Hideki lunged to his left slightly and punctured the Fox man’s lungs and heart as he raised his sword for an overhead strike to Yoshi. Yoshi dispatched his second attacker by throwing a powder in his face and using a tip of his blade to slice out the man’s throat. This one dropped silently to the dust and kicked about, unsuccessfully trying to get air into his severed windpipe. Then he was still.

  Hideki glanced toward Musashi. The swordsman was flicking blood from his two swords. There were five bodies in various positions of death around him. Then Hideki turned to his right. Jubei was examining a minor cut to his left wrist. At his feet were four Fox men, all stilled with major death cuts.

  Hideki called back over his shoulder. “Everyone survive?”

  “We’re fine,” Yuki said. “What about the heroes?”

  “Jubei has a small cut. Musashi has too many dead at his feet for him to have been hurt, and Yoshi has incapacitated over ten with his ninja dirty tricks,” Hideki reported.

  There were grunts of approval from the guards behind the upturned boats. Yoshi was rapidly overcoming the normal samurai loathing felt towards ninja. In its place was an appreciation for his fighting skills and his uncanny ability to sniff out danger.

  The next wave of assassins came out of the now-dark street from somewhere near the opposite building. These wore the same brown ninja garb to cover their entire body except for the Fox masks. The only difference with these was that their swords were sheathed and on their backs.

  “Get your shields up!” Yoshi called.

  Hideki had to reach down and pick his straw hat out of the blood-drenched dirt and stinking intestinal ooze at his feet. The attacking wave ran up to Hideki’s line just out of sword reach, careful to avoid Yoshi’s caltrops. Each stopped and threw five darts directly over Hideki’s head.

  “Down, Naga!” Hideki called when he understood the tactic.

  There was a high-pitched yelp as one of the darts sunk home, but Hideki did not have time to wonder if his relatives were hit. Once the darts started, the third wave charged Hideki’s line. This time they formed a “Vee” and attacked directly at Hideki.

  Hideki deflected one overhead strike with his katana in his right hand and drew and thrust his wakazashi straight into the attacker’s stomach. As he withdrew the wakazashi in his left hand, he sliced down with the katana in his right, cutting through the wrist of a second man in the attacking formation.

  Now he was in trouble. Having committed his motion forward and down to his left, his right side was vulnerable. For just a moment, the next ninja would have full access to his flank.

  It seemed like an eternity for Hideki to realize his exposure and correct his instinctive desire to straighten and turn back to the right to meet the attack. Instead of stopping his momentum and straightening back to the front, he continued spinning to the left and rear and took up a position one-step behind his original spot. He had judged correctly. Now he had time to parry the attacker’s lunge using an inside parry with the wakazashi as he chopped down with his right into the brown-clad skull with his katana. Hideki’s blade sunk into the cloth and bone, and the man dropped instantly, freeing Hideki’s blade. He stepped over the fallen body and re-took his position in the line, but there was no fourth wave. It was over.

  “Uggh!” A cry of anguish came from the porch. Hideki recognized it as Naga. He ran and leaped onto the porch. The guards made way and allowed Hideki access. When he arrived, he expected to find Jii fallen. Instead, he saw Naga holding Yuki’s head in his lap. From her jacket top protruded one of the throwing darts.

  “Is she alive?” Hideki asked.

  “She is breathing,” Naga said. “But not very well.”

  Hideki heard and then felt Yoshi to his left and Jubei to his right.

  “Poison, you think?” Jubei asked Yoshi.

  “Almost assuredly,” Yoshi said.

  Yoshi looked at Naga. “We must get her to the mansion as quickly as possible.”

  Jii started barking orders, and guards ran to the water gathering boats and oars. Everyone started towards the canal with Naga carrying his fiancée.

  Yoshi grabbed Hideki’s arm and held him back. “You go with your brother. I’ll need Jubei to go with me,” he said.

  “Where are you going?” Hideki asked.

  “He is going to find a witch,” Jubei said, stepping up behind them.

  “Yes,” Yoshi said. “And if you value Yuki’s life, do not let a doctor treat her.”

  Hideki was about to protest when Yoshi and Jubei turned and ran into the darkness of Edo.

  Chapter 21: The Review

  Naga sat erect. The Tairo and Roju sat directly in front of him. They sat facing Naga, and they did not look happy. Yagyu Muneori, the shogun’s chamberlain, was also facing Naga. O’Fuku was once again clothed in her many layered robes and sitting on Yagyu’s right. To Yagyu’s immediate left there was a vacant cushion. The shogun’s wife Oeyo was absent. Naga would miss her as an ally in this hostile group. Nevertheless, it was interesting that she conceded this meeting to her archrival O’Fuku.

  Before Yagyu could open the meeting, O’Fuku demanded, “Well, what do you have to say for yourself?”

  Jii, sitting on Naga’s right, started to respond. Naga’s right hand stopped him. It was just he and Jii this trip. Naga had decided to handle this with as few people as possible.

  “Concerning what, my lady?” Naga asked.

  “Let us start with your inability to capture the Fox Gang,” O’Fuku said.

  “I would say it is on par with your ability to tell time,” Naga said.

  “What kind of impertinence is this? We will not be trifled with by a country diamyo!” O’Fuku scolded.

  Naga’s response came swiftly. “First of all, my lady, I do not answer to you. I thought I made that clear during our first meeting. I take my orders from the men seated in this room. Secondly, they, not you, gave me a month to correct the problems in the magistrate’s office and to capture the Fox Gang. That was two weeks ago. By my calculation, I still have two weeks before my deadline,” Naga said.

  This caused some sharp intakes of breath. No one talked to O’Fuku this way.

  “Do you mean to be insulting to this lady?” Naomasu, the newest member of the Roju, asked.

  “I have no intention of being insulting. I merely responded to an attack by a person who should have no standing with his body,” Naga said.

  “Well I have standing in this body, and I am insulted by the way you address O’Fuku,” Naomasu said.

  “I apologize if you feel insulted, and if that is not enough I stand ready to meet you at any place of your choosing with any weapon you deem to allow you satisfaction,” Naga said.

  The Roju, and Naomasu in particular, drew back in surprise at this personal challenge.

  “I trust that will not be necessary,” Yagyu Muneori said.

  “It will not,” Naomasu replied, bowing to Yagyu as peacemaker.

  “You have challenged my position with this body, but it is your incompetence that is on trial today, Yoshinobu. Why did you let the Fox Gang leader go free when the yoriki had captured him for you?” she asked.

  There was murmuring from the Roju members at this question.

  “I found him not guilty, my lady. He was not a member of the Fox Gang, much less their leader,” Naga replied.

  “How can you be sure? The yoriki is a professional policeman with years of experience,” she persisted.

  “Because it was the yoriki’s doshin who had contracted for Yashino the wood carver to construct the mask that would be the only proof against the young man,” Naga said.

  “Is that all?” she asked.

  “No, my lady,” Naga said, “there were many inconsistencies in the yoriki story, and several people who are expert at such things testified that the young wood carver is no ninja.”

  “I want to hear no more of this ninja nonsense. No one but you has reported them to be ninja,” she said.

  “That is probably because all of their targets are now dead,” Naga said.

  “That proves nothing. It is only your supposition against the police reports,” she persisted.

  “Well, when the police attempt to condemn an innocent boy to death and then stir up riots among the people, it’s time to stop believing the police and get rid of them,” Naga said.

  “Is that what you have done? Have you gotten rid of the police?” she asked.

  “Only the dishonest ones.”

  “Out of your original contingent of sixty, how many do you have left?” O’Fuku asked.

  “I have two,” Naga said.

  “Two? Are you a lunatic? How can you keep the citizens of Edo safe with two police officers? You overstep your authority. You should be fired in disgrace immediately!” she demanded.

  The murmuring from the room heated.

  “Calm down, everyone,” Yagyu said, “and allow Nagamasa to answer the questions.”

  Naga bowed his thanks to Yagyu. “I kept two because they were the only ones out of sixty who were not corrupt.”

  “Ridiculous!” O’Fuku said, her face contorted in angry disbelief.

  “No, it is not ridiculous at all. It is the truth. The corruption is so bad that citizens and ronin are convicted of imaginary crimes as a way of obtaining revenue from the gold and silver mines. Any Edo citizen will tell you that Edo’s justice is the best money can buy. They laugh at you for it. Things are so bad that gangs of armed men have sprung up to operate as a counterweight to the lawlessness of the police. They call themselves gummi and most recently Eight, Nine, Three. They took this name as it represents the worst hand in oichokabu, the card game that they play in their gambling dens. They see themselves as outside the law and worthless, just like that card hand. The Eight, Nine and Three are pronounced Ya Ku Za. They are proud of the name. These men would get no foothold with the citizens if our own police force were not corrupt.”

  “You go too far,” O’Fuku accused.

  “No my lady, I have not gone far enough. Yesterday, the Fox Gang in Nihonbashi attacked my family and me. We lost three loyal retainers and my fiancée lies near the gates of heaven thanks to a poisoned dart. Thieves and bandits do not use poison darts. Anyone with any fighting sense knows this. So do not assume to correct me my lady on the nature of my enemies. They are ninja, and the people who control them are in this room,” Naga said.

  “Even if what you say were true, Yoshinobu, how much closer are you to catching this leader?” she asked, her voice showing a little more calm.

  “We’re getting very close,” Naga said. “Because I believe the Fox Gang and the corrupt police to be tied to a person or persons in this room, I had the yoriki, Denjiro, followed when he was dismissed from the police force. I am sure he will lead us to bigger prey.”

  Naomasu, the newest Roju member, dropped his fan onto the tatami. Everyone had been listening to Naga’s talk. Now suddenly their attention moved to him. He retrieved the fan quickly.

  “Gomen nasai,” Naomasu said, trying to recover from the shock of hearing about Denjiro and the subsequent blunder of dropping his fan. “How is your fiancée?”

  “She’s gravely ill, Naomasu-sama. Thank you for asking.”

  “An interesting story, but any fool can destroy things. What are your plans to keep the peace in Edo?” O’Fuku demanded.

  “I am using my household guards currently, but my brother is working on recruiting and training a new force steeped in adherence to the law.”

  “I hope for your sake he can do this in two weeks,” she said.

  “Nagamasa-sama, where do you propose to get fifty-eight samurai to replace the police?” Yagyu asked.

  “As I said, Yagyu-sama, Hideki is working on it. He assures me they will be in place and trained by my deadline,” Naga said, bowing.

  “Very well, I shall report your progress to the shogun,” Yagyu said. “We are concluded.” All turned to the golden hollyhock on the wall beyond and bowed.

  On the way out, Jii grab Naga’s arm. “I thought I only had one hot-headed grandson.”

  Naga smiled. “It wasn’t anger, Jii. I need to keep them on the defensive. Someone in that room has almost killed my fiancée.”

  “Yes, I know. I also know that if it were not for Hideki’s ability to draw superior friends, we might all be dead,” Jii observed.

  “Yes. Well, I hope Yoshi returns with the witch, or whatever she is, in time to help. I can’t believe I’ve allowed Hideki to keep the doctor from treating her.”

  Because they wanted to get back to the Yoshinobu mansion as quickly as possible to be with Yuki, they had brought horses. The return trip was fast. The front gates opened as soon as they approached the mansion walls. Jii and Naga rode to the main house while the guards dismounted at the stables. Attendants took the reins as Naga and Jii dismounted and moved to the raised porch area to take off their sandals. They were still wearing their formal clothing, but did not stop in the changing room. Instead, they moved directly to the inner sleeping rooms.

  They came to a larger room with the wives of retainers and women of Yuki’s ninja guards coming and going. The men moved the sliding door and entered without announcement. “How is she?” Naga asked when he saw Hideki at Yuki’s side.

  The doctor dressed in a white frock answered for him. “I have no idea. These idiots will not allow me to examine her.”

  Naga looked down at his beloved and almost wept. Her normally creamy complexion was almost blue.

  “The poison is racing through her system, Lord,” the doctor said. “If we don’t get that dart out, I will not be responsible.”

  Naga looked at Hideki. Hideki did not know how to answer his pleading look. “I do not know brother. I just know Yoshi said if I valued her life not to let a doctor treat her.”

  “Where the hell is Yoshi?” Naga asked.

  “I’m right behind you, Lord,” Yoshi said.

  “Yoshi!” Hideki cried. “I’m so glad to see you.” A lovely young woman in peasant garb unceremoniously pushed Yoshi out of the way. A much older gray-haired woman, exuding a graceful beauty despite her tattered clothing, followed her.

  “You men talk too much,” the old woman said. Then, seeing the doctor, asked, “Have you touched anything?”

  “No, this fool samurai would not allow it,” the doctor protested.

  The old woman looked to Hideki straight in the eyes. “Then he probably saved her life.”

  “I will not be a party to this,” the doctor said standing up.

  “Mother, do we have need of him?” Yoshi asked.

  The gray-haired woman shook her head in the negative, then as an afterthought, “Tell him to leave the entire ginseng supply he has at the door.”

  Naga looked nervously at Yoshi. “Can she save Yuki?”

  “If anyone can, she can,” Yoshi replied.

  “Yoshi, get hot water and two buckets of cold,” the young woman commanded.

  Yoshi started to turn when Jii said, “Ladies, just tell us what you need. We’ll see that it is available.”

  “I would start with the water, Jii,” Naga said.

  Jii began barking orders and women scurried to comply.

  The old woman moved to Yuki’s side and listened to her breathing by placing her ear close to Yuki’s nose. Then she reached under the sheet and exposed Yuki’s hand. He applied pressure to the fingernails and watched the reaction and color. She moved to the foot of the pallet and did the same thing to Yuki’s toes. She then turned to the young woman. “Chiyo, I think it is death cap.”

  The young woman nodded. “I agree, Mother. Rice bran is best for mushrooms, isn’t it?” she questioned.

  “Yes,” the woman said. Then turning to Jii, “We will require rice bran boiled and reduced to a tea. The sooner we get some into her, the sooner we will know if she survives.”

  Jii gave the orders and people scurried.

  “Chiyo, get warm compresses ready. We should get the dart out now.”

  “Hai.”

  Very quickly, the two women set about pulling the dart from Yuki’s flesh and keeping warm compresses on the wound. Upon completion of bandaging, messengers announced the return of men sent to the market for rice bran. Once it was brought into the hall area, women took it to the kitchen for boiling.

  When the tea arrived, Chiyo and her mother set about getting cup after cup into Yuki. Because Yuki was unconscious, the old woman used a small hollow reed to transfer the brew from the cup and blow it deep into Yuki’s throat. After five cups, the women let Yuki rest.

  As the Yoshinobu men paced in the hall outside, servants responded to the orders of the two women with Yuki. The afternoon dragged by slowly.

  Jii looked to Yoshi. “I assume the young woman is your wife?”

  “Yes, Lord,” Yoshi bowed.

  “And judging by the resemblance, the older one is your mother-in-law?”

  “Yes again, Lord,” Yoshi said.

  “Why did you not want the doctor to treat Yuki?” Jii asked.

  “Because without proper diagnosing of the poison, he would’ve done more harm than good,” Yoshi explained.

  “Yes, I see. So your mother-in-law has more experience than a doctor in recognizing poisons?”

  Yoshi thought about this a moment before responding. “Let me ask you this, Jii-sama. Who is better to recognize all aspects of a sword, the samurai who wields it or the artisan who makes it?”

  Jii thought about the question. “I imagine the man who makes the sword would know more about its properties.”

  “Correct answer, Jii-sama. It is the same with poisons.”

  Jii looked back into Yuki’s room for another look at Yoshi’s mother-in-law. “That is scary,” he mumbled.

  “She scares most ninjas,” Yoshi said. “And she is passing her knowledge on to her daughter. Now you know why I’m wary all the time.”

  Jii shook his head. “You went to retrieve your women, but why did you take Jubei?” Jii asked.