was debating about going to get a bath before flopping down on the futon when a voice said, “Why did your Boss want to kill me?”
Nobu was a man not easily startled, but the voice coming from the dark corners of his own room made him jump. He held the candle up, so the light could penetrate the gloom. In the darkest corner, Nobu saw the dim outline of a man sitting. The figuremoved his arm and into the yellow light of the candle the tip of an unsheathed sword appeared. The ronin!
“Why did your boss want to kill me?” Kaze repeated, letting his naked sword add urgency to the question.
“How did you get in here?” Nobu asked.
“I never left,” Kaze replied.
“How did you know this was my room?”
Kaze pointed with his sword. “After the maids laid out the futons, it was easy to tell which one was yours. It’s twice the size of a normal one.”
“But—”
“I’m the one who stayed just so I could ask you a few questions,” Kaze interrupted. “It is most impolite to ignore my questions as I answer yours. Now, why did Boss Akinari want me killed?”
“He wanted to collect the reward. He knows.”
For a moment, Kaze thought that Akinari knew that he was a man wanted by the Tokugawas because of his ties to the Toyotomis. He decided to clarify this. “He knows what?”
“That you tried to assassinate the Shogun.”
Now it was Kaze’s turn to be surprised. He stayed silent, to see if silence would extract more information. It did.
Nobu licked his lips. Then he said, “I didn’t want you to be killed, but the reward for your head is ten thousand ryo. No one could pass that up. There’s a thousand ryo just for leading the authorities to you.”
Even a thousand ryo was considerably larger than the reward for turning in a Toyotomi loyalist.
Kaze stayed silent for several more minutes, but Nobu didn’t volunteer more. Finally, Kaze asked, “How does Boss Akinari know about this reward? I haven’t seen notice boards posted around the city.”
“The district captain told him. We give a payoff to him everymonth. Otherwise we couldn’t operate a gambling den in this place. He said they don’t want to post the reward on public notice boards yet, so you won’t know and will be surprised.”
Kaze was indeed surprised, but not because someone had suddenly tried to take his life. That had happened often enough. It was the thought that the Tokugawas had identified him as Ieyasu’s would-be assassin that surprised him.
“Why do they think I’m the one who tried to kill the Shogun?”
“You were spotted near the place where the gunman hid.”
The young captain who looked at Kaze so strangely when Kaze was doing his street act with the tops.
“Well, I didn’t try to kill Ieyasu-sama,” Kaze said conversationally. “If I had, he would be dead. But I suppose that doesn’t matter if the authorities think I’m the one who tried to kill him. What a bother!”
Nobu looked like he was going to ask about what kind of bother it was, but Kaze stood up. He wasn’t going to explain to the big wrestler about his quest to find the daughter of his Lord and Lady. Becoming the most hunted man in Edo would make it difficult to observe the Little Flower Whorehouse to see if the girl was still there, and to develop a plan to rescue her if she was. “What a bother!” he said again.
Kaze pointed to Nobu with his sword. “You’re a good fellow, and I like you. I should kill you now, to keep you quiet. Instead, I’m going to walk out of here and I want you to treat our conversation as a dream. You must be tired, spending the night in the cold looking for me. I suggest you crawl onto the futon and go to bed. But whatever you do, please don’t make me sorry I let you live. If you do, I promise I will do my best to come back and correct that mistake.”
Then, without warning, Kaze took a cut at the candle. The sword moved with such speed that Nobu heard it more than saw it. A quick swish of air that seemed
Nobu was a man not easily startled, but the voice coming from the dark corners of his own room made him jump. He held the candle up, so the light could penetrate the gloom. In the darkest corner, Nobu saw the dim outline of a man sitting. The figuremoved his arm and into the yellow light of the candle the tip of an unsheathed sword appeared. The ronin!
“Why did your boss want to kill me?” Kaze repeated, letting his naked sword add urgency to the question.
“How did you get in here?” Nobu asked.
“I never left,” Kaze replied.
“How did you know this was my room?”
Kaze pointed with his sword. “After the maids laid out the futons, it was easy to tell which one was yours. It’s twice the size of a normal one.”
“But—”
“I’m the one who stayed just so I could ask you a few questions,” Kaze interrupted. “It is most impolite to ignore my questions as I answer yours. Now, why did Boss Akinari want me killed?”
“He wanted to collect the reward. He knows.”
For a moment, Kaze thought that Akinari knew that he was a man wanted by the Tokugawas because of his ties to the Toyotomis. He decided to clarify this. “He knows what?”
“That you tried to assassinate the Shogun.”
Now it was Kaze’s turn to be surprised. He stayed silent, to see if silence would extract more information. It did.
Nobu licked his lips. Then he said, “I didn’t want you to be killed, but the reward for your head is ten thousand ryo. No one could pass that up. There’s a thousand ryo just for leading the authorities to you.”
Even a thousand ryo was considerably larger than the reward for turning in a Toyotomi loyalist.
Kaze stayed silent for several more minutes, but Nobu didn’t volunteer more. Finally, Kaze asked, “How does Boss Akinari know about this reward? I haven’t seen notice boards posted around the city.”
“The district captain told him. We give a payoff to him everymonth. Otherwise we couldn’t operate a gambling den in this place. He said they don’t want to post the reward on public notice boards yet, so you won’t know and will be surprised.”
Kaze was indeed surprised, but not because someone had suddenly tried to take his life. That had happened often enough. It was the thought that the Tokugawas had identified him as Ieyasu’s would-be assassin that surprised him.
“Why do they think I’m the one who tried to kill the Shogun?”
“You were spotted near the place where the gunman hid.”
The young captain who looked at Kaze so strangely when Kaze was doing his street act with the tops.
“Well, I didn’t try to kill Ieyasu-sama,” Kaze said conversationally. “If I had, he would be dead. But I suppose that doesn’t matter if the authorities think I’m the one who tried to kill him. What a bother!”
Nobu looked like he was going to ask about what kind of bother it was, but Kaze stood up. He wasn’t going to explain to the big wrestler about his quest to find the daughter of his Lord and Lady. Becoming the most hunted man in Edo would make it difficult to observe the Little Flower Whorehouse to see if the girl was still there, and to develop a plan to rescue her if she was. “What a bother!” he said again.
Kaze pointed to Nobu with his sword. “You’re a good fellow, and I like you. I should kill you now, to keep you quiet. Instead, I’m going to walk out of here and I want you to treat our conversation as a dream. You must be tired, spending the night in the cold looking for me. I suggest you crawl onto the futon and go to bed. But whatever you do, please don’t make me sorry I let you live. If you do, I promise I will do my best to come back and correct that mistake.”
Then, without warning, Kaze took a cut at the candle. The sword moved with such speed that Nobu heard it more than saw it. A quick swish of air that seemed
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