Brilliance of the Moon (32 page)

As we approached the small town of Shuho, Arai’s men could be
seen foraging for food. I pictured the extra hardship this huge force of men
and horses was imposing on the land. Everything that had already been harvested
would be taken, and what had not been harvested would have been ruined by the
storm. I hoped these villagers had secret fields and hidden stores; if not,
they would starve when winter came.

Shuho was famous for its many cold springs, which formed a lake
of a brilliant blue color. The water was reputed to have healing qualities and
was dedicated to the goddess of good fortune. Perhaps this was what gave the
place a cheerful atmosphere, despite the invasion of troops and the destruction
of the storm. The brilliant day seemed to promise the return of good fortune.
The townspeople were already repairing and rebuilding, calling out jokes to
each other, even singing. The blows of hammers, the hiss of saws, set up a
lively song against the sound of water as streams ran overflowing everywhere.

We were in the main street when, to my astonishment, I heard from
out of the hubbub someone shout my name. “Takeo! Lord Otori!”

I recognized the voice, though I could not immediately place it.
Then the sweet smell of the fresh-cut wood brought him up to the surface of my
mind: Shiro, the master carpenter from Hagi who had built the tea house and the
nightingale floor for Shigeru.

I turned my head in the direction of the voice and saw him waving
from a rooftop. He called again, “Lord Otori!” and slowly the town’s song
stilled as one by one the men laid down their tools and turned to stare.

Their silent burning gaze fell on me in the same way that men had
stared at Shigeru when he rode back from Terayama to Yamagata, angering and
alarming the Tohan who accompanied us, and on me when I had been among the
outcasts.

I looked forward, making no response. I did not want to anger Akita. I was, after all, a prisoner. But I heard my name repeated from mouth to mouth,
like the buzz of insects around pollen. Hiroshi whispered, “They all know Lord
Otori.”

“Say nothing,” I
replied, hoping they would not be punished for it. I wondered why Shiro was
here, if he had been driven from the Middle Country after Shigeru’s death, and
what news he had from Hagi. Arai had set up his headquarters in a small temple
on the hillside above the town. He was not accompanied by his whole army, of
course; I found out later some were still in Inuyama and the rest encamped
halfway between Hagi and Kumamoto.

We dismounted and I told Hiroshi to stay with the horses and see that
they were fed. He looked as if he were going to protest, then lowered his head,
his face suddenly full of sadness.

Sakai
put his hand on the boy’s
shoulder and Hiroshi took Shuns bridle. I felt a pang as I watched the little
bay docilely walking beside him, rubbing his head against Hiroshi’s arm. He had
saved my life many times and I did not want to part with him. For the first
time the thought that I might not see him again lunged and hit me and I
realized how deeply I did not want to die. I allowed myself to experience this
sensation for a moment, then I drew up my Kikuta self like a defense around me,
thankful for the dark strength of the Tribe that would sustain me now.

“Come this way,” Akita said. “Lord Arai wants to see you
immediately.”

I could already hear Arai’s voice from the interior of the
temple, angry and powerful.

At the veranda’s edge a servant came with water and I washed my
feet. I could do little about the rest of me; my armor and clothes were filthy,
coated in mud and blood. I was amazed that Akita could look so spruce after the
battle and the pursuit through the rain, but when he led me into the room where
Arai and all his senior retainers were gathered, I saw they were all equally
well dressed and clean.

Among these large men Arai was the biggest. He seemed to have
grown in stature since I had last seen him at Terayama. His victories had given
him the weight of power. He had shown his characteristic decisiveness in
seizing control after Iida’s death, and Shigeru’s; he was physically brave,
quick-thinking, and ruthless, and he had the ability to bind men to him in
loyalty. His faults were rashness and obstinacy; he was neither flexible nor
patient, and I felt he was greedy. Whereas Shigeru had sought power because
with it he could rule with justice and in harmony with heaven, Arai sought
power for its own sake.

All this flashed through my mind as I took one quick look at the
man seated on the raised section of the room, flanked by his retainers. He wore
elaborate armor, resplendent in red and gold, but his head was bare. He had
grown his beard and mustache and I could smell their perfume. Our eyes met for
a moment, but I could read nothing in them other than his anger.

The room must have served as an audience room for the temple;
beyond the inner doors, which were half-open, I could hear movements and
whispers from the monks and priests, and the smell of incense floated in the
air.

I dropped to the floor, prostrating myself.

There was a long silence, broken only by the impatient tapping of
Arai’s fan. I could hear the quickened breathing of the men around me, the
beating of their hearts like drums, and in the distance the song of the town
rebuilding itself. I thought I heard Shun whicker from the horse lines, the
eager sound of a horse seeing food.

“What a fool you are, Otori,” Arai shouted into the silence. “I
command you to marry and you refuse. You disappear for months, abandoning your
inheritance. You reappear and have the audacity to marry a woman under my
protection without my permission. You dare to attack a nobleman, Lord Fujiwara.
All this could have been avoided. We could have been allies.”

He continued in this vein for some time, punctuating each
sentence with a thwack of his fan as if he would like to beat me round the
head. But his rage did not touch me, partly because I had cloaked myself in
darkness, partly because I sensed that it was mostly assumed. I did not resent
it; he had every right to be angry with me. I waited, face on the floor, to see
what he would do next.

He ran out of rebukes and insults and another long silence
en-sued. Finally he grunted, “Leave us. I will speak to Otori alone.”

Someone to his left whispered, “Is that wise, lord? His
reputation…”

“I am not afraid of Otori!” Arai shouted, taking rage on again
immediately. I heard the men depart one by one and heard Arai stand and step
down from the platform. “Sit up,” he ordered.

I sat but kept my eyes lowered. He knelt down so we were knee to
knee and could speak without being overheard.

“Well, that’s out of the way,” he said, almost affably. “Now we
can talk strategy.”

“I am deeply sorry for offending Lord Arai,” I said.

“All right, all right, what’s past is past. My advisers think you
should be ordered to kill yourself for your insolence.” To my amazement he
began to chuckle. “Lady Shirakawa is a beautiful woman. It must be punishment
enough to lose her. I think many are jealous that you went ahead and did what
they wished they dared do. And you lived, which many consider a miracle, given
her reputation. Women pass, though; what matters is power—power and revenge.”

I bowed again, to avoid revealing the fury his shallow words
aroused in me.

He went on: “I like boldness, Takeo. I admire what you did for
Shigeru. I promised him a long time ago that I would support you in the case of
his death; it irks me, as it must you, that his uncles go unpunished. I did
speak to the Miyoshi brothers when you sent them. Indeed, Kahei is here with my
men; you can see him later. The younger one is still in Inuyama. I learned from
them how you outwitted the main Otori army and how many of the clan favor you.
The battle at Asagawa was well done. Nariaki had been bothering me and I was
pleased to see him removed. We came through Maruyama and saw your work there
and Kahei told me how you dealt with the Tribe. You learned Shigeru’s lessons
well. He would be proud of you.”

“I don’t deserve your praise,” I said. “I will take my own life
if you desire it. Or I will retire to a monastery—Terayama, for example.”

“Yes, I can see that working,” he replied dryly. “I’m aware of
your reputation. I’d rather use it myself than have you holed up in some
temple, attracting all the malcontents from the Three Countries.” He added
offhandedly, “You may take your own life if you wish. It’s your right as a
warrior and I won’t prevent you. But I’d infinitely prefer to have you fighting
with me.”

“Lord Arai.”

“The whole of the Three Countries obeys me now, apart from the
Otori. I want to deal with them before winter. Their main army is still outside
Yamagata. I believe they can be defeated, but they will fall back to Hagi and
it is said that the town cannot be taken by siege, especially once the snows
begin.”

He stared at me, studying my face. I kept my expression
impassive, my eyes turned away.

“I have two questions for you, Takeo. How were you able to
identify the Tribe in Maruyama? And was your retreat to the coast deliberate?
We thought we had you trapped, but you moved too quickly for us, as if it were
premeditated.”

I raised my head and met his eyes briefly. “I accept your offer
of an alliance,” I said. “I will serve you loyally. In return I understand that
you recognize me as the lawful heir of the Otori clan and will support me in
reclaiming my inheritance in Hagi.”

He clapped his hands and, when a servant appeared at the door,
ordered wine to be brought. I did not tell him that I would never give up
Kaede, and he no doubt was less than frank with me, but we drank ceremonially
to our alliance. I would have preferred something to eat, even tea. The wine
hit my empty stomach like fire. “Now you may answer my questions,” Arai said.

I told him about Shigeru’s records of the Tribe and how I had
been given them at Terayama.

“Where are they now? At Maruyama?”

“No.”

“So where? You won’t tell me?”

“They are not in my possession, but I know where they are. And I
carry most of the information in my head.”

“So that’s how you were so successful,” he said.

“The Tribe seem eager to assassinate me,” I said. “There were not
many in Maruyama, but each one represented a threat, so I had to eradicate
them. I would have preferred to make use of them; I know what they can do and
how useful they can be.”

“You will share those records with me?”

“If it helps us both attain our goals.”

He sat for a while, brooding on my words. “I was enraged by the
part the Tribe played last year,” he said. “I did not know they were so powerful.
They took you away and managed to keep you hidden while my men scoured Yamagata for you. I suddenly realized they were like damp beneath a house or wood-boring
insects that chew away at the foundation of a huge building. I also wanted to
wipe them out—but it would make more sense to control them. That brings me to
something else I want to talk to you about. You remember Muto Shizuka?” Or
course.

“You probably know that I had two sons with her.”

I nodded. I knew their names, Zenko and Taku, and their ages.

“Do you know where they are?” Arai asked. There was a curious
note in his voice: not quite pleading, but close to it.

I did know, but I was not going to tell him. “Not exactly,” I
said. “I suppose I could guess where to start looking.”

“My son from my marriage died recently,” he said abruptly.

“I had not heard of it. I am very sorry.”

“It was smallpox, poor creature. His mother’s health is not good
and she took the loss very badly.”

“My deepest sympathy.”

“I’ve sent messages to Shizuka to tell her I want my sons with
me. I’ll recognize them and adopt them legally. But I’ve heard nothing from
her.”

“It’s your right as their father,” I said. “But the Tribe have a
way of claiming children of mixed blood who’ve inherited their talents.”

“What are these talents?” he said curiously. “I know Shizuka was
an unparalleled spy, and I’ve heard all sorts of rumors about you.”

“Nothing very special,” I said. “Everyone exaggerates them. It’s
mainly a question of training.”

“I wonder,” he said, staring at me. I resisted the temptation to
meet his gaze. I realized suddenly that the wine and my reprieve from death had
made me light-headed. I sat still and said nothing, drawing up my self-control
again.

“Well, we’ll talk about this again. My other question concerns your
retreat to the coast. We expected you to fall back to Maruyama.” I told him
about my pact with the Terada and my plan to enter Hagi by ship and infiltrate
the castle from the sea while sending an army to decoy the Otori forces and tie
them up on land. He was immediately taken with the plan, as I knew he would be,
and
it
increased his enthusiasm to tackle
the Otori before Hagi was closed by winter. “Can you bring the Terada into
alliance with me?” he demanded, his eyes fiery and impatient.

“I expect they will want something in exchange.”