Somewhere midway between the light and the point where he had entered this dark hole, he became aware that the darkness was no longer empty of life. The warm air seemed to breathe and pulsate with danger. He swung around.

Nothing. Just the impenetrable darkness.

The only sounds of the summer night were the chirping insects in some weeds, a dog barking in the distance, and the flapping wings of a night bird. It should have been reassuring, but there was still a powerful sense of something lying in wait. Tora shuddered at the thought of fox spirits or other demonic presences.

Above him stretched a starry sky. Taking courage, Tora walked on. But within a few paces, he was certain that he was not alone and moved quickly aside against the blind wall of a warehouse. There, he crouched and waited, watching a space between two buildings on the other side where his pursuer’s head and shoulders would become visible against the stars.

No one appeared.

He counted to twenty and decided that he had imagined the whole thing.

As he rose and took a step, something whirred and struck the wooden wall where he had been a moment before. Tora burst into a wild dash towards the light up ahead. He reached a cross street out of breath and saw the lantern of a wine shop gleaming ahead. Gulping air, he slowed and looked back. Whoever had been back there – and already the incident seemed unreal – did not come after him. Tora’s heart still hammered in his chest as he walked to the wine shop. He badly needed a drink.

Near the wine shop, a gray shape separated from a wall. Tora jumped back with a curse.

‘Spare a copper, brother?’ quavered a voice.

Tora saw a bent old man with a dirty white beard and put a few coins into the outstretched hand.

‘May you live a thousand years,’ said the creature to his back.

To Tora’s surprise, the wine shop turned out to be the Fragrant Peach, proving how much the appearance of things changes after dark. Feeling a little foolish, he walked in.

In the daytime, the place had merely looked depressing. Now, in flickering firelight, it seemed to pulsate with danger. Several men were drinking and gambling with dice. They were poorly dressed and looked hungry. Tora had no doubt that most carried knives.

The crippled beggar had limped in behind him. ‘Koichi’s doing a good business tonight,’ he said. ‘You one of the sergeant’s men?’ He peered up at Tora with bleary eyes.

When Tora did not answer, the beggar moved off towards the gamblers to try his luck there.

Near the fire pit sat three tall and burly males. The young waitress stirred something in the large iron pot suspended over it. She almost dropped the ladle when she saw Tora. This pleased him, because it meant that his good looks had impressed her even in the ragged clothes he had worn. The burly man in the middle turned to stare at him.

The fellow was gray-haired and gray-bearded and very ugly.

Tora ignored him. ‘Hello, beautiful,’ he called out to the girl. He went to sit on the other side of the pit, giving the three men a friendly nod. They stared back. Tora sniffed the air. ‘Something smells good. What’s in the pot?’

She gazed at him, frowning a little. ‘Cabbage and rice.’

‘I’m hungry. Let’s have some of that.’ He let his eyes travel over her body. ‘How’s the boyfriend?’

She flushed and shook her head while ladling out a serving of the food.

The three burly men watched. They were muscular and had the brutish faces of men used to carrying out dire threats against ordinary citizens. One was bald and had the broken nose of an ex-wrestler. The other’s face bore knife scars. Tora decided that they were almost certainly criminals. They would not spill any secrets and might spell trouble. The girl was another matter.

‘I’m a plain fellow,’ he told her as she handed him the steaming bowl. ‘Plain fare’s good enough for me. And better when it’s been cooked by a beautiful woman.’

She did not respond to his flirtation, but glanced towards the three silent men.

The baldpate made some sort of gesture to the other two. The gray-beard, who had a face as ugly as Shoki’s and wore a dull red jacket, scowled at Tora. Then he, too, gestured to his neighbor, who gestured back. The third man laughed, then got in on the act by moving his fingers around and waving his arms.

Tora watched the flapping and waving of hands in amazement. When they kept glancing his way, he decided that they were making fun of him.

‘What’s with you guys?’ he shouted across. ‘Lost your voice?’

The girl snapped, ‘They can’t talk. Or hear you.’

‘What?’

‘They’re deaf mutes.’

Tora gaped at her. ‘All three?’

‘Yes.’

That seemed strange. Tora looked at them, and they looked back. There was nothing friendly about their faces. They were dangerous thugs daring him to make some comment. He looked around the room and decided to let it go. If they were deaf and dumb, they were no use to him anyway.

The girl was waiting. He took up his bowl and tasted. ‘Not bad,’ he said. ‘You do all the cooking yourself?’

‘Yes.’

Being hungry, Tora made short work of the soup and was considering another bowl when he realized that she was still standing there. He put down the empty bowl. She snatched it up and held out her hand. Apparently, she wanted him to pay and leave. Tora dug out a couple of coppers and put them in her dirty palm, then snatched her wrist. ‘Since the deaf mutes can’t talk to me, how about you keeping me company?’

‘I’m busy.’ She tugged back.

Tora held on, grinning. ‘Come on,’ he wheedled. ‘I’ll show you a very good time if you’ll let me. Better than the young fellow in the blue and white robe.’

She gasped, ‘Shut up!’

‘What do you care? They’re deaf.’

‘They can read lips.’

‘Really? Never mind. Come, give me a kiss and I’ll buy you a cup of wine.’ Tora jerked her arm suddenly and she fell into his lap.

That was when he heard a growl. The gray-beard was up and coming for him. He had a heavy tread, his fists were clenched, and his face was red with anger.

Tora pushed the girl off and jumped up. The thug was older than he, but he was large and looked strong. And he was not alone, for his companions joined him. Tora considered pulling the knife in his boot.

At this point, the beggar intervened. He approached the gray-beard with a bow and said, ‘How’re you feeling tonight, Koichi? Lively and strong as ever, I hope? Greetings, Seiji and Shinichi. Has the sergeant been good to you? And Lady Haru grows more beautiful every day.’ He performed more bows, the last to the girl, then cast a longing glance towards the kettle.

The girl smiled at the beggar and told the one called Koichi, ‘Leave it be, Pa. He’s a stranger. We don’t want trouble.’

Koichi looked over the beggar’s head at Tora and glowered. Then he gestured towards the beggar, and Haru filled a bowl for the old man. Koichi and his companions lumbered back to their seats, and Tora sat back down.

The beggar received his bowl of food, bowed his gratitude to Koichi and the girl, and sat down beside Tora to eat.

The girl Haru said, ‘Koichi’s my father. He gets protective.’

‘It does him honor,’ Tora said. He was not sure what he regretted more: her father’s affliction or her relationship to him.

She looked a little wistful. ‘He doesn’t like me seeing men.’

Tora nodded, grinned. ‘That does make it hard, but maybe we can talk outside?’

She smiled a little. The beggar belched and returned his bowl for a refill.

Tora fished out another three coppers and gave them to her with a polite bow. ‘The soup was delicious, miss,’ he said aloud. ‘Please forgive my bad manners.’ He raised a hand to the three deaf mutes, nodded to the beggar, and left.

Outside, Tora stepped around the corner into the alley and waited. The stars had disappeared and he heard distant thunder. The girl did not come out. Maybe she was busy. Or maybe she had never intended to. A gust of hot wind stirred the dust of the street. Tora sighed and decided to go home.