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"You need one of these,” I said quietly. “No matter what happens, this shit ain't your fault. Assholes would have done this anyway."

She leaned into my hug after a shocked second. I guessed she wasn't used to this shit, even if I had been acting like this around her for a couple of weeks. Or maybe she thought that I had some sort of sense and knew better than to do this. She didn't know me very well, then, did she?

"But I would be in a much better position to deal with it,” she said quietly, talking to my chest. “I had forgotten how much of a hurry the real world is in. I thought that they would take years or decades with their plans, not the scant weeks that they did."

"Fuckers probably had had some sort of stupid plan like this on the books since the beginning, which was a long fucking time ago for us,” I said. “You—"

"Underestimated my enemies,” she said ruefully. “That is why I am here in this position."

"And you're going to get to be king of the board again soon,” I told her. “I'd say queen, but I think that's Samojirou."

She shook her head, and I could almost feel her grin. “You are terrible man, Mason Kairns. I fear for Edo more than I do for Iida now, knowing that you and Inukai-sama will be there."

"I promise that I'll leave the kid home when we go on a bar crawl,” I said. “But I'll take Wolf. That should be good for a few laughs."

She laughed at that, like I wanted her to, and then stepped back out of my hug, cool and in control again. I felt a pang, missing the Tamazusa I'd had fun with on the ship. She was gone, and I doubted I was going to get her back. But I couldn't resist one last teasing remark. “Hey, Seki, you take care of my hot mama! Man don't get to date someone like her in my line of work."

Seki looked confused more than horrified, so I knew he hadn't understood anything I had just said. If he had, I might have been dead right now. I could tell from the shake of her head that Tamazusa had understood what I was trying to say, and that was all that mattered to me. I bowed clumsily, knowing I was doing it all wrong but also knowing she deserved this sign of respect from me. “Tamazusa-sama, I know that you're going to kick Iida's ass."

Tamazusa bowed back, all formal and serious. “I will see you again, Kairns-san."

As I turned and walked away, I had almost convinced myself that the sting in my eyes was because of dust and not something else.

Keno

I wasn't surprised that I was being sent off to Edo. If there was going to be a full-scale invasion, then that was the safest place. Edo was set up as a military town and had plenty of defenses, unlike the old capitals of Nara or Kyoto. Kyoto had been burned to the ground too many times in the real world for it to be considered safe. Besides, my family and Tamazusa's power is in the Kanto area.

"I will miss you,” Samojirou murmured.

"Aboshi... please be safe,” I begged him.

I knew he didn't want me with him for selfish reasons. He didn't want me to kill anyone. I didn't want that, too, but for different reasons. I was afraid that once I started, I'd never be able to stop. Stupid, right? But I still didn't know what my ancestor had been like, except people thought he was an insane killer. It was getting to be a very awkward topic, one everyone was aware of but no one wanted to talk about, including me. I might consider breaking down and asking Genpachi if we stayed in Edo too long.

I had helped Samojirou dress in his armor, putting it on in the manner that had become traditional ages ago. When he was finally dressed, he looked so different from the elegant courier who was Tamazusa-sama's
karo
. His armor was bright blue and silver, very unlike the somber colors he usually wore. I was surprised to see that the mask for his armor was a reflection of what he looked like as an
oni
in the real world. Had he known that was what he would look like? Or was it something he'd had created after he rescued me?

"You are the one who will be with that insane woman,” he said, trying to comfort me. I just couldn't stop staring at him. I had just realized he was going off to fight and I might not see him again. “I'm more worried about you."

I couldn't help it. I laughed. I thought that he wanted me to. I was hoping Fuse would be able to keep Helga in line. Yesterday morning had taught her that it was going to be a more difficult job than she realized.

"We are going to the center of Tamazusa's power,” he said. “As soon as she reclaims her
kuni
and the land is quieted, I will come to you in Edo. I know that I cannot be gone for long, but I will tell you when we are successful."

He had said when, not if, so that I wouldn't worry about him. Nothing about how nasty it was going to be to get there, fighting monsters and probably ambushes from other lords. I had looked on the map in Shino's war room. It was a long journey. There were all sorts of rules, too, that needed to be followed. It seemed that claiming a
kuni
was as ritualized as a lot of other things around here were. I gave into the impulse I had and pulled Samojirou's head down for one more kiss. I didn't understand how he managed to break it off and walk away from me, but he did after an endless time. It was all I could do not to start crying before he walked out that door.

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Keno

My party started out for Edo the next morning. The journey was going to take several days, even at the punishing speeds we were forcing upon the
kaga
bearers. I knew we were probably not the only ones traveling this way. War had come to Nippon, and everyone was fleeing to Edo. I just hoped the journey wasn't going to be as bad as I remembered. I was wrong.

I was slightly nauseous the entire time due to the rocking of the
kaga
, and McGann wasn't much better. Hamaji and Fuse shared the other
kaga
. The only good thing about that was we could pass the time with McGann's language lessons. Helga, the bitch, either rode or walked because the
kaga
bearers refused to carry her. I didn't know if that made me angry or amused. It depended on how sick I was feeling at the moment. But
tayuu
and ladies weren't supposed the walk to their destinations. We were supposed to be carried, like the delicate flowers that we were.

This delicate flower was carrying a katana and a
wakizashi
with him in case we were attacked. McGann's eyes had widened when she had seen me put them in the
kaga
. I didn't know why, since she had seen me use them before. Or was it that she expected me not to use them because I was wearing a different type of kimono?

I knew Helga was going to be trouble on the road. She didn't understand that we would have to wash up at every place that we stayed or why the people that she thought of as
skraelingjar
were looking down their noses at her. It was because she was an odd-looking barbarian. Not odd-smelling at least, her change in diet took care of that.

Tholf was a lot more easygoing about the situation he found himself in. I thought he would be upset about not being in battle or the fact that I was now dressed as a woman. I had expected him to be as upset as Helga had been, but he only grinned and shook his head when he saw me the first time. His time with the few of Tamazusa's samurai who were here had impressed upon him that I was a good fighter, no matter how I was dressed. And there was the fact that I had managed to disarm him and Egil in that fight on the beach.

"Sakura-san,” he greeted me as I joined him in the inn's garden. We had stopped for the first night in a small inn, and luckily we were the only people there. That didn't mean we didn't have to worry about spies or what the people here would say about us after we were gone. The party was memorable for the number of
gaijin
we had.

"Tholf-san, it is good to see you,” I said formally. “I thank you for accompanying us."

"I don't understand enough Japanese to be of any use on the battlefield, even if any of those lords would have me,” he said bluntly. He leaned down, lowering his voice and almost whispering in my ear. “And the warriors here make me look like a stripling lad on his first raid."

"Did you do that often?” I asked him, easily stepping to the side, knowing that it was a rude question, but one I was curious about. Now that I had a chance to think about it, he hadn't seemed to fit in on Njalsson's farm. Unlike the rest of them, he didn't seem to be a farmer. Neither had Egil, but I also thought that man shouldn't be trusted. I wouldn't have wanted him as my companion for any length of time.

"Not here,” he said, grinning at my move as he straightened up. “In the living world, I raided a time or two. Mostly I traded. I got to see The City one time."

"The city?” I asked, wondering what he was talking about. There were many cities in the real world, but even I heard the capital letters when he was referring to that city.

"Constantinople,” he said reverently. “It was beautiful. The buildings were made of stone, and the place had wide, cobbled streets. It doesn't sound like the city called Edo. Inukai was telling me about the pleasure quarters there when we were traveling."

I bit back a groan. I really didn't need to worry about the three of them going on a pub crawl. I knew Mason would be going with them, too, when Genpachi went out drinking, so the experience at whatever house they visited would be memorable. I knew he wouldn't take them when he went out on any serious business, for they would also attract a lot of attention when they went out. I thought I might see if I could send Wolf out with them just so someone sane was with them.

"The pleasure quarters are very interesting to visit,” I said neutrally.

I thought about explaining the rules of Yoshiwara to him and then decided it was something Genpachi could tell him. But I also didn't expect Genpachi would be patronizing the more expensive women there. I didn't think he was interested in that kind of relationship. The higher-class courtesans in the quarters usually played all sorts of social games with anyone interested in them before there was even a hint of any sort of sexual relationship. A patron, if he was accepted by a courtesan, had a number of visits with the woman, talking about small things and paying outrageous prices for the snacks and tea supplied, as well as her time and the time of all her attendants. That could run into a lot of money quickly. Genpachi probably stuck to the women who weren't of a high-enough rank to play those games. If he didn't, I doubt he was going to introduce either Tholf or Mason to them. For all I knew, Genpachi kept a woman in every city he visited.

"You should see the procession of a house's
tayuu
,” I continued. “It is quite entertaining."

"And how would you know about that?” he asked, sounding scandalized.

I flushed. Why did everyone think I was too young to know about sex? Or had they thought that Samojirou-sama kept me in a closet? I was an adult, damn it!

"I have seen several of them,” I told him stiffly.

Tholf shook his head, knowing he had angered me, but not too upset about it. “You... she isn't really your sister, is she?"

"She is my lord,” I said. I wasn't going to explain Tamazusa and Aboshi's relationship to him.

"The others, how do you know them?” Tholf asked. He wasn't being nosy; he just was puzzled, wondering how Tamazusa and I had gone from being refugees, in his eyes, to very important people. Nippon confused him, with our customs and climate that were so different from the small, cold farm he had been living on.

"That is something that I do not feel comfortable discussing here,” I said. “While we are not exactly being subtle about where we are going, I do not feel that it is wise to discuss the matter here."

Tholf nodded. “The ladies...."

"That is also something that shouldn't be discussed,” I said. Actually, it was none of his business who they were. If none of the samurai had bothered to tell him that, then they probably thought he didn't need to know.

"I understand that you do not want to talk about them,” Tholf said. “But Helga grumbled that the dark-haired one was unnatural, like Loki. That her husband is a beast. I told her that she was being stupid again, but she insisted that I talk to you about this matter."

"The lady's husband
is
a beast,” I confirmed. I wanted to strangle Helga. Why couldn't she just keep her mouth shut? Why did Fuse insist that the woman travel with us? “They were married because her father made a promise to him in jest. Yatsufusa-sama did what was asked of him, which was a feat of great bravery, and demanded his reward, which was her hand in marriage, as what had been promised to him. He was refused, although he was treated very well. He just didn't get his heart's desire as his reward. Fuse-hime learned of her father's promise and honored it. It was a marriage of the spirit rather than a physical one. They were both killed a year after that. It is a story that is famous throughout Nippon and known in the real world."

"I thought that Helga was just trying to stir up trouble again,” Tholf told me seriously. “I will treat Fuse-hime as the matron that she is, even if she looks too young to be one. Also the one that is with her, even if she seems flighty."

"She just seems that way,” I said. “And if I've beaten you, her husband is even a greater fighter than I am. She does have six brothers by marriage who will also defend her honor. And Fuse-hime is her mother by marriage. Genpachi is one of her sons."

"McGann?” Tholf asked hopefully, with a grin.

I didn't think he was serious about his interest in her. Wolf had checked on her hourly today, to make sure she was comfortable and didn't need anything. I figured it stunned him a little also to see me dressed as I was. He was going to have to get used to that, and he was going to have to start calling me Sakura instead of Keno. Mason was trying, I was happy to say. He was usually calling me kid, though.

"That is something you will have to discuss with the lady,” I said.

Tholf nodded. Then Genpachi came out to check on the two of us, probably worrying that Tholf might be giving me trouble about the way I was dressed. He was also frowning slightly.