How was Nobumori to take this? Perhaps he thought that Nobunaga believed he had executed his mission incompetently, for he quickly finished with his congratulations for the New Year, took his leave from the castle and, on his return to the besieged castle at Itami, purposely stopped at the Nanzen Temple.

He told the priest who greeted him, "I know Lord Hanbei is confined indoors be­cause of his illness, but I've come on a mission from Lord Nobunaga." His request for a interview was expressed in extraordinarily severe and imperative terms. The monk left, then returned quickly, and invited to follow him.

Nobumori replied with a nod, and followed the priest. The sliding paper doors of the thatched building were closed, but incessant coughing—probably prompted by Hanbei's leaving his sickbed in order to meet his guest—could be heard coming from inside. Nobumori lingered outside for a moment. The appearance of the sky suggested snow.  Though it was still midday, it was frigid in the shadow of the mountains around the temple.

'Come in," a voice invited from within, and an attendant opened the sliding doors to a small reception room. The lean figure of his master was propped up on the floor. "Welcome," Hanbei said in greeting.

Nobumori walked in and said without preamble, "Last year I brought you His Lord­'s order to execute Kuroda Shojumaru, and I expected the matter to be dealt with without delay. There has been no positive response since then, however, and even Lord Nobunaga has become concerned.What you have to say for yourself."

"Well, well…" Hanbei began, bowing with his hands to the floor and exposing a back as thin as a board. "Have I inadvertently made His Lordship worry because of my care­lessness? I am doing as much as I can to hurry and obey His Lordship's will as my illness gradually gets better."

"What! What are you saying?" Nobumori was losing his self-control. Or better said, judging by the color of his face, he was so angered by Hanbei's answer that he could not repress his exasperation or untangle his tongue. Heaving a sigh, Hanbei coolly observed his guest's agitation.

"Well then… isn't there something… ?" Apart from the voice that disgorged itself from his mouth, Nobumori's agitated eyes remained entangled with the calm eyes of his host. Nobumori coughed uncontrollably, then asked, "Haven't you sent his head to Kanbei at Itami Castle?"

"It's as you say."

"It's as I say? That's a rather unusual answer. Have you deliberately disobeyed His lordship's command?"

"Don't be absurd."

"If that's so, why haven't you killed the boy yet?"

"He was strictly entrusted to me. I thought that I could do it at any time, without too much hurry."

"That's excessive leniency. There's a limit to this leisurely pace, you know. I do not recall having ever been so inept on a mission as I was on this one."

"There was never any fault in the way you carried out your mission. It's absolutely clear that I purposely delayed the matter because of my own thoughts on the subject."

"Purposely?"

"While I knew that it was a grave errand, I've been thoughtlessly preoccupied by this less…"

"Wouldn't it be sufficient if you sent a courier with a note?"

"No, he may be a hostage from another clan, but he's been entrusted to us for a number of years. The people around such a lovely child naturally feel sympathy toward him and would find it difficult to kill him. I'm concerned that if the worst happened and some indiscreet retainer sent someone else's head for His Lordship's inspection, I would have no excuse to offer Lord Nobunaga. So I think that I myself should go to behead him. Perhaps my condition will improve before long." As Hanbei spoke, he began coughing uncontrollably. He put a paper handkerchief over his mouth, but it seemed that he was not going to able to stop.

An attendant nearby moved behind him and began rubbing Hanbei's back. Nobumori could do nothing but keep quiet and wait until Hanbei settled down. But just sitting in front of a man who was trying to control his violent coughing fit and who was having his sick body massaged began to be painful in itself.

"Why don't you rest in your room?" For the first time Nobumori mumbled some­thing sympathetic, but the look on his face bore no sympathy at all. "At any rate, in the next few days there should be some action taken as a result of these words from His Lord­ship. I'm amazed at your negligence, but there's nothing else I can do after what I've said here now. I'll be sending a letter to Azuchi explaining the situation exactly as it is. No matter how sick you may be, any further delay will only provoke His Lordship's anger. It's tedious, but I'll definitely have to inform him about this!"

Ignoring the pained figure of Hanbei, who was still racked by coughing, Nobumori had his say, announced his leave, and departed. As he reached the veranda, he passed by a woman carrying a tray from which floated the thick smell of some medicinal decoction.

The woman hurriedly put down her tray and bowed to her guest. Nobumori in­spected her at length, from the white hands that touched the wooden-floored veranda to the back of her neck, and finally said, "It seems that I've met you before. Ah, yes, that's right. The time I was invited by Lord Hideyoshi to Nagahama. I remember that you were waiting upon him at that time."

"Yes. I was given leave to take care of my brother."

"Well then, you're Hanbei's younger sister?"

"Yes, my name is Oyu."

"You're Oyu," he muttered rudely. "You are pretty." Mumbling to himself, he stepped down on the stepping stone.

Oyu simply nodded as he left. She could hear her brother still coughing, and she seemed more concerned about the medicine growing cold than about what her guest's feelings might be. Just when she thought that he had left, however, Nobumori turned again and said, "Has there been any news recently from Lord Hideyoshi in Harima?"

"No."

"Your brother was purposely negligent with Lord Nobunaga's orders, but I'm sure that couldn't have been a result of Hideyoshi's instructions, could it? I fear that our lord may have some doubts about that. If Hideyoshi is incurring Lord Nobunaga's wrath, he may be in for a great deal of trouble. I'm going to say this once again: I think it would be a good thing if Kuroda Kanbei's son were executed immediately."

Looking up into the sky, Nobumori quickly walked away. Obscuring his retreating figure and the huge roof of the Nanzen Temple, specks of snow fell obliquely, turning everything white.

“My lady!" The coughing had suddenly stopped behind the sliding doors, and the agitated voice of the retainer could now be heard in its place. Her chest pounding, Oyu opened the doors and looked inside. Hanbei lay face down on the floor. The paper handkerchief that had been over his mouth was covered with bright red blood.