitotenno slid the screen back into place.

That was the signal for the other children to leave the courtyard and line up on the opposite veranda, where they could easily be selected by the guests. Kaze glanced over and saw that, despite the smiles plastered on their faces, the eyes of the children were apprehensive and even fearful.

Jitotenno walked over to the four men and bowed deeply. “I hope you have seen someone who will make your stay in our house a little more pleasant,” she said.

“I’ll take the flute player,” one man said immediately.

Jitotenno bowed again. “Kiku-chan, because of her great beauty and refinement, costs four times the amount of the other girls available.”

“I’ll still take her,” the man said.

“I’ll double it,” Kaze spoke up.

Jitotenno’s eyes widened slightly; then she looked at the first man.

“If you give me credit, I will pay a bit more,” he said.

Kaze took out his money pouch and jingled it. He would normally never do something as crude as this, but he felt in this company the gesture was suitable.

At the promise of so much cash, Jitotenno said to the first pedophile, “I will let you stay with one of the other girls at a discount, and the next time you visit us, I will make sure you spend the night with Kiku-chan. I hope that is satisfactory. After all, Kiku-chan is not a virgin, despite her virginal appearance, so you will not lose any advantage by letting this gentleman spend tonight with her. In fact, you will have your pleasure with both Kiku-chan and another of these adorable children, and at a substantial savings. I hope this will be acceptable?”

The man, not liking the arrangement but seeing the logic of it, grunted his assent to the offer.

“Good. Let me take this esteemed gentleman to Kiku-chan, and then I will return to see what girl or boy you other gentlemen have chosen to take your pleasure with.”

Kaze stood, and Jitotenno led him around the courtyard to Kiku-chan’s door. She slid open the door. In the room, lit by two paper lanterns, a futon was already spread on the tatami mats and a small hibachi with a pot of water and several flasks of sakè stood next to it. Kiku-chan sat on the futon, her hands in her lap, looking very small and vulnerable. She looked up at the opening of the door, her face registering resignation that she had a “guest” for the night, and not really caring who the guest was.

“For your safety, esteemed gentleman, we have guards who will watch the door all night.” This was a warning, so that Kaze wouldn’t try to sneak out without paying when he was done. “You can do whatever you like with the child tonight. Please excuse me for saying this, but if you cripple or kill the child, you will have to pay us for either the loss of her services or blood money. Otherwise, please enjoy her.” She ushered Kaze into the room and slid the door closed behind him.

Kiku-chan watched him closely. She had gone beyond the point of being wary with the guests, and was simply trying to see how rough he might be with her.

Kaze sat down on the tatami, a distance far enough away that he thought she might feel safe.

“Do you want some sakè?” she said.

“No.”

She sat silently, waiting for what would occur next.

“Do you remember me, Kiku-chan?”

“Have I entertained you before?”

“No. From before you were Kiku-chan.” Kaze spoke her real name. “From the time you were a child with your mother.”