Mantis

by India Millar

  He held the diamond between his fingernails as if he was reluctant to even allow it in contact with his flesh. A young monk came running at his call, and he took the diamond with as much interest as if it was a piece of fish. He barely glanced at it when the kannushi told him to put it safely away.

  “Ayya is a good man.” Aisha smiled. “But he has no imagination at all. The diamond will not be able to hurt him.”

  Niko walked very closely to me on the way home.

  “It was a lovely thing,” she confided. “But I didn’t take to it, if you know what I mean. I didn’t like it before I heard Aisha-san’s story, and I liked it even less afterward. I can’t believe it was just a coincidence that we took it to probably the only man in the whole of the Floating World that knew its history.

  “I’m sure it was the gods offering you a warning about it. I think it would have been very unlucky for you, elder sister. And it seems to me that—until today—it was always given for the wrong reasons, so it became unluckier each time it changed hands. The temple will look after it now, and that’s an end to the nasty thing.” She beamed at me, and I nodded. She was right, I was sure. “Now that it’s gone, will you go to see Hara-san? I think it’ll be safe now. The blood will be washed off his present. It can have no hold on you.”

  I stopped and stared wide-eyed in amazement at the innocent truth of her words. As we walked on, I thought of the kannushi’s innocent unborn baby dying with its mother and I swallowed as if a lump of food had lodged in my throat. The pain that even seeing the pink diamond again must have caused him had surely been almost beyond bearing. Yet he had taken it from me gladly, knowing that he could do good with the money it brought. Just like Niko, I didn’t believe it was a coincidence. Again, karma was showing me the way.

  I wished suddenly that Yo was back with me, if only so I could tell him that his choice of friend was even better than he could have known.

  Twenty-Four

  What does the breeze know

  Of the pleasure it gives when

  It touches my face?

  I peered at Hara-san’s house through the curtains of my palanquin. Even from the outside, everything was just a little too well finished. The wood was bright with varnish, the beams picked out in red as if it were a temple rather than a house. I smiled as I wondered if ever a bird would dare to shit on the splendid roof! The door gave me pause. Instead of the normal sliding shoji, this was solid wood. It reminded me very much of the substantial doors in the wall around our family’s estate. What, I wondered, did Hara-san have to fear that he needed a door like that?

  The palanquin had been waiting for me when we returned from Jokan-Ji Temple. Even though I had already decided that I would go to Hara-san as he had asked—not to go would have thrown good intent back in karma’s face—I kept the bearers waiting until I had washed carefully and applied my makeup. I took my time over-dressing as well.

  “Am I to come with you?” Niko asked hopefully. Her face fell when I shook my head.

  “No. Stay here.” Matsuo leaned heavily against my legs and I pushed him away gently. “Don’t let anybody in, and don’t stay awake for me, Niko. I have no idea how long I’m going to be.”

  Niko sighed theatrically and bent to put her arms around Matsuo’s neck. They both looked at me reproachfully, but I refused to change my mind. I had no idea if there was danger for me here. I hoped that even face-to-face, Hara-san would not connect me with Hana’s captive firefly. As Yo had said, people saw only what they expected to see, and it was Kamakiri the oiran who had been invited here. But there was always a chance. If it came to it, I was willing to fight my way out, and Niko would distract me. She was safer here, with Matsuo to protect her.

  “If you’re not back by morning, I’ll go to Aisha for help,” she said firmly. I nodded in agreement.

  “Kamakiri-san, welcome to my house!” Hara bowed to me with exactly the right degree of courtesy. I smiled graciously and allowed myself to be seated in the place of honor, in front of the tokonoma alcove. A beautifully executed scroll hung in the alcove behind a single pillar bearing an ikebana flower arrangement. The ikebana held nothing but a single spray of orchids with a bare branch to support them, but a strong odor of incense pervaded the atmosphere. It made me want to sneeze.

  “Hara-san.” I bowed my head graciously. “I am honored to be invited to your beautiful home.”

  I smiled at my host. He was grinning happily. I could feel his sense of triumph that I was here. Very well. If he could be obvious, then so could I. I stared around in genuine amazement. The room I was sitting in was large. So large that part of it was lost in the shadows. What I could see was opulent. Each wall had many woodblock prints on them. All the masters were there— Hokusai, Utagawa, Torii, and others I could not immediately identify. Hara followed my glance and beamed at me.

  “Ah. I see you like my prints.” He closed one eye in an unforgivable leer. “I have others in my private apartment. But those are, shall we say, not for casual guests to enjoy.”

  He paused, waiting for my reaction. He meant shunga, of course. Erotic prints that were meant for private enjoyment between lovers. I smiled politely, refusing to respond. I hated him anyway for trying to buy me from Hana, but now that I was in his presence there was something more. He made me…uncomfortable. Although he was reasonably polite, his gaze slid over me as if he was assessing me. Calculating if I was truly worth his time and, presumably, money. I was deeply grateful when he moved away from the subject of shunga without further comment.

  “You are clearly a woman of great taste, as well as beauty, Kamakiri. I hope you liked the little present I sent for you earlier.”

  “Of course.” I smiled readily in relief. “It is a remarkably lovely diamond.”

  His smile widened fractionally at my words. “Ah. You recognized it as a diamond, then. Most people would have thought it a pale ruby. You have exquisite taste, Kamakiri.”

  I noticed that he was speaking to me as if we were old friends. Did he think he had already bought me with his expensive gift? I accepted his compliment silently, hoping he would sense my annoyance. He did not. I could see his mind was on other matters. His eyes flickered around constantly. I guessed it was so instinctual, he had no idea he was doing it. I was puzzled. What was there to be afraid of in his own house?

  “I had never seen a gem like it before,” I said honestly.

  “I knew you would appreciate it. Now, would you like to see around my house?” Hara stood, using the movement to glance suspiciously around. It was both an odd thing to say—I had never met anybody before who wanted to flaunt their possessions, particularly to a stranger—and an indication that in spite of his wealth, my new patron was not quite the gentleman he pretended to be. Still, I was curious and stood up quickly.

  Hara took my elbow to guide me. I stiffened but allowed myself to be steered around. His body was too hot for my liking and he pressed far too close to me for comfort. Hara knew not only each thing he possessed, but also the value of each piece. I almost laughed aloud as his catalog of rare and precious things droned on. They were lovely, most certainly. But there was far too much furniture, and each piece was topped by ceramics and metal ornaments. One large chest had a crisply pruned bonsai tree in a very old and very lovely Satsuma-ware pot on top of it. I suddenly recalled Adam’s puzzled words about some of the items seeming odd to him. Now, I understood. Perfect items were placed less than artfully next to the imperfect, the art form of wabi-sabi, the aesthetic that is centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. I noticed that Hara skipped over those lovely, flawed pieces almost as if they puzzled him as much as they had Adam, and I guessed that he had purchased them simply because they were costly without any understanding of why they were so beautiful.

  I was almost overwhelmed by the crudeness of it all, and I was glad to sit down again. A maid brought in flasks of sake. I sipped mine. Hara gulped his down greedily, and I leaned toward him solicitously, filling his cup t
o the brim. He steadied his cup with all his fingers and I saw that his little finger on his right hand was missing the first two joints. The wound was badly healed, as if the finger had been ripped off. Adam had said casually that he had heard Hara used to be a yakuza, a gangster. Now, I was sure Adam had been correct. It was quite common for a yakuza to cut off part of their little finger to show loyalty to their master. Particularly when that loyalty was challenged. I smiled and chatted and flirted, and all the time my mind ran in different directions. I was recalled to reality when Hara put his cup down and leaned forward, grasping my wrist firmly.

  “Well, you’ve led me in a pretty dance, Kamakiri. I might as well tell you, I’m used to getting what I want. And quickly. I’m only interested in the very best, as you can no doubt see.” He waved his hand airily at our surroundings. “I know you’ve caused a great stir since you came to the Floating World. And I’ve been told that even for a top-class oiran, you’re remarkably fussy. And now that I’ve met you, I can understand that.”

  He laced his hands across his belly and sat back, a fat smile on his lips. I inclined my head and spoke politely.

  “I thank you for your compliments, Hara-san. But I am at a loss. What do you want from me that any oiran in the Floating World couldn’t give?”

  “You’re very blunt, Kamakiri.” He nodded repeatedly, and I wondered how much sake he had downed before I had arrived. “But I appreciate that. I will get straight to the point. I want only the very best. Not only the best, but the rarest and the most beautiful. The most uncommon. I want you, the oiran who has the Floating World buzzing. The oiran who finds it amusing to walk the streets and acknowledges nobody. Just as you do, I’ll come straight to the point. I’m offering to take you as my concubine.”

  I pursed my lips thoughtfully, as if I found his ludicrous words reasonable.

  “You do me great honor,” I said courteously. “But as you said yourself, I am an oiran. And not just any oiran. I value my ability to do as I want. I doubt there is anything you could offer me that would be worth losing my freedom.”

  He cackled with laughter. I smiled with him, as if his brashness was a rare and precious thing.

  “You think so?” He broke off to pour another cup of sake and drained it quickly. I poured him another cup immediately. “I am a rich man, Kamakiri. Oh, I know it’s not polite to brag about one’s wealth, but I don’t care for all that nonsense. The fact is that I could buy most of the nobles who hang around the shogun’s court and not notice I had parted with any cash.” He leaned toward me and smirked. “In fact, quite a few of them are well and truly in my debt already. I understand that you value your freedom, but everything has its price. Name it, and it will be yours.”

  “And in return?” I asked delicately.

  “You will leave the Floating World. You will live here. I will be the only man who possesses you.”

  “You would own me.” I stared him straight in the face, watching his expression. “I am sorry, Hara-san. But there is nothing in this world that could buy my freedom.”

  I was delighted. Revenge was mine, and so very easily! And if he did but know it, this was not the first time I had gotten the better of him. He had been desperate to buy me from Hana, but I had slipped through his fingers. Now, I had eluded him once more. I guessed he would already have bragged to his acquaintances of his plans for me. For such a man as he was, the lack of face would be devastating. I almost laughed as his cheeks reddened to the color of river clay. A nerve jumped in his left eye, his lips set in a tight, thin line.

  “Everybody has their price,” he grated. “You will not always be a young and lovely oiran. What if—just supposing, you understand—you were to survive a nasty fire? Burns are impossible to hide, and your loveliness would be destroyed in a moment. And never forget, the Floating World is a violent place. There are thieves out there who would slash a woman’s face for the sake of her purse and think nothing of it.”

  I stared at him, fighting the desire to laugh out loud. Surely, if he wanted to threaten me, at least he could do it with some subtlety!

  “And what if I did suffer some accident, Hara-san?” I enquired with amusement. “Surely, if I were no longer attractive, you would be deprived also? You would hardly want a disfigured woman as your concubine.”

  “Ah, but I would. It would delight me to have you by my side, every hour of every day. And to know that you had crawled to me in the end, your pride humbled and your looks destroyed. That would give me very great pleasure, oiran.”

  I knew then that he was mad and that I would have to step very carefully. I lowered my head and smoothed the front of my kimono.

  “I see. You have given me much to think about, Hara-san. Perhaps it would be best if I went home now and considered what you have said.”

  I rose and bowed. I thought I had gotten away with it. Hara remained seated, watching me but making no move. His very stillness made me uncomfortable. I walked toward the entrance and slid on my zori as I put my hand on the strange wooden door and tugged. I was barely surprised when the door remained stubbornly in place.

  Hara’s voice was so casual, he might have been gossiping about nothing. “Please, do come and sit with me for a while. My stupid servant must have misunderstood my wishes and barred the door from the outside. Listen, I’m sure it’s beginning to rain quite heavily. The man must have gone to his own quarters to shelter from the storm. Do stay awhile. Once it stops raining, my servant will come back and unlock the door and you can go home. I will, of course, be very sorry to let you go. But if we cannot come to an agreement…”

  He left the sentence unfinished. He was trembling, although from the effects of the sake he had drunk in such quantities or from anger, I had no idea. I was irritated by his blatant ploy, but not enough to be worried about it. I watched as he poured himself yet more sake, and as I stared at him, I realized with surprise that he was neither angry nor drunk, but holding back laughter.

  Hara held a cup of sake out to me. I shook my head, watching him carefully. Hara was not a young man, but he was still tall and bulky. In his youth he must have been very strong and determined to have succeeded as a yakuza. I could, I thought, beat him in a fight if I had to. But I was deeply reluctant to go down that route. Skilled as oiran were in many ways, I doubted that intimate knowledge of the martial arts was typically included in their repertoire. If I beat Hara in a fight, my persona as Kamakiri the oiran would vanish, along with the rest of my plans.

  “Come now. I’m sure there will be no need to even contemplate any such misfortune in your future. Do sit down, Kamakiri,” he coaxed, patting the tatami at his side. I folded down, knowing that at the moment I had no alternative. I would wait. My moment would come. Still, I was tense, wondering at Hara’s sudden change from threatening to almost playful. “Are you a gambling woman?”

  “Not really,” I said. “I play mahjong quite well, but apart from that…” I shrugged and let my words tail off.

  “That is such a shame. I have made a great deal of money by gambling over the years. The trick is to know one’s opponent. Few men keep their wits about them when they gamble. For some reason, I feel certain you would make a worthy opponent.”

  “Thank you. Do you always win?” I asked. I waited with genuine interest for his answer. Was there no end to this man’s vanity?

  “Oh, yes. Only once did I forget myself, and I was severely punished for it.” He stared at the missing little finger.

  “That must have been very painful,” I said. I was interested and wanted to know the answer. “Did you lose it in an accident?”

  “Not at all. I cut it off myself.” He stared at me intently, and I gasped in feigned surprise.

  “But why would you do that? It must have been agony.”

  Hara smirked and then shrugged as if to say it was nothing.

  “It was many years ago, when I was a very young man. I have not always been rich and respectable. I was born into a very poor family in Osaka. I was deter
mined to get on in life, but the only way to do it was to join a yakuza gang.”

  He paused and I nodded quickly, as if I approved of his actions.

  “And you were obviously successful, Hara-san,” I said seriously.

  “Indeed, I was. But not without cost.” He held up the mutilated finger and stared at it. When he went on, his voice was animated. He might have been talking about something that had happened days ago. “My yakuza chief was a man of very great ambition. He had conquered Osaka and decided that it was time Edo had a new yakuza leader. I was one of a select band of men he brought here with him.

  “We had all heard stories of the wealth that was to be had here in Edo, and we were all willing to take the risks involved. We soon found things weren’t going to be as easy as we had anticipated. I was very ambitious myself in those days. I quickly decided that I was likely to be on the losing side, and so I went to the leader of the biggest yakuza gang in Edo and offered to join him. In return for a place of power in his organization, I told him I would become a spy for him and pass on all my old master’s plans.”

  “That was very daring of you. But how did you come to cut off your finger?” I asked innocently.

  “As I said, that was the only time I lost a gamble. I was so pleased with myself, I forgot one very important thing. Nobody trusts a man who is willing to change sides for his own advantage. At first, the Edo yakuza, Akira, seemed pleased to accept me.” I felt the hairs rise in warning on the back of my neck. Akira. Hana’s protector. No, of course not. My mind was whirling as I worked it out. This Akira must have been the father. The man who had been so in love with Hana that he gifted her both teahouses. I nodded encouragingly. I needn’t have bothered. It was apparent from his expression that Hara’s thoughts were roaming back in his past. “For months, I worked both yakuza, one against the other. I hoped that eventually I might destroy them both and take power for myself. I was an absolute fool.