The Disfavored Hero (46 page)

Matsu Emura shook with rage. It spoiled his princely posture. “He was still a child!” Emura shouted.

“Mukade Group kills children in their beds,” Tomoe calmly reminded. “The centipede is slyness under stones! You killed the children of the Imperial Swordsmith, not for honor but for the gold of the giant Uchida Ieoshi.”

It was surprising how the leader of Mukade Group seethed. The fey youth Ryoichi must have meant much to him. “For Ryoichi!” cried Matsu Emura as he charged, his face inscribed with sorrow for the loss of the gentle boy who was like a son. Tomoe dropped to one knee and hardly seemed to move her sword. Emura missed his mark and flew off the end of the deck, landing in a cluster of dwarfed pines. His stomach was cut open. Tomoe looked to where the swordsman had fallen and she was sad. He was not yet dead, but the cut was too good for him ever to rise again. Tomoe said to him,

“You should have been a more difficult opponent except that you let emotion guide your sword. The hardest lesson is often the last one learned.” Then she turned and slid the mansion door open. She disappeared into the lightless interior.

There was only darkness before her; but it was a traditionally built house and its corridors were in general easy to discern by the feel of her toes. She had, of course, left her sandals at the door. She slid one foot ever before as she progressed, making scarcely a sound. Her sword was drawn and wary. Mukade Group would fight harder now that their leader was killed; the desire for vengeance would go both ways. Ninja assassins might wait for her in one of the corridor's alcoves, or behind the very walls. The hand which did not carry the sword lightly touched one wall, helping her to feel the route. She listened for any sign of Ich 'yama, who would be hiding while waiting for the Hour of the Ox.

Her hand on the wall felt a slight vibration. She jerked aside when she heard a sword penetrating the thinness of the wall's panel. She thrust her own sword into that panel and heard a vague grunt. There was no way of telling which of the remaining five, among the original allotment of ten, she had just pierced; even if she could get the body out from behind the wall, it was too dark for quick identification. She thought about it no more, but noted for future reference that she had only four left to kill. For Ich 'yama, however, nine remained uninjured.

Rather than slink and search, Tomoe decided on a more overt approach. “Ich 'yama!” she cried out. “Tell me where you are!” It was a ninja, not Ich 'yama, who replied. Tomoe sensed the presence of the black-clad spy but could not see him. “Is it Kenji Hachimura?” she asked. “Kajutoshi Saitoh? Kozo Ono? Fudo Kuji?”

“Kenji is already dead,” replied the deep, bodiless voice. “You pierced him where he hid behind the wall. I am Shintaro Shimokashi of Mukade Group. By my
kyoketsushogi
you will die.”

Tomoe was unfamiliar with the weapon he named; but she suspected it was some kind of rope or chain attached to a sickle or barbed pole, for such were the tools only ninja used. It was a matter of the profoundest concentration to face in darkness a weapon the nature of which was uncertain. She heard a whirring sound and dodged to one side, but had been anticipated. A rope which felt as though it were made of oiled human hair wrapped three times around her neck, a metal weight at its end. The ninja drew her toward him, but could not hold her long enough to slash her with his weapon. Judging by the sound the weapon made when he swung it, it was shaped like a scythe mounted at a right-angle to a short pole. It would have sliced her but that her own sword cut the rope-of-hair so that she fell back from the slashing scythe. The severed rope was still wrapped tightly about her neck. She could not breathe.

The ninja threw darts through the narrow corridor, aiming for the sound of choking. Tomoe took evasive steps as she struggled to get the slick, constricting bonds from her throat. She felt the wind of the passing darts, so close to her face she could smell the poison on the tips. She had loosened the rope enough to gasp deep breaths when the ninja leaped at her invisibly. The blade of the kyoketsu-shogi made so distinct a sound that Tomoe detected its angle of descent. Rather than fall back, she rushed closer and, one-handed, grabbed the handle behind the scythe-blade. She felt the curve of steel cut her clothing but not her flesh; it stopped next to her spine. With her other hand she thrust her sword up under the ninja's rib cage. She heard his heart give a moist, startled “pop!” as she drew the sword out and pushed the scythe away from her shoulder. The ninja collapsed.

In the next moment there was a dim light showing through a door of rice-paper. A lantern had been unshaded. Tomoe carefully slid the door open.

“Come in,” Ich 'yama invited. The room was pleasantly lighted. Tomoe was surprised by what she saw. Ich 'yama had bathed himself. His forehead and jaws were cleanly shaven. His queue of hair was neatly tied, oiled, and pressed flat over the center of his head. He wore perfume, pilfered no doubt from somewhere in the house. He also wore fresh clothing: a flowing white kimono with a yellow crane embroidered on the back; and a white obi was bound around his waist. He wore no hakama or accouterments. He sat on his knees with his left side to Tomoe, facing a polished mirror as would a woman at her toilet. On his other side he had placed a little table on which rested a sheathed knife.

By the look of him, Ich 'yama might have been a man of royal lineage.

“The ronin is transformed,” said Tomoe, her tone sarcastic. “Bonze Shindo thinks you cannot be the masterless samurai you have seemed; but to me, this sudden finery which you have taken for the Final Ritual does not disguise your uncouthness. Do you think seppuku is honorable when you have another deed yet to perform? Kill yourself tomorrow! Nine men await your sword outside!”

“I await the Hour of the Ox and nothing else,” Ich 'yama said grimly, not looking at the woman. “Not only is it an appropriate time for death, but it reminds me of the ox-headed wind-god who is also the god of a man's love.” He sighed deeply. “You have injured my heart, Tomoe! I no longer care about pride or honor or duty. I am undone by a woman; it is a classic case! There is nothing left.”

Tomoe circled left to see Ich 'yama from the front. She was amazed by the beauty of him, as she had been amazed in the gardens when they fought with bokens until both were reduced to sweaty slovenliness. She would not reveal her impressions now, however; she must be severe with him to rekindle his sense of honor. “You are injured to find your equal in a woman?” she asked sardonically. “If it has so destroyed your pride, then do not die by seppuku! Leap into a cold river instead! Die like a lovesick peasant, not like a samurai!”

He looked at her then, and his look was hard; but seeing her, the look vanished quickly. His lips trembled and his eyes held sorrow. He said, “You have defeated me in worse ways than in practice-combat, and in more ways than you yet know. You spurned my love-poem and my love. Before we even knew each others' faces, you refused our marriage meeting, going so far as to kill our go-betweens and many of your father's retainers. I was insulted but impressed. You won my heart with those ferocious deeds!”

Tomoe was shocked by the seeming-ronin's confession. She exclaimed, “You are Kiso Yoshinake!”

He bowed slightly. “I am sorry I had to mislead you. When Okio's ghost requested that I help him achieve satisfaction against his assassins, I could not refuse the maker of my sword. Yet Okio had while still living aligned himself against the Shogun, who I serve as field martial. It was not possible to openly avenge the Imperial Swordsmith, so I came to Isso in disguise. When I found out you bore one of Okio's swords also, I thought that if you would not love the successful Rising Sun General you might love a roguish fellow instead. But you have no love, Tomoe! It has ruined me. My final hour approaches.”

Kiso Yoshinake pushed the mirror away and moved the seppuku blade and table to a place directly in front of himself. Tomoe said, “I won't let you die by seppuku! If you refuse your duty to Okio, I will kill you myself!” To prove her meaning she raised her sword above her head, standing near enough to strike. In response, Yoshinake shoved the little table and knife beyond easy reach and said, “Very well. I will die with no honor whatsoever. Behead me.” He made his neck accessible.

Tomoe lowered her sword. “I've changed my mind,” she said, trying not to reveal her frustration with the unreasonable man. “Is there no appealing to you? You will be remembered as a dishonorable man if you willfully fail your promised task. Think of your duty, not yourself!”

Kiso Yoshinake flashed an angry look at Tomoe and this time it did not melt away. “Do you care of honor? What is the duty of a woman of the samurai? Have you not equally dishonored yourself by evading duty? The story of Tomoe Gozen's recent faithlessness is already spreading through Naipon! The stories of her many exploits are told in the
kodan
-houses: how she came to be a favored hero; how she served Toshima-no-Shigeno, an equally notorious woman. Lady Toshima, say the stories, had been a famous author but set aside her career to be Overseer of her slain father's lands. It was her preference not to buttress her position by a carefully chosen marriage, and thus it was necessary that she be ruthless and clever. Toshima raised a fortress where her father's mansion had been. Her political genius and manipulation restored the valley to its former importance, and she was gentle enough to peasants that they happily repopulated the area. Stability was achieved by reasonable taxation of rice and rape-seed crops, of artisans' products in the new and rebuilt towns which sprouted throughout fertile Shigeno Valley; and riches were gained because of special gifts and tributes from the old Lord Shigeno's repentant enemies and the Mikado's supporters. To protect these holdings, Lady Toshima appointed thirty-six generals, many of them famous samurai, and over them the hero Tomoe Gozen was made chief.”

Yoshinake adopted an impersonal narrative and did not look at Tomoe during most of the time he spoke. She was flattered that he had taken to memory so much of her story, although it was disconcerting to think he had become obsessed with her even before the first marriage-meeting was proposed. He continued to recite what he knew about her life:

“So it was that Tomoe Gozen and Lady Toshima lived amidst burgeoning comfort and prosperity. They became models for emulation for other women of Naipon. It became almost fashionable to aspire independently. Naipon's holy emperor approved of these circumstances. His ministers were quick to say that six times in Naipon's history, even the Mikado was a woman, Jingo Kogo among the most famous of these, the greatest warrior of her age. But the Shogun, who had become the truer authority in Naipon, was concerned by the immodesty of these unmarried women. Rumor held that the Shogun's fretfulness was in direct response to happenings in his own court. The wives of his many retainers and his own concubines were becoming arrogant with men. Although it was customary that women of Naipon marry later than do girls in other countries, still their aspirations must always and appropriately be directed toward their capacity to defend households and eventually bear strong sons. If considerations other than these became fashionable among women, it would mean the downfall of the nation. Yet the Shogun and his advisers were patient for a while, hoping that either Tomoe or Toshima would marry of their own choosing so that thereafter their deeds could be viewed within a more traditional perspective.

“Then one day the Shogun attended the training session of young girls. The tiniest of these was his favorite daughter. This child was proficient with knives and spears and pole and was expected one day to become
kogo,
leader of castle women. Unfortunately, on the day in question, this girl betrayed to her noble father an unfashionable desire. She dreamed of ruling a vast estate in the manner of Lady Toshima and leading a mighty army as did Tomoe Gozen. Sadly the Shogun had to order his favorite daughter put to death, by way of example to other girls. The child, remarkably, killed her executioner and escaped, but was overtaken in the forest because she was too small to travel quickly. She was hacked to pieces by the swords of eight samurai and the pieces were left for wolves. That night the Shogun ventured to the shrine of Jizo-sama, protector of children, and lit incense for his beloved child.”

Tomoe found herself backing into a shadowed corner, as though trying to not be there, although she could not help but listen. The story Yoshinake told her was one that only someone close to the doings in Kamakura could have known. She herself had heard nothing of it before now, and would rather have remained ignorant. Yoshinake went on:

“Soon after, Nakahara Kaneto, the father of Tomoe Gozen, discovered himself compelled by methods variously subtle and forceful to decide important matters. Eventually he arranged a meeting between his famous daughter and a man of equal renown, Yoshinake of Kiso Prefecture. Any samurai—man or woman—would lose face without obedience to the father. Tomoe Gozen had always obeyed her father's edicts before, but she had become spoiled by his liberal treatment of her and because of her own glad fame. From that time on, trouble was to be compounded by Tomoe Gozen's selfish revolt. She became in the minds of many no better than
sanzoku,
who are worse than masterless samurai, who think only of themselves and benefit no one in Naipon. And all this while, the Knight of Kiso Prefecture, Kiso Yoshinake, pined in his heart and was lonely.”

Although the man sitting on his knees in the light of a square lamp had told a tale which judged her cruelly, Tomoe was curiously calm. It might be simple to deal anger for anger, but the words of Yoshinake cut more true than any sword, and she could not fight him.

Duty was not always a happy thing, but it was duty nonetheless. She had loved her freedom more. Although she had for a while convinced herself that vassalage to Toshima-no-Shingeno was the cause of her rebellion (for vassalage took precedence even above family), the fact was that Tomoe had arranged to be dismissed from that position so that she could continue her flight from the prospect of an annoying marriage. As men of the samurai give up themselves to a lord and master to be fully respectable, so must women of the samurai eventually give themselves up to a husband and his household. The inequity between man and woman, lord and vassal, samurai and peasant, god and mortal … these were not hers to question. Her failure to abide by ancient customs had resulted in unhappiness between the members of her family. It had caused her father to declare her dead. Nor had it aided Toshima-no-Shigeno when Tomoe was disobedient to a father. It had only caused Tomoe to stray from filial piety
and
devotion to her master. Ultimately it put her at odds with the bushido, the samurai code of ethical behavior. This had injured her growth tremendously, for she had not bettered herself each day since fleeing from Heida province. Now, even the vengeance of Okio was endangered as a result of Tomoe's stubbornness.