“He speaks the truth, Yoshinobu-sama,” Jubei interjected. “I suggest we save time and give Myo brush and stone and have her draw a detailed a map of the buildings. I would also like to hear why she thinks they chose this building.”

  Jii motioned to an attendant. He stood and went to one of the many chests along the wall behind Jii. From one he extracted a large scroll of paper and a wooden box. These he took to Myo and sat them in front of her tray. The attendant unrolled the scroll onto the tatami and opened the wooden box. From the box he extracted a short length of bamboo. From the bamboo, he produced a brush. From his belt, he produced a longer tube of bamboo through which he placed water onto the black stone set into the lower half of the wooden box. The brush went into the black mixture at the bottom of the box. The newly inked brush went to Myo.

  She began drawing a series of buildings, the street, Nihonbashi canal behind, the fences, the entrances into all three building, the second story with windows, the locations of handcarts, and the various rooms on the second floor, then she identified the buildings on the street and which room the Fox Gang used. When she was finished, Hideki was looking at as good a map as he had ever seen.

  “Very impressive Myo,” Jii said. “Now to Jubei’s question, why the daiwa?”

  “I believe the Fox Gang to be using the daiwa and the Yamakai for the same function as the merchants,” she said.

  “Distribution of supplies?” Naga asked.

  “Yes, Lord. I think this is their Edo distribution point for various activities in the Kanto or greater Edo area.”

  “Ingenious,” Hideki exclaimed. “You were right Nichi—the Yamakai are smarter than you.”

  “Yes, but he has made a mistake this time. He has contracted with an outlawed gang and one that is a threat to the Tokugawa. For this, the Yamakai must perish,” Nichi asserted.

  “Excellent job, Myo,” Jii said. Myo actually felt flush with the praise. She found herself wanting this man’s approval.

  “How many people are in the buildings night and day?” Naga asked.

  “During the day, there are as many as fifteen warehousemen. They quit work before sundown. There are upwards of ten Yamakai men who reside in the corner building facing the street,” she said, pointing with the brush. “The Fox Gang resides here,” she said, pointing to the other building facing the street. “No one resides on the first floor. There are a series of offices with files in the front. They lead to the warehouse in back.”

  “And the number of the Fox Gang?” Jii asked.

  “The most we’ve seen is ten. But they come and go constantly. It may be a communication center for them as well,” she said.

  “Thank you, Myo,” Jii said, then he addressed the assembled. “So, on with our planning. What have you learned, and what are your questions for Myo?”

  Naga responded first. “I think we should conduct the raid under darkness—to eliminate casualties among the warehousemen.”

  “Good point, Naga, but only if it does not pose more danger on our forces,” Jii said.

  “What is our mission, Grandfather?” Hideki asked.

  “Now that is an excellent question,” Jii said.

  “I think arresting the Yamakai should be one objective,” Nichi said.

  “If it is a distribution point or communication center, capturing it should disrupt their operations,” Yoshi added.

  “I want to kill as many of the bastards as possible,” Naga proclaimed.

  “If your intent is to murder, you’ll have to count me out,” Musashi said.

  “And me,” Jubei seconded.

  Jii stared at Naga. His grandson would have to find a way to rectify this error.

  Naga bowed to both. “I am sorry. My distress with Yuki’s injury clouded my judgment. I want the Foxes arrested and tried.”

  “You will learn nothing. They would rather die than speak,” Jubei said.

  “I want to speak with one of them,” Hideki said.

  “Jubei just said they will reveal nothing,” Naga said.

  “I believe they will reveal something to me,” Hideki said.

  “Do you think yourself such a good interrogator?” Naga asked.

  “No, and I don’t have time to explain it to you. But I think it is important to your mission as magistrate to let me question a Fox prisoner,” Hideki said.

  “Take time to explain it to us,” Jii said.

  “Very well Grandfather, I don’t want to interrogate the prisoner. I want to listen to him talk.”

  “It sounds like the same thing,” Jii said.

  “The two times we have fought the Foxes, has anyone heard them utter a word?” Hideki asked. Everyone shook his or her head in the negative. Hideki continued. “You have heard them scream when dying, but none of us have heard them utter a command.”

  “You are correct, Lord,” Yoshi said. “I mentioned as much when we met on the Tokaido with Hanzo and Yuki for the first time.”

  “Why do they not speak?” Hideki asked.

  “I don’t know,” Yoshi said. “I wondered how they communicate.”

  “Think back to Kyoto. During our fight, did you hear anything strange?” Hideki asked.

  “Not really. Only the screams of the dying and those noisy birds,” Yoshi said .

  “Exactly! I remember thinking we had disturbed the birds of the Temple. I now believe it is the way the Fox ninja communicate,” Hideki said.

  “Could be that you are correct,” Jubei said. “I remember the bird calls in Nihonbashi. But how does this help us?”

  Hideki eagerly responded. “They may be using the bird calls to disguise a dialect. I am good at remembering things. If I can listen to one of them, I may be able to determine where they are from. If I can determine what part of the country they are from it may help us know who in the Roju or Tairo is helping them.”

  “Sounds a little strange to me, but write it down,” Jii said to the scribe. “Anything else?”

  No one responded.

  “Very well, our objective is to seize the building and capture as many as possible for trial,” Jii said. “We know the enemy strength. We know the terrain. Now what troops do we have available?”

  “We have our sixty retainers,” Hideki said.

  “We cannot use them for this. Besides, thirty of them are patrolling the city as police,” Naga said.

  “Nichi, how many new police do you have?” Jii asked.

  “I have thirty. In a brawl with the Yamakai, they will do well. But despite Musashi’s constant jutte training, they could not go against ninja.”

  “They will not have to,” Myo said.

  “What do you suggest, Myo?” Jii asked.

  “I suggest you let your ninja neutralize the Fox Gang.”

  “Excellent suggestion,” Yoshi said. “How many do you think it will take?”

  “We have ten rotating on the watch team now. We also have five more trailing their deliveries to try to locate their stronghold. I will need an additional six to neutralize their sentries,” she said.

  “They have sentries?” Jii asked.

  “Not in the manner you are used to, Jii-sama,” she said, and then saw the look of surprise on Hideki’s face. “I mean Yoshinobu-sama,” she corrected.

  “That is quite all right, Myo. I am the old man here and in this household, I wear the title with pride. You may call me Jii,” he said kindly.

  Myo bowed, “Domo Jii-sama.”

  “Continue with your exceptional planning,” Jii said.

  “Hai! The sentries are in disguise. A peddler sells children’s pinwheels and small dolls. He moves his stall up and down the street during the day. They also have a tinker who sets up a stall to repair pots and kitchen items. At night, a noodle vendor sets up across the street. They also have a boatman taking fares with his water taxi in the evenings. In addition, there is a more traditional sentry on the roof across from the Daiwa at all times.

  “If we go in the evening, I will use a three-man infiltration team to eliminate their sentries. The same team will then take a position as a blocking force to preclude reinforcement and stop escape. We will then gain entry with a ten-man team. Three will carry tools to make the entry covertly, and seven will deal with the sleeping Foxes.” “Remember Myo, I need prisoners,” Hideki interjected.

  “I will attempt to capture some for you, Hideki, but can make no guarantees. Unless we have complete surprise, they may take their own lives,” she replied.

  “Will there be samurai in the daiwa?” Jii asked.

  “We have seen none.”

  “There is always a possibility of a yojimbo,” Nichi said.

  Jii began issuing instructions. “Hideki and Jubei will accompany Nichi’s group. Musashi, I would prefer if you stayed here with Naga and myself. It never pays to put all your eggs in one basket with these vermin.”

  “Hai,” Musashi said.

  “Where do you want me, Jii-sama?” Yoshi asked.

  “Myo works for you. You go where you think best,” Jii said.

  “Excellent.”

  “Daylight or dark?” Myo asked.

  “Naga’s point about casualties is appropriate,” Jii said, “but I’ve found it best to leave the details to the men executing the plan, or in this case, the woman. What do you say, Myo?”

  “We favor the dark,” Myo said.

  “Very well. What time?” Jii asked.

  “The hour of the Tiger is good.” Myo said indicating three o’clock in the morning. “Most are in deep sleep by then,” she said.

  “Nichi,” Myo said, turning to the yoriki, “do not storm the daiwa until we have eliminated the sentries and captured the Fox wing. I would prefer it if you stayed away until I signal you.”

  “What will the signal be?” Nichi asked.

  “I will torch several boats in the adjacent yard. This will cause a distraction. The Yamakai will rise to extinguish the fire as they own the boatyards.”

  “Excellent work, Myo. That was a masterful plan well-briefed. What do you require from us?” Jii asked.

  “Nothing Jii-sama. The Five Families will handle their part. Please inform your men that we will be in black clothing and are allies.”

  Jii glanced at his scribes before continuing. They appeared to have caught up. “Hideki, you will take control of the ground element with Nichi. Jubei, you go with Hideki in case they meet samurai. I want our injuries at a minimum.”

  Roku did not like coming to this compound. They always mistreated him. They would laugh at him. They would spit on him. They would beat him with sticks. They would never touch him. They walked in the world of humans. Roku walked with the animals.

  Every day he would start out from his little shack on the canal and push four huge, wooden barrels in his pushcart to the area of Surug-machi, to the wealthy merchant homes and a few warehouses. There he would patiently wait at the back gate. Eventually, he was admitted to the latrines. He would ladle the night soil into small buckets and transfer them into one of the four huge barrels on his cart. The work was tiring and the smell indescribable, but Roku did not mind. He was happy to have the work. His mother and two younger sisters needed the money he earned from hauling the human waste to the night soil barges on the canal. Like most eta, Roku’s family went hungry three nights a week. Roku had been hungry for as long as he could remember.

  Roku was an eta. He was the lowest of the low. If he even cast a shadow on a samurai, he could die. His whole sixteen years had been one of taunting and ridicule and exclusion. The only learning he would ever get was at the hands of his parents. He had never had any friends except when they briefly lived in an eta colony on Tsuda-shima Island. He could not talk to anyone except another eta, and he had managed a full repertoire of grunts and mumbles to convey understanding in the world of humans.

  His father had managed to find a job preparing bodies for burial in the temple. Only an eta could do such a task as only they were lowly enough that the spirits surrounding the dead would not take notice. He only saw his father on Sundays. The family needed two steady jobs. His mother could not take in sewing or washing like other destitute women. What humans would let an eta touch their clothes?

  Roku had salvaged an old, abandoned night-soil pushcart and cleaned and repaired it. Now when his mother and two sisters would get calls to retrieve and bury dead bodies, they had the tools necessary to accomplish the job. The deceased was usually a loner with no family, ronin too slow with his blade, a diseased labor coughing to death, a low-level prostitute or other flotsam and jetsam that Edo coughed up onto the dirt streets. All were his mother’s clients.

  Innkeepers were the best customers. They had to get the dead body out of their inn before it began to stink and hurt business. Therefore, if the dead person was traveling alone, Roku’s mother and sisters were alerted. They would take a single tatami mat from their shack floor and place it on the pushcart. Atop the mat two picks and one shovel rode. Lastly, a former canvas sail, folded and placed atop the tools, would complete their inventory. Then off the three would go.

  Roku’s mother would never enter the building until she was paid. The going price for removal and burial was two copper coins. The miserly proprietor or innkeeper would always hassle, trying to get the price down, but Roku’s mother never budged. She could wait. They had no place to go. The dead body would just get riper with age. Time was on her side.

  Eventually the innkeeper, cursing and swearing, would throw two copper coins at her. Once paid, she took the canvas, and tatami mat into the room of the dead. She would wrap the body in the canvas and the girls would place it on the tatami mat. Her daughters would take front and she would lift the back of the tatami. The corpse rode in the pushcart to the cemetery.

  Once away from prying eyes, Roku’s mother would go over every inch of the corpse’s body, looking for money or anything valuable. She knew the innkeeper would have torn the inn’s room apart looking for his rent, but they would not check the body as no one would dare defile themselves by touching a corpse. Even staying in the same room without purification by a priest was risky.

  Sometimes, a well-meaning passerby in the cemetery would give her money to ensure proper burial and a priest. Roku’s mother took their money with a series of appreciative grunts. Then the girls would use the picks and shovels to dig a deep circular hole. Roku’s mother would then back the pushcart to the edge of the hole and elevate the handles upward. One of her daughters would hang onto the canvas as the body slid out. If she aimed it correctly, the feet hit in the center of the hole; then the knees would collapse; then the waist and lastly the upper torso and head would lean left or right just short of the rim of the grave. While she and one daughter filled in the grave, the other daughter would steal a small jizo from another grave and leave it as a marker for the fresh one. If anyone asked, a reputable priest chanted the proper prayers. Of course, she pocketed the entire extra for herself and family. She was no fool.

  Therefore, when the man met Roku along his route, Roku listened. He talked to Roku as if Roku was a human. Better yet, he offered Roku more than two years wages.

  Roku was no fool either. He knew the man planned to do something bad in the compound, but he did not care. The men inside the compound were evil. He hoped that something bad would happen to them. Besides, he needed the job, and he did not want to lose it. The man explained in detail what he needed and how Roku’s part would never be known.

  What convinced Roku was the man showing him the money. It amounted to a gold ryo, which was a fortune. What amazed Roku was the man’s consideration. The money in a leather pouch was in copper bu. The man explained that if Roku received a gold coin he could not buy anything, as someone would take it from him. Etas were not supposed to have gold coins. Someone would accuse him of stealing. But copper coins amounting to a gold coin, if spent sparingly, assured his family need not go hungry.

  Then the man had Roku remove his soiled and ragged top while he helped him strap the purse to his waist with leather strips. This way his treasury would always be with him. If he sat it down anywhere, he might lose it to thieves. That was good information, but Roku could not get over the fact that the man actually touched him while tying the leather strips. A human was touching him and talking to him as if he were human himself. His mother would never believe this. However, she would believe the money.

  So Roku agreed to the man’s proposition, and in an empty warehouse on the canal, the man walked around the night-soil caskets on Roku’s pushcart, knocking on the outside of each. When he had found the one that seemed most full, he unslung a black canvas bag and took out a black ninja costume, complete with boots, gloves, pants, a top, and a hood that covered the entire head. These he donned over street clothes. Then the man went back into the black bag and extracted a small wooden bucket. He removed the watertight top and began pouring oil all over his clothing. Within a few moments, his cloths were soaked in heavy whale oil.

  Next, the man hopped up onto the pushcart and opened the lid of the full night soil barrel. The stench was overpowering, and Roku saw him turn his head away. Then he stepped into the large barrel and lay down as best he could. A small breathing reed broke the surface of the brown liquid. By prior arrangement, Roku lowered the lid into place.

  Roku was not sure he wanted to be human. Humans did some very strange things. Nevertheless, the man was paying for this. All Roku had to do was to complete his route. When they were alone in the compound, Roku would cough. The man would get out, strip off the nasty outer garments, place them inside the barrel again. and Roku would be on his way.

  Roku was under no illusion that the money would turn his life around, but it might keep his family a little less hungry the next year. In an eta’s life, that was a turnaround.

  Roku coughed and Yoshi climbed up out of the stench and clinging ooze. He stripped off his oil-soaked garb, retrieved his sword from the black canvas bag, and placed the filthy ninja garb inside the barrel. Then he retrieved a vile from the black canvas bag his mother-in-law had provided and liberally doused himself. In a few moments, he smelled like a pine tree on a honey-bucket barge.