On Loyalty...
Otaku Dang, the Emerald Magistrate Otomo Amaya (paintscribe ), Amaya's other yoriki - Kakita Kitahana, and a visiting Kuni Emerald Magistrate were out on the town. They meet the Governor’s Son Bayushi Jocho at a sake house. There was a good deal of sake and quite a few insults between Dang and Jocho. Dang accused Jocho of being a murderer. Jocho broke Dang’s nose. Emerald Magistrate Otomo Amaya called for them to stop. As she did so, her yoriki, Dang, released the spell that punched Jocho with the river, knocking his mask off and sending him sprawling.
Amaya was livid, for she did not believe her yoriki as drunk as he let on. She told him to go see to his nose and he wipes away the brokenness with a spell. She tries to send him away with the visiting Crab Magistrate, but the crab is amused by the events.
So she turns her back on them, and returns Jocho’s mask.
When Otaku Dang bows to her back and apologizes, she ignores him, too angry to speak to him at that moment. They meet the next day...
Otaku Dang is summoned into the main meeting room the morning after the incident on Teardrop Isle. There is no one else in the room and the yojimbo is standing outside the door, looking a little peevish. Amaya sits with a well-worn scroll in front of her. She says nothing as Dang come in.
Dang enters wearing his normal yoriki robes, and his red coat over top. He leaves his no-daichi with Amaya's yojimbo, slides his wakizashi out, places it before him, between he and Amaya, the hilt facing to his left. He bows low and formally and greets Amaya, "Konichiwa Amaya-hime. How are you?" His face is expressionless.
Amaya studies him for a long moment before speaking. "I am concerned."
Dang tilts his head slightly sideways," Oh? What troubles you?"
She picks up the scroll and her fingers trace familiar grooves and slide along the worn edges. "Tell me, have you ever heard any of the stories of Otomo Hotaru, the Imperial Swan Keeper?"
Dang smiles and raises an eyebrow, "No, Amaya-hime, I have not."
Amaya smiles a little self-consciously. "There are many of them. I wish to share one with you this morning."
He smiles a bit more, and without losing his crisp posture says, "I would be most honored to listen, Amaya-hime," adding a slight bow at the end of her title.
She unfolds the scroll, but when she speaks, her eyes never actually follow the words, instead focusing on the edges.
This is the story of Otomo Hotaru and the Hunt for Miho
Long ago, there was a young maiden named Otomo Hotaru. She was the fifth daughter of Otomo Daimyo and she had four brothers before her. As such, she was allowed to wander among the gardens without much concern. One day, she met the Swan Keeper, an old wrinkled Samurai. He taught her how to understand the Swans and to care for them. He told her all their names. He even let her carry Miho. Now Miho was the most beautiful of all the Emperor's swans. Her plumage was taller than any others, and her neck more graceful. But Miho could not fly. So when the swans moved from pond to pond in the Emperor's vast gardens, the Swan Keeper carried her to them. Miho was also a cranky swan and would allow no one to touch her except for the Emperor, the Swan Keeper and Hotaru.
But he was a very old man, and when he died, the Emperor came to her father's house and asked to see her.
Hotaru was a little frightened to see him, though she was a maiden of 20. But the Emperor was kind. He had her sit before him and spoke to her of his swans and asked questions she answered with ease. Finally he smiled at her and told her that she had passed.
She flushed and bowed deeply, but accepted the position he offered her. She became the Imperial Swan Keeper. She carried Miho, and fed the swans and instructed guests about them.
However, as time went by, something terrible happened. Miho went missing. Since Miho could not fly, nor could walk very far, there was only one conclusion. She had been stolen. Hotaru went to the Emperor, who told her to use what she needed to find Miho. For Miho was the Emperor's favorite as well.
Miho knew everything about keeping swans, but of finding stolen things, she knew nothing. So, she went to three Daimyo to gain assistance. Bayushi Seiji for he was clever and could see the hidden ways of men. Otaku Matoko for he could think of things no other could. Kakita Yukio for when they found the thief, they would need a sword of great skill.
At this point, Amaya glances up at Dang to see his expression.
Dang's face is as still as the pond near them in the garden, but his eyes are as bright as cicada's wings, and he's staring at Amaya, without blinking.
Amaya recites the next few sentences from memory.
When she met with them, they frowned at her (though the Scorpion hid behind his fan), for she was a lowly Swan Keeper and they were each great Samurai of their clan. Otomo Hotaru drew herself up to her full height and she spoke with all the authority her family had used over the years. "I am Otomo Hotaru, and where the Emperor's Swans are concerned, there is no Samurai who outranks me. After you have helped me return Miho to the gardens and bring this thief to justice, then you can go back to frowning at me. This is the Emperor's Will. You may always petition with him, if you feel unsuitable to the task."
She then lowers her eyes and continues reading.
The Scorpion merely bowed, and the Crane's expression went calm, but the Unicorn smiled. And so the four began their hunt for the stolen swan.
The Unicorn found a man who was dealing in masks lined with beautiful swan feathers and the Scorpion convinced him to tell them where he got them. Hotaru was frightened for Miho and they hurried to the place they were told.
But Miho was not there. Hotaru glanced at the bodies of the slain swans and in relief announced they were all wild swans and not Imperial. The man who had kept the swans turned pale when he heard that Imperial and the Scorpion questioned him closely. Soon they had the names of two others who dealt in swan feathers.
as they were walking to the next place, Otaku Matoko asked how she knew they were not the Emperor's Swans. She smiled, "Would you not recognize your mighty Horse, even if he were dead?"
The Unicorn looked at her for a long moment then nodded. "I would."
At the second house, they once again inspected the bodies and once again, found nothing. the same thing happened at the third house. Though as they walked out, Hotaru heard Miho's voice.
She rushed back in and they found the eta about to kill the magnificent swan. Kakita Yukio was faster than the man and soon shed the would be swan murder's blood.
Bayushi Seiji tried to pick up Miho, but the swan did not know him and bit him in fright. Hotaru quickly scooped her up and calmed her down.
The others searched the house for clues.
(the story goes on and they are able to find the ones responsible using the four working together. And though they all return to their places, the three who helped her do not frown down at her when they visit the imperial gardens.)
Amaya rolls up the scroll and fingers it a little more before setting it down before her.
Dang smiles with his mouth. "That is a very good story, Amaya-hime. I believe I have been told that story before, when I was child. Except it was about a young stable boy who was chosen by Shinjo herself to find her steed."
At that Amaya smiles a little.
"He sets out on his search and meets a Scorpion, a Crane, and finally a samurai claiming to be the Emperor himself. And they help him search for the horse, and the boy finds the horse. Except when he goes to take the horse back to Shinjo, the Crane and the Emperor turn out to be Scorpion actors and they try to kill the boy. He had come to like his companions, even the Scorpion, and so he could not draw his sword and fight them back, but the horse turned into Shinjo and she killed them all."
Amaya looks shocked, "What a terrible story."
Dang pauses for a moment, and then continues, "She told the boy that he was foolish to have accepted the help of the Scorpion, or a man who claimed to be the Emperor. She said, it is said that one never trusts a Scorpion, for it is in their nature to be untrustworthy, and that one would never find the Emperor on the road alone. So if you ever meet the Emperor on the road, kill him."
Dang takes another breath and says, "That is the version I was told." He frowns slightly, and looks down at his wakizashi.
"I am sorry you were told such a thing. It seems truth is woven around..." she pauses..."around... things that cannot be true." she has clasped her hands together to keep them still, but she is off-balance. "The Emperor would never travel the road alone. and any who claim to be him while on the road must be impostors. Though... surely scorpions are not so wholly untrustworthy. The Emperor keeps them close after all." she looks disturbed by this thought.
He snorts and adds, "There is a saying that the great horse tribes of the Khergit told the Unicorn when traveling in the great deserts. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. Well actually what they literally said was, Keep your brood mare next to your tent, and sleep with your stallion, but that doesn't translate so well." He frowns down at his hands.
Dang asks, "Do you think that to be true? Truly? That any person traveling the road alone, claiming to be Emperor, is an impostor?"
Amaya hesitates. "I do not think the Emperor would travel alone. But perhaps if he did, it is because he is disguised. To declare himself Emperor would ruin that disguise." she flushes slightly.
Dong stares into the garden and nods slowly.
Amaya's mind flits back to something else Dang said and softly says. "I do not keep my enemies close."
He continues to watch the sparrows amongst the plum tree, "Perhaps, but that doesn't seem to be part of the story I heard. My Aunt once told me a story about the Emperor dying and two page boys discover the Emperor. As a joke one of them puts on the Emperor's clothes and is mistaken for the Emperor. He is stuck. He has to pretend to be the Emperor or he will be killed. In fact, he pretends to Emperor so long that he forgets he's a page boy. One day he gets angry with his old friend, the other page boy, and has him beheaded." Then he turns back to Amaya and adds, "Neither do I."
Amaya blinks at the story. Then, she chuckles. It is an honest sound. in barely a whisper she says "Otaku Matoko, for he could think of things no other could."
Dang smiles easily at Amaya, like they're old friends, and nothing sits between them. But the smile is fleeting and melts quicker than summer snow.
She cocks her head. "Do you know why I called you here?
"I am not sure Amaya-hime."
"You are not sure, but you suspect? Tell me, then." She picks up the scroll and begins fingering it. Catches herself, and sets it down and folds her hands in her lap.
Dang begins to form a patronizing smile, but then quickly wipes it from his face, and bows until his forehead brushes the tatami, "Iie, Amaya-san, it is not my place to tell you why I am here. You have requested my presence. I am your loyal yoriki, and I have come. But it is not my place to tell you, Amaya-hime, why you have called me here."
Amaya flushes again. Then speaks softly. "I want to know if you know what went wrong last night." She continues, "Three months ago, I was never to come to this place... I was never to have to deal with..." a pause and a swallow. Then seems to remember where she was... "Do you know?"
The room is almost as quiet as the leaves in the garden, but a faint, "Hai...," escapes from Dang as he slowly unbends himself. He is attempting to retain his calm demeanor, but his face betrays a slight twist, as if Amaya has stabbed him in the gut with his own sword.
Amaya gives a tiny sigh, as though she was glad part of it was done. Her voice quavers only a little, her words are soft, barely audible, "Tell me, Dang-san, how can I trust you for next time? If my own yoriki ignore my voice, then what?"
Dang looks out towards the garden for a long moment, then asks without turning back to Amaya, "Your gardener is so very skilled at many things Amaya-hime, but has he ever cut blossoms from any of your flowers, or branches from any of your trees?"
Amaya blinks and looks confused. she looks at the garden. "Well. yes. Many times." Then her expression changes to one of surprise. "Is this because of my gardener? Do you think I am pretending to be an Emerald Magistrate?"
Dang's head snaps back to Amaya, and he hurriedly says, "I never said that Amaya-san. I hope that isn't true. You are the finest Magistrate I have ever met." He frowns and states, "Your gardener wouldn't have anything to do with pretending."
She sighs. and sets down the scroll - again. "Dang-san. I suspect you have not met many Magistrates. My sister would have solved the opium problem, and somehow managed to convince the Kami not to flood the land, but instead to find the rice and burn just it, leaving everything undamaged." she took a breath and the next words were the softest yet. "I imagine you would never have ignored her voice."
Dang chuckles then leans forward and in a conspiratorial whisper says, "I think you have us confused My. I've met many magistrates, and you are the one who thinks all the Emerald Magistrates are paragons like your poor sister was. Have you not read the Dead Crane's journal? He is far more typical of the sort of Magistrate the pervades this realm than you or your sister." He sits up and stares almost sternly at Amaya, "I doubt that the Great Sister of Amaya-hime could have gained the loyalty of a grubby Unicorn like me. What with her perfect hair, perfect knowledge, and all of her much vaunted Wisdom."
Amaya giggles in spite of herself.
He smiles then glances down at his sword, "Besides, I stopped when I heard you. My wits were dulled with the wine, and the roaring of the river kami filled my ears when that murderer who wears the colors of the son of the daimyo spoke."
Amaya straightens her face as she contemplates what he said. Then she stands and walks to the garden door, where a branch with two buds hangs into the room. She clips it and walks slowly back to her seat.
"Perhaps...," Dang begins...then falls silent, waiting for her.
She smiles, but her eyes are filled with pain. "You are telling me truly?"
Dang grimaces at the garden, "That my head was filled with fumes and the river roared in my ears? Hai. Perhaps I was mistaken about the man I was speaking to. That is a mistake a yoriki should never make." He turns and looks back to Amaya, "And I shall not make such mistakes, as your yoriki, Amaya...," his voice faltering at the end.
Amaya shakes her head, "I cannot believe Jocho is a murderer. And you should not accuse people of such things when you do not have the proof. Though, as you said, you were drunk." she pauses at this, as though part of her doesn't think this is true, then nods. "Yes. you were drunk. And you say you stopped as soon as you heard me. and I accept this. Though in the future, you must stop sooner." Her lips quirk slightly
Dang lightly rubs the side of his nose before he says, "Hai Amaya-hime, I shall stop before any blows are struck." Then he says, "I was sorting my traveling pack this morning. Preparing to move back into my house next door, after Ide-sama's funeral, when I realize that my shamisen and my sake cup were missing. I asked about and your maid told me that she had seen them lying in the stream behind your house here. That someone must have thrown them there last night. I searched and searched, and could not find them, so perhaps they are gone from me."
A purely frustrated look fills Amaya's entire body. "For the love of the kami... Now we are having thieves steal from you as well?"
Dang shakes his head and laughs again, "I always forget that you grew up in an ivory tower My. No, but it seems maybe the Kami have decided they needed an offering for their work last night." Then he tenses, realizing this time that he's spoken his nickname for her.
"Oh," she looks relieved. "What would they have need of your shamisen or sake cup?" She cocks her head, as though she realized he had spoken the pet name her father used.
Dang exaggerates a confused look and says, "Maybe they needed the Shamisen because they couldn't listen to the Yoshida Sisters after everything happened, and they took the sake cup to figure out why we make such a fuss about sake." He smiles widely at her.
She grins back, "Well then, I suppose you will need replacements for those. As to your leaving, my hospitality is not revoked. Though, if you wish to return home, you may."
He shakes his head still smiling, "I don't think I will be replacing them anytime soon. I will have little need of them," he seems to look past the garden, off to the west, "I am glad you told me your story. And," he adds, "I am glad you got to hear my story as well. It is important to know the difference between Emperors, real and fake." He turns back to her and bows low, "I would be honored to remain as a guest within your home."
At the mention of the stories her gaze flicks beyond him. "Do you ... trust any scorpions?"
Dang glances at Amaya and says, "Kairi, maybe. He loves this city and his family more than he loves the sting of the Scorpion. He's more a Man of Owari than a Scorpion. My friend Michikane is, or rather, was, much like him. He'd prefer to see this city flourish, not drain the well of Owari dry and move on to the next place...."
Amaya nods, "That is good. I trust Kairi as well." She pauses. "I am glad you do not think all scorpions are untrustworthy."
He turns back to her, "Ah, but I think Kairi wears the robes only because they are the colors of the banners that fly from the walls of Ryoko Owari, and...," he falters, "perhaps I have become the frog." He smiles softly at Amaya, "I am almost as young as you. Perhaps my Aunt will have forgotten that she ever told me that story and still put flowers on my grave. I would have it no other way."
Amaya smiles softly. "In the end, Dang, we are all just men and women."
He smiles sadly, "Ah, but as your Omniyoji, I must remind you of the kami...and the Emperor." His eyes are filled with pain, longing, desire...for what?
"I doubt the scorpion are kami. Or we would be in trouble," she laughs. "And the Emperor," she cocks her head slightly. "Well, he is the Emperor, but I think he is a man too, when he's away from the crowds."
He looks as if he is going to say something else, as if he's on the verge of speaking several times, but he stops himself. "Hai," he quietly mutters, "He is just a man."
She eyes him. then taps the branch on her thumb. "Well...I suppose there is still another matter to deal with. A certain Scorpion we fall into differing opinions on."
Dangs turns back to her and with a sly smile says, "Amaya-hime, I still think your gardener is just an old man. You shouldn't think he is a Scorpion spy planted on you by our Shosuro hosts. Why he's been with you since the capital. That would have to be an extensive plot with many conspirators to make such a thing true." His grin widens, "No, he is simply a bent old man, just like my gardener and housekeeper."
Amaya's train of thought is immediately wrecked and it shows on her face. She opens her mouth, then closes it. then she puts her head in her hand and sighs.
He raises an eyebrow at Amaya and says, "Were you perhaps thinking of Jocho? Amaya-hime," and he bows slightly, "I have already agreed with you that I was most definitely likely mistaken about who he was. You shall not hear of it from me again."
"That wasn't the scorpion I had in mind," she resumes a more appropriate position. "Though, since we are on that topic, I can tell you I trust he would never betray me to any Shosuro or anyone else."
He tilts his head again, "My, are you still saying that your gardener is a Scorpion that would never betray you to Shosuro or anyone else?"
Still smiling he adds, "I don't want him to think I know such a thing. I definitely believe that you are mis....
"Since you are calling me by that name, do you think we can stop dancing?"
"Ah..., I ah, hrm." He furrows his brows and purses his lips.
She smiles and leans forward. "If your gardener is the same sort as mine, I'm sure he already knows."
And almost as if it escapes on its own he says, "Hai, he does." Then fear, horror, concern, and a thousand emotions play over Dang's face and in whispered horror he says, "What have I said!?" He grips her wrist without thinking and leans in close, furiously whispering already, "Amaya, we cannot know what we've just confirmed. It would mean death, for both of us!"
She blinks in confusion. "What? why? Gra- My gardener would not harm either of us." she gently pulls his hand from her wrist.
Real fear plays across his face, "Do you know what they would do if they knew that we had shared what we know about them to each other?! They are not men to be trifled with. I don't know what I would do if I knew that I was the cause of your death, yoriki or no." But he catches what she almost said and whispers even faster, if that's possible, "Your grandfather!? Is that what you were going to say?"
"Yes. It is what I call him. Because he has been like a grandfather to me since I was 10, but he is not dangerous." Amaya is more put out by Dang's reactions than by belief that Grandfather would harm her.
He tries to jump on what she said, "Right, okay, he's not dangerous? Okay, that's good, yes." He doesn't look like he believes what he's saying. He looks about with concern and glances at the shadow of Amaya's yojimbo before turning back and whispering, "We cannot let them know that we know. Even if yours has some paternal feelings for you he is still a Shosuro Master, and from everything I know I do not think he is a...," and he stops cold and with awkward look of concern and then he finishes stilted, "a fellow who would react kindly to a young Unicorn finding out who he really was. I know my gardener wouldn't, and he's definitely, dammit," and Dang shuts his run away mouth.
Amaya looks worried. her mind is racing to other topics, "Yes, you don't have anything to worry about. But I won't tell him if it makes you feel better."
Nodding and looking terribly relieved he says, "Thank you My, I promise I will not tell him about you either. We shall hold this secret together."
"Of course," she replies, obviously distracted.
He leans back, sighs, and smiles at Amaya as if they'd just stolen rice buns from the kitchen and gotten away with it.
Amaya smile back, though her forehead is still wrinkled. "I." then she stops and finally sighs, "Well that was...enlightening."
An impish glee plays across his face as he leans in conspiratorially and says, "Next we should share that we're both Scorpions and really in the employ of Bayushi Kachiko-hime!"
At that she laughs. some of the tension leaves her face.
Dang laughs with her and says without guile, "Being with you has been the happiest time of my life." He realizes what he has said to her, and brings himself up short, "I...," he just shakes his head and says, "I think you have a way of making me speak before I think. It's a terrible habit and my Aunt all but beat it out of me. She'd find your effect on me worrisome." He laughs at some joke he only seems to know, and adds, "She might find me unfit," growing quiet he adds, "but for the first time...I may not care."
Amaya flushes. "well, I do deserve this. I told you to stop dancing." though she looks a little uncomfortable. "and I think I prefer you spouting off like this, than telling frightening stories. I... I suppose there is one thing left, and it is a much more sober thought, or a series of thoughts. They are linked," she laughs a little.
He looks as if he's about to say something silly, but then stops, regains his serious composure, and nods, "Yes, Amaya-hime. What is it?"
"Jocho. I know, hush." she stops anything he might say. "I give you permission to look for evidence. Real evidence. if you can convince me, I will." she swallows and looks pained that she's even saying this,"Charge him." "But Dang, you must not accuse him of anything. If he comes where you drink, leave, so sake does not loosen your tongue." Another pause, then she continues, "And there is one last matter. I told Jocho not to touch you. That I would punish you."
Dang looks stunned as if he cannot believe what she has offered him and then he bows low and says, "I will do whatever you wish Amaya." He sits up, with no expression on his face, but not that he is hiding it, but as if anticipation, in readiness to hear what she has to say.
"And so..." she looks at the branch in her hands. "advise me." her eyes on his.
"How should you have me punished as to please Jocho?" he asks. He purses his lips and strokes his goatee.
"Be careful," she murmurs. "Tis only the punishment of a drunken man who struck the governor's son with a spell."
He nods, seriously to her, "I am, you need to save face with Jocho. I am your yoriki, and will help you do so. And what you say is true, but he is the governor's son, and you, if I may speak as the commoner, are a young untrained girl from the capital who's yoriki's do her actual work. They will expect you to have agreed to something that Jocho suggested, and your yoriki, other than that useless Unicorn of yours, will have agreed to it." He smiles brightly and says, "It is petty, and befitting the will of the Leader of the notorious Thunder Guard."
"Jocho has said nothing. and what they believe, cannot matter. I could say I have punished you, and they would have to accept it." her gaze flutters to the scroll and she lifts it.
"You will sentence me to spending a week supervising the tax collection of the Night Soil Tariffs due to all citizens of the city."
"Oh," she blinks.
"I shall have to rise terribly early, spend my entire morning working with eta, and meeting almost half the people of Ryoko Owari, as the eta collect the tax for the Empire. It will put a hard-drinking party animal in his proper place, and it will be public and something all of the city will be talking about for weeks." He chuckles, "They might even stop calling me the Yellow Devil and start calling me Shit Yojimbo, or something equally pleasant!" He smiles widely.
"And it will also get you in places you might not have been allowed before," she says softly with a smile.
He bows deeply and grinning says, "Are you sure you were not named Matoko as a child?"
Amaya laughs, "No, though I liked him."
He sits up and says, "All the yakuza and smugglers will want to ask me for illegal passes after this horrible loss of face, and I will be unable to resist their coins and whispers, but only after they tell me their smuggling routes and partners' names." Then he cocks his head and says, "They were real?"
"Hmm? They were real?" she repeats.
He shakes his head, "Oh nothing, never mind, the characters in your story is all."
"Oh," she flushes a little. "It was like they were real. There's quite a few adventures of Hotaru and the three samurai. I read them so many times, and wished I could have adventures like them." She gives him a wry smile. "I think things are harder in the real world."
Dang nods wistfully and says, "I wish I was as old as you when I had to learn that." He comes back to himself, smiles and adds, "But they sound like wonderful stories. Do you have any other stories about Hotaru and the Three Samurai?"
"Yes, I do. I had sent for them earlier this week." she flushes a little at that revelation. "I'll let you borrow them," she adds shyly.
"I would like that. Thank you," but then he bursts back into his typical Dang and says impishly, "If you do, I promise not to tell you any of my Aunt's horror stories!"
"Good!" she says. "Now, I suppose we have work to get to. You know your punishment." she makes a face. "Though if all my yoriki can work as well as you did about getting out of this, I should have the world convinced of my vast skill and wisdom by winter."
He bows to the tatami mats, "I shall work diligently to prove you are the superior of the Otomo sisters." He sits up, places his left hand on his wakizashi and slides it into the back of his obi, stands from his kneeling position, bows once more, all the while smiling at Amaya, then slides the rice screen closed. A small piece of plain folded rice paper lies where he was kneeling.
Amaya picks it up and looks at it. It is cut in the shape and size that a samurai would use for griping his wakizashi as he committed seppuku. The same sort of paper that a samurai would write his death poem upon, and she can see writing on the inside of the folded paper.
Amaya bends her head and holds the paper tightly to her chest.
After a long moment of sitting there, a maid sticks her head in and Amaya sends her for tea. When the maid returns with tea she tells her to take the tea to the garden. Then she opens the piece of paper.
The poem is very carefully written in a hand that Amaya does not recognize. It is not the bold precise style that Otaku Dang uses when he's writing reports and filling out paperwork for their day to day job. It is more curvy and flowing, but the ink is still slightly fresh, and the paper has been discolored by water spots in several places. It is signed with today's date and the name Gan Lang.
Frosted gelding breath,
curling past leather and hair.
Or the little rill
whose laughter dies in summer.
Like the echo of
Horse's hooves in the valley
I am there, then gone.
Amaya was livid, for she did not believe her yoriki as drunk as he let on. She told him to go see to his nose and he wipes away the brokenness with a spell. She tries to send him away with the visiting Crab Magistrate, but the crab is amused by the events.
So she turns her back on them, and returns Jocho’s mask.
When Otaku Dang bows to her back and apologizes, she ignores him, too angry to speak to him at that moment. They meet the next day...
Otaku Dang is summoned into the main meeting room the morning after the incident on Teardrop Isle. There is no one else in the room and the yojimbo is standing outside the door, looking a little peevish. Amaya sits with a well-worn scroll in front of her. She says nothing as Dang come in.
Dang enters wearing his normal yoriki robes, and his red coat over top. He leaves his no-daichi with Amaya's yojimbo, slides his wakizashi out, places it before him, between he and Amaya, the hilt facing to his left. He bows low and formally and greets Amaya, "Konichiwa Amaya-hime. How are you?" His face is expressionless.
Amaya studies him for a long moment before speaking. "I am concerned."
Dang tilts his head slightly sideways," Oh? What troubles you?"
She picks up the scroll and her fingers trace familiar grooves and slide along the worn edges. "Tell me, have you ever heard any of the stories of Otomo Hotaru, the Imperial Swan Keeper?"
Dang smiles and raises an eyebrow, "No, Amaya-hime, I have not."
Amaya smiles a little self-consciously. "There are many of them. I wish to share one with you this morning."
He smiles a bit more, and without losing his crisp posture says, "I would be most honored to listen, Amaya-hime," adding a slight bow at the end of her title.
She unfolds the scroll, but when she speaks, her eyes never actually follow the words, instead focusing on the edges.
This is the story of Otomo Hotaru and the Hunt for Miho
Long ago, there was a young maiden named Otomo Hotaru. She was the fifth daughter of Otomo Daimyo and she had four brothers before her. As such, she was allowed to wander among the gardens without much concern. One day, she met the Swan Keeper, an old wrinkled Samurai. He taught her how to understand the Swans and to care for them. He told her all their names. He even let her carry Miho. Now Miho was the most beautiful of all the Emperor's swans. Her plumage was taller than any others, and her neck more graceful. But Miho could not fly. So when the swans moved from pond to pond in the Emperor's vast gardens, the Swan Keeper carried her to them. Miho was also a cranky swan and would allow no one to touch her except for the Emperor, the Swan Keeper and Hotaru.
But he was a very old man, and when he died, the Emperor came to her father's house and asked to see her.
Hotaru was a little frightened to see him, though she was a maiden of 20. But the Emperor was kind. He had her sit before him and spoke to her of his swans and asked questions she answered with ease. Finally he smiled at her and told her that she had passed.
She flushed and bowed deeply, but accepted the position he offered her. She became the Imperial Swan Keeper. She carried Miho, and fed the swans and instructed guests about them.
However, as time went by, something terrible happened. Miho went missing. Since Miho could not fly, nor could walk very far, there was only one conclusion. She had been stolen. Hotaru went to the Emperor, who told her to use what she needed to find Miho. For Miho was the Emperor's favorite as well.
Miho knew everything about keeping swans, but of finding stolen things, she knew nothing. So, she went to three Daimyo to gain assistance. Bayushi Seiji for he was clever and could see the hidden ways of men. Otaku Matoko for he could think of things no other could. Kakita Yukio for when they found the thief, they would need a sword of great skill.
At this point, Amaya glances up at Dang to see his expression.
Dang's face is as still as the pond near them in the garden, but his eyes are as bright as cicada's wings, and he's staring at Amaya, without blinking.
Amaya recites the next few sentences from memory.
When she met with them, they frowned at her (though the Scorpion hid behind his fan), for she was a lowly Swan Keeper and they were each great Samurai of their clan. Otomo Hotaru drew herself up to her full height and she spoke with all the authority her family had used over the years. "I am Otomo Hotaru, and where the Emperor's Swans are concerned, there is no Samurai who outranks me. After you have helped me return Miho to the gardens and bring this thief to justice, then you can go back to frowning at me. This is the Emperor's Will. You may always petition with him, if you feel unsuitable to the task."
She then lowers her eyes and continues reading.
The Scorpion merely bowed, and the Crane's expression went calm, but the Unicorn smiled. And so the four began their hunt for the stolen swan.
The Unicorn found a man who was dealing in masks lined with beautiful swan feathers and the Scorpion convinced him to tell them where he got them. Hotaru was frightened for Miho and they hurried to the place they were told.
But Miho was not there. Hotaru glanced at the bodies of the slain swans and in relief announced they were all wild swans and not Imperial. The man who had kept the swans turned pale when he heard that Imperial and the Scorpion questioned him closely. Soon they had the names of two others who dealt in swan feathers.
as they were walking to the next place, Otaku Matoko asked how she knew they were not the Emperor's Swans. She smiled, "Would you not recognize your mighty Horse, even if he were dead?"
The Unicorn looked at her for a long moment then nodded. "I would."
At the second house, they once again inspected the bodies and once again, found nothing. the same thing happened at the third house. Though as they walked out, Hotaru heard Miho's voice.
She rushed back in and they found the eta about to kill the magnificent swan. Kakita Yukio was faster than the man and soon shed the would be swan murder's blood.
Bayushi Seiji tried to pick up Miho, but the swan did not know him and bit him in fright. Hotaru quickly scooped her up and calmed her down.
The others searched the house for clues.
(the story goes on and they are able to find the ones responsible using the four working together. And though they all return to their places, the three who helped her do not frown down at her when they visit the imperial gardens.)
Amaya rolls up the scroll and fingers it a little more before setting it down before her.
Dang smiles with his mouth. "That is a very good story, Amaya-hime. I believe I have been told that story before, when I was child. Except it was about a young stable boy who was chosen by Shinjo herself to find her steed."
At that Amaya smiles a little.
"He sets out on his search and meets a Scorpion, a Crane, and finally a samurai claiming to be the Emperor himself. And they help him search for the horse, and the boy finds the horse. Except when he goes to take the horse back to Shinjo, the Crane and the Emperor turn out to be Scorpion actors and they try to kill the boy. He had come to like his companions, even the Scorpion, and so he could not draw his sword and fight them back, but the horse turned into Shinjo and she killed them all."
Amaya looks shocked, "What a terrible story."
Dang pauses for a moment, and then continues, "She told the boy that he was foolish to have accepted the help of the Scorpion, or a man who claimed to be the Emperor. She said, it is said that one never trusts a Scorpion, for it is in their nature to be untrustworthy, and that one would never find the Emperor on the road alone. So if you ever meet the Emperor on the road, kill him."
Dang takes another breath and says, "That is the version I was told." He frowns slightly, and looks down at his wakizashi.
"I am sorry you were told such a thing. It seems truth is woven around..." she pauses..."around... things that cannot be true." she has clasped her hands together to keep them still, but she is off-balance. "The Emperor would never travel the road alone. and any who claim to be him while on the road must be impostors. Though... surely scorpions are not so wholly untrustworthy. The Emperor keeps them close after all." she looks disturbed by this thought.
He snorts and adds, "There is a saying that the great horse tribes of the Khergit told the Unicorn when traveling in the great deserts. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. Well actually what they literally said was, Keep your brood mare next to your tent, and sleep with your stallion, but that doesn't translate so well." He frowns down at his hands.
Dang asks, "Do you think that to be true? Truly? That any person traveling the road alone, claiming to be Emperor, is an impostor?"
Amaya hesitates. "I do not think the Emperor would travel alone. But perhaps if he did, it is because he is disguised. To declare himself Emperor would ruin that disguise." she flushes slightly.
Dong stares into the garden and nods slowly.
Amaya's mind flits back to something else Dang said and softly says. "I do not keep my enemies close."
He continues to watch the sparrows amongst the plum tree, "Perhaps, but that doesn't seem to be part of the story I heard. My Aunt once told me a story about the Emperor dying and two page boys discover the Emperor. As a joke one of them puts on the Emperor's clothes and is mistaken for the Emperor. He is stuck. He has to pretend to be the Emperor or he will be killed. In fact, he pretends to Emperor so long that he forgets he's a page boy. One day he gets angry with his old friend, the other page boy, and has him beheaded." Then he turns back to Amaya and adds, "Neither do I."
Amaya blinks at the story. Then, she chuckles. It is an honest sound. in barely a whisper she says "Otaku Matoko, for he could think of things no other could."
Dang smiles easily at Amaya, like they're old friends, and nothing sits between them. But the smile is fleeting and melts quicker than summer snow.
She cocks her head. "Do you know why I called you here?
"I am not sure Amaya-hime."
"You are not sure, but you suspect? Tell me, then." She picks up the scroll and begins fingering it. Catches herself, and sets it down and folds her hands in her lap.
Dang begins to form a patronizing smile, but then quickly wipes it from his face, and bows until his forehead brushes the tatami, "Iie, Amaya-san, it is not my place to tell you why I am here. You have requested my presence. I am your loyal yoriki, and I have come. But it is not my place to tell you, Amaya-hime, why you have called me here."
Amaya flushes again. Then speaks softly. "I want to know if you know what went wrong last night." She continues, "Three months ago, I was never to come to this place... I was never to have to deal with..." a pause and a swallow. Then seems to remember where she was... "Do you know?"
The room is almost as quiet as the leaves in the garden, but a faint, "Hai...," escapes from Dang as he slowly unbends himself. He is attempting to retain his calm demeanor, but his face betrays a slight twist, as if Amaya has stabbed him in the gut with his own sword.
Amaya gives a tiny sigh, as though she was glad part of it was done. Her voice quavers only a little, her words are soft, barely audible, "Tell me, Dang-san, how can I trust you for next time? If my own yoriki ignore my voice, then what?"
Dang looks out towards the garden for a long moment, then asks without turning back to Amaya, "Your gardener is so very skilled at many things Amaya-hime, but has he ever cut blossoms from any of your flowers, or branches from any of your trees?"
Amaya blinks and looks confused. she looks at the garden. "Well. yes. Many times." Then her expression changes to one of surprise. "Is this because of my gardener? Do you think I am pretending to be an Emerald Magistrate?"
Dang's head snaps back to Amaya, and he hurriedly says, "I never said that Amaya-san. I hope that isn't true. You are the finest Magistrate I have ever met." He frowns and states, "Your gardener wouldn't have anything to do with pretending."
She sighs. and sets down the scroll - again. "Dang-san. I suspect you have not met many Magistrates. My sister would have solved the opium problem, and somehow managed to convince the Kami not to flood the land, but instead to find the rice and burn just it, leaving everything undamaged." she took a breath and the next words were the softest yet. "I imagine you would never have ignored her voice."
Dang chuckles then leans forward and in a conspiratorial whisper says, "I think you have us confused My. I've met many magistrates, and you are the one who thinks all the Emerald Magistrates are paragons like your poor sister was. Have you not read the Dead Crane's journal? He is far more typical of the sort of Magistrate the pervades this realm than you or your sister." He sits up and stares almost sternly at Amaya, "I doubt that the Great Sister of Amaya-hime could have gained the loyalty of a grubby Unicorn like me. What with her perfect hair, perfect knowledge, and all of her much vaunted Wisdom."
Amaya giggles in spite of herself.
He smiles then glances down at his sword, "Besides, I stopped when I heard you. My wits were dulled with the wine, and the roaring of the river kami filled my ears when that murderer who wears the colors of the son of the daimyo spoke."
Amaya straightens her face as she contemplates what he said. Then she stands and walks to the garden door, where a branch with two buds hangs into the room. She clips it and walks slowly back to her seat.
"Perhaps...," Dang begins...then falls silent, waiting for her.
She smiles, but her eyes are filled with pain. "You are telling me truly?"
Dang grimaces at the garden, "That my head was filled with fumes and the river roared in my ears? Hai. Perhaps I was mistaken about the man I was speaking to. That is a mistake a yoriki should never make." He turns and looks back to Amaya, "And I shall not make such mistakes, as your yoriki, Amaya...," his voice faltering at the end.
Amaya shakes her head, "I cannot believe Jocho is a murderer. And you should not accuse people of such things when you do not have the proof. Though, as you said, you were drunk." she pauses at this, as though part of her doesn't think this is true, then nods. "Yes. you were drunk. And you say you stopped as soon as you heard me. and I accept this. Though in the future, you must stop sooner." Her lips quirk slightly
Dang lightly rubs the side of his nose before he says, "Hai Amaya-hime, I shall stop before any blows are struck." Then he says, "I was sorting my traveling pack this morning. Preparing to move back into my house next door, after Ide-sama's funeral, when I realize that my shamisen and my sake cup were missing. I asked about and your maid told me that she had seen them lying in the stream behind your house here. That someone must have thrown them there last night. I searched and searched, and could not find them, so perhaps they are gone from me."
A purely frustrated look fills Amaya's entire body. "For the love of the kami... Now we are having thieves steal from you as well?"
Dang shakes his head and laughs again, "I always forget that you grew up in an ivory tower My. No, but it seems maybe the Kami have decided they needed an offering for their work last night." Then he tenses, realizing this time that he's spoken his nickname for her.
"Oh," she looks relieved. "What would they have need of your shamisen or sake cup?" She cocks her head, as though she realized he had spoken the pet name her father used.
Dang exaggerates a confused look and says, "Maybe they needed the Shamisen because they couldn't listen to the Yoshida Sisters after everything happened, and they took the sake cup to figure out why we make such a fuss about sake." He smiles widely at her.
She grins back, "Well then, I suppose you will need replacements for those. As to your leaving, my hospitality is not revoked. Though, if you wish to return home, you may."
He shakes his head still smiling, "I don't think I will be replacing them anytime soon. I will have little need of them," he seems to look past the garden, off to the west, "I am glad you told me your story. And," he adds, "I am glad you got to hear my story as well. It is important to know the difference between Emperors, real and fake." He turns back to her and bows low, "I would be honored to remain as a guest within your home."
At the mention of the stories her gaze flicks beyond him. "Do you ... trust any scorpions?"
Dang glances at Amaya and says, "Kairi, maybe. He loves this city and his family more than he loves the sting of the Scorpion. He's more a Man of Owari than a Scorpion. My friend Michikane is, or rather, was, much like him. He'd prefer to see this city flourish, not drain the well of Owari dry and move on to the next place...."
Amaya nods, "That is good. I trust Kairi as well." She pauses. "I am glad you do not think all scorpions are untrustworthy."
He turns back to her, "Ah, but I think Kairi wears the robes only because they are the colors of the banners that fly from the walls of Ryoko Owari, and...," he falters, "perhaps I have become the frog." He smiles softly at Amaya, "I am almost as young as you. Perhaps my Aunt will have forgotten that she ever told me that story and still put flowers on my grave. I would have it no other way."
Amaya smiles softly. "In the end, Dang, we are all just men and women."
He smiles sadly, "Ah, but as your Omniyoji, I must remind you of the kami...and the Emperor." His eyes are filled with pain, longing, desire...for what?
"I doubt the scorpion are kami. Or we would be in trouble," she laughs. "And the Emperor," she cocks her head slightly. "Well, he is the Emperor, but I think he is a man too, when he's away from the crowds."
He looks as if he is going to say something else, as if he's on the verge of speaking several times, but he stops himself. "Hai," he quietly mutters, "He is just a man."
She eyes him. then taps the branch on her thumb. "Well...I suppose there is still another matter to deal with. A certain Scorpion we fall into differing opinions on."
Dangs turns back to her and with a sly smile says, "Amaya-hime, I still think your gardener is just an old man. You shouldn't think he is a Scorpion spy planted on you by our Shosuro hosts. Why he's been with you since the capital. That would have to be an extensive plot with many conspirators to make such a thing true." His grin widens, "No, he is simply a bent old man, just like my gardener and housekeeper."
Amaya's train of thought is immediately wrecked and it shows on her face. She opens her mouth, then closes it. then she puts her head in her hand and sighs.
He raises an eyebrow at Amaya and says, "Were you perhaps thinking of Jocho? Amaya-hime," and he bows slightly, "I have already agreed with you that I was most definitely likely mistaken about who he was. You shall not hear of it from me again."
"That wasn't the scorpion I had in mind," she resumes a more appropriate position. "Though, since we are on that topic, I can tell you I trust he would never betray me to any Shosuro or anyone else."
He tilts his head again, "My, are you still saying that your gardener is a Scorpion that would never betray you to Shosuro or anyone else?"
Still smiling he adds, "I don't want him to think I know such a thing. I definitely believe that you are mis....
"Since you are calling me by that name, do you think we can stop dancing?"
"Ah..., I ah, hrm." He furrows his brows and purses his lips.
She smiles and leans forward. "If your gardener is the same sort as mine, I'm sure he already knows."
And almost as if it escapes on its own he says, "Hai, he does." Then fear, horror, concern, and a thousand emotions play over Dang's face and in whispered horror he says, "What have I said!?" He grips her wrist without thinking and leans in close, furiously whispering already, "Amaya, we cannot know what we've just confirmed. It would mean death, for both of us!"
She blinks in confusion. "What? why? Gra- My gardener would not harm either of us." she gently pulls his hand from her wrist.
Real fear plays across his face, "Do you know what they would do if they knew that we had shared what we know about them to each other?! They are not men to be trifled with. I don't know what I would do if I knew that I was the cause of your death, yoriki or no." But he catches what she almost said and whispers even faster, if that's possible, "Your grandfather!? Is that what you were going to say?"
"Yes. It is what I call him. Because he has been like a grandfather to me since I was 10, but he is not dangerous." Amaya is more put out by Dang's reactions than by belief that Grandfather would harm her.
He tries to jump on what she said, "Right, okay, he's not dangerous? Okay, that's good, yes." He doesn't look like he believes what he's saying. He looks about with concern and glances at the shadow of Amaya's yojimbo before turning back and whispering, "We cannot let them know that we know. Even if yours has some paternal feelings for you he is still a Shosuro Master, and from everything I know I do not think he is a...," and he stops cold and with awkward look of concern and then he finishes stilted, "a fellow who would react kindly to a young Unicorn finding out who he really was. I know my gardener wouldn't, and he's definitely, dammit," and Dang shuts his run away mouth.
Amaya looks worried. her mind is racing to other topics, "Yes, you don't have anything to worry about. But I won't tell him if it makes you feel better."
Nodding and looking terribly relieved he says, "Thank you My, I promise I will not tell him about you either. We shall hold this secret together."
"Of course," she replies, obviously distracted.
He leans back, sighs, and smiles at Amaya as if they'd just stolen rice buns from the kitchen and gotten away with it.
Amaya smile back, though her forehead is still wrinkled. "I." then she stops and finally sighs, "Well that was...enlightening."
An impish glee plays across his face as he leans in conspiratorially and says, "Next we should share that we're both Scorpions and really in the employ of Bayushi Kachiko-hime!"
At that she laughs. some of the tension leaves her face.
Dang laughs with her and says without guile, "Being with you has been the happiest time of my life." He realizes what he has said to her, and brings himself up short, "I...," he just shakes his head and says, "I think you have a way of making me speak before I think. It's a terrible habit and my Aunt all but beat it out of me. She'd find your effect on me worrisome." He laughs at some joke he only seems to know, and adds, "She might find me unfit," growing quiet he adds, "but for the first time...I may not care."
Amaya flushes. "well, I do deserve this. I told you to stop dancing." though she looks a little uncomfortable. "and I think I prefer you spouting off like this, than telling frightening stories. I... I suppose there is one thing left, and it is a much more sober thought, or a series of thoughts. They are linked," she laughs a little.
He looks as if he's about to say something silly, but then stops, regains his serious composure, and nods, "Yes, Amaya-hime. What is it?"
"Jocho. I know, hush." she stops anything he might say. "I give you permission to look for evidence. Real evidence. if you can convince me, I will." she swallows and looks pained that she's even saying this,"Charge him." "But Dang, you must not accuse him of anything. If he comes where you drink, leave, so sake does not loosen your tongue." Another pause, then she continues, "And there is one last matter. I told Jocho not to touch you. That I would punish you."
Dang looks stunned as if he cannot believe what she has offered him and then he bows low and says, "I will do whatever you wish Amaya." He sits up, with no expression on his face, but not that he is hiding it, but as if anticipation, in readiness to hear what she has to say.
"And so..." she looks at the branch in her hands. "advise me." her eyes on his.
"How should you have me punished as to please Jocho?" he asks. He purses his lips and strokes his goatee.
"Be careful," she murmurs. "Tis only the punishment of a drunken man who struck the governor's son with a spell."
He nods, seriously to her, "I am, you need to save face with Jocho. I am your yoriki, and will help you do so. And what you say is true, but he is the governor's son, and you, if I may speak as the commoner, are a young untrained girl from the capital who's yoriki's do her actual work. They will expect you to have agreed to something that Jocho suggested, and your yoriki, other than that useless Unicorn of yours, will have agreed to it." He smiles brightly and says, "It is petty, and befitting the will of the Leader of the notorious Thunder Guard."
"Jocho has said nothing. and what they believe, cannot matter. I could say I have punished you, and they would have to accept it." her gaze flutters to the scroll and she lifts it.
"You will sentence me to spending a week supervising the tax collection of the Night Soil Tariffs due to all citizens of the city."
"Oh," she blinks.
"I shall have to rise terribly early, spend my entire morning working with eta, and meeting almost half the people of Ryoko Owari, as the eta collect the tax for the Empire. It will put a hard-drinking party animal in his proper place, and it will be public and something all of the city will be talking about for weeks." He chuckles, "They might even stop calling me the Yellow Devil and start calling me Shit Yojimbo, or something equally pleasant!" He smiles widely.
"And it will also get you in places you might not have been allowed before," she says softly with a smile.
He bows deeply and grinning says, "Are you sure you were not named Matoko as a child?"
Amaya laughs, "No, though I liked him."
He sits up and says, "All the yakuza and smugglers will want to ask me for illegal passes after this horrible loss of face, and I will be unable to resist their coins and whispers, but only after they tell me their smuggling routes and partners' names." Then he cocks his head and says, "They were real?"
"Hmm? They were real?" she repeats.
He shakes his head, "Oh nothing, never mind, the characters in your story is all."
"Oh," she flushes a little. "It was like they were real. There's quite a few adventures of Hotaru and the three samurai. I read them so many times, and wished I could have adventures like them." She gives him a wry smile. "I think things are harder in the real world."
Dang nods wistfully and says, "I wish I was as old as you when I had to learn that." He comes back to himself, smiles and adds, "But they sound like wonderful stories. Do you have any other stories about Hotaru and the Three Samurai?"
"Yes, I do. I had sent for them earlier this week." she flushes a little at that revelation. "I'll let you borrow them," she adds shyly.
"I would like that. Thank you," but then he bursts back into his typical Dang and says impishly, "If you do, I promise not to tell you any of my Aunt's horror stories!"
"Good!" she says. "Now, I suppose we have work to get to. You know your punishment." she makes a face. "Though if all my yoriki can work as well as you did about getting out of this, I should have the world convinced of my vast skill and wisdom by winter."
He bows to the tatami mats, "I shall work diligently to prove you are the superior of the Otomo sisters." He sits up, places his left hand on his wakizashi and slides it into the back of his obi, stands from his kneeling position, bows once more, all the while smiling at Amaya, then slides the rice screen closed. A small piece of plain folded rice paper lies where he was kneeling.
Amaya picks it up and looks at it. It is cut in the shape and size that a samurai would use for griping his wakizashi as he committed seppuku. The same sort of paper that a samurai would write his death poem upon, and she can see writing on the inside of the folded paper.
Amaya bends her head and holds the paper tightly to her chest.
After a long moment of sitting there, a maid sticks her head in and Amaya sends her for tea. When the maid returns with tea she tells her to take the tea to the garden. Then she opens the piece of paper.
The poem is very carefully written in a hand that Amaya does not recognize. It is not the bold precise style that Otaku Dang uses when he's writing reports and filling out paperwork for their day to day job. It is more curvy and flowing, but the ink is still slightly fresh, and the paper has been discolored by water spots in several places. It is signed with today's date and the name Gan Lang.
Frosted gelding breath,
curling past leather and hair.
Or the little rill
whose laughter dies in summer.
Like the echo of
Horse's hooves in the valley
I am there, then gone.