Geisha (Shinobi Saga) (8 page)

“Our existence is no longer threatened. What's your excuse?” The torture master loomed over her, hands clenching into fists.

“I have … expenses,” she retorted. “It's not like I’m risking his life. Besides, he probably enjoys it. He's been doing it for years without any complaints.”

“I hardly think that means he wants to be on the receiving end of some pervert's advances. Do the clan heads know?”

“It's none of their business,” Rin insisted. “And if you don’t back off you’ll find yourself in the same boat.”

“I’d like to see you try,” the interrogator countered. “Where is Yoshi now?”

“He's gone to Kanegawa. There's a Yakuza there who has agreed to give us some of his race horses and wipe out my personal debt in exchange for a couple weeks with Takahashi.”

“Just like that. He was in no shape to go anywhere,” Makoto seethed. “I thought he’d been tortured.”

“I healed him before I let him go, obviously. No one wants to pay a premium for damaged merchandise. I’m not heartless,” the Shuhan protested when the torture master fixed her with a ferocious glare. “There are rules. He can’t be killed or permanently mutilated, a shinobi medic needs to be on call to treat any serious injuries, and, of course, he can’t be exposed to any infectious diseases.”

“Oh, wonderful, that way you can drag out his misery,” Makoto muttered. “He's a human being, Rin, it would be wrong to treat an animal the way you’re treating him.”

“Takahashi won’t appreciate you getting involved,” she pointed out. “In the end all you’ll do is make a dangerous enemy.”

“I’ll take that chance. This isn’t over.” With that he swept out of her office, banging the door behind him. No one knew what had transpired, but judging from the look on the interrogator's face it wasn’t good. Seasoned assassins fled at the sight of a grim Makoto muttering to himself as he stormed back to his desk.

As he passed through reception he motioned for several waiting shinobi to follow. Once inside his office he penned a note to the outlying sentries, requesting he be notified the moment Yoshi returned. He then wrote to the clan leaders, requesting a private meeting to discuss 'rumors of disturbing practices'.
That should tickle their interest
.
I don’t want to take any chances on some of them deciding not to show. I need them all on my side.

Once the black ops had sped off to deliver his requests Makoto leaned back in his chair, wondering where Yoshi was at that moment and if he was alright.
No point in worrying about it now.
He sat up and dug into the pile of paperwork in his in-box while he waited for responses to his letters to start trickling in.

About the Author

Sword carrying Buddhist author of transgressive homoerotic fiction, Sessha turned to writing full time after a twenty year stint in video production editing, scripting and creating motion graphics. Her novels include Strength of Will and the Shinobi Saga – Geisha, Shadow Wolf and the soon to be released Ripples. Her short stories are compiled in the anthology Sex Ray Specs. Her Celtic fairy tale Amadan na Briona is part of eightcuts gallery's Once Upon a Time in a Gallery exhibit. Her short story The Poetry Game is included in New Sun Rising:Stories for Japan, an anthology for tsumani relief. Originally from Belfast, she lives in the States with her husband, son, a very old cat and too many swords. Read more about her work on her website
http://sesshabattousai.com
or follow her on twitter @SesshaBatto

Also from the Author

SHADOW WOLF

STRENGTH OF WILL

SEX RAY SPECS