Risuko: A Kunoichi Tale (Seasons of the Sword #1)(35)

Pointing down the river from the red and yellow markers around Highfield, she said very quietly, “And there is Midriver Island.”

Her hand swept southeast, toward the provinces directly below Serenity Province. A group of blue stones sprawled throughout this region. “These are the forces of the Matsudaira; they used to be loyal to the Imagawa, but the arrogance of that old clan drove them to ally themselves elsewhere. Currently they are loosely allied both with Lord Takeda and with the current shogun, Lord Oda. These are his armies.” Her hand passed over the sea of white in the center of the map. “What do you think each of these armies wishes to do?”

Again I frowned—there were a number of ways of answering that question, depending on how you looked at it. “Um, to defend their provinces?”

She waved a dismissive hand, “Of course, of course. But do you think it is good for Japan, this sea of warring colors?”

Trusting that I knew how she wished me to respond, I shook my head.

“No, it is not!” she barked, as forcibly as I had ever heard her. “Our nation has been at war with itself for almost a hundred years. Since the Kamakura shoguns were overthrown, warlords up and down the nation have strived to unite all of Japan under one banner, to become shogun, and to bring law and peace back to our blessed islands. Yet no one lord has been strong enough to defeat the others, and so there has been a constant game of changing allegiances, of treachery, and bloodshed, each lord aiming to protect his own clan’s best interests. It must end.”

“And Lord Takeda can stop it?”

She grunted and gave a grim nod. “He is the greatest general of the major powers—noble and strong of mind, unbeatable on the battlefield, lacking Lord Oda’s inconstancy, his fascination with gimmicks and foreign oddities. Once the Imagawa are gone, Lord Takeda will be the strongest force left, save for Lord Oda and his armies. When the other lords unite beneath the four-diamond Takeda banner, the Oda will have to relinquish the capital city to us, and Takeda Shingen will rule a united Japan as the emperor’s shōgun.”

Why was she telling me all of this? I certainly couldn’t have told you at the time. I think in part it was a test—to see if I could follow what she was talking about. In part, too, I think that it was a subject close to whatever served the old woman for a heart. It was a topic about which she had clearly thought long and deeply.

Eventually, she took and released a deep breath. Indicating the white pebbles with one elegant, wrinkled hand, she asked, “And what do you know about Oda-sama, young Kano?”

I thought of the conversations that I’d had with Masugu-san on the long ride to the Full Moon. I couldn’t tell her everything—both because I couldn’t stand to admit how little I knew, and because I wasn’t sure that the lieutenant was supposed to tell me and I didn’t want to get him into trouble. “I... I know that my father served for a time as a samurai beneath him.”

Chiyome-sama narrowed her eyes. “And do you know why your father left his service? Not everyone does, you know.”

“I...” I looked up into her shrewd face. “I know that my father, Emi’s and Toumi’s were sent on a mission that they refused. That is all I know.”

“Then you know more than I thought you did. Do you know anything about this mission?” When I shook my head, she daintily straightened up the stones around the capital. She quietly waited until I was once again feeling on the edge of bursting. “Ask yourself, Risuko-chan, what your father valued more than anything. More even than his own honor.”

“I...” She was asking such an impossible question, yet I did not know how to refuse or to avoid her gaze. “Family,” I whispered.

“Yes,” she said. “Then ask yourself what mission Lord Oda could have given to so honorable a man as your father that he would have refused.”

My eyes must have given some sense of the horror that swept over me at that moment, because Lady Chiyome laughed. “No, silly girl, he wasn’t ordered to kill you. Why would Oda-sama have bothered?”

“Then...?”

A wry smile twisted her still-powdered face. “Such a bright girl as yourself, you should be able to work it out.”

“I... I can’t imagine, Chiyome-sama.” I stared down at the board. “Lady? What are these, these red and white pins?”

Her smile broadened. “I expect you to work that out on your own as well, Risuko. Now I’m tired of idle prattle. Leave me, girl.”

Uncertain, I stood and began to stumble back toward the window.

Her rough, dry laugh burst forth again, stopping me. “No, no! The stairs, stupid child! Once you’ve been caught, you might as well take advantage of the easiest route of escape.” Her face still bore all of the signs of amusement, though her eyes were mirthless. “Do shutter the window, however. It is getting chilly.”

With a nod of my head, I pulled the shutters closed.

“And, my squirrel?” the old woman muttered as I began to withdraw toward the stairs. I froze, afraid of what she might have to add. She smirked at me thoughtfully. “When next you decide to listen at windows on a frosty night, do remember that the steam from your breath rises. Place yourself to the side.”

Stunned again, I mumbled a quick, “Yes, Chiyome-sama,” and tiptoed down the stairs and back to my quarters as quickly as my wobbly legs could carry me.