Blade of the Samurai: A Shinobi Mystery (Shinobi Mysteries) (27 page)

The
shuriken
sliced through the eyeball like a knife through a melon. Blood and bits of eye spurted over Hiro’s hand and onto his face. Hiro didn’t flinch. He pushed the
shuriken
further into Akira’s eyeball, stopping only when the metal star lodged deep in the samurai’s skull.

Akira’s good eye widened with shock. A moment later, the spark of life disappeared.

The moment Akira died, Hiro pulled the
shuriken
free. He tucked it into his sleeve as he spun around.

Hisahide stood in the doorway, watching them from the opposite side of the room.

Hiro heard a thump as Akira’s body hit the floor.

“Thank you.” Hisahide smiled. “You’ve saved me the trouble of killing him.”

“Hiro was right?” Kazu stepped to Hiro’s side. Aside from a trickle of blood on his neck, he seemed unhurt. “You intended to kill Akira all along?”

“Only if he refused to cooperate,” Hisahide said. “He was foolish, but his rashness helped my cause. The murders made the shogun believe Lord Oda really did plan an assassination. He was so focused on that plot that he never suspected the real one.”

“Your phrasing suggests the shogun is already dead,” Hiro said.

“That depends who you mean by ‘shogun.’” Hisahide smiled again. “Ashikaga Yoshiteru committed seppuku an hour ago, at my invitation. I promised to let his family live in return for his suicide, and abdication. I am shogun now.” He searched Hiro’s face, and then Kazu’s, for a reaction.

Hiro heard Kazu’s clothing rustle in a bow. The shinobi kept his eyes on Hisahide.

“Congratulations, Shogun Matsunaga,” Kazu said.

“A wise decision,” Hisahide said. “The question now is what becomes of you.”

“I would willingly serve your administration,” Kazu said. “Your predecessor found me a competent clerk.”

“I think not,” Hisahide said. “Men with secrets are dangerous, and men who know other men’s secrets even more so. You know too much about the shogun’s suicide. I have a letter naming me successor shogun—or regent for the former shogun’s infant cousin, if the emperor won’t confirm me directly. But Ashikaga Yoshiteru’s brother might find your knowledge useful if he decides to dispute my claim.”

“Yoshiteru’s brother is a monk,” Kazu said. “He surrendered his attachment to this world years ago. Even if he changed his mind, I’ve never met him and have no loyalty to his cause.”

“Every man has a price,” Hisahide said, “and I have no assurance that yours is beyond my rival’s grasp. It seems wiser to eliminate you now.”

“Banish him to Iga,” Hiro said, “on penalty of death if he leaves the province. Iga is loyal to the shogun, an ally of Kyoto. That will neutralize Kazu’s usefulness to your enemies.”

Hisahide transferred his gaze to Hiro. “You’re in no position to negotiate.” He looked at Akira’s body. “Though I admit you did me a favor tonight, and favors merit reward.”

“Kill me if you want to,” Kazu said, “but you have to let Hiro go.”

“I don’t have to do anything.” Hisahide straightened his shoulders. “No one in Japan commands the shogun.”

“True enough,” Kazu said, “but the Portuguese control the flow of firearms. Matsui-
san
is a friend of the Portuguese merchant who arms your soldiers—a merchant who would sell to Lord Oda as happily as to you, if you give him reason.”

Kazu fell silent, letting the threat sink in.

“I have hundreds of firearms,” Hisahide said, but Hiro caught the hint of uncertainty in his voice.

“Enough to seize Kyoto, perhaps,” Kazu said. “But enough to defend it? And you’re assuming the Portuguese won’t call in foreign soldiers to avenge the translator’s death. The foreigners consider their servants much like a daimyo’s retainers—they will not allow a killing to go unpunished.”

Hisahide frowned. “The Portuguese priest did accompany him to the compound today to ensure he hadn’t displeased me.”

Kazu nodded. “Have you sufficient strength to defeat Lord Oda and the Portuguese?”

Hisahide drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. He looked at Hiro. “If I allow you to live, you must ensure that the foreigner sells no weapons to Lord Oda and that the Portuguese support my appointment as shogun.”

“I am merely a servant,” Hiro said. “I cannot guarantee—”

“You will make it happen,” Hisahide said, “or I will kill not only you but the foreign priest and the merchant also.”

“Then I have no choice, Lord Shogun.” Hiro glanced to his side. “Let’s go, Kazu.”

Hisahide shook his head. “Not Kazu. Only you.”

“I will do what you ask,” Hiro said, “but only if Kazu goes with me. If you kill him you will start a war for which you are not prepared.”

Hiro thought of Hattori Hanzo and the shinobi of the Iga
ryu
. A man who killed both Hiro and Kazu would have more to fear than the Portuguese.

“An intelligent man would accept his freedom and go,” Hisahide warned.

“An honorable man will die to protect his friends,” Hiro said. “Do what you must. I will not leave him.”

“A bold statement for a man without a sword.” Hisahide crossed the room and picked up Hiro’s katana and
wakizashi.
He examined the scabbards and tested the heft of the weapons.

Just when Hiro thought Hisahide would call for his guards, the samurai turned the scabbards sideways and offered the swords to Hiro.

“I, too, am a man of honor,” Hisahide said. “It was never my intention to seize the shogunate by unnecessary force, and I would rather have the foreigners on my side. I will let you go on the following conditions. Hiro will ensure that the Portuguese support me without question. Kazu is banished to Iga at once and permanently. If I see his face again it will leave his shoulders.”

Hiro accepted his swords with a nod.

Kazu bowed. “Thank you, Shogun Matsunaga.”

“May I ask a question?” Hiro asked.

Kazu gave him a disbelieving look, but Hiro continued, “Jun, the maid—she wasn’t involved in Akira’s plot, and I doubt she knew about yours.”

“She did not,” Hisahide said, “but she suspects too much to remain in Kyoto. I intend to find her a husband well outside the city limits. A farmer, perhaps—a man who presents no threat.”

“She won’t like that,” Kazu said.

Hisahide smiled slowly. “She will prefer it to the alternative.” He looked over his shoulder and called, “Ozuru!”

“Yes, Shogun Matsunaga?” The carpenter appeared in the doorway too quickly for coincidence. Chagrin burned Hiro’s chest like flame as he realized Ozuru was a spy.

“Escort my guests to the gates,” Hisahide said. “They are not to be harmed.”

Ozuru bowed. “It will be done, Lord Shogun.”

“One final question,” Hiro asked, “before we go?”

Hisahide nodded.

“How did you know you would find us here tonight?”

Chapter 52

“I didn’t,” Hisahide said. “I came to this office to kill Akira. I told him to wait for me here and to send Kazu home if he returned before we seized the shogunate. Mainly, it was an excuse to keep Akira out of the way and alone. He would not have survived this night, though you have improved my position by taking care of the problem for me.”

Hisahide joined Ozuru in the outer doorway. “Now, if you will excuse me, I must go. I have a lot to accomplish before dawn.”

He nodded and departed.

Ozuru gestured to Hiro. “We need to get going.”

As Kazu retrieved his swords, the carpenter crossed the room and looked down at Akira’s body. He shook his head. “Poor fool. He assumed his Miyoshi blood made him important.”

Ozuru escorted Hiro and Kazu through the
bakufu
mansion. When they encountered guards, Ozuru nodded and said, “Miyoshi Summer.”

The guards accepted the code word and let them pass.

In an empty audience hall near the front of the mansion, Ozuru paused and looked at Hiro. “Iga
ryu,
I presume?”

“I’m sorry?” Hiro said. “I don’t understand.”

“I think you do.” Ozuru lowered his voice and continued, “I recognize a
shuriken
strike to the eye when I see one. I know what you are.”

Hiro noted the change in the carpenter’s accent. “You’re from Koga.”

The Koga
ryu
was the largest shinobi school aside from Iga. No one knew exactly which was larger. Few men had seen both
ryu
and lived to tell it.

Ozuru nodded. “Yes, currently in the employ of Matsunaga Hisahide.”

Hiro felt a twinge of concern. The Iga
ryu
and the Koga
ryu
were tentative allies but also fierce competitors, and now Ozuru could betray Hiro’s identity at will.

“But you’ve been here for years, as a carpenter,” Kazu protested. “Hisahide only came to Kyoto recently.”

“The
ryu
sent me to Kyoto years ago, to await the day when someone needed an agent inside the shogunate. The most convincing spy is the one who isn’t—until he’s needed.”

“Why admit your affiliation and surrender your advantage?” Hiro asked.

“I had to tell you,” Ozuru said, “to repay a debt my family owes your clan. An Iga shinobi saved my father’s life ten years ago, placing the Koga—and me—under obligation.

“I swear, on the honor of the Koga
ryu
, that I will never reveal your identy or your profession to any man,” Ozuru said. “You tell Hattori Hanzo that the debt of Yoshida Bash
ō
has been repaid.”

Hiro had no doubt of Ozuru’s sincerity. The shinobi code was stronger and more closely held than any other. However, that didn’t make Ozuru a friend or mean that he could be trusted beyond his silence.

*   *   *

Hiro and Kazu raced the rain to Father Mateo’s home. They approached the veranda just as chilly drops began to fall.

Inside, they found Father Mateo and Ichiro at the hearth. Loud snoring from the direction of Luis’s room said the merchant had already gone to sleep.

The boy sat cross-legged on the tatami with Gato in his lap. The sight of the child stroking the sleeping cat made Hiro smile. Though feisty, Gato seemed to know when someone needed comfort.

Father Mateo looked up expectantly as Hiro and Kazu entered but waited for the men to share their news.

Hiro didn’t waste time or words. “Saburo’s killer is dead, but so is the shogun.”

Ichiro’s head snapped up. His eyes went wide with terror. “Lord Oda has seized Kyoto? We heard nothing!”

“Not Lord Oda.” Kazu knelt beside Ichiro. “Matsunaga Hisahide.”

Kazu briefly explained the events at the shogunate, though he didn’t mention Ozuru or the way Akira died. In Kazu’s version, Hiro killed the murderer with a sword and Hisahide allowed them to live because they discovered Saburo’s killer.

Father Mateo listened without comment, though he shot Hiro a look that showed he expected a better explanation after Kazu left.

When Kazu finished, Ichiro looked down at his lap and stroked the ridge of fur along Gato’s spine. “I wish you had let me go with you.”

He looked up with tears in his eyes. “I will never have vengeance now, and since the Ashikaga have lost the shogunate, I don’t even have a home to go back to.”

“You do, if you want one,” Kazu said. “I will take you to Iga with me.”

Hiro was shocked, though the offer made a strange sort of sense. The boy already looked up to Kazu, and Hisahide would probably kill any Ashikaga male who threatened his rule, despite his alleged promise. Taking Ichiro away was the only effective way to ensure his survival.

“Iga?” Ichiro asked. “You’re going away?”

“New shoguns always change the administration,” Kazu said. “I’m going home to my family. I’ll take you with me.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Hiro asked.

Kazu stood up and turned to Hiro. “You know how badly Mother grieved for Ichiro.” He gestured to the boy. “His name is also Ichiro. Mother will consider that a sign. She’ll take him in, as one of us. I know it.”

Father Mateo looked from Kazu to Hiro. “Mother? One of
us
?”

Hiro looked at the Jesuit. “May I introduce my brother … Hattori Kazu.”

Chapter 53

“Hattori?” Ichiro shook his head. “Your surname is Matsui, and his is Ito.”

“A shinobi never uses his real name when on assignment,” Kazu said.

“Shinobi?” Ichiro’s eyes grew even wider. “Will I be allowed to become a shinobi also?”

“If you would like to.” Kazu grinned.

“Cousin Hanzo may not approve of your decision,” Hiro warned.

“Forgiveness is asked as easily as permission,” Kazu said, “and I’m fairly persuasive when I want to be. Besides, if the Ashikaga ever recover the shogunate, they’ll owe the Iga
ryu
for saving the boy.”

Kazu pulled a folded parchment from his tunic. “I slipped a map of the shogun’s compound, and also one of the city, out of the office when we left. That, and the information in my head, is worth at least the care of one small boy.”

“I want to go with you,” Ichiro said. “I always wanted to be your brother anyway.”

Gato stretched, jumped to the floor, and started to clean her coat. Raindrops pattered on the roof.

“Then it’s settled,” Kazu said. “We’ll leave at dawn.”

Ana laid extra futons on the floor of the common room for Kazu and Ichiro. No one wanted dinner, though when the housekeeper insisted Father Mateo eat soup and rice to help him heal, the others had some too to keep the Jesuit company.

They went to sleep soon afterward.

It felt to Hiro as if he had barely closed his eyes when the shoji rustled and Kazu entered the room. The younger shinobi crossed the floor and crouched by Hiro’s futon. “We’re leaving now—Ichiro and I.”

Hiro sat up and pulled his feet from beneath the sleeping cat. He tried to sense the time. “It isn’t dawn. The gates are closed.”

“It’s close enough. The barricades will open when we get there.”

“What about passes?” Hiro asked.

Kazu drew a folded paper from his sleeve. “I haven’t been without it since you made me return to the shogunate. Just in case. Both Ichiro and I can travel on it.”