Samurai Champloo Fan Fiction ❯ kitsune in koshu ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

This novel can be considered an Edo period adaptation of Agatha Christie's "The Pale Horse". In a nutshell, Jin, Mugen and Fuu assist Sakami Manzou (aka Manzou the Saw) on a case, and a samurai champloo style adventure ensues. The setting is three years post-series.

Anime/Manga: Samurai Champloo Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Mystery / Adventure | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 04.15.2009 | Updated On: 06.08.2009 | Pages: 3 | Words: 7.3K | Visits: 215 | Status: Work In Progress

Kitsune in Koshu

Kai-no-Kuni Kitsune

Author's note/summary: This novel can be considered an Edo period adaptation of Agatha Christie's "The Pale Horse". In a nutshell, Jin, Mugen and Fuu assist Sakami Manzou (aka Manzou the Saw) on a case, and a samurai champloo style adventure ensues. The setting is three years post-series. In the spirit of champloo, there will be anachronisms and historical inaccuracies, and I have used the 'alternate universe' licence whenever convenient. While the plot is based on a mystery, the pace will be slower relative to a standard mystery novel. This is because three years is a long time, and the 'back-stories' of Jin, Mugen, and Fuu will have to be squeezed in here and there. Also, their relationships will evolve as they are together again. It may turn out to be a romance, but I am not revealing any pairings at this stage.

This is my first attempt at fiction of any sort, so please be gentle in your criticisms. The usual disclaimer applies - I don't own Samurai Champloo or any of its characters.

Kai

Enpo Period

Year 6, Month 3

(Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, April 1678)

Chapter 1

The early morning breeze drifting over Fuefuki River in Isawa carried the sounds one expects from insects and birds during the spring season at the Hour of the Hare in the mountainous region of Kai.[1] The peak of Mt. Fuji, still covered with snow, glistened in the distance. At the bank of the river, Jin practised cutting drills with his sword at a brisk pace. The view of Fuji-san from this spot, recommended by fellow travellers at the Mitsumi Inn, was indeed quite exquisite. It brought back memories from his days at Kisarazu, when his sensei Mariya Enshiro, occasionally taking a break from the usual routine of practising at the dojo, ran classes outdoors at the Edo Bay, another point from where one could view the much revered mountain.

He coordinated his cuts to the mental count of one to ten, remembering the clipped cadence of 'Shishou' Mariya Enshiro's chants of "Ichi, Ni, San, Chi, Go, Roku, Shichi, Hachi, Ku, Ju". Instructions called out by Shishou during these drills also flashed in his mind, along with images of the dojo and other students. Typically, these instructions were constant reminders to pay attention to various nuances of the form, in addition to the more philosophical exhortations of "Ki-Ken-Tai-Ichi," which literally meant "Spirit-Sword-Body-As One". He recalled the confusion of beginners attempting to follow a barrage of instructions, while having difficulty executing techniques in their basic form. "The kessa giri - a cut passing through the shoulder across to the opposite hip - is done so. Correct your angle," or "Control the cut. Practise sundome - the blade should stop a few centimetres before hitting the target," Shishou had said. While cutting drills usually involve an imaginary target, the practise of sundome was encouraged to avoid accidents when working with a partner. Secondly, it taught you better control of the weapon.

Of course, Jin had been a model student, so paying attention to these nuances of drill practise was almost second nature to him. He also recognized the importance of keeping a meditative frame of mind while practising kenjutsu. However, even the best swordsman are human, and Jin was no exception - today was one of those days in which he was unable to keep his mind from wandering.

Had he been in a more sentimental frame of mind, he would have attributed his lack of concentration to the rose-pink reflection of the early morning sky in the river - a colour that reminded him of Fuu, who always wore a pink kimono. Or perhaps it was the memory of Shishou quoting "a sword is a warrior's soul," that simultaneously brought up an image of the half-amused, half-incredulous expression on the face of Mugen, when Jin had made a similar remark to him. A third, more likely reason was an occurrence of the previous day - he had run into someone who reminded him of that journey of three years ago. In any case, once the floodgates had opened, it was difficult to settle his mind on anything else.

------

The person he had met yesterday was in fact Sakami Manzou, an undercover police officer the trio of Jin, Mugen, and Fuu had encountered on two occasions during their trip to Nagasaki. He had been travelling along the Koshu Kaido - a route connecting Edo to the province of Kai, and had decided to take a break at the Isawa-shuku - one of the several post stations that dotted the highway.

The kaido was quite busy at this time of the year, attracting travellers making cherry-blossom viewing trips or on pilgrimages to Mt. Fuji, in addition to the usual procession of daimyo(feudal lords) and their retinues travelling back and forth between Edo and the provinces connected by the Koshu Kaido. The procession of daimyo was due to the bakufu policy of sankin kotai or 'alternate attendance'. This required daimyo to live in Edo in alternate years, leaving their families back in the provinces as "hostages" so that insurrection against the shogun was unlikely. The queue at the security checkpoint was therefore quite a long one, and moved quite slowly, even though security measures at Isawa were not as stringent as the famous Hakone checkpoint of the Tokaido.[2]

Manzou had been a few positions ahead of Jin in the queue, so Jin had spotted him first, although he did not recognize him immediately. However, there was only one teahouse in the vicinity of the checkpoint, so perhaps it was inevitable that he ran into Manzou again. In fact, as he settled down to a meal of rice and pickled vegetables at the cha-shitsu, he saw the vaguely familiar figure of Manzou again, seated at a table diagonally across to his.

Even at second glance, recognition had not been forthcoming. Jin only noticed a stranger dressed in a brown kimono, built in proportions similar to that of a sumo wrestler. Manzou did not recognize him either. He was drinking tea, and appeared to be engrossed with something that was written on a piece of paper held in his right hand.

A few seconds later, however, Manzou remarked, in loud guttural tones, "Hmm? Teyandee - blow me down," and Jin had made the connection. It was hard not to, since the image of Manzou dressed in a loin cloth, with a struggling and gagged Fuu encircled in one hand, while brandishing an Ukiyo-e catalogue with the other, uttering those very same words, had sprung to his mind. Fuu had been 'evidence' in the form of a victim of a slave-trade racket run by yakuza in the Shiba district of Edo. Like other unsuspecting females, she had posed for an ukiyo-e catalogue ostensibly made for a bookstore-cum-gallery, but used instead as a 'menu' of potential slave-girls for customers on European ships illegally docked at Shiba. Manzou, with a little help from Mugen, had exposed the racket, and apprehended the criminals involved.

Jin smiled as he remembered the event. Or rather, one corner of his lips quirked a little bit, and one could perhaps say that his eyes held a gentler expression. Manzou, who had looked up to find Jin glancing in his direction, became a little self-conscious and looked away, resuming his scrutiny of the piece of paper in front of him. It was only after Jin had paid for his meal and was about to leave that he looked up again.

"Sumimasen - excuse me, Samurai-san," he called out to Jin, again in the loud booming tones that made everyone in the tea house jump out of their skins. He waved at Jin and beckoned him towards his table.

"I believe we have met before," he said, to which Jin gave an almost imperceptible nod in acknowledgement. "I would like to talk to you. Would you join me for a cup of tea?"

Jin had hesitated briefly before accepting. This was in spite of the fact that he was no longer on the bakufu's "most wanted" list, so keeping a low profile was not as much a priority as it would otherwise have been. The incumbent shogun, Tokugawa Ietsuna, had been ill recently, leading to speculation that his named successor Tokugawa Tsunayoshi would soon be in power. The upper echelons of the bakufu were therefore primarily involved in the political intrigues and machinations that are typical of such periods of transition.

Besides, Kariya Kagetoki, the man who was chiefly responsible for the bakufu's obsession with Jin, was now dead. And having parted with Fuu and Mugen after the quest for the "Sunflower Samurai" had ended, he was no longer associated with anyone even remotely linked to the Shimabara Rebellion. Nevertheless, he liked to be careful, and when Manzou had addressed him, he had half expected to be arrested after a brief interview. The conversation that followed had therefore taken him completely by surprise.

"I recall you used to wear a blue kimono with the Takeda-clan emblem on it," said Manzou, with a curious look on his face.

Jin raised one of his eyebrows slightly. "I am Takeda Jin." He also complemented Manzou on his observation skills, and added: "You have a good memory."

Manzou looked like a man very pleased with himself trying to assume an expression that conveyed modesty. He didn't quite succeed. "Oh, its nothing. In my line of work you have to be observant."

Not that Manzou had no reason to think well of his abilities. He had generally been successful in the cases he was assigned to as an onmitsumawari doshin - an undercover agent among the lower ranked samurai cadres of the Tokugawa bakufu police force.[3] However, he was perhaps too successful, being constantly reassigned to work on cases in far-flung provinces, never rising to the rank of yoriki or police commander. Promotion, in any case, was rare - most of the positions in the police force during the Tokugawa period were hereditary. His colleagues and his superiors were nevertheless jealous of his success - they thought of him as a bumbling detective who was lucky enough to be in the right places at the right time, leading to serendipitous breakthroughs in his cases. Some of his superiors felt threatened enough to attempt indirect sabotage by restricting access to resources in the form of assistants or funds required to carry out his investigations.

As a matter of fact, he was currently working on a case and feeling the restrictions imposed on him quite severely. In his desperation he was looking to hire a suitable goyokiki - a part-time private detective who could assist him. However, the local goyokiki were likely to ask for a relatively high price for their services, which given his financial constraints he could not afford. While contemplating these problems he had recognized Jin as 'that handsome young ronin good at shogi, and also that strange game played by American gaijin'. Acting on impulse, he decided that recruiting Jin might just be feasible.

After all, wandering ronin were likely to be relatively inexpensive - most of them struggled to make ends meet by undertaking several odd jobs, usually involving their skills with the sword. On the other hand, Jin's daisho - the pair of two swords he wore - marked him as samurai of higher rank, so he might consider working for a doshin as beneath him. Doshin, after all, were lower ranked samurai and were only allowed a somewhat lightweight daisho - consisting of a thin-bladed pair of swords. The weapon typically carried by them was the jitte, or iron truncheon. They usually hired assistants in the form of goyokiki (part-time private detectives) or okapikki (informants/spies) to assist them in their investigations, but recruited them from among chonin, or non-samurai classes of artisans and merchants.

Also, the ronin of these times had the reputation of being somewhat anti-establishment in their inclinations, so persuading Jin to work for an officer of the bakufu police force might be a difficult proposition.

Still, his instincts suggested that hiring Jin would be a better option than relying on the local goyokiki. Goyokiki were generally paid by local community organizations or merchants, and while they supplied their services part time to the civil authorities, they could not be controlled by them. Manzou also considered the fact that goyokiki often had connections with the local yakuza, which would surely compromise a criminal investigation in the event the yakuza were among the suspects. While it was common practice among the Tokugawa police forces to overlook these aspects given the limited resources they had to work with, Manzou avoided this unless he could be sure of their reliability.

It was then a matter of putting things delicately enough so that the offer of working as his assistant would be palatable to Jin. He could not use terms such as 'goyokiki' to describe what he had in mind - Jin would surely refuse instantly. So after some polite small talk he broached the subject as follows: "Jin-san, you strike me as an educated man skilled in the martial arts. I am on my way to Kofu to investigate a crime, and was wondering if I could, ah, ask you to, ah,..."

Jin waited for Manzou to finish the sentence. The expression on his face was inscrutable - one could not interpret it as either encouraging or discouraging. But Manzou decided to take the plunge and said, "Would it be presumptuous of me to ask you to assist me with a, ah, criminal investigation?" After a pause, in which there was no response from Jin, he added: "I understand that you may wish to remain anonymous and advise me in an 'unofficial' capacity. And I also understand that your time is valuable, so I will make every effort to compensate you, although I am a man of insignificant means."

Jin considered the offer suspiciously. Why did Manzou use the phrases 'anonymous' and 'unofficial'? Did he know about Jin's past? The other concern was the fact that the investigation of crime in the Tokugawa regime often involved finding a scapegoat to pin the blame on, rather than serving the interests of justice. Especially in the case of serious crimes, a suspect could be made to confess under torture, followed by a summary trial and execution. The only reason Jin did not dismiss the offer immediately was his gut feeling that Manzou was one of the few among the bakufu police force with some character and integrity. "What type of case is this?" he asked.

In fact Manzou did have some idea about Jin's past. He suspected that Jin was the man the former captain of the shogun's guard, Kariya Kagetoki had been hunting for - there had been a rumor about Kariya searching for a skilled swordsman linked to the Takeda clan, assumed to be a criminal of some sort. But Kariya had the reputation of being corrupt, so even if there was any evidence incriminating Jin, in Manzou's opinion it was likely to have been manufactured. Jin had made a very good impression on Manzou; he struck him as a samurai of noble bearing and character. And although Manzou wasn't prone to making impulsive decisions based on intuition, in this case he had decided to make an exception.

In response to Jin's query he answered, "I am investigating a murder that took place in Kofu, the capital of this province. A monk from the Jodo-shu sect associated with Kofu's Zenkoji temple was found beaten to death in the merchant quarter." As if anticipating Jin's next question he added: "You must be wondering why I have been called all the way to Kofu for this investigation." Lowering his voice, he said in conspiratorial tones, "I believe the murder caught the attention of Lord Tokugawa Ienobu, the young daimyo of Kofu, who is known to have advisors with religious leanings. They were so shocked about the murder of a monk, they persuaded Lord Ienobu that a specialist from Edo needed to be brought in."

Manzou seemed to bristle with pride as he said this; he obviously liked being regarded as a specialist. It was not that he had any illusions as to why he had been chosen. He knew that his superiors were probably hoping he would fail to solve such a high profile, complicated case, consequently inviting the ire of the powerful daimyo of Kofu. But he was an optimistic man, and reasonably confident of his abilities to see this as an opportunity to make a good impression.

"Do you have any leads on the case?" Jin enquired, although he had not committed himself yet.

"Well, it would seem that the murder had not been committed at the merchant quarter. The injuries inflicted on the monk were quite severe, and yet there was very little blood where the body was found. So he must have been killed elsewhere."

"The other strange aspect was that the monk's robes seem to have been torn off his body, and then hastily put back on, as if to suggest that he had been searched. Whoever killed him was looking for something, but it wasn't money - after all he was just a poor monk."

Jin looked intrigued. "Any idea what that might be?" he asked.

Manzou thrust forward the piece of paper he had been looking at. "Kofu's machi-bugyo-sho (town magistrate), sent this to Edo, in addition to other information about the case."

The piece of paper had a list of names scribbled hastily on it. They were as follows:

Sasaki

Ishikawa

Yamamoto

Shimabukuro

Takeda

Ikarashi

Mayumi?

Arai

"The list was found in the monk's tabi (socks). Apparently the murderer didn't think about looking there."

"Why socks? One would have thought a piece of paper would be more convenient to keep in his kosode."[4]

Manzou shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe he felt that his socks were a more secure hiding place - assuming he wanted to hide the piece of paper."

"Perhaps he had information on some sort of criminal activity, and this is a list of suspects," Jin speculated. "Does this list mean anything to you?"

At this Manzou looked a little discouraged. "I am afraid not. Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe this is a list of people who have information about the criminal activity in question. Or maybe it is a list of people being blackmailed by someone."

"However, there is another piece of information that might be useful. The abbot at the Zenkoji temple said that the monk, who was called Joben, had been consulted by a woman as a spiritual advisor just before she died. This woman, Sachiko, had been extremely worried about something. The list may have something to do with the discussion she had with Joben."

"Was there something suspicious about her death?" Jin asked.

"According to the information given to me it was a natural death. The woman was in her sixties, and had been sick for a while. A neighbour, who had been looking after her, said that she had been running a fever for a couple of days before she died. In her delirium she had repeatedly expressed a wish to visit the Zenkoji temple, and to speak to the abbot. The neighbour thought that she was too ill to make the trip to the Zenkoji temple, but when she spotted the monk Joben in the neighbourhood begging for alms, she brought him in to see Sachiko."

"The neighbour didn't hear the conversation that took place, but noted that Joben had looked very puzzled when he took his leave. When he returned to the temple, he had wished to speak to the abbot about what happened, but the abbot had been busy, so the discussion was deferred until the next day. However, Joben went on his daily ritual of begging for alms the next day, and never returned."

Manzou at this point looked a little impatient, and was unwilling to volunteer further information until he got Jin to accept his offer. "At any rate, would you be interested in working with me on this case?" He hesitated before he added, "I wouldn't mind if you asked your friends to help you out."

Jin was puzzled. "Friends? What do you mean?"

"Well, I thought I saw the young lady who travelled with you when we last met, somewhere along the Koshu Kaido. I didn't see you or that young man Mugen, but there was a middle-aged couple travelling with her. When I saw you today, I assumed that you and Mugen must be one of her party. I guess it would have been convenient if the three of you, in the guise of travellers went around asking questions - people tend to excuse the inquisitiveness of tourists. But even if they are not with you, it doesn't matter. I would still welcome your assistance; that is, if you are inclined to help me."

"I haven't seen Fuu in three years. I have been in touch with Mugen, but he is not travelling with me," said Jin, taking in the news about the possibility of Fuu travelling along the kaido.

He had always thought that Mugen would be the one more difficult to keep in touch with. Ironically, it was Fuu who seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth since he last saw her in Nagasaki. Assuming she had returned to Edo, he had looked for her whenever he travelled there, but without success. Mugen, on the other hand, ran into him quite often; they had developed a tacit understanding that they would somehow keep in touch. As jobs of the type that suited them were more easily available in Edo, it had become a meeting point of some sort. They also had common acquaintances in Edo who could be relied upon to pass messages to each other, if they so desired.

Of course, Jin and Mugen were not overtly sentimental, so they didn't exchange too many messages in this fashion. When they did, the messages were typically about job opportunities they knew the other might be interested in. Whenever they met, accidentally or otherwise, their manner towards each other was quite brusque; to a casual observer it might even have seemed rude and obnoxious. But on closer and more astute observation, they would have seemed like brothers embarrassed about acknowledging the bond that existed between them.

They missed Fuu, but didn't talk about her when they met. It was probably because their memories of those times were happy ones, and happy memories can make one sad, especially if they highlight what is missing in the present time. Ironically, the journey with Fuu had been a difficult one; they had travelled in great discomfirt, scrounging up barely enough money for food and lodging. And it had been fraught with danger - they had come very close to losing their lives on several occasions. But it was precisely these trial and tribulations that had given them a sense of having done something worthwhile. They had protected Fuu, a little girl they had become very fond of, and it had been an honourable thing to do.

Jin had continued with his nomadic existence, initially out of necessity, and later out of habit. Eventually, Kariya's friends got tired of hunting for him, as did former students of the Mujushin Kenjutsu School. The former had more interesting problems on their hands, while the latter had reconciled themselves to the fact that attempting vendetta for their master's death was a suicide mission. Of course, there were always some aspiring shugyosha - martial artists travelling across Japan with a view to testing their skills against swordsmen of repute - who would inevitably hear about Jin, if he wasn't careful. However, Jin avoided staying in one place long enough to acquire a reputation for his skills that would attract such attention.

Nevertheless, he did have to find a way to fund his travel expenses, so occasionally he would stay in towns and cities where he could find temporary jobs involving his martial arts skills or his education. Sometimes he would be hired as a bouncer for tea houses, or as a part-time yojimbo(bodyguard) for members of well-to-do samurai or merchant families. At other times he was hired as a tutor by parents who wanted an education for their children that was typical of the samurai classes.

At any rate, he was running out of funds at this juncture, so he said to Manzou: "I accept your offer. If you like, I can also send word to Mugen, although I am not sure he will get the message on time."

Manzou said: "Fine. In that case, let's get to work right away. Before we get to Kofu, we must have a plan. Obviously, the first step is to investigate the people on this list to find out if there is a common link between them. But since we only have family names here, it will be quite a challenging task to identify them."

"Perhaps we can start by examining the registers of well known temples and shrines in Kofu. Most people in the city are likely to be registered in such places." Jin was referring to the bakufu policy of shumon aratame, which required citizens to produce certificates showing that they were registered at Buddhist temples or Shinto shrines, thus providing evidence that they were not Christians.

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea. We may need authorization from the jisha bugyo sho (magistrate of temples and shrines), but that can be arranged."

"Even so, some of these family names are quite common and there could be a large number of people to investigate, especially since we don't know what we are looking for. I would therefore suggest we start with uncommon names first. 'Shimabukuro' seems like a name that would be quite uncommon in these parts - it sounds Ryukyuan," Jin suggested.

Manzou nodded in assent. "Speaking of common names, there are likely to be many Takeda in this area, since Kai was once the domain of the Takeda clan. Would you, ah, be in touch with any of your relatives?"

Jin looked like he hadn't heard the question. Actually, he had, but instead of answering it he continued his examination of the list of names. Manzou had hoped to make the suggestion that Jin may question various Takeda families either because they were relatives, or under the pretext that he was 'searching for his roots,' but he found it difficult to bring up. He didn't think Jin was prepared to open up about his family connections, so he changed the subject and speculated about the question mark against one of the names on the list.

"Mayumi could be a family name, but it need not be. Perhaps, that is the reason for the question mark against it," Jin suggested.

"Or perhaps the monk didn't hear clearly - after all, this woman Sachiko was dying, and was supposed to be quite incoherent," Manzou said.

"I think questioning the neighbour who looked after Sachiko before she died could give us a few leads."

"Yes, that would definitely be worth looking into," Manzou agreed. "At any rate it is going to be a lot of work, so we should head for Kofu as soon as possible. I suggest we leave tomorrow morning around the Hour of the Snake."[5]

-------

At the bank of river Fuefuki, Jin contemplated yesterday's conversation with Manzou. He wondered if he had taken a risk by accepting Manzou's offer. It was very likely that working with Manzou might attract the bakufu's attention to him. But he was sufficiently intrigued by the case Manzou presented, and felt that it would be an interesting challenge to solve it.

The part of the conversation involving Fuu, however, seemed to occupy his mind more than anything else. Could it really have been Fuu that Manzou saw travelling along the Koshu Kaido? He decided it wasn't likely. After all, at eighteen, she must look very different from the Fuu that Manzou remembered. But then why did that piece of news unsettle him so much? A part of him wanted to drop everything and go in search of her along the kaido. Another part of him wished he could see her tomorrow, when he travelled along the kaido with Manzou, on their way to Kofu.

He tried to brush aside these thoughts as irrational. Perhaps it is because I haven't seen her for three years, and have been worried about something unpleasant having happened to her, he thought. In that case, I would have failed in my duty to protect her - I should have insisted on accompanying her on her way back from Nagasaki to wherever she wanted to go. I should have made sure she was safe.

He somehow managed to complete his daily ritual of practising kenjutsu, but he felt as if he was going through the motions rather that training with the level of discipline he was used to. Returning to the inn, he composed a letter to Mugen, to be dispatched using the kaido's courier system. Typically one could send messages using a relay system of runners or horseback riders, the latter being the faster but more expensive method. Jin hoped he would be able to persuade Manzou to spare funds for the horseback courier. He knew that Mugen had been in Edo recently, so it was possible he would respond to his message and arrive at Kofu in a couple of weeks. Given the nature of the case, he didn't expect it to be solved by then, so Mugen could very well be part of the investigation. He smiled at the irony of the situation - a former criminal working for the police! But then again, this was quite common in the Tokugawa era.

[1] The Hour of the Hare corresponds approximately to the period between 5am to 7am.

[2] The Tokaido connects Edo to Kyoto, the imperial capital. I am not sure if there was a security checkpoint at Isawa, but as this is an 'alternate universe' 17th century Japan setting, it doesn't matter.

[3] For details on the structure of the police force during the Tokugawa period, see Cunningham, D. (2004), "Taiho-Jutsu: Law and Order in the Age of the Samurai," Tuttle Publishing, Boston Massachusetts.

[4] An inner garment, similar to a short-sleeved kimono.

[5] The Hour of the Snake roughly corresponds to the time between 9am - 11am