Rumors spread rapidly through the clan settlement that the chieftain’s son and the captain of the guard had returned badly wounded. The frightened clothes merchant terrified all the shopkeepers in the marketplace with his story of the fierce woman who defeated the two men. To prevent the tale from being embellished any further, Chief Kaguro called a gathering of the warriors.
As Kassa was of spear-bearing age, he was permitted to sit in the farthest corner of the great hall. Surrounded by the noise of the crowd, he looked for his cousin Kahm, but was startled when he finally caught sight of him. Although Kahm’s injury had been slight — just a few cracked ribs, now firmly supported by a wide leather belt — his face appeared haggard and his expression grim. To Kassa, he looked like a different person. Kaguro thumped the stone floor sharply with the butt of his spear and the crowd fell silent. His deep voice resonated throughout the room. “Clansmen. I have called you here today because, as I’m sure you’ve heard, an incident has occurred that seriously threatens the honor of our clan. Yuguro will tell you the details.”
Yuguro took a step forward. A shaft of sunlight shone through a narrow window and illuminated his figure. “My clansmen, a ghost has come back to haunt us. The ghost of one whom those over thirty will remember well, a man that I myself laid to rest with these two hands.” A low murmur ran through the hall. Kassa saw his father’s face tighten. “That’s right. The man that both the chieftain and I have been ashamed to call our brother, the wickedest man in Kanbal — Jiguro.”
He gave a small sigh. “I was only sixteen when Jiguro fled this country, stealing the gold rings that symbolize the bond between the royal family and the clans. My father had died of illness and my esteemed older brother had lost his right arm. If our family had not suffered these misfortunes, or if I had been a young man in my twenties, then the strongest youth of the other eight clans would not have died.
“Jiguro was very strong. I know this well, for I was the last to fight him. But his heart was rotten to the core. And so I didn’t hesitate to kill him, even though he was my own brother.”
A hush had fallen over the hall. Recalling those days when they had lived in shame, the older men remembered with renewed pride the triumphant young Yuguro returning as a hero. The younger men knew this story too, but it was their first time to hear it from his own mouth, and they listened with rapt attention.
“I never told anyone this before, but when I fought Jiguro, someone was watching us — a young woman of about twenty-two or twenty-three. I defeated Jiguro fairly and gave him the honor of dying in battle, but the young woman cursed me.”
Kahm felt a sharp pain in his side and rubbed a hand over his broken ribs. The words the woman had said as she swept back her sweat-drenched hair popped into his mind. Whether it’s a fair fight or not, honor makes no difference to the one who dies. Honor is nothing but an empty word to comfort the killer. Your uncle Jiguro knew that well.
“I merely did what was right. But women …” Yuguro smiled. “You can never tell what they’re thinking, if you know what I mean.”
The crowd laughed, but Kahm did not smile. The spearwoman he had faced was far removed from the picture his uncle was now painting.
“As I was saying, she cursed me. She vowed to make a fool of me and shame my honor. I paid no attention to these threats and completely forgot about her. But now we’ve found out that she has come to Kanbal. Tonno! Kassa!”
Kassa jumped when Yuguro suddenly called him forward. His father hastily beckoned him and together they went to stand by Yuguro’s side. Kassa was so nervous, he could not even remember how he made it to the front. He could see only row upon row of curious faces wondering what this was all about.
Yuguro placed a large, heavy hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure you all know Kassa’s younger sister, Gina, my niece. She’s a lot like my sister, a very brave girl.”
Laughter erupted from a group of Kassa’s friends.
“Apparently, Gina wished to show my son a thing or two, and she went into the caves to prove her courage. Her older brother, Kassa, went after her to save her. And there they met the woman I’ve been telling you about as she was making her way through the caves from New Yogo.”
Kassa was surprised. What Yuguro had said was true, but he had failed to mention the fact that they were attacked by the hyohlu and the woman had saved them. He had missed the most important part of the story…. Kassa opened his mouth to speak, but Yuguro’s hand tightened on his shoulder. He looked beseechingly at his father. Tonno just shook his head faintly.
“She told Kassa and Gina that she was on a journey of penance and asked them not to tell anyone. Now Kassa may be young, but he’s a true Musa warrior. He saw danger in the fact that a stranger could be in the caves, and he came and told me immediately. I rewarded him and Tonno for providing such precious information. To prevent rumors from spreading, I told them to say they’d found a piece of lyokuhaku.”
Kassa was speechless with shock. He felt as though he were in a bad dream. Was this some carefully thought-out strategy that only adults could understand? Yuguro had spun his words cleverly, weaving the facts together to make a completely different story. Yet Kassa could not bring himself to correct him. The eyes of the crowd intimidated him, and if Yuguro did have some deeper plan, he might ruin it by speaking up.
“I’m very impressed with Kassa here. He may be small, but he’s brave and clever.” Yuguro smiled at him. Hesitantly, Kassa smiled back. When Yuguro gestured for him to return to his seat, he walked shakily through the crowd to the back. Men patted him on the shoulder, saying, “Well done,” but he could not respond.
“So once I discovered this woman had infiltrated Kanbal, I immediately sent Kahm and Dom after her. They did a superb job, quickly finding and capturing her where she was hiding in Yonsa territory. That was yesterday.”
Yuguro gestured for Kahm to come to his side. “As you all know, Kahm and Dom are both excellent spearmen. Well, Kahm is still a little young, but nevertheless, he’s close to being one of the best. So I had complete confidence that they could capture her.”