Despite the saké, I didn’t sleep well the night after Akiko died. When I awoke, all I could remember from my dreams was fire, pain, and screams. To top it off, months of forced abstention had lessened my tolerance for hangovers. I felt like I was going to die.
I automatically reached for the partially full saké jug. It was the simplest way to relieve the pain. I stopped my hand just short of the container and slowly pulled my arm back. Akiko had been unable to relieve her pain at the end. Maybe Benkon was right, and I relied too much on the saké. If I were going to avenge Akiko and my clan, I would have to do better than I had been. Giving up saké would be a way to start. Resolving to do better, I stood up, took the jug and emptied the contents into a bare spot in the garden.
Thinking about my dreams of fire and pain, I worried this was a sign that Akiko’s spirit was restless. I decided to begin her death rites immediately. I gathered her family and servants, and we walked back to the burned manor to visit the small chapel, make offerings, and burn incense. We made quite a party, with the children, the servants, Masanori, and the three yojimbo Professor insisted we take with us.
Yoshi-kun began complaining. “Why do we have to go back to the manor? It’s a long walk, and it’s boring there.”
Akiko’s maidservant, Sachiko, scolded him. “We want your mother to join your father in Amida Buddha’s Western Paradise. We say prayers and give offerings to ease her spirit’s passage. You wouldn’t want your mother to be trapped here in this world of suffering just because you didn’t want to take a little walk, would you?”
Yoshi-kun’s eyes grew round as he shook his head. “No, I wouldn’t want that.”
Aoi-chan said, in a superior tone, “I don’t mind walking. I want to help mama any way I can.” Yoshi-kun gave Aoi-chan a dirty look.
Sachiko’s oldest daughter said, “I think the mistress was so good she had to go to the Pure Land. What could keep her from it?”
I was pretty sure Akiko’s soul was going to be fine, but she had such trouble reciting the nenbutsu prayer at the end, it couldn't hurt to take every precaution to ensure her salvation.
Sachiko said, “Yes, she was one of the best people I have ever known. She never raised her voice and was always kind to everyone. The only other person I know who is that good is Hyacinth-sama. She has promised we will go with the mistress’ children and she will take care of us. Without her support, we would have been out on the street, with no place to go. She is another one who will surely go right to the Pure Land.”
I shook my head in disbelief as I thought about Surei and religion. Surei going to paradise? I had my doubts. If all her father’s efforts to get her to embrace Buddhism had any result, I’d never seen it. I didn’t think she believed in anything but herself. Of course, she took good care of her people and her acts of charity for unfortunates like Akiko’s servants had to count for something. But I didn’t see her achieving enlightenment in this incarnation.
Sachiko looked at Yoshi-kun and Aoi-chan, then said softly, almost to herself, “This world is ephemeral, and everything passes away like the sakura in bloom. One day they are here in all their glory, the next day they have fallen to the ground. The mistress’ death was like that. Lord Buddha spoke wisely when he said ‘Life is suffering’ in the Lotus Sutra.”
All this philosophy and religion was making me twitchy. I hefted my naginata in my hand, grateful for its plain solidity. That was something I understood. I watched the people around us. If there was any trouble, I intended to finish it quickly.
The thought of the violence I lived with every day turned my mood melancholy. I scoffed at the idea of Surei going to the Pure Land, but I was in far worse condition. The Buddha has forbidden violence, especially against other people. It would undoubtedly take me many lives to work off the karmic burden I had built up in this life. I wondered if the nobility got any real benefit from their extravagant donations to the temples and their endless chanting of sutras and recitals of prayer. It didn’t seem right they should be able to buy their way to paradise.
Out of respect for Akiko, the yojimbo remained outside when we arrived at the chapel. The casket was laid out in front of the cloth-covered butsudan. A painting of the Pure Land was displayed on top of the coffin. Screens with inlaid gold patterns of lotus flowers had been brought from the Spring Palace and placed around the bier. The tapestries had been reversed in the frames, so they faced away from the body.
A monk was reading aloud from the Lotus Sutra. Two others knelt in prayer beside the coffin. They stood and bowed when we entered. The air was thick with the smell of incense.
We laid offerings of cooked rice in front of the butsudan, and each of us added our incense to the burner. I didn’t know the prayers for the dead, so all I could add to the incantations of the monks were my own simple thoughts.
“Lord Buddha, this was a kind and good woman who was a victim of evil men. Allow her your grace that she may find her way to your paradise and be born again in the Pure Land. She did her best, unlike many of the rest of us, and I ask you to grant her spirit peace.”
Yoshi-kun had wandered off during the prayers, but now he came running back. “Help! Help! An oni is chasing me.”
I grabbed my naginata and dashed outside. The yojimbo unsheathed their weapons, but we saw nothing more than a nobleman walking towards us. He was probably in his mid-thirties, but his hair was pure white. It gave him an odd aspect.
He smiled. “The hair does sometimes frighten children. I am looking for the family of the deceased. I assume I have found them?”
I nodded cautiously.
He gave a slight bow. “I am Kamo Onmyoushi, Master of Divination. I have been tasked to determine an auspicious day for the lady’s funeral. I will need some information in order to complete my calculations.”
“Of course,” I said. “We’ll be happy to help you any way we can. As you can see, the house has burned down and we cannot offer refreshments or a proper place to sit. Perhaps we can talk here in the garden?”
Kamo nodded pleasantly. “Of course.”
I led Kamo to a bench, then excused myself for a moment.
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“Take everyone back to the Spring Palace,” I told Sachiko and the three yojimbo. “I am going to stay here and deal with this official.”
The yojimbo bowed, gathered everyone together, and then left.
When I rejoined him, Kamo Onmyoushi was looking around at the charred remains of the buildings.
“It must have been a terrible fire,” he said. “How did it start?”
“We believe it was set deliberately.”
“Really? That’s terrible. Why would anyone do that?”
I looked at Kamo suspiciously. Was this just small talk? These were not the kind of questions I would expect an onmyouji to ask.
“I don’t know.”
Kamo brought out some paper and a brush. “These are terrible times. Now, I need to know the year of lady’s birth.”
He asked the usual questions about family and life events—birth, marriage, children’s birth dates, that sort of thing. I began to relax.
“Of course, as an onmyouji, I am fascinated by the Abé family,” he commented. “I believe the lady was a direct descendant of Abé no Seimei, wasn’t she?”
I was immediately on my guard and answered cautiously. “I don’t really know. I am not a relative.”
“Ahh. I wonder if she had anything that belonged to her ancestor. I would hope such a precious artifact has not burned in the fire.”
“She never mentioned anything like that,” I answered. I felt very uneasy about the direction of her questions.
Didn’t Akiko once say something about an onmyouji coming by and inquiring about Abé no Seimei’s things?
However, the onmyouji was unperturbed by my answer and began gathering his things. “I will do the calculations and let you know the best date for the funeral. How can I reach you?”
“We are staying with friends and may be moving around. Leave word with the monks here and they will contact us.” I didn’t want to mention the Spring Palace.
Kamo took his leave. I followed him on his way for a short distance, to make sure he was actually headed back to the Daidairi.
When I went back to the manor, I noticed the door of one of the unburned storage buildings was unlatched. It was very close to where we first met Kamo Onmyoushi, and I could have sworn it had been shut the night before.
*****
The saké house was bustling. Surei’s staff was still finishing the cleanup from the previous night’s festival. The Spring Palace had been closed for the kurabiraki, but they were scheduled to open for business again at noon, and nothing was ready. I made my way through the people rushing back and forth.
I found Surei in her office talking to Dimples. “The children are upset about the loss of their mother. I want you to show them around, take care of them, and see if you can keep them entertained. That is your primary duty right now. I don’t want to give them time to think about their loss.”
Dimples’ solemn expression showed she understood how important her duties were. “I’ll take care of them, I promise. We’ll play some games, read some stories, and I’ll play some music for them.”
As Dimples was leaving, Surei called after her, “Have someone find Mouse and send him to see me immediately.”
Surei turned to me. “I own a small house next door. I generally use it for storage. For the moment, I have placed the children and servants there. It wouldn’t be right for the children to stay here on the grounds of the saké house. It’s not an appropriate environment for children of their rank. However, I want them close so if any trouble arises, we will be able to bring them here quickly to protect them. If you would stay with them, your presence will help keep them calm. It should make the absence of their mother easier to bear. With Masanori and Sachiko there, their lives will be as close to normal as we can make them. Also, I will feel better if I know you are there to help defend them if something happens.”
I nodded in agreement.
“I took them to perform the first ritual for Akiko this morning. A white-haired onmyouji came by to set a date for the funeral.”
Surei looked startled. “Kamo Onmyoushi was there?”
“Yes, that was his name. You know him?”
“He was the terror of all the students when I was studying the arts of the onmyoudou. He didn’t like Abés, especially me. I should have tried to avoid too much attention, but you know how I was. I had to show off. I was the most talented student they had seen in many years. He hated me.”
“He asked some odd questions.”
She raised her eyebrows.
“I think he is looking for that instrument Akiko gave you.”
“You didn’t tell him anything?”
“Of course not. But don’t let anyone see it.”
Surei looked pensive. “I left the university because I was attacked by spirit tigers. At first, I thought it was because I am female, and I wasn’t supposed to be there. But later I wondered.” She stared ahead. “It happened right after I summoned a kami. I was the only first-year student to succeed in summoning a kami since Abé no Seimei. Everyone made a fuss about it. No onmyouji at the school other than Kamo Onmyoushi could summon anything at all. It wasn’t until much later it occurred to me that while no other first-year students successfully summoned things, that didn’t mean other students couldn’t do it in later years. What happened to them? Did they also meet spirit tigers?”
She looked at me. “If they did, then the tigers were shikigami, powerful kami bound to an onmyouji and given form. Only one onmyouji could have done that. Kamo. Yes, Yoshi, I will be careful with him.”
“Is summoning that important? I thought onmyouji were primarily diviners.”
“Anyone can divine if they can master the math. Very few can summon. Unfortunately, I never got past the first lesson thanks to the tigers. There is some information in Abé no Seimei’s notes, but it assumes far more knowledge than I have.”
I sat down. While Surei’s limits in the arts of the onmyoudou were important to her, we had more immediate problems to deal with. “Were you able to complete your divinations?”
“Yes. Isé seems to be the best option for the children. I hope my uncle will agree to adopt them.”
“What about the coming wars?”
“What about them? It seems to me the best way to survive a war is to be far from the fighting. As far as I can tell, there won’t be any fighting in Isé.”
Not even the generals always know where the fighting would occur, but Surei was rarely wrong. And Governor Abé was a powerful man in Isé. I couldn’t think of a better place if the capital was truly going to be engulfed in battle.
Still, I had doubts about her predictions. “How can there be endless war? We have never had that before. True, there are often skirmishes in the provinces, but the emperor brings in troops when things get out of hand.” On nights when I drank saké and stared out into the darkness, that question had haunted me. I couldn’t imagine things could actually get as bad as Surei had described.
Surei sighed. “What if there is no emperor? Or if he has no power? What if the bushi seize power? If there is no one to control the bushi, when would they stop fighting?”
“When everyone has been crushed under the feet of one man,” I whispered. I had spent years railing against the excesses of the nobility, but I had never considered what the bushi would do if they were in power.
Surei stared blankly at the papers in front of her. “I don’t know how it is going to happen, but the world is changing. I hope some good will come of the changes.”
We sat in silence.
Mouse came in. “You wanted me?”
Surei looked between Mouse and me. “I have some ideas of how to deal with Ikeda Minbukyou. I need help from you two to work out the details and make it happen…”