Ishi and Sha’nom passed through the small courtyard in front of Ishi’s father’s office building, a two-story affair that was the only other two-story building on the estate besides the main family residential house. All the other buildings were one-story structures, including the servants’ houses, the stables, a shrine, a blacksmith workshop, guest houses, and a special house for hosting moon viewing parties, weddings, festival celebrations, and other special occasions.

Sha’nom Sha’ori loved taking in the beauty of the Mishimoto Estate in his human form. As a yokai, he loved it even more in his cat form. A sudden gust in the day’s breeze caused bambook to softly rattle in a few of the estate’s bamboo groves, pulling the shugenka’s thoughts back to the present moment and the present situation. He resolved to enjoy roaming the estate grounds as a cat later. For now, he sensed that his friend Ishi might need him.

“Ishi” wasn’t his friend’s proper name, of course. “Ishi” was the proper title for those who had mastered the woodland ways and scouting disciplines that his friend had. The young scout had earned the title “Ishi” younger than any ever had as far as anyone knew, at a mere eight years old. This was no doubt thanks to the special interest that his grandmother had taken in him and to whatever mystical secrets she had imparted to him before she had passed on. According to Ishi, his grandmother had often taken him into the deep forests and sometimes up into the mountains, visiting a lot of shugenja, learning the ways of animals and plants, and sometimes even meeting spirits. Since his grandmother had died, Ishi had stopped using his given name and simply been known to all as Ishi. Of course, close people such as Ishi’s parents, his siblings, and servants who had been with the Mishimoto family for a long time, would remember Ishi’s name, but they all honored his wishes and didn’t use it, even his mother.

The two young men entered the building, moving aside the sliding shoji doors. On the first floor, sunlight filtered through the doors’ paper screens, painting the wooden floor with pale, shifting patterns. They could see where, in times of official war, guards would have been stationed there at the first floor entrance. Sha’nom knew just how big a military force the Oni Overlord was mustering in the wilderness, as yet unknown to most of the humans in the region. The cat yokai wondered if it might not be long before, once again, there were guards stationed here. As it was that day, though, the first floor room was nearly bare, save for a low lacquered table and a single vase holding a sprig of plum blossoms.

Since Ishi had been summoned immediately upon reaching the Estate, the family’s sixth son had not had time to remove the armor he had worn on the road, or to freshen up in any way. Since this two-story office building convened war councils when necessary, the floors were no stranger to booted feet. The time would come later for Ishi to relax and take his shoes off to enter the family main residence. The floors were protected from the wear and tear of heavy footgear by thick tatami mats, woven straw, adding a warm, earthy texture to the building.

On the way up the stairs to Ishi’s father’s office, they passed a tokonoma alcove, a recessed space for art or floral displays. The scroll in the alcove depicted a mountain shrouded in mist, perfectly framed by a delicate spray of cherry blossoms.

Ishi’s father was in the main second story room, pacing, reading a scroll. Ishi’s father looked a lot like Ishi and Ishi’s five brothers. It was said that Mishimoto Oda had strong blood. The older man was dressed in a formal robe. In front of him was a beautiful wooden desk that ran almost the width of the room. On each side and behind him were shelves adorned mostly with scrolls, but with a few other objects as well such as writing supplies like blank paper, ink bottles, quills, and sealing wax, as well as the occasional weapon or momento of the past.

“Father”, Ishi greeted his sire with a formal bow.

“Mishimoto Oda, it is an honor to once again be your guest,” Sha’nom added his bow and greeting.

“My son,” Oda nodded to Ishi. To Sha’nom, he also nodded, adding, “It pleases Clan Mishimoto to once again enjoy victory in battle against the Oni Overlord with such an ally as the famous shugenja Sha’nom Sha’ori. Please, stay as long as you like. I am told we have a good crop of catnip this year.”

The cat yokai smiled.

“My son, I have sad news,” Oda indicated the scroll he had been reading when they entered. Although the wax seal on the scroll had been broken, Ishi recognized the seal of his maternal grandfather’s estate in far off Wa’ay. Wa’ay was another nation very similar in culture to Ishi’s native Hoshihana, ruled by a shogun on behalf of an emperor, with the shogun’s will carried out by a noble class of samurai.

“Your maternal grandfather, Togashuma Asakura, has passed on from this world. As he had no living heir, he has left his estate, his wealth, his lands, and most importantly his title and responsibility to be a samurai of Wa’ay, to you, my son.”

Ishi’s entire world imploded. His plan to enjoy a life of being a noble sixth son, with the privileges of the noble class, but without the responsibilities and restrictions of being a samurai ended instantly.

“Shit!” he swore out loud in front of his father. Oops!