KATANAGATARI 3

■　■

Mt. Shirei was a Level One Disaster Area.

It had been wrested from its shrine by none other than that genius Nanami Yasuri, who did her work in a matter of minutes.

Akuto the Eel had been safeguarded in the most treacherous of climates by the Sacred Guardians of Mt. Shirei, men dressed in white─whose ranks would have posed a stubborn challenge to both Shichika and Togame.

Yet the men were not warriors.

Nor hunters like the Itezoras.

They simply─had the ability to see.

Apparitions.

Ghosts. Ghouls. Spirits.1

Specters─phantoms.2

Questions of proper nomenclature aside, the Sacred Guardians of Mt. Shirei had the ability to see people who were dead and gone.

They call it─necromancy.3

It may sound crazy─but remember Kyoken Maniwa, who waylaid Shichika Yasuri and Togame the Schemer last month on Mt. Odori? How could she have taken over thousands of bodies over the centuries without something like a soul to do the work?

This was about─persistent presence.

While there may not be an afterworld─there is a dreamworld.

And the presence of memory.

Is the presence of the departed.

The presence─of dreams.

Along those lines, consider the Infovac of Maniwa Kawauso, “The Nosey Otter.” It may come across as superstition,4 but perhaps it has some philosophical5 basis after all. Furthermore, while Kawauso Maniwa was from Maniwa Village, born and raised, his father’s side had roots in Mutsu─so they say.

You can imagine just what Princess Negative would declare:

“There’s no such thing as ghosts─but I don’t doubt those men can see them.”

Anyway.

While Nanami Yasuri was making short change6 of the Sacred Guardians of Mt. Shirei─you can be sure that she had watched and learned their methods.

With those eyes.

Just as she had gleaned the Maniwa Ninpo.

And the monstrous strength of the Itezoras.

She observed─their necromancy.

Since warriors they were not, their skill did not immediately prove useful to Nanami, but on the boat sailing from Mutsu to Shikoku─

She tried it on for size.

And was visited by her father─Mutsue Yasuri.

And her mother─Migiri7 Yasuri.

Not misty images─but clear as day.

“Huh.”

Nanami nodded comprehendingly.

“Okay…so this was how it works.”

Soon she heard the departed speak.

The first voice was her father, Mutsue.

─Nanami.

My dear─

Sweet Nanami─you’re far too─

Far too─way too─

Strong─

Too strong for me to teach─

I must not─must not make you any stronger─

You─

You’re a monster─

You should never have been born.

Migiri chimed in.

─Poor thing.

Poor little─girl─

Poor girl─

If you─

If only you could die, it would be over─

But you can’t die─and can’t live either─

Trapped─in a life you never asked for─8

I wish─

I wish you could just die.

“Boh-ring.”

Nanami switched off the move.

It was boring the hell out of her.

This was─only memory.

There inside her all along.

She didn’t need a special move─to see them.

She saw them.

Thought about them constantly.

“Enough,”9 she said under hear breath.

And so─the two visiting figures disappeared.

Disappeared─like phantasms.10

“Thanks but no thanks─I don’t need you to remind me.”

Thus.

Nanami Yasuri refrained from toying with the methods of the Sacred Guardians of Mt. Shirei─for the remainder of the voyage.

She was on her way to see her little brother.

Who accepted her.

He was the only person in her family─who accepted her.

■　■

Her proposal so readily accepted─

Togame the Schemer was perplexed, even if it was exactly what she’d hoped for, and it was written all over her face.

“You seem surprised,” Nanami said. “But I’m at least as surprised as you, Miss Togame. It’s been about a week now. I figured you and Shichika had given up and gone home.”

“Listen to that,” Togame snapped, but she had no leg to stand on.

They may not actually have run home with their tails between their legs─but they may as well have, what with Shichika down in the dumps for a week straight.

However, that being said.

Where would Shichika have gone?

Haphazard Island?

Now literally deserted─no one there.

“…”

They were inside─Nanami’s chamber.

Though women were normally forbidden access to Seiryoin Gokenji, the temple had given her this room. She had been treated like a queen, but this should come as no surprise, since she had waltzed onto this sacred ground as if she owned the place. She had the nerve11 to act as if the monks of venerable Gokenji Temple were only there to serve her─indeed, nerves were not an obstacle for Nanami.

After giving Shichika a swift12 kick in the butt, Togame marched right down the hall to see Nanami─although she knew where she was staying, she had refrained from seeing her, like Shichika.

She needed time─for preparation.

And certainly couldn’t allow Nanami to perceive that she was being schemed.

Couldn’t allow it─to be seen.

But now, Togame was prepared─and Shichika had rallied.

All that remained were the negotiations.

Propositioning for a rematch─but her wish was granted readily.

When Togame gave her terms.13

“I understand,” Nanami had answered promptly.

She may not have explicitly assented, but she had answered without hesitation.14

“Well─I would be much obliged if you would think it over….”

“I have no reason to refuse─I am a sword.”

“I hate to say it, but Shichika had a point. How can one sword own another?” asked Togame. “Tell me, Nanami─apart from besting you in battle…is there anything that we can do to get you to hand over Akuto the Eel? I know that I can’t speak for you or Shichika, but personally, I’d rather not condone a showdown between siblings.”

“So kind of you─as always,” Nanami noted with a thin smile. “That’s exactly why I trusted you with Shichika in the first place, which makes it even harder to express my disappointment. It’s just, it’s just─Miss Togame. I never thought─you would start treating Shichika like he was human.”

“…”

Togame withheld comment.

Unperturbed, Nanami continued.

“He’s gotten rather─tame. Back on the island, he was, how can I say…a sharper sword. It’s like he’s a rusty blade now.”

“Rust,” Togame snorted. “I mentioned this when we met on the island, but the last owner of Hakuto the Whisper was named Hakuhei Sabi─and he took pride in the literal sense of his surname. He called himself ‘a broken sword, scarred with rust.’”

“Broken sword? Even better─I mean, badder,” said Nanami. “In that case─maybe I’ll break Shichika in half.”

“Cut the violence.”15

“The violence? How do you mean? What’s on the schedule tonight aside from violence? This fight will be the absolute epitome of violence─a battle to the death.”

“I gather that the swordfight cannot be avoided?”

“What reason have I to avoid it?”

“Well, then. I rest my case.”

Togame was done negotiating.

The rest was to be settled between swordsmen.

She had no right to intervene─from here on out.

“Oh, by the way, Miss Togame.”

This time.

Nanami was the one asking the questions.

“Has Shichika already run his mouth?”

“…”

It was all too plain what she meant.

Unfortunately, the answer was yes.

“Unfortunately─he’s told me both his secrets.”

“Oh my.”

Nanami held her hand over her face.

To hide her wry smile.

“Although─I’m not all that surprised…”

“Can I assume─you’ve heard about my past?”

“Sure, but it’s not the sort of thing to discuss here at Gokenji Temple. I may have taken over it, but it’s still under the bakufu’s jurisdiction.”

Togame’s past.

The origins─of this young woman who had risen, out of nowhere, to the highest echelons of government.

And her father?

Mastermind of the Rebellion.

Kaoyaku of Oshu─Takahito Hida.

Sworn traitor of the Yanari Bakufu─

While the Hero of the Rebellion, who smote down Takahito Hida, thereby ending the Rebellion─was Mutsue Yasuri, father of Nanami Yasuri and Shichika Yasuri.

For Togame the Schemer, this made the Yanari Bakufu, her current employer, an enemy of her family─whom they massacred─and Shichika and Nanami the offspring of the man who killed her father.

Strange connections.

But Togame had ventured over to Haphazard Island well aware of these connections─call it a historical inevitability.16

“We both─carry the burdens of our fathers,” Nanami said.

“Yeah─suppose you’re right.”

The Hero of the Rebellion, in its wake, found himself banished to an island.

Dragging Nanami and Shichika into the fray.

“By the way, Miss Togame─do you know why my dad was banished?”

“Yeah. I heard that he offended a senior official in the House of Tetsubi, one of the six daimyos who had taken power─”

“Right, that’s what happened, but know what, Miss Togame? In actuality─it wasn’t my dad’s fault.”

“Huh?”

“It was my mom’s,” divulged Nanami. “In fact, she came from the House of Tetsubi─not like any of that matters now. Like I said before, I have no grudge against the bakufu.”

“…What are you driving at?”

“Because it involved the Tetsubi, they had to keep it under wraps, so I’m not sure what it says in the official record, but my dad was suspected of killing my mom… Honestly, with a charge like that, he’s lucky all they did was banish him. It’s a wonder he wasn’t beheaded─or at the very least forced to commit seppuku. But he was the Hero of the Rebellion after all.17 So they went easy18 on him.”

“He killed her?”

The words fell out of Togame’s mouth.

Before she had a chance to censor herself.

“Mutsue Yasuri─killed his own wife?”

“At this point, the truth is underwater─choked in duckweed.19 Which is appropriate, considering her last doctor was a quack.”20

“Is this a good time for a pun?”

“It’s as good─or bad a time as any.”

Togame had the basic facts─she knew that Nanami and Shichika’s mother had died.

She’d discussed the matter with Shichika a few times.

But her understanding─was that Migiri Yasuri had succumbed to illness.

Shichika didn’t even remember her face─

“I remember her. Back then, I may not have had the eyes that I have now, but my memory is crystal clear.”

“I bet.”

“My mom was a handful. That she died before her sickly daughter might have been divine punishment─she could have lived to be a hundred. My dad raised my brother as if he wasn’t missing anything without her. So Shichika must not have given it much thought…but when it comes to women,21 don’t you think he’s more than a little obtuse?”

“Hah…I think that every day.”

“Oh, so you’ve been thinking about how you’re not enough woman for him?”

“I never think that!” Togame screamed.

Because she did think that.

Nanami chuckled at the sight of her.

Her evil laugh, the first since her arrival at Gokenji Temple.

It truly sounded─evil.

Despite Shichika’s remark that Akuto the Eel was not right for his sister, seeing her behave this way, the vicious sword seemed made for her.

“Enough about my mom─you said that he’s told you both his secrets, Miss Togame. Does that mean that you know─about how Dad died?”

“Suppose I do.”

Unlike the fact that Takahito Hida, an enemy of the state, was actually her father, there was no reason to fear mentioning this matter─but it was not the sort of secret to air in a place of worship.

“You mean how Shichika murdered Mutsue.”

“Yup,” Nanami nodded. “Well, how did you react?”

“How, you ask… I’m not in a position to pass judgment, am I?”

Hero of the Rebellion.

When she first heard that Mutsue Yasuri had died…that the man who killed her father, took the head of Takahito Hida right before her eyes was dead─Togame would be lying if she said that she felt nothing.

But when she heard that Shichika had done the deed─

Her first reaction22 was surprise.

After which─she gave up thinking on it.

Deeming it impolitic.23

“What kind of a Schemer would I be if I waded into a martial school’s private affairs?”

“A martial school’s…private affairs?”

Nanami gave Togame a quizzical look, then said, “Oh. Miss Togame, is it possible you’ve misunderstood something? Are you under the impression that it had something to do with inheriting the family tradition, or the apprentice becoming the master─you think that’s why Shichika killed Dad?”

“Isn’t it?”

That was exactly what she thought.

She’d taken this for granted.

But come to think of it─Shichika had never said as much.

She’d arrived at the conclusion on her own.

“Then─did Mutsue have some kind of fatal accident while they were training?”

“Nope,” Nanami said. “That boy. If he had to tell you, he could have at least explained what happened─anyway. Now that you know, I may as well tell you the rest. Shichika killed our dad─for me.”24

“Wha?”

Togame was baffled.

For Nanami?

“I’ll admit he went too far─but Dad finally noticed my ability to watch and learn. After nineteen years of keeping it a secret from him…”

“Ah yes. To keep your genius in check, Mutsue vowed to teach you nothing─right?”

As a result, Nanami had acquired her ability to watch and learn.

And Shichika had known it─

But not Mutsue.

Interesting.

“Right. But Shichika couldn’t keep a secret.”

“…”

Not if his life depended on it, Togame thought with a smile.

But she wiped the smile off her face─

When she heard the next thing Nanami said:

“Dad tried to kill me. While I was sleeping.”

Casually, like she was talking about a stranger.

“And I didn’t mind dying.”

Like this was someone else.

“Once Shichika knew, he put an end to Dad.”

Casually she said this.

It had nothing to do─with the school’s lineage.

Nay.

He’d killed him─in cold blood.

Togame was at a loss for words.

“B-But─”

She pulled herself together.25

“Shichika thought the world of Mutsue─”

“He’s a sword,” Nanami said. “Just like Dad─and just like me. Don’t expect us to behave like everybody else. Not when we were brought up on that sandbox26 of a desert island. And in fact, Shichika thought Dad was an awesome father, aside from when he tried to kill me. Dad was his master, and he barely even remembers Mom.”

Nanami went on.

“Shichika doesn’t even realize Dad killed─could have killed─Mom. All the same, that boy accepted being exiled along with his father. I suppose that makes him good-natured?”

“…”

“But as to why I’m going on about this─you get it, right, Miss Togame?”

“To a Yasuri…” said the Schemer. “To a Yasuri, killing is a fact of life, even among family?”

“Exactly,” Nanami smiled.

A truly wicked smile.

Her father could have killed her mother.

Her father could have killed her too.

Her brother killed her father.

That was the Yasuri family for you.

In which case.

If she killed her brother.

Or if her brother killed her.

It would only be natural!

“So if you’d prefer not to witness a showdown between siblings, you can hop along back to Owari. Either me or Shichika─whoever wins the fight will find you there.”

“Are you saying that if you win─you plan to help me on the Sword Quest?”

“Sure.”

Nanami nodded, surprisingly. Then she elaborated on the dubious pledge, as if to confound Togame.

“If you don’t complete your Sword Hunt, we’ll never clear our father’s name. Restoring his honor─was part of what you promised you would do when you took Shichika.”

“This is true…”

That conversation too.

Took on a new dimension─in the context of the current conversation.

Not only had her father almost killed her.

He hadn’t even given her a proper upbringing─

And yet she wanted to restore his name, to what it was before he had been banished.

The Yasuris─retainers of the House of Tetsubi.

What kind of a family were they?

“If Shichika should die along the way, I’ll have no choice but to replace him. To clean up my little brother’s mess─”

“Who are you to blame the mess on him?”

It looked like their diplomacy had devolved into banter.27

“I thought the air here on the mainland was too rich for you?” quipped Togame. “Akuto the Eel was obviously a lifesaver, but I’m amazed at how you got through Ezo and through Mutsu without it. Even Shichika almost died of frostbite on Mt. Odori.”

“I’d do anything for my little brother.” Nanami was unperturbed. “Although I have to say, I’m glad that I found Akuto the Eel…yes.”

“How did you cross over to the mainland anyway? I thought you didn’t have a boat. Oh, right, I forgot you were ambushed by the Maniwa─did you sail over in their vessel?”

“No, I walked over the sea. Using the ninpo Harlequin Butterfly.”

“Of course,” groaned Togame.

The Maniwa are always getting in my way…

Because the Bug Unit had paid their visit to Haphazard Island before she and Hohoh shook on their alliance, she had no right to complain─but still.

“Come what may, I intend to use no sword but Shichika. This idea of going on a journey with you? Thanks, but no thanks.”

“Don’t be silly. Swords are disposable,” Nanami said. “If one breaks, you just replace it with another.”

“…”

“As long as you don’t mind, I have a question.”

Nanami─looked at Togame.

Looked at her─with those eyes.

Fixated.

Focused.

Rapt.

“When your Sword Hunt is over─what will you do with Shichika?”

This was not the time or place to bring that up.

Which is why Nanami left it at that28─but Togame did not need her to continue.29

The Kyotoryu had been her father’s enemy.

What would she do with Shichika─the Master of the Kyotoryu?

“You can forget about me, just take good care of Shichika. I know I said swords are disposable─but since you want to treat him as a human─”

“That’s up to me,” Togame said and sat up,30 ending the conversation. “I don’t need your advice, I’ll do things however I see fit. My only wish for Shichika─is that he finds another cause.”

“Find a cause? I’m not sure what you mean by that.”

“So it seems.”

“I hope that you’ll say more. Cause, huh. Well then, Miss Togame, let’s see what you’ve got up your sleeve.31 Including for this evening.”

It was unclear what she saw, watching Togame with those eyes.

Unclear what she saw─when she saw through her choice of words.

But it made Nanami nod.

“Last week, you managed to restrain yourself…but tonight I’m sure you plan to get involved. Or maybe not involved yourself─but try something involved.”32

“Gee…I wonder,” said Togame, who had taken to her feet.

“Don’t bother,” Nanami said.

Provocatively─caustically.

Nanami was different from Shichika.

In mind games33 also─her genius shined.

“No strategy you hatch─can ever make it past me. The second it catches my eyes─I’ll make it mine too. My will has no bearing on the matter─I don’t even have to want to. Whether I like it or not, I watch and learn. That’s all there is to it.”

“Hmph. You make it sound like you’ve been picking tricks up that you’d just as soon have done without.”

The Sacred Guardians of Mt. Shirei.

Their ability─to sense the spirits of the dead.

Like her father.

And her mother.

“…”

Togame had no way of knowing what had happened. She simply drew her own conclusion from Nanami’s choice of words─an all-too-vivid demonstration of the strained dynamic shared between the two of them.

The Schemer continued.

“Strategy, you said─but I deal only in schemes. No matter how cute your eyes34 get, mark my words, I’ll find your blind spot.”

“Good for you…or bad for you. I’m good too─or bad. Well then…I’m looking forward to it.”

Nanami was done talking.

She did seem to be looking forward to it.

To beholding one of Togame’s infamous “schemes.”

“See you down at the Fifth Hall after dinner?”

“Right. Oh…wait. Not in the dojo,” Togame said.

Offhand, as though she’d just remembered.

“No?”

“This showdown shouldn’t happen in a dojo. It demands a proper battlefield. I can’t countenance another vague ending like last week’s. This is the one and only rematch, no more chances. To make sure there’s no confusion over who’s the winner─I’d like to have you battle where the Buddha can lay eyes on you.”

“The Buddha?”

“Where else?”

Laughing boldly, Togame announced the venue for their rematch:

“I mean that trophy cast from the one hundred thousand swords that the Old Shogun plundered via his foul decree, the Great Sword Hunt─tonight, you’ll fight in front of the Katana Buddha.”

1 幽霊、亡霊、心霊 YŪREI, BŌREI, SHINREI “wretched spirit” “lost spirit” “inner spirit”

2 霊魂─人魂 REIKON─HITODAMA “spirit soul” “human soul” will o’ the wisp

3 交霊術 KŌREIJUTSU communication with spirits

4 迷信 MEISHIN “errant beliefs”

5 理論的 RIRONTEKI theoretical

6 ないがしろ NAIGASHIRO not take seriously

7 みぎり MIGIRI suggests: 砌 MIGIRI moment, season 見切り MIKIRI abandonment, resignation

8 生きぞこない IKIZOKONAI “a failure at living”

9 消えろ KIERO disappear

10 夢幻 MUGEN “dream visions”

11 怖いもの知らず KOWAI MONO SHIRAZU “knowing nothing scary” fearless

12 強烈 KYŌRETSU intense, powerful; heavy (hit)

13 文言 MONGON wording (of a document)

14 ふたつ返事 FUTATSU HENJI “reply twice” i.e. はいはい HAI HAI yes, yes (to demonstrate eagerness)

15 物騒な BUSSŌ NA troubling; dangerous

16 歴史的必然 REKISHITEKI HITSUZEN historical necessity vs. 偶然 GŪZEN coincidence

17 腐っても大乱の英雄 KUSATTEMO TAIRAN NO EIYŪ pun on 腐っても鯛 KUSATTEMO TAI “even a rotten sea bream has its value” = “a diamond in a dunghill is still a diamond”

18 温情 ONJŌ “warm feelings” lenience

19 藪の中 YABU NO NAKA “in a grove” lost in the bushes a common expression also the title of a short story by Akutagawa that Kurosawa’s Rashomon is based on

20 藪医者 YABU ISHA “hedge doctor”

21 母性や女性 BOSEI YA JOSEI maternity and women

22 先に立った SAKI NI TATTA “stood ahead”

23 考えてはいけない領分 KANGAETE WA IKENAI RYŌBUN a domain one’s thoughts mustn’t intrude upon

24 ため TAME purpose same “for” as in “I can trust a man who works for love” (Book One)

25 気力を振り絞って KIRYOKU WO FURISHIBOTTE “squeezing (the last drop out of) one’s spirts”

26 箱庭 HAKO NIWA “(ornamental) garden in a box”

27 軽口 KARUKUCHI “light mouth” joking around

28 みなまで言わない MINAMADE IWANAI leave certain things unsaid

29 言わずもがな IWAZU MO GANA needless to say

30 腰を浮かす KOSHI WO UKASU “float one’s hips”

31 お手並み拝見 OTENAMI HAIKEN “show me what you’ve got” common taunt in manga, etc.

32 手を出す[…]出すのはあくまで知恵 TE WO DASU […] DASU NO WA AKUMADE CHI’E extend one’s hand vs. only provide wisdom (wordplay on two idioms that both use 出す DASU put out)

33 心理戦 SHINRISEN psychological warfare

34 おめめ OMEME diminutive term for eyes, generally reserved for small children and pets