KATANAGATARI 2

■　■

…

…

…

Kamakiri Maniwa finally came around.

And when the battle-hardened1 ninja, one of the Twelve Bosses of the Maniwa Clan, and Captain of the Bug Unit, opened his eyes, he understood his circumstances instantly─he had been lashed upright to a tree.

His irons2 were the very chains that had been wrapped around his body─it seemed that while he was unconscious, they had been undone and repurposed. They bound his upper body, arms and all.

All ten of the nails that had been thrust into his body were removed─and furthermore, all ten of the wounds they made were treated, to stop the bleeding. It was his good luck that none of them were fatal─but no, this was not luck. He had not worn the chains, now lashed around the tree, for show; like armor, they had blocked his vital organs─in which case, the talons (however they had been broken off) could not have hurt him mortally. His wounds were neither grievous nor life-threatening─but did that mean…had the girl avoided his vitals─which is to say the chains when she repaid him with his nails? To ensure that all ten stuck straight into his body, albeit not lethally? Had she decided on this move instinctually? That was the only explanation, but in that case, you could hardly call it a decision…

He looked around.

No one there─having only just arrived, Kamakiri had no hope of orienting himself in the forest. At first, he thought that he was in the place where he had lost consciousness─but after a time, he realized he was not.

Judging from the position of the sun, it had been about another fifteen minutes…

“No use trying to finish3 yourself off,” a voice called out to him.

Nanami Yasuri. Approaching him head-on, taking her time.

She was like a cadaver─like something inanimate.

“While you were down, I relieved you of the poison you had stashed in your molar.”

“…”

So she had searched him head to toe.

In that case, she had rid him of the various secret weapons4 he had hidden in his ninja garb─which failed to bother Kamakiri in the least.

As goes without saying, he would never think to take his own life.

This was not a situation where such measures would be necessary.

He was alive─after all of that, alive.

He may have fallen victim to a bizarre counterstrike, but he nevertheless survived─which meant not all was lost. Far from it─a ninja did his best work in conditions like these.

“I was bringing home the greens that I had foraged─I rushed back, but I hadn’t thought you would wake up so soon. It seems I kept you waiting. Please accept my apologies.”

“…”

Nanami greeted him politely, not at all the way you would expect someone to confront an intruder─or assailant─but Kamakiri answered her with silence. It was best to play the docile captive, who sees no hope in fighting back.

“I really do apologize─but now I’ll need to torture you,” Nanami swiftly added.

Her expression was expressionless.

Kamakiri could surmise nothing from that face.

“While you were unconscious, by which I mean after I tended to your wounds, I took it upon myself to bring you here─because your friend is buried over there.”

Nanami spoke calmly, still expressionless.

If you looked in the direction she was pointing, you could see a boulder that did not seem to have wound up there naturally.

“…”

“My brother buried him. I believe he called himself Komori Maniwa. From what I hear, he dressed the same as you… I wanted to at least point out that I would bury you in the same place, after you die…”

Nanami lowered her hand and turned once more toward Kamakiri.

Expressionless.

“Now tell me. It’s not a bad place to die, in my opinion, but I’d prefer to let you choose.”

“Choose─what?” Kamakiri addressed her for the first time. “What am I choosing between?”

“Whether to die having talked,” explained Nanami, “or not.”

Her voice was free of doubt─and of any cruelty.

She made it sound like this was normal.

“It doesn’t matter either way to me,” she said.

Nanami took a few steps and reached down. She picked up one of the ten nails that had been snapped and thrust back into Kamakiri during their fight (such as it was). Ah yes. Using an enemy’s weapons to torture him…ravaging the body, while humiliating the individual. She had used the chains to lash his body for essentially the same reason.

Kamakiri was impressed.

Her sharpness in battle had all too literally sunken in─but now she was proving her worth as a tactician.5 You would never have thought she had been raised on a desert island.

But her brilliance─was not beyond manipulation.

She was fighting a ninja, but when she had the chance to kill him, she did not finish the job─and he would capitalize on that oversight.

While he may not prevail in a straight battle of wits─he was not about to be outcheated.

“Although I must say, I’m no expert at torture. It may be wrong of me to say so, but to be honest, you’d be doing me a favor if you died quietly─I don’t really have that many things to ask you, and I think I have a pretty good idea of things already.” Nanami scrutinized6 the talons she was holding. “Maybe I should check a few things first, though. Since there’s a slim chance you might be dressed alike by pure coincidence─you are in fact one of the Maniwa, correct?”

“I am,” admitted Kamakiri.

Now that she had brought him to the gravesite of Komori, it seemed pointless to lie or to be silent.

Pure coincidence─Nanami surely knew better. There was no way.

“And the Maniwa Ninja Clan…isn’t that a bit too long? How about I call you guys Maniwacs? It’s cute and fun.”

“…”

Regardless of her worth as a tactician, she and her brother were products of the same environment and had the same sensibilities.

Kamakiri had nothing to say.

You could say he let it go.

“Next, I’d like to ask what brought you to this island─but I think I already know.”

He was here to abduct Nanami Yasuri, and hold her hostage from Shichika Yasuri, Seventh Master of the Kyotoryu─to mess up7 the Sword Hunt he was on.

And to steal whatever swords they had landed.

“In fact, seeing you is a relief. You could even say I’m glad you came. Having the Maniwacs show up on the island─is solid proof that Shichika and Togame’s Sword Hunt is proceeding according to plan. Otherwise, why would you bother coming all the way out here? I knew the time would come, sooner or later.

“Four months,” Nanami said as if to herself. “I wonder how many swords they’ve rounded up by now.”

It was not an actual question, but Kamakiri answered anyway. “Two. Factor in Zetto the Leveler, which they grabbed before they set off, and that makes three.”

“Sounds like they’re taking their time. But I guess Japan is a big place. Maybe that’s how it goes…”

She was disappointed?

It seemed she had expected them to have more swords by now. This despite the fact that rounding up two of the Twelve Possessed, those masterworks not even the Old Shogun could obtain, was plenty cause for celebration in its own right.

She was a mysterious woman.

Kamakiri had been misled by his first impression of her.

This woman─was dangerous.

This went beyond her skill and spirit─she was a fundamental menace.

“I have yet to meet─or actually even see your brother, but if he is the new master,8 does that mean Shichika is even stronger than you?”

“Huh? Oh, no─I’m not sure. It’s been about a year since we had a match9─and besides…” Nanami dodged the question, “I share the Kyotoryu as you probably suspect, but only because I’m of the Yasuri bloodline. As for whether I’m a swordsman, I’m not sure what to say.”

“…That move you used back there against me─was that not the Kyotoryu?”

“As a matter of fact, that was the Ominaeshi,10 one of our defense moves. It’s a type of dattojutsu. Basically, you break the enemy’s sword and turn it against him. I was acting on my reflexes, and used it on you ten times over, for each of your talons─but hold on, why am I the one answering the questions?”

She sounded sarcastic, however accidentally.

“Well then─where was I.”

Nanami had taken over. On with the questions.

“How many of you came this time?”

“What makes you even ask that?”

How had she noticed there was more than one of them?

That he was joined by Chocho and Mitsubachi…

“What a weird question! I’m obviously here alone─our village hardly has the manpower to send a crew of ninjas to kidnap a single girl. Of course, if I had known how powerful you were, I would have come with ten or twenty others.”

“But kidnapping me can’t be your sole objective─I’m sure that’s just the first step in your plan. In which case, there’s nothing odd about you coming as a group. Since Shichika has three swords, you could divide them perfectly, if there were three of you.”

“…”

He could not risk responding.

This was a trap.

She was just guessing11 so she could observe his reaction─true, she had pinned it down,12 but as she herself was surely aware, her words and her conjectures had nothing to back them up.

“It would help things if you gave me a number and told me about each ninja’s ninpo.”

“…”

“Oh, by ‘help things,’ I mean it would help me, not help you stay alive. Just making sure there’s no confusion.”

“…”

“Actually, this is sort of embarrassing, but just now, after bringing home the greens, I got lost along the way back─and wound up on the overlook. As far as I could tell, there was nothing like a vessel anywhere onshore,” Nanami said, pausing between her phrases. “Not like I can see the entire ocean from up there, but it sort of made me wonder─if maybe you guys used your ninpo, to make it here without a boat.”

Merely conjecturing, she was nailing bullseye after bullseye─Kamakiri took pains not to show any reaction.

Nanami added nothing more.

Silence took over the forest─but not for long. Nanami, holding the talons, took another step closer to Kamakiri.

“Let me tell you something about my brother.”

“…”

“Way back when, he used to bite his nails─I told him to cut it out because it was bad manners, but he wouldn’t listen, just kept on biting them. His thumbnails, in particular, were all chewed up13─so one day, I peeled off all his nails for him.”

Nanami spoke─approaching one step after another.

“After that, he never bit his nails again. He was basically an infant, and this was part of growing up, so I don’t mean to compare what I did with torture─but for you, I thought I might try the reverse.”

Kamakiri gathered from her natural, even seamless movements what was coming next, but had no chance to clamp his lips. Stopping right before the tree where she had restrained him, Nanami took the talons...hard and sharp as daggers, and poked the tips─into his mouth.

“Have a bite.”

“…”

As part of his ninja training, Kamakiri had learned to withstand torture. The idea of slipping a sharp blade into the supple oral cavity was nothing new to him; she could have done far worse. On the spot, he could imagine five methods more horrific. All the same─the sight of Nanami’s placid face as she executed the procedure was far more terrifying than the act. Normally, torture is exhausting to perform. It places an oppressive burden on the soul, threatening your composure…

But this girl─had unbelievable nerve.

She must not be─normal.

“What’s wrong? Just pretend you’re a kid again─and chew your nails like a good boy. It may hurt your tongue a bit, but who needs a tongue if you won’t talk?”

“Ah, wait─understood…”

His words said one thing.

But in his heart, Kamakiri was beaming.

He had won.

Nanami had an odd mind, capable of horrific things, but at this point, that mattered none to Kamakiri. With Nanami close as she was, the conditions─

Kamakiri flipped over his wrists, spreading his ten fingers.

Ten fingers, missing their nails.

His upper body, arms and all, was held fast to the tree, but he was not exactly hogtied.14 He may not be able to move his arms─but his wrists, barely clearing the chains, were free enough to use.

You needed to tie a captive’s arms behind him.

It appeared that after breaking off his arsenal15 of nails and stripping him of all the weapons16 on his person, Nanami had relaxed, thinking he lacked any means of recourse─but no.

She underestimated his Mantis Talons.

Kamakiri was able to shoot out new nails repeatedly. Sure, he had his limits─but breaking off or tearing free his nails just once was not enough to leave him weaponless!

“What have you understood?”

“Ah, I mean, I’ll talk, about our ninpo─ninpo─Ninpo─”

But Kamakiri’s cry became a battle cry─

“Mantis Talons!”

Kamakiri shot out his nails.

Unable to give them time to fully form, they were somewhat lacking in thickness, but he made sure the tips were plenty sharp. Aiming straight for Nanami, he grew all ten nails at max speed.

Giving him ten spears.17

Yet─

“…”

Nanami─with a slight twist of the hips, dodged all ten of the talons. No clean break, the ten nails tore through her kimono, nearing her skin and plunging deep. At first glance, it appeared that she had moved too late, but not so─in shifting slightly, she had intentionally caught the nails in the cloth of her sleeve. By dodging him with such precision, she had barred the nails from further action. Thanks to her kimono, all ten had been taken out of service.

Of course, this was no more than a precautionary measure. In other words, she could comfortably dodge Kamakiri Maniwa’s ten nails regardless─

Thus evading his attack, Nanami jammed the talons down his throat. Their tips tore through the back of his windpipe─into the trunk of the tree behind him.

In the end, Kamakiri Maniwa, one of the Twelve Bosses of the Maniwa Clan.

Chose the latter─and died without talking.

“Phew…”

She was spent.

Twisting her body on tiptoes,18 Nanami drew back to free her kimono from the second set of talons─and let out a sigh.

She could sigh with the best of them.

“Not like I thought torture could make a ninja talk, but I have to hand it to him. Even when I tried to nail19 him down, he simply wouldn’t crack─hmm. I’d better assume a few more of them are here─but Shichika.”

Realizing how tattered her kimono had become from Kamakiri’s nails, Nanami smiled.

A resolutely evil smile.

“Only two more swords in all that time─lazy boy. When he comes home, I’m giving him a thrashing.”

■　■

Without warning, the Blood Crystal set upon the cliff cracked in two.

“…”

“…”

Chocho Maniwa and Mitsubachi Maniwa looked up with sober eyes.

The crystal had been left in their safekeeping when Kamakiri Maniwa set off to snatch Nanami Yasuri. Peculiar to Maniwa Village, the Blood Crystals were precious and scarce, and as a rule, only entrusted with Maniwa Bosses. Carried close to the heart, these artifacts took on the spirit of their owner, in whose absence they could serve as beacons of distress.

And when the crystal broke─that meant its owner bit the dust.

“It appears that Kamakiri─has been slain.”

“Sure does…”

On the outskirts of Haphazard Island, hiding out among the cliffs, awaiting the return of Kamakiri, their reaction was─utterly calm. As ninjas, they had learned to override21 their emotions; when a comrade died, they would never make a scene.

But overriding your emotions─is not the same as having none.

Suffering the death of Kamakiri, who was not only Captain of the Bug Unit, but a dear friend, Chocho and Mitsubachi could hardly be expected to feel nothing.

Their expressions may not have changed─but something in the air between them had.

“I mean,” said Chocho, “not to sound like Kamakiri, but I can’t wrap my head around it. How could he lose to her, when she isn’t even master─just a normal girl? I can’t imagine anyone who could withstand his Mantis Talons. Even Kuizame, that diva,22 tipped his hat to Kamakiri. Ninpo aside, he was experienced, and formidably so. No matter how you look at it─I can’t believe that he lost.”

“The Blood Crystal is not infallible,” noted Mitsubachi. “Sometimes it remains intact even when its owner dies, and there have been cases where it crumbles, only for its owner to return alive─for now, though, we should act as if Kamakiri has been beaten. The very sentiment that you expressed, Chocho, your confidence that Kamakiri could not lose, may have been what made him slip.”

“Slip? Kamakiri, of all people?”

“I highly doubt it─no matter the battle, he has never been one to misread an opponent. The idea of him slipping is ridiculous. In which case, there can be but one explanation: that woman is a capable opponent.”

“…”

“At the very least, we should assume as much─since neither of us, Chocho, can expect to outdo Kamakiri on the battlefield.”

“Showing up to take a hostage, only for the hostage to take us down─no way. As it stands, we look like a bunch of stooges. Idiots, even. But it sounds like the Kyotoryu is absurdly23 strong─which explains24 how they could round up two of the Twelve Possessed in such short time.”

“Perhaps the girl is even stronger than her brother─no?”

“Not a chance─if she’s so strong, why didn’t she join the Schemer on her Sword Hunt?”

“I’m sure she had her reasons. The Schemer is known to be disliked by other women. That may have been enough.”

“Come on. Don’t be silly.”

Chocho had himself a laugh─and stood.

Bewildered by this gesture, Mitsubachi asked him: “Wait, what do you intend to do? I thought I─was the next in line.”

“No, I’ll go, I’ve gotten all the rest I needed. Not tired anymore…”

“But considering the circumstances, I think my ninpo would be far more potent, Chocho. Your ninpo is a bit too─unmediated.”

“Hear this, Mitsubachi. I cared for Kamakiri.”

“I felt the same.”

“And I care about you too. It’s not like you mustn’t ever die on me─but if any member of the Bug Unit is to live through this, it should be you. You’re still so young.”

“Come now…”

Hearing such a thing from Chocho, who was not one to talk about his feelings, Mitsubachi was at a loss for words.

Chocho, seeing this reaction, laughed with gusto.

“Kah kah kah. Have some sense and let an older bug take the stage25─if the Kyotoryu’s big sister is as powerful as you think, I have a better chance of stopping her. Find yourself a perch and watch us fight. If I should lose, learn from my mistakes, and capture her yourself.”

“…”

After the loss of Kamakiri, premier fighter of the Bug Unit, this was their best strategy. The more they knew about their enemy, the more effective Mitsubachi’s ninpo would be.

“But what about you, Chocho?”

“Please. I’m not about to sacrifice my life. Why would I suddenly start behaving like a normal ninja? Who knows? Maybe I’m just talking sly, angling to take the prize, lad.” Chocho laughed some more: “Kah kah kah.”

But then his face went serious.

“Listen, Mitsubachi.”

“…I’m listening.”

“When this job is over, I’m getting married.”

“…”

He was sealing the deal on his death.26

Not like anyone had forced him. It was all on him.

“In this line of work, we could die anytime or anywhere. For a while that held me back─but whether we win or lose, this job will be my last. I’ve decided.”

“Oh, I see─and the bride?”

“Someone we both know. Don’t tell me, perceptive as you are, you failed to notice? One of the Twelve Bosses. Oshidori27 Maniwa from the Bird Unit─”

“Oshidori…haha, wow. I bet she’ll whip you into shape.”

“Yeah, I bet.”

“Well, Chocho, sounds like it’s time to settle down and be a family man.”28

“Guess so. But you know what, whenever I’m alone with her, she’s so damn cute… I’ve never told you this before, Mitsubachi, but I was born down south. I’m not originally from the village─she loves me all the same. I can safely say that I’m the bug I am today because of her─funny, with a girl from the Bird Unit and a guy from the Bug Unit, you’d expect a more predatory relationship. Well, I guess you could say she had a hungry heart…”

Chocho was lapsing into reverie.

What on earth had gotten into him?

“Whew, oh boy─”

He was on a roll. Patting around his ninja garb, he found a cigarette, imported from the western lands,29 but caught himself─

“Whoa, whoa. Almost forgot I quit.”

He split the cigarette in half.

Yep. That settled it. He was a goner.30

“Oshidori said I had to, or she wouldn’t marry me.”

“Ah, o-okay, I see. But─” While the full extent may have been lost on Mitsubachi…he tried to save his comrade, perhaps a bit too late. “Chocho, as great a story as this is, maybe we should leave it.”

“Huh? You sure?”

“Yes, I think I get the gist. I’ll leave it to you─but I’m a ninja too. I’m not trying to play second fiddle. If something happens, I’m not coming to the rescue.31 Don’t expect me to help you out. If you get your butt whipped─”

“Fine by me. If things go awry, I’ll do my best to drag them out. That way you can learn as much as possible.”

With that, Chocho retrieved half of the Blood Crystal; wearing a rueful visage, he tossed it to Mitsubachi.

“What’s this about?”

“Bug Unit forever. Even in death, our bond will not be severed.”

“Well, well. Chocho, you’re a pretty good guy after all.”

Mitsubachi sounded uneasy, as if this sudden burst of goodness, from a man who hitherto had shown no taste for decency, were another sign of his impending death. Chocho looked embarrassed.

“Cut it out.”

The man stuffed the other half of the Blood Crystal in his ninja clothes.

Slipping it into the left side of the garment. By his heart.

…Foreshadowing his survival, just barely, at the last moment─Chocho set off32 into battle.

■　■

Not twenty years into the past─but one.

Just after Mutsue Yasuri, Sixth Master of the Kyotoryu, the Hero of the Rebellion─and father to Shichika and Nanami breathed his last. A week after burying33 Mutsue, Shichika challenged his sister to a match.

Nanami would tell Kamakiri Maniwa that it had been about a year since she and her brother had a match, making that the last time they fought each other─but in fact, it was also their first fight. Their father Mutsue had strictly forbidden Shichika from sparring with Nanami.

In other words, to date it was the one and only time that Shichika took on Nanami─so how did things play out?

Simply put, there was no winner.

Looking out for his sick sister, Shichika set a time limit for the fight─and within the allotted time, no winner was decided.

You could say that it was basically a draw.

None bore witness to the battle, but if any had─and were asked to make the call,34 whoever so tasked would have declared Nanami the victor.

The difference in ability between Shichika and Nanami was so great there was no contest.

The fight was not exactly undecided─she merely stopped before things went too far.

Like an adult humoring a child.

No─perhaps it was more like a puppy playing with its owner.

Nanami fielded every one of Shichika’s attacks─but never returned the favor, for the duration of the match.

Shichika expected his sister, up against him, to behave this way─but thought that if he pushed her hard enough, she would eventually fight back.

He thought wrong.

As it turned out, Shichika failed to get a rise out of Nanami. For nineteen years, he had been training without rest, through rain and wind and snow, but after all his effort, he was not even at a level where his sister felt the need to hit him back. Offense was out of the question, but she opted against even defense moves like the Ominaeshi.

Shichika, who based on looks alone seemed sure to win, wound up flat on the ground, which was as far as things went─ending the fight, the first they had engaged in their entire lives.

“You did pretty good,” Nanami told her little brother, when they were through. “Not as good as Dad was at his best, but you’re getting closer all the time. Keep it up─no slacking. Spare no effort.”

As one might imagine, Shichika was extremely sore about his loss─it took about a week for him to rally.

And why not.

After spending nearly every waking moment of the last nineteen years in training, he had failed to land a single swing against his sister, whom he had never seen practicing at anything, not even once.

Enough reminiscence35─

1 百戦錬磨 HYAKUSEN RENMA “burnished by a hundred fights”

2 束縛 SOKUBAKU “bundle tie” restraints

3 自決 JIKETSU “self-resolve” take one’s own life

4 暗器 ANKI concealable implements of assassination

5 知謀策略の面 CHIBŌ SAKURYAKU NO MEN in the area of plots and schemes

6 ためつすがめつ TAMETSU SUGAMETSU look over something carefully

7 邪魔 JAMA hinder; commonly used despite the ominous 邪 JA wicked 魔 MA demon

8 当主 TŌSHU current lord (of a school)

9 手合わせ TE AWASE “meeting (of) hands” sporting fight

10 女郎花 OMINAESHI “The Maidenflower” important flower in Heian-era Japanese literature

11 当てずっぽう ATEZUPPŌ “shot in the dark”

12 正鵠を射ている SEIKOKU WO ITE IRU “shot the correct swan” bullseye, in archery

13 ぼろぼろ BORO BORO onomatopoeia for ragged

14 封じた FŪJITA sealed, blocked

15 凶器 KYŌKI weapon (often in criminal context, as in “murder weapon”) 凶 KYŌ malign

16 武器 BUKI weapon (the most standard term) 武 BU martial

17 槍 YARI spear (literally, as in the weapon)

18 爪先立ち TSUMASAKI DACHI “standing on toenails”

19 鎌をかける KAMA WO KAKERU trick into talking; pun on 蟷螂 KAMAKIRI praying mantis

20 ぱりん PARIN onomatopoeia for glass (and similar objects) shattering

21 操作 SŌSA control, manipulate

22 傍若無人 BŌJAKU BUJIN arrogant in bearing

23 べらぼうに BERABŌNI confoundedly (from 篦棒 BERABŌ, the name of a 17th-c circus freak)

24 頷ける UNAZUKERU “to be nod-worthy”

25 見せ場 MISEBA scenes in a play where actors can show off their skills

26 死ぬ伏線 SHINU FUKUSEN foreshadowing death (characters who confess such plans tend not to survive)

27 鴛鴦 OSHIDORI “The Mandarin Duck” plays on おしどり夫婦 OSHIDORI FŪFU happily married couple

28 年貢の納め時 NENGU NO OSAMEDOKI “time to pay one’s dues (taxes)” often means going to jail

29 南蛮渡来 NANBAN TORAI “arriving from the southern barbarians” (or so the pre-modern Japanese expression had it, due to the maritime route)

30 彼の死亡は確定した KARE NO SHIBŌ WA KAKUTEI SHITA his demise is a certainty (another narrative trope)

31 助太刀に入る SUKEDACHI NI HAIRU “enter as a helping sword”

32 出陣 SHUTSUJIN leave camp; sortie

33 埋葬 MAISŌ burial portion of a funeral

34 判定試合 HANTEI SHIAI when the referee determines victory

35 回想終了 KAISŌ SHŪRYŌ “recollection over”