The morning sounds of crowing roosters and ringing temple bells woke me. I hadn’t been getting nearly enough sleep, but every time I dropped off, I was surrounded by smoke and flames and heard Akiko screaming. While the new dream wasn't my father and brothers being butchered by pirates, it wasn't really any improvement. I tried to go back to sleep, but the children and servants were up and around, so I gave up and walked next door to the saké house.

As I approached the gate, Professor walked out with Pink Ume and five of the women, including Dimples and Reiko. He waved me over. “Pink Ume is going to buy fabric for the mourning robes for you and the family. Normally, I would be all the protection they need, but things are a little unsettled right now. Care to join us?”

I had heard the rising tension between Junior Retired Emperor Sutoku and Emperor Go-Shirakawa had kept the bushi families who generally provided soldiers for the city watch busy. They were so involved with preparing for the upcoming conflict they had no time to patrol the streets. Looking around, I didn’t see any city watch anywhere, and there seemed to be more than the usual number of shady characters out and about. I understood why Professor was worried.

“All right, I’ll join you,” I agreed.

As we escorted the group to the Right Market, I scanned the crowds, looking for any potential sources of trouble. Unfortunately for my peace of mind, there were altogether too many of those.

We stopped at a fabric merchant. Pink Ume ordered Dimples to go in with her to help carry the bundles. Professor and I waited outside with the other four women as they clustered around a stand that sold dyes.

From inside the shop, we heard a piercing scream. Professor reacted instantly and went through the door at a run.

I heard a frightened cry behind me. I whirled around to see a scruffy looking man with a knife dragging Reiko away. I drew my tachi, but he threatened Reiko with the knife. “Don’t do it,” he said.

Reiko took a quick step forward and kicked her assailant in the side of the knee. His leg buckled under him, and he let go of her wrist so he could break his fall.

Backing up, Reiko slid her hand into her sleeve and drew out a small tantou. The man lunged forward and grabbed her robe. She slashed his arm open. Screaming in pain, he released her. Blood stained his robe and dripped onto the ground. Reiko backed away from him, panting in fear but holding the weapon steady in front of her.

I reached out and grabbed her by the wrist, yanking her back behind me. The ruffian started cursing, and two more ragged-looking men materialized out of the crowd and joined him. I heard the sound of crashing and screaming from the shop behind me, but I could spare no attention to see what was happening. I had to trust that Professor had the situation in hand.

“Stop,” I said, placing myself between the girls and the three ruffians.

“We jus’ want the girls,” one said, stepping forward. I snapped my blade at his face. He flinched back.

With a sound of splintering wood, the wall of the shop exploded outwards as a man flew through it and landed on his back in the street. He lay in the dirt, groaning. Professor strode through the wall behind him like a vengeful oni.

He saw the three men facing me and smiled, a rictus-like grin with no trace of humor in it. “You three, get away from here,” he growled deep in his throat.

Dimples stumbled out of the shop with Pink Ume supporting her, then fell to her knees sobbing. The other girls clustered around them.

The ruffians made no move to leave. Professor bent down and picked up the man on the ground by the throat. Lifting him with one hand, he held him up until the man’s feet dangled clear of the street. Then, he swung the man around and hurled him at the other three thugs.

The flying body hit the wounded ruffian, and the two of them went down in a tangle of arms and legs. The other two began backing away. I followed them, step for step. When Professor took a step in their direction, they broke and ran. Their bleeding companion got to his feet and stumbled after them.

I hope I never make Professor mad at me. I don’t think I want to learn to fly like that.

Professor knelt beside Dimples, who was still on her knees. “Are you all right?” he asked. Still crying, she threw her arms around his neck. He clumsily patted her on the back, saying, “It’s all right. No one will hurt you, Yoshi and I will protect you.”

An angry merchant came bustling out of his shop. “You destroyed my wall. Who is going to pay for it?”

Pink Ume yelled at him, “What kind of a shop are you running where a respectable woman is attacked? You should be paying us for frightening this poor girl!”

While Pink Ume was castigating the shopkeeper, I went through the unconscious thug’s clothes, finding several small coins. Taking the coins and the man’s weapons, I went over and handed them to the shopkeeper. “This should cover the cost. If it isn’t enough, send the bill to the Spring Palace.”

Pink Ume started to argue, but I told her, “Let it go.”

With a “Hmmph,” Pink Ume grabbed one of the other girls. She told the merchant, “I expect a discount on what we bought,” then went in to get her purchases.

“I just stood there and screamed,” Dimples bawled. “I had a knife and I forgot all about it. I just stood there like a frightened rabbit.”

“Screaming was good enough,” Professor assured her.

“Why are we practicing with the weapons if I just stand there in a panic? How am I going to help defend the saké house?”

I said, “You’re right, we need to work on offensive drills. Then you’ll know what to do and won’t freeze.”

Pink Ume and the girl came out carrying several bundles of fabric.

On our way back to the Spring Palace, no one said anything. I walked in front of the group with the girls clustered behind. Professor brought up the rear to ensure no one tried to follow us.

Dimples stayed close to me. She was trembling. About halfway back to the saké house, she said in a very low voice. “Professor saved me, you know that?”

“Yes, he did.”

“I always thought he looked like an ape with his thick beard, shaggy back, and hairy arms. Then, in the store, when the man grabbed me, Professor came rushing in and took me from him, then threw the man through the wall. He was wonderful.” She began to grow more animated.

Her voice almost back to normal, she said, “He’s a hero.”

As we neared the saké house, Dimples casually asked me, “Do you think Professor is lonely?”

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“I don’t think he has time to be, he is so busy taking care of the boun—” I gave Dimples a hard look. “Why do you want to know?”

At that point, we arrived at the gate of the Spring Palace, and she rushed inside with the other girls without answering.

When I walked in the gate, one of Surei’s girls came running up. “Yoshi-san, Hyacinth-sama has been looking everywhere for you. She wants you in her office.”

As I hurried to meet her, I was worried. Usually, Surei was so busy that when I wanted to talk, I had to find her. Having her looking for me couldn’t be good.

“Yoshi, where have you been?” Surei snapped at me as I came in the door.

“Professor asked me to go with him to watch the girls.”

Surei frowned. “Why? He has never needed any help before.”

I told her about the attack. “If Professor had been by himself, they would have gotten either Dimples or Reiko. Oh, and you might be seeing a bill for a smashed wall.”

Surei’s face flushed with anger. “From now on, none of the girls leave without at least three yojimbo accompanying them. I didn’t think things would get bad so quickly.”

She ran her hand through her hair and took a deep breath. “We need to talk about something else: Akiko.”

“What about her?”

“The capital is full of stories of hauntings. We made quite an impression last night. Rumors are spreading like wildfire. Supposedly, six manors were burned down in the northeast part of the city. Even those that don’t believe all the wild rumors are saying the manor of Ikeda Minbukyou sustained quite a bit of fire damage. Apparently, one of the side structures caught fire, and most of the roof was destroyed. It will take at least a month to fix.”

I smiled. “Well, we seem to have accomplished our goal. The haunting caught everyone’s attention.”

Surei shook her head. “No, we didn’t. Although everyone is talking about the haunting, no one associates it with Akiko. If we are going to bring pressure on Ikeda Minbukyou, then people have to believe she is haunting him. Instead, no one seems to have noticed she is dead.” Surei scowled and threw her brush down. “As of yet, only two letters of condolence have been sent to her manor.”

I said, dubiously, “The identity of a vengeful spirit isn’t usually known until an exorcist can force the name out of it.”

“That may be true, but I want the Minbukyou sweating and nervous. He needs to feel like the entire capital is wondering what happened and speculating why he, in particular, is being haunted. I want rumors swirling around him until someone in authority starts an investigation. The hauntings should be an enormous scandal and all the evidence should point back to Ikeda Minbukyou.”

“All right,” I conceded. “How do we do that?”

Surei was silent, then she looked at me and smiled a vicious smile. “We aren’t going to do it. You are. You will go to the Minbushou during their mid-morning break, purportedly to talk to them about the property documents. They will be closed when you get there. You will have just heard about the hauntings and will be frightened for your safety. And you are going to tell anyone who will listen why you are frightened.”

For a moment, I couldn’t say anything. Then, I told her admiringly, “That is vicious, dishonest, and cruel.”

She bowed her head in mock humility. “Thank you. I try.” She looked out the window. “You need to leave now if you want to catch them at lunch.”

My timing was perfect. When I arrived at the Daidairi, the Minbushou was closed. I rattled the door a few times as if I was anxious to get in. Then I stopped a passing imperial guardsman and asked him, “Do you know when the Minbushou will be open?”

“No, why?”

“Have you heard about the hauntings and fires around the capital last night?”

“Of course.”

“I know who the ghost is.”

His eyes grew wide, and he said in loud, high-pitched voice, “You know about the ghost?”

That caught the attention of several people nearby, who came over to see what was going on.

I turned to the crowd and said in a frightened voice, “The spirit is Fujiwara Minbukyou’s widow.”

There was a burst of conversation as people turned to their neighbors in astonishment.

“…didn’t even know she was dead…”

“…any idea why she would be haunting the capital…”

Finally, one of the onlookers demanded, “What makes you think she’s the ghost?”

Another shouted, “When did she die? What happened?”

“The night before last, her manor caught fire and was destroyed. She was severely burned in the fire.” My voice broke as I pretended to wipe away tears. “Her only thought was of her children. She charged me to take care of them and see to their welfare. She was so afraid for them, she couldn’t even chant her nenbutsu.”

I looked over the crowd and was gratified to see tears in many eyes. I sighed and shook my head in despair. “Unfortunately, there is a problem with the properties she left her children. I was hoping the Minbushou could work those out. I am terrified if this isn’t resolved, her shade will come after me.”

People had continued to gather as I spoke until I had a respectable crowd listening to me. They began murmuring in alarm.

Someone yelled, “That doesn’t mean the ghost was your mistress!”

I answered, “I think her ghost may have visited Ikeda Minbukyou to beg for his help. He was a good friend of hers.”

Another onlooker yelled, “He’s right! The ghost did cry out for ‘Justice!’” Someone else chimed in, “And Ikeda Minbukyou’s manor was burned completely to the ground. The ghost must be someone who died in a fire.”

“What can we do? Is there any way to appease her spirit?”

“When is her funeral? If enough of us attend, it might serve to mollify her.”

“Sutras read on her behalf and prayers sponsored for her soul would probably work, too.”

The crowd seized on the idea like a drowning man in a raging river grabs a thrown rope. “We need to pass the word! People need to come out and see her off. We need to read sutras for her.”

An onlooker asked, “When is her funeral?”

“The reverend monk Benkon is in charge of the services, talk to him,” I said.

Someone unlocked the door to the Minbushou, grabbed me by the arm, and dragged me inside, locking the door behind us. It was Junior Recorder Watanabe. Apparently, he had been informed of the crowd on his front porch and had left his lunch to put a stop to my speech. I was a little disappointed he had come along when he did. I was just warming up to my role of rabble-rouser.

He had a harassed look on his face and didn’t appear at all happy. “What were you doing out there?” he demanded.

“I was just explaining why I wanted to talk to you,” I said. “I’m afraid for my safety after the visitations last night. How is the investigation coming? I know it has only been a few days, but my mistress was most anxious about it.”

Watanabe suddenly looked very nervous. “I heard the lady died in a fire.”

“Yes, she did. But her last wish was that her children receive their inheritance.”

“The investigation has been…” his voice trailed off as if he were very hesitant to continue, but after swallowing several times, he managed to get out, “…canceled.”

“What!” I yelled, my emotional state no longer an act. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “How can the investigation be canceled? It had barely begun.”

Watanabe looked embarrassed. “Ikeda Minbukyou decided that since the original deed was destroyed in the fire, the Minbushou property documents were the only remaining record. Since a replacement deed would be based on their authority, they were the controlling legal instruments.”

Furious, I yanked the door open. There was still a sizable crowd out front.

Loudly, I said, “The minister thinks the deed was burned in the fire? I wonder what makes him think that—because it wasn’t. You can tell him it is being kept in a safe place where his hired thugs won’t be able to find it. Now I know why my mistress visited him last night. This is all his doing.”

Junior Recorder Watanabe was aghast. “You can’t be saying Ikeda Minbukyou had anything to do with the fire.”

I shouted back at him, “Why else would the ghost appear at his house and burn down his manor buildings? It is payment for her death at the hands of his hirelings. Ikeda Minbukyou will not get away with this.”

The crowd was now completely silent and staring at me in astonishment. I pushed roughly through the throng. Several of them tried to stop and question me, but I ignored them.

Surei won’t let me kill the bastard yet, but at least I can destroy his reputation.