Reiko looked across the room at Keisho-in. The shogun’s mother now lay asleep, snoring quietly, but she’d fumed and pounded on the door for much of the day. When the two men had come back, she’d ranted at them as though she’d forgotten how they’d hurt her that morning. Fortunately the men had ignored Keisho-in’s diatribe… this time. Reiko didn’t know how long their patience would last.
“We have to escape.” Reiko leaned close to whisper in Lady Yan-agisawa’s ear: “I’ve thought of a way, but I can’t do it alone. I don’t trust Lady Keisho-in to help me. And Midori can’t-she’s about to have her baby any time now.”
A grunt issued from Midori, also asleep. Her body stiffened and she clutched her belly, then relaxed and sighed. Her occasional cramps had come more frequently as the day passed, and Reiko dreaded the onset of labor.
“I need you,” Reiko said to Lady Yanagisawa. Urgency raised her voice. “So please come out of this trance or whatever it is. Please help me save us!”
Lady Yanagisawa didn’t reply. Not the slightest glimmer of comprehension showed in her dull, lifeless eyes. Reiko’s patience toward the woman was fading fast.
“Maybe it’s hard for you to bear what’s happening,” she said. “Maybe you’d rather hide inside yourself than face up to things. But think of your daughter. Kikuko-chan is at home, waiting for you. What will become of her if you don’t return? She’ll be so sad. She won’t understand why her mother is gone. And who will take care of her?”
Lady Yanagisawa’s hand drooped flaccid in Reiko’s. Only her slow breathing indicated that she wasn’t dead.
“I know your child means the world to you. You can’t abandon her,” Reiko said, trembling with anger now. “For Kikuko-chan’s sake, you must recover your wits and do something besides just lie there!”
No response came. Desperate, Reiko said, “Remember your husband. You’ve told me how much you love him and how much you wish he would love you. Unless we get home, you’ll never see him again. He must know you’ve been kidnapped. He’s probably wondering where you are and what’s happened to you. Often, people don’t discover how valuable something is until they’ve lost it. Absence increases affection… and do you know what I think?
“I think your husband is realizing that he loves you. Your kidnapping has taught him the error of his ways. He’s sorry he mistreated you and wants a chance to repent.” Reiko told herself that the circumstances justified the lie. “Isn’t that just what you’ve always dreamed of? But you can’t have it if we die here. You’ll never get to enjoy your husband’s love unless you make an effort to go home to him.”
Reiko scrutinized Lady Yanagisawa, hoping that the promise of her heart’s desire would stir the woman to action. But Lady Yanagisawa didn’t even flinch. Exhausted and frustrated, Reiko dropped Lady Yanagisawa’s hand. Talking to someone who couldn’t or wouldn’t hear was no use. She must try the only other way she knew to revive Lady Yanagisawa.
As a young girl Reiko had learned the martial arts from a sensei hired by her father. The sensei had also taught her the ancient Chinese healing technique of applying pressure to the surface of the skin to stimulate the human body’s natural curative abilities. She’d learned how pressing, striking, or piercing specific places on the body relieved pain in other areas, influenced the functioning of internal organs, and cured maladies both physical and mental. That ancient method could work to dramatic effect, Reiko knew from personal experience. When she’d given birth to Masahiro, the midwife had used it to relieve the labor pains and calm her. She remembered techniques for promoting the circulation of the blood and life force because she often practiced them on herself. But she’d never practiced on anyone else. The method released powerful energies that could be dangerous when mishandled by an amateur. She only hoped she could revive and not harm Lady Yanagisawa.
With the middle finger of her right hand, Reiko palpated Lady Yanagisawa’s upper lip just below the nose, at a potent point-a juncture between internal pathways that carried ki, the life force. Applying pressure here could revive someone who’d fainted and ease extreme emotional agitation. Reiko pressed, leaning her weight on her fingertip. Beneath the cool, moist surface of Lady Yanagisawa’s upper lip she felt the inner tension that blocked the flow of ki. She counted to five, lifted her finger, then reapplied the pressure. She detected a faint, throbbing pulse-a good sign of renewed circulation. Again and again she pressed the potent point, and each time the pulse strengthened a little. But Lady Yanagisawa remained as inert as a corpse.
Reiko moved to the junctures known as the Bubbling Springs, located between the fleshy pads on the soles of the feet. These were spots designated for the treatment of shock. Reiko clasped one of Lady Yanagisawa’s feet in each hand and pushed her thumbs into the potent points. After twenty cycles of pressure and release, Reiko felt distinct, rhythmic pulses in the feet. The ki should be speeding through Lady Yanagisawa, reanimating her muscles, balancing her emotions, wakening her mind. When nothing happened, Reiko supposed that the trauma of the kidnapping had blocked other energy pathways.
She rolled Lady Yanagisawa onto her stomach, then measured four finger-widths from her spine at waist level, locating the potent points named the Sea of Vitality. Reiko pressed, waited, and released, again and again, so many times she lost count. Her hands ached; she gasped with exertion. Now she sensed Lady Yanagisawa’s ki surging through veins and tissues. Suddenly a deep, ululating groan burst from Lady Yanagisawa. Her limbs began to thrash; her body jerked.
Reiko sprang back, frightened that she’d overstimulated Lady Yanagisawa into convulsions. Then Lady Yanagisawa heaved onto her back. Shuddering all over, she sat upright, hands clawing the floor, and stared wild-eyed at Reiko.
“Where am I?” The question burst from Lady Yanagisawa in a loud, hoarse voice. “What happened?”
Reiko smiled with relief that Lady Yanagisawa had come back to life. Keisho-in and Midori, startled awake by the commotion, blinked in puzzlement. Lady Yanagisawa gazed around the room. As she recognized her surroundings, a look of horror came into her eyes.
“Oh, no,” she wailed, her face crumpling. “I dreamed that I was home with Kikuko-chan. It was so peaceful. Why did I have to wake up?” She lay down, curled her knees to her chest, and covered her head with her arms. Sobs wracked her. “I want to go back to sleep!”
“Please do,” Keisho-in said crossly. “Your noise is getting on my nerves.”
Reiko pounced on Lady Yanagisawa and forced apart her arms, exposing her anguish-stricken face. “You can’t hide anymore. I won’t let you.”
“Please, no, leave me alone.” Lady Yanagisawa squeezed her eyes shut, blinding herself to Reiko and the horrible fact of their captivity. “I want to dream again. I want Kikuko-chan.”
Reiko was furious that Lady Yanagisawa preferred unconsciousness to taking action, even as she pitied the woman’s suffering. She shouted, “If you want Kikuko-chan, then stop this nonsense right now!”
She slapped Lady Yanagisawa’s cheek. Lady Yanagisawa uttered a cry of pained surprise. Her eyes opened; her sobs halted as she gaped at Reiko.
“It’s your duty to fight your way home to your daughter,” Reiko said, glad that she’d finally gotten Lady Yanagisawa’s attention, yet ashamed of hitting the woman. “It’s your duty to help me save Lady Keisho-in and Midori. Do you understand? Are you going to behave yourself? Or do I have to slap you again?”
All the resistance went out of Lady Yanagisawa. She uncurled her body and sat up, though with slow movements and a desolate expression that bespoke her reluctance.
“Will you help me?” Reiko said, hopeful yet cautious. Lady Yanagisawa bowed her head and nodded. Triumph at her small victory heartened Reiko, despite Lady Yanagisawa’s lack of enthusiasm. Reiko beckoned Keisho-in and Midori. The pair seated themselves close to her and Lady Yanagisawa.