Risuko: A Kunoichi Tale (Seasons of the Sword #1)(48)

I shook my head desperately.

One of the women slid open the door. “Follow me,” she said to us all. “Your mistress commands it.”

Gulping, we followed.

The great hall had been transformed. The three long tables were pushed back to the wall opposite the front door. Beneath the shrine, where Lady Chiyome usually sat, stood a suit of battered bamboo armor stuffed with straw. From the chest protruded several slender blades.

Chiyome-sama stood, arms knotted before her, halfway down the stairs from her apartment. She looked a very small thundercloud, and I didn’t want to be the first one struck by lightning.

The older women looked just as nervous as I felt, all staring down at the floor, their loose hair hiding their faces.

As soon as a blast of cold air announced the arrival of Masugu, Aimaru, and the Little Brothers, Lady Chiyome barked, “So.”

She scanned the assembled crowd until her eyes met mine. “So,” she repeated, “someone has been visiting my room. Visiting my room and looking through my belongings.”

Silence answered her. I couldn’t help but hold her gaze.

“You are not welcome there,” she continued. “None of you. I will see to it that these gentlemen make your lives very, very unpleasant before they make it very, very short.” At last her gaze released me. I began to breathe again. “Do you understand me, girls?”

“Yes, Chiyome-sama,” we all mumbled.

“WHAT?”

“YES, CHIYOME-sama!” we all shouted together.

“You three!” she called to us. “Don’t just stand there. Get dinner ready!”

With that, she stormed back up the stairs, and we scurried back to the kitchen.

Kee Sun was back, wandering along the storage shelves, muttering in Korean.

Still stunned, we watching him until he suddenly yelled something, and then turned to us, his cleaver in his hand. “None of yeh lot went and stole a bottle of the sake, now did yeh?” It sounded perhaps as if he might be joking. However, he growled the question again: “Did yeh?”

We shook our heads and, twitching, returned to our work. What would one of us do with a bottle of wine?





26—Climbing the Walls


The cook was in an even fouler mood than usual, because one of the jars of rice wine had gone missing. He made it very clear that he suspected one of us.

Emi had gone all but silent, though she would occasionally look my way, her perpetual frown lightening in a way that seemed to suggest a greeting.

The blizzard descended again, and it felt like as much of an attack as the charge of the two horsemen. More of an attack.

The other inhabitants of the Full Moon were clearly feeling the oppression of the weather as keenly as I was. Where the dining hall was usually alive with raucous conversation, only two people were talking there at all: Lady Chiyome and Fuyudori. Lady Chiyome was telling an elaborate joke at my expense—something about how most squirrels were supposed to hibernate during the winter, but some poor, silly ones clearly liked climbing icy trees instead.

The only person who laughed was Fuyudori. She had managed to seat herself on one side of Masugu-san, where the elder of the Little Brothers usually sat. She tittered into her hand, her flashing eyes fastened to the lieutenant’s face. “Of course,” she said, “the wolf hunts all through the winter,” and tittered again.

I had no idea what she was talking about, nor—judging from his expression—did Masugu.

Mieko-san understood something. She slammed down the cup of sake that I had just refilled for her, splashing the rice wine onto the black lacquered table and into dead Kuniko’s rice. Then she stood, her usually pale face dark. She rose with a jerk. “Good evening, my lady,” she said, bowing stiffly to Chiyome-sama. “Gentlemen.” She bowed to the Little Brothers and to Aimaru, who blinked back.

Turning in a flash of red-and-white silk, she strode out of the room.

Mopping up the spilled sake and picking up the abandoned plate, I glanced toward Lady Chiyome, who was smirking at the lieutenant. He shook his head like a wet dog, and then he too stood and bowed to Lady Chiyome. “I believe that I should also retire for the night if I am to get out tomorrow morning for a patrol.”

Then he too left the hall.

Lady Chiyome gave her odd, dry chuckle and glanced sidelong at Fuyudori, who was beaming as if she had done something very clever. What it might have been I still couldn’t guess.

Then, with a cluck of her tongue, Lady Chiyome returned to her meal. The rest of the remaining party silently followed her example.

I picked up the nearly untouched plates to either side of Chiyome-sama’s and brought them back to the kitchen.

When I returned with two nearly full plates, Kee Sun slammed his cleaver down into the table. “What’re those worthless lumps complaining about now!”

“Mieko-san and Masugu-san... are... not feeling well,” I said. “They retired early.”

“Retired early,” sneered Toumi.

“I think they were unhappy with each other.” Emi had come in from the main hall after me.

“For a change,” muttered Toumi.

Kee Sun yanked his knife free, gave us a sour look, and then slammed the blade back into the table. Pointing to me he snapped, “Rubbish. Out.”

“Hai, Kee Sun-san.” I grabbed the basket and strode toward the door.