Elegant Negotiations

by Nancy Sauer

Edited by Fred Wan

Doji Ayano watched the Scorpion man in front of her, keeping a look of polite interest fixed on her face. She had been trained from childhood in the ways of court and in how courtiers interacted with each other, and so she was certain that Bayushi Gihei was lying to her.

“Doji-san, it would bring me great pleasure to discuss these issues with you,” the Scorpion courtier said. Like most of the members of his clan he wore a mask in public, but Ayano could see the slight signs of tension in his eyes. “But sadly, my time is not my own. My lord has assigned me the matter of arranging some travel papers for the Phoenix provinces, and the matter has proven troublesome. Until I can resolve it, I am unable to entertain any new obligations. You understand, I’m sure.”

“Of course, Bayushi-san,” Doji Ayano said politely. Calling him a liar in public was rude and a waste of time, and would not accomplish anything useful in any event. “A lord sets the priorities for his affairs, and his samurai act accordingly. To do otherwise invites dishonor.”

Gihei smiled behind his mask, clearly pleased that he had deceived her again. “I was sure you would understand; the Crane Clan is justly known for its honor and courtesy.” He spent a few more minutes in polite conversation and then he excused himself, bowed, and left.

Watching him go Ayano pulled her fan out and began to fan herself slowly while she thought. The Scorpion had been stonewalling her for two weeks now, and she was running out of patience with him. It was time, she decided, to remind him that the Crane Clan was also known for its political power. She snapped the fan shut, tucked it into her obi, and went searching.

•

The gardens of the main Crane estate at Toshi Ranbo were quite small compared to the grand gardens at Kyuden Doji, and yet they were the largest private gardens in the entire city. Exquisitely designed and meticulously maintained, they served as living art, meeting space, mediation areas, and for Kakita Hideo, an outdoor dojo.

Hideo stood perfectly still in the center of one of the garden clearings, his body relaxed and his right hand hovering palm-up over the hilt of his katana as if ready to present a gift. When the moment was right he drew his sword with lightning speed and began performing a practice kata. His motions as he went through the exercise were graceful, flowing, and almost too quick for the eye to follow. When he finished he resheathed his sword and returned to his waiting position, and that was when he noticed Doji Ayano sitting on the edge of the garden clearing. He held his waiting pose another moment, then he drew his katana again and with one stroke he cut a camellia flower off of a nearby bush. Catching the flower before it could fall he resheathed his blade and walked over to the young woman.

“Good afternoon, Ayano-san,” he said, offering her the flower.

“Good afternoon to you, Hideo-san,” Ayano said. She inspected the camellia and found that the stem had been cut cleanly between two leaves, with no leaf or petal damaged by the blade.

It was an impressive show of precision, but she expected no less from a Kakita duelist. “Thank you. It is most lovely.”

“Beauty calls out for beauty,” Hideo said. “And what is more beautiful than a Crane maiden?”

“The perfect strike of an iaijutsu master,” Ayano said with a smile.

Hideo laughed and bowed slightly. “A truce on flattery, then. Are you having a meeting here in this area? I can move to another section of the garden.”

“No,” Ayano said. “I am here to speak to you. I need your help, in a matter of great importance to our clan.”

The duelist looked at her curiously. “How? In what?”

“I am trying to negotiate an agreement regarding gate fees for Scorpion merchants entering Heigen Toshi, and Bayushi Gihei, the Scorpion courtier I am working with, is being uncooperative.”

“Forgive me, Ayano-san, but that hardly seems to be a matter of great importance.”

“In these times, everything is of importance,” Ayano said. “The Throne sits empty, and all the clans are wondering who will take control of it, and if it might be better if they were the one who did so. The Crane have stood at the heart of the Imperial Court for more than a thousand years, and we have seen that the Empire ran smoothly all that time. We must point this out to the other clans now, over and over, to show them that there is no one more worthy than the Crane to claim the Throne.”

Hideo mulled this over and then nodded. “So, you wish me to duel this Gihei?”

“No,” Ayano said. “That is what he is expecting, so he will be prepared for that. Instead, I would like you to serve as a bodyguard for a few days to a Phoenix named Asako Risa.”

Hideo frowned. “I have not heard of her.”

“She is a clerk of the judge Isawa Toshiji, who assigned her to work with Yoritomo Heikichi, an aide to the Mantis courtier Yoritomo Yoyonagi. They are supposed to draw up a list of magistrates acceptable to both clans for the wharf districts of Toshi no Omoidoso. Sadly, Risa is an excellent clerk and calligrapher but a horrible negotiator, and Heikichi is having far too much amusement embarrassing Risa to do the job he was assigned. Both Yoyonagi and Toshiji want the matter concluded quickly, but stepping in now will be admitting poor judgment on their parts.”

“So we will help the negotiations along,” Hideo said as his mind unraveled the implications of Ayano’s words. “The Phoenix and Mantis clans get their list, the Crane show their skill at keeping the government functioning, Toshiji and Yoyonagi are spared the trouble and embarrassment of fixing the problems their subordinates are causing, and you collect favors from both of them.”

“Exactly,” Ayano said.

A camellia petal drifted by on the breeze. Without warning Hideo drew and resheathed his katana in the blink of an eye. “An excellent plan,” he said, as the two parts of the petal fell to earth.

•

Yoritomo Heikichi stared at the door and counted down the minutes until Asako Risa showed up. The clerk was painfully punctual, he gave her that, but it was possibly her only virtue. She was fussy, humorless, and authoritarian, and Heikichi often wondered what he had done to deserve having to work with her. He knew that he shouldn’t keep obstructing their project, but just being in the same room with her made him want to act up. And since she had no way of retaliating, there was no reason for him not to.

The door opened at precisely the correct time and Risa swept in, carrying a larger satchel than usual. Heikichi was about to make some remark about her finding something to carry her sense of humor around in when a second person followed Risa in through the door. The newcomer was a young man dressed in an elegant blue kimono with a repeating design of soaring cranes, marked with the crane-and-sword mon of the Kakita family. He did not speak, but simply took up a position behind and somewhat to the left of where Risa sat down.

As Heikichi went through the formal greetings with Risa he considered the implications of the situation. The new man was clearly a Kakita and almost certainly a duelist. It was almost impossible to imagine it, but somehow Risa had the political resources to get herself a Kakita duelist as a bodyguard, which meant she was probably far more dangerous than he had given her credit for. If she managed to trap him into a duel he could get killed, or even worse publicly humiliated. He’d never be able to find someone to act as his champion; he’d spent the last week amusing his friends with stories of him tormenting Risa, and none of them would want to risk their life or reputation to help someone who didn’t know when to drop a joke.

Risa opened up her satchel, scooped out an armful of scrolls and deposited them on the table between them. She then produced a sheaf of new paper, an inkstone and brush, and a small bottle of water and set them down on the table. 1 think we should finish our business today,” she announced.

Heikichi bit back the sarcastic reply that came first to his lips and said instead, “I agree, Asako-san. Just yesterday Yoyonagi-sama was expressing an interest in our final report.”

There was a gleam of triumph in Risa’s eyes, but she kept her voice neutral. “I would hate to disappoint her, then. Shall we begin?”

“I cannot thank you enough, Kakita-san,” Risa said. “I did not think we would ever finish that list.” Negotiations concluded, they were walking back to the Phoenix estate in the city.

Hideo smiled and made a dismissive gesture. “It was no trouble--I was sure that once Heikichi understood the importance of finishing the matter promptly he would apply himself.” It had been amusing to watch, he thought. Every time the Yoritomo opened his mouth to speak he had given the duelist a quick glance, as if checking to see if he was about to be challenged.

“Still, I have taken up your day with my duties, and not your own,” Risa said. “There must be something I can do to thank you.”

“I need no thanks; keeping the Empire running is the duty of all samurai,” Hideo said. He then paused, as if a thought had just occurred to him.

“Yes?” Risa prompted him.

“I was just thinking ...I have a friend named Doji Ayano,” he said, “a courtier like yourself, and she is having difficulties with some of her own negotiations. There is nothing I can do to help her, but, if it is not too great a bother, perhaps you might be able to?”

“Of course!” Risa said. “As you say, it is everyone’s duty to maintain the Empire.”

Hideo smiled. “Indeed. I shall let Ayano know of your interest in helping her.”

•

“Bayushi-san, I am so glad to see you today,” Ayano said. She smiled brightly at Gihei. “Doji-san, I am always glad to look upon your beauty,” the Scorpion replied. “But I am grieved, as I am still unable to attend to our business.”

“Then I am doubly glad to have found you this morning,” Ayano said. She pulled a scroll case out of her sleeve and offered it to Gihei. “You have been such a great help to me in trying to complete my tasks I wished to thank you for it.”

“You are too kind,” Gihei said, eyeing the case with no small curiosity. It had what seemed to be a Phoenix mon imprinted on it, but he didn’t recognize its owner. “I could not accept; I have done so little.”

“Oh, but your efforts have meant much to me. Even to know that you are keeping me in mind is a help.”

“Surely not,” the Bayushi said, “for are the Cranes not the masters of the Imperial Court?”

Ayano laughed lightly. “Perhaps that could be said of the greatest of our courtiers, but I am a mere fledgling, in need of guidance by those more experienced in Imperial politics. Please, accept this small token of my gratitude.”

“I cannot refuse a request from such an elegant lady,” Gihei said. He took the scroll, opened it, and began to read. It was a full set of travel papers to the Phoenix provinces, signed and sealed by a prominent Phoenix judge. “This is quite amazing, Doji-san.”

Ayano smiled serenely. “I am pleased that you like it, Bayushi-san. And I look forward to the time that we can meet again to discuss the matter of Heigen Toshi with you.”

Gihei hesitated. It was tempting to come up with another excuse to put her off, but he had tried unsuccessfully for weeks to obtain the papers he now held in his hands. Doji Ayano might be a worthy rival, but she could be an even better ally. “Of course, Doji-san,” he said. “Shall we meet tomorrow at this time?”

Ayano gracefully pulled a fan out of her obi and opened it to reveal a picture of a crane flying over a low stone wall. “I would be most pleased to do so, Bayushi-san,” she said.