The three hired by Yoshimizu to steal the jade key had worked in the outer-compound, giving them plenty of chances to become petty thieves when their daily jobs consisted of gardening and blending into the background. Certain nobles who distrusted the assassins always thought of them to be a hidden threat, and apparently they did not like to be treated as second class when they were lords of their own lives. Doing menial work left them unmotivated to perform duties, which included being patient, so Shinji did not regret giving them a traitor’s death.
The night air was still and the moon hid behind dark clouds as he carried Yukio into her village on an indirect route. He came to the bronze gates and the samurai guarding it nodded respectfully and let him in. He went to her room and placed her in bed so that she would sleep well and wake in a known place. The day was dragging on him as he quietly slid her door shut, and his muscles started to ache only after she was safe. In the courtyard, he walked around bodies covered in sheets and the bloodstains where guards had been murdered. He passed a watchman and asked where to find Katsushiro.
When he was pointed to the room where the Shogun had been killed, he walked in making noise so as not to be rude. The General was kneeling respectfully on the mat where Hideyoshi’s body had been found.
“Where are you going to bury him?” Shinji asked.
“With his wife. It seems like an insult not to be able to give him the farewell that he deserves. I held a meeting with the nobles after you left and they agreed to follow your plan. We will bury the Daimyo in secret and let him live on in social policy.”
“You told them that it was your idea, right?”
“Of course I did.” Katsushiro continued to stare at the empty shrine. “Our elite warriors will collect at sunrise for a final charge against the west.”
“We’ll meet strong resistance,” presumed the ninja. “Yoshimizu is likely paranoid about an attack. There are plenty of hungry predators waiting for his province to show signs of weakness.”
“You discovered this on your journey?”
“Yes, when I killed two of the ronin who partook in our Daimyo’s death.”
“Yukio is home safe?”
“I shouldn’t have let her be taken in the first place...”
“When Hideyoshi ordered our strongest nobles into war, I allowed him to make the decision that left him open to attack. The failure of his honor will be ours forever, but we can do him justice by carrying out his wishes.”
“I let the ronin keep the jade key. They should be bringing it to Yoshimizu soon.”
“Such a pathetic thing to represent his ego, let them bury him with it,” said Katsushiro. “That satchel by the door is yours by the way. I had some food collected for you. I assume you’ll be heading out tonight to survey the western defense.”
Shinji looked to the corner and saw a bundle tied at the top. “What are you meditating about at this time of night?”
“About how I’m supposed to rule,” said the General. “I am not Hideyoshi.”
“He was a General in his father’s army and rose to Daimyo status the moment his father died. Be glad that your family is still intact.”
“I never planned on this responsibility. My duty was to fight and be ready to die. There is no thought to that, only movement. Now my decisions will affect the lives of countless children.”
“You could develop co-rule with other Generals.”
“No, with that you have different opinions battling each other and it becomes a race to change nothing. Even though the power of the Shogun is easily corrupted, what the people need is one person with the perfect view of what the province needs to prosper. Hideyoshi was given that sensibility from his father, I am just a warrior.”
“I’ve never heard a samurai be referred to as just a warrior. You should rule this land the way your sword rules you. Sharpen your intentions for your people and act accordingly. Be decisive and selfless about your decrees. Fight as a beast to protect your home, but restrain that power when you act on the behalf of peasant children who depend upon your mercy. A well-made sword will never break in battle, so shape your mind into one who wields infallibility. When you act, you will be swift because your energy is directed to that end, and always do your meditating in private, the way Hideyoshi did. When you are seen by the nobles, they will react to your confidence and believe in your decisions.”
Katsushiro hesitated. “What do you think is in the golden case?”
“Yoshimizu has trapped his soul within it, and getting the key isn’t going to release him.”
“If he’s an evil man, this battle will be justified. But if he was twisted by the death of his father and became driven to get a piece of him back, then even in our victory the lives he destroyed will float without peace or purpose.”
Shinji picked up the satchel. “All the dead have to do is realize that the war is over. No matter what reasons Yoshimizu had for killing his brother and having his niece kidnapped by dogs, he will suffer the retribution.”
“You have done far more for this province than any samurai,” Satsuma proclaimed.
“It won’t be enough. Even if we defeat Yoshimizu and his nobles, hungry mouths will sweep down upon what remains. Peace does not come to us in this life, it’s why we have to fight to deserve the next.”
“This is a responsibility that I did not ask for,” Katsushiro said with solemn respect.
“You have to own it just the same. Try not to dwell on failure or contemplate the death of your friend, Hideyoshi is with his wife now and they shine in Heaven. If you want to see them again, step outside and walk through the garden. Good spirits reside there.” He stopped at the door. “Thanks for the food, but I need one more thing.”
“What is it?”
“Your fastest horse.”
* * * * *
Shinji raced across the grasslands as the clouds were swept away, leaving the stars illuminated. He aimed for the coastline, knowing that travel would be smoother on compacted sand than wet grass. The blood of dead soldiers was seeping into the Earth that gave birth to them, but some nutrients would fortify the soil as decay poisoned the areas wrought by putrescence. He rode hard and swore he could hear the war commencing.
If the spirits didn’t know that it was over, they might fail to accept their fate. The battle could rage forever if the trauma surrounding them would not let go, driving the lives sacrificed to wander the territory without rest. He watched for clandestine soldiers patrolling the area of the western province and assumed that the ronin would be delayed in reaching the capitol. The marshlands were difficult terrain to cover, especially for outsiders who didn’t know the area well.
Rainwater fed the wetlands from the mountain range to the north. The density of wildlife threatened even seasoned samurai with predators beyond this world. The healer Takeda had once traveled to that area when it was first yoked under the rule of Hideyoshi’s father, but he quickly came back to his home in the peaceful forest. When Shinji later asked him why he cut his travels short, he replied, “Too many voices.”
After his horse got tired of sprinting, Onozawa slowed their pace and took the opportunity to eat. He knew that Katsushiro would make a good replacement for Hideyoshi because the two had always been on the same page about the best method of rule. The problem would be running both provinces efficiently and keeping the guilds out long enough to rebuild. The western noble families would have to be displaced if they supported the current ruler, and the rest would provide their loyalty with taxes. If the peasants rebelled against ineffective leadership and were disgusted with the idea of trading one tyrant for another, the only revolution that might persist could be subdued by the idea of their ownership of the land.
Even if the provinces were united, Yukio would need tutoring and education to be more powerful than women were allowed to be. She had a will too strong to obey the blessed life and stay locked behind bronze gates that barred her fr
om the world. She would be given the splendor of wealth and honored by those who understood her history as a Princess to a murdered King. Her power would be absolute because Katsushiro would never deny her a say in the government out of respect for Hideyoshi. The way Rumiko gravitated towards the knowledge she found in her father’s library, Yukio would inevitably seek the visceral experience of travel, and Shinji knew that she would need his guidance.
He saw hordes of dragonflies hovering over the grasslands and welcomed the tranquility of the marshes that eroded the coastline, leaving roots suspended like fingers stretching into the saltwater. He found fruit growing wild when he entered the jungle, and picked some as he tied his horse in a place that could be reached in a hurry. Moving on alone, he followed the wall of the outer-sanctum, where attendants to the nobles were housed.
As watchmen patrolled the empty streets, he circled a wealthy neighborhood that the Generals had drenched in excess. The nobles moved there when Hideshi Murai extended his reign, and their elaborate palaces took up so much territory that they extended their homes into the marshlands. Within a generation of rebuilding, they felt like the undisputed rulers of the western province, entitled to the land as much as the Shogun himself.
Shinji neared the Governor’s compound and saw groups of samurai dressed in long robes while wandering along torchlit roads. They were speaking to each other as if nothing was out of the ordinary. When Katsushiro and his army would come to lay siege to the west, they would be the ones to hold onto tradition and refuse to surrender.
Onozawa found a tree next to the wall and climbed to the inner-compound. He saw young women who were likely concubines, dressed in lavish kimonos and congregating around one of the buildings. Something in their eyes made him think that they were slaves.
Inside the gate, the most powerful nobles waited patiently to speak with their Daimyo, too relaxed to be aware of the danger they were in. Even if the eastern province did not level their homeland, the weakness of their tyrant would attract the crime guilds. As always, the peasants who constituted the largest percentage of the population would be hardest hit. Working to harvest the land, build weapons for the army, and create the crafts that enriched the higher classes, it was their effort that lifted the nobles. For that they were given protection and stability.
If Katsushiro broke the elite power structure and gave the land to the peasants, a new kind of freedom would be provided to those who worked for it. If all was handled with humility, they would live out meager, unhealthy lives and still be capable of enjoying the small amount of happiness they were allowed in this world. With Yoshimizu perverted by his desire for power and his samurai poisoned by an obedience that made them docile, they would clearly need new leadership.
Shinji remembered how easily the poor became prey as he jumped to the adjacent rooftop. He ran along the faded red tiles to the far end of the enclosure, looking for the most regal building. He heard a heated discussion in the courtyard outside the Shogun’s private quarters and saw Yoshimizu sitting with his Generals, a gaunt man with an oval head and thin mustache hanging below the corners of his mouth. The years weighed on him with his stressful preoccupation and he appeared to be a man who never rested from his obsessions.
“They will not ride on us!” a noble declared.
“I guarantee you, they will,” said Yoshimizu. “But it will be the death throes of the eastern province as it shatters under its own weight.”
“Why are you so confident when you lost the war?”
“We lost the war, and now they will take their revenge.”
“We never agreed to bring war to our old province. You kept our best samurai here to protect yourself.”
“You decided against a great campaign to unite the Yamato Plains with glory not known since my father’s death,” the Daimyo barked. “You may not have wanted to fight, but none of you complained when I promised to grant you the land I conquered with mercenaries.”
“But you failed, and now your actions will bring upon us the repercussions of your appetite. What are you not telling us?”
“I’m telling you all that matters, I have assured the future of our province.”
“With who, these dogs?” The samurai referred to the ronin who stood beside the group with sarcastic grins. It was a statement made to incite a fight, but the disgraced warriors who had killed Hideyoshi ignored the insult.
“Your father gave us this land,” a noble proclaimed. “And after you sought war with your brother, the eastern province stands victorious. You must accept this.”
“I sought war? I seek it, to regain the honor my father gave away,” said the red-faced Shogun.
“Why do you not seek counsel with Hideyoshi?”
Yoshimizu glanced at his wrinkled hands of skin like an old farmer. “It doesn’t matter now.”
“What does that mean? You sold some of our crops to finance your war. Now that you’ve lost, you wish us to believe that we are no worse off?”
“The storehouses are full as I promised,” said the Daimyo. “We have plenty of food to last through the year.”
“It will do us little good if we do not survive the week. Your father earned the power granted by his ancestors, he fought to insure the safety of his people. On his deathbed, he gave it to us out of respect for our ability to manage it. You whimper and whine like a child over the honor your father bestowed upon you!”
“I was your General time and again, have you forgotten that? I bled as much to gain this territory held second to our home in the east. This was a demotion, my father betrayed me!” Yoshimizu yelled, and the nobles fell silent to his outburst. “If you do not protect our province, history will repeat itself. Only this time it will be your dead bodies lining the streets.”
“Speak to your brother,” a General proposed. “Hideyoshi is a wise man with a forgiving heart.”
“It is too late for discussion. Ready yourselves, the eastern province will attack us soon. If we drive them away, our homeland will be returned to us for all we have endured.” Yoshimizu left the group, followed by the ronin. The nobles continued to speak among themselves as they filtered from the meeting.
Shinji watched the Shogun disappear into a building near the jungle that stretched to the northern wall of the inner-compound. He traversed the rooftops silently before jumping to the moist grass near the walkway, then he rolled beneath the stilts that held the building above unstable ground. When he was directly under the Daimyo’s quarters, he strained to hear.
“We don’t know who he was, but he took the girl.”
“The girl is inconsequential,” said Yoshimizu. “As long as you brought the key.”
“And that bonus you promised us?”
“The payment was to return what I told you to get, not to stop at a brothel and give the enemy time to find you.”
“It was raining like a monsoon. Did you want us to fall ill and become too weak to protect you?”
“I will pay you double if you stay and help us fight,” Yoshimizu offered.
“We already lost two of our friends.”
“Then stay and just protect me.”
“Only if you pay us up front and give us access to your women.”
“You’re no good to me if you are distracted by lust.”
The group of ronin turned to walk away. “Then we are no good to you at all.”
“Wait!” Yoshimizu exclaimed, and Onozawa heard his footsteps scramble across the floor. “Pick out a few ladies that suit your needs, but bring them from the inner-sanctum and use them in one of my guest houses. I want you close to me, just in case.”
“Stress will kill you as sure as any army. You would do well to enjoy your luxury.”
“I’ll worry about my own mood,” said the Daimyo. “Just do your job.”
Shinji heard the ronin exit the room and cross the walkway in the direction of the concubines. When he was sure that no one was left behin
d, he stepped quietly to the back door and slid open the wooden frame.
Yoshimizu was facing away from him as he fiddled with something. After a loud click, he fell to his knees and buried his face in his hands. “What have I done?” he said, a tremble carrying his voice from the utter breakdown of his conscience.
“You had your brother murdered,” Shinji reminded him. “Your niece was kidnapped by your order and mercenaries were sent to war against your people.”
The Shogun turned without any surprise left in him. “Are you the one who attacked the ronin?”
“I’m the one who will bring balance to your insanity.”
Yoshimizu threw the golden case to the floor. “Kill me, I will not scream for help.”
“It wouldn’t do any good if you tried.”
“Do you want to see what all of this was for?” said the Shogun.
“I know what this was for. Beneath that righteous exterior, you’re a bumbling and frightened child who betrayed his responsibility just to get back at his father.”
His eyes welled up with tears. “There isn’t enough food to last until next year’s harvest. The people will begin to starve in the middle of winter when my lies no longer remain hidden.”
“Then feel lucky that I’ll relieve you of your dishonor.”
“Hideyoshi’s wife was mine first,” said the Daimyo. “I loved her from a distance. Before I could share my heart with her, I was sent here. I would’ve had a family, Yukio should have been my daughter. Perhaps I might have saved her mother from the illness that destroyed her.”
Shinji pondered the revelation. “So you had her kidnapped in the hope of taking back some of your supposed destiny?”
“She should have been mine.”
“She is too strong to follow your demented desires.”
“I would have forced her to love me...”
“Is that how you share your heart?”
“I have nothing else,” said the weeping Shogun.
“You had everything. You had a kingdom, but your ingratitude took your pride so you stole your brother’s life.”