Kunoichi
Kunoichi
Oda Tanaka, head retainer of the Harumoto family, hurried through the dark halls of Arita Castle. He passed the occasional guard, but few people were awake at this late hour. He stopped in front of the heavy wooden doors to his master's chambers. Tanaka was one of the very few people who could disturb Lord Hosokawa Harumoto's sleep without suffering a dire punishment. Tanaka took a breath and steadied himself, before opening the door and entering the chamber.
Immediately upon entering, he fell to his knees and bowed deeply, placing his forehead on the floor in a full kowtow. "Lord Harumoto, please forgive my intrusion, an urgent matter has arisen!" On the other side of the thin curtain in front of him, he heard the sound of his master stirring to wakefulness. "Tanaka? What is the matter?" "My lord, we have captured a kunoichi assassin. We believe she intended to take your life!" "Tanaka, if she is already captured, why does this require my attention?" "My lord, she is... unusual. She was cut, but she does not bleed. She doesn't even blink her eyes. I do not think she even breathes!" Harumoto snorted as he rose from his bed, and put on a simple robe. "Superstition. You know how people exaggerate the abilities of ninja. That they can run up walls, breathe poison gas, not bleed even when cut, that sort of thing. I might expect some of the junior guards to believe these stories, but not you, Tanaka." "My lord, I would not have troubled you with this if I had not seen it with my own eyes." Lord Haromoto stepped out from behind the curtain, carrying his sheathed katana, and extended his hand. "Lead on, Tanaka."
Tanaka led Lord Harumoto through the castle halls toward the place where the kunoichi, a female ninja, was being held. He was relieved that Lord Harumoto would be seeing to the matter personally. As a younger man, Harumoto had been a truly fearsome samurai. As he had aged, he abandoned physical martial arts in favor of learning Buddhist and Shinto sutras and philosophy, honing his very soul into a potent force. Lord Hosokawa Harumoto was, in short, an expert of both the physical and spiritual aspects of martial arts. He was a true master who probably had no equal in Japan, by Tanaka's estimation.
Tanaka and Harumoto entered the training room where the kunoichi was being restrained by four guards. She glared menacingly at the lord of the castle, eyes unblinking. Her dark outfit showed where the castle guards had cut her, yet not one drop of her blood was on the pristine tatami mats that covered the floor. "What shall we do with her, Lord Harumoto?" one of the guards asked. Harumoto stood firmly in place, taking a warrior's stance His hand rested on the hilt of his katana. With calm confidence, he said "Release her. Let her try." The guards balked. "My... lord?" "Do as I say!" Harumoto roared, brooking no argument or hesitation. The guards released the woman, who immediately dashed at Harumoto with surprising speed. A dagger slipped into her hand, which must have been concealed in her sleeve. Tanaka gasped, how had the guards failed to properly disarm this assassin?! His lord was in real danger! Harumoto stood in place, utterly resolute. "The Nagayoshi clan sends their regards!" the kunoichi yelled, as she closed in. She swung her weapon at Lord Harumoto's neck. He didn't even flinch.
The assassin froze in place, her dagger half an inch from the aged samurai's throat. He glared down at her imperiously. After a long second of complete stillness in the room, Harumoto spoke a few words in a language Tanaka didn't recognize, and the woman collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Tanaka and the guards were dumbstruck. Lord Harumoto had just defeated the kunoichi through willpower alone! His soul was stronger than even an assassin's blade, and a few spoken words had knocked her unconscious!
Harumoto broke the stunned silence. "Put her in the dungeon for now. Don't bother restraining her, she will not be regaining consciousness until I allow her to do so." The shocked guards were slow to react, but after a few seconds they regained their nerve and dutifully took the prisoner into custody. Tanaka walked up to his master and bowed deeply. "My lord, that was an amazing display of your martial skill!" Harumoto nodded. "She could have easily defeated the guards. She pretended to be captured to lure me to her." Tanaka gasped. "Then I played into her plans by bringing you to her! I'm so ashamed, I..." "No, Tanaka, you were right to summon me. Only I could have defeated her." He placed a reassuring hand on Tanaka's shoulder. "You have served me well this night. You are dismissed."
Tanaka bowed deeply, and left to see to the castle's affairs. He would be telling the tale to anyone who would listen, of the incredible feat of power he had just witnessed firsthand. Harumoto began to walk back to his own chambers, alone with his thoughts.
Harumoto had known about these mechanical women for some time. Western devilry, being sold in Japan by the Americans, or maybe the Dutch. Their existence was not widely known. There were still very serious trade restrictions with western powers, and these products were ludicrously expensive. Only a handful of very wealthy and well-connected Japanese nobles could get their hands on these "automatic dolls". The Nagayoshi clan were fools. They had been stupid enough to try using one of these dolls as an assassin. They didn't realize that these automatons were incapable of killing, or even severely hurting, humans. This would-be assassin never posed a real threat to his life, or to the safety of his guards. The Nagayoshi had foolishly instructed the thing to murder him without even understanding its limitations.
The Nagayoshi's incompetence is twofold, Harumoto thought with a grin. They hadn't even bothered to change the default administrative password on the artificial woman. All he had needed to say, in English, was "Command authorization, zero zero zero, shut down," and the mechanical kunoichi had collapsed. Now this valuable piece of technology was in his hands. He wondered what roles he would reprogram this doll to do. It certainly was good-looking.
Lord Harumoto re-entered his sleeping chambers, and started disrobing. His favorite concubine, Sakura, lay in bed expectantly. "How may I serve you, master?" He rubbed his eyes. "I am tired, Sakura. Command authorization, silver lotus reflection, shut down." His fembot responded to the command.