"It was just about here, Lord." the bushi stated, although his voice betrayed a slight uncertainty.
"A dancing light you say?" Kazuo asked him for perhaps the fourth time. "It's probably one of the peasants bathing late at the hot springs." Although his tone was firm, he admitted to himself he was puzzled. The dank sea mist made it an unattractive night even for trysting lovers - his first suspicion when no-one had answered his calls. "We'll look about a few minutes more and then go back."
Even as he spoke, he saw a reddish spark on the path below him, dancing and swooping, illumining the mist with an ominous crimson glow before vanishing. A sharp intake of breath behind him indicated the bushi had seen it too. As he stared into the darkness, he heard the bushi's voice.
"Please Master Kazuo, let's go back to the house. It's an oni-bi, or a gaki, or..."
His whining tone sealed Kazuo's decision. He would not show fear in front of a retainer. Drawing his sword, he beckoned the bushi to follow him and set off down the path. As the lantern bobbed up over his shoulder, he glanced down to be sure of his footing on the path, slick with the mist's dampness. In the mud, its edges clear cut, was a footprint.
At least it's not a gaki, he thought. They have no feet. On the other hand, no honest creature has three clawed toes like that. His voice came harsher than he had intended, as he snarled to the bushi "Draw your sword!"
The panels of the room were drawn back to allow the room to open into the garden. Twillight erased the dark wood of the balcony, made it a part of the gloom gathering under the trees, a darkness deepened by the cage of late fireflies suspended from the house's eaves.
Inside the room a small man turned to his vistor, his shaven head and simple robes proclaiming his priestly role, and contrasting with the bright silks of the samurai who faced him.
"Emma take your soul, priest! I have had enough of your whisperings and hints! Are you accusing me of something?" His voice was loud and the fireflies' lights instantly dimmed.
The priest's reply was quiet, although his voice carried easily throughout the room. "I accuse you of nothing. That is the role of Lord Emma. However, I do know that you poisoned your wife with bamboo slivers. The evidence is still intact in her tomb. Or, to be more accurate, her maid Skikako poisoned her at your instigation. She obviously did not flee with her lover, as rumoured, since her body is buried under the portico of the summer pavilion."
He said no more and the two sat in gathering darkness. The samurai lord's hand drifted to his sword and then away. Sweat slicked his face and he chewed the inside of his lip, torn between rage and perplexity. Could the priest have been bold enough to have come here without accomplices? Who else knew this secret? How in the name of the myriad did he learn a secret clasped to the bosom of the dead alone? And most of all, what did this devil's priest want?
Almost as if his thoughts had been spoken, the priest replied. "I come in answer to dreams, to help you with your conscience. Although as man of peace, I could never condone violence, nonetheless for a bushi to strive against a lord , who say..." here his voice became reflective, "..persecuted the priests of the one true religion, could be considered a meritorious act. A lord such as your southern neighbour, for instance." He got to his feet, smoothly and folded his hands inside his robe. "Meditate on how you may expiate your sins, that they may not come to light, my lord."
In a rustle of silk, he passed out into the garden and was lost to sight.
A spiral of red. A flash of gold in brown water. The carp smoothly rippled the water's surface below the fallen leaf as Lord Ikeda of Maebashi comtemplated the pond. He hoped his thoughtful expression was leading his attendants to believe he pondered the transience of life or some such thing. In fact, his thoughts ran mostly to lunch and the possibility of a restful afternoon.
His reverie was disturbed by the arrival of Arai Togai - one of his Gokenin. Togai came to the edge of the pavilion, then stopped and made a deep bow, indicating his desire to approach by handing his katana to an attendant. Lord Toshio beckoned him to rise, struggling to keep his contenance calm and his good mood intact. While the northerner was an exemplary retainer and a spectacularly fierce warrior, Lord Toshio found him difficult to be around. He was never relaxed, never partook in the generation of On that Toshio thought so important. Moreover, his sudden arrivals usually portended trouble and disturbance of routine.
"What has occasioned your visit here today, Togai?" He enquired. "Are you joining us to contemplate the falling leaves?"
"Alas, my Lord, I come on business of serious import" Togai replied, noting with inward amusement the almost imperceptible flinch this answer provoked. To soothe his lord, he continued "It concerns my brother, Tetsuo. Rumours of war circulate in the north. I am needed by my family. If it is agreeable to your lordship, I would ask to take leave of my duties until this matter is settled." Bowing his head he continued. "I would nominate Genno to take my place."
Ikeda turned and scrutinised the man sitting next to him. Genno? Genno was a pleasant fellow and an excellent player of the flute. He would certainly make a more pleasing companion than the dour northerner. He smiled and nodded to Togai. "Your concern for your family does you credit. If you wish to recruit retainers before you leave, I will send word to the magistrate in the town, who will circulate my imprint."
Togai rose abruptly to his feet. "Thank you, Lord. It will not be necessary. Speed is more important. I will travel with only a servant and my priestly councillor."
Reclaiming his sword, he bowed again and turning, passed swiftly away through the garden. Ikeda turned to his retainers and commented "Getting religion seems to have beem good for Togai." He was rewarded with hearty laughter, and his good humour restored, decided that really it was cool enough for yosenabe for lunch.