[Malevolence]

Takei Masashi had just arrived in Edo the night before, and he had already gotten himself into a bit of a mess with the clan of a daimyo from a neighboring han. A group of samurai hailing from Daimyo Ii’s clan in Ishikawa had arrived only a day before, and were causing trouble in a marketplace when Masashi came through to buy his morning tea. The three boisterous samurai were making a fuss over the price of unagi meat, and generally blowing the situation out of proportion. As a way to show his daimyo’s even-handedness and want to end conflicts, Masashi padded over to the fishmonger’s stall after quickly finishing the rest of his tea.

As he walked over, he asked, politely, “Is there a problem?”

One of the Ii samurai turned abruptly and shoved at Masashi, saying “It’s none of your business, Kaga. Keep out of others’ business you meddling dog.”

Masahi took great offense at the Ii’s disrespect for an obviously higher-ranked samurai, and reached for the hilt of Ki’rin at his side. The rings on the back of the wakizashi jungled as he half-drew the blade from its scabbard, letting the point rest two thirds of the way up the inside of the sheath. The Ii clan samurai immediately responded by doing the same with the swords on their hips, moving into aggressive stances.

Just as it seemed a full on brawl would break out, initiating a blood feud between the Kaga and Ii, the fishmonger cried out, “There will be no fighting at my stall! If you want blood, take your ken somewhere else! Buy the eel at my price or don’t buy it at all. You won’t find a better price, and you won’t find anyone else with this much unagi to sell.” When the four samurai stared dumbfounded at the fishmonger, he said, “Well? Eel or blood? Pick one!” They all stared again for a moment, until Masashi sheathed Ki’rin, which was followed by the three Ii sheathing their blades as well. They exchanged harsh glances, and the Ii bought their unagi and were on their way.

Masashi was about to walk away when the fishmonger called to him, “You! Kaga-san! Why did you come over here and mess with my business?”

Masashi was again dumbfounded for people’s lack of respect in Edo. He replied, “I was trying to help. It apparently didn’t work.”

“You know, they say you get wiser with age,” the fishmonger said as he began chopping at a maguro, “but you seem as dumb as a post. Where did you learn common sense? Were you raised in the mountains or something?”

“Actually, yes, I was.” Masashi was referring to the many years he spent with sohei monks in a Tibetan monastery.

“Oh. Well…get some sense in that tied-up head of yours,” the monger said, gesturing at Masashi’s topknot with a meat cleaver. He then returned to carving up the mackerel and tuna he had laid out on his chopping block, as if Masashi were no longer even standing there. Bewildered, Masashi walked on toward Edo Castle, to find himself lodging for the week in the more upscale parts of Edo. As he neared the center of the city, the buildings became taller and more elaborate, until he found a large lodging-house that would suit his needs for the next month. The building had high tiered roofs, and gold-trimmed doorways – perfect for an ambassador from a daimyo to the shogun. Masashi’s embassage was supposed to span a month, but he had reached Edo from Kaga in less than three days, and had time to kill before his meeting with Tokugawa. After dropping off his belongings in the lodging house, Masashi set off to find himself something to do.

His previous encounter with the Ii had left him itching for a chance to use his skill with a blade again, and seemed to find just the thing when he saw a small piece of rice paper with kanji written in the old style tacked to a wall in an alley. It read “Tournament of Arms. Follow the crow.” As if some forces were conspiring to bring him somewhere, Masashi heard the cawing of a crow off to his left, where a black bird sat perched on a fence. The crow took off over the fence, leading over a giant rice paddy to a small forest. Masashi pulled up the skirts of his traveling cloak, and leapt over the fence into the paddy to follow the bird.

The paddy ended quickly in a bamboo forest that continued for another few hundred yards until it opened up into a small clearing with a ratty, run-down-looking sake house at its center. The chimney puffed a small amount of inviting smoke, and, lightly grasping Tengu’s hilt, Masashi walked in. The inside of the inn was hot and cramped, but manageable. As soon as he entered, a woman came over and asked, “Are you here for the Tournament? Oh, of course you are; why would someone like you – oh my, a Kaga – come to a raggedy looking place like this if it wasn’t for the Tournament.” The woman looked him up and down, and said, “Well, you don’t have anything with you. How do you plan on living? Got only one set of clothes do you?”

Masashi replied, “I’ve already put my belongings in a lodging house in Edo. We have to stay here?”

“Unless you don’t want to be told when you have to be where, yes you have to stay here. We can send someone back to Edo for your things, but we need to get you set up in a room. But first, I need your name, daimyo, and one ryo.”

“Takei Masashi, of Daimyo Kaga,” he said, and deposited an oblong gold coin in the woman’s hand.

“Pleased to meet you, Masahi-san,” the woman said, and bowed, which Masashi returned. She handed Masashi a slip of paper with a room number on it, and said, “My name is Ri’i, and you may call upon me at any time for anything you need until the Tournament begins. I will send the runner to Edo for you now.” Ri’i bowed again, and turned to find a runner for Masashi.

Following the signs to a staircase downward, Masashi found his room at the end of a long hallway. The room was surprisingly well-furnished, and had a sunken window shafted to the surface to let in a good amount of natural light. Masashi disrobed to his dressing kimono, and set Tengu, Ki’rin, his tanto and kusari-gama to on the weapon stands at the far end of the room. He laid down on the blue and gold bed, and rested until he was summoned for his first match.