Samurai Son Read Free

browned by the sun.   She wore a rough-woven scarf whose dye had long since faded to a pale blue—it might have been indigo—over her gray hair that she had braided in one long strand.
    “Neko!   Neko!” the old woman said, smiling and showing her missing teeth.   “You want some fish, little Neko?”
    The cat knew the game and did a little four-footed dance with her tail held high.   She mewed plaintively for the fish.
    “Oh, Aiko!   Why do you bother with such a silly animal?” another, much younger, cook remarked.   She put her hands on her hips and glowered at the old woman when Aiko laughed.
    “Don’t you know anything?   Cats are lucky!   Very lucky!”   Aiko dropped the fish to the little cat, who snapped it up quickly and dashed out.   The cat didn’t listen to any more of the conversation.   She made her way outside through the kitchen’s back door.
    She snuffed at the night breeze.   Brightly colored paper lanterns hung from the nearby apartments.   She wasn’t concerned about the gate or the wall.   She simply leaped up and scrambled down the other side.   She dashed into the street and along the wooden housing and apartments, decorated with silk flags and brightly colored wind catchers.
    The cobblestones felt smooth and well worn to her pads.   They smelled clean compared to the heavy incense within the demon room.   She could still smell the oni, and turning to sniff her coat, she realized her fur was heavy with the stench of demon.   She wanted to stop and clean herself right there, but it was too dangerous.   She decided instead to continue.
    Not until she had gotten to the familiar alleyways and streets where her family’s apartments were did she slow.   The streets were full of beggars, dogs, samurai, and other hazards, and she couldn’t risk getting waylaid with such important news.   Only when she arrived at the back door did she pause.   Looking around first, she then began to morph.
    She became larger than a regular cat—about the size of a small panther.   Then her skin and shape began to change.   The hair disappeared and her skin grew pink.   Her thick body became thinner, and her legs grew long.   When she was done, a lovely naked woman with long black hair and dark eyes stood where the cat had been.   She flipped open the latch on the door and entered.
    “What are you doing?”
    Kasumi nearly jumped at the woman’s voice.   Before her stood an older version of herself, her mother Naotaka Keiko Neko.   The woman wore the regal robes of a samurai wife and frowned as she studied the girl.   She sniffed the air, and her frown deepened.   “Oni?”
    “Yes, Mother, I saw a demon tonight.”
    “Kasumi-chan, that was dangerous, child.”   Keiko pulled a kimono from the hook that hung just inside the door and handed it to her.   “You must be cold.”
    “Mother, Nanashi summoned the demon.”   Kasumi shrugged into the kimono and tied the belt.
    The older woman studied her.   “How do you know this?”
    “I was there.   Nanashi summoned the oni in one of his private rooms.   He used sandalwood and cedar and really heavy incense.”
    “Why did Nanashi summon it?”
    Kasumi shook her head.   “He wants to bring in an army of demons.   He wants to become emperor.”
    A silence ensued.   Kasumi saw worry crease her mother’s brow.   “There has been talk for many years of Nanashi’s dabbling in the dark arts, but we’ve had no proof.   Until now…”   Keiko turned and scrutinized Kasumi.   “You really stink of demon.   You should wash up immediately.”
    “Yes, Mother.”
    “And where were you when he summoned it?   Did the demon see you?”
    “I was in my small form, curled up tightly behind one of the baskets.”   Kasumi frowned.   “Do you think it saw me?”
    Keiko shook her head, but she was clearly worried.   “Child, demons can see behind things and around things.   They can see through our forms.”
    “Why didn’t