Brilliance of the Moon (31 page)

“I often wondered how you met,” Shizuka said. “So you saved his
life.”

“Not I but Jato. This is the way it goes from hand to hand. Takeo
has it because Yuki gave it to him in Inuyama. And because of her disobedience
then the Kikuta started to distrust her.“

“How strange are the ways of fate,” Shizuka murmured.

“Yes, there is some bond between us all that I cannot fight. It’s
mainly because Jato chose Takeo, through my daughter, that I feel we must work
with him. Apart from that, I can keep my promise never to harm him and maybe
make amends for the role I played in Shigeru’s death.” He paused and then said
in a low voice, “I did not see the look on his face when Takeo and I did not
return that night in Inuyama, but it is the expression he wears when he visits
me in dreams.”

Neither of them said anything for a few moments. A sudden flash
of lightning lit the room, and Shizuka could hear thunder rolling in the
mountains. Kenji went on: “I hope your Kikuta blood will not take you from us
now.”

“No, your decision is a relief to me because it means I can keep
faith with Kaede. I’m sorry, but I would never have done anything to hurt
either of them.”

Her admission made him smile again. “So I have always thought.
Not only because of your affection for Kaede—I know how strong your feelings
were for both Shigeru and Lady Maruyama, and the part you played in the
alliance with Arai.” Kenji was looking at her closely. “Shizuka, you did not
seem completely surprised when I told you about Shigeru’s records. I have been
trying to deduce who his informant in the Tribe might have been.”

She was trembling despite herself. Her disobedience—treachery, to
give it its true name—was about to be disclosed. She could not imagine what the
Tribe would do to her.

“It was you, wasn’t it?” Kenji went on.

“Uncle,” she began.

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said quickly. “I will never speak of it to
another soul. But I would like to know why.”

“It was after Yaegahara,” she said. “I gave the information to
Iida that Shigeru was seeking alliances with the Seishuu. Shigeru confided in
Arai, and I passed the information on. It was because of me that the Tohan
triumphed, because of me that ten thousand died on the battlefield and
countless others afterward from torture and starvation. I watched Shigeru in
the years following and was filled with admiration for his patience and
fortitude. He seemed to me the only good man I had ever met, and I had played a
leading part in his downfall. So I resolved to help him, to make amends. He
asked me many things about the Tribe, and I told him everything I could. It was
not hard to keep it secret—it was what I had been trained to do.” She paused
and then said, “I am afraid you will be very angry.”

He shook his head. “I should be, I suppose. If I had found out
anytime before this, I would have had to order your punishment and death.” He
was gazing at her with admiration. “Truly you have the Kikuta gift of
fearlessness. In fact I am glad you did what you did. You helped Shigeru, and
now that legacy protects Takeo. It may even make amends for my own betrayal.”

“Will you go to Takeo now?”

“I was hoping to have a little more news. Kondo should return
soon. Otherwise, yes, I will go to Maruyama.”

“Send a messenger—send me. It’s too dangerous to go yourself. But
will Takeo trust anyone from the Tribe?”

“Maybe we will both go. And we will take your sons.”

She gazed steadily at him. A mosquito was whining near her hair,
but she did not brush it away.

“They will be our guarantee to him,” Kenji said quietly.

Lightning flashed again; the thunder was closer. Suddenly rain
began to fall heavily. It poured from the eaves, and the smell of earth sprang
from the garden.

The storm lashed the village for three or four days. Before Kondo
returned, another message came, from a Muto girl who worked in Lord Fujiwara’s
residence in the South. It was brief and tantalizing, telling them none of the
details they wanted to know, written in haste, and apparently in some danger,
saying only that Shirakawa Kaede was in the house and was married to Fujiwara.

“What have they done to her now?” Kenji said, shaken out of his
grief by anger.

“We always knew the marriage with Takeo would be opposed,”
Shizuka said. “I imagine Fujiwara and Arai have arranged this between them.
Lord Fujiwara wanted to marry her before she left in the spring. I’m afraid I
encouraged her to become close to him.”

She pictured Kaede imprisoned within the luxurious residence,
rememberecd the nobleman’s cruelty, and wished she had acted differently.

“I don’t know what’s happened to me,” she said to her uncle. “I used
to be indifferent to all these things. Now I find I care deeply; I’m outraged
and horrified, and filled with pity for them both.“

“Since I first set eyes on her I’ve been moved by Lady
Shirakawa’s plight,” he replied. “It’s hard not to pity her even more now.”

“What will Takeo
do?” Shizuka wondered aloud. “He will go to war,” Kenji predicted. “And almost
certainly be defeated. It may be too late for us to make peace with him.”

Shizuka saw her uncle’s grief descend on him again. She was
afraid he would indeed follow his daughter into death and tried to make sure he
was never left alone.

Another week passed before Kondo finally returned. The weather
had cleared and Shizuka had walked to the shrine to pray again to the war god
to protect Takeo. She bowed to the image and stood, clapped her hands three
times, asking also, helplessly, that Kaede might be rescued. As she turned to
walk away, Taku came shimmering out of invisibility in front of her.

“Ha!” he said in triumph. “You didn’t hear me that time!”

She was astonished, for she had neither heard him nor discerned
him. “Well done!”

Taku grinned. “Kondo Kiichi has returned. He’s waiting for you.
Uncle wanted you to hear his news.”

“So make sure you don’t hear it too,” she teased him.

“I like hearing things,” he replied. “I like knowing everyone’s
secrets.”

He ran ahead of her up the dusty street, going invisible every
time he passed from sunshine to shadow.
It’s all a game to him
, she thought,
as
it
used to be for me. But at some point in the last year it stopped being a game.
Why? What’s happened to me? Is it that I learned fear? The fear of losing the
people I low
?

Kondo sat with her uncle in the main room of the house. She knelt
before them and greeted the man who two months earlier had wanted to marry her.
She knew now, seeing him again, that she did not want him. She would make some
excuse, plead ill health.

His face was thin and haggard, though his greeting was warm.

“I’m sorry I have been so delayed,” he said. “At one point I did
not think I would return at all. I was arrested as soon as I got to Inu-yama.
The failed attack on you had been reported to Arai, and I was recognized by the
men who came with us to Shirakawa. I expected to be put to death. But then a
tragedy occurred: There was an outbreak of smallpox. Arai’s son died. When the
mourning period was over, he sent for me and questioned me at length about
you.”

“Now he is interested in your sons again,” Kenji observed.

“He declared he was in my debt, since I’d saved your life. He
wished me to return to his service and offered to confirm me in the warrior
rank of my mother’s family and give me a stipend.” Shizuka glanced at her
uncle, but Kenji said nothing. Kondo went on: “I accepted. I hope that was the
right thing to do. Of course, it suits me, being at the moment masterless, but
if the Muto family object…”

“You may be useful to us there,” Kenji said. “Lord Arai assumed I
knew where you were and asked me to give you the message that he wishes to see
his sons, and you, to discuss their formal adoption.”

“Does he want our relationship to resume?” Shizuka asked. “He
wants you to move to Inuyama, as the boys’ mother.” He did not actually say
and
as his mistress
, but Shizuka caught his meaning. Kondo
gave no sign of anger or jealousy as he spoke, but the ironic look flashed
across his face. Of course, if he were established in the warrior class, he
could make a good marriage within it. It was only when he had been masterless
that he’d seen a solution in her.

She did not know if she was more angered or amused by his
pragmatism. She had no intention of sending her sons to Arai or of ever
sleeping with him again or of marrying Kondo. She hoped fervently that Kenji
was not going to order her to do any of them.

“All these things must be considered carefully,” her uncle said.
“Yes, of course,” Kondo replied. “Anyway, matters have been complicated by the
campaign against Otori Takeo.”

“We’ve been hoping for news of him,” Kenji murmured. “Arai was
enraged by the marriage. He declared it invalid immediately and sent a large
contingent of men to Lord Fujiwara. Later in the summer he himself moved to Kumamoto, close enough to strike at Maruyama. The last I heard was that Lady Shirakawa was
living in Lord Fujiwara’s house and was married to him. She is in seclusion,
virtually imprisoned.“ He sniffed loudly and threw his head back. ”I know
Fujiwara considered himself betrothed to her, but he should not have acted in
the way he did. He had her seized by force; several of her men were
killed—Amano Tenzo among them, which was a great loss. There was no need for
that. Ai and Hana are hostages in Inuyama. Matters could have been negotiated
without bloodshed.“

Shizuka felt a pang of sorrow for the two girls. “Did you see
them there?”

“No, it was not allowed.”

He seemed genuinely angered on Kaede’s behalf, and Shizuka
remembered his unlikely devotion to her.

“And Takeo?” she said.

“It seems Takeo set out against Fujiwara and met Arai’s army. He
was forced to retreat. After that it’s all very unclear. There was a huge,
early typhoon in the West. Both armies were caught close to the coast. No one
really knows yet what the outcome was.”

“If Arai defeats Takeo, what will he do with him?” Shizuka asked.

“That’s what everyone wonders! Some say he will have him
executed; some that he wouldn’t dare because of Takeo’s reputation; some that
he’ll make an alliance with him against the Otori in Hagi.”

“Close to the coast?” Kenji questioned. “Which part, exactly?”

“Near a town called Shuho, I believe. I don’t know the district
myself.”

“Shuho?” Kenji said. “I’ve never been there, but they say it has
a beautiful natural blue pool, which I’ve always wanted to visit. It’s a long
time since I’ve done any traveling. The weather is perfect for it now. You had
both better come with me.”

He sounded casual, but Shizuka sensed his urgency. “And the
boys?” she asked.

“We’ll take them both; it will be a good experience for them, and
we may even needTakus skills.” Kenji got to his feet. “We must leave at once.
We’ll pick up horses in Yamagata.”

“What is your plan?” Kondo said. “If I may ask, do you intend to
make sure Takeo is eliminated?”

“Not exactly. I’ll tell you on the road.” As Kondo bowed and left
the room, Kenji murmured to Shizuka, “Maybe we will get there in time to save
his life.”

No one spoke as we rode, but the attitude of Akita and his
warriors seemed courteous and respectful. I hoped I had saved my men and
Hiroshi by surrendering, but I did not expect my own life to be spared. I was
grateful to Arai for having me treated like an Oton lord, one of his own class,
and for not humiliating me, but I imagined he would either have me executed or
order me to kill myself. Despite my childhood teaching, Jo-An’s words, and my
promise to Kaede, I knew I would have no alternative but to obey.

The typhoon had cleared the air of all humidity, and the morning
was bright and clear. My thinking had the same clarity: Arai had defeated me; I
had surrendered; I would submit to him and obey, doing whatever he told me to
do. I began to understand why the warriors had such a high regard for their
code. It made life very simple.

The words of the prophecy came into my head, but I put them
aside. I did not want anything to distract me from the correct path. I glanced
at Hiroshi riding next to me, his shoulders squared, his head high. The old
horse plodded calmly along, snorting now and then with pleasure at the warmth
of the sun. I thought about the upbringing that had made courage second nature
to the boy. He knew instinctively how to act with honor, though I was sorry he
had come to experience surrender and defeat so young.

All around us were the signs of the devastation left by the
typhoon when it swept along the coast. Roofless houses, huge trees uprooted,
flattened rice, and flooded rivers, with drowned oxen, dogs, and other animals
stranded among the debris. I felt anxious briefly about my farmers at Maruyama,
wondered if the defenses we had built had been strong enough to preserve their
fields, and what would happen to them if Kaede and I were not there to protect
them. To whom did the domain belong now, and who would look after it? It had
been mine for one brief summer, but I grieved over its loss. I had put all my
energy into restoring it. No doubt the Tribe would return, too, punish those
who had supplanted them, and take up their cruel trade again. And no one but I
could put a stop to them.