"Oh yes. Strange, neh?"
"Yes. Many strange things are going on, husband." She dismissed the maid, then asked quietly, "What did Toranaga really want?"
Yabu bent forward and whispered, "I think he wants me to become commander-in-chief. "
"Why should he do that? Is Iron Fist dying?" Yuriko asked. "What about Lord Sudara? Or Buntaro? Or Lord Noboru?"
"Who knows, Lady? They're all out of favor, neh? Toranaga changes his mind so often no one can predict what he'll do now. First he asked me to go in his place to the wharf and told how he wanted everything said, then he talked about Hiro-matsu, how old he was getting, and asked what I really thought about the Musket Regiment. " "Could he be readying Crimson Sky again?"
"That's always ready. But he hasn't got the Fruit for it. That will need leadership and skill. Once he had it, not now. Now he's a shadow of the Minowara he was. I was shocked at how he looked. So sorry, I made a mistake. I should have gone with Ishido."
"I think you chose correctly."
"What?"
"First have your bath, then I think I have a present for you."
"What present?"
"Your brother Mizuno is coming after the evening meal."
"That's a present?" Yabu bristled. "What would I want with that fool?"
"Special information or wisdom, even from a fool, can be just as valuable as from a counselor, neh? Sometimes more so."
"What information?"
"First your bath. And food. You'll need a cool head tonight, Yabu-chan."
Yabu would have pressed her but the bath tempted him, and in truth, he was filled with a pleasing lassitude he had not felt in many a day. Part of it was due to Toranaga's deference this morning, part to the generals' deference over the last few days. But most of it was due to the killing, the ripple of joy that had rushed from sword to arm to head. Ah, to kill so cleanly, man to man - in front of men - that's a joy given to so few, so rarely. Rare enough to be appreciated and savored.
So he left his wife and relaxed further into his joy. He allowed hands to tend his body and then, refreshed and renewed, he went to a veranda room. The last rays of sunset bedecked the sky. The moon was low, crescent, and thin. One of his personal maids served his evening meal delicately. He ate sparingly and in silence. A little soup and fish and pickled vegetables.
The girl smiled invitingly. "Shall I turn down the futons now, Sire?"
Yabu shook his head. "Later. First tell my wife I wish to see her."
Yuriko arrived, wearing a neat but old kimono.
"So desu ka?"
"Your brother's waiting. We should see him alone. See him first, Sire, then we'll talk, you and I - also alone. Please be patient, neh?"
Kasigi Mizuno, Yabu's younger brother and Omi's father, was a small man with bulbous eyes, high forehead, and thin hair. His swords did not seem to suit him and he could barely handle them. Even with bow and arrow he was not much better.
Mizuno bowed and complimented Yabu on his skill this afternoon, for the news of the exploit had quickly spread around the castle, further enhancing Yabu's reputation as a fighter. Then, anxious to please, he came to the point. "I received a coded letter today from my son, Sire. The Lady Yuriko thought I'd better give it to you personally." He handed the scroll to Yabu, with the decoding. The message from Omi read: "Father, please tell Lord Yabu quickly and privately: first Lord Buntaro came to Mishima, secretly via Takato. One of his men let this slip during a drunken evening that I'd arranged in their honor. Second: During this secret visit at Takato, which lasted three days, Buntaro saw Lord Zataki twice and the Lady, Zataki's mother, three times. Third: Before Lord Hiro-matsu left Mishima he told his new consort, the Lady Oko, not to worry because 'while I'm alive Lord Toranaga will never leave the Kwanto.' Fourth: that..."
Yabu looked up. "How can Omi-san possibly know what Iron Fist said privately to his consort? We don't have spies in his house."
"We have now, Sire. Please read on."
"Fourth: that Hiro-matsu is resolved to commit treason, if necessary, and will confine Toranaga in Yedo, if necessary, and will order Crimson Sky over Toranaga's refusal with or without Lord Sudara's assent, if necessary. Fifth: that these are truths that can be believed. Lady Oko's personal maid is the daughter of my wife's foster mother and was introduced into the Lady Oko's service here at Mishima when, regrettably, her own maid curiously acquired a wasting malaise. Sixth: Buntaro-san is like a madman, brooding and angry - today he challenged and slaughtered a samurai purposelessly, cursing the name of the Anjin-san. Last: Spies report that Ikawa Jikkyu has massed ten thousand men in Suruga, ready to sweep across our borders. Please give Lord Yabu my greetings...." The rest of the message was inconsequential.
"Jikkyu, eh! Must I go to my death with that devil unrevenged!"
"Please be patient, Sire," Yuriko said. "Tell him, Mizuno-san."
"Sire," the little man began. "For months we've tried to put your plan into effect, the one you suggested when the barbarian first arrived. You remember, with all those silver coins, you mentioned that a hundred or even five hundred in the hands of the right cook would eliminate Ikawa Jikkyu once and for all." Mizuno's eyes seemed to grow even more froglike. "It seems that Mura, headman of Anjiro, has a cousin who has a cousin whose brother now is the best cook in Suruga. I heard today he's been accepted into Jikkyu's household. He's been given two hundred on account and the whole price is five hun-"
"We haven't got that money! Impossible! How can I raise five hundred - I'm so in debt now I can't even raise one hundred!"
"Please excuse me, Sire. So sorry, but the money's already set aside. Not all the barbarian coins remained in the strongbox. A thousand coins strayed before it was officially counted. So sorry."
Yabu gawked at him. "How?"
"It seems Omi-san was ordered to do that in your name. The money was brought here secretly to the Lady Yuriko, from whom permission was asked and granted before risking your displeasure."
Yabu thought about that a long time. "Who ordered it?"
"I did. After seeking permission."
"Thank you, Mizuno-san. And thank you, Yuriko-san." Yabu bowed to both. "So! Jikkyu, eh? At long last!" He clapped his brother warmly on the shoulder and the smaller man was almost pathetic in his fawning pleasure. "You did very well, brother. I'll send you some bolts of silk from the treasury. How is the lady, your wife?"
"Well, Sire, very well. She asked you to accept her best wishes."
"We must have food together. Good - good. Now about the rest of the report - what are your views?"
"Nothing, Sire. I would be most interested in what you think it means."
"First-" Yabu stopped as he caught his wife's look, cautioning him, and changed what he was going to say, "First and last, it means that Omi-san, your son, is loyal and an excellent vassal. If I had control of the future I'd promote him - yes, he deserves promotion, neh?"
Mizuno was unctuously delighted. Yabu was patient with him, chatting with him, again complimenting him and, as soon as was polite, he dismissed him.
Yuriko sent for cha. When they were quite alone again he said, "What does the rest mean?"
Her face mirrored her excitement now, "Please excuse me, Sire, but I want to give you a new idea: Toranaga is playing us all for fools and has no intention, and never had any intention, of going to Osaka to surrender."
"Nonsense!"
"Let me give you facts .... Oh, Sire, you don't know how fortunate you are in your vassal Omi and that stupid brother who stole a thousand coins. Proof of my theory could be as follows: Buntaro-san, a trusted intimate, is sent to Zataki secretly. Why? Obviously to carry a new offer. What would tempt Zataki? The Kwanto - only that. So the offer is the Kwanto - in return for allegiance, once Toranaga is again President of the Council of Regents - a new one with the new mandate. He can afford to give it then, neh?" She waited, then went on painstakingly. "If he persuades Zataki to betray Ishido, he's a quarter of the way to the capital, Kyoto. How can the pact with his brother be cemented? Hostages! I heard this afternoon Lord Sudara, the Lady Genjiko, and their daughters and their son are going to visit their revered grandmother at Takato within ten days."
"All of them?"
"Yes. Next Toranaga gives the Anjin-san back his ship, as good as new, with all the cannon and powder, two hundred fanatics and all that money, surely enough to buy more barbarian mercenaries, wako scum out of Nagasaki. Why? To allow him to attack and take the Black Ship of the barbarians. No Black Ship, no money, and immense trouble for the Christian priests who control Kiyama, Onoshi, and all traitorous Christian daimyos."
"Toranaga'd never dare to do that! The Taiko tried and failed and he was all powerful. The barbarians will sail away in fury. We'll never trade again."