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[continuing chapter 9]
“Someone is going to kill that shit-worm very soon,” Shiro said. “I just hope it’s me.”
“How many times do I have to tell you to stay calm in situations like that?” Hiroki asked him. “The man was trying to throw you off-balance and you let him. Tetsuo is able to keep his temper.” He picked up his pace, wanting to be away from Togashi’s house as quickly as possible. “I don’t see why you find it so difficult.”
“I just can’t,” Shiro said. “I can’t explain — I just feel this sort of red haze coming over my eyes and it seems I’ll burst if I don’t do something. That doesn’t make any sense to you, does it?”
“Probably more sense than you think,” Hiroki told him, remembering the bad days after his wife’s death and his mother’s treachery. “But if I have felt as you have, then please believe me when I say you will live longer if you learn to keep your chi balanced.”
“I’m a better fighter the way I am.”
“We’re not at war,” Tetsuo said. “Yet.” He turned to Hiroki. “What do we do now? Do you still suspect the wakashū?”
“I suspect him of something,” Hiroki said. “He is not telling us everything he knows; of that I am certain.”
“The name of the temple he claims to have visited, for one thing,” Tetsuo said.
“Exactly. If the arms master shifts his suspicions to Togashi, our wicked wakashū is going to have to tell the truth about where he was if he wants to live. So why is he refusing to talk now?”
“Because he despises us, of course.” Shiro sounded nearly as sullen as the wakashū had. Hiroki felt some sympathy for Shiro — who really was much closer to being a boy than the wakashū was, possibly than that cynical wretch had ever been — but he couldn’t help feeling frustration. This is not the time for sulking, Shiro.
“There’s more to it than that.” They turned north onto Muromachi Street. “Tetsuo, I’m going to ask you to watch the wakashū’s home for the rest of the day and into the night. Make note of anyone who visits, even tradesmen. I want to find someone who can tell me where he has spent the last few days.”
He clapped Shiro on the shoulder. “And you, my hot-headed friend, are going to track down a lover for me.”
“You already have Katsumi, don’t you?” Shiro laughed, pulled up from the depths of moodiness. “Don’t be greedy, Hiroki.”
“I’m looking for someone else’s lover. To be specific, Lady Tomiko’s intended. All we have right now is a name: Akamatsu Noritoyo. I need you to find a location to match that name, Shiro, so that we can pay him a visit tomorrow.”
“And what will you be doing while we’re busy?” Shiro asked.
“Nothing much.” Hiroki showed his teeth in a way that wasn’t really a smile. “I just intend to ask our exalted host, Arms Master Lord Miyoshi, why he accuses his secretary of murder. And why he refused to let his sister remarry.”
Next Characters Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6
Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9
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