Side Story #3: Toshie's Dancing Bear

<Author’s note: This story takes place before the events of Book 1.>

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Side Story 3: Toshie’s Dancing Bear

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■■ Yamato ■■

Toshie had memorized every street and corner in the Capital. She knew the insides and out of every district, including the Merchant’s Quarter, the Southside Harbor, and the Temple Towns—both Old and New. The Emperor’s top ninja was also familiar with the underside of the city: including all the pleasure houses and the Kondo slums.

But she had never once been to the circus.

*AuRoooOOOH*

The blast of an elephant’s snout trumpeted through Toshie’s ears as she entered the vast, circular tent kept at the outskirts of the city. The kunoichi couldn’t be sure which was more exotic—the animals or the people. As for the latter, Toshie spotted a woman with two heads, a man as tall as three, and a gymnastic troupe of midgets.

“I take it you’ve never been to the circus before, Toshie-senpai. You look uneasy for a change.” 

The voice came from a woman named Tamaki Uesugi, Toshie’s peer and partner for this particular assignment. She was a Northerner with good instincts and decent observational skills. Were it not for her habit of making small talk, Toshie would’ve liked her.

“Is that so. Let’s not waste any more time. The ringmaster’s office should be this way.” Toshie spoke and walked with a frigid sense of urgency, even amidst a sweltering summer such as this one. The humidity didn’t help with the smell—which around the animal cages was a pungent mix of hay and manure. Toshie braced her scarf against her nose and headed into the office.

The ringmaster and his wife were there; there was blood across the man’s face and down his robes. Papers were scattered and the desk was overturned. The strangest detail to Toshie wasn’t in this room at all—the performers outside were going about their business as if nothing had happened. They were oblivious to the fact that their boss had just been assaulted.

“Oh, no, no!” the ringmaster cried, then went on his knees and started to beg. “Please, there’s no need for His Imperial Majesty to get involved. I would hate ‘ah worry him over such ‘ah silly incident!”

“There’s nothing silly about it, Bunta-kun! You could’ve been killed!” yelled the wife, who started breaking down into tears. “I can’t stand watching you put yourself in danger for this circus!”

Toshie ignored them both. She approached the victim, grabbing him by the chin and inspecting his wounds. There were a total of five cuts, the inner three longer and deeper than the outer two. They each followed the same angle from the man’s jaw up to his balding forehead.

“Your concerns are not relevant, Ringmaster. His Imperial Majesty is set to visit this circus at it’s opening next week. Any potential danger to him must and will be thoroughly investigated.” Toshie released her grasp on the victim and started pacing about the office. “Tell me every detail of the attack that you can recall.”

“It was that blasted bear! Don’t you even try to deny it!” the wife yelled with another outburst. Toshie gave Tamaki a nod, which in ninja-speak meant ‘deal with it’. Tamaki proceeded to calm down the distressed woman while Toshie questioned further.

“Why haven’t you told any of your performers? Aren’t you placing them in danger, with a rabid bear about?”

“Usuri-chan isn’t rabid! I swear she wouldn’t touch ‘ah fly even if it sat on her snout! She’s ‘ah good girl, raised her ever since I found her out west.” The Ringmaster’s eyes were outlined with tears, and his snot flowed down past his lips. He was being earnest—which only made matters more complicated.

Most Hyugans had never seen a bear before, let alone seen one attack a human. But Kondos were another matter. Toshie’s heritage held close ties with the large beast, who remained prevalent in their lore and traditions. More practically, she knew how they fought. And this furry culprit didn’t attack like any bear Toshie had ever heard of.

“Just so we’re clear,” Toshie repeated, “it ran over to you, jumped on its hind legs, and slashed you in an upwards motion. It then promptly escaped. Is that correct?”

Unfortunately it was, according to the ringmaster and his wife. But bears were grabbers and chewers—they pulled you in with a ‘bear hug’ and went for your neck, like every other predator in the animal kingdom.

This led the two kunoichi to the cage were the supposed culprit was waiting. Usuri-chan was resting on her stomach and yawning, paying the two ninja no attention at all. Her accommodations were particularly large and elaborate relative to the other animals. She had a bed made of hay and a large, cloth covering for use at night. The covering was embroidered with a blocky pattern that was distinctively Kondo in design.

This puzzle stitched itself together once Usuri-chan’s trainer made her introduction. “Is dhere a reason you’re prowling around my girl? And what’s with dhose getups—you’re too tall to be one of our acrobats!”

The woman was as heavy as her accent; she was short and well-thick with muscles. Her web of hair was done up in an elaborate braid, and her skin was about as dark as Toshie had ever seen. She had a motherly look, with her hands planted on her hips and a scowl just waiting to be used.

“I assume you are Ko-Ko, the trainer of this bear? Are you aware that it has recently attacked the ringmaster?” Toshie wasn’t convinced of it herself, but she wanted to gauge the trainer’s reaction.

The Kondo didn’t disappoint—half her words weren’t even spoken in the Hyugan tongue. Those that weren’t were curse words so foul that Toshie had to restrain herself from flinching, out of concern that she’d give she ancestry away.

“...it’s dhat new wife of his, what’s-her-name! She hates dhe circus and dhe rest of us, too! Usuri-chan is a good girl!”

“So we’ve heard,” Tamaki butted in. The ninja was writing down the trainer’s testimony as best she could. Not that it would be relevant, Toshie knew, as no court in Yamato would admit a statement from a Kondo as evidence. The reality was, both Ko-Ko and the bear were liable for the attack, and unless Toshie could prove otherwise the pair would face their final performance.

Proving their innocence would take time and resources, the former of which she was particularly short on. She was supposed to give Satsuma-sama a massage this evening. This was their weekly meeting, a sort of ritual Toshie always looked forward to. No bear was going to get in the way of that.

Toshie placed a hand on her chin as she came up with a scheme. “If you’re so certain of Usuri-chan’s innocence, then you won’t mind helping me put it to the test. Do we have an agreement, Kondo?”

The trainer nodded with some enthusiasm, but she grew increasingly reluctant as the ninja’s plan unfolded. Toshie grabbed a mackerel from out of a nearby container—no doubt Usuri-chan’s supper. As soon as she did the bear’s eyes lit open.

With a quick flick of her kunai, Toshie cut the fish down across its stomach. Grabbing a handful of its innards, the kunoichi then coated the trainer’s shoulders with fish guts.

“Go in and see how the bear reacts.”

“That’s crazy!” Tamaki yelled, tossing her quill and parchment to the ground. “I don’t care if she is a Kondo—she’s going to get mauled if she goes in there like that! I know around the palace they call you the Heartless Hound...but this is cruel, even for you, Toshie!”

Toshie let out a sigh and allowed the more novice ninja to vent her frustration. Tamaki was actually doing her a favor right now, even if she wasn’t aware of it. Though that nickname was tiresome, a reputation for being heartless was hardly a detriment.

“I’ll...I’ll do it! Just you watch, Usuri-chan won’t lay a paw on me!” Ko-Ko gathered her courage and approached the entrance to the cage. The bear was now on its feet and sniffing, eager for an afternoon snack. The trainer hesitated but to her credit, unlocked the cage and was about to step in.

That’s when Toshie stopped her. Ko-Ko was willing to risk her life to prove the bear’s innocence—and that was all the Heartless Hound needed to know.

■■■■

Toshie had sent Tamaki off to investigate a few clowns. Really, she just needed the Northerner out of her hair. She didn’t want any witnesses to see her among the other Kondos in the slums. For it was only here—in this destitute, overpopulated and undernourished neighborhood that she could get the information she needed.

She took off her scarf and untied her hair, then mimicked the mating call of the bush warbler. While she was still in makeup and looked every bit like a Hyugan, her signal proved her identity as one of the Wasure Rareta—the Forgotten People.

“Is dhat you, Toshie-sama? Everyone, come out and be polite!” Kondos in the Capital knew to keep clear from outsiders, particularly the patrols that would occasionally barge in from time-to-time. They were notoriously abusive, though Toshie tried her best to reduce conflict whenever possible.

After a crowd gathered, the kunoichi gave her report. “The guards have been instructed not to enter households without plausible cause. Their new schedule is…” the ninja went into detail about where and when the patrols were scheduled, so that the slum-goers could make themselves scarce when they arrived.

This also aided the smuggling of shipments and deliveries for food and medicinal supplies. Kondos were prohibited from the marketplaces, and getting so much as a fresh apple was a luxury around here. So long as the merchants didn’t know who was buying, they’d sell their stock in bulk and at reasonable prices.

Some of the group scattered to spread her information throughout the slums. Toshie asked those who remained about anyone with expertise in stitching together a bear suit. While there were many grandmas who were eager to volunteer for needlework, rumor had it that Hiroyuki had just made a sizeable sum for preparing a bear outfit and was on his way out of the city.

Toshie didn’t know Hiroyuki personally, but he had a reputation as an artisan well-versed in the arts and crafts of his people. Since Kondos kept little to no written records, their history and culture rested heavily on the shoulders of men like him.

“Dhat Hiroyuki is Ume-Ume’s son-in-law. Heard them hollerin’ over at her place. Be happy to take you dhere, Toshie-sama!”

There was certainly some hollering going on at Ume’s place when Toshie arrived. The sprightly Kondo grandmother was clutching the center column of her house. Hiroyuki was trying to pull her off while she kicked about with reckless abandon.

A pregnant woman looked on in despair. “Come now, mother! Hiroyuki and I have always dreamed of moving to Tonogasha. Don’t you want to be there when your grandchild is born?”

“Quiet, girl! My husband made dhis house with his own two hands! Come back and visit me when you get knocked up again!” Ume-Ume landed a powerful donkey kick right into Hiroyuki’s chest. It was enough for the man to give up his cause. Not than any man was particularly eager to live with his mother-in-law.

“Great, we’ve become a spectacle,” Hiroyuki muttered, addressing the crowd and Toshie in particular. “You’re Toshie-sama, aren’t you? Thank you very much for the work you’ve done around here.”

Hiroyuki and his wife Yori bowed in unison. They made for a cute couple, and if Toshie wasn’t on business she would’ve been more cordial. But as it stood, time was of the essence.

“I hear that you’ve earned a sizeable sum from a client recently, for crafting a suit made of bear fur. Can you tell me more, Hiroyuki-san?” Toshie asked in a polite and friendly manner that contrasted her intent. She couldn’t allow the couple to leave the city without learning the client’s name.

Based on Hiroyuki’s body language—looking down and away, shifting his weight from his left to his right foot, and scratching his nose—the soon-to-be-father wasn’t eager to speak. Likely the client paid him handsomely in part for his silence.

“Where’s your manners, boy?” Ume-Ume snapped. “Leaving a guest out in dhe cold...come in, I’ve got some tea boiling!”

Though reluctant, Toshie complied. While the thought of hot tea on a hot summer’s day didn’t have much appeal, the aged hostess was stubborn even by grandmotherly standards. The ninja kept both patience and a smile on her face, though it was at times painfully forced.

“So how about this heat we’ve been having?” Hiroyuki asked. “Ought to be cooler up in Tonogasha, though I hear they’ve been having trouble with floods in recent years. Let’s hope the water dragon Suijin doesn’t pay us a visit!”

“Dear, quit delaying,” Yori insisted, “and tell Toshie-sama the name of your client. She has done so much for us here—we wouldn’t have gotten those salted plums you love so much if it wasn’t for her.”

Toshie thought salted plums were disgustingly sour, but she’d consider them sweet if they helped end this investigation. Luckily, Hiroyuki was the type of husband to do whatever his pregnant wife requested. He only had one condition.

“Um, you’ll promise not to...hurt him or anything, right?”

Toshie nodded. “I’ll do nothing of the sort.”

■■■■

*wham* *thud* *WHACK*

Hiroyuki’s instructions had led Toshie straight to Old Temple Town, to the flat of a visiting monk who had been seen stalking around the circus ever since it had arrived in Yamato. Hiroyuki implied that the monk was tight-lipped and wouldn’t agree to talk. Unfortunately for the monk, the Heartless Hound knew how to bust a pair of lips open.

“It’s all over, Masao! A certain someone over at the circus sold you out!” Toshie yelled while delivering another fist across the culprit’s face. Of course the ninja couldn’t be certain if this man was the culprit, and the claim that he had an accomplice was a complete guess.

But sometimes, good guesswork was just part of the job.

“That bitch stabbed me in the back?! This was all her idea in the first place!” Masao spat blood into the kunoichi’s face. “The ringmaster’s wife wanted the circus closed and I wanted my Koko-chan. That’s what we agreed to, kuso!”

Toshie wiped the blood from her face and released her hold over the monk. The ringmaster’s wife had put on quite the performance back at the crime scene. Her motivation seemed to match up with what the Kondo animal trainer suggested back at the cages. Only one detail didn’t add up.

“Koko-chan? You assaulted a man while wearing a bear suit. Do you expect me to believe that you did it for the sake of a…dirtskin?”

Upon hearing the slur, Masao jumped to his feet and tried to rush Toshie down. She had seen it coming and managed to trip him, then pursued him down to the ground to pin his arm backwards in a very uncomfortable position.

“Don’t...don’t you dare call her a dirtskin! Koko-chan is my night sky to which I could wander endlessly! Her place is by my side—not in that freakshow of a circus! I just needed to separate her from that meddling bear...curse that beast for standing between our love!”

Toshie was in disbelief that a Hyugan man could be so enamored with a Kondo woman. The thought of marriage outside one’s heritage had never once crossed her mind, though it was a possibility she now had to consider.

And speaking of night skies, Toshie would be late for Satsuma’s massage if she didn’t hurry.

“I will ask my superiors as to what punishment you shall receive. For your sake, I wouldn’t recommend leaving the city for the time being.”

■■■■

“Hm...” Satsuma murmured as Toshie kneaded the knots in his back. “I don’t believe any punishment will be necessary. Thank you for settling this matter so quickly, Toshie. You are and always will be my most trusted assistant.”

“Are you certain, Satsuma-sama? Shouldn’t this man’s crime be exposed and his guilt decided by the courts?”

“An act out of love...who can truly call that a crime?” Satsuma sighed. “As I understand it, the ringmaster doesn’t wish to press charges. Both his wife and his assailant conspired out of love for their own, significant other...and of all things, a dancing bear was in their way. It’s quite the tale!”

Toshie was so deep into thought that she wasn’t minding her grip, which was deep into the folds of the Emperor’s back. “My apologies, Satsuma-sama. Your words are wise, and yet...love is a motivation I simply cannot understand. It warps minds and twists morals—how can it be seen as anything but foolish?”

Satsuma flipped over on his back and grabbed Toshie by the hand. He gently traced his thumb across the ninja’s bruised knuckles. “You’ve been trained and raised as my servant and shadow ever since we were children, Toshie-chan. Your dedication is not lost of me, and yet...I cannot help but think my presence has robbed you of life’s many graces. Gomenasai.”

Toshie’s hand began to shake. The composure the Kondo had always tried to maintain faltered for but a moment. “Satsu-kun...my life has been rich beyond measure by your side. You shall never have a reason to apologize to me.”

“Then shall I apologize to the ‘Heartless Hound’ instead?” Satsuma chuckled. “I would worry about you, Toshie-chan, if I didn’t already know that there would be someone who softens your heart.”

Toshie shook her head. “No one will get between me and my service to you, my lord. I would stake my life on that promise.”

All the Emperor could do was smile.

“This person, the one I dream of…they will help you in ways that I could not. And for that I am forever jealous.”