Kaze looked at the small figure walking next to Nobu. She had on a bright blue kimono, although her hair was a bit disheveled, because no one had prepared it that morning.
“Hello, Kiku-chan. I said I would get you out of that place.”
Kiku-chan viewed the strange figure with suspicious eyes and gave no greeting.
“I thought we were going to meet at the temple?” Nobu said.
“Yes. As I said, I thought I’d save you some walking.” By meeting Nobu unexpectedly on the route to the temple, Kaze also thought it would make it harder for Nobu to spring an ambush, just in case the lure of the reward on his head was too great.
“As you can see, here she is.”
“Good. Did you have any trouble?”
“No. Yoshida’s men were so happy to get the report that you were at the Little Flower that they would have given me all the children, if I had asked. They were happy to hand Kiku-chan over to me. Now they probably think that I’m a pervert,” Nobu sniffed.
“And the other children?”
“They’ve been given to monasteries and nunneries to raise. They’ll be safe enough there.”
“And the rest?”
“Well, they let the servants go, but Jitotenno and her thugs are going to have a hard time of it. They’ll be lucky if they escape with their lives.”
Kaze nodded his satisfaction. Everything had worked out exactly as he had planned, including the rescue of all the children from the whorehouse. “Then I suppose this ends our business, Boss Nobu.”
Nobu scratched his head with a large hand. “I suppose so. You’re a devil and a troublemaker, but somehow I think I’ll miss you. If you manage to survive and ever get back to Edo, come say hello. We’ll drink together.”
“I’ll do that. Now that I’ve got Kiku-chan, I intend to take steps to see I’m not as hunted as I am now. I don’t mind it, but it will make it hard for me to find a suitable home for Kiku-chan if every Tokugawa samurai thinks my head is worth ten thousand ryo.”
“What do you intend to do?”
“You know that information you got for me?”
“The question I asked the guard captain?”
“Yes.”
“How will that help you? I just thought you were curious.”
“I am curious, but that’s not the reason I wanted to know.”
“You can’t mean that he’s involved in the attempt to assassinate Ieyasu-sama!”
“No, he wasn’t involved in an attempt to kill the Shogun.”
“But-”
Kaze took Kiku-chan’s hand and started walking down the street, leaving a puzzled Nobu looking after him. Nobu shouted, “You are a devil! Now I’ll be puzzling about what you meant all day!”
Kaze looked over his shoulder, lifted the komuso headgear, and gave the big man a grin.
As they walked together, Kaze, who was used to years of walking roads alone, made no attempt to make conversation with the child. Kiku-chan wore the tall, black lacquered geta that were favored by courtesans and prostitutes, so she almost came up to Kaze’s shoulder. She watched the ronin warily as they made their way through the crooked streets of Edo, which were not laid out on a grid, Chinese style, like Kyoto. The twisting streets were designed to confuse invaders, making assaults on Edo Castle, found in the heart of the city, difficult.
Even though the streets were confusing, Kiku-chan slowly understood where the strange man was taking her. Suddenly, Kiku-chan slipped out of the stiltlike geta and started running. Without a second’s hesitation, Kaze pursued her, shouting, “Kiku-chan! What’s the matter? Come back!”
The young girl didn’t heed the words of the man. Instead, she used her small body to slip past people on the street, weaving between pedestrians as she gradually pulled farther and farther away. Kiku-chan had learned that the words of men were not to be trusted. Even when they spoke honeyed phrases, they eventually ended up hurting you and using you for their pleasure.
She risked a quick glance over her shoulder, but the man was nowhere to be seen. She didn’t slacken her pace until she had run past several streets. Then she stopped and looked behind her, searching the crowded streets of Edo to see if the man was approaching.
“Why did you run?”
Kiku-chan spun around and saw the man with the basket mask was right behind her. The big man had called him a devil. Maybe he was. She started to run again, but his hand quickly reached out and held her arm. It was a gentle grip, but one that would not be broken, no matter how much Kiku-chan twisted or struggled.
“Why did you run?” he asked again.
“You’re taking me back there!” she spit out.
Kaze looked at her kindly, although he realized she couldn’t see his expression with the komuso headgear on. It was impossible to imagine what kind of life she had led for the last few years. She had been the pampered plaything of sick men, given fine clothes and then abused. It was good she still had the spirit to run away. It showed she had not been completely broken.
“We are going to Ningyo-cho, but not to the Little Flower. We’re going to a place near it, where you can be safe. I have other business to take care of in Edo, but I can’t do it until I know you will be properly cared for, if I’m not in a position to help you. You know, a few nights ago I was in the place I’m taking you to, and I could hear your flute. It was so full of sadness that I think I understand some of what you’re feeling. I know it will be hard for you to trust me, but remember, I was sent by your mother. Even though she is in the next life, your mother still loves you, and she wants me to protect you. She would not send you someone you couldn’t trust.”
Tears filled the child’s eyes. Kaze picked her up and started carrying her in his arms. In a confused blubber, Kiku-chan said, “I left my geta back there.”
“I know. We’ll buy you proper sandals, and clothes that aren’t as fancy, but suitable for a girl of your age. Those geta were the shoes of a prostitute. You are no longer a prostitute. It’s proper for us to leave those shoes behind. You are no longer part of the Little Flower. You are Kiku-chan, the daughter of my Lady, and you’re safe now.”
CHAPTER 21
Hate is a killer.
It kills others and our souls.
Yet, it’s so human!
Is this your daughter?” Momoko was fussing over Kiku-chan, but clearly curious about the relationship between the girl and Kaze.
“She is my responsibility,” Kaze said. “For a while, I would like her to be your responsibility.”
“Me?”
“Yes. Goro and Hanzo have good hearts, and they’ll help. I have to do something, and I want to make sure Kiku-chan will be taken care of if I don’t succeed. You are the person I can trust with that responsibility, especially if I don’t come back.”
“What are you talking about? Are you going to do something dangerous?”
Kaze smiled. “It can’t be more dangerous than five ninja trying to kill me, yet here I stand, still alive.”
“It is dangerous.”
“Life is dangerous. If I don’t do this, then it will continue to be more dangerous than it needs to be.” Kaze took the remaining gold he had received from Nobu out of his sleeve, gold he had withheld from Jitotenno to provoke an incident that would get attention. He handed the coins to Momoko.
“Here,” he said, “take this money and do two things. First, get Kiku-chan some different clothes: clothes suitable for a child of her age, so she doesn’t look like she’s going to a bawdy house. Next, rent me a horse.”
“A horse?”
“Yes. Make sure I can get it at any hour of the day or night, and make sure it’s at a stable on the west side of Edo Castle.”
Momoko looked at the gold coins. “This is more than it will take to do that. What do you want me to do with the rest?”
Kaze looked at her strangely, and Momoko realized that a samurai rarely concerned himself with money. He let his wife do that. By giving her his money, Kaze was extending a kind of intimacy to her. She blushed.