The soothsayer said, “I think you may have unexpected troubles on the way. You must be careful.”
Tora grinned. “Don’t worry. Nothing can happen to me. You told me I have a great future.”
The soothsayer did not return his smile. “Let’s consult the gods.” He took up his bundles of yarrow stalks, separating them and placing them in strange combinations between his fingers, then laying them down and starting the process again. Tora ventured to clear his throat.
“Don’t interrupt!” growled the soothsayer.
Tora sat, wondering what was happening and wishing he could leave.
After a long time, the soothsayer sighed and gathered up his stalks. For a long while he sat looking at Tora without speaking. Then he said, “It is good and not good. You will succeed, but terrible things will come to pass.”
“What things?”
“There will be great grief. More I cannot say.” He sighed deeply. “These are evil days for many.” He scooped up Tora’s coppers and bowed. “Be safe, Tomoe’s friend.”
CHAPTER TEN
When Akitada arrived at the ministry with the notes for his memorial to the emperor, he found the number of petitioners grown so large that they were sitting two deep along the walls of the reception hall. He stopped in dismay. It was impossible to deal with all of their petitions today unless he was given an additional staff of ten clerks. Besides, there was the draft of his memorial to the emperor. He wanted to polish and dispatch it this very day. As he stood there, considering these things, he saw that they looked even more disappointed than he felt. He wondered if he was properly dressed and checked to see if his hat was askew. He was wearing his comfortable everyday robe again. But still they whispered and looked troubled. Ah. It must be his black eye. Relieved, he smiled and said, “I’m glad to see you. Please, do not let my black eye worry you. I assure you I can read and write well enough. But there are too many of you to…”
To his surprise, one after the other of them rose, bowed, and left until there was only a handful still waiting. He shook his head and went into his office. Nakatoshi followed and closed the door.
“Why did they leave so quickly?” Akitada asked him.
“I’m not sure, sir.” Nakatoshi was also looking at Akitada’s eye. “Perhaps they left because you said there were too many.”
Akitada snorted. “If so, they are the most humble and polite group of litigants I have ever seen. Do I look particularly frightening?”
Nakatoshi flushed. “Not to me, sir.”
Akitada laughed. “The eye looks worse than it feels. Let’s get to work.” He glanced at the draft of his memorial and the stack of new paperwork beside it, rubbed his hands, and sat down behind his desk.
Soga’s desk. With his hand already extended toward the top document on the pile of ministry business, he looked up. “Any news from the minister?”
“No, sir.”
“I don’t recall signing the daily report Sakae was to prepare. What happened to that?”
“We sent only one.”
“Why only one?”
“The messenger came back with a note. We’re not to send anything else from the capital until the minister asks for it.”
“Strange.”
“Yes. There was no explanation.”
A brief silence fell while they considered Soga’s peculiar order.
“Hmm,” said Akitada finally. “Well, let’s get started on this. And then I want to see the people who are waiting. That old fellow-what was his name?-the one whose house was taken over by his nephew. Is there any news on that case?”
“Mr. Chikamura. We verified that he is indeed the owner of record and sent some constables to tell the nephew and his friends to depart.”
“Good. I wonder what he wants now. Well, I expect he’ll tell me.” Akitada took the first letter from the stack and read it. After discussing its contents with Nakatoshi, he dictated a brief answer, and moved to the next document. From time to time, as they worked their way through the daily allotment of bureaucratic paper shuffling, he glanced longingly toward his memorial.
It was midmorning before Akitada had time for the petitioners. Fortunately there were only five left, four men and an elderly woman. Leaving aside Chikamura, theirs were all complaints against a neighbor for infringing on their property rights. Akitada dealt with them quickly. Then he saw Chikamura.
“Welcome, Mr. Chikamura,” he said with a smile, when the old man had fallen to his knees and knocked his head on the floor. “I’m told you are now in possession of your home again?”
“Yes, your honor. I came to thank your honor for throwing out my nephew, whose heart and guts a thousand demons should gnaw for his unfilial behavior.”
“I trust he and his companions left quietly?”
“Oh, yes. The cowards didn’t dare argue with policemen. But he was very angry with me. He said I’d be sorry for what I’d done.”
Akitada frowned. “That’s bad. He might bring his friends back with him to take revenge. Do you have a way to protect yourself?”
Chikamura grinned toothlessly. “He won’t dare. I’ll run out the back door and shout for the constables.”
Akitada smiled back. “Excellent. But be sure to report any further threats.”
Mr. Chikamura bowed deeply again and prepared to withdraw, when Akitada thought to ask him, “Do you happen to know why all those other people left when I arrived?”
“Oh, they’re fools. They saw you come in with that black eye and wearing that plain robe, so they figured you’re in trouble already.”
The perversity of this made Akitada laugh, but he realized that Seimei had been right in the matter of his clothes. Being simpleminded, the common people measured power by its visible signs. Since he had stopped wearing his luxurious court robe, they thought he had lost his rank and position. Perhaps they had also assumed his black eye was due to a beating for some malfeasance.
The rest of the morning passed as he dealt with the new petitions, and it was midday before Akitada could reach for the draft of his beloved memorial. He rubbed fresh ink as he read, saw a number of phrases that needed strengthening, and, feeling again the surge of excitement and happiness, dipped his brush into the ink.
But his pleasure was short-lived, for Nakatoshi showed Kobe in before he had made much progress. Remembering his obligation, Akitada suppressed his annoyance and thanked the superintendent for interceding on Tora’s behalf.
Kobe waved his gratitude away and asked, “What in heaven’s name happened to you?”
“Oh, I forgot.” Akitada chuckled. “I seem to be more than usually scatterbrained. After I left yesterday, I followed that nun and managed to stop three hoodlums from raping her in a residential area west of the palace. She got away, but I did not.”
“You reported this to the police?”
“No. I tried to find the young woman who, by the way, was no nun. It became apparent that the people in the area were afraid to talk to strangers. I was so outraged at the conditions in our capital that I came back here to draft a memorial to his majesty and everything else slipped my mind.”
“A memorial?”
Seeing Kobe’s frown, Akitada added lamely, “I’ve also had a great deal of ministry work.”
“You should have reported the crime immediately. Such conditions persist because people do not report crimes to us. Where exactly did this attack take place and who was involved?”
Akitada told him. As Kobe probed, Akitada realized that he had almost done an unforgivable thing. His memorial would destroy Kobe, who was an excellent official, a fair and honest administrator, and a genuine friend-all in the name of registering an official protest to His Majesty and perhaps furthering his career. Shame crept up his neck and made his ears burn, and he could hardly look Kobe in the eyes.