After a brief, awkward silence, Reiko said, “When did you come to Edo?”
“Yesterday.” Okaru smiled, thankful that Reiko didn’t shun her because of her occupation. “I asked the innkeeper if there was anybody who helps travelers with problems, that I could go to. I was thinking of a convent.” Convents and monasteries took in people who were down on their luck. “He mentioned you. He found me a scribe to write my letter.”
The innkeeper had been kinder than he looked, Reiko thought. But a man would have to be made of stone to resist Okaru. “What brought you here?”
“Oishi came. I followed him.”
“Who is Oishi?”
“Oishi Kuranosuke. My fiance.” Okaru blushed again.
Reiko supposed that teahouse girls liked to refer to their customers as fiances. Maybe they thought it made them sound respectable; maybe it was wishful thinking. His two names identified Oishi as a samurai, above Okaru’s station. Okaru was likely just his mistress. “What has Oishi done?”
“He’s killed him.” Okaru trembled on the verge of tears again. “I heard the news-sellers shouting it in the streets. They said he cut off his head.”
“Cut off whose head?” Reiko said, alarmed yet excited to hear that the problem involved murder.
“I followed him because I love him so much and I wanted to save him.” Okaru’s voice rose to a wail. “But I’m just a stupid girl. That’s why I sent the letter to you.” Her hands fluttered like fragile white birds. “Can’t you please do something?”
Reiko caught Okaru’s hands and held them still. “I won’t know what to do until I know the facts. Now tell me: Whom did Oishi kill?”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m just so upset.” Okaru gulped and sniffled. “It was Kira Yoshinaka.”
Reiko recognized the name. “Kira, the shogun’s master of ceremonies?”
“I guess. Some important man at Edo Castle.”
Reiko was amazed to learn that Kira had been murdered and she had stumbled onto the sequel of a scandalous incident she remembered well. “Is Oishi one of Lord Asano’s former retainers?”
“Yes, yes! He came to kill Kira because Kira killed Lord Asano.”
She didn’t have the facts exactly straight. Reiko said, “But the shogun said Kira wasn’t at fault and no action should be taken against him.” Now she understood why Oishi was in trouble and Okaru was so worried. “A vendetta would have been illegal.”
“That’s what Oishi told me,” Okaru said. “I begged him not to go. But he didn’t care if he was breaking the law.”
Many samurai wouldn’t. Avenging a master’s death was their highest duty, and sacrificing themselves their ultimate act of loyalty. “So Oishi murdered Kira.”
“Not just Oishi. He took along forty-six of Lord Asano’s other men.”
Reiko was stunned. The trouble was even more serious than she’d initially thought. The government might have excused one samurai who’d killed in the name of honor, but forty-seven
“So that’s why Oishi and I need your help,” Okaru said.
The problem was far beyond Reiko’s power to solve. “I’m sorry to say that I can’t save Oishi.” Reiko watched Okaru’s face fall. She hated to disappoint the girl, but it would be crueler to give her false hope. “Oishi and his friends defied the shogun and committed murder. They’ll likely be sentenced to death.”
Chiyo nodded. Masahiro turned to Reiko in dismay. Reiko was sorry she’d brought him, that he was upset.
“But the innkeeper said your husband is an important man in the government,” Okaru said. “Couldn’t he protect Oishi, if you ask him to?”
“My husband has to follow the shogun’s orders just like everyone else,” Reiko said. “There’s nothing he can do for Oishi. I’m sorry. My best advice to you is this: Forget about Oishi. Go home. If you need money for traveling, I can give you some.”
Okaru conceded without a fight. Indeed, she didn’t seem to have a fighting bone in her body. Her shoulders sagged. “I understand,” she said, her beautiful face a picture of woe. “I’m sorry for imposing on you. I won’t take your money. Thank you for coming.”
Her manner showed no resentment, which made Reiko even sorrier that she couldn’t help the girl. Then Okaru said, “What I don’t understand is how that man Kira could do something wrong, and Oishi will die for trying to set things right. It seems so unfair.”
If Okaru knew the facts, maybe she could more easily accept Oishi’s fate and Reiko would feel less guilty for letting her down. Reiko explained, “Lord Asano drew a sword on Kira inside Edo Castle. He broke the law. That’s why he died. Kira never lifted a finger toward Lord Asano. That’s why the shogun forbade a vendetta against Kira and killing him was a crime.”
“But Oishi said that was … How did he put it?” Okaru frowned in an effort to recall. “The ‘official version.’ He said it wasn’t what really happened. He said…” Okaru recited, “‘Nothing about this vendetta is what it seems.’”
Interest and excitement stirred in Reiko. “Are you sure that’s what he said?”
“Yes, yes.” Nodding, Okaru gazed earnestly at Reiko. “If things are different from what everybody says, then maybe it is unfair that Oishi should have to die. Don’t you think?”
“I think there may be extenuating circumstances in this case,” Reiko said.
Chiyo looked surprised, Masahiro happier. The servant Goza leaned toward Reiko, suspicious. Okaru’s forehead wrinkled in confusion.
“Extenuating circumstances are reasons that the law could be overturned,” Reiko explained. “If there are any, Oishi and his friends might be excused for killing Kira.”
“And he’ll be saved!” Okaru clasped her hands under her chin. Her smile shone through her tears like sunlight reflected in water. “Oh, how wonderful!”
Reiko was alarmed at how quickly Okaru had seized on the slim chance. “Don’t count on it,” she warned. “First we have to determine whether there really are any reasons why Oishi shouldn’t be sentenced to death. Now, what did he say happened?”
A blank expression replaced Okaru’s smile. “He didn’t say.”
“Did he explain about the vendetta not being what it seems?”
Okaru shook her head. “I asked him what he meant. He wouldn’t tell me.” She looked anxious. “Does it matter?”
“I’m afraid so,” Reiko said. “To save Oishi, we would need to prove that his actions were justified.” She was appalled by the violence of his crime; even though she applauded his devotion to the Way of the Warrior, she wasn’t sure he deserved to go free. “The government isn’t going to excuse him without more information. A vague hint isn’t good enough.”
“Oh. Then I guess Oishi is doomed. And so am I.” Okaru looked forlorn and younger than ever, like a child who’d just discovered that wishes didn’t always come true. Her lips quivered. Tears spilled down her cheeks. She was even prettier when she cried.
“Mother, do something!” Masahiro blurted out.
His vehemence surprised Reiko. But she agreed that they couldn’t just leave this poor girl alone to fend for herself. “Listen,” she said to Okaru. “I’ll go to my husband and tell him what you said. I’ll see what I can do.”
“You will?” Now Okaru wept tears of delight. “Oh, thank you!”
Reiko glanced at Chiyo, who was watching Okaru with a troubled expression. Masahiro beamed. As she rose to depart, Reiko said, “Please don’t hope for too much. Oishi’s situation is very serious. I can’t guarantee that things will turn out the way you want.”
7
Sano and Hirata decided to imprison the forty-seven
