There was some back and forth about it, and Wolf was looking more and more uncomfortable, until he barked something out that sounded like he was telling them to fuck off.
"He can divorce her for that,” Logan sort of hissed at me while watching the argument between Wolf and the others to see if it was going to get nasty.
I shrugged. “Not like they're really married. Can it be like a vow or something that she has to wear it? Hell, having her run around in pants makes me feel a lot better."
"There were rules,” Wolf said when the argument was over. “I don't really remember the sagas. So I don't know how much trouble we're in. But I know that it can be bad that she's dressed like that."
"We can always leave,” I said. “Just hang around until we have to go back or look for someone else. It don't matter to me either way, ‘cause I thought that this was a really stupid plan."
* * * *
We ended up in a small settlement on the edge of the ocean. There were a couple of fishing boats pulled up on the rocky beach and a collection of houses built out of dirt and grass. Pigs and goats were wandering around, and the place looked like it belonged on one of those ads for adopting a kid out of a Third World pest hole. Not that there weren't places in Boston looked worse than this, but this place was poor, and it showed.
"Did I mention that I missed Tamazusa's place?” I asked the air. Wolf gave me a dirty look for that comment. Hell, the Nips might have been assholes some of the time, but they knew how to bathe, at least. I wasn't betting that there was going to be a daily bath in my future, from the looks of this place. Not that I was fanatic about stuff like that. It then dawned on me that I was sort of insulting Wolf's ancestors. “Shit, man, I liked the gardens and the cute chicks,” I said. “Not trying to diss your people or shit like that."
Wolf nodded and relaxed. I wasn't going to remind him that I grew up in a west-bum-fuck area like this before I was sent to prison. It wasn't quite as poor, but it was sure as shit out in the back end of nowhere South Dakota.
I didn't like the fact that everyone and their uncle had come out to stare at us. Mostly at me, it seemed, because there was a lot of pointing in my direction and nudging going on. Finally, a really big guy came hurrying over to us. “I'm Grima Njalsson,” he announced in halting English. “This is my farm. Welcome."
"I'm Wolf Larsson and my wife Caitlynn. My men Logan and Mason. We are travelers."
"And where did you travel from?” Njalsson asked while walking us into one of the grass buildings. I wasn't surprised to find that when I got in there, the inside was smoky and dark.
"Far away,” Wolf told him vaguely.
"And your boat?” Njalsson asked, like he was trying to be polite and not fishing for information.
"We have no boat, because we were dropped off here by other travelers,” Wolf said.
It wasn't really a lie. Whatever hoodoo dropped us off here was done by someone else. Njalsson looked like he bought the story, though.
"I can give you guesting rights for six days,” Njalsson said almost reluctantly. I don't think it was because he didn't trust us, but because we were “weird” to him, with McGann in pants and me looking the way that I did. But he was going to do his duty if it killed him. I almost felt sorry for the guy.
"We're grateful for your hospitality,” Wolf told him. Hell, he even managed to sound humble about it too. There was a reason he was the boss of this op.
* * * *
Keno
It took close to nine days for us to get to the eastern shore of Nippon. We had stayed at decent inns along the way, traveling in comfort more than style, it seemed to me. I was just glad I didn't get sick in the kaga, and I got used to the sway of it after the first day. I was still happy to get out of it at the end of the day. I even felt myself relax when Mawatari didn't attempt anything with us. That could have been because we had Seki and his squad with us. Or it could have been that we were still in Tamazusa's territory. It didn't look this big on the map. But I do admit that I was spoiled by being able to travel in the shadows with Aboshi and not have to deal with how long it took to get anywhere when there weren't cars and superhighways. And then there was the fact that in the real world, I would have made this trip in a couple of hours on the bullet train. The only good part was that the other traffic had to get off the road for us. I guessed we made a pretty impressive sight, the samurai marching along and Tamazusa and I being carried in the kaga.
We got to the end of the road that we were taking, ending up on the eastern ocean side of Tamazusa's holdings. The place was run by a daimyo named Takaneda Kosaburou, who was one of the daimyo, the lower-ranked lords, who had pledged his loyalty to Tamazusa. I met the man; he seemed to be nice, but dull. He was overjoyed that we were going to stay the night with him before boarding Iida's ship and sailing to his kuni.
I knew which ship was Iida's when we got to the dock midmorning. I was grateful for a late tide, because that had allowed me to sleep in. What I didn't like was the look on Seki's face, because he knew we were leaving him. I believed the only thing that allowed him to let us go was the fact that he knew I was with Tamazusa and that I was armed with a couple of knives and my fan. I didn't know if I could actually kill someone if she was attacked, but I knew I had the skills to do so.
Seki knelt in the outer courtyard of the castle. “I wish you a safe journey,” he said. “I look forward to your return."
She bowed to him, and I followed suit. “You have done a fine job of escorting me,” she told him. “I will see you when I return."
Mawatari looked disconcerted by all this ceremony. I guessed Iida wasn't this formal. I didn't think he would get very far with Tamazusa if he didn't learn to be. I wasn't being prejudiced; it was something that he should learn to deal with in working with any of the lords here. For example, I knew of no one here but Tamazusa who would have accepted the fact that Mason was a really casual guy who prided himself on being casually rude.
We walked out of the castle walls and down to the dock, our escort only a handful of Reavers and two squads of Iida's samurai. Now that I was closer to them, they felt off to me. But I put that down to the fact that I was really nervous that I was the only protection that Tamazusa-sama had right now. The procession reminded me of those drawings you see of the nobles marching to Edo for their attendance duties. It seemed we were the center of attention for most everyone in the town.
Iida's ship was the biggest one at the docks, and I swore that he must have had someone scrub the area in front of it before we showed up, it looked so good. I wasn't too familiar with boats, but this one looked impressive to me. I knew that it was more of a yacht than a fighting ship, because it had sails and no oarsmen. The sailors were all scampering around to get things going smoothly. It was about thirty meters long and ten meters wide. At the back end of the boat was some sort of cabin, which looked like a Japanese castle scaled down. The front of the boat was clear, with a stairway going down into the hull of the boat. It was colorfully painted in reds and oranges.
Iida hurried down the gangplank to meet us. I was surprised to see he was wearing a colorful kimono and hakama that reflected the colors of his ship. He seemed genuinely pleased to see us. It was odd. But he might have been shy like Dousetsu was and didn't deal well with crowds of people he didn't know. And cherry blossom parties were always crowded.
When he got to the dock, he bowed to Tamazusa. She bowed back. “I am overjoyed to accept your kind invitation."
"I look forward to making your acquaintance better,” he told her smoothly.
They smiled at each other, and then he moved to escort her onto his ship. I fell in behind them, feeling odd. I was relieved he hadn't seemed to recognize me, but then, I didn't think he was the type of man who would point at me and shout, “I know you!"
But that would have been better than having him look right though me.
* * * *
When the ship set sail, part of me wanted to beg Tamazusa to get off this sh
ip. I didn't know why I felt like that. I felt that this was a big mistake, and I wanted to be back at her shoen with Samojirou. I opened my mouth to tell her this, and she just gazed at me.
"It will be fine,” she murmured.
"Is everything all right?” Iida asked cheerily. It sounded weird to me after all the staring and stalking he had done.
"Rikako just isn't a good sailor, I think,” she said with a smile. “I must confess that I don't think I've ever been in something bigger than a pond boat in my life."
"You'll get your sea legs soon,” Iida assured us. “I feel that way on land sometimes."
"How interesting,” Tamazusa said. I wondered if that was the reason the man had been so hostile before. He seemed almost like a different man now that he was on the water.
"Let me show you your quarters,” he said. “Plenty of room for all of you."
He didn't appear to be too upset that there were Reavers with us. Iida seemed to be determined to be the polite, cheery host for us. It was a big change from the man he had been before, and I wondered what had happened. I glanced over at Tamazusa; she didn't seem to be worried. I took a deep breath, ignoring the pang of longing I suddenly felt for Samojirou. That was probably the reason I was feeling so weird. I missed him, and I knew I wasn't going to be able to see him for a couple of more weeks. That was all that was bothering me and making me jump at shadows.
* * * *
Tamazusa
We had been on Iida's ship for four days. It was very comfortable, but not luxurious. There was something about the ship that made me suspicious, for some reason. I thought that suspicion might be contributing to the feeling of unease Iida was causing within me. It wasn't something I could actually name, which made me wonder if I was imagining it. Iida was perfectly civil to me, perhaps overly so. There seemed to be a faint mocking tone in his voice when he spoke to me. And then there was the way he seemed to totally ignore Keno, not in a polite “I don't see you” way, but more in the manner that Keno was beneath his notice because “she” was only a maid. That could be bad manners on his part or a sign of something else. I was astonished that there seemed to be no one but men as his servants. It was odd, but as Keno had pointed out to me on the first day of our journey, the man just might not know any better. I wondered how I was going to bring up the point delicately. So far, I still was no closer to finding out why Iida was interested in talking to me than I had been the first day.
While I attempted to question his motives in wanting to talk to me, the man parried all my questions with an ease I could almost envy. He, in turn, tried to probe me about my relationship with the Hakkenshi and Fuse. I mouthed empty platitudes and artless gossip back at him. Neither of us, I was confident to say, managed to get any information out of the other. The only time I feared that my self-control slipped was when Iida asked me about Samojirou and Sakura's relationship.
"I can't believe that you let him have that tayuu in your household,” Iida announced.
We were at the front of the ship, sipping tea, when he said that. I had served him, not a full tea ceremony because that wasn't possible, but when I saw he knew nothing of what he was doing, I took over deftly. I estimated I was only a shade faster than Mawatari in doing so. Keno was not with me, which I thought would be the only saving grace of this conversation.
"I discovered Sakura,” I told him calmly. “The child was not in a good situation."
"Child?” Iida asked, sounding horrified and intrigued at that same time. I hoped he wasn't one who had an unnatural interest in children. If so, there was no way I could deal with the man!
I laughed and shrugged. “Sakura is very young to me.” I sipped at my tea. “I can say that about many here. I have been in the Dreamlands since the Sengoku Jidai."
"And has Samojirou-sama been here as long?"
I looked at him, wondering why he had asked that question. Anyone could have told him of our relationship, of the length of time we had been here. It was something one's spies should find out before planning to approach anyone here in the Dreamlands for any sort of relationship. I was surprised he didn't know of it, and I didn't think he was feigning ignorance for another reason. So what exactly did he want from me?
"Actually, Samojirou-sama and I knew of each other in the real world,” I said lightly. “Certainly you have heard of the curse that the Hakkenshi are under?"
"That is something that all know about here,” Iida said, not admitting whether or not he knew it. “It is just... I fear I am too modern to understand such things."
I shrugged and smiled sweetly at him. “I believe you might find us very old-fashioned at times, then. We are starting to heal the breach after all the centuries. I fear, however, that is more due to Fuse-hime and Samojirou-sama's long friendship rather than to any skill on my part."
"There is a rumor that you have become close because of an incident that happened last summer,” Iida said.
I wondered how that bit of information had gotten to him and hoped my shock that he knew about it didn't show on my face. “I don't know to what you are referring,” I said coolly.
"That the most formidable Yatsufusa-sama let his wife visit you for several weeks,” Iida said.
I suspected he knew more than he was telling me, but to confront him about it would show that the incident was more important than he believed. That Fuse stayed several weeks with us was known, but that she had been kidnapped and taken to the real world was not.
"That he did,” I said, because it was the truth. “And he eventually joined her. They are most gracious guests."
"And where did you discover Sakura?” Iida asked. “There are rumors, but then, you know how people like to talk."
"Samojirou and I travel extensively, each in our own manner,” I said distantly. “I don't remember exactly where Sakura was found, but as I said before, the child was in a terrible situation. I just decided that he would be better off with me. Sakura intrigued Samojirou, and so he made him his companion."
"He does seem to be quite taken with Sakura,” Iida said.
"He doesn't like letting him out of his sight,” I said with a cool smile. “And he is very fond of him."
"I noticed,” Iida practically muttered.
I could tell that he didn't really approve of their relationship. Was he one of these too-Western Japanese I have heard of? I must confess, I also knew next nothing about the man, since there had been very little information for my spies to find. And I knew that was a bad thing. I wasn't surprised to see Mawatari watching the two of us closely. It didn't make me feel any better. Our talk turned to other things, but I couldn't shake the feeling of unease that I had somehow told these two too much information while I had gotten none in return.
* * * *
We were just sitting down to our evening meal the next day, Keno attending me and a Reaver guarding my back, when I felt something odd in the air. Iida was still the same smiling host he had been, but now the sneer was openly on his face.
"Tamazusa-sama,” he said as he bowed, making my title sound like a mockery.
"Iida-sama,” I acknowledged coolly, refusing to rise to his bait.
"I am almost regretting this,” he said, still mocking me. “I feel that I would have had a most interesting time with you."
Something twisted in the pit of my stomach. Not quite fear, but I knew I didn't want to be under this man's power. He would be cruel just because he could be, but I doubted there would be any passion in it. He would pull the wings off of butterflies just to destroy their beauty.
I felt more than saw Keno look up once he spoke, and the Reaver shifted behind me.
"Iida-sama?"
"Still polite,” he said snootily. “I heard that you weren't that polite when you died."
"I was angry,” I said though stiff lips. I wasn't surprised to find out that Iida knew more than he had let on about me, about how I had come to the Dreamlands. Keno moved closer, ready to defend me. Something was wrong here, but I didn't kn
ow what. I felt heavy for some reason. The ship seemed to be running into rough seas; however, the air was too still for a storm.
"I understand anger,” Iida told me with a smile. “I'm going to make you that angry again."
"What are you talking about?” Keno demanded.
"She—no, he speaks,” Iida mocked. For one wild second I thought that he knew who Keno was, but what he said next put that fear to rest. “You were the perfect woman for me, silent and meek."
"My lord,” Mawatari chided.
"I know,” he replied, without bothering to turn around. “But let me enjoy this."
"Enjoy what?” I asked, beginning to feel the prickle of fear on the back of my neck.
"The look on your face when I tell you that you are trapped here,” he said.
"Trapped?” I asked, offering him a smile. I then tried to shift to the real world and found that I could not. “What?"
While Keno glanced at me, alarmed, Iida laughed. “I'd stay, but as my faithful retainer just reminded me, there isn't much time. The ship is going to break up soon. If that doesn't kill you, well... there are my other faithful retainers."
With that, he and Mawatari shimmered out of existence with a clap of thunder. I suddenly heard the rain pouring outside the ship, I raced outside with Keno on my heels, and we discovered that we were in the middle of a raging typhoon. Keno looked at me in horror, grabbing me, and I heard the ship breaking up, torn apart by the weather and something else. My last thought before everything went black was that I shouldn't have gotten him involved in this.
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Chapter Five
Mason
There was a bad storm the next night. I wasn't used to them, really. Whenever there was a Nor'easter brewing, I was usually safe in a nice, warm building, not stuck in the middle of nowhere in a damn sod hut. Okay, a turf hut, according to Logan, but I couldn't tell the difference, so I really didn't give a flying fuck what I was in. It was warm, though, smoky from the open fire, and just one room about eighty feet long and roughly twenty feet wide, with some half walls for privacy. It was better than being out in that mess, that was for fucking sure.
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