by India Millar
I relaxed. At least I knew what to expect now. I would have to buy her silence; probably sell some of my trinkets to do it. At the same time, I was intensely curious. How had she found me out? Had I made some sort of slip? Did I want to know how I had gotten here? Or why I was here?
“How did you find out who I am?” I demanded. “And what happened to me? Did you arrange to have me kidnapped? Why?”
Instead of answering my volley of questions, Hana simply stared at me. I stared back unblinkingly. Hana broke the silence first.
“All you samurai are just the same. Men and women alike,” she sneered. I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “Always thinking you’re better than anybody else. That you have rights nobody else can lay claim to. At least most daimyo manage to be polite, but not you samurai! Not so much as a please or a thank you.”
“I’m sorry if I have been less than courteous, Hana,” I apologized. “All this has come as a great shock to me and I’m baffled. Please, if you would be so kind, explain to me how you guessed who I am. And how I come to be here.”
I bowed my head and allowed my shoulders to slump as if I was fatigued. I guessed intuitively that Hana would be able to read my body’s language just as well as she could understand my speech. This was a very clever woman. It would not do to underestimate her…again.
“I will tell you.” She spoke grudgingly, but I caught the undercurrent of malicious pleasure in her voice. “First things first. You want to know how I knew who you were. I was puzzled right from the start. Something felt wrong to me about the pair of you. It was Isamu who gave the game away. It was partly the way he looked at you now and then, as though he was trying not to laugh. And the way he spoke to you made me think you were either very old friends or relatives. Not lovers. He never touched you at all. Had you truly been lovers, he would never have been able to resist touching your face or patting your arm. And he paid far too much attention to my geisha. At first, I thought he was trying to make you jealous. Then I saw it was nothing of the kind. He was simply enjoying their company.”
I nodded reluctantly. “I see. But I still don’t understand how you found out I was Isamu’s sister.”
“I was obvious when I thought about it,” Hana said calmly. “You don’t look a great deal like your brother, so that was no help. But once I had decided you were not lovers, I watched you both carefully. I soon realized that you knew each other very well indeed. You were comfortable together, the sort of comfort that comes between very old friends. You had no need to speak; Isamu spoke for you. All that puzzled me greatly. If you really were old friends, then why was Isamu trying to pass you off as his lover? I pondered it after you had gone. I wanted to know what game Isamu was playing.
“As I said, you do not look like your brother. But you both have a certain way of putting your head on one side when you are listening to something that interests you. You’re doing it now.” I held my head perfectly still, considering. She was right. “There were other signs as well. From time to time, Isamu would look at you with great amusement in his eyes. I do not have any brothers, so I did not perfectly understand that. But one of my geisha has four brothers, and she commented when you left that Isamu looked at you in exactly the same fond way as her eldest brother looked at her when she had done something he approved of. She found it quite touching. Once I thought it all over, it was obvious. You had to be his sister. But you couldn’t be Emiko. I have heard she’s very beautiful, and equally stupid. And you are neither.”
I reconsidered my situation quickly. Hana was truly a clever woman, and one who would make a dangerous enemy. I mentally recalculated the amount that would be needed to buy her silence and let me go.
“I see. Did you wonder why Isamu had brought me to visit you?”
“I supposed it had simply amused him at the time. But I was still interested,” Hana went on. “When you both left me, I sent word out to find out where you had gone. I soon found out that you had both met Reo. The calligrapher he used to write his note to you was only too pleased to tell me what he was up to. I was puzzled at first, but that was quickly solved with a little thought. I already knew Reo had seduced your sister Emiko.” I nodded reluctantly. There was no harm in confirming what she already knew. “He had boasted about it to his cronies here in the Floating World. The idiot seemed to think it would give him some sort of respect in their eyes.”
“He thinks of himself as being deeply iki,” I interrupted. “And he’s vain enough to think that deflowering an innocent girl will enhance his reputation. Especially when the girl in question comes from a high-caste samurai family.”
I thought of Reo, naked and unable to move in the filthy alley, and deeply regretted asking the anma to minister to his hurts. I should have left him there in hopes that the rats would find him and recognize he was one of them.
“The man’s an idiot,” Hana said calmly. “He deserved all you did to him, and a lot more besides.” I was startled; was there anything Hana didn’t know? “If it had been me, I would have killed him when I had the chance. But you couldn’t do that, could you? It wouldn’t have fitted in with the code of bushido. In your eyes, it would have made you even worse than him.”
“I’ve taken away his pride. Stripped him of his vanity. To Reo, that will be worse than being dead. And I hope I’ve convinced him to keep away from Emiko.” I paused, gathering my thoughts. Hana watched me calmly. “But I still don’t understand why I’m here. Why did you have me abducted off the street? I’m surprised that a woman as subtle as you needed to be so dramatic.”
I wanted to annoy her, to get under her skin. Had I succeeded? I had no idea. She turned a stone face to me.
“I felt it was necessary,” she said calmly. “I didn’t want you to leave the Floating World, and I didn’t want to draw attention to you. The easiest thing was to use Abi to collect you. It was your own fault, you know. If you hadn’t been so courteous as to allow Effet to claim your full attention, you would have seen Abi before it was too late and could have evaded him. He’s surprisingly quiet for his size and can move very quickly—although, not as nimbly as you—but disguising his presence is as difficult as hiding a whale on dry land.”
Abi? Who or what was Abi? I was almost willing to believe that Hana had a pet demon under her control. Then I remembered the stink of the flesh that had wrapped itself around me and I knew that Abi was no devil.
“Abi?” I guessed Hana would never tell until I asked, and I needed to know. “Abi was the giant who took me from the street?”
“He is. Once he had hold of you, you could never have made him let go. If you had managed to stick a dagger in his ribs, it might have slowed him down a little, but I doubt it. If you knew the Floating World a little better, you would have heard of Abi. He is a sumo wrestler. No, I do him an injustice. He is not just a sumo wrestler, he is yokozuna. The very best, and because of that, he has the very best patrons. My own dear Akira is pleased to be amongst them.”
Akira. I remembered Reo saying he was a gangster, the most feared in Edo. And the son of Hana’s lover. Was that how she found out so much, through people’s fear of the yakuza?
“But I kicked him in the kintama,” I said wonderingly. “Hard. No matter how big he was, that should have stopped any man.”
“You think so? But you must remember, dear Keiko, that sumo wrestlers are different from all other men. They are taught to massage their kintama and to work on their internal muscles until eventually they have the art of drawing their kintama back inside their bodies. They do it before every match. They have to. If they left them in their natural place, as soon as their opponent grabbed their fundoshi to lift them up, they would be screaming in agony and the game would be over at once. Once they are relaxing in the bath afterward, they let them down again. Abi tells me the pain is exquisite.”
We were both silent for a moment, thinking of it.
“I see. Well, that is something else I have learned today, Hana-san. Now that I know how and why you saw
through me, I will be more careful in the future. I thank you for the lesson, even though it was a hard one. Now, tell me how much you want for teaching me, and I will be on my way.” I glanced down at my bare feet. “Or at least I will when you give me back my zori.”
“Go? You think you have enough money to persuade me to let you go? I’m afraid you don’t know me at all.”
Twenty-Three
When the sun hides her
Face from us at night, does she
Sleep just as we do?
Hana stirred, pretending she needed to find comfort.
“Ah, my poor legs!” she moaned. “Why do the gods allow our bodies to age when the mind is still alert?”
I stared at her stonily. She was playing with me. She was not old, nor was there anything wrong with her legs. I was not interested in her games. I wanted to go home. Now. I doubted Isamu would be back yet, but there was always a chance, and I needed to be there to confess my story to him before he found I had vanished and became angry. And even more importantly, what if Yo returned and found me gone?
“Tell me what you want. However much it is, I’ll get the money,” I said bluntly. Hana regarded me thoughtfully. I was shocked into silence when she spoke.
“There has been a great deal of gossip in the Floating World recently. It’s said that a creature of legend has arisen again. That once again there is one who is onna-bugeisha amongst us.” I fought to keep my face neutral. “A samurai warrior woman who will right the wrongs of the world. I had dismissed the rumors as nonsense until Abi told me how you fought against him. He told me that few men could have put up a better fight than you did. But perhaps I’m wrong. I always thought that perception was a great part of the onna-bugeisha’s weaponry.” Hana shrugged. “You don’t seem to understand me at all. I told you. I don’t want your money. Nothing you can offer me will be enough. I have you, sister of Isamu. Daughter and sister of samurai. Even better if you truly are onna-bugeisha. All that is worth more to me than any amount of money.”
I shook my head in disbelief. I stopped myself from glancing at the flimsy screens around me, but Hana’s sense of perception was sharp and she answered my unspoken thoughts.
“You could break out of this room as soon as I left you. You would not find it quite as easy to get out of the house and back into the Floating World. I have two enforcers who would be delighted to try and match their skills against you. There is always the chance that you could beat them. And then—barefoot or not—you could easily find your way back to the gate and away from here.”
“I suppose so,” I agreed cautiously. Hanna was smiling, and I did not like that at all.
“Naturally. You are samurai. Escape from capture would always be your first thought. But you are not going to leave here, Keiko. Not until I am ready to let you go. And when that day comes, I doubt you will find welcome in your father’s house.”
“And what is going to keep me here, Hana? You? Your enforcers? Or are you going to post Abi at my door? Even he must sleep some time, and when he does, I will get past him. You can’t really believe you can keep me here.”
Even then, I thought she was simply trying to frighten me. To make me accept whatever sum she named. I was still slightly amused at her insolence. How Yo would laugh with me when I shared the joke with him.
“You must remember, Keiko. I am not samurai. Still less am I onna-bugeisha. I have no code of honor. I don’t care who I hurt in this life as long as it is for my benefit. I suppose I might pay for it in another life, but this body will know nothing at all about that, so I don’t let it worry me in the least. I already have money. More money than you would believe possible. A little more is always welcome, to be sure, but that’s not what I want from you. You can give me power. That’s what I want, and that’s what you are going to give me.”
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t you, samurai’s daughter? Then listen to me. My men found Reo where you left him. The anma you sent to him had restored life to his body, but I’m afraid he wasn’t at all grateful to her. If it hadn’t been for her dog, I’m very much afraid he might have hurt her. Reo was most grateful to my boys. He tried to tell them that you had lured him into a trap where he met a band of armed robbers at the bottom of the alley who beat him up and stole everything he had.”
“Why?” I was so angry, I forgot my own position. “Why did you help him? You said yourself that you would have killed him if you’d been me.”
“You still don’t see, do you? For all your supposed instincts, you can’t see the obvious. I had Reo taken to my teahouse. I allowed him to bathe and gave him new clothes. I even gave him sufficient sake to make him brave and full of bluster again. And then I explained to him that I knew exactly what had happened to him. That he had been taken and left for dead by a single green boy. I also told him that I knew what he had done to your sister. And what did this great, big, iki man do? He threw up on my tatami and fell to his knees, begging that I would never tell anybody. Most especially Isamu. Reo comes from an important family. His father is an advisor to the shogun. I can only suppose that Reo is the spoiled brat of the family. No matter. From now on, he is mine. His father will find a great change in his eldest son. Suddenly, he will be very interested in affairs of state. He will display an intelligent appreciation of what is happening at the highest level. His father will be delighted. As will I, when he passes the information on to me. From this day on, Reo is my creature. Knowledge is power, and I have a great deal of knowledge.”
“And you think I’ll do something similar for you? I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed, Hana. It amuses Isamu to allow me to be onna-bugeisha. My father barely knows I exist. To both of them, I’m no more than an inconsequential girl child.”
“It’s not what you are, Keiko. In your case, it’s who you are, and what you can do for me.”
“And what’s that? Am I going to join your thugs and become a guard?” I grunted with laughter. “Do you think it’s going to amuse your patrons to find a woman guarding the geisha? Is that it? And you really think I’m not going to get away as soon as I get the chance?”
“Do joke, Keiko. It will be a long time before you laugh again.” Hana was smiling, but I could see no humor in her eyes. “You are going to become the greatest treasure of my house. As you are samurai, you no doubt already have all the talents I normally look for in a girl. I’m sure that you will be able to dance and sing and play the samisen, as well if not better than any of my geisha. Alas, you do not look to me to be the type who will willingly look so adoringly at a patron that you make them feel like a god, but under the circumstances, I will overlook that fault.” I was so sure of myself, I shrugged and smiled broadly, shaking my head. “No, I thought not. No matter. Take a good look at this room, Keiko. It will be your home from now on until I decide to release you.”
“Really? And what am I going to do that will please you so much, Hana? Whatever you have planned for me, I’m not going to cooperate, you can be sure of that.”
“You will be the greatest jewel in my collection.” I laughed, pointing my finger between my breasts. Me? “Yes, Keiko. I have it all planned. All my patrons are wealthy, influential men. Many of them have so much power and money, they have tasted every earthly delight and are constantly hungry for something different. Something new. That is why they come here, to the Hidden House.”
That stopped the laughter in my throat. I was in the Hidden House? The place Reo had been so desperate to enter? Suddenly, I was less amused by Hana’s nonsense.
“And you’re going to try and keep me here?”
“I am not going to try and keep you here, Keiko. You will stay because you want to, I assure you of that. You will stay because you are onna-bugeisha. Because you have a foolish belief in the code of bushido. You will stay because if you do not do exactly as I tell you from this moment on, I will allow the whisper of how your foolish sister has betrayed the honor of your great house with
Reo-san to reach your daimyo. Don’t think he wouldn’t believe me. He would. Lord Akafumu has been a patron of my teahouse for many years, and I know him well. He is a man of great pride. I understand he is already furious with your father for allowing Emiko to delay her marriage to Soji-san. Any further scandal, and it will be the last straw for him. He could not deprive your father of his wealth, but he could strip him of everything else that matters to him. Suddenly, he will find he has no position at the daimyo’s court. None of those men he calls friends would so much as talk to him. Your father would lose so much face, society would be closed to him forever. And of course, it would also reflect on Isamu. He would no longer be iki. He would be nothing at all. I think it entirely possible that his betrothed’s family would suddenly decide they had waited too long for the marriage and find her another husband. Nor would he be able to get another bride from a good family. Who knows, the family line might well die out completely. And it would all be your fault, Keiko. Could you live with such disgrace on your conscience?”
She was wrong. She had to be. I glanced at her icy face and knew I was fooling myself. She could do it. She would do it.
“And what can I do that is so important to you?” My voice sounded rusty. I had already given in, and Hana knew it.
“You will remain here. In this room. I will supply everything you need to live. I will give you clothes and feed you. There is a small bathhouse through there.” She nodded at one of the shoji. “If you like to read, I will supply you with all the latest books. If you want a pet, I will even arrange for you to have a cat, or possibly a small dog. There! Am I not the most generous of women?”
“And what do you expect of me in return?” I asked bluntly.
“You will be mine. You will do exactly as I tell you. I suppose, just like your stupid sister, you’ve allowed some man to take you already?”