Musashi - Eiji Yoshikawa [316]
“I don’t like to see you like this. It makes me want to cry too.”
“I’ll stop, I promise. Now will you forgive me?”
“Only if you eat the tangerine. If you don’t eat something, you’ll die.” “Later. You eat this one.”
“Oh, I can’t.” He swallowed hard, imagining the wrathful eyes of the god. “Oh, all right, we’ll each have one.”
She turned over and began removing the stringy white fibers from the pulp with her delicate fingers.
“Where’s Takuan?” she asked absently.
“They told me he’s at the Daitokuji.”
“Is it true he saw Musashi the night before last?”
“You heard about that?”
“Yes. I wonder if he told Musashi I’m here.”
“I suppose so.”
“Takuan said he’d invite Musashi to come here one of these days. Did he say anything to you about that?”
“No.”
“I wonder if he’s forgotten.”
“Shall I ask him?”
“Please do,” she replied, smiling for the first time. “But don’t ask him in front of me.”
“Why not?”
“Takuan’s awful. He keeps saying I’m suffering from ‘Musashi sickness.”’ “If Musashi came, you’d be up and about in no time, wouldn’t you?” “Even you have to say things like that!” But she seemed genuinely happy. “Is Jōtarō there?” called one of Mitsuhiro’s samurai.
“Here I am.”
“Takuan wants to see you. Come with me.”
“Go and see what he wants,” urged Otsū. “And don’t forget what we were talking about. Ask him, won’t you?” A tinge of pink crept into her pale cheeks as she pulled the cover halfway up over her face.
Takuan was in the sitting room talking with Lord Mitsuhiro. Jōtarō flung open the sliding door and said, “Did you want me?”
“Yes. Come in here.”
Mitsuhiro watched the boy with an indulgent smile, ignoring his lack of manners.
As Jōtarō sat down, he said to Takuan, “A priest just like you came here a while ago. He said he was from the Nansōji. Shall I go get him?”
“Never mind. I know about that already. He was complaining about what a
wicked little boy you are.”
“Me?”
“Do you think it’s proper to put a guest in the barn and leave him there?” “He said he wanted to wait someplace where he wouldn’t be in anyone’s way .
Mitsuhiro laughed until his knees shook. Recovering his composure almost immediately, he asked Takuan, “Are you going directly to Tajima, without returning to Izumi?”
The priest nodded. “The letter was rather disturbing, so I think I should. I don’t have to make any preparations. I’ll leave today.”
“You’re going away?” asked Jōtarō.
“Yes; I must return home as quickly as possible.”
“Why?”
“I’ve just heard that my mother’s condition is very serious.”
“You have a mother?” The boy couldn’t believe his ears.
“Of course.”
“When are you coming back?”
“That depends on my mother’s health.”
“What … what am I going to do without you here?” grumbled Jōtarō. “Does that mean we won’t see you anymore?”
“Of course not. We’ll meet again soon. I’ve arranged for you two to stay on here, and I’m counting on you to look after Otsū. Try to make her stop brooding and get well. What she needs more than medicine is greater fortitude.”
“I’m not strong enough to give her that. She won’t get well until she sees Musashi.”
“She’s a difficult patient, I’ll grant you. I don’t envy you a traveling companion like her.”
“Takuan, where was it you met Musashi?”
“Well … ” Takuan looked at Lord Mitsuhiro and laughed sheepishly. “When’s he coming here? You said you’d bring him, and that’s the only thing Otsū has thought about since.”
“Musashi?” Mitsuhiro said casually. “Isn’t he the rōnin who was with us at the Ōgiya?”
Takuan said to Jōtarō, “I haven’t forgotten what I told Otsū. On my way back from the Daitokuji, I stopped in at Kōetsu’s house to see if Musashi was there. Kōetsu hasn’t seen him and thinks he must still be at the Ōgiya. He said his mother was so worried she wrote a letter to Yoshino Dayū asking her to send Musashi home right away.”
“Oh?” exclaimed Lord Mitsuhiro, raising his eyebrows half in surprise and half in envy. “So he’s still with Yoshino?”
“It would appear that Musashi’s only a man, like any other. Even if they seem