Dreamlands (23 page)

164

Wolf snorted slightly, and I was amused by his humor, even if I didn’t understand it. Mason said a lot of things that, after years in Boston, I still had no idea what he was talking about.

“I think that Kazuya-san’s squad is willing to watch Kairns-san today,” Tamazusa said.

Mason grinned. “Thanks, Mommy.”

Tamazusa shook her head. She didn’t know if she should be angry with the man or encourage his outrageous behavior. He watched her with respect, which is why she didn’t do anything. I had heard rumors that Mason was like this with McGann too.

“Can Wolf come out and play too?” Mason continued.

Tamazusa frowned. “I have heard no promises out of him.” Wolf looked confused for a second and glanced at McGann. She nodded. McGann didn’t seem to like the fact that Mason and Wolf were separated from the group, but she wasn’t going to argue about it, in case they were all confined to their quarters.

“I promise to make Mason behave, Tamazusa-sama,” he said.

Tamazusa laughed. “I think that Okita-san and his people would be men who you would be interested in talking to,” she said.

“I would be willing to escort the ladies to the library again,” Samojirou announced. “I know that you were curious to see what we have for our books of science and other learning.”

“If Hikura-sensei is willing to have us,” McGann murmured.

I didn’t miss that comment; she was trying to be polite, knowing Romejinoff wasn’t going to be. But I thought McGann knew that leaving her alone wasn’t a good idea either.

“And to make up for my negligence of you yesterday, I will escort you around my estate personally, Murphy-san,” Tamazusa said.

“Attend us, Sakura-chan.”

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DREAMLANDS

I bowed, and Murphy looked blankly at me, still not recognizing me. I felt good about it; I liked fooling them like this.

It never failed that I noticed how huge Tamazusa’s estate is. Most people in Tokyo and the surrounding areas lived in either small apartments, or, if they were lucky, a small house with a tiny yard. All the houses were squished into small neighborhoods, piled on top of each other. I grew up in a house and yard that would fit into the section of the estate that was Samojirou’s apartment. My yard had been smaller than his garden. And that had been considered roomy.

Here, however, everything was spread out. I estimated the estate was about fourteen acres in area. There were all the public areas, like where the samurai ate, the kitchens, and the rooms where Tamazusa met visitors―a different room depending on the person’s rank. There were also the different teahouses scattered around the place, as well as the separate quarters for the servants and the samurai. Plus there were all the odd buildings that were needed for maintaining the estate.

Deep in the sprawl of buildings, all connected to each other with covered porches, were Tamazusa’s and Samojirou’s apartments.

Gardens of different types covered all the open areas, from a tiny iris garden to one that had a waterfall feeding a pond that one could boat on.

Tamazusa showed Murphy everything except the private rooms.

She told him the history of the place, about the flowers in the gardens, and chatted with him, like she hadn’t a care in the world and Murphy was an honored guest. Murphy didn’t say anything and acted bored and polite. I wanted to hit him, because he was being shown a great honor and he was acting like an ignorant foreigner. I didn’t know why I thought he’d act any better. He seemed more worried about the escort that trailed after us, a squad of samurai who didn’t want either one of us to be alone with any of the outsiders.

At the end of the tour, Tamazusa led Murphy to a building that was a cross between a gazebo and a teahouse.

“Please remove your sandals,” she said.

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166

Murphy did so with a lot of grumbling. I didn’t attempt to help him. I didn’t want to get that close to him, since I didn’t know what he would do if he ever figured out who I was. Tamazusa and I slipped out of our sandals and stepped onto the porch. Tamazusa clapped her hands, and a half-dozen maids swarmed around us to serve tea and sweets. It wasn’t a formal tea, but we all watched respectfully as the tea was mixed before us in priceless cups and handed to each of us with a bow and much ceremony. Even Murphy seemed to behave for this.

Things went wrong after that.

“You and your husband seem to be pretty important people?” Murphy asked.

Tamazusa smiled. “Samojirou-sama is my consort, not my husband. He advises me on matters of my estate and of the
kuni.
”

“That why you don’t mind the bit that he has on the side?” Murphy asked.

I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me. I was glad for the makeup, because he couldn’t see me blush.

Tamazusa looked at him and shrugged. “Sakura-chan is a very dear member of my household.”

It felt really good to hear that. She wasn’t lying. She and Samojirou cared for me more than anyone else had since my parents.

They weren’t human, but I didn’t care. They loved me in their own ways, something I hadn’t had in ages.

“Samojirou’s screwing her,” Murphy said crudely. “From what I’ve been told, this ‘dear member’ is dressing like a whore. She doin’

you too?”

Tamazusa turned cold and furious, and I wondered how I was going to explain to the outsiders that she had turned his insides into liquid. I laid a hand upon her arm, hoping it would calm her down.

“Did you expect better of him?” I asked her softly in Japanese.

She looked down and shook her head, replying in the same language. “You have a kind nature, Sakura-chan, which is why 167

DREAMLANDS

Samojirou-sama loves you. I would think that you would want this man dead for this insult too.”

“He is rude and stupid,” I said slowly. “Keeping him alive is a trial to the others. I have no doubt that one of the outsiders explained what I dress as. I am comfortable dressing and acting as a
tayuu
, so why should his accusations be insults?”

“Because he is a rude man, like that other woman,” Tamazusa said. She glared at him and switched to English. “Sakura-chan reminded me that outsiders do not understand our customs and that I should not be upset at your ignorance.” Murphy glared. “So she’s a whore? You her pimp? She doin’ the rest of them here? She was pretty chummy with them at supper last night.”

Tamazusa rose gracefully and picked Murphy up easily, showing him the strength she had. “You are confined to your quarters. I cannot believe the filth that is spewing from you. If anyone else had heard this, you would be dead.”

He sputtered, not believing how strong she was, twisting in her grip. “You gook bitch!”

Tamazusa raised her voice. “Guards! Show the outsider back to his room. Have him talk to no one.”

She turned and looked at me. “I am sorry that you had to be subjected to that. It seems that those who are in power at that place are ignorant and prejudiced. I should have killed him.” I looked up and told her the truth. “He isn’t worth it.” I was surprised that she hadn’t when he called her a bitch, but I thought she was also willing to wait and kill him later, when she got more information out of him. I didn’t know if I should have been horrified or admiring.

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168

MASON

THE next couple of days passed by slowly, and it drove me nuts. These people couldn’t be bothered to hurry about anything. The only thing that stopped me from going stark raving mad was hanging with Kazuya and the rest of his squad. Wolf and I went to the posse’s morning workouts, but we didn’t see Keno again. In the afternoon we hung out at their barracks or trailed after them on their rounds, which was kind of interesting because this place was huge and we got to see a lot of it that way.

It was also better because Murphy was under house-arrest along with Romejinoff for pissing off our hosts. Neither one would say what they said to piss off people, but I could guess. Murphy alone with Tamazusa and that Sakura chick probably hadn’t been a good idea.

McGann was trying to keep the rest of our asses out of a sling and alive. I tried to help by not being too much of a screw up and not demanding to know what happened to the kid who I thought was Keno.

General shit like patrolling and weapons practice are always boring. But sometimes you get something really good out of it, like being in the right place when visitors showed up.

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DREAMLANDS

I was trying out what little Nip I had picked up with Seki when four guys hauling some sort of carriage box between them trotted up to the main gate and shouted out a greeting. I didn’t know what that fuck they said, but Seki looked like he was about to shit a brick as he shouted orders and hurried down to met them. People scattered, and I decided that following him sounded like a good idea.

A girl stepped out of the box, looking like she should be stepping out of a magazine cover, because she looked fucking perfect. I guessed that she was about sixteen. She was wearing a light pink kimono and another pink kimono over it. She was gorgeous and had her hair tied back with a simple bow, even though it fell below her ass. Seki hit his knees as soon as he saw her, and I kind of did the same. After a couple of minutes, Samojirou hurried out to meet her with a smile on his face.

He bowed to her, and they starting jabbering away at each other before he escorted her inside the estate. I saw the guys with the box disappear into what I knew was the servants’ area. I didn’t understand how primitive things were here until I realized that was her transportation.

We stayed on our knees until Samojirou and the girl were out of sight, and I got up with a groan. My knees weren’t made for kneeling.

“What is it with that guy and chicks?” I asked Seki.

He looked horrified. “Samojirou-sama and Fuse-hime are friends.

But she has never visited here before.” I shrugged. “What about the girl Sakura that’s always with him?

Tamazusa-sama and him are chummy too. Then this one shows up.

You’d think that the guy didn’t have time for this shit with everything else he does around here.”

I didn’t know what it was exactly, but Samojirou wasn’t sitting around and drinking beer while Tamazusa worked. He just kept things running while she did whatever a lord did in this place, plus the gossip I heard that he was a scholar too.

Seki looked like he wanted to strangle me.

“What did I fuck up this time?” I asked.

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170

Seki had learned that I had no clue about any of the manners that ran this place and that it would be a waste of time to kill me. Wolf had explained to me the first night here that samurai were allowed to kill anyone who looked at them funny without being punished. That it hadn’t happened to one of us yet was a fucking miracle.

“
Hime
means princess,” he said.

“Are they friends ‘friends’ or what?” I asked.

Seki took a deep breath, looking like he was counting to ten before he answered me. “Samojirou-sama is a follower of
nanshoku
.”

“
Nan
what?”

“Samojirou-sama is a lover of men. He is Tamazusa-sama’s councilor, not her lover.”

“He’s gay? Not that it surprises me, because he looked at McGann like she wasn’t hot,” I said tactlessly.

Seki rolled his eyes. “I like women, but her blondeness does not interest me either. Or the other woman who sneers all the time.”

“Blondes aren’t my thing either, but ya look, at least. He didn’t.

And if he’s queer, then why is he sleeping with the Sakura chick?” I had figured out the sleeping arrangements the second night we were here. Tamazusa was as far away from us that she could be.

Samojirou was in the same section we were, and he was rooming with Sakura, who may or may not be hot under all the white face she was wearing. I never saw her without it, and while she wasn’t dressed as nicely as Tamazusa was, she was still wearing some very nice clothing, from what I could tell. She was dressed better than the maids and definitely better than McGann and Romejinoff. For someone who was supposed to be a hooker, I hadn’t seen her less than fully dressed.

Seriously, she was dressed as a someone’s kid sister, I thought, didn’t say much to anyone, and didn’t act sexy or try to attract your attention.

The rest of the guys here teased her, and that was about it. I had decided that Romejinoff was giving us a load of shit when she called Sakura a hooker, doing it to get the rest of us into deep shit if we mentioned it to Tamazusa or her boy toy.

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Seki rolled his eyes, translating what I had said. “Because Sakura isn’t a woman?”

My brain broke. I had prided myself on my ability to tell a tranny from a real woman since I had gotten out of the joint. But he had me fooled. The chicks around here were all flat-chested, but that shouldn’t have mattered. I had seen him with the maids and Tamazusa, and I would have sworn they were all women. Obviously I was getting old and losing it. I changed the topic of conversation fast, because that was something I really didn’t want to know. Call me old-fashioned, but I always thought that guys should wear pants or whatever was the local equivalent here.