The Initiate Brother Duology (22 page)

If Komawara was affronted by this, he managed to hide it.

“Lord Komawara, it is my honor to introduce you to Tanaka-sum, my valued counselor. Tanaka-sum, you have the honor of meeting the son of an old friend and ally of the Shonto, Lord Komawara Samyamu.”

The two men bowed, Tanaka purposely deeper than the lord, and then he rose and joined Shonto and his guest in the small house. A table arrived for him and mead was poured into his cup.

“We have just been discussing the journey to Seh. Lord Komawara has recently traveled south along the canal.”

Tanaka set his glass down. “Ah, and will you return north with Lord Shonto?”

“I had not considered this. I do have to return to Seh soon. The situation there is so unsettled. I don’t wish to be away any longer than I have to be.”

“You would be most welcome to journey to Seh with us, Lord Komawara,” Shonto said, “though I intend to leave within a few days and will have little time for leisure. Perhaps this wouldn’t allow you time to complete your business in the capital?”

“This is a generous offer, Lord Shonto. I will certainly see if it is possible.”

“Please do, your company would be most welcome.” Shonto signaled again and a servant appeared to refill the cups. “Tanaka-sum, tell us about this venture you mentioned to me, I think it would interest my guest.”

Tanaka set his cup down, and cleared his throat quietly. “At Lord Shonto’s request I contracted to purchase all of the corrapepper of a grower who has his fields on the southernmost of the islands of the barbarian. Due to the disfavor of the gods, the other islands were struck by an evil storm which ruined the corrapepper harvest. This terrible misfortune has left us in control of virtually all the surviving corrapepper crop.

“Due to the unfortunate circumstances I have described, there will certainly be inflated prices for corrapepper this year—of course, we shall have to pay more to protect our crop from theft by the unscrupulous barbarians, but still, if Botahara wills it, our profit should be great.”

Tanaka glanced at Lord Shonto, and then continued. “The investment in this venture has been large, so on the advice of Lord Shonto, I sought partners to share the risk…and the profits. Due to family matters, one
honored friend has been unable to continue in our venture. It could not be helped,” Tanaka hastened to add, “and we feel his conduct has been beyond reproach, but his withdrawal has left us with an opening for a new partner or partners, as you can see.”

“I don’t know your plans, Lord Komawara,” Shonto said, “but this would seem a good opportunity for you and we would welcome your involvement. You could invest whatever you wished to risk, up to…” He looked at Tanaka.

“Perhaps 200,000 ril.”

Lord Komawara shook his head. “But certainly this is too generous, Lord Shonto,” he protested. He meant to go on but could not marshal his thoughts.

“Of course,” Tanaka hastened to add, “you would be assessed some part of your profit, Lord Komawara.” He pulled awkwardly at a ring on his little finger. “Let us say twelve parts…no, ten parts per hundred.”

The young lord paused to contemplate. “It must be twelve, then, if I am to agree.”

“Certainly ten would be customary, Lord Komawara,” Shonto said, eyeing his merchant, but Tanaka would not meet his gaze.

“I am honored by your offer, Lord Shonto, but I think you can understand that I cannot accept it unless I am sure it is not charity.” Why, Komawara thought, why would someone in Shonto’s position do this for someone of as little concern as I? Did he really hold my father in such high esteem?

Shonto seemed to consider Komawara’s words for a moment, but it was the young lord’s assessment of the barbarian attacks that kept coming to mind. Yes, Shonto thought, what he said about the barbarians rang with truth. None of my generals saw mystery in the attacks.

“Lord Komawara, it is not my intention to offer you charity, which obviously you do not require, but only to offer you this small service in return for something I need. Something I need now. I require your counsel—I realized that when we first spoke. I also value Komawara loyalty—it is a trait that your family is known for and it is beyond price. If you wish to begin trade in the name of Komawara, I give you that opportunity. In return, I hope you will journey with me to Seh to give me the benefit of your knowledge of the north.”

Komawara said nothing. He appeared to be weighing Shonto’s words as though they were made of nothing but insubstantial air. But he could find no
trace of deceit in them. I bind myself to the Shonto and Shonto destiny with this, he thought, and he found the idea somewhat disturbing. Reaching out, he took a drink of his wine, and then, setting his glass down, he said, “I accept this offer, Lord Shonto, Tanaka-sum. I am honored by your words. I only hope my counsel will prove worthy of your investment.” There, Komawara thought, it is done.

“I don’t doubt it for a moment.” Shonto signaled for more wine. “We must eat—it is our most common form of celebration, is it not? Tanaka, will you join us?”

The merchant seemed to struggle within himself for a moment. “I am honored by your invitation, Sire, but there are so many things to attend to before your departure….”

Shonto turned to Komawara. “I cannot even tempt my retainers from their duties. Is this a common problem, do you think?”

“It is a problem most lords wish they suffered from, Sire.”

“Tanaka-sum, I bow to your sense of duty. Another time.”

Tanaka bowed to the two lords and took his leave, walking away with the quiet dignity Shonto admired.

“So, Lord Komawara, I’m sure the two of us can enjoy our food as much as three?”

Komawara nodded. Servants brought the midday meal—simple but delectable fare, elegantly served in the summerhouse overlooking the pond of yellow water lilies. Under the influence of the food, the fine wine and Shonto’s conversation, Komawara achieved an almost euphoric state. Being a Shonto ally looked less daunting than it had seemed earlier.

“The food, Lord Shonto, was of a quality that would satisfy an Emperor.”

Shonto bowed slightly. “You are kind to say so. Cha?”

“Thank you, that would be perfect.”

The rustle of silk was heard from the path below and then Lady Nishima appeared, on cue, followed by two of her ladies-in-waiting and a young maid. If Komawara had found her enchanting in the moonlight, he realized that the sunlight brought out her true beauty, as it did the flower of the morning-vine.

Dressed in a robe of spring green embroidered with a pattern of falling ginkyo leaves, the Lady Nishima Fanisan Shonto seemed to shine among her companions, as though the sunlight did not bless them with its warmth. She stopped and bent down to examine a bush by the edge of the walk, and the
gold of her inner kimonos appeared at the nape of her fine neck. Lord Komawara felt both thrilled and terribly nervous.

At the sight of her uncle, Nishima smiled with unconcealed affection. She handed her parasol to the maid and stepped out of her sandals before entering the summerhouse. The two lords returned her formal bow.

“Nishima-sum, how kind of you to join us.”

“The kindness was yours in inviting me, Uncle.” She took a fan, shaped like a large ginkyo leaf, from her sleeve pocket and waved it open in an easy gesture. “Lord Komawara, how pleasant to see you again so soon. Did you enjoy the Emperor’s party?”

“Entirely. I have had the sounds of your music with me ever since and it has made my day most pleasant.”

“You are too kind,” she said, but she was not displeased by the praise.

“Have you met our new Spiritual Advisor?” Shonto asked.

Nishima turned her attention to her uncle now. She examined his face, looking for signs of the attempt on his life, but she saw no concern or anxiety. Indeed, he seemed entirely relaxed—she glanced at his companion out of the corner of her eye.

“I have not, Sire, though I understand he is to join us.”

Shonto nodded toward the pathway and Nishima saw a young monk of the Botahist Order walking toward them.

Yes,
Nishima thought,
that is him,
I remember. And the diminutive monk in the kick boxing ring became clear in her memory. The other fighters had appeared so massive and the boy-monk had seemed so small…yet completely calm. The same calm was somehow still apparent in this Brother, and as she watched him approach she was overcome with an unexpected emotion. Suddenly, the Lady Nishima wanted to hide. She looked around almost in a panic, then her years of training took charge and she regained her composure. But she was disturbed by this sudden surge of emotion, left shaken by it.

The monk, Shuyun, stopped at the entry to the summerhouse and bowed to his liege-lord and his guests.

“Brother Shuyun, please join us.” Shonto said and gestured to the servants. A table large enough for four was exchanged for the individual tables and this gesture surprised Lady Nishima, for such an arrangement was usually reserved for immediate family only.

Brother Shuyun was formally introduced to Lady Nishima and Lord Komawara, neither of whom betrayed a trace of the intense curiosity they felt
for this young Initiate. Lady Nishima was especially intrigued after the report she had received of the monk’s display that morning.

The utensils for the making of cha came and Lady Nishima, as one of the most famed hostesses in the capital, took charge of the preparation. At the same time she guided the conversation deftly and with great charm, impressing Lord Komawara, who was intimidated by the urbanity of the women he met in the capital.

The drinking of cha, like every activity of the aristocracy, was formalized and governed by its own particular aesthetic, though among the aristocrats, it had not taken on the aspects of ritual that it had among certain sects within Wa. In its existing state of formality, Lady Nishima was able to bring her considerable imagination to bear upon the social aspects of drinking cha. Today she had it in mind to do something different, something that she knew no one present would associate with cha. How to introduce it in a manner that seemed natural, that was her problem.

“Will you come to Seh with Lord Shonto, Brother Shuyun?” Komawara asked. He has having trouble not staring at Lady Nishima, though his warrior’s discipline was just barely winning.

“It is for Lord Shonto to decide,” the monk said, and offered no more.

Lady Nishima felt sudden resentment toward the Botahist monk and his cold manner. It is their way, she thought. But still it annoyed her. Looking at the monk kneeling across the table from her, she searched for the man behind the mask. This had been an obsession for her with Brother Satake, their former Spiritual Advisor. With Satake-sum she would stoop to almost any ploy to see him laugh or grow impatient—anything that seemed a human emotion. It had been a frustrating campaign, for she had seldom been successful.

When the tea had been poured and offered in its proper way, Lady Nishima began to ask Lord Komawara questions about Seh and about the barbarians and their motives.

Lord Komawara answered her, being careful not to let the conversation stray too far from the approved tone for such occasions. “Their motives are not the same as ours, Lady Nishima. You cannot understand them in our terms. As to what will happen, who can say? I cannot tell the future, and for this I apologize.” He bowed with mock sincerity.

“Lord Komawara, there is no need to apologize to me for not being able to predict the future. I am quite capable of doing
that
myself.”

Knowing his daughter’s humor, Shonto took the bait quickly, “Nishi-sum, how is it that I have not been aware of this talent? Or was it simply lost among your myriad of other gifts?”

“Not at all, Sire, it is as you say. You are far too perceptive not to have noticed such an ability in your favorite daughter. The reason that you have not, until now, been aware of this skill is that I myself became aware of it only this morning. In fact it was just after sunrise. I sat combing my hair when suddenly I was overcome by…” her eyes went wide, “Deep Insight! Yes, and I thought immediately, I must tell all of those around me of their futures. They will find it most useful.”

“Ah,” Shonto said, keeping a straight face, “Deep Insight! Do the Botahist Brothers have experience of this phenomenon, Shuyun-sum?”

“Certainly, Lord Shonto, and it is well known that it is most often experienced while combing one’s hair. That is the reason Neophyte monks must shave their heads—so they don’t experience Deep Insight before they are prepared for such a momentous occurrence.” As he finished saying this he smiled, causing a thrill to course through the Lady Nishima.

The man behind the mask! she thought, but then the smile was gone and across the table sat one of the Silent Ones, unmoving, without apparent emotions.

“Well, Lady Fortune Teller, I, for one, would be interested in seeing what can result from Deep Insight, if you would so honor us.” Shonto said.

“Gladly, Sire, but I must warn each of you…I can take no responsibility for what you may learn of your futures, either good or bad.”

“Agreed,” Komawara said, “only the gods will be held responsible.” And then remembering the Botahist monk, “Botahara willing,” he added.

The assembled guests acted as though they had not heard the reference to the gods, the mythological beings that the Botahist religion had replaced, but Shonto found himself thinking, Well, it is true, he
is
from the provinces.

From her sleeve pocket Nishima took an ornate canister of black leather decorated with a pattern of white wisteria. She shook it and the jangle of coins caused everyone to laugh for they all knew the sound—the coins of Kowan-sing.

Kowan-sing was one of the innumerable methods of divination popular in Wa. Almost every possible object had been used at one time in an attempt to foretell the future: bones, the lines of the face, stones, crystals, entrails, cards, even the gii board. Kowan-sing, though, had history to lend it
credibility, for it was thought to have been practiced by the indigenous people. The people who had been displaced by the Five Princes so long ago that the histories could not agree on a time.