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"The inn should be full,” Genpachi said. “There's not even merchants here. I can see the casual travelers stopping—this is no time to be running around Nippon for pleasure—but I think that there should be one or two small merchants here, either trying to get to the capital or trying to get north. Usually foreigners, sometimes, but there's no one here. And the maids say that it's been quiet for most of the week."

"There might be something blocking them from either getting out of the city or down this road,” Tholf said thoughtfully. “You might want to check on your neighbors to the north, if you can send word back to that place to do so. If they had any sense, the merchants knew what was in the wind and stayed put."

Genpachi and I both winced. Tholf didn't know what had happened on Kyushu, but it was still ill-omened to say that. He saw our reaction and frowned. “What did I say amiss?"

"We lost one of the islands to an ill wind,” I told Tholf softly. “The enemy used something very bad to cause that wind.” Tholf still looked confused, but I wasn't going to be the one that tried to explain mustard gas or sarin to the man. “Don't mention it to Wolf, please. He knows, but it is something that is painful to him."

Tholf nodded. “Rotten magic isn't something to be talked about,” he rumbled. “Nor should I mention how pretty you are, Blossom."

I wasn't surprised that he knew that nickname for me since he had spent a lot of time with Seki and his squad. Genpachi laughed at that. “Too bad, Tholf, that all the pretty ones are taken. You're stuck with the woman from your homeland."

I smiled at that. “You never know. Mother might want to marry her off to Konbungo. She is tall enough for him."

"She would be a handful to deal with,” Genpachi said thoughtfully, “but the poor man has to deal with Shinbee also. Do you want him to have no peace at all?"

Tholf looked at both of us. While we might joke about it, I knew that it wouldn't happen. She wasn't Nipponese, and while that might have made us sound prejudiced, that was simply the truth. That she was a raging bitch at times didn't make her any more appealing, either.

"I'll tell you that letting that one into your family wouldn't be good,” Tholf said.

Genpachi nodded after thinking about it for another second. “It wouldn't be good. She... there is something about her that I don't like. I know that my brother wouldn't see it, since he is a good man."

Wolf joined us. “And how much longer are we going to be on the road?” he asked Genpachi.

"About a week,” he answered. “We can't push the bearers any faster than that."

Wolf frowned, and he opened his mouth to say something when I spoke over him in the soft tones of a Japanese woman. I did it just to annoy him. “Highborn women don't ride; they travel in a
kaga
. If we ride, we'll stand out. Right now, we are just one of the many groups of noble women who are being sent to Edo for their safety. If we stand out more than that, it might bring us to the attention of the wrong people. We are already going to be noticed because we have
gaijin
with us. We have you dressed so that you don't stand out too much, but your coloring might give any of you away, but I don't think that anyone could truly guess who you are. I don't doubt that there are spies along this road, making note of who is here and trying to figure out what clan they belong to. That is why we are traveling without any sign of who Mother and Hamaji really are."

"And are you considering yourself a noble lady?” Wolf asked me in English. He was clearly tired and upset, and the way I had spoken to him didn't help. He had winced when he realized I was using the woman's dialect.

Tholf took one look at my face and mumbled something; not wanting to deal with whatever argument was going to happen, he quickly went back into the inn. Genpachi looked angry, but he was going to let me defend myself.

"I would like to point out that there is no place for me in my lord's
Hatamoto
,” I said quietly. “And while it would be acceptable to go onto the field as a page for my lord or Samojirou-sama, they do not want me to. Samojirou-sama made their wishes on that matter very clear in that meeting."

"You're sleeping with the man,” Wolf said softly, almost coldly. “You can at least call him by his first name."

"What I do or do not do is none of your business,” I said, matching his tone of voice. “I know their reasons. And I agree with them."

"You do know,” Genpachi said, looking worried and relieved at the same time.

"Not everything,” I said slowly, not wanting to talk about this in front of Wolf. “But enough. And I don't think that I want to know everything, do I?"

Genpachi looked at me, his eyes sad. “'We didn't know’ isn't a good explanation,” he said quietly. “He was always a tight-mouthed bastard. I'm surprised Dousetsu knew as much as he did."

I shrugged. “It doesn't matter now. And I won't put you in the awkward position of asking you the truth. I'm going to retire.” I started to walk out of the garden and stopped at the edge, turning to face them again. “Wolf, I know that you didn't think that I made the right decision, but seeing what has happened, I know that I did. If I had stayed with you, I'd be dead by now."

With that I walked back to the room I was sharing with the women.

Mason

We got into Edo about noon on the sixth day on the road. We had to wait in line to get in, because there was some sort of screening process going on. It was hot, and I didn't envy the samurai in their full armor. I was hot, tired, and wanting off this damn horse. Wolf looked tired, too, and I wondered how hot it was in those traveling boxes the chicks were in. It was a good thing we were dressing in kimono and some sort of weird coat over our armor, or I figured we'd never get through this checkpoint.

"So how long does this take?” I asked the guy next to me, Tadanori.

Tadanori was one of Tamazusa's samurai. I had gotten to know the guys over the last week or so. I was surprised that they didn't seem to be too peeved that they weren't either defending Tamazusa's ass on her run or out defending her borders somehow. But they told me that it was also an honor to guard Fuse, especially after the shit we pulled last time we were here. I was still confused about the time change between the Dreamlands and back home. The Trust's first “visit” to the Dreamlands had been a year ago for them, while it had only been a couple of weeks for us. It made my head hurt just to think about it. But it did explain how I thought Keno had grown an inch or so in height and built up some muscles. Changes that wouldn't happen in a few weeks.

Tadanori shrugged. “It usually isn't this crowded. But then, Nippon hasn't been at war before."

I shook my head, feeling guilty because I hadn't seen the Trustees pulling this shit. But then, fuck, I really didn't think they would try it. Seriously, I spent a lot of time on the road thinking about it while I was getting reacquainted with how to ride a horse. Not that I had spent a lot of time on one as a kid, but I had done some riding. Wolf, the bastard that he was, seemed to be as good at riding a horse as he was at everything else. Tholf and Helga ended up walking half of the time, because these horses seemed to be a bit smaller than the ones I grew up with, so they were a little big for the horses.

We slowly moved forward until we were at the front of the line. Genpachi was handling all the paperwork and anything else we needed to get into the city. I wasn't surprised that the guards seemed to know him. I had a feeling that he was familiar with the men who patrolled Edo as well as every dive and bar in the city. With luck, he'd show me some of them.

Wolf moved back to me, listening to what was going on. “They seem to be a bit upset that he's got a bunch of Northerners with him. And they think that you're a Northerner too."

I shook my head but was glad the guards didn't have a clue about who we were. If they did, Fuse's protection or not, they would have strung us up.

"Genpachi is saying that he's bringing his mother and his sister by marriage to stay with his other sister by marriage.” Wolf listened for a second. “I didn't know that Inumura was married."

"Daikaku? Wow. But think about it, these guys don't seem to be the marrying type."

Wolf thought about it for a second. “That is strange. But...."

"Shit, I ain't saying that they don't like women, but they don't seem to be the type to settle down."

"I don't know, but these people seem to be very impressed that Fuse-hime is here,” Wolf said, and then he grinned. “They're now making mother-in-law jokes."

I grunted. “Some things seem to be universal."

I guessed that was the end of it, because they started waving us forward. We rode through crowded streets that twisted more than Boston's. I got lost after a couple of minutes and hoped I wouldn't have to get out of here in a hurry. Soon we were going into what even I figured out was the really high-class section of the town. I wasn't too shocked when we stopped in front of a place that covered a city block or two and had a really high wall and a dozen guards in front of it.

Genpachi called out something to the guys there, and they opened the gates for us. While not as heavily fortified as Tamazusa's place out in the middle of nowhere, it still was impressive. For people who had been at peace for centuries, they really seemed to believe in being very well-defended. We ended up in a courtyard that I knew was surrounded by a bunch of snipers who were willing to take us out if we turned out to be the bad guys.

For the next couple of minutes, things were a bit confusing. We got off our horses, and people came to take them away. All the samurai seemed to disappear, which would have gotten me nervous but I figured they were being taken to their barracks or something. The ladies weren't getting out of their boxes, which confused me until another lady showed up, trailed by a couple of maids. I guessed this was Daikaku's wife. She was pretty and tall, and she dressed kind of plainly. Fuse and Hamaji got out of their box, looking like they just got into it, rested and unwrinkled. Keno emerged gracefully from the other one, while Wolf insisted on helping McGann out.

"Mother!” the newcomer cried out, bowing to her. “It is so good to see you!"

"I hope that you don't mind our visit, Hinaginu-chan,” Fuse told her, bowing back.

Hamaji hugged her, ignoring the bowing shit, since the woman seemed to be a hugger. While Hamaji was bouncy and cute, this woman seemed a lot more serious, like her husband. I wondered if they had met at the local library or something like that.

"And I would like to introduce you to Sakura-dono, Samojirou-sama's consort,” Fuse said. “As well as Dieter Wolf, McGann Caitlynn, and Kairns Mason, as well as Grimasson Tholf and Liefsdaughter Helga."

"I'm pleased to meet you,” the woman chimed, bowing deeply at each of us. “I am Inumura Daikaku's wife Inumura Hinaginu."

"I am honored to meet you,” Wolf told her in Japanese, returning her bow.

"Please accept the hospitality of my husband,” she told us and clapped her hands. At that signal a bunch of people started herding us indoors.

Keno

We were escorted inside, assigned rooms, and then taken to the baths. I was assigned a room next to Mason and Wolf, with McGann in the room beyond theirs. Tholf ended up with Genpachi, and I didn't know what happened to Helga, nor did I care. I knew Fuse and Hamaji were put in a set of rooms near Hinaginu.

After we washed up and changed, we all ended up getting served a late lunch/early supper. All I knew was that I was hungry, and food was welcome no matter what time of the day it was. As soon as the food was served, the maids disappeared so that we could talk in privacy.

"Mother, how is my husband?” Hinaginu asked in an even tone. I would have thought that she didn't care, but there was a shine to her eyes I didn't think was the candlelight.

"As far as I know, he was going to see what he could on the southern borders of Tamazusa's
kuni
,” Fuse shared.

"What is the word about Kyushu?” Genpachi asked. “We've been on the road and have heard nothing. The inns and the merchants knew nothing. And there weren't too many merchants, either. I don't know if they are staying in Edo, too scared to move, or thinking or leaving Nippon altogether."

Hinaginu frowned. “I haven't heard anything, but my contacts are more worried about Nara and Kyoto. They are afraid that they will be burnt in the fighting. They have started to move the scrolls and hide the treasures."

"That would be a terrible tragedy,” Fuse said.

"I don't think that these fuckers are going to be too worried about keeping your historical stuff safe, so that's a smart move,” Mason said. “But aren't they probably going to go for that other island before hitting here?"

"Shikoku. They should,” Wolf said. He shook his head. “I'm surprised that you know that place."

"Hey! Tamazusa was nice enough to explain that shit to me back at Shino's place,” Mason protested.

"While the Emperor isn't there,” I said, “Kyoto falling would be a terrible tragedy.” I frowned, wondering how I was going to tell Hinaginu to expect Samojirou. I mentally counted the days. If I had my math right, Tamazusa would be at her
shoen
right now. I just didn't know how long it would take her to do whatever she had to do or if Aboshi would even be in any shape to visit me.

"Samojirou-sama might check on Sakura-dono to see if we arrived safely,” Fuse said, saving me the trouble. “You know of his talent of walking the shadows."

Hinaginu nodded. “Should I also prepare a room for Tamazusa-sama?"

"I think that won't be needed,” Fuse said. “She will be joining the
Hakkenshi
to defend Nippon. Samojirou-sama will be used for carrying messages between us.” She smiled. “I think that he can be persuaded to have your husband accompany him if you wish."

Hinaginu blushed, but said nothing.

McGann was frowning, thinking about something. “Would Samojirou-sama be able to go to Kyushu?” she asked. “I don't think that it would be dangerous to him.” She was silent for a moment, gauging our reaction. She was confused that we didn't seem to be giving her one. “While what was used to poison the island was deadly, I am pretty certain that the effects will not linger."