Deadly Blossoms by David Kudler

Deadly Blossoms by David Kudler

Author:David Kudler
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Young Adult, Middle Grade, historical adventure, Japanese Civil War, historical fiction, coming of age, kunoichi, teen fiction
ISBN: 9781938808654
Publisher: Stillpoint/Atalanta
Published: 2022-04-04T00:00:00+00:00


Ghost

The Way of the Warrior, Chiyome knew, teaches that one must fight without anger and kill without hatred. That a warrior must act always out of duty and never out of personal need. She knew this because her mother had taught her so. She knew it because her father and her husband had died acting so. She knew it because because her annoying servants Mieko and Kuniko always seemed to act so.

And yet, staring across the shōgun's banquet hall, all that Mochizuki Chiyome could think was that she hated Uesugi Kenshin; that she wanted to cut off the far-too-pretty lord's nose, wanted to strangle him, wanted to rip out his heart.

She considered it a great act of restraint to have remained sitting through the long feast commemorating the new alliance.

Lord Uesugi leered at her, and her restraint shattered.

“Mieko?”

“My lady?”

Chiyome leaned closer to the young woman who looked like nothing so much as a perfectly sweet companion for a perfectly harmless old lady. “If I were to ask you to kill that insufferable fop Uesugi, could you do it?”

Mieko dipped her chin in a modest nod. “Does my lady wish it?”

“How would you go about it?”

Kuniko leaned in. “I could do it.”

“Oh, Kuniko,” chuckled Chiyome, “of course you could. But your approach would be to march across the hall and thrust a carving knife through his ribs. Not very subtle.”

Kuniko grunted, but clearly conceded Chiyome's point, kneeling back.

Mieko tilted her head slightly, her perfect lips slightly pursed. “Would my lady wish it to be done here?”

Chiyome sighed. “At the moment, I feel as if I have to take one more breath while looking at that evil, simpering face, I may commit suicide just to save myself the annoyance.”

“My lady.” She gave a minute frown. “Poison would be the obvious method, but difficult. He is having his servant Kurotachi taste his food.”

It was true, Chiyome realized with a start; each dish, each cup passed through the hands of the oily little man at Uesugi’s shoulder who took a discreet nibble or sip before passing it to his lord.

Now Mieko tilted her head the other way, as if examining a flower arrangement from the other side. “A thin blade beneath the base of the skull — but it would be very difficult to manage without notice. Not impossible, my lady, but if you wish subtlety . . . The same would be true of a knife through the ribs.” She tapped her closed fan lightly against her hand. “A scratch with poisoned blades . . . ?”

Chiyome laughed and shook her head. She had forgotten the retractable, envenomed blades in the fan. The death they brought would be excruciating . . .

Mieko nodded. “Yes. Again, difficult to manage without detection.” Then a small smile grew on the girl’s face.

“What, you insufferable show-off?”

“My lady’s humble servant has merely considered a possibility that she thinks would meet with her wise lady’s approval.”

Humble. The idea of either Mieko or Kuniko as humble in anything but show was almost laughable.



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