Silk & Service: A Polite Assassin

Not all assassins wear black

Some come wearing silk

A young Takeda warrior meets a servant who is much more than she seems. And teaches him what a warrior truly can be.

This is the second of six Kunoichi Companion Tales, prequel stories to David Kudler’s historical novel Risuko: A Kunoichi Tale:

• White Robes — Mired in her own grief, Lady Mochizuki Chiyome encounters two young women who give her a whole new, much more interesting opportunity
• Silk & Service — A young Takeda warrior meets a servant who is much more than she seems (coming soon!)
• Ghost — When Lady Chiyome receives a note from the shōgun, she finds that the messenger is much more intriguing than the message
• Shining Boy — Plucked off of the streets of the capital, an orphan girl tries to figure out what story she's wandered into
• Blade — Toumi doesn't want anyone messing with her business
• Little Brother — Returning to the monastery turns out to be as hard as leaving it was

Extract:

“Get my purse, boy!” growled Captain Oniyama, “And more sake!”
Masugu watches the girl appear as if from out of the floor to pour the rice wine into the captain's cup: smooth gait, smooth hair, smooth—
“Boy! My purse!”
Masugu shakes himself, blushing, and leaps to his feet. “Yes, Oniyama-sama!”
The captain is usually patient and polite, but at these regular mahjong games with the other Imagawa commanders, he drinks. And Masugu doesn't like being around him when he's drunk. Doesn't like watching him lose at games.
Also, the girl...

(Teen assassin, historical fiction, love in a time of war, Japan)