Hiraga shook his head in wonder and sat opposite him, nodded a brief acknowledgment of Fujiko's deep bow. Yesterday, after delivering Tyrer's letter--with Raiko's amused compliance he had hired Fujiko for tonight.
"May I ask why, Hiraga-san?"' Raiko had said.
"Just to annoy Taira."
"Eeee, I think he left his virginity here, with Ako. Then he tried Meiko, then Fujiko. Fujiko made his eyes cross."
He had laughed with Raiko, liking her, but when he saw Fujiko he was bewildered that his enemy found the girl attractive. She was ordinary, hair ordinary, everything about her ordinary except her eyes that were unfashionably large. Nonetheless he hid his opinion and had complimented Raiko that she had acquired such a flower, who looked sixteen though she was thirty-one and fifteen years a courtesan.
"Thank you, Hiraga-san." Raiko had smiled. "Yes she's an asset, for some reason gai-jin like her. But please, don't forget the Taira is our client and that gai-jin are not like us. They tend to attach themselves to one lady only. Please encourage him, gai-jin are rich, and I hear he's an important official and may be here for some years." "Sonno-joi."
"That is for you to arrange. You take their heads, but promise me not here, meanwhile I take their wealth."
"You will permit Ori to stay?"' "Ori-san is a curious youth," she had said hesitantly, "very strong, very angry, very unsettled--a tinderbox. I'm afraid of him. I can hide him for a day or two but... but please, curb him while he's my guest? There is trouble enough in the Willow World without seeking it."
"Yes. Have you any news of my cousin, Akimoto?"' "He's safe at Hodogaya, Teahouse of the First Moon."
"Send for him." Hiraga had slid a gold oban from his secret pocket. He noted how her eyes glinted. "This will pay for any messenger, or expenses while Akimoto and Ori are here, and for Fujiko's services tomorrow of course."
"Of course." The coin, quite a generous payment, vanished into her sleeve. "Ori-san may stay until I think it is time for him to move on, so sorry, then he leaves, you agree?"' "Yes."
"Next, so sorry, shishi, but I must tell you it is very dangerous for you here. This is being sent to every barrier." Raiko unfolded a woodcut poster, a portrait, about a foot square. Of him. The caption read: The Bakufu offers Two Koku reward for the head of this murdering Choshu ronin who goes under many aliases, one of which is Hiraga.
"Baka!" Hiraga said through his teeth.
"Does it look like me? How is it possible?
I've never had a portrait painted."
"Yes and no. Artists have long memories, Hiraga-san. One of the samurai at the fight perhaps? Unless someone closer to you is the betrayer.
Bad also is that important people are seeking you.
Anjo of course, but now Toranaga Yoshi."
He was chilled, wondering if the courtesan Koiko was betrayed or was the betrayer. "Why him?"' Raiko shrugged. "He's the head of the snake, like it or not. Sonno-joi, Hiraga-san, but do not lead the Bakufu enemy here, I want my head on my shoulders."
All night Hiraga had worried about the poster and what to do about it. He accepted a refill of sak`e from Fujiko. "This Taira amazes me, Ori."
"Why waste time on him? Kill him."
"Later, not now. Watching him and them, testing, trying to guess their reactions is like a game of chess where the rules keep changing constantly, it is fascinating--once you get over their stench."
"Tonight we should have done what I wanted to do: kill him and dump his body near the guard house and let them be blamed." Irritably Ori ran his right hand over the stubble already covering his shaven pate and face, his left shoulder bandaged and arm still in a sling. "Tomorrow I'll be shaved clean again and feel more like a samurai again--Raiko has a barber she can trust, but clean or not, Hiraga, this forced laziness is sending me mad."
"And your shoulder?"
"The wound's clean. It itches but it's a good itch." Ori lifted his arm about halfway.
"Can't go further but I force it a little every day. It would be difficult to use in a fight. Karma. But that gai-jin Taira, if we had killed him, there would have been no risk to us or the House, you said he was so secretive he wouldn't have told anyone he was here."
"Yes, but he might have, and that's what I do not understand. They are unpredictable. They keep changing their minds, they say one thing and then do the exact opposite but not with calculation, not like we do, not like us."
"Sonno-joi! Killing him would have driven the gai-jin mad. We should do it the next time he comes here."
"Yes, we will but later--he's too valuable for the moment. He will reveal their secrets, how to humble them, kill them by the hundreds or thousands --after we have used them to humble and break the Bakufu." Hiraga held out the cup again.
Instantly Fujiko filled it, smiling at him.
"I was even in the office of the Leader of all the Ing'erish, within five paces of him. I'm in the center of gai-jin authority! If only I could speak their language better." He was much too cautious to reveal to Ori the true extent of his knowledge, or how he had persuaded Tyrer to smuggle him out--let alone in front of this girl.
As she replenished their cups through the evening, smiling, totally attentive, never interrupting, she listened avidly though appearing not to, wanting to ask a hundred questions but much too well trained to do so. "Just listen, smile and pretend to be dull-witted, only a toy," mama-sans drilled into all of them, "and soon they will tell you all you want to know without prompting.
Listen and smile and watch and flatter and make them happy, only then are they generous. Never forget happy equals gold which is your only purpose and only security."
"In Yedo," Hiraga was saying, "this Taira was really quite brave, tonight a coward.
Fujiko, what is he like in bed?"
Smiling, she hid her surprise that anyone could be so indelicate. "Like any young man, Hiraga-san."
"Of course but what is he like? Is he in proportion--tall man, tall spear?"
"Ah, so sorry," she dropped her eyes, and made her voice humble, "but Ladies of the Willow World are directed never to discuss a client with another whoever he is."
"Our rules apply to gai-jin? Eh?"
Hiraga asked.
Ori chuckled. "You will get nothing out of her, or any of them, I tried. Raiko-san came and scolded me for asking! "Gai-jin or not, the ancient Yoshiwara rule applies," she said.
"We can talk generalizations, but any client particularly--Baka-neh!" She was really quite angry."
The two men laughed but Fujiko saw Hiraga's eyes were not laughing. Pretending not to notice, anxious to appease him and at the same time wondering how she would have to service him tonight, she said, "So sorry, Hiraga-san, but my experience is little, with young or old or in the middle. But most, experienced ladies say size does not guarantee satisfaction for him or for her, but that young men are always the best and most satisfying clients."
She laughed to herself at the well-worn lie.
I would like to tell you the truth for once: that you young men are the worst clients, the most demanding, the least satisfying. You're all hopelessly impatient, you've plenty of vigor, require many entries, you've puddles of essence but little contentment afterwards--and rarely generous. Worst of all, however much a girl tries not to, she can become enamored with one particular young man and that leads to even more misery, disaster and most times suicide. Old is twenty times better.
"Some youths," she said, answering without answering, "are incredibly shy, however well endowed."
"Interesting. Ori, I still can't believe this Taira just meekly turned away."
Ori shrugged. "Meek or not, he should be dead tonight and I would sleep better. What else could he do?"
"Everything. He should have kicked the door down-- an appointment is an appointment and Raiko not having a substitute ready was a further insult."