Shadows of Tokyo by Matthew Legare

Author:Matthew Legare [Legare, Matthew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Black Mist Books
Published: 2018-05-21T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

A silent, thick tension swept over the machiya. Reiko clamped a hand over her mouth, stifling a scream. Nakajima edged closer to Masaru while the other patriots sat wide-eyed, staring at their sensei for guidance.

“Kuroki-san,” Masaru said, still holding the beer bottle. “What are you doing? Put that gun down!”

“I’m sorry sensei…but I must kill myself…it’s the only way to regain my honor...”

“What are you talking about?”

“Ryusaki-sensei….we have been betrayed!”

Reiko’s heart skipped a beat but she kept herself steady.

Like a striking viper, Nakajima lashed out and knocked the revolver out of Kuroki’s hand. The little man vomited a pained cry and fell to his knees. Reaching into his coat, Kuroki presented a red pamphlet with yellow characters. A hammer and sickle emblem was stamped at the bottom.

Lieutenant Nakajima traipsed across the machiya and inspected the revolver. “This is a Russian gun,” he said, holding it up. “A Nagant. Kuroki-zan, where did you get this from?”

Kuroki bit his lip as the tears flowed. “From General Sakamoto. Last night….after Superintendent Shimura released me, there were three soldiers waiting. They drove me to the Army Ministry to meet with General Sakamoto personally. I was so honored…I thought he was going to congratulate me—” He gave a pitiful sob. “—but instead he offered me a deal…he guaranteed me entrance into the Army and service in Manchuria…if I…if I assassinated you, sensei!”

Masaru’s face drained of color. “Assassinate me? Why?”

“I don’t know…but he gave me that gun and this pamphlet so we could blame it on the Communists. Forgive me sensei….it’s my dream to follow my brother into the Imperial Army…I shamefully accepted the offer…I was going to assassinate you tomorrow after Lieutenant Nakajima departs for Manchuria….”

No one spoke, but Reiko could almost hear the curses echoing in Masaru’s mind.

“But I couldn’t deprive Japan of you, sensei…that’s why I wanted to kill myself in front of you…to show you how truly repentant I am!” Kuroki’s words devolved into soft, pitiful sobs.

Masaru leaned over and said, “Your actions speak louder than words, Kuroki-san. I forgive your moment of weakness. The Kusanagi Society still needs the service of such a sincere patriot…but you must tell me what Sakamoto is planning.”

At once, Kuroki looked like a man reborn. Wiping his tears, he said, “General Sakamoto said that if I didn’t assassinate you, he’d have the Kempeitai arrest you and then…and then torture you into confessing that you’re secretly a Red!”

With a ferocious growl, Masaru hurled the beer bottle across the room. It shattered near the phonograph like an artillery shell.

“That traitor! General Sakamoto must be working for the Seiyukai! He used us to get rid of Baron Onishi!”

The patriots of the Kusanagi Society hissed like snakes ready to bite.

“We cannot rely on a new shogun to carry out reform…we must do it ourselves,” Masaru said, pacing back and forth.

“How sensei?” Kuroki asked.

Masaru gave a dark look. “The body of Japan has become infested with parasites,” he began. “The treacherous advisers who surround the Emperor. Communist traitors and greedy capitalists.

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