Duel at Strolling Ponds, Page 2

  Shogoro left the Rising Moon early the next morning and walked the long and narrow streets of Iiso as he made his way to the Garden District and his appointment. The sun was still low in the sky, but already the summer heat was starting to build. The day was well on its way to becoming oppressively hot. The streets were busy with many solitary pedestrians and laborers hauling bundles slung across their backs or pulling loaded carts. All moved with deliberate purpose, trying to accomplish as many of their daily duties as possible before the day grew too long with the sultry heat.

  Iiso was divided into several districts. Each district had a main avenue that ran through the center with smaller lanes that branched off. All avenues and lanes were straight and well maintained. Shops and the homes of the merchants who worked them were built tightly packed together with not enough room between them for small animals to pass. All sat upon stilted and cross-beamed foundations with the main floor about two feet off the ground. This allowed for air to pass freely underneath the structures helping to keep them cool during the typically warm summers. The roofs were covered in thatch or tiles made of bamboo or clay, and steeply angled to allow for the easy shedding of water or snow. All buildings also had eaves that extended well past the outside walls. The eaves further helped to protect the structures from the elements as well as shade them from the bright sun during the day. Stretching out from the outside walls as far as the eaves was a veranda.

  As he moved from one city district to another, Shogoro was never stopped or questioned by the samurai standing guard at the district transition points. Though he was watched closely and received many long scrutinizing looks. After all, it was obvious by his appearance he was a masterless samurai, for he didn't wear insignia or the uniform colors of the provincial daimyo. Ronin in general were typically poor, prone to heavy drinking, violence, and willing to do various task legal and illegal for money. Most of the bandits who harassed innocent travelers between towns were down on their luck ronin. Thus all ronin they were usually closely watched.

  The Garden District was located on the northern edge of Iiso and was surrounded by a large stonewall that separated it from the rest of the city. The inside of the district consisted of six different themed gardens, all separated by various narrow avenues with natural boundaries of tall shrubbery and stone formations. Daimyo Fujiwara Takakatsu, the lord of Shinano Province, ordered the gardens to be built and maintained in honor of his wife and five consorts. It was rumored that the Strolling Ponds Garden, located at the center of the district, was designed to be a reflection of various landscapes near where his favorite consort was born in far away Tosa Province.

  Shogoro arrived early at the entrance leading into the Strolling Ponds Garden. Aside from the occasional passerby or gardener, for the Garden District was much less traveled during this time of day, there was no one else around. It occurred to Shogoro that Kaname had chosen this place to meet because it was less likely to have witnesses at the hour of their appointment. The more he thought about Kaname's possible motivations for such a quiet meeting, the more Shogoro began to suspect that Kaname would not be coming.

  That meant there could possibly be a trap waiting to be sprung upon him hoping he be caught surprised, or that he would send others to deal with him openly and in a direct manner.

  It made perfect sense the more he dwelled on it. Kaname was a high-ranking samurai lord and one of the Daimyo Takakatsu's favored generals. As such he was under no obligation to even respond to Shogoro's request for a duel, and would not loose any honor in choosing not to react. Challenges to duels between samurai were only obligatory due to personal honor when the warriors were of close or equal rank. If one or both of the samurai served their liege lord beyond the capacity of a standard foot soldier, such as Kaname did, then it was not unusual for a samurai to first get permission from his lord to fight the duel. As a ronin, born into family that hadn't served a Daimyo for decades, Shogoro was at the bottom of samurai ranking, while Kaname was near the top.

  Shogoro had hoped that the long blood feud between his and Kaname's clan would have been enough to bring Kaname out to meet him without first getting permission from his lord. When he had been given an appointment to meet today, Shogoro had suspected that was exactly what had happened. However, it was starting to occur to him that Kaname would not be showing, that more than likely he would send a few of his retainers to deal with him in what was intended to be a quiet manner with few witnesses. The thought of that bothered Shogoro, for his hopes had been elevated the day before that at long last, after years of training and preparation, he would face his sworn enemy and reclaim his family's lost honor.

  With more than an hour yet remaining before the appointment, Shogoro decided to walk through the Strolling Ponds Garden to pass the time and perhaps calm his increasing dour mood. The possibility of a trap waiting for him to cause his demise didn't worry him. He would keep the appointment that was made, and do so with honor.

  Strolling Ponds Garden consisted of four ponds at various elevations. The first pond was spring fed, and then in turn a bubbling stream and small trickling waterfalls connected each pond after that. A narrow wooden walkway, barely wide enough for two people to walk abreast, was the only means of travel through the garden. Shogoro found the luscious green landscape, with its various grass, shrubbery, and trees, all of which were perfectly manicured, to be relaxing. He slowly took his time as he walked through the garden, pausing several times to gaze at the scenery, watch golden carp swimming in the ponds, or listen to the sounds of nature. He didn't encounter any other people during that time, and found his walk to be quite tranquil.

  By the time he reached the end of the garden's long walkway he noticed the sun was at its point in the sky that indicated time was likely approaching the hour of the snake. He turned and walked back through the garden at a quicker pace, though not so fast as to rush. To make haste through such a beautiful garden, he knew, was to disrespect it.

  And that he wouldn't do.

  When he passed back through the garden's entrance and onto the narrow cedar tree lined avenue that ran before it, he saw four samurai several dozen paces away casually approaching. They all were dressed in similar colored green hakama and kimono that bore the small circular Matsuo clan crest on each arm, on each breast, and on the center of the back, as was typical samurai custom. None of them, Shogoro quickly noted, were old enough or fit the description of Matsuo Kaname. He also noted they all walked with an arrogant swagger and stared at him coldly as they approached. He couldn't help but wonder if they did so to try and bolster their confidence or to intimidate. He suspected it was meant to intimidate, as they were probably already confidant enough due to their numbers.

  Shogoro immediately knew these four men were sent to kill him. There was no longer any doubt that Kaname considered him nothing more than a minor annoyance and wanted him removed quickly and quietly.

  Meandering slowly out to the center of the lane, Shogoro turned and stood squarely facing the four samurai as they drew closer. His left hand rested comfortably on the neck of his katana’s scabbard, just below the hilt’s tsuba, while his right arm hung casually at his side. Within a few moments the four samurai were before him. One stopped directly in front of Shogoro while two others stopped a sword's length away and adjacent so either side. The fourth samurai was younger than the rest and stood a dozen paces away, watching.

  "You are the ronin Katsume Shogoro?" asked the samurai standing directly in front. A sneer crossed his face as he eyed Shogoro from head to toe.

  Shogoro replied to the other samurai's rudeness with an impertinent grunt in the affirmative. He kept his eyes locked onto the speaker's face and looked for any signs or tells that would indicate an attack was coming.

  "I am Aochi Masako, second rank samurai in service to Lord Matsuo Kaname, captain of infantry, slayer of oni and tengu at the Battle of Tadaoki, and former lead instructor at the Iiso Katori-ryu School. I
protest your very existence and your insolence at challenging my lord to a duel. You are without honor and insult my lord by such a request. I have been ordered to return to my lord with your head."

  Shogoro listened to Masako carefully and watched as the samurai bowed deeply towards him at the end of his short speech. He knew of the Katori-ryu style of swordsmanship that Aochi made mention of, and knew the students of that style trained fanatically at iaijutsu; the art of the quick draw and a slashing cut meant to kill with a single amazingly fast strike. Aside from that however, it was all Shogoro could do to refrain from drawing his sword outright and killing the other samurai for his insulting manner and words. He had to remind himself that in the eyes of the four samurai before him he was without honor and only worthy of their contempt. It didn’t matter to them that he was in Iiso to change that.

  "I am Katsume Shogoro, masterless samurai," Shogoro began, making his own declaration much like Aochi had done, "descendant of Katsume Honzo the wrongfully accused, wanderer of Nihon, student of Hotori Toshizu, bane to the Hoyodoshi-ryu school in Akita, bane to the Kagawa-ryu school in Miyagi, and