And instead, she heard him laugh.

Not the polite laugh of someone who has been insulted, nor the gentle mocking of a dangerous man, but instead, a kind expression of surprise and amusement. "You are right, my dear Teioko. I am."

Pouring her a cup of tea, he continued. "Though I am the daimyo of the Kakita - a duty I assumed when my brother would not have it - I serve the Empire in this, not the Crane. Every movement the army makes, I immediately report to the Emperor. So, in a way, I am a spy - but a well-known one. Lord Satsume-sama knew this, and his son approves. I am surprised you have heard of it, as we chose to keep the negotiations secret. It is better for the Empire if the Lion do not know that the Emperor is on the side of the Crane."

"Who dares accuse me of theft?" raged Ichiro, barely containing himself for his ritual bow at the door. "Who speaks out against my name - the name I inherited from my noble father?"

The air wafted past the kneeling Kakita with the rich smell of sake. Yoshi, a shocked look on his face, murmured, "IchiroЙ have you been drinking?" Continuing his rant, Ichiro knelt at the feet of his venerable father. "Father, I have tried to live as you would wish. I have struggled to be your son, and I have failed. I am useless." Tears welled in the Crane's eyes, and Teioko looked at Yoshi, appalled.

Ichiro's outburst was unthinkable.

"Son," Toshimoko said wearily, "Do you have the letter?"

"I do," Ichiro spat, the sake on his breath bitter. He pulled the creased rice-paper from the folds of his haori and pointed it at Taioko. "She is the one who has poisoned you against me, father. Let me kill her with your sword, as the duty of your only son!"

As if struck, Toshimoko's face turned grey. "No, Ichiro. That you cannot do."

"Why did you take the letter, my student?" Yoshi whispered, turning his face delicately to avoid looking at the drunken samurai.

"There is a thief among us, one who would dishonor us both, father," Ichiro hung his head, the letter falling upon the floor. "I saw him approach your tent when you were out practicing kata, and I saw him reach for the letter. He ran when he saw me, and so I took the letter and hid it in my haori. I only thought to protect you."

"It is... all right, my son." Toshimoko's voice came from a great distance, thickened by age and regret. "I understand. Go now, and leave me the letter. Retire to your tent, and let us speak no more of this."

Toshimoko stood, picking up the rumpled letter. "This... this scrap of rice paper is the reason I have shamed my only son?"

"Please, my lord" Teioko began.

"Ichiro is all that fate has given me. He is a good son," his face betrayed nothing of the lie, "And I trust him."

"Ichiro has betrayed you, sensei." Teioko's voice shook as she tried to keep her composure. "Time and again, he has spoken against you, refused your teachings, and given his support to others instead of you. How can you trust him?"

"Ichiro is a son of the Kakita house!"

"Ichiro is the child of Toshimoko's courtesan, nothing more." Teioko could not imagine what drove her to this bravery. "There are those who can prove that he may be Toshimoko's son, or the son of that Scorpion, Goishu. You know these things, sensei. I am not the first to tell you."

A silence hung in the air, so thick it could have been stone. At last, Toshimoko moved, his usually precise step now slow and ragged.

"Yes." Wearily, Toshimoko continued. "He is the son of a courtesan, a woman I hardly knew. I am not even certainЙ." His voice trailed, unwilling to complete the sentence. Toshimoko looked at the letter in his hand. "But that does not mean I will betray my family. No."