Postcards from Otosan Uchi
Independent Study
Day 54 - Ayase
Ayase checked her work carefully, looking to see if there had been any mistakes. Precedents. All listed. Witnesses. Their testimony was gathered. She’d gone over every piece. Motive had been determined and was clear. The answer was obvious. More than obvious: they had been told a full summary of the crime and the guilty parties when the case had been assigned. Her duty was simply to track the path of the magistrate’s judgment as it was applied to members of the guilty party’s family, and what sentences were given and why. An easy exercise, at least by its appearance. Difficult for some of the others, but for her it was straight forward. But….
She chewed on the end of her brush. I’ve seen this case before. There was not much free time between her lesson in law and her next lesson in medicine, but Doji Sadakuno favored allowing students to pursue the texts in further depth. The fierce-looking Doji, with close-cropped hair, never made a gesture of approval, but she knew he was pleased enough when she dug into a case. Still... With permission, she stood and went to the scrolls that lined the back wall. She frowned as she surveyed the wall of scrolls, trying to remember the seal, the color...the scroll from early in their studies that she had seen before. Was it the first week? Yes. She pulled out the scroll and returned it to her seat and spread it across the table.
There. It is the same case. The initial transcript stated that each victim was killed with a single blow. But in this document, it claims that the third victim was killed with two blows, one to each arm. That’s the grounds for believing that two were involved. But if his arms were crossed, a single strike will hit both… The more she read, the more certain she became. There were witnesses who testified she was not there…and no one questioned the burakumin. There were no grounds for the execution of the Toritaka’s wife, and the subsequent disinheritance of his small children.
Ayase stood, carrying the two scrolls to Sadakuno-sensei, laying them on the ground and bowing deeply before him.. “Doji-sensei, with your permission, may I ask a question?” she asked.
Sadakuno grunted, himself absorbed in his own reading. “Humm?”
“As assigned, I have reviewed the murders of the Esumi family of the Hiruma by Toritaka Raidon. His wife Tsukiko was executed with him for her part in the murders. But, Doji-sensei….she could not have done it. She was executed unjustly.”
Sadakuno lifted his head and looked at the young Kakita. “And?”
Ayase looked up. “Her name should be cleared, shouldn’t it? To be stricken from the rolls of the ancestors of her clan...her blades broken. The children sold to geisha houses? Even after death, doesn’t her name, for honor, deserve the recognition that she has been treated unjustly?”
The Doji stood and took the scrolls from her. “Were you correct, that would be ideal. Idealistic. But when the nephew of the Hiruma daimyo and his family is murdered, do you really think the death of just one man would satisfy the Crabs’ righteous anger? The Hiruma still have not forgotten. Raising this again would rip open wounds three hundred years old.”
Ayase wanted to protest… the but still hanging on the tip of her tongue. Her shoulder still twinged from the beating she had received for questioning Seppun-sensei’s command. But she did not hold back the accusatory look she had in her eyes as she stared at Doji Sadakuna.
He coughed for a moment, uncomfortably. “Justice. Mercy. Perfection. These are things a samurai can strive for. But you’ll see...we haven’t got that world. You do what you can and make it work.” Sadakuna filed the scrolls back in the scroll case. “I’ll select a different study next time I use this lesson. You are dismissed.”
Day 54 (Evening) - Saizo
Is it strange that I find peace in the same room as the mortal enemy of the Scorpion? A Crane? In many ways we are...opposites. I have no faith, she does. I struggle to be more than my clan, and she embraces hers. In many ways we are different, but we both bear a weight of expectation that allows us kinship.
Thus as we rest, drinking a small pot of tea. I can sense her disquiet, her unease. It’s subtle things, from how her eyes linger for a moment longer on the clouds than she usually does, to her drinking more tea than normal.
Alas, I cannot read minds, leading me to ask what was on hers.
“It’s nothing to concern yourself over, Bayushi-san.” she says.
“Probably not, but let me be concerned anyways. You’re thinking something deep.” I say.
She says nothing for several moments. “Do you remember when I asked you what you looked to do as a magistrate?”
“I do” I take a sip.
She looks at me with one discoloured eye. “Have you ever thought about what that means?”
I shrug. “It means solving problems, going around and serving the Empire”
She looks back at the garden. “Just your duty right?”
“Right”
Ayase asks as she finishes off her tea, “You did not say solving crimes why?”
Because that wasn’t what the job was. But, I don’t feel like saying that. “The Law is meant to serve men, not men serve the law. Sometime that means a crime goes unsolved” I say instead, quoting Saibankan-no-kami
Ayase looks back at me, her eyes narrowing. “What about justice?”
What about justice? I didn’t know what to say about that, that I didn’t know if justice was a real thing? That would just make life difficult. “....I don’t have an answer for you, Kakita-san. Justice isn’t something I feel like I can guarantee. Even as a magistrate, we have to weigh the balance of things. If sacrificing one can save many? How is that a choice?” I ask.
Almost sad, she asks, “That is the Scorpion way isn’t it?”
“Hai,” I agree.
We fall into silence for a long time; she still hasn’t told me what happened. However, she seems to be lighter in thought, or at least less gloomy.
“I don’t intend to give up justice, or the law. I might not always succeed in getting them, but I will reach for them no matter what,” she declares.
“Didn’t expect anything else, Kakita-san”
“More tea?” she asks.
“Thank you.” I smile behind my mask.
Day 57 - Shiori
“And why did I receive a delivery of four different horse saddles today Shiori-san?” Enko was busy pruning some roses in her back garden, she refused to let her student anywhere near them, given his lack of talent at pruning this was probably wise.
“Moto Temu was most grateful for my attempt at resolving his dispute with Kuzume of the Mantis Clan, I could not accept his gifts but thought they should be directed to you.”
For a few moments Enko pruned in silence. “As I recall those two were found brawling in the street by the magistrates and taken to spend a night cooling off in a ‘guest house’.”
“H-hai Asako-sensei, but once they had the fire taken out of their spirits they found they could tolerate each other's company most happily and were able to negotiate an end to the dispute that same night.”
“And, you planned this?” Her tone was entirely neutral.
“I have read that the Crab, in particular the Kuni advocate such a practice on the Kaiu Kabe, given the similarities in temperament….”
“You assumed the same would work with those two here.”
“Yes Sensei.” Again she returned to the roses before finally selecting a single specimen which she cut with a smooth action and handed to him. “Good, unorthodox, but peace is a result worth the price of unorthodoxy, arrange this on the table and make the tea Shiori-san.”
He was dismissed,
Day 61 - Ayase
The first hint that things were changing was the five nights of glorious, unbroken sleep Ayase was allowed. Weariness had deadened the nightmares, and her body and spirit reveled in the rest. When she had gone to see Asako Shiori at the museum, she not only was able to stay awake through the whole conversation, but she actually enjoyed her tour of some of the exhibits related to cases she had studied in her law classes.
The next morning, she had found that new clothing had been laid out for her: crisp green hakama, a kimono in white with blue trim and the Kakita, Crane, and Imperial mons on it. She had seen others in the dojo wearing such clothes, among the older students. Shiba Chie, who served as room provost for the girls’ barracks, was there as she awakened. “Look perfect this morning. And take your daisho. You’re going to the Inner City.”
Ayase was used to her appearance being scrutinized: it had been the expectation every day of her training in the Kakita Academy, and here at the Ruby Dojo. But she took extra time to check the mirror to confirm that all bruises or marks were properly concealed and no hairs were out of place. She looked at the gleaming jade netsuke at her throat, on its ceremonial red string. No one has mentioned it before. And it helps people to know I’m not tainted, at least. She left it on.
She was ushered to the front of the dojo, where she was surprised to find Bayushi Saizo and Iuchi Merquri waiting for her in similar clothing, though theirs was trimmed with red and purple respectively. They were met by an older man with a patient, weary-looking smile. An Otomo, his hair was shaved in the traditional manner of the imperials, capped with a gold ornament shaped like a chrysanthemum. Seppun Izumi was also there to introduce him.
“This is Otomo Kagetoki-sama. He serves as the representative of the Ruby Dojo in the Imperial Courts. You are to be assigned to accompany him or any he instructs you to accompany, doing whatever tasks he might put you too. You are to be perfect representatives of the Ruby Dojo in thought and deed at all times.” She fixed a glare on Merquri in particular. “You especially.”
“Hai, Seppun-sensei!”
The Otomo waved his hand breezily. “I’m sure they’ll do just fine. Just fine.“ He turned and led them off to walk beside his palanquin as he was carried off into the Inner City.
Ayase checked her work carefully, looking to see if there had been any mistakes. Precedents. All listed. Witnesses. Their testimony was gathered. She’d gone over every piece. Motive had been determined and was clear. The answer was obvious. More than obvious: they had been told a full summary of the crime and the guilty parties when the case had been assigned. Her duty was simply to track the path of the magistrate’s judgment as it was applied to members of the guilty party’s family, and what sentences were given and why. An easy exercise, at least by its appearance. Difficult for some of the others, but for her it was straight forward. But….
She chewed on the end of her brush. I’ve seen this case before. There was not much free time between her lesson in law and her next lesson in medicine, but Doji Sadakuno favored allowing students to pursue the texts in further depth. The fierce-looking Doji, with close-cropped hair, never made a gesture of approval, but she knew he was pleased enough when she dug into a case. Still... With permission, she stood and went to the scrolls that lined the back wall. She frowned as she surveyed the wall of scrolls, trying to remember the seal, the color...the scroll from early in their studies that she had seen before. Was it the first week? Yes. She pulled out the scroll and returned it to her seat and spread it across the table.
There. It is the same case. The initial transcript stated that each victim was killed with a single blow. But in this document, it claims that the third victim was killed with two blows, one to each arm. That’s the grounds for believing that two were involved. But if his arms were crossed, a single strike will hit both… The more she read, the more certain she became. There were witnesses who testified she was not there…and no one questioned the burakumin. There were no grounds for the execution of the Toritaka’s wife, and the subsequent disinheritance of his small children.
Ayase stood, carrying the two scrolls to Sadakuno-sensei, laying them on the ground and bowing deeply before him.. “Doji-sensei, with your permission, may I ask a question?” she asked.
Sadakuno grunted, himself absorbed in his own reading. “Humm?”
“As assigned, I have reviewed the murders of the Esumi family of the Hiruma by Toritaka Raidon. His wife Tsukiko was executed with him for her part in the murders. But, Doji-sensei….she could not have done it. She was executed unjustly.”
Sadakuno lifted his head and looked at the young Kakita. “And?”
Ayase looked up. “Her name should be cleared, shouldn’t it? To be stricken from the rolls of the ancestors of her clan...her blades broken. The children sold to geisha houses? Even after death, doesn’t her name, for honor, deserve the recognition that she has been treated unjustly?”
The Doji stood and took the scrolls from her. “Were you correct, that would be ideal. Idealistic. But when the nephew of the Hiruma daimyo and his family is murdered, do you really think the death of just one man would satisfy the Crabs’ righteous anger? The Hiruma still have not forgotten. Raising this again would rip open wounds three hundred years old.”
Ayase wanted to protest… the but still hanging on the tip of her tongue. Her shoulder still twinged from the beating she had received for questioning Seppun-sensei’s command. But she did not hold back the accusatory look she had in her eyes as she stared at Doji Sadakuna.
He coughed for a moment, uncomfortably. “Justice. Mercy. Perfection. These are things a samurai can strive for. But you’ll see...we haven’t got that world. You do what you can and make it work.” Sadakuna filed the scrolls back in the scroll case. “I’ll select a different study next time I use this lesson. You are dismissed.”
Day 54 (Evening) - Saizo
Is it strange that I find peace in the same room as the mortal enemy of the Scorpion? A Crane? In many ways we are...opposites. I have no faith, she does. I struggle to be more than my clan, and she embraces hers. In many ways we are different, but we both bear a weight of expectation that allows us kinship.
Thus as we rest, drinking a small pot of tea. I can sense her disquiet, her unease. It’s subtle things, from how her eyes linger for a moment longer on the clouds than she usually does, to her drinking more tea than normal.
Alas, I cannot read minds, leading me to ask what was on hers.
“It’s nothing to concern yourself over, Bayushi-san.” she says.
“Probably not, but let me be concerned anyways. You’re thinking something deep.” I say.
She says nothing for several moments. “Do you remember when I asked you what you looked to do as a magistrate?”
“I do” I take a sip.
She looks at me with one discoloured eye. “Have you ever thought about what that means?”
I shrug. “It means solving problems, going around and serving the Empire”
She looks back at the garden. “Just your duty right?”
“Right”
Ayase asks as she finishes off her tea, “You did not say solving crimes why?”
Because that wasn’t what the job was. But, I don’t feel like saying that. “The Law is meant to serve men, not men serve the law. Sometime that means a crime goes unsolved” I say instead, quoting Saibankan-no-kami
Ayase looks back at me, her eyes narrowing. “What about justice?”
What about justice? I didn’t know what to say about that, that I didn’t know if justice was a real thing? That would just make life difficult. “....I don’t have an answer for you, Kakita-san. Justice isn’t something I feel like I can guarantee. Even as a magistrate, we have to weigh the balance of things. If sacrificing one can save many? How is that a choice?” I ask.
Almost sad, she asks, “That is the Scorpion way isn’t it?”
“Hai,” I agree.
We fall into silence for a long time; she still hasn’t told me what happened. However, she seems to be lighter in thought, or at least less gloomy.
“I don’t intend to give up justice, or the law. I might not always succeed in getting them, but I will reach for them no matter what,” she declares.
“Didn’t expect anything else, Kakita-san”
“More tea?” she asks.
“Thank you.” I smile behind my mask.
Day 57 - Shiori
“And why did I receive a delivery of four different horse saddles today Shiori-san?” Enko was busy pruning some roses in her back garden, she refused to let her student anywhere near them, given his lack of talent at pruning this was probably wise.
“Moto Temu was most grateful for my attempt at resolving his dispute with Kuzume of the Mantis Clan, I could not accept his gifts but thought they should be directed to you.”
For a few moments Enko pruned in silence. “As I recall those two were found brawling in the street by the magistrates and taken to spend a night cooling off in a ‘guest house’.”
“H-hai Asako-sensei, but once they had the fire taken out of their spirits they found they could tolerate each other's company most happily and were able to negotiate an end to the dispute that same night.”
“And, you planned this?” Her tone was entirely neutral.
“I have read that the Crab, in particular the Kuni advocate such a practice on the Kaiu Kabe, given the similarities in temperament….”
“You assumed the same would work with those two here.”
“Yes Sensei.” Again she returned to the roses before finally selecting a single specimen which she cut with a smooth action and handed to him. “Good, unorthodox, but peace is a result worth the price of unorthodoxy, arrange this on the table and make the tea Shiori-san.”
He was dismissed,
Day 61 - Ayase
The first hint that things were changing was the five nights of glorious, unbroken sleep Ayase was allowed. Weariness had deadened the nightmares, and her body and spirit reveled in the rest. When she had gone to see Asako Shiori at the museum, she not only was able to stay awake through the whole conversation, but she actually enjoyed her tour of some of the exhibits related to cases she had studied in her law classes.
The next morning, she had found that new clothing had been laid out for her: crisp green hakama, a kimono in white with blue trim and the Kakita, Crane, and Imperial mons on it. She had seen others in the dojo wearing such clothes, among the older students. Shiba Chie, who served as room provost for the girls’ barracks, was there as she awakened. “Look perfect this morning. And take your daisho. You’re going to the Inner City.”
Ayase was used to her appearance being scrutinized: it had been the expectation every day of her training in the Kakita Academy, and here at the Ruby Dojo. But she took extra time to check the mirror to confirm that all bruises or marks were properly concealed and no hairs were out of place. She looked at the gleaming jade netsuke at her throat, on its ceremonial red string. No one has mentioned it before. And it helps people to know I’m not tainted, at least. She left it on.
She was ushered to the front of the dojo, where she was surprised to find Bayushi Saizo and Iuchi Merquri waiting for her in similar clothing, though theirs was trimmed with red and purple respectively. They were met by an older man with a patient, weary-looking smile. An Otomo, his hair was shaved in the traditional manner of the imperials, capped with a gold ornament shaped like a chrysanthemum. Seppun Izumi was also there to introduce him.
“This is Otomo Kagetoki-sama. He serves as the representative of the Ruby Dojo in the Imperial Courts. You are to be assigned to accompany him or any he instructs you to accompany, doing whatever tasks he might put you too. You are to be perfect representatives of the Ruby Dojo in thought and deed at all times.” She fixed a glare on Merquri in particular. “You especially.”
“Hai, Seppun-sensei!”
The Otomo waved his hand breezily. “I’m sure they’ll do just fine. Just fine.“ He turned and led them off to walk beside his palanquin as he was carried off into the Inner City.
Day 75 - Ayase
The days in the court were easier, but in some ways more dangerous than the days in the Ruby Dojo. It did not take any warnings for Ayase to know that even a single yawn could be fatal at the wrong moment. Kagetoki was not a cruel man, and did not bother to punish them...he did not seem to care about their presence one way or another. But from the glances she got when she made the tiniest error, Ayase knew when a lifetime enemy had been made. Only the uniform of a student that she wore afforded her any protection from consequence.
Still, again, this was what she had trained for all her life. There were strong similarities between the functioning of the Kakita Academy, where the youngest students, from the age of only six or seven, were expected to be in attendance on their elders regularly, to serve as errand runners, porters, or whatever else was needed. Here, it was only a little different. Here there were samurai of all the clans present, and you had to absorb and respond to the whims of many more different types of people than she ever had in the Kakita dojo.
The Lion...even doing everything perfectly annoyed many of the Lion, it seemed to Ayase, as though they wanted to find some wrongdoing in you and were unhappy they couldn’t. The Dragon ignored you. The Phoenix always wanted to talk about subjects you thought you should understand but couldn’t really, so you had to nod along and hope for the best. The Crab liked to try to provoke you into getting things wrong. The Scorpion seemed perfectly content, but you knew they were sizing you up from the moment you walked into the room. And the Unicorn would cover for you even when they shouldn’t, and sometimes made things worse by doing so. Remembering her mother’s instructions to ‘try, dear’, Ayase tried extra hard to be pleasing and attractive to the Imperials and the Doji, but those days left her tired and wistful, filled with memories of Tsuma and things that could never be.
After the mornings in court, they would return to take additional classes in the Ruby Dojo, as well as their weapons work. Then they were expected to write a full report of the day’s events in court before the next day. Ayase didn’t know if anyone read her reports, but she didn’t get complaints about her lack of recall or their incompleteness so she generally was satisfied.
She got the chance to walk with Merquri and Saizo on the way back each day.
They were changing. Merquri had grown much more restrained. Groomed into a proper-looking Rokugani, his manner had become more reserved than his Topaz Championship flamboyance. Since the incident with the Isawa’s jigai, his eyes seemed to look into the distance more, as if seeking the first gleam of white during a ruby sunrise. She hoped that this...life in the Ruby Dojo, being a yoriki...was something he still truly wanted, for it seemed as if he had sacrificed much to get it.
Saizo...It was hard for Ayase to tell if he had reached some sort of inner peace, or had simply given up in some battle he had been fighting in his head. They had become comfortable working together, drinking tea after class, walking side by side as palanquin guards, sparring back and forth on competitions of anatomy or law. Sometimes sparring boken to boken; it was fair to say they were well matched in the dojo. But he never revealed his secrets, and she never pushed. Just as well...he didn’t dig into hers. It was better this way.
Only a couple more months left, and they would be assigned their first duties in Otosan Uchi. Ayase’s fist tightened as she stood, awaiting Kagetoki’s next move. That earned her a disapproving sniff from an Asahina courtier who flounced past. She forced herself to flatten it out again. Soon.
Day 75 - Merquri
A journal now lies next to Merquri's bed. If opened it seems to be filled with random scribbles. If looked at carefully though, a code is found within. This code is fairly easy to break, and just translates to random observations of events that have happened each day. Buried within this cipher though is another, much more complicated cipher. When broken this translates into an actual journal of events.
Doji-sensei expects me to keep a journal now of all courtly proceedings. Also she told me to come up with a cipher for it, and then make another cipher within that. Can never have too many ciphers she told me. I'm also supposed to keep a personal journal, so I can learn to write in my ciphers quickly. Need to be able to write in at least three before she'll let me graduate she says. I'm pretty sure she's a little paranoid, but keeping secrets is something you learn to expect being a shugenja. So that's fine.
Running errands at court is much less painful than lessons at the dojo. Not having weekly sessions with bokey is a nice change. I mostly just do whatever Otto Sensei tells us to do. Run messages and advise on spiritual matters for me usually. Plus all the normal shugenja duties, tending to the shrines, praying to the kami, occasional purification. I've helped at two seppuku's, led one other. I don't enjoy that part of the job to be honest. But nothing has gone wrong at them either thankfully. It's weird. I used to dread the idea that I would have to handle these ceremonies. But ever since the armory… well it no longer bothers me. Not as much anyways.
A lot of things changed after that day. Doji-sensei started teaching me more often. Seppun-sensei even cut down on the letters I needed to write from daily to just about once or twice a week. It's like I passed some kind of test. I don't know what the test was… But I'm glad they seem to trust me more. Kuni Sensei said someone wrote to him about me. I wonder who it was…
Ayase and Saizo have taken to court like it's second nature. It's my first time in a true court setting and I'm always nervous I'll fuck something up. Without all the apologies I probably would be way worse off. Funny how that works. Ayase walks the Halls with perfection. Saizo stalks them like a predator. And I just try not to trip over my own feet. Hopefully someday I'll be as competent walking the halls as either of them, though I doubt it.
Soon we'll graduate. And then we'll be assigned to a true magistrate. Doing actual work. I'm nervous when I think about it. But I'm also excited. Finally putting the training to use. It'll be good to know all this wasn't for nothing.
Day 75-Saizo
After everything I was put through, court was almost a relief. Sure I still had to provide...I guess you’d call them considerations for my clan. Minor gossip here, a rumour there. That was easier somehow than arranging a death although I don’t doubt I will have to do that too at some point.
Nanashi isn’t impressed with my progress. He says that if I really want to excel, then I’ll have to stop holding back.
Wasn’t even aware I was holding back truth be told. Whether I am or not, I do try to obey orders, shutting off the part of me that hates watching people get hurt, people die. That’s not my problem, it will never be my problem. All I have to do is my duty.
I really wish that lie worked as well as it used to.
Court itself is fine, have to help Mequri out without him ever knowing sometimes but fine. The weird thing is that Iaijutsu practice has changed. Iaijutsu has always been one on one with some of the junior sensei...but now a Hiruma who tells me to just call him Hiruma-sensei has taken to stopping in once or twice...almost as if he’s waiting for me to be ready for something, for someone. What though? I asked Nanashi and for once the bastard was taken aback saying that the Ruby Dojo didn’t any Hiruma Iaijutsu instructors. It did have an executioner...but what would he want with me?
While all of this is mulling in the back of my mind, a different question reaches me with Kairi’s letter. That one I don’t have an answer for. Do I love her? No, not in the sort of all consuming passionate love of romance. I...care about her, I want her to be happy, but foolish promises from both of us might get in the way of that. If she died because of me...I wouldn’t forgive myself. At the same time, in spite of me thinking she was willing to let go...she apparently isn’t.
It’s a mess, but as always, I can’t talk to anyone about it.
Two people can keep a secret when one of them is dead.
I really hope we get to go do real cases soon. Court is fine, but it’s not active enough for me to waste my energy on.
Day 83 - Shiori
Enko spoke quietly behind her fan “Shiori-san, why did Ide-Katai-san withdraw his proposal that the south-eastern docks be turned over to the unicorn?”
The young Asako cocked his head very slightly and turned to regard the Unicorn merchant standing across from them in the court. Dressed richly in purple the other samurai betrayed no trace of concern or nerves as he spoke quietly with one of his clansmen, and yet only minutes before he had withdrawn his proposal, the work of months, with only a brief apology for wasting the court’s time. “I assume he did not do so out of the goodness of his heart Asako-sama?”
She nodded very slightly, waiting for him to continue. Shiori pondered to himself for a moment, replaying all that had occurred that morning in the Higshikawa District court, Katai had received no notes… and he had conducted no private meetings. “He must have been waiting for something… or someone, and it did not happen.”
She nodded again, her eyes placidly tracking the different court members. “Who would that be do you suppose?”
The Mantis? No, he was never a friend of Katai, maybe the Crane? It would have been a logical choice but they were already supporting the Ide. “He expected a sign of support from Soshi-Nokatsu-sama, he does control the errh-” He stopped, embarrassed,
Enko smiled slightly “The Yakuza gangs? Yes, yes he does. And without their tacit support one’s warehouses can prove quite flammable.” She fanned herself quietly for a few more moments, inscrutable. “Adequate, Shiori-san, adequate.” She rose smoothly and bowed to the governor’s dias. “Come, time for lunch.”
The days in the court were easier, but in some ways more dangerous than the days in the Ruby Dojo. It did not take any warnings for Ayase to know that even a single yawn could be fatal at the wrong moment. Kagetoki was not a cruel man, and did not bother to punish them...he did not seem to care about their presence one way or another. But from the glances she got when she made the tiniest error, Ayase knew when a lifetime enemy had been made. Only the uniform of a student that she wore afforded her any protection from consequence.
Still, again, this was what she had trained for all her life. There were strong similarities between the functioning of the Kakita Academy, where the youngest students, from the age of only six or seven, were expected to be in attendance on their elders regularly, to serve as errand runners, porters, or whatever else was needed. Here, it was only a little different. Here there were samurai of all the clans present, and you had to absorb and respond to the whims of many more different types of people than she ever had in the Kakita dojo.
The Lion...even doing everything perfectly annoyed many of the Lion, it seemed to Ayase, as though they wanted to find some wrongdoing in you and were unhappy they couldn’t. The Dragon ignored you. The Phoenix always wanted to talk about subjects you thought you should understand but couldn’t really, so you had to nod along and hope for the best. The Crab liked to try to provoke you into getting things wrong. The Scorpion seemed perfectly content, but you knew they were sizing you up from the moment you walked into the room. And the Unicorn would cover for you even when they shouldn’t, and sometimes made things worse by doing so. Remembering her mother’s instructions to ‘try, dear’, Ayase tried extra hard to be pleasing and attractive to the Imperials and the Doji, but those days left her tired and wistful, filled with memories of Tsuma and things that could never be.
After the mornings in court, they would return to take additional classes in the Ruby Dojo, as well as their weapons work. Then they were expected to write a full report of the day’s events in court before the next day. Ayase didn’t know if anyone read her reports, but she didn’t get complaints about her lack of recall or their incompleteness so she generally was satisfied.
She got the chance to walk with Merquri and Saizo on the way back each day.
They were changing. Merquri had grown much more restrained. Groomed into a proper-looking Rokugani, his manner had become more reserved than his Topaz Championship flamboyance. Since the incident with the Isawa’s jigai, his eyes seemed to look into the distance more, as if seeking the first gleam of white during a ruby sunrise. She hoped that this...life in the Ruby Dojo, being a yoriki...was something he still truly wanted, for it seemed as if he had sacrificed much to get it.
Saizo...It was hard for Ayase to tell if he had reached some sort of inner peace, or had simply given up in some battle he had been fighting in his head. They had become comfortable working together, drinking tea after class, walking side by side as palanquin guards, sparring back and forth on competitions of anatomy or law. Sometimes sparring boken to boken; it was fair to say they were well matched in the dojo. But he never revealed his secrets, and she never pushed. Just as well...he didn’t dig into hers. It was better this way.
Only a couple more months left, and they would be assigned their first duties in Otosan Uchi. Ayase’s fist tightened as she stood, awaiting Kagetoki’s next move. That earned her a disapproving sniff from an Asahina courtier who flounced past. She forced herself to flatten it out again. Soon.
Day 75 - Merquri
A journal now lies next to Merquri's bed. If opened it seems to be filled with random scribbles. If looked at carefully though, a code is found within. This code is fairly easy to break, and just translates to random observations of events that have happened each day. Buried within this cipher though is another, much more complicated cipher. When broken this translates into an actual journal of events.
Doji-sensei expects me to keep a journal now of all courtly proceedings. Also she told me to come up with a cipher for it, and then make another cipher within that. Can never have too many ciphers she told me. I'm also supposed to keep a personal journal, so I can learn to write in my ciphers quickly. Need to be able to write in at least three before she'll let me graduate she says. I'm pretty sure she's a little paranoid, but keeping secrets is something you learn to expect being a shugenja. So that's fine.
Running errands at court is much less painful than lessons at the dojo. Not having weekly sessions with bokey is a nice change. I mostly just do whatever Otto Sensei tells us to do. Run messages and advise on spiritual matters for me usually. Plus all the normal shugenja duties, tending to the shrines, praying to the kami, occasional purification. I've helped at two seppuku's, led one other. I don't enjoy that part of the job to be honest. But nothing has gone wrong at them either thankfully. It's weird. I used to dread the idea that I would have to handle these ceremonies. But ever since the armory… well it no longer bothers me. Not as much anyways.
A lot of things changed after that day. Doji-sensei started teaching me more often. Seppun-sensei even cut down on the letters I needed to write from daily to just about once or twice a week. It's like I passed some kind of test. I don't know what the test was… But I'm glad they seem to trust me more. Kuni Sensei said someone wrote to him about me. I wonder who it was…
Ayase and Saizo have taken to court like it's second nature. It's my first time in a true court setting and I'm always nervous I'll fuck something up. Without all the apologies I probably would be way worse off. Funny how that works. Ayase walks the Halls with perfection. Saizo stalks them like a predator. And I just try not to trip over my own feet. Hopefully someday I'll be as competent walking the halls as either of them, though I doubt it.
Soon we'll graduate. And then we'll be assigned to a true magistrate. Doing actual work. I'm nervous when I think about it. But I'm also excited. Finally putting the training to use. It'll be good to know all this wasn't for nothing.
Day 75-Saizo
After everything I was put through, court was almost a relief. Sure I still had to provide...I guess you’d call them considerations for my clan. Minor gossip here, a rumour there. That was easier somehow than arranging a death although I don’t doubt I will have to do that too at some point.
Nanashi isn’t impressed with my progress. He says that if I really want to excel, then I’ll have to stop holding back.
Wasn’t even aware I was holding back truth be told. Whether I am or not, I do try to obey orders, shutting off the part of me that hates watching people get hurt, people die. That’s not my problem, it will never be my problem. All I have to do is my duty.
I really wish that lie worked as well as it used to.
Court itself is fine, have to help Mequri out without him ever knowing sometimes but fine. The weird thing is that Iaijutsu practice has changed. Iaijutsu has always been one on one with some of the junior sensei...but now a Hiruma who tells me to just call him Hiruma-sensei has taken to stopping in once or twice...almost as if he’s waiting for me to be ready for something, for someone. What though? I asked Nanashi and for once the bastard was taken aback saying that the Ruby Dojo didn’t any Hiruma Iaijutsu instructors. It did have an executioner...but what would he want with me?
While all of this is mulling in the back of my mind, a different question reaches me with Kairi’s letter. That one I don’t have an answer for. Do I love her? No, not in the sort of all consuming passionate love of romance. I...care about her, I want her to be happy, but foolish promises from both of us might get in the way of that. If she died because of me...I wouldn’t forgive myself. At the same time, in spite of me thinking she was willing to let go...she apparently isn’t.
It’s a mess, but as always, I can’t talk to anyone about it.
Two people can keep a secret when one of them is dead.
I really hope we get to go do real cases soon. Court is fine, but it’s not active enough for me to waste my energy on.
Day 83 - Shiori
Enko spoke quietly behind her fan “Shiori-san, why did Ide-Katai-san withdraw his proposal that the south-eastern docks be turned over to the unicorn?”
The young Asako cocked his head very slightly and turned to regard the Unicorn merchant standing across from them in the court. Dressed richly in purple the other samurai betrayed no trace of concern or nerves as he spoke quietly with one of his clansmen, and yet only minutes before he had withdrawn his proposal, the work of months, with only a brief apology for wasting the court’s time. “I assume he did not do so out of the goodness of his heart Asako-sama?”
She nodded very slightly, waiting for him to continue. Shiori pondered to himself for a moment, replaying all that had occurred that morning in the Higshikawa District court, Katai had received no notes… and he had conducted no private meetings. “He must have been waiting for something… or someone, and it did not happen.”
She nodded again, her eyes placidly tracking the different court members. “Who would that be do you suppose?”
The Mantis? No, he was never a friend of Katai, maybe the Crane? It would have been a logical choice but they were already supporting the Ide. “He expected a sign of support from Soshi-Nokatsu-sama, he does control the errh-” He stopped, embarrassed,
Enko smiled slightly “The Yakuza gangs? Yes, yes he does. And without their tacit support one’s warehouses can prove quite flammable.” She fanned herself quietly for a few more moments, inscrutable. “Adequate, Shiori-san, adequate.” She rose smoothly and bowed to the governor’s dias. “Come, time for lunch.”