“And you got it,” Sano said, thinking fast, searching for the words to turn the situation around. “Even though I don’t approve of the way you went about it, I think you did right by your son.” One’s son deserved vengeance even more than one’s lord did. If Sano had discovered that Kira had made a prostitute of Masahiro, he would have killed Kira on the spot instead of bringing in another injured party to do it. Still, Kajikawa had done the best he could. “Kira was a monster.”
“Yes!” Kajikawa gasped in his relief that Sano understood. “Kira deserved to die!” He spoke into the shogun’s ear. “Your Excellency thought Kira shouldn’t be punished for his quarrel with Lord Asano because Kira fooled you. He fooled everybody into thinking he was good, but he was an evil, corrupt old snake. Lord Asano never said so, but I put the words in his mouth because they’re true!”
The shogun was beyond hearing. His mouth gaped like that of a fish thrown ashore, fighting for its last breath. The other people in the room listened, silent, immobile, and helpless.
Kajikawa’s eyes shone with triumph. “We put an end to him, Oishi and I!” Then he relapsed into misery. “I’m sorry for getting Oishi and his men in trouble. They wouldn’t have gone after Kira if not for me. The supreme court is going to sentence them to death, and it’s my fault. I’m sorry about Magistrate Ueda, too.” Sobs choked him. “I’m sorry for everything except that Kira is dead.”
Sano seized on the words. “Yes, you did put an end to Kira. And now it’s time to put an end to this, before any other innocent person is hurt. Let go of His Excellency. Walk out of the palace by yourself and surrender.”
A yearning expression came over Kajikawa’s face. Sano could tell how much he was tempted to give up, how eager for the relief. Kajikawa said, “But if I were to surrender, I would be a coward. I was a coward when Kira abused my son and I looked the other way. But I’ll never be a coward again.” He sniffled, blinked away tears, firmed up his mouth, and said to Yoritomo, “Let’s go.”
With a desperate glance at his father, Yoritomo trudged forward. He walked through the door, his shoulders slumped and head bowed.
“Not yet,” Sano said urgently. “We’re not finished talking.”
“I am.” Kajikawa edged around Sano. The shogun was so senseless with hysteria, his body so limp, that Kajikawa was almost carrying him. “I’ve had my say. I’m going to meet my fate like the brave samurai I should have been when my son needed me.” He and the shogun followed Yoritomo out the door.
“Kajikawa!” Sano shouted.
* * *
Outside the chamber, Reiko whispered urgently through the hole in the wall to Masahiro: “Free your father! Quickly!”
Masahiro jumped up, her dagger in his hand. Voices inside the room exclaimed. Reiko heard Sano say, “How did you get loose? Where did you get that dagger?”
“From Mother,” Masahiro said as Reiko ran down the passage and around the corner.
“She’s here?” Sano sounded almost as much vexed as pleased.
“Yes,” Reiko called. She reached the doorway to see that Sano’s hands were free; Masahiro was cutting the bonds from his ankles. “Hurry!”
The blood flow to his feet had been stopped for so long that Sano could barely stand. He winced in pain. Yanagisawa writhed, grunting through his gag. The other men begged Masahiro to free them, but there was no time. Supporting Sano between them, Reiko and Masahiro toiled through the palace. Sano limped and cursed. They heard the shogun wail, but he and Kajikawa were far ahead. Sano stumbled and went down on his knee on the polished floor of the corridor whose walls were decorated with paintings of pine trees. The Corridor of Pines, Reiko thought. This was where Lord Asano had attacked Kira, where everything had started.
Reiko and Masahiro helped Sano rise. They caught up with Yoritomo and Kajikawa near the main entrance. Kajikawa lumped the shogun along the hall like a sack of radishes. The shogun screamed every time his knees hit the floor. Kajikawa panted, straining to lift the shogun and urge him ahead while holding the sword to his throat.
“Wait!” Sano called.
Yoritomo reached the door and opened it. Daylight shone in. Reiko heard a roar of voices rise as Yoritomo led Kajikawa and the shogun outside. Another roar came from behind her and Sano and Masahiro. Reiko turned and saw Yanagisawa hobbling down the corridor. Somehow he’d gotten free. While she and Sano and Masahiro labored toward the door, Yanagisawa was in hot pursuit.
38
Breathless and sweating, Hirata arrived at the palace to find a noisy, agitated mob outside and hear the words that passed from one person to another: “Kajikawa is holding the shogun hostage!” He pushed through the mob and came up against a ring of troops stationed some twenty paces from the palace. They spread their arms to prevent people from moving closer.
“Stand aside!” Hirata shouted at the nearest guard.
The guard recognized him but didn’t budge. “My orders are to keep everybody away from the palace. If you go in there, you could get the shogun killed.”
A cry went up from the crowd: “Somebody’s coming out!”
The palace door opened. Guards drew their bows, aimed arrows at it. Yoritomo stepped onto the veranda. His face blanched with terror. His hands flew up.
“Don’t shoot!” he cried. “His Excellency is coming!”
The shogun stumbled out the door. The crowd gasped. His knees buckled; his feet dragged; his eyes rolled. His hands clawed at an arm clamped across his chest. The arm belonged to Kajikawa, who walked behind him. They looked like a Bunraku puppeteer and puppet-a puppeteer who held a sword against his living puppet’s throat. Kajikawa’s expression was defiant as he pushed the shogun forward. The guards lowered their bows. Apprehension chased through Hirata.
Kajikawa was insane. He would never survive this. Neither might the shogun. And what had become of Sano?
Yoritomo descended the stairs, his hands raised in supplication. “Kajikawa wants to leave the castle. You have to let him go, or he’ll kill His Excellency!”
People moaned, exclaimed, and passed the news to others behind them. Guards frantically conferred among themselves, trying to figure out what to do. Hirata seized control.
Shouting, “Clear a path!” he plowed through the mob, pushing people right and left. Troops hurried to help. A path opened from the palace to the gate. Troops held back the mob while Hirata stood at the edge of the path, ready to grab Kajikawa when he passed. With Yoritomo leading the way, Kajikawa lugged the shogun down the stairs. Anxious murmurs swept the audience. Yoritomo drifted sideways and lagged behind Kajikawa. Kajikawa dragged the shogun across the empty space around the palace.
They’d traversed half the distance, when four figures burst out the door.
The first figure was Sano, followed by Masahiro and Reiko. The last was Yanagisawa. The crowd roared.
“Kajikawa!” Sano ran down the stairs.
Kajikawa half turned but kept walking.
“Don’t do this. Let His Excellency go.” Sano gestured toward the troops, the mob. “Wherever you go, this is what you’ll meet. You won’t get away.”
Kajikawa seemed to notice the pandemonium for the first time. Fear cracked the shell of his defiance. He paused. Reiko descended the stairs with Masahiro; they stopped at the bottom, her arm around him. Yanagisawa clutched the railing and panted, out of breath.
Suddenly Hirata felt the familiar aura. He looked across the cleared path. Tahara, Deguchi, and Kitano stood in the crowd on the other side. They returned his gaze, impassive. A movement on the periphery of his vision turned Hirata’s head. He saw Yoritomo stoop to pick up something from the ground. It was a branch. Yoritomo raised it in both hands as he sneaked up behind Kajikawa. His expression wavered between terror and determination. Hirata’s gaze homed in on the branch like a falcon sighting a sparrow aloft in a vast sky. The branch was black, as long and almost as thick as a man’s arm. It was coated with ice from the storm. Hirata recognized the kink near the end
