Kaze could taste the scent of the trees on his tongue. If they were pines or cryptomerias, it was a heady taste of pitch and tar. Kaze’s favorite was the cherry, which created a faint perfume that entered his nostrils and dispersed its sweetness to his very fingertips.
Following a boyhood habit, he picked a wildflower, then scaled one of the trees that had a sturdy branch growing parallel to the ground, and sat on the branch in the lotus position, his sword across his lap. He looked down at the flower, focusing on it. It was an old trick.
By focusing on a specific object like the flower, one could block out the clutter that filled the mind. Then, when one stopped thinking about the specific, one was not consciously thinking at all. This state of non-mindedness led to revelation and understanding. Paradoxically, non-mindedness opened up the consciousness to new thoughts, approaches, and insight, drawing from the entire universe of enlightenment, instead of the narrow circle of self that usually confined thoughts.
When he had satisfied himself with his inspection of the flower, really not knowing if it took a minute or an hour, he dropped the flower from his perch in the tree and watched it tumble to the ground. It turned madly, responding to the vagaries of the gentle wind that stirred the air. How like our lives, Kaze thought, so at the mercy of circumstances, illness, war, and the actions of others. With his head down and his soul in a state of repose, he stared at the ground, not really focusing. He did kanki-issoku, quietly exhaling completely through his mouth, using his stomach, then inhaling through his nose. He meditated, opening his mind to solutions to the problems facing him, depending on the deeper resources of his spirit instead of the finite abilities of his mind.
When Kaze stopped meditating, it was night. He was surprised to find himself surrounded by darkness, with the hard points of stars splashed across the sky. If someone had approached him in his meditative state, he would have been instantly alert. But to the natural cycle of day into night, he remained oblivious.
Kaze dropped out of the tree, landing on his feet as lightly as a cat. His muscles were sore from inactivity, but by maintaining a proper zazen posture, even while perched on a branch, he was not as stiff as he would otherwise be.
He found himself a grassy spot under the tree and wrapped his kimono a bit tighter. Hugging his sword in his arms, he lay down to sleep, happy at being outdoors once again, far away from the city.
He was surprised at the conclusions he had come to about the attempted assassination of Ieyasu. He was also surprised at his plan for rescuing the Lady’s daughter from the Little Flower Whorehouse. Before drifting to sleep, he marveled at what thoughts came to you when you simply put yourself into a state to receive them.
CHAPTER 19
What was on top is
now crawling on the bottom.
Reversal is life.
Is gambling a profitable business?”
Nobu gave a start at the voice in his room, but this time he knew exactly where to look. Just as before, the ronin was sitting in the darkest corner of the room, looking relaxed and at home. This time, his sword was still in its scabbard, sitting next to him on the mat.
“How did you get in here?” Nobu said.
Kaze pointed to the window, frowning at a question he thought should be obvious.
Nobu moved the lantern he was carrying between them, so he could see the ronin better, and sat his bulky body down on the oversized futon he used.
“Why do you want to know how much money is in gambling?”
“Because,” Kaze said, “for the first time in my life, I have a use for money.”
“Gambling is usually the best business,” Nobu said. “Better than flesh and even better than stealing. With flesh, a man can become sated and will eventually leave the whorehouse. The fever for gambling can’t be quenched. It’s better than stealing because you eventually end up with all of a fool’s possessions. When you rob his house, you can only carry off some of his things. Besides, they crucify you for stealing, but only beat you up for gambling. If you cross the proper palms with payoffs, you can even avoid the beatings.”
“So this business makes a lot of money?”
“Not as much as it should.”
“Why?”
“Because Boss Akinari is greedy. As greedy as the fools who lose everything gambling here. If someone wins too much, Boss Akinari arranges for him to disappear. Word gets around about that kind of thing, you know, and it really hurts business. Most of the big gamblers have stopped coming here, and they’ve gone to other gambling houses. That’s why the Boss is getting involved with things like tobacco. There’s no need to get involved with that evil weed. The Boss claims it has many health benefits, but, like their religion, I think it’s just another bad thing those smelly Europeans have introduced to Japan. If Boss Akinari would just show some patience, everyone’s luck turns eventually, and the big winner this month will be begging for a loan next month. That’s what makes gambling such a good business to be in. We don’t have to branch out into tobacco.”
“Why don’t you point that out to him?”
Nobu hesitated. There was something about this ronin that he liked, however, so he decided to be frank with him. “If anyone in the gang looks like they’re getting too independent, Boss Akinari makes them disappear, too.”
“It sounds like Akinari is not a very good boss.”
Nobu shrugged.
“Perhaps Boss Nobu would do a better job for this gang.”
Nobu started, then saw the ronin was serious. “You’re a devil, Matsuyama-san,” Nobu said. “It’s not healthy for someone to start thinking like that. Besides, it would be disloyal for an underling to think about deposing his boss.”
“Nobunaga got rid of Imagawa, and Ieyasu, who was an Imagawa vassal, joined him, to their mutual benefit. Akechi, a vassal of Nobunaga’s, assassinated him. Hideyoshi said he was avenging Nobunaga’s death, but he eventually displaced Nobunaga’s sons as ruler of both their clan and Japan. Ieyasu was Hideyoshi’s chief daimyo, but he deposed Hideyoshi’s son and now rules as Shogun. A vassal replacing his boss is a common enough thing nowadays.”
“And what about you? Were you loyal to your lord?”
“Well, yes,” Kaze admitted. “But I’m a bit old-fashioned. That’s just me. It doesn’t mean you have to be.”
“You are a devil!”
“Perhaps, but perhaps also a sensible devil, Boss Nobu.”
“Boss Nobu,” the big man said, muttering the words to himself, savoring their novelty.
The door to Nobu’s room slid open. The big man looked startled, and Kaze looked at the door with interest, to see what was developing. It was a woman, one of the servants of the household. She held a tray with a teapot and two steaming cups of tea.
“I saw you had guests, Nobu-san, so I thought you might like some ocha,” the woman said.
“How did you-” Nobu started.
Before he could finish his question, the woman shouted, “Now!” She threw the tea tray at Kaze.
Kaze diverted his face to avoid the scalding tea, but he didn’t jerk himself out of the path of the tea, as another man might. Instead, he reached out to grab his sword. The tea splashed against his arm, sending a shock of pain as the liquid burned his skin.
As part of the plan, the woman threw herself down on Kaze’s scabbard as soon as she had thrown the tray. She trapped Kaze’s arm and weapon under her body.
Before Kaze could push her away, the room was filled with men, smothering the ronin with a tsunami of flesh.
Boss Akinari sat on a raised dais, like a noble. He had a yojimbo, a bodyguard, standing next to him with a sword for protection. Akinari also had a sword stuck in his sash, and sitting before him on the dais was Kaze’s sword, “Fly Cutter.”