"I take it the Onigawa-gumi played it off as nothing?"

Nezuma shook his head. "The Yakuza are fools. They have little appreciation for what the dorje dorje means and how it can be used to further all of our agendas if it is handled properly. Kennichi's behavior has angered them substantially. They feel he has caused them a tremendous loss of face and mean to make him pay for it. Unleashing their child a.s.sa.s.sins was their pathetic attempt to make him feel like less of a man for being forced to deal with them." means and how it can be used to further all of our agendas if it is handled properly. Kennichi's behavior has angered them substantially. They feel he has caused them a tremendous loss of face and mean to make him pay for it. Unleashing their child a.s.sa.s.sins was their pathetic attempt to make him feel like less of a man for being forced to deal with them."

"There's no evidence that he did deal with them," Shuko said.

"And the people you spoke to confirmed it was one man who took them all out?"

Shuko nodded. "They were quite specific, actually. They didn't call him a man at all. They said he was a monk. Complete with the ringed staff and everything. There was little doubt about what he'd done."

"And they report that there was some sort of strange fog or mist?"

"They say the alley filled with mist and the monk walked right into the midst of it, taking the a.s.sa.s.sins out as easily as drawing a breath. When he was done, he simply walked back out of the alley and vanished in the crowds."

Nezuma smiled. "That must have played well with the police."

"I imagine they have no idea what to do with the case," Shuko said. "Presumably, they will lose it in the bottomless pile of unsolved mysteries they have."

"Presumably," Nezuma said. "In the meantime, we are somewhat closer to our own goal of recovering the dorje dorje."

Shuko frowned. "You really think she will hand it over to us?"

"Of course not."

"But you asked her for it anyway."

Nezuma brushed a hand along the length of Shuko's hair. She leaned into him and closed her eyes. Nezuma leaned closer to her ear and whispered, "She must be allowed to feel like she still has some measure of control over her own destiny. Otherwise, she will feel like a trapped animal and respond accordingly. That will not help us. By allowing her to still feel some semblance of power, she will play right into our hands."

Shuko looked into his eyes. "Have I always played into your hands?"

Nezuma glanced around the train car. They were almost alone save for five other pa.s.sengers. Still, as much as he desired Shuko, he would not allow himself to falter.

He pushed her away. "The question has always been, who is playing into whose hand?"

She grinned and went back to looking out the window. "I suppose one day we will have to discover the answer to that."

"There will be time later," Nezuma said. "For now, we have but one thing to set our minds to."

She glanced back at him. "Only one?"

He smiled. "Perhaps later...at the ryokan ryokan, there may be time for us to briefly allow ourselves an interlude."

"I like interludes," Shuko said.

"As do I." He licked his lips, then looked out of the window at the pa.s.sing countryside. "And when we have our hands on the dorje dorje at long last, there will be many more such interludes." at long last, there will be many more such interludes."

Shuko nodded. "As long as we can keep the Yakuza from guessing we have recovered it."

"That will be the biggest task of all, I fear," Nezuma said. "Finding the dorje dorje thus far has largely been uncomplicated. Kennichi, for all his skill, is still resolved to finding it. Since he doesn't know where it is, it makes it harder for him to elude our surveillance, as much as he might try." thus far has largely been uncomplicated. Kennichi, for all his skill, is still resolved to finding it. Since he doesn't know where it is, it makes it harder for him to elude our surveillance, as much as he might try."

"I'm not convinced he is trying," Shuko said. "And I must admit I find that suspicious."

"You think he knows we are on his trail?"

"I think he would be a pretty pathetic ninja if he did not a.s.sume he had other interested parties following him."

Nezuma frowned. "And yet he makes no attempt to discourage our pursuit."

"Exactly."

"I see why you are concerned. But perhaps his mind is as fixated on the prize as mine is. Perhaps he has allowed himself to be blinded by it."

Shuko shook her head. "You may be fixated, but you are still in control of your faculties. You still coordinate the recovery efforts rather than simply allow yourself to become blindly obsessed."

Nezuma shrugged. "Perhaps Kennichi is less skilled than we thought."

"Or he may be more skilled than we give him credit for. He may well be setting a trap for us to walk into," Shuko said.

Nezuma smiled. "There would be very little he could arrange that would take us by surprise. I have, after all, the finest partner one could ever wish for."

Shuko frowned. "I appreciate the compliment, master. But I would prefer to reserve judgment about Kennichi until we have the item we seek in hand. And he and the woman are both dead."

"I wonder how Miss Creed will react when she learns that it is I who has been taunting her at every stage of the game. Surely she will replay the ending moments of my victory over her at the budokan budokan over and over. I imagine it will be enough to stop her in her tracks and enable me to finally strike her down dead." over and over. I imagine it will be enough to stop her in her tracks and enable me to finally strike her down dead."

Shuko smiled. "I will enjoy that."

Nezuma shook his head. "She should never have stepped into the ring. An American woman in the budokan budokan fighting? It disgusts me to even consider it. I certainly hope she learned her lesson." fighting? It disgusts me to even consider it. I certainly hope she learned her lesson."

"Doubtful," Shuko said. "She seems far too stubborn for such a thing to sink into her mind."

"Death, then," Nezuma said, "is the only way for her to truly understand."

"And the Yumegakure-ryu will cease to exist, as well."

Nezuma nodded. "Kennichi Ogawa, the last descendant in that troublesome ninja family, will finally find himself out of options. He will go down fighting-I have little doubt of that."

"And then we will see what skills he truly does have at his disposal."

Nezuma looked at her. "I am glad you are with me."

Shuko bowed her head low. "As am I. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you once more."

"You are my finest pupil. It is only fitting."

"And if it comes down to it, will you permit me the honor of dispatching Ogawa?"

"Not the woman?" Nezuma smiled.

Shuko frowned. "The woman has offended you. It is proper that you administer the justice she so badly needs."

"And you take out Ogawa? That's a lot of history to kill, my dear."

Her eyes flashed. "You don't doubt my skills, do you?"

He laughed. "Of course not. If I had any concerns about your abilities, you wouldn't be here."

She leaned back. "I apologize."

He placed his hand on top of hers. "No need. We are both pa.s.sionate about what we'll be doing. Soon enough, we'll be rid of the troublesome pair and be able to use the dorje dorje to create the destiny we have dreamed of." to create the destiny we have dreamed of."

19.

Annja welcomed the fresh air of Iga as she and Ken disembarked at the main city of Ueno. The station wasn't crowded and they were able to find a cab easily. As they slid in, Ken gave the driver some quick directions and they were off.

Ken pointed. "See that?"

Annja followed his line of sight and took a breath. A ma.s.sive feudal castle rose out of the landscape. "That's amazing."

"Ueno Castle. It's been renovated and refurbished, but is largely the way it was hundreds of years ago when this part of the country was known as a thriving castle town. The walls are almost thirty yards tall."

Annja looked at the graceful white walls that seemed to spring up toward the sky. "It almost looks like a bird."

Ken smiled. "It's also known as hakuho, hakuho, because it resembles a white phoenix taking off from a bed of green leaves." He looked behind them and continued to smile. "Would you like to stop?" because it resembles a white phoenix taking off from a bed of green leaves." He looked behind them and continued to smile. "Would you like to stop?"

Annja nodded. "If there's time."

"I think we can make time. It's a nice diversion."

The cab let them off near the hundreds of steps that led to the castle's main entrance. Ken stood at the bottom and looked at Annja. "Race you."

Annja laughed. "You're kidding."

"Nope." Ken dashed up the steps. Annja gave chase and they were soon at the top. Annja gasped for some breath, but as usual, Ken seemed hardly fazed by the exertion.

"You must be in amazing shape."

He shrugged. "I suppose."

"Don't be so modest-it's really annoying," Annja said.

He smiled. "Sorry, I just don't think all that much about it. I train, but don't necessarily get maniacal about it. However I am is just a matter of what I've done and continue to do. No big deal."

Annja looked around. "It's even more impressive close up."

Ken paid for the tickets and they headed through the entrance. After a brief walk, they came into the main entry hall. A huge a.s.sortment of ancient j.a.panese weapons-swords, spears, daggers, halberds and more-decorated the area along with suits of samurai armor, giant taiko taiko drums, masks, scrolls and even palanquins for carting royalty about. drums, masks, scrolls and even palanquins for carting royalty about.

Annja couldn't help herself. She had to look at everything. "What sort of weapon is that?" she asked, pointing out a long wooden pole with a curved blade at the end.

"A naginata naginata," Ken said. "Traditionally, it was used by samurai women. There are still some amazing teachers of the art in j.a.pan. The weapon itself it quite effective at dealing with mounted opponents, as you might imagine."

"The poor horse," Annja said.

Ken nodded. "Different times back then. I'm sure there was plenty of waste, regardless of species."

"How tall is the castle?"

"Five stories, but with the refurbishment work, they've reduced it to three floors only. You can see most of the city from the second-floor windows." He smiled. "Why don't we head up there now?"

Ken led them upstairs. A long corridor stretched before them. "Takatora Todo had this expanded to its present size in 1611. He was famous for his skills during the Warring States period. The castle still houses a lot of his personal effects and those of his family."

"When did they refurbish it?" Annja asked.

"Primarily in 1935, if I remember correctly. But I'm sure they've done other things over the years to make it accessible to everyone."

They reached the windows and looked out. Annja smiled. "Not a very big city, is it?"

"No, but then again, we are in the countryside. Ueno is a nice enough place to visit. But the surrounding area is where the real treasures lie."

"Literally," Annja said.

Ken smiled. "Apparently so, yes." He glanced down at the entryway and grinned. "Perhaps we should get going."

Why's he acting so weird? Annja wondered. "All right, but this time I'm going to win that race back down the steps."

Ken put his hand on her arm. "How about we take a different way out of here? That way, you'll get a chance to see everything about the castle."

Annja didn't like the tone of his voice. She closed her eyes for a brief second to make sure the sword was where she could pull it out if need be. It was and she nodded to Ken. "Fine. Let's go."

Ken led her toward a small sliding screen door with a small sign that Annja a.s.sumed meant something like Staff Only. It was dark and cool in the dimly lit s.p.a.ce. Ken opened another door to a set of what looked like emergency steps that led down. He glanced back at Annja. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," she said.

Ken descended and Annja followed him. The s.p.a.ce was extremely tight and at the bottom, she had to duck to get out of the staircase. Ken led her past airtight trunks full of weapons and armor. She could see a lit sign above a doorway in the distance.

"Exit?"

Ken nodded. "Yes. We'll leave through this door."

He pushed through it and the sudden daylight made Annja wince for a second. "Ouch," she said.

Ken held the door. "Sorry, they really ought to make that stairway a bit brighter. It's harmful when you go back outside."

They stood next to one of the tall stone walls. Annja glanced up but couldn't see any part of the castle from her vantage point. "Where are we?"