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[continuing chapter 18]
“What’s the hour?” Hiroki stretched, sucking in a breath as his knee protested, and pulled the upper futon right up to his chin.
“The horse, sir,” Jiro said. “Practically mid-day. Should I have woke you earlier?”
“No, and I’m glad you didn’t,” Hiroki said. “Are the others awake yet?”
“Yes, and both Tetsuo-dono and Shiro-dono have bathed. You mentioned as how you would be wanting a hot bath today yourself. Should I have the bath-house readied?”
Hiroki nodded. “And some tea now, Jiro. Oh, and something to eat. I’m starving.”
“Not surprising,” Jiro said. “You didn’t eat anything yesterday after morning rice.”
“I was too busy at the time to be hungry.” He flexed his knee. “I think this knee continues to improve, Jiro. Perhaps that fever the other night was somehow good for it.” And with the fever gone I hope that Lady Tomiko is likewise gone for good. “Has there been word from the arms master?”
“Yes, sir. He sent a messenger a little after dawn to say that Kanegawa Akihiro was taken out to the north-east of the city and his head cut off before the sun rose.”
That’s appropriate, I suppose. The north-east was the direction from which demons came, and so extremely unlucky. Certainly it had been unlucky for Kanegawa. But then, he made his own bad luck, didn’t he?
“Was a reply expected?”
“No, sir. The messenger did say that a letter would be coming later today, though.”
“All right. Off you go, then, Jiro.”
“I’ll have morning rice here in a moment,” the servant said as he slipped from the room.
Has Jiro ever wanted to be something other than a servant? Hiroki wondered. What about Shiro and Tetsuo? Do they dream of being something else? It occurred to him that he himself had become something very different from that which he had been born to. But this was not something I wished. It was more or less forced on me. So how had this madness descended on Kanegawa? What could have been so attractive about the fleeting life of a warrior that it would drive a man to such a horrible crime?
After a miserable moment Hiroki decided that the only wise thing to do was to stop asking questions he couldn’t — or wouldn’t — answer. All that matters now is that we have completed our commission for the arms master, he told himself. So we can go home now, and I don’t care if we take anything back with us beside ourselves.
Next Characters Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6
Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14
Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18
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