Chapter 10
Akiko and her maid climbed out of the palanquin Akiko had hired; and she paid it off. They looked about the quarter of the fan makers. Hodaka's fan shop was advertised as most were with his name on a wooden fan shape mounted outside the shop. Akiko hesitated as though nervous; she was looking to see that Buntaro's men were already in place. They had been careful; dressed in the unassuming garb of the chonin, the townsfolk; hats covering distinctive samurai hairstyles, swords doubtless upright in belts under the hastily assumed and baggy outer happi that was the chonin version of the haori. Akiko recognised several impassive faces shopping for fans.
She went in.
"My Lady! What – what can I do for you?" the proprietor was immediately by her, rubbing – or wringing – his hands together as he bowed deeply over and over. He was sweating slightly; which sheen of dampness together with his bobbing up and down reminded Akiko of a duck bobbing for titbits on the river.
"Are you Hodaka-san?" asked Akiko enjoying the fact that the name almost quacked as she said it.
"Why, yes I am, great Lady! I am at your disposal!" he bowed again.
"My name is Anjin Akiko; I believe that you have some news of my father" said Akiko quietly.
"Why yes! Yes indeed!" Hadaka's hands were twitching. "You will want to see him" he said in an undertone then added loudly "Why yes great lady, the work you ordered is in progress, won't you come through? Your maid can wait here."
"Wait outside the shop Hana" said Akiko. She stepped through the shoji that Hadaka held for her. Within was Sato Kazuo and a number of his retainers.
"At LAST!" he said "I was beginning to wonder if you cared about your father at all the time you have been."
"Your manners haven't noticeably improved since the last time I saw you" said Akiko clinically "And what have YOU to do with my father?"
He laughed.
"Nothing whatsoever; but I thought that ought to fetch you to a place where you were unguarded. I am going to marry you; and then I am going to beat you until you apologise abjectly for your arrogance."
"If you dislike me so much, why do you want to marry me?" asked Akiko. "I am not that attractive nor yet enough of a woman that you are overwhelmed by lust I think"
"I am not; I think you are ugly with your fox hair and long face" said Kazuo "But control of you is to have some control of your father who is a madman and a wild animal but who has the Shogun's ear and who could make it easier for we Christians."
"Excuse me, but my father is Japanese enough to sacrifice me rather than sacrifice all Japan to your foreign manipulative ways" said Akiko.
"Enough! Seize her!" he waved a hand. Akiko put her hand to her mouth as though in fear; and through two fingers whistled long and loud in the English fashion. Then she kicked the nearest samurai in the crotch and pulled his own katana from its scabbard as he doubled with an oath.
The shoji exploded into smithereens in a variety of directions as Buntaro and his vassals burst through the walls of the shops next door, and the street. Buntaro was first in.
Akiko had no occasion to use either the katana or her pistol; Buntaro was having too much fun hacking her would-be assailants; and kicking Kazuo's feet out from under him as he tried to sneak away.
Akiko drew pistol on him.
"Kill me then!" he shouted.
"Oh no" said Akiko "Then you would be free and unable to answer questions. Try to escape and I will put a ball through your knee. It will shatter the kneecap and the ends of the upper and lower bones. The pain will be excruciating. More to the point, you will be unable to walk or even crawl. Indeed if your life were to be extended – which I doubt – you would never walk properly again. You would be unable to kneel properly even to pray to your god the Pope. For he is the true god of your religion; a god of dirt and darkness. If there is a true God He is shamed by your presence and the foulness that His so-called priests spawn in His name. You are eta."
He went for her, drawing his tanto; that was an insult that could not be swallowed.
He went down screaming, falling forward with the impetus of his rush as her ball blew his kneecap off.
Even as Buntaro had taught her the bow, her father had taught Akiko all there was to know about the pistol; and he was so close she could not miss.
The impetus carried him forward and his tanto raked her arm. Akiko gasped. It hurt.
Not as much as his knee hurt, she told herself blinking hard on tears of pain.
Then Buntaro was at her side in a bound.
"Chibi – Taku-chan, he has hurt you!" he said.
"It hurts sensei" she gasped "But I think it is not serious!"
He was cutting the sleeve away, nodding.
"A flesh wound" he said gruffly "Let me bind it; sit"
Akiko sank thankfully to the floor; and he knelt beside her to quickly and efficiently bind the wound.
"Arigato gosiemas'sensei" she said.
He touched her face.
"A war wound neh?" he said. "It was bravely done to take the wound to get the timing right."
"I was not sure how far he would fall; I was not certain he would wound me" said Akiko "There was not time to think about it too much….."
"But you did not flinch. That was well done" said Buntaro. "You are a warrior."
There was no higher praise from him; and Akiko sighed in contentment. The bandage was helping the pain and Buntaro's vassals were collecting either prisoners or heads.
The fan shop owner was cowering on the floor under a pile of cushions shaking. Buntaro kicked his exposed buttocks. It was not a gentle kick. The shop owner howled in anguish.
"Explain, anta, why you loaned yourself to this attempted abduction of a hatamoto's daughter" said Buntaro.
"He – they said I would burn in Hell if I did not assist this son of the Holy Mother Church!" wailed the chonin.
Buntaro gave him another kick.
"I can arrange to burn you until you go to your hell" he said. "Who was the foreigner who wrote the letter?"
"I do not know noble samurai!" howled the man "All I know is that I was told to hold my shop ready to be used to deal with a dangerous influence! To neutralise Satan's tools! It was not my fault, I am so sorry!" and he commenced banging his head on the floor.
Buntaro growled dissatisfaction.
He probably did not know any more; the Sato puppy was samurai for all that he pretended to believe all men equal; he would not entrust someone not samurai with information save one of his filthy priests. And there were samurai priests too, curse the damned foreign influence! All men were equal before God indeed…. No, he did not believe that this snivelling ji-zamurai would be about to share his board with peasants or call them brother.
There would be some amusement to be had taunting the fellow about that though.
Now all that remained was to….
Was to explain to the contingent of the guards that had been sent just exactly what was going on. And then they might be ordered to clear up the mess.
Excellent.
oOoOo
"I would have sent a contingent to arrest everyone in that shop rather than have this rather excessive outbreak of violence, Buntaro-san" said Toranaga "It was a worthy reason to interrupt the meeting over."
"Well sire, I could not be entirely sure what was behind that decoying note" said Buntaro looking more smug than chastened thought Toranaga with mild irritation "And I did not want to embarrass Lady Akiko or the Anjin-san by bringing forward something that might have proved after all to be nothing…"
"Hmmmm" said Toranaga. You argue well Buntaro; you learned something in your years married to Mariko; or maybe it is that complex and foxy little bride of yours. "I see" he added. "As there was no clue in the note – save that it must have been written by a gaijin – you have more excuse."
"Please excuse me, sire, but a gaijin might have been bribed to write the note" said Buntaro "It need not necessarily have been a Christian originated plot. It might even have been some childish surprise planned and executed with no harm meant by companions of the Lady Akiko."
"Hmmmm" said Toranaga again. You were bored stiff Buntaro and you wanted a little exercise and violence. Should I let you know that I know this and censure you for it? No I will permit you to get away with it because it keeps you more tractable if you may have your moments of exercise. "Yes; that is correct. Or it may have been that a vassal wished to gift her with a fan and was bashful about doing so openly" he added "You were correct to investigate. Another time see that you leave a note for me that I may be apprised."
Buntaro placed his head to the ground in some contrition. Toranaga thought it was not much.
"So sorry my lord" he said "I erred in not leaving any indication what I was doing."
oOoOo
"For what it's worth you have my heartfelt thanks for saving my daughter yet again" said Blackthorne.
Buntaro grinned at him.
"Well I might have rousted you out of there but I didn't feel like sharing the fun as Aki-chan was willing to spring the trap" he said. "She is exceptional, Anjin-san; I hope you appreciate her."
"Oh I do" said Blackthorne "I am glad that you do."
"She is an ornament to any house and a prize to cherish" said Buntaro surprising himself with the depth of emotion with which he spoke to his rival.
"She is our peace" said Blackthorne bowing deeply.
Buntaro, who half expected him to put out his hand in that foreign way he sometimes still had, bowed deeply back.
"Our peace; yes" he said. "There is nothing else between us; it is wiped away, neh?"
"Yes; thank you. All previous thoughts and feelings are wiped away" said Blackthorne. If you feel so deeply about my little girl and will protect her not harm her it can wipe out everything. But how much do you guess about Toranaga lying? I do believe you do know…. If you will wipe THAT out for Akiko then it is a new start indeed.
Buntaro nodded to him.
What had happened had happened. Karma.
Protecting Akiko was his mission in life; and by that all past was gone, washed away like tears in the rain.