The Hand of Death Ch. 21

"There is a Komono in town called Goemon Chi." She nodded. "Go steal both of his jitte." She nodded and left.

And that is how we started. We set up the sleeping schedule I had when I was training with Grandfather and then scheduled everything throughout the week for her. We had to go to court but the rest of the day was ours. I made sure she trained with each of my ronin and we went to Sensei's quarters many times for training. I of course gave Chi his jitte back but he did not think it was funny.

Weeks passed and I found myself reading one day when Yumi told me I had company.

"Who is it?"

"Goemon Jun, my lord."

"The Daimyo's nephew?" He nodded. "Admit him."

I straightened my kimono while I waited. Jun was admitted to my room. I bowed to him and he returned it quickly.

"Jun sama."

"Hiro san, it is a pleasure."

He was a young man about my age and build. He wore an ornate Koga kimono with many colors.

"Have you eaten rice today?" I asked.

"I have, but arigato gozaimasu anyway."

I nodded and waited for him to state his purpose. He became a little nervous after a few

moments of silence.

"Hiro san, I thought it might be good for us to become friends."

My eyebrows went up. "Why this sudden feeling of friendship towards me?"

He looked surprised. "We are of the same age and I hear you know everyone in this town."

I paused a moment for effect, out of habit. "...Why do you want to have a friend who consorts with peasants?" I asked with a tone of suspicion.

The honesty was throwing him off his game. He wasn't used to that in court.

"My dealings in our Daimyo's court sometimes cause me to have enemies whether I want them or not. These people make plans, plans can be overheard. Usually, it is a peasant who overhears these plans thereby holding the information I need."

"And why should I help you?" He thought on that.

"That is why I am nervous. I cannot think of single reason. It would put you in my good favor but I hold no real power. I am one of my uncle's favorite nephews, but as you know, he hates you. So even I could not help you there." I nodded. It reminded me of a time a Yamabushi once asked me why he should help me. "Because you can."

"Very well. I will help you. If I can."

"Truly?!" I nodded slowly. "But, why?"

"Absolutely no reason what so ever."

"Domo arigato, Hiro san."

"I have not done anything yet."

"But you will. From what I have heard. You do not know how to fail." He apparently hadn't been paying attention to my last bit of work. "If you can think of some way in which I may repay you, please do not hesitate to ask."

"Oh, I will... Now, I know you must have some pressing issue or you would not be here making friends so what is the current problem?"

"It is a personal matter."

"I can only aid you for as much as you allow me."

"You have seen how Ryota treats me in court?" I nodded. "What do you know about him?"

"Yes, he is approximately thirty-seven years of age. He has two children, both boys. His wife died three years ago. And he is one of Masao's most reliable servants." His eyebrows rose.

"You do know him then."

"I know of him."

"He has found out that I had a child with a servant of mine."

"I can see how you would want to keep that quiet. What is he going to do?"

"He is threatening to let the information out if I do not aid him in court."

"Threatening?"

"Yes."

I sighed and rubbed my chin "Being a successful courtier he cannot be completely clean himself. Let me see what I can find out about him."

"Domo arigato, Hiro san." He bowed to me and I returned it.

"It should not be very difficult. Give me a few days. Until then, play along with our Ryota-ko."

Jun left soon after that.

I decided it was time to check in with my criminal friends, starting with Shotoku Junghai. I had heard he possessed a string of spies that blanketed our city. The stroll to his office was lovely and I soon found myself standing before the same ronin as before.

"Do you always get door duty?"

The ronin smiled. "No, my lord. I just seem to be your personal door man. You are here for my master?"

"Yes. I had some questions I was hoping he could help me with. Nothing that should cause him any trouble."

He nodded. "I will let him know. Please wait here, my lord."

And with that he entered the building. Soon he was back and motioning me in.

"You are very polite today. What is that about?"

"Last time you were here you made Junghai quite a bit of money."

I nodded. "I can see how that might make people look forward to seeing you."

Junghai was greeting me himself at the door to his office. He was very happy. He had tea

brought to us as we sat.

"Junghai san, it wasn't that much money. Why are you so pleased to see me?"

"It's not about the money." He smiled. "I'm getting married!"

I couldn't believe it. "No."

"Yes." He beamed with joy. "Because of you."

"Hold on. All I did was pay you and tell you she was owed money."

"You inspired me, my lord."

"I think the sake inspired you."

"That too."

He was off in dreamland again. For a large brutal crime lord he could be quite cute sometimes. I still wouldn't want to owe him money, but he was cute.

"You know you will have to keep her happy, Junghai san."

"Always a tricky thing with women."

"Yes, except when this one gets mad she's been known to cut things off of people."

"That fault is more common than you might think, Hiro sama."

We talked for a while after we stopped laughing. He knew of Ryota. He had made it his

business to know all of the members of the court whether they knew it or not. Junghai knew that Ryota had poisoned his wife. More importantly, he knew that the Koga Machi-bugyo had been bribed not to interfere. Junghai had said nothing at the time because the woman was a nuisance. She was meddling, bribing, and stealing. Basically, she was making it very hard for the man to do his job which hurt our House. That does not mean that the information couldn't be used against him now though. This was much easier than I had thought it would be. Junghai and I spoke for a little over an hour. I was definitely invited to the wedding.

When we had finished, I walked back to my house and wrote the information down. Who knew what, who suspected, and what it would take to get the information out of the servants and the Machi-bugyo. I had all of this ready for Jun when he arrived two days later.

"This is wonderful, Hiro san."

"I am glad it is helpful, Jun sama."

"How long did it take you to get it?"

"I had it a few hours after I spoke to you the other day. I did not bring it to you immediately because I did not want to attract attention. I felt it could wait a few days." He bowed slightly to me.

"Domo arigato. You are a wonder, my friend."

"I am just happy I could help you."

He sat and talked for a while until it was time for Aya-aiko's next training phase and I had to leave. The next day at court Ryota was very well behaved, to the point that Masao seemed

disappointed. Jun sat with us from that moment on whenever court was held. Jun started coming by every few days. His favorite topic was complaining about Masao. Apparently he really didn't have any friends. This became pretty normal for us. I never chased him off mostly because the poor guy just seemed like he needed someone to vent to.

Jun asked, "Why is it I am always the one griping?'

"It is what you love?" I answered.

"Very funny. Surely you have complaints of some kind."

"My complaints are well known where Masao is concerned. I hate him because he hates me. And he hates me for some... unknown reason."

He paused a moment. "I thought it was known. He hates you because you are one of his

brother's favorites."

I shook my head. "I have heard that as well but I do not think so. He and Eita have always been close. Something happened that I am unaware of. I just do not know what it is."

He nodded. "I should probably fix my own issues before trying to tell you what to do."

"That would be the mature response." I smiled.

"Ha. Ha." He said flatly.

I smiled before saying, "Have you tried getting drunk with him so he cannot be angered by what you say and then vent on him?"

He thought a moment. "That sounds dangerous, Hiro san." I nodded. "Have you tried it?" he asked.

"I want to carve Daimyo Masao's eyes out and feed them to him. If I were to get drunk around him I might forget about venting and instead go with my first inclination."

"...That is incredibly graphic, Hiro san."

I smiled. "The truth is, Masao hates me and there is nothing I can do about that."

He looked at me for a few moments and said, "What if there was?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Such as?"

He sighed. "Would you be upset if something happened to Masao?"

"Upset? No, I do not like the man."

"So if you were to find out about a plan to unseat him. You would..."

"I would ignore it! As long as the man taking his place was a Koga."

"He is."

I paused. "...You should be more careful about who you tell this to."

"I doubt that you are a spy for that selfish yarou."

"But others are. Now, we both know you went through all of this over the last few days just to see if I would aid you, so how can I help?"

He smiled. "There is nothing to do right now but I will be in touch if that changes."

"Very well."

We spoke for a time about horses and tactics, two subjects he enjoyed. After a half an hour he left, and I pulled out a scroll. I wrote down every word we had said about Masao, as close to the conversation as I could get. You wonder why? Because, whether or not you like your Daimyo is not important. Doing what is best for the Koga is all that matters. This is my job, hurt those I like and aid those I hate. All so that my people survive and prosper.

I was visited by Jun several times over the next six months. Sometimes he would need a favor, sometimes he just came to visit. I liked him. I still added to the scroll when he spoke of the plans against Masao, but I did like him... A sure sign I would have to kill him.

Aya-aiko was coming along. She really was promising. That part of my life was good. But not having a full picture of Jun's plan was frustrating. I insisted on a more active role with Jun in the hopes of getting the information. My point was that if they did not use me now what was the point of my being involved at all? He agreed to take me to the others. He said they were very hopeful at the prospect of my helping them.

I walked with Jun to a small shack near the docks on the river. We stepped inside the dimly lit room where eight others waited. I saw many men and women I knew. All were courtiers and generals in Goemon Toshi. They smiled as I entered. But what shocked me was when Eita walked up to me and said, "It is good to have you with us, Hiro san."

I nodded. "It is good to be here."

"Sensei will be joining us soon."

"I thought he was gone."

"Yes. Masao ordered him away so he is sneaking in for this meeting and will have to leave once it is done."

I nodded. There was normal conversation for a while until Grandfather arrived. Once he

entered, we bowed to each other and sat down to the table and discussed what was to be done. Masao was planning a trip to the capital. Once there I would have to sneak into the city and with Eita's help incite disagreement between the Emperor and Masao. The others would concentrate on planting information to cause Masao a loss of face. If we pulled it off the outcome should finish with Masao's seppuku. Admittedly, it was a loose plan. But if they had gone with a tighter plan with no flexibility there would be less chance for success. Once the work at the capital was done I was to rush back here and use what contacts I had to kill any popular support he had with the commoners. The others were well suited to do the same with the nobility. We all separated after the meeting and walked back to our homes on our own.

They were doing this because Masao was a corrupt evil man who was dragging our House down with his sick aims. That all sounded great. The problem was, I knew for a fact that our money was worth more now under him than any other Daimyo in the last hundred years. This was due to his loosening the holds his father put in place on the merchants. With a little more freedom they were able to make better business arrangements, thereby increasing the value of our coin.

At the same time he was assisting our artists and artisans with funding and support to improve their work so that Koga art and goods had become very popular. Not exactly the behavior of a sick and twisted mind. As much as I wanted the man dead...

When I got home I pulled out the scroll and wrote everything down. I didn't stop to think about who was involved, I just wrote. I couldn't go along with it. I wanted to, but I couldn't. Eita, I knew he had always had a rivalry with his brother, but this... I never expected this. And Grandfather? Why? I was confused. I kept writing. When I had finished I dressed in black and wrapped my long black sash around my head. I tucked my three piece daisho into my obi and grabbed the scroll.

I had to talk to my men first. They were working with Aya-aiko.

"I have to step out for a little bit. Aya. Do you think you can handle your training on your own after the others go to sleep?"

"Of course Sensei."

"Is there anything we can do, my lord?" asked Masakari.

I shook my head. "No, it is a small errand. Nothing more. I should be back later but if I am not then I will see you tomorrow."

We bowed to each other and I left. I had slipped past the guards of Shiro Goemon so much as a child that it seemed second nature to me. I concentrated on it anyway, just to keep my mind off of what I was doing. Once inside the castle, I found one of the secret entrances to the labyrinth and slipped inside. Traveling the halls of the labyrinth was quicker than I would have liked and before I knew it I was inside the castle itself.

I knew that Masao liked to sleep in his old room. Many of the rooms in our castle had magic traps tied to them. His old room was one where you had to have a light step to keep from turning on the twelve lanterns throughout the room. I exited the secret passages and walked down the hall to his door. It was very late and I knew he should be in there.

I misted over the wall through the rafters and down to the floor. Then just a little bit of shadow bending around me as I misted across the floor to a few feet from his bed. No noise yet. And I could hear breathing from someone on the futon. I squatted down and watched him for many moments. Eventually, I realized my mind had already been made up. I sat back on my heels. The small lamps along the wall all glowed to life. He immediately drew a katana from somewhere and pointed it at my face. To his credit, he was not afraid.

"Who are you?" he asked calmly.

"Your servant, Shotoku Hiro, my Daimyo." I saw him relax and re-sheath the sword.

He watched me for several moments. Then leaned over to the girl next to him. He was very nice to her as he gently shook her awake.

"Time to go girl. Gomen nasai but I have business to attend to."

She quickly rose and put on a light kimono as she left the room. I recognized her from court. One of the many servants of the castle. Her name was... Misaki, I think.

"Hand me my clothes." I did. "What brings you here at this time of night?"

"I must report a plot to cause you a loss of face and your life, my Daimyo." He nodded. I

handed him the scroll.

"Light the big lantern." I lit the lantern near the bed with an ember from a lantern in the hall. He read the scroll when I had finished. "Very thorough." I nodded. He looked up when he had gotten to the end of it. "Why did you not go along with it?"

"I wanted to... Your shinobi will tell you I sat here a very long time trying to decide. Should I do what is best for the Koga or should I revel in how good it would feel to strangle the life out of you." I pulled the sash from my head and stuffed it into my belt.

"I assume since I am still alive that you have made up your mind?"

"It was never really in question. The Koga have prospered since you inherited the throne."

"And if the Koga were not prosperous?"

"Then you would be a dead man, my Daimyo. And there is nothing the four shinobi in this room could have done to stop me."

"...Not exactly the answer I was hoping for, Hiro san."

"I am afraid that is as good as it gets. My job is to "do what must be done." If that means you die and I commit seppuku, then that is what will happen."

He nodded. "...And if I am good for the Koga?"

"...You have my report. What are your orders, Masao sama?"

He looked at me for several moments. "...Hiro san, the night before my father became a monk he had a long talk, first with my new wife, then alone with my brother Eita, and finally with me. I never found out what he said to them, and I never asked, but what he said to me was, "The Bandai are strong diplomats. Win their friendship and you win the Emperor's respect." I thought this was an odd thing to be telling me after he had read that scroll. "The Honshu are strong allies but are easily manipulated. Last, he said Shotoku Hiro will be the most dangerous man under your command. If he is disloyal, even once, kill him." I sat there confused.

"...I do not understand."

He nodded again. "...There is no plot, Hiro."

Realization took a moment to wash over me. "You wished to test me."

There was a long silence. Even the four other shinobi were fidgeting a little. "Gomen nasai for Ketsumempo's death and the way I twisted it to hurt you. I have always known it was not your fault... I needed you to... The House needed you to hate me, so that we could be sure about your loyalty."

"I understand, my Daimyo."

"I hope that you can forgive me, Hiro san."

I could feel the tears welling up. "There is nothing to forgive, my lord."

"You have always served our House faithfully, domo arigato for not letting me down, Hiro san."

"It was my duty, no praise is needed, my Daimyo."

He nodded. "...We will speak again in the morning.

"Arigato gozaimasu, Masao sama."

I touched my forehead to the floor, partially to hide my face. I turned my head from him quickly when I rose, because I did not wish for him to see me crying. I wiped the tears from my eyes after I had entered the hallway, and closed the door, but more came. I quickly made my way to the labyrinth and cried. I am not sure how long I cried sitting against the stone wall but I was still crying when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up. Shingan was squatting next to me. I hadn't seen her since the Bei-oshi. I did not know it at the time but Masao had sent her after me when I left to make sure I was alright. I grabbed her and kissed her. We pulled each other close and rolled to the floor removing clothing as we rolled. It was awkward and certainly uncomfortable and I needed it. Also unbeknownst to us, our Daimyo had dispatched two more of his three other shinobi after Shingan left. I would find out later they were to give us privacy. One of them whispered past us as we dreamed on the floor. I never knew they were there.