The words “katsuo-bushi” could also be interpreted as “victorious samurai,” so dried bonito was a popular and auspicious gift. Kaze decided to start with this shop because he thought that “victorious samurai” might bring him luck.
“Sumimasen, excuse me,” he said.
The shopkeeper looked at Kaze and bowed. He was a mere gnome of a man, wearing a gray kimono. “Yes, Samurai-sama?” he said, using the “sama” honorific to show how exalted Kaze, or any customer, was.
“Do you know if anyone in the neighborhood has a nine-year-old girl as a servant? She might have come here when she was seven.”
If the shopkeeper thought this was a strange question, he was too polite to show it. “No, Samurai-sama, there is no girl like that in this neighborhood. We are poor shopkeepers, so most do not have servants of any age.”
Kaze had been searching for over two years, and the only real clue he had to the girl’s whereabouts was the piece of cloth he had received from the trio he was also seeking, so he wasn’t surprised by the shop-keeper’s response.
“I am also seeking a trio,” Kaze continued. “One is an elderly woman who is still sturdy and fit. She may be wearing a headband with the kanji for ‘revenge’ on it. She’s accompanied by a young man, perhaps fifteen or sixteen, and an old servant who is unusually thin.”
“I can help you with those people, Samurai-sama. They were in my shop just two days ago. If you’ll excuse me for saying it, Samurai-sama, but the woman was rather… well, forceful is how I would describe her. But I mean no disrespect, especially if she is related to you, Samurai-sama!” the shopkeeper added quickly.
“I take no offense,” Kaze assured him. “Did the trio say where they were staying in Kamakura?”
“No, Samurai-sama. The woman talked about what poor quality my bonito is and, ah, insisted on a discount, but they made no mention of where they were staying. I should imagine it is not at an inn, if she was cooking, but perhaps they wanted the bonito as a gift.”
Kaze thanked the shopkeeper and went a few shops down the street, repeating his inquiry. The fact that the trio might be in Kamakura was a great help to Kaze, although he had no way of knowing if they were staying in Kamakura or if they had gone on to Enoshima Island to the south or Edo to the north. After asking at several shops, he learned that the woman had also purchased miso and some rice, all at a discount after criticizing the quality. Kaze was confident that they were staying somewhere in the Kamakura area. One wouldn’t buy supplies like that if they were still on the road.
Kaze asked at temples and inns about the trio, with no luck. He continued methodically searching Kamakura until it was dark and the cheery glow of colored paper lanterns hung in front of drinking places and inns illuminated the street.
He was aware that people were following him long before the sun set, but he ignored them. There were three men. They were quite good, periodically changing the one who followed Kaze and sometimes walking on parallel streets so they weren’t directly behind him. They were careful to keep hidden, so Kaze couldn’t see their faces to discover if the three men were familiar. Kaze didn’t lack for interest in who the men were and why he was being followed, but he assumed the reasons would eventually be revealed.
At the end of his search of inns, Kaze headed down an alleyway that ran between two secondary streets. The darkness of the alley was relieved only by the faint light of the stars, and Kaze wasn’t too surprised that the three men took this opportunity to approach him. What did surprise him was that the men made no attempt to talk to him. Instead, he heard the hurried shuffle of sandaled feet behind him as the three men rushed him.
Kaze drew the dead man’s sword, dropped his body slightly, and made a sweeping cut with the katana as he spun around. The deadly arc of steel had a dull shine to it as it caught the faint light of the heavens. The blade cut into the midsection of one the three men and caught a second in the forearm. Kaze continued his turn and straightened, ending up to the side of the three men as the one caught in the belly collapsed to the earth with a loud groan.
The other wounded man and his unhurt companion stood for an instant looking at Kaze, who was standing at the ready with his sword in the “aimed at the knee” position. The faces of the men were obscured by cloths, so Kaze couldn’t see their features. It was obvious that they had intended to kill him. They weren’t Tokugawa officials, so Kaze had no idea why these men would want him dead.
The man wounded in the forearm was holding his sword with only one hand. His other was clamped across the cut on his arm, stanching the flow of blood. Suddenly, he grunted to his companion the single word “Go!” Kaze thought the word was a signal for a coordinated attack, but instead the two men started running down the alleyway, leaving Kaze with their dying companion.
Instead of pursuing the two fleeing assassins, Kaze turned the dying man over. The man’s breathing was labored because the blade had cut into his diaphragm, and he held his hands across the cut, as if his actions could stop his life from leaking out of the terrible slice.
Kaze removed the face cloth. It was someone unknown to him. The masks were intended to hide the men’s faces from townspeople as they murdered Kaze.
“Why did you attack me?” Kaze asked.
The man groaned.
“Tell me why you attacked me,” Kaze said.
The man looked up at Kaze. In the dim light of the alleyway it was impossible to see his eyes, but Kaze saw the man sag and cease breathing, and he knew the eyes would be lifeless and already starting to film.
Kaze sighed. He thought briefly of taking up the pursuit of the other two but decided it was hopeless. He wasn’t frightened by the attempt on his life, but he was curious. If the men wanted him dead because of who he was before he became a ronin, they could kill him with the help of the law. He was fair game for a wide variety of enemies, including the entire Okubo clan.
If they had tried to kill him because of the gold he carried in his sleeve, that narrowed down the potential suspects to Hishigawa’s household. No, Kaze thought, that wasn’t all. The suspects included Hishigawa’s household and the two peasants, Goro and Hanzo. Kaze had saved Goro’s life, but Goro was also the one Kaze had caught contemplating a theft of the gold. Kaze didn’t expect gratitude when men were blinded by the glint of gold. He had no feelings of anger at the thought that the two peasants might have arranged his assassination to get the rest of the gold he carried. It was a hard time, and men did hard things.
He wiped the dead man’s blade on the kimono of the corpse, then held it before him with both hands and his head bowed.
“Thank you for the use of your blade, Ishibashi-san,” Kaze said to the spirit of the man who had owned the sword. “I’m sorry to have used your katana to kill someone, but in this situation it can’t be helped.” Kaze looked up and carefully slid the blade back into the scabbard. The sooner he got his own blade and stopped the use of the dead man’s sword, the better. Next time the spirit of Ishibashi might not be so generous in letting the man who killed him use his sword so successfully.
CHAPTER 12
Old face and gray hair,
but a heart that beats strongly.
Fearsome grandmother!
Kaze left the body of the assassin in the alleyway and continued walking back to Hishigawa’s villa. He didn’t carve a Kannon statue, but decided he would bring one back to the site the next morning to appease the soul of the dead assassin. Someone would find the corpse in the morning, and it was better if Kaze was not entangled with the Tokugawa authorities as they investigated the killing. He still had much of Kamakura to search for the girl, and he also had the trio to find.