He is standing in the garden looking at a pear tree. She knows he can hear her approaching but he doesn't turn around. He just waits. He also knows it will be hard for her to have the conversation that is about to ensue. She stops a few steps behind him.
"I think this year will be good for pears," he states as if he is talking to himself. She stays quiet. "It has been a mild winter and there are plenty of flowers. Let us hope the summer will bring enough sunshine."
"Let us hope we will all live to see the summer," she thinks to herself.
It is the first time they are alone since she and Takashi came back from the reconnaissance mission the day before. They have recounted for their findings and with a heavy heart, Takashi has told them of his capture.
"It was foolhardy to rescue him. They could have captured you too and we would never have known what information you had gathered and they would have known their security has been breached all the same."
"Hai sensei." She is torn between shame and a sense of accomplishment. She also knows that he is covertly scolding her for taking risks because he loves her. If she had been captured and killed…
Takai turns around and looks at her.
"But I know you. And I knew this was a possible outcome. Not one I had hoped for, I admit, but a possible one. Takashi has lost face and you know as well as I do that it will only be restored if he gets to redeem himself honourably."
She nods. Takai will instruct the group to treat Takashi as if he is not there. It will be what he prefers and he is after all a man without a face. This will make it easier for Takashi to handle his situation but Takai knows it will only last so long. The poor boy must be let to regain his face or he will most likely kill himself but knowing the opportunity may present itself will still give him hope.
"Santana, do not let the souls of the four men whose lives you took, haunt you. We all play our parts in the universe. They played theirs, you play yours. Do not take pride in taking the lives of others. But do not be ashamed or remorseful either. We do what we do." He looks at her with a sincerity that leaves her no choice but to trust him implicitly. He nods slightly. Then he turns around again and says "Do you recognise this particular kind of pear blossom?"
She looks at the white and pale pink flowers. They are very pretty but she cannot tell for sure if they are the same as home in the village. "No, I can't tell for sure what kind they are," she admits. She watches him as he walks closer to the tree.
"Otosan…" They both know that the formal conversation is over and she uses the word "father" that she only calls him by sometimes when they are alone.
"Who is the yellow-haired girl? Is she a gai-jin, a foreigner, too? I haven't seen people with yellow hair since I was little. Since before…"
He nods. "Yes, she is a gai-jin. There is a Dutch tradesman who lives in the compound. She is his daughter. From what I understand they came to our shores some years ago." He understands that she must be curious. They have never come across other foreigners before and while Santana is Japanese in so many ways, she is also something else. Something he doesn't fully grasp and has never really tried to. He has seen maps of the earth and he knows there are other people who look and sound different, much more different than the Chinese or the people on the Korean peninsula.
Santana's head is full of questions. She wants to know more about the girl. Did they also come on a ship? Can she tell Santana about the Occident? Does she speak Spanish? But she is too shy to just seek out the girl to talk to her. And it would feel unprofessional. They are there on a mission, commissioned by Lord Kawada.
They spend the next few days training and planning. They also meet with some of Kawada's men, exchanging information and plans. When they finally strike, it will be a joint effort where both groups will play their own vital parts.
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Willem puts his cup down and looks at his daughter.
"I don't quite like the direction in which things are moving around here at the moment. Kawada is acting restless and the rivalry with Tanaka is escalating. That and the fact that we have spent several years here already, makes me wonder if it isn't time to think about returning to Europe."
The blond young woman looks up from her poetry writing.
"Why vader? Surely no one expects you to take part in whatever dealings Kawada has with Tanaka? And besides, I like it here. I like my friends and I like the things I do. And the voyage here was boring at best and at times outright horrendous." She sighs and dips the brush in the ink well. With confident brushstrokes the slender pale hand creates intricate characters on the thin rice paper.
"I know liefje but it is the only way for us to get home. I know you have taken to the ways of this country but you do know that our real home is in Rotterdam, not here. And my dear, I want you to marry a nice Dutch boy. The Japanese are our friends but we are different kinds with different ways." He smiles at her.
"I never said I want to marry a Japanese boy, vader. I just like it here. All the boys here think about is their swords and their horses and hunting. They are certainly not the reason I want to stay."
A wave of relief washes over Willem. Even if he does want Britt to marry a nice young man sometime, he is quite happy to let that happen later rather sooner. It feels like it was just the other day she came running to him with the first tooth she lost. He face had shown both pride and fear as she opened her mouth to display the gap where the tiny tooth had been. He smiled at the memory. Now, she is eighteen years old and as beautiful as a lily. She has her mother's blue eyes and blond hair. With some pride he acknowledges that she has his own athletic build. He wishes Anna could have seen her. She would have been as proud of their daughter has he is. The hole in his heart is still as big as ever but maybe he has gotten used to it a little bit by now. Maybe it is more of a hole than a gaping bleeding wound. It's already been six years since the fever took his beloved wife, the love of his life. He wonders if he has given Brittany a happy childhood despite the loss of her mother. He has always put her first and tried to be a good father. And she's such a good daughter. She's merry and pretty. She studies hard and she is kind to others. He wants to get her home before she becomes too attached to Japan. Their stay here was never supposed to be this long. When the opportunity to travel presented itself shortly after Anna's death, he was rather keen on leaving, an attempt to escape the grief and the pain. Futile, as it may have been.
"Vader, who are the new people in the compound? I've seen groups of strangers. Young men mostly. Are they soldiers?"
"I believe they have been hired by lord Kawada. For the security reasons, I'm told. I think lord Kawada just wants to feel safe. They are shinobis, ninjas."
"What is a ninja, vader?"
"They are hired mercenaries, I suppose you could call them but they are not ordinary swordsmen. They specialise is clandestine operations, trained to kill silently. They are experts with poisons and special weapons. They dress in black and wear hoods so only their eyes show. Some say they can disappear in the shadows. Some say they can fly. That is of course nonsense. They come from the regions of Iga and Koga. That's all I know."
Brittany looks at her father. The notion of the mysterious hooded killers scares her a little but intrigues her too.
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The two men look at each other before raising their cups of rice wine to their mouths. Takai notes how smooth the wine is. It has an almost oily quality to it, a round body and exquisite aroma. Wealth has its advantages, he thinks to himself.
Silently he studies lord Kawada. They have known each other for a long time. They are perhaps not what one might call friends but something akin to it. Kawada frequently used Takai's services while he was making a name for himself as a young and coming warlord. He would send Takai on solo missions, often to sabotage things for his enemies. This usually meant killing strategically selected people, the son of a rival, his favourite mistress, the samurai most vital to the morale of the troops. Sometimes, the rival himself. Takai always delivered. He was fast, efficient, never got caught and one hundred per cent loyal to the person who commissioned him. Kawada had not been surprised when he found out Takai had been appointed shoenin, master, of the Iga clan. What had surprised him a lot more, were the rumours that Takai had adopted a gai-jin girl and trained her to be a shinobi. Surely it was an unsuitable calling for a woman.
"Seven more days. Then we strike against the snake Tanaka. Your men and my men. You had better not screw up this time Takai. No glitches. The son of a slug knows we are coming but on the other hand, he knew we were coming anyway. It was just a matter of time."
"Yes, Kawada-sama. Over the next few days, we will inform your men of the layout, strengths and weaknesses of the Tanaka compound. Kawada-sama, do you want Tanaka dead or captured alive?"
