Blade of the Samurai: A Shinobi Mystery (Shinobi Mysteries)

by Susan Spann

  “He came to plant evidence that will implicate you in Saburo’s plot,” Hiro said, “and he probably intended to murder you too. I thought he would have left, since you went to Ginjiro’s.”

  Akira sneered. “I knew he’d be back. He left a fire in the brazier.”

  “Not intentionally.” Kazu sounded remarkably conversational, given the knife at his neck.

  Hiro recognized the tactic. The moment Akira lowered his guard, Kazu would try to disarm him.

  Akira looked at Hiro. “I didn’t expect you to come back with him. This works even better than what I originally planned.”

  “You’ll claim you found me standing over his corpse with a knife in my hand,” Hiro said. “You’ll kill us both and call it a ‘conspirators’ argument ending in murder.’ Believable, as far as it goes, but even if you survive to try it, how will you explain the shogun’s death if everyone in the conspiracy is either dead or captured?”

  “What are you talking about?” Kazu asked.

  Hiro looked at Akira. “Would you like to tell him, or shall I?”

  “Go ahead.” Akira smiled smugly. “You seem to have everything figured out. But before you do, both of you drop your swords to the floor. And don’t try anything foolish. I’ll kill this man before you can strike, and then I’ll kill you too. A ronin translator is no match for a trained Miyoshi swordsman.”

  “If you say so,” Hiro said. “Kazu, drop your swords.”

  Kazu narrowed his eyes in displeasure but eased his katana from its scabbard and dropped it to the floor. His wakizashi followed a moment later.

  Akira kicked the swords out of reach and nodded at Hiro. “Your turn, and slide them away. I don’t want them where you think you can retrieve them.”

  Hiro took off his swords and lowered them to the matting. After a moment’s hesitation he pushed the weapons out of reach. They slid across the room and came to rest against the veranda door.

  “Stand up,” Akira said, “and keep your hands where I can see them.”

  Hiro obliged.

  Akira nodded. “Now, let’s hear you tell your tale.”

  “You should kill us now,” Hiro said. “If you don’t, I’m going to kill you.”

  Akira laughed. “Not likely. In a few hours I will be shogun and you will be dead.”

  “If you say so,” Hiro said, “but you’re mistaken.”

  “Talk,” Akira said, “before I get bored and kill you like the others.”

  “He’s the killer?” Kazu asked. “I thought it was Hisahide.”

  “It had to be one or the other,” Hiro said, “though I didn’t think Hisahide would kill Netsuko. He’s too professional for that.”

  “She suspected me,” Akira said. “She had to die.”

  “Actually, she didn’t,” Hiro said. “She suspected the mistress.”

  “Jun?” Akira sneered. “Impossible. Netsuko would have said so before she died. All she did was beg for the life of her son.”

  “Saburo was plotting with the Miyoshi?” Kazu shook his head a little—as much as the knife allowed. “That isn’t possible. He hated the Miyoshi daimyo—and his heirs.”

  “Saburo knew nothing about the plot to murder the shogun,” Hiro said. “The letter was a diversion, no doubt written after his death to distract the shogun from the real plot. That’s why you didn’t find it until the morning after the crime.”

  “Correct,” Akira said. “I wrote it and left it in his office. I knew about the letter box all along. We needed permission to increase the number of Miyoshi guards in the compound, to dilute the shogun’s forces with samurai under our control. Nine-tenths of the men on duty tonight are loyal to the Miyoshi. The letter made that possible.”

  “You’re seizing the shogunate now?” Kazu asked. “On the night before Lord Oda’s men arrive?”

  “Lord Oda never sent any men to Kyoto,” Hiro said, “the ambassadors were a clever ploy to distract the shogun’s attention from the traitors within his walls.”

  “How did you know?” Akira asked. “Everyone else believed it.”

  “Blame the merchant,” Hiro said, “the Portuguese. He checked at Ōtsu. The innkeeper there knew nothing of the embassy, but official delegations always send a man ahead to ensure the inn has rooms available. No messenger making reservations, no delegation from Oda.

  “I think Saburo discovered it too—that’s why you killed him.”

  “A mistake at last!” Akira gloated. “Saburo was an ignorant fool. He had no idea about our plans. In fact, he’d still be alive if he hadn’t walked in on me copying from his ledger.

  “I needed to know which men he assigned for duty tonight, and how many, so we could plan the final attack. I sneaked in here to check the ledger, but as it happened Saburo hadn’t left. He was locked in an embrace with that ugly maid.

  “They didn’t see me, so I hid in the shadows and waited for them to finish.”

  “But Jun saw you when she left,” Hiro said. “That’s why she claimed Masao was here. She saw your silhouette, and Den’s. She recognized him but mistook you for the stable master.”

  Akira nodded. “Den was just outside the door. I saw him arrive, though I didn’t know the girl had seen me too. After everyone left I sneaked back into the office to get the ledger. But Saburo returned before I finished with it.

  “I pretended I was looking for Ito Kazu and tried to leave. If he had let me, I might have let him live. But he followed me into this outer office, accusing me of stealing. He called me names.” Akira scowled. “No one insults Miyoshi Akira and lives.”

  “So you took the dagger off my desk and killed him,” Kazu said.

  “You wouldn’t expect me to use my own,” Akira said. “I moved so quickly he barely had the chance to raise his hand in self-defense. He never even tried to draw his sword.”

  “But covering your tracks proved more difficult than you expected,” Hiro said, “especially when Hisahide didn’t believe that Kazu was to blame.”

  “Wait,” Kazu said. “I thought Hisahide was part of the plot.”

  Hiro shook his head. “Against the shogun, yes, but I don’t think he sanctioned Saburo’s murder, or Den’s, or Lady Netsuko’s either. Killings would put the compound on alert and make seizure of the shogunate more difficult. Akira had to invent the letter, and Saburo’s plot, to keep Hisahide from learning the truth—that Akira made a mistake.”

  “He didn’t suspect anything until you pointed out that Kazu wouldn’t have used his own dagger,” Akira said. “Then I had to explain what really happened. Fortunately, he considered Saburo’s death an accidental boon. It gave us an excuse to move more of our men inside the shogunate.”

  “You must have been relieved to learn Masao sent Den away,” Hiro said. “So the stable boy couldn’t accuse you either. He saw you do it, didn’t he?”

  “Not the murder,” Akira said, “although I think he guessed. Thank you for finding him for me and for giving me an excuse to bring him back.”

  “How did you get the opium into the tea?” Hiro asked.

  “When we returned from Ōtsu, I told Jun to take some food and tea to the stable. I even gave her permission to add some sweetener. I checked the pot on a pretense of making sure the water was hot enough. It was. For tea, and also for dissolving opium.”

  “I’m guessing you intended to kill Masao as well as Den,” Hiro said. “A double suicide, no questions asked.”

  “I don’t know why it didn’t,” Akira said, “I used enough.”

  “Masao didn’t drink it,” Hiro said. “But you didn’t know that, so you doubled the dose for Netsuko. Did you stay to watch her die?”

  “I’ve explained enough,” Akira snapped.

  “Why stop now? We’re almost finished,” Hiro said.

  “We’re finished now.” Akira tilted the dagger.

  A bead of blood appeared on Kazu’s neck.

  Chapter 51

  “Hiro,” Kazu said, “quit helping.”

  Hiro kep
t his eyes on Akira. “You killed Netsuko and Den for nothing. They didn’t know you murdered Saburo. Netsuko even believed Den wrote the suicide message in the stable. Good thing you knew the boy could write.”

  “I found out on the way back from Ōtsu, in order to arrange the scene,” Akira said. “And I only did what I had to do. I saw a problem and solved it—the way a shogun would.”

  “Not even a shogun has license to murder the innocent without cause,” Hiro said.

  “No ronin understands what it means to be shogun,” Akira said. “By morning, all of Japan will answer to me.”

  “You really think Hisahide will make you shogun?” Hiro laughed. “By morning, you’ll be dead. I guarantee it.”

  “Do not laugh!” Akira snapped. “Matsunaga Hisahide is a Miyoshi retainer, a glorified servant. He has no claim to the shogunate.”

  “Curious that you feel the need to say so,” Hiro said. “If Hisahide seizes the shogun’s compound and gains control of Kyoto, some people might think his claim to the shogunate rather strong.”

  “Including the emperor,” Kazu said.

  “Even the emperor answers to the shogun.” Akira looked down his nose at Hiro. “And Hisahide remembers who pays his salary.”

  “Not you,” Hiro said. “If Hisahide kills the shogun, he’ll kill you too.”

  Uncertainty flickered across Akira’s face. “That’s not true. You just want me to let down my guard so you can escape.”

  The door behind Hiro rattled open.

  Akira startled. He jabbed Kazu’s neck with the dagger.

  It was the opening Hiro needed. He pulled the shuriken from his tunic and leaped across the room. As he landed, his free hand knocked the dagger away from Kazu’s throat. His other hand drove the sharpened point of his star-shaped weapon through Akira’s eye.

  The shuriken sliced through the eyeball like a knife through a melon. Blood and bits of eye spurted over Hiro’s hand and onto his face. Hiro didn’t flinch. He pushed the shuriken further into Akira’s eyeball, stopping only when the metal star lodged deep in the samurai’s skull.

  Akira’s good eye widened with shock. A moment later, the spark of life disappeared.

  The moment Akira died, Hiro pulled the shuriken free. He tucked it into his sleeve as he spun around.

  Hisahide stood in the doorway, watching them from the opposite side of the room.

  Hiro heard a thump as Akira’s body hit the floor.

  “Thank you.” Hisahide smiled. “You’ve saved me the trouble of killing him.”

  “Hiro was right?” Kazu stepped to Hiro’s side. Aside from a trickle of blood on his neck, he seemed unhurt. “You intended to kill Akira all along?”

  “Only if he refused to cooperate,” Hisahide said. “He was foolish, but his rashness helped my cause. The murders made the shogun believe Lord Oda really did plan an assassination. He was so focused on that plot that he never suspected the real one.”

  “Your phrasing suggests the shogun is already dead,” Hiro said.

  “That depends who you mean by ‘shogun.’” Hisahide smiled again. “Ashikaga Yoshiteru committed seppuku an hour ago, at my invitation. I promised to let his family live in return for his suicide, and abdication. I am shogun now.” He searched Hiro’s face, and then Kazu’s, for a reaction.

  Hiro heard Kazu’s clothing rustle in a bow. The shinobi kept his eyes on Hisahide.

  “Congratulations, Shogun Matsunaga,” Kazu said.

  “A wise decision,” Hisahide said. “The question now is what becomes of you.”

  “I would willingly serve your administration,” Kazu said. “Your predecessor found me a competent clerk.”

  “I think not,” Hisahide said. “Men with secrets are dangerous, and men who know other men’s secrets even more so. You know too much about the shogun’s suicide. I have a letter naming me successor shogun—or regent for the former shogun’s infant cousin, if the emperor won’t confirm me directly. But Ashikaga Yoshiteru’s brother might find your knowledge useful if he decides to dispute my claim.”

  “Yoshiteru’s brother is a monk,” Kazu said. “He surrendered his attachment to this world years ago. Even if he changed his mind, I’ve never met him and have no loyalty to his cause.”

  “Every man has a price,” Hisahide said, “and I have no assurance that yours is beyond my rival’s grasp. It seems wiser to eliminate you now.”

  “Banish him to Iga,” Hiro said, “on penalty of death if he leaves the province. Iga is loyal to the shogun, an ally of Kyoto. That will neutralize Kazu’s usefulness to your enemies.”

  Hisahide transferred his gaze to Hiro. “You’re in no position to negotiate.” He looked at Akira’s body. “Though I admit you did me a favor tonight, and favors merit reward.”

  “Kill me if you want to,” Kazu said, “but you have to let Hiro go.”

  “I don’t have to do anything.” Hisahide straightened his shoulders. “No one in Japan commands the shogun.”

  “True enough,” Kazu said, “but the Portuguese control the flow of firearms. Matsui-san is a friend of the Portuguese merchant who arms your soldiers—a merchant who would sell to Lord Oda as happily as to you, if you give him reason.”

  Kazu fell silent, letting the threat sink in.

  “I have hundreds of firearms,” Hisahide said, but Hiro caught the hint of uncertainty in his voice.

  “Enough to seize Kyoto, perhaps,” Kazu said. “But enough to defend it? And you’re assuming the Portuguese won’t call in foreign soldiers to avenge the translator’s death. The foreigners consider their servants much like a daimyo’s retainers—they will not allow a killing to go unpunished.”

  Hisahide frowned. “The Portuguese priest did accompany him to the compound today to ensure he hadn’t displeased me.”

  Kazu nodded. “Have you sufficient strength to defeat Lord Oda and the Portuguese?”

  Hisahide drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. He looked at Hiro. “If I allow you to live, you must ensure that the foreigner sells no weapons to Lord Oda and that the Portuguese support my appointment as shogun.”

  “I am merely a servant,” Hiro said. “I cannot guarantee—”

  “You will make it happen,” Hisahide said, “or I will kill not only you but the foreign priest and the merchant also.”

  “Then I have no choice, Lord Shogun.” Hiro glanced to his side. “Let’s go, Kazu.”

  Hisahide shook his head. “Not Kazu. Only you.”

  “I will do what you ask,” Hiro said, “but only if Kazu goes with me. If you kill him you will start a war for which you are not prepared.”

  Hiro thought of Hattori Hanzo and the shinobi of the Iga ryu. A man who killed both Hiro and Kazu would have more to fear than the Portuguese.

  “An intelligent man would accept his freedom and go,” Hisahide warned.

  “An honorable man will die to protect his friends,” Hiro said. “Do what you must. I will not leave him.”

  “A bold statement for a man without a sword.” Hisahide crossed the room and picked up Hiro’s katana and wakizashi. He examined the scabbards and tested the heft of the weapons.

  Just when Hiro thought Hisahide would call for his guards, the samurai turned the scabbards sideways and offered the swords to Hiro.

  “I, too, am a man of honor,” Hisahide said. “It was never my intention to seize the shogunate by unnecessary force, and I would rather have the foreigners on my side. I will let you go on the following conditions. Hiro will ensure that the Portuguese support me without question. Kazu is banished to Iga at once and permanently. If I see his face again it will leave his shoulders.”

  Hiro accepted his swords with a nod.

  Kazu bowed. “Thank you, Shogun Matsunaga.”

  “May I ask a question?” Hiro asked.

  Kazu gave him a disbelieving look, but Hiro continued, “Jun, the maid—she wasn’t involved in Akira’s plot, and I doubt she knew about yours.”

  “She did not,” Hisahide said, “
but she suspects too much to remain in Kyoto. I intend to find her a husband well outside the city limits. A farmer, perhaps—a man who presents no threat.”

  “She won’t like that,” Kazu said.

  Hisahide smiled slowly. “She will prefer it to the alternative.” He looked over his shoulder and called, “Ozuru!”

  “Yes, Shogun Matsunaga?” The carpenter appeared in the doorway too quickly for coincidence. Chagrin burned Hiro’s chest like flame as he realized Ozuru was a spy.

  “Escort my guests to the gates,” Hisahide said. “They are not to be harmed.”

  Ozuru bowed. “It will be done, Lord Shogun.”

  “One final question,” Hiro asked, “before we go?”

  Hisahide nodded.

  “How did you know you would find us here tonight?”

  Chapter 52

  “I didn’t,” Hisahide said. “I came to this office to kill Akira. I told him to wait for me here and to send Kazu home if he returned before we seized the shogunate. Mainly, it was an excuse to keep Akira out of the way and alone. He would not have survived this night, though you have improved my position by taking care of the problem for me.”

  Hisahide joined Ozuru in the outer doorway. “Now, if you will excuse me, I must go. I have a lot to accomplish before dawn.”

  He nodded and departed.

  Ozuru gestured to Hiro. “We need to get going.”

  As Kazu retrieved his swords, the carpenter crossed the room and looked down at Akira’s body. He shook his head. “Poor fool. He assumed his Miyoshi blood made him important.”

  Ozuru escorted Hiro and Kazu through the bakufu mansion. When they encountered guards, Ozuru nodded and said, “Miyoshi Summer.”

  The guards accepted the code word and let them pass.

  In an empty audience hall near the front of the mansion, Ozuru paused and looked at Hiro. “Iga ryu, I presume?”

  “I’m sorry?” Hiro said. “I don’t understand.”

  “I think you do.” Ozuru lowered his voice and continued, “I recognize a shuriken strike to the eye when I see one. I know what you are.”

  Hiro noted the change in the carpenter’s accent. “You’re from Koga.”