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Dans-Prosemaxx-Cowriter-S

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[ { "from": "system", "value": "Write 4 sentences sentences in the style of Akahige Namban spawning from what the user wrote." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The Yamato plain is a basin bordered by mountains." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jiro passed the city of Nara in the center of the plain by a side road. Meeting a professional messenger on the road, he had sent a message to Okiku, but inasmuch as there was little real news to tell, he only asked her to alert their friend Goemon and meet him at some well-known spot. He chose Koya-san, knowing little about his quarry besides their possible connection with that well-known monastery. He had inquired along his route, gleaning a hint here and there." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Yamabushi bands were not uncommon, many travelled with women, and they all seemed to be heading south." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Still, Osatsuki's beauty and charm were striking, and Jiro was not a man to give up easily.\n\nHe marched the entire day. Well-tended, straight-sided rice fields stretched out to the wooded mountains that rose steadily before him. He made inquiries along the way, with little hope." }, { "from": "human", "value": "No one had seen any sign that could be interpreted as a kidnapped courtesan." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The ground rose with the setting of the sun, and by the time the sun was in the far west, Jiro decided to call it a day. He was in a rural area. Small hamlets and occasional isolated houses dotted the landscape. He headed towards one of the nearer hamlets across the fields and fruit groves." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A road led through the hamlet, and it looked as if it might have an inn, or at least the house of a wealthy farmer who would offer him shelter for the night." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He passed through a small peach orchard and came suddenly upon a small farmhouse. Before it, a spring bubbled from between two rocks. One of them was carved with the words \"water god,\" to indicate its sacred nature. A young woman knelt by the water's edge, at the small artificial pool." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She was bare to the waist, and her breasts dangled suggestively over the water." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She was combing her hair, and spots of moisture on her back seemed to indicate that she was in the final act of a rustic bath.\n\nShe raised her head at Jiro's approach, saw his tall figure emerging from the trees, gasped, and rose to flee. Her straw sandal caught in a tangle of brush, and she crashed to the ground, yelping in pain. Trying desperately to rise, she cried out." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jiro stopped at the other side of the pool as she frantically sought to cover her breasts and crawl away from him at the same time." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I won't hurt you,\" he said. To demonstrate his peaceful intentions he knelt and drew some water in his cupped hand.\n\nShe tried to rise and fell back. Panting heavily, she managed to hide her breasts." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He rocked back on his hams and looked at her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I was only passing through, on my way to the hamlet.\" He waved casually at the gathering gloom behind her.\n\nHis tone and immobility rather than his words seemed to reassure her. She rolled to her knees and bowed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I am sorry, Mr. Samurai, but I am not used to strangers. My mother and I are alone here since—Oh!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Her hand flew to her mouth in consternation.\n\n\"Ah, you're not supposed to say that, are you?\" He laughed and waved a hand. \"Don't worry. I'll be on my way. I won't take advantage of your situation.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He rose to go, and she rose with him, moaning a little." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She turned to pick up a heavy wooden bucket but could not put weight on her sprained ankle. She cried in pain.\n\n\"Let me help you?\"\n\nShe tried to refuse, awed by her proximity to what was to her a mighty nobleman." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He insisted gently and was at last allowed to carry the heavy bucket." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He marvelled at these simple country girls, able to carry burdens that would make a man look for other employment.\n\nThe house was a small peasant's cottage. The interior was divided by wooden and matting screens into several rooms. Bare rafters, huge beams of twisted aged wood, rose in the gloom." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Farmer's tools were scattered about." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Over all was an air of abandonment and poverty. Tools seemed unrepaired, and the matting was old, the wood warped.\n\nShe begged him to rest, and Jiro gratefully sat on the wooden platform, his feet still in sandals on the pounded earth floor of the entrance hall. He removed his sword from his sash and accepted the fruit she offered." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"How did you get here, sir?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "she asked with country ingenuousness.\n\n\"I am looking for a friend,\" he answered absently. She was quite pretty, he decided. Flat, round face with fine eyes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Thick ankles below the hem of her short dress, but a nicely rounded body." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I was hoping to find an inn in the hamlet...\"\n\n\"There isn't one,\" she said. \"It's a very poor village. There is an inn, I have heard, several miles away. Perhaps you could try that?\"\n\n\"No. I'll just have to sleep on the veranda of some shrine. The kami are always hospitable.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She laughed. Then her brows ceased in thought." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Actually, why don't you stay here for the night? I'm afraid we have little to offer, but at least a mat and some protection from the elements...\"\n\nHe waved his hand in refusal. \"I could not impose on your parents...\"\n\n\"No, only my mother. She is not here now. She has gone to sell some akebia-vine baskets. My father died some years ago. That is why we are so poor.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She looked mournfully at the dilapidated cottage." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He bowed his thanks.\n\nSupper was a simple stew of mushrooms, wild vegetables, and taro cooked in a pot over a small fire. It was held by a straw rope threaded through a wooden post in the shape of a fish. She served him, not eating until he had had his fill." }, { "from": "human", "value": "While she was eating he leaned forward and poked idly at the fire." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His hand snaked forward into the ashes.\n\n\"Look—you must have lost this...\" There was a small string of square-holed copper cash in his hand. Her bowl almost dropped from her hand. She laid down her chopsticks and stared at the money." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He laid it down in her lap." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It must have dropped there from your father's sleeve,\" Jiro said. He was almost penniless now, but there would always be some way to proceed. She hugged the string to her breasts.\n\nJust then they were interrupted." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I am home!\" a strong female voice called from the entrance hall." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Etsuko, come and help me.\" The girl hurried to her feet and rushed to the entrance, calling, \"Welcome home!\"\n\nThe mother was in her early forties, Jiro estimated. She had the girl's country good looks, not yet turned stringy with age, her face only slightly wrinkled with care." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She cast a suspicious look at Jiro, then at her daughter." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Seeing nothing apparently amiss, she bowed at the samurai. Jiro introduced himself and uncomfortably, with thin lips, she bade him welcome. After a few moments she motioned her daughter aside. Jiro, impassive by the fireside, could hear muttered accusations and bitter protest." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The two women reentered the room." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Etsuko, the daughter, was drying her eyes and casting appealing glances in Jiro's direction. Jiro knew the source of the argument. Many samurai, he knew, treated peasant women as their chattels. They took them where and when they wanted, and pretty farm girls were prime targets." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Wandering, lordless samurai such as himself were the worst: they not only raped, but also robbed and killed on the slightest pretext." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Though the law was usually severe and swift, that was little consolation to the dead and none to the peasant who feared officialdom more than he feared death.\n\nJiro rose and bowed to the mother. \"If you will excuse me, I will leave. I am sorry to be such a bother.\" The mother made some protest, but it was clear she was relieved to see him go." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The daughter, Etsu, looked on with a blank face." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jiro stepped out into the cool night air. He would have to sleep the night on the ground after all. He shrugged mentally. It would not be the first time. He walked away from the house, through small gardens of beans and squash and other vegetables ripening in the summer warmth." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The path was worn, and it meandered as it neared points of importance to the peasants." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He passed by a bamboo grove, the plumes of the plants glinting in the moonlight. The sky was clear, and the lunar illumination cast a glow over everything. There was a large tree in a clearing near the grove. Jiro marked it from afar for future reference." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Such trees sometimes indicated shrines, and if the shrine was large enough, it would be his hostel for the night." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He slowed down as he approached. His trained senses told him of someone lurking in the shadows. Without turning his head he watched the dark cautiously. Suddenly he was distracted." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A group of men came up the path." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Some of them bore lanterns. Their feet were bare, but they were in a hurry. They saw him in the moonlight, and one of them called out, \"There he is! I told you there was a samurai there!\"\n\nJiro stood in the clearing to await developments." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The lurker in the shadow of the shrine did not move." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The excited villagers surrounded the giant samurai like hounds bringing a wolf to bay. There were eight of them armed with improvised weapons—sickles, flails, rakes, and wooden poles.\n\nThey dithered around him for awhile, and one, braver perhaps than the rest, stalked up to Jiro. \"Well, Mr. Samurai, what are you doing here, eh? Had your fun with our widow, huh? Don't think you can get away with it. We've had enough of you people. We pay the landlord, and that's enough.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Matagel, cut the chatter and let's finish him,\" another rough voice broke in." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I was merely looking for shelter for the night, but it proved inconvenient for the household,\" Jiro replied mildly. \"Now get out of the way, please. It would be a bother reporting your death to the authorities.\"\n\n\"Bastard! Report my death to the authorities?\" The apparent leader of the peasant youths raised his staff." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jiro's left hand rested lightly on his sheath." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "One of the peasants sniggered \"Shelter for the night. Bastard!\" Others raised their makeshift weapons. Jiro kept his eyes on the leader. He knew from the sounds and small rushes they were making that they were not ready to attack—yet." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As soon as their courage was up they would, and he would have to act." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He grinned to himself. He had never been trained to run away. A defect, Okiku often told him, in a perfect character. Run away and fight again was his mate's philosophy." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Please don't draw your sword, Mr. Samurai. The smell of blood would upset my digestion.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The voice from the shadows was hoarse and adenoidal, though the words and accent were town, rather than country. A massive shadow detached itself from the deeper shadow of the shrine-tree and lumbered forward. Nine faces turned in that direction.\n\nThe interloper was shorter than Jiro but outweighed him by a half." }, { "from": "human", "value": "An enormous belly extended the front of his robe, which was wrapped by a smart black-striped silk sash." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His face was almost as round as the moon but framed in curly sideburns that reached to his fat jowls. He waddled forward and stood with feet planted wide.\n\n\"I do think you should disperse, you know. Or at least fight him one by one.\"\n\n\"Who asked you, horse-head?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Some of the peasants converged on him, their weapons raised." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"A moment, please.\" He raised his hands. \"As you can see, I'm unarmed. Here, look...\" He extended his arms to the sides, palms upwards. He wore a light summer robe, and there did not appear to be anything hidden in it. He squatted a bit and stamped his feet on the ground." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You wouldn't want to attack an unarmed man, would you?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I don't care if you're unarmed or the samurai here armed. We want you out of here. We don't care for any strangers, particularly those fucking our widow.\" There was chorus of assent from his companions.\n\nOne of the peasants, a husky young man, spat on his hands and marched up to the fat man. \"I'll deal with him!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "he called over his shoulder." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The rest of you attend to the samurai.\"\n\nThe peasant's hard bare foot lashed out and connected with a thump to the fat man's crotch. The fat man winced but stood there looking the peasant in the eye. The surprised young man, who had expected the fat man to collapse in agony, stared with his jaw open." }, { "from": "human", "value": "An enormous fat hand lashed out and slapped his face." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The peasant youth collapsed to the ground.\n\nThe other young men yelled their battle cries and charged. Two of them rushed the fat man. The rest charged Jiro, who still had time to see how his unexpected ally dealt with some of his opponents." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The fat man leapt forward in a single giant frog hop." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "One hand smacked solidly into a charging peasant's face, sending him flying. The other seized an opponent's neck and swung him around in a hip throw that crashed him to the ground.\n\nAll that, Jiro saw in a flash as the other peasants were upon him. He dodged a pole aimed at his head and slid forward." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The butt of his sword slammed into a midriff, and one of the men went down before him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Twisting, he seized another man's sleeve and with a quick move threw him over his own shoulder. He drew the sword, still sheathed, from his sash and parried a hooking cut by an attacker armed with a sharp curved sickle. Skilfully, the man tried to entrap the sword, but Jiro was too experienced a swordsman. His sheath moved with the hook, then thrust forward to the point of the peasant's chin." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jiro turned to his last opponent, and that worthy, trapped between two formidable foes, backed away in terror." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"A moment, please. Do not run.\" The fat man's hoarse voice sounded again. \"If I may inquire, why are you so anxious to attack us?\"\n\nThe young peasant, fearful for his life, had lost his former belligerence." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He became obsequious as he bowed, trembling." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Pardon me, sir. We—we feared for our widow. You know, we are poor men, but we must protect our own...\"\n\n\"Your widow?\" Jiro interjected. \"Surely all of you are alive and well...\"\n\nThe man bobbed his head again." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Our widow, sir... that is...\" He stammered for a second, trying to explain what was to him a commonplace." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You see, sir, we have a custom hereabouts—I think it must seem strange to you gentlemen. Anyway, when a man dies leaving a wife, the young unmarried men take care of her. Bring her firewood, help with plowing and sowing, repairs, things like that which she cannot do for herself. Of course, we also have to protect her, and someone saw the samurai gentleman entering her house, so we thought... we thought...\"\n\n\"You thought I was going to rape her,\" concluded Jiro drily.\n\n\"Well, yes, sir. And that's no good sir. Besides, it was Kichibei and Saburo's turn to visit her tonight. We came along as a sort of guard, sir.\"\n\nThe fat man moved impatiently. \"Turn? Explain!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The peasant bobbed his head again." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Of course, we take care of all her needs. She is very nice to us, and since we cannot enter the houses of girls to visit them, she sleeps with us. A nice woman she is too, sir.\"\n\nJiro and the fat man both laughed.\n\n\"Well, I'm sorry I interrupted your friends' turn. I really did leave her there unharmed. Her daughter, too. I suggest, though,\" he added in a severe tone, \"that you and your friends refrain from attacking samurai in the future. Your entire village could be razed if that came out.\" The young peasant shivered at the words, knowing how true they were." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He fell to his knees and bowed to the ground, babbling for forgiveness." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jiro ignored him, and bowed to the massive figure at his side.\n\n\"I am Miura Jiro, an unattached samurai and teacher. At your service. Thank you for your help. I would never have succeeded without you.\"\n\n\"Nonsense!\" said the fat man cheerfully and informally. Though dressed as a commoner, he seemed to take Jiro as an equal, if not perhaps even an inferior." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I am Tatsunoyama, a wrestler from Osaka. I am travelling on pilgrimage. Also, I am scouting for possible candidates for the ring.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He looked up at Jiro. \"A shame we did not find you when you were young.\"\n\nJiro stiffened at the insult, then relaxed. The wrestler was obviously not out to insult him by questioning his profession of arms." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He was merely blunt." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If I may venture a question...\" Jiro said delicately.\n\nTatsunoyama bowed slightly.\n\n\"You were kicked in a place that normally renders a man unconscious, and yet...\" The peasant, who had been busy trying to revive his groaning companions, paused to listen too.\n\n\"It is one of the secrets of our trade,\" Tatsunoyama said hoarsely." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But I can tell you that I can raise my precious jewels at will. Thus it was a painful kick but had no real effect.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The two men exchanged pleasantries for a time, while the attackers scrambled groggily to their feet. The peasants huddled together for a while, and Jiro eyed them covertly, wondering whether they were planning another attack. One of them, his back bent submissively, crept to the two. The others bowed their heads in a group behind." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The spokesman scratched his head and laughed with embarrassment." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Excuse us, gentlemen, but this was all a mistake. I hope you are not angry?\" Encouraged by Jiro's and Tatsunoyama's response, he continued, \"We... we would like to make amends. Can we invite you gentlemen to stay the night? I understand the samurai gentleman has no place to go...\" His voice trailed off at his own temerity. \"And of course, the wrestler gentleman as well...\"\n\nTatsunoyama grunted, then smiled." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"As for me, I thank you, but I am being hosted by someone in the neighborhood. I merely went out for a stroll. The gentleman here will accept your offer. Take good care of him.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He flipped an enormous paw in Jiro's direction and rolled off ponderously.\n\nJiro marvelled how such a mountain of flesh could move so swiftly in a fight. He marvelled too at how the wrestler, a commoner, could treat him, a nobleman, so casually.\n\nThe peasant tugged at his sleeve." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If you please, master, we could repair to the widow's? We have some wine...\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The widow greeted her guests gaily. It was obvious that they were desirable visitors. She eyed Jiro with a greater surprise, but one of the young men took her aside, and after a low-voice conversation punctuated with glances toward Jiro, she accepted him and even offered him some of the warmed rice wine in an old cracked cup specially polished for the occasion.\n\nThe men lounged around the sunken fireplace, drinking and munching some snacks she had prepared." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The widow served them herself, her round cheeks glowing with the heat and the pleasure of their company." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Pounded rice cakes and taro were set to bake in the ashes. Etsuko, the girl, was nowhere to be seen. Jiro sat a little apart. The conversation was about subjects and people he knew little of." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Gossip mainly, talk of the harvest and a coming festival." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jiro excused himself—to everyone's evident relief. There was a pallet on the floor in an inner room, laid on the bare boards. The widow offered it to him, with a bow. He noted the sour looks from the young men by the fire." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Thank you, no. But do you have a hayloft? I noted a barn and thought... well, I have not had the pleasure of the smell of newly cut grass in many years. That would be a delight.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The widow looked at him in surprise. She tried to protest, not too strongly, but finally led him upstairs and through a narrow hatch to a pile of hay that overlooked the empty horse stall.\n\n\"We had to sell the horse a long while ago, but this place is well protected and part of the main building, so you should be warm and comfortable,\" she said. He bowed his thanks, and she departed back to her guests." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The loft was indeed comfortable, and the soft highland grass fragrant." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jiro burrowed into the grass and found himself ensconced against the loft wall. He was soon dozing, but then he found that a light was shining into his eyes. He blinked sleepily. The light came from a narrow fissure in the wooden floor. He rubbed his eyes and then peered blearily through the crack." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The light came from a candle in the room occupied by the pallet offered him earlier." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The wooden sliding door between the room and the kitchen where the young men lounged was closed. On the pallet lay the widow, her hair slightly loose, struggling in the arms of one of the farmers. Jiro snapped awake. The woman giggled and said something in a low voice, and the man relaxed his grip. She sat up on the pallet and languidly loosened the top of her robe." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It fell to her waist, and she peered coyly at her companion from beneath the loose strands of hair." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He lay back on the pallet, and she wiggled her shoulders. Her plump tits bounced, the nipples prominent dark, dancing at their tips. The man seized her impatiently, and she lay on him while he pulled off her robe. She had a full, muscular ass and thick, short legs." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jiro could see the shadow formed by the dark hairs that peeped like a little beard from between the columns of her thighs." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The man grasped her shoulders and rolled her over. Jiro could see his rampant prick, a shiny drop of lubricant decorating its tip.\n\nThe man took his cock in one hand and shook it several times. She spread her legs waiting for him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her dark bush shadowed the lower part of her belly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The plump lips were almost obscured by the thicket. Her hand snaked between her legs, and she teased the lips open, affording Jiro a full look at her red cunt slit. Then the man's muscular body covered hers, and her knees came up slightly. The man heaved into her, and she uttered a sigh." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her face was obscured by the man's untidy hairdo, and then uncovered as he bent to suck at a nipple." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Her eyes were closed, and she was breathing heavily as the lusty peasant ploughed into her. His buttocks moved in a rhythm that became rapidly faster. He grunted and she gasped as his passion reached a climax. The man stiffened as she looked reproachfully at his slack face." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His ass jerked several times as his pent-up passion siphoned through his cock and flooded her interior." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He lay on her as if dead for a while, until she shook him off impatiently. There was disappointment on her face, but she brightened as a muffled voice called from behind the door. The man rose and wiped himself with his loincloth. He stretched and looked at her with a smile." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She lay there, one finger teasing her glistening clitoris, the other behind her head." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He left, and another young man came in.\n\nThis one dropped his clothes hurriedly and knelt between her parted legs. He pushed forward with a will. A short, stocky youth, he found it hard to thrust deeply into her while holding her breasts." }, { "from": "human", "value": "At last he abandoned the attempt and withdrew." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She looked at him in surprise. Grasping her hips he turned her over on her face. She protested, not too sincerely, at his odd mode of entering her. He pulled back for a moment, affording Jiro a clear look at her plump buttocks, bisected by the dark line that shadowed her anus." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Below he could clearly see the mossy lips of her cunt, still glowing wetly from the intrusion of the man's stubby cock, which pointed like an arrow at her opening." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The young peasant lad regarded the sight for a moment. Almost shyly he stroked the warm, soft buns. His cock jerked several times in anticipation. The widow smiled at him over her shoulder, then leaned forward and placed her head on her hands." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The stocky lad—Jiro thought he could not be older than fifteen—bent forward as if hypnotized." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He bit softly at the woman's prominent buttocks, and she urged him on with a soft cry. His tongue came out, and he licked the twin half moons lovingly. His tongue dipped lower, and he tilted his head, the better to get at the honey between her legs. She whispered at him, and then her hand came out from between her legs and sought his erect cock." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She squeezed and rubbed it for a long while as he crouched over her back." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He toyed with the plump breasts that hung down before her, and she peered back at his cock, framed by his hands and her own breasts and thighs. At last he gasped and fell forward. His stubby pole sought the delicious entrance, and he entered her cavern.\n\nJiro could see that the stimulation had proved too much for the lad." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His body shook and his ass danced as if struck by palsy." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Now write approximately five sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He writhed like a hooked fish, and she arched her back, urging more of his meat into herself. She stuck one hand back and massaged her hot clitoris, accompanying him in his frenzy. At last she collapsed forward, panting hard. Oblivious of the world, his face wreathed in a smile, the peasant lad lay over her. Above them both, Jiro gritted his teeth and turned over to try to get some sleep." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Today you will be acting as a writing assistant, your partner will send something and you will write the next 4 sentences." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A fire was lit, and samples of the pure grains were burned. Charms were read over Satsuki's supine body, and mystic signs were traced on her skin in sanctified ink. The droning of the chants, the conch blasts, and the jangle of instruments lulled Satsuki into a trance. As the fire died down in its brass bowl, Hasegae drew Satsuki's legs apart." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He inserted himself slowly and smoothly into her moist channel while chanting the appropriate verses." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He rolled them onto their sides. His hands loosely caressed her breasts and back, then dipped lower to her ass, spreading her cheeks like the two halves of a peach.\n\nChanting too, Tsuneyoshi laid himself behind her. He inserted his prick into the flexible ring of her ass." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Slowly, still chanting, he eased his way into her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She felt the hardness of the two pricks in her as they nestled into the channels of her flesh. Gently, softly, she enclosed them within herself, squeezing them as lightly as she could.\n\nTwo pairs of hands now stroked her body. Rising higher, they found her throat and lightly fingered her mouth." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She opened her soft lips, and Daisangyoja's prick was gently inserted into the warm waiting cavern." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 5 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It slid forward, resting on her relaxed tongue. She breathed easily through her nose while laving the full morsel of flesh with the moisture of her mouth. Daisangyoja touched the top of her head approvingly.\n\nThe doors were closed, and they lay that way dreamily through the night, Satsuki slowly urging her men towards a climax by tiny motions of her body, by minute shiftings and clenchings of herself. As the rooster crowed the dawn she was inundated by streams of come from all three men, who were shaken in turn by her climax." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Hey can you write like Akahige Namban and use whatever i write as a jumping off point?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jiro paused in his ablutions." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The morning sun shone through the trees.\n\n\"I still think I should have killed him.\"\n\n\"He treated me well, in his way.\"\n\nJiro grunted. He had no patience for religious fanatics or for those of any other kind." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Besides, the man had insulted a friend and deserved to die." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Privately he resolved that should the opportunity present itself again, he would not hesitate.\n\nSatsuki smiled at him. \"You look so much better now. I was convinced you were a demon from hell when you opened the cave.\"\n\nHe grinned and breathed deeply." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Water ran down his cheeks and his massive chest." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The brook chuckled down a mountainside between moss-covered boulders. The sound was so pure and clear, Jiro could almost hear the music of a flute in the notes of the rocks and water. Huge tree trunks obscured vision to all sides. Colorful flowers peeped coyly from between green bushes and ferns." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It seemed as if they were alone in the world." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There was no sign of pursuit, nor did they expect any. They were lost and, for the while at least, content to stay so.\n\n\"How did you find me?\" she asked.\n\n\"It was rather peculiar. I lost your trail several times but was helped by your very clever device of the azalea wreaths.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She bowed in thanks to the compliment." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Then at the worm hole I was stumped, but found a crack in the cliff face and managed to crawl up that.\"\n\n\"What was so peculiar?\"\n\n\"There was a pilgrim's sandal there, hanging on the cliff. I wonder how it got there. You were there during the day; you must have seen it...\"\n\nShe shook her head, puzzled." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No, forgive me for my inobservance, but I am sure there was nothing there of the sort. It would have been rather obvious, would it not?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He sucked in air through his teeth in puzzlement. There was something odd about the whole affair, now that he could think of it. The rock slides, for instance. There were none when he was climbing the cliff face, nor had he heard any during the preceding nights." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His line of thought was broken by Osatsuki." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Shall I rub your back?\" she asked impishly. \"You must be very tired.\"\n\nHe was suddenly conscious of her body beneath her rather tattered robe. He knelt on the bank of the stream, and she knelt behind him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her soft hands stroked his sore shoulders gently." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The soothing motion soon aroused other thoughts, and he turned, still seated on his knees. He was not surprised to find Satsuki naked to the waist. Her small breasts pouted fully, waiting for his kisses and his hands. There was a smile on her lips, encouraging him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He took full advantage of the opportunity, playing long with her breasts and torso." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then he bore her gently back onto the moss. His manhood stood forward from his belly for a short moment before it was plunged into her depths. For a short time he waited, looking deeply into her eyes, enjoying the fullness of the scene. Then his hips began pistoning, slowly at first, then, as the crisis overcame him, with greater rapidity." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She shook with passion along with him, her insides adding their copious moisture to his sprays of heavy cream." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In the final moment she covered his mouth with hers and her eyes filled with tears.\n\nThey lay for a long time, teasing one another's skin with their fingers and tongues, gently kissing.\n\n\"That was nice and uncomplicated,\" remarked Satsuki.\n\nJiro looked at her in consternation." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You had a hard time then, Mistress Osatsuki?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She laughed pleasantly. \"No, not too bad. Please do not concern yourself. And it was most educational. I hardly had any idea there were people who lived like that. It was edifying, but I am glad it is over. And please, do not be formal. Under the circumstances it would be ridiculous, and I do so want to get to know you better. Okiku and I have discussed you many times...\" She hid her smile with the palm of his hand, and Jiro laughed quietly.\n\n\"Very well,\" he said. \"I will call you Satsuki, as is proper. We are practically blood siblings, after all, sharing so many secrets and adventures.\"\n\nNonetheless, he could not help wondering what Okiku and Satsuki had talked about when his name was mentioned." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They lay together, enjoying the peace of nature and pleasurable companionship, unwilling to go on travelling towards the rest of humankind." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He turned to her again, his penis ready, and she opened herself to him.\n\nThe denizens of the mountain forest appeared from between the trees, dancing across the boulders like a troop of spirits. One softly played the drone of a hichiriki, producing eldritch music. Their music was in rhythm with the wind that blew between the trees and peculiarly in rhythm too with the movements of Jiro and Satsuki's bodies." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Unseeing of the two, uncaring almost, they danced across moss-covered rocks, teetering for seconds on fallen logs, shooting off in all directions." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The speed of their movements grew with the speed of Jiro's thrust. Satsuki closed her eyes, and he laved her lips with his tongue.\n\nThe signs of her approaching pleasure were near. Her cunt tightened on his driving machine." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her breath came in tight little gasps." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Her nipples hardened to stiff points between his pinching fingers. At last she gave a gentle sigh, and her body trembled throughout its entire length. She tightened convulsively, and then Jiro felt her grip slacken. She opened her eyes in time to watch him come too." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His massive frame reared above her body like a wave." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A tide of seed sprayed out from his massive member as he sought to bury it deeper into her. He cried out in triumph, crushing a handful of earth, the only contact between their bodies being the length of his male member. He sank down gratefully onto her soft body.\n\nThey both raised their heads slightly and considered their visitors, who regarded them gravely in return." }, { "from": "human", "value": "All five seemed ancient." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Their hair was full and white. It flowed over their shoulders in snowy masses. They wore the colorful clothes of the yamabushi but with a difference. Silk and gold thread predominated." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The breeches were of the finest material, the robes tucked into them of silk." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "On second look, Jiro was not so sure of their antiquity. Faces were smooth and unlined, hands did not display the usual veins of age. Only the eyes contrived to look ancient and infantile at once.\n\n\"You did that very well.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was the sole woman of the five who spoke." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She was distinguishable from the men only in her lack of beard.\n\n\"We are the Goki, dwellers in the mountain,\" another said, forestalling Jiro's question.\n\n\"Are you yamabushi?\" Satsuki asked.\n\nJiro was nervously conscious of his nakedness and the fact that his swords were not close enough to hand." }, { "from": "human", "value": "One of the men laughed and looked at Jiro with amusement." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You did not return my geta,\" he answered Jiro's unasked question.\n\n\"So it was you?\" he said. \"The rock slides too?\"\n\nThey bowed from their seats on rocks and branches." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Why?\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Now write approximately five sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "This time the speaker's face was serious. \"We do not care for what Master Daisangyoja was attempting. Long have we dwelt in these mountains, ministering to true yamabushi. Master Daisangyoja wishes to disturb the natural order of things. Whether his magic succeeds or not does not matter. It is the results of his actions, his turning people against themselves, that we dislike. So we opposed him.\"\n\n\"Come,\" the woman smiled at them. \"We know the ways of the mountains. You wish to go to Mount Koya. We will show you the way. We are glad you have not killed Master Daisangyoja. But beware. He is a great yamabushi, but he is not likely to forget you.\"\n\n\"I will take care of him, and not with my fist, should we meet again,\" Jiro stated forcefully." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Today you will be acting as a writing assistant, your partner will send something and you will write the next four sentences." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Rosamund had been separated from her companions by her ignorance of woodcraft." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She wrung her hands nervously. She hated fighting. The emotions it roused were ones she felt uncomfortable with. She cowered by a tree, licking her lips and wondering what had happened. A sound intruded on her thoughts." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She raised her head and could not forbear a scream." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "An unshaven face under a pillbox hat was leering at her around the bole. Seeing she was alarmed and alone, the yamabushi stepped around the tree and reached for her. She reacted instinctively. Pulling back, she lashed at him with her hand. The yamabushi grinned and grabbed at her robe." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The weighted end of the chain she kept in her sleeve hit his forehead above his eyebrow." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The front of his skull caved in, and his eyes turned in his head. Rosamund's breath whistled beneath her teeth as she turned to seek more enemies.\n\nOsatsuki knelt in a clearing, admiring the hint of white seen between the trees. The sound of the waterfall was muted by the tree boles." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Beneath her the velvety moss cushioned her knees and stained the hem of her robe a bright green." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There was a poem on the subject, she remembered, but the lines would not come to her.\n\nTsuneyoshi stepped out of the forest and stopped beside her. His handsome, aristocratic face was sad. \"You should not have betrayed us,\" he said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She bowed slightly, looking sideways at him, her head tilted to one side." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The Master has indicated you are no longer acceptable. I am sorry, but my duty is to him. I could have loved you, but instead...\"\n\n\"What would you do now?\" she asked softly.\n\n\"I'll go into the mountains. I can no longer serve him.\"\n\nHis sword was resting lightly over his shoulder." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He raised it higher, and she noted that it was a heavily curved sword of ancient style, no doubt a relic of his family." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There were many such men, scions of great families brought down by the politics and wars that had ended at Osaka with the fall of the Taiko's heir. She leaned forward and shrugged out of her embroidered outer robe, tucking the ends of her sleeves beneath her knees so as to fall properly. He looked at the back of her neck, and the memory of her beauty on their travels rose in him.\n\n\"I shall pray for your repose in the afterlife,\" he said, and raised the blade two-handed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"And I for yours,\" she said softly, and drove the sharp steel hairpin she had drawn from her hair through his ribs and into his heart." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your next one should be approximately one sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Far below them, conches and drums announced the start of the parade." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Mode:\nCo-writing\n\nLength:\n4 sentences\n\nStyle:\nLaura Joh Rowland" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The excerpt from the pillow book lay in Sano's office, on the desk where Sano, Reiko, and Hirata had placed it after reading Lady Wisteria's story." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They sat in silence, looking expectantly at each other.\n\n\"This could be the key to finding Lady Wisteria and solving the case,\" Sano said as his hope vied with caution.\n\n\"Just when we need it most,\" Hirata said.\n\nSano had come home from Yoshiwara late that evening to find Reiko waiting for him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hirata had arrived moments later, and they'd discussed the other results of their inquiries, which had reached a dead end." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Sano had questioned the owner and employees of the Owariya, and they'd confirmed Fujio's story that he'd left the party for only an instant—not long enough to go upstairs, stab Lord Mitsuyoshi, and abduct Wisteria. Detective Fukida had turned up witnesses who'd seen Treasury Minister Nitta on the street in Yoshiwara, but none besides Fujio who could place Nitta near the Owariya after he'd left the party. Detective Marume had learned that Nitta was patron to many courtesans besides Wisteria. Sano had searched Fujio's home in Imado and found nothing." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He and Hirata had reluctantly agreed that they couldn't pursue the leads on Lord Mitsuyoshi's enemies without angering the shogun." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And since Reiko's efforts had failed to produce clues, the discovery of the pillow book was a welcome development.\n\n\"It seems almost too good to be true,\" Reiko said, voicing the thought on everyone's mind. \"And we've encountered false clues in the past.\"\n\n\"I did think it was too coincidental that I ran into Gorobei and he happened to have the pages,\" Hirata said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But after I bought them, I showed them to people at Wisteria's brothel. They thought the pages resembled what they'd seen in her book, but she was careful to keep anyone from getting a close look at it. Besides, most of the courtesans there can't read. Nor can any of the servants. They wouldn't recognize the text. But there's no reason to believe the pages aren't from Wisteria's book.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He spoke as if trying to convince himself in spite of the lack of proof, and Sano guessed why Hirata wanted so much for his clue to be genuine. They'd not yet talked about the miai, but Hirata's careworn face told Sano that the marriage negotiations had gone wrong. Hirata must be anxious to make up for taking time off from his duties, and to succeed at his work even in the midst of a personal crisis.\n\nReiko held a page closer to the lantern, examining it carefully." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The language is simple. The calligraphy is crude. And look at all the crossedout mistakes. This is what one would expect of a peasant woman who'd learned a little reading and writing but had no formal education.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Sano heard uncertainty in her voice. In the past Reiko had been quick to make up her own mind, and he realized how much self-doubt the Black Lotus case had instilled her. During that investigation he'd battled her convictions and wanted her to yield to his; yet he now regretted that she was deferring to his judgment at a time when he needed an independent opinion. Sano wished he could be sure of the pillow book's authenticity, for he had his own doubts about it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Would you please read a page aloud?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "he said to Reiko.\n\nShe complied. Sano listened, frowning because what he'd noticed while reading the words grew more apparent upon hearing them. They didn't sound like Wisteria, though he couldn't define exactly why not.\n\nReiko ceased reading. \"What is it?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "she said, looking curiously at Sano." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "What he'd omitted telling Reiko about the case now enmeshed him in a thickening tangle of deceit. He couldn't voice his concerns about the pillow book without admitting he'd known Wisteria. If he did admit he'd known the courtesan, Reiko would ask why he hadn't said so before. And if she learned the reason now, his evasiveness would hurt her more than honesty would have at the start." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's too bad the pages came without the cover,\" he said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That would have been easily recognized by people who'd seen Lady Wisteria's pillow book.\"\n\nReiko wore a quizzical expression that told him she knew he hadn't said what he was really thinking and wondered why. But she didn't ask. Sano saw Hirata watching him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hirata had known about Sano's relationship with Wisteria since Sano had told him on the way home from Yoshiwara that first day, and Sano was glad he could trust Hirata to keep the secret, even from Reiko." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I searched for the cover,\" Hirata said, \"but the garbage had been taken away and burned, and the alley swept clean. If the cover was ever there, it's gone now.\"\n\n\"That brings us to the question of why the pages were in the alley,\" Sano said.\n\n\"Wisteria could have thrown them away,\" said Hirata. \"Maybe she didn't need to write anymore because she was starting a new life. But she didn't want anyone to read her private thoughts, so she tore up the book, then put the pages in the garbage as she and her lover were leaving the Owariya.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But she was a runaway courtesan,\" Reiko said, \"and she would know her master would look for her.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Brothel proprietors hired searchers to track down fugitives, and added the cost of the search to the debt of women who got caught. \"Why would she leave clues to where she planned to go? Why not take the book with her, or burn it?\"\n\n\"Maybe she wasn't smart enough to think of that,\" Hirata said.\n\n\"The book could be a fake, with misleading details about her lover and her plans, that she put in the alley, to thwart anyone looking for her,\" Reiko said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hirata defended his find: \"Maybe she just didn't think anyone would care enough about getting her back that they would bother looking for her pillow book.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Probably no one would have cared that much, if Wisteria hadn't left Lord Mitsuyoshi dead in her room.\" Sano followed this line of reasoning to a thought that disturbed him. \"What if she didn't know he'd died? That would explain why she carelessly tossed away the pages—if indeed she did. Maybe she'd already left Yoshiwara by the time Mitsuyoshi was stabbed. Certainly, there's nothing in the pillow book to indicate that she witnessed the murder.\"\n\nReiko and Hirata's somber silence acknowledged the possibility that he was right." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Sano picked up the pages, then set them down." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"In that case, these would do us no good, even if they're for real, because finding Wisteria won't help us identify the killer.\"\n\nThe house was so quiet that they could hear the coals in the braziers crumbling into ash. The lantern's flame flickered as the oil burned low. Yet Sano needed to keep hope alive." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Still, I believe Lady Wisteria was in some way involved with the murder and does have knowledge that's critical to our investigation,\" he said. \"The pillow book could be a genuine clue to her whereabouts." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "We'll treat it as such, while we try to verify whether it is or isn't.\n\n\"Hirata-san, tomorrow I want you to check out the Suruga teahouses and the noodle shops of Fukagawa. Also, send out a notice to the neighborhood headmen throughout Edo, ordering them to report any men from Hokkaido seen in their areas. I'll send search parties out on the northern highway to look for a traveling couple, in case Wisteria and her lover have already left town.\"\n\n\"Shall I find out if any of the women I know have heard anything about Wisteria's secret lover from Hokkaido?\" Reiko said. She looked chastened by her failure to learn anything today, and eager for a second chance." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That's a good idea,\" Sano said." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Now write approximately 5 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The lover is a potential witness, and his name, or even a description of him, would help us find him and Wisteria.\"\n\nNodding, Reiko smiled in thanks.\n\n\"We'll keep the pages a secret,\" Sano said. \"Police Commissioner Hoshina is shadowing every bit of ground I cover, interrogating the same people. The pillow book is the one clue we have that won't fall into his hands.\"\n\nSano rose, adding in grim conclusion, \"It could also be our only hope of beating him to the solution to the case before he sabotages us.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Continue with the same vibes as Laura Joh Rowland" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Various inquiries took Sano from Edo Morgue to the palace, to the official quarter and daimyo district, and finally to Yoshiwara. Now a sentry at the gate clapped two wooden blocks together to signal midnight and curfew. Lanterns still blazed along the streets; hawkers called customers to teahouses and brothels; samurai and commoners still loitered, flirting with courtesans in the window cages. Gay music spangled the air." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A small group of men who didn't want to spend the whole night in Yoshiwara streamed out a small door in the gate." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Among these were Sano, Hirata, and the eight detectives they'd brought. As they rode along the dark causeway toward the city, Sano and Hirata exchanged news.\n\n\"The woman we found in Fujio's house was beaten to death,\" Sano said. \"She may or may not be Lady Wisteria.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "But he'd grown more certain that the dead woman was indeed the courtesan." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Fujio may not be the killer.\" Hirata described how he'd interviewed, then arrested the hokan. \"Today I talked to his wife, in-laws, friends, and mistress. They confirmed that he was with them when he says he was. Unless they're lying, he couldn't have committed murder in the hills.\"\n\n\"Maybe Fujio didn't kill Lord Mitsuyoshi either. Maybe Treasury Minister Nitta was guilty, and a third party murdered Wisteria.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Sano had difficulty believing that the murders were unconnected." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Still, he couldn't ignore the possibility.\n\n\"I've checked the stories I heard from the Council of Elders and other officials,\" he said. \"It's been hard to investigate Mitsuyoshi's background without appearing to do so. But I learned that Lord Dakuemon and several other men mentioned to me were in Yoshiwara the night of Mitsuyoshi's murder. Some are former clients of Lady Wisteria. The next step is to determine where they were during the time between Wisteria's disappearance and the discovery of the body.\"\n\nThis would be simple if not for the shogun's orders." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Sano regretted that he couldn't directly interrogate the new suspects instead of working through spies and informants, a laborious, time-consuming process." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 5 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If the killer isn't Fujio or a bakufu official, there's still Lady Wisteria's Hokkaido lover,\" Hirata said. \"But no one in Yoshiwara seems to know anything about him, and I haven't gotten any response to the notices I posted.\"\n\nSano gripped the reins; the icy wind penetrated his garments as his horse's hooves pounded the ground under him. The landscape of fields and starlit sky flowed past, so unchanging that he couldn't gauge the progress of his journey.\n\n\"Things will look more promising after a good night's rest,\" he said." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Provide 4 sentences as a continuation." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Inside his private chamber, Sano sat wrapped in a quilt, drinking a hot herbal infusion that Reiko had given him to restore his spirits, while she knelt watching anxiously.\n\n\"I'm sorry,\" he said.\n\nAnd he was sorry—for saying deplorable things; for succumbing to emotion and displaying weakness; for destroying the bush in a fit of undignified temper; for scaring Reiko. He hadn't realized how much bad will had built up inside him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Releasing it had given him an exhilarating sense of freedom; but now, although he felt more peaceful than he had in ages, he was deeply ashamed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And nothing had changed. The shogun still suspected him of murdering Lord Mitsuyoshi; Police Commissioner Hoshina was still determined to incriminate him. If he wanted to survive, Sano mustn't lose his self-control again.\n\n\"Do you really mean to give up your post?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Reiko asked, her manner still troubled." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No.\" Sano's moment of rebellion had passed. He had nowhere to go, and he couldn't sacrifice his honor or his family's future. Nor could he sacrifice the vocation that was his path along the Way of the Warrior, the strict code of duty, obedience, and courage by which samurai lived.\n\n\"Then what will you do?\" Reiko said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'll find the real killer, prove my innocence, and regain the shogun's trust.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Determination and a desire for justice rekindled in Sano. \"It will be hard, because all the clues have so far led nowhere, but there's still hope.\"\n\nHe and Reiko looked up as Hirata appeared in the doorway. \"Sumimasen—excuse me, but there's bad news.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Visibly distraught, Hirata said, \"Magistrate Aoki just convicted Fujio of murdering Lady Wisteria, and Momoko as an accomplice. They've been taken to the execution ground.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Reiko murmured in dismay. Sano had anticipated Fujio's conviction when he'd heard Magistrate Aoki had convened the trial, but Momoko's took him by surprise.\n\n\"Come in. Sit down and explain,\" Sano said to Hirata.\n\nHirata complied, and Sano marveled that the magistrate had based the verdict on a story he'd invented and couldn't prove." }, { "from": "human", "value": "After Hirata had finished, Sano said, \"This seems to be the day for bad news,\" then told Hirata what had happened to him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"All three of our suspects are gone.\" Hirata's face reflected his horror. \"That leaves you as the only target for the shogun's wrath.\"\n\nSano perceived cosmic forces shifting and heard the approaching thunder of doom as the onus settled upon him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Reiko said, \"Maybe Fujio, Momoko, or Treasury Minister Nitta did murder Lord Mitsuyoshi. They're still good suspects and worth investigating even if they're no longer alive.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"We can still look for proof of their guilt,\" Hirata said, following up her attempt to look on the bright side.\n\n\"And hope that it exists,\" Sano said, \"because I'm afraid that if we can't find a witness or some solid evidence that points to someone other than me, the only thing that will convince the shogun I'm innocent is the killer's confession. Which would be difficult to get from a dead person.\"\n\nHis companions nodded in glum agreement. Then Hirata spoke hesitantly: \"Police Commissioner Hoshina isn't above falsifying evidence against you. That second pillow book stank of him. He's sure to invent more 'proof' that you're a traitor.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Sano pursed his mouth, aware that Hirata meant they should follow Hoshina's example and fabricate evidence against Fujio, Momoko, or the treasury minister to save Sano." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Understanding flashed in Reiko's eyes. \"False incrimination is less harmful to a dead person than to a live one,\" she said with cautious hope.\n\nThat Hirata and Reiko would even consider such dishonesty meant they were at a loss for what else to do. \"It's already occurred to me,\" Sano admitted." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But I'm not desperate enough to frame someone who might be innocent, whether the person is alive or dead. Especially since there's a whole area of inquiry that we haven't yet explored.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What's left?\" Reiko said, puzzled.\n\n\"Lord Mitsuyoshi himself,\" Sano said.\n\nHirata frowned. \"The shogun forbade you to investigate his background.\"\n\n\"And I would hate to disobey.\" At the very thought of defying his lord, Sano tasted nauseating disgrace. \"But Mitsuyoshi represents a direct connection to the killer." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Investigating him and his associates should produce new clues." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And what are the alternatives?\n\n\"We can keep on investigating Fujio, Momoko, and Nitta, and maybe find new evidence on territory we've already covered. We can hope for new suspects to emerge, and Wisteria's lover from Hokkaido to turn up, or Police Commissioner Hoshina to drop dead.\" Sano watched Reiko and Hirata shake their heads, doubting the likelihood of these events. \"We can pray for a miracle.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Investigating Lord Mitsuyoshi does seem the most promising course of action,\" Reiko said." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 5 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The shogun will punish you for insubordination,\" Hirata reminded Sano.\n\n\"I'll risk that because he'll put me to death unless I prove my innocence,\" Sano said.\n\n\"Maybe he'll forgive you when he realizes you're not a traitor,\" Hirata suggested hopefully.\n\nThe odds against Sano outweighed those in his favor. He said, \"Maybe we can solve the case without the shogun finding out I've disobeyed him—and before Hoshina or our other enemies can cause us any more trouble.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Today you will be acting as a writing assistant, your partner will send something and you will write the next four sentences." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Lady Yanagisawa stood alone in her chamber, waiting for the only guest she'd ever invited to visit her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She wrung her cold, perspiring hands and breathed deeply to loosen the knot of anxiety in her stomach. She dreaded receiving a virtual stranger, and the thought of anyone breaching the sanctuary of her room. But the visit must take place here, in the privacy she needed.\n\nHer chief attendant appeared in the doorway." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"There's a girl here to see you.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Lady Yanagisawa's heart lurched as she fought the urge to run and hide. \"Bring her here,\" she said.\n\nDetermination fostered courage. She'd already taken a step against Reiko, but the consequences were too uncertain. If Lady Yanagisawa expected to sway the balance of fortune in her favor, she must persevere, despite her regret over her malice toward her friend." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Reiko's nursemaid O-hana entered the room." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She wore a fashionable red kimono printed with a design of snow on black tree branches. Avid curiosity shone through her modest demeanor, belied her hesitant step.\n\n\"Welcome,\" Lady Yanagisawa murmured. She clasped her trembling hands under her sleeves, intimidated by O-hana's bold, pretty face." }, { "from": "human", "value": "O-hana knelt and bowed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It's a privilege for this insignificant person to be summoned to your presence, Honorable Lady.\" Her voice brimmed with eagerness to ingratiate herself with her hostess. \"A million thanks for inviting me.\"\n\nLady Yanagisawa had recognized O-hana as a good prospective accomplice the moment she'd laid eyes on the girl at Reiko's house; yet she needed another chance to judge O-hana's character." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Kneeling opposite her guest, Lady Yanagisawa forced herself to look at O-hana." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The girl's eyes sparkled with a verve and cunning that repelled, yet gratified Lady Yanagisawa.\n\n\"May I offer you some refreshment?\" Lady Yanagisawa asked.\n\nWhile they waited for a servant to bring tea and food, O-hana said, \"Your chamber is nicer than Lady Reiko's.\" Her sharp gaze took in the gilded murals, the shelf of antique porcelain ware, the lacquer tables, cabinets, and chests inlaid with gold and mother-of-pearl." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"And this estate is much bigger than the ssakan-sama's.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She liked expensive things and aspired to a higher station than her job as a nursemaid, Lady Yanagisawa noted with satisfaction. Whatever loyalty O-hana had to her mistress would likely matter less to her than the chance for a connection with someone who could give her things that Reiko couldn't.\n\n\"Please enjoy my home during your time here,\" Lady Yanagisawa said, her self-confidence rising.\n\n\"You're so kind. Many thanks.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Smiling vividly, O-hana said, \"When I got your message, I couldn't imagine what you could want with me.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It wasn't her place to turn the conversation toward the reason for the invitation. O-hana was a little too forward for her own good, but that suited Lady Yanagisawa. Her aims would benefit from the girl's bold initiative.\n\n\"We shall discuss that soon enough,\" Lady Yanagisawa said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The refreshments arrived. Too tense to eat, Lady Yanagisawa watched O-hana consume trout roe served in an orange rind, sashimi, shrimp stuffed with quail eggs, roasted gingko nuts, and sweet cakes." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The nursemaid ate very fast, as if the food might be snatched from her before she got enough. Lady Yanagisawa liked O-hana's insecurity as well as her greed.\n\n\"That was delicious,\" O-hana said, licking her lips. \"How I regret that I, a poor nursemaid, am not in a position to give you something in return.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Lady Yanagisawa smiled. Her shyness ebbed as she felt herself gaining mastery over the girl." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You could tell me about yourself,\" she said.\n\nO-hana's eyebrows rose in surprise that a lady of high rank should care to know about a servant, but she gladly complied. \"My father is a clerk at the Hinokiya Drapery Store. One of the ssakan-sama's soldiers is a customer. He befriended my father and arranged for me to be a nurse to Masahiro-chan. I didn't really want to be a servant because I'd rather get married. But the work isn't too hard, and I love Edo Castle. Here I get to meet better kinds of men than I can meet at home. I'm hoping I'll find a husband who can give me a nice house and pretty clothes and I won't have to earn my own living anymore.\"\n\nAnd if she snared a Tokugawa samurai retainer, she would move far up the social scale." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Lady Yanagisawa was glad to find that O-hana wanted something so ordinary and easily granted." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I can arrange that,\" Lady Yanagisawa said.\n\n\"What?\" O-hana said, startled.\n\n\"A good match for you, with a Tokugawa samurai.\" Lady Yanagisawa's money and her husband's position would be enough to entice someone to marry a pretty commoner." }, { "from": "human", "value": "O-hana looked amazed by her good fortune, yet puzzled." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You would do that for me?\" She touched her chest. Then suspicion sharpened her eyes: She wasn't a fool; she knew favors didn't come free. \"Why?\"\n\n\"Because there's something I want you to do for me,\" Lady Yanagisawa said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her heart began to pound with her urgent need to engage O-hana's cooperation and her fear that she would fail." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What is it?\" Though her voice was cautious, O-hana leaned forward, as if to jump at her heart's desire.\n\n\"First I want you to tell me everything Lady Reiko does. Second... I can't tell you just yet,\" Lady Yanagisawa said.\n\n\"You want me to do something to Lady Reiko?\" O-hana wilted; her face took on a queasy expression." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I wouldn't want to hurt her.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The girl was ambitious, but not evil, Lady Yanagisawa realized. \"And I don't want to get in trouble.\"\n\nShe had an instinct for self-preservation that was stronger than any affection she felt for Reiko. This discovery heartened Lady Yanagisawa." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She understood that O-hana might be persuaded if she knew she would escape blame." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I promise you won't have to lay a hand on Lady Reiko, and you won't get in trouble,\" Lady Yanagisawa said. \"Let us strike a bargain. In the near future I shall give you instructions about what to do. You shall follow them. Afterward, I shall arrange your marriage to a rich, handsome Tokugawa samurai, and you shall want for nothing.\"\n\nO-hana hesitated, obviously weighing the reward against the unknown dangers. At last she shook her head in regret." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I can't decide until I know what you want of me.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Dismay spread cold tendrils through Lady Yanagisawa, but she had planned for the possibility that O-hana would balk. She said, \"Do you see that green box on the shelf of porcelain ware?\" O-hana looked, then nodded. \"Go see what's inside.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "O-hana rose, walked to the shelf, and removed the lid from the little box." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She took out a square packet of red paper. Her lips parted as she felt the heavy gold coins in the packet.\n\n\"I offer this gift as a token of my good faith,\" Lady Yanagisawa said. \"Agree to my proposition, and it's yours.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "O-hana stood immobile, the packet resting on her open palm." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She stared at it as if trying to discern whether she held her dearest dream or a poisonous snake that would bite her. Lady Yanagisawa watched, her breath caught by anxiety. What if O-hana refused? Would she tell Reiko about the proposition?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "If so, what would happen, and how could Lady Yanagisawa achieve her aim without O-hana?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Guile and avarice, distrust and fear played across the girl's features like wind shifting sand. \"I... need to think,\" she said.\n\n\"Then think about how my husband is the most powerful man in Japan,\" Lady Yanagisawa said, her quiet, flat voice disguising her emotions. \"People who offend him or his kin pay dearly. Many are assassinated or executed. Some disappear and are never seen again. No one knows what becomes of them. But I could arrange for you to find out.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The nursemaid lifted her gaze to Lady Yanagisawa." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Her eyes glittered with terror and need. Then a sigh of capitulation deflated her. Nodding, she slowly closed her fingers over the packet of coins.\n\nLady Yanagisawa experienced such an overwhelming sense of triumph that she nearly swooned." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She also quaked with sudden apprehension because she'd taken her second step in her campaign against Reiko, and victory would cost her Reiko's friendship." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your next one should be approximately two sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The loss encroached upon her mind like a cloud bringing darkness and desolation.\n\nBut she addressed her new accomplice with calm authority: \"Go now. I will send someone to hear your reports on Lady Reiko's doings. And you will receive my instructions soon.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Mode:\nCo-writing\n\nLength:\n4 sentences\n\nStyle:\nLaura Joh Rowland" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The tenth person was Lady Wisteria,\" Hirata said, summarizing his discoveries for Sano and Reiko. \"She was Lightning's drunken boy.\"\n\nSano nodded, accepting a cup of tea that Reiko handed him. Temple bells tolled midnight as they sat together in his office; coals hissed in the brazier." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It all fits,\" he said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The red cloth and the hairs by the dressing table in Wisteria's room at the ageya, the fact that we couldn't find any witnesses who saw her leave the quarter. She signaled Lightning to come. She cut her hair and put on male clothing to disguise herself as a boy. She walked right out of Yoshiwara with the Mori gang, and no one recognized her.\"\n\nSatisfaction and fresh hope banished the despair Sano had felt last night, even though the cloud of suspicion still hovered over him. Today's discoveries were a ray of light that penetrated the nightmare he'd been living since the shogun accused him of murder and treason.\n\n\"What I learned this morning confirms that Wisteria escaped with the gangster,\" Reiko said, her face aglow with excitement." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She described her visit to Yuya the bathhouse prostitute." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yuya wouldn't tell me the name of the man who owns the bathhouse and brought Wisteria there, but she said, 'Lightning strikes during storms,' and mentioned gangsters. I didn't know what she meant then, but now I understand that Yuya was giving me a hint. The man must be the same lover who sneaked into Wisteria's room the night of the murder and took her away.\"\n\n\"Now we know Lightning was involved in Lord Mitsuyoshi's death, and one place where he and Wisteria hid.\" As Sano beheld Reiko and Hirata, gratitude for their perseverance and loyalty overwhelmed him. \"Thank you,\" he said in a voice gruff with emotion." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He bowed to them, and they bowed back." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "After an awkward silence, Sano said, \"Here's additional evidence that Lightning is the killer,\" and told Reiko and Hirata about his conversation with Mitsuyoshi's retainer. \"According to Wada, Lightning threatened to kill Mitsuyoshi if he didn't pay his gambling debts, and they were enemies. Lightning had a motive for murder, as well as the opportunity.\"\n\n\"He could have killed Wisteria, too,\" Reiko said. \"According to Yuya, they got into a terrible fight at the bathhouse. Maybe she took him to Fujio's cottage to hide, they argued again, and he beat her to death.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The Mori are vicious beasts,\" Hirata said." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 5 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"When I was a police officer, I saw teahouse girls they attacked, and shopkeepers murdered for resisting extortion. A woman falls in love with one of them at her own peril.\"\n\nThe mounting evidence that Wisteria was dead eroded Sano's hope of finding her alive. He said, \"We must find Lightning. Wada has already taken me to his gambling den. He wasn't there. The place was shut down, and I spent the day trying to pick up his trail, without luck. But I can send men to watch the bathhouse in case he shows up there again. Right now he represents our best chance of solving the case.\"\n\nAnd Sano's life might depend on capturing Lightning. \"That he's been identified as a member of the Mori gang is fortunate for us,\" Sano said, \"because we know where to start looking for him tomorrow.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Today you will be acting as a writing assistant, your partner will send something and you will write the next 4 sentences." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Edo's central fish market awoke to life before dawn." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When Sano arrived early the next morning, fishermen had already moored their boats at the bank of the canal that ran beneath the Nihonbashi Bridge and begun unloading their catch. Dealers, servants from daimyo estates, and restaurant owners yelled bids. Inside the cavernous building that sheltered the market, porters hauled barrels of live, squirming fish to the stalls. Vendors arranged their wares and greeted hordes of customers." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Sano trod paths already slick with slime and scales." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Although women busily mopped and scrubbed, a powerful miasma of rotting fish tainted the air.\n\nSano approached a vendor who worked for him as a spy. \"Good morning, Kaoru-san.\"\n\n\"Good morning, Ssakan-sama.\" The short, jovial man was cutting up a huge tuna, his knife moving so fast that the pink flesh appeared to slice itself. \"What can I do for you today?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'm looking for a man named Lightning,\" Sano said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"He's one of the Mori gang.\"\n\nWhen the vendor heard the name, his knife slipped. A line of blood welled on his finger and stained the fish, but he kept slicing. \"I'm sorry, I don't know any Lightning.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Have you seen him here recently?\" Sano persisted." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No, master.\" Fear of the Mori apparently outweighed the vendor's need for the salary Sano paid him. \"I'm sorry.\"\n\nDown the aisle, Hirata was arguing with a tea-seller. \"I know that everyone here pays extortion money to the Mori,\" Hirata said. \"Don't tell me you've never heard of them!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Sano watched in frustration as his detectives questioned other people who shook their heads and looked terrified." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The market was a center of the Mori's criminal activity, and the gangsters usually infested the place like vermin, but today they'd made themselves scarce.\n\nWhen Sano joined his men outside the building, Hirata said, \"It's as if the Mori smelled us coming and disappeared. And they've silenced everyone with threats.\"\n\n\"I know another place to try,\" Sano said, hiding the desperation that burgeoned within him.\n\nOnly a day had passed since the shogun accused him of murder and treason, but time was speeding away." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The longer Sano took to solve the case, the more chance he gave Police Commissioner Hoshina to ruin his reputation and fabricate evidence against him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And Sano had serious misgivings about focusing his investigation on Lightning. If, in spite of all the clues that indicated Lightning's guilt, someone else had killed Lord Mitsuyoshi, then Sano was wasting precious time now.\n\nYet he still considered Lightning his best suspect. He led his men into a labyrinth of alleys surrounding the market." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Here, dilapidated buildings contained businesses that served the fish trade." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Laborers crowded noodle and sushi restaurants. Shops selling nets, pails, and fishing tackle overflowed into the streets. Sano stopped outside a teahouse. He signaled Hirata and two detectives to go around to the back." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then Sano and the other three detectives drew their swords and ducked under the blue entrance curtain." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A trio of men inside the teahouse sprang to their feet. All were shabbily dressed ruffians. The lone samurai among them bolted out a back door, while his comrades drew daggers and advanced on Sano and his men. A maid shrieked, dropped a tray of sake cups, and cowered in the corner." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Drop your weapons, and no one will get hurt,\" Sano shouted." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The ruffians scowled, ready to fight, when suddenly Sano's detectives burst in through the back door. They grabbed the ruffians from behind and wrested away their daggers. Hirata followed, holding captive the samurai who'd run away. The samurai, already relieved of his weapons, struggled in Hirata's armlock." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Well, see who we've got,\" Sano said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Though none of the men fit Lightning's description, the raid had paid off. \"It's Captain Noguchi, former weapons master at Edo Castle. I've been looking for you.\"\n\nCaptain Noguchi was a rawboned man whose feral, unblinking eyes regarded Sano with hostility. \"Tell your lackey to let go of me,\" he said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What's the matter, are you afraid to face your punishment for stealing weapons from the Tokugawa armory and giving them to the Black Lotus sect?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Sano said. \"Did you think you could hide forever?\"\n\nAlthough most of the surviving Black Lotus members had been captured, some remained at large. Sano headed an ongoing effort to clean up this human scum.\n\n\"I was only following the true path of destiny.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Fanaticism shone on Noguchi's face." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'm an innocent victim of persecution by you, the evil destroyer who would wipe out all my people and condemn the world to eternal suffering!\"\n\n\"Spare us the excuses.\" Sano noticed a mark on the skin below Noguchi's collarbone. He yanked open the man's kimono, revealing scar tissue that didn't quite obscure a tattooed Black Lotus symbol, and under it, another tattoo of a dragon." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"So you've joined the Mori,\" Sano said, recognizing the gang's crest." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Trust you to find another set of hoodlum friends after the Black Lotus sect disbanded. Where is Lightning?\"\n\n\"I don't know.\" Noguchi viciously spat the words.\n\nSano shot out a hand, gripped the man's throat, and squeezed hard. \"Has he been here?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Noguchi squealed in pain and fright." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His eyes rolled, and he jerked away from Sano, but Hirata held him in place. Although Sano disliked using violence against witnesses, he had little compunction about coercing this man who'd stolen their lord's weapons for the massacre at the Black Lotus Temple. Furthermore, Noguchi was his connection to the Mori, and Sano had neither time nor patience to waste.\n\n\"Tell me!\" he demanded, digging his fingers into Noguchi's windpipe." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His face purple, Noguchi struggled in Hirata's grip and gasped for air." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Have you seen Lightning?\" Sano hated abusing his power; yet he could gladly choke the breath out of Noguchi.\n\nPanic shone in Noguchi's gaze. His voice emerged in a croak: \"All right, I'll tell you. Just please let me go!\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Task: Cooperative storytelling\nMy role: Provide a brief opening\nYour role: Expand upon my opening with 4 sentences, emulating the writing style of Laura Joh Rowland." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The letter came to Reiko soon after Sano went out to search for Lightning. She opened the bamboo scroll case that a castle messenger had delivered to the estate. The message inside was scrawled on cheap paper. Reiko read:\n\nI've found Wisteria. If you want to see her, go to the noodle stand around the corner from the bathhouse, tell someone there to fetch me, and I'll take you to where she is." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "I'll be your writing partner today. I will set the scene, and you will continue the story with 4 sentences, channeling the voice and techniques of Laura Joh Rowland.i'll kick things off by writing a bit, then you'll take over and write the next 4 sentences in the distinctive voice of Laura Joh Rowland.Ive got a bit of writers block, im gonna send you something then keep it going 4 sentences at a time, also im going for a Laura Joh Rowland sorta thing." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Along the Sumida River rose a long line of warehouses, high buildings with whitewashed plaster walls." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Signs bore the owners' names; the Tokugawa crest marked the bakufu's rice repositories. Alleys between the buildings led to the river, where docks extended into the choppy, turbid water. On the inland side, porters and oxcarts carried goods along a boulevard that paralleled the river, and up streets through neighborhoods that clung to the gradually ascending terrain.\n\nSano, Hirata, and their fifty troops rode down a street bordered by shops, toward the river." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They halted their mounts some distance above the boulevard." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"There's the warehouse that Hoshina mentioned,\" Sano said.\n\n\"The one with no activity,\" Hirata observed.\n\nIts wide plank door was closed; wooden shutters covered the windows on both stories. Sano saw workers pass in and out of the other buildings, but the warehouse that Hoshina had identified as belonging to the Mori gang seemed abandoned." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Let's hope that Lightning is hiding inside,\" Sano said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Anticipation grew in him as he led his troops across the boulevard and they all dismounted outside the warehouse. He heard men shouting nearby, the thump of loads against the floors of adjacent buildings, and hammering at a distant construction site; but the Mori warehouse was silent. Sano divided the fifty detectives between himself and Hirata. The two groups filed down the alleys on each side of the building." }, { "from": "human", "value": "At its rear they found another closed door, and more shuttered windows overlooking a yard that sloped toward a deserted dock." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Sano assigned ten detectives to stand guard behind the building, then led his other men around to the front door.\n\nSano knocked loudly on the weathered planks, and waited. Nothing stirred inside the building; yet he sensed a human presence, like a warm, animate smell, beyond the door.\n\n\"Open up,\" he called, knocking again." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Still no response. Sano tried the door, but it was fastened securely inside. He gestured to three of his strongest detectives. \"Break it down." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "While Sano, Hirata, and the others stood back, the three men heaved their shoulders against the door. The crash shuddered the planks. Repeated blows strained the hinges; wood splintered with small, then large cracks. Suddenly, the air hissed behind Sano." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Recognizing the sound, he ducked in alarm." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He heard a thunk, looked down, and saw an arrow stuck in the ground near his feet.\n\n\"Watch out!\" he said. \"They're shooting at us.\"\n\nGlancing up in the direction from which the arrow had come, he saw that the warehouse's three second-floor windows had opened." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Out of every one leaned a samurai, each armed with a bow." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They fired volleys at Sano and his troops.\n\n\"Retreat! Fire back!\" Sano shouted to his detectives.\n\nThey scattered, regrouping across the boulevard. The archers among them shot at the samurai in the warehouse windows, who returned fire." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Pedestrians screamed in fright." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "An arrow struck the leg of a porter; dropping his load, he crawled away. Workers from nearby warehouses hurried to see the commotion.\n\n\"Go inside!\" Sano yelled, waving at them.\n\nMore arrows flew; people took cover." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In an instant, the area was deserted, except for Sano, his troops, and their opponents." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He felt an arrow ricochet off his armor tunic, saw a detective take an arrow in the neck and fall, spurting blood. Yet even as the battle horrified him, he experienced a thrill of elation because he'd found the Mori gang.\n\n\"We're going in after Lightning,\" Sano told Hirata.\n\nCrouching, they and a squadron of detectives zigzagged across the boulevard, swords in hand, while arrows whistled over their heads." }, { "from": "human", "value": "One of the Mori gang shrieked, toppled from a window, and landed with a thud, killed by an arrow through his stomach." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Men popped up through skylights and hurled rocks down on Sano and his men.\n\nSano flung up his free arm to shield himself, and a stone struck pain into his elbow. Looking up, he saw a Mori gangster take an arrow in the chest, skid down the roof, and plummet to the ground. A detective near Sano went down under a hail of rocks." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As Sano, Hirata, and the others neared the door, a loud male voice called, \"Stop right there!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Halting, Sano looked up and saw a man framed in the window above the door. He was broad and muscular, with a face whose angles and hard planes appeared carved from stone. Coarse hair had tumbled out of his topknot, over brows slanted in a scowl. His eyes darted in speedy, unnatural flashes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Recognition struck Sano. \"Hold your fire,\" he called to his men." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The torrent of arrows ceased. Exhilaration overwhelmed him, for here was the man he believed had killed Lord Mitsuyoshi and Wisteria, and represented his salvation.\n\n\"Lightning,\" he said.\n\n\"Ssakan-sama,\" the gangster said in a harsh, mocking voice. \"You've found me.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Surrender,\" Sano ordered. His archers trained their bows on Lightning. \"Come out.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Lightning sneered. He pulled a small human figure against him. The person had the shaved crown and topknot of a samurai, and wore a drab indigo robe; yet her delicate face belied the masculine trappings. Sano gazed dumbstruck into round, lovely eyes he'd once admired, that were now glazed with terror.\n\nIt was Lady Wisteria." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Here's somebody you've been looking for,\" Lightning said to Sano." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your next one should be approximately 1 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Either you let me go, or I'll kill her.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Provide 4 sentences as a continuation." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Lady Yanagisawa stood on the veranda, her hands resting on the railing and face lifted in the wind, scanning the sky above her home." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She waited with fevered impatience for tidings that the blood sacrifice had realigned the cosmic forces.\n\nShe knew exactly how it would be. The wind would turn to glad song. The tragedy of Masahiro's death would settle upon Reiko in a dense black shroud of grief, while bliss elevated Lady Yanagisawa." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her husband would adore her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kikuko would be freed from the curse of imbecility. The gray heavens would part, the sun shine, green leaves unfurl, and the air turn balmy as in springtime on the morn of Lady Yanagisawa's new life.\n\nYet as moments passed and the cold, dreary afternoon remained unchanged, misgivings infected her anticipation. She remembered the hospitality Reiko had shown her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She thought of plump, sweet Masahiro." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As she imagined water closing over him and his terror as it filled his lungs, a spasm convulsed her stomach. Memories of motherhood rushed upon her. She recalled holding the infant Kikuko, admiring her tiny hands and feet; she heard her daughter's piping voice, smelled her soft, fragrant skin, savored the adoration in her eyes. If Kikuko should die, Lady Yanagisawa would die of a grief too immense to endure." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Could she inflict such a grief on a woman who'd been kind to her?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Was her scheme a path to joy, or an evil that would condemn her to be reborn into endless cycles of woe?\n\nShe glimpsed the infinite divide between what she'd done and what she wanted to happen. There was no logical reason that her actions should effect miracles, she suddenly realized. A battle between belief and indecision churned her blood." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The winds inside and outside her gusted harder; swaying off balance, Lady Yanagisawa clutched the railing." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Her vision of the future wavered; the sky dimmed as twilight approached. Instead of ethereal song, she heard male voices. She saw, across the garden, a group of men walking along a covered corridor between buildings. Her husband was in the lead, his officials trailing." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Lady Yanagisawa's heart leapt." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Perhaps the deed was done. Perhaps now her husband would come to her.\n\nThe chamberlain turned his head in her direction. Poised on the brink of glee, Lady Yanagisawa waited." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His gaze registered her presence... then flitted away." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Disappointment crushed Lady Yanagisawa. The magnitude of her husband's indifference toward her shriveled her spirit. The winds suddenly ceased. A vacuum enveloped her, and her perception altered with nightmarish effect." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She saw herself as a tiny, trivial person isolated in a tiny world apart from the big, important one that her husband ruled." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As she watched him enter a building and disappear from view, she thought of herself manipulating events like a child playing with toys. Could anything she did bend her husband, or fate, to her wishes?\n\nReality encroached upon desire in the terrible stillness of clear thought. What if her wishes had deluded her?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "What would come of her scheme?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She would have destroyed an innocent child and made her daughter an accomplice in murder.\n\nEven if Reiko believed that Masahiro's death was an accident, she would never forgive Kikuko, or Lady Yanagisawa.\n\nLady Yanagisawa's life would go on much the same as always, but without friendship to comfort her. She would be more alone than ever." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Horror like a flock of black, predatory birds assailed Lady Yanagisawa." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Now write approximately five sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A moan of anguish rose from the depths of her spirit. Her doubts about the wisdom of her actions swelled, yet so did the force of her desires. Should she risk the chance that she'd done wrong, for her dream of fulfillment? Or must she stop the events she'd set in motion?\n\nWas it already too late to change her mind?" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Hey can you write like Laura Joh Rowland and use whatever i write as a jumping off point?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Reiko had never imagined she would ever set foot inside the residence of Chamberlain Yanagisawa, but important business had brought her here." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As guards led her and her escorts along tree-lined paths through the fortified compound, Reiko's serene face betrayed no sign of the anger seething within her.\n\nLady Yanagisawa received her in a private chamber hidden deep inside the estate. They knelt opposite each other, in a silence thick and turbulent with the memory of their last encounter. Lady Yanagisawa's cheeks were flushed, her features marked by distress, her hands clasped tight under her bosom; she bowed her head as though expecting punishment." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As Reiko contemplated her hostess, hatred stoked her anger into a firestorm she could barely contain." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She drew a deep breath, willing calmness.\n\n\"I'm sorry for being rude to you at my pond the other day,\" Reiko said in a stiff, formal tone. \"I was upset, and I shouldn't have spoken to you the way I did. Please forgive me.\"\n\nThe words tasted foul in her mouth." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The injustice of having to apologize to the woman who'd almost caused Masahiro to die outraged Reiko." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But political considerations forced her to abase herself to Lady Yanagisawa. The chamberlain was Sano's superior, and any offense Reiko gave his wife extended to him. When Reiko had told Sano what Lady Yanagisawa had done, he'd been shocked and horrified, but he hadn't needed to tell her what she must do. Reiko understood her duty." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Therefore, she had come, against her will but of her own volition, to mend the breach between her and Lady Yanagisawa." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Lady Yanagisawa lifted to Reiko a gaze filled with relief; she spoke in breathless rushes: \"There's nothing to forgive... You had every right to be upset... It was a terrible thing that happened.\"\n\n\"Thank you for your understanding and generosity.\" That Reiko must protect Sano was all that kept her from tearing Lady Yanagisawa apart with her bare hands.\n\n\"Is Masahiro-chan all right?\" Lady Yanagisawa asked." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Guilt lurked behind her concern, tainted her voice, wafted from her like a bad smell." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Reiko could tell that Lady Yanagisawa knew she knew the truth about Masahiro's \"accident.\" She said, \"He was a little shaken, but he's fine now.\"\n\n\"I'm so glad...\" Eager to placate, Lady Yanagisawa said, \"Is there anything I can do?\"\n\nReiko wanted to demand that Lady Yanagisawa admit she'd induced Kikuko to drown Masahiro, and confess she'd befriended Reiko so she could get close enough to do harm." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Instead Reiko said, \"Perhaps you would answer two questions for me.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"... Yes. If I can.\" Caution tempered Lady Yanagisawa's eagerness.\n\n\"Before you brought Wisteria's pillow book to me, did you know that your husband and Police Commissioner Hoshina had already read it?\" Reiko asked.\n\nLady Yanagisawa hesitated, her face reflecting surprise, then indecision." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She looked downward and nodded." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Reiko had wondered why Lady Yanagisawa had risked angering the chamberlain by stealing the book. Why had she put herself in danger to help Sano, when her attack on Masahiro proved she'd wanted to hurt Reiko? Now Reiko understood. Lady Yanagisawa had wanted her to read the story about Sano and Wisteria, and suffer from learning that Sano had been unfaithful. She'd known that giving Reiko the book wouldn't benefit Sano because Hoshina was already preparing to use it against him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Reiko thought of the pain the book had caused her, and her antipathy toward Lady Yanagisawa burgeoned." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The woman's \"helpful\" gesture had been a prelude to her attempt to murder Masahiro.\n\n\"And your second question?\" Lady Yanagisawa said.\n\n\"Let's suppose—just for the sake of speculation—that there are two women friends, both married to high-ranking officials, both mothers of young children.\" Reiko chose her words carefully, watching Lady Yanagisawa." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Why would one of the women attack the other?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The skin around Lady Yanagisawa's eyes constricted, giving her the look of a cat with its ears laid flat by alarm. A shiver twisted upward through her body. She rose, turned away from Reiko, and spoke in a muffled voice: \"Perhaps she thought that by destroying her friend's good fortune, she would gain what her friend lost.\"\n\nThis was as close to a confession and explanation as Reiko expected from Lady Yanagisawa." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Though she'd already guessed the woman's motive, hearing it shocked Reiko." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She released her breath as nausea rose in her throat. Lady Yanagisawa was less evil than insane.\n\n\"But she undid what she'd done... and all was well,\" Lady Yanagisawa continued. \"There would be no bad consequences for her.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No. There wouldn't be,\" Reiko said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Since Masahiro hadn't died, Lady Yanagisawa was a murderer by intention, but not by deed. No one except her and Reiko had witnessed Kikuko pushing Masahiro under the water. Sano and Reiko had afterward discovered that the nursemaid O-hana had vanished. They'd deduced that Lady Yanagisawa had bribed Yuya to lure Reiko away from home, and O-hana to drug the other servants with a sleeping potion and let Kikuko into the house, where Masahiro was alone." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Sano had ordered a search for O-hana, but found no trace of her yet." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The nursemaid must have fled town because she feared Reiko and Sano would punish her for her betrayal. No one except Reiko and Lady Yanagisawa knew the truth, except for Kikuko, who could not speak it.\n\nBesides, even if Reiko did have any evidence against Lady Yanagisawa and Kikuko, she couldn't accuse them of attempted murder. Chamberlain Yanagisawa's power shielded his wife and daughter from the law." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Even if they had killed Masahiro, they would have escaped punishment." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Perhaps the woman who attacked her friend is more fortunate than she deserves,\" Reiko said.\n\nShe rose to go before she did or said something she would regret. She wanted to get as far away from Lady Yanagisawa as possible and never see her again.\n\nLady Yanagisawa turned, her eyes filled with naked pleading." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She said, \"We'll still be friends, won't we?\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Now write approximately 5 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The very idea of keeping up their acquaintance, as if nothing had happened, stunned Reiko. To let the woman into her home, to have their children play together, never to know whether Lady Yanagisawa had recovered from a temporary murderous impulse or was incurably mad, and always to live in fear, was beyond possibility. Then Reiko experienced pure horror as she understood that she couldn't refuse the wife of the shogun's second-in-command; nor should she reject Lady Yanagisawa and spur her to more attacks. Now Reiko realized that she'd acquired a most dangerous kind of enemy—one who craved her love as well as her destruction.\n\n\"Of course we'll be friends,\" Reiko said." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Write 4 sentences sentences in the style of Lucia St. Clair spawning from what the user wrote." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cat crouched in the deep shade of the towering cedars near a small statue hall on the temple grounds across the river from Kawasaki. She began to tremble uncontrollably, and tears streamed, unnoticed, down her cheeks. She had wounded men of samurai rank in daylight, in front of witnesses.\n\nWith her father dead and the rights and privileges of his rank stripped away, Cat assumed she would be punished as a commoner instead of as a member of the upper class." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There would be no official remonstrance and comfortable seclusion at home for her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The authorities would arrest her, execute her over the blood-pit, and expose her head by the roadside. Cat wasn't afraid of dying, but she was mortified by the form it would take.\n\nShe didn't remember how she came to be here. She didn't remember the ride across the river with the boatman watching her warily from the stern as he poled." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She didn't remember walking across the dry floodplain and into the woods." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "All she remembered was the sword with a hand still clutching its hilt in the sand and a man crawling away, blood unreeling like a crimson satin sash behind him.\n\nCat gripped her elbows, trying to control the shuddering tremors. She looked around cautiously. No one was in sight." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The temple grounds dedicated to the sainted Kōbō Daishi were extensive and boasted fifty or more buildings." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Although Jizō-sama was a very popular bodhisattva, this small hall devoted to him apparently was not.\n\nCat stared at the bloody naginata leaning against a tree. She had to get rid of it. She carried it to the far side of the weathered wooden building." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She leaned it against the wall while she climbed onto the barrel that held water in case of fire." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She stood on tiptoe on the lid and laid the blade and the staff into the bamboo rain gutter along the chapel's eaves.\n\nShe put her hands together, bowed, and said a prayer for both of them. They had served her well. Then she walked to the front of the hall." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In the depths of the room, in the darkness behind the statue of Jizō, she could see a shadowy jumble of gilt and painted carvings—gods and blue-faced guardian kings, huge lotus flowers, monkeys, and lions—all thrown together and forgotten." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cat reached through the barred window and as an offering to Jizō-sama left her rosary near one of the lamps. Jizō was clad in the usual red bib and beret. He carried his pilgrim's staff with iron rings to warn insects of his approach so they wouldn't be stepped on. His stone smile was reassuring, and his eyes seemed to follow her as she backed away." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Cat was still crying reflexively." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Musashi's admonition that one must always take up the long-sword with the idea of cutting down the opponent was easier to accept in the abstract. The straw dummies she had practiced on as a young girl hadn't bled. The mutilation of one hadn't meant sure and terrible punishment.\n\nA small stream flowed from a waterfall splashing down the side of a hill." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It had been channeled into a bamboo pipe that diverted it to a big granite basin under the trees." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "With the bamboo dipper lying on top of it, Cat scooped up the cold water and rinsed her mouth and hands. Only then did she notice that her hands, grown soft over the past year, were red and abraded from the naginata shaft. She drank and splashed water on her face and arms.\n\nCat's pack and tall hat were gone." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In her distracted state she had left them at the ferry landing." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She tried to remember what was in the pack. She couldn't think of anything that would implicate Shichisaburo or Viper or Cold Rice. The hat wouldn't do her any good now, anyway. Her enemies would be looking for the priest who wore it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Even so, she felt exposed without it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She took off the black overrobe and the priest's baggy trousers and white underrobe. Shivering from cold, she stuffed the white robe into a crevice in the face of the hillside and raked dried cedar needles over it. She put the faded black outer robe back on and belted it. She used her scissors to cut off the hem, turning the robe into a jacket." }, { "from": "human", "value": "With fingers still trembling she clawed at the raw edge, raveling the coarse cloth to disguise the freshly cut material." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then she tore the trousers into strips and wrapped them like leggings around her tall tabi. She held them in place with the cloth ties from the trousers.\n\nShe turned away the bamboo pipe that splashed water into the basin. When the surface became still she used it as a mirror." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She untied her disheveled hair and bent over, throwing it forward and combing it with her fingers." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She wrapped the same dirty cord several times around the base of the bundle of hair. She grabbed it above the cord and used her shears to cut it off above her hand. When she let go, it bushed out in a tuft, a boy's jaunty tea whisk style.\n\nShe trimmed the hair around her face into bangs and long sidelocks." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When she inspected herself in the water, she was surprised by the handsome urchin who looked back at her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then she noticed the splatter of blood across the front of her black coat.\n\nShe pulled her arms out of the sleeves, leaving the coat belted at her slender waist. Her upper body was bare, except for the haramaki that was still tightly wrapped around her abdomen and chest. She held the coat under the water gushing from the pipe and rubbed the stain, rinsing out the worst of it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Washing one's clothes without undressing. It must save a lot of time. I should have thought of it.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The quiet voice startled Cat so badly, she almost screamed. She plunged her hands into the sleeves and pulled up the wet coat, adjusting the front opening. She whirled to face the speaker.\n\nLike most Buddhist lay monks, this one had shaved his head entirely, although his hair had grown out into a shadowy fuzz." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He carried a staff, and he was dressed for traveling, but he was walking backward." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He squinted nearsightedly at her from over his shoulder as he approached her.\n\nThe rear tail of his old black robe was tucked up into his sash, exposing bowed calves clad in brown leggings. A bronze pilgrim's bell and a rosary of heavy black beads and fat red tassels hung around his wrist. His conical sedge hat rode on his back, over a closed paper parasol, a rolled mat, and one cylindrical brocade case for his bamboo flute and another for his pilgrim's scroll." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He wore a small white towel draped on his head, a white prayer stole on his left shoulder, straw sandals, and a smile." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He passed Cat and walked, still backward, up the uneven stone steps of the chapel. He turned, bowed, and muttered a short prayer.\n\n\"One hundred,\" he said then. He threw a twisted straw into the box on a stand by the window through which Jizō-sama peered out benignly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He picked up the box and walked down the steps, frontward this time." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He nodded at Cat, who bowed deeply.\n\n\"These days I call myself Musui, Dream Besotted. I'm visiting old friends and older temples and seeing the historic sites.\"\n\nCat almost blurted out her recognition of him. Of course she had heard of Musui and his poetry, but she remembered, just in time, that she was about to pretend to be ignorant of both." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Musui took a fistful of straws from the box and handed them to her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You're so good at saving time, what with washing your clothes while you're wearing them,\" he said amiably. \"You can save me time by helping me count these.\" He sat on the bottom step, rested the staff across his knees, and began tallying the rest. \"Hi, fu, mi, yo... One, two, three, four...\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Famous or not, Cat was infuriated by his complacency." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She was about to be beheaded and her corpse gibbeted, hung out like laundry, and he acted as though nothing were out of the ordinary.\n\n\"Please.\" He waved the back of his hand at her, encouraging her to start.\n\nShe squatted beside the neatly raked path. Now that she was dressed as a boy, behaving like one came easily to her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She rather enjoyed being feckless and common." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She would have enjoyed it more under better circumstances.\n\n\"Hi, fu, mi, yo.\" She laid each straw on the ground between her feet as she counted it. The act was curiously calming." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Forty-six,\" she said finally." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Fifty-three.\" Musui sighed. \"Fifty-three and forty-six is ninety-nine. How is that possible? I counted the straws out beforehand. We shall just have to do the Hundred-Times-Worship again.\"\n\n\"I must be leaving, Your Honor.\" Cat bowed and backed away." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But Musui held out his hand, fingers down, and opened and closed them rapidly, the signal for Cat to come with him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If you're going to be my page, you'll need better clothes.\" He started down the path as though the matter were settled. \"My companion became ill and returned to Edo two days ago,\" he called back to her. \"Now the Beloved Amida has sent me another.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Cat started to say that she couldn't make his journey with him, then stopped." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The two stared at each other a moment, shrouded and dwarfed there in the deep shade of the majestic cedars.\n\nMusui had a gentle look, but Cat had the feeling that tatamae, what she showed others, didn't fool him. He was a man capable of seeing the essence.\n\nHis skin was the color of tarnished bronze." }, { "from": "human", "value": "One corner of his wide, thin-lipped mouth curled up, the other down." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His mouth, jowls, and jaw canted forward from a flat nose and flared nostrils. They gave him a look of simian impishness. In spite of his nearsighted squint he had an air of intelligence and nobility as well as humor. He had wrinkles above and below his large, bright eyes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He had elephant eyes." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cat knew that people with elephant eyes were popular. They were kind and creative. A person with elephant eyes could be trusted.\n\nMusui could get into trouble for helping her, of course, but he was of noble birth." }, { "from": "human", "value": "And famous besides. If he were caught, his punishment would be far lighter than that meted out to a commoner like Viper." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cat had been taught to be protective of subordinates, but superiors didn't need her protection.\n\nIf there is a god who forsakes, she thought, there is another god who helps.\n\n\"Forgive my rudeness, Your Honor, but I have no money for clothes worthy of such an exalted position.\" Cat gave Musui a chance to extricate himself from the trouble he had blundered into." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In spite of Musui's fame he didn't look as though he had funds to outfit a servant." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"When one has friends one doesn't need money. His Reverence the abbot is an old friend of mine.\" As he walked, Musui waved in the general direction of the long, low building that housed the monks. \"I have trouble making out temple inscriptions and road signs along the way,\" he said. \"Can you read?\"\n\n\"I'm the ignorant offspring of a poor widow, Your Honor. I go in search of a teacher.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You search for a teacher. A teacher finds you.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As they left the grove of trees Musui nodded toward the five men gathered at the door of the abbot's quarters. \"And I wonder for whom they search.\"\n\nCat almost shrank back at the sight of them. In their sashes they wore their badges of office, the long forked steel rods that if skillfully used could snap a transgressor's sword in two." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Police?\" she asked." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"They have the appearance of police.\"\n\nMusui gave a shallow nod. The men bowed low and backed down the steps while Musui called on Amida Buddha to bless them.\n\nThe abbot stood in the doorway and watched them until they were out of sight among the trees." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then he bowed to his old friend Musui and nodded to his old friend's new apprentice." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"They're looking for a brigand who wounded three samurai and an artist at the ferry this afternoon,\" the abbot said. \"They say he was dressed as a komuso. I don't wonder one of them is behaving like a mad dog, attacking civilized folk.\" The abbot disapproved of the sect's methods. A komuso had passed through recently selling amulet bags that he said had been made from Kōbō Daishi's robes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I told the police to search the grounds. We harbor no miscreants here.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The abbot glanced at Cat. \"I see that your companion has rejoined you, Musui-senei. Are you feeling better, lad?\"\n\nCat looked quickly over at Musui, who continued to smile as though he hadn't heard the question. \"I am feeling well, Your Reverence,\" Cat said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"'In travel, a companion. In life, sympathy.' \" The abbot intoned the old proverb as though he had just invented it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He said everything as if it were valuable information his listeners should note and remember. He was big enough to be one of the fierce warrior-priests who had defended the huge temple complex on Mount Hiei in the old days. But muscle had given way to fat.\n\nHe waited while they sat on the raised floor of the reception area and removed their footwear." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Task: Cooperative storytelling\nMy role: Provide a brief opening\nYour role: Expand upon my opening with four sentences, emulating the writing style of Lucia St. Clair." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cat awoke to a washed and sparkling morning. Through the dark green branches of the pines she could see shards of a winter sky pale and lambent as porcelain. Musui stretched, yawned, and wandered off into the bushes to urinate and to scrub his teeth at the waterfall.\n\nCat rolled her mat." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then she made a small offering of rice cake and prayed for her father's soul." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As always when she thought of her father, she wished she had had a chance to speak with him before he died. But actually Cat spoke more with her father now that he was dead than she ever had when he lived.\n\nWhen she was growing up he had visited only rarely her mother's house. As soon as Cat was old enough to understand, her mother had explained that her father's many duties required him to be elsewhere." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When he did visit he often quoted Lao Tsu, who said one should govern people as one would cook fish, poking as little as possible." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Lord Asano seemed to have the same attitude toward raising children, as though fatherhood were a government post to which he'd been appointed.\n\nCat was fiercely proud of him, though. She thought him the handsomest man born. As a child she had wanted his approval more than anything else, which may have been why she trained until the naginata shaft rubbed her palms and fingers raw and glistened with her blood." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her mother said she had inherited her father's obstinacy, but Cat did it to make up for the shame of being born a girl when she knew he wanted a son." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And for the slight nod he would give when she pleased him.\n\nNow Cat laid everything out on the big cloth, the furoshiki, brought the corners up to the middle of the bundle, and tied them. Then she hung the brocade bag around her neck. Inside, wrapped in the waterproof sheath of a bamboo culm, was her new travel permit." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The abbot had seemed pleased to be able to thwart the shōgun's law by issuing illegal papers." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He had sorted through a stack of them while Cat knelt with head bowed. They all had been made out for pilgrims, authorizing them to visit the holy places. They had been signed and stamped by the local magistrate and by the abbot himself, as head of the home temple.\n\nMusui had been apologetic about the bother, but the abbot had waved a languid hand." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Don't worry. Pilgrims arrive here every day with no more notion of permits than seaweed has when it washes up on the shore. Or they have a thousand excuses for losing theirs.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The abbot had mimicked the terrified grimace of a peasant. \" 'Forgive this miserable fool, Your Most Illustrious Grace.' \" His voice had quavered as he imitated the exaggerated trembling of a peasant faced with authority. \" 'My paper fell down the privy hole while I was squatting.'" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Or, 'The river kappa grabbed it when the ferry sank.'" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Or, 'It burned up in the inn where I was staying.'\n\n\"Sometimes the heretics who pose as holy men convince the faithful to boil their permits and drink the broth as an elixir.\"\n\nThe abbot was feeling particularly vexed with itinerant holy men that day. In the midst of the temple's festival a gang of them had set up housekeeping in a corner of the temple compound." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They had proceeded to ring their bells and chant unceasingly and at full volume." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "With brush inked and poised above the heavy rice paper, the abbot had looked at Cat. \"Name?\"\n\n\"Ichiro.\" Cat had answered without hesitation. It meant \"Firstborn Son,\" and it was her father's pet name for her.\n\n\"And are you indeed the firstborn?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes, Your Reverence.\" That at least was true." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "After Kanagawa, Musui took a side road into the hills in search of a temple that claimed to have a sample of Daishi-sama's writing. But the small, run-down building had an abandoned air about it. It was closed up, and Musui could find no one to open it for him. Cat could tell he was disappointed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She herself was annoyed by the useless delay." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "By the time they returned to the Tōkaidō the sun was well on its way to setting behind the mountains that crouched in purple ranks to the horizon. The rain had brought warmer weather, and the road to Hodogaya was crowded with travelers. The bay below reminded Cat of a cloak dyed with mountain indigo. A line of surf undulated like a white thread along the shore." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In the distance to the southwest, Mount Fuji towered above them." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Its smoke-blue slopes swept heavenward in graceful folds.\n\nWhen Cat had been much younger she and her mother had accompanied her father on the yearly trips to Akō. A lord's official wife couldn't leave Edo with her husband, but an outside-wife, \"a noblewoman of the province,\" could. While her nurse napped, Cat had hung from the window of the big palanquin." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She had watched the sacred mountain grow as the procession of retainers and porters, sandal bearers, servants, maids, and palanquins approached it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cat remembered how carefree those journeys had been. Her father's standard-bearers had cleared the road ahead of them. The staffs of the best inns had been lined up and waiting to make them comfortable. Cat had stepped from the palanquin directly onto the floor of the entryway, and her feet never touched the road." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As they traveled Cat had slept or read or listened to her nurse's songs and stories." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cat wished she were in that palanquin, napping while the road flowed by, traversed by the efforts of others. And she missed her nurse, who in a way had been more familiar to her than her own mother.\n\nMaybe the group of women who passed reminded her of her nurse. They were rice hullers." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They shook the bran dust from their aprons and massaged their stiff shoulders and arms." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When Cat and her mother were forced out of their house and the money set aside for them mysteriously disappeared, Cat's nurse had gone to an employment agency. The only work available was as a rice huller in a government granary. It was exhausting work. Cat remembered her coming back to the tiny house late in the evening, her clothes covered with bran dust." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She had developed a racking cough from the dust." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cat worried that it would ruin the old woman's health, but she insisted on doing it so she could add her few coppers to the household funds. Her uncomplaining sacrifice had been part of Cat's decision to seek a contract at the House of the Carp.\n\nAs Cat and Musui walked onto the arc of the bridge outside Hodogaya, Musui lifted his staff so it wouldn't tap on the planking. \"We mustn't disturb the Daishi's sleep.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Cat leaned over the railing to look underneath." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Bundles of belongings were stacked against the big stone pilings where the bridge spanned dry land. It seemed that someone, if not the Daishi, was sheltering there.\n\n\"In his wanderings the Daishi was once refused lodging and had to sleep under a bridge,\" Musui said. \"He wrote a poem about it.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What was the poem, sensei?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She knew the poem already, of course, but was maintaining the pretense of ignorance.\n\n\"'They refuse to help a traveler in trouble,' \" Musui recited. \" 'One night seems like ten.'\"\n\nMusui smiled and bowed and called out greetings to everyone he passed. Musui was a traveler." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He had been up this road many times." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He could probably answer any question Cat had about the Tōkaidō. And Cat had lots of questions.\n\nShe wanted to know how closely the daimyō scrutinized travelers passing through their lands and how quick they were to flog or crucify those who displeased them. Which rivers boiled with rapids, and how did one bargain with river porters?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "What was the cost of a night in a respectable inn?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Of a bowl of rice or a bath? Did bandits really lurk in the mountains? Most important, where was the next government barrier?\n\n\"Sensei...\" She thought it best not to appear too curious about details." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What is the road like ahead?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The Path?\" Musui's expansive embrace included the bay, the hills, Mount Fuji, and the terraced brown paddies following the contours of the slopes. He beamed at the colorful stir of travelers that swirled around them.\n\n\"Everyday life is the Path. To ask about it is like the birds asking what is air; or the fish inquiring as to the nature of water.\"\n\nCat sighed. This would be difficult." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She tried an oblique approach." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Have you made many pilgrimages, sensei?\"\n\n\"Ah, yes. Three times I've circled Shikoku, visiting the eighty-eight temples associated with the Daishi. I've been to his burial place on Mount Koya. I've been to the Land of the Eight Clouds Rising.\"\n\nMusui bowed to a huge stack of brushwood creeping along on a pair of legs as thin as the iron chopsticks used to transfer live coals. The old woman underneath was bent at a right angle, her chest parallel to the ground." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She walked with the aid of a gnarled branch." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Auntie, let me carry that for you.\"\n\nShe stared suspiciously up at Musui from under the load. When he tried to lift the frame the wood was tied to, she veered, tugging it out of his hands. She was astonishingly strong, but when Musui let go of the load its weight carried it off in the opposite direction." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The old woman had to skip a few steps to get control of it again." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Baka,\" she muttered under her breath.\n\n\"I have no plans to steal your wood, auntie.\"\n\n\"A gentleman like you shouldn't bother with the likes of me, Your Honor.\" She continued to stare up at him like a rat cornered in the woodpile." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She was trying to analyze this madman's scheme to trick and rob her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cat was appalled. Surely sensei wasn't considering carrying wood like a peasant. She was even more appalled by the possibility that he would expect her to carry it in his stead.\n\n\"Please, auntie.\" Musui smiled at her beguilingly. \"Allow an unworthy pilgrim the honor of bearing your burden a short way. For the sake of O-Daishi-sama.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Reluctantly the shoulder-burden-auntie lifted the woven straw carrying strap from across her bony chest." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Even more reluctantly Cat helped Musui heave the heavy wooden frame onto his back.\n\nHaving her load removed made no difference in the old woman's posture. She still walked bent double at the waist, as though searching for something dropped. She had to hold her head at an angle that made her chin jut out." }, { "from": "human", "value": "With one hand she clung to the staff." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She held the other arm straight behind her for balance. Her bare feet left long scuff marks in the damp earth.\n\nMusui slowed his pace to match hers. Cat closed her eyes and took several deep breaths." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She silently chanted a mantra for serenity." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "At this rate she would never reach Kyōto.\n\n\"Is Your Honor going to Ise?\" The old woman peered sideways up at Musui.\n\n\"The gods alone can say, auntie. The Path matters. The destination doesn't.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Musui was off on his favorite subject." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"My disciple and I follow the instructions of the Daishi to roam about until exhausted, then drop to the ground, and in this dropping be whole.\"\n\n\"I could tell you pudgy city priests a thing or two about dropping from exhaustion.\" Now that the shoulder-burden-auntie had recovered from her shock, her basic nature was reasserting itself.\n\nShe swiveled her knobby head to look up at Musui." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her hair was gray and feathery as lint." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Below it her skull looked as though thin leather had been sewn tightly over a collection of edged objects.\n\n\"I have advice much more valuable than that.\" Her beady eyes glinted with the malice spawned by a lifetime of grievances. \"Keep your money in your belt. Don't pull your knife on a drunkard, and don't show your daughter to a monk.\n\n\"Or in your case, pretty boy...\" She shook her walking stick in Cat's direction." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Don't turn your back on one. They'll hop into your drawers faster than a flea.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'll add that wisdom to the Daishi's rules of the road.\" Musui's equanimity seemed to disappoint her.\n\n\"What are Daishi-sama's rules, sensei?\" Cat asked. Maybe Kōbō Daishi had some practical advice for travelers." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Cat could use any advice she could get." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"'Do not wish for riches or acclaim or gratification of the flesh,' \" Musui said. \" 'Do not kill, steal, fornicate, drink, or talk idly.'\"\n\n\"Might as well stay home,\" the old woman mumbled at her feet.\n\n\"'If you meet a highwayman, give him everything,' \" Musui continued. \" 'Don't haggle over the cost of an inn or a ferry. Give alms to beggars. Never ride a horse or kago.'\"\n\n\"Why is that?\" Cat immediately discarded most of the advice, keeping only the part about not haggling with ferrymen and innkeepers." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"One travels the Path humbly, without outside aid. When you feel the desire to break these rules, stop your journey and go home.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The woman resumed her load when they reached the edge of Hodogaya. Without saying \"Thank you\" or looking back, she trudged off and was soon lost to sight down a side street.\n\n\"Ungrateful,\" Cat muttered.\n\n\"He who knows kindness is a true warrior.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Cat's face burned at the gentle reprimand." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Oishi had often said the same thing when as a child, Cat had lost her temper with the household servants.\n\n\"Hold out your begging bowl.\" Musui drew his own wooden bowl from the front of his robe and extended it. \"Homage to the Daishi who impels our earnest pleas,\" he chanted to passersby." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Cat clenched her teeth and did likewise." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Of the many virtues her parents had taught her, humility was the most difficult.\n\nIn Hodogaya the begging bowls served two purposes. The waitresses in their thick white face powder and blue aprons dodged around Cat and Musui. They went in search of wealthier travelers to drag back to their inns and tea houses." }, { "from": "human", "value": "By the time Cat and Musui had passed through the village they had collected forty coppers, a few handfuls of uncooked rice, a dried fish, and an offer of lodging in a hovel that a rat would have avoided." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The afternoon was late, and Cat was ready with a refusal, in case Musui were mad enough to accept the offer.\n\nThe hut sat on a barren piece of rocky ground at the edge of the village. It was made of panels of woven bamboo lashed between posts, with cast-off mats thrown over for roofing and held down with rocks. The mat that served as a door was thrown back to reveal the furnishings, a heap of bamboo leaves in a corner." }, { "from": "human", "value": "With a bundle of brush a gaunt old woman was sweeping the earthen floor at her doorway." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She wore a tattered paper robe and a faded rag over her head with the front corners tied at the nape of her neck.\n\n\"Honor our miserable house by staying here, kind pilgrims.\" Like the shoulder-burden-auntie, her back was permanently bent, but she bowed lower. \"Bring the Daishi's blessing to us with your presence. I have only gleanings from the millet fields for your supper, but I shall fetch fresh river grass for you to lie on. And I will massage your weary feet.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"We must journey farther before stopping for the night,\" Musui answered her gently." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Perhaps on our way back we can enjoy your generous offer. In the meantime, please do us the honor of accepting this meager trifle for the Daishi's sake.\" He gave her a small wooden tablet with an invocation and a picture of Kōbō Daishi stamped on it. \"It comes from Mount Koya. It will protect you and your loved ones.\" He added the rice and the fish they had been given and all the coppers." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Clutching the treasures, the old woman wept and bowed and called her thanks until they rounded a curve in the road." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When they were out of sight, Musui sat down abruptly on a rock. His eyes sparkled with tears.\n\nAs Cat stood staring down at him, grief and shame overwhelmed her. She saw the old woman curled in the pile of straw with snow drifting in through the gaps in the roof and walls and covering her frail body." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Cat shuddered. She crouched next to Musui, buried her face in her sleeves, and began to cry as though her heart would break." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Here now,\" a young woman shouted. \"Everyone dies in the end. So while we're in the world let's be merry.\"\n\nCat glanced up and saw the group of young women standing in the roadway, but she couldn't stop crying any more than she could have said why she was doing it. The tears flowed from some dark spring hidden inside her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They stemmed from despair that someone as kind as the old woman should suffer before being released by death and born into a better life." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She cried in fear that her own mother would die poor and alone. She wept for her nurse, who no longer had a home or a livelihood worthy of her.\n\n\"There, there, Shinobu.\" Musui became concerned. \"We must have endurance, Endurance.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He handed Cat a towel to wipe her eyes." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I shall ask the abbot to find a simple job for her and a place to live on the temple grounds. In her next life she will certainly be born higher on the wheel.\"\n\nMusui handed her a paper handkerchief. As she was blowing her nose Cat felt the playful tap of a fan on her head.\n\n\"Such a pretty boy and such a red nose.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The six young women, all dressed in identical pilgrims' hats and robes, stood in a semicircle around her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Behind them stood a trio of porters, almost invisible under their loads of boxes and bundles.\n\n\"Jizō-sama has sent us to cheer you.\" The speaker for the group had a round, plain face and a merry smile.\n\n\"Ah, the seven sages have left their meditation in the bamboo grove.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Musui helped Cat up under the weight of the furoshiki." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The women laughed. Everyone knew the ancient story of the seven Chinese sages who left the frivolity of court life to meditate and drink and compose poetry among the bamboo. The joke was that the ideogram for \"seven sages\" was pronounced the same as \"seven prostitutes.\" In spite of their plain white robes, their pilgrims' bells, and the pious slogans on their wide bamboo hats, Musui had recognized their profession.\n\n\"You flatter us, Your Honor,\" said the leader." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Task: Cooperative storytelling\nMy role: Provide a brief opening\nYour role: Expand upon my opening with 4 sentences, emulating the writing style of Lucia St. Clair." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The first-story eaves of Totsuka's shops and tea houses almost met over the narrow roadway brightly lit with hundreds of lanterns." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They formed a tunnel of light and color and smells in the cold night. The market booths were set one up against the other, with no space between them. The street swarmed with people who had to duck and weave among the bird cages and baskets, hair ornaments and fans and toys, hung up for display.\n\n\"What is your name?\" Cat muttered." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Kasane, Your Honor. Gillyflower.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Dig out your earholes and listen well, Kasane,\" Cat growled. \"Try to escape and I'll gut you.\"\n\nKasane was too frightened to answer. She hurried after Cat, trying to maintain the customary three steps' distance of a wife who dared not step on her husband's shadow." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She walked far enough behind to appear respectful, but not too far to get herself killed for trying to run away." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Here's your fine bream!\"\n\n\"Come along. Don't be nervous. Have your fortune told.\"\n\n\"Hokkori! Hokkori!\" The sweet-potato vendor stood behind his portable brazier and juggled three steaming samples of his wares. \"Eat 'em while they're hot!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He had to shout to be heard in the confusion of the night market." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Without missing a beat in his performance, he caught the paper-wrapped coppers a customer threw him and tossed a potato in exchange.\n\nAll around Cat and Kasane, silver and copper coins rattled in the money changers' scales. The din of hand drums was constant as touts tried to entice customers.\n\nBands of men wore their inns' identical hempen robes and quilted jackets." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Some had draped the inns' small patterned towels rakishly on their heads." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Others had rolled them and wore them as headbands. The tall slats on the bottoms of their geta supplied by the inns allowed the wooden platforms to tip forward and hit the ground with each step. The resulting tattoo sounded like the fire watchman's clappers as the men clattered from tea house to tea house.\n\n\"Stop here! Stop here!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The waitresses tugged at their sleeves." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cat slowed her headlong flight and stared at a bookseller's inventory in the wooden box on his back. On top of the box sat a large model of an assignation house. The model was so detailed, it included the curtain across the top of the door and, on the roof, the big barrel of water for fires. Cat recognized it as the Spring House near the Yoshiwara's Great Gate." }, { "from": "human", "value": "For a moment Cat had a vivid memory of the broad avenue awash in light from the lanterns strung along the second-story eaves." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She remembered herself promenading in silks and satins and brocades and flanked by maids and servants from the Perfumed Lotus. Was it possible that that world existed and that she had left it only a handful of days ago?\n\nCat looked through the prints of courtesans and actors the vendor carried hanging from a slender pole. She was relieved to see that her own picture wasn't among them." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The rest of his stock consisted of books stacked in the wooden box." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There were bawdy novels, guides to the pleasure districts, and ghost stories luridly illustrated on flimsy sheets of paper folded, then sewn between heavy paper covers. Among them Cat saw one she wanted. She held it up.\n\n\"How much is this one?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"A good choice!\" The bookseller swiveled to see which one she was holding up." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Our guidebook is indispensable, Your Honor. It lists the sights and savors of the great Tōkaidō.\"\n\n\"How much?\" asked Cat.\n\n\"One hundred mon. A bargain at twice the price. It also tells you where to find the most accomplished women and the best-looking boys.\"\n\nCat took the short, knotted cord of coppers from her sleeve and counted them." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There were forty-five. She replaced the book and started to move on." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She felt a shy tug at her sleeve and whirled around. She had almost forgotten about her hostage. Kasane held out a square brocade purse on a long cord. It clinked.\n\nCat grabbed it from her, dragged her into a dark alleyway, and pulled her down behind a big two-wheeled cart." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Don't wave money around, you rice bale.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'm sorry, master.\"\n\n\"Where did you get this?\"\n\n\"My last master stole it from a gambler in Hiratsuka.\"\n\n\"And you stole it from him?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"He's a black-bellied man, master. He's evil.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cat smiled to herself as she emptied the lumpy silver coins and the strings of a hundred mon into the tail of her jacket. The peasant wasn't as stupid as she looked. Cat counted the coins. She tucked the silver under her sash and the copper into her sleeve." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She stuffed the purse into her other sleeve." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The coins were anonymous, but such an ornate purse embroidered with its owner's crest would be recognized.\n\nWhen the procurer was discovered in the closet, someone would come looking for his trollop, if only to recover the gaudy rented robes. Cat had to get rid of them.\n\n\"Have you other clothes in that pack?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes, master.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Put them on. Be quick. I'll keep a lookout.\"\n\n\"Here?\"\n\n\"Where do you think?\" Cat was so exasperated with her unwanted captive and her harsh country accent, full of extra syllables, she wanted to pull the child's ears." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Sniffing back tears, Kasane stooped so the cart hid her body from the nearby street." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Fear and the unfamiliar complication of the clothing made her clumsy. She wasn't used to intricately tied sashes and sleeves that dangled past her hips.\n\nWith trembling fingers she tore at the knot in the long, wide ornamental sash, then the undersash and the tightly tied cord beneath that. She pulled off the lined kimono and the loose undershirt and shivered in the cold." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Bare-chested, the hard tips of her dark brown nipples taut from the cold, Kasane struggled with the cord holding the scarlet crepe cloth wrapped around her as an underskirt." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cat forced herself to wait patiently. The sooner she was rid of this country simpleton, the better.\n\nCat was surprised to see that Kasane's own clothes consisted of a white pilgrim's robe. Even though the robe was torn and stained, Cat could tell it was new." }, { "from": "human", "value": "While Kasane was tying the cheap sash around her, Cat folded the rented clothes and stuffed them behind the cart." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then she wet her towel in a nearby water barrel and scrubbed off most of the white powder and the rouge.\n\n\"Do you remember what I said about trying to escape?\"\n\n\"Yes, master.\"\n\nBut Cat still kept a suspicious eye on her as she returned to the book vendor." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'll give you forty coppers and this fine purse for the guidebook.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Stolen?\" He held the purse up to the light of the street lantern.\n\n\"Do I look like a thief?\"\n\n\"Yes.\" The vendor handed her the guidebook and gave a perfunctory nod of a bow.\n\nFor some reason being mistaken for a miscreant pleased Cat." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She felt free and independent and dangerous." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She had watched Musui in his dealings with innkeepers and tea shop owners, and she had gotten the hang of it. She was elated by the sound of silver and copper jingling in her sleeve. The prospect of asking the price of things, of counting out the coins and handing them over, excited her.\n\nAs she browsed she kept her eyes open for weapons but found none for sale." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Only members of the noble and military classes were allowed to carry long-swords and naginata and spears." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The makers would be situated discreetly on a back alley somewhere. Cat dared not attract attention by asking about them.\n\nHer first purchases were a large, dark blue cloth to use as a furoshiki, a stout walking staff, and a wide-brimmed bamboo hat. To hide her face, she wore the new hat instead of carrying it slung on her back." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Musui's writing on her old one made it too distinctive, and she had left it at the inn." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She regretted having to abandon the calligraphy \"We two, pilgrims together\" that he had painted on it for her. It would have been a valuable keepsake.\n\nFrom the clusters of sturdy straw sandals dangling about an old woman's person, Cat selected eight at ten coppers each. She started to put them onto the furoshiki, but Kasane held her hand out to take them and the cloth bundle, too." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The world was back to normal." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Someone else was carrying Cat's burdens.\n\nNext Cat shopped for food for the journey. She hadn't the least notion how to cook anything, but she had learned that the kitchen staffs of inns would prepare food supplied by the guests, thereby cutting down on lodging expenses. The variety of food for sale here was bewildering." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Our confections were celebrated by the august tea master Sen no Rikyu himself, Your Honor.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Here, here. The renowned prawns of Totsuka. Take them back to the folks at home.\"\n\nKasane was even more bewildered than Cat. She had never seen so much food. She couldn't read, so she didn't know what was in the artistically wrapped and labeled packages of local delicacies, the \"Name-things\" for which Totsuka was famous." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She did know that they were expensive." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She watched in amazement as her new master bought pickled ginger and Totsuka's prawns, as well as small dried flying fish plaited horizontally into a straw cord and rice dumplings stuffed with sweetened bean jam and wrapped in the papery sheaths of bamboo shoots. Cat did buy tea and raw rice, but only the most expensive type of each.\n\nWhen she bought tooth powder and a willow twig toothbrush, the woman selling them bowed low and presented her with a tiny packet of toothpicks as omake, a bonus.\n\n\"Luck to the seller,\" the woman said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Cat was as pleased by the modest gift as by any expensive present she had ever received." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Next she bought an ink stick and stone in a plain wooden writing case and brushes in bamboo tubes. She added a flint, a tortoiseshell comb, and a crisp, dark blue loincloth.\n\nShe bought four coppers' worth of Willow brand tobacco, a packet of cheap paper handkerchiefs, and a heavy paper folding wallet in which to put them. She chose a hempen travel cloak and a paper raincoat permeated with persimmon juice to make it water-repellent." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She smiled when the merchant threw in a small towel for omake." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cat tied her final purchases, two sleeping straw mats, on top of Kasane's pack. By the time Cat finished, the furoshiki had grown so big that Kasane could hardly be seen behind it. Kasane was astonished. She had never seen such extravagance. Her new master was the sort to carry a lantern on a moonlit night." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Vendors and merchants were packing their stock into bags and baskets and extinguishing their lanterns." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cat heard the squeal of wooden axles as farmers wheeled their unsold goods away in their cumbersome barrows. The market was taking on an abandoned air.\n\nThe crowd was thinning. The beggars were leaving with their straw cushions under their arms." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Street entertainers were gathering up their instruments and props." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Soon all the stands would be screened with mats or boarded up or dismantled. Not enough people would be left to provide cover for Cat and her silent, unwelcome companion.\n\nCat knew she dared not stay at an inn. Kira's men and the book with her picture in it had probably visited them all." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Kira's son Lord Uesugi had enough retainers to send one or two to each of the fifty-three government post stations between Edo and Kyōto." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And he would still have men left to maintain his father's bodyguards at home.\n\nThe black ribbon of sky between the eaves of the buildings was spangled with stars. No rain likely. Cat and the peasant could sleep somewhere on the grounds of the local temple, in an abandoned building or chapel or under a roof sheltering a bell.\n\nCat glanced at Kasane." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She looked young and tired and frightened." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cat could tell from her callused hands and her new pilgrim's robe that she hadn't been whoring long. \"You didn't sell yourself to the flesh broker, did you?\" Cat asked.\n\n\"No, master.\" Kasane spoke so low, Cat could hardly hear her.\n\n\"Kidnapped?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes, master.\" Kasane hesitated." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The others were killed,\" she murmured.\n\n\"What others?\"\n\n\"From my village. Thirteen of us were traveling to the great shrine at Ise.\" Kasane stopped in confusion." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She hadn't meant to draw attention to her plight." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cat turned away to discourage further revelations. She didn't want to find out any more about the dirt-eater. She might feel obligated to help her, and she didn't need anyone else's troubles. She already felt guilty about taking the money the child had had the foresight to steal from her captor." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Cat soothed her conscience by reasoning that she would arrange for her to be found in the morning." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then she would be someone else's problem.\n\nCat bought a cheap lantern with a carrying pole, a collapsible paper shade, and a few extra rolled paper wicks. Then she stopped at stacks of round wooden tubs filled with various types of oil. The oil peddler stood among them and scratched his back with the long handle of his sieve." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Where's the nearest temple?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cat asked as he measured out whale oil into a bamboo container.\n\nHe waved his sieve toward the west. \"You'd be better off at the shrine on the main road to Edo, though,\" he said. \"It's dedicated to Daikoku and his magic mallet. The fat businessmen flock there to clap their hands before his image and bargain with the god of wealth for a bountiful crop of gold and silver.\n\n\"On the other hand, the temple has fallen on hard times. It doesn't even have a bonze. The Shintō priest changes his robes and goes there now and then to chant the Buddhist services.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Impatiently Cat started to bid him good night." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then she thought better of it. \"Is the temple deserted?\"\n\n\"Only by the living.\" The oil seller grinned and wiped oil off his hand and onto his heavy black apron." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"In my grandfather's grandfather's day it was famous for its warrior-monks, adept at the art of the spear. The graveyard is full of the tombstones of the foolish young students of the warrior's Way who journeyed there to challenge them.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your next one should be approximately 2 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Thank you.\" Cat bowed and backed away. When she was out of sight she doubled back behind the buildings and headed for the deserted temple." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Mode:\nCo-writing\n\nLength:\nfour sentences\n\nStyle:\nLucia St. Clair" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As she walked along the dark road, the espression on Kasane's plain round face was stoic, but she had no illusions about her future. She knew that her new master might be intending to take her to a deserted place and rape and kill her, but she doubted it. Kasane was a shy child and a virtuous one, but in the past few days she had come to think of herself as merchandise.\n\nShe had been kidnapped at sea by a pirate masquerading as an honest boat captain." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He had sold her to the procurer, who had peddled her to innkeepers twice and then restolen her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He would have done it again if the mysterious, ferocious young stranger hadn't interfered. Now this latest master would undoubtedly go into business, too, with Kasane as his stock. One didn't waste anything that could be exchanged for money.\n\nBefore leaving for the pilgrimage to Ise several days earlier, Kasane had never been beyond the call of her village drum." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Since then she had seen only the worst of men, but this one was nothing like the pirate and the procurer." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "For one thing, he was very young. And he was certainly extravagant. Even though the moon was only beginning to wane and was almost directly overhead, he had lit the lantern.\n\nKasane carried the baggage and the lantern too along the deserted farm road." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She walked in front and held the lantern's pole to the side and behind her so it lit her new master's way." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She glanced back over her shoulder only once. The light and shadow had transformed Cat's glower into a hideous mask. She looked to Kasane like Lord Emma, the king of hell.\n\nThe temple grounds were beyond the fields, among the steep folds of the high hills west of Totsuka." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A heavy mist swirled low to the ground there." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In the darkness of a grove of trees, Cat almost missed the slender granite marker indicating the turnoff onto a badly maintained path.\n\nAs she and Kasane moved forward cautiously, the trees and bushes closed in around them. A fox barked. Something rustled in the black depths of the undergrowth. Kasane stopped so abruptly, Cat almost bumped into her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"A goblin,\" Kasane whispered." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Keep walking, simpleton.\"\n\nIn the stillness of the night Cat's own voice sounded harsh to her. She thought of Musui's kindness and felt small and mean. She remembered his gentle admonition." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A true warrior knows compassion." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cat decided to leave the child some money when she abandoned her.\n\nIn the moon's bright light, tears glistened on Kasane's cheeks. Her lips trembled as she felt her way along the dark, rocky path. A gust of wind blew, and both she and Cat heard a rattling, like bones." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Kasane gave a small cry and shrank back when something tall and thin loomed from the ground fog." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She felt rather than saw more shapes in the darkness beyond under the trees.\n\n\"Tombstones.\" Cat lowered her voice and took a firmer grip on her walking staff.\n\nHundreds of tiered stone monuments rose up from the fog and crowded the slope of the hill. A forest of tall wooden funerary laths, some new, some old and neglected, clattered against each other in another gust." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Cat and Kasane walked past granite columns and slabs, carved with snarling lions and the ferocious faces of Buddhism's guardian kings." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In the mist the grave markers looked like a silent army turned to stone.\n\nThe lantern had been burning low. Suddenly it guttered and went out.\n\n\"He said it held enough oil for two hours' light.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Cat was furious that the oil vendor had cheated her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She knew he had long since closed up for the night and decamped; but she wanted to march back to Totsuka, rap him on the head with her staff, and demand her money back.\n\nKasane shrank back against her and clutched her sleeve.\n\n\"Don't be a fool.\" But Cat herself spoke in a whisper." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"When our eyes grow accustomed to the darkness, the moon will guide us.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kasane didn't dare point out that the massive cedars were now shutting out most of the moon's light. Still clinging to Cat's sleeve, she strained to see around her. \"Did you see that?\" she whispered.\n\n\"Yes,\" Cat murmured. Suddenly Kasane's presence was a comfort to her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A flame flared in the distance, then softened and broadened into the glow from a lantern." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It lit portions of the gravestones around it and in places left angular sheets of night.\n\nThree huge shadows stooped and reared against the granite monuments. Each shadow sported a pair of pointed fox's ears.\n\n\"Where?\" The word drifted, like a fragment of a lost conversation, through the gravestones." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Over here.\" The voice was nervous and subdued." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Bring the light, you bucket of night soil.\"\n\n\"Two of them in one night.\" The first speaker sounded as though he had fortified himself with strong drink, home-brewed sweet-potato wine, probably. His dialect was too coarse to belong to someone who could afford sake. \"What luck.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Cat heard the rhythmic kachunk of wood striking stones and saw the curved shadows of two mattock blades rise and fall on the monument." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She thought again about returning to Totsuka but dismissed the idea. The inns would be tightly shuttered. Even if she could have found shelter in a shed or chapel in town, she would have had the problem of avoiding Kira's men in the morning. The idea of sharing her night's lodging place with this sort of riffraff made her skin crawl, though." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The only solution was to evict them." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "With both hands gripping the staff lightly, she held it up as though it were a long-sword, parallel to her body and with the tip slanted outward. Her pulse thrummed in her ears as she started forward, crossing each foot in front of the other in the buoyant scissor gait of a sword player.\n\nShe was concentrating on centering her thoughts and breathing properly when she felt a hard tug at her sleeve. She whirled, dragging a heavy weight with her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She struck down and behind her with great force but stayed her hand at the last moment." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When the staff landed on Kasane's side, it was painful but not damaging.\n\nKasane shut her eyes tight and held on to Cat's sleeve with both hands. She had decided she would rather die of a blow from her strange new master's staff than release her grip.\n\n\"Let go of me, you idiot!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Cat whispered as she tried to disengage her. \"Wait here.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Don't leave me, master.\" Kasane spoke in a tiny, strangled voice. \"Kill me, but don't leave me in this haunted place.\"\n\nCat could see the hysteria rising in the peasant's contorted face." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She shook her hard by the shoulders." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'll be back. I'm only going to see who they are.\"\n\n\"They're demons or ghosts.\"\n\n\"I doubt it. I think they're human, and they're up to no good.\"\n\nCat pried Kasane's rigid fingers loose." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She brandished her staff and started forward again, using the gravestones for cover." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She lifted each foot deliberately and set it down as softly as a leaf landing. She thought they were mortal, but she wasn't certain.\n\nKasane stood in the gloom and watched the only being who might possibly be human desert her. From the corner of her eye she thought she saw something stir in the well of night behind a tombstone." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The roots of her hair tingled at the nape of her neck." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She tucked her robe's skirts up into her sash. Crouching, she crept after Cat.\n\nKasane wanted to scream to drown out the noise of the mattocks and the rustlings and squeakings and the liquid hooting of the owl in the darkness. She could only whimper far back in her throat." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She remembered the old proverb, \"Ghosts and girls are best unseen,\" but it was no comfort." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"When were they buried?\" The man's voice sounded so close, it startled Kasane. It distracted her from the sharpening odor of rotting flesh.\n\n\"The other one's only a few days old. This one's been here almost a week.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The light of the lantern was close enough now to make the darkness around Kasane complete in contrast." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But at least she could see the beings that were casting the shadows. She could see that the fox ears were formed by the stiff knotted ends of the towels tied around their heads. She also could see that these demons were wearing filthy loincloths and collections of paper rags.\n\nKasane crouched behind a marker and watched Cat approach the men." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Continue with the same vibes as Lucia St. Clair" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Just beyond Kambara's outlying fields, the Tōkaidō became steep as the skirts of the mountains swept precipitously to a towering, pine-fringed escarpment above the sea. Along the top of the cliff snaked the road over Satta Pass. Cat and Kasane had walked almost to the bottom of the long ascent that would take them over it.\n\nCat kept looking back over her shoulder for pursuers, but all she saw were a pair of postboys and their shaggy mare." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Hitch up your underwear and speed away...\" The two men were singing off key as they ambled up behind Cat." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "One led their pony, and the other rode her. They were bare-legged and dressed in belted, blue cotton wadded jackets. They had draped blue-and-white towels over their heads and knotted them under their chins. Their large, conical hats dangled on each side of the horse's haunches." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Forty coppers for both the hats,\" Cat called out." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Thirty each and they're yours.\" Both men bowed deeply and sardonically.\n\n\"Fifty for the pair.\"\n\n\"Sold.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "When the man who was afoot moved to untie the hats, the horse laid back her ears and drew her lips over her teeth." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She sidestepped daintily and kicked out with her rear hooves. The postboy ignored her.\n\nAs he exchanged the hats for the string of coppers, the hostler gave Kasane and her scarlet robe and wig an appraising look.\n\n\"How much do you charge for her?\" he asked." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"More than you can afford,\" Cat answered." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As they trotted away the two men started their song again.\n\nHitch up your underwear and speed away;\n\nWe'll spend the night at Mitsuke.\n\nWhatever happened to Hachibei?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The horses ate him along the way." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When Cat heard Hachibei, the name on her travel papers, her hand tightened on her staff. She relaxed only when the horse's rump disappeared around a bend, and she remembered that Hachibei was a common name among the lower classes.\n\nCat was now dressed in the boy's clothes she had bought for Kasane. Kasane was wearing Dragonfly's son's wig and red silk robe." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She had tucked the long skirts into her sash, but the geta made keeping up with Cat a struggle." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kasane was in high spirits in spite of the rough road. She read aloud the signs of the roadside stands. She had been infected with the excitement of the theater, and she was anticipating rejoining Shichisaburo's troupe in Okitsu. She had been backstage when the fight broke out, and she didn't realize that the mêlée at the performance had been more than the foolishness of farmers." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She didn't know that she and Cat were in more peril than usual." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Also, she was enjoying the feel of the red silk dress. She was vaguely aroused by the cloth's soft cling and by its subtle shifting of colors in the sunlight. She didn't know that Cat intended to put her back into cotton at the first opportunity. A peasant in silk could attract the attention of officials as well as hostlers." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As for her suitor, Kasane wasn't very upset about leaving him behind in Kambara." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "This game of cat and rat seemed only to fan the fires of his passions, and she was sure he would find her again. Kasane preferred the chase because it postponed a decision as to the disposition of her virtue.\n\nShe touched her sash where the pilgrim's latest letter was hidden in an oiled paper under her robe. He had addressed it to \"the Floating Weed\" and signed it \"the Traveler.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Something his hand had touched was touching her bare body." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kasane's face warmed at the thought. Part of her elation was due to the fact that, with Cat's help, she could now read the Traveler's words.\n\n\"What happened to the Soga brothers?\" Kasane asked.\n\nShe had been particularly taken with the younger brother, Gorō, in the Revenge of the Soga Brothers." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The actor's dramatic pose, with his outer robe flung off his shoulders and the map to Lord Kudō's hunting camp clamped in his teeth, had made her dizzy with a romantic fever." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"They avenged themselves on Lord Kudō for the death of their father.\" Cat was understandably distracted. She glanced back again, expecting to see the unkempt rōnin of Tosa closing in on her. \"Jurō-san was killed in the fight.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"And Gorō-san?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"He was captured and condemned to be beheaded with a dull sword.\"\n\n\"That's not fair! Wicked Lord Kudō killed their father! Jurō-san and Gorō-san registered their vendetta legally.\" Kasane was outraged. \"That play is foolish. The farmers were right to protest.\"\n\n\"The play is only a mirror reflecting life. One cannot change one's fate. Jurō and Gorō killed Lord Kudō. They avenged their father. They died satisfied.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Cat thought of Lord Kira, safe in his mansion while she pursued what might prove to be a fool's undertaking." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She would have considered it a bargain to have her head sawed off with a blunt sword in exchange for the privilege of beheading Kira. She pictured the long, glittering curve of a naginata blade slicing as easily through his neck as a honed knife through bean curd. She imagined the feel of it, the resistance his spinal column would make.\n\nIf she were to execute him, she would not even try to leave a piece of skin intact." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She wanted to see his head, lifeless eyes still bulging in terror, bouncing across the ground." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Something's happened ahead.\" Kasane nodded toward a group of people standing in a circle in the middle of the road.\n\nIn low voices they were discussing a pale gray river rock, a bit larger than a man's fist, which sat in the dust. A black cord was tied around it. It was a path-barring-stone." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It said, \"Go no farther.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The two small feathers fastened to the cord carried an additional message. Their shafts had been laid at right angles to each other and lashed with thread. Many families used variations of crossed feathers as their crests. Banshu-Akō was one of them." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Cat assumed the warning was meant for her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A few people turned back. Most joined together into larger groups for protection in case the stone's warning was genuine. They all had heard the stories of bandits at Satta Pass. The travelers tied back their sleeves, pulled their loincloths tighter for the climb, and started up the treacherous slope." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Cat sauntered off the road to a shed housing a traveler's convenience." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She needed time to think.\n\nAs she loosened her loincloth and squatted over the hole, she stared at the simple lines of an opened umbrella carved into the wall in front of her. A woman's name and a man's name were incised in flowing, vertical characters, one on each side of the umbrella's shaft. A man and woman sharing an umbrella was an old conceit." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It meant they were lovers." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cat sighed. As far as she was concerned, lovers were of a different species. She couldn't imagine being in love. She couldn't even imagine sleeping through the night with a quiet heart.\n\nShe was suddenly overwhelmed by despondency again." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her enemies were everywhere." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "How long could she avoid them?\n\nWho had known she would pass this way and had left the stone for her to find? If she must stop to fight for every foot of ground between here and Kyōto, how could she ever reach Oishi? And how often could she engage her enemies before she was caught and punished?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What does the stone mean?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kasane whispered through the open top half of the shed.\n\n\"It means we're not going over the pass.\"\n\n\"Where are we going, then?\" Kasane was bold enough now to ask it of Cat when she came out of the shed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"To Okitsu.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"But—\"\n\n\"We're going by the lower route. By way of 'Not-knowing-Parents.'\"\n\nCat was too impatient to wait for the tide to ebb completely. The surf was still crashing when she and Kasane made their way down the overgrown path and through the tumbled boulders to the base of the cliff" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Kasane took off the cotton cloth wrapped around her waist as an underskirt and laid it on the ground." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She put the wig and geta in the middle of it and knotted the ends around them so she could sling the bundle over her shoulder. Then she hitched up her skirts. She was ready to follow her mistress into whatever calamity the Tōkaidō might provide.\n\n\"According to the guidebook, 'Not-knowing-Parents' is only twelve cho across,\" Cat said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But she could see that reaching the other side of the great stone barrier would be difficult." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The strip of boulder-strewn beach had been aptly named. In fleeing the tiger's den, they had entered a dragon's hole. Cat tried to imagine lines of travelers passing this way fifty years earlier, when \"Not-knowing-Parents\" was the only route.\n\nSome of the boulders rose three or four times higher than Cat." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Waves crashed against them, sending up geysers of salt spray that stung their eyes." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Before Cat and Kasane had gone twenty steps, they were soaked to the skin and shivering with cold. Flat swags of glossy brown seaweed twined around their ankles. The dark, wet-slick stones that paved the narrow beach rolled about under their feet.\n\nCat and Kasane splashed through tidal pools." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They clambered over the branches and tree trunks and flotsam snagged among the boulders." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Barnacles cut them when the larger breakers pushed them against the rocks, then tried to drag them out to sea.\n\nAbout halfway around the vast bulge of the escarpment, Cat stopped suddenly as she was passing between two huge boulders. She braced herself with each hand pressed against one of the rocks and stared ahead.\n\n\"What is it?\" Kasane asked." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Fuji-san.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cat reached out to steady Kasane over a particularly rough stretch, then stepped to one side so she could see. The two of them held hands in the shower of cold spray, with the waves surging around their legs, and stared at Mount Fuji.\n\n\"It's splendid,\" Kasane said at last.\n\n\"So it is.\" Cat regretted being cheated of the view from the pass." }, { "from": "human", "value": "If it was this beautiful here, it must be magnificent from above." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The mountain was framed by the jagged, glistening black crags of \"Not-knowing-Parents.\" Its backdrop was a blue sky, so clear it seemed to pulse. Snow had fallen on Fuji during the night, cloaking the graceful slopes in a gleaming white mantle. A cap of cloud hung over the volcano's cone." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Do you see a dragon's form in the cloud?\" Cat asked." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"A dragon, mistress?\"\n\n\"A dragon in the clouds above Fuji means success.\"\n\nKasane stared intently. \"I think I see one. There. That's his nose and that's his tail.\"\n\n\"I see it.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Twenty waves roared in and crashed against the rocks before Cat finally broke the mountain's spell." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She started forward again, then stopped when she heard Kasane's cry. She turned in time to see her twist and pitch sideways, her foot caught in a crevice between two rocks.\n\n\"Sister!\" Cat scrambled back to help her up before the next wave washed over her.\n\n\"It hurts,\" Kasane said softly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Put your arm around my shoulders.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cat put her own arm around Kasane's waist and supported her weight as Kasane limped forward.\n\n\"I'm so clumsy.\" Kasane was sobbing, not with pain but with remorse at slowing Cat's progress toward her love, waiting, she thought, among the ferocious southerners of Satsuma. \"I'm so stupid.\"\n\n\"It's my fault, dear Kasane.\" Cat held her close as though Kasane were a child in need of comforting." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She cried, too, stung by her own remorse." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I was too impatient to wait for the ebb tide. I'm sorry.\"\n\nTogether, they struggled toward a large tangle of debris. Kasane winced each time she had to put weight on the injured ankle, but she made no complaint.\n\nCat was helping Kasane over the slippery trunk of a fallen pine when they saw the naked body." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The man's fractured arms and legs were wrapped at impossible angles around the spokes of the tree's upturned roots." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cat and Kasane stared down at him.\n\n\"He hasn't been here long,\" Cat said.\n\n\"The kappa must have caught him and pulled his liver out his anus.\"\n\n\"Bandits, more likely.\" Cat laid her head back, trying to see the trail at the top of the rough gray wall towering over them." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A fish hawk swooped from its nest in a crevice and soared out over the bay." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"They stole his money and his clothes and threw him over the side,\" Cat said. \"Even the poor are not safe.\"\n\n\"Was the path-barring-stone a warning about bandits?\"\n\n\"Probably.\" Cat knew there was more to the warning than bandits, but she saw no use in making Kasane unhappier than she already was." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A blind person feared not the snake." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When a wave lifted the man's head, Cat noticed the red, gourd-shaped mark on his cheek. \"Do you know who this is?\"\n\n\"Who?\"\n\n\"The husband of the outcast under the bridge.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That's right.\" Kasane rested against the trunk as she considered the implications." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"His family must not know he's gone on to travel the Three Paths.\"\n\n\"No.\"\n\n\"Probably no one but us knows.\"\n\n\"That's right.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"He's a homeless spirit.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kasane shivered from dread as well as from cold and pain.\n\n\"We'll burn incense and pray for him at the first temple we come to.\"\n\nOf the many forms Cat had seen death take, this one was the saddest, to lie broken and forgotten, discarded like a worn-out umbrella on a rubbish heap.\n\n\"And then we saw you,\" Cat recited." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Pillowed upon your shaking beach," }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Using those wave-beaten rocks\n\nAs if the coast were spread out for your bedding;\n\nOn such a rugged place\n\nYou have laid yourself to rest." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That's a sad poem, mistress,\" Kasane said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Did you write it?\"\n\n\"It was written long ago by someone who found a body on a beach like this. The end of the poem is saddest of all.\"\n\nIf I but knew your home,\n\nI would tell them where you sleep;" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Your wife would come searching for you." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "How she must be waiting,\n\nHow anxiously now longing for you,\n\nShe the dear one you call wife.\n\nKasane knew that the outcast had spit against heaven and must suffer the retribution he deserved." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But she had a tender heart." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She gave a small whimper of a sob and wiped her eyes on her sleeve, which didn't do much good since her sleeve was soaked.\n\nWith Cat supporting her Kasane started slowly toward the far end of the cliff; but she kept looking back, as though the homeless ghost might be following her, drifting along just above the beach like some hideous supernatural flotsam.\n\n\"We children found a man on the beach once,\" Kasane said.\n\n\"Was he someone you knew?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It was impossible to tell. The crabs had eaten his face.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kasane was struck by a sorrow and a fear from her childhood. She remembered the nights she had looked out over the black water, searching among the many fishermen's lights for the one on the prow of her parents' boat. Her dread was the one morning her parents' cumbersome, leaky vessel wouldn't return. Their bodies would be found washed up on the beach and covered with a shifting crust of crabs." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "expand on the story like Lucia St. Clair would" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The Persimmon inn was as crowded as all the others in Okazaki." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There was a constant scrape of wall panels being slid back and forth in their wooden tracks and glimpses of merriment in the rooms behind them. Maids and servants laden with food and sake and bedding scurried to and fro. Blind shampooers and masseurs plied their trade. Choruses of the Ise song sounded from all corners of the Persimmon as pilgrims settled in for an evening of revelry." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The room next to the one Hanshiro shared with Cat and Kasane was lit bright as day." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Four drapers were throwing a party there, and a geisha was dancing to the rhythm of his own hand drum.\n\nThe drapers called themselves the Four Heavenly Kings, and they boasted that they were experts at libertinage. To prove it they had hired a covey of women who specialized in entertaining travelers.\n\nBecause Cat could hear every word they said, she knew more than she cared to about three of the Kings." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The forth man was already slurring his words too badly for her to understand what he was saying." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cat and Hanshiro had had their baths and now wore the indigo cotton robes and tie-dyed crepe sashes supplied by the Persimmon. By the light of a single lantern, Hanshiro was teaching Cat to play go. As he sat studying the board he seemed oblivious to the racket nearby. When the geisha finished her bawdy dance, a samisen player struck up \"Shallow River.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Cat had heard the song many times in the Perfumed Lotus, and she began humming along absentmindedly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When she realized what she was doing, she fell silent and stared down at the board. She was appalled that her embarrassment must be evident on her face.\n\nThe song was about wading into shallow, then deeper and deeper water. Cat knew that as the women danced they lifted their robes to expose more of themselves." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She could tell from the giggles and shouts that they were complying with the last verse and that the water had risen quite high." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cat glanced toward the door.\n\n\"She'll be safe.\" Hanshiro didn't look up from the go board. Normally he wouldn't have spoken at all until the game was over; but he was teaching, not competing, and he was trying to put Cat at ease.\n\n\"She's a simple country woman.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Cat had misgivings about allowing Kasane to go out by herself, especially at night." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"She seems able to take care of herself. I'd venture to say you've taught her a great deal in the time you've spent together.\"\n\nCat didn't trust herself to answer. Hanshiro made her feel as awkward as a child, until even her silence seemed foolish to her. She was flattered, though." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The rōnin didn't seem the type to scatter compliments about with a winnowing fan." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And what he said about Kasane was true enough. She looked dashing in the stiff new livery.\n\nCat had gathered Kasane's hair into a boy's whisk on top of her head and tied a headband jauntily above her left ear. Kasane had carried the travel box effortlessly the four ri from Akasaka to Okazaki." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She was strong anyway, and Hanshiro had transferred the heavier items to the furoshiki slung across his own back." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kasane had sung to herself as she marched along behind Cat and Hanshiro.\n\nNow she was at the temple looking for another letter from her suitor. She carried Cat's spear disguised as a staff, but Cat was worried about her. She feared that if Kasane got into a situation where she needed the spear, she'd only hurt herself with it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Cat heard a polite cough and a shuffling of feet at the door." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Come in.\" She called out the invitation before she remembered that she wasn't supposed to be in charge here.\n\nWhen the panel slid open a cloud dweller, a member of the nobility, entered. He was thin and stooped. He had the face of a crane, and he wore the outmoded fashions of the emperor's court." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His wrists and hands extended like talons from the wide, layered sleeves of his robes." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He had stained his teeth black in the old-fashioned way and had powdered and rouged his face.\n\n\"Good evening, sirs. Forgive the intrusion.\" His smile was brittle. Conspiratorial. His painted face was a grotesque caricature of beauty and refinement." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"My name is Nakajo, chamberlain of the fifth rank. Retired.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His bleary eyes restlessly searched the corners of the room, as though he expected an enemy, or at least a rat, to be lurking there. He made Cat nervous.\n\n\"It is no intrusion.\" Hanshiro bowed. \"My companion is merely learning the game.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I was told that two supreme examples of manly beauty were gracing this worthy establishment, men with souls as fearless as the god of war.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The old man turned aside. He hawked and spat into an embossed paper he took from his wallet. \"But the stories fall far short of the truth.\" He folded the paper into the figure of an iris and tucked it into his sleeve." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Your young companion has a countenance like the moon, serene in the autumn sky.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The chamberlain nodded toward Cat, who bowed low in return.\n\n\"How can we help you?\" Hanshiro tried to hurry the old man along in his pitch. The emperor himself received an annual stipend less than that of the lowest-ranking daimyō." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His courtiers had little except time; but they had plenty of that." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It is I who desire to help you, kind sir.\" The chamberlain lowered his voice and leaned forward, although the Four Kings and their guests were making so much noise, no one could have heard him. \"It is said that 'dallying with youths is like consorting with wolves beneath scattering cherry blossoms.'\"\n\n\"'Whereas pillowing with prostitutes is like groping in the dark without a lantern beneath a new moon.' \" Hanshiro finished the quote, but he was surprised the old aristocrat knew the works of Saikaku, the commoner and townsman." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Coupling with wolves requires energy.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "From the depths of his many robes the chamberlain produced a small, stoppered earthenware jar and held it up. \"I have here the elixir that will ensure that each night of love lasts as long as autumn itself. One need only mix a drop of it with water and bathe in it.\"\n\n\"What does this miraculous potion consist of?\" Hanshiro offered a pipe, which the old nobleman accepted with an alacrity that bordered on the indecorous." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Cat lit it for him and tended it while he went on with his story." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Do you remember the elephant delivered to the dog shōgun as a present from the most august emperor of China?\"\n\n\"The huge, gray, wing-eared beast that was all the talk ten years ago.\" Hanshiro remembered it well.\n\nHe had found the towns along the Tōkaidō in an uproar because of the elephant and its entourage." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Local officials were recruiting farmers to clean the highway even more thoroughly than usual." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They had drafted all available laborers to build earthen bridges over the rivers. The shōgun banned all cattle and horses from the vicinity of the road so they wouldn't frighten the huge beast. Citizens had been ordered to keep silent so they wouldn't disturb its sleep.\n\nYes, Hanshiro remembered the elephant." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was still living on the grounds of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi's palace in Edo." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"A most uncommon animal...\" As the cloud of tobacco smoke enveloped the chamberlain, Cat thought he looked as close to contented as he ever had or ever would. In a way she could empathize with him. She had learned that deprivation raised the simplest pleasures to the extraordinary.\n\n\"The beast's urine is collected and saved.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The chamberlain shared the confidence as though it were a state secret." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When Cat glanced at Hanshiro she detected a glimmer of amusement in his stoic expression. It was as surprising as a wasp's sting getting a reaction from a stone Jizō. Hanshiro too must have been imagining the unfortunate underling who had the job of holding the tub each time the elephant emptied its bladder.\n\n\"The elephant's proper-thing is as big as a fishing boat's mast,\" the chamberlain said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"So it is no surprise that its urine has a potency unparalleled in this fleeting world.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Are we to assume that you have some of that marvelous liquid?\"\n\n\"As you can imagine, it is in great demand. Those of the highest rank covet it. But because you are such a rare and refined pair of individuals, I am going to part with the very last vial in my possession.\"\n\n\"Your generosity far exceeds our slight merit.\"\n\nThe chamberlain made a deprecating gesture with his sleeve." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He jumped when someone fell in the next room and rattled the wall panels in their tracks." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A bathtub must have been delivered there because the sound of splashing joined the gales of laughter and loud music.\n\n\"The four jovial townsmen next door would be most disappointed to miss the opportunity you so generously offer,\" Hanshiro said. \"The god of wealth has smiled on them. They would be able to express their gratitude far more suitably than a pair of humble and poverty-stricken wanderers.\"\n\n\"I'm grateful to you for the suggestion.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The chamberlain understood that Hanshiro had just refused him, but he stayed through the hour of the Dog anyway." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He realized that Hanshiro was the only truly educated person in the inn. He discussed the classics with him as though that were the sole purpose of his visit.\n\nCat didn't mind. She preferred having the chamberlain there to spending the time alone with the rōnin. She would have gone with Kasane to explore Okazaki, but that would have started speculation among those who assumed she and Hanshiro were lovers." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When the old man finally left, Cat couldn't help looking impishly over her sleeve." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She was astonished to see a smile flicker across Hanshiro's face in return. For a moment, in the shadowy room, across the dimly lit go board, Nakajo's foolishness made them comrades.\n\n\"The bag of cupidity has no bottom,\" Hanshiro murmured as he made one more move toward the inevitable downfall of Cat's go pieces, although the most satisfying conclusion to a game of go was always a draw. He snapped the stone down with a satisfying click that was amplified by the hollow sounding-box under the board." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Tenjo bito,\" Cat whispered." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The words meant \"cloud dweller,\" but they could also mean \"ceiling person,\" a euphemism for rat.\n\nKasane slid the door open, bowed, and entered.\n\n\"I was worried about you.\" Anxiety put an edge to Cat's voice." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'm very sorry, young master.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kasane glanced toward the far wall, beyond which the Four Kings' party was reaching a crescendo of splashes and squeals. \"I went looking for paper at a night market.\"\n\nCat started to remind her that the Persimmon's management had provided writing materials. Then she realized that Kasane probably wanted paper of a higher quality." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Next she would insist on fresh spring water to mix with her ink." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She was developing sensibilities beyond her station. Cat should have disapproved, but she couldn't manage it. She knew Kasane couldn't help herself. For lovesickness there was no cure." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Did you find a letter from Traveler?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kasane looked at Hanshiro and blushed a bright scarlet. \"Yes,\" she murmured. \"He's been hurrying. He's not far behind us.\"\n\n\"No wonder you're radiating joy from the tip of your nose.\" Cat nodded toward the writing stand and the box with ink stone, brush, and water pot." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Use the writing things if you wish.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Thank you.\" Kasane carried the stand and a floor lantern behind the four-panel folding screen set up in the corner. Against the painted paper surface of the screen, Cat could see her shadow bent over the desk. Like Hanshiro, she seemed oblivious to the uproar next door. She was absorbed with the task of composing a poem in reply to her suitor's." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"'Poetry should move heaven and earth... ' \" Hanshiro glanced at the screen as he quoted from the preface to the Kokinshu." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was an anthology of thousands of ancient poems that every educated person knew by heart. He paused to let Cat continue.\n\n\"'It should soften relations between man and woman, and soothe the heart of the fierce warrior.'\"\n\nThe inn's maids arrived, hidden behind towering stacks of folded bedding." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They laid out Kasane's thin pallet behind the screen." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then they sneaked flirtatious glances at Cat as they made up a pile of three thick mattresses.\n\nCat realized, to her horror, that the bed was for her and Hanshiro to share. When the maids left she could hear their whispers and muted laughter diminishing down the corridor. She knew they were discussing her and the rōnin." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She felt her face grow hot again." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'll sleep with Kasane,\" she said.\n\n\"As you wish, my lady.\" Hanshiro didn't take his eyes from the go board. \"But people will notice.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Privacy was not possible." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The maids and servants might bustle in at any moment to trim lamps, deliver tea, or replenish the tobacco supply. A masseur might drop by to offer his services or a priest to request donations to his temple.\n\n\"Shiri sumo! Buttocks wrestling!\" A woman next door shouted it, and the others took up the cry." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hanshiro made such a droll face that Cat laughed out loud in spite of herself." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Everyone at the party had reached the stage of inebriation where nothing would do but that the Kings pair off and engage in the contest of buttocks wrestling. Each pair stood back to back on two large, flat, square cushions. They bent over and grabbed their own ankles. The women threw the skirts of the inn's blue robes up over their heads, exposing their bare rear ends." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then each combatant tried to knock his opponent off his cushion using the most prominent part of his anatomy." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It wasn't hard to do. They had been drinking a long time, and they were having difficulty just remaining upright. Even before they were hit they would stumble off the small, lumpy field of battle or fall sprawling.\n\nThe women helped them up." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The men got back into position." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The women raised their robes over their heads and slapped their bare cheeks by way of encouragement. They supported the men as they swayed and urged them on.\n\nHanshiro was just getting ready to clear the stones off the go board when the inevitable happened. One of the Kings crashed headfirst through the flimsy wall." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Cat and Hanshiro leaped clear, but the black and white go stones scattered to the four corners of the room." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The tipsy partygoers crowded around the opening and stared in at them.\n\n\"It must be the New Year,\" one of the women shouted. \"They're throwing beans to cast out demons.\"\n\nEveryone laughed uproariously. Two of the women, still laughing, stepped over the shattered frame to rescue the draper, who was tangled up in his blue robe with the Persimmon's crest on it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hanshiro put up a hand, and the women stopped." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He bent down, took the fallen man by the arm, and helped him gently but firmly to his feet.\n\n\"The hour is late.\" Hanshiro's quiet voice silenced the giddy intruders. \"We must be on the road early tomorrow.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He guided the draper through the opening and into his room." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"We are most grateful for your consideration.\"\n\nChastened, they retreated. A pair of servants brought a new wall panel. In a few moments they had installed it in the tracks and cleared away the debris. They apologized profusely before leaving Cat and Hanshiro to work out their sleeping arrangements." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The drapers and their one-night wives whispered and giggled for a while." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The lights dimmed. Eventually the only sounds were the usual rustling and murmurs of couples pillowing.\n\nKasane picked up the go stones and replaced them in their box. Then she retreated discreetly behind her screen.\n\nCat tightened the sash of her sleeping robe." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She lay down facing outward on the far side of the bed and moved as close to the edge as she could." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hanshiro sat reading by the dim light of the night lamp.\n\nCat knew he was sparing her the embarrassment of having a stranger lie down beside her. She knew that he would probably slip under the quilt when he thought she was asleep. She was sure she could trust him not to try to make a fool of her, as Kasane would have put it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Yet still her heart pounded." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cat closed her eyes and concentrated on breathing deeply. She drew in long, even breaths until air seemed to fill her down to her toes. Then she exhaled until she felt completely empty. But sleep wouldn't come." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She heard Hanshiro turning the pages of his book until he closed it and put it away." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She heard the grinding of an ink stone and the clink of a bamboo brush handle against the side of a porcelain water pot and knew he must be writing something.\n\nFinally, halfway through the hour of the Rat, the quilt stirred and a draft briefly chilled Cat's back. The mattress shifted as Hanshiro lay down. Cat continued taking the steady breaths of someone deep in sleep, but she listened, tense and intent." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Judging from Hanshiro's breathing, he seemed to fall asleep with maddening ease." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your next one should be approximately two sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Brute! she thought.\n\nThe two of them lay, back to back and wide awake, until the first crowing of the cock." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Continue with the same vibes as Lucia St. Clair" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The yard of Yokkaichi's transport agency was stacked with bales and crates to be loaded. The patient pack mares stamped and flicked their tails. Postboys and bearers and drivers dickered with prospective customers over fares to the next post station. Children circulated with tea and snacks for sale." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The few women travelers were admiring the wares of a traveling seller of dildos." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The wooden shutters of the transport office had been slid back in their wooden tracks, exposing the high platform where the officials knelt at their writing stands. The wall behind them was papered with work rosters for the maintenance of their section of the Tōkaidō and the labor requisitions of traveling daimyō. A disheveled line had formed, but even the richest rice broker moved quickly out of Hanshiro's way. Cat wasn't surprised. People respected those born in the year of the Tiger." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The tiger had the power to chase away thieves, fire, and ghosts." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And merchants, Cat thought.\n\nFrom the yard Cat watched Hanshiro talk to the official in charge. Her love formed an aura around him that blurred and muted everything else. She hardly heard the hubbub in the yard." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A cryptic smile flickered across her face." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I suppose Traveler will turn off here for Ise,\" Kasane broke into Cat's reverie.\n\nTraveler hadn't shown up at the Nightingale Inn at the appointed hour that morning. Kasane had had to entrust the old servant with delivering her letter to the man she thought was her suitor's messenger. She didn't know that in the alley across the way Traveler had lost his nerve and had watched her go." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Now she was preoccupied with the thought that her pilgrim would disappear without her ever seeing him again." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You told him you had to go up to the capital.\" Cat had read the letter and the poem, of course. Poetry was meant to be recited aloud; and Kasane wouldn't send it without asking her to correct any errors in form or vulgarity in style. The tanka had been charming. Unpretentious but heartfelt." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Tossing and turning" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Morning comes, hair in tangles.\n\nPart it with fingers\n\nAs though plaiting a straw rope.\n\nWondering, will I see you?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You could go on a secret pilgrimage to Ise with him,\" Cat said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Traveling alone together, you would become fast friends. You could spend every night with your hearts murmuring to each other.\"\n\n\"I couldn't leave you, young master!\" Kasane was horrified at the thought of such disloyalty. That Cat might prefer to be alone with Hanshiro didn't occur to her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"He'll do the sleeve. He'll jilt me.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kasane had picked up some of the courtesan's slang from Cat. \"It's said that the women of Ise are pretty and agreeable and plentiful.\" Kasane kept her voice low. It wouldn't do to be overheard speaking as women." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Added to all your other virtues, elder sister, you have one that every woman at Ise lacks where the pilgrim is concerned.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What is that, mistress?\"\n\n\"Propinquity.\"\n\nKasane laughed behind her sleeve. Then she drew from it a small packet formed by folding a bamboo leaf into a tetrahedron and tucking in the ends." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Hanshiro-san gave me money. He ordered me to spend it on myself.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kasane was ashamed of her self-indulgence but pleased with her purchase. \"I bought this in the market this morning.\"\n\n\"What is it?\"\n\n\"The ashes of a lizard.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Kasane lowered her voice even further." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Tokugawa Tsunayoshi forbade the killing of even a mosquito. There was no telling what the punishment would be for trafficking in lizard remains. \"The holy woman who sold them to me said that if I sprinkle them into the hair of the person I love, he'll love me in return.\"\n\n\"'Lust will not keep... ' \" Cat laughed as she recited one of Kasane's aphorisms. \" 'Something must be done about it.'\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Cat had more to say on that subject, but she didn't get a chance." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Two guards bustled from the side door of the agency. They held the old courtier, the purveyor of elephant urine philters, by the arms. Activity in the yard ceased as people turned to stare.\n\nThe old cloud dweller wasn't going quietly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He flailed and shrieked as the guards stuffed him into a waiting palanquin." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Before the sliding door slammed closed, he managed to land a mortal insult. He hit one of the guards on the head with his run-down geta.\n\n\"We aren't rubes.\" The guard rubbed the shaved strip up the center of his skull where a lump was already forming. He opened the door just wide enough to poke an errant corner of the old man's travel cloak inside." }, { "from": "human", "value": "For good measure, he borrowed a bearer's stick and thumped the top of the palanquin with it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Your tricks won't work here.\"\n\nThe four bearers had been standing by, grinning broadly and holding a long rope. They had been in this situation before. They passed the rope around the basket, lashing the doors shut." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"When I report this outrage, my august lord, the emperor, the son of heaven, will have your heads!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "the old man shouted. \"Your entrails will be food for the crows of the river bank.\"\n\nWith a grunt and a shout the bearers heaved the palanquin onto their shoulders and began marking time in rhythm to their chant. A mother whispered to her child, then shoved him forward." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The boy darted toward the palanquin, dropped to his knees, and scuttled under it and out the other side." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Assured of long life by proximity to one who had served his august majesty, the boy threw a clod of dirt at the palanquin.\n\nThrough the thin bars in the palanquin's window, Cat could see the veins, purple as eggplants, standing out on the cloud dweller's temples. His beak of a nose jutted from between the bars. When he screamed he sprayed spittle." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hanshiro looked amused by it all when he joined Cat and Kasane." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If they aren't careful,\" he said, \"they'll have a worse problem than the one they're trying to avoid.\"\n\n\"What crime did he commit?\" Kasane asked.\n\n\"The magistrate here heard that all along the road he's been pretending to fall from the palanquins provided by the government and demanding compensation.\" Hanshiro actually chuckled. \"But if the old man has apoplexy and dies in a government-supplied palanquin, the transport officials will be filling out papers until their retirement.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "With his fan Hanshiro beckoned to the hostlers who were bringing three horses from the stable next door." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then he led the way to the mounting block. Hanshiro was pleased to see how well Cat sat her shaggy little mount. Since the saddle was raised more than a foot from the horse's back, staying on it required skill and balance. Kasane rode in a pannier, balanced on the other side by their baggage and by stones dangling as ballast." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The postboy walked ahead of her, leading the pack horse by a rope." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kasane opened the white paper wrapping from the present Cat had given her. Kasane had found it on her bed when she'd returned to the Nightingale that morning. The book was called An Illustrated Manual of Eroticism, and it was much more informative than the pillow book Kasane had traded for firewood at the pilgrim's inn in Mishima. This book had text in hiragana script as well as pictures." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was divided into four sections—\"Heaven and Earth,\" \"Animals,\" \"Human Beings,\" and \"Instruments.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kasane turned to \"Human Beings\" and the essay called \"Sensuous Women.\"\n\nIf you possess one of the following characteristics, you are a sensuous woman. Kasane ran her finger down the page, and her lips moved as she silently formed the words. You have a gentle voice." }, { "from": "human", "value": "You cough softly when you speak to a man." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "This means you have an adventurous heart. Kasane practiced coughing softly behind her sleeve.\n\n\"Are you pursuing your studies by the light of fireflies and snow, Hachibei?\" Hanshiro called over his shoulder." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes, master.\" Kasane blushed and shielded the book with her sleeve." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Your eyes are very narrow, but you open them wide when you look at a man. She read on silently. This is extremely seductive.\n\nHanshiro pulled farther ahead of the pack horse and guided his mount up close to Cat's." }, { "from": "human", "value": "With his knee touching hers he spoke in a low voice so the hostler wouldn't overhear." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I left the notice with the transport officer. He agreed to post it right away.\"\n\n\"Do you think it will throw off the dogs?\"\n\n\"It should. It says that a certain retired official no longer wishes the capture of the clerk who stole from him. I signed it with the seal I took from the bodyguard. I stamped extra sheets and paid a clerk to make copies. He'll send them off with the next government courier. We should find them posted on bulletin boards between here and the capital. By the time Kira finds out about it we'll be in Kyōto.\"\n\n\"I want to keep going until we reach there.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hanshiro looked up at the gray clouds rolling over the mountains to the west." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A chill gust shivered the pines and whispered of rain.\n\n\"There may be a delay at the Seki barrier,\" he said. \"And Suzuka Pass lies ahead. It's a treacherous climb. The peasants say the demons who live there crush the bones of evildoers. But I think the demons have an interest in people's purses and not their sins.\"\n\n\"Even so...\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Cat didn't have to elaborate." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hanshiro understood her anxiety. If Oishi refused to help her, her arduous, dangerous journey would have been for nothing.\n\n\"All of Edo sympathizes with your father's case,\" Hanshiro said. \"Everyone's waiting for his retainers to take a just revenge. The rumor is that even Kira's wife has advised him to commit suicide. They say she wants to avoid the shame of seeing him fall into his enemies' hands.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"He mustn't!\" Cat was horrified that Kira might kill himself and deprive her of the satisfaction of arranging his death herself." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You needn't fear, my lady.\" He smiled at her. \"In Kira's house his wife is the only one with the fortitude to end her life by her own hand. And as you know, Kira's son hasn't moved his father to the safety of his villa, much less to his estate in the north country. I would guess that even he's reluctant to become too involved in the affair.\n\n\"The shōgun has shown his displeasure with Kira by forcing him to move out of his house behind the castle walls. All in all, I would say that if Oishi chooses to attack, he'll meet with little opposition.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But no vendetta has been registered for my father.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 5 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cat rode in silence for several long moments. Then she recited the words of Ieyasu, the first Tokugawa shōgun. \" 'Persons who neglect to give notice of their intended revenge are like wolves of pretext.'\"\n\n\"But there's more, my lady.\"\n\n\"'And their punishment or pardon,' \" she went on, \" 'should depend upon the circumstances of the case.'\"\n\n\"Whether registered or not,\" Hanshino said softly, \"a vendetta is still possible.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Hey can you write like Lucia St. Clair and use whatever i write as a jumping off point?" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The inn in Minakuchi was full of travelers, so Hanshiro and Cat couldn't linger in the bath. Still, the hot water and the steam washed off the cares of the road along with the mud. The easy intimacy made them feel as though they had been lovers a long time. They crouched on the wooden grid across the floor and scrubbed each other with bags of rice bran." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They laughed and splashed basins of water over each other, as carefree as children." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When they finished washing they took the wooden cover off the tall, round cedar tub and climbed in. They lowered themselves through the cloud of steam and into the scalding water. The tub was just big enough for the two of them. The water came almost to Cat's chin." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Cat sat with her knees pulled up and her toes pressed against the far side." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The sleek curve of her back and hips nestled against Hanshiro's chest and groin. She put her arms around his muscular thighs, which were drawn up at her sides, and draped her palms over his knees. She leaned her head against his chest.\n\nHe crossed his arms over her breasts and laid his head back until his neck rested on the rim of the tub." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They both sighed, then took long, slow breaths, their chests rising and falling in unison." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They closed their eyes and sat motionless and absolutely, completely happy.\n\nFinally they could no longer ignore the loud coughing of the maids outside, reminding them that others were waiting to bathe. Hanshiro helped Cat out of the tub. They wiped each other off with their small towels, then put on the blue-and-white-striped wadded cotton robes supplied by the inn." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When they returned to their room, it had been prepared for them." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Coals glowed in the firewell, and a small brass brazier gave off additional heat. A long-handled box of smoking utensils sat on the floor. A pair of pillow stands had been set side by side at the head of the pile of mattresses. The servants had put two low tables next to it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Tea and sweet bean cakes were laid out on one." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Writing materials sat on the other. Words meant only for one other pair of ears were better written than spoken in a crowded inn.\n\n\"I'll return as soon as I can.\" Cat started to rise to leave, but Hanshiro held her tight against him while their hearts beat together." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'll be waiting,\" he whispered." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cat pulled away reluctantly. She opened the sliding panel and stepped into the passageway. She turned and knelt facing Hanshiro, who sat in the glow from the firewell. Cat laid one hand on top of the other, palm down on the floor, and bowed, then she closed the door, stood, and walked to the room next to hers." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Inside, Kasane was sitting back on her haunches next to a low, freestanding shelf littered with cosmetics." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She was naked from the waist up, and her cotton robe hung down around her sash. Her rented silk robes were draped over a rack in the corner. Cat breathed in the incense that was burning there to perfume the clothes. She had picked it out and was reassured that it was just the right combination of scents for the occasion." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Cat supervised the shampooer's work." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Because Kasane's hair had been cut to shoulder length, the woman added switches of long black hair and rats of bear fur to fill it out. When she finished, the shampooer used a bag of rice powder to whiten Kasane's body as far down as the nipples. For her face she rubbed on a base of sticky camellia oil. Then she moistened white powdered lead with perfumed water and brushed it into a smooth mask." }, { "from": "human", "value": "After the shampooer had put on the foundation, Cat dismissed her so she could do the rest herself." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She used a thin brush dipped in black dye to emphasize Kasane's hairline. She outlined her eyes in red, then black. As she worked she gave some final advice.\n\n\"Remember, elder sister, don't crack your knuckles or adjust the floor lantern while you're standing up. Above all, don't scratch your head with the dumpling skewer.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I won't.\" Kasane's whitened hands trembled so badly, she had to hide them in her sleeves." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She had studied the forty-eight positions illustrated in her manual, but much as she yearned to pillow with her lover, the thought of actually doing it terrified her.\n\n\"Remember to move slowly,\" Cat said. \"Moving slowly lends dignity and grace and minimizes blunders.\" She chose another brush from the low shelf and dipped it into a clamshell of rouge." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She frowned with concentration as she painted a tiny bow of a mouth over Kasane's natural lip line." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Untie your sash to let him know you're ready to accept him, but do not practice the artifice of foolish whores who pretend their sashes came undone by accident. Do remember to stick in some cries. They'll give him confidence.\" With both hands Cat extended a stiffened silk case with a packet of folded paper handkerchiefs and bowed slightly over it. \"For the pledging liquid.\"\n\nKasane knew that. Her manual emphasized that the success of a pillowing was marked by the number of paper napkins required afterward." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Still on her knees, Cat moved around Kasane, arranging the folds of the silk robes she had rented for the occasion." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She tugged at the back of the collar to expose more of the seductive line of Kasane's nape and back. She had Kasane sit at just the right angle to the door. She gently but firmly adjusted her upper body and shoulders, her neck and chin, into the most alluring curve. Then she placed the night lantern to take full advantage of the lights and shadows on Kasane's tranquil form." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When she was satisfied that Kasane looked her best, she knelt in front of her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I spoke sternly to the young man.\" Cat didn't mention that Traveler had been sprawled and groaning in the dust and debris of the marketplace when she had interviewed him. Because he thought Cat was Kasane's brother, he had been gathering the nerve to speak to her. Before he approached Hanshiro, he had intended to ask Cat's permission to accompany them on their journey." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I wanted to be sure he would be kind to you,\" Cat said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"He answered me candidly. He began his pilgrimage with a friend, but the friend wandered into the pleasure district of the first post town they came to and refused to leave it. He seems sincere, and he has good prospects. He swears he wants to marry you.\"\n\nKasane blushed, but she was too worried about disturbing her hair and robe to even hide her face behind her sleeve. She had to resist the urge to pull her collar forward to hide the indecent display of the nape of her neck.\n\n\"Your first joining might be awkward and even painful, but with time you'll learn to give each other joy.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Cat reached out to smooth Kasane's already sleek hair." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Her voice was hoarse from holding back tears of joy for Kasane's good fortune and her own. \"You have been a brave and true comrade, elder sister. Now if it's fated to be, you will have the greatest of gifts, a heart's companion on life's road.\"\n\n\"Thank you, mistress. You have been very kind to one of small merit.\"\n\nAs the white space of a painting intimated mountains and mists, oceans and infinite possibilities, so the words Kasane did not say spoke volumes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her lips, which Cat had painted with a false line, red and round as a peony bud, trembled." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cat turned in the doorway to look once more at her. She smiled reassurance before she knelt and slid the panel closed. She went to find a servant and slip him thanks money. She instructed him to lead Traveler discreetly in through a rear entrance after the thin, perforated wooden shades had been lowered over the night lanterns." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She was sure Kasane would sit without twitching an eyelid until he arrived." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cat returned to her room to find Hanshiro reading by the light of the night lantern. He put down the book and sat cross-legged with eyes closed as Cat knelt behind him and kneaded and rubbed his shoulders and back. She had moved down to his hands and was gently tugging his fingers, one by one, when she heard the creak of footsteps on the tatami in Kasane's room. A man spoke, his voice too low to be distinguished." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Cat moved to the writing table and sat so that her sleeping robes fell into graceful folds around her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She took up the brush, dipped it into the well of the ink stone, and wrote, \"He must have a terrible headache.\" She was feeling remorse for the blow she'd given Traveler.\n\nShe passed the paper to Hanshiro, who wrote, \"If you gave him a headache, you also gave him a cure.\"\n\nHanshiro had given the lad a pinch of powdered ginseng from his stock of medicines, but he was certain Cat's medicine would be much more effective." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Cat and Hanshiro could hear the chime of a porcelain sake jar against a cup, the rustle of clothing, and a riffle of laughter." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cat wrote, then held the paper out on her fan for Hanshiro to read.\n\nA pair of noisy sparrows\n\nBamboo thicket, moon rising.\n\nFor the first time Cat saw him smile without the enigmatic sadness that had always veiled his eyes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She saw the pale flecks in them shift and brighten as yellow silk would shimmer gold in sunlight." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He linked his verse to hers in an admission of love's effect on him.\n\nA rising lark, lost\n\nIn the mist of winter hills,\n\nAs baffled as I." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Watching him write, Cat thought her passion too great to be contained." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Surely it would burst from her heart and scatter as wantonly as silk floss on the wind.\n\nCat and Hanshiro dared not provoke fate by discussing the future, but hungrily they questioned each other about the past. In a few hours they tried to recover the lifetime they had spent apart. Long into the night, while the storm of passion rose and swirled in Kasane's room, they wrote." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They filled the thick, pliant sheets of lavender-tinted paper with graceful characters and with the secrets of their hearts." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Lotus-eyed one, sweet of touch,\" Hanshiro wrote. \"Hair iridescent as a wet crow's wing.\"\n\nIt was a form of communication as sensual as a whisper in the ear. Cat felt as though each stroke of Hanshiro's brush, lingering and supple on the paper, were inscribing his love on her skin." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They discreetly ignored the muted laughter next door, but it added to the witchery." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Oh, when you do that,\" they heard Kasane murmur. The rhythmic whisper of bedclothes grew more urgent until finally Kasane's impassioned cry sounded through the inn. She must have thrown a pillow because something crashed into a screen. The usual late-night music and laughter and talk ceased for several beats, then took up again." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Cat and Hanshiro knew their time of love would be brief and they must live in the moment." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The future was uncertain at best, and in their case they would have to devote themselves to the vengeance to which Cat was sworn. They could have written all night, but they knew they must try to sleep. The days ahead would be arduous.\n\nThey burned their love letters one at a time in the brazier." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then they untied each other's sashes, and as Cat's robe fell away Hanshiro kissed each of the bruises left by the rocks of the mountain." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He held Cat to him, and when he trailed his fingers down her spine he drew out any fatigue or tension that might have remained there.\n\nThey both knew that they could not enjoy the usual lovers' courtship. They might never view the cherry blossoms at Asukayama or walk along the seaside at Shinagawa or go into the mountains to hear the first lark in the springtime.\n\nKnowing that this might be the last time they would hold each other gave their passion a tender urgency." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silently, languorously, they traveled the silken road." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They caressed and entered into the caressing until the lantern they carried became the brilliance of the moon. Then they lay with their arms around each other and their legs entwined until the dawn bells rang.\n\n\"'Coming to an end,' \" Hanshiro whispered. \" 'And leaving the moon as a keepsake.'\"\n\n\"Tonight.\" Cat looked up at him and smiled sadly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "If fate willed it, that night they would enter the Western Capital." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 2 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Perhaps then they would find Oishi Kuranosuke. They would end their quest and begin their vengeance." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Expand the story by adding four sentences." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Two years before, during the time when I was home for a little while in the seventh month, I had sent to be made up into a fan with camphor wood ribs a drawing on gold-dusted paper of a stream of water in pale blue with the words in white across the pale blue band, \"Smoke of smouldering fires.\" The fan-maker's daughter, who was herself a clever artist, admired this fan and made a drawing of an autumn moon with the title, \"The autumn moon seen from the other shore on that unforgettable night.\" I gave her my own fan in exchange for this.\n\nWhen the ex-Emperor looked at this fan, he could see that it had been painted by someone else." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What man gave you that?\" he asked." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "To avoid any trouble from any suspicions he might have, I told him the whole story. The beauty of the drawing stirred his curiosity about the girl who had drawn it, and this excited his wandering fancies. For over two years he had pressed me to arrange a meeting with her. Somehow or other I managed this, and it was settled that the girl should visit him on the tenth day of the tenth month." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Restless with anticipation, he was ready, carefully dressed, when the Yamashina Chujo, Fujiwara no Sukeyuki, came to report that she had arrived." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Let her wait in the carriage,\" he was told, \"at the Fishing Pavilion at the south end of the Kyogoku front.\"\n\nWhen the bell tolled at eight o'clock in the evening, the girl for whom the ex-Emperor had been waiting for over three years was ushered in to him. I was wearing a set of two robes with diagonal blue stripes and a pattern of ivy in purple, a light brown over-robe lined with dark red and a red mantle. Having been told to bring her into the eight-mat room adjoining the ex-Emperor's apartments, I went to the entrance where she was to alight." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She made a great deal of noise getting out of the carriage; even the rustling of her garments seemed over-loud." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The room into which I showed her had been specially prepared, furnished and perfumed with incense. Her robe was embroidered with a pattern of large fans, fully one foot long, with cypress ribs. Over this she wore a cape of white, lined with blue, and a scarlet skirt. All her robes looked too ungainly and stiff, and her collar stuck up so high and wide as to hide her face completely from the back." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She was really lovely with well-shaped eyes and nose and a fair skin." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Perhaps she was not exactly of the princess type, but she was plump and tall and well-built so that I felt she would look splendid as a court lady with hair done in formal style, bearing the sword at a court function on one of the greater State occasions in the Daigokuden hall of the palace.\n\n\"She has entered the room,\" I reported to the ex-Emperor, and he went in to her, dressed in a formal light-coloured robe with a chrysanthemum pattern and wide-bottomed trousers, all so lavishly perfumed with incense that it could be smelt past the screens a hundred paces away. I listened to them talking and noted that she had much more to say than he had. That would not be to his liking, I thought to myself with a smile." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They lay down, and I lay down outside the screens to keep night watch." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Lord Sanekane was on night watch too, lying behind the screens in the next room. Everything was quiet. It seemed to me such a great pity that it should be so quiet so early in the night.\n\nIt was not very long before the ex-Emperor came out of the room and called me to him. \"'The village of Tamagawa,'\" he quoted.It rained heavily during the night, and it was not until much later that I suddenly remembered the girl who had been sent away." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her sleeves would be drenched but not by the sorrow of a morning parting." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What about the girl whom Sukeyuki brought?\" I said to him.\n\n\"Oh, I'd completely forgotten about her,\" he said. \"Go and see about her.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "I went out to find that it was nearly dawn." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Her carriage, which had been standing in front of the Fishing Pavilion, was in a dreadful condition through standing in the rain all the night.\n\n\"How awful!\" I thought and called to the attendants to bring the carriage to the entrance. The men who had been sheltering under the roof of the gate came out and brought the carriage to the door. The girl was wet through, for the roof had leaked, and the design of the flowers painted on her robe could be seen through the upper robe, and all looked bedraggled." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her sleeves were doubly drenched with the tears she had shed the whole night through; her hair was as wet as if she had just washed it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She would not get out of the carriage. \"I'm not fit to be seen in these clothes,\" she said.\n\n\"I've a new robe I haven't worn yet,\" I said, rather curtly perhaps, for I was not too pleased with the way things had gone. \"Come and put it on so that you can go and take leave of His Majesty. I am sorry you were kept waiting all this time. His Majesty had some important business to attend to.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She continued to weep bitterly and would not alight from the carriage." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was pathetic to see her rubbing her hands together as she pleaded to be allowed to go away. It was now nearly daylight, and there was nothing I could do but let her go.\n\n\"How cruel I have been to her!\" the ex-Emperor said when I told him what had happened." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He sent her a letter, but she did not answer it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Instead she sent a present, an inkstone lid of lacquer on which were engraved the words, \"Like spiders in the confused maze of the reeds during a raging storm,\" no doubt symbolising thus the harassed state of her mind. Inside there was a pale blue sheet of paper with the words, \"You led me astray,\" and wrapped up in this was a lock of hair and the poem,\n\nWhat story will be told\n\nOf this so humble woman" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Who as by a dream" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Was deceived and led astray\n\nWhile trusting in your kindness?\n\nThat was all she wrote.\n\nWondering if she had entered the religious life, the ex-Emperor tried in vain to trace her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "No one knew where she had gone." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 2 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was not till many years later that I learnt that she was at the Hashi temple in Kawachi province, where she was held in high respect by the nuns for the asceticism of her life. Her trying experience at the palace may have set her feet on the True Way of Buddha, and for that reason she may have come finally to regard it as a happy accident which was the occasion of her conversion." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "I'll be your writing partner today. I will set the scene, and you will continue the story with four sentences, channeling the voice and techniques of Lady Nijō.i'll kick things off by writing a bit, then you'll take over and write the next four sentences in the distinctive voice of Lady Nijō.Ive got a bit of writers block, im gonna send you something then keep it going four sentences at a time, also im going for a Lady Nijō sorta thing." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The child was born on the sixth day of the eleventh month and the prince continued to visit me every night." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "This was causing me a good deal of uneasiness, but he took no notice of my complaints and late on the night of the eleventh he came as usual.\n\n\"The whole nation is in a state of turmoil,\" he said. \"Rumour has it that the sacred tree of the Kasuga shrine which was brought up to the Capital by armed monks the year before last is to be taken back to Nara.We spent the whole night talking together in this strain with no sleep at all, and when he got up to go, it was already broad daylight. The house in which I lived being inside the same fence as the main house, anyone who left my house could not avoid being noticed. He therefore stayed with me all the day so that his visit could be kept secret." }, { "from": "human", "value": "I was much afraid that he might be seen and recognised, although no one in the neighbourhood knew his identity except his page." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He was therefore quite at his ease sitting with me, undisturbed by any fear of discovery. As for me, I could not understand how he could be so unperturbed; my heart was in a flutter all the day.\n\nWe talked on and on all through the day. He told me what he had done when we parted in bitterness under that morning moon." }, { "from": "human", "value": "We spoke of my disappearance." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It was a great shock,\" he said, \"when I heard that you had run away from court and that your whereabouts were unknown. There was no one to whom I could talk about it. So I set myself the task of copying out the Five Great Mahayana sutras. Copying characters from your letters I fixed one to each volume of the sutras in token that I had undertaken the task of copying these sutras to further my ardent desire while still in this world to spend one more night with you in exchanging pledges of love. That shows the measure of my improper love for you. I finished copying the sutras, but I held no ceremony of dedication to celebrate the completion of the work, for I wished to celebrate that together with you when we were reunited after our rebirth. For if I give these volumes of the sutras which I have copied, over two hundred of them, into the safe-keeping of the Dragon King in his palace under the sea, they will surely help us to be reborn into this world together, and then we will hold the ceremony of dedication together. So if I die, use these sutras with the wood on my funeral pyre.\"\n\nThe utter depravity of his ideas terrified me. \"Let's content ourselves with the prayer that we may be reborn together in Paradise on the same lotus leaf,\" I said.\n\nBut he went on with his wild ideas." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No, I cannot give up thoughts of treading the way of love with you in this world,\" he said with the utmost sincerity." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I am determined to be reborn as a man in this world. The smoke that rises from my funeral pyre will turn to you and will not depart from you to disappear into the sky.\" He dozed for a little while and then he awoke with a startled look and broke into a perspiration.\n\n\"What is the matter?\" I asked.\n\n\"I have just had a dream,\" he answered, \"in which I was a mandarin duckJust before dawn he prepared to leave as I did not think it proper for him to stay another day." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The morning moon was about to set behind the mountains, and a bank of cloud on the western hills was whitening as those in the east were disclosing themselves." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He went away as the dawn bells rang out, and I missed him much more than ever before. Soon the page who lived in the neighbourhood brought me this poem,\n\nNow that I have left\n\nMy heart behind with you," }, { "from": "human", "value": "No part left in me," }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yet why is it I am still\n\nPensively longing for you?\n\nI felt a greater sorrow at parting from him and a greater love for him than ever before, greater than I could bear. With this filling my mind, I wrote a poem in answer," }, { "from": "human", "value": "Set my sleeves with yours" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And see which is drenched the more\n\nWith tears of sorrow,\n\nThen tell me which one of us\n\nMisses the other the more." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Later in the same day I heard that he had gone to stay at the Tominokoji palace, and on about the eighteenth day I learnt that the doctors had been called to him as he was suffering from the epidemic which was sweeping through the country." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then to my great distress I heard that he was dangerously ill.\n\nOn the twenty-first I received a letter from him. \"I did not think,\" he wrote, \"when we met the other night that this was to be the last time we should meet in this world. It seems to me now that the strength of the ties which bind me to the things of this world is more sinful than the impure life I have lived. What can be the meaning of that dream I had that night?\" At the end of his letter he added the poem," }, { "from": "human", "value": "My body may die" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But my longing heart is left\n\nBehind with you here,\n\nMy last prayer that my smoke may\n\nTurn towards the place where you are." }, { "from": "human", "value": "How could I possibly describe my feelings on reading this letter?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "My grief was unbearable when I realised that our parting the other morning was in all probability for ever. I wrote a poem in answer to his,\n\nIf I live till then,\n\nI hope I shall see the smoke" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Rise and turn towards me" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But the question still remains,\n\n'Can I bear to live so long?'\n\nIn the circumstances I thought it best not to write all I felt, for I was still not without hope that this was not the end of everything, but on the twenty-fifth day of the eleventh month I learnt that he had passed away. Everything now seemed to me as ephemeral as a dream within a dream." }, { "from": "human", "value": "I could not tell whether it was reality or whether everything was a dream." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I did not know what to do, because perhaps my whole life had been such a life of sin.\n\nI pondered over all the details of our relations from the time when he had complained that his love for me had found no answering love. I recalled our meeting when he had left me with such bitter feelings. If only I had never met him again after that sad parting, I should not have grieved in the way I was doing now." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The sky was overcast that evening with fast-moving clouds and occasional showers." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There was a deep gloom everywhere. The last letter he had written me hoping that the smoke of his funeral pyre would turn towards me lay as a forlorn reminder of him in my writing case. His perfume still lingered on my sleeve which he had used as a pillow. I longed for him and missed him more than ever." }, { "from": "human", "value": "I wished even more than before to renounce the world to enter the True Way, but to do that at this present moment might revive the rumours and injure his reputation." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I felt thwarted and frustrated.\n\nAt daybreak next morning I was told that the page boy had come. More or less in a trance I hurried out myself to see him. His robe of yellow lined with blue with a design of pheasants embroidered on it was creased and crumpled, his sleeves wet with the tears he had shed through the night." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It would be impossible to set down on paper the story he told me with tears that day." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "That night, when he had parted from me, leaving me the poem beginning, \"In sorrow gazing at the autumn moon at night,\" we had exchanged gowns. Mine he had always kept neatly folded small beside him on his prayer desk while he was at his devotions. Now on the evening of the twenty-fourth, he put it on.\n\n\"Have my body cremated with this gown on,\" he said to the grieving page boy." }, { "from": "human", "value": "At the same time he handed him a letter for me with a present." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The page then handed me a large letter case, gold-lacquered with a design of a sacred sakaki tree. In it was a letter, if it could be called that. The handwriting resembled nothing so much as the footprints of a bird, the meaning impossible to decipher. It began with the words \"For one night more\" and I could hazard a guess that the next words might be \"in this present world\" but the rest of it was completely indecipherable." }, { "from": "human", "value": "My tears fell uncontrollably at this evidence of the writer's extremity, and that made the characters even more impossible to read." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I felt that I was being washed away by the same swift current as he, and my thoughts expressed themselves in the poem,\n\nIf to the next world\n\nI could go to meet him there\n\nAt the Three-Way Stream," }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then would I willingly go," }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Sacrificing my own life.\n\nIt seems that even at such a time and stricken with grief, my mind was still capable of composing poems. Inside the letter case too with the poem was a bag of gold dust.\n\nAfter telling me how the prince's body had been cremated with my gown still on it and how his copy of the five sutras had been placed on his funeral pyre, the page left the house, still weeping bitterly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Looking after him as he went away, I felt that I should go crazy with grief." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The prince's death must have grieved the ex-Emperor very much, for the two brothers had been very close to each other. \"How are you taking the news of his death?\" he asked in a letter to me. It was obviously difficult to give a simple plain answer to such a question as that." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The poem accompanying his letter read," }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Now that from your sight\n\nHe has faded completely,\n\nStill to the mind's eye\n\nThe face of Wan Morning Moon" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Must still remain clear to you." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "To the poem he added the words, \"The world is truly a world of sorrows. Great was his love for you, and deep must be your grief at his passing. From my heart I feel for you.\"\n\nThere was nothing, I felt, that I could say in answer to that. I sent only the poem,\n\nImmeasurable" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Indeed my grief at his death;" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In my mind's eye though\n\nNot alone seen clearly is\n\nThe face of Wan Morning Moon.\n\nFinding both my heart and my words incapable of expressing my feelings of grief, of love and longing, my days were passed in tears from morning till night." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The ex-Emperor continued to send me a messenger from time to time." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Formerly he had urged me to come back to the palace as soon as possible, but now he only asked me why I was staying away from him. I gathered from his words that his love for me had grown weak, though he did not say so in so many words. It seemed natural that he should have become indifferent to me, because my misconduct had been repeated more than once, though not quite of my own will. I was not willing, however, to return to the court, and at last the time came when it was only a day or two to the end of the year." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Today you will be acting as a writing assistant, your partner will send something and you will write the next four sentences." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "On my way back to the Capital in the second month, I visited the shrine of Hachiman at Iwashimizu. It is a long distance from Nara to Yawata where the shrine stands, and it was already sunset before I climbed up the Inobana slope and arrived at the forecourt of the main shrine.\n\nI had made the journey with a woman of Iwami province, a hunchbacked dwarf, and we had talked together on the way about such things as the cause of her deformity and her fate in being so afflicted.\n\nWhen we got to the Riding Pavilion, we saw that the main door of the pavilion was open." }, { "from": "human", "value": "I took no particular notice of this at the time and went on walking towards the two-storeyed gate, for no one had told me when I had been in retreat here earlier that the opening of this door showed that an Imperial visit was taking place." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then a man who seemed to be a porter approached me.\n\n\"Please go to the Riding Pavilion,\" he said to me.\n\n\"Who asked you to call me back?\" I said. \"Has he mistaken me for someone else? Is the message for the short lady over there?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No, I haven't made any mistake." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The message is for you. The ex-Emperor of Tominokoji has been in retreat here since the day before yesterday.The news struck me dumb. His image had always filled my mind and would not be banished from it, but I had thought I had seen him for the last time two years before when I had paid my farewell visit to him from the apartment of Lady Kyogoku on the occasion of my taking my final vows. Now I wore a nun's habit, moss-grown, travel-stained, weather-beaten, threadbare." }, { "from": "human", "value": "I had been certain that no one would recognise me." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I wondered who it could have been that had done so, for I never dreamt that it was the ex-Emperor himself who had seen me; I decided that perhaps one of the ladies-in-waiting had thought it was possibly me that she had seen and had asked me to come to her so that she could make certain that I was really the person she thought I was. I therefore continued to walk on quite undisturbed, when a warrior came along and urged me to go with him at once. There was no way to escape. I went with him to the side door on the north side of the hall." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Come in. You'll attract people's attention standing out there.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I recognised the ex-Emperor's voice, sounding to my ears just as it had always done. This was something I had not expected at all, and his voice came as such a shock to me that I could not move a limb. \"Hurry up,\" he went on, and without much hesitation I went in.\n\n\"It was pretty sharp-eyed of me to pick you out in such a crowd, wasn't it?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "he said. \"It shows how much I still love you even though such a long time has passed since we met last.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "From this we went on to talk of former days and of the happy chance that had brought about our present meeting. \"Love affairs have not the charm nowadays that they used to have,\" he said. So we passed the whole of the short night talking together without going to bed, not leaving each other till dawn came.\n\n\"I shall spend the period of my retreat in purity and with a religious frame of mind. Then, when my retreat is over, we can meet with peaceful happy hearts.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "As he was leaving, he took off three of the tight-sleeved gowns he was wearing and gave them to me." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"This is my secret keepsake to you. Wear them always,\" he said. My heart was ready to break with love and sorrow. I thought no more of what had happened to me in the past or what would happen in the future or even of what would be my lot in the next world. All such thoughts passed from my mind." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Inexorably, day came. The ex-Emperor said goodbye, and I left." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Only the scent of him on the gowns he had given me remained to remind me of him. I was afraid that the perfume of incense still lingering on my black habit would betray me, for everyone would be able to recognise it, and this made me even more reluctant to wear the gowns under my habit.\n\nMany years have passed\n\nSince with throbbing hearts we laid" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Our sleeves together;" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Meeting again once more now,\n\nHis sleeves are wet with my tears.\n\nSo I expressed my thoughts as I left the hall as if in a trance, with his beloved features reflected in my tear-drenched sleeves. I longed to see him again, even if only once more in the course of that day, just to talk quietly together." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Yet I could not put the thought from me that he might already be regretting that he had brought about our meeting together now that we had both taken our vows." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It would be most imprudent, I thought, for me to stay on in the hope of meeting him again. My feelings can easily be imagined as, stifling the desires of my heart, I made ready to leave at once for the Capital. Even then, however, I could not resist waiting around the shrine in the hope that I might catch another accidental glimpse of him as he was making his tour of the sanctuaries within the precincts of the shrine; in order not to attract his attention by my black habit, I put on one of his tight-sleeved gowns over it and stood among the court ladies as he came past. His appearance now that he wore a monastic habit was quite different from what it had been in the old days, and my heart was filled with sorrow at the sight of him being helped up the steps of the shrine by Lord Fujiwara no Suketaka, who was at that time perhaps a chamberlain." }, { "from": "human", "value": "I recalled how he had said to me the night before, \"I am delighted that we are both wearing these habits.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 2 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I remembered how he had spoken of this and that innocent episode of our early days together.\n\nSo, with the sound of his voice still making music in my ears and his beloved features still reflected in my tear-drenched sleeves, I left the shrine and went northwards to the Capital with the feeling that I had left my soul behind me." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "The user will write a bit then you need to write around four sentences continuing directly from the user's text. Try to mimic the style of Lady Nijō.Produce four sentences using the prose and structure of Lady Nijō every time its your turn using what the user wrote as a seed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Twenty volumes of the Great Collection of Sutras still remained to be copied." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I had wished to finish writing these out before the hundredth day after the ex-Emperor's death, but now I had only the clothes I wore and so had none to sell to cover the cost of the copying. I could only afford to buy just enough food to live on and certainly could not save anything in that direction. These things upset and vexed me. Yet I still had two keepsakes given me by my parents." }, { "from": "human", "value": "On her death bed my mother had asked that I should be given a flat, gold-lacquered toilet case with a circular design of a couple of mandarin ducks, all the toilet articles inside it, including the mirror, having the same pattern on them." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The other keepsake from my father was a writing case, with a lid of embossed gold lacquer with a diamond pattern of cranes and an inscription on the back in gold in my father's own handwriting, \"A day of good fortune and never ending happiness.\" I had intended never to part with them until the end of my life when I hoped they would be cremated with my body. When I had gone on pilgrimage, I had put them into someone's safe keeping with as much care as if they had been my children, and when I returned, it had been my first care to go and see them again as if they had been my parents themselves. I had had the writing case for thirty-three years and the toilet case for forty-six years." }, { "from": "human", "value": "I had never thought that I should be able to bear parting with them." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Still, nothing is as valuable to a person as his own life, and this priceless gift I had offered to the gods in return for the ex-Emperor's life. In any case, I had no childrenThen I happened to hear of a girl who was going to the eastern provinces to get married and who was looking for a toilet case like mine and did not mind paying much more than I was thinking of asking. I was sad to part with it but I was glad to have my prayer answered, perhaps through the mercy of Buddha, his faith, and its guardians,\n\nHow sad it is now" }, { "from": "human", "value": "I must part with these cases," }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "My parents' keepsakes,\n\nWhich I have cherished so long\n\nThrough fortune and misfortune!\n\nOn the fifteenth day of the ninth month, I began to recite the Lotus Flower sutra at the Sorinji temple at Higashiyama as an act of contrition for my sins." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When I had been engaged in copying out the first twenty volumes of the Great Collection, my mind had been preoccupied with thoughts of my old happy relations with the ex-Emperor and of my sad separation from him at that moment." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "No such thoughts distracted my mind now as I concentrated with all my heart and soul, night and day, on my recitation with the prayer, \"May all departed souls attain the supreme goal of eternal light.\" I was grateful that it had been my destiny to come to this life of piety in this place, with the belling of the friendly deer on the hills behind the Seisuiji temple, the sad chirping of the insects in the hedgerows moving me to tears, and the moon, rising in the east or declining in the west, as I sat up late at night after attending the midnight service. Then, when the midnight services in all the nearby temples appeared to have finished, still the solitary voice of the Virtuous Priest of the Sorinji temple on the summit of the hill could be clearly heard invoking the sacred name of Amida. My feelings then I expressed thus," }, { "from": "human", "value": "May I so traverse" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The steep mountain path which leads\n\nTo the world to come\n\nThat on my way I may seek\n\nAnd find some lost soul straying." }, { "from": "human", "value": "I had the Virtuous Priest go with me to the Yokawa chapels on Mount Hiei to obtain paper and ink for my copying work." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "We went as far as Higashi Sakamoto, and I visited the Hie shrine, much frequented by my grandmother in gratitude for many favours received from the god enshrined there... (The next section has been cut away with a sword. Nothing is known of the contents. )...\n\n\"For whose intention are you offering this service?\" the priest asked. The question moved me deeply." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As it would seem strange, I was afraid, if I offered the sutras I had copied before the tomb of the ex-Emperor, I was presenting them at the Kasuga shrine for which he had so deep a veneration during his life." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "At the time I wrote the poem,\n\nThe deer in the hills\n\nAll around me are belling,\n\nAnd the insects chirp" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Showing their deep sympathy" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your next one should be approximately one sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And weeping with me as friends." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Let's engage in a collaborative writing exercise. I'll provide a starting point, and You'll continue with 4 sentences in the style of Susan Spann." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiro and Father Mateo rolled the corpse onto its stomach." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Don't do that,\" Akira objected.\n\n\"Don't worry,\" Hiro said, \"I'll turn him over again before anyone sees him. We need to know exactly how he died to determine who killed him.\"\n\nSaburo's back looked cleaner than his chest. The single wound between his shoulders had barely bled enough to stain the surrounding fabric." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That's where the dagger was found?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hiro indicated the wound.\n\n\"I don't know,\" Akira said. \"I wasn't there. Is that the wound that killed him?\"\n\n\"No,\" Hiro said. \"He was already dead when this happened, or very close.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You can tell that?\" Akira asked. \"How?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Men don't bleed after death,\" Hiro said. \"Blood drains from the wounds, but only for a little while and only in the direction of the ground.\"\n\n\"Which means Ashikaga-san died facedown,\" Akira said. He straightened as if remembering that death defiled everyone who came in contact with it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"How can you stand to touch him?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hiro smiled. \"Fortunately, I live with a priest who can bless the defilement away.\"\n\nFather Mateo gave the shinobi a sideways look. Hiro would rather receive a beating than a blessing.\n\nThey rolled the corpse back to its original position." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Saburo's blood-drenched kimono left smudges on the pale floor, but Hiro doubted anyone would notice." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "With all the blood, some stains would be expected.\n\nHe had learned all he could from the body. He stood up and studied the room.\n\nNeatly organized bookshelves covered the western wall." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Bound volumes occupied the upper shelves while the lower ones held both books and scrolls." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Spaces revealed where volumes had been removed, though Hiro didn't notice an obvious pattern.\n\nSaburo's desk looked equally in order. An inkwell and a pitcher of water sat in the right-hand corner, alongside a round ceramic container of pasty vermilion ink. A cylindrical marble seal stood upright beside the container." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The seal represented Saburo's official signature, and Hiro found it interesting that the murderer didn't steal it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A tray of dirty dishes sat on the floor beside the door to the outer office.\n\n\"Did Saburo often eat here?\" Hiro asked.\n\nAkira followed his gaze. \"I wouldn't know. I didn't have much contact with this office.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiro noticed some tiny particles on the floor between the desk and the doorway." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He picked one up and rubbed it between his fingers as he raised it to his nose.\n\n\"What are you doing?\" Akira asked.\n\nHiro inhaled, then lowered his hand and balanced the speck on his finger. \"This is sawdust. Cedar, to be exact.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Carpenters' dust,\" Akira said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It gets everywhere from the construction.\"\n\nHiro remembered the spotless floor around the construction site. Before he decided whether to mention it, Father Mateo asked, \"How often are these offices cleaned?\"\n\n\"Every evening.\" Akira frowned." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Someone must have tracked that in last night, or this morning when they moved Saburo.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"We would like to speak with the carpenters,\" Hiro said, \"and also with the maid who discovered the body.\"\n\n\"The carpenters should be here soon,\" Akira said, \"but Hisahide sent the girl to spend a few days with her parents.\"\n\nHiro noted the use of Matsunaga Hisahide's given name. It surprised him. Most men would never refer to their superiors so casually, and until that moment Akira had seemed unusually polite by nature." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Does the girl's family live far away?\" Father Mateo asked." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I believe they live in Kyoto,\" Akira said.\n\n\"Would it be possible to send a messenger for her?\" Hiro asked. \"I would like to know exactly what she saw.\"\n\n\"A wise request,\" said a voice from the outer office." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A samurai stepped into the room with the silent grace of a tiger." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His graying hair was pulled back from a shaven forehead that crowned a handsome, emotionless face. He wore a black kimono adorned with the double-diamond Miyoshi mon, and his swords were sheathed in expensive scabbards. His confident posture and slender but muscular build suggested unusual fitness, especially in a man of middle age.\n\nHiro bowed. Father Mateo followed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The samurai merely nodded in return." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Greetings, Matsunaga-sama,\" Akira said, using the higher honorific expected of an assistant addressing a master. \"May I introduce the foreign priest, Father Mat-teo Avilo, and his translator, Matsui Hiro.\"\n\nHiro bowed again, an unnecessary gesture but one that obligated Hisahide to speak first.\n\n\"You are the man who captured Akechi Hideyoshi's murderer.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hisahide looked at Hiro as he spoke." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Father Mateo solved the crime,\" the shinobi said. \"I am merely his translator.\"\n\nHisahide smiled. \"You are Matsui Hiro of Iga Province, second and only surviving son of Matsui Jiro. Your father served his daimyo with honor, though his early death forced you to come to Kyoto and seek employment as a scribe. Three years ago, this foreigner hired you as a translator—a most unfortunate turn of fate, though reports suggest you bear the burden honorably.\"\n\n\"Thank you, Matsunaga-sama,\" Hiro said with another bow." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The information was mostly wrong, but it accurately reflected the story Hiro had planted upon his arrival in Kyoto." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He was glad to know his cover story had fooled the Miyoshi spies.\n\n\"The shogun expects me to find and punish the man who killed his cousin,\" Hisahide said, \"and I expect both of you to help me do it.\"\n\n\"We would be honored to assist your investigation,\" Father Mateo said.\n\nHisahide turned to Akira." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You may leave us and send a messenger for the maid who found Saburo.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Frustration flickered across Akira's face, but the man bowed and left the room without a word.\n\nWhen he had gone Hisahide said, \"The shogun believes there is no real need for investigation. The dagger that killed Saburo belongs to a man named Ito Kazu.\" He looked at Hiro. \"I also know that Ito-san is a friend of yours.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiro returned Hisahide's stare." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He suspected the Akechi investigation was just a convenient excuse to get him to the shogunate. If Kazu couldn't be found and punished, a friend or family member would have to do.\n\n\"Ito Kazu is an acquaintance,\" Hiro said. \"We met at Ginjiro's brewery shortly after I arrived in Kyoto. When we realized we were both from Iga, Kazu offered to help me find a job. Unfortunately, his efforts were unsuccessful.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I am told you drink together often,\" Hisahide said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Sometimes,\" Hiro said. \"We reminisce about Iga. All men miss their ancestral homes.\"\n\nHisahide's face revealed nothing. \"Where is Kazu this morning?\"\n\n\"If he murdered a man, he probably fled the city,\" Hiro said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's what I would have done in his place.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your next one should be approximately 1 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Perhaps, but your response does not answer my question.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "The user will write a bit then you need to write around 4 sentences continuing directly from the user's text. Try to mimic the style of Susan Spann.Produce 4 sentences using the prose and structure of Susan Spann every time its your turn using what the user wrote as a seed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Do not blame Masao, the words on the pillar read, I acted alone." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The second line of characters continued the message in bolder, thicker strokes, as if the writer drew strength from the opening words.\n\nI killed Saburo to save the shogun, and kill myself to purge my guilty soul.\n\nHiro read the scrawled confession twice in silence. He saw no need to torture Masao by speaking the words aloud." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A burned stick lay at the base of the pillar, presumably discarded after writing the charcoaled words." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Akira pointed at the pillar. \"You see? 'I killed Saburo'—a clear confession.\"\n\n\"Den knew how to write?\" Hiro asked.\n\nMasao nodded. \"It is his hand.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiro studied the characters. \"Every word?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Masao looked at the ground. \"Yes, every one.\"\n\n\"The wording seems to confirm the threat implied in Saburo's letter,\" Akira said, \"unless there were two plots, which seems unlikely.\"\n\n\"I agree,\" Hiro said. \"But how would Den have learned about a plot to harm the shogun?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The confession seemed too convenient, given the altered ledger Kazu discovered the night before." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Unfortunately, Hiro still didn't know who made the alterations or why.\n\n\"You saw the letter,\" Akira said. \"Saburo needed to let his unnamed 'friends' into the compound. He must have enlisted Den to open the gates.\"\n\n\"Impossible,\" Masao said. \"Den was a loyal servant of the shogun.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"So it appears.\" Hiro gestured to the characters on the pillar." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"But Saburo didn't know that,\" Akira said. \"Perhaps Den pretended cooperation in order to kill Saburo and stop the plot.\"\n\n\"Why didn't he kill himself the night of the murder?\" Hiro asked. \"And why use Kazu's dagger? Most killers don't rely on finding a weapon at the scene.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I can't answer the second question,\" Akira said, \"but the first is easy." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Den didn't think that anyone would suspect him. He invented the argument with Saburo—the one he used to convince Masao to help him escape—to make himself look like a victim. It gave him an excuse to leave Kyoto.\n\n\"When I brought him back from Ōtsu, he realized we would learn the truth and killed himself to escape the punishment.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiro glanced at the body." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Not the most effective means of escape.\"\n\nMasao shook his head. \"I don't believe it. Den would have told me about the plot, and last night he seemed eager to talk with Matsui-san.\"\n\n\"More deception,\" Akira said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"He knew you would interfere if you learned the truth.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Masao shook his head but didn't argue. As a commoner, he had no right to dispute with a samurai.\n\n\"We should cut the boy down,\" Hiro said. \"There's no need to dishonor his body by leaving it hanging.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"He stays where he is.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Akira started toward the door. \"A murderer deserves dishonor.\"\n\nHiro's katana left its sheath and sliced through the air with a silent hiss. It severed the rope." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Den's body fell to the floor." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Masao dropped to his knees with a muffled cry.\n\nHiro saw Akira whirl and heard the whisper of the samurai's blade. The shinobi raised his sword and blocked the strike that otherwise would have killed him.\n\nKatanas rang as steel met steel." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Akira jumped back to block the expected counterstrike, but Hiro did not attack." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The shinobi froze, sword high and eyes alert for any movement. He hadn't known Akira would respond to his action with violence, but drawing a sword at a samurai's back would always cause a fight.\n\nHiro didn't want Akira dead. If he had, he would have used the strike that cut the rope to sever Akira's neck." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But Akira didn't know that." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The stable darkened. The guards stepped into the doorway, swords in hand, but made no move to intervene.\n\nAkira's katana quivered. His shoulders heaved and his eyes were wide.\n\nHiro waited, motionless.\n\nAfter almost a minute, Akira lowered his sword." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"How dare you disobey my order!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I am neither your retainer nor your servant,\" Hiro said. \"I will not obey a dishonorable command.\"\n\nAkira's nostrils flared. \"You dishonor yourself by defending a murderer.\"\n\nIn a single motion, Hiro straightened and returned his sword to its sheath." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"A samurai should show respect and mercy to the powerless, especially in the face of death.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He didn't bother to hide his disdain.\n\nMasao knelt beside Den's body, eyes wide and mouth open in shock.\n\nThe guards in the doorway looked at one another and then at Akira. A moment later, they sheathed their swords and left the stable." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Akira flushed. He sheathed his own katana and raised his chin." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I will overlook your impertinence this time, but do not think you can disobey me again without consequence.\"\n\nHiro nodded just enough to grant his opponent a modicum of dignity. The shinobi had made his point. Humiliating Akira further would only cause more trouble." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Akira puffed out his chest." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Hisahide will wish to hear your opinion about the suicide. Come with me.\"\n\nHiro had hoped to speak with Masao in private but saw no reasonable way to refuse Akira's command. A glance at Masao confirmed it wasn't an optimal time for interviews anyway. The stable master bent over Den's body, shaking as he tried to control his grief." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiro followed Akira from the stable." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No one removes the body until I say so,\" Akira said as he passed the guards.\n\nThe men gave a nod of assent and resumed their watch on the stable doors.\n\nAkira led Hiro across the compound to the samurai training yard. As they approached, the shinobi heard the distinctive clatter of bokken and saw Hisahide, wooden sword in hand, facing off against the largest samurai Hiro had ever seen." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Both men wore baggy hakama and padded jackets that bore the Miyoshi crest." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They stood alone in the open yard, most likely because of the early hour and threatening overcast skies.\n\nHiro and Akira stopped at a distance and waited for Hisahide to finish his match.\n\nThe shinobi found it interesting that Hisahide opted for bokken rather than real swords. Samurai often used wooden blades for solo practice but most preferred to use real ones for sparring." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As the bout continued, however, Hisahide's reasons for wooden swords grew clear." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The giant samurai moved with startling speed. His blade struck Hisahide's with a force that would have sent most men to their knees.\n\nTo Hiro's surprise, Hisahide moved even faster. He blocked the giant's strike and counterattacked with a flurry of violent blows." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The larger man backed away." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But instead of pursuing, Hisahide retreated.\n\nThe giant samurai paused, surprised by the reprieve. He started forward and raised his sword for another powerful strike.\n\nHe saw the trap a moment after Hiro did, but still too late to avoid it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hisahide sprang sideways and thrust his wooden blade at the larger man's stomach." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The giant ran onto the point with an audible grunt. Had the swords been real, the injury would have killed him.\n\nHisahide withdrew his blade and bowed. His opponent returned the bow with a deeper one that conceded the match." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Mode:\nCo-writing\n\nLength:\n4 sentences\n\nStyle:\nSusan Spann" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I can't tell you that.\" Kazu clenched his jaw.\n\n\"Can't or won't?\" Hiro asked.\n\n\"In this case, they are the same.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Kazu met Hiro's gaze with defiance." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hiro recognized the look. It was the same one an eight-year-old Kazu had worn the day he took a beating that should have fallen on Hiro's back. Kazu hadn't confessed then, either, no matter how hard the bamboo cane had cracked against his spine.\n\nThe memory snuffed out Hiro's anger and made him wonder if Kazu was protecting someone else." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What about last night?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "he asked. \"Where were you when Den returned from Ōtsu?\"\n\n\"At home, sleeping,\" Kazu said. \"I went there directly after I talked with you.\"\n\nHiro looked at the parchment on Kazu's desk." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Tiny characters streamed down the page in perfect vertical lines." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kazu's calligraphy marked him as a highly intelligent, educated man. No person in Iga, and few in Kyoto, could match his skill with a brush. Words fell from the bristles as swiftly and lightly as snowflakes from a cloud, making it easy to underestimate the strength of the hand that formed them.\n\n\"There's no point comparing my letter to Den's confession,\" Kazu said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'm better at forgeries than you are at detecting them.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hiro frowned. \"That's not what I was thinking.\"\n\n\"Would you care to share your insight, then?\"\n\n\"How much do you know about Den's confession?\" Hiro asked.\n\n\"Only that he wrote one. I haven't seen it.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The handwriting had a flaw that might interest you. The message contained two lines with different characteristics, almost as if two different people had written them. The first line exculpated Masao. The second confessed to Saburo's murder.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kazu leaned forward, intrigued despite his frustration. \"What kind of brush?\"\n\n\"No brush,\" Hiro said, \"charred wood. It lay on the ground beneath the message.\"\n\n\"Easy enough to add to the writing, then,\" Kazu said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Which line had cruder strokes? Den was young and poorly educated. His writing would lack precision.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The second line seemed larger,\" Hiro said, \"and also less skillfully written, but not by much. If someone added to the message, he—or she—attempted to mimic the author's style.\"\n\n\"What did Masao say about it?\"\n\n\"He claims Den wrote the entire thing.\"\n\nKazu shook his head." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Then Masao is the person who altered the message.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Not necessarily,\" Hiro said, \"but likely.\"\n\n\"You didn't need my help to figure that out,\" Kazu said. \"Why come here instead of confronting Masao?\"\n\nHiro gave Kazu a sideways look." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Hisahide considers the matter resolved. In fact, he ordered me to leave the shogunate.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"But you didn't,\" Kazu said. \"You came here instead.\"\n\n\"Hisahide allowed me to tell you that you are no longer a suspect.\"\n\nKazu smiled wryly. \"I wish you meant that—and also that you'd obey Hisahide's order and go home. You won't, though. You never give up until you win.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"This isn't about winning,\" Hiro said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If Saburo's killer is working with Lord Oda, the shogun is still in danger—\"\n\n\"When did you start caring about the shogun?\" Kazu asked.\n\n\"I care about Lord Oda starting a war in Kyoto.\" Concern for Father Mateo made Hiro's stomach feel like a lantern beset by moths." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"There's not going to be a war,\" Kazu said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The shogun is safe. Hisahide has doubled the compound guards and plans to add more this evening.\"\n\n\"That doesn't bother you?\" Hiro asked. \"After he altered the ledger?\"\n\n\"Hisahide didn't do it. When I compared the writing it wasn't his.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Kazu blushed. \"The changes were made by the shogun himself. I'm sorry... I should have recognized the writing, but the shogun has never written in Saburo's ledgers before, and the alterations surprised me so much, it didn't occur to me that Shogun Ashikaga might have made them.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You're positive?\" Hiro asked.\n\nKazu nodded. \"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have involved you in this at all. Would you like me to escort you to the gates?\"\n\n\"No need to interrupt your work. I can find my way.\" Hiro bowed and departed, glad that Kazu didn't insist on walking him out." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The shinobi had no intention of leaving the compound." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As he slid the door shut behind him, Hiro heard the distinctive tapping of a chisel. He hurried quietly toward the sound.\n\nHiro felt certain Ozuru knew more about the night Saburo died than he had told them, and the stable boy's death presented an opportunity to renew the conversation.\n\nThe shinobi paused at the entrance to the audience hall and inhaled the slightly musky scents of cedar and fresh-cut pine." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ozuru stood halfway across the room with his back to Hiro." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The shinobi saw no sign of the other carpenters. The new support beams were installed and partially covered with ceiling slats, though the southern end of the ceiling remained unfinished, presumably waiting for installation of the transom screen.\n\nThe screen itself lay sideways across a pair of wooden horses. Ozuru bent over it, focused on his work." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He tapped his chisel with a wooden hammer, and delicate slivers of wood peeled off the screen and fell to the floor with no more sound than a maple tree shedding leaves." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hiro started across the room. Just before he reached Ozuru, the carpenter turned and bowed. The shinobi struggled to hide his surprise that the carpenter heard his approach.\n\n\"Good morning, Matsui-san,\" Ozuru said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Have you more questions for me?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I wondered about that transom,\" Hiro said. It wasn't what he intended, but it was the first thing that came to mind when he recovered from his surprise.\n\n\"This?\" Ozuru followed Hiro's gaze to the wooden carving. \"I should have finished it days ago, but the guards don't let me work late anymore. I am ordered to leave at sunset like everyone else.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He gestured to the empty room." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That's why my assistants aren't here today. I needed quiet to finish the screen.\"\n\nHiro looked at the carpenter's callused hands. \"You like your work.\"\n\n\"Wood speaks to me.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ozuru smiled. \"That probably sounds strange to a samurai.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"My father painted landscapes.\" It wasn't a lie. \"He claimed the ink could speak to a man who developed the ears to listen.\"\n\nOzuru nodded. \"He sounds like an artisan... as well as samurai.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He brushed a hanging sliver of wood from the screen." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"He often said that painting reminded him of life's fragility.\"\n\nOzuru gave Hiro a knowing look. \"I heard about the stable boy's suicide. Please forgive my directness. I appreciate the respect your politeness shows me, but the shogun will punish me if I do not finish this work today. Again, I apologize, but if you have questions for me please ask them plainly.\"\n\n\"Den let you out of the compound the night Saburo died,\" Hiro said." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "I'll be your writing partner today. I will set the scene, and you will continue the story with four sentences, channeling the voice and techniques of Susan Spann.i'll kick things off by writing a bit, then you'll take over and write the next four sentences in the distinctive voice of Susan Spann.Ive got a bit of writers block, im gonna send you something then keep it going four sentences at a time, also im going for a Susan Spann sorta thing." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hiro returned home hoping Father Mateo had recovered enough to discuss the investigation. He wanted the Jesuit's insight.\n\nWhen he reached the house, he found Ana cleaning the blood from the veranda. She looked up as he approached." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Hm. Decided to come back?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She gestured toward the house. \"Father Mateo needs your help.\"\n\nThe Jesuit lay on his futon, wearing the same bloodstained kimono he had on the day before. Hiro silently reprimanded himself for not helping the priest change clothes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In a Japanese home that task would have fallen to the housekeeper, but Hiro had forgotten the Jesuit wouldn't allow a woman to see him naked." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Father Mateo forced a smile as Hiro entered the room. \"I'm glad you're back. I'm afraid the wounds are festering.\"\n\nThe shinobi inhaled deeply, seeking the scent of infection. He smelled only medicinal herbs and sweet green tea, with a familiar opiate undertone that made him think of the corpse in the shogun's stable." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Light footsteps approached behind him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Ana,\" he said without turning, \"I need hot salted water, clean bandages, and my medicine chest.\"\n\nThe maid's kimono rustled as Ana departed on nearly silent feet. The needs of her beloved priest would silence even Ana's ascerbic tongue.\n\nHiro knelt beside Father Mateo and inspected the gash on the Jesuit's neck." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Father Mateo angled his head away, but the gesture stretched his skin and cracked the delicate scabs that covered the wound on his throat." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A drop of blood welled up at the edge of the scab. Father Mateo winced, and the bloody droplet trickled down his neck.\n\n\"Don't stretch it,\" Hiro said. \"You'll reopen the wound.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I think I already did,\" Father Mateo muttered as he faced the ceiling." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hiro noted the healthy color of the skin around the scabs. \"At least there's no infection in your neck. If you keep it from bleeding too much more, it might even heal without a scar.\" He smiled. \"On the other hand, many women find scars attractive.\"\n\n\"I'll keep that in mind.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Father Mateo closed his eyes." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'm more worried about my hands. Even with your tea, they hurt more than I think they should.\"\n\nHiro removed the bandages from Father Mateo's left hand, which had swollen to almost twice its normal size. The bite marks looked more inflamed than the day before, but Hiro saw no pus. Pale, soft tissue covered the wounds." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiro's herbs and lack of air had kept the scabs from hardening, but the tissue itself looked normal on the surface." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Father Mateo opened his eyes. \"Infected?\"\n\nHiro shook his head. \"Not yet.\"\n\nHe unwrapped the priest's right hand. It seemed less swollen than the left, but the flesh around the punctures felt unusually hot to Hiro's touch." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Father Mateo exhaled slowly." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 5 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That looks better than the other. Maybe there's no infection after all.\"\n\nHiro considered a reassuring falsehood, but remembered his promise not to lie to the priest. \"This one concerns me. I need to remove the scabs and clean beneath them. It's going to hurt, but it's our only hope to prevent infection.\"\n\n\"Pain won't kill me,\" Father Mateo said. \"Infection might. Do what you can to prevent it.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Task: Cooperative storytelling\nMy role: Provide a brief opening\nYour role: Expand upon my opening with four sentences, emulating the writing style of Susan Spann." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Hattori?\" Ichiro shook his head." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Your surname is Matsui, and his is Ito.\"\n\n\"A shinobi never uses his real name when on assignment,\" Kazu said.\n\n\"Shinobi?\" Ichiro's eyes grew even wider. \"Will I be allowed to become a shinobi also?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If you would like to.\" Kazu grinned." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Cousin Hanzo may not approve of your decision,\" Hiro warned.\n\n\"Forgiveness is asked as easily as permission,\" Kazu said, \"and I'm fairly persuasive when I want to be. Besides, if the Ashikaga ever recover the shogunate, they'll owe the Iga ryu for saving the boy.\"\n\nKazu pulled a folded parchment from his tunic. \"I slipped a map of the shogun's compound, and also one of the city, out of the office when we left. That, and the information in my head, is worth at least the care of one small boy.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I want to go with you,\" Ichiro said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I always wanted to be your brother anyway.\"\n\nGato stretched, jumped to the floor, and started to clean her coat. Raindrops pattered on the roof.\n\n\"Then it's settled,\" Kazu said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"We'll leave at dawn.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ana laid extra futons on the floor of the common room for Kazu and Ichiro. No one wanted dinner, though when the housekeeper insisted Father Mateo eat soup and rice to help him heal, the others had some too to keep the Jesuit company.\n\nThey went to sleep soon afterward.\n\nIt felt to Hiro as if he had barely closed his eyes when the shoji rustled and Kazu entered the room." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The younger shinobi crossed the floor and crouched by Hiro's futon." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"We're leaving now—Ichiro and I.\"\n\nHiro sat up and pulled his feet from beneath the sleeping cat. He tried to sense the time. \"It isn't dawn. The gates are closed.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's close enough. The barricades will open when we get there.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What about passes?\" Hiro asked.\n\nKazu drew a folded paper from his sleeve. \"I haven't been without it since you made me return to the shogunate. Just in case. Both Ichiro and I can travel on it.\"\n\n\"He's too old to pass without documentation,\" Hiro said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Kazu smiled. \"His only family died in a fire. Their documentation burned. As a courtesy, I'm escorting the boy to his relatives at Iga.\" He shrugged." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That and a gold koban should solve any problems. He won't be wearing his swords on the road, and no one cares very much about a boy.\"\n\nHiro laid a hand on Kazu's shoulder. \"Travel safely. And tell Mother our new brother is entirely your fault—but that I welcome him to the family nonetheless.\"\n\nKazu chuckled. \"I'll send word of our arrival when we get there.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The smile left his face and voice." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Please tell Tomiko I'm sorry I had to go.\"\n\n\"If I can.\"\n\nKazu nodded. \"Don't kill the priest.\"\n\nHiro frowned. \"Don't kill yourself.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I've done all right so far.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kazu patted Gato, stood, and made his way to the door.\n\nHiro followed.\n\nAs Kazu and Ichiro left, Hiro stood on the veranda and listened to the muffled crunch of their feet on the gravel path. The neighbor's dog began barking as the boy and the shinobi reached the street." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ichiro startled, but Kazu put a reassuring hand on the youngster's shoulder and together they hurried off down the darkened road." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Clouds drifted across the heavens, blocking out the stars and moon. The air held the damp-earth smell of grass and trees still wet with rain.\n\nHiro inhaled deeply, enjoying the freshness and the charge in the air that promised a lightning storm by morning. He stood on the veranda and considered the past few days." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Father Mateo's hands were healing and with proper care would avoid infection." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kazu and Ichiro were closer to safety with every step.\n\nHisahide would be a dangerous shogun, but probably no worse than the one before him.\n\nA warlord was a warlord, after all.\n\nA flash of lightning lit the sky." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Hey can you write like Susan Spann and use whatever i write as a jumping off point?" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Father Mateo leaned over the body. \"Is that the broken base of a sake flask?\"\n\nHiro hoped the Jesuit wouldn't ask about the mark.\n\n\"Yes,\" the dōshin said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The murder weapon—part of it, anyway.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hiro circled the corpse and examined the shard.\n\nGinjiro bought his sake flasks from a potter who produced them for the brewer by special order. The flasks had a distinctive color, and each bore the brewer's mark impressed in the base. The markings distinguished Ginjiro's flasks, which never left the brewery, from the ones that customers brought for personal use." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That is the brewer's mark,\" the dōshin said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hiro straightened. \"A broken flask outside a brewery hardly marks the brewer as a killer.\"\n\n\"I agree,\" Father Mateo said. \"Anyone could have stolen a flask or dropped it in the alley.\"\n\n\"More importantly,\" Hiro added, \"delicate pottery would have shattered before causing so much damage to the victim. Unless, of course, the flask was full, but I see no sake on the body or the ground.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The dōshin crossed his arms." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If it's a coincidence, where's the rest of the flask? We haven't found any other pieces here.\"\n\n\"You believe the killer took them with him,\" Father Mateo said.\n\nConveniently leaving the one with Ginjiro's seal, Hiro thought.\n\n\"Why would Ginjiro kill a man with a flask that bore his seal?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Father Mateo rubbed his chin." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Arguments happen,\" the dōshin said. \"Angry men don't think before they act.\"\n\n\"That's a lot of assumptions for one dead body and one small shard from a sake flask,\" Hiro said.\n\n\"Ginjiro didn't kill Chikao.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Suke's voice echoed through the alley as he entered. \"I'm the killer.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hiro noted the dead man's name and wondered how Suke knew it.\n\n\"Shut up, old man,\" the dōshin said. \"Go away before I arrest you.\"\n\nHiro raised a hand and said, \"We're finished. We'll walk him out.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The shinobi took hold of Suke's sleeve and led the monk back out to the street, where the yoriki stood talking with Tomiko." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ginjiro's wife stood nearby, but her glazed expression suggested inattention.\n\nHiro looked up the street and saw the dōshin lead Ginjiro out of sight around a corner. The brewer's head hung low, like a man condemned.\n\nFather Mateo followed Hiro's gaze." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Where are they going?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"To the magistrate,\" the yoriki said. \"The facts are clear and not disputed. Ginjiro argued with the victim yesterday evening. Late last night, Chikao returned, and Ginjiro killed him.\"\n\nHiro glanced at Father Mateo, expecting the priest to argue.\n\nSuke struck a fighting pose." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You want guilt?\" the monk demanded, curling his fingers into fists." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'll show you guilt!\"\n\n\"Calm down,\" Hiro said. \"If you're the killer, explain how it really happened.\"\n\nThe yoriki sighed and shook his head, but Suke lowered his hands and said, \"I will. I'll tell you everything.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The monk straightened his shoulders and raised his chin like a child about to confess to a youthful crime." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Last night I sneaked a flask out of Ginjiro's at closing time. I didn't intend to steal it, I just wanted to finish the sake. I would have returned the flask in the morning.\"\n\nSuke paused as if concerned that Hiro might accuse him of stealing flasks. When the shinobi said nothing, the monk continued, \"This morning, when I woke up, my flask was gone. I saw Chikao's body and heard the dōshin say Ginjiro's flask—the one I took—was the murder weapon. Clearly, I am the killer!\"\n\nThe yoriki made a disgusted gesture." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Clearly, you were too drunk to hear a man being beaten to death beside you. We have listened to your story. Go away.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Suke jumped forward and shoved the yoriki, catching him off guard. The samurai fell backward and sat down hard in the dusty street.\n\nThe dōshin, who had followed them from the alley, ran to Suke. He seized the monk by the arms." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Suke bowed his head." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I surrender,\" he said quietly. \"Deliver me to the magistrate for judgment.\"\n\nThe yoriki stood up and brushed the dirt from his clothes. \"Arrest him—but the charge is public drunkenness, nothing more.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Nothing more!\" The angry dōshin glared at Suke." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"He assaulted you and confessed to murder.\"\n\n\"He's a drunk.\" The yoriki removed a pebble from his sleeve. \"He wobbles like an infant and he smells like a brewery floor. I believe he spent the night in the alley. The rest of his story? Merely a drunkard's dream.\"\n\n\"But... the assault!\" the dōshin protested as he tied a length of rope around Suke's wrists." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"This man attacked you.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You are mistaken. I stumbled and fell.\" The yoriki paused to let his words sink in. \"Now take him away, and send some bearers to carry Chikao home.\"\n\n\"Don't worry, Tomiko,\" Suke said as the dōshin led him away." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'll tell the magistrate what happened. Ginjiro will be home in time to open the shop tonight.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Tomiko smiled weakly, as if unwilling to put much faith in Suke's promise. She laid a hand on her mother's arm and guided the older woman back to the brewery.\n\nHiro wanted to speak with Ginjiro's family, but first he had some questions for the yoriki. \"Where is Chikao's brewery? Did the victim belong to the brewer's guild?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Do not mistake my leniency for permission to investigate.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The yoriki finished brushing the dirt from his trousers. \"The magistrate doesn't need your help—or his.\" The yoriki glanced at Father Mateo.\n\n\"What if we disagree with your assessment of the crime?\" the Jesuit asked." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiro stifled a nearly overwhelming urge to drag the priest away from the scene by force." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As usual, Father Mateo didn't know when to hold his tongue.\n\nThe yoriki smiled, but his eyes were devoid of warmth. \"Then you will keep your disagreement to yourself.\"\n\n\"Have I misunderstood the samurai code?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Father Mateo asked. \"I thought honor required noble men to seek justice and act with mercy.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That argument might work with a samurai from the ruling clans,\" the yoriki said. \"But I see crimes, and criminals, every day. Justice does not mix with mercy where commoners are concerned.\"\n\nThe yoriki started toward the alley, paused, and turned back to Hiro. \"I expect cooperation—and discretion—from you both. Murder is a matter for the magistrate alone, especially now, with the city on alert. If you speak of this to anyone, I will ensure you share the killer's fate.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiro doubted the yoriki could carry out his threat, but knew better than to challenge him in public." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 1 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Father Mateo called after the yoriki, \"Why insist on privacy? Unless, of course, you don't intend an honest investigation.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Hey can you write like Susan Spann and use whatever i write as a jumping off point?" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Today?\" Tomiko asked when Hiro told her about the hearing. \"But that's too soon. We need more time to prove my father's innocence.\"\n\nRustling sounds from the opposite side of the indigo noren suggested Yoka was working in the kitchen.\n\nTomiko lowered her voice." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I want to attend the hearing, but I cannot leave my mother alone. I cannot take her with me, either. Since the illness, unfamiliar situations scare her. If she sees my father kneeling like a criminal...\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Tomiko pressed her lips together, unwilling to continue.\n\n\"Can you tell us where to find Chikao's family?\" Father Mateo asked.\n\nHiro added, \"Magistrate Ishimaki might delay your father's hearing, if the victim's family consents.\"\n\n\"They live at the Lucky Monkey,\" Tomiko said, \"in an alley south of Shijō and east of Kawaramachi Road.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"An alley?\" Father Mateo asked." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The address is on Shijō Road,\" she said, \"but the brewery has no frontage. The building sits behind an old apothecary's shop. Look carefully, it's hard to find.\"\n\n\"Have you been there?\" Father Mateo tried to hide his surprise, but failed.\n\n\"Once, with my father,\" Tomiko said, \"about a month ago. We stopped by on our way to a meeting in Fushimi. A visiting relative stayed with Mother so I could go along.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiro noted Father Mateo's confusion." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Fushimi is the sake brewers' ward.\"\n\n\"Isn't this the sake district?\" the Jesuit asked.\n\n\"This ward has many businesses,\" Tomiko said. \"My father chose to open a brewery here because of the traffic and because we offer food as well as sake. Those who sell only sake usually set up shop in Fushimi, because of the water. Also, the guild has greater influence there.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Why did you visit the Lucky Monkey?\" Hiro asked." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"To ask about the debt.\" Tomiko raised a hand to her mouth in sudden embarrassment. \"Oh! Matsui-san, I'm so sorry! I forgot to give you a message. A man came looking for you last night, shortly after you left.\"\n\nShe bowed. \"Please forgive my forgetfulness.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiro's hopes rose. A message from Iga would confirm that Hattori Hanzo, head of the Iga ryu, had learned about the shogun's death." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The message might also contain the name of Hiro's new shinobi contact in Kyoto. Kazu had filled that role until the shogun's \"suicide\" two months before. Since then, Hiro had awaited new instructions from the clan. He doubted the shogun's death would affect his orders to guard the priest, but Hiro put no faith in such assumptions." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I do not blame you,\" Hiro said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You've had a difficult morning. Did the man leave his name?\"\n\n\"Ozuru,\" Tomiko said. \"A carpenter, I think? He said he would return tomorrow night to discuss the job you wanted done.\"\n\n\"He will return tonight, then?\" Hiro maintained a neutral tone, but the message made his stomach churn." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ozuru worked as a carpenter in much the same way Hiro served the Jesuit." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Neither man was truly what he seemed.\n\n\"Yes,\" Tomiko said, \"I believe he will.\"\n\nHiro nodded. \"I will do my best to meet him.\"\n\nThe shinobi and the Jesuit left the brewery and headed south." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Have we time to get to the Lucky Monkey and back to the magistrate before the hearing?\" Father Mateo asked." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"We have to,\" Hiro said. \"We need Chikao's family to grant us extra time to find the killer.\"\n\n\"Can they do that?\" Father Mateo asked. When Hiro gave him a sideways look, the Jesuit added, \"I said so to Tomiko, but I didn't know for certain.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Magistrate Ishimaki cares about justice,\" Hiro said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I think he will grant us extra time unless the victim's family objects.\"\n\n\"Will he release Ginjiro until the trial?\"\n\nHiro shook his head. \"No magistrate would set a killer free.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Do you believe Ginjiro killed Chikao?\" Father Mateo asked." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 1 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No,\" Hiro said, \"but murders turn on evidence, not belief.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Mode:\nCo-writing\n\nLength:\nfour sentences\n\nStyle:\nSusan Spann" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As they entered the stinking alley off Shijō Road, shouting echoed from the Lucky Monkey's entrance.\n\nKaoru stood in the brewery doorway, facing someone farther inside. \"It's my money,\" he yelled, \"the least you can do is leave something for me to inherit!\"\n\nHe yanked the door closed with a thump and stomped down the alley away from Hiro and Father Mateo." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The Jesuit paused. \"We should leave and come back later.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Lucky Monkey's noren parted. Mina appeared in the entrance. She stood in the doorway and watched her son disappear into the space beyond the buildings.\n\nMina turned and noticed Hiro and the priest." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Good afternoon.\" She bowed to cover her embarrassment." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Once again, I must apologize for my son's behavior.\"\n\n\"May we speak with you inside?\" Hiro asked.\n\n\"Of course.\" Mina stepped aside. \"That is, if you do not object to entering a house of mourning. May I offer you tea?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Thank you,\" Hiro said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"We would like some tea.\"\n\nCrossing the threshold, Hiro heard the sound of rhythmic chanting somewhere farther inside the building. Male voices rose and fell in the cadence of funeral prayers. The monks had arrived, and formal mourning for Chikao had started." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The chanting grew more noticeable as Hiro and Father Mateo followed Mina into the brewery's drinking room." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She paused and gestured. \"Sit wherever you like. I will make the tea.\"\n\nWhen she left the room, Father Mateo said, \"I can't believe you asked for tea while she's in mourning.\"\n\n\"She offered.\" Hiro settled himself on the floor." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Preparing tea gives her something to do, and normalcy offers distraction in difficult times. Also, I thought it would please you, since the tea gives us a different way to start the conversation. We may not need your god's help after all.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Father Mateo gave the shinobi a disapproving look as Mina returned.\n\nShe carried a tray with a steaming teapot, three ceramic cups, and a plate of sweetened rice balls. She set the tray on the floor and knelt beside it, but instead of pouring the tea she asked the Jesuit, \"Would you like to pray?\"\n\nMina smiled at Father Mateo's startled look." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I have a friend who worships your Jesus god. She prays before accepting food and drink. If you wish, you may offer your prayer aloud. Honest gratitude insults no one, whether or not we pray to different gods.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She laid her hands in her lap and bowed her head.\n\nFather Mateo offered a prayer, asking God to bless the house, and Mina, and the food. Hiro appreciated the Jesuit's keeping the prayer short. Tea tasted better hot, and questions, too, retained more palatability without a liberal helping of foreign faith." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Mina poured tea for Hiro and Father Mateo." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She had brought a cup for herself but didn't fill it.\n\n\"May I pour you tea?\" Father Mateo offered.\n\nMina leaned back in surprise. Guests never poured the tea for female hosts, especially male guests of samurai rank." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Unless, perhaps, you are fasting,\" Hiro offered." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Mina's face relaxed with sudden relief. \"I am, to atone for my husband's sins. Thank you for understanding.\"\n\n\"How long will you fast?\" Father Mateo asked.\n\n\"For Chikao, until his funeral,\" Mina said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"After that, I will fast on my own account.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Father Mateo leaned forward slightly. \"Why do you need to fast?\"\n\nMina shifted the plate of rice balls toward her guests. \"I intend to become a nun, after I finish mourning for my husband.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"A nun?\" Father Mateo looked surprised." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His features softened with understanding. \"Oh, a Buddhist nun. I apologize—my religion also allows for female nuns.\"\n\n\"Really?\" Mina asked. \"And do the widows of your faith elect this path?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"When God calls them,\" Father Mateo said, \"and, sometimes, when they have no other method of support.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hiro caught the not-so-subtle hint but didn't mind.\n\n\"Sometimes Japanese widows also make this choice for economic reasons,\" Mina said, \"though I do not.\"\n\n\"Forgive me,\" the Jesuit said, \"but you mentioned that the moneylenders wouldn't give you loans...\" He trailed off.\n\nHiro had hoped the priest would remember Mina's comment about loans." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A samurai could never ask, but Father Mateo's status as a foreigner, and a priest, created an excuse for intrusive questions." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Chikao and I attempted to obtain a loan to pay off Kaoru's debts,\" the woman said. \"But the moneylender knows my son and wouldn't take the risk. Not without a licensed brewery to secure the loan.\"\n\nFather Mateo looked concerned. \"Then how...\"\n\nMina smiled. \"I don't need money. Chikao's death has freed me to pursue the path I chose many years ago.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She paused. After allowing sufficient time for Hiro and Father Mateo to change the subject if they wished to, she continued, \"I grew up near Tofuku-ji, and my father often took me for walks on the temple grounds. Even as a child, I wanted to become a nun and spend my days in meditation, seeking peace.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Her eyes took on a distant look.\n\nThe monks' voices rose and fell in the background, chanting prayers.\n\n\"And yet, you chose to marry,\" Father Mateo said.\n\nMina's eyes refocused on the priest." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"As duty required. Obedient children place their parents' hopes before their own.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hiro wondered what Mina thought of Kaoru's selfish choices.\n\n\"Now,\" she continued, \"my husband's death releases me to pursue my heart's desire.\"\n\n\"What will become of the brewery?\" Hiro asked.\n\nMina sighed. \"I do not know. I hoped my son would choose to learn his father's trade, but he refuses. Kaoru says he wants to sell our share of the brewery to Ren. My son will squander the money, but what can I do? He is adult, and male. I can't control him.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Does Ren want to purchase the interest?\" Hiro asked." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I am ashamed to ask him,\" Mina said. \"It seems unfair to shackle Ren with debts, especially now. If my son would only accept his duty...\"\n\nShe trailed off into silence.\n\nHiro sipped his tea and waited." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Eventually Father Mateo asked, \"Did your husband know about your wish to lead a religious life?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hiro wished the priest hadn't spoken. People shared more information when the burden of silence reached a certain weight.\n\n\"Chikao felt guilty for keeping me tied to the world,\" Mina said, \"but, as I often told him, I never regretted my choice to marry. I loved Chikao and enjoyed our life together.\"\n\n\"Does Kaoru know about your plans to become a nun?\" the Jesuit asked." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Mina gave the priest a searching look." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 1 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"My son did not kill his father.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Mode:\nCo-writing\n\nLength:\nfour sentences\n\nStyle:\nSusan Spann" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When Hiro returned to the house, he found the Jesuit reading in the common room. Father Mateo's leather-bound Bible lay open to a page with a missing corner.\n\n\"The letter to the Romans?\" Hiro asked.\n\nFather Mateo looked up with a startled smile." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"When did you start reading the Bible?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hiro smiled awkwardly at the priest's misplaced delight. \"I haven't. I just recognized the page that Gato chewed.\"\n\nGato, Hiro's tortoiseshell cat, bounded in from the kitchen at the sound of her master's voice. Halfway across the room she angled sideways and arched her back." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The hair on her tail puffed out on end." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She fixed her eyes on Hiro and bounced to the side, inviting play.\n\nThe shinobi leaned forward and clapped his hands.\n\nGato leaped in the air, spun around, and raced from the room, paws pattering the tatami like rain on a rooftop.\n\nFather Mateo laughed but stopped and stared at Hiro's gray kimono." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You don't usually dress so formally in the evening. You have plans?\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 2 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes.\" Hiro nodded. \"I'm going to Ginjiro's.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Hey can you write like Susan Spann and use whatever i write as a jumping off point?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The following morning, Hiro woke before dawn and spent an hour in meditation, though not the inward-style reflection Buddhists favored." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Instead, he stilled his thoughts and focused on the scents and sounds around him, sharpening his ability to \"see\" without his eyes.\n\nA croak and a splash near the koi pond indicated a leaping frog. In the trees, a bird chirped sleepily. She set the nest to crackling as she stirred." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A breeze filled Hiro's nostrils with the scents of grass and dew." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A hint of sewage followed, as the night-soil collector passed the house on his morning rounds.\n\nHiro opened his eyes, returned to the house, and donned his favorite gray kimono and his swords.\n\nWhen he left his room, he found Father Mateo waiting in the common room. The priest wore a brown kimono fastened at the waist with a dark blue obi." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A wooden cross hung from a braided thong around his neck." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The pale light from the firepit highlighted the jagged scar on his neck.\n\n\"Good morning,\" Hiro said.\n\nFather Mateo nodded. \"Shall we eat before we leave?\"\n\n\"I'd rather have noodles.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiro paused. \"Wait... you're coming with me?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I am,\" the priest replied, \"and do not argue. I spent most of our last investigation recovering from that attack. I've no intention of missing this one too.\"\n\nHiro nodded. The interviews he had in mind would go more smoothly with the Jesuit along to ask the awkward questions.\n\n\"Did you learn any new information yesterday evening?\" Father Mateo asked. \"Aside from Daimyo Miyoshi's plans to start a war?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Not much,\" Hiro said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'm confident that Kaoru owed the Sakura Teahouse money, but I still don't know if Ginjiro hired a guard or how Yoshiko learned about Chikao's death.\"\n\n\"So we haven't eliminated anyone,\" Father Mateo said.\n\n\"Not yet.\"\n\nThey left the house and headed west on Marutamachi Road." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The air felt muggy and far too warm for Hiro's taste." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He thought wistfully of autumn's colder nights and cleaner air.\n\nAs he passed Okazaki Shrine, Hiro shifted to taking shallow breaths. In the mornings, braziers just outside the shrine emitted clouds of cloying incense, and the smoke clogged Hiro's lungs like lacquer vapor.\n\nFather Mateo nodded to the priestess selling amulets beside the temple's tall, white torii gate." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She returned the nod and also smiled." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Father Mateo turned to Hiro. \"Where are we headed first?\"\n\nHiro briefly related his conversation with Mayuri and the relevant parts of his talk with Yoshiko.\n\n\"Almost everyone on our suspect list spent time in Pontocho that night.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Mode:\nCo-writing\n\nLength:\nfour sentences\n\nStyle:\nSusan Spann" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The peddler shielded his face with his hands.\n\n\"Do you understand me?\" Hiro asked.\n\nThe peddler nodded and gestured toward the empty sack.\n\nHiro picked it up and shook it open." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I will help, but hurry. You need to leave this place at once.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And so do I.\n\nThe peddler grasped the nearest wooden bowl.\n\nHiro and the peddler gathered up the scattered wares. When they finished, the poor man bowed, making sounds that indicated gratitude." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Go,\" Hiro said, \"and from now on, make sure you're home by nightfall.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The peddler nodded, bowed, and hurried off. Hiro noted with approval that the poor man stuck to the shadows near the edge of the river road.\n\nBusy listening to the patter of the peddler's feet on the earthen path, Hiro almost missed the hiss of steel behind his back.\n\nAlmost." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The shinobi ducked. A swish of wind brushed past his head." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The attacker's blade had missed by only inches.\n\nHiro drew his shortsword as he spun to face his foe—the samurai guard who kicked the peddler and fled when the explosion shook the street.\n\nHe must have recovered his courage and returned.\n\n\"Shinobi,\" the samurai hissed as he advanced and struck again." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiro blocked the attack with his wakizashi and backed away to the shadows of the trees." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He didn't want the people up the street to see the fight and raise an alarm.\n\nThe samurai followed, slashing the air with strikes that made up in force what they lacked in accuracy. Hiro continued to back away, dodging the body-level strikes and ducking when the samurai aimed for his neck.\n\nWithout a katana, Hiro lacked the samurai's reach." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He couldn't get in range to attack." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He could only defend himself and wait for an opening.\n\nWhen they reached the shadow of the trees, the samurai paused, sword high. \"You are a disgrace,\" he said, \"you honorless, beggar-loving shinobi dog. You and all your kind deserve to die.\"\n\nHiro gripped his wakizashi." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The only dog I see in this street is you.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "With a growl of rage, the samurai raised his katana, lunged... and impaled himself on the blade of Hiro's shortsword.\n\nHiro grasped the samurai's shoulder with his free hand as he shoved his sword into the samurai's stomach. He had dodged beneath the guard's attack and angled his wakizashi upward, piercing the guard beneath his ribs and thrusting the point toward his heart.\n\nThe samurai gasped and dropped his sword." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiro shoved the blade even deeper, feeling the warmth and wetness of the samurai's blood flow over his hand." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He stopped when the hilt stuck fast.\n\nThe guard coughed and choked on the liquid flooding his lungs. He sputtered, coughed again, and sent a spray of bloody spittle down his chin.\n\nHiro stepped away, withdrew his sword, and pressed the blade against the samurai's neck." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You're a dead man,\" Hiro said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The question is, do I end this fast or let you bleed to death on the river bank?\"\n\nThis time, there was no priest to stay his hand.\n\nThe samurai spit a mouthful of blood in Hiro's face and reached for his wakizashi. Hiro wrenched the weapon from his hand." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The samurai fell to his knees, struggling to breathe as his lungs filled up with blood." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Enough.\" Hiro dropped the samurai's shortsword in the road and wiped his own sword clean on the dying man's robe. He grasped the man's topknot and pulled it back.\n\nHe bent to look the guard in the eye. \"Unlike you, I do not want a man to suffer.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiro sheathed his sword, grasped the samurai's chin with his free hand, and snapped the man's neck." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He felt the samurai go limp, life ended with merciful speed.\n\nHiro released his grip, and the body crumpled forward on the road.\n\nHe wiped the blood from his face and hands as best he could and looked around. No one had seen him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The trees along the river path were out of sight of Sanjō Road, and no one walked the path that night—most likely to avoid the samurai guards." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Even the peddler had disappeared, though Hiro doubted the mute would turn him in.\n\nHiro needed to vacate the scene but didn't want to leave a body lying in the road. He had an errand to complete and didn't need the shogun's guards discovering a samurai corpse before he finished his mission. In truth, he would rather they never found it at all." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Without a witness, no one could tie Hiro to the crime, but he still preferred to dispose of the body." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He looked at the river. The current near the banks ran slow, but farther out the water flowed with better speed. He hoped it was enough to move a corpse.\n\nHiro sheathed his sword and raised the samurai's limp arm." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Slinging the arm around his shoulders, Hiro grasped the dead man's waist and lifted the samurai to his side." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "With one arm around the samurai's waist and the other holding the dead man's lifeless arm around his shoulders, Hiro started toward the bridge. From a distance, they looked like a poorly dressed samurai helping a friend stagger home after too much sake.\n\nWhen they reached the bridge, Hiro risked a glance up Sanjō Road toward the ruined lanterns. A cluster of people stood in the road, faces lit by the flickering glow of a handheld lantern carried by a woman who might—or might not—have been Mayuri." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Angry voices pierced the night." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The words didn't carry as far as the bridge, but Hiro didn't care what they said. They hadn't noticed him or the corpse.\n\nHiro started across the bridge, carrying the samurai at his side. When they reached the middle of the river, Hiro checked to make sure that no one was looking and swung the samurai over the railing." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The body hit the water with a muffled splash." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As Hiro hoped, the current carried the dead man's body away, the corpse already starting to sink as water soaked his heavy silk kimono.\n\nHiro glanced in both directions. The bridge was empty. No one had seen him dump the body." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Hey can you write like Susan Spann and use whatever i write as a jumping off point?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiro crept along the alley toward the street." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yoshiko pounded on the shutters. \"Basho! I know you're in there—open up! Quit hiding in your rice like a frightened rat. Get out here now and pay your debt like a man!\"\n\nA muffled female voice came through the shutters. \"Basho isn't here.\"\n\n\"You're lying,\" Yoshiko replied." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's after midnight,\" Basho's wife complained. \"Come back tomorrow.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yoshiko gave a derisive snort. \"Why, so you can claim he isn't here? We've played that game long enough. No more.\"\n\n\"We haven't got your money,\" Hama called. \"Come back tomorrow.\"\n\n\"No,\" Yoshiko growled. \"Open this door, or I'll break it down.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiro jumped as the shutters banged and rattled." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He peeked around the corner just as Yoshiko stepped back and kicked the wooden shutters hard. Hiro didn't know many women capable of breaking down a door, but Yoshiko had the strength—and the determination too.\n\nHiro looked at the upper floors of neighboring houses. He saw no lights or movement." }, { "from": "human", "value": "No one cried alarm, although that fact did not surprise him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Merchants often worked together to protect their wards from fire and natural dangers, but no one wanted to confront a thief or debt collector in the dark of night. Unless Matsunaga Hisahide's guards investigated, Hama and Basho were on their own.\n\nHiro doubted the samurai would come to save the merchant, either. Hisahide's guards weren't paid to intervene in debt collections." }, { "from": "human", "value": "More importantly, the guard on duty let Yoshiko down the street." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She kicked the door again, and Hiro heard a cracking underneath the shuddering bang.\n\n\"Stop it—please!\" Hama's voice revealed an edge of fear. \"I'll open up. Don't break it down!\"\n\nHiro heard the click of a latch and a rattling sound as the shutters opened." }, { "from": "human", "value": "This time, Hama's voice was clear." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I told you, my husband is not home. You have no right to harass us in the middle of the night.\"\n\n\"Your husband owes a substantial debt to the Sakura Teahouse.\" Yoshiko's response held no remorse. \"Over a month ago, he asked for mercy, and I granted him additional time to pay. He hasn't paid a single copper coin. I'm finished waiting.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Basho went out of town on business,\" Hama said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"He'll pay when he returns.\"\n\n\"No rice merchant leaves Kyoto at this time of year.\" Yoshiko's voice sounded slightly farther away, as if she had stepped inside the shop. \"He's hiding, trying to avoid his debt.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiro wondered whether Yoshiko was bluffing." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You have no authority to threaten this family,\" Hama said. \"I'll report you to the magistrate!\"\n\n\"Go ahead,\" Yoshiko said. \"In fact, I'll stand right here and wait. Your husband owes a legitimate debt. I have the right to collect it. Who will the magistrate punish if you wake him in the night?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Only a wicked woman would use her status in this way,\" Basho's wife hissed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You disgrace your family and your class.\"\n\nHiro expected Yoshiko to kill the older woman on the spot. No commoner could legally insult a samurai. Instead, he heard a heavy crash and the shimmering hiss of rice against the floor." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No!\" Hama gasped." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A second barrel crashed to the floor.\n\n\"No, please,\" Basho's wife moaned, \"I'm sorry—I apologize! Please stop, before you ruin us. We cannot sell the rice once it's been soiled.\"\n\n\"Give me the money,\" Yoshiko said.\n\nHiro clenched his fist at his side." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Yoshiko would destroy the shop in her search for Basho's money." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The law protected her right to collect a debt, but her bullying tactics turned the shinobi's stomach. Unfortunately, Hiro could not intervene without Yoshiko's wanting an explanation and also recognizing that he wore assassin's clothes.\n\nThe samurai woman would not forgive his interference, either way. Any intervention would embarrass Yoshiko in front of Hama." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiro knew how quickly infatuation could shift to loathing, and he didn't want to think about the emotional outburst that might follow if he pushed Yoshiko over that razor's edge." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Inside the shop, another barrel crashed onto the floor.\n\nHiro looked around the street, hoping someone would appear. He thought he saw a shadow move in a darkened upstairs window, but it didn't move again, and no one came into the street.\n\nHe cringed at the sound of Yoshiko's geta crushing the merchant's rice." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His training told him to stay in the alley, silent and unobserved, but a deeper instinct revolted against the unjust injury the woman caused." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "At times, a sense of justice proved an inconvenient traveling companion.\n\nJust as Hiro drew a breath and prepared to intervene, a high-pitched cry and the patter of footsteps echoed in the street.\n\nA shadow darted across the road and into Basho's shop. Moments later, a human body hit the floor." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Wooden scabbards clattered and Yoshiko's voice cried out in startled pain." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I will not let you hurt these people!\" Suke yelled. \"You bad kitsune!\"\n\nThe female samurai tried to speak, but her words sounded muffled, as if someone pressed her face against the floor.\n\nHiro longed to look but didn't dare expose himself to view." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The law grants you the right to collect,\" Suke said, \"but not to ruin a merchant's rice without good cause!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Get off me!\" Yoshiko's words were clearer but sounded strained.\n\n\"No,\" Suke replied.\n\nHiro leaned around the corner.\n\nHama stood inside the entrance, holding a lantern that illuminated a startling scene." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Akechi Yoshiko lay face down on the wooden floor." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Suke perched atop her back like the monkey king on his golden throne. He twisted the female samurai's arm in a way that caused significant pain if Yoshiko moved at all.\n\nGrains of rice and overturned barrels lay on the floor around them.\n\n\"Let me up right now,\" Yoshiko snarled." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If I do,\" Suke said, \"will you leave this shop alone?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Her husband—OW!\" Yoshiko's words became a yell as Suke pulled her arm a little higher.\n\n\"We will pay you,\" Hama said, \"I promise. But we haven't got the money now. Matsunaga Hisahide raised our taxes just this month. We had to call in all our loans, and even then we couldn't pay the bill.\"\n\n\"Not my problem.\" Yoshiko turned her head and glared at Suke. \"Get off my back, old man!\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "expand on the story like Susan Spann would" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Basho looked at his lantern and murmured, \"I didn't want Kaoru arrested... because of his mother.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "That wasn't the answer Hiro expected. \"What do you mean? Explain yourself!\"\n\n\"I knew Mina—Kaoru's mother—before she married.\" Basho gestured toward the shutters." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Her father owned the shop across the street and two doors down. I wanted to marry her, but her father chose Chikao instead of me.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You stopped an arrest because you care about some drunkard's mother?\" Hiro asked.\n\n\"You don't have to believe me,\" Basho said. \"But it's the truth.\"\n\n\"What did you learn on your little walk?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiro narrowed his eyes at the merchant." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Kaoru talked about calling upon the angry ghosts of Ginjiro's ancestors and how a selfish man would always pay for his selfish ways. He said, 'We'll see how big Ginjiro feels when he's lost everything.' Ginjiro is another sake brewer.\"\n\n\"I know who he is,\" Hiro hissed. \"Enough delay. Tell me who killed Chikao.\"\n\n\"I swear, I do not know.\" Basho looked desperate." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If you truly knew nothing, you wouldn't have guessed that he was the man I meant.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hiro drew his wakizashi. \"Would you remember more with a blade at your neck?\"\n\n\"Please,\" Basho whimpered. \"I don't know who killed him. I swear. I was told that he died but nothing more. Please, I have a family...\"\n\nHiro believed the merchant but needed to ensure his silence." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He placed the point of his sword on Basho's stomach." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You will never mention this conversation. Not to anyone, including your wife.\"\n\n\"I won't breathe a word.\" Tears spilled over Basho's eyelids, but the merchant didn't dare wipe them away. \"I swear I won't.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I hope not,\" Hiro said, \"because I will know, and even a word is more than your life is worth.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He sheathed his sword, slid the shutters open, and dashed away into the night. When he reached the opposite side of the road, he hid in the shadows and watched Basho close up the shop. He didn't leave until the locks slid into place with a click that echoed through the midnight silence.\n\nHiro didn't worry about Basho discussing his visit." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Kyoto's bandit clans showed mercy to people who held their tongues, but none to those who talked." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Basho would never risk his family's safety, or his own, by telling tales.\n\nUnfortunately, the merchant's words had not revealed as much as Hiro hoped. The shinobi considered the story as he made his way home through the darkened streets and alleys.\n\nEven if ghosts existed—and Hiro did not believe they did—the dead would not obey the commands of the living." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Father Mateo's religion claimed that people could speak with a holy ghost, but the priest didn't say he could bend the ghost to his will." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "On the contrary, the Jesuit claimed it worked the other way around.\n\nHowever, the part about Ginjiro's losing everything suggested a real threat and also implicated Kaoru. Hiro might have dismissed the story as a drunken flight of fancy, but the words meshed well enough with the facts to make him wonder why Chikao returned to Ginjiro's brewery the night he died—and whether or not he truly returned alone.\n\nSomeone in Kyoto knew what happened in that alley." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiro had to find out who and make that person talk—and he had less than half a day in which to do it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He wished he could have asked Basho what time Kaoru left the Golden Buddha on the night Chikao died, but the question would have sounded too suspicious coming from a bandit's lips.\n\nHe would have to learn the answer another way.\n\nWhen he reached the bridge at Sanjō Road he found half a dozen samurai standing guard. Given the explosion and the missing guard, he expected more." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiro waited in the shadows until the guards distracted themselves in conversation." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When they did, he scurried off to cross the river farther north.\n\nOnly a single samurai guarded the bridge at Marutamachi Road. The guards must have decided Hiro's bombs were an isolated incident, worthy of extra guards at that location but nothing more.\n\nHiro slipped under the western end of the bridge and considered his options." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He doubted his physician act would work so close to home." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The guards who patrolled this bridge had seen him in the past, or else would see him in the future, making the lie too great a risk.\n\nExplosive charges wouldn't help him either. One exploding lantern was coincidence. Two explosions in one night meant sabotage." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiro wanted to get across the bridge, but not enough to generate a citywide alert." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A shadow moved in the street to the west of the bridge. Hiro watched it from his hiding place among the pilings. The shadow didn't move like a tree or with the measured pace of a human being or a horse. The movements came at intervals, and without repetition, in the manner of a spy who wanted to remain unseen." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Nervous excitement loosened Hiro's joints and pooled in his stomach." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Whoever approached the bridge did so with the stealth and speed of a highly trained shinobi.\n\nHiro took a long, slow breath to counteract the energy that lit his veins on fire. Many shinobi worked in Kyoto, rivals as well as those from his own ryu.\n\nUnfortunately, a shinobi heading east on Marutamachi Road at night suggested only two potential targets—and only one if the assassin crossed the bridge." }, { "from": "human", "value": "If that happened, Hiro would have to kill the spy before he reached the house where Father Mateo lived." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The other shinobi approached the river slowly, with the subtlety of a master. Hiro tracked the assassin's movements with interest, wondering how the rival shinobi planned to cross the bridge. He doubted the assassin would swim the river. Not only would the samurai guard see someone in the water, but soaking clothes would leave a trail—a fatal error no trained spy would make." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The shadow reached the final house before the bridge and disappeared into the yard." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hiro fixed his eyes on the spot and waited. Nothing moved.\n\nPerhaps the assassin wasn't after the Jesuit after all.\n\nHiro breathed a sigh of relief and reprimanded himself for the assumption.\n\nAs the surge of excitement left his muscles, Hiro wondered who lived in the house at the end of the street." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He stared at the building but saw no clues to the owner's identity." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He saw no sign of the assassin, either. No light shone through the latticed windows. No foliage moved in the yard.\n\nHiro turned his thoughts to the river and how to cross it safely." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A woman's scream shattered the silence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hiro tensed. The scream came from inside the final house before the river—the one the shinobi assassin entered.\n\n\"Help!\" the woman screamed again. \"Help me! Help! A thief!\"\n\nGeta thumped on the wooden bridge as the samurai guard responded to the cry." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "I'll be your writing partner today. I will set the scene, and you will continue the story with four sentences, channeling the voice and techniques of Susan Spann.i'll kick things off by writing a bit, then you'll take over and write the next four sentences in the distinctive voice of Susan Spann.Ive got a bit of writers block, im gonna send you something then keep it going four sentences at a time, also im going for a Susan Spann sorta thing." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A second surge of adrenaline shocked Hiro's system as the assassin's footsteps pattered overhead. When they faded into silence, Hiro hurried out from his hiding place and pursued the strange shinobi across the bridge.\n\nAs he ran, he caught a glimpse of the assassin disappearing into the shadows on Marutamachi Road.\n\nHiro didn't stop running until he reached the torii gate at Okazaki Shrine." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There, he paused in the shadows to listen." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He heard crickets and cicadas, nothing more. He hoped his race across the bridge alerted the assassin to his presence. Most shinobi abandoned a mission, temporarily at least, if someone saw them approaching the target's home.\n\nHe moved along the street, staying in the darkness when he could." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Although he hoped the assassin had disappeared, Hiro didn't trust his hopes any more than he trusted assumptions." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Lights flickered behind the oiled paper windows of Father Mateo's home. The sight released a bit of the tension binding Hiro's chest. A shinobi would wait for the lights to go out before infiltrating the residence.\n\nHiro paused and watched for movement in the shadows." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The house on the opposite side of the street from the Jesuit's was dark and silent." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hiro found himself suddenly grateful for the neighbor's akita. The assassin could not approach from that direction without triggering a fit of angry barking.\n\nSomething moved in the shadows near the fence that circled Father Mateo's yard. Hiro watched with horror as the strange shinobi approached the gate and slipped into the garden without a sound." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As Hiro started toward the fence, he realized that Matsunaga Hisahide might have sent the assassin after Luis Álvares, believing the merchant's death would stop the weapon sale to the Miyoshi." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "That left Hiro with yet another ethical dilemma. He loathed Luis on a personal level but didn't think the Portuguese merchant deserved to die. Not unless his death would save the priest.\n\nThe Iga ryu didn't care about the merchant, and the unknown client who paid for Hiro's services had never mentioned Luis Álvares." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Even so, no other shinobi would harm the Jesuit's household on Hiro's watch." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A shout would send the assassin running, but he would return, perhaps at a time when Hiro did not expect him.\n\nHiro didn't intend to let his enemy slip away.\n\nA shinobi would notice someone following him through the garden gate, so Hiro slipped into the neighbors' yard and climbed an ancient cherry tree that sent its questing branches across the wall. From the relative safety of the tree, he peered into the Jesuit's yard." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A shadowed figure stood on the veranda outside Father Mateo's room." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Jesuit's silhouette flickered on the paper panels, separated from the assassin by only a flimsy shoji.\n\nThe strange shinobi reached for the Jesuit's door.\n\nHiro retrieved a shuriken from a pocket inside his sleeve. He preferred to use the metal stars as fistload weapons, not projectiles, but he had no time to close the distance now." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He measured the distance carefully." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In daylight, and without obstructions, Hiro could strike a fatal blow to the man on the porch with ease. Tonight he had to make the throw in darkness and through branches, and he didn't know how quickly this assassin would react.\n\nHiro drew a preparatory breath.\n\nThe strange shinobi pivoted, and Hiro saw his opponent's face." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was Ozuru." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hiro threw the shuriken but knew as he released it that the star would miss its target. He leaped from the tree and hit the ground as the metal star embedded itself in the porch with a silent thump.\n\n\"Don't move.\" Hiro jumped to the veranda and drew his sword. \"I missed the throw on purpose. I will kill you if you run.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ozuru raised his empty hands." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"We have no dispute, Matsui-san.\"\n\n\"We do,\" Hiro said, \"if you attempt to kill a man that I protect.\"\n\nOzuru lowered his hands to his sides. \"I came to warn you, not to kill the priest.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiro didn't believe him—not yet, anyway. \"Deliver your warning.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ozuru's gaze flickered from Hiro's blade to the spots on his clothing. His eyes narrowed. He met Hiro's gaze and nodded, accepting Hiro's decision not to lower the sword.\n\n\"Hisahide has refused the Miyoshi daimyo's demand to surrender Kyoto. War is now inevitable. If the Miyoshi start that war with Portuguese firearms, Hisahide will declare this household guilty of treason. He will execute the merchant and the priest.\"\n\n\"The Miyoshi weapons order has been cancelled,\" Hiro said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Hisahide has no cause to blame the Portuguese. Not the ones in this house, anyway.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ozuru drew back in surprise. \"Cancelled? When?\"\n\n\"Yesterday,\" Hiro said. \"The merchant does not want to start a war.\"\n\n\"My sources claim the sale proceeds on schedule,\" Ozuru said, \"and that your merchant simply arranged for a different Portuguese to deliver the firearms to the Miyoshi stronghold.\"\n\nHiro hid his chagrin behind an innocent expression." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You cannot blame Luis if another merchant revives a cancelled sale.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Matsunaga Hisahide will not consider that a cancellation,\" Ozuru said.\n\n\"I appreciate the warning.\" Hiro wondered what the Koga ryu would gain from helping Hiro save the Jesuit and Luis. The respect and passive truce between the Iga shinobi and Ozuru's Koga ryu did not explain the other man's behavior." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Somehow, the priest's survival—or the merchant's—benefited Koga's plans." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hiro sheathed his sword.\n\nOzuru's expression softened. \"Koga desires stability in Kyoto. Foreign deaths will divide the city, creating opportunities for enemies far more dangerous than the Miyoshi.\"\n\n\"You mean Oda Nobunaga,\" Hiro said.\n\n\"And others.\" Ozuru paused." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Ashikaga Yoshiaki has left Nara.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The former shogun's brother?\" Hiro frowned. \"Can a monk lay claim to the shogunate?\"\n\n\"Yoshiaki renounced his vows when he left the temple,\" Ozuru said. \"Rumors say he does intend to claim the shogunate.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"How much truth do these rumors hold?\" Hiro asked." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ozuru shook his head. He would reveal no more. \"You should leave Kyoto quickly, with the merchant and the priest. This city is no longer safe for you.\"\n\n\"I understand.\" Hiro bowed but kept Ozuru's hands in sight. \"And thank you.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Do not thank me. I was never here.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ozuru sprinted to the wall and disappeared over the top without a sound.\n\nHiro hoped he would move as smoothly when he reached Ozuru's age.\n\nThe door behind Hiro slid open. Father Mateo stepped onto the porch." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I heard voices.\" The Jesuit looked around the yard." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 2 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Where did he go?\"\n\n\"I don't know what you mean,\" Hiro said. \"It's only me.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "I'll be your writing partner today. I will set the scene, and you will continue the story with 4 sentences, channeling the voice and techniques of Susan Spann.i'll kick things off by writing a bit, then you'll take over and write the next 4 sentences in the distinctive voice of Susan Spann.Ive got a bit of writers block, im gonna send you something then keep it going 4 sentences at a time, also im going for a Susan Spann sorta thing." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"There is something I don't understand,\" Father Mateo said to Hiro as they walked down Marutamachi Road toward home." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"How did you know that Ren would confess his knowledge of the murder weapon?\"\n\n\"I didn't,\" Hiro said, \"but he mentioned the sake flask this morning, back at the Lucky Monkey, and I knew he needed the murder 'solved' as soon as possible. He had the money in his room and couldn't keep it there for long because of the risk of theft. He needed to either repay the loan or purchase another brewery, but he also needed a killer punished so no one would be watching him too closely.\"\n\n\"Surely Mina would ask where Ren got the money to buy a brewery?\" Father Mateo asked.\n\n\"Mina intends to become a nun. She wouldn't have noticed what Ren did thereafter.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiro paused to hold his breath as they passed the smoldering incense at the gates to Okazaki Shrine." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"But how did you know Yoshiko wasn't the killer?\" Father Mateo rubbed at the scar on his neck. \"Or Kaoru? We never did find out for sure that Ginjiro didn't hire a guard.\"\n\n\"The money tells the tale,\" Hiro said. \"A sum that big will change a person's behavior every time." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Kaoru yelled at his mother about money yesterday." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He wouldn't have done that if he had taken the money from Chikao. He'd have coins in his purse, and since he didn't consider the future, he wouldn't have felt the need to complain right now.\n\n\"Yoshiko would have taken the money to pay off Kaoru's debt. She wouldn't have left it on the body and wouldn't have continued to complain about the debt." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She would have made up a story about Chikao paying her before he died." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your next one should be approximately one sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"In the end, that left only Ren.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Task: Cooperative storytelling\nMy role: Provide a brief opening\nYour role: Expand upon my opening with 4 sentences, emulating the writing style of Katherine M. Lawrence." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Long before it was called Japan,\n\nthe island empire was known\n\nto the world as Akitsushima,\n\nthe Autumn Creek Land," } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Provide 4 sentences as a continuation." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And as the lilting melody echoed across the gardens, Yamabuki found herself inside the open, high-ceilinged shinden of the Palace of Black Plums, where everyone in her family sat with the daimyō, each in order of rank: first, the Dowager; next, Yamabuki's mother, Lady Taka; then Yamabuki's uncle, the daimyō's brother, Prince Tachibana, with his highest ranking wife, Yuma, and their eldest child, Atsumichi, who was even younger than Yamabuki and accordingly wore the expected feminine gossamer veils of a royal son many years away from majority. The solid black-lacquered wooden shōji were slid aside, and in the broad hisashi corridor others of the Taka retinue knelt at various distances further from the daimyō, as protocol required.\n\nA tray of the delicacy fugu was brought forth and, as was the custom, offered to the daimyō first.\n\nLaughingly, Giichi said, \"Oh, Tennō! Fugu must be correctly cleaned. I can't let you eat a fish without making sure no poison lingers. So\"—and he reached for a random piece of the fish—\"please forgive me and let me taste it before you.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The flute melody continued as he lifted the morsel into his own mouth." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He smiled as he chewed.\n\nAnd then his eyes grew round. He gagged, fighting to draw breath. He reached for his throat." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He tried to make words, but they came out garbled." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Here and there, laughter erupted. But then Giichi fell forward, crashing onto the food trays.\n\nYamabuki, now seeing herself as a very young child sitting among the retinue, screamed in terror.\n\nAs Giichi fought for every breath, her father leapt to him, rolling him over, meeting his retainer's eyes, which grew evermore panicked." }, { "from": "human", "value": "For the first and perhaps only time ever, Yamabuki saw her father look helpless." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"His stomach! Cut his stomach,\" Etsu shouted, pulling his dagger.\n\nLady Taka rose up. \"No! That will kill him for sure.\"\n\nSome people put fingers down their own throats to induce vomiting, even though they had not eaten any of the fish." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Others shouted, calling for action, but what action should they take?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Atsumichi sat sobbing into his sleeve.\n\n\"Calm yourselves!\" the daimyō barked.\n\nPrince Tachibana grabbed his sword and rose up in one motion.\n\nYamabuki again moved like a disembodied spirit, floating after Tachibana." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In a few strides, her uncle was out of the shinden, storming down a covered walkway across the estate grounds and into the kitchen, where fifteen people, all members of the chief food preparer's family, stood stunned." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Who?\" Tachibana demanded.\n\n\"You—\" stammered the chief of food, who held a boning knife at his side.\n\nThe prince's sword flashed, and blood flew in every direction. The old man fell dead." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Sword still at the ready, Tachibana looked for his next target: the old man's son, who had stopped in the midst of cleaning more fugu." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Nooo!\" the dead man's wife screamed. Crying in anguish, she threw herself around the youth, shielding his body with her own.\n\n\"Stand aside,\" Tachibana thundered, lifting his blade high, \"or I swear I'll take both of you with one cut!\"\n\nThe woman remained frozen." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Lady Taka burst into the room." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Hold!\" She placed herself between Prince Tachibana and the would-be victims. \"Put your weapon aside! Dead men can't be interrogated.\"\n\nTachibana snarled, but Lady Taka stood her ground and glared back.\n\nThe scene faded. Giichi and all those in the Palace of Black Plums vanished, as did the melody." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Yamabuki opened her eyes." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She lay near the irori in the guesthouse. The room was as dim as ever. I was dreaming. A coal in the irori popped and flared, and the bright yellowish flame flooded even the darkest corners of the room. The outer door slid open." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A figure stood framed in the entry." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 1 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yamabuki gulped. \"Blue Rice?\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Mode:\nCo-writing\n\nLength:\n4 sentences\n\nStyle:\nKatherine M. Lawrence" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Tiger Cub whispered as it cleaved the air. Three cuts merged into a single blur. Misaki's two fingers dropped straight to the floor. Plop. Plop. She wiped her blade with a piece of paper and slid her sword back into its sheath. Everyone stood frozen." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Misaki grimaced, but to his credit made no sound." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Did she miss?\" Yo-ichi whispered meekly.\n\nTaro went to Misaki's feet. \"She didn't miss. Clean cuts of a master swordsman,\" Taro declared as he lifted away the ten severed toes, throwing them toward the open back door. On all fours, he moved over to inspect the stumps where Misaki's fingers had been—and pulled back, gagging." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"More!\" He pointed to what remained of the little finger." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You were conscientious samurai-sama. Some's left. Just a tiny bit.\"\n\nYamabuki eyed the nub of bone—white flesh that did not even ooze. It was an angular piece that protruded uncomfortably close to the healthy digits. If she let herself be careless and nicked his adjacent drawstring fingers, Misaki would never draw a bow again." }, { "from": "human", "value": "If she was passing sentence in her home province for killing Blue Rice, would she now demand he forfeit more?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yet again Yamabuki grimly centered herself. The blade flew. Misaki hardly flinched. Taro bent down a second time for another sniff. \"Perfect!\"\n\nHe grabbed the iron pike from the forge." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The smell of hot metal filled the air." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Brace yourself,\" Taro warned. He pressed the pike's dull red tip against the raw toe stumps.\n\nMisaki gasped, pulling against the tethers. Burning flesh added to the odor of metal and rot." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Taro quickly pulled the pike away." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Mari,\" He commanded. Immediately she packed handfuls of snow over the burnt area. The snow reddened. \"Still some blood there.\" Taro drew a pre-threaded needle from his tunic. He spat on the thread, pushing the snow aside and began to sew, moving from stump to stump, wound to wound, stitching points only where blood still oozed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Yamabuki marveled. Though his fingers and hands were hardened and thick from wielding a hammer, Taro's sewing proved deft and artful." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The air increasingly carried a pungent reek. Yamabuki stepped toward the back door, vowing to hold her gorge until she got outside. She looked down, for it helped contain the nausea—except that now her eyes came to rest on the white frozen toe remnants glistening in the daylight. In three long strides, she headed toward the guesthouse." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Out in the daylight, she doubled over and lost the content of her stomach." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "After nothing more came up, she cleared her mouth of the remnants of spit-up rice and bitter broth with a handful of fresh snow.\n\nWhen she re-entered the armory, the putrid odor had all but vanished. None of the severed toes and fingers were anywhere in sight. Mari threw something into the forge and a sizzling sound arose." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Misaki lay very still, his eyes closed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She had heard from seasoned warriors that sometimes people died from blows not judged to be fatal, seemingly survivable blows, but which once delivered, jolted the victim's spirit loose.\n\n\"He dead?\"\n\nTaro said, \"He's had enough for the moment. Let him be. He'll be awake soon enough.\"\n\nAs for the dead kashira, someone had covered him in another blanket." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She turned and gazed out the doorway at the shimmering snow beyond." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "So beautiful. But such beauty took the lives of the men on the pass, and even one of the survivors had succumbed later to its touch. In fact, but for her sword, no one would have survived.\n\nHer hand gripped Tiger Cub's hilt, curling around the wrapping until her fingers blanched. Yukiyasu's steel was not unlike the snowy morning. Shimmering. Blinding." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Deadly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She released a breath. Only now, after she had killed men in battle and saved a life in need, did Nakagawa's lesson become clear in her mind: \"The sword becomes part of the person who wields it.\"\n\nIt was not the sword that determined whether an act was wanton or compassionate. She, not Tiger Claw, had struck down the men yesterday." }, { "from": "human", "value": "And she, not Tiger Cub, had removed Misaki's rotting flesh." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Her actions—and to a large extent the course of events around her—were up to her. Not only did she have a hand in her own fate. Her decisions changed the fate of others.\n\n\"What a morning,\" Taro sighed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I would have started polishing your tachi except—\" He pointed toward Misaki." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You said you'd have it today.\"\n\n\"Hai.\" Taro brightened. \"But I did mend your armor, samurai-sama.\"\n\n\"My armor? Already?\" She perked up." }, { "from": "human", "value": "On a trellis-like wooden work rack, Yamabuki's dark green yoroi hung by knotted ropes." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She touched the dō, running her hand across the spot where Shima's nodachi had ripped apart the kozane. The leather lacing connecting the platelets was not just mended—the entire chest protector bore not the slightest hint of a tear. The silk was perfectly matched. Taro had completely restored the armor—as new as the day she had left the Taka compound on this journey." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Taro beamed at her obvious approval and change of mood." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I would like to be fitted,\" the Taka princess declared.\n\n\"Eiji! Fuyuki!\" Taro called. \"Make yourselves useful!\"\n\nThe two young men ran up as Taro offered to hold Tiger Cub. The boys immediately set to work, retrieving the suneate from the rack and kneeling to attach them to her shins." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They fastened to her body each armor component methodically and efficiently as Taro supervised the work, saying, \"I admit, I was up all last night, but the armor's intricate and expert construction was sufficiently fascinating to keep me awake. Once I started working the new odoshi through the kozane, I lost all track of time.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 1 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The boys' tugged on the leather and jerked the silk ties, though no more firmly than did her handmaids back home." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Write 4 sentences sentences in the style of Katherine M. Lawrence spawning from what the user wrote." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The omamori had been his gift to Shima, a blessing before the Gods, a token of love for the sword master who had given him so much." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Now write approximately five sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When he had glimpsed Shima the morning before, as the sword master stomped his way down Foot Trail before vanishing all to quickly—as had the Taka princess—Saburo did not fully apprehend how much Shima had aged.\n\nBut later that day, when he had come upon Shima's body lying dead on the muddy North Road, Saburo saw the cruel marks of time.\n\nShima's hair had turned white. He had shorn it completely, and also his beard. Mere stubble remained—all that was left of the soft hair that had once caressed Saburo's skin." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Task: The user will write a bit then you need to write around 4 sentences continuing directly from the user's text.\n\nAuthor style: Katherine M. Lawrence" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[ Full Moon of Long Month, 4 October 1153 ]" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Like many a youth who leaves home, Saburo had no plan beyond his flight. He had the foresight to bring ten fat plums along. Well before dusk, ten plum pits littered the road behind him.\n\nSoon, no doubt, his father and brothers would be out on the road looking for him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He avoided settlements and hurried past farms, fearing the locals might be turned into informers by the Kinu family when they made inquiries." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Did you see a boy with a deformed eye?\"\n\nHowever, once the road headed into the mountains, farmhouses were less frequent and settlements nonexistent. And as the land grew ever steeper, even the random dwellings disappeared altogether. When night fell, his family had not as yet caught up with him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In fact, he saw no sign of human activity along the mountain road." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He smelled no smoke from cook fires, nor the scent of farm animals or tilled fields.\n\nBenighted along an isolated stretch of road as empty as his belly, Saburo stole into the brush and down a slight ravine, where he found a dry mossy tree. He leaned against it and slept propped upright with one eye open, regretting that he did not bring the small dagger with him. He passed the long and lonely night wrestling with the thought of returning home." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was his wish for food more than anything that set him to think in this way." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The dawn was cold in the mountains and, having shivered most of the night, he waited for the sun to rise and warm the land before setting out. He pondered. The mountains were much more lonely than he had pictured. He weighed whether he should head up over the pass or turn back toward the settlements and see if he could find something to eat.\n\nMaybe he could find a farm where they needed help, but then again what skills did he have that anyone would want?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "All he knew was how to put mulberry leaves into trays." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "That and boiling cocoons. Besides, that was what he was running away from.\n\nHe straightened himself out and made his way out of the brush. He decided that when he got to the road he would throw a stick into the air and, depending on which way it pointed when it landed, he would strike out in that direction." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Had he asked his stomach, it would have pointed him back down the hills to the settlements, irrespective of the throw." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He heard someone coming. A light step. Not trudging. He squatted down, hiding behind the rise. Was it his father? His brothers?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Maybe they were coming to beg him to come back, sorry for what they had done." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Sorry that they had made him run away. But then another thought crossed his mind. Maybe they were here to drag him back. Laugh even more. Torment him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Beat him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Saburo held his breath as the sound drew nearer. The stalks he hid behind made it hard to see clearly, but that was good, for they hid Saburo equally well.\n\nHe saw a shape. Just one person. Another boy." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Someone about as young as he." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Not anyone Saburo knew. Dressed in fine clothes. Saburo saw a flash of indigo. Expensive kimono lining. The boy had a short sword tucked through his sash." }, { "from": "human", "value": "And he walked with purpose, seeming to know where he was going. A confident step." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It wasn't long before the other boy disappeared up the road.\n\nForgetting all about throwing any sticks in the air, Saburo slipped out of the scrub and followed, but back far enough that he would not be seen, ducking now and then into the weeds and brush or hiding behind trees. Every once in a while, the other boy would pause in the road and then resume walking.\n\nIn the thick upland woods, the boy with the sword stopped at a small roadside Shintō shrine." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He turned, looked in Saburo's direction, then called out loudly to no one in particular, \"There's sweet water here!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Saburo ducked his head down.\n\n\"Why are you holding back?\" The boy with the sword waved his arm. \"I know you've been following me since the Hour of the Dragon. What are you afraid of? This?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He pulled the sword, still in its scabbard, and set it down on some grass." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He then opened his arms in a gesture of peace.\n\nSaburo hesitantly stepped out into the road, but he did not go any closer.\n\n\"It's fresh-running and cool.\" The boy cupped some of the flowing water in his hands, but it dribbled out from his fingers." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Looks like you'll have to get it for yourself.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Saburo thought about it. Water. His thirst was strong, and though he could have waited for the other boy to move on, something about his smile and easy manner helped Saburo overcome any doubts.\n\nAs Saburo approached, the other boy stepped away, extending one arm toward the spring in a gesture of invitation, as if the spring belonged to him. The first sound other than Saburo's own feet in the dirt was the sound of gurgling water." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The first scent other than the road dust was the fragrance of moist earth." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Honoring the spring was the entire purpose of the small Shintō shrine. Saburo took it in at a glance: two red-lacquered uprights and a crossbeam painted the same color, all finely made and maintained.\n\nThe boy said, \"Put your mouth to the crack in the rock and drink from the sairyū.\" The rivulet.\n\nWithout ceremony, Saburo put his lips against the opening." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Delicious! He drank his fill, then turned to look at the boy." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Good?\" the boy asked.\n\n\"Good,\" Saburo answered with a nod.\n\n\"You're headed over the pass too?\"\n\n\"Hai.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"My name's Aka-rui.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'm Saburo.\"\n\n\"There's a temple at the summit,\" said Aka-rui.\n\n\"You have traveled over this road before,\" said Saburo, now sure why Aka-rui walked with such confidence.\n\n\"No.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Saburo frowned, puzzled." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Aka-rui pointed uphill at a roadside wooden post with calligraphy. \"It says so there. Mountain River Mouth Temple.\"\n\n\"Ha!\" Aka-rui brightened. \"You don't know the scripts?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Saburo looked down." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"But it's easy,\" Aka-rui said, and he pointed with his fingers. \"Focus on each piece. First, See the wavy lines? Kawa, just like a river:\n\nSaburo nodded, understanding for the first time." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Aka-rui had broken down the calligraphy into three parts." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His abilities impressed Saburo, who had been taught nothing of reading the symbols.\n\n\"The next one's hard,\" Aka-rui said, frowning, \"so at first you'll just have to remember it. Temple:\n\n\"Mountain River Mouth Temple,\" Saburo recited.\n\n\"Yamakuchikawa-jiin,\" Aka-rui repeated. \"I really don't know many calligraphies.\" He snorted." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Just a few. Come on. Let's go see this temple.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Aka-rui grabbed his scabbard and stuffed it back through his sash.\n\nAfter walking together in silence for some time, Aka-rui asked, \"You leaving your family?\"\n\nSaburo wondered if it was so easy to see. Do I wear it on my face?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Aka-rui said, \"Me too.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He added, \"My father's a drunk.\"\n\nSaburo's mouth hung open.\n\n\"Actually he's a warrior,\" said Aka-rui. \"Yours?\"\n\n\"Silk maker.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Mine's always angry. Beats me with fists. Your father beats you too, no?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes, but not with fists.\"\n\n\"With a stick? That hurts too. I know.\"\n\n\"With words.\"\n\n\"Hmm. Is that worse or better?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Aka-rui asked only himself, for he was now not really looking at Saburo." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Saburo answered anyway. \"Different is all, I guess.\" He was surprised to find himself speaking so openly. \"When you're little, you believe that that's the way the world is for everyone, but when you get older, you see it's only that way for you. They only hate and hurt you.\"\n\n\"My father was far more generous,\" Aka-rui said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"He beat my brothers too. Sometimes even my mother. There was plenty of beating. Lucky for us, he was away with the armies a lot.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Aka-rui laughed darkly. \"But he made up for it when he got home. See?\" He pulled back his right tunic sleeve and flexed his arm. \"It doesn't go all the way anymore. He did that when he threw me one time. I landed against a boulder. Never healed right.\"\n\nSaburo did not have words." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Aka-rui studied Saburo's face." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You said he didn't beat you, but...\" He pointed to his own right eye like a mirror indicating Saburo's imperfection. \"Did he do that to you?\"\n\nSaburo gulped. He had never considered it. He had always been told the Gods had made him this way in the beginning." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Aka-rui went on to describe one of his own brothers who looked much the same as Saburo." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Maybe that's why I feel I can speak to you. You resemble him, except he lost his power to make words. Something happened inside after his head was dented.\"\n\nSaburo looked deep into Aka-rui's eyes. Indeed, they were without malice.\n\n\"All I want now is to be free,\" Aka-rui concluded." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You? What do you want?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Saburo said nothing. His thoughts were racing back to the mulberry groves. Then he thought about himself. Had he always looked this way? Was his right eye always slightly sunken in, the side of his head slightly deformed?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He could not remember." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He finally said, \"I'm not sure. I don't think anyone ever hit me. Not like that.\"\n\nBoth boys again fell silent as they walked up the steepening road.\n\nSaburo slowed. \"Look.\"\n\nHe pointed at what he saw ahead—a white-haired man pulling uphill a small two-wheel cart filled to the brim with large sacks of fresh late-summer vegetables and grains." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The two boys shot looks to each other." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Shall we help? It was not in expectation of payment, or even the promise of a peach or plum. It was something rural boys simply knew they had to do when they saw an elder who struggled.\n\n\"Oji-san,\" they called out as they increased their step. \"May we help?\"\n\nThe old man looked over his shoulder, continuing to pull the cart along." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He was dressed in a simple workman's tunic." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"We're headed for the summit,\" said Saburo.\n\n\"So am I,\" the grandfatherly man said with a short laugh. \"Where else would any of us be going?\"\n\nAka-rui moved behind the cart to push it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Saburo grabbed one haul-pole." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Immediately the cart picked up speed. It wasn't long at all before the sun was directly overhead, and the old man, the boys, and the cart came to a place where the road flattened out—a passage, a cut, actually, wedged between steep hills in a wooded area.\n\nA Shintō temple and monastery sat perched on the northern slope. Ten to fifteen buildings painted red or left natural wood rose along the hill, one behind the other, each structure having a commanding view of the western valleys." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The roofs were milk-stone green." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A wooden-slat frame wall filled in with thatching surrounded the temple's perimeter. Vivid blue, green, white, red, and yellow prayer flags flew prominently. The smell of pine fires mixed with the mountain air. Thick forest filled the land all around." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A waterfall dropped from a high vertical wall, no doubt the primal source of the spring waters they had drunk earlier." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It's beautiful here,\" Saburo said.\n\n\"Some think so,\" said the old man.\n\n\"This is Mountain River Mouth Temple!\" said Aka-rui.\n\n\"Not quite,\" said the old man." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Rock River Temple. Iwakawa-jiin. But maybe this place is good. Maybe the Buddha put you on this road, on this path, on this day.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He eyed the boys. \"You brothers?\"\n\nThey shook their heads.\n\n\"Didn't think so. You don't look very much alike. Where're you headed?\"\n\n\"To Heian-kyō,\" said Aka-rui." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Oh?\" The old man sounded genuinely interested. \"Why's that?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It's the Imperial City,\" said Aka-rui. \"The Son of Heaven lives there. It's the most beautiful city anywhere. A city fit for the Emperor.\"\n\n\"You've been there? Either of you?\"\n\nThe boys shook their heads." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The old man looked at them closely." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Parts of the city, where the kuge live, are filled with many comforts, if you are kuge. Other parts aren't even finished. There are robbers who run freely. Even the law is afraid of them, and when the law does come out in number to catch the thieves, the ruffians disappear like rats. That is until the soldiers go back, and then the robbers come out and go back to robbery.\"\n\nThe boys looked at the old man in surprise.\n\n\"Yes,\" he nodded. \"I was born there. I left long ago. You boys leaving to go to a place you know nothing about?\"\n\nThe boys said nothing." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Two runaways?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Again, they said nothing. Saburo lowered his head. This old man seemed to know everything about them.\n\nAka-rui's stomach suddenly growled." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He laughed at himself." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You hungry?\" the old man asked.\n\n\"I just ate,\" said Aka-rui in samurai fashion.\n\nThe man nodded and pulled his cart toward the side of the temple. \"This is where my load is bound.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He pointed in the other direction, toward a series of stone steps some distance away." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If you are hungry, perhaps the priests will feed you. That's where you enter. You know what to do?\"\n\n\"Rinse our mouths,\" said Aka-rui.\n\n\"Clap to let the Gods know we've arrived,\" said Saburo.\n\n\"When you're greeted at the gate, tell them you are here to see the bettō, Abbot Nin-tai. Maybe you'll even get fed.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Task: The user will write a bit then you need to write around four sentences continuing directly from the user's text.\n\nAuthor style: Katherine M. Lawrence" }, { "from": "human", "value": "During his three years in Buzen Prefecture, Saburo uncovered a great deal of information about the warrior-monks who had killed Nin-tai and Aka-rui." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It turned out they were not monks at all, but had risen up from being low-level enforcers, likely hinin, the bottom of the social order. Their group was known as the Zodiac, and they were notorious.\n\nOriginally there had been twelve of them, and each man had taken delight in adopting the name of an astrological beast: Dragon, Viper, Stallion, Ram, Monkey, Hawk, Wolf, Wild Boar, Rat, Ox, Tiger, and Rabbit. How or why they decided on these names—either through birth year, by lot, or by other means—was not exactly clear, but it was known that Ram had died sometime early on, just before their murderous raid on Iwakawa-jiin." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Actually, their names did not precisely match astrological beasts; they were embellished to live up to the men's grand senses of self." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "For example, the one who should have gone by the sign of the dog called himself Wolf. Horse became Stallion, snake became Viper, and sheep became Ram. Even mouse became Rat. Alas, poor Rabbit—not much could be done with that name, though those born in the Year of the Rabbit were said to possess good qualities." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The man named Rabbit, like many born under that sign, had the qualities of an artist, and it was because of his skill with colored inks and the needle that all of the Zodiac had ended up with beautiful designs scratched into their skins—irezumi—at least so it was said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Criminals were often marked with ink on skin so that the innocent and all law officers would know with what and whom they dealt—a petty thief, a swindler, someone who had maimed, molested, or whatever. The list of offenses was long. Each offense resulted in a mark. And those who had run afoul of the law would hide the incriminating marks, for five marks usually earned a death sentence, regardless of the severity of the crimes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In defiance, some criminals embellished the marks with additional inking and made a show out of them, holding them up high and proud and thereby intimidating the meek." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Throughout the land, drawing pictures on the skin became a sign of a certain kind of manliness and beauty.\n\nAnd this is what the Zodiac were said to have done, though because of the sōhei robes they usually wore, only hints of the body art had been observed.\n\nInitially, when the Zodiac had first gathered as a group, they had been welcomed by many of the common people—mainly because one of their first orders of business had been to depose a gang of small-time thieves. The grateful populace had praised the apparent monks for their great act of courage." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But soon the commoners discovered that these warrior-monks were harsher and more capricious than the former gang had ever been." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As a result, the Zodiac tended never to stay too long anywhere. They were constantly on the move, stopping at local settlements to demand \"holy offerings\" that were little more than extortions. Since no one dared withhold a religious offering to armed sōhei, the farmers could not exactly claim that they had been robbed. As such, the Zodiac, despite their colorful irezumi that suggested criminal pasts, were never accused of any crimes, let alone brought to justice." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was easier for the authorities to just look the other way." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It would take someone else to right the wrongs of the Eleven.\n\nAnd that's how Saburo came to decide that he would die in the First Year of Heiji, seven nights after the autumnal equinox, on the Full Moon of Leaf Month, placing his death on the seventh night of the sixteenth solar stem of the Year of the Earth Rabbit—just days before Kanro, the time of dew, the time of tears. A fitting time to leave the earth. All the astrological indications pointed to it being a particularly auspicious day—that and the fact that Saburo knew where the Eleven would be that night." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They would be in the mountains of Nagato." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In Ōuchi territory. At an isolated shrine temple.\n\nFrom rumors and random tales—of which there were plenty, for wherever the renegade monks went they left mayhem in their wake—Saburo, with the help of Shima, had pieced together the Zodiac's cyclical travel patterns. For the past three years, during Shūbun, the Eleven had lodged at the Yawara-kaikaze-gū. Perhaps they liked its name, Soft Breeze Shrine." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Perhaps they found security in the rugged rock terrain of the Chūgoku Mountains." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Most likely, one of the men was from the area and had suggested the shrine as a pleasant location high above the heat and far from the eyes of ōryōshi. It was especially convenient that the Ōuchi held influence over the area—no frontiers to cross.\n\nSaburo announced to Shima that he would travel to the temple and, under Full Moon's light, kill as many Zodiac as possible, though undoubtedly it meant dying in the process.\n\nShima was not even slightly surprised at Saburo's readiness to go to his own death." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In fact, he agreed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The time had come. But Shima's reasons had nothing to do with knowing where the Zodiac would lodge. He had watched how Saburo's desire to settle scores had not slackened. If anything, it had hardened." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Continue with the same vibes as Katherine M. Lawrence" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The day's light waned, but Saburo maintained his brisk pace. As always, he kept his ears tuned to the sounds around him, which so far were just the unremarkable murmur of the forest. Birds, insects, squirrels. Even in the unseasonable cold, the pulsing mating chorus of minminzemi filled the air, each insect falling silent as he moved past, then rejoining the song behind him.\n\nHe now regretted his choice of wearing armor." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Mushi no shirase. The bugs were letting him know." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The guise of samurai had seemed perfect when he had set out on the North Road from Akamagaseki, but now its little squeaks and clacks as the platelets shifted on his body distracted him—and obstructed his hearing.\n\nHe felt the presence of Shin-en once again. She has killed Shima, the monkey whispered in his skull. Why is she still alive?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "And Shin-en began its shrieking and howling." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Unable to clear his mind, Saburo grappled with the monkey. He had to refocus.\n\nFocus! Details reveal events.\n\nSaburo turned his attention to Yamabuki's large colt's hoof tracks in the mud hardening in the unseasonable cold." }, { "from": "human", "value": "By their separation, it was clear that the horse maintained a steady pace." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But additional marks told him that the false silk merchants also walked ahead of him, how far ahead he could not tell. The pattern of their footprints, two abreast, indicated military training.\n\nWell, it was no matter for him. Their intrigues almost certainly bore no connection to his task." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His mind focused on killing the Taka warrior—and immediately Shin-en returned, shrieking and howling in excitement as Saburo pictured the expression on Yamabuki's face when his sword sliced open her belly, and the sound of her body hitting the ground, her eyes empty." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As the sun fell below the trees, thickening clouds above burned blood red before ripening into smashed, bruised plums. Gloom settled upon the forest. Trees and rocks disappeared into murk. And Saburo realized that the false silk merchants' footprints had disappeared as well." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He stopped to listen." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The insects had fallen silent. Gentle wind rustled the treetops. He reached out with all his senses and heard a distant voice. A laugh. A whiff of burning pine. Campfire?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The men who were not silk merchants were making camp, but where?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then he saw it. Over to the left, a vague glow seeped from a copse.\n\nFor the span of three breaths, he weighed his options. The Taka warrior likely would stop in Minezaki." }, { "from": "human", "value": "If so, he would lose nothing by investigating these men." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It wasn't because he wished to discover the reasons of their ruse. The idea of having armed men behind him annoyed him.\n\nQuietly he unfastened his Hayakawa armor and stacked the pieces behind a tree trunk. The cold air chilled his skin under his sweat-damp kimono." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Somewhere, an owl called oooooooo-hoooo-oooo, sending luck and protection against misfortune through the woods." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Protection for him? Or for those men?\n\nWas this a mistake?\n\nAs if in response, the sharp blue light of the rising moon illuminated the treetops—then almost immediately was swallowed by dark clouds. The forest was giving him his answer." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The blackness provided a shield more effective than any armor." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He tucked the swords into his waist sash. Then as silent as the silence itself, he slipped into the forest, becoming one with it. Wind whispered through the pines. Again the owl called ooooooooo-hoooo-ooo." }, { "from": "human", "value": "And men's laughter, suddenly so loud in the dark void, answered." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The campfire glow grew brighter as Saburo approached. In the middle of a small clearing, several stacked branches blazed with fire. Six men moved about, casting long ghostly shadows into the woods. They wore robes of sōhei." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Individual voices began to find their way to him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It will be good to sleep in a bed tomorrow,\" said on with slightly slurred speech.\n\n\"You think Kiso will let you rest with the news we're bringing?\"\n\n\"Kiso doesn't trust the Ōuchi.\"\n\n\"He trusts the beauty of their women.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The men laughed quietly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"He trusts the beauty of all women!\"\n\nMore laughter.\n\n\"Beauty visits all clans.\"\n\n\"And that's why in the end they will side with Kiso. He understands how to win.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Again they laughed. Indeed, these were no monks." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The voices fell silent. The sharp-sweet smell of cooked rabbit filled the air. Not the diet of religious men. The aroma brought back memories of the night he'd first met Shima." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Now Shima lay dead in the road." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "No burial. No rites. And shinobi or not, priest or not, Saburo knew the sutras. He could have at least performed the rites before leaving.\n\nShin-en whispered, You should feel guilt." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Saburo pushed Shin-en aside." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Guilt was a luxury an assassin never dared buy.\n\nOne of the men said, \"The general won't like the news about her brother.\"\n\n\"Ne,\" said a deep voice. \"Say nothing about it.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"We have to.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Why?\"\n\n\"Because it was he who convinced the Ōuchi to meet.\"\n\nAnother asked, \"Will there be a meeting without him?\"\n\n\"Let Kiso decide,\" the deep voice answered, and the other voices fell silent for a while." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Wanting to see their faces, Saburo floated closer, like a ghost, making no sound, a shadow within shadows, until he felt the warmth of the fire against his cheeks." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A trio of intersecting skewers held the large, skinned animal roasting over the flames.\n\nThe six men, heads uncovered, did not have the shaved heads of Tendai monks but the wild black manes and beards of buke. Warriors. Large warriors at that. Their naginata leaned against tree trunks, the poles adding to the dancing shadows from firelight, but the men themselves remained armed with both tachi and personal swords." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Even so, they behaved as if they had no concerns about any potential threats around them." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "If they had sensed danger, they would not have kindled a fire and roasted a rabbit. But they sat at their ease, tearing hunks of flesh with knives and fingers and swigging from a passed-around flask.\n\nAnd unlike sōhei, who lived lives attuned to the nature surrounding them, they had permitted death—in the form of Saburo—to steal so close without challenge.\n\nA squat man took a gulp of saké and shook his head." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"They should rename it the Isle of Obstinate Daimyō. Kikuchi. Itō. Taka. Sagara. Shimazu. They think that somehow they can stay out of it.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The warrior next to him, thicker, with wilder hair, said, \"The Taka brother Tachibana was interested. You saw?\"\n\n\"Kiso would like the Taka woman.\"\n\n\"The warrior on the boat this morning? A tall sapling.\"\n\n\"That sapling killed the Ōuchi fencing master.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Baka!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"He challenged her on the boat. They obviously had a duel.\"\n\n\"And what about the dead monks? She killed them too?\"\n\n\"Maybe her hands are fast. A killer kills.\"\n\n\"Give me that flask.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The squat warrior passed the saké bottle to the wild-haired man—who took a deep gulp—and reached out over the fire, tearing off more meat." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "For the space of thirty breaths, the men said nothing. Damp branches crackled in the fire as the men chomped, swigged, and sighed over their meal.\n\n\"I had a thought,\" said a warrior across the fire, whose gray-tinged hair suggested he was eldest. \"What if the sapling is Taka Daimyō's answer to Kiso's entreaties?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He gazed one by one at each of his companions." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"She could be with him right now.\"\n\nChewing, the squat man said, \"That's not good.\"\n\nThe elder warrior said, \"Kiso's incautious with women.\"\n\n\"Ha! And he has done so well trusting men. His uncle killed his father to take power of the Minamoto. I think he thinks that a woman would not do that.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No woman could. She'd be eliminated if she so much as tried. Men won't follow a woman.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Ne!\" rumbled the deep voice again from a tall, angular man, his back to Saburo. \"Respect for the general.\"\n\nThe squat man bowed his head.\n\nBut the elder warrior was not finished." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Taka Moroto has a daughter. His only heir. It is said she has been trained with the sword. She could be the sapling, ne?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Those words nearly shook Saburo out of his cloak of shadow.\n\nThe wild-haired warrior spat out a bone. \"Moroto will marry her off to Takanao for peace with the Kikuchi.\"\n\n\"Takanao might join us,\" said the squat man." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Again, the tall man sounded off in a low warning tone." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Hey. They will choose sides when they are forced to.\"\n\nThe squat man snorted. \"The daimyō on that isle are cowards. If they had gills, they'd crawl into the sea to get away from what's coming.\"\n\n\"Ne! You talk too much.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The squat man sneered at the tall man." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You think Masahito is listening? Does Kiyomori have owls spying on us?\"\n\n\"What I hear is saké talking.\"\n\nSaburo heard a leaf crack.\n\nTen steps to his right stood a large fox, red fur seeming to glow in the firelight." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It stared at him with uncanny intensity." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Saburo's blood ran cold. Was it a God? Saburo felt a shiver. Why would a God appear now?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "A trickster come to toy with him?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He flushed with a surge of rage. What had the Gods ever done for him? All the people he ever cared about were dead.\n\nThe fox bolted directly in front of him before dashing off into the deeper woods." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The six men turned at the noise and stared straight at Saburo." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The voice of his teacher and lover flash in his mind: \"Two equally matched swordsmen have an even chance in a duel. Two against one, it becomes one in three. Three against one, it's one in six. Four against one, survival is one in twelve. Take out as many opponents as quickly as possible before the battle begins.\"\n\nSaburo sprinted forward, drawing Shima's tachi, and struck two men down in one sweep. The remaining four leapt back, pulling their blades free of their scabbards.\n\nFour left—one in twelve for an ordinary swordsman, but Saburo was no ordinary swordsman." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Like a fox, he feinted attack at one, then twisted around as the tachi tore through the chest of the man next to him. Three left." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They spread out, surrounding him. The one behind slid to the side, at least three steps away, his steps snapping twigs. Two other men stood in front of him. Not young. Seasoned warriors." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Older hands with weathered faces and unblinking eyes that had known battle—eyes that would not accept anything but their opponent's death." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Saburo could not permit them to live, not after seeing his face. Now he would find out what the trickster God intended for him—or for them.\n\nThe taller man, the one with the deep voice, flicked glances around left and right, alert to possible attacks on his flank. Saburo grinned. Men always assumed no one would dare act alone." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The other man before him, short and thick bodied, locked eyes, holding his sword low at the ready, pointed downward along his front leg." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Approaching slowly, maintaining a balanced stance, Saburo held his own sword low and back. His foot touched a thick branch at the edge of the campfire, and now he knew what would happen next.\n\nHe slid his other foot slowly around while raising his tachi high.\n\nHe glanced left." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Both men looked." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He kicked. The branch flipped up, sending sparks flying.\n\nTo their credit, they did not lose focus even as the cinders burned their faces. The tall man took a half-step back, but the squat man, tough as he was thick, stepped forward and smashed the tumbling log in two with a hard lateral strike, splashing sparks at Saburo.\n\nSaburo jumped forward, moving in close, driving his tachi into the man's chest, pinning him to the air." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Spinning now, he let go the hilt and drew his short sword, coming in low against the tall man, who brought his blade down with a powerful two-handed strike." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Saburo flashed his sword up—short sword met long sword, steel met steel with a loud crack. Saburo's blade vibrated more than it should have. His right hand stung with pinpricks. He kicked a leg out high, smashing the tall man's knee." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The other warrior cried out." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Saburo cut through the tall man's torso, sapping his wind. The warrior bent over, wounded. Staggering. But still on his feet.\n\nSeeing his chance, the third man who had hung back charged with powerful diagonal strikes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Saburo barely parried them." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The squat man impaled by the tachi finally fall back to the dirt—blocking Saburo's shuffle-steps. Now off balance, Saburo flung the short sword at his attacker's face, not expecting to do damage, only to disrupt his rhythm.\n\nIn the moment's hesitation, Saburo pivoted around and ripped his tachi free from fallen squat man's chest. His attacker reset his stance, eyes focused on Saburo's longer sword." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Saburo dropped one arm and let his personal dagger slip into his hand." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "With a rising snapping motion, he flung it low. It slammed into the man's groin. Saburo's long sword sliced through the man's face. Blood spewed in an arc." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The man fell in a rolling tumble." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Five of the warriors own, the tall warrior remained, still standing despite a shattered knee, bent only slightly, clutching his side wound, sword held out in one unsteady hand.\n\nSaburo approached him slowly. The sole survivor had little left in him. He'd be dead soon anyway." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Saburo considered just leaving him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But something about this man dressed as a warrior-monk brought up rage within the fallen priest. And he had no time for waiting.\n\nHis blade flashed, knocking the man's sword out of his hand. Another flashing motion and the warrior's arm came off at the elbow." }, { "from": "human", "value": "And still the tall man stood, glaring at him with defiance." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Saburo brought down his sword again, severing the man's other arm at the shoulder. Blood spurted from both wounds, but weakly. The gash in his torso had released most of it. The man's fierce eyes turned glassy." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His body tipped forward." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Saburo stepped out of the way, and as the man fell, Saburo swung the tachi once more, taking his head.\n\nBreathing deeply, his heart pumping, Saburo surveyed the slaughter—and it had been a slaughter. He walked up to each one and drove the tachi point into each man's heart. Just like the Eleven. No witnesses." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The fire logs, scattered now, lost much of their flame." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In the fading light, he grabbed a discarded head scarf and wiped the blood off Shima's tachi. Its blade remained marvelously undamaged. He slid it into its saya.\n\nAfter retrieving and wiping down his short sword, he examined its cutting edge." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Deep notches. Though the sword hilt inscription proclaimed it a Kuninaga blade, it had to be a forgery." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "What could he expect from a shop selling dead men's armor? He tossed the damaged sword into the remnants of the fire.\n\nFrom a scabbard lashed to the squat man's waist sash, Saburo pulled a ko-dachi. This blade gleamed even in the dimness." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Good enough. He slashed the sageo, tucked the empty saya into his waist sash, and slid the blade home." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A rumble in the distance. A breeze of cold gave his damp skin a chill as the distinctive clinks and clops of mounted horses grew louder. He turned his head slowly, listening. Downhill, out on the road, fives horses moved at a canter. Sakimori guards." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Would the guards see the campfire?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Too late now. Scattering the logs would only kick up more sparks. He waited. The sakimori would have encountered the dead bodies of Shima and the false monks. Was this a manhunt? The riders excitedly shouted to each other. Laughter." }, { "from": "human", "value": "After a few breaths, the sound shifted and began to fade." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Saburo glanced over his clothes. In the encroaching darkness, he could just make out blood spattered across his front and sleeve. Not too bad; the robes of the fallen were in even worse shape. But he did not want to encounter any authorities like this." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He'd need to acquire a new disguise by morning." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "If he had not killed the Taka warrior by then.\n\nThe mostly picked-over rabbit carcass lay at his feet. With hard fingers, he tore off a strip of flesh from the hind and shoved it into his mouth. Chewing on the bitter meat, he stepped back into the darkness." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Only murky shadows in the dark guided back to the North Road." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 2 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Leaving the Hayakawa armor behind, he strode uphill in the strengthening icy wind. Scattered snowflakes flitted around him, touching the ground only to slide sideways in a restless dance." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Task: The user will write a bit then you need to write around 4 sentences continuing directly from the user's text.\n\nAuthor style: Katherine M. Lawrence" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[ Hour of the Horse ]" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In the guesthouse, the battle culminated with Yamabuki's surrender to Yoshinaka, and yet she did not in the slightest feel defeated. In fact she had achieved her aims. Now he lay next to her, sound asleep, his face innocent.\n\nA distant tsurigane began its slow tolling." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She rolled over and took some paper out of the saddlebag by the bed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "For all the joy of intimacy with a man, afterward it was the woman who had to clean herself. Still, his wetness was strangely satisfying, she thought as she wiped along her legs.\n\nHer mind wandered unbidden to one day when she was thirteen springs and a large boat rode out a storm in the Great Bay of Ō-Utsumi. There was much excitement, for the boat was filled with traders from Sòng Cháo." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Nakagawa considered the occasion propitious for Yamabuki's education, and so he encouraged her to converse with the strangers and practice speaking their language." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But the Taka princess began a different education that day, for among the strangers was one trader who spoke an indecipherable language but could make himself understood somewhat in the Common Language. He said he was from a place called Shā Xī, a great trading city in the far west beyond Sòng, and he had with him a text appropriate for young men and women who were nearing adulthood. But he would not show it to Yamabuki, only to Nakagawa, who, upon seeing it, became quite delighted—more than Yamabuki had seen him—and offered in trade his finest brocade kimono, one he always said was too fine to despoil on his mortal frame.\n\nSoon after, the winds changed, and the traders departed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When Yamabuki asked Nakagawa about the text, he explained the language was of Tenjiku, the Center of Heaven, the land where the Buddha was born, a land as far from Sòng as Sòng was from Akitsushima." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He explained that this language was not based on brush stroke but on musical symbols. The notes matched the sounds the human mouth made to form a word.\n\n\"You mean like women's writing and katakana?\" Yamabuki asked.\n\n\"Even more complicated. A string of many shapes, one after the other, all connected like a long thread.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "What a strange way to write." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A language of musical notes on a thread.\n\n\"Perhaps one day we shall explore this language,\" he said, placing the scroll in the room where important manuscripts were stored.\n\nThe very next day, she retrieved it and took it to her shinden, where she and her handmaids could examine this strange language. Indeed, it looked like a row of jagged teeth." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But far more interesting than indecipherable script were the drawings the manuscript contained—drawing that left nothing to the imagination as to their subject: handsome unclothed men and voluptuous unclothed women coupling with one another." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "No wonder a language based on musical notes needed drawings—drawings that needed no translation.\n\nNow, as she watched Yoshinaka sleep, heat built up in her heart, and she recalled the resolution she had made that day: that long before she mastered the musical language, she would achieve all the pleasures pictured in the book of love.\n\nShe stood up and felt a chill. Even colder than earlier this morning." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She tossed the paper with Yoshinaka's wetness onto the coals." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Flames burst forth. She placed another piece of wood on the fire as a ninth bell strike rang out into silence.\n\n\"Burning the evidence?\" Yoshinaka said, sitting up.\n\n\"Did I wake you? Or was it the bell?\"\n\nHe shook his head." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I always sleep with an eye open.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He tapped the tachi next to him.\n\n\"It's getting colder in here,\" she said, rubbing her arms.\n\n\"On this cold day, may I suggest we employ other means to keep warm and to purify ourselves?\"\n\nShe smirked and said teasingly, \"I already put another log in the fire.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I mean warm up by taking a dip in the onsen.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Hot springs?\"\n\n\"Hai, hai. Where do you think all that steam comes from over by the cliffs? Maybe you don't have onsen on the Isle of Unknown Fires.\"\n\n\"We have steaming kakkazan from which living fire rock flows. Onsen in our prefecture could boil a rabbit.\"\n\n\"Ha!\" Yoshinaka's eyes sparkled." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No doubt. We also have springs like that in Shinano. But I will take you to hot springs that I promise don't scald.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Perhaps one day we will.\"\n\n\"No, no. I mean let's go now. Kōno's onsen.\"\n\n\"You've seen them?\"\n\n\"Yes behind this guesthouse.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Show me.\" She put on her shitagi and kimono, surreptitiously taking the three scrolls along." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yoshinaka quickly donned his own kimono, leaving his undergarments where they lay.\n\nYamabuki thought about the shinobi and picked up Tiger Cub. \"Bring your sword.\"\n\n\"Always. I would be naked without it.\"\n\nThey slipped on their boots and, before long, were making their way into the bluffs behind the armory and up a snow-filled narrow trail that twisted between narrow rock outcroppings, switching back and forth, and finally emerged on a small plateau." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Using his scabbarded tachi, Yoshinaka knocked through a drift of snow piled up between two high boulders and led her into a totally contained rocky ravine." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Above the surrounding high snowcapped cliffs, blue sky blazed bright, but the sun's warmth reached only partway down. Steam filled the air. Straight across from them, at about eye height, a small pool bubbled. Steaming water trickling down into a slightly larger pool below no wider than the reach of her arms." }, { "from": "human", "value": "From there, a sheet of water flowed down through a channel into the largest of the pools." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She gazed all around, feeling like she had stepped into the mouth of a mountain. Except there was no musty odor. He laughed. \"The onsen here are not so hot as Amaterasu, but warmer than the blood. This one carries the sweetness of life. And it's quite private. No one will find us here.\"\n\nYamabuki raised her brows and smiled." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A clump of ice fell from a steam-shrouded outcropping, and some pebbles tumbled down from above, splashing into the pool." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your next one should be approximately one sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yoshinaka grinned. \"Shall we join those rocks?\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "The user will write a bit then you need to write around 4 sentences continuing directly from the user's text. Try to mimic the style of Katherine M. Lawrence.Produce 4 sentences using the prose and structure of Katherine M. Lawrence every time its your turn using what the user wrote as a seed." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "[ Second Quarter of Hour of the Monkey ]\n\nWhen Yamabuki and Tomoe stepped outside, they were met with fresh snowfall. They immediately headed toward the dead end of the alley. Tomoe had no interest in wandering around blindly searching for places where the Taka woman could see the pass, so she had rousted innkeeper Hari from his afternoon nap—late nights and early mornings were busy times for innkeepers—to get his advice." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His answer was unexpected: simply venture up the alley to where it ended at the cliffs." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Look up the sheer wall, and you will see. This is why the town is called Peninsula Ridge.\"\n\nThey walked in silence. Rundown buildings lined both sides of the alley all the way to the end.\n\nThe cliff's rock face was indeed sheer." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Dark gray and smooth as if a God had sliced off a piece of the mountain." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The two warriors gazed skyward, but the summit remained cloaked in mists.\n\n\"The Imperial City lies ten days beyond the pass,\" Yamabuki said. \"That is if the weather cooperates. Who can guess how long this freak storm will last?\"\n\nThe snow conditions did not particularly interest Tomoe." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She wanted to get to know better the future Taka warlord who had possibly stolen her brother's heart." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Tomoe breathed hard. \"With the loss of our men, it's too dangerous to stay here. We'll take the road eastward.\"\n\nYamabuki shook her head. \"Going east adds five extra days to Heian-kyō.\"\n\nTomoe grunted. \"We can't sit around and wait for the whatever pass to thaw.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's called the Pass of the Setting Sun.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yamabuki flashed a crooked smile. \"It's in the northeast, where the sun rises—hardly a setting sun.\"\n\n\"Taka-gimi, you don't have the right viewpoint. From Kyōraku\"—and certainly this Taka princess had to know that nobody called it Heian-kyō anymore, not in generations—\"it's in the southwest. Everything is named in relation to the Imperial City. Besides, northeast is a badly aspected direction.\"\n\nYamabuki gazed at the summit, frustration on her face." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"We make our own luck. At least that's what my mother says.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Tomoe said, \"You're not trapped here. You can wait for the pass to open, or\"—she flashed her a smile—\"you can accompany us and not let the elements waste your time. It'll be safer if we travel in numbers.\"\n\n\"No,\" Yamabuki said. \"I will not leave Minezaki now. I have no reason to. I'll wait out the weather.\" She gave Tomoe a sideways glance. \"Appealing though your invitation sounds.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "A distant tsurigane began furious tolling in alarm." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cries erupted down the alley, near the Saké House. Visible in the swirling snow, black-clad sakimori dashed in all directions.\n\nTomoe's heart thumped hard. \"What's this commotion?\" She loosened her sword." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In a dry voice, Yamabuki said, \"I knew Unagi's saké was wretched. Perhaps the soldiers are finally finding out.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She started to laugh, then stopped.\n\nSpear-carrying soldiers hurried in their direction. The men pointed at the two women and ran ever faster.\n\n\"I don't like the look of this?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Yamabuki loosened her own tachi." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Spearmen.\" Tomoe stiffened. Even mediocre warriors could be dangers wielding hoko yari. \"Dead-end. No getting away unless we smash through one of these hovels.\"\n\nYamabuki said, \"If we run, we look weak—and guilty. Besides, it won't buy us anything if we head into the side streets. They don't lead anywhere.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Both women dropped their hands to their sides." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Neither made any aggressive move. Their swords remained where they were, but they were at the ready.\n\nThe soldiers numbered a full jun, ten sakimori, counting their leader—one of those hotheads with more wildness in his eyes than brains in his head. They ran up as a bunch and spread out into a semicircular formation and lowered their spears, cornering the two women against the cliff." }, { "from": "human", "value": "None of the soldiers, apart from the leader, wore any significant armor—only leather chest protectors and shin guards." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "For a long moment no one said anything. It was Yamabuki who broke the silence. \"What's this about?\"\n\n\"You are under arrest,\" the leader growled.\n\n\"Arrest?\" Yamabuki's eyes narrowed. \"For what?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"A woman warrior killed some of our men. It had to be one of you.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"We haven't killed anyone,\" Tomoe snapped. \"You're out of your depth.\"\n\n\"Ha!\" The leader sneered. \"Put down your swords and come along. You don't want to challenge the Ōe!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "From a distance, anyone would have concluded this was no contest." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The sakimori had the distinct advantage. Battle was futile.\n\nBut the two women examined closely the cohort, taking their measure. Warriors were not interchangeable, even though their tunics and weapons seemed to be. Tomoe and Yamabuki studied the men's eyes, looking for any sign of fear, any hesitation, any lapse in concentration, twitches... anything that would give them an advantage." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The men edged forward." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There was nowhere the women could go.\n\nOne of the sakimori shook his spear with menace. \"Come with us.\"\n\n\"It has to be Aoi-sama they want,\" Tomoe whispered. She shook her head and raised her voice to proclaim to all within earshot, \"We have nothing to do with this matter!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The leader frowned petulantly, then nodded—some unspoken command—and the guard nearest to Tomoe started to poke his spear in her direction." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Move! You're coming with us.\"\n\nTomoe glared back with an expression that said, Don't do this!\n\nOf course the sakimori guard ignored the warning, letting his spear dart back and forth like a prod. She stood her ground until the sharp edge almost touched her, so that she finally had to dance out of its way." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The man guffawed—but then he let out a ghastly scream." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The next anyone knew, Tomoe stood with her naked tachi held horizontally at shoulder height, gleaming blade dripping red. The falling snowflakes melted as they touched the blood's warmth.\n\nThe man's spear lay in the snow, an arm severed below the elbow, complete with hand, the fingers still clutching the spear. Now on his knees and shrieking horridly, with his good arm the man tried to staunch the bleeding, but the stump gushed blood with each heartbeat." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He looked into the heavens, letting out another long shriek." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Tomoe's sword flashed a second time and the man's head rolled through the snow, leaving a bloody trail, stopping when it bumped against the side of one of the houses. Tomoe stood ready for battle in forward stance, her sword pointed downward along her front leg.\n\n\"He wouldn't have survived. Fatal cut. It was merciful,\" Tomoe whispered grimly. Her eyes remained locked on her targets." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Yet she must have seen Yamabuki with eyes in the back of her head, for she muttered, \"Classic stance, Denka?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yamabuki held her naked tachi extended high above her head, blade pointing toward the heavens. \"Leave now,\" she growled low in the tone of a warlord, \"and you leave with your lives.\"\n\nThe leader's hand moved to his tachi. \"Kill them!\"\n\nAt this point the fighting broke into two battles—three spearmen and the leader setting themselves on Tomoe, and four going at Yamabuki, while the last one held back, likely hoping the situation would resolve itself without his involvement." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Tomoe moved into a blur, using her speed and long sword to deadly advantage." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "One man saw his spearpoint sail off on its own before he saw nothing else. The other warrior was more cautious, trying to jab her from a distance. Tomoe leapt forward, tachi sweeping the polearm aside, and landed close, blade over her left shoulder. She spun. The man felt only an instant of pain before all went dark." }, { "from": "human", "value": "One of the men thought this was his chance." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "With a fierce yell, he closed his eyes and thrust hard as he could, trying to drive the hooked blade of his polearm into her back. But his weapon met nothing. He opened his eyes to see her downward strike at his head. In an instant, his world turned red, then black." }, { "from": "human", "value": "For Yamabuki, time slowed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Four sakimori came at her at once, bellowing fearsomely. The one closest thrust his spear directly toward her corselet. In a single looping motion from up-to-down-to-up, her sword knocked the spear aside, into the legs of the man to his left. She brought Tiger Claw down against the top of the man's skull, splitting it wide as blood and brains plumed in every direction." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The full-power blow continued down and through his jaw." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He fell to his right.\n\nShe turned her attention to the next attacker, striking horizontally into his torso, blade passing through his lung. His eyes went blank.\n\nThe third guard had to deal with the first man, who fell in his path." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Yamabuki reversed along the same horizontal line, cutting into the attacker's ribcage." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood spurted into the air. The snow turned red.\n\nThe fourth sakimori leapt over the bodies of the first three men. However, to reach Yamabuki he bent at the waist." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Yamabuki stepped on top of the first body and deflected the spear and delivered a full-power strike that cleaved his head." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The four guards had fallen in less than five heartbeats.\n\nThe last sakimori stood five strides away, spear directed at her chest. He shouted and charged.\n\nYamabuki leapt to the side, delivering a quick cut." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Belly split, spilling innards, he screamed with his last breath before falling." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "All the guards were dead. Yamabuki straightened, breathing deeply.\n\nTomoe, standing over her five kills, gasping through clenched teeth, muttered. \"What took you so long?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Yamabuki looked at Tomoe's handiwork and met her gaze." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 2 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Next time don't make me wait,\" Tomoe said. \"It gets boring watching you struggle so.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Mode:\nCo-writing\n\nLength:\n4 sentences\n\nStyle:\nEiji Yoshikawa" }, { "from": "human", "value": "[ EARTH ]" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "[ The Little Bell ]\n\nTakezō lay among the corpses. There were thousands of them.\n\n\"The whole world's gone crazy,\" he thought dimly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"A man might as well be a dead leaf, floating in the autumn breeze.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He himself looked like one of the lifeless bodies surrounding him. He tried to raise his head, but could only lift it a few inches from the ground. He couldn't remember ever feeling so weak. \"How long have I been here?\" he wondered." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Flies came buzzing around his head." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He wanted to brush them away, but couldn't even muster the energy to raise his arm. It was stiff, almost brittle, like the rest of his body. \"I must've been out for quite a while,\" he thought, wiggling one finger at a time. Little did he know he was wounded, with two bullets lodged firmly in his thigh." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Low, dark clouds shifted ominously across the sky." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The night before, sometime between midnight and dawn, a blinding rain had drenched the plain of Sekigahara. It was now past noon on the fifteenth of the ninth month of 1600. Though the typhoon had passed, now and then fresh torrents of rain would fall on the corpses and onto Takezō's upturned face. Each time it came, he'd open and close his mouth like a fish, trying to drink in the droplets." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's like the water they wipe a dying man's lips with,\" he reflected, savoring each bit of moisture." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His head was numb, his thoughts the fleeting shadows of delirium.\n\nHis side had lost. He knew that much. Kobayakawa Hideaki, supposedly an ally, had been secretly in league with the Eastern Army, and when he turned on Ishida Mitsunari's troops at twilight, the tide of battle turned too." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He then attacked the armies of other commanders—Ukita, Shimazu and Konishi—and the collapse of the Western Army was complete." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In only half a day's fighting, the question of who would henceforth rule the country was settled. It was Tokugawa Ieyasu, the powerful Edo daimyō.\n\nImages of his sister and the old villagers floated before his eyes. \"I'm dying,\" he thought without a tinge of sadness." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Is this what it's really like?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He felt drawn to the peace of death, like a child mesmerized by a flame.\n\nSuddenly one of the nearby corpses raised its head. \"Takezō.\"\n\nThe images of his mind ceased. As if awakened from the dead, he turned his head toward the sound." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The voice, he was sure, was that of his best friend." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "With all his strength he raised himself slightly, squeezing out a whisper barely audible above the pelting rain. \"Matahachi, is that you?\" Then he collapsed, lay still and listened.\n\n\"Takezō! Are you really alive?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes, alive!\" he shouted in a sudden outburst of bravado." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"And you? You'd better not die either. Don't you dare!\" His eyes were wide open now, and a smile played faintly about his lips.\n\n\"Not me! No, sir.\" Gasping for breath, crawling on his elbows and dragging his legs stiffly behind him, Matahachi inched his way toward his friend." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He made a grab for Takezō's hand but only caught his small finger with his own." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As childhood friends they'd often sealed promises with this gesture. He came closer and gripped the whole hand.\n\n\"I can't believe you're all right too! We must be the only survivors.\"\n\n\"Don't speak too soon. I haven't tried to get up yet.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'll help you. Let's get out of here!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Suddenly Takezō pulled Matahachi to the ground and growled, \"Play dead! More trouble coming!\"\n\nThe ground began to rumble like a caldron. Peeking through their arms, they watched the approaching whirlwind close in on them. Then they were nearer, lines of jet-black horsemen hurtling directly toward them." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The bastards! They're back!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "exclaimed Matahachi, raising his knee as if preparing for a sprint. Takezō seized his ankle, nearly breaking it, and yanked him to the ground.\n\nIn a moment the horses were flying past them—hundreds of muddy lethal hooves galloping in formation, riding roughshod over the fallen samurai. Battle cries on their lips, their armor and weapons clinking and clanking, the riders came on and on." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Matahachi lay on his stomach, eyes closed, hoping against hope they would not be trampled, but Takezō stared unblinkingly upward." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The horses passed so close they could smell their sweat. Then it was over.\n\nMiraculously they were uninjured and undetected, and for several minutes both remained silent in disbelief.\n\n\"Saved again!\" exclaimed Takezō, reaching his hand out to Matahachi." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Still hugging the ground, Matahachi slowly turned his head to show a broad, slightly trembling grin." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Somebody's on our side, that's for sure,\" he said huskily.\n\nThe two friends helped each other, with great difficulty, to their feet. Slowly they made their way across the battlefield to the safety of the wooded hills, hobbling along with arms around each other's shoulders. There they collapsed but after a rest began foraging for food." }, { "from": "human", "value": "For two days they subsisted on wild chestnuts and edible leaves in the sodden hollows of Mount Ibuki." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "This kept them from starving, but Takezō's stomach ached and Matahachi's bowels tormented him. No food could fill him, no drink quench his thirst, but even he felt his strength returning bit by bit.\n\nThe storm on the fifteenth marked the end of the fall typhoons. Now, only two nights later, a cold white moon glared grimly down from a cloudless sky." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They both knew how dangerous it was to be on the road in the glaring moonlight, their shadows looming like silhouette targets in clear view of any patrols searching for stragglers." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The decision to risk it had been Takezō's. With Matahachi in such misery, saying he'd rather be captured than continue trying to walk, there really didn't seem to be much choice. They had to move on, but it was also clear that they had to find a place to lie low and rest. They made their way slowly in what they thought was the direction of the small town of Tarui." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Can you make it?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Takezō asked repeatedly. He held his friend's arm around his own shoulder to help him along. \"Are you all right?\" It was the labored breathing that worried him. \"You want to rest?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'm all right.\" Matahachi tried to sound brave, but his face was paler than the moon above them." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Even with his lance for a walking stick, he could barely put one foot in front of the other.\n\nHe'd been apologizing abjectly over and over. \"I'm sorry, Takezō. I know it's me who's slowing us down. I'm really sorry.\"\n\nThe first few times Takezō had simply brushed this off with \"Forget it.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Eventually, when they stopped to rest, he turned to his friend and burst out, \"Look, I'm the one who should be apologizing. I'm the one who got you into this in the first place, remember? Remember how I told you my plan, how I was finally going to do something that would really have impressed my father? I've never been able to stand the fact that to his dying day he was sure I'd never amount to anything. I was going to show him! Ha!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Takezō's father, Munisai, had once served under Lord Shimmen of Iga. As soon as Takezō heard that Ishida Mitsunari was raising an army, he was convinced that the chance of a lifetime had finally arrived. His father had been a samurai. Wasn't it only natural that he would be made one too?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He ached to enter the fray, to prove his mettle, to have word spread like wildfire through the village that he had decapitated an enemy general." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He had wanted desperately to prove he was somebody to be reckoned with, to be respected—not just the village troublemaker.\n\nTakezō reminded Matahachi of all this, and Matahachi nodded. \"I know. I know. But I felt the same way. It wasn't just you.\"\n\nTakezō went on: \"I wanted you to come with me because we've always done everything together. But didn't your mother carry on something awful! Yelling and telling everybody I was crazy and no good! And your fiancée Otsū, and my sister and everybody else crying and saying village boys should stay in the village. Oh, maybe they had their reasons. We are both only sons, and if we get ourselves killed there's no one else to carry on the family names. But who cares? Is that any way to live?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "They had slipped out of the village unnoticed and were convinced that no further barrier lay between themselves and the honors of battle." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When they reached the Shimmen encampment, however, they came face to face with the realities of war. They were told straightaway they would not be made samurai, not overnight nor even in a few weeks, no matter who their fathers had been. To Ishida and the other generals, Takezō and Matahachi were a pair of country bumpkins, little more than children who happened to have got their hands on a couple of lances. The best they could wangle was to be allowed to stay on as common foot soldiers." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Their responsibilities, if they could be called that, consisted of carrying weapons, rice kettles and other utensils, cutting grass, working on the road gangs and occasionally going out as scouts." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Samurai, ha!\" said Takezō. \"What a joke. General's head! I didn't even get near an enemy samurai, let alone a general. Well, at least it's all over. Now what are we going to do? I can't leave you here all alone. If I did, I could never face your mother or Otsū again.\"\n\n\"Takezō, I don't blame you for the mess we're in. It wasn't your fault we lost. If anybody's to blame, it's that two-faced Kobayakawa. I'd really like to get my hands on him. I'd kill the son of a bitch!\"\n\nA couple of hours later they were standing on the edge of a small plain, gazing out over a sea of reedlike miscanthus, battered and broken by the storm." }, { "from": "human", "value": "No houses. No lights." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There were lots of corpses here too, lying just as they had fallen. The head of one rested in some tall grass. Another was on its back in a small stream. Still another was entangled grotesquely with a dead horse." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The rain had washed the blood away, and in the moonlight the dead flesh looked like fish scales." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "All around them was the lonely autumn litany of bellrings and crickets.\n\nA stream of tears cleared a white path down Matahachi's grimy face. He heaved the sigh of a very sick man.\n\n\"Takezō, if I die, will you take care of Otsū?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What are you talking about?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I feel like I'm dying.\"\n\nTakezō snapped, \"Well, if that's the way you feel, you probably will.\" He was exasperated, wishing his friend were stronger, so he could lean on him once in a while, not physically, but for encouragement. \"Come on, Matahachi! Don't be such a crybaby.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"My mother has people to look after her, but Otsū's all alone in the world. Always has been. I feel so sorry for her, Takezō. Promise you'll take care of her if I'm not around.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Get hold of yourself! People don't die from diarrhea. Sooner or later we're going to find a house, and when we do I'll put you to bed and get some medicine for you. Now stop all this blubbering about dying!\"\n\nA little farther on, they came to a place where the piles of lifeless bodies made it look as if a whole division had been wiped out. By this time they were callous to the sight of gore. Their glazed eyes took in the scene with cold indifference and they stopped to rest again." }, { "from": "human", "value": "While they were catching their breath, they heard something move among the corpses." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Both of them shrank back in fright, instinctively crouching down with their eyes peeled and senses alerted.\n\nThe figure made a quick darting movement, like that of a surprised rabbit. As their eyes focused, they saw that whoever it was was squatting close to the ground. Thinking at first it was a stray samurai, they braced themselves for a dangerous encounter, but to their amazement the fierce warrior turned out to be a young girl." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She seemed to be about thirteen or fourteen and wore a kimono with rounded sleeves." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The narrow obi around her waist, though patched in places, was of gold brocade; there among the corpses she presented a bizarre sight indeed. She looked over and stared at them suspiciously with shrewd catlike eyes.\n\nTakezō and Matahachi were both wondering the same thing: what on earth could bring a young girl to a ghost-ridden, corpse-strewn field in the dead of night?\n\nFor a time they both simply stared back at her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then Takezō said, \"Who are you?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She blinked a couple of times, got to her feet and sped away.\n\n\"Stop!\" shouted Takezō. \"I just want to ask you a question. Don't go!\"\n\nBut gone she was, like a flash of lightning in the night." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The sound of a small bell receded eerily into the darkness." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Could it have been a ghost?\" Takezō mused aloud as he stared vacantly into the thin mist.\n\nMatahachi shivered and forced a laugh. \"If there were any ghosts around here, I think they'd be those of soldiers, don't you?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I wish I hadn't scared her away,\" said Takezō." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"There's got to be a village around here somewhere. She could've given us directions.\"\n\nThey went on and climbed the nearer of the two hills ahead of them. In the hollow on the other side was the marsh that stretched south from Mount Fuwa. And a light, only half a mile away." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When they approached the farmhouse, they got the impression that it wasn't of the run-of-the-mill variety." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "For one thing, it was surrounded by a thick dirt wall. For another, its gate verged on being grandiose. Or at least the remains of the gate, for it was old and badly in need of repair.\n\nTakezō went up to the door and rapped lightly. \"Is anybody home?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Getting no answer, he tried again." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Sorry to bother you at this hour, but my friend here is sick. We don't want to cause any trouble—he just needs some rest.\"\n\nThey heard whispering inside and, presently, the sound of someone coming to the door.\n\n\"You're stragglers from Sekigahara, aren't you?\" The voice belonged to a young girl." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That's right,\" said Takezō." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"We were under Lord Shimmen of Iga.\"\n\n\"Go away! If you're found around here, we'll be in trouble.\"\n\n\"Look, we've very sorry to bother you like this, but we've been walking a long time. My friend needs some rest, that's all, and—\"\n\n\"Please go away!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"All right, if you really want us to, but couldn't you give my friend some medicine? His stomach's in such bad shape it's hard for us to keep moving.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Well, I don't know... \"\n\nAfter a moment or two, they heard footsteps and a little tinkling sound receding into the house, growing fainter and fainter.\n\nJust then they noticed the face. It was in a side window, a woman's face, and it had been watching them all along." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Akemi,\" she called out, \"let them in. They're foot soldiers. The Tokugawa patrols aren't going to be wasting time on them. They're nobodies.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Akemi opened the door, and the woman, who introduced herself as Okō, came and listened to Takezō's story.\n\nIt was agreed that they could have the woodshed to sleep in. To quiet his bowels, Matahachi was given magnolia charcoal powder and thin rice gruel with scallions in it. Over the next few days, he slept almost without interruption, while Takezō, sitting vigil by his side, used cheap spirits to treat the bullet wounds in his thigh." }, { "from": "human", "value": "One evening about a week later, Takezō and Matahachi sat chatting." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"They must have a trade of some kind,\" Takezō remarked.\n\n\"I couldn't care less what they do. I'm just glad they took us in.\"\n\nBut Takezō's curiosity was aroused. \"The mother's not so old,\" he went on." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's strange, the two of them living alone here in the mountains.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Umm. Don't you think the girl looks a little like Otsū?\"\n\n\"There is something about her that puts me in mind of Otsū, but I don't think they really look alike. They're both nice-looking, that's about it. What do you suppose she was doing the first time we saw her, creeping around all those corpses in the middle of the night? It didn't seem to bother her at all. Ha! I can still see it. Her face was as calm and serene as those dolls they make in Kyoto. What a picture!\"\n\nMatahachi motioned for him to be quiet.\n\n\"Shh! I hear her bell.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Akemi's light knock on the door sounded like the tapping of a woodpecker." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Matahachi, Takezō,\" she called softly.\n\n\"Yes?\"\n\n\"It's me.\"\n\nTakezō got up and undid the lock." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She came in carrying a tray of medicine and food and asked them how they were." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Much better, thanks to you and your mother.\"\n\n\"Mother said that even if you feel better, you shouldn't talk too loud or go outside.\"\n\nTakezō spoke for the two of them. \"We're really sorry to put you to so much trouble.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Oh, that's okay, you just have to be careful. Ishida Mitsunari and some of the other generals haven't been caught yet. They're keeping a close watch on this area and the roads are crawling with Tokugawa troops.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"They are?\"\n\n\"So even though you're only foot soldiers, Mother said that if we're caught hiding you, we'll be arrested.\"\n\n\"We won't make a sound,\" Takezō promised. \"I'll even cover Matahachi's face with a rag if he snores too loudly.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Akemi smiled, turned to go and said, \"Good night. I'll see you in the morning.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Wait!\" said Matahachi. \"Why don't you hang around and talk awhile?\"\n\n\"I can't.\"\n\n\"Why not?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Mother'd be angry.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Why worry about her? How old are you?\"\n\n\"Sixteen.\"\n\n\"Small for your age, aren't you?\"\n\n\"Thanks for telling me.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Where's your father?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I don't have one anymore.\"\n\n\"Sorry. Then how do you live?\"\n\n\"We make moxa.\"\n\n\"That medicine you burn on your skin to get rid of pain?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes, the moxa from hereabouts is famous. In spring we cut mugwort on Mount Ibuki. In summer we dry it and in fall and winter make it into moxa. We sell it in Tarui. People come from all over just to buy it.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I guess you don't need a man around to do that.\"\n\n\"Well, if that's all you wanted to know, I'd better be going.\"\n\n\"Hold on, just another second,\" said Takezō. \"I have one more question.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Well?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The other night, the night we came here, we saw a girl out on the battlefield and she looked just like you. That was you, wasn't it?\"\n\nAkemi turned quickly and opened the door.\n\n\"What were you doing out there?\"\n\nShe slammed the door behind her, and as she ran to the house the little bell rang out in a strange, erratic rhythm." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The Comb" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "At five feet eight or nine, Takezō was tall for people of his time. His body was like a fine steed's: strong and supple, with long, sinewy limbs. His lips were full and crimson, and his thick black eyebrows fell short of being bushy by virtue of their fine shape. Extending well beyond the outer corners of his eyes, they served to accentuate his manliness." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The villagers called him \"the child of a fat year,\" an expression used only about children whose features were larger than average." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Far from an insult, the nickname nonetheless set him apart from the other youngsters, and for this reason caused him considerable embarrassment in his early years.\n\nAlthough it was never used in reference to Matahachi, the same expression could have been applied to him as well. Somewhat shorter and stockier than Takezō, he was barrel-chested and round-faced, giving an impression of joviality if not downright buffoonery. His prominent, slightly protruding eyes were given to shifting when he talked, and most jokes made at his expense hinged on his resemblance to the frogs that croaked unceasingly through the summer nights." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Both youths were at the height of their growing years, and thus quick to recover from most ailments." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "By the time Takezō's wounds had completely healed, Matahachi could no longer stand his incarceration. He took to pacing the woodshed and complaining endlessly about being cooped up. More than once he made the mistake of saying he felt like a cricket in a damp, dark hole, leaving himself wide open to Takezō's retort that frogs and crickets are supposed to like such living arrangements. At some point, Matahachi must have begun peeping into the house, because one day he leaned over to his cellmate as if to impart some earth-shattering news." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Every evening,\" he whispered gravely, \"the widow puts powder on her face and pretties herself up!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Takezō's face became that of a girl-hating twelve-year-old detecting defection, a budding interest in \"them,\" in his closest friend. Matahachi had turned traitor, and the look was one of unmistakable disgust.\n\nMatahachi began going to the house and sitting by the hearth with Akemi and her youthful mother. After three or four days of chatting and joking with them, the convivial guest became one of the family." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He stopped going back to the woodshed even at night, and the rare times he did, he had sake on his breath and tried to entice Takezō into the house by singing the praises of the good life just a few feet away." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You're crazy!\" Takezō would reply in exasperation. \"You're going to get us killed, or at least picked up. We lost, we're stragglers—can't you get that through your head? We have to be careful and lie low until things cool down.\"\n\nHe soon grew tired of trying to reason with his pleasure-loving friend, however, and started instead to cut him short with curt replies:\n\n\"I don't like sake,\" or sometimes: \"I like it out here. It's cozy.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "But Takezō was going stir-crazy too." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He was bored beyond endurance, and eventually showed signs of weakening. \"Is it really safe?\" he'd ask. \"This neighborhood, I mean? No sign of patrols? You're sure?\"\n\nAfter being entombed for twenty days in the woodshed, he finally emerged like a half-starved prisoner of war." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His skin had the translucent, waxen look of death, all the more apparent as he stood beside his sun-and-sake-reddened friend." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He squinted up at the clear blue sky, and stretching his arms broadly, yawned extravagantly. When his cavernous mouth finally came closed, one noticed that his brows had been knit all the while. His face wore a troubled air.\n\n\"Matahachi,\" he said seriously, \"we're imposing on these people. They're taking a big risk having us around. I think we should start for home.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I guess you're right,\" said Matahachi." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"But they're not letting anyone through the barriers unchecked. The roads to Ise and Kyoto are both impossible, according to the widow. She says we should stay put until the snow comes. The girl says so too. She's convinced we should stay hidden, and you know she's out and about every day.\"\n\n\"You call sitting by the fire drinking being hidden?\"\n\n\"Sure. You know what I did? The other day some of Tokugawa's men—they're still looking for General Ukita—came snooping around. I got rid of the bastards just by going out and greeting them.\" At this point, as Takezō's eyes widened in disbelief, Matahachi let out a rolling belly laugh." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When it subsided, he went on." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You're safer out in the open than you are crouching in the woodshed listening for footsteps and going crazy. That's what I've been trying to tell you.\" Matahachi doubled up with laughter again, and Takezō shrugged.\n\n\"Maybe you're right. That could be the best way to handle things.\"\n\nHe still had his reservations, but after this conversation he moved into the house." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Okō, who obviously liked having people, more specifically men, around, made them feel completely at home." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Occasionally, however, she gave them a jolt by suggesting that one of them marry Akemi. This seemed to fluster Matahachi more than Takezō, who simply ignored the suggestion or countered it with a humorous remark.\n\nIt was the season for the succulent, fragrant matsutake, which grows at the bases of pine trees, and Takezō relaxed enough to go hunting the large mushrooms on the wooded mountain just behind the house. Akemi, basket in hand, would search from tree to tree." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Each time she picked up their scent, her innocent voice reverberated through the woods." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Takezō, over here! Lots of them!\"\n\nHunting around nearby, he invariably replied, \"There are plenty over here too.\"\n\nThrough the pine branches, the autumn sun filtered down on them in thin, slanting shafts. The carpet of pine needles in the cool shelter of the trees was a soft dusty rose." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When they tired, Akemi would challenge him, giggling." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Let's see who has the most!\"\n\n\"I do,\" he'd always reply smugly, at which point she'd begin inspecting his basket.\n\nThis day was no different from the others. \"Ha, ha! I knew it!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "she cried. Gleefully triumphant, the way only girls that young can be, with no hint of self-consciousness or affected modesty, she bent over his basket." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You've got a bunch of toadstools in your batch!\" Then she discarded the poisonous fungi one by one, not actually counting out loud, but with movements so slow and deliberate Takezō could hardly ignore them, even with his eyes closed. She flung each one as far as she could. Her task completed, she looked up, her young face beaming with self-satisfaction." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Now look how many more I have than you!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It's getting late,\" Takezō muttered. \"Let's go home.\"\n\n\"You're cross because you lost, aren't you?\"\n\nShe started racing down the mountainside like a pheasant, but suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, an expression of alarm clouding her face. Approaching diagonally across the grove, halfway down the slope, was a mountain of a man; his strides were long and languorous, and his glaring eyes were trained directly on the frail young girl before him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He looked frighteningly primitive." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Everything about him smacked of the struggle to survive, and he had a distinct air of bellicosity: ferocious bushy eyebrows and a thick, curling upper lip; a heavy sword, a cloak of mail, and an animal skin wrapped around him.\n\n\"Akemi!\" he roared, as he came closer to her. He grinned broadly, showing a row of yellow, decaying teeth, but Akemi's face continued to register nothing but horror.\n\n\"Is that wonderful mama of yours home?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "he asked with labored sarcasm." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes,\" came a peep of a reply.\n\n\"Well, when you go home, I want you to tell her something. Would you do that for me?\" He spoke mock politely.\n\n\"Yes.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "His tone became harsh." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You tell her she's not putting anything over on me, trying to make money behind my back. You tell her I'll be around soon for my cut. Have you got that?\"\n\nAkemi said nothing.\n\n\"She probably thinks I don't know about it, but the guy she sold the goods to came straight to me. I bet you were going to Sekigahara too, weren't you, little one?\"\n\n\"No, of course not!\" she protested weakly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Well, never mind. Just tell her what I said. If she pulls any more fast ones, I'll kick her out of the neighborhood.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He glared at the girl for a moment, then lumbered off in the direction of the marsh.\n\nTakezō turned his eyes from the departing stranger and looked at Akemi with concern. \"Who on earth was that?\"\n\nAkemi, her lips still trembling, answered wearily, \"His name is Tsujikaze. He comes from the village of Fuwa.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her voice was barely above a whisper." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"He's a freebooter, isn't he?\"\n\n\"Yes.\"\n\n\"What's he so worked up about?\"\n\nShe stood there without answering." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I won't tell anybody,\" he assured her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Can't you even tell me?\"\n\nAkemi, obviously miserable, seemed to be searching for words. Suddenly she leaned against Takezō's chest and pleaded, \"Promise you won't tell anyone?\"\n\n\"Who am I going to tell? The Tokugawa samurai?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Remember the night you first saw me? At Sekigahara?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Of course I remember.\"\n\n\"Well, haven't you figured out yet what I was doing?\"\n\n\"No. I haven't thought about it,\" he said with a straight face.\n\n\"Well, I was stealing!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She looked at him closely, gauging his reaction." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Stealing?\"\n\n\"After a battle, I go to the battlefield and take things off the dead soldiers: swords, scabbard ornaments, incense bags—anything we can sell.\" She looked at him again for a sign of disapproval, but his face betrayed none. \"It scares me,\" she sighed, then, turning pragmatic, \"but we need the money for food and if I say I don't want to go, Mother gets furious.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The sun was still fairly high in the sky." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "At Akemi's suggestion, Takezō sat down on the grass. Through the pines, they could look down on the house in the marsh.\n\nTakezō nodded to himself, as if figuring something out. A bit later he said, \"Then that story about cutting mugwort in the mountains. Making it into moxa. That was all a lie?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Oh, no. We do that too! But Mother has such expensive tastes. We'd never be able to make a living on moxa. When my father was alive, we lived in the biggest house in the village—in all seven villages of Ibuki, as a matter of fact. We had lots of servants, and Mother always had beautiful things.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Was your father a merchant?\"\n\n\"Oh, no. He was the leader of the local freebooters.\" Akemi's eyes shone with pride. It was clear she no longer feared Takezō's reaction and was giving vent to her true feelings, her jaw set, her small hands tightening into fists as she spoke." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"This Tsujikaze Temma—the man we just met—killed him. At least, everyone says he did.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You mean your father was murdered?\"\n\nNodding silently, she began in spite of herself to weep, and Takezō felt something deep inside himself start to thaw. He hadn't felt much sympathy for the girl at first. Though smaller than most other girls of sixteen, she talked like a grown woman much of the time, and every once in a while made a quick movement that put one on guard." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But when the tears began to drop from her long eyelashes, he suddenly melted with pity." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He wanted to hug her in his arms, to protect her.\n\nAll the same, she was not a girl who'd had anything resembling a proper upbringing. That there was no nobler calling than that of her father seemed to be something she never questioned. Her mother had persuaded her that it was quite all right to strip corpses, not in order to eat, but in order to live nicely." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Many out-and-out thieves would have shrunk from the task." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "During the long years of feudal strife, it had reached the point where all the shiftless good-for-nothings in the countryside drifted into making their living this way. People had more or less come to expect it of them. When war broke out, the local military rulers even made use of their services, rewarding them generously for setting fire to enemy supplies, spreading false rumors, stealing horses from enemy camps and the like. Most often their services were bought, but even when they were not, a war offered a host of opportunities; besides foraging among corpses for valuables, they could sometimes even wangle rewards for slaying samurai whose heads they'd merely stumbled upon and picked up." }, { "from": "human", "value": "One large battle made it possible for these unscrupulous pilferers to live comfortably for six months or a year." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "During the most turbulent times, even the ordinary farmer and woodcutter had learned to profit from human misery and bloodshed. The fighting on the outskirts of their village might keep these simple souls from working, but they had ingeniously adapted to the situation and discovered how to pick over the remains of human life like vultures. Partly because of these intrusions, the professional looters maintained strict surveillance over their respective territories. It was an ironclad rule that poachers—namely, brigands who trespassed on the more powerful brigands' turf—could not go unpunished." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Those who dared infringe on the assumed rights of these thugs were liable to cruel retribution." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Akemi shivered and said, \"What'll we do? Temma's henchmen are on their way here, I just know it.\"\n\n\"Don't worry,\" Takezō reassured her. \"If they do show up, I'll greet them personally.\"\n\nWhen they came down from the mountain, twilight had descended on the marsh, and all was still." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A smoke trail from the bath fire at the house crept along the top of a row of tall rushes like an airborne undulating snake." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Okō, having finished applying her nightly makeup, was standing idly at the back door. When she saw her daughter approaching side by side with Takezō, she shouted, \"Akemi, what have you been doing out so late?\"\n\nThere was sternness in her eye and voice. The girl, who had been walking along absentmindedly, was brought up short." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She was more sensitive to her mother's moods than to anything else in the world." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Her mother had both nurtured this sensitivity and learned to exploit it, to manipulate her daughter like a puppet with a mere look or gesture. Akemi quickly fled Takezō's side and, blushing noticeably, ran ahead and into the house.\n\nThe next day Akemi told her mother about Tsujikaze Temma. Okō flew into a rage." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Why didn't you tell me immediately?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "she screamed, rushing around like a madwoman, tearing at her hair, taking things out of drawers and closets and piling them all together in the middle of the room.\n\n\"Matahachi! Takezō! Give me a hand! We have to hide everything.\"\n\nMatahachi shifted a board pointed to by Okō and hoisted himself up above the ceiling. There wasn't much space between the ceiling and the rafters." }, { "from": "human", "value": "One could barely crawl about, but it served Okō's purpose, and most likely that of her departed husband." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Takezō, standing on a stool between mother and daughter, began handing things up to Matahachi one by one. If Takezō hadn't heard Akemi's story the day before, he would've been amazed at the variety of articles he now saw.\n\nTakezō knew the two of them had been at this for a long time, but even so, it was astonishing how much they had accumulated. There was a dagger, a spear tassel, a sleeve from a suit of armor, a helmet without a crown, a miniature, portable shrine, a Buddhist rosary, a banner staff..." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There was even a lacquered saddle, beautifully carved and ornately decorated with gold, silver and mother-of-pearl inlay." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "From the opening in the ceiling Matahachi peered out, a perplexed look on his face. \"Is that everything?\"\n\n\"No, there's one thing more,\" said Okō, rushing off. In a moment she was back, bearing a four-foot sword of black oak. Takezō started passing it up to Matahachi's outstretched arms, but the weight, the curve, the perfect balance of the weapon impressed him so deeply that he could not let it go." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He turned to Okō, a sheepish look on his face." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Do you think I could have this?\" he asked, his eyes showing a new vulnerability. He glanced at his feet, as if to say he knew he'd done nothing to deserve the sword.\n\n\"Do you really want it?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "she said softly, a motherly tone in her voice." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes... Yes... I really do!\"\n\nAlthough she didn't actually say he could have it, she smiled, showing a dimple, and Takezō knew the sword was his. Matahachi jumped down from the ceiling, bursting with envy. He fingered the sword covetously, making Okō laugh." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"See how the little man pouts because he didn't get a present!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She tried to placate him by giving him a handsome leather purse beaded with agate. Matahachi didn't look very happy with it. His eyes kept shifting to the black-oak sword. His feelings were hurt and the purse did little to assuage his wounded pride." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When her husband was alive, Okō had apparently acquired the habit of taking a leisurely, steaming hot bath every evening, putting on her makeup, and then drinking a bit of sake." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In short, she spent the same amount of time on her toilette as the highest-paid geisha. It was not the sort of luxury that ordinary people could afford, but she insisted on it and had even taught Akemi to follow the same routine, although the girl found it boring and the reasons for it unfathomable. Not only did Okō like to live well; she was determined to remain young forever.\n\nThat evening, as they sat around the recessed floor hearth, Okō poured Matahachi's sake and tried to persuade Takezō to have some as well." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When he refused, she put the cup in his hand, seized him by the wrist and forced him to raise it to his lips." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Men are supposed to be able to drink,\" she chided. \"If you can't do it alone, I'll help.\"\n\nFrom time to time, Matahachi stared uneasily at her. Okō, conscious of his gaze, became even more familiar with Takezō." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Placing her hand playfully on his knee, she began humming a popular love song." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "By this time, Matahachi had had enough. Suddenly turning to Takezō, he blurted out, \"We ought to be moving on soon!\"\n\nThis had the desired effect. \"But... but... where would you go?\" Okō stammered." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Back to Miyamoto. My mother's there, and so is my fiancée.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Momentarily taken by surprise, Okō swiftly regained her composure. Her eyes narrowed to slits, her smile froze, her voice turned acid. \"Well, please accept my apologies for delaying you, for taking you in and giving you a home. If there's a girl waiting for you, you'd better hurry on back. Far be it from me to keep you!\"\n\nAfter receiving the black-oak sword, Takezō was never without it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He derived an indescribable pleasure from simply holding it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Often he'd squeeze the handle tightly or run its blunt edge along his palm, just to feel the perfect proportion of the curve to the length. When he slept, he hugged it to his body. The cool touch of the wooden surface against his cheek reminded him of the floor of the dōjō where he'd practiced sword techniques in winter. This nearly perfect instrument of both art and death reawakened in him the fighting spirit he had inherited from his father." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Takezō had loved his mother, but she had left his father and moved away when he was still small, leaving him alone with Munisai, a martinet who wouldn't have known how to spoil a child in the unlikely event that he had wanted to." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In his father's presence, the boy had always felt awkward and frightened, never really at ease. When he was nine years old, he'd so craved a kind word from his mother that he had run away from home and gone all the way to Harima Province, where she was living. Takezō never learned why his mother and father had separated, and at that age, an explanation might not have helped much. She had married another samurai, by whom she had one more child." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Once the little runaway had reached Harima, he wasted no time in locating his mother." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "On that occasion, she took him to a wooded area behind the local shrine, so they wouldn't be seen, and there, with tear-filled eyes, hugged him tightly and tried to explain why he had to go back to his father. Takezō never forgot the scene; every detail of it remained vividly in his mind as long as he lived.\n\nOf course, Munisai, being the samurai he was, had sent people to retrieve his son the moment he learned of his disappearance. It was obvious where the child had gone." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Takezō was returned to Miyamoto like a bundle of firewood, strapped on the back of an unsaddled horse." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Munisai, by way of greeting, had called him an insolent brat, and in a state of rage verging on hysteria, caned him until he could cane no more. Takezō remembered more explicitly than anything else the venom with which his father had spat out his ultimatum: \"If you go to your mother one more time, I'll disown you.\"\n\nNot long after this incident, Takezō learned that his mother had fallen ill and died. Her death had the effect of transforming him from a quiet, gloomy child into the village bully." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Even Munisai was intimidated eventually." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When he took a truncheon to the boy, the latter countered with a wooden staff. The only one who ever stood up to him was Matahachi, also the son of a samurai; the other children all did Takezō's bidding. By the time he was twelve or thirteen, he was almost as tall as an adult.\n\nOne year, a wandering swordsman named Arima Kihei put up a gold-emblazoned banner and offered to take on challengers from the village." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Takezō killed him effortlessly, eliciting praise for his valor from the villagers." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Their high opinion of him, however, was short-lived, since as he grew older, he became increasingly unmanageable and brutal. Many thought him sadistic, and soon, whenever he appeared on the scene, people gave him a very wide berth. His attitude toward them grew to reflect their coldness.\n\nWhen his father, as harsh and unrelenting as ever, finally died, the cruel streak in Takezō widened even more." }, { "from": "human", "value": "If it had not been for his older sister, Ogin, Takezō would probably have gotten himself into something far over his head and been driven out of the village by an angry mob." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Fortunately, he loved his sister and, powerless before her tears, usually did whatever she asked.\n\nGoing off to war with Matahachi was a turning point for Takezō. It indicated that somehow he wanted to take his place in society alongside other men. The defeat at Sekigahara had abruptly curtailed such hopes, and he found himself once again plunged into the dark reality from which he thought he had escaped." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Still, he was a youth blessed with the sublime lightheartedness that flourishes only in an age of strife." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When he slept, his face became as placid as an infant's, completely untroubled by thoughts of the morrow. He had his share of dreams, asleep or awake, but he suffered few real disappointments. Having so little to begin with, he had little to lose, and although he was in a sense uprooted, he was also unfettered by shackles.\n\nBreathing deeply and steadily, holding on to his wooden sword tightly, Takezō at this moment may well have been dreaming, a faint smile on his lips as visions of his gentle sister and his peaceful hometown cascaded like a mountain waterfall before his closed, heavily lashed eyes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Okō, carrying a lamp, slipped into his room." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What a peaceful face,\" she marveled under her breath; she reached out and lightly touched his lips with her fingers.\n\nThen she blew out the lamp and lay down beside him. Curling up catlike, she inched closer and closer to his body, her whitened face and colorful nightgown, really too youthful for her, hidden by the darkness. The only sound that could be heard was that of dewdrops dripping onto the windowsill." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I wonder if he's still a virgin,\" she mused as she reached out to remove his wooden sword." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The instant she touched it, Takezō was on his feet and shouting, \"Thief! Thief!\"\n\nOkō was thrown over onto the lamp, which cut into her shoulder and chest. Takezō was wrenching her arm without mercy. She screamed out in pain." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Astonished, he released her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Oh, it's you. I thought it was a thief.\"\n\n\"Oooh,\" moaned Okō. \"That hurt!\"\n\n\"I'm sorry. I didn't know it was you.\"\n\n\"You don't know your own strength. You almost tore my arm off.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I said I was sorry. What are you doing here, anyway?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ignoring his innocent query, she quickly recovered from her arm injury and tried to coil the same limb around his neck, cooing, \"You don't have to apologize. Takezō... \" She ran the back of her hand softly against his cheek.\n\n\"Hey! What are you doing? Are you crazy?\" he shouted, shrinking away from her touch.\n\n\"Don't make so much noise, you idiot. You know how I feel about you.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She went on trying to fondle him, with him swatting at her like a man attacked by a swarm of bees." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes, and I'm very grateful. Neither of us will ever forget how kind you've been, taking us in and all.\"\n\n\"I don't mean that, Takezō. I'm talking about my woman's feelings—the lovely, warm feeling I have for you.\"\n\n\"Wait a minute,\" he said, jumping up. \"I'll light the lamp!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Oh, how can you be so cruel,\" she whimpered, moving to embrace him again." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Don't do that!\" he cried indignantly. \"Stop it—I mean it!\"\n\nSomething in his voice, something intense and resolute, frightened Okō into halting her attack.\n\nTakezō felt his bones wobbling, his teeth rattling." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Never had he encountered such a formidable adversary." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Not even when he'd looked up at the horses galloping past him at Sekigahara had his heart palpitated so. He sat cringing in the corner of the room.\n\n\"Go away, please,\" he pleaded. \"Go back to your own room. If you don't, I'll call Matahachi. I'll wake the whole house up!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Okō did not budge." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She sat there in the dark, breathing heavily and staring at him with narrowed eyes. She wasn't about to be rebuffed. \"Takezō,\" she cooed again. \"Don't you understand how I feel?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He made no reply." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Don't you?\"\n\n\"Yes, but do you understand how I feel, being snuck up on in my sleep, frightened to death and mauled by a tiger in the dark?\"\n\nIt was her turn to be silent. A low whisper, almost a growl, emerged from a deep part of her throat." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She said each syllable with a vengeance." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"How can you embarrass me so?\"\n\n\"I embarrass you?\"\n\n\"Yes. This is mortifying.\"\n\nThey were both so tense they hadn't noticed the knocking at the door, which had apparently been going on for some time." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Now the pounding was punctuated by shouts." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What's going on in there? Are you deaf? Open the door!\"\n\nA light appeared in the crack between the sliding rain shutters. Akemi was already awake. Then Matahachi's footsteps thudded toward them and his voice called, \"What's going on?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "From the hallway now, Akemi cried out in alarm, \"Mother! Are you in there? Please answer me!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blindly Okō scrambled back into her own room, just adjoining Takezō's, and answered from there. The men outside appeared to have pried open the shutters and stormed into the house. When she reached the hearth room she saw six or seven pairs of broad shoulders crowded into the adjacent, dirt-floored kitchen, which was a big step down, since it was set at a lower level than the other rooms.\n\nOne of the men shouted, \"It's Tsujikaze Temma. Give us some light!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The men barged rudely into the main part of the house." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They didn't even stop to remove their sandals, a sure sign of habitual uncouthness. They began poking around everywhere—in the closets, in the drawers, under the thick straw tatami covering the floor. Temma seated himself royally by the hearth and watched as his henchmen systematically ransacked the rooms. He thoroughly enjoyed being in charge but soon seemed to tire of his own inactivity." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"This is taking too long,\" he growled, pounding his fist on the tatami." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You must have some of it here. Where is it?\"\n\n\"I don't know what you're talking about,\" replied Okō, folding her hands over her stomach forbearingly.\n\n\"Don't give me that, woman!\" he bellowed. \"Where is it? I know it's here!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I don't have a thing!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Nothing?\"\n\n\"Nothing.\"\n\n\"Well, then, maybe you don't. Maybe I have the wrong information... \" He eyed her warily, tugging and scratching at his beard. \"That's enough, men!\" he thundered." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Okō had meanwhile sat down in the next room, with the sliding door wide open." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She had her back to him, but even so she looked defiant, as though telling him he could go ahead and search wherever he had a mind to.\n\n\"Okō,\" he called gruffly.\n\n\"What do you want?\" came the icy reply." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"How about a little something to drink?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Would you like some water?\"\n\n\"Don't push me... \" he warned menacingly.\n\n\"The sake's in there. Drink it if you want to.\"\n\n\"Aw, Okō,\" he said, softening, almost admiring her for her coldhearted stubbornness." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Don't be that way. I haven't been to visit for a long time. Is this any way to treat an old friend?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Some visit!\"\n\n\"Now, take it easy. You're partly to blame, you know. I've been hearing about what the 'moxa man's widow' has been up to from too many different people to think it's all lies. I hear you've been sending your lovely daughter out to rob corpses. Now, why would she be doing a thing like that?\"\n\n\"Show me your proof!\" she shrieked. \"Where's the proof!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If I'd been planning to dig it out, I wouldn't have given Akemi advance warning. You know the rules of the game. It's my territory, and I've got to go through the motions of searching your house. Otherwise, everybody'd get the idea they could get away with the same thing. Then where'd I be? I've gotta protect myself, you know!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She stared at him in steely silence, her head half turned toward him, chin and nose proudly raised.\n\n\"Well, I'm going to let you off this time. But just remember, I'm being especially nice to you.\"\n\n\"Nice to me? Who, you? That's a laugh!\"\n\n\"Okō,\" he coaxed, \"come here and pour me a drink.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "When she showed no sign of moving, he exploded." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You crazy bitch! Can't you see that if you were nice to me, you wouldn't have to live like this?\" He calmed down a bit, then advised her, \"Think it over for a while.\"\n\n\"I'm overcome by your kindness, sir,\" came the venomous reply.\n\n\"You don't like me?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Just answer me this: Who killed my husband? I suppose you expect me to believe that you don't know?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If you want to take revenge on whoever it was, I'll be happy to help. Any way I can.\"\n\n\"Don't play dumb!\"\n\n\"What do you mean by that?\"\n\n\"You seem to hear so much from people. Haven't they told you that it was you yourself who killed him? Haven't you heard that Tsujikaze Temma was the murderer? Everyone else knows it. I may be the widow of a freebooter, but I haven't sunk so low that I'd play around with my husband's killer.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You had to go and say it, didn't you—couldn't leave well enough alone, eh!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "With a rueful laugh, he drained the sake cup in one gulp and poured another. \"You know, you really shouldn't say things like that. It's not good for your health—or your pretty daughter's!\"\n\n\"I'll bring Akemi up properly, and after she's married, I'll get back at you. Mark my word!\"\n\nTemma laughed until his shoulders, his whole body, shook like a cake of bean curd." }, { "from": "human", "value": "After he'd downed all the sake he could find, he motioned to one of his men, who was positioned in a corner of the kitchen, his lance propped vertically against his shoulder." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You there,\" he boomed, \"push aside some of the ceiling boards with the butt of your lance!\"\n\nThe man did as he was told. As he went around the room, poking at the ceiling, Okō's treasure trove began falling to the floor like hailstones.\n\n\"Just as I suspected all along,\" said Temma, getting clumsily to his feet." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You see it, men. Evidence! She's broken the rules, no question about it. Take her outside and give her her punishment!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The men converged on the hearth room, but abruptly came to a halt. Okō stood statuesquely in the doorway, as though daring them to lay a hand on her. Temma, who'd stepped down into the kitchen, called back impatiently, \"What are you waiting for? Bring her out here!\"\n\nNothing happened. Okō continued to stare the men down, and they remained as if paralyzed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Temma decided to take over." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Clicking his tongue, he made for Okō, but he, too, stopped short in front of the doorway. Standing behind Okō, not visible from the kitchen, were two fierce-looking young men. Takezō was holding the wooden sword low, poised to fracture the shins of the first comer and anyone else stupid enough to follow. On the other side was Matahachi, holding a sword high in the air, ready to bring it down on the first neck that ventured through the doorway." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Akemi was nowhere to be seen." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"So that's how it is,\" groaned Temma, suddenly remembering the scene on the mountainside. \"I saw that one walking the other day with Akemi—the one with the stick. Who's the other one?\"\n\nNeither Matahachi nor Takezō said a word, making it clear that they intended to answer with their weapons. The tension mounted.\n\n\"There aren't supposed to be any men in this house,\" roared Temma." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You two... You must be from Sekigahara! You better watch your step—I'm warning you.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Neither of them moved a muscle.\n\n\"There isn't anybody in these parts who doesn't know the name of Tsujikaze Temma! I'll show you what we do to stragglers!\"\n\nSilence. Temma waved his men out of the way. One of them backed straight into the hearth, in the middle of the floor." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He let out a yelp and fell in, sending a shower of sparks from the burning kindling up to the ceiling; in seconds, the room filled completely with smoke." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Aarrgghh!\"\n\nAs Temma lunged into the room, Matahachi brought down his sword with both hands, but the older man was too fast for him and the blow glanced off the tip of Temma's scabbard. Okō had taken refuge in the nearest corner while Takezō waited, his black-oak sword horizontally poised. He aimed at Temma's legs and swung with all his strength." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The staff whizzed through the darkness, but there was no thud of impact." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Somehow this bull of a man had jumped up just in time and on the way down threw himself at Takezō with the force of a boulder.\n\nTakezō felt as though he were tangling with a bear. This was the strongest man he had ever fought. Temma grabbed him by the throat and landed two or three blows that made him think his skull would crack." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then Takezō got his second wind and sent Temma flying through the air." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He landed against the wall, rocking the house and everything in it. As Takezō raised the wooden sword to come down on Temma's head, the freebooter rolled over, jumped to his feet, and fled, with Takezō close on his tail.\n\nTakezō was determined to not let Temma escape. That would be dangerous." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His mind was made up; when he caught him, he was not going to do a halfway job of killing him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He would make absolutely certain that not a breath of life was left.\n\nThat was Takezō's nature; he was a creature of extremes. Even when he was a small child, there had been something primitive in his blood, something harking back to the fierce warriors of ancient Japan, something as wild as it was pure. It knew neither the light of civilization nor the tempering of knowledge." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Nor did it know moderation." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was a natural trait, and the one that had always prevented his father from liking the boy. Munisai had tried, in the fashion typical of the military class, to curb his son's ferocity by punishing him severely and often, but the effect of such discipline had been to make the boy wilder, like a wild boar whose true ferocity emerges when it is deprived of food. The more the villagers despised the young roughneck, the more he lorded it over them.\n\nAs the child of nature became a man, he grew bored with swaggering about the village as though he owned it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was too easy to intimidate the timid villagers." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He began to dream of bigger things. Sekigahara had given him his first lesson in what the world was really like. His youthful illusions were shattered—not that he'd really had many to begin with. It would never have occurred to him to brood over having failed in his first \"real\" venture, or to muse on the grimness of the future." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He didn't yet know the meaning of self-discipline, and he'd taken the whole bloody catastrophe in stride." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And now, fortuitously, he'd stumbled onto a really big fish—Tsujikaze Temma, the leader of the freebooters! This was the kind of adversary he had longed to lock horns with at Sekigahara.\n\n\"Coward!\" he yelled. \"Stand and fight!\"\n\nTakezō was running like lightning through the pitch-black field, shouting taunts all the while." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ten paces ahead, Temma was fleeing as if on wings." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Takezō's hair was literally on end, and the wind made a groaning noise as it swept past his ears. He was happy—happier than he'd ever been in his life. The more he ran, the closer he came to sheer animal ecstasy.\n\nHe leapt at Temma's back." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Blood spurted out at the end of the wooden sword, and a bloodcurdling scream pierced the silent night." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The freebooter's hulking frame fell to the ground with a leaden thud and rolled over. The skull was smashed to bits, the eyes popped out of their sockets. After two or three more heavy blows to the body, broken ribs protruded from the skin.\n\nTakezō raised his arm, wiping rivers of sweat from his brow." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Satisfied, Captain?\" he asked triumphantly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He started nonchalantly back toward the house. An observer new on the scene might have thought him out for an evening stroll, with not a care in the world. He felt free, no remorse, knowing that if the other man had won, he himself would be lying there, dead and alone.\n\nOut of the darkness came Matahachi's voice." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Takezō, is that you?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yeah,\" he replied dully. \"What's up?\"\n\nMatahachi ran up to him and announced breathlessly, \"I killed one! How about you?\"\n\n\"I killed one too.\"\n\nMatahachi held up his sword, soaked in blood right down to the braiding on the hilt." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Squaring his shoulders with pride, he said, \"The others ran away. These thieving bastards aren't much as fighters! No guts! Can only stand up to corpses, ha! Real even match, I'd say, ha, ha, ha.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Both of them were stained with gore and as contented as a pair of well-fed kittens. Chattering happily, they headed for the lamp visible in the distance, Takezō with his bloody stick, Matahachi with his bloody sword.\n\nA stray horse stuck his head through the window and looked around the house. His snorting woke the two sleepers." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Write four sentences sentences in the style of Eiji Yoshikawa spawning from what the user wrote." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Matahachi's family, the Hon'iden, were the proud members of a group of rural gentry who belonged to the samurai class but who also worked the land. The real head of the family was his mother, an incorrigibly stubborn woman named Osugi. Though nearly sixty, she led her family and tenants out to the fields daily and worked as hard as any of them. At planting time she hoed the fields and after the harvest threshed the barley by trampling it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When dusk forced her to stop working, she always found something to sling on her bent back and haul back to the house." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Often it was a load of mulberry leaves so big that her body, almost doubled over, was barely visible beneath it. In the evening, she could usually be found tending her silkworms.\n\nOn the afternoon of the flower festival, Osugi looked up from her work in the mulberry patch to see her runny-nosed grandson racing barefoot across the field.\n\n\"Where've you been, Heita?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "she asked sharply. \"At the temple?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Uh-huh.\"\n\n\"Was Otsū there?\"\n\n\"Yes,\" he answered excitedly, still out of breath. \"And she had on a very pretty obi. She was helping with the festival.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Did you bring back some sweet tea and a spell to keep the bugs away?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Unh-unh.\"\n\nThe old woman's eyes, usually hidden amid folds and wrinkles, opened wide in irritation. \"And why not?\"\n\n\"Otsū told me not to worry about them. She said I should run right home and tell you.\"\n\n\"Tell me what?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Takezō, from across the river. She said she saw him. At the festival.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Osugi's voice dropped an octave. \"Really? Did she really say that, Heita?\"\n\n\"Yes, Granny.\"\n\nHer strong body seemed to go limp all at once, and her eyes blurred with tears." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Slowly she turned, as though expecting to see her son standing behind her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Seeing no one, she spun back around. \"Heita,\" she said abruptly, \"you take over and pick these mulberry leaves.\"\n\n\"Where're you going?\"\n\n\"Home. If Takezō's back, Matahachi must be too.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'll come too.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No you won't. Don't be a nuisance, Heita.\"\n\nThe old woman stalked off, leaving the little boy as forlorn as an orphan. The farmhouse, surrounded by old, gnarled oaks, was a large one. Osugi ran past it, heading straight for the barn, where her daughter and some tenant farmers were working." }, { "from": "human", "value": "While still a fair distance away, she began calling to them somewhat hysterically." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Has Matahachi come home? Is he here yet?\"\n\nStartled, they stared at her as though she'd lost her wits. Finally one of the men said \"no,\" but the old woman seemed not to hear. It was as though in her overwrought state she refused to take no for an answer." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When they continued their noncommittal gaze, she began calling them all dunces and explaining what she'd heard from Heita, how if Takezō was back, then Matahachi must be too." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then, reassuming her role as commander in chief, she sent them off in all directions to find him. She herself stayed behind in the house, and every time she sensed someone approaching, ran out to ask if they had found her son yet.\n\nAt sunset, still undaunted, she placed a candle before the memorial tablets of her husband's ancestors. She sat down, seemingly lost in prayer, as immobile as a statue." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Since everyone was still out searching, there was no evening meal at the house, and when night fell and there was still no news, Osugi finally moved." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As if in a trance, she walked slowly out of the house to the front gate. There she stood and waited, hidden in the darkness. A watery moon shone through the oak tree branches, and the mountains looming before and behind the house were veiled in a white mist. The sweetish scent of pear blossoms floated in the air." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Time, too, floated by unnoticed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then a figure could be discerned approaching, making its way along the outer edge of the pear orchard. Recognizing the silhouette as Otsū's, Osugi called out and the girl ran forward, her wet sandals clomping heavily on the earth.\n\n\"Otsū! They told me you saw Takezō. Is that true?\"\n\n\"Yes, I'm sure it was him. I spotted him in the crowd outside the temple.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You didn't see Matahachi?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No. I rushed out to ask Takezō about him, but when I called out, Takezō jumped like a scared rabbit. I caught his eye for a second and then he was gone. He's always been strange, but I can't imagine why he ran away like that.\"\n\n\"Ran away?\" asked Osugi with a puzzled air. She began to muse, and the longer she did so, the more a terrible suspicion took shape in her mind. It was becoming clear to her that the Shimmen boy, that ruffian Takezō she so hated for luring her precious Matahachi off to war, was once more up to no good." }, { "from": "human", "value": "At length she said ominously, \"That wretch! He's probably left poor Matahachi to die somewhere, then sneaked back home safe and sound. Coward, that's what he is!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Osugi began to shake in fury and her voice rose to a shriek. \"He can't hide from me!\"\n\nOtsū remained composed. \"Oh, I don't think he'd do anything like that. Even if he did have to leave Matahachi behind, surely he'd bring us word or at least some keepsake from him.\" Otsū sounded shocked by the old woman's hasty accusation." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Osugi, however, was by now convinced of Takezō's perfidy." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She shook her head decisively and went on. \"Oh, no he wouldn't! Not that young demon! He hasn't got that much heart. Matahachi should never have taken up with him.\"\n\n\"Granny... \" Otsū said soothingly.\n\n\"What?\" snapped Osugi, not soothed in the least." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I think that if we go over to Ogin's house, we just might find Takezō there.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The old woman relaxed a bit. \"You might be right. She is his sister, and there really isn't anyone else in this village who'd take him in.\"\n\n\"Then let's go and see, just the two of us.\"\n\nOsugi balked. \"I don't see why I should do that. She knew her brother had dragged my son off to war, but she never once came to apologize or to pay her respects. And now that he's back, she hasn't even come to tell me. I don't see why I should go to her. It's demeaning. I'll wait here for her.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But this isn't an ordinary situation,\" replied Otsū." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Besides, the main thing at this point is to see Takezō as soon as we can. We've got to find out what happened. Oh, please, Granny, come. You won't have to do anything. I'll take care of all the formalities if you like.\"\n\nGrudgingly, Osugi allowed herself to be persuaded. She was, of course, as eager as Otsū to find out what was going on, but she'd die before begging for anything from a Shimmen.\n\nThe house was about a mile away." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Like the Hon'iden family, the Shimmen were country gentry, and both houses were descended from the Akamatsu clan many generations back." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Situated across the river from one another, they had always tacitly recognized each other's right to exist, but that was the extent of their intimacy.\n\nWhen they arrived at the front gate, they found it shut, and the trees were so thick that no light could be seen from the house. Otsū started to walk around to the back entrance, but Osugi stopped mulishly in her tracks.\n\n\"I don't think it's right for the head of the Hon'iden family to enter the Shimmen residence by the back door. It's degrading.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Seeing she wasn't going to budge, Otsū proceeded to the rear entrance alone." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Presently a light appeared just inside the gate. Ogin herself had come out to greet the older woman, who, suddenly transformed from a crone plowing the fields into a great lady, addressed her hostess in lofty tones.\n\n\"Forgive me for disturbing you at this late hour, but my business simply could not wait. How good of you to come and let me in!\" Sweeping past Ogin and on into the house, she went immediately, as though she were an envoy from the gods, to the most honored spot in the room, in front of the alcove." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Sitting proudly, her figure framed by both a hanging scroll and a flower arrangement, she deigned to accept Ogin's sincerest words of welcome." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The amenities concluded, Osugi went straight to the point. Her false smile disappeared as she glared at the young woman before her. \"I have been told that young demon of this house has crawled back home. Please fetch him.\"\n\nAlthough Osugi's tongue was notorious for its sharpness, this undisguised maliciousness came as something of a shock to the gentle Ogin." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Whom do you mean by 'that young demon'?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "asked Ogin, with palpable restraint.\n\nChameleon-like, Osugi changed her tactics. \"A slip of the tongue, I assure you,\" she said with a laugh. \"That's what the people in the village call him; I suppose I picked it up from them. The 'young demon' is Takezō. He is hiding here, isn't he?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Why, no,\" replied Ogin with genuine astonishment." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Embarrassed to hear her brother referred to in this way, she bit her lip.\n\nOtsū, taking pity on her, explained that she had spotted Takezō at the festival. Then, in an attempt to smooth over ruffled feelings, she added, \"Strange, isn't it, that he didn't come straight here?\"\n\n\"Well, he didn't,\" said Ogin." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"This is the first I've heard anything about it. But if he is back, as you say, I'm sure he'll be knocking at the door any minute.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Osugi, sitting formally on the floor cushion, legs tucked neatly beneath her, folded her hands in her lap and with the expression of an outraged mother-in-law, launched into a tirade.\n\n\"What is all this? Do you expect me to believe you haven't heard from him yet? Don't you understand that I'm the mother whose son your young ne'er-do-well dragged off to war? Don't you know that Matahachi is the heir and the most important member of the Hon'iden family? It was your brother who talked my boy into going off to get himself killed. If my son is dead, it's your brother who killed him, and if he thinks he can just sneak back alone and get away with it... \"\n\nThe old woman stopped just long enough to catch her breath, then her eyes glared in fury once more. \"And what about you? Since he's obviously had the indecency to sneak back by himself, why haven't you, his older sister, sent him immediately to me? I'm disgusted with both of you, treating an old woman with such disrespect. Who do you think I am?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Gulping down another breath, she ranted on." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If your Takezō is back, then bring my Matahachi back to me. If you can't do that, the least you can do is set that young demon down right here and make him explain to my satisfaction what happened to my precious boy and where he is—right now!\"\n\n\"How can I do that? He isn't here.\"\n\n\"That's a black lie!\" she shrieked. \"You must know where he is!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But I tell you I don't!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ogin protested. Her voice quivered and her eyes filled with tears. She bent over, wishing with all her might her father were still alive.\n\nSuddenly, from the door opening onto the veranda, came a cracking noise, followed by the sound of running feet.\n\nOsugi's eyes flashed, and Otsū started to stand up, but the next sound was a hair-raising scream—as close to an animal's howl as the human voice is capable of producing." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A man shouted, \"Catch him!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then came the sound of more feet, several more, running around the house, accompanied by the snapping of twigs and the rustling of bamboo.\n\n\"It's Takezō!\" cried Osugi. Jumping to her feet, she glared at the kneeling Ogin and spat out her words. \"I knew he was here,\" she said ferociously." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It was as clear to me as the nose on your face. I don't know why you've tried to hide him from me, but bear in mind, I'll never forget this.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She rushed to the door and slid it open with a bang. What she saw outside turned her already pale face even whiter. A young man wearing shin plates was lying face up on the ground, obviously dead but with fresh blood still streaming from his eyes and nose. Judging from the appearance of his shattered skull, someone had killed him with a single blow of a wooden sword." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"There's... there's a dead... a dead man out there!\" she stammered." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Otsū brought the light to the veranda and stood beside Osugi, who was staring terror-stricken at the corpse. It was neither Takezō's nor Matahachi's, but that of a samurai neither of them recognized.\n\nOsugi murmured, \"Who could've done this?\" Turning swiftly to Otsū, she said, \"Let's go home before we get mixed up in something.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Otsū couldn't bring herself to leave." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The old woman had said a lot of vicious things. It would be unfair to Ogin to leave before putting salve on the wounds. If Ogin had been lying, Otsū felt she must doubtless have had good reason. Feeling she should stay behind to comfort Ogin, she told Osugi she would be along later." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Do as you please,\" snapped Osugi, as she made her departure." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ogin graciously offered her a lantern, but Osugi was proudly defiant in her refusal. \"I'll have you know that the head of the Hon'iden family is not so senile that she needs a light to walk by.\" She tucked up her kimono hems, left the house and walked resolutely into the thickening mist.\n\nNot far from the house, a man called her to a halt." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He had his sword drawn, and his arms and legs were protected by armor." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He was obviously a professional samurai of a type not ordinarily encountered in the village.\n\n\"Didn't you just come from the Shimmen house?\" he asked.\n\n\"Yes, but—\"\n\n\"Are you a member of the Shimmen household?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Certainly not!\" Osugi snapped, waving her hand in protest." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I am the head of the samurai house across the river.\"\n\n\"Does that mean you are the mother of Hon'iden Matahachi, who went with Shimmen Takezō to the Battle of Sekigahara?\"\n\n\"Well, yes, but my son didn't go because he wanted to. He was tricked into going by that young demon.\"\n\n\"Demon?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That... Takezō!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I gather this Takezō is not too well thought of in the village.\"\n\n\"Well thought of? That's a laugh. You never saw such a hoodlum! You can't imagine the trouble we've had at my house since my son took up with him.\"\n\n\"Your son seems to have died at Sekigahara. I'm—\"\n\n\"Matahachi! Dead?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Well, actually, I'm not sure, but perhaps it'll be some comfort to you in your grief to know that I'll do everything possible to help you take revenge.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Osugi eyed him skeptically. \"Just who are you?\"\n\n\"I'm with the Tokugawa garrison. We came to Himeji Castle after the battle." }, { "from": "human", "value": "On orders from my lord, I've set up a barrier on the Harima Province border to screen everyone who crosses." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"This Takezō, from that house back there,\" he continued, pointing, \"broke through the barrier and fled toward Miyamoto. We chased him all the way here. He's a tough one, all right. We thought that after a few days of walking he'd collapse, but we still haven't caught up with him. He can't go on forever, though. We'll get him.\"\n\nNodding as she listened, Osugi realized now why Takezō hadn't appeared at the Shippōji, and more importantly, that he probably hadn't gone home, since that was the first place the soldiers would search. At the same time, since it seemed he was traveling alone, her fury wasn't diminished in the least. But as for Matahachi being dead, she couldn't believe that either." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I know Takezō can be as strong and cunning as any wild beast, sir,\" she said coyly, \"But I shouldn't think that samurai of your caliber would have any trouble capturing him.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Well, frankly, that's what I thought at first. But there aren't many of us and he's just killed one of my men.\"\n\n\"Let an old woman give you a few words of advice.\" Leaning over, she whispered something in his ear. Her words seemed to please him immensely." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He nodded his approval and enthusiastically exclaimed, \"Good idea! Splendid!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Be sure to do a thorough job of it,\" urged Osugi as she took her leave.\n\nNot long afterward, the samurai regrouped his band of fourteen or fifteen men behind Ogin's house. After he briefed them, they piled over the wall, surrounding the house and blocking all exits. Several soldiers then stormed into the house, leaving a trail of mud, and crowded into the inner room where the two young women sat commiserating and dabbing at their tear-stained faces." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Confronted by the soldiers, Otsū gasped and turned white." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ogin, however, proud to be the daughter of Munisai, was unperturbed. With calm, steely eyes, she stared indignantly at the intruders.\n\n\"Which one of you is Takezō's sister?\" asked one of them." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I am,\" replied Ogin coldly, \"and I demand to know why you've entered this house without permission. I will not stand for such brutish behavior in a house occupied only by women.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She had turned to face them directly.\n\nThe man who had been chatting with Osugi a few minutes earlier pointed to Ogin. \"Arrest her!\" he ordered.\n\nBarely were the words out of his mouth before violence erupted, the house began to shake and the lights went out." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Uttering a cry of terror, Otsū stumbled out into the garden, while at least ten of the soldiers fell upon Ogin and began tying her up with a rope." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Despite her heroic resistance, it was all over in a few seconds. They then pushed her down onto the floor and began kicking her as hard as they could.\n\nOtsū couldn't recall afterward which way she had come, but somehow she managed to escape. Barely conscious, she ran barefoot toward the Shippōji in the misty moonlight, relying completely on instinct." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She had grown up in peaceful surroundings and now felt as though the world were caving in." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When she reached the foot of the hill where the temple stood, someone called to her. She saw a shape sitting on a rock among the trees. It was Takuan.\n\n\"Thank heaven it's you,\" he said. \"I was really starting to worry. You never stay out this late. When I realized the time, I came out looking for you.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He looked down toward the ground and asked, \"Why are you barefoot?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He was still gazing at Otsū's bare white feet when she rushed headlong into his arms and began wailing.\n\n\"Oh, Takuan! It was awful! What can we do?\"\n\nIn a calm voice, he tried to soothe her. \"There, there. What was awful? There aren't many things in this world that are all that bad. Calm down and tell me what happened.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"They tied Ogin up and took her away! Matahachi didn't come back, and now poor Ogin, who's so sweet and gentle—they were all kicking her. Oh, Takuan, we've got to do something!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Sobbing and trembling, she clung desperately to the young monk, her head resting on his chest.\n\nIt was noon on a still, humid spring day, and a faint mist rose from the young man's sweating face. Takezō was walking alone in the mountains, whither he knew not. He was tired almost beyond endurance, but even at the sound of a bird alighting, his eyes would dart around." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Despite the ordeal he'd been through, his mud-spattered body came alive with pent-up violence and the sheer instinct to survive." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Bastards! Beasts!\" he growled. In the absence of the real target of his fury, he swung his black-oak sword screeching through the air, slicing a thick branch off a large tree. The white sap that poured from the wound reminded him of a nursing mother's milk. He stood and stared." }, { "from": "human", "value": "With no mother to turn to, there was only loneliness." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Instead of offering him comfort, even the running streams and rolling hills of his own home seemed to mock him.\n\n\"Why are all the villagers against me?\" he wondered. \"The minute they see me, they report me to the guards on the mountain. The way they run when they catch sight of me, you'd think I was a madman.\"\n\nHe'd been hiding in the Sanumo mountains for four days." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Now, through the veil of the midday mist, he could make out the house of his father, the house where his sister lived alone." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 5 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Nestled in the foothills just below him was the Shippōji, the temple's roof jutting out from the trees. He knew he could approach neither place. When he'd dared go near the temple on the Buddha's birthday, crowded though it was, he'd risked his life. When he heard his name called, he had no choice but to flee. Aside from wanting to save his own neck, he knew that being discovered there would mean trouble for Otsū." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Task: Cooperative storytelling\nMy role: Provide a brief opening\nYour role: Expand upon my opening with 4 sentences, emulating the writing style of Eiji Yoshikawa." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Finally, one day, he heard the swallows returning to the donjon eaves. Once again, spring had flown from across the seas.\n\nNot long after its arrival, a voice, now sounding strange, almost painful to the ears, inquired, \"Takezō, are you well?\"\n\nThe familiar head of Takuan appeared at the top of the stairs." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Startled and much too deeply moved to utter a sound, Takezō grabbed hold of the monk's kimono sleeve and pulled him into the room." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The servants who brought his food had never once spoken a word. He was overjoyed to hear another human voice, especially this one.\n\n\"I've just returned from a journey,\" said Takuan. \"You're in your third year here now, and I've decided that after gestating this long, you must be pretty well formed.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I am grateful for your goodness, Takuan. I understand now what you've done. How can I ever thank you?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Thank me?\" Takuan said incredulously. Then he laughed. \"Even though you've had no one to converse with but yourself, you've actually learned to speak like a human being! Good! Today you will leave this place. And as you do so, hug your hard-earned enlightenment to your bosom. You're going to need it when you go forth into the world to join your fellow men.\"\n\nTakuan took Takezō just as he was to see Lord Ikeda. Although he had been relegated to the garden in the previous audience, a place was now made for him on the veranda." }, { "from": "human", "value": "After the salutations and some perfunctory small talk, Terumasa lost no time in asking Takezō to serve as his vassal." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Takezō declined. He was greatly honored, he explained, but he did not feel the time was yet right to go into a daimyō's service. \"And if I did so in this castle,\" he said, \"ghosts would probably start appearing in the closed room every night, just as everyone says they do.\"\n\n\"Why do you say that? Did they come to keep you company?\"\n\n\"If you take a lamp and inspect the room closely, you'll see black spots spattering the doors and beams. It looks like lacquer, but it's not. It's human blood, most likely blood spilled by the Akamatsus, my forebears, when they went down to defeat in this castle.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Hmm. You may very well be right.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Seeing those stains infuriated me. My blood boiled to think that my ancestors, who once ruled over this whole region, ended up being annihilated, their souls just blown about in the autumn winds. They died violently, but it was a powerful clan and they can be roused.\n\n\"That same blood flows in my veins,\" he went on, an intense look in his eyes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Unworthy though I am, I am a member of the same clan, and if I stay in this castle, the ghosts may rouse themselves and try to reach me. In a sense, they already have, by making it clear to me in that room just who I am. But they could cause chaos, perhaps rebel and even set off another bloodbath. We are not in an era of peace. I owe it to the people of this whole region not to tempt the vengeance of my ancestors.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Terumasa nodded. \"I see what you mean. It's better if you leave this castle, but where will you go? Do you plan to return to Miyamoto? Live out your life there?\"\n\nTakezō smiled silently. \"I want to wander about on my own for a while.\"\n\n\"I see,\" the lord replied, turning to Takuan. \"See that he receives money and suitable clothing,\" he commanded." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Takuan bowed. \"Let me thank you for your kindness to the boy.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Takuan!\" Ikeda laughed. \"This is the first time you've ever thanked me twice for anything!\"\n\n\"I suppose that's true.\" Takuan grinned. \"It won't happen again.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's all right for him to roam about while he's still young,\" said Terumasa." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"But now that he's going out on his own—reborn, as you put it—he should have a new name. Let it be Miyamoto, so that he never forgets his birthplace. From now on, Takezō, call yourself Miyamoto.\"\n\nTakezō's hands went automatically to the floor. Palms down, he bowed deep and long. \"Yes, sir, I will do that.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You should change your first name too,\" Takuan interjected." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Why not read the Chinese characters of your name as 'Musashi' instead of 'Takezō'? You can keep writing your name the same as before. It's only fitting that everything should begin anew on this day of your rebirth.\"\n\nTerumasa, who was by this time in a very good mood, nodded his approval enthusiastically. \"Miyamoto Musashi! It's a good name, a very good name. We should drink to it.\"\n\nThey moved into another room, sake was served, and Takezō and Takuan kept his lordship company far into the night." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They were joined by several of Terumasa's retainers, and eventually Takuan got to his feet and performed an ancient dance." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He was expert, his vivid movements creating an imaginary world of delight. Takezō, now Musashi, watched with admiration, respect and enjoyment as the drinking went on and on.\n\nThe following day they both left the castle. Musashi was taking his first steps into a new life, a life of discipline and training in the martial arts." }, { "from": "human", "value": "During his three-year incarceration, he had resolved to master the Art of War." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Takuan had his own plans. He had decided to travel about the countryside, and the time had come, he said, to part again.\n\nWhen they reached the town outside the castle walls, Musashi made as if to take his leave, but the monk grabbed his sleeve and said, \"Isn't there someone you'd like to see?\"\n\n\"Who?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Ogin?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Is she still alive?\" he asked in bewilderment. Even in his sleep, he'd never forgotten the gentle sister who'd been a mother to him so long.\n\nTakuan told him that when he'd attacked the stockade at Hinagura three years earlier, Ogin had indeed already been taken away." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Although no charges were pressed against her, she had been reluctant to return home and so went instead to stay with a relative in a village in the Sayo district." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She was now living comfortably there.\n\n\"Wouldn't you like to see her?\" asked Takuan. \"She's very eager to see you. I told her three years ago that she should consider you dead, since in one sense, you were. I also told her, however, that after three years I'd bring her a new brother, different from the old Takezō.\"\n\nMusashi pressed his palms together and raised them in front of his head, as he would have done in prayer before a statue of the Buddha." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Not only have you taken care of me,\" he said with deep emotion, \"but you've seen to Ogin's well-being too. Takuan, you are truly a compassionate man. I don't think I'll ever be able to thank you for what you've done.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"One way to thank me would be to let me take you to your sister.\"\n\n\"No... No, I don't think I should go. Hearing about her from you has been as good as meeting her.\"\n\n\"Surely you want to see her yourself, if only for a few minutes.\"\n\n\"No, I don't think so. I did die, Takuan, and I do feel reborn. I don't think that now is the time to return to the past. What I have to do is take a resolute step forward, into the future. I've barely found the way along which I'll have to travel. When I've made some progress toward the knowledge and self-perfection I'm seeking, perhaps I'll take the time to relax and look back. Not now.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I see.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I find it hard to put into words, but I hope you'll understand anyway.\"\n\n\"I do. I'm glad to see you're as serious about your goal as you are. Keep following your own judgment.\"\n\n\"I'll say good-bye now, but someday, if I don't get myself killed along the way, we'll meet again.\"\n\n\"Yes, yes. If we have a chance to meet, let's by all means do so.\" Takuan turned, took a step, and then halted. \"Oh, yes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "I suppose I should warn you that Osugi and Uncle Gon left Miyamoto in search of you and Otsū three years ago." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They resolved never to return until they've taken their revenge, and old as they are, they're still trying to track you down. They may cause you some inconvenience, but I don't think they can make any real trouble. Don't take them too seriously.\n\n\"Oh, yes, and then there's Aoki Tanzaemon. I don't suppose you ever knew his name, but he was in charge of the search for you. Perhaps it had nothing to do with anything you or I said or did, but that splendid samurai managed to disgrace himself, with the result that he's been dismissed permanently from Lord Ikeda's service. He's no doubt wandering about too.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Takuan grew grave. \"Musashi, your path won't be an easy one. Be careful as you make your way along it.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'll do my best.\" Musashi smiled.\n\n\"Well, I guess that's everything. I'll be on my way.\" Takuan turned and walked westward. He didn't look back." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Keep well,\" Musashi called after him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He stood at the crossroads watching the monk's form recede until it was out of sight. Then, once again alone, he started to walk toward the east.\n\n\"Now there's only this sword,\" he thought. \"The only thing in the world I have to rely on.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He rested his hand on the weapon's handle and vowed to himself, \"I will live by its rule. I will regard it as my soul, and by learning to master it, strive to improve myself, to become a better and wiser human being. Takuan follows the Way of Zen, I will follow the Way of the Sword. I must make of myself an even better man than he is.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "After all, he reflected, he was still young. It was not too late.\n\nHis footsteps were steady and strong, his eyes full of youth and hope. From time to time he raised the brim of his basket hat, and stared down the long road into the future, the unknown path all humans must tread." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He hadn't gone far—in fact, he was just on the outskirts of Himeji—when a woman came running toward him from the other side of Hanada Bridge." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He squinted into the sunlight.\n\n\"It's you!\" Otsū cried, clutching his sleeve.\n\nMusashi gasped in surprise.\n\nOtsū's tone was reproachful." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Takezō, surely you haven't forgotten? Don't you remember the name of this bridge? Did it slip your mind that I promised to wait here for you, no matter how long it took?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You've been waiting here for the last three years?\" He was astounded.\n\n\"Yes. Osugi and Uncle Gon caught up with me right after I left you. I was sick and had to take a rest. And I almost got myself killed. But I got away. I've been waiting here since about twenty days after we said good-bye at Nakayama Pass.\"\n\nPointing to a basket-weaving shop at the end of the bridge, a typical little highroad stall selling souvenirs to travelers, she continued: \"I told the people there my story, and they were kind enough to take me on as a sort of helper. So I could stay and wait for you. Today is the nine hundred and seventieth day, and I've kept my promise faithfully.\" She peered into his face, trying to fathom his thoughts." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You will take me with you, won't you?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The truth, of course, was that Musashi had no intention of taking her or anyone else with him. At this very moment, he was hurrying away to avoid thinking about his sister, whom he wanted to see so badly and felt so strongly drawn toward.\n\nThe questions raced through his agitated mind: \"What can I do? How can I embark on my quest for truth and knowledge with a woman, with anyone, interfering all the time? And this particular girl is, after all, still betrothed to Matahachi.\" Musashi couldn't keep his thoughts from showing on his face." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Take you with me? Take you where?\" he demanded bluntly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Wherever you go.\"\n\n\"I'm setting out on a long, hard journey, not a sightseeing trip!\"\n\n\"I won't get in your way. And I'm prepared to endure some hardships.\"\n\n\"Some? Only some?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"As many as I have to.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That's not the point. Otsū, how can a man master the Way of the Samurai with a woman tagging along? Wouldn't that be funny. People'd say, 'Look at Musashi, he needs a wet nurse to take care of him.'\" She pulled harder at his kimono, clinging like a child. \"Let go of my sleeve,\" he ordered.\n\n\"No, I won't! You lied to me, didn't you?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"When did I lie to you?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"At the pass. You promised to take me with you.\"\n\n\"That was ages ago. I wasn't really thinking then either, and I didn't have time to explain. What's more, it wasn't my idea, it was yours. I was in a hurry to get moving, and you wouldn't let me go until I promised. I went along with what you said because I had no choice.\"\n\n\"No, no, no! You can't mean what you're saying, you can't,\" she cried, pinning him against the bridge railing.\n\n\"Let go of me! People are watching.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Let them! When you were tied up in the tree, I asked you if you wanted my help. You were so happy you told me twice to cut the rope. You don't deny that, do you?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She was trying to be logical in her argument, but her tears betrayed her. First abandoned as an infant, then jilted by her betrothed and now this. Musashi, knowing how alone she was in the world and caring for her deeply, was tongue-tied, though outwardly more composed.\n\n\"Let go!\" he said with finality." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's broad daylight and people are staring at us. Do you want us to be a sideshow for these busybodies?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She released his sleeve and fell sobbing against the railing, her shiny hair falling over her face.\n\n\"I'm sorry,\" she mumbled. \"I shouldn't have said all that. Please forget it. You don't owe me anything.\"\n\nLeaning over and pushing her hair from her face with both hands, he looked into her eyes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Otsū,\" he said tenderly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"During all that time you were waiting, until this very day, I've been shut up in the castle donjon. For three years I haven't even seen the sun.\"\n\n\"Yes, I heard.\"\n\n\"You knew?\"\n\n\"Takuan told me.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Takuan? He told you everything?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I guess so. I fainted at the bottom of a ravine near the Mikazuki Teahouse. I was running away from Osugi and Uncle Gon. Takuan rescued me. He also helped me make arrangements to work here, at the souvenir shop. That was three years ago. And he's stopped in several times. Only yesterday, he came and had some tea. I wasn't sure what he meant, but he said, 'It's got to do with a man and a woman, so who can say how it'll turn out?'\"\n\nMusashi dropped his hands and looked down the road leading west. He wondered if he'd ever again meet the man who'd saved his life. And again he was struck by Takuan's concern for his fellow man, which seemed all-encompassing and completely devoid of selfishness." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Musashi realized how narrow-minded he himself had been, how petty, to suppose that the monk felt a special compassion for him alone; his generosity encompassed Ogin, Otsū, anyone in need whom he thought he could help." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It has to do with a man and a woman... \" Takuan's words to Otsū sat heavily on Musashi's mind. It was a burden for which he was ill prepared, since in all the mountains of books he'd pored over those three years, there wasn't one word about the situation he was in now. Even Takuan had shrunk from becoming involved in this matter between him and Otsū. Had Takuan meant that relationships between men and women had to be worked out alone by the people involved?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Did he mean that no rules applied, as they did in the Art of War?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "That there was no foolproof strategy, no way to win? Or was this meant as a test for Musashi, a problem only Musashi would be able to solve for himself?\n\nLost in thought, he stared down at the water flowing under the bridge.\n\nOtsū gazed up into his face, now distant and calm." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I can come, can't I?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "she pleaded. \"The shopkeeper's promised to let me quit whenever I wish. I'll just go and explain everything and then pack my things. I'll be back in a minute.\"\n\nMusashi covered her small white hand, which was resting on the railing, with his own. \"Listen,\" he said plaintively. \"I beg of you, just stop and think.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What's there to think about?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I told you. I've just become a new man. I stayed in that musty hole for three years. I read books. I thought. I screamed and cried. Then suddenly the light dawned. I understood what it means to be human. I have a new name, Miyamoto Musashi. I want to dedicate myself to training and discipline. I want to spend every moment of every day working to improve myself. I know now how far I have to go. If you chose to bind your life to mine, you'd never be happy. There will be nothing but hardship, and it won't get easier as it goes along. It'll get more and more difficult.\"\n\n\"When you talk like that, I feel closer to you than ever. Now I'm convinced I was right. I've found the best man I could ever find, even if I searched for the rest of my life.\"\n\nHe saw he was just making things worse. \"I'm sorry, I can't take you with me.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Well, then, I'll just follow along. As long as I don't interfere with your training, what harm would it do? You won't even know I'm around.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Musashi could find no answer.\n\n\"I won't bother you. I promise.\"\n\nHe remained silent.\n\n\"It's all right then, isn't it? Just wait here; I'll be back in a second. And I'll be furious if you try to sneak away.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Otsū ran off toward the basket-weaving shop." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Musashi thought of ignoring everything and running too, in the opposite direction. Though the will was there, his feet wouldn't move.\n\nOtsū looked back and called, \"Remember, don't try to sneak off!\" She smiled, showing her dimples, and Musashi inadvertently nodded." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Satisfied by this gesture, she disappeared into the shop." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "If he was going to escape, this was the time. His heart told him so, but his body was still shackled by Otsū's pretty dimples and pleading eyes. How sweet she was! It was certain no one in the world save his sister loved him so much." }, { "from": "human", "value": "And it wasn't as though he disliked her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He looked at the sky, he looked into the water, desperately gripped the railing, troubled and confused. Soon tiny bits of wood began floating from the bridge into the flowing stream.\n\nOtsū reappeared on the bridge in new straw sandals, light yellow leggings and a large traveling hat tied under the chin with a crimson ribbon. She'd never looked more beautiful." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Task: The user will write a bit then you need to write around four sentences continuing directly from the user's text.\n\nAuthor style: Eiji Yoshikawa" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Young Master's name was Yoshioka Seijūrō, and a tasteful dark brown kimono draped his tall frame. Not long after they'd entered the brothel district, he looked back and said to one of his group, \"Tōji, buy me a basket hat.\"\n\n\"The kind that hides your face, I suppose?\"\n\n\"Yes.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You don't need one here, do you?\" Gion Tōji replied." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I wouldn't have asked for one if I didn't!\" Seijūrō snapped impatiently. \"I don't care to have people see the son of Yoshioka Kempō walking about in a place like this.\"\n\nTōji laughed. \"But it just attracts attention. All the women around here know that if you hide your face under a hat, you must be from a good family and probably a rich one. Of course, there are other reasons why they won't leave you alone, but that's one of them.\"\n\nTōji was, as usual, both teasing and flattering his master." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He turned and ordered one of the men to get the hat and stood waiting for him to thread his way through the lanterns and merrymakers." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The errand accomplished, Seijūrō donned the hat and began to feel more relaxed.\n\n\"In that hat,\" commented Tōji, \"you look more than ever like the fashionable man about town.\" Turning to the others, he continued his flattery indirectly. \"See, the women are all leaning out their doors to get a good look at him.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Tōji's sycophancy aside, Seijūrō did cut a fine figure." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "With two highly polished scabbards hanging from his side, he exuded the dignity and class one would expect from the son of a well-to-do family. No straw hat could stop the women from calling out to him as he walked.\n\n\"Hey there, handsome! Why hide your face under that silly hat?\"\n\n\"Come on, over here! I want to see what's under there.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Come on, don't be shy. Give us a peek.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Seijūrō reacted to these teasing come-ons by trying to look even taller and more dignified. It had only been a short time since Tōji had first persuaded him to set foot in the district, and it still embarrassed him to be seen there. Born the eldest son of the famous swordsman Yoshioka Kempō, he had never lacked money, but he had remained until recently unacquainted with the seamier side of life. The attention he was getting made his pulse race." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He still felt enough shame to hide, though as a rich man's spoiled son he'd always been something of a show-off." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The flattery of his entourage, no less than the flirting of the women, bolstered his ego like sweet poison.\n\n\"Why, it's the master from Shijō Avenue!\" one of the women exclaimed. \"Why are you hiding your face? You're not fooling anybody.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"How does that woman know who I am?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Seijūrō growled at Tōji, pretending to be offended.\n\n\"That's easy,\" the woman said before Tōji could open his mouth. \"Everybody knows that the people at the Yoshioka School like to wear that dark brown color. It is called 'Yoshioka dye,' you know, and it's very popular around here.\"\n\n\"That's true, but as you say, a lot of people wear it.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes, but they don't have the three-circle crest on their kimonos.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Seijūrō looked down at his sleeve. \"I must be more careful,\" he said as a hand from behind the lattice reached out and latched onto the garment.\n\n\"My, my,\" said Tōji. \"He hid his face but not his crest. He must have wanted to be recognized. I don't think we can really avoid going in here now.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Do whatever you want,\" said Seijūrō, looking uncomfortable, \"but make her let go of my sleeve.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Let go, woman,\" Tōji roared. \"He says we're coming in!\"\n\nThe students crowded in under the shop curtain. The room they entered was so tastelessly decorated with vulgar pictures and messily arranged flowers that it was difficult for Seijūrō to feel at ease." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The others, however, took no notice of the shabbiness of their surroundings." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Bring on the sake!\" Tōji demanded, also ordering assorted tidbits.\n\nAfter the food arrived, Ueda Ryōhei, who was Tōji's match with a sword, cried, \"Bring on the women!\" The order was given in exactly the same surly tone Tōji had used to order their food and drink." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Hey, old Ueda says bring the women!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "the others chorused, mimicking Ryōhei's voice.\n\n\"I don't like being called old,\" Ryōhei said, scowling. \"It's true I've been at the school longer than any of you, but you won't find a gray hair on my head.\"\n\n\"You probably dye it.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Whoever said that come forward and drink a cup as punishment!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Too much trouble. Throw it here!\"\n\nThe sake cup sailed through the air.\n\n\"Here's the repayment!\" And another cup flew through the air.\n\n\"Hey, somebody dance!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Seijūrō called out, \"You dance, Ryōhei! Dance, and show us how young you are!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I am prepared, sir. Watch!\" Going to the corner of the veranda, he tied a maid's red apron around the back of his head, stuck a plum blossom in the knot and seized a broom.\n\n\"Why, look! He's going to do the Dance of the Hida Maiden! Let's hear the song too, Tōji!\"\n\nHe invited them all to join in, and they began rapping rhythmically on the dishes with their chopsticks, while one man clanged the fire tongs against the edge of the brazier." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Across the bamboo fence, the bamboo fence, the bamboo fence," }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I caught sight of a long-sleeved kimono,\n\nA long-sleeved kimono in the snow...\n\nDrowned in applause after the first verse, Tōji bowed out, and the women took up where he had left off, accompanying themselves on shamisen.\n\nThe girl I saw yesterday" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Is not here today." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The girl I see today,\n\nShe'll not be here tomorrow.\n\nI know not what the morrow will bring,\n\nI want to love her today." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In one corner, a student held up a huge bowl of sake to a comrade and said, \"Say, why don't you down this in one gulp?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No, thanks.\"\n\n\"No, thanks? You call yourself a samurai, and you can't even put this away?\"\n\n\"Sure I can. But if I do, you have to too!\"\n\n\"Fair enough!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The contest began, with them gulping like horses at the trough and dribbling sake out of the corners of their mouths." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "An hour or so later a couple of them started vomiting, while others were reduced to immobility and blankly staring bloodshot eyes.\n\nOne, whose customary bluster became more strident the more he drank, declaimed, \"Does anyone in this country besides the Young Master truly understand the techniques of the Kyōhachi Style? If there is—hic—I want to meet him... Oops!\"\n\nAnother stalwart, seated near Seijūrō, laughed and stammered through his hiccups. \"He's piling on the flattery because the Young Master's here. There are other schools of martial arts besides the ones here in Kyoto, and the Yoshioka School's not necessarily the greatest anymore. In Kyoto alone, there's the school of Toda Seigen in Kurotani, and there's Ogasawara Genshinsai in Kitano. And let's not forget Itō Ittōsai in Shirakawa, even though he doesn't take students.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"And what's so wonderful about them?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I mean, we shouldn't get the idea we're the only swordsmen in the world.\"\n\n\"You simple-minded bastard!\" shouted a man whose pride had been offended. \"Come forward!\"\n\n\"Like this?\" retorted the critic, standing up.\n\n\"You're a member of this school, and you're belittling Yoshioka Kempō's style?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'm not belittling it! It's just that things aren't what they used to be in the old days when the master taught the shōguns and was considered the greatest of swordsmen. There are far more people practicing the Way of the Sword these days, not only in Kyoto but in Edo, Hitachi, Echizen, the home provinces, the western provinces, Kyushu—all over the country. Just because Yoshioka Kempō was famous doesn't mean the Young Master and all of us are the greatest swordsmen alive. It's just not true, so why kid ourselves?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Coward! You pretend to be a samurai, but you're afraid of other schools!\"\n\n\"Who's afraid of them? I just think we should guard ourselves against becoming complacent.\"\n\n\"And who are you to be giving warnings?\" With this the offended student punched the other in the chest, knocking him down." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You want to fight?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "growled the fallen man.\n\n\"Yeah, I'm ready.\"\n\nThe seniors, Gion Tōji and Ueda Ryōhei, intervened. \"Stop it, you two!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jumping to their feet, they pulled the two men apart and tried to smooth their ruffled feathers." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Quiet down now!\"\n\n\"We all understand how you feel.\"\n\nA few more cups of sake were poured into the combatants, and presently things were back to normal. The firebrand was once again eulogizing himself and the others, while the critic, his arm draped around Ryōhei, pleaded his case tearfully." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I only spoke up for the sake of the school,\" he sobbed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If people keep spouting flattery, Yoshioka Kempō's reputation will eventually be ruined. Ruined, I tell you!\"\n\nSeijūrō alone remained relatively sober. Noticing this, Tōji said, \"You're not enjoying the party, are you?\"\n\n\"Unh. Do you think they really enjoy it? I wonder.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Sure; this is their idea of a good time.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I don't see how, when they carry on like that.\"\n\n\"Look, why don't we go someplace quieter? I've had enough of this too.\"\n\nSeijūrō, looking much relieved, quickly assented. \"I'd like to go to the place we were at last night.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You mean the Yomogi?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes.\"\n\n\"That's much nicer. I thought all along you wanted to go there, but it would've been a waste of money to take along this bunch of oafs. That's why I steered them here—it's cheap.\"\n\n\"Let's sneak out, then. Ryōhei can take care of the rest.\"\n\n\"Just pretend you're going to the toilet. I'll come along in a few minutes.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Seijūrō skillfully disappeared. No one noticed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Outside a house not far away, a woman stood on tiptoe, trying to hang a lantern back on its nail. The wind had blown out the candle, and she had taken it down to relight it. Her back was stretched out under the eaves, and her recently washed hair fell loosely around her face. Strands of hair and the shadows from the lantern made lightly shifting patterns on her outstretched arms." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A hint of plum blossoms floated on the evening breeze." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Okō! Shall I hang it for you?\"\n\n\"Oh, it's the Young Master,\" she said with surprise.\n\n\"Wait a minute.\" When the man came forward, she saw that it was not Seijūrō but Tōji.\n\n\"Will that do?\" he asked." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes, that's fine. Thank you.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But Tōji squinted at the lantern, decided it was crooked, and rehung it. It was amazing to Okō how some men, who would flatly refuse to lend a hand in their own homes, could be so helpful and considerate when visiting a place like hers. Often they would open or close the windows for themselves, get out their own cushions, and do a dozen other little chores they'd never dream of doing under their own roofs.\n\nTōji, pretending not to have heard, showed his master indoors." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Seijūrō, as soon as he was seated, said, \"It's awfully quiet.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'll open the door to the veranda,\" said Tōji.\n\nBelow the narrow veranda rippled the waters of the Takase River. To the south, beyond the small bridge at Sanjō Avenue, lay the broad compound of the Zuisenin, the dark expanse of Teramachi—the \"Town of Temples\"—and a field of miscanthus. This was near Kayahara, where Toyotomi Hideyoshi's troops had slain the wife, concubines and children of his nephew, the murderous regent Hidetsugu, an event still fresh in many people's memory." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Tōji was getting nervous." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It's still too quiet. Where are the women hiding? They don't seem to have any other customers tonight.\" He fidgeted a bit. \"I wonder what's taking Okō so long. She hasn't even brought us our tea.\" When his impatience made him so jumpy he could no longer sit still, he got up to go see why the tea hadn't been served." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As he stepped out onto the veranda, he nearly collided with Akemi, who was carrying a gold-lacquered tray." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The little bell in her obi tinkled as she exclaimed, \"Be careful! You'll make me spill the tea!\"\n\n\"Why are you so late with it? The Young Master's here; I thought you liked him.\"\n\n\"See, I've spilled some. It's your fault. Go fetch me a rag.\"\n\n\"Ha! Pretty sassy, aren't you? Where's Okō?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Putting on her makeup, of course.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You mean she's not finished yet?\"\n\n\"Well, we were busy during the daytime.\"\n\n\"Daytime? Who came during the daytime?\"\n\n\"That's none of your business. Please let me by.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He stepped aside and Akemi entered the room and greeted the guest." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Good evening. It was good of you to come.\"\n\nSeijūrō, feigning nonchalance, looked aside and said, \"Oh, it's you, Akemi. Thanks for last night.\" He was embarrassed.\n\nFrom the tray she took a jar that looked like an incense burner and placed on it a pipe with a ceramic mouthpiece and bowl.\n\n\"Would you like a smoke?\" she asked politely." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I thought tobacco was recently banned.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It was, but everybody still smokes anyway.\"\n\n\"All right, I'll have some.\"\n\n\"I'll light it for you.\"\n\nShe took a pinch of tobacco from a pretty little mother-of-pearl box and stuffed it into the tiny bowl with her dainty fingers." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then she put the pipe to his mouth." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Seijūrō, not being in the habit of smoking, handled it rather awkwardly.\n\n\"Hmm, bitter, isn't it?\" he said. Akemi giggled. \"Where did Tōji go?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"He's probably in Mother's room.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"He seems fond of Okō. At least, it looks that way to me. I suspect he comes here without me sometimes. Does he?\" Akemi laughed but did not answer. \"What's funny about that? I think your mother rather likes him too.\"\n\n\"I really wouldn't know!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Oh, I'm sure of it! Absolutely sure! It's a cozy arrangement, isn't it? Two happy couples—your mother and Tōji, you and me.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Looking as innocent as he could, he put his hand on top of Akemi's, which was resting on her knee. Primly, she brushed it away, but this only made Seijūrō bolder. As she started to rise, he put his arm around her thin waist and drew her to him.\n\n\"You don't have to run away,\" he said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'm not going to hurt you.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Let go of me!\" she protested.\n\n\"All right, but only if you sit down again.\"\n\n\"The sake... I'll just go and get some.\"\n\n\"I don't want any.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But if I don't bring it, Mother'll get angry.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Your mother's in the other room, having a nice chat with Tōji.\"\n\nHe tried to rub his cheek against her lowered face, but she turned her head away and called frantically for help. \"Mother! Mother!\" He released her and she flew toward the back of the house.\n\nSeijūrō was becoming frustrated." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He was lonely but didn't really want to force himself on the girl." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Not knowing what to do with himself, he grunted out loud, \"I'm going home,\" and started tramping down the outer corridor, his face growing more crimson with each step.\n\n\"Young Master, where are you going? You're not leaving, are you?\" Seemingly from out of nowhere, Okō appeared behind him and rushed down the hall. As she put her arm about him, he noticed that her hair was in place and her makeup was in order." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She summoned Tōji to the rescue, and together they persuaded Seijūrō to go back and sit down." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Okō brought sake and tried to cheer him up, then Tōji led Akemi back into the room. When the girl saw how crestfallen Seijūrō was, she flashed a smile at him.\n\n\"Akemi, pour the Young Master some sake.\"\n\n\"Yes, Mother,\" she said obediently." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You see how she is, don't you?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "said Okō. \"Why does she always want to act like a child?\"\n\n\"That's her charm—she's young,\" said Tōji, sliding his cushion up closer to the table.\n\n\"But she's already twenty-one.\"\n\n\"Twenty-one? I didn't think she was that old. She's so small she looks about sixteen or seventeen!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Akemi, suddenly as full of life as a minnow, said, \"Really? That makes me happy, because I'd like to be sixteen all my life. Something wonderful happened to me when I was sixteen.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What?\"\n\n\"Oh,\" she said, clasping her hands to her breast. \"I can't tell anybody about it, but it happened. When I was sixteen. Do you know what province I was in then? That was the year of the Battle of Sekigahara.\"\n\nWith a menacing look, Okō said, \"Chatterbox! Stop boring us with your talk. Go and get your shamisen.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Pouting slightly, Akemi stood up and went for her instrument." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When she returned, she started playing and singing a song, more intent, it seemed, upon amusing herself than upon pleasing the guests.\n\nTonight then,\n\nIf it's to be cloudy,\n\nLet it be cloudy," }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiding the moon" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I can see only through my tears.\n\nBreaking off, she said, \"Do you understand, Tōji?\"\n\n\"I'm not sure. Sing some more.\"\n\nEven in the darkest night" }, { "from": "human", "value": "I do not lose my way." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But oh! How you fascinate me!\n\n\"She is twenty-one, after all,\" said Tōji.\n\nSeijūrō, who had been sitting silently with his forehead resting on his hand, came to life and said, \"Akemi, let's have a cup of sake together.\"\n\nHe handed her the cup and filled it from the sake warmer." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She drank it down without flinching and briskly handed him back the cup to drink from." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Somewhat surprised, Seijūrō said, \"You know how to drink, don't you.\"\n\nFinishing off his draft, he offered her another, which she accepted and downed with alacrity. Apparently dissatisfied with the cup's size, she took out a larger one and for the next half hour matched him drink for drink.\n\nSeijūrō marveled. There she was, looking like a sixteen-year-old girl, with lips that had never been kissed and an eye that shrank with shyness, and yet she was putting away her sake like a man." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In that tiny body, where did it all go?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You may as well give up now,\" Okō said to Seijūrō. \"For some reason the child can drink all night without getting drunk. The best thing to do is to let her play the shamisen.\"\n\n\"But this is fun!\" said Seijūrō, now thoroughly enjoying himself." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Sensing something strange in his voice, Tōji asked, \"Are you all right? Sure you haven't had too much?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It doesn't matter. Say, Tōji, I may not go home tonight!\"\n\n\"That's all right too,\" replied Tōji. \"You can stay as many nights as you wish—can't he, Akemi?\"\n\nTōji winked at Okó, then led her off to another room, where he began whispering rapidly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He told Okō that with the Young Master in such high spirits, he would certainly want to sleep with Akemi, and that there would be trouble if Akemi refused; but that, of course, a mother's feelings were the most important thing of all in cases like this—or in other words, how much?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Well?\" Tōji demanded abruptly.\n\nOkō put her finger to her thickly powdered cheek and thought.\n\n\"Make up your mind!\" urged Tōji. Drawing closer to her, he said, \"It's not a bad match, you know. He's a famous teacher of the martial arts, and his family has lots of money. His father had more disciples than anybody else in the country. What's more, he's not married yet. Any way you look at it, it's an attractive offer.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Well, I think so too, but—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"But nothing. It's settled! We'll both spend the night.\"\n\nThere was no light in the room, and Tōji casually rested his hand on Okō's shoulder. At just that moment, there was a loud noise in the next room back.\n\n\"What was that?\" asked Tōji." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Do you have other customers?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Okō nodded silently, then put her moist lips to his ear and whispered, \"Later.\" Trying to appear casual, the two went back to Seijūrō's room, only to find him alone and sound asleep.\n\nTōji, taking the adjacent room, stretched out on the pallet. He lay there, drumming his fingers on the tatami, waiting for Okō." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She failed to appear." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Eventually his eyelids grew heavy and he drifted off to sleep. He woke up quite late the next morning with a resentful look on his face.\n\nSeijūrō had already arisen and was again drinking in the room overlooking the river. Both Okō and Akemi looked bright and cheerful, as though they'd forgotten about the night before." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They were coaxing Seijūrō into some sort of promise." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Then you'll take us?\"\n\n\"All right, we'll go. Put together some box lunches and bring some sake.\"\n\nThey were talking about the Okuni Kabuki, which was being performed on the riverbank at Shijō Avenue. This was a new kind of dance with words and music, the current rage in the capital." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It had been invented by a shrine maiden named Okuni at the Izumo Shrine, and its popularity had already inspired many imitations." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In the busy area along the river, there were rows of stages where troupes of women performers competed to attract audiences, each trying to achieve a degree of individuality by adding special provincial dances and songs to their repertoire. The actresses, for the most part, had started out as women of the night; now that they had taken to the stage, however, they were summoned to perform in some of the greatest mansions in the capital. Many of them took masculine names, dressed in men's clothing, and put on stirring performances as valiant warriors.\n\nSeijūrō sat staring out the door." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Beneath the small bridge at Sanjō Avenue, women were bleaching cloth in the river; men on horseback were passing back and forth over the bridge." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Aren't those two ready yet?\" he asked irritably. It was already past noon. Sluggish from drink and tired of waiting, he was no longer in the mood for Kabuki.\n\nTōji, still smarting from the night before, was not his usual ebullient self." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's fun to take women out,\" he grumbled, \"but why is it that just when you're ready to leave, they suddenly start worrying about whether their hair is just right or their obi straight? What a nuisance!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Seijūrō's thoughts turned to his school. He seemed to hear the sound of wooden swords and the clack of lance handles. What were his students saying about his absence? No doubt his younger brother, Denshichirō, was clicking his tongue in disapproval." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Tōji,\" he said, \"I don't really want to take them to see Kabuki. Let's go home.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"After you've already promised?\"\n\n\"Well... \"\n\n\"They were so thrilled! They'll be furious if we back out. I'll go and hurry them up.\"\n\nOn his way down the hallway, Tōji glanced into a room where the women's clothes were strewn about." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He was surprised to see neither of them." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 1 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Where can they have got to?\" he wondered aloud." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Let's engage in a collaborative writing exercise. I'll provide a starting point, and You'll continue with 4 sentences in the style of Eiji Yoshikawa." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Until his dying day, Musashi's father had never stopped reminding him of his ancestry. \"I may be only a country samurai,\" he'd say, \"but never forget, the Akamatsu clan was once famous and powerful. It should be a source of strength and pride to you.\"\n\nSince he was in Kyoto, Musashi decided to visit a temple called the Rakanji, near which the Akamatsus had once had a house. The clan had long since fallen, but it was just possible he might find at the temple some record of his ancestors." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Even if he didn't, he could burn some incense in their memory." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Arriving at the Rakan Bridge over the Lower Kogawa, he thought that he must be near the temple, for it was said to be located a little east of where the Upper Kogawa became the Lower Kogawa. His inquiries in the neighborhood, however, drew a complete blank. No one had ever heard of it.\n\nReturning to the bridge, he stood and gazed at the clear, shallow water flowing beneath it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Though it wasn't so many years since Munisai's death, it appeared that the temple had been either moved or destroyed, leaving neither trace nor memory." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He watched idly as a whitish eddy formed and disappeared, formed and disappeared again. Noticing mud dripping from a grassy spot on the left bank, he concluded that it came from a sword polisher's shop.\n\n\"Musashi!\"\n\nHe looked around and saw the old nun Myōshū returning from an errand." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"How good of you to come,\" she exclaimed, thinking he was there to pay a call." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Kōetsu's at home today. He'll be glad to see you.\" She led him through the gate of a nearby house and sent a servant to fetch her son.\n\nAfter warmly welcoming his guest, Kōetsu said, \"At the moment, I'm busy with an important polishing job, but later we can have a nice long chat.\"\n\nIt pleased Musashi to see that both mother and son were as friendly and natural as they had been the first time he met them." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He spent the afternoon and evening chatting with them, and when they urged him to spend the night, he accepted." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The next day, while Kōetsu showed him the workshop and explained the technique of sword polishing, he begged Musashi to stay on as long as he wished.\n\nThe house, with its deceptively modest gate, stood on a corner southeast of the remains of the Jissōin. In the neighborhood were several houses belonging to Kōetsu's cousins and nephews, or to other men engaged in the same profession; all the Hon'amis lived and worked here, after the fashion of the large provincial clans of the past.\n\nThe Hon'amis were descended from a fairly distinguished military family, and had been retainers to the Ashikaga shōguns." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In the present social hierarchy, the family belonged to the artisan class, but insofar as wealth and prestige were concerned, Kōetsu might have been taken for a member of the samurai class." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He hobnobbed with high court nobles and had on occasion been invited by Tokugawa Ieyasu to Fushimi Castle.\n\nThe Hon'amis' position was not unique; most of the wealthy artisans and merchants of the day—Suminokura Soan, Chaya Shirōjirō and Haiya Shōyū, among others—were of samurai descent. Under the Ashikaga shōguns, their ancestors had been assigned work related to manufacture or trade. Success in these fields led to a gradual severing of connections with the military class, and as private enterprise became profitable, they were no longer dependent on their feudal emoluments." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Although their social rank was technically lower than that of the warriors, they were very powerful." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When it came to business, not only was samurai status more of a hindrance than a help, there were definite advantages to being a commoner, chief of which was stability. When fighting erupted, the great merchants were patronized by both sides. True, they were sometimes forced to furnish military supplies for little or nothing, but they had come to regard this onus as no more than a fee paid in lieu of having their property destroyed during wartime.\n\nDuring the Ōnin War of the 1460s and '70s, the whole district around the ruins of the Jissōin had been razed, and even now people planting trees often dug up rusted fragments of swords or helmets." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The Hon'ami residence had been one of the first built in the vicinity after the war." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A branch of the Arisugawa flowed through the compound, meandering first through a quarter acre or so of vegetable garden, then disappearing into a grove, to emerge again near the well by the front entrance of the main house. There was a branch flowing off toward the kitchen, another toward the bath, and still another toward a simple, rustic teahouse, where the clear water was used for the tea ceremony. The river was the source of water for the workshop, where swords forged by master craftsmen like Masamune, Muramasa and Osafune were expertly polished. Since the workshop was sacred to the family, a rope was suspended over the entranceway in the manner of Shinto shrines." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Almost before he knew it, four days passed, and Musashi made up his mind to take his leave." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But before he'd had a chance to mention this, Kōetsu said, \"We're not doing much to entertain you, but if you're not bored, please stay as long as you like. There are some old books and curios in my study. If you'd like to look them over, feel free to do so. And in a day or two, I'm going to fire some tea bowls and dishes. You might enjoy watching. You'll find ceramics almost as interesting as swords. Maybe you could model a piece or two yourself.\"\n\nTouched by the graciousness of the invitation and his host's assurance that no one would take offense if he decided to leave on a moment's notice, Musashi allowed himself to settle down and enjoy the relaxed atmosphere. He was far from bored. The study contained books in Chinese and Japanese, scroll paintings from the Kamakura period, rubbings of calligraphy by ancient Chinese masters and dozens of other things, any one of which Musashi could happily have pored over for a day or so." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He was particularly attracted by a painting hanging in the alcove." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Called Chestnuts, it was by the Sung master Liang-k'ai. It was small, about two feet high by two and a half wide, and so old that it was impossible to tell what sort of paper it was drawn on.\n\nHe sat and gazed at it by the hour. Finally, one day, he remarked to Kōetsu, \"I'm sure no rank amateur could paint the sort of pictures you paint, but I wonder if maybe even I couldn't draw something as simple as this work.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's the other way around,\" Kōetsu informed him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Anybody could learn to paint as well as I, but there is a degree of profundity and spiritual loftiness in Liang-k'ai's painting that cannot be acquired merely by studying art.\"\n\n\"Is that really true?\" Musashi asked in surprise. He was assured that it was." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It showed nothing but a squirrel looking at two fallen chestnuts, one split open and the other tightly closed, as if it wanted to follow its natural impulse and eat the chestnuts but hesitated for fear of the thorns." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Since the painting was executed very freely in black ink, Musashi had thought it looked naive. But the more he looked at it after talking to Kōetsu, the more clearly he saw that the artist was right.\n\nOne afternoon, Kōetsu came in and said, \"Are you staring at Liang-k'ai's picture again? You seem to have taken a great liking to it. When you leave, roll it up and take it with you. I'd like you to have it.\"\n\nMusashi demurred. \"I couldn't possibly accept it. It's bad enough for me to stay here in your house so long. Why, that must be a family heirloom!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But you do like it, don't you?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The older man smiled indulgently. \"You may have it if you want it. I really don't need it. Pictures should be owned by the people who really love and appreciate them. I'm sure that's what the artist would want.\"\n\n\"If you put it that way, I'm not the one to own a painting like this. To tell the truth, I've thought several times it'd be nice to have it, but if I did, what would I do with it? I'm only a wandering swordsman. I never stay in the same place very long.\"\n\n\"I suppose it would be a nuisance, carrying a painting around with you wherever you go. At your age, you probably don't even want a house of your own, but I think every man should have a place he can regard as home, even if it's nothing more than a little shack. Without a house, a person gets lonely-feels lost somehow. Why don't you find some logs and build a cabin in some quiet corner of the city?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I never thought about it. I'd like to travel to a lot of distant places, go to the farthest end of Kyushu and see how people live under the foreign influences in Nagasaki. And I'm eager to see the new capital the shōgun is building in Edo and the great mountains and rivers in northern Honshu. Maybe I'm just a vagabond at heart.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You're not the only one, by any means. It's only natural, but you should avoid the temptation of thinking that your dreams can be realized only in some far-off place. If you think that way, you'll neglect the possibilities in your immediate surroundings. Most young people do, I fear, and become dissatisfied with their lives.\" Kōetsu laughed. \"But an idle old man like myself has no business preaching to the young. Anyway, I didn't come here to talk about that. I came to invite you out this evening. Have you ever been to the licensed quarter?\"\n\n\"The geisha district?\"\n\n\"Yes. I've a friend named Haiya Shōyū. Despite his age, he's always up to some mischief or other. I just received a note inviting me to join him near Rokujō Avenue this evening, and I wondered if you'd like to come along.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No, I don't think so.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If you really don't want to, I'll not insist, but I think you'd find it interesting.\"\n\nMyōshū, who had crept in silently and was listening with obvious interest, put in, \"I think you should go, Musashi. It's an opportunity to see something you haven't seen. Haiya Shōyū's not the kind of man you have to be stiff and formal with, and I believe you'd enjoy the experience. By all means, go!\"\n\nThe old nun went to the chest of drawers and began taking out a kimono and obi. As a rule, older people were at pains to prevent young men from frittering away their time and money at geisha houses, but Myōshū seemed as enthusiastic as if she herself were getting ready to go somewhere." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Now let's see, which of these kimonos do you like?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "she asked. \"Will this obi do?\" Chattering away, she busied herself getting out things for Musashi as if he were her son. She chose a lacquered pillbox, a decorative short sword and a brocade wallet, then took some gold coins from the money chest and slipped them into the wallet.\n\n\"Well,\" said Musashi, with only a trace of reluctance, \"if you insist, I'll go, but I wouldn't look right in all that finery. I'll just wear this old kimono I have on. I sleep in it when I'm out in the open. I'm used to it.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You'll do no such thing!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Myōshū said sternly. \"You yourself may not mind, but think of the other people. In those nice pretty rooms, you'd look no better than a dirty old rag. Men go there to have a good time and forget their troubles. They want to be surrounded by beautiful things. Don't think of it as dressing up to make yourself look like something you're not. Anyway, these clothes aren't nearly as fancy as some men wear; they're just clean and neat. Now, put them on!\"\n\nMusashi complied.\n\nWhen he was dressed, Myōshū remarked cheerfully, \"There, you look very handsome.\"\n\nAs they were about to leave, Kōetsu went to the household Buddhist altar and lit a candle on it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Both he and his mother were devout members of the Nichiren sect." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "At the front entrance, Myōshū had laid out two pairs of sandals with new thongs. While they were putting them on, she whispered with one of the servants, who was waiting to shut the front gate after them.\n\nKōetsu said good-bye to his mother, but she looked up at him quickly and said, \"Wait just a minute.\" Her face was creased in a worried frown." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What's the matter?\" he asked." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"This man tells me three rough-looking samurai were just here and spoke very rudely. Do you suppose it's anything important?\"\n\nKōetsu looked questioningly at Musashi.\n\n\"There's no reason to be afraid,\" Musashi assured him. \"They're probably from the House of Yoshioka. They may attack me, but they don't have anything against you.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"One of the workmen said the same sort of thing happened a couple of days ago. Only one samurai, but he came through the gate without being asked and looked over the hedge by the teahouse path, toward the part of the house where you're staying.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Then I'm sure it's the Yoshioka men.\"\n\n\"I think so too,\" agreed Kōetsu. He turned to the trembling gateman. \"What did they say?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The workmen had all left, and I was about to close the gate when these three samurai suddenly surrounded me. One of them—he looked mean—took a letter out of his kimono and ordered me to hand it to the guest staying here.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"He didn't say 'Musashi'?\"\n\n\"Well, later on he did say 'Miyamoto Musashi.' And he said Musashi'd been staying here for several days.\"\n\n\"What did you say?\"\n\n\"You said not to tell anyone about Musashi, so I shook my head and said there was no one here by that name. He got angry and called me a liar, but one of the others—a somewhat older man, with a smirk on his face—calmed him down and said they'd find a way to deliver the letter directly. I'm not sure what he meant, but it sounded like a threat. They went off toward the corner down there.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Kōetsu, you walk on a little ahead of me,\" said Musashi." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I don't want you to get hurt or become involved in any trouble because of me.\"\n\nKōetsu replied with a laugh, \"There's no need to worry about me, particularly if you're sure they're Yoshioka men. I'm not the least bit afraid of them. Let's go.\"\n\nAfter they were outside, Kōetsu put his head back through the small door in the gate and called, \"Mother!\"\n\n\"Did you forget something?\" she asked." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No, I was just thinking: if you're worried about me, I could send a messenger to Shōyū and tell him I can't come this evening.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Oh, no. I'm more afraid something might happen to Musashi. But I don't think he'd come back if you tried to stop him. Go on, and have a good time!\"\n\nKōetsu caught up with Musashi and as they ambled along the riverbank said, \"Shōyū's house is just down the road, at Ichijō Avenue and Horikawa Street. He's probably getting ready now, so let's stop in for him. It's right on the way.\"\n\nIt was still light, and the walk along the river was pleasant, all the more so because they were completely at leisure at an hour when everybody else was busy.\n\nMusashi remarked, \"I've heard Haiya Shōyū's name, but I really don't know anything about him.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'd be surprised if you hadn't heard of him. He's a well-known expert at composing linked verse.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Ah! So he's a poet.\"\n\n\"He is, but of course he doesn't make his living writing verse. He comes from an old Kyoto merchant family.\"\n\n\"How did he get the name Haiya?\"\n\n\"It's the name of his business.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What does he sell?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"His name means 'ash salesman,' and that's what he sells—ashes.\"\n\n\"Ashes?\"\n\n\"Yes, they're used in dyeing cloth. It's a big business. He sells to dyers' guilds all over the country. At the beginning of the Ashikaga period, the ash trade was controlled by an agent of the shōgun, but later it was turned over to private wholesalers. There are three big wholesale houses in Kyoto, and Shōyū's is one of them. He himself doesn't have to work, of course. He's retired and living a life of ease. Look over there; you can see his house. It's the one with the stylish gate.\"\n\nMusashi nodded as he listened, but his attention was distracted by the feel of his sleeves." }, { "from": "human", "value": "While the right one was waving lightly in the breeze, the left did not move at all." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Slipping his hand in, he drew out an object enough to see what it was—a well-tanned purple leather thong of the type warriors used to tie up their sleeves when fighting. \"Myōshū,\" he thought. \"Only she could have put it there.\"\n\nHe looked backed and smiled at the men behind them, who, as he was already aware, had been trailing along at a discreet distance ever since he and Kōetsu had turned out of Hon'ami Lane.\n\nHis smile seemed to relieve the three men." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They whispered a few words to each other and began taking longer strides." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Coming to the Haiya house, Kōetsu sounded the clapper on the gate, and a servant carrying a broom came to admit them. Kōetsu was through the gate and in the front garden before he noticed Musashi was not with him. Turning back toward the gate, he called, \"Come in, Musashi. There's nothing to be hesitant about.\"\n\nHaving closed in on Musashi, the three samurai had their elbows thrust out and their hands on their swords." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Kōetsu couldn't catch what they said to Musashi, nor the latter's soft reply." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Musashi told him not to wait, and Kōetsu answered with an air of complete calm. \"All right, I'll be in the house. Join me as soon as you've finished your business.\"\n\n\"We're not here,\" one of the men said, \"to argue about whether you ran away to hide or not. I'm Ōtaguro Hyōsuke. I'm one of the Ten Swordsmen of the House of Yoshioka. I've brought a letter from Seijūrō's younger brother, Denshichirō.\" Taking the letter out, he held it up for Musashi to see." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Read it and give us your answer immediately.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Opening the letter in an offhand manner, Musashi read it quickly and said, \"I accept.\"\n\nHyōsuke looked at him suspiciously. \"Are you sure?\"\n\nMusashi nodded. \"Absolutely sure.\"\n\nMusashi's casualness took them off guard." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If you don't keep your word, you'll never be able to show your face in Kyoto again. We'll see to that!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Musashi's stare was accompanied by a slight smile, but he said nothing.\n\n\"Are you satisfied with the conditions? There's not much time left to prepare yourself.\"\n\n\"I'm quite ready,\" Musashi answered calmly.\n\n\"Then we'll see you later this evening.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "As Musashi started through the gate, Hyōsuke approached him again and asked, \"Will you be here until the time agreed on?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No. My host is taking me to the licensed quarter near Rokujō Avenue.\"\n\n\"The licensed quarter?\" Hyōsuke was surprised. \"Well, I assume you'll be either here or there. If you're late, I'll send someone for you. I trust you won't try any tricks.\"\n\nMusashi had already turned his back and entered the front garden, a step that took him into a different world." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The irregularly shaped, artlessly spaced stepping-stones of the garden path appeared to have been put there by nature." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "On either side were moist clumps of low fernlike bamboo, interspersed with taller bamboo shoots, no thicker than a writing brush. As he walked on, the roof of the main house came into view, then the front entrance, a small separate house and a garden bower, each contributing to the atmosphere of venerable age and long tradition. Around the buildings, tall pines suggested wealth and comfort.\n\nHe could hear people playing the game of kickball called kemari, a soft sporadic thump, often heard from behind the walls of the mansions of court nobles." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hearing it in a merchant's establishment surprised him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Once in the house, he was shown into a room looking out onto the garden. Two servants entered with tea and cakes, one informing them that their host would be with them shortly. Musashi could tell from the servants' manner that they were impeccably trained.\n\nKōetsu murmured, \"It's quite cold, isn't it, now that the sun's gone down?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He wanted to have the shoji closed but didn't ask because Musashi appeared to be enjoying the view of the plum blossoms." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kōetsu also turned his eyes toward the view. \"I see there are clouds above Mount Hiei,\" he remarked. \"I'd guess they're from the north. Aren't you chilly?\"\n\n\"No, not especially,\" answered Musashi honestly, serenely ignorant of what his companion was hinting at." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A servant brought a candlestick, and Kōetsu took the opportunity to close the shoji." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Musashi became conscious of the atmosphere within the household, which was peaceful and genial. Relaxing and listening to the laughing voices coming from the inner part of the house, he was struck by the complete absence of ostentation. It was as though the decor and surroundings had deliberately been made as simply as possible. He could imagine himself in the guest room of a large farmhouse in the country." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Haiya Shōyū entered the room and proclaimed, \"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting so long.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His voice, open, friendly, youthful, was just the opposite of Kōetsu's soft drawl. Thin as a crane, he was perhaps ten years older than his friend, yet far more jovial. When Kōetsu explained who Musashi was, he said, \"Oh, so you're a nephew of Matsuo Kaname? I know him quite well.\"\n\nShōyū's acquaintance with his uncle must have been through the noble House of Konoe, thought Musashi, beginning to sense the close ties between the wealthy merchants and the palace courtiers." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Without further ado, the spry old merchant said, \"Let's be on our way. I'd intended to go while it was still light, so that we could stroll over. But since it's already dark, I think we should call for palanquins. This young man's coming with us, I assume.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Palanquins were summoned, and the three set off, Shōyū and Kōetsu in front, Musashi behind. It was the first time he had ever ridden in one.\n\nBy the time they reached the Yanagi Riding Grounds, the bearers were already puffing white steam.\n\n\"Oh, it's cold,\" one complained." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The wind cuts into you, doesn't it?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"And it's supposed to be spring!\"\n\nTheir three lanterns swung to and fro, flickering in the wind. Dark clouds above the city hinted ominously of still worse weather before the night was out. Beyond the riding field, the lights of the city shone in dazzling splendor." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Musashi had the impression of a great swarm of fireflies glowing cheerfully in the cold, clear breeze." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Musashi!\" Kōetsu called from the middle palanquin. \"That's where we're going, over there. It's quite an experience to come upon it suddenly, isn't it?\" He explained that until three years ago the licensed district had been at Nijō Avenue, near the palace, then the magistrate, Itakura Katsushige, had had it moved, because the nightly singing and carousing was a nuisance. He said the whole area was thriving and that all new fashions originated within those rows of lights." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You could almost say that a whole new culture has been created there.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Pausing and listening carefully for a moment, he added, \"You can just hear it, can't you? The sound of strings and singing?\"\n\nIt was music Musashi had never heard before.\n\n\"The instruments are shamisen. They're an improved version of a three-stringed instrument brought from the Ryukyu Islands. A great many new songs have been composed for them, all right here in the quarter, then spread out among the common people. So you can see how influential this district is, and why certain standards of decency have to be maintained, even though it's rather cut off from the rest of the city.\"\n\nThey turned into one of the streets; the light from countless bright lamps and lanterns hanging from the willow trees reflected in Musashi's eyes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The district had kept its old name when it was moved: Yanagimachi, the Town of Willows, willows having long been associated with drinking and dalliance." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kōetsu and Shōyū were well known at the establishment they entered. The greetings were obsequious yet jocular, and it soon became apparent that here they used nicknames—\"play names,\" as it were. Kōetsu was known as Mizuochi-sama—Mr. Falling Water—because of the streams traversing his estate, and Shōyū was Funabashi-sama—Mr." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Boat Bridge—after a pontoon bridge in the vicinity of his house." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "If Musashi was to become a habitué, he would certainly acquire a nickname soon, for in this never-never land, few used their real names. Hayashiya Yojibei was only the pseudonym of the proprietor of the house they were visiting, but more often than not he was called Ōgiya, the name of the establishment. Along with the Kikyōya, it was one of the two best-known houses in the district, the only two, in fact, with the reputation of being absolutely first class. The reigning beauty at the Ōgiya was Yoshino Dayū, and her counterpart at the Kikyōya, Murogimi Dayū." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Both ladies enjoyed a degree of fame in the city rivaled only by that of the greatest daimyō." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Although Musashi studiously attempted not to gape, he was astonished by the elegance of his surroundings, which approached that of the most opulent palaces. The reticular ceilings, ornately carved openwork transoms, exquisite curved railings, fastidiously tended inner gardens—everything was a feast for the eye. Absorbed in a painting on a wooden door panel, he did not notice that his companions had gone on ahead until Kōetsu came back for him.\n\nThe silver-colored doors of the room they entered were transformed into a hazy liquid by the light of the lamps." }, { "from": "human", "value": "One side opened onto a garden in the style of Kobori Enshū, well-raked sand and a rock arrangement suggestive of Chinese mountain scenery, such as one might see in a Sung painting." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Shōyū, complaining of the cold, sat down on a cushion and drew his shoulders together. Kōetsu also seated himself and bade Musashi to do likewise. Serving girls soon arrived with warm sake.\n\nSeeing that the cup he had urged on Musashi had cooled off, Shōyū became insistent." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Drink up, young man,\" he said, \"and have a hot cup.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "After this refrain had been repeated two or three times, Shōyū's manner began to border on rudeness. \"Kobosatsu!\" he said to one of the serving girls. \"Make him drink! You, Musashi! What's the matter with you? Why aren't you drinking?\"\n\n\"I am,\" protested Musashi." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The old man was already a little tipsy." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Well, you're not doing very well. You don't have any spirit!\"\n\n\"I'm not much of a drinker.\"\n\n\"What you mean is that you're not a strong swordsman, isn't it?\"\n\n\"Maybe that's true,\" said Musashi mildly, laughing off the insult." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If you're worried about drinking interfering with your studies, or throwing you off balance, or weakening your willpower, or preventing you from making a name for yourself, then you haven't got the pluck to be a fighter.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Oh, it's not that. There's only one small problem.\"\n\n\"What might that be?\"\n\n\"It makes me sleepy.\"\n\n\"Well, you can go to sleep here or anywhere else in the place. No one will mind.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Turning to the girls, he said, \"The young man's afraid he'll get drowsy if he drinks. If he gets sleepy, put him to bed!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Oh, we'll be glad to!\" chorused the girls, smiling coyly.\n\n\"If he goes to bed, someone will have to keep him warm. Kōetsu, which one should it be?\"\n\n\"Which one indeed?\" said Kōetsu noncommittally." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It can't be Sumigiku Dayū; she's my little wife. And you yourself wouldn't want it to be Kobosatsu Dayū. There's Karakoto Dayū. Um, she won't do. She's too hard to get along with.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Isn't Yoshino Dayū going to put in an appearance?\" asked Kōetsu.\n\n\"That's it! She's just the one! Even our reluctant guest should be happy with her. I wonder why she isn't here now. Someone go call her. I want to show her to the young samurai here.\"\n\nSumigiku objected. \"Yoshino's not like the rest of us. She has many clients, and she won't come running at just anyone's beck and call.\"\n\n\"Oh, yes she will—for me! Tell her I'm here, and she'll come, no matter who she happens to be with. Go and call her!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Shōyū reared up, looked around and called to the young girls who attended the courtesans and were now playing in the next room: \"Is Rin'ya there?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Rin'ya herself answered.\n\n\"Come here a minute. You wait on Yoshino Dayū, don't you? Why isn't she here? Tell her Funabashi is here, she should come right away. If you bring her back with you, I'll give you a present.\"\n\nRin'ya looked a little puzzled. Her eyes opened wide, but after a moment she signaled her assent." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She already showed signs of becoming a great beauty, and it was almost certain she would be the successor in the next generation to the famous Yoshino." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But she was only eleven years old. Barely had she gone into the outside corridor and slid the door shut when she clapped her hands and called loudly, \"Uneme, Tamami, Itonosuke! Look out here!\"\n\nThe three girls rushed out and began clapping their hands and shrieking joyfully, delighted by the discovery of snow outside.\n\nThe men looked out to see what the commotion was about and, except for Shōyū, were amused by the sight of the young attendants chattering excitedly, trying to decide whether the snow would still be on the ground in the morning." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Rin'ya, her mission forgotten, rushed out into the garden to play in the snow." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Impatient, Shōyū sent one of the courtesans in search of Yoshino Dayū.\n\nShe returned and whispered into his ear, \"Yoshino said she would like more than anything to join you, but her guest won't permit it.\"\n\n\"Won't permit it! That's ridiculous! Other women here may be forced to do their customers' bidding, but Yoshino can do as she pleases. Or is she allowing herself to be bought for money these days?\"\n\n\"Oh, no. But the guest she's with tonight is particularly stubborn. Every time she says she'd like to leave, he insists more adamantly that she stay.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Um. I suppose none of her customers ever wants her to go. Who is she with tonight?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Lord Karasumaru.\"\n\n\"Lord Karasumaru?\" repeated Shōyū with an ironic smile. \"Is he alone?\"\n\n\"No.\"\n\n\"He's with some of his usual cronies?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Shōyū slapped his knee. \"This might turn out to be interesting. The snow is good, the sake is good, and if we just had Yoshino, everything would be perfect. Kōetsu, let's write his lordship a letter. You, young lady, bring me an ink stone and brush.\"\n\nWhen the girl placed the writing materials before Kōetsu, he said, \"What shall I write?\"\n\n\"A poem would be good. Prose might do, but verse would be better. Lord Karasumaru is one of our more celebrated poets.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'm not sure I know how to go about it. Let's see, we want the poem to persuade him to let us have Yoshino, isn't that right?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That's it.\"\n\n\"If it's not a good poem, it won't make him change his mind. Good poems are not easy to write on the spur of the moment. Why don't you write the first lines, and I'll write the rest?\"\n\n\"Hmm. Let's see what we can do.\" Shōyū took the brush and wrote:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "To our humble hut" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Let there come one cherry tree,\n\nOne tree from Yoshino.\n\n\"So far, so good,\" said Kōetsu, and wrote:\n\nThe flowers shiver from cold" }, { "from": "human", "value": "In the clouds above the peaks." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Shōyū was immensely pleased. \"Marvelous,\" he said. \"That ought to take care of his lordship and his noble companions—the 'people above the clouds.'\" He neatly folded the paper, then handed it to Sumigiku, saying gravely, \"The other girls don't seem to have the dignity you have, so I appoint you my envoy to Lord Kangan. If I'm not mistaken, that's the name he's known by in these parts.\" The nickname, meaning \"Frigid Mountain Crag,\" was a reference to Lord Karasumaru's exalted status." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Sumigiku was not long in returning." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Lord Kangan's reply, if you please,\" she said, reverentially placing a gorgeously wrought letter box before Shōyū and Kōetsu. They looked at the box, which implied formality, then at each other. What had started as a little joke was taking on more serious overtones.\n\n\"My word,\" said Shōyū." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"We must be more careful next time. They must have been surprised. Surely they couldn't have known we'd be here tonight.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Still hoping to get the better of the exchange, Shōyū opened the box and unfolded the answer. To his dismay, he saw nothing but a piece of cream-colored paper, devoid of writing.\n\nThinking he must have dropped something, he looked around for a second sheet, then glanced again into the box.\n\n\"Sumigiku, what does this mean?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I have no idea. Lord Kangan handed me the box and told me to give it to you.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Is he trying to make asses of us? Or was our poem too clever for him and he's raising the white flag of surrender?\" Shōyū had a way of interpreting things to suit his own convenience, but this time he appeared uncertain. He handed the paper to Kōetsu and asked, \"What do you make of it?\"\n\n\"I think he intends us to read it.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Read a blank piece of paper?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I should think it can be construed somehow.\"\n\n\"Do you? What could it possibly mean?\"\n\nKōetsu thought for a moment. \"Snow... snow covering everything.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Hmm. Maybe you're right.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"In answer to our request for a cherry tree from Yoshino, it could mean:\n\nIf you gaze at snow\n\nAnd fill your cup with sake,\n\nEven without flowers..." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In other words, he's telling us that since it's snowing tonight, we should forget about love, open the doors and admire the snow as we drink. Or at least, that's my impression.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"How annoying!\" exclaimed Shōyū with distaste. \"I have no intention of drinking in such a heartless fashion. Not going to sit here and be silent either. One way or another, we'll transplant the Yoshino tree to our room and admire her blossoms.\" Excited now, he moistened his lips with his tongue.\n\nKōetsu humored him, hoping he would calm down, but Shōyū kept after the girls to bring Yoshino and refused to allow the subject to be changed for very long." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Continue with the same vibes as Eiji Yoshikawa" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Musashi wandered about the many hallways, avoiding the brightly lit front parlors." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He came upon one dark room where bedding was kept and another full of tools and implements. The walls seemed to exude the warmish odor of food being prepared, but still he could not find the kitchen.\n\nAn attendant came out of one room and held out her arms to block his way. \"Sir, guests aren't supposed to come back here,\" she said firmly, with none of the childish cuteness she might have affected in the guest rooms." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Oh! Shouldn't I be here?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Certainly not!\" She gave him a shove toward the front and walked in the same direction herself.\n\n\"Aren't you the girl who fell in the snow a while ago? Rin'ya, isn't it?\"\n\n\"Yes, I'm Rin'ya. I suppose you got lost trying to find the toilet. I'll show you where it is.\" She took his hand and pulled." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That's not it. I'm not drunk. I'd like you to do me a favor. Take me to an empty room and bring me some food.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Food? If that's what you want, I'll take it to your parlor.\"\n\n\"No, not there. Everybody's having a good time. They don't want to be reminded of dinner yet.\"\n\nRin'ya cocked her head. \"I suppose you're right. I'll bring you something here. What would you like?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Nothing special; two large rice balls will do.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She returned in a few minutes with the rice balls and served them to him in an unlit room.\n\nWhen he had finished, he said, \"I guess I can get out of the house through the inner garden there.\" Without waiting for a reply, he stood up and walked to the veranda.\n\n\"Where are you going, sir?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Don't worry, I'll be back soon.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Why are you leaving by the back way?\"\n\n\"People would make a fuss if I went out the front way. And if my hosts saw me, it would upset them and spoil their fun.\"\n\n\"I'll open the gate for you, but be sure to come back right away. If you don't, they'll blame me.\"\n\n\"I understand. If Mr. Mizuochi should ask about me, tell him I went to the neighborhood of the Rengeōin to see a man I know. I intend to return shortly.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You must come back soon. Your companion for the evening is to be Yoshino Dayū.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She opened the snow-laden folding wooden gate and let him out.\n\nDirectly opposite the main entrance to the gay quarter was a tea shop called the Amigasa-jaya. Musashi stopped and asked for a pair of straw sandals, but they had none. As the name implied, their chief business was selling basket hats to men who wished to conceal their identity when entering the quarter." }, { "from": "human", "value": "After sending the shopgirl to buy sandals, he sat down on the edge of a stool and tightened his obi and the cord under it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Removing his loose-fitting coat and folding it neatly, he borrowed paper and brush and wrote a brief note, folded it and slipped it into the sleeve of the coat. He then called to the old man crouched beside the hearth in the room behind the shop, whom he took to be the proprietor. \"Would you keep this coat for me? If I don't return by eleven o'clock, please take it to the Ōgiya and give it to a man called Kōetsu. There's a letter for him inside the sleeve.\"\n\nThe man said he'd be glad to help, and on being asked, informed Musashi it was only about seven o'clock, the watchman having just passed and announced the hour." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When the girl returned with the sandals, Musashi examined the thongs to make sure the plait was not too tight, then tied them on over his leather socks." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Handing the shopkeeper more money than was necessary, he picked up a new basket hat and went outside. Instead of tying the hat on, he held it over his head to keep off the snow, which fell in flakes softer than cherry blossoms.\n\nLights were visible along the riverbank at Shijō Avenue, but to the east, in the Gion woods, it was pitch black, except for widely scattered patches of light from stone lanterns. The deathly stillness was broken only sporadically, by the noise of snow sliding off a branch." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In front of a shrine gate about twenty men knelt in prayer, facing the deserted buildings." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The temple bells in the nearby hills had just pealed five times, marking the hour of eight. On this particular night the loud, clear sound of the bells seemed to penetrate to the pit of the stomach.\n\n\"That's enough praying,\" said Denshichirō. \"Let's be on our way.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "As they started off, one of the men asked Denshichirō if the thongs of his sandals were all right." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"On a freezing night like this, if they're too tight, they'll break.\"\n\n\"They're fine. When it's this cold, the only thing to do is use cloth thongs. You'd better remember that.\"\n\nAt the shrine, Denshichirō had completed his battle preparations, down to the headband and the leather sleeve thong. Surrounded by his grim-faced retinue, he strode across the snow, taking long deep breaths and emitting puffs of white vapor." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The challenge delivered to Musashi had specified the area behind the Rengeōin at nine o'clock." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Fearing, or professing to fear, that if they gave Musashi any extra time he might flee, never to return, the Yoshiokas had decided to act quickly. Hyōsuke had remained in the vicinity of Shōyū's house, but had sent his two comrades to report on the situation.\n\nApproaching the Rengeōin, they saw a bonfire near the back of the temple.\n\n\"Who's that?\" asked Denshichirō." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's probably Ryōhei and Jūrōzaemon.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"They're here too?\" said Denshichirō with a trace of annoyance. \"There are too many of our men present. I don't want people saying Musashi lost only because he was attacked by a large force.\"\n\n\"When the time comes, we'll go away.\"\n\nThe main temple building, the Sanjūsangendō, extended through thirty-three column spans." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Behind it was a large open space ideal for practicing archery and long used for that purpose." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "This association with one of the martial arts was what had induced Denshichirō to choose the Rengeōin for his encounter with Musashi. Denshichirō and his men were satisfied with the choice. There were some pine trees, enough to keep the landscape from being barren, but no weeds or rushes to get in the way during the course of the fight.\n\nRyōhei and Jūrōzaemon rose to greet Denshichirō, Ryōhei saying, \"You've had a cold walk, I imagine. There's still plenty of time. Sit down and warm yourself.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Silently, Denshichirō seated himself in the place Ryōhei had vacated." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He stretched his hands out over the flames and cracked his knuckles, one finger at a time. \"I guess I'm too early,\" he said. His face, warmed by the fire, had already taken on a bloodthirsty look. Frowning, he asked, \"Didn't we pass a teahouse on the way?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes, but it was closed.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"One of you go and get some sake. If you knock long enough, they'll answer.\"\n\n\"Sake, now?\"\n\n\"Yes, now. I'm cold.\" Moving closer to the fire, Denshichirō squatted, almost hugging it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Since no one could remember a time, morning, noon or night, when he had appeared at the dōjō not smelling of alcohol, his drinking had come to be accepted as a matter of course." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Though the fate of the whole Yoshioka School was at stake, one man wondered fuzzily if it wouldn't be better for him to warm his body with a little sake than to try to wield the sword with freezing arms and legs. Another quietly pointed out that it would be risky to disobey him, even for his own good, and a couple of the men ran off to the teahouse. The sake they brought was piping hot.\n\n\"Good!\" said Denshichirō." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"My very best friend and ally.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They watched nervously as he imbibed, praying he wouldn't consume as much as usual. Denshichirō, however, stopped well short of his normal quota. Despite his show of nonchalance, he well knew that his life was in the balance.\n\n\"Listen! Could that be Musashi?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ears pricked up." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As the men around the fire rapidly got to their feet, a dark figure appeared around the corner of the building. He waved his hand and shouted, \"Don't worry; it's only me.\"\n\nThough gallantly attired, with his hakama tucked up for running, he could not disguise his age. His back was bent into the shape of a bow." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When the men could see him more clearly, they informed each other that it was only the \"old man from Mibu,\" and the excitement died down." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The old man was Yoshioka Genzaemon, Kempō's brother and Denshichirō's uncle.\n\n\"Why, if it isn't Uncle Gen! What brings you here?\" exclaimed Denshichirō.\n\nIt had not occurred to him that his uncle might consider his assistance needed tonight.\n\n\"Ah, Denshichirō,\" said Genzaemon, \"you're really going through with it. I'm relieved to find you here.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I meant to go and discuss the matter with you first, but—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Discuss? What is there to discuss? The Yoshioka name has been dragged through the mud, your brother's been made a cripple! If you'd taken no action, you'd have had me to answer to!\"\n\n\"There's nothing to worry about. I'm not weak-kneed like my brother.\"\n\n\"I'll take your word for that. And I know you'll win, but I thought I'd better come and give you some encouragement. I ran all the way from Mibu. Denshichirō, let me warn you, you shouldn't take this opponent too lightly, from what I hear.\"\n\n\"I'm aware of that.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Don't be in too much of a hurry to win. Be calm, leave it to the gods. If by any chance you get killed, I'll take care of your body.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Ha, ha, ha, ha! Come, Uncle Gen, warm yourself by the fire.\"\n\nThe old man silently drank a cup of sake, then addressed the others reproachfully. \"What are you doing here? Certainly you don't intend to back him up with your swords, do you? This match is between one swordsman and another, and it looks cowardly to have a lot of supporters around. It's almost time now. Come with me, all of you. We'll go far enough away so it doesn't look as though we were planning a mass attack.\"\n\nThe men did as they were commanded, leaving Denshichirō alone." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He sat close to the fire, thinking: \"When I heard the bells, it was eight o'clock. It must be nine by now. Musashi's late.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The only trace of his disciples was their black footprints in the snow; the only sound, the crack of icicles breaking off the eaves of the temple. Once, the branch of a tree snapped under the weight of the snow. Each time the silence was disturbed, Denshichirō's eyes darted about like a falcon's.\n\nAnd like a falcon, a man came kicking through the snow." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Nervous and panting, Hyōsuke said between breaths, \"He's coming.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Denshichirō knew the message before he heard it and was already on his feet. \"He's coming?\" he asked parrotlike, but his feet were automatically stamping out the last embers of the fire.\n\nHyōsuke reported that Musashi had taken his time after leaving the Ōgiya, as if oblivious of the heavy snowfall. \"Just a few minutes ago he climbed the stone steps of the Gion Shrine. I took a back street and came as fast as I could, but even dawdling the way he was, he couldn't be far behind me. I hope you're ready.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Hmm, this is it... Hyōsuke, get away from here.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Where are the others?\"\n\n\"I don't know, but I don't want you here. You make me nervous.\"\n\n\"Yes, sir.\" Hyōsuke's tone was obedient, but he did not want to leave and made up his mind not to. After Denshichirō had trampled the fire into the slush and turned with a tremor of excitement toward the courtyard, Hyōsuke ducked under the floor of the temple and squatted in the darkness." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Though he had not particularly noticed the wind out in the open, here underneath the building it whipped frigidly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Chilled to the bone, he hugged his knees and tried to deceive himself into thinking that the chattering of his teeth and the painful shiver running up and down his spine came from the cold alone and had nothing to do with his fear.\n\nDenshichirō walked about a hundred paces from the temple and took a solid stance, bracing one foot against the root of a tall pine tree and waiting with palpable impatience. The warmth of the sake had worn off rapidly, and Denshichirō felt the cold biting into his flesh. That his temper was growing shorter was evident even to Hyōsuke, who could see the courtyard as clearly as if it were daylight." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A pile of snow cascaded off the branch of a tree. Denshichirō started nervously." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Still Musashi did not appear.\n\nFinally, unable to sit still any longer, Hyōsuke came out of his hiding place and shouted, \"What happened to Musashi?\"\n\n\"Are you still here?\" Denshichirō asked angrily, but he was as irritated as Hyōsuke and did not order him away." }, { "from": "human", "value": "By tacit mutual consent, the two walked toward each other." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They stood there, looking around in all directions, time and again one or the other saying, \"I can't see him.\" Each time the tone grew both angrier and more suspicious.\n\n\"That bastard—he's run away!\" exclaimed Denshichirō.\n\n\"He couldn't have,\" insisted Hyōsuke, launching into an earnest recapitulation of all he had seen and why he was sure Musashi would eventually come." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Denshichirō interrupted him. \"What's that?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "he asked, looking quickly at one end of the temple.\n\nA candle was emerging shakily from the kitchen building behind the long hall. It was in the hands of a priest, that much was clear, but they could not make out the dim figure behind him.\n\nTwo shadows and the speck of light, passing through the gate between the kitchen and the main building, ascended the long veranda of the Sanjūsangendō." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The priest was saying in a subdued voice, \"Everything here is shut up at night, so I can't say. This evening there were some samurai warming themselves in the courtyard. They may have been the people you're asking about, but they're gone now, as you can see.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The other man spoke quietly. \"I'm sorry to have intruded while you were asleep. Ah, aren't there two men over there under that tree? They may be the ones who sent word they'd wait for me here.\"\n\n\"Well, it wouldn't do any harm to ask them and see.\"\n\n\"I'll do that. I can find my way by myself now, so please feel free to go back to your room.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Are you joining your friends for a snow-viewing party?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Something like that,\" said the other man with a slight laugh.\n\nPutting out the candle, the priest said, \"I suppose I needn't say this, but if you build a fire near the temple, as those men did earlier, please be careful and extinguish it when you leave.\"\n\n\"I'll do so without fail.\"\n\n\"Very well, then. Please excuse me.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The priest went back through the gate and shut it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The man on the veranda stood still for a time, looking intently toward Denshichirō.\n\n\"Hyōsuke, who is it?\"\n\n\"I can't tell, but he came from the kitchen.\"\n\n\"He doesn't seem to belong to the temple.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The two of them walked about twenty paces nearer the building." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The shadowy man moved to a point near the middle of the veranda, stopped and tied up his sleeve. The men in the courtyard unconsciously approached close enough to see this, but then their feet refused to go any nearer.\n\nAfter an interval of two or three breaths, Denshichirō shouted, \"Musashi!\" He was well aware that the man standing several feet above him was in a very advantageous position." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Not only was he perfectly safe from the rear, but anyone trying to attack him from either the right or the left would first have to climb up to his level." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He was thus free to devote his entire attention to the enemy before him.\n\nBehind Denshichirō was open ground, snow and wind. He felt sure Musashi would not bring anyone with him, but he could not afford to ignore the wide space to his rear. He made a motion as though brushing something off his kimono and said urgently to Hyōsuke, \"Get away from here!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hyōsuke moved to the back edge of the courtyard." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Are you ready?\" Musashi's question was calm but trenchant, falling like so much ice water on his opponent's feverish excitement.\n\nDenshichirō now got his first good look at Musashi. \"So this is the bastard!\" he thought. His hatred was total; he resented the maiming of his brother, he was vexed at being compared with Musashi by the common people, and he had an ingrained contempt for what he regarded as a country upstart posing as a samurai." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Who are you to ask, 'Are you ready'? It's well past the hour of nine!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Did I say I'd be here exactly at nine?\"\n\n\"Don't make excuses! I've been waiting a long time. As you can see, I'm fully prepared. Now come down from there!\" He did not underestimate his opponent to the extent of daring to attack from his present position.\n\n\"In a minute,\" answered Musashi with a slight laugh." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There was a difference between Musashi's idea of preparation and his opponent's." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Denshichirō, though physically prepared, had only begun to pull himself together spiritually, whereas Musashi had started fighting long before he presented himself to his enemy. For him, the battle was now entering its second and central phase. At the Gion Shrine, he had seen the footprints in the snow, and at that moment his fighting instinct had been aroused. Knowing that the shadow of the man following him was no longer there, he had boldly entered the front gate of the Rengeōin and made a quick approach to the kitchen." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Having wakened the priest, he struck up a conversation, subtly questioning the man as to what had been going on earlier in the evening." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Disregarding the fact that he was a little late, he had had some tea and warmed himself. Then when he made his appearance, it was abrupt and from the relative safety of the veranda. He had seized the initiative.\n\nHis second opportunity came in the form of Denshichirō's attempt to draw him out." }, { "from": "human", "value": "One way of fighting would be to accept this; the other would be to ignore it and create an opening of his own." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Caution was in order; in a case like this, victory is like the moon reflected on a lake. If one jumps for it impulsively, one can drown.\n\nDenshichirō's exasperation knew no bounds. \"Not only are you late,\" he shouted; \"you aren't ready. And I haven't got a decent footing here.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Musashi, still perfectly calm, replied, \"I'm coming. Just a minute.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Denshichirō did not have to be told that anger could result in defeat, but in the face of this deliberate effort to annoy him, he was unable to control his emotions. The lessons he had learned in strategy deserted him.\n\n\"Come down!\" he screamed. \"Here, into the courtyard! Let's stop the tricks and fight bravely! I am Yoshioka Denshichirō! And I have nothing but spit for makeshift tactics or cowardly attacks. If you're frightened before the match begins, you're not qualified to confront me. Get down from there!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Musashi grinned. \"Yoshioka Denshichirō, eh? What do I have to fear from you? I cut you in half in the spring of last year, so if I do it again tonight, it's only repeating what I've done before.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What are you talking about? Where? When?\"\n\n\"At Koyagyū in Yamato.\"\n\n\"Yamato?\"\n\n\"In the bath at the Wataya Inn, to be exact.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Were you there?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I was. We were both naked, of course, but with my eyes I calculated whether I could cut you down or not. And with my eyes I slew you then and there, in rather splendid fashion, if I may say so myself. You probably didn't notice, because there were no scars left on your body, but you were defeated, no question about it. Other people may be willing to listen to you brag about your ability as a swordsman, but from me you'll get nothing but a laugh.\"\n\n\"I was curious as to how you'd talk, and now I know—like an idiot. But your babbling intrigues me. Come down from there, and I'll open your conceited eyes for you!\"\n\n\"What's your weapon? Sword? Wooden sword?\"\n\n\"Why ask when you don't have a wooden sword? You came expecting to use a sword, didn't you?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I did, but I thought if you wanted to use a wooden sword, I'd take yours away from you and fight with that.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I don't have one, you fool! Enough big talk. Fight!\"\n\n\"Ready?\"\n\n\"No!\"\n\nDenshichirō's heels made a black slanted line about nine feet long as he opened a space for Musashi to land in." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Musashi quickly sidestepped twenty or thirty feet along the veranda before jumping down." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then when they had moved, swords sheathed, eyeing each other warily, about two hundred feet from the temple, Denshichirō lost his head. Abruptly he drew and swung. His sword was long, just the right size for his body. Making only a slight whistling sound, it went through the air with amazing lightness, straight to the spot where Musashi had been standing." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Musashi was faster than the sword." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Even quicker was the springing of the glittering blade from his own scabbard. It looked as though they were too close together for both of them to emerge unscathed, but after a moment of dancing reflected light from the swords, they backed off.\n\nSeveral tense minutes passed. The two combatants were silent and motionless, swords stationary in the air, point aimed at point but separated by a distance of about nine feet." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The snow piled on Denshichirō's brow dropped to his eyelashes." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "To shake it off, he contorted his face until his forehead muscles looked like countless moving bumps. His bulging eyeballs glowed like the windows of a smelting furnace, and the exhalations of his deep, steady breathing were as hot and gusty as those from a bellows.\n\nDesperation had entered his thinking, for he realized how bad his position was. \"Why am I holding the sword at eye level when I always hold it above my head for the attack?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "he asked himself. He was not thinking in the ordinary sense of the word." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His very blood, palpitating audibly through his veins, told him that. But his whole body, down to his toenails, was concentrated in an effort to present an image of ferocity to the enemy.\n\nThe knowledge that the eye-level stance was not one in which he excelled nagged him. Any number of times he itched to raise his elbows and get the sword above his head, but it was too risky." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Musashi was on the alert for just such an opening, that tiny fraction of a second when his vision would be blocked by his arms." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Musashi held his sword at eye level too, with his elbows relaxed, flexible and capable of movement in any direction. Denshichirō's arms, held in an unaccustomed stance, were tight and rigid, and his sword unsteady. Musashi's was absolutely still; snow began to pile up on its thin upper edge.\n\nAs he watched hawklike for the slightest slip on his opponent's part, Musashi counted the number of times he breathed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He not only wanted to win, he had to win." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He was acutely conscious of once again standing on the borderline—on one side life, on the other, death. He saw Denshichirō as a gigantic boulder, an overpowering presence. The name of the god of war, Hachiman, passed through his mind.\n\n\"His technique is better than mine,\" Musashi thought candidly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He had had the same feeling of inferiority at Koyagyū Castle, when he had been encircled by the four leading swordsmen of the Yagyū School." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was always this way when he faced swordsmen of the orthodox schools, for his own technique was without form or reason, nothing more, really, than a do-or-die method. Staring at Denshichirō, he saw that the style Yoshioka Kempō had created and spent his life developing had both simplicity and complexity, was well ordered and systematic, and was not to be overcome by brute strength or spirit alone.\n\nMusashi was cautious about making any unnecessary movements. His primitive tactics refused to come into play." }, { "from": "human", "value": "To an extent that surprised him, his arms rebelled against being extended." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The best he could do was to maintain a conservative, defensive stance and wait. His eyes grew red searching for an opening, and he prayed to Hachiman for victory.\n\nWith swelling excitement, his heart began to race. If he had been an ordinary man, he might have been sucked into a whirlpool of confusion and succumbed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Yet he remained steady, shaking off his sense of inadequacy as if it were no more than snow on his sleeve." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His ability to control this new exhilaration was the result of having already survived several brushes with death. His spirit was fully awake now, as though a veil had been removed from before his eyes.\n\nDead silence. Snow accumulated on Musashi's hair, on Denshichirō's shoulders.\n\nMusashi no longer saw a great boulder before him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He himself no longer existed as a separate person." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The will to win had been forgotten. He saw the whiteness of the snow falling between himself and the other man, and the spirit of the snow was as light as his own. The space now seemed an extension of his own body. He had become the universe, or the universe had become him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He was there, yet not there." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Denshichirō's feet inched forward. At the tip of his sword, his willpower quivered toward the start of a movement.\n\nTwo lives expired with two strokes of a single sword. First, Musashi attacked to his rear, and Ōtaguro Hyōsuke's head, or a piece of it, sailed past Musashi like a great crimson cherry, as the body staggered lifelessly toward Denshichirō." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The second horrendous scream—Denshichirō's cry of attack— was cut short midway, the broken-off sound thinning out into the space around them." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Musashi leapt so high that he appeared to have sprung from the level of his opponent's chest. Denshichirō's big frame reeled backward and dropped in a spray of white snow.\n\nBody pitifully bent, face buried in the snow, the dying man cried, \"Wait! Wait!\"\n\nMusashi was no longer there." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Hear that?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It's Denshichirō!\"\n\n\"He's been hurt!\"\n\nThe black forms of Genzaemon and the Yoshioka disciples rushed across the courtyard like a wave.\n\n\"Look! Hyōsuke's been killed!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Denshichirō!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Denshichirō!\"\n\nYet they knew there was no use calling, no use thinking about medical treatment. Hyōsuke's head had been sliced sideways from the right ear to the middle of the mouth, Denshichirō's from the top down to the right cheekbone. All in a matter of seconds." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That's... that's why I warned you,\" sputtered Genzaemon." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That's why I told you not to take him lightly. Oh, Denshichirō, Denshichirō!\" The old man hugged his nephew's body, trying in vain to console it.\n\nGenzaemon clung to Denshichirō's corpse, but it angered him to see the others milling about in the blood-reddened snow. \"What happened to Musashi?\" he thundered." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Some had already started searching; they saw no sign of Musashi." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"He's not here,\" came the answer, timid and obtuse.\n\n\"He's around somewhere,\" barked Genzaemon. \"He hasn't got wings. If I don't get in a blow of revenge, I can never again hold my head up as a member of the Yoshioka family. Find him!\"\n\nOne man gasped and pointed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The others fell back a pace and stared in the direction indicated." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It's Musashi.\"\n\n\"Musashi?\"\n\nAs the idea sank in, silence filled the air, not the tranquillity of a place of worship, but an ominous, diabolical silence as though ears, eyes and brains had ceased to function.\n\nWhatever the man had seen, it was not Musashi, for Musashi was standing under the eaves of the nearest building." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Today you will be acting as a writing assistant, your partner will send something and you will write the next 4 sentences." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The road descending along a ridge from Mount Hiei came out in Ōmi Province, at a point just beyond the Miidera." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Musashi was leading the cow by a rope. Looking over his shoulder, he said gently, \"If you want, we can stop and rest. It's not as though either of us is in a hurry.\" But at least, he thought, they were on their way. Osugi, unused to cows, had at first flatly refused to get on the animal." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It had taken all his ingenuity to persuade her, the argument that worked being that she could not remain indefinitely in a priestly bastion of celibacy." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Face down on the cow's neck, Osugi groaned painfully and readjusted herself. At every sign of solicitude on Musashi's part, she reminded herself of her hatred, silently conveying her contempt at being cared for by her mortal enemy.\n\nThough he was well aware that she lived for no other reason than to take revenge on him, he found himself unable to regard her as a genuine foe. No one, not even enemies much stronger than she was, had ever caused him so much trouble or embarrassment." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her trickery had brought him to the brink of disaster in his own village; because of her he had been jeered and reviled at Kiyomizudera; time and again she had tripped him up and thwarted his plans." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There had been times, such as the previous night, when he had cursed her and very nearly given in to the urge to slice her in two.\n\nStill, he could not bring himself to lay a hand on her, especially now, when she was ailing and bereft of her customary verve. Oddly, the inactivity of her vicious tongue depressed him, and he longed to see her restored to health, even if this meant more trouble for him.\n\n\"Riding that way must be pretty uncomfortable,\" he said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Try to bear up a little longer. When we get to Ōtsu, I'll think of something.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The view to the northeast was magnificent. Lake Biwa was spread out placidly below them, Mount Ibuki was just beyond, and the peaks of Echizen rose in the distance. On the near side of the lake, Musashi could make out each of the famous Eight Views of Karasaki in the village of Seta.\n\n\"Let's stop for a while,\" he said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You'll feel better if you get off and lie down for a few minutes.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Tying the animal to a tree, he put his arms around her and lifted her down.\n\nFace down on the ground, Osugi pushed his hands away and let out a groan. Her face was feverishly hot and her hair was a mess.\n\n\"Don't you want some water?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Musashi asked, not for the first time, rubbing her on the back." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You should eat something too.\" She shook her head stubbornly. \"You haven't drunk a drop of water since last night,\" he said pleadingly. \"If you keep this up, you'll just make yourself worse. I'd like to get some medicine for you, but there aren't any houses around here. Look, why don't you eat half of my lunch?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"How disgusting!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Huh?\"\n\n\"I'd rather die in some field and get eaten by the birds. I'd never sink so low as to accept food from an enemy!\" She shook his hand off her back and clutched at the grass.\n\nWondering if she would ever get over her basic misunderstanding, he treated her as tenderly as he would his own mother, patiently trying to soothe her each time she lashed out at him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Now, Granny, you know you don't want to die. You've got to live. Don't you want to see Matahachi make something of himself?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She bared her teeth and snarled, \"What's that got to do with you? Matahachi'll get ahead one of these days without your help, thank you.\"\n\n\"I'm sure he will. But you must get well so that you yourself can encourage him.\"\n\n\"You hypocrite!\" the old woman screamed. \"You're wasting your time if you think you can flatter me into forgetting how much I hate you.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Realizing that anything he said would be taken the wrong way, Musashi stood up and walked away." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He chose a spot behind a rock and began eating his lunch of rice balls stuffed with a dark, sweetish bean paste and individually wrapped in oak leaves. Half of them he left uneaten.\n\nHearing voices, he looked around the rock and saw a country woman talking with Osugi. She was dressed in the hakama worn by the women of Ōhara, and her hair hung down around her shoulders." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In stentorian tones, she was saying, \"I've got this sick person at my place. She's better now, but she'd recover even quicker if I could give her some milk. May I milk the cow?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Osugi lifted her face and looked at the woman inquiringly. \"We don't have many cows where I come from. Can you actually get milk from her?\"\n\nThe two exchanged a few more words as the woman squatted down and began squirting milk into a sake jar. When it was full, she stood up, clutching it tightly in her arms, and said, \"Thanks. I'll be going now.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Wait!\" cried Osugi in a raspy voice." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She stretched out her arms and glanced around to make sure Musashi was not watching. \"Give me some milk first. Just a sip or two will be enough.\"\n\nThe woman watched, astonished, as Osugi put the jar to her lips, closed her eyes and gulped greedily, dribbling milk down her chin.\n\nWhen she was through, Osugi shuddered, then grimaced as though she might vomit." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What a nasty taste!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "she whined. \"But maybe it'll make me better. It's awful, though; viler than medicine.\"\n\n\"Is something the matter? Are you sick?\"\n\n\"Nothing serious. Cold and a little fever.\" She stood up briskly, as though all her ailments had dropped away, and after again reassuring herself that Musashi wasn't looking, drew closer to the woman and asked in a low voice, \"If I go straight down this road, where will it take me?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Just above the Miidera.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That's in Ōtsu, isn't it? Is there a back way I could take?\"\n\n\"Well, yes, but where do you want to go?\"\n\n\"I don't care. I just want to get away from that villain!\"\n\n\"About eight or nine hundred yards down this road, there's a path going off to the north. If you keep on that, you'll end up between Sakamoto and Ōtsu.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If you meet a man looking for me,\" Osugi said furtively, \"don't tell him you saw me.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She bumbled off, like a lame praying mantis in a hurry, brushing clumsily past the woman.\n\nMusashi chuckled and came out from behind his rock. \"I suppose you live around here,\" he said amicably. \"Your husband, he's a farmer, woodcutter, something like that?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The woman cowered, but answered, \"Oh, no. I'm from the inn at the top of the pass.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"So much the better. If I gave you some money, would you run an errand for me?\"\n\n\"I'd be glad to, but you see, there's this sick person at the inn.\"\n\n\"I could take the milk back for you and wait for you there. How would that be? If you go now, you should be back before dark.\"\n\n\"In that case, I guess I could go, but—\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Nothing to worry about! I'm not the villain the old woman said I am. I was only trying to help her. If she can get about on her own, there's no reason for me to worry about her. Now I'll just write a note. I want you to take it to the house of Lord Karasumaru Mitsuhiro. That's in the north part of the city.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "With the brush from his writing kit, he quickly scribbled the words he had been longing to write to Otsū during his recuperation at the Mudōji. Having entrusted his letter to the woman, he mounted the cow and lumbered off, repeating the words he had written and speculating on how Otsū would feel when she read them. \"And I thought I'd never see her again,\" he mumbled, suddenly coming to life.\n\n\"Considering how weak she was,\" he mused, \"she may be sick in bed again. But when she receives my letter, she'll get up and come as fast as she can. Jōtarō too.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He allowed the cow to proceed at her own pace, stopping from time to time to let her nibble grass." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His letter to Otsū was simple, but he was rather pleased with it: \"At Hanada Bridge, it was you who waited. This time, let it be me. I've gone on ahead. I'll wait for you in Ōtsu, at Kara Bridge in the village of Seta. When we're together again, we'll talk of many things.\" He had tried to give the matter-of-fact message a poetic cast. He recited it again to himself, pondering the \"many things\" they had to discuss.\n\nWhen he reached the inn, he got off the cow and, holding the jar of milk in both hands, called, \"Anybody here?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "As was usual in roadside establishments of this sort, there was an open area under the front eaves for travelers who stopped to have tea or a light meal." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Inside was a tea room, a section of which formed the kitchen. Rooms for guests were in the rear. An old woman was putting wood into an earthen oven, on top of which was a wooden steamer.\n\nAs he took a seat on a bench out front, she came and poured him a cup of lukewarm tea." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He then explained himself and handed her the jar." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What's this?\" she asked, eyeing him dubiously.\n\nThinking that perhaps she was deaf, he slowly repeated what he had said.\n\n\"Milk, you say? Milk? What for?\" Still puzzled, she turned toward the interior and called, \"Sir, can you come out here a minute? I don't know what this is all about.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What?\" A man ambled around the corner of the inn and asked, \"What's the trouble, ma'am?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She thrust the jar into his hands, but he neither looked at it nor heard what she was saying. His eyes were glued on Musashi, his face a study in disbelief.\n\nMusashi, equally astounded, cried, \"Matahachi!\"\n\n\"Takezō!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The two rushed at each other, stopping just before they collided." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When Musashi held out his arms, Matahachi did the same thing, letting go of the jar. \"How many years?\"\n\n\"Not since Sekigahara.\"\n\n\"That makes it... \"\n\n\"Five years. It must be. I'm twenty-two now.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "As they hugged each other, the sweet odor of the milk from the broken jar enveloped them, evoking the time when they had both been babes in arms." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You've become very famous, Takezō. But I guess I shouldn't be calling you Takezō. I'll call you Musashi, like everyone else. I've heard many stories about your success at the spreading pine—and about some things you did before that too.\"\n\n\"Don't embarrass me. I'm still an amateur. But the world's full of people who don't seem to be as good as I am. Say, are you staying here?\"\n\n\"Yes, I've been here about ten days. I left Kyoto with the idea of going to Edo, but something came up.\"\n\n\"I'm told somebody's sick. Oh, well, can't do anything about it now, but that's why I brought the milk.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Sick? Oh, yeah... my traveling companion.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That's too bad. Anyway, it's good to see you. The last I heard from you was the letter Jōtarō brought when I was on my way to Nara.\"\n\nMatahachi hung his head, hoping Musashi wouldn't mention the boastful predictions he'd made at the time.\n\nMusashi put his hand on Matahachi's shoulder, thinking how good it was to see him again and how he'd like to have a good long talk.\n\n\"Who's traveling with you?\" he asked innocently." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Oh, it's nobody, nobody you'd be interested in. It's just—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It doesn't matter. Let's go somewhere where we can talk.\"\n\nAs they walked away from the inn, Musashi asked, \"What are you doing for a living?\"\n\n\"Work, you mean?\"\n\n\"Yes.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I don't have any special talents or skills, so it's hard to get a position with a daimyō. I guess I can't say I do anything in particular.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You mean you've been loafing all these years?\" asked Musashi, vaguely suspecting the truth.\n\n\"Stop it. Saying things like that brings back all sorts of unpleasant memories.\" His mind seemed to drift back to those days in the shadow of Mount Ibuki." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Where I made my great mistake was in taking up with Okō.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Let's sit down,\" said Musashi, crossing his legs and dropping to the grass. He felt a twinge of exasperation. Why did Matahachi persist in considering himself inferior? And why did he attribute his troubles to others?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You blame everything on Okō,\" he said firmly, \"but is that any way for a full-grown man to talk? Nobody can create a worthwhile life for you but you yourself.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I admit I was wrong, but... how can I put it? I just don't seem able to alter my fate.\"\n\n\"In times like these, you'll never get anywhere thinking that way. Go to Edo if you want, but when you get there, you're going to find people from all over the country, everyone hungry for money and position. You won't make a name for yourself just doing what the next man does. You'll have to distinguish yourself in some way.\"\n\n\"I should have taken up swordsmanship when I was young.\"\n\n\"Now that you mention it, I wonder if you're cut out to be a swordsman. Anyway, you're just starting out. Maybe you should think of becoming a scholar. I suspect that'd be the best way for you to find a position with a daimyō.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Don't worry. I'll do something.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Matahachi broke off a blade of grass and put it between his teeth. His shame weighed him down. It was mortifying to realize what five years of idleness had done. He'd been able to brush off stories he'd heard about Musashi with comparative ease; confronting him in the flesh like this drove home the contrast between them." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In Musashi's overpowering presence, Matahachi had trouble remembering they had once been the best of friends." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Even the man's dignity was somehow oppressive. Neither envy nor his competitive urge could save him from the painful awareness of his own inadequacy.\n\n\"Cheer up!\" said Musashi. But even as he slapped Matahachi on the shoulder, he sensed the man's weakness." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What's done is done. Forget about the past,\" he urged." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If you killed five years, so what? All it means is you're starting out five years later. Those five years may in their own way hold a valuable lesson.\"\n\n\"They were lousy.\"\n\n\"Oh, I forgot! I just left your mother a little while ago.\"\n\n\"You saw my mother?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes. I must say, I can't understand why you weren't born with more of her strength and tenacity.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Nor, he thought to himself, could he understand why Osugi had a son like this, so shiftless and full of self-pity. He felt like shaking him and reminding him how lucky he was to have a mother at all. Staring at Matahachi, he asked himself how Osugi's wrath could be assuaged. The answer came immediately: if Matahachi would only make something of himself..." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Matahachi,\" he said solemnly. \"Why, when you have a mother like yours, don't you try to do something to make her happy?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Having no parents, I can't help feeling you're not as grateful as you ought to be. It's not that you don't show her enough respect. But somehow, even though you're blessed with the best thing a person can have, you seem to think no more of it than of so much dirt. If I had a mother like yours, I'd be much more eager to improve myself and do something really worthwhile simply because there'd be someone to share my happiness." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Nobody rejoices over a person's accomplishments as much as his parents." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Maybe it sounds like I'm just spouting moral platitudes. But from a vagabond like me, it's not that. I can't begin to tell you how lonely I feel when I come across a beautiful view, then suddenly realize there's no one to enjoy it with me.\"\n\nMusashi paused to catch his breath and took hold of his friend's hand. \"You yourself know what I'm saying is true. You know I'm speaking as an old friend, a man from the same village. Let's try to recapture the spirit we had when we went off to Sekigahara. There are no more wars now, but the struggle to survive in a peaceful world is no less difficult. You have to fight; you have to have a plan. If you'd give it a try, I'd do anything I could to help.\"\n\nMatahachi's tears dropped onto their clutched hands." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Despite the resemblance of Musashi's words to one of his mother's tiresome sermons, he was deeply moved by his friend's concern." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You're right,\" he said, wiping away his tears. \"Thanks. I'll do what you say. I'll become a new man, right now. I agree, I'm not the type to succeed as a swordsman. I'll go to Edo and find a teacher. Then I'll study hard. I swear I will.\"\n\n\"I'll keep my eyes open for a good teacher, as well as a good master you might work for. You could even work and study at the same time.\"\n\n\"It'll be like starting life over again. But there's something else that bothers me.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Well? As I said, I'll do anything I can to help. That's the least I can do to make up for making your mother so angry.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It's sort of embarrassing. You see, my companion is a woman... Not just any woman. It's—oh, I can't say it.\"\n\n\"Come on, act like a man!\"\n\n\"Don't get angry. It's somebody you know.\"\n\n\"Who?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Akemi.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Startled, Musashi thought: \"Could he have picked anybody worse?\" but he caught himself before saying it out loud.\n\nTrue, Akemi was not as sexually depraved as her mother, not yet at least, but she was well on her way—a bird on the wing with a destructive torch in its mouth. Besides the incident with Seijūrō, Musashi strongly suspected there had been something going on between her and Kojirō." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He wondered what perverse fate led Matahachi to women like Okō and her daughter." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Matahachi misinterpreted Musashi's silence as a sign of jealousy. \"Are you angry? I told you honestly, because I didn't think I should hide it.\"\n\n\"You simpleton, it's you I'm worried about. Have you been cursed since birth, or do you go out of your way to find bad luck? I thought you'd learned your lesson from Okō.\"\n\nIn reply to Musashi's questions, Matahachi told him how he and Akemi happened to be together." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Maybe I'm being punished for deserting Mother,\" he concluded." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Akemi hurt her leg when she fell into the ravine, and it began to get worse, so—\"\n\n\"Oh, here you are, sir!\" said the old woman from the inn in the local dialect. Vague and senile, she put her arms behind her back and looked up at the sky, as though checking on the weather." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The sick woman isn't with you,\" she added, her flat inflection leaving it unclear as to whether she was asking or telling." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Flushing slightly, Matahachi said, \"Akemi? Has something happened to her?\"\n\n\"She's not in bed.\"\n\n\"Are you sure?\"\n\n\"She was there a while ago, but she isn't now.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Though a sixth sense told Musashi what had happened, he merely said, \"We'd better go see.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Akemi's bedding was still spread out on the floor, but otherwise the room was bare.\n\nMatahachi cursed and made a futile circuit of the room. Face burning with rage, he said, \"No obi, no money! Not so much as a comb or hairpin! She's crazy! What's wrong with her—deserting me like this!\"\n\nThe old woman was standing in the doorway." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Terrible thing to do,\" she said, as if to herself." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That girl—maybe I shouldn't say it—but she wasn't sick. Putting on, she was, so she could stay in bed. I may be old, but I can see through things like that.\"\n\nMatahachi ran out and stood staring down the white road curving along the ridge. The cow, lying under a peach tree whose blossoms had already darkened and fallen, broke the silence with a long, sleepy-sounding moo.\n\n\"Matahachi,\" said Musashi, \"why stand there moping? Let's pray she finds a place where she can settle down and lead a peaceful life, and let it go at that.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "A single yellow butterfly was tossed high in the swirling breeze before plummeting over the edge of a cliff." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Your promise made me very happy,\" said Musashi. \"Now, isn't it time to do something about it, really try and make something of yourself?\"\n\n\"Yes, I have to, don't I?\" mumbled Matahachi without enthusiasm, biting his lower lip to keep it from trembling." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Musashi swung him around, diverting his eyes from the deserted road." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Look here,\" he said cheerfully. \"Your path has opened up of its own accord. Wherever Akemi's headed, it isn't right for you. Go now, before it's too late. Take the path that comes out between Sakamoto and Ōtsu. You should catch up with your mother before the day is out. Once you've found her, don't ever lose sight of her again.\"\n\nTo emphasize the point, he brought Matahachi's sandals and leggings, then went into the inn and came back with his other belongings.\n\n\"Do you have any money?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "he asked. \"I don't have much myself, but you can have part of it. If you think Edo's the place for you, I'll go there with you. Tonight I'll be at the Kara Bridge in Seta. After you find your mother, look for me there. I'm counting on you to bring her.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "After Matahachi left, Musashi settled down to wait for twilight and the reply to his letter. Stretching out on the bench in the back of the tea room, he closed his eyes and was soon dreaming. Of two butterflies, drifting in the air, frolicking among intertwining branches. One of the butterflies he recognized... Otsū." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When he awoke, the slanting rays of the sun had reached the back wall of the tea room." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He heard a man say, \"However you look at it, it was a shoddy performance.\"\n\n\"You mean the Yoshiokas?\"\n\n\"That's right.\"\n\n\"People had too much regard for the school, because of Kempō's reputation. Looks like in any field only the first generation counts for much. The next generation gets lackluster, and by the third, everything falls apart. You don't often see the head of the fourth generation buried by the side of the founder.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Well, I intend to be buried right next to my great-grandfather.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You're nothing but a stonecutter anyway. I'm talking about famous people. If you think I'm wrong, just look what happened to Hideyoshi's heir.\"\n\nThe stonecutters worked in a quarry in the valley and around three o'clock every afternoon came up to the inn for a cup of tea. Earlier, one of them, who lived near Ichijōji, had claimed that he saw the battle from beginning to end. Having already told his story dozens of times, he could now deliver it with stirring eloquence, embroidering skillfully on facts and mimicking Musashi's movements." }, { "from": "human", "value": "While the stonecutters were listening raptly to this recital, four other men had arrived and taken seats out front: Sasaki Kojirō and three samurai from Mount Hiei." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Their scowling faces made the workmen uneasy, so they'd picked up their teacups and retreated inside. But as the saga gathered steam, they began laughing and commenting, repeating Musashi's name frequently and with obvious admiration.\n\nWhen Kojirō reached the limit of his forbearance, he called loudly, \"You, there!\"\n\n\"Yes, sir,\" they chorused, automatically bowing their heads." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What's going on here? You!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He pointed his steel-ribbed fan at the man. \"Talking as if you knew so much. Come out here! The rest of you too! I'm not going to hurt you.\"\n\nAs they shuffled outdoors again, he continued: \"I've been listening to you sing the praises of Miyamoto Musashi, and I've had enough. You're talking nonsense!\"\n\nThere were questioning looks and murmurs of puzzlement." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Why do you consider Musashi a great swordsman?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "You—you say you saw the fight the other day, but let me assure you, I, Sasaki Kojirō, also saw it. As the official witness, I observed every detail. Later, I went to Mount Hiei and lectured to the student priests on what I'd seen. Moreover, at the invitation of some eminent scholars, I visited several subsidiary temples and gave more lectures." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Now, unlike me, you men know nothing about swordsmanship.\" Condescension was creeping into Kojirō's voice. \"You see only who won and who lost, then you join the herd and praise Miyamoto Musashi as though he were the greatest swordsman who ever lived." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Ordinarily, I wouldn't bother to refute the prattle of ignoramuses, but I feel it's necessary now, because your erroneous opinions are harmful to society at large. Moreover, I wish to expose your fallacies for the benefit of these distinguished scholars who accompany me today. Clean out your ears and listen carefully! I'll tell you what actually happened at the spreading pine and what kind of man Musashi is.\"\n\nObedient noises issued from the captive audience.\n\n\"In the first place,\" declaimed Kojirō, \"let us consider what Musashi really has in mind—his ulterior purpose. To judge from the way he provoked this last bout, I can only conclude that he was trying desperately to sell his name, to make a reputation for himself." }, { "from": "human", "value": "To do this, he singled out the House of Yoshioka, the most famous school of swordsmanship in Kyoto, and cleverly picked a fight." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "By falling victim to this ruse, the House of Yoshioka became Musashi's stepping-stone to fame and success.\n\n\"What he did was dishonest. It was already common knowledge that the days of Yoshioka Kempō were over, that the Yoshioka School had fallen into decline. It was like a withered tree, or an invalid close to death." }, { "from": "human", "value": "All Musashi had to do was give a push to an empty hulk." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Anyone could have done the same, but no one did. Why? Because those of us who understand The Art of War already knew the school was powerless. Second, because we did not wish to sully the honored name of Kempō. Yet Musashi chose to provoke an incident, to place challenging signs on the streets of Kyoto, to spread rumors and finally to make a great spectacle of doing what any reasonably skillful swordsman could have done." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I couldn't begin to enumerate all the cheap, cowardly tricks he resorted to." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Consider, for example, that he contrived to be late both for his bout with Yoshioka Seijūrō and for his encounter with Denshichirō. Instead of meeting his enemies head on at the spreading pine, he came by a roundabout way and employed all sorts of base stratagems.\n\n\"It's been pointed out that he was only one man fighting against many. That's true, but it's only part of his devilish scheme for promoting his name. He knew full well that because he was outnumbered, the public would sympathize with him. And when it comes to the actual fighting, I can tell you—I observed it personally—it was little more than child's play. Musashi managed to survive for a time with his clever tricks, then, when the chance to flee presented itself, he ran. Oh, I have to admit that to a certain extent he displayed a kind of brute strength. But that doesn't make him an expert swordsman. No, not at all. Musashi's greatest claim to fame is his ability to run fast. At making a rapid getaway, he is without equal.\"\n\nThe words were now streaming from Kojirō's mouth like water over a dam." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Ordinary people think it's difficult for a lone swordsman to fight against a great number of opponents, but ten men are not necessarily ten times stronger than one man. To the expert, numbers are not always important.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kojirō then gave a professional critique of the battle. It was easy to belittle Musashi's feat, for despite his valor, any knowledgeable observer could have picked out flaws in his performance. When he got around to mentioning Genjirō, Kojirō was scathing. He said the boy's murder was an atrocity, a violation of the ethics of swordsmanship, that could not be condoned from any point of view." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"And let me tell you about Musashi's background,\" he cried indignantly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He then revealed that within the past few days he'd met Osugi herself on Mount Hiei and had heard the whole, long story of Musashi's duplicity. Sparing no details, he recounted the wrongs suffered by this \"sweet old woman.\"\n\nHe ended by saying, \"I shudder to think that there are people who shout the praises of this rogue. The effect on public morals is terrifying to contemplate! And this is the reason I've spoken at some length. I have no connection with the House of Yoshioka, nor do I have any personal grudge against Musashi. I've spoken to you fairly and impartially, as a man devoted to the Way of the Sword and as one determined to follow righteously in that Way! I've told you the truth. Remember it!\"\n\nFalling silent, he eased his thirst with a cup of tea, then turned to his companions and remarked very quietly, \"Ah, the sun's already low in the sky. If you don't start soon, it'll be dark before you reach the Miidera.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The samurai from the temple rose to take their leave." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Take good care of yourself,\" said one of them.\n\n\"We look forward to seeing you again when you return to Kyoto.\"\n\nThe stonecutters saw their chance and, like prisoners freed by a tribunal, hastened back to the valley, which was now cloaked in purplish shadows and echoed with the singing of nightingales.\n\nKojirō watched them go, then called into the inn, \"I'll put the money for the tea here on the table. By the way, do you have any matchlock fuses?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The old woman was squatting before the earthen oven, preparing the evening meal. \"Fuses?\" she said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"There's a bunch hanging in the corner back there. Take as many as you want.\"\n\nHe strode to the corner. As he was pulling two or three of them out of a sheaf, the rest fell on the bench below. Reaching to retrieve them, he couldn't help noticing the two legs stretched out on the bench." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His eyes traveled slowly from legs to body to face." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The shock was like a solid blow to the solar plexus.\n\nMusashi stared straight at him.\n\nKojirō sprang back a step.\n\n\"Well, well,\" said Musashi, grinning broadly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Unhurriedly he stood up and went to Kojirō's side, where he stood silently, an amused and knowing expression on his face." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kojirō tried to smile back, but his facial muscles refused to obey. He realized instantly that Musashi must have overheard every word he'd said, and his embarrassment was all the more unbearable because he felt Musashi was laughing at him. It took him only a moment to recover his usual aplomb, but during that brief interval his confusion was unmistakable.\n\n\"Why, Musashi, I didn't expect to find you here,\" he said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Nice to see you again.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes, yes, indeed.\" Regretting the words even as he spoke them, yet somehow unable to help himself, he went on: \"I must say, you've really distinguished yourself since I last saw you. It's hard to believe a mere human being could have fought the way you did. Let me congratulate you. You don't even seem to be any the worse for it.\"\n\nThe trace of a smile still on his lips, Musashi said, with exaggerated politeness, \"Thank you for acting as witness that day. And thank you also for the critique you've just given of my performance. Not often are we allowed to see ourselves as others see us. I am much indebted to you for your comments. I assure you I won't forget them.\"\n\nDespite the quiet tone and lack of rancor, the last statement sent a chill through Kojirō. He recognized it for what it was, a challenge that would have to be met at some future date." }, { "from": "human", "value": "These two men, both proud, both headstrong, both convinced of their own rectitude, were bound to clash head on, sooner or later." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Musashi was content to wait, but when he said, \"I won't forget,\" he was only speaking the simple truth. He already regarded his most recent victory as a milestone in his career as a swordsman, a high point in his struggle to perfect himself. Kojirō's calumnies would not go unchallenged indefinitely.\n\nThough Kojirō had embellished his speech to sway his listeners, he actually saw the event very much as he had described it, and his honest opinion was not substantially different from what he had stated." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Nor did he doubt for a moment the fundamental accuracy of his appraisal of Musashi." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'm glad to hear you say that,\" said Kojirō. \"I wouldn't want you to forget. Nor will I.\"\n\nMusashi was still smiling as he nodded his agreement.\n\nEntwining Branches" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Otsū, I'm back,\" Jōtarō called as he swept through the rustic front gate." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Otsū sat just inside the veranda with her arms propped on a low writing table, staring at the sky as she had been since morning. Under the gable was a wooden plaque bearing an inscription in white characters: \"Hermitage of the Mountain Moon.\" The little cottage belonging to a priestly official at the Ginkakuji had, at Lord Karasumaru's request, been lent to Otsū.\n\nJōtarō plopped down in a clump of blossoming violets and began splashing his feet in the brook to wash off the mud." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The water, which flowed directly from the garden of the Ginkakuji, was purer than fresh snow." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Water's freezing,\" he observed with a frown, but the earth was warm and he was happy to be alive and in this beautiful spot. Swallows sang as if they, too, were pleased with the day.\n\nHe rose, wiped his feet on the grass and walked over to the veranda. \"Don't you get bored?\" he asked." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No; I have many things to think about.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Wouldn't you like to hear some good news?\"\n\n\"What news?\"\n\n\"It's about Musashi. I heard he's not so far from here.\"\n\n\"Where?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I've been wandering around for days asking if anyone knew where he was, and today I heard he's staying at the Mudōji on Mount Hiei.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"In that case, I suppose he's all right.\"\n\n\"Probably, but I think we should go there right away, before he goes off someplace. I'm hungry. Why don't you get ready while I have something to eat?\"\n\n\"There are some rice dumplings wrapped in leaves. They're in that three-tiered box over there. Help yourself.\"\n\nWhen Jōtarō finished the dumplings, Otsū hadn't moved from the table." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What's the matter?\" he asked, eyeing her suspiciously." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I don't think we ought to go.\"\n\n\"Of all the stupid... One minute you're dying to see Musashi, and the next you start pretending you don't want to.\"\n\n\"You don't understand. He knows how I feel. That night when we met on the mountain, I told him everything, said all there was to say. We thought we'd never see each other alive again.\"\n\n\"But you can see him again, so what are you waiting for?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I don't know what he's thinking, whether he's satisfied with his victory or just staying out of danger. When he left me I resigned myself to never being with him again in this life. I don't think I should go unless he sends for me.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What if he doesn't do that for years?\"\n\n\"I'll go on doing what I'm doing right now.\"\n\n\"Sit there and look at the sky?\"\n\n\"You don't understand. But never mind.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What don't I understand?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Musashi's feelings. I really feel I can trust him now. I used to love him heart and soul, but I don't think I believed in him completely. Now I do. Everything's different.\n\n\"We're closer than the branches of the same tree. Even if we're separated, even if we die, we'll still be together. So nothing can make me lonely anymore. Now I only pray he'll find the Way he's searching for.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jōtarō exploded. \"You're lying!\" he shouted." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Can't women even tell the truth? If you want to act that way, all right, but don't ever mention to me again how much you long to see Musashi. Cry your eyes out! It's all the same to me.\" He'd put a lot of effort into finding out where Musashi had gone from Ichijōji—and now this! He ignored Otsū and didn't say a word the rest of the day.\n\nJust after dusk, a reddish torchlight crossed the garden, and one of Lord Karasumaru's samurai knocked on the door." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He handed a letter to Jōtarō, saying, \"It's from Musashi to Otsū. His lordship said Otsū should take good care of herself.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He turned and left.\n\n\"It's Musashi's handwriting, all right,\" thought Jōtarō. \"He must be alive.\" Then, with a trace of indignation: \"It's addressed to Otsū, not to me, I see.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Emerging from the rear of the cottage, Otsū said, \"That samurai brought a letter from Musashi, didn't he?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes, but I don't suppose you'd be interested,\" he replied with a pout, hiding the letter behind his back.\n\n\"Oh, stop it, Jōtarō. Let me see it,\" Otsū implored.\n\nHe resisted for a time, but at the first hint of tears thrust the envelope at her. \"Ha!\" he gloated. \"You pretend you don't want to see him, but you can't wait to read his letter.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "As she crouched by the lamp, the paper trembling in her white fingers, the flame seemed to have a special gaiety, a portent almost of happiness and good fortune." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The ink sparkled like a rainbow, the tears on her eyelashes like jewels. Otsū, suddenly transported to a world she hadn't dared hope existed, recalled the ecstatic passage in Po Chū-i's poem where the departed spirit of Yang Kuei-fei rejoiced over a message of love from her bereaved emperor.\n\nShe read the short message, then again read it. \"He must be waiting this very minute. I must hurry.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Though she thought she said the words aloud, she uttered not a sound." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Flying into action, she wrote thank-you notes to the owner of the cottage, to other priests at the Ginkakuji and to all those who had been kind to her during her stay. She had gathered her belongings together, tied on her sandals and was out in the garden before she noticed that Jōtarō was still sitting inside nursing his pique.\n\n\"Come on, Jō! Hurry up!\"\n\n\"Going somewhere?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Are you still angry?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Who wouldn't be? You never think of anybody but yourself. Is there something so secret about Musashi's letter you can't even show it to me?\"\n\n\"I'm sorry,\" she said apologetically. \"There's no reason you shouldn't see it.\"\n\n\"Forget it. I'm not interested now.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Don't be so difficult. I want you to read it. It's a wonderful letter, the first he's ever sent me. And this is the first time he's asked me to come and join him. I've never been so happy in my life. Stop pouting, and come with me to Seta. Please.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "On the road through Shiga Pass, Jōtarō maintained a grumpy silence, but eventually he plucked a leaf to use as a whistle and hummed a few popular ditties to relieve the nocturnal stillness.\n\nEventually, too, Otsū, prompted to make a peace offering, said, \"There are some sweets left from the box Lord Karasumaru sent the day before yesterday.\"\n\nBut dawn was breaking and clouds beyond the pass were turning pink before he became his normal self again.\n\n\"Are you all right, Otsū? Aren't you tired?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"A little. It's been uphill all the way.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It'll be easier from now on. Look, you can see the lake.\"\n\n\"Yes; Lake Biwa. Where's Seta?\"\n\n\"Over that way. Musashi wouldn't be there this early, would he?\"\n\n\"I really don't know. It'll take us half the day to get there ourselves. Shall we take a rest?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Okay,\" he replied, his good humor restored." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Let's sit down under those two big trees over there.\"\n\nThe smoke of early morning cooking fires rose in strands, like vapors ascending from a battlefield. Through the mist stretching from the lake to the town of Ishiyama, the streets of ūtsu were becoming visible. As he approached, Musashi drew his hand across his brow and looked around, glad to be back among people." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Near the Miidera, as he started up the Bizōji slope, he had wondered idly which road Otsū would take." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He had imagined earlier he might meet her on the way but later decided this was unlikely. The woman who had taken his letter to Kyoto had informed him that though Otsū was no longer at the Karasumaru residence, his letter would be delivered to her. Since she would have received it no sooner than late evening and would have had various things to do before leaving, it seemed probable that she would wait until morning before setting out.\n\nPassing a temple with a fine stand of old cherry trees—no doubt famous, he thought, for their spring blossoms—he had noticed a stone monument standing on a mound." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Though he had caught only a glimpse of the poem inscribed thereon, it came back to him a few hundred yards farther down the road." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was from the Taiheiki. Recalling that the poem was connected with a tale he had once memorized, he began reciting it slowly to himself.\n\n\"'A venerable priest from the temple of Shiga—leaning on a six-foot staff and so old that his white eyebrows grew together in a frosty peak on his forehead—was contemplating the beauty of Kannon in the waters of the lake when he chanced to catch sight of an imperial concubine from Kyōgoku. She was on her way back from Shiga, where there was a great field of flowers, and when he saw her, he was overcome with passion." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The virtue that he had so arduously accumulated over the years deserted him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He was engulfed in the burning house of desire and... '\n\n\"Now, how did that go? I seem to have forgotten some of it. Ah!\n\n\" '... and he returned to his hut made of sticks and prayed before the image of the Buddha, but a vision of the woman persisted." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Though he called on the Buddha's name, his own voice sounded like the breath of delusion." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In the clouds above the mountains at twilight, he seemed to see the combs in her hair. This made him sad. When he raised his eyes to the lonely moon, her face smiled back at him. He was perplexed and ashamed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\" 'Fearing that such thoughts would prevent him from going to paradise when he died, he resolved to meet the damsel and reveal his feelings to her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In this way, he hoped to die a peaceful death.\n\n\" 'So he went to the Imperial Palace and, planting his staff firmly in the ground, stood waiting in the kickball court for an entire day and night—' \"\n\n\"Pardon me, sir! You, on the cow!\"\n\nThe man seemed to be a day laborer of the sort found in the wholesale district." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Coming around in front of the cow, he patted her nose and looked over her head at the rider." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You must have come from the Mudōji,\" he said.\n\n\"I did, as a matter of fact. How did you know?\"\n\n\"I lent this cow to a merchant. I guess he must have left her there. I rent her out, so I'll have to ask you to pay me for the use of her.\"\n\n\"I'll be happy to pay. But tell me, how far would you let me take her?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"So long as you pay, you can take her anywhere. All you have to do is turn her over to a wholesaler in the town nearest where you're going. Then somebody else'll rent her. Sooner or later she'll get back here.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"How much would it cost me if I took her to Edo?\"\n\n\"I'll have to check that at the stable. It's right on your way anyhow. If you decide to rent her, you just have to leave your name at the office.\"\n\nThe wholesale district was near the ford at Uchidegahama. Since many travelers passed through there, Musashi thought it was just the place to freshen up and buy some things he needed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "After the arrangements for the cow had been made, he had a leisurely breakfast and set out for Seta, savoring the prospect of seeing Otsū again." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He no longer had any misgivings about her. Until their meeting on the mountain, she had always elicited a certain fear in him, but this time it was different: her purity, intelligence and devotion on that moonlit night had made his confidence in her deeper than love.\n\nNot only did he trust her; he knew she trusted him. He had vowed that once they were together again, he would refuse her nothing—provided, of course, it did not jeopardize his way of life as a swordsman." }, { "from": "human", "value": "What had worried him before was the dread that if he allowed himself to love her, his sword would be blunted." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Like the old priest in the story, he might lose the Way. That she was well disciplined was now evident; she would never become a hindrance or a fetter holding him back. His only problem now was to make sure that he himself did not drown in the deep pool of love.\n\n\"When we get to Edo,\" he thought, \"I'll see she gets the type of training and education a woman needs. While she studies, I'll take Jōtarō with me, and together we'll find a still higher plane of discipline. Then one day, when the time comes... \" Light reflected from the lake bathed his face in a gently flickering glow." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The two sections of Kara Bridge, one ninety-six column spans and the other twenty-three column spans, were linked by a small island." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "On the island was an ancient willow tree, a landmark for travelers. The bridge itself was often called Willow Bridge.\n\n\"He's coming!\" cried Jōtarō, dashing out of the tea shop onto the shorter section of the bridge, where he stood beckoning to Musashi with one hand and pointing to the tea shop with the other. \"There he is, Otsū! See? Riding a cow.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He broke into a little dance." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Soon Otsū was standing beside him, she waving her hand, he waving his basket hat. A broad grin lit Musashi's face as he drew near.\n\nHe tied the cow to a willow tree, and the three of them entered the tea shop. Though Otsū had called wildly to Musashi while he was still on the far side of the bridge, now that he was beside her, words failed her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Beaming happily, she left the talking to Jōtarō." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Your wound's healed,\" said the boy, almost rhapsodically. \"When I saw you on the cow, I thought maybe it was because you couldn't walk. But we still managed to get here first, didn't we? As soon as Otsū got your letter, she was ready to leave.\"\n\nMusashi smiled, nodded, murmured \"oh\"s and \"ah\"s, but Jōtarō's talk about Otsū and her love in front of strangers made him uncomfortable. At his insistence, they moved to a little porch in back, which was shaded by a wisteria trellis." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Otsū remained too diffident to speak, and Musashi grew taciturn." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But Jōtarō paid no heed; his rapid chatter mingled with the buzzing of bees and the whir of gadflies.\n\nHe was interrupted by the proprietor's voice, saying, \"You'd better come inside. A storm's brewing. Look how dark the sky's getting above Ishiyamadera.\" He bustled about, putting away straw blinds and placing wooden rain shutters around the sides of the porch. The river had turned gray; gusts of wind set the lavender wisteria blossoms into wild motion." }, { "from": "human", "value": "All at once, a flash of light streaked through the sky, and the rain came pouring down in great torrents." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Lightning!\" cried Jōtarō. \"The first this year. Hurry up, get inside, Otsū. You'll get soaked. Hurry, Sensei. Oh, the rain came at just the right time. It's perfect.\"\n\nBut if the shower was \"perfect\" for Jōtarō, it meant embarrassment for Musashi and Otsū, for going back inside together would make them feel like starry-eyed lovers. Musashi held back, and Otsū, blushing, stood at the edge of the porch, no better protected from the elements than the wisteria blossoms." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The man holding a piece of straw matting over his head as he ran through the blinding rain looked like a large self-propelled umbrella." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Dashing under the eaves of a shrine gate, he smoothed his wet, rumpled hair and looked up questioningly at the swiftly moving clouds. \"It's just like midsummer,\" he grumbled. No sound was audible above the pounding of the rain, but an abrupt flash of light sent his hands to his ears. Matahachi squatted fearfully near a statue of the god of thunder, which stood beside the gate." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As suddenly as it had begun, the rain ceased." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The black clouds parted, the sunshine streamed through, and before long the street had returned to normal. Somewhere in the distance Matahachi could hear the plinking of shamisen. As he started to move on, a woman dressed like a geisha crossed the street and walked directly up to him.\n\n\"Your name's Matahachi, isn't it?\" she said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It is,\" he answered suspiciously." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"How did you know?\"\n\n\"A friend of yours is at our shop now. He saw you from the window and told me to come get you.\"\n\nGlancing around, he saw that there were several brothels in the neighborhood. Though he hesitated, the woman hurried him along toward her own." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If you have other business,\" she said, \"you don't have to stay long.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When they entered, the girls virtually fell all over him, wiping off his feet, removing his wet kimono and insisting that he go to the parlor upstairs. When he asked who this friend was, they laughed and told him he would find out soon enough.\n\n\"Well,\" said Matahachi, \"I've been out in the rain, so I'll stay until my clothes dry, but don't try to keep me here any longer than that. There's a man waiting for me at the bridge in Seta.\"\n\nWith much tittering, the women promised him he could leave in good time, meanwhile almost pushing him up the stairs." }, { "from": "human", "value": "At the threshold of the parlor, he was greeted by a man's voice." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Well, well, if it isn't my friend Inugami Sensei!\"\n\nFor a moment, Matahachi thought it was a case of mistaken identity, but when he looked into the room, the face seemed vaguely familiar.\n\n\"Who are you?\" he asked.\n\n\"Have you forgotten Sasaki Kojirō?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No,\" Matahachi replied quickly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"But why do you call me Inugami? My name's Hon'iden, Hon'iden Matahachi.\"\n\n\"I know, but I always remember you as you were that night on Gojō Avenue, making funny faces at a pack of stray curs. I think Inugami—god of the dogs—is a good name for you.\"\n\n\"Cut it out! That's nothing to joke about. I had a terrible time that night, thanks to you.\"\n\n\"I don't doubt it. In fact, I sent for you today because I want to do you a good turn for a change. Come in, have a seat. Give the man some sake, girls.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I can't stay. I have to meet someone in Seta. I can't afford to get drunk today.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Who are you meeting?\"\n\n\"A man by the name of Miyamoto. He's a childhood friend of mine, and—\"\n\n\"Miyamoto Musashi? Did you make an appointment with him when you were at the inn in the pass?\"\n\n\"How did you know?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Oh, I've heard all about you, all about Musashi too. I met your mother—Osugi, is it?—at the main hall on Mount Hiei. She told me about all the troubles she's gone through.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You talked to my mother?\"\n\n\"Yes. She's a splendid woman. I admire her, and so do all the priests on Mount Hiei. I tried to give her some encouragement.\" Rinsing his cup in a bowl of water, he offered it to Matahachi and continued: \"Here, let's drink together and wash away our old enmity. There's no reason to worry about Musashi if you've got Sasaki Kojirō on your side.\"\n\nMatahachi refused the cup." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Why don't you drink?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I can't. I have to go.\"\n\nAs Matahachi started to get up, Kojirō grabbed him tightly by the wrist, saying, \"Sit down!\"\n\n\"But Musashi's waiting.\"\n\n\"Don't be an ass! If you attack Musashi by yourself, he'll kill you instantly.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You've got it all wrong! He promised to help me. I'm going with him to Edo to make a new start in life.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You mean you'd rely on a man like Musashi?\"\n\n\"Oh, I know, a lot of people say he's no good. But that's because my mother's gone around slandering him. But she's wrong, has been all along. Now that I've talked to him, I'm more sure of that than ever. He's my friend, and I'm going to learn from him so that I can make something of myself too. Even if it is a little late in the day.\"\n\nRoaring with laughter, Kojirō slapped the tatami with his hand. \"How could you be so innocent? Your mother told me you were unusually naive, but to be taken in by—\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That's not true! Musashi's—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Just be quiet! Listen. In the first place, how could you think of betraying your own mother by siding with her enemy? It's inhuman. Even I, a total stranger, was so moved by that valiant old lady that I swore to give her all the support I can.\"\n\n\"I don't care what you think. I'm going to meet Musashi, and don't try to stop me. You, girl, bring my kimono! It should be dry by now.\"\n\nRaising his drunken eyes, Kojirō commanded, \"Don't touch it until I tell you to. Now look, Matahachi, if you plan to go with Musashi, you should at least talk to your mother first.\"\n\n\"I'm going on to Edo with Musashi. If I make something of myself there, the whole problem will solve itself.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That sounds like something Musashi would say. In fact, I'd bet he put the words in your mouth. Anyway, wait till tomorrow, and I'll go with you to look for your mother. You have to listen to her opinion before you do anything. In the meantime, let's enjoy ourselves. Like it or not, you're going to stay here and drink with me.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "This being a brothel, and Kojirō the paying guest, the women all came to his support. Matahachi's kimono was not forthcoming, and after a few drinks, he stopped asking for it.\n\nSober, Matahachi was no match for Kojirō. Inebriated, he could be something of a menace." }, { "from": "human", "value": "By the time day faded into night, he was demonstrating to one and all how much he could drink, demanding more, saying everything he should not say, airing all his resentments—in short, being a complete nuisance." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was dawn before he passed out and noon before he came to again.\n\nThe sun seemed all the brighter for the rain the previous afternoon. With Musashi's words echoing in his head, Matahachi longed to throw up every drop he had drunk. Fortunately, Kojirō was still asleep in another room." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Matahachi slipped downstairs, made the women give him his kimono, and set off at a run for Seta." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The muddy red water under the bridge was liberally sprinkled with Ishiyamadera's fallen cherry blossoms. The storm had broken the wisteria vines and strewn yellow kerria flowers everywhere.\n\nAfter a lengthy search, Matahachi asked at the tea shop and was told that the man with the cow had waited until the shop closed for the night, then had gone to an inn. He had returned in the morning, but not finding his friend, had left a note tied to a willow branch." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The note, which looked like a large white moth, said, \"Sorry I couldn't wait longer. Catch up with me on the way. I'll be looking for you.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Matahachi made good time along the Nakasendō, the highroad leading through Kiso to Edo, but he had still not caught up with Musashi when he reached Kusatsu. After passing through Hikone and Toriimoto, he began to suspect he had missed him on the way, and when he reached Suribachi Pass, he waited half a day, keeping his eyes on the road the whole time.\n\nIt wasn't until he reached the road for Mino that Kojirō's words came back to him.\n\n\"Was I taken in after all?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "he asked himself. \"Did Musashi really have no intention of going with me?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "After much doubling back and investigation of side roads, he finally caught sight of Musashi just outside the town of Nakatsugawa. At first he was elated, but when he got close enough to see that the person on the cow was Otsū, jealousy took instant and complete control of him.\n\n\"What a fool I've been,\" he growled, \"from the day that bastard talked me into going to Sekigahara until this very minute! Well, he can't walk all over me this way forever. I'll get even with him somehow—and soon!\"\n\nThe Male and Female Waterfalls" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Whew, it's hot!\" Jōtarō exclaimed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I've never sweated like this on a mountain road before. Where are we?\"\n\n\"Near Magome Pass,\" said Musashi. \"They say it's the most difficult section of the highroad.\"\n\n\"Well, I don't know about that, but I've had enough of this. I'll be glad to get to Edo. Lots of people there—right, Otsū?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"There are, but I'm in no hurry to get there. I'd rather pass the time traveling on a lonely road like this.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That's because you're riding. You'd feel different if you were walking. Look! There's a waterfall over there.\"\n\n\"Let's take a rest,\" said Musashi.\n\nThe three of them made their way along a narrow path. All around, the ground was covered with wild flowers, still damp with morning dew." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Coming to a deserted hut on a cliff overlooking the falls, they stopped." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jōtarō helped Otsū off the cow, then tied the animal to a tree.\n\n\"Look, Musashi,\" said Otsū. She was pointing at a sign that read: \"Meoto no Taki.\" The reason for the name, \"Male and Female Waterfalls,\" was easy to understand, for rocks split the falls into two sections, the larger one looking very virile, the other one small and gentle." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The roiling basin and rapids below the falls fired Jōtarō with renewed energy." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Half jumping, half dancing down the steep bank, he called up excitedly, \"There're fish down here!\"\n\nA few minutes later, he cried, \"I can catch them! I threw a rock and one rolled over dead.\"\n\nNot long after that, his voice, barely audible above the roar of the falls, echoed back from still another direction.\n\nIn the shadow of the little hut, Musashi and Otsū sat among countless tiny rainbows made by the sun shining on the wet grass." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Where has that boy gone, do you suppose?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "she asked, adding, \"He's really impossible to manage.\"\n\n\"Do you think so? I was worse than that at his age. Matahachi, though, was just the opposite, really very well behaved. I wonder where he is. He worries me far more than Jōtarō.\"\n\n\"I'm glad he's not here. I'd have to hide if he was.\"\n\n\"Why? I think he'd understand if we explained.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I doubt it. He and his mother aren't like other people.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Otsū, are you sure you won't change your mind?\"\n\n\"About what?\"\n\n\"I mean, mightn't you decide you really want to marry Matahachi?\"\n\nHer face twitched with shock." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Absolutely not!\" she replied indignantly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Her eyelids turned orchid pink, and she covered her face with her hands, but the slight trembling of her white collar almost seemed to cry out, \"I'm yours, no one else's!\"\n\nRegretting his words, Musashi turned his eyes toward her. For several days now he had watched the play of light on her body—at night, the flickering glow of a lamp; in the daytime, the warm rays of the sun. Seeing her skin glisten with perspiration, he'd thought of the lotus blossom." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Separated from her pallet by only a flimsy screen, he'd inhaled the faint scent of her black tresses." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Now the roar of the water became one with the throbbing of his blood, and he felt himself being swallowed up by a powerful impulse.\n\nAbruptly he stood up and moved to a sunny spot where the winter grass was still high, then sat down heavily and heaved a sigh.\n\nOtsū came and knelt at his side, put her arms around his knees and twisted her neck to look up into his silent, frightened face.\n\n\"What is it?\" she asked." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Did something I said make you angry? Forgive me. I'm sorry.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The more tense he became—and the harsher the look in his eyes—the more closely she clung to him. Then all at once she threw her arms around him. Her fragrance, the warmth of her body, overwhelmed him.\n\n\"Otsū!\" he cried impetuously as he seized her in his brawny arms and threw her backward onto the grass." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The roughness of the embrace took her breath away." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She struggled free and crouched beside him.\n\n\"You mustn't! You mustn't do that!\" she shrieked hoarsely. \"How could you? You, of all people—\" She broke off, sobbing.\n\nHis burning passion suddenly chilled by the pain and horror in her eyes, Musashi came to himself with a jolt. \"Why?\" he cried." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Why?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Overcome by shame and anger, he himself was on the verge of tears.\n\nThen she was gone, leaving behind only a sachet, which had broken loose from her kimono. Staring blankly at it, Musashi groaned, then turned his face to the ground and let the tears of pain and frustration flow into the withered grass.\n\nHe felt she'd made a fool of him—deceived, defeated, tortured and shamed him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hadn't her words—her lips, her eyes, her hair, her body—been calling out to him?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hadn't she labored to light a fire in his heart, then when the flames burst forth, fled in terror?\n\nBy some perverse logic, it seemed that all his efforts to become a superior person had been defeated, all his struggles and privations had been rendered utterly meaningless. His face buried in the grass, he told himself he'd done nothing wrong, but his conscience wasn't satisfied.\n\nWhat a girl's virginity, vouchsafed to her for only a short period of her life, meant to her—how precious and sweet it was—was a question that never entered his mind." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But as he breathed in the smell of the earth, he gradually regained his self-control." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When he eventually dragged himself to his feet, the raging fire was gone from his eyes and his face was devoid of passion. Trampling the sachet underfoot, he stood looking intently at the ground, listening, it seemed, to the voice of the mountains. His heavy black eyebrows were knit together just as they had been when he threw himself into battle under the spreading pine.\n\nThe sun went behind a cloud, and the sharp screech of a bird split the air." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The wind changed, subtly altering the sound of the falling water." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Otsū, her heart fluttering like a frightened sparrow's, observed his agony from behind a birch tree. Realizing how deeply she had hurt him, she now longed to have him at her side again, but as much as she wanted to run to him and beg forgiveness, her body would not obey. For the first time, she realized that the lover she had given her heart to was not the vision of masculine virtues she had imagined. Discovering the naked beast, the flesh and blood and passions, clouded her eyes with sadness and fear." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She had started to run away, but after twenty paces, her love caught and held her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Now, a little calmer, she began to imagine that Musashi's lust was different from that of other men. More than anything else in the world, she wanted to apologize and assure him she harbored no resentment for what he'd done.\n\n\"He's still angry,\" she thought fearfully, suddenly realizing he was no longer before her eyes. \"Oh, what'll I do?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Nervously, she went back to the little hut, but there was only a cold white mist and the thundering of the water, which seemed to shake the trees and stir up vibrations all around her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Otsū! Something awful's happened! Musashi's thrown himself into the water!\" Jōtarō's frantic cry came from a promontory overlooking the basin, just a second before he grabbed a wisteria vine and began descending, swinging from branch to branch like a monkey.\n\nThough she hadn't caught the actual words, Otsū heard the urgency in his voice. She raised her head in alarm and began clambering down the steep path, slipping on the moss, then clinging to rocks to steady herself." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The figure just visible through the spray and mist resembled a large rock but was actually Musashi's naked body." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hands clasped in front of him, head bowed, he was dwarfed by the fifty-foot flood cascading down on him.\n\nHalfway down, Otsū stopped and stared in horror. Across the river, Jōtarō stood similarly transfixed.\n\n\"Sensei!\" he cried." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Musashi!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Their shouts never reached Musashi's ears. It was as though a thousand silver dragons were nipping at his head and shoulders, the eyes of a thousand water demons exploding around him. Treacherous eddies tugged at his legs, ready to pull him to his death. One false rhythm in breathing, one faltering heartbeat, and his heels would lose their tenuous hold on the algae-covered bottom, his body would be swept up in a violent current from which there was no return." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His lungs and heart seemed to be collapsing under the incalculable weight—the total mass of the Magome mountains—falling on him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His desire for Otsū died a slow death, for it was closely akin to the hot-blooded temperament without which he would never have gone to Sekigahara or accomplished any of his extraordinary feats. But the real danger lay in the fact that at a certain point, all his years of training became powerless against it and he sank again to the level of a wild, mindless beast. And against an enemy like this, formless and hidden, the sword was utterly useless. Bewildered, perplexed, conscious of the devastating defeat he'd suffered, he prayed that the raging waters might bring him back to his quest for discipline." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Sensei! Sensei!\" Jōtarō's shouts had become a tearful wailing." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You mustn't die! Please don't die!\" He, too, had clasped his hands in front of his chest, and his face was contorted, as if he, too, were bearing the weight of the water, the sting, the pain, the cold.\n\nGlancing across the river, Jōtarō suddenly felt himself go limp.\n\nHe couldn't make any sense out of what Musashi was doing; apparently he was determined to stay under the torrent until he died, but now Otsū—Where was she?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He was sure she'd leaped to her death in the river below." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then, above the sound of the water, he heard Musashi's voice. The words weren't clear. He thought it might be a sutra, but then... maybe they were angry oaths of self-recrimination.\n\nThe voice was full of strength and life." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Musashi's broad shoulders and muscular body exuded youth and vigor, as if his soul had been cleansed and was now ready to begin life afresh." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jōtarō began to feel that whatever had been wrong had passed. As the light of the evening sun made a rainbow above the falls, he called, \"Otsū!\" and dared to hope that she had left the cliffside simply because she thought Musashi was in no real danger. \"If she's confident he's all right,\" he thought, \"there's nothing for me to worry about. She knows him better than I do, right down to the bottom of his heart.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jōtarō skipped lightly down to the river, found a narrow place, crossed it and climbed up the other side." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Now write approximately 5 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Approaching silently, he saw that Otsū was inside the hut, huddled on the floor with Musashi's kimono and swords clutched to her bosom.\n\nJōtarō sensed that her tears, which she made no effort to hide, were somehow not ordinary tears. And without really understanding what had happened, he felt it was of grave concern to Otsū. After a couple of minutes, he slipped quietly back to where the cow lay in the whitish grass and sprawled out beside her.\n\n\"At this rate, we'll never get to Edo,\" he said." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Continue with the same vibes as Eiji Yoshikawa" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What're you doing, Granny, practicing your handwriting?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jūrō the Reed Mat's expression was ambiguous; it might have been admiration, or simply shock.\n\n\"Oh, it's you,\" said Osugi with a trace of annoyance.\n\nSitting down beside her, Jūrō mumbled, \"Copying a Buddhist sutra, are you?\" This elicited no reply." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Aren't you old enough so you don't have to practice your writing anymore? Or are you thinking of becoming a calligraphy teacher in the next world?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Be quiet. To copy the holy scriptures, one has to achieve a state of selflessness. Solitude is best for that. Why don't you go away?\"\n\n\"After I hurried home just to tell you what happened to me today?\"\n\n\"It can wait.\"\n\n\"When will you be finished?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I have to put the spirit of the Buddha's enlightenment into each character I write. It takes me three days to make one copy.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You've got a lot of patience.\"\n\n\"Three days is nothing. This summer I'm going to make dozens of copies. I've made a vow to make a thousand before I die. I'll leave them to people who don't have proper love for their parents.\"\n\n\"A thousand copies? That's a lot.\"\n\n\"It's my sacred vow.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Well, I'm not very proud of it, but I guess I've been disrespectful to my parents, like the rest of these louts around here. They forgot about them a long time ago. The only one who cares for his mother and father is the boss.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It's a sad world we live in.\"\n\n\"Ha, ha. If it upsets you that much, you must have a good-for-nothing son too.\"\n\n\"I'm sorry to say, mine has caused me a lot of grief. That's why I took the vow. This is the Sutra on the Great Love of Parents. Everyone who doesn't treat his mother or father right should be forced to read it.\"\n\n\"You're really giving a copy of whatever-you-call-it to a thousand people?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"They say that by planting one seed of enlightenment you can convert a hundred people, and if one sprout of enlightenment grows in a hundred hearts, ten million souls can be saved.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Laying down her brush, she took a finished copy and handed it to Jūrō. \"Here, you can have this. See that you read it when you have time.\"\n\nShe looked so pious Jūrō nearly burst out laughing, but he managed to contain himself. Overcoming his urge to stuff it into his kimono like so much tissue paper, he lifted it respectfully to his forehead and placed it on his lap." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Say, Granny, you sure you wouldn't like to know what happened today? Maybe your faith in the Buddha gets results. I ran into somebody pretty special.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Who might that be?\"\n\n\"Miyamoto Musashi. I saw him down at the Sumida River, getting off the ferry.\"\n\n\"You saw Musashi? Why didn't you say so!\" She pushed the writing table away with a grunt." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Are you sure? Where is he now?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"There, now, take it easy. Your old Jūrō doesn't do things halfway. After I found out who he was, I followed him without him knowing it. He went to an inn in Bakurōchō.\"\n\n\"He's staying near here?\"\n\n\"Well, it's not all that close.\"\n\n\"It may not seem that way to you, but it does to me. I've been all over the country looking for him.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Springing to her feet, she went to her clothes cabinet and took out the short sword that had been in her family for generations." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Take me there,\" she ordered.\n\n\"Now?\"\n\n\"Of course now.\"\n\n\"I thought you had a lot of patience, but... Why do you have to go now?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'm always ready to meet Musashi, even on a moment's notice. If I get killed, you can send my body back to my family in Mimasaka.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Couldn't you wait until the boss comes home? If we go off like this, all I'll get for finding Musashi is a bawling out.\"\n\n\"But there's no telling when Musashi might go somewhere else.\"\n\n\"Don't worry about that. I sent a man to keep an eye on the place.\"\n\n\"Can you guarantee Musashi won't get away?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What? I do you a favor, and you want to tie me up with obligations! Oh, all right. I guarantee it. Absolutely. Look, Granny, now's the time when you should be taking it easy, sitting down copying sutras or something like that.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Where is Yajibei?\"\n\n\"He's on a trip to Chichibu with his religious group. I don't know exactly when he'll be back.\"\n\n\"I can't afford to wait.\"\n\n\"If that's the way it is, why don't we get Sasaki Kojirō to come over? You can talk to him about it.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The next morning, after contacting his spy, Jūrō informed Osugi that Musashi had moved from the inn to the house of a sword polisher." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"See? I told you,\" declared Osugi. \"You can't expect him to sit still in one place forever. The next thing you know, he'll be gone again.\" She was seated at her writing table but hadn't written a word all morning.\n\n\"Musashi hasn't got wings,\" Jūrō assured her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Just be calm. Koroku's going to see Kojirō today.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Today? Didn't you send somebody last night? Tell me where he lives. I'll go myself.\"\n\nShe started getting ready to go out, but Jūrō suddenly disappeared and she had to ask a couple of the other henchmen for directions. Having seldom left the house during her more than two years in Edo, she was quite unfamiliar with the city.\n\n\"Kojirō's living with Iwama Kakubei,\" she was told." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Kakubei's a vassal of the Hosokawas, but his own house is on the Takanawa highroad.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It's about halfway up Isarago Hill. Anybody can tell you where that is.\"\n\n\"If you have any difficulty, ask for Tsukinomisaki. That's another name for Isarago Hill.\"\n\n\"The house is easy to recognize, because the gate is painted bright red. It's the only place around there with a red gate.\"\n\n\"All right, I understand,\" said Osugi impatiently, resenting the implication that she was senile, or stupid." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It doesn't sound difficult, so I'll just be on my way. Take care of things while I'm out. Be careful about fire. We don't want the place to burn down while Yajibei's away.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Having put on her zōri, she checked to make sure her short sword was at her side, took a firm grip on her staff and marched off.\n\nA few minutes later, Jūrō reappeared and asked where she was.\n\n\"She asked us how to get to Kakubei's house and went out by herself.\"\n\n\"Oh, well, what can you do with a pigheaded old woman?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then he shouted in the direction of the men's quarters, \"Koroku!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Acolyte abandoned his gambling and answered the summons posthaste.\n\n\"You were going to see Kojirō last night, then you put it off. Now look what's happened. The old woman's gone by herself.\"\n\n\"So?\"\n\n\"When the boss gets back, she'll blab to him.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You're right. And with that tongue of hers, she'll make us look real bad.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yeah. If she could only walk as well as she talks, but she's thin as a grasshopper. If she gets run into by a horse, that'll be the end of her. I hate to ask you, but you better go after her and see she gets there in one piece.\"\n\nKoroku ran off, and Jūrō, ruminating on the absurdity of it all, appropriated a corner of the young men's room. It was a big room, perhaps thirty by forty feet. The floor was covered with thin, finely woven matting, and a wide variety of swords and other weapons were lying about." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hanging from nails were hand towels, kimono, underwear, fire hats and other items of the sort a band of ne'er-do-wells might require." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There were two incongruous articles. One was a woman's kimono, in bright colors with a red silk lining; the other was the gold-lacquered mirror stand over which it was suspended. They had been placed there on the instructions of Kojirō, who explained to Yajibei, somewhat mysteriously, that if a group of men lived together in one room with no feminine touch, they were apt to get out of hand and fight each other, rather than save their energies for meaningful battles.\n\n\"You're cheating, you son of a bitch!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Who's cheating? You're nuts.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jūrō cast a disdainful look at the gamblers and lay down with his legs crossed comfortably. With all the rumpus going on, sleep was out of the question, but he wasn't going to demean himself by joining one of the card or dice games. No competition, as he saw it.\n\nAs he closed his eyes, he heard a dejected voice say, \"It's no good today—no luck at all.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The loser, with the sad eyes of the utterly defeated, dropped a pillow on the floor and stretched out beside Jūrō." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They were joined by another, then another and another.\n\n\"What's this?\" asked one of them, reaching out for the sheet of paper that had fallen from Jūrō's kimono. \"Well, I'll be—it's a sutra. Now, what would a mean cuss like you be carrying a sutra for?\"\n\nJūrō opened one sleepy eye and said lazily, \"Oh, that? It's something the old woman copied. She said she'd sworn to make a thousand of them.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Let me see it,\" said another man, making a grab for it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What do you know? It's written out nice and clear. Why, anybody could read it.\"\n\n\"Does that mean you think you can read it?\"\n\n\"Of course. It's child's play.\"\n\n\"All right then, let's hear some of it. Put a nice tune to it. Chant it like a priest.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Are you joking? It's not a popular song.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What difference does that make? A long time ago they used to sing sutras. That's how Buddhist hymns got started. You know a hymn when you hear one, don't you?\"\n\n\"You can't chant these words to the tune of a hymn.\"\n\n\"Well, use any tune you like.\"\n\n\"You sing, Jūrō.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Encouraged by the enthusiasm of the others, Jūrō, still lying on his back, opened the sutra above his face and began:" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Sutra on the Great Love of Parents.\n\nThus have I heard.\n\nOnce when the Buddha was on the Sacred Vulture Peak In the City of Royal Palaces,\n\nPreaching to bodhisattvas and disciples," }, { "from": "human", "value": "There gathered a multitude of monks and nuns and lay believers, both male and female," }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "All the people of all the heavens, dragon gods and demons, To hear the Sacred Law.\n\nAround the jeweled throne they gathered\n\nAnd gazed, with unwavering eyes,\n\nAt the holy face—" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What's all that mean?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"When it says 'nuns,' does it mean the girls we call nuns? You know, I heard some of the nuns from Yoshiwara have started powdering their faces gray and will give it to you for less than in the whorehouses—\"\n\n\"Quiet!\"\n\nAt this time the Buddha\n\nPreached the Law as follows:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "'All ye good men and good women," }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Acknowledge your debt for your father's compassion,\n\nAcknowledge your debt for your mother's mercy.\n\nFor the life of a human being in this world\n\nHas karma as its basic cause," }, { "from": "human", "value": "But parents as its immediate means of origin.'" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It's just talking about being good to your mama and daddy. You've already heard it a million times.\"\n\n\"Shh!\"\n\n\"Sing some more. We'll be quiet.\"\n\nWithout a father, the child is not born." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Without a mother, the child is not nourished." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The spirit comes from the father's seed;\n\nThe body grows within the mother's womb.\n\nJūrō paused to rearrange himself and pick his nose, then resumed.\n\nBecause of these relationships," }, { "from": "human", "value": "The concern of a mother for her child" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Is without comparison in this world.\n\nNoticing how silent the others were, Jūrō asked, \"Are you listening?\"\n\n\"Yes. Go on.\"\n\nFrom the time when she receives the child in her womb," }, { "from": "human", "value": "During the passage of nine months," }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Going, coming, sitting, sleeping,\n\nShe is visited by suffering.\n\nShe ceases to have her customary love for food or drink or clothing\n\nAnd worries solely about a safe delivery." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'm tired,\" complained Jūrō." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That's enough, isn't it?\"\n\n\"No. Keep singing. We're listening.\"\n\nThe months are full, and the days sufficient.\n\nAt the time of birth, the winds of karma hasten it on," }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her bones are racked with pain." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The father, too, trembles and is afraid.\n\nRelatives and servants worry and are distressed.\n\nWhen the child is born and dropped upon the grass,\n\nThe boundless joy of the father and mother" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Match that of a penurious woman" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Who has found the omnipotent magic jewel.\n\nWhen the child utters its first sounds,\n\nThe mother feels that she herself is born anew.\n\nHer chest becomes the child's place of rest;" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her knees, its playground," }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Her breasts, its source of food.\n\nHer love, its very life.\n\nWithout its mother, the child cannot dress or undress.\n\nThough the mother hungers," }, { "from": "human", "value": "She takes the food from her own mouth and gives it to her child." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Without the mother, the child cannot be nourished.\n\n\"What's the matter? Why'd you stop?\"\n\n\"Wait a minute, will you?\"\n\n\"Will you look at that? He's crying like a baby.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Aw, shut up!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It had all begun as an idle way to pass the time, almost a joke, but the meaning of the words of the sutra was sinking in. Three or four others besides the reader had unsmiling faces, their eyes a faraway look.\n\nThe mother goes to the neighboring village to work.\n\nShe draws water, builds the fire," }, { "from": "human", "value": "Pounds the grain, makes the flour." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "At night when she returns,\n\nBefore she reaches the house,\n\nShe hears the baby's crying\n\nAnd is filled with love." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her chest heaves, her heart cries out," }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The milk flows forth, she cannot bear it.\n\nShe runs to the house.\n\nThe baby, seeing its mother approach from afar,\n\nWorks its brain, shakes its head," }, { "from": "human", "value": "And wails for her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She bends her body,\n\nTakes the child's two hands,\n\nPlaces her lips upon its lips.\n\nThere is no greater love than this." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When the child is two," }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He leaves the mother's breast.\n\nBut without his father, he would not know that fire can burn.\n\nWithout his mother, he would not know that a knife can cut off fingers.\n\nWhen he is three, he is weaned and learns to eat." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Without his father, he would not know that poison can kill." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Without his mother, he would not know that medicine cures.\n\nWhen the parents go to other houses\n\nAnd are presented with marvelous delicacies,\n\nThey do not eat but put the food in their pockets" }, { "from": "human", "value": "And take it home for the child, to make him rejoice..." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You blubbering again?\"\n\n\"I can't help it. I just remembered something.\"\n\n\"Cut it out. You'll have me doing it too.\"\n\nSentimentality with regard to parents was strictly taboo among these denizens of society's outer edge, for to express filial affection was to invite charges of weakness, effeminacy or worse." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But it would have done Osugi's aging heart good to see them now." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The sutra reading, possibly because of the simplicity of the language, had reached the core of their being.\n\n\"Is that all? Isn't there any more?\"\n\n\"There's lots more.\"\n\n\"Well?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Wait a minute, will you?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jūrō stood up, blew his nose loudly and sat down to intone the rest.\n\nThe child grows.\n\nThe father brings cloth to clothe him.\n\nThe mother combs his locks." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The parents give every beautiful thing they possess to him," }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Keeping for themselves only that which is old and worn.\n\nThe child takes a bride\n\nAnd brings this stranger into the house.\n\nThe parents become more distant." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The new husband and wife are intimate with each other." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They stay in their own room, talking happily with each other.\n\n\"That's the way it works, all right,\" broke in a voice.\n\nThe parents grow old.\n\nTheir spirits weaken, their strength diminishes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They have only the child to depend on," }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Only his wife to do things for them.\n\nBut the child no longer comes to them,\n\nNeither at night nor in the daytime.\n\nTheir room is cold." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There is no more pleasant talk." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They are like lonely guests at an inn.\n\nA crisis arises, and they call their child.\n\nNine times in ten, he comes not,\n\nNor does he serve them." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He grows angry and reviles them," }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Saying it would be better to die\n\nThan to linger on unwanted in this world.\n\nThe parents listen, and their hearts are filled with rage.\n\nWeeping, they say, \"When you were young," }, { "from": "human", "value": "Without us, you would not have been born," }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Without us, you could not have grown.\n\nAh! How we—\n\nJurō broke off abruptly and threw the text aside. \"I... I can't. Somebody else read it.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "But there was no one to take his place." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your next one should be approximately two sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Lying on their backs, sprawled out on their bellies, sitting with their legs crossed and their heads drooping between their knees, they were as tearful as lost children.\n\nInto the middle of this unlikely scene walked Sasaki Kojirō." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Hey can you write like Eiji Yoshikawa and use whatever i write as a jumping off point?" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kakubei regretted having allowed himself to be used shabbily and vowed to have nothing more to do with Kojirō. Yet deep down, he liked the man. What he didn't like was being caught between his master and his protégé. Then he began to rethink the matter." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Maybe Kojirō's reaction proves how exceptional he is. The ordinary samurai would have jumped at the chance to be interviewed.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The more he reflected on Kojirō's fit of pique, the more the rōnin's independent spirit appealed to him.\n\nFor the next three days Kakubei was on night duty. He did not see Kojirō until the morning of the fourth day, when he walked casually over to the young man's quarters.\n\nAfter a short but awkward silence, he said, \"I want to talk to you for a minute, Kojirō. Yesterday, when I was leaving, Lord Tadatoshi asked me about you. He said he'd see you. Why don't you drop in at the archery range and have a look at the Hosokawa technique?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "When Kojirō grinned without replying, Kakubei added, \"I don't know why you insist on thinking it's demeaning. It's usual to interview a man before offering him an official position.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I know, but supposing he rejects me, then what? I'd be a castoff, wouldn't I? I'm not so hard up that I have to go around peddling myself to the highest bidder.\"\n\n\"Then the fault is mine. I put it the wrong way. His lordship never meant to imply any such thing.\"\n\n\"Well, what answer did you give him?\"\n\n\"None yet. But he seems a little impatient.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Ha, ha. You've been very thoughtful, very helpful. I suppose I shouldn't put you in such a difficult position.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Wouldn't you reconsider—go and call on him, just once?\"\n\n\"All right, if it means so much to you,\" Kojirō said patronizingly, but Kakubei was nonetheless pleased.\n\n\"How about today?\"\n\n\"So soon?\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Today you will be acting as a writing assistant, your partner will send something and you will write the next four sentences." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Tetsu, a shout boat's senchou, sat completely relaxed on the gangway that led to a particularly sturdy-looking kobune. Saburo strode up to the captain, and without so much as an exchange of words, thrust something into the captain's hand.\n\nThe senchou looked at what he had been given. Six kaiki shoho rested in his calloused hand." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A slight grin came to his lips." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Silently he mouthed, Gold. His eyes shot up, and he carefully studied the simply dressed man who had just given him several times more money than Tetsu would have made in a good month.\n\nSaburo muttered, \"Leave now. Just me... and make all speed.\"\n\nTetsu casually turned his head to look west." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The sky was darkening." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He looked to the eastern horizon and the bright cloudless sea. The ōgane continued to toll. He slowly shook his head.\n\nSaburo added quietly, \"If you make extra speed, I'll double it... when we get there, that is.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Hm,\" Tetsu sighed. Merely an advance for a half-hour dash across the Barrier Strait." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Indeed, if they left now, they just might well get the boat across before the storm hit.\n\nFingering the money, this time he nodded and almost absentmindedly slipped the gold into his sleeve pocket. Tetsu indicated the gangplank.\n\nSaburo boarded at once." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Tetsu then screwed his face into a scowl, almost bolting up, now glaring at the waiting crowd, and bellowed, \"No room! Go elsewhere!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A collective gasp arose from the passengers. He waved them away.\n\n\"We're casting off! We're heading out!\"\n\nThe crew, also dumbfounded, looked at the senchou." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Tetsu pointed to his own sleeve pocket, where he always kept passengers' payments, and nodded hard." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He then gestured toward the incoming front.\n\nThe crew, getting his drift, immediately joined in, waving their arms as if they were chasing off flies. \"Next boat! Go away! We're casting off! We're heading out!\"\n\nThe other boatmen had seen nothing like it." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "expand on the story like Katherine M. Lawrence would" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Oji-san blew his breath out. It steamed. \"Walk faster. It's starting to get colder.\" The old man cast a worried look at the old woman, then nodded encouragingly at the three young people that the elders led. \"No good getting to the docks only to wave farewell. They're here to trade. But once they sail west, they won't be back for another year.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Listen to Oji‑san,\" Obā‑san said solemnly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"We don't want to return without coins—just with five unsold baskets of cloth.\"\n\nSa-ye, along with her husband to be, Maho, and her older brother, Karasu, followed behind old Oji‑san and old Obā‑san, who knew the way to the southern-most isle. The two gray elders had made the trip since their grandparents led them.\n\n\"Hah!\" Oji‑san grunted confidently." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"We're close to the Strait. Can you smell the sea?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Sa-ye took a deep breath and smiled in return. \"Yes.\"\n\n\"You of all people should know the sea smell,\" said Obā‑san. \"Your mother gave birth to you on a fishing skiff.\"\n\nSa-ye laughed at the familiar story, adding, \"and then went right back to diving for awabi while the boat rocked me.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Everyone laughed. It was a good story." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Oji‑san said, \"Your nose sometimes helps more on the trail than your eyes. If the Gods favor us, we'll soon be at the channel and in Kita by the Hour of the Sheep.\"\n\nAll five walked slightly stooped over to better heft the covered baskets slung across their backs.\n\nCarrying walking sticks that could double as makeshift spears, the two young men had been told by their settlement's headman to escort the others. Besides being of help to the two elders, Maho was glad to come along, for it also meant that instead of working in the fields he could spend four days, in each direction, talking with Sa-ye—something he enjoyed above all else." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As for Karasu, he wanted to see the strange foreign people and their giant ships." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Now there would be stories to tell for the rest of his days. He had never been more than a day's walk from Home Settlement.\n\nIn fact, none of the younger ones had been this far from home. Today would be one of great excitement." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They would hire a boat and sail across the famous Barrier Strait to the Isle of Unknown Fires." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Oji‑san cleared his throat. \"We'll need to get a good boat captain, but one we can afford. The bigger haul boats, like the mifune, are for carts, horses, and cargo. All we need to carry is ourselves and our packs, so a kobune, or even a shout boat, will be enough.\" He added with a whisper, \"And cheaper. Let me do the talking with the senchou. I've met a few of them and I remember those who are good boat captains, and I remember the cheats.\"\n\n\"It's midday, but it's getting darker,\" said Maho." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Thunder rolled through the forest." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hail started to fall. \"You think the Gods are sending us a warning?\" Sa-ye asked.\n\n\"We can't let the cloth get wet!\" Karasu cried.\n\nEveryone broke into a run." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Rounding a bend they saw a cliff with a natural overhang." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was large enough for them and their five packs. The hail fell rapidly as the farmers scurried under the shelter.\n\n\"Huddle together,\" Obā‑san instructed. \"Stay warm.\"\n\nThe hail fell harder yet, but beneath the outcropped cliff they were dry." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You think it still might snow?\" Sa-ye asked." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Such a strange storm,\" said Maho.\n\nThe hail finally turned to rain before coming to a stop. Silence fell over the forest.\n\n\"I did not think it could be so loud,\" said Karasu." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The five farmers got up off the dirt and brushed their bottoms." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Obā‑san said, \"Turn. Brush the hail off your baskets, too.\"\n\n\"Yes!\" Oji‑san cackled. \"Yes. Listen to Obā‑san.\" Turning their backs, they went to clearing hail and rain from one another's packs." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The clouds began to break and the sky turned blue." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The sun shone on the ice pebbles.\n\n\"It's so beautiful,\" said Sa-ye, looking up and down the forest road.\n\n\"You sound like you've never seen hail before,\" Maho laughed.\n\n\"The ground's covered with pearls,\" Sa-ye said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's like the Sea Goddess dropped them to remind us of home.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You think the oddest things, Sa-ye,\" Maho teased, obviously delighted by everything she said.\n\n\"You've got to agree with Sa-ye, though. It's pretty,\" said Karasu.\n\nMaho sniffed and wiped his nose with his sleeve to push back the chill.\n\n\"Ha!\" Oji‑san snorted to see if his breath steamed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"See? Not so cold. It'll warm up soon.\" Everyone listened respectfully." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Back when I was a boy, the summers were hotter and the winters warmer. Now? The summers are cooler and the winters are longer.\" Oji‑san scowled. \"Colder these days.\"\n\n\"Cold,\" Obā‑san repeated, nodding her agreement.\n\nKarasu and Maho smirked." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Don't be so sure of yourselves,\" Obā‑san chided." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You boys think, like I did when I was your age, that every elder feels the cold more with every year.\" She sniffed. \"And maybe we do, but I also remember like yesterday that the cherries blossomed by the first day of spring. Now it's always later than that.\" She turned away.\n\n\"Forests and fields change with time, like the color of hair.\" Oji‑san ran his palm across his face." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But cliffs and hills are slow to change. Study them and learn the land's face so that when we go home, or you come back some other time, leading youngsters of your own...\" he said, laughing and pointing at Sa-ye's belly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Maho laughed. Sa-ye giggled and blushed.\n\nOji‑san continued, \"... you'll recognize the land like an old friend. Remember how the road looks over your shoulder. It'll be the face it shows us on our way back. Did I tell you that?\"\n\n\"You've told them. I've told them.\" Obā‑san sniggered. \"We should make them tell us, like the old ones made us do when we were young.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Oji‑san said, \"Let's all sing. It's downhill all the way to the shore.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "All five broke into broad smiles of anticipation and let their song fill the noonday as they quickly picked up their pace:\n\nThe road is high,\n\nThe road is low,\n\nLet the road rise and fall," }, { "from": "human", "value": "Our loads are light," }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Carry, carry,\n\nWe will get there,\n\nJourney on with smiles and song.\n\n\"I remember this bend,\" Oji‑san said, pointing toward a high clay cliff on one side of the road and a steep drop-off on the other." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"There's a Shintō shrine there. We're almost at Akamagaseki now.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He rubbed his hands together. \"Let's keep singing so the shrine God hears us coming and is pleased.\"\n\nThey continued in song, smiling and singing with a spring in their steps. But as they rounded the bend, the five stopped in their tracks and fell totally quiet." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A samurai, sword high, blocked the road." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Sa-ye gasped. A woman samurai?\n\nSa-ye had trouble making sense of what her eyes were showing her: a woman with long, long hair, but wearing armor. It was this very strangeness that kept her from becoming terrified. She looked to the others." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Maybe they could explain what they had come upon, but they did not exchange glances with Sa-ye." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Instead, like four ashen statues, they stood frozen, their unblinking eyes fixed on the warrior holding a drawn sword.\n\nThe warrior's back was to them, and her sword was pointed away. She seemed lost in thought, gazing into the blade's edge.\n\nThree men lay at her feet, perfectly still, as if they were asleep." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Why are they on the ground when it's so wet?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The warrior stood next to a jet-black horse. Like the samurai, it was geared for battle, bedecked with dark-red braid, cords, tassels, and lacing. A sword-tipped lance, attached to the tack through a series of leather straps, poked upright into the sky. A quiver brimming with arrows hung down just behind the saddle." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A bow was attached next to it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The warrior's helmet rested on the saddle pommel.\n\nA glint of light flashed off the blade edge and into Sa-ye's eyes.\n\nThe warrior turned on her heel, smartly, but without seeming to be startled. She did not brandish the weapon." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She merely stood there, looking at them in puzzlement, then lowered the sword to her side." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Sa-ye breathed a bit more easily.\n\nThe warrior's armor was colorful—cobalt-blue silk interlacing dark-green-lacquered iron platelets. This was not just an ordinary warrior. What warrior could be called \"ordinary\"?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "This one was very wealthy." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In fact, Sa-ye suspected that the warrior was someone highborn. Only a noblewoman would have hair that fell past her waist. She had tied it with dark-green ribbons that looked striking against her tresses as black as her colt. Like all nobles, she was beautiful." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her features were fair and free, though a fresh gash marred her cheek." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The armor, too, was gashed just below the warrior's breasts.\n\nThough Sa-ye knew little of weapons and swords—just enough to know to stay away from the people who carried them—she knew cloth and silk. After all, they carried colorfully dyed cloth and silk in the baskets on their backs.\n\nEven at this distance, Sa-ye realized the warrior's split riding-skirt was a man's cut—blanched rough-hewn silk with some sort of pale-green print pattern." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Such a hakama would cost an ordinary farmer five year's earnings—maybe even more." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And though it was beautifully made, the riding-skirt was mud spattered. Sa-ye looked closer. Blood. And not just on the split-skirt, but on the woman's armor as well. The dark-green color had hidden the stains, but once she recognized what it was, Sa-ye saw that it covered everything, including the samurai's blade." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was then that she allowed herself to look closer at the three \"sleeping\" men." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They were even more bloody than the woman. They were dead.\n\nSa-ye suddenly couldn't breathe. \"Oji‑san,\" she moaned.\n\n\"Say nothing,\" Obā‑san whispered.\n\n\"Give no offense,\" Oji‑san muttered." }, { "from": "human", "value": "How could she give offense?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They had done nothing to the samurai. The farmers were merely walking along the road. What offense was there in that? And yet the warrior stood over three dead bodies." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The noblewoman, for all her beauty, status, and wealth, was a killer if she was nothing else." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "With growing dread, Sa-ye recalled tales told at Home Settlement. It was said that there were those who committed skill-testing murders for the pleasure of it. She had only half believed, thinking that the stories were repeated on hot nights to send chills down everyone's backs.\n\nTwo of the dead were Buddhist monks." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Did they give offense?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "How could they be a threat to anyone? Hardly more than beggars with holiness in their eyes.\n\n\"Oh mother,\" she stammered. She felt her knees grow weak." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Brace up,\" Oji‑san muttered." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Hai!\" she whispered with resolve, but then realized Oji‑san was addressing Maho, who, unable to stand, had started to lean on the old man.\n\nSuddenly the samurai raised her free arm over her head. Her voice filled the clearing. \"Calm yourselves!\" It was a young woman's voice—a strange accent—though she spoke in the manner of commoners." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"These men are brigands!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The warrior swept her blade downward as though it were part of her hand, pointing in the direction of the dead as if there might be some confusion about whom she spoke. She then used lofty High Court words: \"These miscreants were pretending to be what they were not.\"\n\nSa-ye could not quite follow.\n\nOji‑san muttered. \"I think she's saying those are robbers in disguise.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It is good I happened along,\" the warrior said calmly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"With types such as these, there is no telling what they might have done had they found you first. Those two?\" The samurai indicated the monks. \"Assassins who kill for money.\" The warrior pointed her sword at the large dead man in armor." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Him?\" The noblewoman looked directly at Sa-ye, exchanging a look that women share when they wish to convey a special meaning to another." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 2 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I carry a sword, and yet he tried to force himself. He wanted to have his way with me.\"\n\nShe held Sa-ye's gaze for a moment, then sheathed her sword." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "expand on the story like Katherine M. Lawrence would" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The vernal equinox dawned." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yamabuki and Tomoko were told to wait in the Great Chamber of Plum Blossoms for the ceremonial preparations. They looked at one another, at first saying little. For the most part, the two girls pretended to study the fine, ornate white and pink blooms painted on the room's walls and screens.\n\nBuilt to withstand the elements along the strategic windward bluffs, the Taka compound was influenced by—some said adapted from—the disparate T'ang and Toi styles of architecture." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The architecture found elsewhere in semi-tropical parts of Akitsushima had rooms that were separated merely by kichō drapes or misu screens." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Flimsy fabric that allowed conversations to flow over their tops. Almost anyone could eavesdrop.\n\nOn the other hand, the Taka compounds halls were partitioned into various chambers that could be closed off by sliding panels that reached to the ceiling. These rooms were enclaves unto themselves." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The heavy wooden walls on rails also kept the interior warm and private." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Alone, with the doors closed to the Great Chamber of Plum Blossoms, the two girls were certain that they could not be overheard.\n\nYamabuki asked at last, \"What are the whispers about today?\"\n\n\"Some of the women, and not just the younger ones, have been gossiping that today you're being elevated to the status of a boy.\"\n\n\"A boy?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes. Since you're having your mogi in your twelfth year, they're saying your father plans to make you the next daimyō.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Everyone knows that I'm a girl,\" Yamabuki protested. \"My father's not going to make me a warlord. Is he?\" Yamabuki, perhaps for the first time, was seeing something for herself that was plain to almost everyone else. \"No one's said—\"\n\nTomoko whispered, \"Everyone also knows that there have been women emperors, and not just Jingū. Kōken was an Empress.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Four hundred years ago.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "An ancient idea, Yamabuki argued.\n\nTomoko laughed playfully. \"You do know your history of the lineages, so I'm sure you also know that even today women daimyō rule entire prefectures.\" She dropped her voice even lower, holding her mouth as though she wanted no one to be able to read her lips. \"In the north.\"\n\nYamabuki frowned. \"There's only one in the entire Empire, and she's a rustic. A dowager. And everyone says she's homely with warts all over her face, and has hair as short as a nun's.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Maybe so. But she's a warlord in her own right, and they say she's fighting the barbarians, and they say she commands just like her husband did, and that she personally leads her troops into battle, and that she's winning,\" said Tomoko, all in one breath." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yamabuki paused, as if thinking on what Tomoko had just said, and then asked, \"Is there anything more they're saying?\"\n\n\"People are saying that you have no brothers.\"\n\n\"So?\"\n\n\"Well, that more than anything else means you'll be made the next warlord. It can't be someone from your mother's clan.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Some of the courtiers hate the Itō clan, don't they?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Not everyone.\" Tomoko beamed, for her own kuge lineage, too, was partly Itō.\n\nA sharp sound broke through the room. The main door opened so quickly it almost flew off the rails. The corridor leading into the chamber was crowded with dark figures standing back in shadows." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Lady Taka!\" a female voice cried out." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yamabuki's mother stepped forward into the full light. Wearing multilayer kimono and courtly make-up, she could not have looked more perfect had she been presented to the Emperor Himself. Yamabuki immediately met her mother's gaze. Their quick glance reflected everything that was special between mother and daughter." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A secret not to be shared outside of themselves." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yamabuki and Tomoko fell to their knees, their foreheads to the floor, kowtowing before the lofty personage, mother or not.\n\n\"Denka!\" they uttered in unison.\n\nAs though she were in command on a battlefield, Lady Taka carried a silver tessen of seventeen iron folds that symbolized her authority. She was followed by eight nyōbō, her personal handmaids who, like Lady Taka, wore rice-white make-up and had blackened their teeth." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Their carefully brushed hair was so long that it reached the floor." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The sounds of silk kimono, hems rubbing, hissed like the music of silk strings as the handmaids carried in armloads of the finest fabrics. Behind them, at least another twenty women of the household staff, in almost martial formation, scurried up with even more bundles of material of the most exquisite colors and patterns.\n\nThe scuffle of so many feet over wooden floors was the only other sound. Normally among such a throng there would have been the murmur of many voices, but today there was only one." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Enough bowing!\" Lady Taka lifted her hand." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Stand up. Bowing will have to wait—there will be plenty of time for bowing before this day is over. Much to do. Too little time to do it.\"\n\nThe temple bell began to toll. Four strikes reverberated through the compound. The Hour of the Snake: the part of the day when the rising red and orange of the sun vanished; a time when the orb was above the trees, but far below mid-heaven." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Today the four familiar bell peals carried a sense of urgency." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yamabuki shook her head, trying to cast away any feelings of dread. She knew that she had to be dressed and ready by the Hour of the Sheep—when the sun had left mid-heavens to start its western descent.\n\nThough Lady Taka seemed composed, Yamabuki could sense her mood, something her mother had never successfully been able to conceal from her daughter, even before the child could walk.\n\nThis was to be Yamabuki's great day, yet the older handmaids paid surprisingly little attention to her, the invitee of honor." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The nyōbō, bigger than either of the two girls, moved toward Yamabuki, gently nudging Tomoko aside." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yamabuki shot a quick look to her mother. Why are they so rude? But her mother was looking away, busily instructing some of the confused and overwhelmed porters who had never carried so many things at once. Without wasting a moment, two nyōbō proceeded to pull off Yamabuki's tunic and then her white, rich silk under-sheath, leaving Yamabuki naked and shivering." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She tried to cover herself with her hands and arms." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "True, the household staff were expected to dress and undress those whom they served, and to help them in the privy, but never should Yamabuki have been exposed in front of other people. Only Tomoko was permitted to glimpse Yamabuki totally undressed, let alone touch and disrobe her. The nyōbō acted indifferently, as if they had every right, yet Yamabuki felt she was on show. Only because her mother was present and in charge did Yamabuki stay quiet." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The nyōbō exchanged secretive glances, observing the correctness of the gossip: Yamabuki's body was not yet fully a womanly form—still a slip of a girl, a mere child." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Tomoko seethed. Her expression turned black. She blanched and then flushed. Without being invited, she turned on her heel and ran up to one of the entourage.\n\n\"A shitagi!\" she demanded." }, { "from": "human", "value": "One of the porters vapidly raised a rich red silk version of the under-kimono." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Tomoko paused over the color—was it even a shitagi?—then, deciding it was, tore it out of the porter's hands and dashed back to Yamabuki. Instantly, Tomoko helped Yamabuki into it.\n\n\"An adult woman of nobility wears a shitagi of red silk,\" Rei said dryly, adding, \"Red silk. Helps you with your monthly pain.\" The older handmaid then cast a small, sour smile toward the younger one." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Tomoko turned her nose up, too angry to look back and too polite to say anything." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Shhh,\" Yamabuki whispered to Tomoko. \"Don't listen.\" Yamabuki curled her lip. \"Rei's shitagi is probably brown like moldering leaves. Wormwood.\" Both girls giggled.\n\n\"I see we are ready,\" Lady Taka announced to everyone, though she glared at her daughter, whose sharp words must have carried to a mother whose ears were quite attuned to the child's voice." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Let us begin!\" She flicked the fan, which made a smart snapping sound of metal-on-metal." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "With Yamabuki's under-kimono in place, the trying on of kimono layers began in earnest. Like a doll, Yamabuki was dressed, undressed, and re-dressed while Lady Taka pronounced which, if any, of her weavers' and tailors' creations were worthy of her daughter. Lady Taka decided quickly: This kimono. No! That kimono. Now another one." }, { "from": "human", "value": "No!" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "None of them. Now yet another one.\n\nYamabuki was still in the midst of trying on kimono when nine bell strikes sounded. The first quarter of the Hour of the Horse, the noon span, had started." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Though at first Yamabuki had donned the exquisite garments with some relish, after a while she began to grow weary of the continuous changes of costume, especially since more than once she was forced to give up some of the patterns and colors she found most fetching." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Not only kimono, but Yamabuki was also fitted with shoulder pads and stiff-starched draping trains so hardened with vegetable extracts that they seemed more wood than cloth. The heavy ends of the kimono sleeves were rolled back and the interior dabbed with a thick rice mash to glue the cuffs out of the way.\n\n\"Let it dry. Don't move,\" said a nyōbō.\n\nFinally, with the sun moving into position directly overhead, Yamabuki stood wrapped like an overstuffed puppet in the karaginumo, \"the T'ang-style sheath and skirt.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She felt as if the layers weighed almost as much as she." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"One layer for each of your years,\" said one of the handmaids.\n\nIn actuality, all told, there were more than twelve layers.\n\n\"Now. Move,\" Lady Taka whispered loudly. \"You have to move.\" She nodded encouragingly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Yamabuki took a halting half step." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I can't move in this. It binds.\"\n\n\"You well know it's meant to be that way. A woman of station doesn't stride like she's galloping back to the stable. She takes small, stately steps, or she won't be taken for the lady that she is.\"\n\n\"It's so heavy.\"\n\nLady Taka ignored the protest and, with a sweep of the hand, summoned one of the porters, who came forward with a flawlessly polished and smooth steel mirror." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Yamabuki gazed at herself." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She was indeed enticing. The kimono colors included white blossom, cherry blossom, straw, fern, leaves, burnt orange, plum, sunflower, and rust: the colors found in nature during all the seasons. Likely it would have been easier to say which colors were not included—black, red, blue, yellow: \"official\" colors associated with governmental rank.\n\nThe patterns of Yamabuki's kimono were varied, yet fit together as a whole." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Everyone, including Yamabuki, had to admit, her mother's final choices were perfect." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But now that she was wrapped within the so-called twelve layers, jūnihitoe, Yamabuki began to feel overheated. She tried to console herself that the layers were a requirement of those of her station. Nonetheless, she began to sweat. She grew parched.\n\nShe turned her head slightly, catching Tomoko's gaze." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Mizu, Yamabuki silently mouthed. Water." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Quickly Tomoko scurried away, and came back with a ladle, stretching out her arm. Rei pushed it away, chiding, \"Away with that! What if you spilled it? You want to ruin what we're doing? Stain the kimono?\"\n\nTomoko backed away, looking down, which did not please Yamabuki, who again thought to complain to Lady Taka. This was an unusually warm spring day, and Tomoko was only trying to help." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But then Yamabuki again thought better of it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She would have to get used to it. After all, it was something every noblewoman endured. Elegant ladies rarely removed all their kimono layers—maybe only twice a year, when warm weather permitted bathing.\n\nBesides, the preparations were far from over." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There would be no complaining. Not today." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "All at once, two of the nyōbō put protective towels across Yamabuki's kimono, for it was time for the face-color compounds, all to be applied in a precise manner and as custom dictated. In the meantime, two attendants took to brushing and oiling Yamabuki's hair. The locks had never even been trimmed, let alone cut. They remained long, silky, stunning, and raven black." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But owing to her youth, they hardly fell as far as her waist." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The handmaids whispered to console her. One day her hair might reach the floor, hopefully by the time she went looking for a husband.\n\nThree of the nyōbō crowded in on Yamabuki. \"Close your eyes,\" said the first as she started to powder Yamabuki's face with oshiroi, a finely ground rice-white facial foundation." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Now you'll be as pale as a God,\" said a second handmaid who joined in the powdering." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Open,\" said the third to Yamabuki.\n\nYamabuki, her eyes still closed, opened her mouth to ask \"Open what?\" only to feel the thrust of a small brush against her teeth and gums.\n\n\"Blech!\" Yamabuki gasped as her tongue encountered a pungent paste. \"It's foul!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Indeed it was, for it was a concoction of rust, stale saké vinegar, and the most horridly bitter ground nuts." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It's just haguro,\" one the nyōbō soothed.\n\n\"Pooh!\" Yamabuki spat out more of the paste. \"It's horrid. I'm not married. I don't have to blacken my teeth.\" She kept her eyes tightly shut as if it would make all the unpleasant tastes go away." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Good we had the towels,\" one of the nyōbō said, for Yamabuki had spat the nurude paste over everything." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Some of it even found its way to the floor, where one of the porters immediately dropped to her knees to wipe it up.\n\n\"The oshiroi is smeared,\" lamented a handmaid. Quickly another handmaid reapplied fresh powder.\n\n\"Take it away!\" Yamabuki commanded, waving her hand imperiously." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her mother interrupted sharply." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What's this? You forget yourself!\"\n\nYamabuki looked up, suddenly contrite as her mother loomed over her. \"I don't want to blacken my teeth.\"\n\nHer mother was drawn." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You want everyone to think you have yellow teeth?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"They aren't yellow,\" Yamabuki objected. \"They're white as pearls. You said so yourself.\"\n\n\"Except when someone is wearing oshiroi. Everything else looks drab against white face powder.\"\n\n\"I am not married,\" Yamabuki sulked." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The nyōbō had gone blank faced, as they knew to do when mother and daughter were in this state of affairs with one another." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Lady Taka sighed deep. \"Bring her that water,\" she commanded with a flourish of her hand.\n\nTomoko finally got close enough to deliver the graceful bamboo ladle. Yamabuki quaffed the water down in hardly more than one huge gulp." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"More!\" Yamabuki rasped even before she finished it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Her mother nodded, and in moments Tomoko returned with another ladleful. Yamabuki drank most of that down, too. At this, Yamabuki seemed to rally, and her mother said, \"Everyone will be in white make-up today, even your father.\"\n\nYamabuki looked up from the water cup." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her mother nodded. \"And he's blackening his teeth, too, because it's in your honor. Yes?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yamabuki stopped scowling and nodded slowly and, resigned, thrust her chin forward, closed her eyes, curled back her lips, bared her teeth, and waited for the brush.\n\nFinally came the fragrances—the extracts of flowers. It was said that, over time, the perfumes a woman chose would mingle with her other natural scents to permeate her costume, hair, and body. In combination, they would identify her as precisely as any of her features, so much so that a husband could distinguish amongst his wives even in the pitch darkness of a bedchamber." }, { "from": "human", "value": "And, as Yamabuki was later led to understand, if a wife surreptitiously brought someone other than her own husband into her own bed, the next day the visitor was all but required to write poems to eternally glorify the mingling of these unique aromas—of course never mentioning the lady by name." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "That was revealed only through artful inference and subtle hints. Her personal scents. Her breath. The odor of decaying teeth was said to be especially sensual. Poetry.\n\nIn this aspect, Yamabuki did not share a poet's sensibilities." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She found that the fine ladies, after a time, developed a certain stale pungency." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yamabuki found it hard to abide how older women began to reek, no matter how much perfume they applied. How could a man exalt that smell? But they did. It was said to drive men mad.\n\nHer musings ended when her mother addressed her sharply." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's time.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Lady Taka, with a flourish of the hand, dismissed everyone, save for Yamabuki. In moments, the chamber, which had been filled with over thirty people, was now clean and quiet, its doors tightly shut—empty, save for mother and daughter.\n\nYamabuki stood where she had been left, clad in elegance. She knew her mother wanted her alone to say something." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Would she tell Yamabuki that a husband had already been chosen for her and that's why she was having mogi?" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your next one should be approximately 2 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Was that why they insisted she blacken her teeth today?\n\nYamabuki gulped, and waited to hear her fate." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Mode:\nCo-writing\n\nLength:\n4 sentences\n\nStyle:\nKatherine M. Lawrence" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She stepped into the night, where the cold mountain air revived her. It was dark. The chill cut through her. She shivered despite her resolve to hide her discomfort. Snow started to fall—tiny flakes smaller than sand, the kind that quickly piled up." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She watched her breath steam as she headed down the quiet lane toward the armory, her arms crossed over her chest and tucked into the kimono sleeves for warmth, her fingers touching the three scrolls and her dagger." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She thought of Blue Rice, who that morning had carried his saké in his sleeve in much the same manner.\n\nShe asked herself, if these same events had happened the night before, would she would have reacted in the same way as she just had? Not just at the House of Red Banners, but also with the five guards. Perhaps not, but that was yesterday." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Tonight was she so full of saké that she felt it necessary to break their bones?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Was it that she was tired? Or angry? Or was it that compared to the morning's killings, this was a small matter that had to be settled then and there or the louts might have come back for more?\n\nAfter the duel at the Shintō shrine, she had looked at her eyes' reflection in her blade. She had convinced herself that her she had not changed, and yet Yoshinaka claimed that he could see she had killed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "And if he didn't see it in her eyes, then he saw it in her actions." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Was there any difference in how he knew? She was revealing it without thinking.\n\nShe looked up and down the empty streets wondering if any of the sakimori might indeed be lurking somewhere, waiting for the chance to have another go after all. Maybe they would bring lieutenant Misaki with them." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then I'll settle some scores." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She sensed that she smiled wickedly. But if that is what she hoped, she was disappointed. Not so much as a dog nor a fox yelped.\n\nWhen she arrived at the main armory building, she noticed that light leaked from the cracks in its shuttered windows and doors." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Someone surely was working into the night." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She walked along, leaving tracks in the fresh snow. She continued on around and entered the guest quarters, knocking her boots to get the slush off. Thankfully a small lamp burned inside the entryway, lighting the two steps into the chamber where she was to sleep.\n\nBy the light of the brazier, she sat before the little, polished steel mirror on the low stand." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She looked at her face and at her white make-up." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She considered the five sakimori. They did not recognize me.\n\nA pinewood bucket with fresh water had been placed next to the stand. With a small damp towel, she removed the rice-white make-up." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Provide four sentences as a continuation." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiyoshi had been back home for more than a year." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He was eleven. Whenever Chikuami lost sight of him, even for a moment, he'd charge around looking for him and roar at the top of his voice, \"Monkey? Have you chopped the firewood yet? Why not? Why did you leave the pail in the field?\" If Hiyoshi so much as started to talk back, the rough, hard hollow of his stepfather's hand would quickly ring against the side of the boy's head. At such times his mother, the baby strapped to her back while she trod barley or cooked, would force herself to look away and remain silent. Still, her face looked pained, as if she herself had been slapped." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's natural for any eleven-year-old brat to help with the work. If you think you can slip away and play all the time, I'll break your ass!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The foulmouthed Chikuami drove Hiyoshi hard. But after being sent home from the temple, he worked hard, as if he had come back a different person. On those occasions when his mother unwisely tried to shield him, Chikuami's rough hands and voice lashed out with severity. It was better, she decided, to pretend to ignore her son." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Now Chikuami rarely went into the fields, but he was often away from the house." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He would go into town, return drunk, and yell at his wife and children.\n\n\"No matter how much I work, the poverty of this house won't ever be eased,\" he complained. \"There are too many parasites, and the land tax keeps going up. If it weren't for these kids, I'd become a masterless samurai—a ronin! And I'd drink delicious sake. Ah, these chains on my hands and feet!\"\n\nAfter one of these fits of abusiveness, he would make his wife count out what little money they had, then send Otsumi or Hiyoshi out to buy sake, even in the middle of the night." }, { "from": "human", "value": "If his stepfather wasn't around, Hiyoshi would sometimes give vent to his feelings." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Onaka hugged him close and comforted him.\n\n\"Mother, I want to go out and work again,\" he said one day.\n\n\"Please stay here. If it weren't for your being around...\" The rest of what she said was unintelligible through her tears. As each tear appeared, she turned her head to the side and wiped her eyes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Seeing his mother's tears, Hiyoshi couldn't say anything." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He wanted to run away, but he knew he would have to stay where he was and bear the unhappiness and bitterness. When he felt sorry for his mother, the natural desires of youth—to play, to eat, to learn, to run away—would grow within him like so many weeds. All these were pitted against the angry words Chikuami hurled at his mother and the fists that rained down on his own head.\n\n\"Eat shit!\" he muttered, his defiant soul a flame within his small body." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Finally he pushed himself to the point of confronting his fearsome stepfather." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Send me out to work again,\" he said. \"I'd rather be in service than stay in this house.\"\n\nChikuami didn't argue. \"Fine,\" he said. \"Go wherever you like, and eat someone else's rice. But the next time you get driven away, don't come back to this house.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He meant what he said, and although he realized Hiyoshi was only an eleven-year-old boy, he found himself arguing with him as an equal, which made him even madder." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hiyoshi's next job was at the village dyer's shop.\n\n\"He's all mouth, and sassy to boot. Just looking for a sunny place to pick the dirt from his navel,\" said one of the workmen operating the dye press.\n\nSoon after that, word came from the go-between: \"I'm afraid he's of no use.\" And back home he went." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Chikuami glared at him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Well, how about it, Monkey? Is society going to feed an idler like you? Don't you yet understand the value of parents?\"\n\nHe wanted to say, I'm not bad! but instead he said, \"You're the one who no longer farms, and it'd be better if you didn't just gamble and drink at the horse market. Everybody's sorry for my mother.\"\n\n\"How dare you talk that way to your father!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Chikuami's thundering roar shut the boy up, but now he was beginning to see Hiyoshi in a different light." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He thought, Bit by bit, he's growing up. Each time Hiyoshi went out into the world and came back again, he was noticeably bigger. The eyes that judged his parents and his home were maturing quickly. And the fact that Hiyoshi was looking at him with the eyes of an adult deeply annoyed, frightened, and displeased the errant stepfather." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Go on, hurry and find work,\" he ordered." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The following day, Hiyoshi went to his next employer, the village cooper. He was back home within a month, the mistress of the shop having complained, \"I can't have a disturbing child like this in my house.\"\n\nHiyoshi's mother could not understand what she meant by \"disturbing.\" Other places where Hiyoshi began apprenticeships were the plasterer's shop, the lunch counter at the horse market, and the blacksmith's." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Each time he stayed no longer than three to six months." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His comings and goings gradually became known, and his reputation got so bad that no one would act as his go-between.\n\n\"Ah, that boy at Chikuami's house. He's a foulmouthed good-for-nothing.\"\n\nNaturally, Hiyoshi's mother felt embarrassed around people. She felt awkward about her son, and in response to the gossip she would quickly deprecate him, as if his growing delinquency were incurable." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I don't know what can be done with him,\" she'd say." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"He hates farming, and he just won't settle down at home.\"\n\nIn the spring of his fourteenth year, Hiyoshi's mother told him, \"This time you absolutely must stick with it. If the same thing happens one more time, my sister isn't going to be able to look Master Kato in the face, and everybody's going to laugh and say, 'Again?' Mind you, if you fail this time, I won't forgive you.\"\n\nThe next day his aunt took him to Shinkawa for an interview. The large, imposing mansion they went to belonged to Sutejiro, the pottery merchant." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ofuku was now a pale youth of sixteen; from helping his adoptive father, the boy had learned the pottery business himself." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In the pottery store, the distinction between superior and subordinate was rigidly applied. During his first interview, Hiyoshi knelt respectfully on the wooden veranda while Ofuku sat inside, eating cakes, chatting happily with his parents.\n\n\"Well, it's Yaemon's little monkey. Your father died, and Chikuami from the village became your stepfather. And now you want to serve in this house? You'll have to work hard.\" This was said in such a grown-up tone of voice that no one who had known the younger Ofuku would have believed it was the same person speaking." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes, sir,\" Hiyoshi replied." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He was taken to the servants' quarters, from which he could hear the laughter of the master's family in the living room. That his friend had not shown him the least bit of friendliness made him feel even lonelier.\n\n\"Hey, Monkey!\" Ofuku did not mince his words. \"Tomorrow, get up early and go to Kiyosu. Since you'll be taking goods to an official, load the packages onto the regular handcart. On your way back, stop in at the shipping agent's and check whether the pottery has arrived from Hizen. If you loiter along the way or get back too late, as you did the other day, you won't be let into the house.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiyoshi's answer was not a simple \"yes\" or \"yes, sir.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Like the clerks who had served much longer in the shop, he said, \"Most certainly, sir, and with the greatest respect, sir.\"\n\nHiyoshi was often sent on errands to Nagoya and Kiyosu. That day he took note of the white walls and high stone ramparts of Kiyosu Castle and mused, What kind of people live inside? How can I get to live there myself?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Feeling as small and wretched as a worm, he was frustrated." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As he made his way through town, pushing the heavy handcart piled high with pottery wrapped in straw, he heard the familiar words:\n\n\"Well, well, there goes a monkey!\"\n\n\"A monkey pushing a handcart!\"\n\nVeiled courtesans, fashionably dressed townswomen, and the pretty young wives of good families all whispered, pointed, and stared at him as he went by." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He himself had already become proficient at spotting the pretty ones." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "What annoyed him most was the staring, as though he were some kind of freak.\n\nThe governor of Kiyosu Castle was Shiba Yoshimune, and one of his principal retainers was Oda Nobutomo. At the spot where the castle moat and the Gojo River met, one still sensed the presence of the declining grandeur of the old Ashikaga shogunate, and the prosperity that lingered here, even in the midst of the many disturbances going on in the world, upheld Kiyosu's reputation as the most glamorous town in any of the provinces.\n\nFor sake, go to the sake shop." }, { "from": "human", "value": "For good tea, go to the tea shop." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But for courtesans, it's Sugaguchi in Kiyosu.\n\nIn the pleasure quarter of Sugaguchi, the eaves of brothels and teahouses lined the streets. In the daytime, the young girls who served in the brothels sang as they played catch. Hiyoshi pushed his handcart through their game, dreaming, How can I become great?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Unable to come up with an answer, he kept thinking, Someday... someday..." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He spun out one fantasy after another as he walked along. The town was full of all the things that were denied to him: delicious food, opulent houses, gaudy military gear and saddlery, rich clothing and precious stones.\n\nThinking of his skinny sister with her pale face in Nakamura, he watched the steam rising from dumpling steamers in the sweet shops and wished he could buy some for her. Or passing an old apothecary, he would gaze in ecstasy at the bags of medicinal herbs and say to himself, Mother, if I could give you medicine like that, I bet you'd soon get much better." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ever present in his dreams was the wish to improve the wretched lives of his mother and Otsumi." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The one person he gave no thought to at all was Chikuami.\n\nAs he approached the castle town, his mind was dazzled by his usual daydreams. Someday... someday... but how? was his only thought as he walked along." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Fool!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "On his way across a busy crossroads, he abruptly found himself in the center of a noisy mob. He had run his cart into a mounted samurai, followed by ten retainers carrying spears and leading a horse. Straw-wrapped bowls and plates fell all over the road, breaking into pieces. Hiyoshi tottered uncertainly among the wreckage." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Are you blind?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You idiot!\"\n\nWhile scolding Hiyoshi, the attendants trampled on the broken dishes. Not a single passerby drew near to offer him help. He collected the broken pieces, tossed them into the handcart, and began pushing again, his blood boiling in indignation for having been treated this way in public." }, { "from": "human", "value": "And within his childish fantasies, he struck a serious note: How will I ever be able to make people like that prostrate themselves in front of me?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A little later, he thought of the scolding he would get when he got back to his master's house, and the cold look on Ofuku's face loomed large in his imagination. His great fantasy, like a soaring phoenix, vanished in a host of worries, as if he had been swallowed up in a cloud of poppy seeds.\n\nNight had fallen. Hiyoshi had put the handcart away in the shed and was washing his feet by the well. Sutejiro's establishment, which was called the Pottery Mansion, was like the residence of a great provincial warrior clan." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The imposing main house was linked to many outbuildings, and rows of warehouses stood nearby." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Little Monkey! Little Monkey!\"\n\nAs Ofuku drew near, Hiyoshi got up.\n\n\"Yeah?\"\n\nOfuku struck Hiyoshi's shoulder with the thin bamboo cane he always carried when looking around the employees' quarters or giving orders to the warehouse workers." }, { "from": "human", "value": "This was not the first time he had struck Hiyoshi." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hiyoshi stumbled, and was immediately covered with mud again.\n\n\"When addressing the master, do you say 'yeah'? No matter how many times I tell you, your manners don't improve. This is not a farmer's house!\"\n\nHiyoshi made no reply.\n\n\"Why don't you say something? Don't you understand? Say yes, sir.'\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Afraid of being hit again, Hiyoshi said, \"Yes, sir.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"When did you get back from Kiyosu?\"\n\n\"Just now.\"\n\n\"You're lying. I asked the people in the kitchen, and they told me you'd already eaten.\"\n\n\"I felt dizzy. I was afraid I was going to faint.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Why?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Because I was hungry after walking all that way.\"\n\n\"Hungry! When you got back, why didn't you go to the master to make your report right away?\"\n\n\"I was going to, after washing my feet.\"\n\n\"Excuses, excuses! From what the kitchen workers told me, a lot of the pottery you were supposed to deliver in Kiyosu was broken on the way. Is it true?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I suppose you felt it was all right not to apologize to me directly. You thought you'd make up some kind of lie, make a joke of it, or ask the kitchen workers to cover for you. This time I'm not going to put up with it.\" Ofuku grabbed Hiyoshi's ear and pulled. \"Well, come on. Speak up.\"\n\n\"I'm sorry.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"This is getting to be a habit. We're going to get to the bottom of this. Come along, we'll talk to my father.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Please forgive me.\" Hiyoshi's voice sounded just like the cry of a monkey.\n\nOfuku did not loosen his grip. He started to go around the house. The path that led from the warehouse to the garden entrance of the house was screened by a thicket of tall Chinese bamboos." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Suddenly, Hiyoshi stopped in his tracks." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Listen,\" he said, glaring at Ofuku and knocking away his hand, \"I've got something to tell you.\"\n\n\"What are you up to now? I'm the master here, remember?\" Ofuku said, turning pale and beginning to tremble.\n\n\"That's why I'm always obedient, but there's something I want to say to you. Ofuku, have you forgotten our childhood days? You and I were friends, weren't we?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That belongs to the past.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"All right, it belongs to the past, but you shouldn't forget it. When they teased you and called you 'the Chinese kid,' do you remember who always stuck up for you?\"\n\n\"I remember.\"\n\n\"Don't you think you owe me something?\" Hiyoshi asked, scowling. He was much smaller than Ofuku, but he had such an air of dignity about him that it was impossible to tell who was the elder." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The other workers are all talking, too,\" Hiyoshi went on." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"They say the master is good, but the young master is conceited and hasn't got a heart. A boy like you, who's never known poverty or hardship, should try working in someone else's house. If you bully me and the other employees again, I don't know what I'll do. But remember that I have a relative who's a ronin in Mikuriya. He has over a thousand men under his command. If he came here on my account, he could wipe out a house like this in a single night.\" Hiyoshi's threatening stream of nonsense, combined with the fire in his eyes, terrified the hapless Ofuku.\n\n\"Master Ofuku!\"\n\n\"Master Ofuku! Where's Master Ofuku?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The servants from the main house had been searching for Ofuku for some time." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ofuku, held prisoner by Hiyoshi's stare, had lost the courage to answer them.\n\n\"They're calling you,\" Hiyoshi muttered. And he added, making it sound like an order, \"You can go now, but don't forget what I told you.\" With this parting remark, he turned away and walked toward the back entrance to the house." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Later, his heart beating wildly, he wondered if they were going to punish him." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your next one should be approximately 1 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But nothing happened. The incident was forgotten." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Let's engage in a collaborative writing exercise. I'll provide a starting point, and You'll continue with 4 sentences in the style of Eiji Yoshikawa." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The year drew to a close." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Among farmers and townspeople, a boy turning fifteen usually had a coming-of-age ceremony. In Hiyoshi's case, there was no one to give him a single ceremonial fan, much less a feast. Since it was New Year's, he sat on the corner of a wooden platform with the other servants, sniffling and eating millet cakes cooked with vegetables—a rare treat.\n\nHe wondered grimly, Are my mother and Otsumi eating millet cakes this New Year's?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Although they were millet farmers, he could recall many a New Year's when there had been no cakes to eat." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The other men around him were grumbling.\n\n\"Tonight the master will have visitors, so we'll have to sit up straight and listen to his stories again.\"\n\n\"I'll have to pretend to have a stomachache and stay in bed.\"\n\n\"I hate that. Especially at New Year's.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "There were similar occasions two or three times a year, at the New Year and at the festival of the god of wealth." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Whatever the pretext, Sutejiro invited a great many guests: the potters of Seto, the families of favored customers in Nagoya and Kiyosu, members of samurai clans, even the acquaintances of relatives. From that evening on, there would be a horrendous crush of people.\n\nToday, Sutejiro was in an especially good mood. Bowing low, he welcomed his guests in person, apologizing for having neglected them that past year." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In the tearoom, which was decorated with one exquisite, carefully chosen flower, Sutejiro's beautiful wife served tea to her guests." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The utensils she used were all rare and precious.\n\nIt was Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa who, late in the previous century, had first practiced the tea ceremony as an aesthetic exercise. It had spread to the common people, and before long, without anyone consciously realizing it, tea had become a central part of people's daily lives. Within the confines of the narrow little tearoom with its single flower and single cup of tea, the turbulence of the world and human suffering could be forgotten." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Even in the midst of a corrupt world, the tea ceremony could teach one the cultivation of the spirit." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Do I have the honor of addressing the lady of the house?\" The speaker was a big-boned warrior, who had come in with the other guests. \"My name is Watanabe Tenzo. I am a friend of your kinsman Shichirobei. He promised to bring me tonight, but unfortunately he's been taken ill, so I came alone.\" He bowed politely. He was gentle in demeanor, and although he had the rustic appearance of a country samurai, he asked for a bowl of tea." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Sutejiro's wife served it in a yellow Seto bowl." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I am not acquainted with the etiquette of the tea ceremony,\" he said. Tenzo looked around him while contentedly sipping the tea. \"As might be expected of such a famous, wealthy man, the tea implements here are certainly well crafted. While it is rude of me to ask, isn't the porcelain pitcher you are using a piece of akae ware?\"\n\n\"Did you notice that?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes.\" Tenzo looked at the pitcher, deeply impressed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If this were to fall into the hands of a Sakai merchant, I daresay it would fetch about a thousand gold pieces. Quite apart from its value, it's a beautiful piece.\"\n\nAs they were chatting, they were called inside for dinner. Sutejiro's wife led the way, and together they went into the hall. The place settings had been arranged in a circle around the room." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As host, Sutejiro sat in the very center, greeting his guests." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When his wife and the maids had finished serving the sake, he took his own seat at one of the tables. He picked up his cup and started to tell stories about the Ming, among whom he had spent many years. It was so that he might talk about his adventures in China, a country he knew well, but one that was still relatively unknown in Japan, that he would invite his guests and treat them to such lavish entertainments.\n\n\"Well, this was a real feast. And again tonight I've heard a number of rather interesting stories,\" said one guest." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I've certainly had my fill. But it's getting late. I'd better be on my way,\" said another." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Me too. I really should be taking my leave.\"\n\nThe guests departed one by one, and the evening came to a close.\n\n\"Ah, it's over!\" said a servant. \"The stories may be a great treat for the guests, but we hear about the Chinese all year round.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Not hiding their yawns, the servants, Hiyoshi among them, worked frantically to clean up." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The lamps in the large kitchen, in the hall, and in Sutejiro's and Ofuku's rooms were finally blown out, and the stout bar on the gate in the earthen wall was set in place. As a matter of course, samurai mansions, and also the homes of merchants—if they were at all substantial—were enclosed by an earthen wall or surrounded by a moat, which would be backed up by two or three tiers of fortifications. When night fell, people in the cities and the countryside felt uneasy. This had been the case ever since the civil wars of the previous century, and nobody thought it strange anymore." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As soon as the sun went down, people slept." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When the workers, whose only pleasure was sleeping, crawled into their beds, they slumbered like cattle. Covered by a thin straw mat, Hiyoshi lay in a corner of the male servants' room, his head on a wooden pillow. Along with the other servants, he had listened to his master's stories about the great country of the Ming. But unlike them, he had listened avidly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "And he was so prone to fantasizing that he was too excited to sleep, almost as though he had a fever." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "What's that? he wondered, sitting up. He strained his ears, sure he had just heard a sound like a tree branch breaking and, just before that, the sound of muffled footsteps. He got up, went through the kitchen, and stealthily peeked outdoors. On this cold, clear night, the water in the large barrel was frozen, and icicles hung like swords from the wooden eaves." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Looking up, he saw a man climbing the huge tree at the back." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hiyoshi guessed that the sound he had heard earlier was the cracking of a branch the man had stepped on. He observed the strange behavior of the figure in the tree. The man was swinging a light no bigger than a firefly around and around. A fuse cord? Hiyoshi wondered." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The red swirl threw faint, smoky sparks into the wind." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It seemed likely that the man was sending a signal to someone outside the walls.\n\nHe's coming down, Hiyoshi thought, as he hid like a weasel in the shadows. The man slid down the tree and set off with long strides toward the back of the grounds. Hiyoshi let him pass and then trailed after him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Ah! He was one of the guests this evening,\" he muttered in disbelief." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was the one who had introduced himself as Watanabe Tenzo, the man who had been served tea by the master's wife, and who had listened raptly to Sutejiro's stories from beginning to end. All the other guests had gone home, so where had Tenzo been until now? And why? He was dressed differently from before. He wore straw sandals, the hems of his baggy trousers were rolled up and tied back, and a large sword was belted at his side." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His eyes took in the surroundings with a fierce, hawklike expression." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Anyone seeing him would instantly realize that he was out for someone's blood.\n\nTenzo approached the gate, and just at that moment, the men waiting outside crashed against it.\n\n\"Wait! I'll loosen the bar. Be quiet!\"\n\nIt must be a raid by bandits!" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Their leader had indeed been signaling to his followers, come to pillage the house like a swarm of locusts." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hidden in the shadows, Hiyoshi thought, Robbers! Instantly his blood surged, and he forgot all about himself. Although he did not think it through, he no longer cared about his own safety because he was concerned solely about his master's house. Even so, what he did next could only be described as foolhardy." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Hey, you!\" he called out, walking brazenly out of the shadows with who knew what in mind." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He stood behind Tenzo just as he was about to open the gate. A shudder of fear ran up Tenzo's spine. How could he have guessed that he was being challenged by a fifteen-year-old boy who worked for the pottery shop? When he looked around, he was puzzled by what he saw: an odd-looking youth with the face of a monkey, eyeing him with a strange expression." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Tenzo stared very hard at him for a moment." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Who are you?\" he demanded, perplexed.\n\nHiyoshi had completely forgotten the danger of the situation. His expression was unsmiling and blank. \"All right, you, what's going on here?\" he asked." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What?\" said Tenzo, now thoroughly confused. Is he crazy?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "he wondered. Hiyoshi's unforgiving expression, so unlike a child's, overwhelmed him. He felt he had to stare the boy down.\n\n\"We are the ronin of Mikuriya. Raise a cry and I'll cut you down. We didn't come here to take the lives of children. Get out of here. Go lose yourself in the woodshed.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Supposing the gesture would intimidate the boy, he tapped the hilt of his long sword." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hiyoshi grinned, showing his white teeth.\n\n\"So you are a robber, eh? If you're a robber, you want to leave with what you came here for, right?\"\n\n\"Don't be a nuisance. Get lost!\"\n\n\"I'm going. But if you open that gate, not one of you will leave here alive.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What do you mean by that?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You don't know, do you? Nobody knows but me.\"\n\n\"You're a bit crazy, aren't you?\"\n\n\"Speak for yourself. You're the one whose head isn't right—coming to rob a house like this.\"\n\nTenzo's men, tired of waiting, knocked on the gate and called out, \"What's going on?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Hold on a minute,\" said Tenzo." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then he said to Hiyoshi, \"You said if we go into this mansion, we won't go home alive. Why should I believe you?\"\n\n\"It's true.\"\n\n\"If I find out you're playing games, I'll cut off your head.\"\n\n\"You aren't going to find out for nothing. You'll have to give me something in return.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Huh?\" Grumbling to himself, Tenzo was suspicious of this boy." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Overhead, the starry sky was getting brighter, but the mansion, surrounded by its earthen wall, was still sunk in total darkness.\n\n\"What do you want?\" Tenzo asked tentatively.\n\n\"I don't want a thing, only that you let me become a member of your gang.\"\n\n\"You want to become one of us?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes, that's right.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You want to become a thief?\"\n\n\"Yes.\"\n\n\"How old are you?\"\n\n\"Fifteen.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Why do you want to become a thief?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The master drives me like a horse. The people here bully me, they call me 'monkey' all the time, so I'd like to become a bandit like you and get even with them.\"\n\n\"All right, I'll let you join us, but only after you prove yourself. Now explain what you said before.\"\n\n\"About you all being killed?\"\n\n\"Yes.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Well, your plan's no good. This evening you disguised yourself as a guest and mixed with a large group of people.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes.\"\n\n\"Someone recognized you.\"\n\n\"That's impossible.\"\n\n\"Think what you like, but the master clearly knew who you were. So, earlier this evening, on his instructions, I ran to the house of Kato of Yabuyama and let him know we would surely be attacked in the middle of the night and would appreciate his help.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Kato of Yabuyama... that would be the Oda retainer Kato Danjo.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Because Danjo and my master are relatives, he got hold of a dozen samurai who live around here, and they all came in during the evening, dressed as guests. They're on watch for you at the house right now, and that's no lie.\"\n\nHiyoshi could see from the pallor of his face that Tenzo believed him.\n\n\"Is that so?\" he said. \"Where are they? What are they doing?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"They were sitting in a circle, drinking sake and waiting. Then they decided you probably wouldn't attack this late, so they went to sleep. They made me stand watch out in the cold.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Tenzo grabbed Hiyoshi, saying, \"It's your life if you cry out.\" With the huge palm of his hand, he covered Hiyoshi's mouth.\n\nStruggling, Hiyoshi managed to say, \"Mister, this isn't what you promised. I won't make any noise. Take your hand away.\" He sank his fingernails into the robber's hand." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Tenzo shook his head." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Nothing doing. I am, after all, Watanabe Tenzo of Mikuriya. You want me to believe this house is prepared. Even if that's true, if I left empty-handed I wouldn't be able to face my men.\"\n\n\"But...\"\n\n\"What can you do?\"\n\n\"I'll bring out anything you want.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You'll bring it out?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yeah. That's the way to do it. That way you can finish this thing without the danger of cutting people down or being cut down yourself.\"\n\n\"Without fail?\" He tightened his grip on Hiyoshi's throat.\n\nThe gate was still closed. Afraid and suspicious, his men kept calling out in loud whispers and rattling the gate." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Hey, boss, are you in there?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What's going on?\"\n\n\"What's the matter with the gate?\"\n\nTenzo loosened the bar halfway and whispered through the gap, \"Something's wrong here, so keep quiet. And don't stay in a group. Split up and hide.\"\n\nGoing for what Tenzo had asked for, Hiyoshi crawled quietly from the entrance of the male servants' quarters into the main house." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Once there, he saw that a lamp was lit in Sutejiro's room." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Master?\" Hiyoshi called out as he seated himself respectfully on the veranda. There was no answer, but he sensed that both Sutejiro and his wife were awake.\n\n\"Madam?\"\n\n\"Who is it?\" asked Sutejiro's wife, her voice trembling." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Either she or her husband had awakened and shaken the other awake because just a moment ago there had been a vague rustling and the sound of voices." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Thinking it might be an attack by bandits, both had shut their eyes in fear. Hiyoshi opened the sliding door and moved forward on his knees. Both Sutejiro and his wife opened their eyes wide.\n\n\"There are bandits outside. A lot of them,\" Hiyoshi said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Husband and wife swallowed hard, but said nothing." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They looked incapable of speech.\n\n\"It'd be terrible if they came rushing in. They'd tie you two up and leave five or six dead or injured. I've thought of a plan, and I've got their leader waiting for your answer.\"\n\nHiyoshi told them of his conversation with Tenzo, and ended by saying, \"Master, please let the robbers have what they want. I'll take it to Tenzo, and he'll go away.\"\n\nThere was a slight pause before the merchant asked, \"Hiyoshi, what in the world does he want?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"He said he came for the akae water pitcher.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What?\"\n\n\"He said that if I handed it over, he'd go away. Since it's not worth anything, won't you let him have it? It was all my idea,\" Hiyoshi explained proudly. \"I'll pretend I'm stealing it for him.\" But the despair and fear hovering around the faces of Sutejiro and his wife were almost palpable." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The akae pitcher was taken out of storage for the tea ceremony earlier today, wasn't it? The man must be a fool to tell me to bring that worthless thing to him!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hiyoshi said, looking as if he found the whole matter hilarious.\n\nSutejiro's wife was extremely quiet, as though she had been turned to stone. With a deep sigh, Sutejiro said, \"This is awful.\" Lost in thought, he too became quiet." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Master, why look at it that way? One piece of pottery can finish all this without bloodshed.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It's not just any piece of pottery. Even in the country of the Ming there are few pieces like it. I brought it back from China after considerable hardship. What's more, it is a keepsake from Master Shonzui.\"\n\n\"In the pottery shops of Sakai,\" said his wife, \"it would fetch over a thousand gold pieces.\"\n\nBut the robbers were more to be feared. If they resisted them, there would be a massacre, and there had been cases of mansions being burned to the ground." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Neither event was unusual in these unsettled times." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In such a situation, a man did not have much time to make up his mind. For a moment, Sutejiro seemed to be unable to break free from his past attachment to the pitcher. But finally he said, \"It can't be helped.\" He felt a little better after that." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He took the key to the storehouse from a small drawer of a lacquer cabinet." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Take it to him.\" He threw the key down in front of Hiyoshi. Vexed at the loss of the precious water pitcher, Sutejiro could not bring himself to praise Hiyoshi at all, even though he thought the scheme was well devised for a boy of his age.\n\nHiyoshi went alone to the storehouse." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He came out holding a wooden box and returned the key to the hand of his master, saying, \"It would be best if you put out the light and quietly went back to bed. You needn't worry.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When he brought the box to Tenzo, the bandit, only half believing what was happening, opened it and examined the contents carefully. \"Hm, this is it,\" he said. The lines on his face softened.\n\n\"You and your men should get out of here fast. When I was searching for this in the storehouse just now, I lit a candle. Kato and his samurai are probably waking up at this very moment, and will soon start to make their rounds.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Tenzo made hastily for the gate." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your next one should be approximately two sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You come and call on me in Mikuriya anytime. I'll take you on.\" With these words he disappeared into the darkness." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Continue with the same vibes as Eiji Yoshikawa" }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was around noon of the fourth day after the burning of Mikuriya." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was hot. The roads were steep, and Tenzo's men had to keep their armor on. The band was obviously tired of running. Along the roads they had abandoned packs and horses, gradually lightening their load, and by the time they got to the ravine of the Dozuki River, they were famished, exhausted, and drenched with sweat. As they drank, Koroku's small force slid down both sides of the ravine in a pincer attack." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Stones and boulders rained down on the fugitives, and the waters of the river soon ran red with blood." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Some were run through; some were beaten to death; some were thrown into the river. These were men who ordinarily were on good terms, and the blood ties—uncle and nephew, cousin and cousin—cut across factional lines. It was an attack of the clan against itself, but it was unavoidable. They really were one body of men, and for that very reason the roots of evil had to be cut out." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Koroku, with his peerless courage, was covered with the fresh blood of his kinsmen." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He called out to Tenzo to show himself, but with no success. Ten of his men had fallen, but for the other side it was almost a massacre. But Tenzo was not found among the dead. It seemed he had deserted his men and, traveling along mountain paths, had managed his escape." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The swine! thought Koroku, grinding his teeth." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He's heading for Kai.\n\nKoroku himself was standing on one of the peaks when out of nowhere came the report of a single shot, which echoed through the mountains. The sound of the gun seemed to mock him. Tears coursed down his cheeks." }, { "from": "human", "value": "At that moment he reflected that he and his nephew—who was nothing more than evil incarnate—were, after all, of the same blood." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His tears were tears of regret for his own unworthiness. Bitterly discouraged, he tried to think the problem through and realized the day was far off when he could rise from the status of the head of a clan and become the ruler of a province. He had to admit he was incapable of that. If I don't even know how to control one of my own relatives..." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Strength alone isn't enough, if one doesn't have a governing policy, or household discipline." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Quite unexpectedly, a bitter smile shone through his tears. That bastard has taught me something after all, he realized. And he gave the order to withdraw.\n\nThe force, now numbering little more than thirty men, reformed and descended from the Dozuki ravine to Koromo." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They bivouacked just outside the town and, the following day, sent a messenger to the castle town of Okazaki." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They received permission to pass through, but because it was already late when they started off, it was close to midnight before they reached Okazaki. Along the highways leading toward home were branch and main castles and stockades closely crowded together. There were also strategic checkpoints where a group of armed men could not pass. The journey by road would take many days, so they decided to take a boat down the Yahagi River, and then from Ohama to Handa." }, { "from": "human", "value": "From Tokoname, once again they would travel by boat across the open water and then up the Kanie River to Hachisuka." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When they got to the Yahagi River it was midnight, and there was not a boat to be seen. The current was swift and the river wide. Frustrated, Koroku and his men came to a halt under some trees. Various men gave their opinions:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If there's no boat to go downriver, we could take a ferry across and go along the other bank.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It's too late. Let's wait until morning.\"\n\nWhat bothered Koroku most was that in order to camp here, they would have to go to Okazaki Castle to ask permission again.\n\n\"Look for a ferryboat,\" Koroku ordered. \"If we can find just one and cross over to the other side, by dawn we'll have covered the distance a boat might have taken us downriver.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But, sir, we haven't seen a ferryboat anywhere.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Idiot! There's bound to be at least one boat around here. How else are people going to cross a river this size during the day? What's more, there should be scouting boats hidden among the reeds or in the high grass along the bank. Or boats to use if fighting disrupts the ferry service. Open your eyes and look!\"\n\nThe men split into two groups, one going upstream, the other downstream.\n\n\"Ah. Here's one!\" one man shouted from upstream, stopping in his tracks.\n\nAt a spot on the bank where the earth had been washed away during a flood, large purple willows with exposed roots stooped and bowed their branches over the water." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The water was calm and dark, like a deep pool." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A boat was tied up in the shadows under the trees.\n\n\"And it's usable.\"\n\nThe man jumped down and, planning to take the boat downstream, reached down to loosen the mooring rope wound around the roots of a willow. His hand stopped and he gazed fixedly into the boat, a small craft with a shallow draft, used for carrying baggage." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was close to falling apart, dank with slime, and listing dangerously." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Nevertheless, it could be used for the crossing. What held the soldier's attention was a man fast asleep under a rotting rush mat, snoring soundly. He wore strange clothes. Both his sleeves and hem were short, and under his dirty white shirting he wore leggings and coverings for the backs of his hands." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He had straw sandals on his bare feet." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His age was somewhere between childhood and adulthood. He lay on his back under the open sky, the night dew on his eyebrows and eyelashes. He seemed to be at absolute peace with the world.\n\n\"Hey, you!\" The soldier tried to awaken him, but when the man did not respond at all, he called to him again and tapped him lightly on the chest with the butt of his spear." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Hey, you, wake up!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hiyoshi opened his eyes, grabbed the shaft of the spear with a shout, and stared back at the soldier.\n\nThe swirling water around the boat might almost have been a reflection of the state of Hiyoshi's life. On that frosty night in the first month of the previous year when he had taken leave of his mother and sister, he had told them he would be back when he became a great man. He had no desire to go from one job to another, apprenticing himself to merchants and artisans as he had done so far." }, { "from": "human", "value": "What he wanted most was to serve a samurai." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But his appearance was against him, and he had no evidence of his birth or lineage.\n\nKiyosu, Nagoya, Sumpu, Odawara—he had walked through all of them. He would sometimes screw up his courage and stand before the gate of a samurai residence, but all of his pleas were met with laughter and ridicule. Once he had even been chased away with a broom." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His money was quickly running out, and he realized that the world was just as his aunt in Yabuyama had told him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Still, he refused to let go of his dream, believing his aspirations were reasonable. He was not ashamed to tell anyone of his ambitions, even if he had to sleep out in the open, on the grass, or, like tonight, with water for his bed. How to make his mother, whom he imagined to be the unhappiest person in the world, the happiest, was what drove him on. And how could he do something for his poor sister, who thought she could never marry?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He had his own desires as well." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His stomach never felt full, no matter how much he ate. Seeing large mansions, he wanted to live in such places, and the sight of elegant samurai made him reflect on his own appearance; looking at beautiful women, he was overwhelmed by their perfume. Not that his priorities had changed. First came his mother's happiness." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His own wants could be taken care of later." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "For the time being he took pleasure in wandering from place to place, ignoring his hunger, and learning new things—about the workings of the world, human passions, the customs of different areas. He tried to understand current events, compared the military strength of the different provinces, and studied the ways of farmers and townsfolk.\n\nFrom the beginning of the civil wars to the end of the last century, many men had trained in the martial arts. It meant a life of hardship, and for a year and a half Hiyoshi had followed the Way of the Warrior." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But he had not gone about with a long sword at his side, aiming to perfect his martial skills." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In fact, with his little bit of money he had bought needles from a wholesaler and had become an itinerant peddler. He had walked as far as Kai and Hokuetsu, his sales pitch always on the tip of his tongue. \"Need any needles? Here we have sewing needles from Kyoto. Won't you buy them? Needles for cotton, needles for silk. Sewing needles from Kyoto.\" His earnings were meager, barely enough to live on." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He did not, however, become small-minded, as merchants are prone to do, seeing the world only in terms of their wares." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Hojo clan of Odawara, the Takeda of Kai, the Imagawa of Suruga. Visiting the castle towns of the north, he sensed that the world was stirring, going through a great change. He came to the conclusion that the coming events would be different from the small battles that had, until now, been symptomatic of internal discord. There would be a great war and it would heal all the country's ills." }, { "from": "human", "value": "And if it does, he thought as he walked around selling his wares, then even I..." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The world is getting tired of the decrepit Ashikaga regime. There's chaos all around and the world is waiting for those of us who are young.\n\nHaving traveled from the northern provinces to Kyoto and Omi, he had learned a little about life. He had crossed into Owari and arrived at Okazaki, hearing that a relative of his father lived in this castle town." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He was not about to go to relatives or acquaintances to ask for food and clothing, but early that summer he had become weak and was suffering from a bad case of food poisoning." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He also wanted to hear news of home.\n\nHe had walked for two days under the bright, scorching sun, but had been unable to find the man he was looking for. After eating a raw cucumber and drinking water from a well, he had felt a sharp pain in his gut. In the evening he had followed the bank of the Yahagi River until he found a boat." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His stomach felt sore and rumbled." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Perhaps because he had a slight fever, his mouth was dry and felt as though it was full of thorns. Even now, he thought of his mother, and she came to him in his dreams. Later he fell into a deeper sleep, and nothing—neither his mother nor the pain in his stomach nor heaven and earth—existed any longer. Until, that is, the soldier began rapping on his chest with the spear." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiyoshi's waking shout was disproportionate to the size of his body." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He instinctively grabbed hold of the spear. In those days the chest was believed to be the location of the soul, like a shrine within the body.\n\n\"Hey, runt, get up!\"\n\nThe soldier tried to pull back his spear." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiyoshi held on to it and sat up." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Get up? I am up.\"\n\nThe man, feeling the strength of Hiyoshi's grip on the spear, scowled and said, \"Get out of the boat!\"\n\n\"Get out?\"\n\n\"Yes, now! We need the boat, so clear out. Get lost!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiyoshi angrily sat down again." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What if I don't want to?\"\n\n\"What?\"\n\n\"What if I don't want to?\"\n\n\"What do you mean?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I don't want to get out of the boat.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You little bastard!\"\n\n\"Who's the bastard? Waking a man from a deep sleep by tapping him with a spear, then telling him to get out and get lost?\"\n\n\"Shit! You'd better watch how you talk. Who do you think I am?\"\n\n\"A man.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That's obvious.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You're the one who asked.\"\n\n\"Your mouth works pretty well, doesn't it, for a little runt? In a second it may wrinkle up and shrink. We are men of the Hachisuka clan. Our leader is Hachisuka Koroku. We got here in the middle of the night, and we need a boat to cross the river.\"\n\n\"You can see the boat but not the man. Anyway, I'm using it!\"\n\n\"I saw you and woke you up. Now get out of there and get lost.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Annoying, aren't you?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Say that again?\"\n\n\"As many times as you like. I don't want to get out. I'm not giving up this boat.\"\n\nThe man yanked on the shaft of the spear in an effort to pull Hiyoshi onto the bank. Choosing his moment, Hiyoshi let go." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The spear sheared through the leaves of the willows, and the soldier tumbled over backwards." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Reversing the spear, he thrust it point-first at Hiyoshi. Rotting planks, a bilge bucket, and the reed mat came flying out of the boat.\n\n\"Fool!\" Hiyoshi mocked.\n\nOther soldiers came running up." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Stop! What's going on here?\" one said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Who's this?\" asked another.\n\nThey crowded together, making a lot of noise, and before long Koroku and the rest of his men were there.\n\n\"Did you find a boat?\" Koroku asked.\n\n\"There's a boat here, but—\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Koroku quietly came to the front of the group." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hiyoshi, thinking that this must be the leader, sat up a little straighter, and looked Koroku straight in the face. Koroku's eyes were riveted on Hiyoshi. Neither spoke. Koroku did not notice Hiyoshi's strange appearance. He was too surprised by the way Hiyoshi looked straight into his eyes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He's bolder than he looks, Koroku thought." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The longer they stared at each other, the more Hiyoshi's eyes were like those of a nocturnal animal, shining out of the darkness. Finally, Koroku looked away.\n\n\"A child,\" he said calmly.\n\nHiyoshi did not respond." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His eyes, like an archer's arrows, were still aimed straight at Koroku's face." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"He's a child,\" Koroku repeated.\n\n\"You talking about me?\" Hiyoshi asked sullenly.\n\n\"Of course. Is there anyone else besides you down there?\"\n\nHiyoshi squared his shoulders a little." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'm not a child. I've had my coming-of-age ceremony.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Is that so?\" Koroku's shoulders shook with laughter. \"If you're an adult, I'll treat you like one.\"\n\n\"Now that you've got me—one man—surrounded by a large group, what are you going to do with me? I suppose you're ronin?\"\n\n\"You're very funny.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Not funny at all. I was soundly asleep. Besides, I've got a stomachache. Anyway, I don't care who you are. I don't want to move.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Hm, your stomach hurts?\"\n\n\"Yes.\"\n\n\"What's seems to be the matter?\"\n\n\"Food poisoning, maybe, or heatstroke.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Where are you from?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Nakamura in Owari.\"\n\n\"Nakamura? Well, well. What's your family name?\"\n\n\"I won't tell you my family name, but my given name is Hiyoshi. But wait a minute, what is this, waking a person from his sleep and asking about his parentage? Where are you from and what is your lineage?\"\n\n\"Like you, I'm from Owari, the village of Hachisuka in Kaito district. My name is Hachisuka Koroku. I didn't know there were people like you so close to our village. What sort of work do you do?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Instead of answering, Hiyoshi said, \"Ah, you're from Kaito district? That's not far from my village.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He suddenly became more friendly. Here was his chance to ask for news about Nakamura. \"Well, seeing we're from the same district, I'll change my mind. You can have the boat.\"\n\nHe took the bundle of merchandise he'd been using as a pillow, slung it over his shoulder, and climbed up onto the bank." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Koroku silently watched his every movement." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He noticed first the air of a street vendor and the offhand retorts of an adolescent who had traveled here and there all by himself. Hiyoshi resigned himself, sighed, and started to leave with a heavy heart.\n\n\"Wait, Hiyoshi. Where are you going from here?\"\n\n\"My boat's been taken, so I have no place to sleep. If I sleep in the grass, I'll get damp from the dew, and my stomach will hurt more. There's nothing else I can do. I'll walk around until dawn.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If you like, come with me.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Where to?\"\n\n\"Hachisuka. Stay at my place. We'll feed you and look after you until you're cured.\"\n\n\"Thank you.\" Hiyoshi made a meek little bow. Looking at his own feet, he seemed to be thinking of what to do next." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Does that mean you'll let me live there and work for you?\" he asked." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I like your manner. You've got promise. If you want to serve me, I'll employ you.\"\n\n\"I don't.\" He said this very clearly, his head held high. \"Because my aim is to serve a samurai, I've gone around comparing the samurai and provincial lords of various provinces. I've decided that the most important thing in serving a samurai is choosing the right one. One does not choose one's master lightly.\"\n\n\"Ha, ha! This is getting more and more interesting. Am I, Koroku, not good enough to be your master?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I wouldn't know about that until you hired me, but the Hachisuka clan is not well spoken of in my village. And the master of the house I served in before was robbed by a man said to be a member of the Hachisuka clan. It would pain my mother if I worked for a thief, so I can't go to the house of such a person and serve him.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Well, I guess you worked for the pottery merchant Sutejiro.\"\n\n\"How did you know?\"\n\n\"Watanabe Tenzo was a member of the Hachisuka clan. But I myself have disowned the scoundrel. He escaped, but we have defeated his band and are now on our way back home. Has the name of the Hachisuka been slandered even as far as your ears?\"\n\n\"Hm. You don't seem to be like him,\" Hiyoshi said this very frankly, looking right at Koroku." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then, as though he had suddenly remembered something, he said, \"Well, sir, without any sort of obligation, will you take me as far as Hachisuka? I'd like to go to my relative's house in Futatsudera.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Futatsudera is right next to Hachisuka. Who do you know there?\"\n\n\"The cooper Shinzaemon is related to my mother's side of the family.\"\n\n\"Shinzaemon is of samurai stock. Well then, your mother too must be a descendant of samurai.\"\n\n\"I may be a peddler now, but my father was a samurai.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The men had boarded the boat and fixed the pole in place, and were waiting for Koroku to get on board." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Koroku put his arm around Hiyoshi's shoulders and they got on the boat.\n\n\"Hiyoshi, if you want to go to Futatsudera, go to Futatsudera. If you want to stay in Hachisuka, that'll be all right too.\"\n\nBeing small, Hiyoshi was hidden among the men and their spears, which stood like a forest of trees. The boat cut across the wide river, but the current was swift, and the crossing took time." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiyoshi got bored. Suddenly he saw a firefly on the back of one of Koroku's soldiers." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your next one should be approximately 1 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cupping his hands, he caught it and watched its light flash on and off." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Continue with the same vibes as Eiji Yoshikawa" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Nazuka Castle was a vital point in Nobunaga's defenses, held by one of his kinsmen, Sakuma Daigaku." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was a day in early fall, before dawn, when the men in the castle were awakened by the unexpected arrival of soldiers. They jumped up. Was it the enemy? No, the men were their allies.\n\nIn the mist, a scout yelled out from the watchtower, \"The men of Nagoya are in revolt! Shibata Katsuie has a thousand men, Hayashi Mimasaka over seven hundred!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Nazuka Castle was shorthanded." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Riders rode into the mist to report to Kiyosu. Nobunaga was still asleep. But when he heard the news, he quickly put on his armor, grabbed a spear, and ran out without a single attendant. And then, ahead of Nobunaga stood a single ordinary soldier waiting with a horse by the Karabashi Gate." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Your horse, my lord,\" he said, offering the reins to Nobunaga." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Nobunaga's face wore an unusual expression, as though he were surprised that someone had been faster than he. \"Who are you?\" he asked.\n\nRemoving his helmet, the soldier was about to kneel. Nobunaga was already in the saddle." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That's not necessary. Who are you?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Your sandal bearer, Tokichiro.\"\n\n\"Monkey?\" Nobunaga was amazed again. Why was his sandal bearer, whose duties were in the garden, the first to appear ready for battle? His equipment was simple, but he did have a breastplate, shin guards, and a helmet." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Nobunaga was delighted by Tokichiro's fighting figure." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Are you ready to fight?\"\n\n\"Give me the word to follow you, my lord.\"\n\n\"Good! Come along!\"\n\nNobunaga and Tokichiro had gone two or three hundred yards through the thinning morning mist when they heard the roar of twenty, thirty, then fifty mounted men, followed by four or five hundred foot soldiers, turning the mist black." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The men at Nazuka had fought desperately." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Nobunaga, a single horseman, dashed into the enemy ranks.\n\n\"Who dares raise his hand against me? Here I am, Sado, Mimasaka, Katsuie! How many men do you have? Why did you rebel against me? Come out and fight, man to man!\" The booming of his angry voice silenced the war cries of the rebels. \"Traitors! I've come to punish you! Running away is disloyal too!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Mimasaka was so frightened that he fled." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Nobunaga's voice pursued him like thunder. Even for these men, on whom Mimasaka counted, Nobunaga was their natural lord. When Nobunaga in person rode among them and spoke to them, they were incapable of turning their spears against him.\n\n\"Wait! Traitor!\" Nobunaga caught up with the fleeing Mimasaka and ran him through with his spear." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Shaking off the blood, he turned to Mimasaka's men and proclaimed, \"Even though he struck at his lord, he will never become the ruler of a province. Rather than be the tools of traitors and leave a dishonored name to your children's children, apologize now! Repent!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When he heard that the left flank of the rebel forces had collapsed and that Mimasaka was dead, Katsuie sought refuge with Nobunaga's mother and brother in Suemori Castle.\n\nNobunaga's mother cried and trembled when she heard of the defeat of their army; Nobuyuki shuddered. Katsuie, the defeated general of the rebel forces, said, \"It would be best if I renounced the world.\" He shaved his head, took off his armor, and put on the robes of a Buddhist priest." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The next day, in the company of Hayashi Sado, and Nobuyuki and his mother, he went to Kiyosu to beg forgiveness for his crimes." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Nobunaga's mother's apology was especially effective. Rehearsed by Sado and Katsuie, she begged him to spare the three men. Contrary to their expectations, Nobunaga was not angry. \"I forgive them,\" he said simply to his mother, and turning to Katsuie, whose back was soaked with sweat, he continued, \"Priest, why have you shaved your head? What a confused wretch you are!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He gave a forced smile and then spoke sharply to Hayashi Sado." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You too. This is unbecoming for a man of your age. After Hirate Nakatsukasa died, I relied on you as my righthand man. I regret causing Nakatsukasa's death.\" Tears came to Nobunaga's eyes and he was silent for a moment. \"No, no. It was because of my unworthiness that Nakatsukasa committed suicide and you turned traitor. From now on, I am going to reflect on things more deeply. And you will serve me, giving me your hearts fully. Otherwise there is no point in being a warrior. Should a samurai follow one lord or be a masterless ronin?\"\n\nHayashi Sado's eyes were opened." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He saw what Nobunaga was really like, and finally understood his natural genius." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He firmly pledged his loyalty and withdrew without lifting his head.\n\nBut it seemed as though Nobunaga's own brother did not understand this. Nobuyuki had rather a low opinion of Nobunaga's magnanimity and thought, My violent older brother can't do anything to me because my mother's here.\n\nBlind, and protected by a mother's love, Nobuyuki continued his plotting." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Nobunaga deplored this, thinking, I would gladly overlook Nobuyuki's behavior." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But because of him, many of my retainers may rebel and err in their duty as samurai. Although he is my brother, he must die for the good of the clan. Finding a pretext, Nobunaga arrested Nobuyuki and ran him through.\n\nNobody considered Nobunaga a fool any longer." }, { "from": "human", "value": "On the contrary, everyone crouched in fear of his intelligence and the keenness of his eye." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The medicine was a little too effective,\" Nobunaga occasionally remarked with a sardonic grin. But Nobunaga had made his preparations. It had not been his intention to play the fool to deceive his retainers and relatives. With the death of his father, it had become his responsibility to defend the province from enemies on all sides." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Write 4 sentences sentences in the style of Eiji Yoshikawa spawning from what the user wrote." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In the middle of that winter, there seemed to be a lull in the skirmishes at the border, but it was actually the season of building up strength for taking even greater actions. The following year the winter barley in the fertile fields of the coastal provinces grew tall. The cherry blossoms fell, and the smell of the young leaves on the seedlings rose to the sky.\n\nIt was early summer." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Yoshimoto proclaimed the order from Sumpu for his army to advance on the capital." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The huge scale and the resplendent traveling attire of the army of the Imagawa made the entire world open its eyes wide in astonishment. And his proclamation made the small and weak provinces cower in fear. The message was clear and simple:\n\nThose who obstruct the advance of my army will be struck down." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Those who welcome it with civilities will be well treated." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "After the Boys' Festival, Yoshimoto's heir, Ujizane, was left in charge of Sumpu, and on the twelfth day of the Fifth Month, the main army advanced in fine array amid the cheers of the people. The magnificent warriors, whose radiance rivaled the light of the sun, marched toward the capital, like the unrolling of a gaudy picture scroll—commanders' standards, banners, flags, weapons, and armor. The army probably numbered around twenty-five or twenty-six thousand men, but it was purposely proclaimed to be an army of forty thousand.\n\nThe vanguard of the advance troops entered the post town of Chiryu on the fifteenth and, approaching Narumi on the seventeenth, set fire to the villages in that part of Owari." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The weather had been continually fine and warm." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The furrows of the barley fields and the earth that bloomed with flowers were dried white. In the blue sky here and there rose the black smoke of burning villages. But not a single report of a gun came from the Oda province. The farmers had been commanded beforehand to evacuate, and to leave nothing for the advancing Imagawa." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"At this rate, the castle in Kiyosu will also be empty!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The officers and men of the Imagawa felt the heaviness of their armor in the tedium of the peaceful, flat roads.\n\nInside Kiyosu Castle, the lamps blazed this evening in the midst of a hushed world. They seemed, however, to be lamps lit just before the impending onslaught of a violent storm. The trees that stood in unmoving silence on the castle grounds called to mind the uncanny stillness in the eye of a typhoon." }, { "from": "human", "value": "And still no instructions were sent from the castle to the townsfolk." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There was no command to evacuate or to prepare for a siege, and in the absence of anything else, not even a message of reassurance. The merchants opened their shops as usual. The craftsmen were doing their work as they always did. Even the farmers were cultivating their fields." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But the coming and going of traffic on the roads had halted several days before." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The town was a bit lonelier and rumors abounded.\n\n\"I've heard that Imagawa Yoshimoto is marching west with an army of forty thousand men.\"\n\nWherever the uneasy citizens met, they speculated about their fate:\n\n\"I wonder how Lord Nobunaga plans to defend the town?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"There's just no way to defend it. No matter how you look at it, our troops don't amount to even one-tenth of the Imagawa forces.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And in the midst of this, they saw the clan's generals passing through the town, one after another. Some were commanders leaving the castle and returning to their districts, but several of them appeared to have taken their stand in the castle.\n\n\"They're probably discussing whether to capitulate to the Imagawa or risk the survival of the clan and fight.\" Such perceptions of the common people were concerned with things they could not witness, but they usually did not miss the mark." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In fact, that very controversy had been repeatedly gone over in the castle for several days." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "At every conference, the generals were divided into two factions.\n\nThe advocates of \"the safe plan\" and \"the clan first\" said that the best policy would be to submit to the Imagawa. But the controversy did not last long. And this was because Nobunaga had already made up his mind." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His only motive in convening a conference of the senior retainers was to let them know his decision, not to inquire about a dependable plan of self-defense or a policy to preserve Owari." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When they understood Nobunaga's resolve many of the generals responded positively and, taking heart, returned to their castles.\n\nThereafter, Kiyosu was as peaceful as usual, and the number of soldiers in Kiyosu did not markedly increase. As might be expected, however, Nobunaga was awakened innumerable times that night to read the reports of messengers from the front.\n\nAgain, on the following night, immediately after finishing his frugal evening meal, Nobunaga went to the main hall to discuss the military situation." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There, the generals who had not yet taken their leave were still in constant attendance on him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "None of them had had sufficient sleep, and their pale features showed their resolve. The retainers who were not involved in the discussion were packed into the next room and the room after that. Men like Tokichiro were far off, sitting somewhere a number of rooms away. Two nights before, last night and tonight as well, they were anxious and as silent as if they were holding their breaths." }, { "from": "human", "value": "And there must have been a number of men that night who looked around at the white lamps and their companions, thinking, This is just like a wake." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In the midst of this, laughter could be heard from time to time. This came from Nobunaga alone. Those seated far away did not know the object of this laughter, but it could be heard over and over again, two or three rooms away.\n\nSuddenly a messenger could be heard running down the corridor." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Shibata Katsuie, who was to read the report to Nobunaga, turned white before the words could leave his mouth." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"My lord!\"\n\n\"What is it?\"\n\n\"The fourth dispatch since this morning has just arrived from the fortress at Marune.\"\n\nNobunaga moved his armrest in front of him. \"Well?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It seems that the Imagawa are marching to Kutsukake this evening.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Is that so?\" This was all Nobunaga said as his eyes stared vacantly at the carved transom in the hall.\n\nEven he seemed confused. Though these men had recently come to rely on Nobunaga's obstinacy, they couldn't help feeling lost. Kutsukake and Marune were within the domain of the Oda clan." }, { "from": "human", "value": "And if that line of scattered but essential fortresses had been broken, the Owari Plain had almost no defenses, and the road to Kiyosu Castle could be crossed with one swift effort." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What are you going to do?\" Katsuie asked as if he could not bear the silence any longer. \"We've heard that the Imagawa army may number as many as forty thousand men. Our force is less than four thousand. There are only seven hundred men at Marune Castle, at most. Even if the vanguard of the Imagawa, the forces under Tokugawa Ieyasu of Mikawa, number only two thousand five hundred, Marune is a single ship driven before the high waves.\"\n\n\"Katsuie, Katsuie!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"We cannot hold Marune and Washizu until dawn—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Katsuie! Are you deaf? What are you babbling about? There's nothing to be gained by repeating the obvious.\"\n\n\"But—\" Just as Katsuie began to speak, he was interrupted by the clattering footsteps of yet another messenger. The man spoke ostentatiously from the entrance of the next room.\n\n\"There is urgent news from both the fortresses of Nakajima and Zenshoji.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The reports from those at the front lines who had resolved to die gloriously in battle were always pathetic, and the ones that arrived just now from the two fortresses were no different." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Both began, \"This is, perhaps, the last dispatch we will be able to send to Kiyosu Castle... \"\n\nThe last two dispatches contained the same information about the disposition of the enemy's troops, and both predicted an attack on the following day.\n\n\"Read the part about the disposition of the troops again,\" Nobunaga ordered Katsuie, leaning on his armrest. He read the itemized part of the document again, not only to Nobunaga but to all of those who were sitting there in a row." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The enemy forces approaching the fortress at Marune: about two thousand five hundred men. The enemy forces approaching the fortress at Washizu: about two thousand men. Lateral auxiliary forces: three thousand men. The main force advancing in the direction of Kiyosu: approximately six thousand men. The main Imagawa army: about five thousand men.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Reading further, Katsuie went on to comment that beyond what was apparent in these numbers, it was unclear how many small groups of the enemy were traveling undercover. While Nobunaga and all the others listened to Katsuie, he rolled up the scroll and placed it in front of him.\n\nThey would fight to the very end. The course was determined." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There was no more room to debate." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But it was agonizing for all of them to stand idly by and do nothing. Neither Washizu, Marune, nor Zenshoji was far away. If you put the whip to a horse's ribs, you could arrive at any of these places quickly. They could almost see this great army of the Imagawa's forty thousand men approach like a tide." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They could almost hear them." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "From one corner of the depressed group came the voice of an old man sunk in grief. \"You've made a manly decision, but you shouldn't think that dying gloriously in battle is the only way open to the samurai. Shouldn't you think this over again? Why, even if I'm called a coward, I say there's still room for more deliberation, just in order to save the clan.\"\n\nIt was Hayashi Sado, the man with the longest service among them all. Together with Hirate Nakatsukasa, who had admonished Nobunaga with his suicide, he was one of the three senior retainers ordered by the dying Nobuhide to take care of Nobunaga." }, { "from": "human", "value": "And he was the only one of those three who was still alive." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hayashi's thoughts had the sympathy of all the men there. And they all secretly prayed that Nobunaga would take the old man's words to heart.\n\n\"What time is it now?\" Nobunaga asked, changing the subject." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's the Hour of the Rat,\" someone replied from the next room." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As the words trailed off and the night deepened, melancholy seemed to settle on them all.\n\nFinally Hayashi prostrated himself and spoke with his white head bowed to the floor in Nobunaga's direction. \"My lord, think this over one more time. Let's negotiate. I beg you. At dawn, all of our men and fortresses are likely to be crushed before the forces of the Imagawa and will probably suffer an irreversible defeat. Rather than that, a peace conference, to bind them in a peace conference just moments before—\"\n\nNobunaga glanced at him. \"Hayashi?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes, my lord.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You're an old man, so it must be difficult to sit for a long time. The discussion here is over, and the hour is getting late. Go home and sleep.\"\n\n\"That's going too far...\" Hayashi said, shedding copious tears. He wept because he thought the clan had reached its final days. At the same time, he regretted being considered a useless old man." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If you're that determined, I'm not going to say anything else about your intention to fight.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Don't!\"\n\n\"You seem to be immovable in your desire to leave the castle and fight, my lord.\"\n\n\"I am.\"\n\n\"Our forces are small—less than one-tenth of the enemy's. To go out into the field and fight would give us less than one chance in a thousand. If we closed ourselves in behind the castle walls, we should be able to devise some plan.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"A plan?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If we could block the Imagawa for even two weeks or a month, we could send messengers to Mino or Kai and ask for reinforcements. As for other strategies, there are more than a few resourceful men at your side who know how to harass the enemy.\"\n\nNobunaga laughed loudly enough for it to echo off the ceiling. \"Hayashi, those are strategies for ordinary times. Do you think these are ordinary times for the Oda clan?\"\n\n\"That's hardly necessary to answer.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Even if we could extend our lives by five or ten days, a castle that can't be held can't be held. But who was it that said, 'The direction of our fate always remains unknown'? When I think about it, it seems to me that we're at the very bottom of adversity now. And adversity is interesting. Our adversary is huge, of course. Still, this may be the moment of a lifetime given to me by fate. Shutting ourselves up in our tiny castle in vain, should we pray for a long life without honor? Men are born to die. Dedicate your lives to me this time. Together we'll ride out under a bright blue sky and meet our deaths like true warriors.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When he finished speaking, Nobunaga quickly changed his tone of voice.\n\n\"Well, nobody looks like he's had enough sleep.\" A forced smile appeared on his lips. \"Hayashi, you sleep too. Everyone should get some sleep. I'm sure there's no one among us so cowardly that he won't be able to sleep.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "This having been said, it would have been unseemly not to sleep." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But in fact, there was no one among the retainers who had slept properly for the last two nights. Nobunaga was the only exception. He slept at night and even took naps during the day, not in his bedroom, but anywhere.\n\nMumbling almost in resignation, Hayashi bowed to both his lord and his colleagues, and withdrew." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Like teeth being pulled, every man got up and left one by one." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Finally, only Nobunaga remained in the wide audience chamber. And in the end, he even looked rather carefree. When he turned around, he saw behind him two sleeping pages leaning against each other. One of them, Tohachiro, was just thirteen years old that year." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He was Maeda Inuchiyo's younger brother." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Nobunaga called to him.\n\n\"Tohachiro!\"\n\n\"My lord?\" Tohachiro sat straight up, wiping the dribble from his mouth with his hand.\n\n\"You sleep well.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Please forgive me.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No, no. I'm not scolding you. On the contrary, that's high praise. I'm going to sleep a little too. Give me something to use as a pillow.\"\n\n\"You're going to sleep just as you are?\"\n\n\"Yes. The dawn comes early these days, so it's a good season for naps. Pass me that box over there. I'll use that.\" Nobunaga curled up as he spoke, supporting his head with his elbow until Tohachiro brought over the box." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His body felt as if it were a floating boat." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The lid of the box was decorated with a gold-lacquered design of pine, bamboo, and plum trees—symbols of good luck. Putting it under his head, Nobunaga said, \"This pillow will give me good dreams.\" Then, chuckling to himself, Nobunaga closed his eyes, and finally, as the page put out the numerous lamps one by one, the faint smile on his face faded like melting snow. He fell into a deep sleep, his face at peace amid his snores." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Tohachiro crept out to inform the samurai in the guard room." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The guards were feeling gloomy, thinking that it was the end. And what was absolute, of course, was that there was nothing for them other than death. The men inside the castle stared directly at death, the hours already passing midnight.\n\n\"I don't mind dying. The question is, how are we going to die?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "This was the basis of their uneasiness, and it had still not been settled in anyone's breast." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Therefore, there were some men among them who had not yet gathered their courage.\n\n\"He shouldn't catch cold,\" Sai, his lady-in-waiting, said, and put a coverlet over Nobunaga. After that, he slept for two hours.\n\nThe oil in the lamps was now almost consumed, and the dying wicks made little sputtering sounds." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Nobunaga suddenly lifted his head and called out." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 1 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Sai! Sai! Is anyone there?\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Let's engage in a collaborative writing exercise. I'll provide a starting point, and You'll continue with four sentences in the style of Eiji Yoshikawa." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "On the morning following the three-day wedding party, Tokichiro and his wife put on formal kimonos for yet another ceremony, and visited the mansion of their go-between, Lord Nagoya. After that, they went around to two or three houses, feeling as though all the eyes of Kiyosu were on them that day. But Nene and her young husband had nothing but good intentions for the passersby who turned to look at them.\n\n\"Let's go visit Master Otowaka's house for a moment,\" said Tokichiro." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Hey, Monkey!\" Otowaka yelled, and then corrected himself in a fluster, \"Tokichiro.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I've brought my wife to meet you.\"\n\n\"What? Of course! The honored daughter of the archer, Master Asano! Tokichiro, you're a lucky fellow.\"\n\nIt was only seven years ago that Tokichiro had come up to this veranda selling needles, dressed in dirty, travel-stained clothes. He had felt as though he hadn't eaten in days." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When they had given him some food, he had sat there eating greedily, with his chopsticks clacking." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You're so lucky, it's scary,\" Otowaka said. \"Well, the house is filthy, but come in.\" Somewhat flustered, he yelled to his wife inside the house and then showed them in himself. Just then, they heard a voice shouting in the street." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was a herald, dashing from house to house." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Join your regiment! Join your regiment! By His Lordship's order!\"\n\n\"An official order?\" Otowaka said. \"The call to arms.\"\n\n\"Master Otowaka,\" Tokichiro said suddenly, \"I have to get to the assembly grounds as quickly as possible.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Until this morning, there had been no indication that something like this might happen, and even when Tokichiro had visited Nagoya's residence, appearances had been nothing but peaceful." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Where in the world could they be going? Even Tokichiro's usual intuition had failed him this time. Whenever the word \"battle\" was spoken, his intuition was usually right on target as to where they were headed. But the young bridegroom's mind had been far away from the current situation for some time." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He ran into a number of men dashing from the samurai neighborhoods, shouldering their armor." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A group of horsemen raced from the castle. While he didn't know what was going on, Tokichiro had a premonition that the battlefield would be far away.\n\nNene hurried home ahead of her husband.\n\n\"Kinoshita! Kinoshita!\" As he approached the archers' tenement houses, somebody yelled from behind him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Turning to look, he saw that it was Inuchiyo." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He was on horseback, in the same suit of armor he had worn at Okehazama, a banner decorated with a plum-blossom crest fluttering from a thin bamboo pole fastened to his back.\n\n\"I was just coming by to call for Master Mataemon. Get yourself ready and come immediately to the assembly grounds.\"\n\n\"Are we marching out?\" Tokichiro asked.\n\nInuchiyo jumped off his horse." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"How did it go... later on?\" Inuchiyo asked." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What do you mean, 'How did it go?'\"\n\n\"That would be better left unsaid. I was asking if you are now man and wife.\"\n\n\"That's nothing you need to ask about.\"\n\nInuchiyo laughed loudly. \"But anyway we're going to the front. If you're late, they'll laugh at you at the assembly grounds, because you just got married.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I don't mind being laughed at.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"An army of two thousand infantry and cavalry is marching to the Kiso River at dusk.\"\n\n\"We're going into Mino, then.\"\n\n\"There was a secret report that Saito Yoshitatsu of Inabayama suddenly became sick and died. This call to arms and the advance toward the Kiso River is a feeler to determine whether there's any truth in the story.\"\n\n\"Well, now, let's see. There was a lot of excitement when we heard that Yoshitatsu had gotten sick and died earlier this summer, too.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But this time it seems to be true. And regardless, from the clan's standpoint Yoshitatsu murdered Lord Nobunaga's father-in-law, Lord Dosan. In terms of morality, he's the enemy, and we cannot live with him under the same sky; and if the clan is to gain the center of the field, we must have a foothold in Mino.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That day is coming soon, isn't it?\"\n\n\"Soon? We're leaving for the Kiso tonight.\"\n\n\"No. Not yet, not yet. I doubt if His Lordship will attack yet.\"\n\n\"The armies are under the commands of Lord Katsuie and Lord Nobumori; His Lordship will not go out in person.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But even if Yoshitatsu is dead, and even if his son, Tatsuoki, is a fool, the Three Men of Mino—Ando, Inaba, and Ujiie—are still alive. Plus, while there is still a man like Takenaka Hanbei, who is said to be living in seclusion on Mount Kurihara, it's not going to be done so easily.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Takenaka Hanbei?\" Inuchiyo cocked his head to one side. \"The names of the Three Men have echoed for a long time even in neighboring provinces, but is this Takenaka Hanbei so formidable?\"\n\n\"Most people have never heard of him; I'm his only admirer here in Owari.\"\n\n\"How do you know things like this?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I was in Mino for a long time, and...\" Tokichiro stopped in midsentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He had never told Inuchiyo of his experiences as a peddler, the time he spent with Koroku in Hachisuka, and of his spying in Inabayama.\n\n\"Well, we've lost time.\" Inuchiyo remounted.\n\n\"See you at the assembly grounds.\"\n\n\"Right. Later.\" The two men sped away from each other, toward opposite ends of the neighborhood." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Hello! I'm home!\" Whenever he returned home, he always yelled out loudly at the entrance before going in." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "This way, they would all know that the son-in-law of the house had returned—from the servant working in the storage room to the corners of the kitchen. But today Tokichiro did not wait for people to come out and greet him.\n\nWhen he entered the room, Tokichiro was struck by what he saw. A new mat had been spread out on the floor, and his armor chest placed on top of it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Naturally enough, his gloves, shin guards, body armor, and waistband were there, but also some medicine for wounds, a brace, and an ammunition pouch—everything he would need to take with him was laid out in order." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Your equipment,\" said Nene.\n\n\"Very good! Very good!\" He praised her without thinking, but was suddenly struck with the thought that he hadn't yet judged this woman correctly. She was even more capable than he had perceived before marrying her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When he had finished putting on his armor, Nene told him not to worry about her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She had taken out and arranged the earthenware cup for sacred sake.\n\n\"Take care of everything, please, while I'm away.\"\n\n\"Of course.\"\n\n\"There's no time to say good-bye to your father. Would you do it for me?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"My mother took Oyaya to Tsushima Temple, and they still haven't returned. Father's been ordered to duty at the castle, and sent a message a while ago that he won't be coming home tonight.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 5 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Won't you be lonely?\"\n\nShe turned away but did not cry.\n\nShe looked like a flower caught by the wind with the heavy helmet on her lap. Tokichiro took it from her, and as he put it on, the fragrance of aloeswood unexpectedly filled the air. He smiled at his wife appreciatively, tightly knotting the scented cords." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "The user will write a bit then you need to write around 4 sentences continuing directly from the user's text. Try to mimic the style of Eiji Yoshikawa.Produce 4 sentences using the prose and structure of Eiji Yoshikawa every time its your turn using what the user wrote as a seed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The waters of Lake Biwa were still invisible through the morning mist." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Darkly piercing that mist, thirty thousand men began to move. When Nobunaga saw the flare that signaled the attack on Mitsukuri Castle by Niwa Nagahide's and Sakuma Nobumori's troops, he ordered, \"Move the headquarters to Wada Castle.\"\n\nWada Castle was an enemy stronghold, so Nobunaga's order meant to attack and take the castle. He said it, though, as if he were ordering his men to move into an unoccupied position." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Nobunaga himself is coming to attack!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "the commanding general of Wada Castle shouted in response to the lookouts on the watchtower. Striking the hilt of his sword, he harangued the garrison: \"This is heaven-sent! Both Kannonji and Mitsukuri Castle would have been able to hold for at least a month, and during that time the Matsunaga and Miyoshi forces and their allies to the north of the lake would have cut off Nobunaga's path of retreat. But Nobunaga has hastened his own death by attacking this castle. A wonderful opportunity indeed! Do not let this piece of martial luck escape. Take Nobunaga's head!\"\n\nThe entire army screamed its assent. They were confident that the iron walls of the Sasaki clan could hold out for a month, even though Nobunaga commanded an army of thirty thousand men and had many able generals." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The powerful provinces surrounding them also believed this." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But Wada Castle fell in half a day. After a battle lasting a little over four hours, the defenders were routed, and fled into the mountains and to the shores of the lake.\n\n\"Do not pursue them!\" Nobunaga ordered from atop Mount Wada, and the banners erected there so quickly could clearly be seen under the noonday sun." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Covered with blood and mud, the men gradually collected under the banners of their own generals." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then, raising a shout of victory, they ate their noonday rations. A number of messages continued to come in from the direction of Mitsukuri. The Tokugawa forces from Mikawa, which had been positioned as the vanguard for Niwa and Nobumori, were just now fighting courageously, bathed in blood. Moment by moment, messages of success collected in Nobunaga's hand." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The report of Mitsukuri's fall reached Nobunaga before the sun had set." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As evening neared, black smoke rose from the direction of the castle at Kannonji. Hideyoshi's forces were already pressing in. The command for an all-out attack was given. Nobunaga moved his camp, and the entire force of Mitsukuri and its allies were pushed back to Kannonji Castle." }, { "from": "human", "value": "By the time evening fell, the first men had breached the walls of the enemy castles." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Stars and sparks filled the clear autumn night sky. The attacking forces surged in. Victory songs were raised, and to those allied with the Sasaki, they must have sounded like the heartless voice of the autumn wind. No one had expected that this stronghold would fall in but a single day." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The fortress at Mount Wada and the eighteen strategic points had been no defense at all against these billowing waves of attackers." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The entire Sasaki clan—from women and children to its leaders, Rokkaku and Jotei—stumbled and fought through the darkness, fleeing from the flames of their castles to the fortress at Ishibe.\n\n\"Let the fugitives flee as they will; there will be enemies still ahead of us tomorrow.\" Nobunaga spared not only their lives, but also ignored the vast amount of treasure they carried with them. It was not Nobunaga's style to tarry along the way." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His mind was already in Kyoto, the center of the field." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The castle at Kannonji stopped burning at the keep. As soon as Nobunaga entered what was left of it, he showed his appreciation to his troops, saying, \"The horses and men should be given a good rest.\"\n\nHe himself, however, did not rest much. That night he slept in his armor, and as morning broke, he gathered his senior retainers for a conference." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Again he commanded decrees to be posted throughout the province, and immediately sent Fuwa Kawachi off with the command to bring Yoshiaki from Gifu to Moriyama." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yesterday he had fought at the head of an army; today he was taking the reins of the administration. This was Nobunaga. Temporarily giving four of his generals responsibilities as administrators and magistrates in the port city of Otsu, two days later he crossed Lake Biwa, nearly forgetting to eat as he issued order after order.\n\nIt was the twelfth of the month when Nobunaga struck into Omi and attacked Kannonji and Mitsukuri. Then, by the twenty-fifth, Nobunaga's army had gone from the aftermath of battle to setting up notices of the new laws for the province." }, { "from": "human", "value": "One road to supremacy, to the center of the field!" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "With that, the warships from the east shore of Lake Biwa were lined up, and they sailed for Omi. Everything from the preparation of the ships to the loading of the rations for the soldiers and feed for their horses involved the cooperation of the common people. Certainly they crouched in fear of Nobunaga's military strength. But more than that, the fact that the common people of Omi united in support of him was due to their approval of his style of government, which they trusted as reliable." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Nobunaga was the only man who had rescued the hearts of the common people from the flames of war and who had committed himself to them publicly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When they asked themselves what was to become of them, he reassured them. In such situations, there is no time to establish a detailed political policy. Nobunaga's secret was nothing more than to do things swiftly and decisively. What the common people clearly wanted in this country at civil war was not a talented administrator or a great sage." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The world was in chaos." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "If Nobunaga was able to control it, they would accept a certain amount of hardship.\n\nThe wind on the lake reminded one that it was autumn, and the water drew beautiful long patterns in the wake of the myriad boats. On the twenty-fifth, Yoshiaki's boat crossed the waters of the lake from Moriyama and landed near Mii Temple.\n\nNobunaga, who had already landed, expected an attack by Miyoshi and Matsunaga, but it did not come." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He greeted Yoshiaki at the temple, saying, \"It's the same as if we've already entered the capital.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "On the twenty-eighth, Nobunaga at last pushed his troops toward Kyoto. When they reached Awataguchi, the army stopped. Hideyoshi, who was at Nobunaga's side, galloped forward at the same time that Akechi Mitsuhide was hurrying back from the van.\n\n\"What is it?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Imperial messengers.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Nobunaga, too, was surprised, and hurriedly dismounted. The two messengers arrived with a letter from the Emperor.\n\nBowing low, Nobunaga responded reverently, \"As a provincial warrior, I have no other abilities than taking up the weapons of war. Since my father's time, we have long lamented the grievous condition of the Imperial Palace and the uneasiness in the Emperor's heart. Today, however, I have come to the capital from a far corner of the country to guard His Imperial Majesty. No other responsibility would be a greater honor for a samurai, or a greater joy for my clan.\"\n\nThirty thousand soldiers silently and solemnly swore an oath with Nobunaga that they would obey the Emperor's wishes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Nobunaga made his camp at Tofuku Temple." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "On the same day, proclamations were set up throughout the capital. The disposition of the police patrols came first. The day watch was given to Sugaya Kuemon, and the night watch to Hideyoshi.\n\nOne of the soldiers from the Oda army was out drinking, and a victorious soldier will easily become arrogant." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Drunk and having eaten his fill, he tossed down a few coins that amounted to less than half of what he owed, and walked out, saying, \"That should do.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The proprietor ran out after him, yelling, and when he tried to grab the soldier, the man struck him and then swaggered away. Midway through his rounds, Hideyoshi witnessed the incident and immediately ordered the man's arrest. When he was brought to headquarters, Nobunaga praised the police, stripped the soldier of his armor, and had him bound to a large tree in front of the temple gate. The nature of the offense was then signposted, and Nobunaga ordered the man to be exposed for seven days and then beheaded." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Every day, an immense number of people traveled back and forth in front of the temple gate." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Many of them were merchants and nobles, and there were also messengers from other temples and shrines, and shopkeepers transporting their goods.\n\nThe passersby stopped to read the placard and look at the man bound to the tree. Thus the common people in the capital witnessed both Nobunaga's justice and the severity of his laws. They saw that the law posted on placards all over town—that the theft of even a single coin would be punished by death—was to be strictly enforced, starting with Nobunaga's own soldiers." }, { "from": "human", "value": "No one uttered any discontent." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your next one should be approximately 2 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The phrase \"a one-coin cut\" became common among the people for the sort of punishment meted out by Nobunaga's rule. It had been twenty-one days since the army's departure from Gifu." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Mode:\nCo-writing\n\nLength:\nfour sentences\n\nStyle:\nEiji Yoshikawa" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Guard! Guard!\" The short night had not yet ended, but Nobunaga was calling from his bedroom. It was about the time the cuckoo's song could be heard over Inabayama, not an unusual time for Nobunaga to wake up and unexpectedly give orders. His night watch was used to it, but it seemed that whenever they relaxed their guard a little, Nobunaga would take them by surprise.\n\n\"Yes, my lord?\" This time, the guard was quick." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Call a war council. Tell Nobumori to summon the general staff immediately,\" Nobunaga said on his way out of his bedroom." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The pages and attendants ran after him. They were still half asleep and could hardly tell whether it was midnight or dawn. Certainly it was still dark, and the stars shone brightly in the night sky.\n\n\"I'm going to light the lamps,\" said an attendant." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Please wait just a moment, my lord.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But Nobunaga had already stripped. He stepped into the bathroom and began to pour water over himself and wash.\n\nIn the outer citadel, the confusion was even worse. Men like Nobumori, Tadatsugu, and Hideyoshi were in the castle, but many of the other generals had been staying in the castle town." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As messengers were sent to summon them, the hall was cleaned and the lamps lit." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "At length the generals were all gathered for the war council. The white lamplight shone on Nobunaga's face. He had decided to ride out at dawn against Asai Nagamasa of Odani. Although this meeting was meant to be a war council, its purpose was not the airing of different opinions or discussion." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Nobunaga simply wanted to hear if anyone had any suggestions as to tactics." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When it was clear just how determined Nobunaga was, a deathly silence fell over the assembled generals. It was as though something had struck them deep in their hearts. Nobunaga's relationship with Nagamasa, they all knew, was more than that of a political ally. Nobunaga was truly fond of his brother-in-law, and he had invited him to Kyoto and personally shown him the sights." }, { "from": "human", "value": "If Nobunaga had not told Nagamasa of his attack on the Asakura clan, it was because he knew that the Asai and Asakura were bound by an alliance much older than the Asai clan's ties with the Oda." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Thinking of his brother-in-law's delicate position, he tried his best to keep him neutral.\n\nHowever, once Nagamasa knew that Nobunaga's army was deep in enemy territory, Nagamasa had betrayed Nobunaga, cut off his retreat, and forced him into an inevitable defeat.\n\nNobunaga had been thinking about his brother-in-law's punishment ever since his return to Kyoto. A secret report had been handed to Nobunaga in the dead of night." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It informed him that Sasaki Rokkaku had fomented a peasant uprising with the support of Kannonji Castle and the warrior-monks." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Taking advantage of the chaos and acting in concert with the Asai, Rokkaku was aiming to crush Nobunaga with a single blow.\n\nWhen the war council had ended, Nobunaga went into the garden with his generals and pointed to the sky. In the distance the flames of the insurrection turned the sky a brilliant red.\n\nOn the following day, the twentieth, Nobunaga led his army into Omi." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He crushed the warrior-monks and broke through the defenses of Asai Nagamasa and Sasaki Rokkaku." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Nobunaga's army moved with the speed of a storm sweeping the clouds from the plain, and struck with the suddenness of lightning.\n\nOn the twenty-first, the Oda were pressing in on the main castle of the Asai at Odani. They had already laid siege to Yokoyama Castle, a branch castle of Odani. For the enemy, it was a complete rout." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They had had no time to prepare themselves, and their resistance crumbled, giving them no time to set up new positions." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Ane River was only a few feet deep, so, although it was quite broad, a man could ford it on foot. Its clear waters, which flowed from the mountains of eastern Asai, were, however, so cold that they cut into the body even in summer.\n\nIt was just before dawn. Nobunaga, leading an army of twenty-three thousand men, with a further six thousand Tokugawa troops, deployed his men along the east riverbank." }, { "from": "human", "value": "From about midnight on the previous day, the combined forces of the Asai and the Asakura—numbering about eighteen thousand—had gradually moved in from Mount Oyose." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hiding behind the houses along the west bank of the river, they waited for the right moment to attack. The night was still dark, and only the sound of the water could be heard.\n\n\"Yasumasa,\" Ieyasu called one of his commanders, \"the enemy is approaching the riverbank thick and fast.\"\n\n\"It's difficult to see anything through this mist, but I can hear the horses neighing in the distance.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Any news from downstream?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Nothing so far.\"\n\n\"Which side is heaven going to bless? Half a day should see the turning point.\"\n\n\"Half a day? I wonder if it will take that long.\"\n\n\"Don't underestimate them,\" Ieyasu said as he walked into the woods at the river's edge." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Here were his own silent troops, the flower of Nobunaga's army." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The atmosphere in the forest was one of total desolation. The soldiers had spread out into a firing line, crouching in the undergrowth. The spearmen grasped their weapons and looked out over the river, where still nothing stirred.\n\nWould it be life or death today?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The eyes of the soldiers shone." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Untouched by life or death, they silently imagined the outcome of the battle. Not one looked as if he had confidence that he would see the sky again that evening.\n\nAccompanied by Yasumasa, Ieyasu walked along the line, his clothes making only a slight rustling noise. No light shone, except for the smoldering fuse cords of the muskets." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A man sneezed—perhaps a soldier with a cold, whose nose was itchy from the smoke of the fuses." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Still, it made the other soldiers tense.\n\nThe surface of the water began to turn white, and a line of red clouds silhouetted the branches of the trees on Mount Ibuki.\n\n\"The enemy!\" a man shouted.\n\nThe officers around Ieyasu immediately signaled the gunners to hold their fire." }, { "from": "human", "value": "On the other bank just a little downstream, a mixed corps of mounted samurai and foot soldiers, numbering perhaps twelve or thirteen hundred, was fording the river at a diagonal." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kicking up a white spray with their feet, they looked like a white gale crossing the river.\n\nThe formidable vanguard of the Asai was ignoring the Oda vanguard and even the second and third lines of defense, and was preparing to strike at the center of the Oda camp.\n\nIeyasu's men swallowed hard and exclaimed all at once, \"Isono Tamba!\"\n\n\"Tamba's regiment!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The famous Isono Tamba, the pride of the Asai clan, was a worthy opponent." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His crested banners could be seen fluttering through the splashes and spray.\n\nGunfire!\n\nWas it covering fire for the enemy, or the rifles of their own troops? No, the firing had begun from both banks at the same moment." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Echoing over the water, the noise was almost deafening." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The clouds began to part, and the cloudless summer sky displayed its hue. Just then the second Oda line, under Sakai Tadatsugu, and Ikeda Shonyu's third line suddenly struck out into the river.\n\n\"Don't let the enemy put one foot on our side! Don't let a single one of them return to their own!\" shouted the officers.\n\nThe Sakai corps attacked the enemy's flank." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In an instant, hand-to-hand fighting broke out in the middle of the river." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Spear clashed against spear, sword rang against sword. Men grappled and tumbled from horses, and the waters of the river ran with blood.\n\nTamba's regiment of crack troops pushed Sakai's second line back. Shouting, \"We have been shamed!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "so loudly that he could be heard on both sides of the river, Sakai's son, Kyuzo, dashed into the middle of the fight." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He achieved a glorious death in battle, with more than one hundred of his men.\n\nWith unstoppable force, Tamba's soldiers broke through the third Oda line. Ikeda's spearmen readied their spears and tried to break the enemy onslaught, but they could do nothing.\n\nNow it was Hideyoshi's turn to be amazed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He muttered to Hanbei, \"Have you ever seen such intimidating men?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But even Hanbei had no tactics to deal with this attack. This was not the only reason for Hideyoshi's defeat. Within his line were a great number of men who had surrendered at enemy castles. These new \"allies\" had been put under Hideyoshi's command, but they had once received their stipends from the Asai and Asakura." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Quite naturally, their spears were rarely accurate, and when they were ordered to charge the enemy, they were more likely to get in the way of Hideyoshi's own men." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Thus Hideyoshi's line was defeated, and the Oda's fifth and sixth lines were also soundly beaten. In all, Tamba routed eleven of the thirteen Oda lines. At this point the Tokugawa forces upstream crossed the river, overrunning the enemy on the opposite bank, and gradually they made their way downstream. Looking back, however, they saw that Tamba's soldiers were already pressing close on Nobunaga's headquarters." }, { "from": "human", "value": "With the yell, \"Attack their flank!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "the Tokugawa soldiers leaped back into the river. Tamba's soldiers thought these men were their own allies entering the river from the west bank, even when they drew near. With Kazumasa in the lead, the Tokugawa samurai cut into Isono Tamba's regiment.\n\nSuddenly aware of the enemy, Tamba yelled himself hoarse, ordering his men to fall back." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A warrior, brandishing a dripping spear, struck him from the side." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Tamba collapsed in a spray of water. Grasping the shaft of the spear that had pierced his side, he attempted to get up, but the Tokugawa warrior had no intention of letting him do so. A sword flashed over Tamba's head and crashed down on his iron helmet. The sword shattered into pieces." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Tamba stood up, the water around his feet turning into a bright red pool of blood." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Three men surrounded Tamba, stabbing and hacking him to pieces.\n\n\"The enemy!\" the retainers around Nobunaga shouted. They ran from the headquarters to the riverbank with their spears ready.\n\nTakenaka Kyusaku, Hanbei's younger brother, was in Hideyoshi's regiment, but in the confusion of battle he had become separated from his unit." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Pursuing the enemy, he was now close to Nobunaga's headquarters." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "What? he thought in amazement. The enemy's here already? As he looked around, he spotted a samurai coming around from the back of the enclosure. The man, whose armor was not that of a common foot soldier, lifted the curtain and looked stealthily inside." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Kyusaku flung himself at the man and grabbed his leg, which was covered by chain mail and armor." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The warrior might be one of their own men, and Kyusaku did not want to kill an ally by mistake. The samurai turned without a hint of surprise. He looked like an officer of the Asai army.\n\n\"Friend or foe?\" Kyusaku asked." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Foe, of course!\" the man yelled, working his spear through his hands and moving in to strike." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Who are you? Do you have a name worth repeating?\"\n\n\"I am Maenami Shinpachiro of the Asai. I've come to take Lord Nobunaga's head. You disgusting runt! Who are you?\"\n\n\"I am Takenaka Kyusaku, a retainer of Kinoshita Hideyoshi. Come and try me!\"\n\n\"Well, well. Takenaka Hanbei's little brother.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That's right!\" The instant he said this, Kyusaku yanked away Shinpachiro's spear and threw it back at his chest." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But before Kyusaku could draw his sword, Shinpachiro grabbed him. Both men fell to the ground, Kyusaku on the bottom. He kicked himself free, but he was once again pinned down beneath his enemy. At that moment he bit on Shinpachiro's finger, making him loosen his grip a little." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Now was his chance!" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Giving Shinpachiro a shove, Kyusaku was able to free himself at last. In an instant his hand found his dagger and struck at Shinpachiro's throat. The point of the dagger missed the man's throat, but sliced across Shinpachiro's face from his chin to his nose, piercing his eye.\n\n\"An enemy of my comrade!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "a voice shouted out from behind." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There was no time to cut off the dead man's head. Leaping up, Kyusaku immediately exchanged blows with a new adversary.\n\nKyusaku knew that several of the Asai suicide corps had made their way into the area, and this man now showed his back and ran. Chasing him, Kyusaku struck at his knee with his sword." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As he fell on top of the wounded man and straddled him, Kyusaku shouted, \"Do you have a name worth saying? Yes or no?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'm Kobayashi Hashuken. I have nothing to say except that I regret falling into the hands of a low-class samurai like you before getting close to Lord Nobunaga.\"\n\n\"Where is the Asai's bravest man, Endo Kizaemon? You're an Asai, you must know.\"\n\n\"I have no idea.\"\n\n\"Speak! Spit it out!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I don't know!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Then I've no use for you!\" Kyusaku cut off Hashuken's head. He ran off, his eyes blazing. He was determined not to let Endo Kizaemon's head fall to someone else's hand." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Before the battle, Kyusaku had boasted that he would have Kizaemon's head." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He now ran off in the direction of the riverbank where countless bodies lay among the grass and pebbles—a riverbank of death.\n\nThere, among the others, was a corpse whose bloodied face was hidden by a tangle of hair. Bluebottle flies buzzed in a swarm at Kyusaku's feet. Kyusaku turned around when he stepped on the foot of the corpse whose face was hidden by its hair." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There was nothing wrong with that, but it gave him a strange sensation." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He looked around suspiciously, and in that instant the corpse leaped up and dashed off in the direction of Nobunaga's headquarters.\n\n\"Protect Lord Nobunaga! The enemy is coming!\" Kyusaku screamed.\n\nSeeing Nobunaga, the enemy samurai was about to jump over a low embankment when he stepped on the cord of his sandal and tripped. Kyusaku leaped on top of the man and quickly subdued him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As he was dragged off by Kyusaku to Nobunaga's headquarters, the man roared out, \"Cut off my head quickly! Right now! Don't heap shame on a warrior!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When another prisoner who was being led away saw the screaming man, he blurted out, \"Master Kizaemon! They took even you alive?\"\n\nThis extraordinary man who had pretended to be dead and whom Kyusaku had captured was the very one he had been seeking—the fierce Asai warrior Endo Kizaemon.\n\nAt first the Oda army had been near collapse. But as the Tokugawa forces under Ieyasu struck the enemy flank, the acute angle of the enemy attack was deflected." }, { "from": "human", "value": "However, the enemy had also had a second and third line of attack." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As they pushed and then retreated, trampling through the waters of the Ane River, both the enemy and Nobunaga's troops were breaking their sword guards and shattering their spears. The battle was in such chaos that no one could tell who was going to win.\n\n\"Don't be distracted! Just strike straight into Nobunaga's camp!\"\n\nFrom the very beginning, this had been the objective of the second line of Asai troops." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But they had driven through too far and had actually come out to the rear of the Oda troops." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Tokugawa forces had also broken through to the opposite bank with the cry, \"Don't be bested by the Oda troops!\" and had advanced toward the camp of Asakura Kagetake.\n\nFinally, however, the Tokugawa had advanced too far from their allies and were surrounded by the enemy. The battle was in total chaos." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Just as a fish cannot see the river in which it swims, no one was able to grasp the entire situation." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Each soldier was simply fighting for his life. As soon as a man struck down one of the enemy, he immediately looked up to see the face of another.\n\nFrom above, it would have looked as though both armies, forced into the waters of the Ane River, had entered a giant vortex. And, as might be expected, Nobunaga coolly observed the situation in exactly that way." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hideyoshi also took a general view of the battle." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He sensed that this very instant would decide either victory or defeat. The turning point was a very subtle moment.\n\nNobunaga was striking the ground with a staff, yelling, \"The Tokugawa have struck in deep! Don't leave them there alone! Somebody go to the aid of Lord Ieyasu!\" But the troops on both right and left did not have enough remaining strength." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Nobunaga was shouting in vain." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then, from a stand of trees on the northern bank, a single corps of men dashed directly through the chaos to the opposite bank, kicking up a pure-white spray of water.\n\nHideyoshi, while he had not received Nobunaga's orders, had also understood the situation. Nobunaga saw the standard with Hideyoshi's golden gourd and thought, Ah, good! Hideyoshi has done it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Wiping the sweat from his eyes with his gauntlet, Nobunaga said to his pages, \"A moment like this won't come again. Go down to the river and see what you can do.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ranmaru and the others—even the youngest—all ran at the enemy, each one vying to be first. The Tokugawa, who had pushed in so deeply, were quite definitely in trouble, but in this game of battlefield chess, the astute Ieyasu was the one piece that had been placed on the vital point.\n\nNobunaga is not likely to let this one piece die, Ieyasu told himself. Ittetsu's men followed Hideyoshi's." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Finally, Ikeda Shonyu's men poured in." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Suddenly the tide of the battle had changed, and the Oda were winning. Asakura Kagetake's forces retreated more than three leagues, and Asai Nagamasa's forces fled hurriedly toward Odani Castle.\n\nFrom that point on, it was a battle of pursuit. The Asakura were chased to Mount Oyose, and Asai Nagamasa retreated behind the walls of Odani Castle." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Nobunaga dealt with the aftermath of the battle in two days, and on the third day he led his army back to Gifu." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 1 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He had moved with the speed of the cuckoo that nightly flew over the Ane River, which now washed the bodies of the dead on its shores." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Let's engage in a collaborative writing exercise. I'll provide a starting point, and You'll continue with four sentences in the style of Eiji Yoshikawa." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The smoke from the fires of war was thick not only on Mount Hiei but was rising, as if from the leaping flames of a prairie fire, from the western districts of Mikawa, to the villages on the Tenryu River, as far as the borders of Mino." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The troops of Takeda Shingen had crossed the mountains of Kai and were flowing southward.\n\nThe Tokugawa, who had dubbed their enemy \"the long-legged Shingen,\" vowed to stop his march on the capital. This was not for the sake of their Oda allies. Kai was critically close to the provinces of Mikawa and Totomi, and if the Takeda forces were to break through, it would mean the annihilation of the Tokugawa clan." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ieyasu was thirty-one years old and in the prime of manhood." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His retainers had suffered every privation and hardship for the past twenty years. But at last Ieyasu had come of age, his clan was on friendly terms with the Oda, and bit by bit he was encroaching on the territory of the Imagawa clan.\n\nHis province was filled with the hope of prosperity and the courage of expansion, so much so that the elder retainers, the samurai, the farmers, and the townspeople seemed to be aroused and inspired.\n\nMikawa could hardly match Kai in armaments and resources; in determination, however, it was not the least bit inferior." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There was a reason why the Tokugawa warriors had given Shingen the nickname \"Long-legged.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "This witticism had once been included in a letter to Ieyasu from Nobunaga, and when Ieyasu read it, he thought it was worth relating to his retainers.\n\nThe appellation was a clever one, for if only yesterday Shingen had been fighting at the northern border of Kai against the Uesugi clan, today he was in Kozuke and Sagami and was threatening the Hojo clan. Or, turning quickly, he would release the fires of war in Mikawa or Mino.\n\nMoreover, Shingen himself was always in the field giving directions." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Thus people said he must have had mannequins to take his place, but the fact was that whenever his men fought, he did not seem to be satisfied unless he was there on the battlefield himself." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But if Shingen was long-legged, it could be said that Nobunaga was fleet-footed.\n\nNobunaga had written to Ieyasu:\n\nIt would be better not to face the full force of the Kai attack right now. Even if the situation becomes pressing and you have to withdraw from Hamamatsu to Okazaki, I hope you will persevere." }, { "from": "human", "value": "If our time must wait for another day, I doubt it will be long in coming." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Nobunaga had sent this message to Ieyasu before burning Mount Hiei, but Ieyasu had turned to his senior retainers and declared, right in front of the Oda messenger, \"Before abandoning Hamamatsu Castle, it would be better to break our bows and leave the samurai class!\"\n\nTo Nobunaga, Ieyasu's province was one of his lines of defense; but to Ieyasu, Mikawa was his home. Ieyasu was going to bury his bones in no other province but this one. When he received the messenger's reply, Nobunaga mumbled something about the man being too impatient, and returned to Gifu just as soon as he had finished with Mount Hiei." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Shingen must have had something to say about that speed as well." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As might be expected, he too was alert in looking for his opportunity.\n\nShingen had stated clearly that to be one day late could mean disasters for an entire year, and now he felt the need to hurry all the more to fulfill his long-cherished desire of entering the capital. For this reason, all of his diplomatic moves were expedited. His friendship with the Hojo clan, therefore, was now brought to fruition, but his negotiations with the Uesugi clan were as unsatisfactory as before." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Thus he was obliged to wait until the Tenth Month to leave Kai." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Snow would soon close off his borders with Echigo, so his concern about Uesugi Kenshin would be alleviated. His army of about thirty thousand men comprised troops conscripted from his domain, which included Kai, Shinano, Suruga, the northern part of Totomi, eastern Mikawa, western Kozuke, a part of Hida, and the southern part of Etchu—land holdings amounting to almost one million three hundred thousand bushels in all.\n\n\"The best thing we could do is put up a defense,\" one general argued.\n\n\"At least until reinforcements come from Lord Nobunaga.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "One party of the men in Hamamatsu Castle spoke in favor of a defensive campaign." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Even if all the province's samurai were mustered, the military strength of the Tokugawa clan was hardly fourteen thousand men—barely half that of the Takeda army. Still, Ieyasu chose to order a mobilization of his army.\n\n\"What! This is not a matter of waiting around for Lord Nobunaga's reinforcements.\"\n\nAll of his retainers expected a great number of the Oda soldiers to come to their aid out of a natural sense of duty—or even out of gratitude for the past service rendered by the Tokugawa clan at the Ane River." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ieyasu, however, did his best to appear as though he had no expectation of reinforcements at all." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Now was exactly the time for him to determine whether his men were resigned to a life-and-death situation, and to make them realize they could rely on nothing but their own strength.\n\n\"If it's destruction to retreat and destruction to advance, shouldn't we strike out in an all-or-nothing effort, make our names as warriors, and die a glorious death?\" he asked calmly.\n\nWhile this man had known misery and hardships from the time of his youth, he had matured into an adult who did not make a fuss over trifles. Now, with this situation upon them, the castle of Hamamatsu was as full of fury as a boiling kettle, but while Ieyasu sat there and advocated a violent confrontation more than anyone else, the tone of his voice hardly changed at all." }, { "from": "human", "value": "For this reason there were those among his retainers who had misgivings about the difference between his words and their intent." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But Ieyasu hastened steadily to make preparations to depart for the battlefield, as he received the reports of his scouts.\n\nOne by one, like teeth being plucked from a comb, reports of each defeat were coming in. Shingen had attacked Totomi. By now, it was likely that the castles at Tadaki and Iida had had no other choice but to surrender." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In the villages of Fukuroi, Kakegawa, and Kihara, there was no place that the Kai forces had not trampled underfoot." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Worse, Ieyasu's three-thousand-man vanguard under Honda, Okubo, and Naito had been discovered by the Takeda forces in the neighborhood of the Tenryu River. The Tokugawa had been routed and forced to retreat to Hamamatsu.\n\nThis report made everyone in the castle turn pale. But Ieyasu continued his military preparations." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He was especially careful to secure his lines of communication, and had been taking care of the defense of that area until nearly the end of the Tenth Month." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And, to secure Futamata Castle at the Tenryu River, he had sent reinforcements of troops, weapons, and supplies.\n\nThe army left Hamamatsu Castle, advanced as far as Kanmashi village on the bank of the Tenryu River, and found the camp of the Kai army, each position linked to Shingen's headquarters like spokes around a hub.\n\n\"Ah, just as you'd expect.\" Even Ieyasu stood on the hill for a moment with his arms folded and let out a sigh of admiration." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The banners in Shingen's main camp were visible even at this distance." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "From closer up, one could make out the inscription. They were the words of the famous Sun Tzu, familiar to enemy and ally alike.\n\nFast as the wind,\n\nQuiet as a forest," }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ardent as fire," }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Still as a mountain.\n\nStill as a mountain, neither Shingen nor Ieyasu made any move for several days.\n\nWith the Tenryu River between the opposing camps, winter came in with the Eleventh Month.\n\nTwo things there are" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Surpassing Ieyasu:" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ieyasu's horned helmet\n\nAnd Honda Heihachiro.\n\nOne of the Takeda men had posted this lampoon on the hill of Hitokotozaka. Ieyasu's men had been soundly defeated and routed there—or at least that was the opinion of the Takeda ranks, elated by their victory." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But as the poem admitted, the Tokugawa had some fine men, and Honda Heihachiro's retreat had been admirable." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ieyasu was certainly not unworthy as an enemy. But in this next battle the entire forces of the Takeda would be up against the entire forces of the Tokugawa. They would strike at one another in a battle that would decide the outcome of the war.\n\nAnticipation of the fight only heightened the spirits of the men of Kai." }, { "from": "human", "value": "That was the kind of composure they had." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Shingen moved his main camp to Edaijima and had his son, Katsuyori, and Anayama Baisetsu move their forces against Futamata Castle, with strict orders not to delay.\n\nIn response, Ieyasu quickly sent reinforcements, saying \"Futama Castle is an important line of defense. If the enemy captures it, they'll have an advantageous place from which to make their attack.\"\n\nIeyasu himself gave orders to his rear guard, but the ever-changing Takeda army quickly went through yet another transformation and began pressing in on all sides. It seemed that if he made a false move now, he would be cut off from his headquarters in Hamamatsu." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Futamata Castle's water supply—its weakest point—was cut by the enemy." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "On one side the castle abutted the Tenryu River, and the water that sustained the lives of the soldiers inside had to be lifted into the castle with a bucket lowered from a tower. To put an end to this, the Takeda forces launched rafts from upstream and undermined the base of the tower. From that day on, the soldiers in the castle were afflicted by a lack of water, even though the river flowed right in front of their walls.\n\nOn the evening of the nineteenth, the garrison surrendered." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When Shingen learned that the castle had capitulated, he gave new orders: \"Nobumori will occupy the castle. Sano, Toyoda, and Iwata will maintain communications and get ready along the enemy's road of retreat.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Like a go master watching each move of the stones, Shingen was cautious with his army's formation and advance. The twenty-seven thousand soldiers of Kai moved slowly but surely, like black clouds across the land, as the beat of the drums resounded up to heaven. After that, Shingen's main force crossed Iidani Plain and started to move into eastern Mikawa.\n\nIt was midday on the twenty-first, and the cold was sharp enough to slice off a man's nose and ears." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A red dust rose in Mikatagahara, mocking the weak winter sun." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There had been no rain for days; the air was parched.\n\n\"On to Iidani!\" came the order. It caused a divergence of opinion among Shingen's generals.\n\n\"If we're going to Iidani, he must have decided to surround Hamamatsu Castle. Wouldn't that be a mistake?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Some had misgivings because the Oda troops had been arriving at Hamamatsu, and no one knew for sure how many soldiers might be there now." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Such was the secret intelligence that had been trickling in since the morning. No matter how much they pressed the enemy, his real situation could not be calculated. The reports were always the same: there was some truth to the rumors that were circulating in the villages along the road—which probably contained a good many of the enemy's own false reports—that a large Oda force was heading south to join Ieyasu's troops at Hamamatsu.\n\nShingen's generals offered their opinions:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If Nobunaga arrives with a great army acting as a rear guard for Hamamatsu, you should probably give the matter careful thought right here, my lord.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If the attack on Hamamatsu Castle takes us into the New Year, our men will have to winter in the field. With constant surprise attacks from the enemy, our supplies will run out and the troops will fall victim to disease. In any case, the men will suffer.\"\n\n\"On the other hand, I fear that they may cut off our retreat along the coast and elsewhere.\"\n\n\"When reinforcements are added to the Oda rear guard, our men will be trapped on a narrow strip of enemy territory—a situation that will not easily be reversed. If this happens, Your Lordship's dream of marching into Kyoto will be frustrated, and we will have to open up a bloody path to retreat. Since we're mobilized at this point, why not go on with your foremost objective and march on the capital instead of attacking Hamamatsu Castle?\"\n\nShingen sat on a camp stool in the middle of his generals, his eyes narrow slits, like needles." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He nodded at each of their opinions, then said deliberately, \"All your opinions are extremely reasonable. But I am certain that the Oda reinforcements will amount to no more than a small force of three or four thousand men. If the greater part of the Oda army was to turn toward Hamamatsu, the Asai and Asakura, whom I have already contacted, would strike Nobunaga from the rear. Furthermore, the shogun in Kyoto would send messages to the warrior-monks and their allies, urging them on. The Oda are not a major worry for us.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He stopped for a moment and then went on calmly, \"Entering Kyoto has been my fervent desire from the very beginning. But if we just bypassed Ieyasu now, when we got to Gifu, Ieyasu would come to the aid of the Oda by obstructing our rear. Isn't the best policy to smash Ieyasu at Hamamatsu Castle, before the Oda can send him sufficient reinforcements?\"\n\nThere was nothing the generals could do but accept his decision, not just because he was their lord but because they had faith in him as a superior tactician.\n\nAs they returned to their regiments, however, there was one among them, Yamagata Masakage, who thought as he looked up at the cold, pale winter sun, This man lives for war, and he has an uncommon genius as a general, but this time...\n\nIt was the night of the twenty-first when the report of the sudden change in direction of the Kai army arrived at Hamamatsu Castle." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Just three thousand men under Takigawa Kazumasu and Sakuma Nobumori had arrived at the castle as reinforcements from Nobunaga." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"A miserably small number,\" a Tokugawa retainer said, disappointed, but Ieyasu displayed neither joy nor dissatisfaction. And as the reports came in one after another, a war council began, at which many of the castle's generals and the Oda commanders prudently recommended a temporary retreat to Okazaki.\n\nIeyasu alone did not move from his former position of holding out for battle. \"Are we going to retreat and not let one arrow fly in reprisal while the enemy insults my province?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "There was an elevated plain north of Hamamatsu, more than two leagues in breadth and three leagues in length—Mikatagahara." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In the early dawn of the twenty-second, Ieyasu's army left Hamamatsu and took a position north of an escarpment. There they waited for the approach of the Takeda forces.\n\nThe sun rose, then the sky clouded over. The silhouette of a single bird peacefully crossed the wide sky above the dry, wilted plain." }, { "from": "human", "value": "From time to time the scouts of both armies, looking like the shadows of birds, crawled through the dry grass and then hurried back to their lines." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "That morning Shingen's army, which had previously camped on the plain, crossed the Tenryu River, continued marching, and arrived at Saigadani a little after noon.\n\nAn order went out to the entire army to halt. Oyamada Nobushige and the other generals collected at Shingen's side to ascertain the positions of the enemy that would soon be directly in front of them. After a momentary deliberation, Shingen ordered one company to be left behind as a rear guard, while the main army continued as planned across the plain of Mikatagahara." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Nearby was the village of Iwaibe." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The vanguard of the army had already entered the village. The men at the head of this serpentine procession of well over twenty thousand men could not see the men at the rear of it, even if they stood in their stirrups.\n\nShingen turned and said to the retainers around him, \"Something's going on at the rear!\"\n\nThe men stared hard, trying to pierce the yellow dust rising in the distance." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It seemed that the rear guard was under enemy attack." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"They must have been surrounded.\"\n\n\"They're only two or three thousand! If they're surrounded, they'll be wiped out.\"\n\nThe horses had lowered their heads and were moving off at a clatter—but the generals all sympathized with the men beneath the dust. Grasping their reins, they watched together uneasily." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Shingen was silent, speaking to no one." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Though it was what they had expected, their men were being struck down and falling one after another in the far-off cloud of dust, even as they looked on.\n\nSome surely had a son, a father, or a brother in the rear guard. And not just among the retainers and generals that had gathered around Shingen. The whole army—right down to the foot soldiers—now looked to the side as they marched." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Riding up along the column, Oyamada Nobushige galloped to Shingen's side." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Nobushige's voice was unusually excited and could clearly be heard by those nearby as he spoke from horseback: \"My lord! We'll never have an opportunity like this again to massacre ten thousand of the enemy. I've just come from reconnoitering the enemy formation attacking our rear guard. Each company is spread out in a stork-wing formation. At a glance, it looks like a huge army, but the second and third ranks have no depth at all, and Ieyasu's center is protected by a small force hardly amounting to anything. Not only that, but the companies are in extreme disorder, and it's clear that the Oda reinforcements have no will to fight. If you'll take this opportunity and attack, my lord, you are bound to win.\"\n\nAs Nobushige blurted this out, Shingen looked back and then ordered some scouts to verify Nobushige's report.\n\nHearing the tone of Shingen's voice, Nobushige reined in his horse a little and held himself in check.\n\nThe two scouts galloped away." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was known that the enemy force was much smaller than their own, and Nobushige respected Shingen's refusal to make unconsidered movements, but he himself had the impatience of an unruly horse stamping at the ground and he was almost unable to restrain himself." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A military opportunity can disappear in the instant it takes lightning to strike!\n\nThe two scouts returned at a gallop and made their report: \"Oyamada Nobushige's observations and our own reconnaissance are in complete agreement. This is an opportunity sent by heaven.\"\n\nShingen's voice boomed out. The white mane of his helmet shook back and forth as he gave out commands to the generals on his right and left." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The conch rang out." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When the twenty thousand men heard its sound, as it reverberated from the vanguard to the rear of the army, the marching line broke up with a pounding of the earth. And just as it appeared to be breaking up completely, it re-formed into a fish-scale formation and marched toward the Tokugawa army to the beating of drums.\n\nIeyasu was overawed when he saw the speed with which Shingen's army was moving, and how it responded to his every command. He said, \"If I ever reach Shingen's age, just once I'd like to be able to move a large army as skillfully as he does. Having seen his style of command, I wouldn't want him killed, even if someone offered to poison him right now.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Shingen's ability to command impressed even the generals of the enemy to that extent." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Battles were his art. His brave generals and intrepid warriors decorated their horses, armor, and banners to achieve a more glorious passage to the next world. It was almost as though tens of thousands of hawks had been released at once from Shingen's fist.\n\nIn a single breath, they dashed close enough to see the enemies' faces." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The Tokugawa turned like a huge wheel, holding their stork-wing formation, and faced the enemy like a human dam." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The dust raised by the two armies darkened the sky. Only the spears shining in the setting sun glittered in the darkness. The spear corps of Kai and that of Mikawa had advanced to the front and now stood facing each other. When either side raised a war cry, the other side answered—almost as an echo." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When the clouds of dust began to settle, the two sides could clearly see each other, but the distance that separated them was still considerable." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "No one would take a step out from the twin lines of spears.\n\nAt a time like this, even the bravest warriors shook with fear. One could say they were \"scared,\" but this was completely different from ordinary fear. It was not that their wills were shaken; when they trembled, it was because they were making the change from everyday life to the life of battle." }, { "from": "human", "value": "This took only seconds, but in that instant a man's skin turned to gooseflesh as purple as a rooster's comb." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "For a province at war, the life of a soldier was no different from that of the farmer carrying the hoe or the weaver at his loom. Each was equally valuable, and if the province should fall, all would perish with it. Those who nevertheless ignored the rise and fall of their province and led lives of sloth were just like the dirt that clings to the human body—of less value than a single eyelash.\n\nAll of that aside, it was said that the instant of meeting the enemy face to face was terrifying." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Heaven and earth were dark even at noon; You could not see what was right before your eyes, you could not go forward or retreat, and you were only jostled and shoved around on a line of readied spearheads." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And the man who was brave enough to step out from this line before all the others was granted the title of the First Spear. The man who became the First Spear won glory in front of the thousands of warriors of both armies. That first step, however, was not so easily taken.\n\nThen one man stepped forward." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Kato Kuroji of the Tokugawa clan is the First Spear!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "a samurai shouted out. Kato's armor was plain and his name unknown; he was most likely a common samurai of the Tokugawa clan.\n\nA second man dashed from the Tokugawa ranks.\n\n\"Kuroji's younger brother, Genjiro, is the Second Spear!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The older brother was swallowed by the enemy and disappeared into the confusion." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'm the Second Spear! I'm Kato Kuroji's younger brother! Take a good look, you Takeda insects!\" Genjiro brandished his spear at the mass of warriors four or five times.\n\nA Kai soldier, turning to meet him, yelled an insult and leaped forward to strike. Genjiro fell backward, but grabbed the spear that had slipped across the breastplate of his armor and jumped to his feet with a curse." }, { "from": "human", "value": "By that time his comrades had pushed their way through, but the Takeda had also turned and now came charging toward them." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The scene was like billowing waves of blood, spears, and armor crashing into one other. Trampled by his own comrades and the horses' hooves, Genjiro screamed for his brother. Crawling on his hands and knees, however, he grabbed a Kai soldier by the foot and brought him down. He immediately cut off the man's head and threw it away." }, { "from": "human", "value": "After that, no one saw him again." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The battle erupted in total confusion. But the clash between the right wing of the Tokugawa and the left wing of the Takeda had not reached this pitch of violence.\n\nThe lines were spread out over a wide area. The droning of the drums and the sound of the conch shells rang within the dust clouds." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Somehow, Shingen's retainers seemed to be situated to the rear." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Neither army had the time to send their gunners to the front, so the Takeda sent the Mizumata—lightly armored samurai armed with stone slings—to the front line. The stones they shot fell like rain. Facing them were the forces of Sakai Tadatsugu, and behind them the reinforcements from the Oda clan. Tadatsugu was on horseback, clicking his tongue in annoyance." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The stones raining down on them from the front line of the Kai army were hitting his horse and making it go wild." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And not only his horse. The horses of the mounted men who were waiting for their chance behind the spearmen reared and became so panicked that they broke formation.\n\nThe spearmen waited for orders from Tadatsugu, who had been holding them back with hoarse cries: \"Not yet! Wait until I give the word!\"\n\nThe slingers on the front line of the enemy had played the part of army sappers opening up an avenue of attack for the main force." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Therefore, although the Mizumata corps was not particularly fearsome, the hand-picked troops behind them were waiting for their chance." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Here were the banners of the Yamagata, Naito, and Oyamada corps, famed for their valor even within the Kai army.\n\nIt looks as though they're trying to provoke us by sending in the Mizumata, Tadatsugu thought. He could see through the enemy's strategy, but the left wing of the Tokugawa troops was already engaged in hand-to-hand combat, so the second line of the Oda was on its own. Furthermore, he couldn't be sure how Ieyasu was viewing this from his position in the center." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Charge!\" Tadatsugu yelled, opening his mouth almost wide enough to snap the cords of his helmet." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He knew full well that he was falling into the enemy's trap, but he had been unable to gain the advantage since the beginning of the battle. The defeat of the Tokugawa and their allies began here.\n\nThe shower of rocks suddenly stopped. At the same moment the seven or eight hundred Mizumata broke off to the right and left and abruptly fell back." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"We're done for!\" Tadatsugu yelled." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "By the time he had seen the second line of the enemy, it was already too late. Lying concealed between the slingers and the cavalry was yet another line of men: the gunners. Each man was lying on his stomach in the tall grass, his gun at the ready.\n\nThere was a staccato clatter of musket fire as all the guns went off in a single volley, and a cloud of smoke rose from the grass." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Because the angle of fire was low, many of the charging men of the Sakai corps were hit in the legs." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The startled horses reared and were hit in the belly. Officers leaped from the saddle before their horses fell, and ran with their men, stepping over the corpses of their comrades.\n\n\"Fall back!\" the commander of the Takeda gunners ordered.\n\nThe gunners immediately withdrew." }, { "from": "human", "value": "To stay where they were would have meant being overrun by the charging Oda spearmen." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "With the muzzles of their horses in line, the Yamagata corps, the flower of Kai, galloped out with composure and dignity, followed immediately by the Obata corps. In minutes they had annihilated Sakai Tadatsugu's line.\n\nVictory cries were raised proudly from the Kai army, when just as suddenly the Oyamada corps took a roundabout route and advanced on the flank of the Oda forces—second line of the Tokugawa defense—their horses raising the dust as they came. In the twinkling of an eye the Tokugawa were surrounded by the huge Kai army, as though by an iron wheel." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ieyasu stood on a knoll and looked over at the lines of his men." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "We've lost, he said to himself. It was inevitable.\n\nGazing fixedly ahead, Torii Tadahiro, the ranking general of the Tokugawa under Ieyasu, had warned his lord not to advance, but rather to send out incendiary raids where the enemy would be bivouacking that night. But Shingen, ever the crafty enemy, had purposefully thrown out the bait with the small rear guard, and encouraged Ieyasu's attack.\n\n\"We can't just sit here. You must retreat to Hamamatsu,\" Tadahiro urged." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The faster you withdraw, the better.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ieyasu said nothing.\n\n\"My lord! My lord!\" Tadahiro pleaded.\n\nIeyasu was not looking at Tadahiro's face. As the sun set the white evening mist and the darkness were gradually becoming deeply divided at the edge of Mikatagahara." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Riding the wintry wind, the banners of the messengers repeatedly brought in the sad news:" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Sakuma Nobumori of the Oda clan was crushed. Takigawa Kazumasu fell back in disorder, and Hirate Nagamasa was killed. Only Sakai Tadatsugu stands fast in hard fighting.\"\n\n\"Takeda Katsuyori combined his strength with the Yamagata corps and surrounded our left wing. Ishikawa Kazumasa was wounded, and Nakane Masateru and Aoki Hirotsugu are both dead.\"\n\n\"Matsudaira Yasuzumi galloped into the midst of the enemy and was cut down.\"\n\n\"The forces of Honda Tadamasa and Naruse Masayoshi aimed for Shingen's retainers and cut deeply into the enemy, but they were completely surrounded by several thousand men, and not one returned alive.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Suddenly, Tadahiro grabbed Ieyasu's arm and, with the help of other generals, pushed him up onto his horse." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Get out of here!\" he yelled at the horse, slapping it on the rump.\n\nWhen Ieyasu was in the saddle and his horse was galloping away, Tadahiro and the other retainers mounted and went after him.\n\nSnow began to fall." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Perhaps it had been waiting for the sun to set." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As the wind blew the snow thick and fast, it swept around the banners, men, and horses of the defeated army, making their way even less sure.\n\nThe men shouted out in confusion, \"His Lordship... where is His Lordship?\"\n\n\"Which way to headquarters?\"\n\n\"Where is my regiment?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The Kai gunners took aim at the fleeing men lost by the roadside, and fired volleys at them from the midst of the swirling snow." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Retreat!\" a Tokugawa soldier shouted. \"The conch shell is sounding a withdrawal!\"\n\n\"They must already have evacuated the headquarters,\" another rejoined.\n\nA tidal wave of defeated men swept along in a black line toward the north, lost its way toward the west, and suffered many more casualties." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Finally the men began to stampede in one direction, toward the south." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ieyasu, who had just escaped from danger with Torii Tadahiro, looked back at the men following along behind, and suddenly stopped his horse. \"Raise the banners. Raise the banners and assemble the men,\" he commanded.\n\nNight was approaching fast, and the snow was steadily increasing. Ieyasu's retainers gathered around him and sounded the conch shell." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Waving the commanders' standards, they called the men in." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Gradually the men of the defeated army gathered around them. Every man was soaked in blood.\n\nThe corps of Baba Nobufusa and Obata Kazusa of the Kai army, however, knew that the main body of enemy troops was there, and very quickly began pressing in on them with bows and arrows from one side and guns from the other. It appeared that they would try to cut off their retreat." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's dangerous here, my lord. You'd better retreat as quickly as possible,\" Mizuno Sakon urged Ieyasu." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then, turning to the men, he announced, \"Protect His Lordship. I am going to take a few men and attack the enemy. Anyone who wants to sacrifice his life for His Lordship, follow me.\"\n\nSakon galloped straight for the enemy line, without a look back to see whether anyone was following him. Thirty or forty soldiers followed after him, riding to certain death. Almost immediately, wailing, shouting, and the clash of swords and spears mingled with the moaning of the wind-borne snow and blurred into a vortex." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Task: Cooperative storytelling\nMy role: Provide a brief opening\nYour role: Expand upon my opening with four sentences, emulating the writing style of Eiji Yoshikawa." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Only one hundred days later, however, Nobunaga's army once again surrounded Nijo Palace." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And that was because, of course, Yoshiaki had fallen back on his old tricks once again after the first peace.\n\nThe great roof of the Myokaku Temple at Nijo was beaten desolately by the rains of the Seventh Month. The temple served as Nobunaga's headquarters. There had been a terrible wind and rain from the time his fleet had started across Lake Biwa." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But this had only increased the determination of the troops." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Soaked by the rain and covered in mud, they had surrounded the shogun's palace and were poised, waiting only for the command to attack.\n\nNo one knew if Yoshiaki was to be executed or taken prisoner, but his fate was entirely in their hands. Nobunaga's troops felt as though they were looking into the cage of a fierce, noble animal that they were about to slaughter.\n\nThe voices of Nobunaga and Hideyoshi drifted on the wind." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What are you going to do?\" Hideyoshi asked." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"At this point there are no two ways about it.\" Nobunaga was firm. \"I'm not forgiving him this time.\"\n\n\"But he's the—\"\n\n\"Don't belabor the obvious.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Is there no margin for a little more deliberation?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"None! Absolutely not!\"\n\nThe room in the temple was gloomy from the darkening rain outside. The combination of the lingering summer heat and the long autumn rains had resulted in such humid weather that even the gold leaf of the Buddhas and the monochrome ink drawings on the sliding doors looked mildewed.\n\n\"I'm not criticizing you for being rash when I ask for a little more deliberation,\" Hideyoshi said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But the position of shogun is granted by the Imperial Court, so we cannot treat the matter lightly. And it will give the anti-Nobunaga forces an excuse to call for justice against the man who killed his rightful lord, the shogun.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I suppose you're right,\" Nobunaga replied.\n\n\"Happily, Yoshiaki is so weak that though he is trapped, he'll neither kill himself nor come out to fight. He's just going to lock up the gates of his palace and rely on the water in his moat to keep rising from all this rain.\"\n\n\"So, what is your plan?\" Nobunaga asked.\n\n\"We purposely open one part of our encirclement and provide a way for the shogun to escape.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Won't he become a nuisance in the future? He might be used to strengthen the ambitions of some other province.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No,\" Hideyoshi said, \"I think that people have gradually become disgusted with Yoshiaki's character. I suspect that they would understand even if Yoshiaki were driven from the capital, and they would be satisfied that your punishment was fitting.\"\n\nThat evening the besieging army created an opening and made an obvious display of a shortage of soldiers. Inside the palace, the shogun's men seemed to suspect that this was some sort of trick, and by midnight they had still made no move to leave. But during a lull in the rain near dawn, a corps of mounted men suddenly crossed the moat and fled from the capital." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When Nobunaga was told that it was certain that Yoshiaki had escaped, he addressed his troops." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The house is empty! There's not much benefit in attacking an empty house, but the shogunate that has lasted fourteen generations has brought about its own downfall. Attack and raise your victory cries! This will be the funeral service for the evil government of the Ashikaga shoguns.\"\n\nThe Nijo Palace was destroyed in one attack. Almost all the retainers in the palace surrendered. Even the two nobles, Hino and Takaoka, came out and apologized to Nobunaga." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But one man, Mibuchi Yamato, and more than sixty of his retainers fought to the very end without submitting." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Now write approximately 5 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Not one of them fled and not one of them yielded. All were cut down in battle and died gloriously as samurai.\n\nYoshiaki fled Kyoto and entrenched himself in Uji. Reckless as always, he had with him only a small defeated force. When, not long afterward, Nobunaga's troops closed in on his headquarters at the Byodoin Temple, Yoshiaki surrendered without a struggle." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "I'll be your writing partner today. I will set the scene, and you will continue the story with four sentences, channeling the voice and techniques of Eiji Yoshikawa.i'll kick things off by writing a bit, then you'll take over and write the next four sentences in the distinctive voice of Eiji Yoshikawa.Ive got a bit of writers block, im gonna send you something then keep it going four sentences at a time, also im going for a Eiji Yoshikawa sorta thing." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Nagamasa was under thirty, but he already had four children by the Lady Oichi, who herself was twenty-three." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He occupied the third enclosure of Odani Castle, which was really three castles in one.\n\nGunfire could be heard from the ravine to the south until the evening. The report of cannon sounded periodically, and each time the fretwork ceiling shook as if it were going to come loose.\n\nOichi looked up instinctively with frightened eyes, and held a baby more tightly against her breast." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The child was as yet unweaned." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There was no wind, but soot was blowing everywhere, and the light of the lamp flickered wildly.\n\n\"Mother! I'm scared!\" Her second daughter, Hatsu, clung to her right sleeve while her eldest daughter, Chacha, silently held fast to her left knee. Her son, however, did not come to his mother's lap even though he was still small. He was brandishing an arrow shaft at a lady-in-waiting." }, { "from": "human", "value": "This was Nagamasa's heir, Manjumaru." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Let me see! Let me see the battle!\" Manju cried petulantly, striking the lady-in-waiting with the headless arrow.\n\n\"Manju,\" his mother reproved him, \"why are you hitting her? Your father is fighting. Have you already forgotten that he told you to behave during the fighting? If you're laughed at by the retainers, you won't become a good general even when you grow up.\"\n\nManju was old enough to understand a little of his mother's reasoning." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He listened to her silently for a moment, but then suddenly began to cry out loud fretfully." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I wanna see the battle! I wanna see!\" The child's tutor did not know what to do either, and simply stood there watching. Just then there was a lull in the fighting, but gunfire could still be heard. The eldest girl, Chacha, was already seven years old, and she somehow understood the difficult circumstances her father was in, her mother's sorrow, and even the feelings of the warriors in the castle." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She said precociously, \"Manju! Don't say things that upset Mother! Don't you think this is horrible for her? Father's out there fighting the enemy. Isn't that right, Mother?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Taken to task, Manju looked at his sister and jumped on her, still brandishing the arrow shaft. \"You stupid Chacha!\" he shouted.\n\nChacha put her sleeve over her head and hid behind her mother.\n\n\"Be good now!\" Trying to humor him, Oichi took the arrow shaft and talked to him quietly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Suddenly there was the sound of violent footsteps in the entrance hall outside." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What's that? To the likes of the Oda? They're nothing but little samurai who have pushed their way from the backwoods of Owari. Do you think I'm going to surrender to a man like Nobunaga? The Asai clan is in a different class from them!\" Asai Nagamasa entered unannounced, followed by two or three generals.\n\nWhen he saw that his wife was out of harm's way in this cavernous, poorly lit room, he was relieved. \"I'm a little tired,\" he said, sitting down and loosening the cords on a section of his armor." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then he said to the generals behind him, \"With the way things are going this evening, the enemy may well make an all-out attack around midnight. We'd better rest now.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When the commanders got up to leave, Nagamasa heaved a sigh of relief. Even in the midst of battle, he was able to remember that he was both a father and a husband.\n\n\"Was the sound of the guns this evening frightening, my dear?\" he asked his wife." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Surrounded by her children, Oichi replied, \"No, we were in here, so it was all right.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Didn't Manju or Chacha get scared and cry?\"\n\n\"You should be proud of them. They acted like adults.\"\n\n\"Really?\" he said, forcing a smile. Then he continued, \"Don't worry. The Oda made a fierce attack, but we pushed them back with a volley from the castle. Even if they continue attacking us for twenty or thirty, or even one hundred days, we'll never surrender. We are the Asai clan! We're not going to yield to someone like Nobunaga.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He railed against the Oda almost as though he could spit, but then suddenly fell silent." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "With the light of the lamp behind her, Oichi's face was buried in the child suckling at her breast. This was Nobunaga's little sister! Nagamasa shook with emotion. She even looked like him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She had her brothers' delicate complexion and his profile." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Are you crying?\"\n\n\"The baby sometimes gets fretful and chews my nipple when the milk doesn't come out.\"\n\n\"The milk isn't coming out?\"\n\n\"No, not now.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"That's because you have some unseen sorrow and you're getting too thin. But you are a mother, and this is a mother's true battle.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I know.\"\n\n\"I suspect you think I'm a hard husband.\"\n\nShe edged up to her husband's side, still holding the child to her breast. \"No, I don't! Why should I bear a grudge? I look at it all as fate.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"People can't be reconciled just by saying that it's fate. The life of a samurai's wife is more painful than swallowing swords. If you are not completely resolved, it won't be a true resolution at all.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'm trying to come to that kind of an understanding, but all I can think of is that I'm a mother.\"\n\n\"My dear, even on the day I married you, I didn't think that you would be mine forever. Neither did my father give his permission for you to become a true bride of the Asai.\"\n\n\"What! What are you saying?\"\n\n\"At a time like this, a man has to tell the truth. This moment will never come again, so I'm going to open my heart to you. When Nobunaga sent you to marry me, it was really nothing more than a political strategem. I could see through to what was in his heart from the very first.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He paused. \"But even while I knew that, a love grew between us that nothing could ever stop. Then we had four children. At this point you are no longer Nobunaga's sister. You're my wife and the mother of my children. I won't allow you to shed tears for our enemy. So why are you growing so thin and holding back the milk you should be giving to our child?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Now she could see. Everything that had been a result of \"fate\" had been conceived as political strategem. She was a bride of political strategy: from the very first Nagamasa had seen Nobunaga as someone to watch. But Nobunaga had sincerely loved his brother-in-law." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Nobunaga believed that the heir of the Asai clan had a future, and he had trusted him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He had pushed for the marriage enthusiastically. But the match had been in doubt from the very beginning, because of the much older alliance between the Asai and the Asakura of Echizen. Their pact was not simply one of mutual defense, but a complex relationship based on friendship and mutual favors. The Asakura and Oda had been enemies for years." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When Nobunaga had attacked the Saito in Gifu, how much had they hindered him and come to the aid of the Saito?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Nobunaga overcame this obstacle to the match by sending a written pledge to the Asakura, promising not to invade their domain.\n\nSoon after the wedding, both Nagamasa's father and the Asakura clan—to which he owed so many favors—began to pressure Nagamasa to regard his wife with suspicion. In the meantime, the Asai had joined the Asakura, the shogun, Takeda Shingen of Kai, and the warrior-monks of Mount Hiei in an anti-Nobunaga alliance.\n\nThe following year Nobunaga had invaded Echizen." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Suddenly he was struck from behind." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Cutting off Nobunaga's path of retreat and acting in concert with the Asakura clan, Nagamasa had plotted the man's utter annihilation. At the time, Nagamasa made it clear to Nobunaga that he was not going to let his judgment be affected by his wife, but Nobunaga would not believe it. The forces of the Asai and the martial valor of the man whom Nobunaga had trusted had become a fire at his very feet. Indeed, they had become chains." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "expand on the story like Eiji Yoshikawa would" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The combined forces of the Oda and the Tokugawa entered Kai like raging waves. Led by Anayama, Ieyasu's army marched from Minobu to Ichikawaguchi. Oda Nobutada attacked upper Suwa and burned the Suwa Myojin Shrine and a number of Buddhist temples. The common people's homes along the road he burned to ashes as he hunted for surviving enemy soldiers and pushed on—day and night—toward Nirasaki and Kofu." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Finally, the end came." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was the morning of the eleventh day of the Third Month.\n\nOne of Katsuyori's personal attendants had gone to the village the night before and returned after reconnoitering the enemy positions. That morning he gave the report to his lord as he gasped for breath.\n\n\"The vanguard of the Oda forces has entered the nearby villages and seems to have learned from the villagers that you and your family are here, my lord. It appears that the Oda have surrounded the area and cut off all the roads, finally starting their last push in this direction.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Their group now numbered only ninety-one—the forty-one remaining samurai with Katsuyori and his son, and Katsuyori's wife and her ladies-in-waiting." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In the preceding days they had ensconced themselves in a place called Hirayashiki and had even erected a sort of palisade. But when they heard the report, every one of them knew that the time had come, and they hurried to prepare themselves for death. Among them, Katsuyori's wife sat as though she were still in the mansion of the inner citadel. Her face was like a white flower as she looked off in a daze." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The women who surrounded her had broken into tears." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If it was going to come to this, it would have been better to stay in the new castle at Nirasaki. How pitiful. Is this how the wife of the lord of the Takeda should look?\"\n\nLeft to themselves, the women cried miserably and lamented to each other without end.\n\nKatsuyori went to his wife and pressed her to leave. \"I've just ordered my attendant to bring you a horse. Even if we could stay here for a long time, our regrets would never end, and now the enemy is closing in on the foothills. I've heard that we're close to Sagami, so you should go there as quickly as possible. Cross the mountains and go back to the Hojo clan.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "His wife's eyes were filled with tears, but she made no move to leave." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Rather, she looked as though she resented her husband's words.\n\n\"Tsuchiya! Tsuchiya Uemon!\" Katsuyori called, summoning a retainer. \"Get my wife on the back of a horse.\"\n\nThe attendant strode up to Katsuyori's wife, but she suddenly turned to her husband and said, \"It is said that a true samurai will not have two masters. In the same way, once a woman has taken a husband, she should not go back to live with her family again. Though it may seem to be compassionate of you to send me back to Odawara by myself, just those words feel so unsympathetic... I'm not moving from this place. I'll be at your side until the very end. Then, perhaps, you will let me go with you to the hereafter.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Just at that moment, two retainers rushed up with the information that the enemy was closing in." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"They've reached the temple in the foothills.\"\n\nKatsuyori's wife strictly scolded her attendants for their sudden wailing. \"There is no time to do anything but grieve. Come here and help with the preparations.\"\n\nThis woman was not yet twenty years old, yet she did not lose her sense of propriety even as death pressed in." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She was as serene as a pool of water, and Katsuyori himself felt reproved by her composure." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Her attendants went off but returned shortly with an unglazed cup and a sake flask, and set them down in front of Katsuyori and his son. It appeared that his wife had thought far enough ahead to prepare even for this moment. Silently she offered her husband the cup. Katsuyori held it in his hand, took a sip, and passed it to his son." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He then shared it with his wife." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"My lord, a cup for the Tsuchiya brothers,\" his wife said. \"Tsuchiya, you must say farewell while we are all still in this world.\"\n\nTsuchiya Sozo, Katsuyori's personal attendant, and his two younger brothers had truly been devoted to their lord. Sozo was twenty-six years old, the next oldest was twenty-one, and the youngest brother was only eighteen." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Together they had protected their ill-fated lord with fidelity all along the way, from the fall of the new capital to their last stand on Mount Temmoku." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"With this, I can leave without regrets.\" Emptying the cup he had received, Sozo turned and smiled at his younger brothers. Then he turned to Katsuyori and his wife. \"Your misfortune this time is due entirely to the defection of your kinsmen. It must be fearful and unsettling for both you, my lord, and your wife to go through this without knowing what was in people's hearts. But the world is not filled only with people like those who betrayed you. Here at your final moment, at least, everyone with you is of one heart and one body. You can now believe in both man and the world, and walk through the portals of death with grace and an easy mind.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Sozo stood straight up and walked over to his wife, who was with her ladies." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Suddenly there was the heartrending shriek of a child, and Katsuyori yelled out frantically, \"Sozo! What have you done?\"\n\nSozo had stabbed his own four-year-old son to death right before his wife's eyes, and now she was sobbing. Without even putting away his bloody sword, Sozo prostrated himself toward Katsuyori from a distance.\n\n\"As proof of what I have just declared to you, I have sent my own son ahead on the road of death. Certainly he would have been an encumbrance otherwise. My lord, I am going to accompany you; and whether I be first or last, it will take only an instant.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "How sad to see the flowers" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I knew would fall\n\nDeparting before me,\n\nNot one to remain\n\nUntil the end of spring." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Covering her face with her sleeves, Katsuyori's wife chanted these lines and cried pathetically." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "One of her ladies-in-waiting choked back her tears and continued:\n\nWhen they bloomed,\n\nTheir numbers were beyond measure;\n\nBut with the end of spring" }, { "from": "human", "value": "They fell without one blossom left behind." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As her voice trailed off, a number of women unsheathed their daggers and cut through their own breasts or stabbed their own throats, the flowing blood soaking their black hair. Suddenly the hum of an arrow sounded close by, and soon arrows were thudding into the ground all around them. The echo of guns could be heard in the distance.\n\n\"They've come!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Prepare yourself, my lord!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The warriors stood up together. Katsuyori looked at his son, ascertaining Taro's resolution.\n\n\"Are you ready?\" Taro bowed and stood up. \"I am ready to die right here at your side,\" he answered." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"This is good-bye, then.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As father and son seemed ready to dash into the enemy, Katsuyori's wife shouted to her husband from behind, \"I will depart before you.\"\n\nKatsuyori stood stock-still and fixed his eyes on his wife. Holding a short sword, his wife looked up and closed her eyes. Her face was as pure and white as the moon rising over the edge of the mountain." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She calmly intoned a verse from the Lotus Sutra, which she had loved to recite in former times." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Tsuchiya! Tsuchiya!\" Katsuyori called out.\n\n\"My lord?\"\n\n\"Assist her.\"\n\nBut Katsuyori's wife did not wait for the man's blade, and pressed her own dagger straight into her mouth as she recited the sutra." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The instant the figure of his wife fell forward, one of her attendants began to encourage those left behind." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Her Ladyship departed ahead of us. None of us should be late in accompanying her on the road of death.\" With these words, she bared her throat to her own dagger and fell.\n\n\"It's time.\" Crying and calling to each other, the fifty remaining women were soon scattered like flowers in a garden blown by a winter storm. They lay either sideways or face down, or stabbed themselves while embracing one another." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In the midst of this pathetic scene, one could hear the crying of infants not yet weaned or too small to leave their mothers' laps." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Sozo desperately put four women and the infants on horseback and lashed them to the saddles.\n\n\"It will not be counted as disloyalty if you do not die here. If you can get away with your lives, bring up your children and see that they hold memorial services for their pitiful former master's clan.\" Thus reprimanding those mothers who were crying so loudly with their children, Sozo ruthlessly beat the three horses he had set them on with the shaft of his spear. The horses galloped away as the mothers and their children sobbed and wailed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Sozo then turned to his younger brothers." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Well, then, let's go.\" By that time they could see the faces of the Oda soldiers coming up the mountain. Katsuyori and his son were surrounded by the enemy. As Sozo ran to their side to assist them, he saw one of his lord's retainers running in the opposite direction in flight." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You traitor!\" Sozo shouted, chasing after the man." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Where are you going?\" And he stabbed the man in the back. Then, wiping the blood from his sword, he ran straight into the midst of the enemy.\n\n\"Give me another bow! Sozo, give me another bow!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Katsuyori had broken the string of his bow twice already, and now took hold of a new one." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Sozo stood close to his lord's side, shielding him as well as he could. When Katsuyori had loosed all his arrows, he threw down the bow and picked up a halberd, and then brandished a long sword. By this time the enemy was right in front of him, and a battle of naked cutting blades would last no more than a moment.\n\n\"This is the end!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Lord Katsuyori! Lord Taro! I'm going to precede you!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Calling back and forth to one another, the remaining Takeda men were struck down. Katsuyori's armor was stained in red.\n\n\"Taro!\" He called for his son, but his vision was blurred by his own blood. All the men around him looked like the enemy." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"My lord! I'm still here! Sozo is still at your side!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Sozo, quickly... I'm going to commit seppuku.\"\n\nLeaning on the man's shoulder, Katsuyori retreated about a hundred paces. He knelt, but having received so many spear and arrow wounds, he could not use his hands at all. The more he hurried, the less his hands were able to function." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Forgive me!\" Unable to watch any more, Sozo quickly acted as second and cut off his lord's head." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As Katsuyori fell forward, Sozo snatched up his head and held it, wailing in grief.\n\nHanding Katsuyori's head to his eighteen-year-old brother, Sozo told him to take it and flee. But in tears, the younger man declared that he would die with his brother no matter what.\n\n\"Fool! Go now!\" Sozo thrust him away, but it was too late." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The enemy soldiers were now like an iron ring around them." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Covered with wounds from numberless swords and spears, the Tsuchiya brothers died gloriously.\n\nThe middle brother had stayed with Katsuyori's son from beginning to end. The young lord and retainer were also struck down and killed at the same time. Taro was regarded as a beautiful youth, and even the writer of The Chronicles of Nobunaga, who showed no sympathy in describing the death of the Takeda clan, praised his wholehearted and beautiful death." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "I'll be your writing partner today. I will set the scene, and you will continue the story with 4 sentences, channeling the voice and techniques of Eiji Yoshikawa.i'll kick things off by writing a bit, then you'll take over and write the next 4 sentences in the distinctive voice of Eiji Yoshikawa.Ive got a bit of writers block, im gonna send you something then keep it going 4 sentences at a time, also im going for a Eiji Yoshikawa sorta thing." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The conference had finally agreed that the province for Nobunaga's heir, Samboshi, would be three hundred thousand bushels in Omi." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The protectors of the young lord were to be Hasegawa Tamba and Maeda Geni, but they were to be assisted by Hideyoshi. Azuchi had been lost to the flames, and until a new castle could be built, Samboshi's residence would be Gifu Castle.\n\nSamboshi's two uncles, Nobuo and Nobutaka, were to act as his guardians. In addition to these articles, there was the matter of the structure of the administration." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It would be the responsibility of Katsuie, Hideyoshi, Niwa, and Shonyu to send generals to Kyoto as representatives of the Oda." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The proposals were quickly decided upon. At a closing ceremony, pledges of loyalty to the new lord were signed and sworn to in front of the altar to Nobunaga.\n\nIt was the third day of the Seventh Month. The ceremony marking the first anniversary of Nobunaga's death should have been held the day before." }, { "from": "human", "value": "If the conference had gone smoothly, the ceremony might have been conducted on the day itself, but because of Katsuie's reservations, the night had passed by and the memorial service had been postponed until the following day." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Wiping the sweat from their bodies and changing into mourning dress, the generals waited for the appointed hour for the memorial service in the castle's chapel.\n\nThe hum of mosquitoes was thick around the eaves, and a thin new moon hung in the sky. Quietly the generals crossed over to the secondary citadel. Red and white lotuses were depicted on the sliding doors of the chapel." }, { "from": "human", "value": "One by one the men came in and sat down." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Only Hideyoshi did not appear. Eyes were strained in doubt. But as the generals looked in the direction of the faraway altar, among the austere articles such as the shrine, the mortuary tablet, the golden screen, the offertory flowers, and the incense burner, they could see Hideyoshi sitting coolly and smugly beneath the altar, holding the young Samboshi on his lap.\n\nEach one of them wondered what he was doing." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When they thought it over, however, they remembered that it had been the judgment of the majority at the conference that afternoon that Hideyoshi would be recognized as an aide to the young lord, along with his two guardians." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "On those grounds he could not be accused of being presumptuous.\n\nAnd, simply because he could not find any reason to censure Hideyoshi, Katsuie looked extremely displeased.\n\n\"Please go up to the altar in the proper order,\" Katsuie growled at Nobuo and Nobutaka, twisting his chin. His voice was low, but it was boiling over with vexation." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Pardon me, please,\" Nobuo said to Nobutaka, and stood up first." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Now it was Nobutaka's turn to look displeased. He seemed to feel that being placed behind Nobuo in front of the assembled generals would place him in a subordinate position in the future.\n\nNobuo faced his father's mortuary tablet, closed his eyes, and put his hands together in prayer. Offering incense, he prayed once again in front of the shrine and then withdrew." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Seeing that the man was about to return directly to his own seat, Hideyoshi cleared his throat once as if to bring attention to the child, Samboshi, who was sitting on his lap." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Without actually saying \"Your new lord is over here!\" he attracted Nobuo's attention.\n\nNobuo seemed almost startled at Hideyoshi's deliberate gesture, and hurriedly turned in their direction on his knees. He was by nature a weak man, and his alarm seemed almost pitiful." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Looking up at Samboshi, Nobuo bowed reverently." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In fact, he was too polite.\n\nIt was not the young lord who nodded his approval; it was Hideyoshi. Samboshi was a fretful, spoiled child, but for some reason, seated on Hideyoshi's lap, he was as quiescent as a little doll.\n\nWhen Nobutaka stood up, he likewise prayed in front of the soul of his father." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But having witnessed Nobuo's precedent and apparently not wanting to be laughed at by the other generals, he bowed reverently toward Samboshi with a truly correct demeanor." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He then went back to his seat.\n\nThe next was Shibata Katsuie. When his large frame knelt before the shrine, almost hiding it from view, both the red and white lotuses on the partitions and the flickering lamps tinted his figure in what seemed like red flames of wrath. Perhaps he was giving Nobunaga's soul a lengthy report on the conference and pledging his support for his new lord." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But with the offering of incense, Katsuie remained a long time in silent prayer with his palms pressed solemnly together." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then, withdrawing about seven paces, he straightened his back and turned in the direction of Samboshi.\n\nSince Nobuo and Nobutaka had already bowed reverently to Samboshi, Katsuie could not very well be negligent in that regard. Very likely feeling that it was unavoidable, he swallowed his pride and bowed.\n\nHideyoshi looked as though he were nodding in approval of Katsuie as well." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Katsuie jerked his short, thick neck to the side and returned with a rustle back to his own seat." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "After that, he looked angry enough to spit.\n\nNiwa, Takigawa, Shonyu, Hachiya, Hosokawa, Gamo, Tsutsui, and the other generals paid their respects. Then they moved to the banquet room used for such affairs and, at the invitation of Nobutada's widow, settled down to a meal. The tables were set for more than forty guests." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The cups were passed around, and the lamps flickered in the cool night breeze." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As the men made themselves comfortable with pleasant words for the first time in two days, each was feeling a little drunk.\n\nThe banquet that evening was a bit unusual in that it was given after a memorial service, and so no one got very drunk. Nevertheless, as the sake began to be felt, the generals left their seats to talk to others, and laughter and animated conversations could be heard here and there.\n\nA particularly large number of cups and men gathered in front of Hideyoshi." }, { "from": "human", "value": "And then one more man stepped into the crowd." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"How about a cup?\" asked Sakuma Genba.\n\nGenba's matchless valor in the battles in the north had been highly praised, and it was said that no enemy ever encountered him twice. Katsuie's love for the man was extraordinary. He was fond of describing him as \"my Genba,\" or \"my nephew.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "In his pride he spoke publicly and freely about Genba's martial virtues." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Katsuie had a great number of nephews, but when he said \"my nephew,\" he meant Genba alone.\n\nEven though Genba was only twenty-eight years old, he held Oyama Castle as a general of the Shibata clan and had received a province and rank hardly inferior to the great generals gathered in the banquet room.\n\n\"Say, Hideyoshi,\" Katsuie said. \"Give a cup to that nephew of mine, too.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hideyoshi looked around as though he had just noticed Genba." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Nephew?\" Hideyoshi said, studying the younger man. \"Ah, you.\" Certainly, he did appear to be the hero everyone talked about, and his sturdy frame overshadowed the short-statured, frail-looking Hideyoshi.\n\nGenba did not, however, have his uncle's pockmarked face. He was fair-skinned but robust, and at a glance seemed to have the brows of a tiger and the body of a leopard." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hideyoshi presented the man with a cup." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It's understandable that Lord Katsuie has such fine young men in his clan. Here, have a cup.\"\n\nBut Genba shook his head. \"If I'm going to receive a cup, I'd like that big one.\"\n\nThe cup in question still contained some sake." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hideyoshi artlessly emptied it out and called, \"Somebody come serve him.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The mouth of the gold-lacquered flask touched the edge of the vermilion cup, and even though the bottle was quickly emptied, the cup itself was not yet full. Someone brought in another flask, and the cup was finally filled to the brim.\n\nThe handsome young hero narrowed his eyes, raised the cup to his lips, and drank it dry in one gulp.\n\n\"Well then. What about you?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I haven't got that kind of talent,\" Hideyoshi said, smiling." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "At Hideyoshi's refusal to drink, Genba pressed harder.\n\n\"Why won't you drink?\"\n\n\"I'm not a strong drinker.\"\n\n\"What! Just this little bit.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I drink, but not a lot.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Genba roared with laughter. Then he said, loudly enough so that everyone would hear, \"The rumors that you hear are certainly true. Lord Hideyoshi is good at making excuses, and he's certainly modest. A long time ago—over twenty years—he was an underling sweeping up horse droppings and carrying Lord Nobunaga's sandals. It's admirable of him not to have forgotten those days.\"\n\nHe laughed at his own effrontery. The others must have been startled." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The chattering stopped suddenly, and everyone looked back and forth from Hideyoshi, who was still sitting across from Genba, to Katsuie." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In an instant, everyone forgot about his cup and suddenly sobered up. Hideyoshi only smiled as he looked at Genba. His forty-five-year-old eyes simply gazed at the youth of twenty-eight. Their dissimilarity was not just a matter of a difference of age." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The life Hideyoshi had lived the first twenty-eight years after his birth and the path Genba had followed for his twenty-eight years were extremely different in terms of both environment and experience." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Genba might have been considered as just a little boy who knew nothing of hardships in the real world. For this reason he had a reputation for arrogance as well as for bravery. And apparently he was a man who did not employ caution in a place that was more dangerous than any battlefield—a room in which the leading men of the day were gathered.\n\n\"But, Hideyoshi, there is just one thing I can't stand. No, listen, Hideyoshi. Do you have ears to hear?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "At that point he was yelling at Hideyoshi disrespectfully." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It appeared to be less a matter of being drunk than of something eating at him from inside. Hideyoshi, however, looked at his drunken state and spoke to him almost with affection.\n\n\"You're drunk,\" he said.\n\n\"What!\" Genba shook his head violently and straightened his posture." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"This is no small problem to be written off to drunkenness. Listen. Just a little while ago in the chapel, when Lord Nobuo and Lord Nobutaka and all the other generals came to do reverence to the soul of Lord Nobunaga, didn't you sit in the seat of honor with Lord Samboshi on your lap and make them bow in your direction, one after another?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Well, well,\" Hideyoshi said, laughing.\n\n\"What are you laughing about? Is something funny, Hideyoshi? I don't doubt that your shrewd design was to hold up Lord Samboshi as an ornament for your own insignificant self so that you could receive the bows of the Oda family and its generals. Yes, that's it. And if I had been present, I would have had the pleasure of pulling your head right off. Lord Katsuie and the distinguished men sitting here are so good-natured that I get impatient, and—\"\n\nAt that moment Katsuie, who was sitting about two seats away from Hideyoshi, drained his cup and looked around at the other men. \"Genba, what do you mean by talking in such a way about another man? No, Lord Hideyoshi, my nephew is not speaking out of malice. So just ignore him,\" he said, laughing." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hideyoshi was unable to show his anger and unable to laugh." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He had been placed in a predicament in which he could only force a subtle smile, but his own particular appearance was well fitted for such situations.\n\n\"Lord Katsuie, don't let this upset you. It's all right,\" Hideyoshi said ambiguously. He was clearly pretending to be drunk.\n\n\"Don't pretend, Monkey. Hey, Monkey!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Tonight Genba was acting even more arrogantly than usual." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"'Monkey!' Now that was a slip, but it's not so easy to change a name that was commonly used for twenty years. That's right, it's that 'Monkey' that comes to mind. A long time ago, he was the monkeylike underling being chased around and around from job to job in Kiyosu Castle. At that time, my uncle occasionally served on night duty. I heard that one night when he was bored, he invited Monkey over and gave him sake, and when my uncle got tired from drink he lay down. Then, when he asked Monkey to come over and massage his legs, the tactful Monkey happily did so.\"\n\nAll the men present had lost their pleasant feelings of intoxication. Each man's face turned pale while his mouth went sour. This was not a simple situation." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was very likely that beyond the walls not so far removed from the banquet, in the shadows of the trees and under the floors, were swords, spears, and bows hidden by the Shibata." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Were they not persistently trying to provoke Hideyoshi? A weird sensation, shared by everyone, began to grow out of the feelings of distrust, and that sensation rode the inklike evening breeze and the shadows of the lamps that flickered throughout the hall. It was the middle of the summer, but every man felt a chill along his spine.\n\nHideyoshi waited until Genba had finished and then laughed out loud." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No, Lord Nephew, I wonder from whom you heard that. You've reminded me of a pleasant memory. Twenty years ago, this old monkey had the reputation of being good at massage, and the entire Oda clan had me rub them down. Lord Katsuie's legs were not the only ones to get massaged. And then, when I was given some sweets in reward, how good they tasted! That makes me nostalgic now, nostalgic for the taste of those sweets.\" Hideyoshi laughed again." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Did you hear that, Uncle?\" Genba asked grandiosely. \"Give something nice to Hideyoshi. If you ask him to massage your legs now, he might even do it.\"\n\n\"Don't go too far in this game, Nephew. Listen, Lord Hideyoshi, he's just being playful.\"\n\n\"That's all right. Why, even now I still occasionally massage a certain person's legs.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"And who would that be?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Genba asked with a sneer.\n\n\"My mother. She's seventy years old this year, and massaging her legs is a unique pleasure for me. Since I've been on the battlefield for so many years, however, I haven't had that pleasure at all recently. Well, I'll take my leave now, but the rest of you stay as long as you like.\"\n\nHideyoshi was the first to leave the banquet. As he left and walked down the main corridor, no one got up to stop him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "On the contrary, the other lords thought it wise of him to have left, and were all relieved of the sensation of intense danger they had felt." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Two pages suddenly came out of the room near the entrance where they had been stationed, and followed after him. They had been able to perceive the atmosphere that had pervaded the castle for two days, even from their room. But Hideyoshi had not permitted a large number of his retainers to enter the castle, so when the two pages saw that their lord was safe, their minds were set at ease.\n\nThey had already stepped outside and were summoning the attendants and horses when a voice called out from behind." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Lord Hideyoshi! Lord Hideyoshi!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Someone was looking for him in the dark, open field. A crescent moon floated in the sky.\n\n\"I'm over here.\"\n\nHideyoshi was already mounted." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Recognizing the sound of a slap against the seat of a saddle, Takigawa Kazumasu ran over to him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"What is it?\" Hideyoshi asked with a glance of the same sort that a lord might give to his retainer.\n\nTakigawa said, \"You must have gotten very angry this evening. But it was only because of the sake. And Lord Katsuie's nephew is still young, as you can see. I hope you'll forgive him.\" Then he added, \"This is something that was arranged beforehand, and you may have forgotten about it, but on the fourth—tomorrow—the celebration announcing Lord Samboshi's succession will be held, and you should be sure not to miss it. Lord Katsuie was very concerned about this after you left just now.\"\n\n\"Is that so? Well... \"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Be sure to be there.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I understand.\"\n\n\"And again, about tonight. Please forget about it. I told Lord Katsuie that you were a big-hearted person and not likely to be offended by the jests of a drunken young man on one occasion.\"\n\nHideyoshi's horse had started to move. \"Let's go!\" he shouted to the pages, almost knocking Takigawa to the ground." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hideyoshi's lodgings were in the western section of town." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They consisted of a small Zen temple and a wealthy family's house that he was renting. Quartering his men and horses at the temple, he himself occupied a floor of the house.\n\nIt had been easy for the family to accommodate him, but he had been accompanied by seven or eight hundred retainers. That was actually not very many men, however, as the Shibata clan, it was rumored, had quartered approximately ten thousand of its soldiers in Kiyosu." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As soon as Hideyoshi returned to his lodgings, he complained that it was smoky inside." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ordering the windows to be opened, he almost kicked off his ceremonial robes with the paulownia crest. Then he quickly stripped naked and requested a bath.\n\nThinking that his lord was in a bad mood, the page warily poured a pail of hot water over Hideyoshi's back. Hideyoshi, however, yawned as he sank into the tub." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then, as if he were stretching his arms and legs, he let out a grunt." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'm loosening up a little,\" he observed, then grumbled about the stiffness of the last two days. \"Has the mosquito netting been put up?\"\n\n\"We've already put it up, my lord,\" responded the pages who were holding his sleeping kimono.\n\n\"Fine, fine. All of you should turn in early too. And tell that to the men on guard as well,\" Hideyoshi said from inside the mosquito netting." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The door was closed, but the windows were open to let in the breeze, and the light from the moon seemed almost to be quivering." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hideyoshi began to feel drowsy.\n\n\"My lord?\" called a voice from outside.\n\n\"What is it? Is that Mosuke?\"\n\n\"Yes, my lord. The Abbot Arima is here. He says he'd like to see you in private.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What, Arima?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I told him that you had gone to sleep early, but he insisted.\"\n\nFor a moment no answer came from inside the mosquito netting. Finally Hideyoshi said, \"Show him in. But give him my apologies for not getting up, and tell him that I was indisposed at the castle and took some medicine.\"\n\nMosuke's footsteps quietly descended the steps from the mezzanine." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then someone could be heard climbing the steps, and very soon a man was kneeling in front of Hideyoshi on the wooden floor." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Your attendants told me you were asleep, but... \"\n\n\"Your Reverence?\"\n\n\"I have something of great urgency to tell you, so I ventured to come over in the middle of the night.\"\n\n\"With two days of conferences, I've become both mentally and physically exhausted. But what brings you here in the middle of the night?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The abbot spoke softly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Are you planning to attend the banquet for Lord Samboshi at the castle tomorrow?\"\n\n\"Well, I might be able to if I take some medicine. My malady could just be heatstroke, and people will be annoyed if I'm not there.\"\n\n\"Perhaps your being indisposed is a premonition.\"\n\n\"Well now, why do you say that?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Some hours ago, you withdrew about halfway through the banquet. Soon after that, only the Shibata and their allies remained, and they were very intently discussing something in secret. I didn't understand what was going on, but Maeda Geni was anxious about the situation too, and we secretly listened in on them.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Suddenly becoming silent, the abbot peeped inside the mosquito netting as if to make sure that Hideyoshi was listening.\n\nA pale blue bug was chirping at the corner of the netting, and Hideyoshi was lying down as before, looking up at the ceiling.\n\n\"Go ahead.\"\n\n\"We don't know in detail what they plan to do, but what we're sure of is that they are not going to let you live. Tomorrow when you go up to the castle, they want to take you into a room, confront you with a list of your crimes, and force you to commit seppuku. If you refuse, they plan to kill you in cold blood. Furthermore, they are planning to station soldiers in the castle and even take control of the castle town.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Well now, that's rather intimidating.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"In fact, Geni was anxious to come here and inform you himself, but we were afraid that his leaving the castle would be noticed, so I came here instead. If you are sick just at this moment, it must be heaven's protection. Perhaps you should reconsider attending tomorrow's ceremony.\"\n\n\"I wonder what I should do.\"\n\n\"I hope you won't be attending. By any means!\"\n\n\"It's a celebration for the accession of the young lord, and all are supposed to attend. I'm grateful for your good intentions, Your Reverence. Thank you very much.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Inside the mosquito netting, Hideyoshi pressed his palms together in prayer toward the retreating footsteps of the abbot." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hideyoshi was very good at sleeping. To fall asleep immediately, wherever the thought occurs to one, may seem like an easy ability to acquire, but it is, in fact, quite difficult.\n\nHe had acquired this mysterious skill—so close to enlightenment—out of of necessity, and he had formulated it into as a sort of motto to follow, both to alleviate the pressure of the battlefield and to preserve his own health.\n\nDetachment. For Hideyoshi, that simple word was a talisman." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Detachment might not seem to be a very impressive quality, but it was at the heart of his skill at sleeping." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Impatience, delusion, attachment, doubt, urgency—every kind of bond was cut through in an instant with his two eyelids, and he slept with a mind as blank as a virgin sheet of paper. And conversely, he would wake up in a moment, completely alert.\n\nBut detachment was not only for when he fought cleverly and his plans went as he intended. Over the years he had made many blunders, but during those times he never brooded over his failures and lost battles." }, { "from": "human", "value": "On such occasions he recalled that one word: detachment." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The kind of earnestness people often spoke of—sustained determination and perseverance, or singleminded concentration—was not a special quality for him, but rather a natural part of daily life. Thus for him, it was far more essential to aim toward that detachment that would allow him to remove himself from those qualities—even if just for a moment—and allow his soul to breathe. In turn, he naturally left the problems of life and death up to that one concept: detachment.\n\nHe had been lying down just a short time." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Had he slept an hour?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hideyoshi got up and went down the stairs to the toilet. Immediately, a man on duty was kneeling on the floored veranda, holding up a paper lantern. Very soon thereafter, when he stepped from the toilet, another man was holding a small dipper filled with water, and, drawing near, he poured the water over Hideyoshi's hands.\n\nAs Hideyoshi wiped his hands, he gazed at the position of the moon over the eaves, then turned to his two pages and asked, \"Is Gonbei there?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "When the man he had asked for appeared, Hideyoshi started back toward the stairs to the second floor, looking back at Gonbei as he walked." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Go to the temple and tell the men we're leaving. The division of soldiers and the streets by which to advance were all written down this evening when we left the castle and given to Asano Yahei, so get instructions from him.\"\n\n\"Yes, my lord.\"\n\n\"Wait a moment. I forgot about something. Tell Kumohachi to come see me.\"\n\nGonbei's footsteps went from the stand of trees behind the house off in the direction of the temple." }, { "from": "human", "value": "After he had left, Hideyoshi quickly dressed in his armor and went out." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hideyoshi's lodgings stood near the crossroads of the Ise and Mino roads. He passed by the corner of the store house and walked off in the direction of that crossroads.\n\nAt that moment Kumohachi, who had just received Hideyoshi's summons, ran tottering up from behind. \"I'm here and at your service!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He came around and knelt in front of Hideyoshi." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kumohachi was an old warrior of seventy-five years, but he was not easily bested even by younger men, and Hideyoshi saw that he had come with his armor already on.\n\n\"Well now, this is not a matter that necessitates armor. I'd like you to do something in the morning. I want you to stay behind.\"\n\n\"In the morning? You mean at the castle?\"\n\n\"That's right. You've understood well, typical of your years of service. I want you to go with a message to the castle that I fell ill during the night and suddenly had to return to Nagahama. Also say that I deeply regret not being able to attend the ceremony, but that I hope everything will be well. I imagine that Katsuie and Takigawa will dwell on that for a while, so I want you to wait there, appearing to be senile and hard of hearing. Don't react to anything you hear, and then leave as though nothing had happened.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I understand, my lord.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The old warrior was bent at the waist like a shrimp, but his spear never left his hand. Bowing once before standing up, he turned his body as though his armor weighed heavily upon him, and shuffled off.\n\nAlmost all of the men at the temple had already lined up on the road in front of the gate. Each corps, which was identified by its banner, was in turn divided into companies." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The commanders readied their horses at the head of each unit." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The fires on the fuse cords flickered back and forth, but not a single torch was lit.\n\nThe moon in the sky was only a slender crescent. Along the row of trees, the seven hundred troops swayed silently in the dark, like waves on a shore.\n\n\"Hey! Yahei!\" Hideyoshi called out as he walked along next to the line of officers and men." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The men were not easily distinguishable in the shadows of the trees, and here was a short man beating a bamboo staff on the ground as he walked along with six or seven men following behind." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Most of the soldiers probably thought he was the head of a group of packers, but when they realized it was Hideyoshi, they became even more hushed, pulling their horses back so they would not get in the way.\n\n\"Here I am! Over here!\"\n\nAsano Yahei had been at the base of the stone steps giving instructions to a group of men. When he heard Hideyoshi's voice, he finished up quickly and ran over to him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Are you ready?\" Hideyoshi spoke to him impatiently, hardly giving him time to kneel." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If you're all set, move out.\"\n\n\"Yes, my lord, we're ready.\"\n\nTaking charge of the commander's standard with the golden gourds that had been propped up in a corner of the gate, he carried it out into the middle of the ranks and quickly mounted his own horse to join the troops.\n\nHideyoshi rode out, accompanied by his pages and about thirty mounted men." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The conch shell might have been blown at that moment, but circumstances prohibited the use of the conch or of torches." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yahei had received the golden fan of command from Hideyoshi and, in his stead, waved it once, twice, and then a third time. With that signal, the seven-hundred-man army began gradually to advance.\n\nThe head of the procession then changed direction and, turning on the road, passed by Hideyoshi. The position of corps commander was filled exclusively by trusted retainers." }, { "from": "human", "value": "That one saw almost none of the faces of the old and experienced veterans was most likely because many of them had been left at Hideyoshi's castles in Nagahama and Himeji, and at his other estates." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Now write approximately five sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "At midnight, Hideyoshi's soldiers left the castle at Kiyosu, looking as though they were the main force accompanying their lord. Taking the Mino road, they started out for Nagahama.\n\nHideyoshi himself departed immediately afterward with no more than thirty or forty men. He took a completely different route and hurried along the back roads where no one would notice him. He finally arrived in Nagahama the following day at dawn." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Write 4 sentences sentences in the style of Eiji Yoshikawa spawning from what the user wrote." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Katsuie had barely escaped with his life, but his army had been annihilated. Until that morning, the Shibata standard with its golden emblem had flown in the vicinity of Yanagase, but now only Hideyoshi's standard could be seen. It shone brilliantly in the bright sunshine, impressing all who saw it, symbolizing a reality that transcended ordinary wisdom and strength.\n\nThe flags and banners of Hideyoshi's army—which stretched out along the roads, and covered the fields presented a grand spectacle of victory." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They were packed so closely together that they resembled a thick golden haze." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The army started eating its provisions. Hostilities had begun early that morning and had lasted for about eight hours. When the meal was finished, the entire army was given orders to advance north immediately.\n\nAs the men approached Tochinoki Pass, they could see the Tsuruga Sea to the west, while the mountains of Echizen opened up to the north seemingly right under their horses' hooves." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The sun was already beginning to sink, and heaven and earth burned with an evening glow encompassing all the colors of a rainbow." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hideyoshi's face was burnt a deep red. He did not, however, appear to be a man who had not slept for days. He seemed to have forgotten that men need to sleep. Constantly advancing, he had not yet ordered a halt." }, { "from": "human", "value": "At that time of year the nights were at their shortest." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "While it was still light, the main army bivouacked at Imajo in Echizen. The vanguard went on, however, having been ordered to advance as far as Wakimoto—more than two leagues away—while the rear guard stopped at Itadori, about the same distance behind the central army. Thus, the camp that night stretched for four leagues from van to rear.\n\nThat night Hideyoshi fell into contented slumber—one that even the song of the mountain cuckoo could not disturb." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Tomorrow we'll get to Fuchu Castle, Hideyoshi thought just before going to sleep." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But how will Inuchiyo receive us?\n\nWhat was Inuchiyo doing at that time? He had passed through the area at noon that same day and, while the sun was still high in the sky, had withdrawn his army into Fuchu, his son's castle.\n\n\"Thank the gods you're safe,\" his wife said as she came out to greet him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Take care of the wounded. You can look to me later on.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Inuchiyo did not even take off his sandals or untie his armor; he just stood in front of the castle. His pages were also there, lined up behind him, solemnly waiting.\n\nFinally, corps after corps of warriors marched smartly through the gate, carrying the corpses of their fallen comrades, on top of which they had laid their banners. Next, those wounded in battle were either carried in or walked in, leaning on their comrades' shoulders." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The thirty-odd casualties the Maeda had suffered in the retreat did not compare with the losses of the Shibata and Sakuma." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The bell was rung at the temple, and as the sun dipped in the sky, the smoke from cooking fires began to rise from all parts of the castle. The order was given for the soldiers to eat their rations. The troops, however, did not disperse, but stayed in their units, as if they were still on the battlefield.\n\nA guard at the main gate yelled, \"The lord of Kitanosho has arrived at the castle gate.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What! Lord Katsuie here!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Inuchiyo muttered in astonishment. This was an unexpected development, and Inuchiyo seemed unable to bear to meet the man—now a fugitive. For a moment he was sunk in thought, but then he said, \"Let's go out to greet him.\"\n\nInuchiyo followed his son out of the keep." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Descending the last set of stairs, he walked to the darkened connecting corridor." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "One of his attendants, Murai Nagayori, followed after him.\n\n\"My lord,\" Murai whispered.\n\nInuchiyo looked at Murai questioningly.\n\nThe retainer whispered in his lord's ear, \"Lord Katsuie's arrival here is an incomparable and happy opportunity. If you kill him and send his head to Lord Hideyoshi, your and Lord Hideyoshi's relationship will be patched up without difficulty.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Without warning Inuchiyo struck the man in the chest." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Shut up!\" he thundered.\n\nMurai staggered back to the wooden wall behind him and just barely avoided falling over. Turning pale, he had the presence of mind neither to stand up nor to sit completely down.\n\nGlaring at him, Inuchiyo spoke with undisguised anger." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It is an outrageous act to whisper into a lord's ear an immoral, cowardly plan that a man should be ashamed to utter. You consider yourself a samurai, but you know nothing of the Way of the Samurai! What kind of man would sell the head of a general who had come knocking at his gate, just to profit his own clan? Much less when he's spent as many years campaigning with that general as I have!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Leaving the trembling Murai behind, Inuchiyo went out toward the main entrance to greet Katsuie. Katsuie had come up to the castle gate still on horseback. He held the shaft of a broken spear in one hand and did not appear to be wounded, but his entire face—his entire being—was suffused with desolation.\n\nThe reins of his horse were held by Toshinaga, who had run out to greet him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The eight men who accompanied him had stayed outside the main gate." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "So Katsuie was alone.\n\n\"I'm greatly obliged to you.\" With those courteous words to Toshinaga, Katsuie dismounted. He looked Inuchiyo in the face and spoke in a loud voice full of self-scorn." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"We lost! We lost!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He was in surprisingly good spirits. It may have been that he was just pretending, but he seemed far more relaxed than Inuchiyo had imagined he would be. Inuchiyo was kinder than usual in greeting the defeated general. Toshinaga was no less concerned than his father and helped the fugitive take off his blood-soaked sandals." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I feel as though I've come home to my own house.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kindness makes a deep impression on a man in the abyss of destruction and causes him to abandon any suspicions and bitterness. It is the only thing that will make him think that there is still light in the world.\n\nApparently now quite happy, Katsuie continued to congratulate father and son on their escape. \"This defeat was entirely due to my own oversights. I brought troubles onto you, too, and I hope you'll forgive me,\" he apologized." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'll retreat as far as Kitanosho and put my affairs in order and without any regrets. I wonder if you wouldn't give me a bowl of rice and tea.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Demon Shibata seemed to have become the Buddha Shibata. Even Inuchiyo was unable to hold back his tears.\n\n\"Bring some tea and rice quickly. And sake,\" Inuchiyo ordered. He could think of few words of comfort for the man." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Nevertheless, he felt that he had to say something." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It's often said that victory and defeat are the stuff of a warrior's life. If you consider today's disaster in terms of human destiny, you know that to be proud of victory is the first step toward the day of destruction, and to be completely defeated is the first step toward the day of victory. The eternal cycle of man's rise and fall is not just a matter of temporary joy and sorrow.\"\n\n\"Therefore, what I regret is neither my own personal destruction nor the perpetual cycle of change,\" Katsuie said. \"I only regret the loss of my reputation. But rest assured, Inuchiyo. It is all predestined.\"\n\nFor him to say such a thing was a complete departure from the Katsuie of olden days." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But he seemed to be neither tormented nor confused." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When the sake arrived, Katsuie happily took a cup and, supposing that it would be his farewell, poured one for father and son as well. He heartily ate the simple meal Inuchiyo had ordered.\n\n\"I've never tasted anything like the rice I've eaten today. I'll never forget your kindness.\" That said, he took his leave." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Inuchiyo, who accompanied him outside, immediately noticed that his mount was exhausted." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ordering a page to bring out his own beloved dapple-gray horse, he offered it to Katsuie. \"Put your mind at ease,\" Inuchiyo said. \"We will hold this place until you get to Kitanosho.\"\n\nKatsuie started to leave but then turned the horse around and came up to Inuchiyo as though he had suddenly remembered something." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Inuchiyo, you and Hideyoshi have been close friends since your youth. The battle having turned out this way, I release you from your duty to me as a retainer.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 5 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Those were to be his last words to Inuchiyo. As he mounted his horse, his expression was devoid of any falsehood. Confronted with such feeling, Inuchiyo bowed with heartfelt emotion. The figure of Katsuie leaving the castle gate was black against the red of the evening sun. The tiny remaining army of eight mounted men and ten or so foot soldiers now took flight to Kitanosho." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "expand on the story like Eiji Yoshikawa would" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In just one short year, Hideyoshi had risen so rapidly to prominence that even he was surprised. He had struck down the Akechi and the Shibata; Takigawa and Sassa knelt before him; Niwa held him in special confidence; and Inuchiyo had demonstrated his loyalty to their old friendship.\n\nHideyoshi now controlled almost all the provinces that Nobunaga had conquered. Even his relationship with provinces outside Nobunaga's sphere of influence had undergone a complete change." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The Mori, who for years had obstinately resisted Nobunaga's plans for hegemony, had signed a treaty of alliance and sent hostages." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There was, however, one man who remained an open question: Tokugawa Ieyasu. There had been no communication between the two for some time. They were silent, like poor chess players waiting for the other side to make a good move.\n\nThe silence was finally broken by a diplomatic overture from Ieyasu, soon after Hideyoshi's return to Kyoto on the twenty-first day of the Fifth Month." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ieyasu's most senior general, Ishikawa Kazumasa, called on Hideyoshi at Takaradera Castle." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I have come to convey Lord Ieyasu's congratulations. Your great victory has brought peace to the nation.\" With that solemn announcement, Kazumasa presented Hideyoshi with a valuable antique tea container called Hatsuhana.\n\nHideyoshi had become a devotee of the tea ceremony, and he was delighted to receive the precious gift. But it was also clear that he derived even greater satisfaction from having received the courtesy from Ieyasu first." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Kazumasa had planned on returning to Hamamatsu that very day, but Hideyoshi detained him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You don't have to hurry,\" Hideyoshi said. \"Stay for two or three days. I'll tell Lord Ieyasu that I insisted. Especially since we're having a little family celebration tomorrow.\"\n\nWhat Hideyoshi called \"a little family celebration\" was the banquet to mark his investiture with a new court title, which was the seal of imperial approval on his domestic policies and military successes. He was also to announce the construction of a major new castle in Osaka." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The banquet lasted three days." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A seemingly endless line of guests made its way up to the castle, and the narrow streets of the town were clogged with the carriages of courtiers, and their servants and horses.\n\nKazumasa was forced to admit that Nobunaga's mantle had come to rest on Hideyoshi's shoulders. Until that day he had firmly believed that it would be his lord, Ieyasu, who would succeed Nobunaga, but the time he spent with Hideyoshi changed his mind. When he compared Hideyoshi's and Ieyasu's provinces and reflected on the differences between their troops, he concluded sadly that the Tokugawa domain was still a small provincial outpost in eastern Japan." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A few days later, Kazumasa announced his intention to leave, and Hideyoshi accompanied him as far as Kyoto." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As they were riding along, Hideyoshi turned in the saddle and looked back. He beckoned to Kazumasa, who was riding some way behind, to join him. As a retainer of another clan, Kazumasa had been received with the courtesy due to a guest, but he quite naturally rode behind Hideyoshi.\n\nHideyoshi said warmly, \"We decided to travel together, and that doesn't mean that we should ride separately. The road to Kyoto is particularly boring, so let's talk as we ride.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Kazumasa hesitated for a moment but then rode up to Hideyoshi's side." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It's inconvenient going back and forth to Kyoto,\" Hideyoshi went on. \"So within the year I'm going to move to Osaka, which is close to the capital.\" He then described his plans to build a castle.\n\n\"You've chosen a good location in Osaka,\" Kazumasa remarked." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's said that Lord Nobunaga had his eye on Osaka for a number of years.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes, but the warrior-monks of the Honganji were entrenched in their temple-fortress there, so he was forced to settle for Azuchi.\"\n\nBefore long they entered the city of Kyoto, but just as Kazumasa was about to take his leave, Hideyoshi stopped him once again and said, \"It wouldn't be advisable to take the land route in this heat. You'd better take a boat across the lake from Otsu. Let's have some lunch with Maeda Geni while the boat's being prepared.\"\n\nHe was referring to the man he had recently appointed to the governorship of Kyoto. Giving Kazumasa no chance to refuse, Hideyoshi led him to the governor's mansion." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The courtyard had been swept clean, as though the visitor had been expected, and Geni's reception of Kazumasa was extremely courteous." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hideyoshi continuously urged Kazumasa to relax, and during lunch they talked of nothing else but the castle he was going to build.\n\nGeni brought in a large sheet of paper and spread it out on the floor. A plan for a castle was being shown to an envoy from another province, and both the man showing it and the man being shown it looked apprehensive of the reason for Hideyoshi's openness; the only apparent explanation was that Hideyoshi had forgotten that Kazumasa was a retainer of the Tokugawa clan, as well as the status of his own relationship with that clan.\n\n\"I've heard that you're quite an expert on castles,\" Hideyoshi told Kazumasa, \"so if you have any suggestions, please don't hesitate.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Just as Hideyoshi had said, Kazumasa was quite well versed in castle construction." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Normally such plans would be top secret—hardly something to show to a retainer from a rival province—but Kazumasa put away his doubts about Hideyoshi's intentions and studied the plans.\n\nKazumasa knew Hideyoshi was unlikely to do anything small, but he was overawed by the scale of the project. When Osaka had been the headquarters of the warrior-monks of the Honganji, their fortress had occupied an area of one thousand square yards. In Hideyoshi's plan, that became the foundation for the main citadel." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The area's topography—rivers, mountains, and seacoast—had been taken into consideration; their advantages and disadvantages had been considered, and the comparative difficulties of attack and defense and other logistical problems had all been thought out." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The main citadel, and the second and third, were all surrounded by earthen walls. The circuit of the outer walls was more than six leagues. The tallest building within the walls was a five-story keep, which would be pierced with openings from which to shoot arrows. The tiles of the roof were to be gold-leafed." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In his amazement Kazumasa could only marvel in silent awe at what he saw before him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But what he had been staring at was still nothing more than a part of the project. The moat surrounding the castle took its water from the Yodo River. With the prosperous mercantile city of Sakai close by, Osaka was connected with numerous trade routes to China, Korea, and Southeast Asia. The nearby Yamato and Kawachi mountain chains formed a natural defensive wall." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The Sanin and Sanyo roads connected Osaka with sea and land routes to Shikoku and Kyushu, and made it a gateway with access to all outlying areas." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As the location of the country's most important castle and a place from which to rule the nation, Osaka was many times superior to Nobunaga's Azuchi. Kazumasa could discover nothing lacking here.\n\n\"What do you think?\" Hideyoshi asked.\n\n\"Absolutely perfect. It's a plan on a grand scale,\" Kazumasa replied." }, { "from": "human", "value": "There was nothing more he could honestly say." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It will be sufficient, don't you think?\"\n\n\"On the day it's completed, it will be the largest castle town in the whole country,\" Kazumasa said.\n\n\"That's what I intend.\"\n\n\"When do you anticipate its completion?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'd like to move in before the year is through.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Kazumasa blinked disbelievingly. \"What! By the end of the year?\"\n\n\"Well, about then.\"\n\n\"It could take ten years for an engineering project of that size.\"\n\n\"In ten years the world will have changed, and I'll be an old man,\" Hideyoshi said, laughing." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I've ordered the overseers to complete the castle's interior, including its decorations, within three years.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I can't imagine it's going to be easy to make the craftsmen and laborers work at such a pace. And the amounts of stone and lumber you will need are going to be immense.\"\n\n\"I'm bringing in lumber from twenty-eight provinces.\"\n\n\"How many laborers will you need?\"\n\n\"I'm not sure about that. I suppose I'll need well over a hundred thousand. My officials say that it will require about sixty thousand men working every day for three months just to dig the inner and outer moats.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Kazumasa fell silent. He was depressed as he reflected on the great difference between this project and the castles of Okazaki and Hamamatsu in his own province." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But would Hideyoshi really be able to bring the huge stones he needed to Osaka, an area totally lacking in quarries? And where, in these difficult times, did he think he could find the huge sums to pay for the project? He wondered whether Hideyoshi's great plans were really anything more than bragging.\n\nJust then something urgent seemed to have occurred to Hideyoshi, and he called for his secretary and began dictating a letter." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Completely forgetting that Kazumasa was there, he looked over what had been written down, nodded, and started to dictate another letter." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Even if Kazumasa had not wanted to listen to what was being said, Hideyoshi was right in front of him and he could not help but hear. Hideyoshi seemed to be dictating an extremely important letter to the Mori clan.\n\nOnce again Kazumasa was embarrassed and hardly knew what to do with himself. He said, \"Your official business seems to be rather urgent. Shall I withdraw?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No, no, that won't be necessary. I'll be done in a moment.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hideyoshi continued with his dictation. He had received a letter from a member of the Mori clan congratulating him on his victory against the Shibata. Now, under the pretext of giving an account of the battle of Yanagase, he was demanding that his correspondent define his own attitude concerning the future of his clan. It was a personal letter, and an extremely important one." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Kazumasa sat next to him, silently looking at the stands of bamboo groves, while Hideyoshi dictated:" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"If I had given Katsuie a moment's rest, it would have taken much longer to defeat him. But the fate of Japan hung in the balance, so I had to resign myself to the loss of my men. I attacked Katsuie's main castle at the second half of the Hour of the Tiger, and by the Hour of the Horse I took the citadel.\"\n\nWhen he dictated the words, \"the fate of Japan,\" his eyes were ablaze just as they had been when the castle fell. The letter then took a turn that would rivet the Mori clan's attention on his words.\n\n\"It would be futile to mobilize our troops, but if necessary I will visit your province in person to determine the matter of boundaries. Therefore, it is important that you use discretion and be resolved not to provoke me.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Kazumasa unconsciously stole a look at Hideyoshi and marveled at the man's boldness." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Here was Hideyoshi lightheartedly dictating some very frank words, almost as if he were sitting cross-legged in front of his correspondent, having a friendly chat. Was he being arrogant or just naïve?\n\n\"Both the Hojo in the east and the Uesugi in the north have entrusted matters to my resolve. If you are also prepared to let me work freely, the government of Japan will be better than it has been since ancient times. Give this deep thought and your own personal care. If you have any objections, please let me know before the Seventh Month. It is essential that you relay all of this in detail to Lord Mori Terumoto.\"\n\nKazumasa's eyes watched the play of the wind in the bamboo, but his ears were absolutely fascinated with what Hideyoshi was saying." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His heart quivered like the bamboo leaves in the wind." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It appeared that, for this man, even the titanic task of building Osaka Castle was something he did in his spare time. And he asserted, even to the Mori clan, that if they objected they should let him know before the Seventh Month—before he went to war again.\n\nKazumasa was beyond admiration; he felt exhausted.\n\nAt that moment an attendant announced that Kazumasa's ship was ready to sail." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Mode:\nCo-writing\n\nLength:\n4 sentences\n\nStyle:\nKatherine M. Lawrence" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Yamabuki arrived at the base of Foot Trail." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The sun had risen high enough to wash the cove with full morning light, but beneath the bluff's semi-shadow, by the water's edge where the air was definitely cooler, squawking gulls scuttled across the rocks, sand, and shell. Out in the channel cormorants and pelicans poked their bills into dark waters, coming up with prey in their beaks.\n\nUp and down the shore, villagers with waterlogged wooden buckets dug around the half submerged larger boulders. Oyster hunters.\n\nShe looked further along the shoreline to the point where the land curved away from the channel, beyond which only the wide-open, mysterious blue ocean stretched toward the world's edge." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Near land's end she noticed a small hovel." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Dirty smoke rose from a vent in the roof. Someone had notched together a series of square wooden frames. They lay on the sand just outside the hut. Probably makers.\n\nStanding on some rocks above a tidal pool, two laughing young men with shaven heads, flowing white robes, and thick walking sticks skipped pebbles out into the channel to see who could get the most hops over the wave tops of the rapidly outgoing tide." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Buddhists. Tendai sect, no doubt." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She saw the samurai with the nodachi sitting on a large boulder high above the water, away from everyone else. He had assumed the countenance of a rotund Buddha, but instead of gold-plate, this one sat clad in indigo armor. He scowled as he studied the two monks.\n\nWell, she laughed to herself, almost a Buddha." }, { "from": "human", "value": "A scowling Buddha at best." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hmm. What interest does he have in the monks? A manly attraction? Maybe. They certainly could be pleasing.\n\nOne of the oyster hunters, a reedy girl with a sweet smile, carefully approached Yamabuki." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The girl glanced uneasily at Mochizuki, who for the moment remained placid." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Overcoming whatever fear she might have had, the girl lifted a brimming bucket for Yamabuki's inspection.\n\n\"Oysters, samurai-sama?\" she said, bowing.\n\nYamabuki had not eaten an oyster since she left the shores of Great Bay Province, and the mere sight of the barnacle-covered shells filled her with memories of home.\n\n\"How much?\" Yamabuki asked." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"A copper,\" the girl answered, casting her eyes down." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yamabuki's eyes narrowed. \"A copper? For how many?\"\n\nThe girl started. Her eyes shot back up. Her lips quavered slightly.\n\nThe older oyster hunters, who waded out among the rocks, watched the interchange from out of the corners of their worried eyes." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Likewise, Yamabuki watched the oyster hunters." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Their fear was obvious, and she understood their concern. Both she and they knew that most samurai made a point of being unpredictable, temperamental, and dangerous. A samurai would think nothing of striking an oyster hunter, whatever her age, who delivered an insult, real or imagined.\n\nTrying to stay only a bit stern, Yamabuki glanced at the bucket." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Are they good? Fresh?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Just now,\" the girl answered, pointing back toward the oyster hunters who waded ever further out into the channel. \"Full Moon tide. Water's low. Good.\"\n\nYamabuki looked skeptically into the bucket. When she let her eyes meet the girl's, she did not show her samurai face." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She smiled down at the child. \"They alive?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Hai,\" the girl replied and poked her finger into the various open shells, each of which lazily closed.\n\n\"One copper. Five oysters.\"\n\nThe girl's eyes opened wide.\n\nMaybe she can't count." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Yamabuki held up five fingers." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The girl bowed very low.\n\nHumph. Looks like I've already agreed to pay too much.\n\nThe girl quickly fished out five oysters, ones toward the bucket bottom.\n\n\"These're the best,\" she said, catching her breath." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Biggest. Freshest of all.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The girl yanked a knife out of her sash and shucked the five with total alacrity, setting the half shells on a waist high boulder next to Yamabuki.\n\nLarge indeed. Yamabuki took the closest oyster and lifted it, shell and all, to her lips to scoop the meat off into her mouth; she could not help but smile as the taste of ocean mingled with the delicate flavor of the oyster's flesh.\n\nYamabuki handed the girl the promised copper.\n\nThe girl scurried away to the other oyster gatherers, where there was much talking, nodding of heads, and veiled gesturing in Yamabuki's direction." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Indeed, I definitely paid too much." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Still, as she finished the fifth and final oyster, it tasted just as good as the first. In fact, it was better than what she remembered being served at her estate house in the Taka compound.\n\nMaybe the old saw was true: \"Oysters taste best when your toes touch the sea.\"\n\nShe was sated. The copper coin was irrelevant, the actual purchase being the girl's momentary smile." }, { "from": "human", "value": "One more thing remained." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She reached into her saddle pouch to remove a small bamboo canteen adorned with an indigo-black jade Taka crest. She took a quick, yet ample, sip of saké from the flask innkeeper Inu had replenished just that morning. Not too much, now, she reminded herself. Who knows how long it will be before I again shall taste saké such as this?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Just then she heard sounds behind her that echoed and re­echoed along the crescent cliffs: a group of shouting men coming down the Carriage Road." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She counted six of them. They rolled a rickety two-wheel cart onto the rocky beach. All wore vivid green work tunics decorated with golden roundels. Fine clothes or not, the men wrestled like common laborers with the handcart they had stacked to overflowing with bundles." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They are wearing fine fabrics. Probably fabric merchants." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "One of their number, who seemed to be the master weaver, animatedly pointed, bobbed his head, and waved his arms. The other men heaved, pulled, and shouted at one another, but finally the cart bumped its way over the rocks and onto the wide set of planks that covered the last forty or so strides to the dock. Even so, the merchants were making painfully slow progress.\n\nFor the time being, Yamabuki thought it best to keep her colt back from their ruckus." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She glanced back at Carriage Road and saw Blue Rice saunter onto the beach." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He paused. Taking in a deep breath, he placed one hand up to shield his face from the direct rays of the sun, which just now broke over the highest top of the hillside.\n\n\"Feed for your handsome stallion, samurai-sama?\" asked a wizened man, stooped from carrying a load of hay across his back. \"Only one copper for all this.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "A copper for just that?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then again, Mochizuki won't eat that much anyway; and besides, it will keep him quiet.\n\nShe flipped the man the coin, which he caught one-handed. He set the bale down, bowed, and scurried away. Mochizuki snorted and immediately started to munch." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The sun was still rising." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Now write approximately 5 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She turned her gaze toward the mid-morning seascape, taking in the beauty, wishing to seal these precious moments in her memory.\n\nIt would be some time before she would cross home over Barrier Strait.\n\nThe morning moon had set. Though she did not wish to let herself become overly sentimental, her Taka-born characteristic realism reminded her that sentimentality might not be an indulgence at all.\n\nAs the tide moved out to sea, she felt a sweeping sense of awaré, the sorrowful awareness that the world is transient." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Let's engage in a collaborative writing exercise. I'll provide a starting point, and You'll continue with four sentences in the style of Katherine M. Lawrence." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "All at once the music began. There may have been only four instruments and three singers, but the room filled with music as grand as at the Taka compound.\n\nOld Inu joined the three singers in an unfamiliar melody. Ishi-tsuki and Chi-ye displayed energy and elegance; their arms and legs moved fluidly in time to the rhythm of the song." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Watching what appeared to be effortless gliding and leaping, Yamabuki could not help but be pleased." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She knew the strength and stamina it took to make it look simple.\n\nThey performed dance after dance—some animated, some quiet, others with bawdy refrains, but always with feminine grace, even when the steps grew wild and driving.\n\nThe last time Yamabuki had been entertained at Wakatake, she was hardly twelve springs; and she had been seated in the second row of the Taka, and then in a separate room at that, for with the retinue of overflowing numbers, several rooms were needed to delight and feed so many.\n\nAnd it was the retainers who enjoyed the most salacious of the dances." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She, on the other hand, as always, had found herself relegated to the room where girls' songs were sung to the well-bred young ladies." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Since girls' songs were mostly soft, at the time she had sometimes caught some of the more raucous refrains and coarse lyrics coming from afar.\n\nBut tonight she was the only guest and everyone sat in the same room. She was the focus of everything.\n\nEither because of this newfound freedom, or because she was under sway of the saké—which Ryuma now served while the young women danced—a plan began to form." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Yamabuki declared, \"The dances of the Chikuzen District are filled with such energy.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Oh no,\" all the girls corrected almost at once, \"these are the toi dances. Not even of Kita, but of the local fishing settlements.\"\n\nYamabuki rose. \"Unknown dances of toi? Then you shall have to teach them to me so I may show everyone in Great Bay. So they can realize that the Kita girls' performances are the most magnificent.\"\n\nEveryone squealed their delight as Yamabuki took her place next to Ishi-tsuki and Chi-ye. They showed her one dance, then another, and another, until she had memorized five in all." }, { "from": "human", "value": "All the while, Yamabuki's saké and food bowls were filled and then refilled to overflowing." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You might be dressed like a samurai, but you dance like a lady,\" said Ishi-tsuki. Chi-ye and the others nodded in hearty agreement.\n\nInu slapped the floor. \"Ha! See how a samurai moves—in the battlefield or in dancing, she's a master of movement!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The chamber erupted with approving laughter." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ishi-tsuki wondered aloud, \"Are these dances all so different from Great Bay Province's?\"\n\nYamabuki answered, \"They are similar, but they are not exactly the same.\"\n\nSoon everyone began to beg Yamabuki, \"Would you show us the dances of Great Bay Province, then?\"\n\nYamabuki paused thoughtfully, then answered deliberately. \"Under two conditions.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "All eyes stayed fixed on her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"First, you have to join in and learn the steps.\"\n\nEveryone eagerly agreed.\n\n\"Then,\" she continued, \"please find me a silk kimono that will fit someone as tall as me!\"\n\n\"Hai!\" Chi-ye bolted up." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I know right where there's one.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She immediately returned, handing Yamabuki an elegant kimono of vivid blue heavy silk with finely stitched red cranes and a yellow fine silk inner lining.\n\nYamabuki unabashedly slipped out of her warrior's garb and into the costume of a lady.\n\n\"And now for the music.\" Yamabuki's face grew serious, yet still cheerful." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She hummed a tune." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Ha. Ha!\" the four musicians exclaimed. They knew the song. They began to play the instruments, and the three singers joined in with verses about soft fragrant spring blossoms.\n\nYamabuki waved her hands." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No. No. We have different words for this song. You just play,\" she said to the musicians." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You? Clap along,\" she said to the singers. \"And I,\" she paused, \"shall sing the verses.\"\n\n\"Do you need a fan?\" Chi-ye asked.\n\nWith a small smile Yamabuki shook her head as she reached into her warrior's tunic, which had been set aside." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I shall use mine.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "With the snap of her wrist (that of a fancy lady, or was it of a swordsman?) Yamabuki opened her personal tessen. Its significance was not lost on anyone in the room. Not only was this her personal iron-ribbed fan, it was also her war fan." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Its seventeen folds denoted her rank." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Lower ranks had fewer ribs. The Mikado's was twenty-five, the highest allowed in the empire. No one dared carry a fan of more ribs than their rank allowed.\n\nHer tessen, besides doubling as a weapon, was also a symbol of her authority, which meant that despite her youth, she was allowed to command troops in the field." }, { "from": "human", "value": "It was said that all she had to do was to raise it in battle and the Taka would rally to her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Now all anyone needed to do was to politely watch her dance.\n\nMoments later she dropped her noble born manner of speech and began to sing in the thick and all-but-incomprehensible accent that was spoken by the common people of Great Bay, and which few outsiders of any social class could fathom. This made the song sound all the more glamorous.\n\nYamabuki could not help but notice that Ryuma kept his eyes on her almost every moment." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Is it that he is charmed by me, she wondered to herself, or is he after something else?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She smiled enigmatically.\n\nThen with the most gentle, subtle, slow, and soft motions of her arms and hands, she depicted the ocean waves. It was a dance and song about the tide coming in and covering everything that had once been visible, and yet it was a song as much about fate as it was about the sea.\n\nMoments before, everyone had been laughing raucously, but now a hush fell over the room." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Only the music, Yamabuki's singing, and the rustle of the kimono could be heard." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The sound of the silk was as much a part of the song as were the strings and her voice. Hishhh. Hishhh. The silks of the kimono brushed against one another, making the hissing sound of waves coming to shore.\n\nAscending overhead, over the south\n\nThe Sun Goddess shimmers within the sea" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The Wind God fetches the breeze" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Sea God drives the waves\n\nIn awe we ride the ripples of our fleeting lives\n\nIn this world of woe\n\nTears formed in the corners of Yamabuki's eyes and in the eyes of her audience." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When the last note was plucked, everyone softly murmured, \"Good. Very good. How beautiful.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Inu choked back his emotions, forcing a congenial smile. \"Ahhh! Lady Taka made us all promise we would learn the dance, too.\" He leapt to his feet, slapped his knee, which created a more festive mood, commanding, \"We must not disappoint!\"\n\nWith that, Inu, the singers, and the dancers moved forward to join in step—all but the musicians, who continued to play, and Ryuma, who saw to it that Yamabuki's saké bowl stayed full." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She danced, exchanging a glance or two with Ryuma." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 2 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But she did not permit herself any more eye contact than that. Her focus had to stay fixed on the precise dance steps and the three scrolls she had carefully slipped into her silk kimono sleeve, hidden along with her dagger." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Hey can you write like Katherine M. Lawrence and use whatever i write as a jumping off point?" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Iebō sniffed. \"You say too much Aki.\"\n\n\"Aki, is it? Not Aki-bō?\" she sneered. \"Your monk's vows could not survive even the crossing of The Barrier.\" She glared. \"But then again, you were never monks to begin with, were you? And you, your name isn't Iebō either, is it?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "His mouth grew ugly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Does that surprise you?\"\n\n\"Who do you work for?\"\n\n\"Let's say we hold gold higher than Gods.\" Iebō lips twisted petulantly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Someone wants the two dispatches you carry.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Two dispatches?\" Yamabuki's tone remained flat.\n\n\"Don't toy with us!\" Aki sneered.\n\nWith that, Iebō, or whatever he called himself, tugged on his walking staff.\n\nIn one motion, he pulled the top off, revealing what was actually a ninja-style long sword that had been sheathed within the staff." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You two fools think you can win,\" she said in a low voice, not about to show fear." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Give this up. Run for your lives while you still can. There may be two of you, but I warn you, I am well trained and I'm wearing full yoroi armor.\"\n\n\"Maybe so,\" Iebō' said, his mouth drawn into a line, \"but it will take no more than a nick to end you.\"\n\nThen she noticed a honey-like substance that glistened at the tip of Iebō's blade.\n\nHe answered her unvoiced question." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The walking sticks are hollow, but not empty. They hold something special.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He thumped the butt of the walking staff against the ground.\n\n\"Once your skin is broken, even if only slightly, you'll be paralyzed. Your death will be almost immediate, so you might even wish to thank us. It'll be over for you quickly.\"\n\nWith that Aki drew his blade, which was no different from Iebō's, gleaming with the thick contagion on its tip.\n\nShe again vividly pictured the final moments of her father's bodyguard, Giichi." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Did Iebō and Aki use the same poison?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Possibly. Abundant here at the strait. A local delicacy.\n\nYamabuki's mouth drew into a thin line. \"How do I know that it's poison at all?\"\n\n\"Why don't we find out on your horse?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Iebō sneered as he stepped toward Mochizuki." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She tore Tiger Claw from its scabbard and stepped in to guard the colt; but this, alas, put her between the assailants. Confidently, they circled like wild dogs closing in for the kill.\n\nHer mouth went dry. She knew that it would take more than a glancing blow for anyone to get the better of her armor, but the armor was not immune to every type of attack." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Yoroi was meant to blunt killing blows, or strikes that maimed—those delivered to the head, torso, arms, and wrists—not incidental scratches." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And by how the two assassins handled themselves, she suspected they knew where armor was vulnerable, where they might deliver the poison most easily.\n\nThe two false monks looked at each other, exchanged a signal, and pounced as one.\n\nAki rushed her, feinting, his poison-tipped blade lashing out. Yamabuki blocked, knocking the ninja sword aside." }, { "from": "human", "value": "No sooner had she parried Aki than Iebō drove his blade toward her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His sword tip, like a ridged viper with dripping venom, almost cut her leg. Yamabuki blocked him in time, only to have Aki move in from the other side to deliver yet another thrust.\n\nThe sword's grim tip flashed in front of her eyes, narrowly missing her face.\n\n\"You can't win!\" Aki shouted." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Ha!\" Yamabuki spat." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"To win, you have to kill us both. All we need do is cut you, and only once,\" Aki sneered.\n\n\"Bad odds,\" Iebō laughed.\n\nAki and Iebō attacked simultaneously. She turned her sword, defending, blocking, and reversing against each of them." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The two assassins repeated this ploy over and over." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As sweat trickled down Yamabuki's reddening face, Iebō called out, \"I can see the girl's getting tired. Weak. Exhausted.\"\n\n\"We're getting more rest than she is,\" Aki snorted. \"And she's getting hot inside that armor.\" He suddenly made a thrust." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She deflected and lashed out with a spirited strike that grazed his shoulder." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He laughed, seemingly unaffected. \"Too bad you don't have the venom on your blade, or it might have done some good.\"\n\n\"I have venom,\" she shouted, \"in my heart.\" She sprang forward, armor and all, driving her sword toward Aki's heart." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He was agile and leapt back." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yet he was more exhausted than he let on, and she managed to pierce him just below his collarbone. All at once the white robe at his shoulder blossomed bright red.\n\nStaggering backward, he tried to make it appear that he was hardly hurt, but almost immediately he collapsed into a squatting position.\n\n\"That won't kill me,\" he snarled, but then coughed and started to bleed from the corner of his mouth." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Maybe,\" she gasped. \"Maybe I'll just wait for you to bleed out.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Iebō snarled and moved toward Yamabuki.\n\nShe backed up.\n\nAki barked, \"What are you waiting for?\"\n\nWith force enough to pierce her armor, Iebō thrust his blade." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Yamabuki leapt backward. Iebō missed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yamabuki delivered a counter, which he eluded.\n\nAki, now crawling on the ground, moaned, \"She getting tired! She's spent! Do it!\"\n\nYamabuki backed toward a stand of trees at the clearing's edge.\n\nAki gasped as his robe grew evermore sopped in blood." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Iebō pursued nimbly. Laughing wickedly. Taunting." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He raised his blade to remind her of the dark liquid on its tip.\n\nWithout warning, something cut her left cheek. Blood spurted.\n\nBut Iebō was still more than a sword length away. Aki still remained slumped by the roadside." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Who? How?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Aki gave a weak laugh. \"I got you!\" He coughed up more gore.\n\nHer eyes darted down. Her blood was on a jagged rock that lay at her feet." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Obviously, despite his wound, Aki had managed to throw the rock and hit her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But had he dipped it in poison?\n\nShe waited. The short moment seemed to take forever.\n\nIebō must have wondered as well, for he stood still, waiting for Yamabuki to collapse.\n\nShe breathed. Just pain. No poison." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Task: The user will write a bit then you need to write around four sentences continuing directly from the user's text.\n\nAuthor style: James Clavell" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "After their escape but still not far enough away from the Tokaidō, Struan's bolting pony had shied as her half-severed shoulder muscle gave out and Struan tumbled to the ground. The fall hurt him badly.\n\nWith great difficulty, still weak with fear, Tyrer had helped Struan onto his own pony, but he had been barely able to hold the taller, heavier man in the saddle. All the time his attention was on the disappearing cortege, expecting any moment to see mounted samurai." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Can you hold on?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes, yes, I think so.\" Struan's voice was very weak, his pain great. \"Angelique, she got away all right?\"\n\n\"Yes, yes, she did. The devils killed Canterbury.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I saw that. Are... are you hurt?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No, not really. I don't think so. Just a gash in my arm.\" Tyrer tore off his coat, cursed at the sudden pain. The wound was a neat slice in the fleshy part of his forearm. He cleaned some of the blood away with a handkerchief, then used it as a bandage." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No veins or arteries cut—but why did they attack us? Why? We weren't doing any harm.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I... I can't turn around. The bastard got me in the side... How... how does it look?\"\n\nWith great care Tyrer eased the split in the broadcloth coat apart. The length and depth of the cut, made worse by the fall, shocked him. Blood pulsated from the wound, frightening him further." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's not good. We should get a doctor quickly.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"We'd... we'd better... better circle for Yokohama.\"\n\n\"Yes... yes, I suppose so.\" The young man held on to Struan and tried to think clearly. People on the Tokaidō were pointing at them." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His anxiety increased. Kanagawa was nearby and he could see several temples." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"One of them must be ours,\" he muttered, a foul taste in his mouth. Then he saw that his hands were covered with blood and his heart again surged with fright, then surged again with relief when he discovered that most of it was Struan's. \"We'll go on.\"\n\n\"What... did you say?\"\n\n\"We'll go on to Kanagawa—it's close by and the way clear. I can see several temples, one of them must be ours. There's bound to be a flag flying.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "By Japanese custom, Legations were housed in sections of Buddhist temples." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Only temples or monasteries had extra rooms or outbuildings of sufficient size and quantity, so the Bakufu had had some set aside until individual residences could be constructed.\n\n\"Can you hold on, Mr. Struan? I'll lead the pony.\"\n\n\"Yes.\" Struan looked across at his own mount as she whinnied miserably, tried to run again but failed, her leg useless. Blood ran down her side from the savage wound." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She stood there shivering." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Put her out of her pain and let's go on.\"\n\nTyrer had never shot a horse before. He wiped the sweat off his hands. The derringer had twin barrels and was breechloaded with two of the new bronze cartridges that held bullet and charge and detonator." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The pony skittered but could not go far." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He stroked her head for a second, gentling her, put the derringer to her ear and pulled the trigger. The immediacy of her death surprised him. And the noise that the gun made. He put it back in his pocket." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Again he wiped his hands, everything still as in a trance." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"We'd best stay away from the road, Mr. Struan, best stay out here, safer.\"\n\nIt took them much longer than he had expected, with ditches and streams to cross. Twice Struan almost lost consciousness, and Tyrer only just managed to keep him from falling again. Peasants in the rice paddies pretended not to see them, or stared at them rudely, then went back to their work, so Tyrer just cursed them and pressed onwards." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The first temple was empty but for a few frightened, shaven-headed Buddhist monks in orange robes who scurried away into inner rooms the moment they saw them." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "There was a small fountain in the forecourt. Thankfully Tyrer drank some of the cool water, then refilled the cup and brought it to Struan, who drank but could hardly see for pain.\n\n\"Thanks. How... how much farther?\"\n\n\"Not far,\" Tyrer said, not knowing which way to go, trying to be brave." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"We'll be there any moment.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Here the path forked, one way going towards the coast and to another temple soaring above village houses, the other deeper into the town and another temple. For no reason he chose the way towards the coast.\n\nThe path meandered, ran back on itself then went east again, no people in the maze of alleys but eyes everywhere. Then he saw the main gate of the temple and the Union Jack and the scarlet-uniformed soldier and almost wept with relief and pride, for at once they were seen and the soldier rushed to help, another went for the Sergeant of the Guard and in no time there was Dr. Babcott towering over him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Christ Almighty, what the hell's happened?\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 1 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It had been easy to tell—there was so little to tell." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Continue with the same vibes as James Clavell" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Shorin thought about the poem, savoring it, the balance of the words and the third level of meaning. Then he said solemnly, \"It is wise for a samurai to have composed a death poem. I haven't managed that yet but I should, then all the rest of life is extra.\" He twisted his head from side to side to the limit, the joints or ligaments cracking, and he felt better. \"You know, Ori, the Sensei was right: we did hesitate, therefore we lost.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I hesitated, he's right in that, I could have killed the girl easily but she paralyzed me for a moment. I've never... her outlandish clothes, her face like a strange flower with that huge nose more like a monstrous orchid with two great blue spots and crowned with yellow stamens—those unbelievable eyes, Siamese cat eyes and thatch of straw under that ridiculous hat, so repulsive yet so—so attracting.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ori laughed nervously. \"I was bewitched. She is surely a kami from the dark regions.\"\n\n\"Rip her clothes off and she'd be real enough, but how attractive I... I don't know.\"\n\n\"I thought of that too, wondering what it would be like.\" Ori looked up at the moon for a moment." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If I pillowed with her I think... I think I'd become the male spider to her female.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You mean she'd kill you afterwards?\"\n\n\"Yes, if I pillowed her, with or without force, that woman would kill me.\" Ori waved the air, the insects becoming a pestilence. \"I've never seen one like her—nor have you. You noticed too, neh?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No, everything happened so fast and I was trying to kill the big ugly one with the pistol and then she had fled.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ori stared at the faint lights of Yokohama. \"I wonder what she's called, what she did when she got back there. I've never seen—she was so ugly and yet...\"\n\nShorin was unsettled. Normally Ori hardly noticed women, just used them when he had a need, let them entertain him, serve him. Apart from his adored sister, he could not remember Ori ever discussing one before. \"Karma.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes, karma.\" Ori shifted his bandage to be more comfortable, but the throbbing deepened." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Blood seeped from under it. \"Even so, I do not know if we lost. We must wait, we must be patient and see what will happen. We always planned to go against gai-jin at the first opportunity—I was right to go against them at that moment.\"\n\nShorin got up. \"I'm tired of seriousness, and kami and death. We'll know death soon enough. The Sensei gave us life for sonnojoi. From nothing into nothing—but tonight we've another night to enjoy. A bath, saké, food, then a real Lady of the Night, succulent and sweet-smelling and moist...\" He laughed softly. \"A flower, not an orchid, with a beautiful nose and proper eyes. Let's—\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He stopped. Eastwards, from the direction of Yokohama, came the echoing report of a ship's signal cannon." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then a signal rocket briefly lit the darkness.\n\n\"Is that usual?\"\n\n\"I don't know.\" Ahead they could just see the lamps at the first barrier. \"Through the paddy is better, then we can skirt the guards.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes. Better we cross the road here and go closer to the shore. They won't expect intruders that way, we can avoid any patrols, and the Inn is nearer.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They ran across the road, keeping well down, then up onto one of the paths that transversed the fields recently planted with winter rice. Suddenly they stopped. From the Tokaidō came the clatter of approaching horses and jingling harness. They ducked down, waited a moment, then gasped. Ten uniformed dragoons, armed with carbines and led by an officer, cantered out of the curve." }, { "from": "human", "value": "At once the soldiers were spotted by samurai at the barrier, who called out a warning." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Others rushed from the huts to join them. Soon there were twenty lined up behind the barrier, an officer at their head.\n\n\"What shall we do, Ori?\" Shorin whispered.\n\n\"Wait.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "As they watched the senior samurai held up his hand." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Stop!\" he called out, then nodded slightly instead of a bow, correct etiquette from a superior to an inferior. \"Is your night travel authorized? If so please give me the papers.\"\n\nOri's fury soared as he saw the open insolence of the gai-jin officer who halted about ten paces from the barrier, called out something in his strange language and imperiously motioned to the samurai to open it, neither dismounting nor bowing courteously as custom demanded.\n\n\"How dare you be so rude! Leave!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "the samurai said angrily, not expecting the insult, waving them away." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The gai-jin officer barked an order. At once his men unslung their carbines, levelled them at the samurai, then on an abrupt second order, fired a disciplined volley into the air. At once they reloaded and aimed directly at the guards, almost before the sound of the volley had died away, leaving a vast ominous silence throughout the landscape.\n\nShorin and Ori gasped." }, { "from": "human", "value": "For all time guns had been muzzle-loaded with powder and shot." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Those are breechloading rifles, with the new cartridges,\" Shorin whispered excitedly. Neither had ever seen these recent inventions, had only heard of them. The samurai were equally shocked. \"Eeee, did you notice how fast they reloaded? I heard a soldier can easily fire ten rounds to one of a muzzle loader.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"But did you see their discipline, Shorin, and that of the horses? They hardly moved!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Once more the gai-jin officer haughtily motioned them to open the barrier, no mistaking the threat that if he was not obeyed quickly, all the samurai were dead.\n\n\"Let them through,\" the senior samurai said.\n\nThe Dragoon officer disdainfully spurred forward, apparently without fear, his grim-faced men following, their guns ready. None of them acknowledged the guards or returned their polite bows." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"This will be reported at once and an apology demanded!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "the samurai said, enraged with their insulting behavior, trying not to show it.\n\nOnce they had passed through, the barrier was replaced and Ori whispered furiously, \"What foul manners! But against those guns what could he do?\"\n\n\"He should have charged and killed them before he died. I could not do what that coward did—I would have charged and died,\" Shorin said, knees trembling with anger.\n\n\"Yes. I think...\" Ori stopped, his own anger evaporating at his sudden thought." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Come on,\" he whispered urgently." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 1 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"We'll find out where they're going—perhaps we can steal some of those guns.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Today you will be acting as a writing assistant, your partner will send something and you will write the next four sentences." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Earlier when they had reached the Inn of the Midnight Blossoms, they had found to their joy that Hiraga, their friend and the greatly admired leader of all Choshu shishi, was also staying there." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "News of their attack had arrived.\n\n\"The attack was perfectly timed, though you could not know it,\" Hiraga had said warmly. He was a handsome man of twenty-two and tall for a Japanese. \"It will be like a stick plunged into the Yokohama hornet's nest. Now gai-jin will swarm, they're bound to go against the Bakufu who won't, cannot, do anything to appease them. If only the gai-jin retaliate against Yedo! If they did that, and smashed it, that would be the signal for us to seize the Palace Gates! Once the Emperor is free all daimyos will rebel against the Shōgunate and destroy it and all Toranagas. Sonnojoi!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "They had toasted sonnojoi and Katsumata who had saved them, taught most of them and served sonnojoi secretly and wisely." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ori had whispered their plan to Hiraga to steal arms.\n\n\"Eeee, Ori, it is a good idea and possible,\" Hiraga said thoughtfully, \"if you are patient and choose the perfect moment. Such weapons could be valuable on some operations. Personally, guns disgust me—garrote, sword or knife please me better—safer, silent, and much more frightening, whoever the target—daimyo or barbarian. I'll help. I can give you a plan of the grounds and ninja clothes.\"\n\nOri and Shorin brightened. \"You can get them for us?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Of course.\" Ninja were a highly secret tong of expertly trained assassins who operated almost exclusively at night, their special black clothes helping to fuel the legend of their invisibility." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"At one time we were going to burn the Legation building.\" Hiraga laughed and emptied another flask of saké, the warmed wine making his tongue looser than normal. \"But we decided not to, that it was more valuable to keep it under observation. Often I've gone there disguised as a gardener or at night as a ninja—it's surprising what you can learn, even with simple English.\"\n\n\"Eeee, Hiraga-san, we never knew you could speak English,\" Ori said, astounded by the revelation." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Where did you learn it?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Where else can you learn gai-jin qualities if not from gai-jin? He was a Dutchman from Deshima, a linguist who spoke Japanese, Dutch and English. My grandfather wrote a petition to our daimyo suggesting that one such man should be allowed to come to Shimonoseki, at their cost, to teach Dutch and English for an experimental one year, trade would come afterwards. Thank you,\" Hiraga said as Ori politely refilled his cup. \"Gai-jin are all so gullible—but such foul money worshippers. This is the sixth year of the 'experiment' and we still only trade for what we want, when we can afford them—guns, cannon, ammunition, shot and certain books.\"\n\n\"How is your revered grandfather?\"\n\n\"In very good health. Thank you for asking.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hiraga bowed in appreciation." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Their bow in return was lower.\n\nHow wonderful to have such a grandfather, Ori thought, such a protection for all your generations—not like us who have to struggle to survive daily, are hungry daily, and have desperate trouble to pay our taxes. What will Father and Grandfather think of me now: ronin, and my so-needed one koku forfeit? \"I would be honored to meet him,\" he said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Our shoya is not like him.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "For many years Hiraga's grandfather, an important peasant farmer near Shimonoseki and secret supporter of sonnojoi, had been a shoya. A shoya, the appointed, or hereditary, leader of a village or grouping of villages with great influence and magisterial power and responsibility for tax assessments and collection, was at the same time the only buffer and protector of peasants and farmers against any unfair practices of the samurai overlord within whose fief the village or villages lay.\n\nFarmers and some peasants owned and worked the land but by law could not leave it. Samurai owned all the produce and the sole right to carry weapons, but by law could not own land." }, { "from": "human", "value": "So each depended on the other in an inevitable, never-ending spiral of suspicion and distrust—the balance of how much rice or produce to be rendered in tax, year by year, and how much retained, always an incredibly delicate compromise." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The shoya had to keep the balance. The advice of the best was sometimes sought on matters outside the village by his immediate overlord, or higher, even by the daimyo himself. Hiraga's grandfather was one of these.\n\nSome years ago he had been permitted to purchase goshi samurai status for himself and his descendants in one of the daimyo's offerings—a customary ploy of all daimyos, normally debt ridden, to raise extra revenue from acceptable supplicants." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The daimyo of Choshu was no exception." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hiraga laughed, the wine in his head now. \"I was chosen for this Dutchman's school, and many a time I regretted the honor, English is so foul-sounding and difficult.\"\n\n\"Were there many of you at the school?\" Ori asked.\n\nThrough the saké haze a warning sounded and Hiraga realized he was volunteering far too much private information." }, { "from": "human", "value": "How many Choshu students were at the school was Choshu business and secret, and while he liked and admired both Shorin and Ori they were still Satsumas, aliens, who were not always allies, but frequently enemy and always potential enemies." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Now write approximately five sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Just three of us to learn English,\" he said softly as though telling a secret, instead of thirty, the real figure. Inwardly alert he added, \"Listen, now that you're ronin, like me and most of my comrades, we must work closer together. I am planning something in three days that you can help us with.\"\n\n\"Thank you, but we must wait for word from Katsumata.\"\n\n\"Of course, he is your Satsuma leader.\" Hiraga added thoughtfully, \"But at the same time, Ori, don't forget you're ronin and will be ronin until we win, don't forget we're the spearhead of sonnojoi, we're the doers, Katsumata risks nothing. We must—must—forget that I am Choshu and you two Satsumas. We've got to help each other. It's a good idea to follow your Tokaidō attack tonight and steal guns. Kill one or two guards inside the Legation, if you can, that will be a huge provocation! If you could do it all silently and leave no trace, even better. Anything to provoke them.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Task: The user will write a bit then you need to write around four sentences continuing directly from the user's text.\n\nAuthor style: James Clavell" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Malcolm Struan was also awake." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A few moments before, some sixth sense of danger, a noise from outside, had wakened him, though lying here it felt as though he had been awake for hours. He lay on the camp bed, aware of the day and the operation and that he had been severely wounded and that the chances were that he would die. Every breath caused a sharp, tearing pain. Even the slightest movement." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But I'm not going to think about pain, only about Angelique and that she loves me and..." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But what about the bad dreams? Dreams of her hating me and running away. I hate dreams and being out of control, hate lying here, loathe being weak when I've always been strong, always brought up in the shadow of my hero, the great Dirk Struan, Green-eyed Devil. Oh, how I wish I had green eyes and could be so strong." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He's my lodestone and I will be as good as him, I will." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "As always, the enemy Tyler Brock is stalking us. Father and Mother try to keep most of the facts from me, but of course I've heard the rumors and know more than they think. Old Ah Tok, more mother to me than Mother—didn't she carry me until I was two and teach me Cantonese and about life and find me my first girl?—she whispers the rumors to me, so does Uncle Gordon Chen, who tells me facts. The Noble House is teetering." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Never mind, we'll deal with them." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Now write approximately 5 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I will. That's what I'm trained for and have worked for all my life.\n\nHe moved the blanket aside and lifted his legs to stand, but pain stopped him. Again he tried and again failed. Never mind, he told himself weakly. Nothing to worry about, I'll do it later." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Expand the story by adding four sentences." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Remembering the clash made Anjo sweat, that and the knowledge that much of what Sanjiro said was right." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He took a paper handkerchief from his voluminous sleeve and wiped the sweat off his brow and shaved pate and looked back at Yoshi, jealous of his bearing and good looks but mostly of his youth and legendary virility.\n\nNot so long ago it was so easy to be satisfied, normal to be potent, he thought in sudden misery, the ever present ache in his loins reminding him. Not so long ago, easy to become erect without effort and be abundantly charged—now no longer possible even with the most desirable person, their most clever skills, or rarest salves and medicines.\n\n\"Sanjiro may consider himself beyond reach, but he's not,\" he said with finality." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Put your mind on it too, Yoshi-dono, our young but oh so wise Councillor, how to remove him, or your own head may be on a spike all too soon.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yoshi decided not to take offense, and smiled. \"What do the other Elders advise?\"\n\nAnjo laughed crookedly. \"They will vote as I say.\"\n\n\"If you weren't kinsman, I would suggest you resign or commit seppuku.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What a pity you are not your illustrious namesake and you could actually order it, eh?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Anjo got up heavily. \"I'll send a reply now, to delay. Tomorrow we take a formal vote to humble Sanjiro...\" Angrily he spun on guard as the door was jerked open. Yoshi already had his sword half out of its scabbard. \"I gave orders...\"\n\nThe flustered sentry mumbled, \"So sorry, Anjo-sama...\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Anjo's fury vanished as a youth brushed the sentry aside and hurried into the room, closely followed by a girl, barely five feet tall, both elaborately dressed and bubbling, four armed samurai in their wake and, after them, a matron and lady-in-waiting." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "At once Anjo and Yoshi knelt and bowed their heads to the tatami. The entourage bowed back. The youth, Shōgun Nobusada, did not. Nor did the girl, Imperial Princess Yazu, his wife." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Both were the same age, sixteen." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That quake, it knocked over my favorite vase,\" the youth said excitedly, pointedly ignoring Yoshi. \"My favorite vase!\" He waved the door closed. His guards stayed, and his wife's ladies. \"I wanted to tell you I've a wonderful idea.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"So sorry about the vase, Sire.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Anjo's voice was kind. \"You had an idea?\"\n\n\"We... I've decided we, my wife and I, we, I've decided we'll go to Kyōto to see the Emperor and ask him what to do about the gai-jin and how to throw them out!\" The youth beamed at his wife and she nodded in happy agreement." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"We'll go next month—a State Visit!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Anjo and Yoshi felt their minds explode, both wanting to leap forward and strangle the boy for his lack of brains. But both kept their tempers, both used to his petulant stupidity and tantrums, and for the thousandth time, both cursed the day the marriage of these two had been proposed and consummated. \"An interesting idea, Sire,\" Anjo said carefully, watching the girl without watching, noting her concentration centered on him now and that, as usual, though her lips smiled her eyes did not. \"I will put the suggestion before the Council of Elders and we will give it our full attention.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Good,\" Nobusada said importantly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He was a small, thin young man, just five and a half feet, who always wore thick geta, sandals, to increase his height. His teeth were dyed fashionably black as Court custom in Kyōto decreed, though not here in Shōgunate circles. \"Three or four weeks should be time to prepare everything.\" Ingenuously he smiled at his wife." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Did I forget anything, Yazu-chan?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No, Sire,\" she said prettily. \"How could you forget anything?\" Her face was delicate and made up in classic Kyōto Court style: eyebrows plucked and, in their place, high arching eyebrows painted on the whiteness of her makeup, her teeth dyed black, thick raven hair piled high and held in place with ornate pins. Purple kimono decorated with sprays of autumn leaves, her obi, the intricate sash, golden." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Imperial Princess Yazu, stepsister of the Son of Heaven, Nobusada's bride of six months, sought for him since she was twelve, betrothed at fourteen and married at sixteen." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Of course, a decision by you is a decision and not a suggestion.\"\n\n\"Of course, Honored Princess,\" Yoshi said quickly. \"But so sorry, Sire, such important arrangements could not possibly be made in four weeks. May I advise you to consider the implications for such a visit might be misinterpreted.\"\n\nNobusada's smile vanished. \"Implications? Advise? What implications? Misinterpreted by whom? By you?\" he said rudely." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No, Sire, not by me. I just wanted to point out that no Shōgun has ever gone to Kyōto to ask the Emperor's advice and such a precedent would be disastrous to your rule.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Why?\" Nobusada said angrily. \"I don't understand.\"\n\n\"Because, as you remember, the Shōgun has the sole hereditary duty to make decisions for the Emperor, together with his Council of Elders and Shōgunate.\" Yoshi kept his voice gentle. \"This allows the Son of Heaven to spend his time interceding with the gods for all of us, and for the Shōgunate to keep mundane and common happenings from disturbing his wa.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Princess Yazu said sweetly, \"What Toranaga Yoshi-sama says is true, husband. Unfortunately the gai-jin have already disturbed his wa, as we all know, so to ask my brother, the Exalted, for advice would surely be both polite and filial and not interfere with historic rights.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes.\" The youth puffed up his chest. \"It's decided!\"\n\n\"The Council will at once consider your wishes,\" Yoshi said.\n\nNobusada's face contorted and he shouted, \"Wishes? It's a decision! Put it to them if you wish, but I have decided! I'm Shōgun, you're not! I am! I've decided! I was chosen and they rejected you—all loyal daimyos did. I'm Shōgun, Cousin!\"\n\nEveryone was aghast at the outburst." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Except the girl. She smiled to herself and kept her eyes downcast and thought: At last my revenge begins." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"True, Sire,\" Yoshi was saying, voice level though the color was out of his face. \"But I am Guardian and I must advise against—\"\n\n\"I don't want your advice! No one asked me if I wanted a Guardian. I don't need a Guardian, Cousin, least of all you.\"\n\nYoshi looked at the youth shaking with rage." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Once I was just like you, he thought coldly, a puppet to be ordered this way or that, to be sent away from my own family to be adopted by another, or to be married, or banished and almost murdered six times and all because the gods decided I would be born the son of my father—as you, pathetic fool, were born the son of your father." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I'm like you in many ways, but never a fool, always a swordsman, aware of the puppeting, and now hugely different. Now I am no longer a puppet. Sanjiro of Satsuma doesn't know it yet, but he's made me puppeteer.\n\n\"While I am Guardian, I will guard and protect you, Sire,\" he said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His eyes flicked to the girl, so tiny and delicate, outwardly. \"And your family.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She did not meet his eyes. No need. Both knew that war was declared. \"We are glad of your protection, Toranaga-sama.\"\n\n\"I'm not!\" Nobusada screeched." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You were my rival, now you're nothing! In two years I'm eighteen and then I'll rule alone and you...\" He pointed a shaking finger at Yoshi's impassive face, everyone appalled—except the girl." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Unless you learn to obey I'll... you'll be banished to the North Island forever. We-are-going-to-Kyōto!\"\n\nHe swung around. Hastily a guard flung the door open. All bowed as he hurried out. She followed, then the others, and when they were alone again Anjo wiped the sweat off his neck." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"She's... she's the source of all his... agitation, and 'brilliance,'\" he said sourly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Since she arrived the fool's become even more stupid than he was and not because he is fornicating himself blind.\"\n\nYoshi hid his astonishment that Anjo would make such an obvious though dangerous comment aloud. \"Tea?\"\n\nAnjo nodded, morosely, jealous again of his elegance and strength. Nobusada's not such a fool in some ways, he was thinking." }, { "from": "human", "value": "I agree with him about you, the sooner you're removed the better, you and Sanjiro, you're both trouble." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Could the Council vote to restrict your powers as Guardian or banish you? It's true you send that foolish boy mad every time he sees you—and her. If it were not for you I could manage that bitch, Emperor's stepsister or not. And to think that not only was I in favor of the marriage but I put tairō Ii's stratagem into place, even against the Emperor's opposition to such a match." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Didn't we refuse his reluctant first offer of his thirty-year-old daughter, then his one-year-old baby, until eventually, under pressure, he agreed on his stepsister?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Of course, the close connection of Nobusada with the Imperial family strengthens us against Sanjiro and the outside lords, against Yoshi and those who wanted him appointed Shōgun instead. The connection will be all-powerful once she has a son—that will mellow her and drain her venom. Her pregnancy is overdue. The boy's doctor will increase the dose of ginseng, or give him some of the special pills to improve the boy's performance, terrible to be so limp at his age." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Yes, the sooner she's carrying the better." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He finished his tea. \"I will see you at the meeting tomorrow.\" Both bowed perfunctorily.\n\nYoshi left and went out onto the battlements, needing air and time to think. Below he could see the vast stone fortifications with three encircling moats within moats and impregnable strong points and drawbridges, the walls monstrous." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Within the castle walls were quarters for fifty thousand samurai and ten thousand horses, along with spacious halls and palaces for chosen, loyal families—but only Toranaga families within the inner moat—and gardens everywhere." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In the central keep, above and below him, were the most secure living areas and inner sanctum of the reigning Shōgun, his family, courtiers and retainers. And the treasure rooms. As Guardian, Yoshi lived here, unwelcome and on the fringe but also secure and with his own guards.\n\nBeyond the outer moat was the first protective circle of daimyo palaces." }, { "from": "human", "value": "These were vast, rich, sprawling residences, then circles of lesser ones, then even lesser ones, one such residence for each daimyo in the land." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "All had been sited by Shōgun Toranaga personally and ordered constructed to conform with his new law of sankin-kotai, alternative residence.\n\n\"Sankin-kotai,\" he said, \"requires all daimyos to build at once and maintain forever a 'suitable residence' under my castle walls in exact positions I have decided, where he, his family and a few senior retainers are to live permanently—each palace to be lavish, and without defenses. One year in three the daimyo will be allowed, and required, to return to his fief and to stay there with his retainers, but without his wife, consorts, mother, father or children, or children's children, or any member of his immediate family—the order in which daimyos leave or remain is also to be carefully regulated according to the following list and timetable...\"\n\nThe word \"hostage\" was never mentioned, though hostage taking, ordered or offered to ensure compliance, was an ancient custom. Even Toranaga himself had been hostage when a child to the Dictator Goroda; his own family had been hostage to Goroda's successor, Nakamura, his ally and liege lord; and he, the last and greatest, decided merely to extend the custom into sankin-kotai to keep everyone in thrall." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"At the same time,\" he wrote in his Legacy, a private document for selected descendants, \"following Shōguns are ordered to encourage all daimyos to build extravagantly, to live elegantly, to dress opulently and entertain lavishly, the quicker to divest them of their fief's yearly revenue of koku which, by correct immutable custom belongs only to the daimyo concerned." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In this way all will soon become debt ridden, ever more dependent on us and, more important, without teeth—while we continue to be thrifty and eschew extravagance.\n\n\"Even so, some fiefs—Satsuma, Mori, Tosa, Kii for example—are so rich that even these extravagances will leave too dangerous a surplus. From time to time the ruling Shōgun will therefore invite the daimyo to present him with a few leagues of a new trunk road, or palace, or garden, pleasure place, or temple, such amounts, times, and frequency are laid down in the following document...\"\n\n\"So clever, so far-thinking,\" Yoshi muttered. Every daimyo in a silken net, powerless to rebel." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But all ruined by Anjo's stupidity." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The first of the Emperor's \"requests\" brought by Sanjiro to the Council—before Yoshi had become a member—was to abolish this ancient custom. Anjo and the others had prevaricated, argued and finally agreed. Almost overnight the rings of palaces emptied of all wives, consorts, children, relations and warriors and in days became a wasteland with only a few token retainers.\n\nOur most important curb gone forever, Yoshi thought bitterly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "How could Anjo have been so inept?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He let his gaze drift beyond the palaces, to the capital city of a million souls that serviced the castle and fed off it, a city crisscrossed with streams and bridges, most constructed of wood. Now there were many fires—the blossoms of earthquakes—all the way to the sea. One great wooden palace was in flames.\n\nYoshi noticed idly that it belonged to the daimyo of Sai." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Good. Sai supports Anjo." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The families are gone but the Council can order him to rebuild and the cost will crush him forever.\n\nForget him, what's our shield against the gai-jin? There must be one! Everyone says they could burn Yedo but not break into the castle or sustain a long siege." }, { "from": "human", "value": "I do not agree." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yesterday Anjo again told the Elders the well-known story of the Siege of Malta some three hundred years ago, how Turk armies could not pry even six hundred brave knights from their castle. Anjo had said, \"We have tens of thousands of samurai all hostile to gai-jin, we must win, they must sail away.\"\n\n\"But neither Turks nor Christians had cannon,\" he had said. \"Don't forget Shōgun Toranaga breeched Osaka Castle with gai-jin cannon—these vermin can do likewise here.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Even if they did, we would have withdrawn safely to the hills long since. Meanwhile every samurai, and every man, woman and child in the land—even stinking merchants—would flock to our banner and fall on them like locusts. We have nothing to fear,\" Anjo had said contemptuously." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Osaka Castle was different, that was daimyo against daimyo, not an invasion. The enemy cannot sustain a land war. In a land war we must win.\"\n\n\"They would lay waste everything, Anjo-sama. We would be left with nothing to govern. Our only course is to web gai-jin like a spider webs its far bigger prey. We must be a spider, we must find a web.\"\n\nBut they would not listen to him. What's the web?\n\n\"First know the problem,\" Toranaga wrote in his Legacy, \"then, with patience, you can find the solution.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The crux of the problem with the foreigners is simply this: How do we obtain their knowledge, armaments, fleets, wealth and trade on our terms, yet expel them all, cancel the unequal Treaties, and never allow one to set foot ashore without severe restrictions?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Legacy continued: \"The answer to all problems for our land can be found here, or in Sun-tzu's 'The Art of War'—and patience.\"\n\nShōgun Toranaga was the most patient ruler in the world, he thought, awed for the millionth time.\n\nEven though Toranaga was supreme in the land, outside of Osaka Castle, the invincible stronghold built by his predecessor, Dictator Nakamura, he waited twelve years to spring the trap he had baited, and lay siege to it. The castle was in absolute possession of the Lady Ochiba, the Dictator's widow, their seven-year-old son and heir, Yaemon—to whom Toranaga had solemnly sworn allegiance—and eighty thousand fanatically loyal samurai." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Two years of siege, three hundred thousand troops, cannon from the Dutch privateer Erasmus of Anjin-san, the Englishman who had sailed the ship to Japan, together with a musket regiment also trained by him, a hundred thousand casualties, all his guile and the vital traitor within, before Lady Ochiba and Yaemon committed seppuku rather than be captured." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then Toranaga had secured Osaka Castle, spiked the cannon, destroyed all muskets, disbanded the musket regiment, and forbidden manufacture or the importation of all firearms. He had broken the power of the Portuguese Jesuit priests and Christian daimyos, reallocated fiefs, sent all enemies onwards, instituted the laws of the Legacy, forbidden all wheels, the building of oceangoing ships, and had, regretfully, taken a third of all revenue for himself and his immediate family.\n\n\"He made us strong,\" Yoshi muttered. \"His Legacy gave us power to keep the land pure, and at peace in the way he designed.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "I must not fail him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Eeee, what a man! How wise of his son, Sudara, the second Shōgun, to change the name of the dynasty to Toranaga, instead of the real family name of Yoshi—so that we would never forget the fountainhead.\n\nWhat would he advise me to do?\n\nFirst, to have patience, then he would quote Sun-tzu: Know your enemy as you know yourself and you need not fear a hundred battles; know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat; know neither the enemy nor yourself and you will succumb in every battle." }, { "from": "human", "value": "I know some things about the enemy, but not enough." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I bless my father again for making me understand the value of education, for giving me so many varied and special teachers over the years, foreign as well as Japanese. Sad I did not have the gift of tongues and so had to learn through intermediaries: Dutch merchants for world history, an English seaman to check Dutch truth and to open my eyes—just as Toranaga used the Anjin-san in his time—and all the others.\n\nChinese taught me government, literature and Sun-tzu's \"The Art of War;\" the old renegade French priest from Peking spent half a year teaching me Machiavelli, laboriously translating it into Chinese characters for me as his passport to live in my father's domains and enjoy the Willow World he adored; the American pirate marooned at Izu told me about cannon and about oceans of grass called prairies, their castle called White House and the wars in which they exterminated the natives of that land; the Russian émigré convict from a place called Siberia claimed he was a prince with ten thousand slaves and told fables of places called Moscow and St. Petersburg, and all the others—some teaching for a few days, some for months but never a year, none of them knowing who I was, and I fobidden to tell them, Father so careful and secretive and so terrible when aroused.\n\n\"When these men leave, Father,\" he had asked in the beginning, \"what happens to them? They're all so frightened. Why should that be? You promise them rewards, don't you?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You're eleven, my son. I will forgive your rudeness in questioning me, once. To remind you of my magnanimity you will go without food for three days, you will climb Mount Fuji alone and you will sleep without covering.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Yoshi shuddered. At that time he did not know what magnanimity meant. During those days he had almost died but achieved what was ordered of him. As a reward for his self-discipline his father, daimyo of Mito, had told him he was being adopted by the Hisamatsu family and made heir of that Toranaga branch: \"You are my seventh son. In that way you will have your own inheritance, and be of a slightly higher lineage than your brothers.\"\n\n\"Yes, Father,\" he had said, holding back his tears." }, { "from": "human", "value": "At that time he did not know he was being groomed to be Shōgun, nor was he ever told." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then, when Shōgun Iyeyoshi died of the spotted disease four years ago and he was twenty-two and ready and proposed by his father, tairō Ii had opposed him, and won—Ii's personal forces possessed the Palace Gates.\n\nSo his cousin Nobusada was appointed. Yoshi, his family, his father and all their influential supporters were ordered into severe house arrest. Only when Ii was assassinated was he freed and reinstated with his lands and honors, along with the others who survived." }, { "from": "human", "value": "His father had died in house confinement." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I should have been Shōgun, he thought for the ten millionth time. I was ready, trained and could have stopped the Shōgunate rot, could have formed a new bond between Shōgunate and all daimyos, and could have dealt with the gai-jin. I should have had that Princess as wife, I would never have signed those agreements, or allowed the negotiations to go so badly against us. I would have dealt with Townsend Harris and begun a new era of careful change to accommodate the world outside, at our pace, not theirs!" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Meanwhile I am not Shōgun, Nobusada is elected Shōgun correctly, the Treaties exist, Princess Yazu exists, Sanjiro, Anjo and gai-jin are battering at our gates." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He shivered. I had better be even more careful. Poison is an ancient art, an arrow by day or by night, ninja assassins in their hundreds are out there, ready for hire. And then there are the shishi. There must be an answer! What is it?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Sea birds circling and cawing over the city and castle interrupted his thought patterns." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He studied the sky. No sign of change, or tempest, though this was the month of change when the big winds came, and with them winter. Winter will be bad this year. Not a famine like three years ago but the harvest is poor, even less than last year..." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Wait! What was it Anjo said that reminded me of something?" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your next one should be approximately two sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He turned and beckoned one of his bodyguards, his excitement rising. \"Bring that spy here, the fisherman, what's his name? Ah, yes, Misamoto, bring him to my quarters secretly at once—he's confined in the Eastern Guard House.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Continue with the same vibes as James Clavell" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Greatly perturbed, the Admiral again trained his binoculars on the Legation flagpole, the other men on the quarterdeck, his Captains from the rest of the fleet, Marlowe, the General, French Admiral, and von Heimrich equally concerned, Seratard and André Poncin pretending to be. When the lookout had given the alarm half an hour ago, they had all hurried on deck from the lunch table. Except the Russian Minister: \"If you want to wait in the cold, very well, damned if I am. When word comes from the shore, yes, no or war, please wake me. If you start shelling I'll join you...\"\n\nMarlowe was watching the roll over the Admiral's collar, despising him, wishing he were ashore with Tyrer, or aboard his own ship, the Pearl." }, { "from": "human", "value": "At noon the Admiral had replaced the temporary captain with a stranger, a Lieutenant Dornfild, disregarding his advice." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Bloody old bastard, look at the way he fiddles so bloody pompously with his binoculars—\n\nwe all know they are highly expensive and issued to Flag Rank only. Bloody old—\n\n\"Marlowe!\"\n\n\"Yessir.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"We'd better find out what the devil's going on. You go ashore... no, I need you here! Thomas, would you please be good enough to send an officer to the Legation? Marlowe, detail a signalman to go with the detachment.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "At once the General jerked his thumb at his aide who hurried off, closely followed by Marlowe. Seratard pulled his heavy great coat closer against the chill of the wind. \"I'm afraid Sir William has boxed himself in.\"\n\n\"I remember you giving your opinion this morning,\" the Admiral said curtly." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The meeting he had called with the Ministers had been noisy and had brought forth no solution, except Count Zergeyev's: immediate and massive force." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Which, my dear Count,\" he had pointed out sourly at once, \"we don't have now if it's necessary to follow up a simple bombardment to seize the city and surrounds.\"\n\nKetterer pursed his lips and glared at Seratard, the dislike mutual. \"I'm sure Sir William will find an answer, but I tell you frankly, by God, if I see our colors struck, Yedo goes up in smoke!\"\n\n\"I agree,\" Seratard said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"A matter of national honor!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Von Heimrich's face hardened. \"Japanners are not stupid—like some people. I cannot believe they will disregard the force we have now.\"\n\nThe wind picked up suddenly, crackling some of the spars aloft, sea greyer, clouds greying. All eyes went to a black squall line on the eastern horizon." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The squall was heading shorewards, threatening their exposed anchorage." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Marlowe, send a... Marlowe!\" the Admiral bellowed.\n\n\"Yessir?\" Marlowe came running.\n\n\"For God's sake, stay within hailing distance! Signal all ships: 'Prepare to stand out to sea. Should conditions deteriorate rapidly, on my command take individual action and rejoin at Kanagawa as soon as conditions permit.' You Captains get back to your ships while you've the weather.\" They rushed off, glad to be away." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I will get back to my ship too,\" the French Admiral said. \"Bonjour, messieurs.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"We'll come with you, Monsieur Admiral,\" Seratard said. \"Thank you for your hospitality, Admiral Ketterer.\"\n\n\"What about Count Alexi? He came with you, didn't he?\"\n\n\"Let him sleep. Better for the Russian bear to sleep, n'est-ce pas?\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Expand the story by adding 4 sentences." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Tyrer was idly watching the samurai in the Legation square, the sun touching the horizon, his mind increasingly beset by Ako, then two nights later, Hamako. Then Her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Fujiko. The night before last.\n\nHe felt himself hardening and eased that part more comfortably, knowing that now he was inexorably caught in that world, the Floating World where, as André had told him, living was only for the moment, for pleasure, drifting with never a care like a blossom in the current of a calm river.\n\n\"It's not always calm, Phillip. What's she like, Fujiko?\"\n\n\"Oh, er, haven't you seen her, don't you know her?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No, I only told Raiko-san the sort of girl you might like, the accent being on 'sleeping dictionary.' How was she?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He had laughed to cover his complete embarrassment and disquiet at being asked such a personal question so directly. But André had given him so much that he wanted to be \"French\" and forthright, so he put aside his misgivings that a gentleman should not discuss or disclose such personal information. \"She... she's younger than I am, small, tiny in fact, not—not pretty in our terms, but she's astonishingly attractive. I think I understood her to say that she was new there.\"\n\n\"I meant in bed, how was she? Better than the others?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Oh. Well, there was, er, well, no comparison.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Was she more vigorous? Sensuous? Eh?\"\n\n\"Well, yes, er, dressed or undressed, incredible. Special. Again I can't thank you enough, I owe you so much.\"\n\n\"De rien, mon vieux.\"\n\n\"It's true. Next time... next time you'll meet her.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Mon Dieu, no, that's a rule. Never introduce your 'special' to anyone, least of all a friend. Don't forget, until you set her up in your own place, with you paying the bills, she's available for anyone with the money—if she wants.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Oh. I'd forgotten,\" he had said, hiding the truth.\n\n\"Even if she's set up she could still have a lover on the side if she wants. Who's to know?\"\n\n\"I suppose so.\" More anguish.\n\n\"Don't fall in love, my friend, not with a courtesan. Take them for what they are, pleasure persons. Enjoy them, like them but don't love them—and never let them fall in love with you...\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Tyrer shivered, hating the truth, hating the idea of her being with another, and bedding as they had bedded, hating that it was for money, hating the ache that was in his loins." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "My God, she really was so special, lovely, liquid, a sweet chatterbox, gentle, kind, so young and only in the House for such a short time. Should I set her up? Not should, could I? I'm sure André has his own place with his special friend though he's never said, nor would I ever ask." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Christ, how much would that cost?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Bound to be more than I could afford...\n\nDon't think about that now! Or her.\n\nWith an effort he put his attention on the garden below but the ache remained. Part of the Highland detachment were assembling around the flagstaff, the trumpeter and four kettledrummers already in position for the lowering of the flag." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Routine. The motley group of gardeners were collecting by the gate to be counted and then dismissed." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They grovelled their way through the gates and through the samurai and were gone. Routine. Sentries closed and bolted the iron gates. Routine. Drums and trumpet sounding as the Union Jack was slowly lowered—no sun sets on the British flag was British law throughout the world. Routine. Most of the samurai marching away now, leaving only a token force for the night. Routine." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Tyrer shivered." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your next one should be approximately 1 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "If everything's routine why am I so nervous?" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Mode:\nCo-writing\n\nLength:\nfour sentences\n\nStyle:\nJames Clavell" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In the Settlement this morning, just before dawn, Jamie McFay had given Nemi a final kiss and then together they walked down the corridor to Malcolm Struan's suite. He knocked gently. At once the door opened and the young girl, Shizuka, came out, eased the door closed, smiled curiously and began whispering to Nemi who took McFay by the arm and hurried him to the landing.\n\n\"What? Bad news, heya?\" McFay asked nervously—he had caught a glimpse of Struan fast sleep in the huge four-poster before the door closed but all had seemed well." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Nemi paid no attention to him and continued to cross-question the girl." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Exasperated, McFay said, \"Nemi, what? What bad?\"\n\nShe hesitated, then with an initial flood of singsong apologetic Japanese, caught herself and beamed. \"No bad, Jami-san, you-ah cum Yoshiwara t'morrow, yes no?\" She put on her cloak and began to go down the stairs but he stopped her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What bad, Nemi?\" he asked suspiciously." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She stared up at him a moment, then more Japanese and pidgin that did not make sense. Finally she shrugged. \"S'kr't, wakarimasu ka?\"\n\n\"S'kr't? Iyé, for God's sake. What skre't, heya?\"\n\n\"S'krit, Jami-san, hai?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Ah, secret, for God's sake! Wakarimasu! Secret what?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She sighed with relief and beamed. \"S'kret, gud! S'kret, Jami-san, Shizuka, Nemi. Hai? Hai?\"\n\n\"Hai. Us keep secret. Now what?\"\n\nMore incomprehensible Japanese and more pidgin as they put on their outer robes and then, frustrated because she could not explain properly or that she had to explain at all, Nemi parodied plenty of movement and whispered, \"Shizuka gud, work gud o'rr night.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Tai-pan good?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Her eyes soared. \"Hai, Jami-san, Shizuka gud!\"\n\nAll his questions had only produced more bowing and smiles from both of them, so he had thanked Shizuka, her fee already arranged—\"tai-pan credit plenti werri gud,\" the mama-san had told him. For a last time Nemi swore him to secrecy. The waiting servant took them back to the Yoshiwara." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Perturbed but not knowing why, though sure he had not been told all the truth, he had tiptoed back and stood over the bed but Struan was fast asleep, breathing peacefully, so he had left and gone to his office and worked." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Until just after ten.\n\n\"Hello, Doctor, come in, good to see you. What's new?\"\n\nHoag's face was grim. \"Ah Tok sent for me and I've just seen Malcolm, that's what's new. I wish to Christ you'd asked me first before you—oh, for God's sake, Jamie,\" the squat, good man added quickly, seeing him flush, \"I know he asked you to arrange it, I just wish you'd thought to ask me first—I would have thought it bloody obvious it would be bloody dangerous and bloody ridiculous to try so soon after that wound with half your inside patched and near to bursting...\" He stopped and sat down." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Sorry, but I had to let that out.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"That's all right—is it bad?\"\n\n\"I don't know, some blood in his urine and plenty of pain in his loins. It seems she was very vigorous, he got carried away and when he climaxed he said his stomach spasmed with the surge and then cramped up. Poor fellow, though he's in a lot of pain now, he did tell me she was worth it.\"\n\n\"He said that?\"\n\n\"Yes, in some detail—don't mention that I told you, eh? I've given him some painkiller so he'll sleep for an hour or two. I'll be back later.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hoag sighed and got up with a grim smile." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I had another note from Mrs. Struan, did you?\"\n\n\"Yes, more of the same. Will you order him back to Hong Kong now?\"\n\n\"I can't order him to do anything. He goes when he wants to go, this is the storm season, for God's sake. He's wise to stay—unless there's anything pressing in Hong Kong.\"\n\n\"There are dozens of reasons—that's the seat of power, there's nothing for him to do here really.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Hoag shrugged. \"I agree Hong Kong would be better—I'd planned to go back with the mail ship but after last night I think I'll wait for a few more days for him.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Take him with you, please, on the mail ship.\"\n\n\"I already suggested it and was told, rather impolitely, 'no.' Forget it, Jamie, it's not wrong for him to rest here and a foul sea voyage would be extremely bad for him, maybe a killer. By the way, I hear there may be another ball next Tuesday with Angel T the guest of honor.\"\n\n\"Malcolm didn't mention it.\"\n\n\"Under the auspices of Ambassador Seratard, of dubious ancestry, father of all the French. Well, I must be going—keep me advised and if Malcolm asks for a similar bout, check with me first, privately.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"All right. Thanks, Doctor.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Later Vargas knocked. \"Senhor, Ah Tok says the tai-pan wants to see you.\"\n\nClimbing the staircase, there was a sudden nasty twinge in Jamie's stomach, imagining himself in Malcolm's place.\n\n\"Senhor McFay!\" Vargas called up from the stairwell. \"Excuse me, but the Choshu samurai have just arrived, about ordering the rifles, senhor.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'll be right back.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "McFay knocked and opened the door. \"Hello, Tai-pan,\" he said kindly. Struan was propped in bed, his eyes strange, a flat smile on his face. \"How're you today?\"\n\n\"You saw Hoag?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Good, then you know she was very satisfactory and, well, thanks, Jamie. She helped tremendously though...\" Struan laughed nervously. \"Though the finish shook me up a bit. Terrific body. It was all very satisfactory but I don't think I'll need a repeat performance until I'm really better. She certainly got rid of the—the logjam.\" Again the short, nervous laugh. \"Didn't realize, Jamie, how strong a little girl like that could be, or how much... you understand, eh?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Of course. Everything went according to plan?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "For an instant Struan wavered, then he said firmly, \"Yes, better than that—I want you to double her fee.\"\n\n\"Certainly.\" McFay read the underlying anxiety and his heart went out to him. Obviously whatever happened Malcolm's deal with Shizuka was secret. If that's the way he wants it, fine." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Not up to me." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "What's done is done. Just another secret to add to all the rest. \"Glad it was all right.\"\n\n\"Better than all right. Did the girl say anything?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Only that she, er, worked hard all night, to, well, to try to please you.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A bright knock on the door and Angelique sailed in, blooming with good health, chic in a new lavender dress, parasol, feathered hat, gloves and shawl. \"Hello, my love, hello, Jamie, how are you today? Oh, Malcolm, I'm so pleased to see you.\" As she bent over the bed to kiss Struan tenderly, \"Oh, chéri, how I've missed you.\"\n\nThe moment the door had opened the hearts of both men stretched." }, { "from": "human", "value": "McFay's nervousness soared, at once his eyes checked the bed and room to see if there were any telltale signs." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But all was neat and tidy, clean new sheets and pillowcases daily—more Struan fastidiousness about cleanliness, to the point of foolishness, he thought—clean shirt every day? Ridiculous, once or twice a month more than enough but then he knew the habit had been implanted by Dirk Struan and whatever the tai-pan had decreed was law for Tess Struan and therefore her family. Struan was freshly shaved, clean nightshirt, the windows opened to the sea breeze that would carry away any trace of perfume. He began to breathe easier, then she said, \"I saw Dr. Hoag,\" and both men almost went into spasm again." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You poor darling,\" she said with hardly a pause, \"he told me you'd had a bad night, poor darling, and that you won't come to Sir William's soiree this evening, so I thought I'd just drop in and sit with you until lunch.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Again, the gorgeous smile that seduced both of them and she arranged herself in the tall chair—Struan weak with love for her, at the same time sick with guilt. I must have been insane to want a whore to substitute for the love of my life, he thought, glorying in her open warmth, wanting to blurt out about Shizuka, and beg her forgiveness.\n\nThe night had begun well enough with Shizuka undressing and smiling and pressing against him, fondling and encouraging. He had touched her too, fondling and was both proud and anxious." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Awkward and painful to position normally and move normally, so staying seated and beginning but not quite, then of a sudden Angelique's face and presence had swamped him, unbidden and unwanted." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His manhood vanished. And as much as Shizuka had tried and he had tried, it would not return.\n\nThey rested and tried again, the ache for him awful now, overlaid with frantic, impotent rage and his need to prove himself. More groping and trying—she was well trained with hands and lips and body but nothing would create that which responded in varying degrees to lust and need, but especially to love and its indefinable mystery. Nor, whatever she did, could she or he dispel the spectre." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Or conquer the pain." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "At length she gave up, her young body sheened with perspiration and panting from her exertions. \"Gomen nasai, Tai-pan,\" she had whispered, again and again, apologizing, but hiding her fury and almost in tears at his impotence, for she had never failed before, and was expecting him to send for servants any moment to beat her and throw her out for failure to arouse him as a civilized person would do. And more than anything, she was beset with anxiety as to how she would explain her inadequacy to her mama-san. Buddha bear witness: this man failed, not me!" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Gomen nasai, gomen nasai,\" her mouth kept saying." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It's the accident,\" he mumbled, despising himself, the pain grotesque, telling her about the Tokaidō and his wounds even though he knew she would not understand the words, his frustration shattering him. When that storm had passed and his tears had passed, he made her lie beside him, had stopped her trying again and had made her understand that she would get a double fee if she kept everything secret. \"Secret, wakarimasu ka?\" he pleaded with her.\n\n\"Hai, Tai-pan, wakarimasu,\" she had agreed happily, found the medicine he required and then cradled him to sleep." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Malcolm...\" Angelique said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes?\" Struan said at once, concentrating, his heart pounding, reminding him he had used the last of Hoag's sleeping draft and that he must ask Ah Tok to replace the mixture—for just a day or so. \"I'm so pleased to see you too.\"\n\n\"Me too. How do you like my dress?\"\n\n\"It's wonderful and so are you,\" he said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Think I'll be going, Tai-pan,\" McFay broke in, seeing how happy Struan had become, pleased for him though still sweating." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"The Choshu reps are downstairs—all right to proceed with them?\"\n\n\"As we decided. Good, thanks again, Jamie. Let me know how it goes.\"\n\n\"Malcolm,\" Angelique said quickly, \"while Jamie's here... you remember you asked me to remind you when we were all together about my... the small allowance.\"\n\n\"Ah yes, of course. Jamie,\" he said expansively as she took his hand, her open pleasure casting the night into oblivion—forever, he thought happily." }, { "from": "human", "value": "That night never happened!" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Put my fiancée's chits against my account,\" he told him with a twinge of happiness at the word. \"Angel, just sign chits, whatever you want, Jamie will take care of them.\"\n\n\"Thank you, chéri, that's wonderful, but please can I have some money?\"\n\nHe laughed and Jamie smiled also." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You don't need any here, there's no need for cash—none of us carry money.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"But Malcolm, I w—\"\n\n\"Angelique,\" he said, his voice firmer. \"Chits are the way we pay for everything, at the Club or at any store in the Settlement, everyone does, even in Hong Kong, surely you haven't forgotten. It stops tradesmen cheating and you've a permanent record.\"\n\n\"But I've always had money, chéri, money of my own, to pay my own bills,\" she said with an outward show of complete honesty, \"and as my father has... well, you understand.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Paying your own bills? What an appalling idea. That's unheard of in good society. Now don't worry yourself,\" he said, smiling at her, \"that's for men to do. Chits are our perfect solution.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Perhaps French people are different, we always have cash and—\"\n\n\"So do we in England and elsewhere, but in Asia we all sign chits. Whatever you want to buy just sign for it—even better we must get you your personal chop, we'll choose the perfect Chinese name for you.\" This was a small stamp, usually a rectangular piece of ivory or bone, the bottom of which was ornately carved with the Chinese characters that sounded like the owner's name. When pressed into an ink pad then onto paper, it would produce a unique imprint almost impossible to forge." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Jamie will arrange it for you.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Thank you, Malcolm. But then, well, can I have my own account, chéri, I'm really very good at managing.\"\n\n\"I'm sure you are, now don't worry your beautiful head, when we're married I'll arrange it, but here it's unnecessary.\"\n\nShe hardly listened to herself as she entertained Struan with gossip from the French Legation, what she had read in the papers, what her friend in Paris had written about a superb residence—called \"hotel\" there—on the Champs-Elysées belonging to a Countess that would soon become available and was so inexpensive, planting seeds for their glorious future, making him laugh, waiting for him to become drowsy when she would leave for her lunch at the Club with the French officers, then later to ride with them and some of the English navy officers on the racecourse, then a siesta, then to prepare for Sir William's soiree—no reason not to go but first returning to say good night to her soon-to-be husband.\n\nEverything marvelous and terrible, most of her mind on her new dilemma: how to get cash." }, { "from": "human", "value": "What am I going to do?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I have to have cash to pay for the medicine, that swine André Poncin won't advance it for me, I know he won't. Damn him and damn my father for stealing my money! And damn him of the Tokaidō into eternal Hell forever!\n\nStop that and think." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Remember you are on your own and you must solve your problems!" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "My only possession of value is my engagement ring and I can't sell that, I just can't. Oh God, everything was going so well, I'm officially engaged, Malcolm is getting better, André is helping me but the medicine's so expensive and I've no money, real money, oh God, oh God what am I going to do?\n\nTears spilled out of her eyes.\n\n\"Good God, Angelique, what is it?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Just that... just that I'm so unhappy.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 2 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She sobbed and buried her head in the bedclothes. \"So unhappy that—that the Tokaidō happened and you're hurt and I... I'm hurt too—it's not fair.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Task: The user will write a bit then you need to write around 4 sentences continuing directly from the user's text.\n\nAuthor style: James Clavell" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Down the High Street, the French soldier sentry, his uniform as sloppy as his manner, opened the Legation door for her. \"Bonsoir, Mademoiselle.\"\n\n\"Bonsoir, Monsieur. Good night, Phillip, good night, Settry.\" The door closed and she leaned against it a moment to collect herself. The delight of the evening had vanished." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In its place, the spectres were crowding for attention." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Deep in thought she walked across the hall towards her suite, saw a light under Seratard's door. She stopped and, on a sudden impulse that this might be a perfect time to ask for a loan, she knocked and went in. \"Oh! André! Hello, excuse me, I was expecting Monsieur Henri.\"\n\n\"He's still with Sir William. I'm just finishing a dispatch for him.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "André was at Seratard's desk, many papers spread around." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The dispatch dealt with Struan's, their possible arms deal with the Choshu, and the possible help that a possible French wife might render their fledgling arms industry. \"Did you have a good time? How's your fiancé?\"\n\n\"He's much better, thank you. The dinner was huge, if you like to eat heavily. Ah, to be in Paris, yes?\"\n\n\"Yes.\" My God, she's beddable, he thought, and that reminded him of the infectious vileness eating him away." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"What is it?\" she asked, startled by his sudden pallor." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Nothing.\" He cleared his throat and fought to control the horror. \"Just out of sorts—nothing grave.\"\n\nHe seemed so vulnerable, so helpless that abruptly she decided to trust him again and closed the door and sat near him, pouring out her story. \"What am I going to do, dear André? I can't get any cash... what can I do?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Dry your tears, Angelique, the answer is so simple. Tomorrow or the next day I will take you shopping,\" he said, his mind quite clear for mundane matters." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You've asked me to go shopping with you, haven't you, to help find an engagement present for Monsieur Struan. Gold cuff links with pearls, and pearl earrings for yourself.\" His voice saddened. \"But oh, so terrible, somewhere en route back from the jewelers you lose one pair—we look everywhere but to no avail. Terrible!\" His pale brown eyes held hers. \"Meanwhile the mama-san has her secret payment, I will make sure the pair you 'lose' more than covers the medicine, and all costs.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You're wonderful!\" she burst out and hugged him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Wonderful, what would I do without you?\" She embraced him again, thanked him again and virtually danced out of the room.\n\nHe looked at the closed door a long time. Yes, it will cover the medicine, and my twenty louis, and other expenses if I decide, he thought, curiously unsettled." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Poor little cabbage, so easy to manipulate you." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "You embroil yourself in deeper and deeper whirlpools. Don't you realize that now you become a thief and worse, you're a criminal planning a willful fraud.\n\nAnd you, André, you are an accessory to the conspiracy.\n\nHe laughed outright, a bad twisted laugh." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Prove it! Will she tell a court about an abortion, will the mama-san be witness against me?" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 5 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Will the court believe the story of the daughter and niece of criminals against mine?\n\nNo, but God will know and soon you will be before him.\n\nYes, and HE will know I've done much worse. And intend to do even more evil.\n\nTears began to stream down his face." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Write 4 sentences sentences in the style of James Clavell spawning from what the user wrote." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The two men stared at the bundle of letters, in turmoil, consumed with dread. The cabin was claustrophobic. Malcolm said nothing and watched Jamie, who was silent, both of them drained. Then, making the decision for him, Jamie's shaky fingers ripped at the string, but this galvanized Malcolm into his own decision and he reached over and grabbed the bundle and stopped him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No, Jamie, you mustn't.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It's the—the only way, Tai-pan.\"\n\n\"No, it isn't.\" Malcolm straightened the string, relieved the seal was not broken, then smoothed the letters out and put them back on the other pile, the touch of them hateful. \"It's just not right,\" he said, his voice as weak as his knees, despising his weakness—was it weakness? \"I'd never forgive myself if you... if you were caught and... and, well, I just don't have the courage—apart from that it's not right.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jamie's face was wet with sweat." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Right or not, no one's to know. If we don't, you've no chance. Maybe we can find a captain—even Brock's, they've a ship next week.\"\n\nMalcolm shook his head, his mind blank. A wave rocked the launch against the pilings, screeching the rope fenders. With an effort he forced himself to concentrate." }, { "from": "human", "value": "All his life, whenever he was in quandary, he would ask himself what Dirk Struan, the tai-pan, would do—but never a real answer came forth." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "At length, wearily he said, \"What would he do, Jamie? Dirk Struan?\"\n\nAt once Jamie's memory took him to that devil-may-care giant of a man, the few times he had seen him, or been in his company for a few minutes—he himself so junior and just arrived. \"He'd...\" After a moment, a smile began. \"He'd... Dirk would... yes, that's it. I think he would order us and the Bosun ashore and take the launch out himself 'to test her as something feels amiss,' and then... then when he was well away and in deep water, he would calmly open the sea cocks and, while she filled, he would make sure all this mail was well weighed and could not float free, then he'd go to the stern and light a cheroot and wait till she sank and swim ashore. Had he interfered with the mails? 'Perish that thought, laddie.'\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Jamie's beam became seraphic. \"Why not?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Before Tokaidō Malcolm was a strong swimmer. Now he knew he would sink like an anchor. \"I'd never make it ashore.\"\n\n\"I could, easily, Tai-pan.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes, but this isn't your problem, Jamie, and even if you did, it would only buy me a week or so and that's no good. Joss. We can't interfere with the Royal Mail. Let's agree to forget this happened. Eh?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He held out his hand. \"You're a real friend, best I've ever had. Sorry I was rotten to you.\"\n\nJamie shook warmly. \"You weren't, I deserved what you said. No harm's done. Tai-pan... please, it would be easy.\"\n\n\"Thanks, but no.\" For the ten thousandth time, Malcolm knew he was not Dirk Struan and could never do what the tai-pan could do, in this case either blatantly remove the letters or sink them." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Before Tokaidō, perhaps I would have dared, but now... now it's fifty times worse." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Tokaidō, always Tokaidō, he thought, the word branded into his mind, so frustrated he could scream. \"I have to face it alone.\"\n\nHe hobbled ashore and went to his own suite. The small bottle was full but he took none of it, firmly putting it back into the drawer." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Painfully he pulled his chair nearer to the window and sank into it with relief." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I'm going to win, he promised himself. Please, God, help me. I don't know how but I'm going to win Angelique, I'm going to conquer the pain, the opium, the Tokaidō, Tess, and I am going to win...\n\nHis sleep was deep and restful." }, { "from": "human", "value": "When he awoke Angelique was there, seated near and smiling at him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Good afternoon, darling. My, but you slept well. It's almost time to change for the party!\" Her eyes were sparkling. She came and kissed him and knelt beside him. \"How are you?\"\n\n\"Seeing you makes me so happy.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "His voice was filled with love but it did not hide his inner worry." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "That decided her. It was important to take him out of his usual seriousness so he would enjoy tonight's party, which he had promised was a celebration. \"I've a surprise for you,\" she said, mischievously.\n\n\"What?\"\n\nShe scrambled to her feet and began to twirl as though dancing, her afternoon dress sibilant." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Suddenly she chuckled and called out, \"Look!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "and lifted her skirts and petticoats, revealing the long length of her perfect legs enhanced by silk stockings, saucy garters under her knees, and garter belt and multilayered frilly panties. He had been expecting the traditional, all-concealing pantaloons. The sight of her took his breath away.\n\n\"Christ Almighty...\" he spluttered." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"It's for your pleasure only, my darling,\" she said, flushed at her daring, laughing at his color, then coquettishly raised her skirts over her head for an instant, letting them fall as suddenly, and fanned herself, saying breathlessly, \"It's the latest fashion, no more pantaloons! Pantaloons are finished. The columnist of Le Figaro says nowadays some of the most famous ladies of Paris don't even wear panties at the Opéra—on special occasions—for the secret pleasure of their lovers.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Don't you dare,\" he said, laughing with her, swept up in her exuberance. He caught her hand and settled her into his lap. \"The thought would drive me wild.\"\n\nShe buried her head in his shoulder, pleased that her stratagem had worked." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I think I'll whisper in your ear during dinner, sometimes, or when we're dancing, that I've forgotten them—just to tease my Prince Charming, but only when we're married and to amuse. You don't mind, chéri, do you—the new fashion, no pantaloons?\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 5 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Of course not,\" he said, man-of-the-world, secretly not. \"If it's fashion, then it's fashion.\"\n\n\"You said tonight's party was to be a celebration?\"\n\nMost of his lightness left him. \"Yes, yes, it was. But... be patient with me, Angel. In a few days I'll be able to tell you the real reason—I just have to delay a little. In the meantime, know that I love you love you love you...\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "expand on the story like James Clavell would" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Raiko was irritable. \"Furansu-san, I will accept this partial payment but our agreement was very specific, so sorry.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I know.\" André loathed being in debt—a phobia—to her more than any, not only because meeting the payment schedule was giving him nightmares, but also because she controlled his Hinodeh completely and if he failed to conform she would end their relationship without hesitation. And then he would kill himself. \"Soon can give big payment. Earrings.\"\n\n\"Ah, is that so? Excellent.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She smiled. \"Excellent. I presume Hinodeh is still to your liking, still pleasing you?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "His worry dropped from him for a blessed moment. \"She... everything I dream of. More.\"\n\nShe smiled strangely at him. \"It is unwise to be so open, my friend.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "A Gallic shrug. \"You make me lifetime favor. Cannot say thank you enough.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The eyes crinkled in her round face, puffy from drink even though it was only dusk. Her makeup was good and her kimono expensive, the evening chilly but her rooms were warm and the whole Inn inviting. \"I hear your gai-jin Princess is as healthy as ever.\"\n\n\"Yes.\" For a moment André thought about her, and her ever present sexuality." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Think she make good Lady of Night.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Raiko cocked her head to one side, unable to resist taking the remark seriously. \"That would be interesting to me. I could get her the best prices—the best—many in Yedo would pay a price to sample such a gross person. I know one rice dealer, very rich, very old, no hard work for her to satisfy, who would pay huge money to be the first to examine such a Jade Gate, and it would be easy to show her how to become a virgin again, neh?\"\n\nHe laughed. \"I tell her, one day perhaps.\"\n\n\"Good. The best price, and secret. This rice dealer... Eeee, he would pay! She shows no other signs?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Signs? What sort of signs?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Raiko said, \"The medicine varies for different ladies. Sometimes it can make them much more... more passionate and more difficult to satisfy. Sometimes it increases her chance to become pregnant, sometimes it destroys any chance. Strange, neh?\"\n\nThe amusement left him. \"You not tell me.\"\n\n\"Would it have made any difference?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "After a moment he shook his head." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She drank deeply. \"Please excuse me for speaking about money, but a gold oban no longer buys what a gold oban should buy. Our officials have debased our currency and stink like eight-day-old fish mixed with fresh dog's droppings!\"\n\n\"True,\" he said, missing words but understanding about officials and old fish and was equally disgusted. Seratard had refused to give him the advance on his salary he had expected, claiming poverty in Legation funds. \"But Henri, I'm only asking for what you have to give me over the year. It's just a few pieces of gold, Henri. Aren't I your most valuable aide here?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Yes, of course you are, my dear André, but you can't get wine out of an empty vat—only a migraine!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He tried a different approach but did no better. So he had only two courses of action. Angelique, or this mama-san. \"Raiko-san, you very clever, think. Must be way we both increase normal money, neh? What can we sell?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She glanced down at the table to hide." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Saké?\" she asked, and poured. In his honor the saké was cold. Her eyes were slits and she wondered how far to trust him. As far as a cat will trust a cornered mouse." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Information has a price. Neh?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was said matter-of-factly. He pretended to be surprised, delighted she had taken the bait so easily. Too easily? Probably not. Being caught by the Bakufu, or by his own masters, added up to the same penalty: an agonizing death." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Sir William would pay handsomely for the right information—Henri not at all—God curse them both to hell!" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Raiko-san, what happening in Yedo?\"\n\n\"More to the point, what's happening here?\" she said at once, beginning the negotiation. \"War, eh? Terrible! Every day more soldiers firing on the firing range, more cannons practicing, frightening my Ladies.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"So sorry, please speak slower, please.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Ah, so sorry.\" Raiko slowed, saying how frightened the Yoshiwara was, painting an interesting local picture but nothing that he did not already know. And he told her things about the fleet and Army that he was sure she knew also.\n\nThey drank in silence. Then she said softly, \"I think certain officials would pay much to know what the gai-jin leader plans to do and when.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He nodded. \"Yes. Also think our Leader pay plenty know what Nippon samurai forces where, who leads, about this tairō who send rude messages.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She beamed gloriously and raised her eggshell cup. \"To a new partnership. Much money for a little talk.\"\n\nHe toasted her, saying carefully, \"Little talk, yes, but must be important little and real little for real money.\"\n\n\"Eeee,\" she said, feigning shock, \"am I a third-class whore without brains? Without honor? Without understanding? Without connections, without...\" But she could not keep it up and chuckled." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"We understand one another completely. Tomorrow at midday come and see me. Now off you go and see your lovely Hinodeh. Enjoy her and life while we all have it.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Thank you. But not now. Please say, I arrive later.\" He smiled at Raiko, liking her. \"But you, Raiko?\"\n\n\"I have no Hinodeh to go to, to dream about, to write poems to, to fill me with ecstasy. Once it was different, now I am more sensible, I enjoy saké and making money, and making money and saké. Off you go,\" she said with a hard laugh, \"but tomorrow return. At midday.\"\n\nWhen he was gone she ordered her maids to bring more of the wine, but hot this time, and not to disturb her." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Let's engage in a collaborative writing exercise. I'll provide a starting point, and You'll continue with four sentences in the style of James Clavell." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "André and Phillip Tyrer were outside the British Legation. \"Malcolm's idea of an embargo, however moral, would be a disaster for every trading company in Asia,\" Tyrer said, \"including yours, not that you'd follow suit or the Germans or Russians or Yanks.\" The wind ruffled his hair but he was not cold, with all the alcohol he had consumed and the excitement. \"Sir William doubts if the Governor in Hong Kong will approve, could approve whatever Parliament orders, he'd prevaricate, not that I can officially speak for either of them. Parliament's a law unto itself,\" he added with a yawn." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'm beat, aren't you?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I have a date.\"\n\n\"Ah!\" Tyrer had seen the flash of expectation. \"Lucky man! You've certainly seemed a lot happier recently, a very lot happier. We were all quite worried.\"\n\nAndré changed to French and dropped his voice." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'm fine now, the best I've ever been. Can't tell you how happy I am and the girl, well, she treats me like a king—best I've ever had. No more wandering for me. I have an exclusive.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Wonderful.\"\n\n\"Listen, talking of that, what about Fujiko? Raiko's getting nervous and so is she. I hear the poor girl's crushed, cries all the time.\"\n\n\"Oh?\" Tyrer felt a shaft in his loins. \"Then your advice was right,\" he said, hardly noticing that he replied in French—most of the evening he had been speaking to Seratard, Zergeyev and other ministers, English intermingled with French." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'd say you've been tough enough and it's time. No point in hurting anyone, they're nice people. They're both sorry for irritating you.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A few nights ago Raiko had intercepted him and again asked if he had his overdue payment. After he had put her off with the promise that he was expecting funds any day—gambling that Angelique would find the money—Raiko had questioned him about Tyrer. \"What's wrong with the man? It would be a service to him, to me, to Fujiko, and to you, old friend, to correct whatever needs to be corrected. Obviously he's been seduced by the whores at the Inn of the Lily. In these bad times it would help us, and you, if you would convince him to return. The poor girl is near suicide.\"\n\nHe had not believed that but Raiko had been ready to twist the knife called Hinodeh." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Phillip, you've played the game perfectly,\" he said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'll arrange a rendezvous and we'll reopen negotiations.\"\n\n\"Well, André, I don't know about that,\" Tyrer said. \"I, er, I must say I did try another girl, once—the Inn you recommended is not bad at all—and I've been thinking perhaps having a permanent girl is not a good idea. I mean it's a large expense and, well, I need a polo pony...\"\n\n\"There are good points and bad points to having your own girl,\" André said, hiding his angst." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Perhaps the best idea would be to shelve contract talks pending 'an improvement in relations.'\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You mean have your cake and eat it?\"\n\n\"Why not? They're all there for our pleasure, aren't they—though Fujiko and Raiko are very special.\" André was persuasive, not wanting Tyrer off the Fujiko hook any more than he wanted to be on Raiko's. To be secret partners with her was one thing." }, { "from": "human", "value": "To be at her mercy was another." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He would make the date, the rest would be up to them to seduce Tyrer back to his previous state of passion. \"Leave them to me. How about tomorrow? I can promise your welcome will be enthusiastic.\"\n\n\"Oh, really? Well, all right.\"\n\n\"Phillip...\" André glanced around again." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Henri is more than anxious to support Sir William in moves to rap this fool Tairō Anjo severely—the cretin went too far this time. Could Sir William have a private discussion tomorrow? Henri has a few ideas he would like to pass on, privately.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'm sure he would.\" Tyrer was at once attentive and pleasantly surprised, his tiredness leaving him. Usually Seratard would launch a French initiative and they would only hear of it when it was in full force. Like the secret invitation to Lord Yoshi to visit the French flagship that they had just heard about through their own sources—Chinese servants in the French Legation had overheard André and Seratard planning, they had passed it on to Number One Chen, who had told Struan who had told him who had told Sir William." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"A council of war? The two of them?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "André said, \"I suggest the four of us—they'll need assistants to put their ideas into motion, but the fewer involved the better. If later they wanted to bring in the Admiral and General, all right. But later, eh?\"\n\n\"An Entente Cordiale! I'll take it up with the Old Man first thing in the morning. How about eleven?\"\n\n\"Could we make it ten? I must keep a noon appointment.\" André had already cleared the idea with Seratard the moment he had returned from seeing Raiko: \"Henri, this meeting could be very important, the more secret we keep it from other Ministers the better. This time we've got to pretend to be a hundred percent with the British. They have the warships, we haven't. This time we must encourage them to go to war.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Why?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I gather from Tyrer who gets it from his tame samurai Nakama—Henri, Tyrer's Japanese is astonishingly good for the short time he's been here. He has a remarkable aptitude for it so we should seriously watch him, and befriend him. Tyrer has found out that there's no love lost between this Anjo and Toranaga Yoshi, who is a patrician like you, whereas Anjo is more of a commoner.\"\n\nIt had amused him to see Seratard puff up at the flattery—no more a patrician than he was himself. \"We secretly encourage the British to smash Anjo while distancing ourselves at the last moment from the actual conflict, while cultivating Yoshi as urgent, secret national policy. We make him an ally, we must, then through him we'll dump the British back in their sewer and control the foreign presence here.\"\n\n\"How do we do that, André? Cultivate him?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Leave that to me,\" he had said, gambling again that, through Raiko and by providing her with first-rate intelligence, and money, he could make the right contacts to get close to Yoshi." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"He's going to be our key to unlock Japan. We'll have to invest some money, not much. But in the right pocket...\" With a little wandering into mine, he had chortled \"I'll guarantee success. He's going to be our Knight in Shining Armor. We're going to help him become Sir Galahad to wreck Wee Willie's King Arthur.\"\n\nWhy not, he told himself again, standing there on the promenade with Tyrer, another key piece on the chessboard of French dominance in Asia. Phillip will...\n\nMy God! He almost burst out as the wild idea jumped into his mind: If Struan gets killed in his duel and Angelique becomes a free card, could she become a Guinevere for this Jappo Yoshi? Why not? He might enjoy a different tidbit." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Through Raiko, perhaps Angelique would—for she would be perilously without funds and therefore vulnerable." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He laughed and put the thought aside as too heady to consider seriously tonight. \"Phillip,\" he said, wanting him to consider him to be his best friend. \"If we can help our masters to arrive at a firm solution and put it into effect... eh?\"\n\n\"That would be marvelous, André!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"One day you'll be Ambassador here.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 5 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Tyrer laughed. \"Don't be silly.\"\n\n\"I'm not.\" In spite of the fact they would always be on opposite sides and he needed to be able to influence him, he genuinely liked Tyrer. \"In a year you'll speak and write fluent Japanese, you're trusted by Wee Willie, you've your wild card, Nakama, to assist you. Why not?\"\n\n\"Why not?\" Tyrer said with a grin. \"It's a nice idea to end a night on. Happy dreams, André.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Hey can you write like James Clavell and use whatever i write as a jumping off point?" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It was extraordinary, down there, Malcolm. Ghastly in a way, all those men down there, astonishing—and if it's like that in a small ship like this, what would it be like on a big steamer—say like on the Great Eastern?\"\n\n\"It's astonishing, Angel. I saw her launched on the Thames the last time I was in London, four years ago, when I finished school—my, was I glad to have done with schooling. She's completely of iron, four thousand tons burthen, the biggest in the world by far and built to carry emigrants, thousands at a time, to Australia. It took weeks to launch her—they did it sideways, a complete cock-up and she almost sank. Poor Brunel who designed and built her went broke many times, the companies he floated did. She was ill-fated, caught fire on her maiden voyage and almost gutted—and that killed him. Damned if I'd sail on her—ill-fated she is, and was, from the first plate laid...\" He saw Marlowe come on deck and frowned. Now there was no humor on the man's face.\n\nThe Bosun rang eight bells." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Noon. \"I have the conn, Number One,\" Marlowe said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes, sir.\"\n\n\"Why don't you take Miss Angelique for'rard, she might like to see some of our deck cannon close up.\"\n\n\"Gladly. Miss?\"\n\nObediently she followed him down the gangway and along the deck." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He was short, freckled and her height." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You're Welsh, Mr. Lloyd?\" she asked.\n\nHe laughed, his voice singsong. \"Welsh as the hills of Llandrindod Wells that is my home, look you.\"\n\nShe laughed with him and, leaning against the tilting deck, whispered, \"Why am I being sent off like a schoolgirl?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I wouldn't know about that, Missy.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She saw his deep-set brown eyes look back and then they were turned on her. \"The Captain wants to talk about lunch, no doubt, or asking him, your man, if he wants to use the head, the toilet. Man talk,\" he said, and the eyes smiled.\n\n\"You like him, don't you?\"\n\n\"The Captain is the Captain. Now, cannon, Ma'am!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her laugh trilled, the sailors nearby were warmed and Marlowe and Malcolm on the bridge heard her too and turned to look." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"She makes a pretty picture, Malcolm.\"\n\n\"Yes, she does. You were saying. Tiffin?\"\n\n\"Does that sound all right? The cook's first class on his apple turnovers.\" The menu was to be fish stew, chicken and salt-pork pie and dumplings, cold roast chicken, cheddar cheese and apple turnovers." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I've a couple of bottles of Montrachet '55, chilled, that I've been saving against a special occasion, and a Chambertin '52.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You live rather well,\" Malcolm said, very impressed.\n\nMarlowe smiled. \"Not really, but this is a special day and, to tell the truth, I scrounged the Chambertin—it was my Old Man's favorite. The Montrachet, he gave me a couple of cases when I came out.\"\n\n\"He's Navy?\"\n\n\"Oh yes.\" The way Marlowe said it expressed surprise that the question needed to be asked." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"He's Commander in Chief, Plymouth.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He hesitated, began to talk and stopped.\n\n\"What's the problem? We're ordered back?\"\n\n\"No.\" Marlowe looked at him. \"I was given several sealed orders this morning, along with written permission to bring you aboard and to be back by sundown, without fail. A few minutes ago Flag ordered me to open one of them. I wasn't told to tell you about it but I wasn't told not to. Perhaps you'd explain. The message said 'Should Mr. Struan ask a peculiar favor, you may, if you wish, grant it.'\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The world stood still for Malcolm Struan." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He did not know if he was alive or dead and his head reeled and if he had not been sitting he would certainly have fallen over.\n\n\"Christ Almighty!\" Marlowe gasped. \"Bosun, fetch a tot of rum right smartly!\"\n\nThe Bosun took to his heels and Malcolm managed to choke out, \"No, no, I'm all right... actually a rum would be... would be grand.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He saw Marlowe's lips moving and knew he was being shaken but his ears were not hearing anything above the pounding of his heart and then he felt the wind on his cheeks and the sound of the sea returned." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Here, sorr,\" the Bosun was saying, holding the glass to his lips. The rum slid down his throat. In seconds Struan felt better. He began to grope to his feet." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Better take it easy, sorr,\" the Bosun said uneasily, \"looks like you seed a ghost.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No ghost, Bosun, but I did see an angel, your Captain!\" Marlowe stared back blankly. \"I'm not mad,\" Malcolm said, stumbling over his words. \"John, sorry, Captain Marlowe, is there somewhere we can talk privately?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Of course. Here.\" Uncomfortably Marlowe motioned to the Bosun who left the bridge." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Only the helmsman and signalman remained. \"Signalman, go for'rard. Helmsman, close your ears.\"\n\nStruan said, \"My peculiar request is: I want you to sail out of sight of land for a moment, and marry Angelique and me.\"\n\n\"You what?\" It was Marlowe's turn to be disoriented." }, { "from": "human", "value": "He heard Malcolm repeat what he had said." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You're insane,\" he said.\n\n\"No, not really.\" Malcolm was in control now, his future in the balance, with the Admiral's words, you may, if you wish, grant it, carved on his brain. \"Let me explain.\"\n\nHe began. A few minutes later the steward came up and went away and a little later came again with \"Cook's compliments, sir, lunch is ready in your cabin,\" but again Marlowe waved him away, concentrating and not interrupting.\n\n\"That's the reason,\" Malcolm finished." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"The why of the Admiral, me, you, my mother. Now, please, will you grant my peculiar favor?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Can't.\" Marlowe shook his head. \"Sorry, old boy, I've never married anyone and I doubt if regulations'd allow it.\"\n\n\"The Admiral's given you permission to do what I ask.\"\n\n\"He put it rather bloody carefully, old boy: 'grant it if I wished.' My God, that's putting my head in the old yardarm noose, old boy,\" Marlowe said, his mouth running away from him as he foresaw all kinds of future disasters." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You don't know Ketterer like I know him, my God, no, any senior officer for that matter! If I choose wrong here he'll have my balls in the wringer, my career's up the bloody spout...\" He paused for breath, shaking his head and mumbled on." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No way I could do that, no w—\"\n\n\"Why not? Don't you approve of us?\"\n\n\"Of course I approve of you, for goodness' sake, but your mother doesn't, I mean she says no to the marriage, Sir William's got his finger stuck in the pie, the Church won't, other Captains won't and, dammit, you're both legal minors, so if I did it wouldn't stick and she's... Dammit, you're a minor and so's she... Just can't risk it...\" A sudden thought and he glanced shorewards. \"Not unless I signal Ketterer. I'll ask permission.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"If you do that you'll lose face with him forever. If he wanted you to do that he would have said so.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Marlowe glared back at him. He reread the Admiral's exact wording and groaned. Struan was right. His future was in the balance. Christ Almighty, why did I invite them aboard?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The first thing in his life he remembered his father saying was, \"In the Navy you run your ship by rules and regulations, by the bloody book, except if you're bloody Nelson and there's only ever been one of him!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Sorry, old boy, no.\"\n\n\"You're our last hope. Now our only hope.\"\n\n\"Sorry, no.\"\n\nStruan sighed and eased his shoulders, playing his ace." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Angel!\" he called out." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She heard the second call and came back with Lt. Lloyd and stood beside him. \"Angel, how would you like to be married today, right now?\" he said, loving her so very much. \"John Marlowe can perform the ceremony if he wants. How about it?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "The wonder spread over her and she did not hear Marlowe begin to say that he was so sorry he could not but he was stopped by the passion of her embrace and kiss, and then she did the same for Struan again and him again, \"Oh, yes... oh, yes... John, how wonderful, you will, won't you? Oh, thank you, thank you, how wonderful, please please please,\" begging with another irresistible snuggle and he heard himself say, \"Yes, of course, why not, glad to,\" saying his doom words as underplayed as he could, though inside feeling more heated than he had ever been and still meaning to say no." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 1 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The helmsman sealed the matter with a joyful shout, \"Three cheers for Cap'n Marlowe, we've a weddin' aboard!\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Expand the story by adding four sentences." }, { "from": "human", "value": "By sunset, the news had spread throughout the Settlement, Drunk Town and the Yoshiwara." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Speculation had been immediate, noisy, and argumentative as theories were put forth for and against such a marriage, some predicting the ceremony was totally illegal, others angrily denying it, many of the more quarrel some traders—and all Drunk Towners—using foul language, obscene gestures, and bunched fists to support their positions, while a few of the wiser said: \"Ah, the canny young bugger, so that's why he sucked up to the Admiral! It was a deal! Clever—I'd do the same if I were Struan. Now that he's got her will he still be anti-opium, anti-armaments? No way...\"\n\nWith the new topics, several fights began in Drunk Town and a bar burned down. Father Leo was rumored to have had apoplexy and was now prostrate in front of his altar. Reverend Tweet, at this very moment, was supposed to be raving at Sir William, and in the Club, Lunkchurch and Grimm, inevitably on opposing sides, had begun to battle and, as usual, were tossed into the street." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Malcolm and Angelique were in the cabin of their launch." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ahead was their jetty and, holding hands, they saw a boisterous group of well-wishers that had gathered there, headed by Jamie McFay. The promised bad weather had not materialized, with only a sprinkle late afternoon. The wind was still up, sky overcast, but this did not dampen the welcoming uproar.\n\n\"Here we go, Mrs. Struan,\" Malcolm said, and hugged her." }, { "from": "human", "value": "She kissed him, whispering, \"Yes, my darling husband. Oh, Malcolm, that sounds so funny, strange, so marvelous. This isn't a dream, is it?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"No, though it feels the same to me.\"\n\nThe cutter twisted in the chop, throwing them together to more laughter, and swung alongside to cheers and shouts, the neatest docking the Bosun had ever made. \"Lively on the ropes, lads,\" he ordered, but there was no need as eager hands twisted the towlines to bollards and sailors swarmed to help them.\n\n\"Congratulations, Tai-pan, Mrs. Struan,\" Jamie shouted amidst cheers that reached the interior of the Club across High Street." }, { "from": "human", "value": "At once the room emptied and everyone began to gather, doffing their hats, even Mrs. Lunkchurch and Mrs. Grimm amongst them, equally festive." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Gornt and Norbert Greyforth watched from the upper windows of their building. Outside all houses Chinese servants stood around popeyed, and samurai were collecting at the North Gate, mystified. Ministers and their staffs were trickling out of their Legations: Sir William, hard-faced, flanked by a smiling Phillip Tyrer, and Michaelmas Tweet, black-browed and furious, Zergeyev beaming and cheering lustily, Dmitri shouting congratulations waving an American flag, and Seratard and André were torn between elation that the marriage was now achieved, and fury that they had not been consulted.\n\n\"André, bring her in as soon as possible. Jésus, the stupid gamine should have let us into the secret—it's your job to control her!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Seratard said with the side of his mouth, enthusiastically waving back as Angelique caught his eye and waved." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Struan must execute a will conforming to the Code Napoléon at once, see to it! Only God knows what dirty tricks William will try, for or against—whatever he says, our position is the marriage is legal, but we must insist it conform to French law! Get Father Leo, he will conduct their proper wedding next week... Mon Dieu, look at those cretins!\"\n\nAngelique and Struan were being mobbed. With increasing difficulty they tried to push a way through the crowd, all of whom wanted to kiss the bride, as their right, to be prevented by others, to more uproar.\n\nShe began to panic." }, { "from": "human", "value": "This heightened the tension of those nearby." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The crowd swirled and swamped her, Struan using his sticks to fight to her side as Jamie began shoving through roughly. Someone threw a punch, and an ugly skirmish began. Sir William called out to the marine sentries, \"Go and clear a way for them, hurry up, for God's sake, or they'll be crushed!\" The four men began running." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Phillip, supervise them, and get Struan into my office on the double.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Sergeant roared, \"Hey, you lot!\" and the mob devil that sometimes appeared in a crowd for no apparent reason was gone. Quietly and firmly he began forcing a passage. \"Behave yourselves, give the lady room!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He was obeyed as Struan reached her." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Are you all right, Angel?\"\n\n\"Oh, yes, love.\" Now that she had room her panic had gone. She adjusted her hat. The feather had been broken. \"Look at that!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Here let me help you,\" Tyrer said importantly, waving others away." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You, go on, move, you've frightened her to death. Are you all right, Angelique? Malcolm?\"\n\n\"Of course,\" Malcolm said. Now that she was safe and he had his sticks, his happiness returned and he shouted, \"Thanks for welcoming us! Drinks on the Noble House, the Club bar's open and stays open until further orders!\"\n\nThere was a general rush in that direction." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Soon only Malcolm, Angelique, McFay and Phillip Tyrer remained." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And the sour presence of Michaelmas Tweet: \"Mr. Struan, the ceremony is completely not legal and I must warn y—\"\n\n\"You may be right, Reverend, but I'm advised to the contrary, sir,\" Struan said firmly, having already devised a plan for Tweet, another for Father Leo and another for Sir William. \"Nonetheless I believe there is a happy solution. Perhaps you would come to my office at noon tomorrow? The House of the Lord will be satisfied, sir, you may rest assured!\" Then he whispered to Jamie, \"Divert him,\" and to the others, \"Head for the office, fast as you can.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "They had to run the gauntlet of a few stragglers and then Angelique whispered, \"Phillip, hurry!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She ran on ahead with him to avoid Father Leo who was approaching from down the street as fast as his bulk and his cassock would allow. Once in the foyer, with most of the staff lined up there, Vargas in front, Chen smiling glassily, she laughed nervously. \"I didn't want to have to talk to him!\"\n\n\"Why not?\" Phillip was beaming." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You're married and that's that—at least Sir William's been spitting blood since he heard, cursing the Navy, Ketterer, Marlowe—so I imagine you are married, but all I want to say is congrats and may I kiss the bride?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He did not wait and kissed her like a brother. She hugged him and breathed another sigh of relief.\n\nStruan came through the door with McFay. \"Lock it,\" he ordered." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Helped by Vargas, McFay obeyed, politely but firmly shoving the few more persistent traders out and slamming the bolt home as Father Leo strode up, tried the handle, then hammered on the door as though it were a cathedral portal." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But no one paid any attention, all fleeing into the office like a group of mischievous children, where they collapsed into the chairs. All except Malcolm.\n\n\"Champagne, Chen. Thank you, Vargas, see you later,\" he said over congratulations, and added to Chen, in Cantonese, \"Open the wine, little mealymouth.\"\n\nJamie McFay shut the door and sank into the last chair.\n\n\"Ayeeyah,\" Malcolm said, bubbling like the wine." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I didn't think it would be like this. Phillip, thanks again for the good wishes, you too, Jamie. Are you all right, Angel?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes, Mr. Struan, wonderful, thank you.\"\n\nTyrer said, \"It's all marvelous news, Malcolm, and by the way could you see Sir William as soon as possible.\"\n\nThe way he said it, so tentatively, so matter-of-fact, when they all knew he had been bellowed at, made a sudden silence which broke apart as they all laughed hysterically.\n\n\"Tomorrow afternoon, happily,\" Malcolm said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Their glasses were soon full and even more quickly empty and again filled, conversation loud and not listened to." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The door eased open. Vargas signalled McFay, then whispered to him.\n\nJamie nodded. \"I'll be there in a moment. Tai-pan, can you excuse me? And there's a message for Ang—for Mrs. Struan: Mr. Seratard wants to add his congratulations personally at the Legation, soon as possible and the... the priest would like to see you both a moment.\"\n\n\"Jamie, first finish your drink. Vargas, send word to Seratard we'll put him on top of the list, but first tell Father Leo to be here tomorrow at 5:00 p.m., here, in my office.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Vargas vanished. Malcolm saw the shadow on Angelique's face." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'll see him, Angel, you don't have to, and by Sunday everything will be calm, I promise. Everything's in control. Soon as it's dark, we'll slip back aboard the cutter.\"\n\n\"Cutter? Why, Malcolm, what on earth for?\"\n\n\"Another surprise, we're dining aboard Prancing Cloud and staying the night, then tomorrow there are more surprises, lots and lots, there's a honeymoon to plan. We'll leave in an hour and there's no need for you to change, I had Ah Soh pack some clothes for you and they're already aboard.\" To Jamie, \"You have to leave? What's up?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I'd made a date with Gornt and forgot all about it in the excitement. He's waiting in my anteroom. He asked Vargas to give you both his congratulations, and Norbert's.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Thank him for me, but don't go for a second.\"\n\n\"Thank him for me too, Jamie,\" Angelique said.\n\n\"Of course, Mrs. Struan.\" McFay was trying to get used to the sound of the words, finding it difficult and artificial, the two words conjuring up Tess Struan, and nowadays every time he thought of her he became bilious." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The moment he had heard about the marriage, the reason for Malcolm's letter to the Guardian and last night's announcement had become clear—even the timing of the duel dovetailed neatly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Married! Oh my God!\n\nThe implications for Malcolm were immense. For himself it did not matter now that he had made his peace with Malcolm and with himself. He doubted if he would ever have a peace with Tess Struan." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Though she was a fanatic Struan, at the same time she had inherited her father's vindictiveness, his ruthless need for revenge." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He had witnessed it falling on the Bosun in charge of the boat that had capsized, drowning the twins. She had had him charged with murder, demanding hanging. The coroner had found him guilty of negligence, causing manslaughter, and gave him the maximum ten years, hard labor, in the Hong Kong prison, which the man would never survive. Negligent? Not really, McFay and most had thought at the time, the storm sudden, as happens that season of the year, an unhappy accident." }, { "from": "human", "value": "But she was Tess Struan of the Noble House." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The Bosun's real mistake, he thought sadly, was that he lived and the children died.\n\n\"Angelique,\" Struan was saying. \"Why don't you freshen up, I'm going to do the same and we'll leave within the hour—I've just a few things to settle with Jamie.\" They kissed and she left." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In Cantonese he told Chen he should arrange hot water for his wife and for him, \"Then we go aboard Prancing Cloud. Is everything prepared?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Yes, Master.\"\n\n\"Good, and you three better be quiet as bats, and contented as pigs in shit like never before!\" To Tyrer, he added pleasantly in English, \"Phillip, you'll excuse us, won't you? Starting tomorrow, there'll be major celebrations all over, wedding feast and so on with formal invitations. Please give Sir William my compliments, and please don't mention we'll be aboard Prancing Cloud tonight to anyone—even to Sir William. I don't want any drunken rowdies circling us all night, we want to be private, all right?\"\n\n\"Quite understand, again congratulations.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Tyrer was happy to leave." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He still had to see Hiraga to finish another, curt dispatch for Tairō Anjo before he could cross the bridge to Fujiko. After this morning's council of war between Sir William and Seratard, aided by himself and André, where final details of the forthcoming bombardment and punitive Yedo campaign were agreed, André had whispered: \"Fujiko's panting to see you, it's all arranged. She's even insisting on serving you a Japanese feast, so arrive hungry and thirsty, but don't forget to act tough.\"\n\nNow alone, some of Malcolm's fatigue showed. \"Jamie, pour me a glass, would you? Thanks. Everything's organized?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"For tonight, yes, and tomorrow, yes. Ah Tok and Ah Soh are aboard with the trunks, Chen will go with you and Mrs. Struan. As far as I know no one except them, Strongbow, me, and now Phillip know you'll sleep aboard Prancing Cloud.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Good. Phillip was a mistake, but never mind,\" Malcolm said. \"I got too exuberant but it should be all right. He shouldn't blab. What does Gornt want?\"\n\n\"Just to arrange final details.\" McFay looked at him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Shouldn't your marriage make a difference now?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It could. But unless Norbert apologizes, it won't.\"\n\n\"Gornt wanted a private word, if you had a moment.\"\n\n\"All right. Tell him that's all it can be—and let me see him first, eh?\"\n\nGornt's friendliness filled the room." }, { "from": "human", "value": "To Malcolm he seemed like a very old comrade. \"Champagne?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Thank you, Tai-pan. May I congratulate you?\"\n\n\"You may. Health!\"\n\n\"And yours, suh.\"\n\n\"Sorry, but we have to be quick, tomorrow there'll be more time, what's up?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I wanted to tell you, privately, Mr. Greyforth is going to accept your compromise tomorrow. No duel.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Struan smiled. \"That's the best news I've had... no, the second best news I've had all day!\"\n\n\"Yes.\" Gornt's face hardened. \"If he means it.\"\n\n\"Eh?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I think you should be ready for treachery. Sorry to be a cold towel on a great day but I wanted to warn you. I know he'll change his mind.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Malcolm watched him, then nodded, undisturbed. \"With Norbert, and all the Brocks, we expect treachery for breakfast.\" Their glasses touched. \"Health—and wealth—and happiness!\"\n\nThe room was warm for both of them, Malcolm noticing a curiousness about him that he could not divine." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You're still planning on tomorrow, giving me the information I need?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Oh, yes.\" Gornt got up. \"And my contract?\"\n\n\"It's ready. My signature can be witnessed tomorrow.\"\n\n\"Thanks. Until tomorrow, and again congratulations.\"\n\nAgain Malcolm sensed more than saw a strange humor in him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You're looking forward to it as much as I am.\"" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your next one should be approximately two sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Gornt's eyes seemed to focus. \"Yes. It will be another great day, an ending and a beginning.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Today you will be acting as a writing assistant, your partner will send something and you will write the next 4 sentences." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Half a hundred paces away in a dwelling within the walls, snuggled into gardens, Phillip Tyrer was sitting cross-legged, bathed, replete with food and saké, naked under his yukata and in a state of rapture." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Fujiko knelt behind him, her knowing hands massaging his neck muscles, finding the points of pleasure-pain. She wore a sleeping yukata, her hair loosened and now she moved closer, delicately bit the lobe of his ear, near the center, where the erotic sites lay. Her tongue increased his pleasure dramatically.\n\nFingers slid sensuously to his shoulders, never slowing, taking away his cares, the conferences with Sir William and Seratard, helping his chief to deal with that Frenchman and his constant, inbred devious attempts to gain a minuscule advantage when, let's face it, he had thought, the slimy rotter has only two mediocre ships when we have a fleet of ships-of-the-line, crewed by men, not sycophants!" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Taking notes and then setting out two alternate battle plans into correct diplomatic English and French for their governments, and into more ordinary orders for the Admiral and General to carry out, the time slipping away and his headache growing." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "But André had been an asset at the morning meeting, well prepared, and all the time suggesting ideas and dates, maneuvering the two principals into agreeing and making decisions, all four of them sworn to secrecy.\n\nThen, at last, slipping out of the Legation and across the bridge, knocking on the door, instantly opened by Raiko herself and being bowed in and through the garden and bathed and fed, but before that Raiko had at last begun to treat him as an important official should be treated.\n\nAbout bloody time, he thought, more than a little pleased, every nerve tuned to Fujiko's fingers...\n\nMost of her mind was concentrated on Raiko's warning: \"Some vile and hungry low-class person at the Lily has seduced our gai-jin lord away from us. At great cost I have tempted him here, granting many concessions to go-betweens. Do not fail tonight, this may be your last chance to bind him to us with ropes of silk. Use every trick, every technique... even the Moon behind the Mountain.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Fujiko flinched. She had never tried this before, even in the most heated embrace." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Never mind, she told herself stoically, better a few queer moments of eccentric behavior—than no gai-jin pay tonight, and no pay for a year of leisure.\n\nAs her fingers moved closer and her soft murmurs began, daydream pictures of her farmhouse began to intrude, the children, her fine husband and their ripening fields of rice, so grand and kind and...\n\nFirmly she put them away.\n\nUntil the client is asleep, she ordered herself." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Expand the story by adding 4 sentences." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Angelique was watching the departure of the clipper from the tai-pan's suite, upstairs. A few passersby saw her at the window, then hurried on, wet and chilled, wondering what would happen to her. One of these was Tyrer, ashore after delivering the dispatches. She looked so lonely there, so funereal in her black, never black before, only the colors of springtime." }, { "from": "human", "value": "For a moment he stopped, tempted to see her, to ask if he could help in any way but decided not to, there was still so much to do before his rendezvous with Fujiko, a monthly payment to Raiko for \"past services pending the conclusion of the contract,\" and then there was his lesson with Nakama that had had to be postponed because of all the work for Sir William." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He groaned at the thought of all those phrases and words that he still wanted translated, and the new note to Anjo that Sir William had deliberately wanted Nakama to translate, not exactly not trusting him, but to gauge a Japanese reaction to a short, undiplomatic Anglo-Saxon harangue. Even worse he was behind in his journal and had had no time to write his weekly letter home. It had to catch the mail ship, whatever happened.\n\nIn the last mail his mother had written that his father was ill:" }, { "from": "human", "value": "... nothing serious, dear Phillip, just a chest flux that Doctor Feld treats with the usual bleeding and purging." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Sorry to say, as always, it just seems to weaken him even more. Your Father has always hated Camomile and Leeches. Ugh!\n\nDoctors! Illness and agony seem to follow in their wake. Your cousin Charlotte took to her birthing bed four days ago, as healthy as ever could be." }, { "from": "human", "value": "We had arranged the midwife but her husband insisted on having the doctor deliver her and now she has Childbed Fever and isn't expected to live." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The baby boy is ailing too. So sad, such a nice young lady, not yet eighteen.\n\nNews from London: The new Underground Railway, another first in the world, will open in four or five months! Horse-drawn Trams are all the rage and the Christmas Season promises to be the best ever though there are riots in some of the Factory Towns." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Parliament is debating and will pass a law prohibiting horseless carriages from going more than 2 miles per hour and they must have a warning Flagman walking in front of them!" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Measles is Everywhere, many deaths, Typhoid's not too bad this year. The Times reports that Cholera is raging again in Wapping and the dock areas, brought by an India merchantman.\n\nPhillip, I do so hope you are keeping your chest wrapped and wear woolens, and woolen underwear, and keep windows closed against the terrible Fluxes that abound in the night air. Your Father and I wish you would come back to Sensible England, though from your letters you seem to be pleased with your progress in Japan's language." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Does the Penny Post (what a joy!)" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "work for you from the Japans as well as for us to go there?\n\nYour father says this Government is Ruining our country, our morals, and our Glorious Empire. Did I tell you, now there are more than eleven thousand miles of railway track in Britain. In barely fifteen years stagecoaches have vanished..." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The letter went on for pages, enclosing all kinds of cuttings she felt interesting, and they were." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Wonderful for Phillip, keeping him in touch with home. But between the lines he read his father's illness was not an easy one. His anxiety intensified. For all I know he's already dead, he thought, gravely concerned.\n\nStanding there on the promenade in the rain, a tweak of pain came up from his stomach." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Sweat abruptly wet his forehead, perhaps it was the rain, he didn't know for certain, only that he was sure he was feverish." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Maybe I've really caught something—the pox or something! Oh, my God, perhaps Babcott's wrong and it's not just the White Man's Burden—Gippy Tummy or normal squitters or some such rheum. Oh, my God, even though André swore by all that's holy, Raiko too, that Fujiko was as clean as clean, perhaps she isn't!\n\n\"Oh, for goodness' sake, Phillip,\" Babcott had said this morning, \"you don't have the pox, you've just eaten or drunk something bad. Here, here's some of Dr. Collis's tincture. That'll cure you by tomorrow and if it doesn't, we'll give you a good burial, not to worry! For Christ's sake, how many times do I have to tell you: drink only boiled water, or tea.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He mopped his brow, the light fading but no letup in the wind." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Certainly he felt better than in the night when he had the runs. Wasn't for Babcott, or Collis's magic, I would have to have missed the funeral—not the funeral, Malcolm's sending-off. How bloody awful! Poor fellow! Poor Angelique! What will happen now, he asked himself, perturbed, took his eyes off her and hurried for the Legation." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Angelique had seen him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When the clipper was swallowed by the dark she drew the curtains and sat at the desk. Her journal was open. Three letters were sealed and ready for the mail ship: to her aunt, enclosing a sight draft on the Bank of England for fifty guineas, the second to Colette with a ten-guinea money order, both of which Jamie had arranged for her, using part of the money Sir William had allowed her to keep. She had considered using one of Malcolm's chits that were in the desk, backdating it, using the chop from the safe, but thought that unwise for the moment." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The money for her aunt was just to help, to Colette to buy the best medicines against her lying-in time." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I may or may not be there in time, she thought. Hope so.\n\nThe last letter was to be delivered by hand. It said: My dear Admiral Ketterer, I know it was only through your kindness that we were married. I thank you from the depths of my heart and swear, whatever power this poor woman may have in the future, that I will use it in or out of Struan's to wipe out all sales of opium and equally dastardly arms sales to natives, as my husband had sworn to do." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Again, with all my heartfelt affection, Angelique Struan." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Signing Angelique Struan pleased her very much. The two names went well together. It was enjoyable to practice the signature, the swirl of the \"S\" somehow helping her to think.\n\nMy scheme with Edward, where on earth did all those lovely ideas come from?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "It's excellent—if he does it as I want." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "That should convince Tess I'm not an enemy. But her son was her son and I wouldn't forgive, not if he had been my son, I don't think I would.\n\nThe way ahead's fraught with disaster, so much to go wrong, can go wrong, André's still a slavering dog waiting to be muzzled, or put down—yet, in truth, so many ways to go right—the correct coffin is en route, Malcolm's ready and waiting for tomorrow, I can still go to Hong Kong by mail ship if I want, I'm sure Edward wants to marry me and he of all people understands a rich wife is better than a poor one, I have Malcolm's blank chits and his chop that no one knows about—and twenty-eight days to go and not like last time, Blessed Mother, thanks be to Merciful God—I pray for his child.\n\nAh, Malcolm, Malcolm, what a good life we would have had, you and I. I would have grown up without all the awfulness, I swear I would have." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Making an effort she shook off her melancholy and rang the bell on the desk." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The door opened without a polite knock, any form of knock. \"Missee?\"\n\n\"Tai-tai, Ah Soh!\" she snapped, ready for her.\n\n\"Missee-tai-tai?\"\n\n\"Send Chen here, chop chop.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"You eat here, down'stair, Missee? Er, Missee-tai-tai?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Angelique sighed at the permutations Ah Soh could find to avoid calling her tai-tai. \"Listen, you piece of donkey dung,\" she said to her sweetly, \"I'm stronger than you and soon I'll be paying the bills and then you will sweat,\" and was happy to see the dark eyes in the flat face cross. As Malcolm had explained, speaking directly at Ah Soh in correct English, not pidgin, that the maid could not understand would make her lose face. Such twisted logic these Chinese, Angelique thought. \"Chen, chop chop!\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Ah Soh shuffled off sullenly." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When Chen came in she told him she wanted a letter delivered to the British Embassy. He nodded without comment. \"Chen, Ah Tok sick, not sick, heya?\"\n\n\"Ah Tok sick. Ah Tok gone Hong Kong.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Chen waved a hand seawards." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"All same along Master.\"\n\n\"Oh!\" Angelique was greatly relieved and wished she had thought of that first. Several times she had seen her skulking in the shadows, her black eyes filled with hatred, saliva dribbling from the corner of her mouth. She gave him Ketterer's letter." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Go Big House, now.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He glanced at the name, pretending to be able to read the barbarian. \"Eat all same this place, heya?\"\n\n\"Tai-tai eat all same this place, heya? Tai-tai!\"\n\nChen's eyes flickered. His mouth smiled." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Tai-tai, eat all same this place, heya? Tai-tai Missee?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You're a piece of donkey dung too. Perhaps I'll dismiss you—no, that would be too kind. I'll think about you later.\" She smiled. \"Eat downstair'. What food have?\"\n\n\"Wat you wan', tai-tai Missee, Missee-tai-tai?\"\n\nThis made her laugh and she felt better for it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Missee-tai-tai, tai-tai Missee, all same good. What food? Your food, Chinese food,\" she said suddenly, not knowing why." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"All same you-ah, Chen. China food, Number One food. Best, heya!\"\n\nChen gaped at her. This was most unusual. In the past she would just pick at the dishes the Master enjoyed to please him, and eat European dishes, meats and potatoes and pies and bread that he and all Chinese considered fit only for animals." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Master's food, heya?\" he asked tentatively." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Tai-pan food for Master's tai-tai!\" Imperiously, aping Malcolm, she waved him away and turned her back.\n\nChen, unsettled, went off mumbling. \"All same tai-pan, have got, yes Missee-tai-tai.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "I must develop a taste for Chinese food and knowledge of it, she thought, grasping a new idea." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In case I stay part of the year. Jamie said he likes Chinese cooking occasionally, Phillip's enthusiastic and Edward eats it all the time...\n\nAh, Edward, Edward-of-so-many-faces, and possibilities. I'm not sure about him. If..." }, { "from": "human", "value": "If I bring forth a son I will be so happy that I've part of Malcolm forever." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "I'll go back to Paris, for then I'll have plenty of money, plenty. Tess Struan will be glad to have me leave and our son will be brought up part French, part British, and be worthy of his father. If a daughter, I'll leave too, with less, but there will be more than enough. Until I meet a title worthy and a man worthy." }, { "from": "human", "value": "If I'm unlucky and there's no child, then I may consider Edward, while negotiating with that woman for my widow's mite, all this subject to Heavenly Skye being wrong." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 1 sentence." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Wrong about how vindictive and ruthless that woman is." } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Let's engage in a collaborative writing exercise. I'll provide a starting point, and You'll continue with 4 sentences in the style of James Clavell." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "When they came alongside the Struan jetty a few misted stars were out. It was still early, at the edge of nightfall. The sky had cleared and promised a good day tomorrow. Merchantmen and the fleet lay safe at anchor, quiet, riding lights on—only the mail ship still being worked under a multitude of oil lamps like so many fireflies." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Nimbly the stoker jumped onto the wharf with a hawser and tied the craft, then helped the others." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Angelique first, then Skye and Hoag. Jamie climbed the steps easily, still wrapped in his blanket, chilled but not badly. Skye and the doctor were pasty grey, their stomachs and heads ill at ease, legs weak. Now Angelique was much better." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Her headache had gone." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She had not been sick nor felt seasick. Once again she had cried herself out. The last half hour she had been on deck, away from the sick tainted air below, and had joined Jamie on the poop. There she faced the salt-sweet wind and let it wash her brain clean again." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Behind her Hoag coughed up a wad of phlegm and spat it into the water lapping the pilings." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Sorry,\" he muttered, needing a drink badly. Then he noticed the mess on the prow, some timbers crushed, the fore hatch stove in, bowsprit vanished, halliards gone, most of the gunnel. \"What the hell happened?\"\n\n\"Some flotsam was washed aboard, looked like a crate. Gave me a fright for a moment,\" Jamie said." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Thought I heard a crash... I... think I'll... think I'll vis't the Club before turning in.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I'll join you,\" Skye said, needing more than one drink to settle his stomach. \"Jamie? M'ss Angelique?\"\n\nShe shook her head and Jamie said, \"Off you go, nothing more to do tonight. Don't forget the plan.\" They had agreed nothing was to be said other than, if asked, they had conducted a symbolic sea burial, nothing more.\n\nFortunately none of the others had seen the coffin come aboard or his struggle with it—except Tinker." }, { "from": "human", "value": "As soon as he could, he had gone aloft to the wheelhouse." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Bosun, about the coffin, the others below saw nothing, so on your head, by God, you saw nothing and you say nothing either. It's our secret.\"\n\n\"Whatever you say, sorr.\" Tinker handed him the flask and touched his forelock. \"Thanks. Weren't for you we'd be below, all of us—along with him.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "There was barely a swallow left but it helped." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"I thought I'd never make it. We forget it. Your oath, eh?\"\n\n\"Whatever you say, sorr, but afore we forget it, when the box sank an' broke up an' he come out of it, he didn't half give me a turn, by God. I thort he were trying to bloody come back aboard.\"\n\n\"Jesus Christ,\" Jamie had gasped. \"You're imagining it, I saw nothing—you're imagining it.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Oh, no, I weren't, sorr, my eye line's higher 'an yors, right? An' I saw the bugger, begging your pardon, I saw him come out and flail for the surface afore he were sucked down.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"You're imagining things, for Christ's sake. What an awful thing to say!\"\n\n\"It's the God's Truth, sorr, so help me! 'Course it were only for a moment and sea spume were all around him, but I seed him right enough!\" Tinker had spat to leeward, touched wood, and made the sign against the Evil Eye and the Devil, and pulled the lobe of his ear to make his point. \"God's truth, sorr, an' strike me down if I lie, made my balls jump to Kingdom come. Struck out for the surface he did afore Davy Jones sucked him down, naked as a babe.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"A lot of bloody cobblers! Nonsense!\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Jamie remembered how he had shivered and touched wood himself just in case. \"You're imagining it, Bosun, though I swear to God that bloody coffin seemed to have a mind of its own, an evil one at that.\"\n\n\"My whole point, sorr, it were possessed by Old Nick hisself.\" Again Tinker spat to leeward, sweating." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Flailed for the surface he did, different like, eyes open and all, and I thort he was coming at us for good.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"For Christ's sake, give over! Malcolm wouldn't do anything bad to us,\" he had said, ill at ease. \"It was a trick of your mind.\"\n\n\"My eye line, sorr, was high—\"\n\n\"Forget your bloody eye line. Have you any rum left?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Tinker coughed and reached into a hidden locker and pulled out another flask." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "It was half empty. Jamie took a large swallow, choked, and took another.\n\n\"There'll be ten cases of rum in our warehouse for you to draw against, Tinker, with my thanks. You did a fine job, so did the stoker—four cases for him.\" Tinker thanked him effusively." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The grand rum heat in his stomach had swamped all his chill." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He looked at the old weathered face and shrewd blue eyes. \"I was never so bloody scared, never, in my whole life. I thought I was a goner three or four times.\"\n\n\"Not me, sorr,\" the Bosun said with a grin. \"Not with you aboard, but I was right happy when the bugger and his box were overboard and him sucked down cursing us all the way...\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Though safe ashore, again Jamie shivered, thinking of it." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Angelique said, \"You should get out of those wet clothes.\"\n\nHoag said, \"Well, I'm off.\"\n\nShe put her arms around him and kissed his cheek, closing her nostrils to the smell of vomit. \"Thank you so much, see you tomorrow.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "She did the same to Skye." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The two men went off unsteadily. \"Will they be all right?\"\n\nJamie said, \"Nothing that a few whiskies and a night's sleep won't cure.\"\n\n\"They're not in shape to discuss anything, are they?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"No. What do you want to discuss?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "She took his arm in hers and hugged it. \"Just to decide about to morrow.\"\n\n\"We can talk as we go.\" They said good night to Tinker and the stoker, both men again thanking McFay for the rum." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then they walked off arm in arm." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Angelique—before you say anything, I'm glad we did it.\"\n\n\"Oh, so am I, dear Jamie, you are a dear and I truly am so glad and so happy nothing went wrong, no one was hurt.\" A wan smile. \"Just a little sick.\"\n\n\"Nothing to worry about. Tomorrow?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"I've decided not to go with the mail ship, no, please don't say anything, I've decided. I'm safer here. Until I hear from Tess formally. Really, Jamie, I am, I'm safer here. And I'm sure Hoag and George would agree that medically it would be wise. I don't think you should go either.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"It's my job to tell Mrs. Struan, Mrs. Tess Struan.\"\n\n\"You can call me Angelique, you always have and I, well, I've only been Mrs. Struan for a moment.\" She sighed, continued walking towards the Struan Building. \"It's better I stay. She'll have to declare herself, better by letter here. Malcolm's buried and that's all that I wanted. Do you have to go?\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"In this wind,\" he said, thinking aloud, \"Prancing Cloud could make fifteen to seventeen knots, day in day out, and be tied up in Hong Kong in five days—she'll have the bit between her teeth with such important news and important cargo.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "They had all agreed that publicly and now privately they would consider that coffin the tai-pan's. \"The mail ship will average eight knots if she's lucky so she'll take the usual ten-odd days. By the time I got there the funeral will have been done, Tess will know everything from dozens of different points of view—my report's aboard, so is Sir William's and fifty others no doubt. She's dismissed me at the end of the month and the new fellow arrives in a few days and I was told to show him the ropes.\" Then there were reasons he decided not to say aloud: he should be canvassing other hongs—as the major companies were sometimes called—for a job. The only real, suitable job available and up to his experience and surely on offer would be Brock and Sons." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Then he had to decide about Maureen, and then there was Nemi." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He smiled at Angelique sadly. \"It adds up to no reason to go, doesn't it?\"\n\nShe hugged his arm, oblivious of those passing. \"I'm glad. I won't feel lonely if you're here.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Jamie!\" Phillip Tyrer had called out from the British Legation doorway, hastily putting on his topcoat and hat, hurrying towards them." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"'Evening Angelique, Jamie,\" he said in an uneasy rush. \"Sir William's compliments, would you two and the—the rest of the—the passengers and crew of the cutter kindly see him tomorrow morning before church, before you both board the mail ship? She sails at two o'clock now.\"\n\n\"For what purpose, Phillip?\" Jamie said.\n\n\"I—I think he'd like to... dammit, oh, excuse me, Angelique, obviously he'd like to ask what on earth you were doing.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Doing?\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "The young man sighed. \"Sorry, old boy, it's not my idea. You're on the mat, I've delivered the message, that's all. Don't pick on me, I'm just the nearest dogsbody.\"\n\nThey both laughed, tension leaving them. \"Ten o'clock?\"\n\n\"Thanks, Jamie, that should be plenty of time.\"" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Mode:\nCo-writing\n\nLength:\n4 sentences\n\nStyle:\nJames Clavell" }, { "from": "system", "value": "Produce a starting prompt please." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He had slipped away from Yedo by oared galley to a sea rendezvous without fanfare, just beyond sight of land—with Abeh twenty guards and Misamoto. The experience had been awesome. The size and power of the ship's engines, and cannon, the amount of powder and shot and coal carried, and the stories they told, lies or truths he could not yet tell about the extent of their Furansu Empire, its wealth and power, the leagues of travel such a ship could cover, numbers of warships and cannon, and size of their armies, as they stated them, were beyond belief. Misamoto interpreted, with the interpreter who called himself Andreh Furansusan." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Though they had their own language this meeting was conducted mostly in English." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "A lot of what he was told, Yoshi had not understood. The words used were strange and much time was spent explaining miles and yards and powder and pitch and pistons, paddle steamers against screw power, breech blocks and flintlocks, factories and firepower.\n\nYet all of it was illuminating and certain pieces of information of major importance: the vital necessity of coaling facilities and safe harbors, without which steamer warships were so many hulks—unable to carry all the coal needed for the voyage out, for naval operations, and then the voyage back. And second, as he had witnessed at the Council meeting with gai-jin in Yedo Castle and found it difficult to believe the true extent, any mention of Ing'erish gai-jin brought sneers to Furansu gai-jin faces, who had no hesitation in showing the extent of their hatred." }, { "from": "human", "value": "This delighted him and enhanced what Misamoto had said earlier, that Ing'erish were hated by nearly every other nation on earth because they had the biggest Empire, they were the strongest and wealthiest nation, with the greatest, most modern fleets, the most powerful, disciplined and best-equipped armies, as well as enjoying their gains by producing more than half of the world's goods." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "With, best of all, an impregnable island redoubt to guard it all.\n\nOf course they are hated. Like we Toranagas are hated. And therefore, he thought with an ache in his bowels for his past mistake, these Ing'erish gai-jin are the ones to be fawned on, to befriend, and handle with the most exquisite care." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Best fleets? And arms?" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "How could I tempt them into building me a fleet? Providing me with one? Would coal pay for it?\n\n\"Misamoto, say to them that I would like to learn more about these marvelous Furansu devices,\" he said blandly, \"and yes, I would like friends amongst gai-jin. I am not opposed to trade—perhaps I could arrange my coal concession to go to the Furansu and not the Ing'erish.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "This caught their immediate interest." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "At this time they were below decks in the largest cabin in the stern, which he found cramped and foul-smelling, with odors of oil and coal smoke and human waste, with a fine coating of coal dust everywhere. They sat around a long table, half a dozen officers in gold-braided uniforms and their leader, Seratard—Serata as it was correctly pronounced—in the center. Abeh and half his guards were at his back, the rest on deck.\n\nThe moment he had seen Seratard and heard his name he liked him immediately—totally different from the tall, sour-faced Ing'erish High Leader with the unpronounceable name." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Serata, like Furansusan Andreh, were easily pronounceable." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In fact the names were Japanese. Serata was a miraculous omen.\n\nSerata was the name of his family's ancestral village in which their ancestor, Yoshi-shigeh Serata-noh Minowara, had settled in the twelfth century. In the thirteenth, the warrior daimyo Yoshi-sada Serata raised an army against his overlords, the Hojo, obliterated them and captured their capital Kamakura and made it his own." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Since then his direct descendants, the Yoshi noh Toranaga noh Serata, still ruled Kamakura—Shogun Yoshi Toranaga being buried there in his great mausoleum." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"So we are related,\" he had joked, after explaining the coincidence to Seratard. Seratard had laughed and, with the others who chattered like so many monkeys in outlandish uniforms, then had explained that his own family was an ancient one in Furansuland too, but in no way as illustrious.\n\n\"My Master,\" Andreh said with a bow, \"my Master, he greatly honored be friend and gai-jin part of your great family, Sire.\"\n\n\"Tell him that I consider his name a good sign,\" he had said, noting this man seemed much more than just an interpreter." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"My Master thanks and says what Ing'erish promise, Furansu promise better.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Misamoto said, obsequiously, \"Lord, he means they will make a better deal—money arrangement. The Furansu make cannon as well as Ing'erish, though not as many.\"\n\n\"Tell them I will consider a proposal to give them the coal concession. They must tell me how many guns or cannons, with powder and shot, and when I can have them, for how much coal. And I want a steamer, a steamship with officers to train my officers and sailors. In fact,\" he added innocently, \"perhaps I could grant Furansus the sole right to build, sell and train a navy. Of course, I would pay. If reasonable.\"\n\nHe saw Misamoto's eyes widen, but before Misamoto had time to begin, the gai-jin Andreh who had been listening equally carefully said, \"My Master sure King of Furansuland, greatly honor assist Lord Yoshi Toranaga in ships.\" Fascinated, he watched Andreh turn to Leader Serata and begin talking, the naval officers listening and nodding, quickly becoming as excited." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Astonishing how easy to manipulate these men with trade and the future promise of money, he had thought." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "If the Furansus react so quickly, surely the Ing'erish leader will do so also. Two fish fighting for the same hook is better than one.\n\nThey had talked of other matters, not enough time to cover them all, but he learned enough to want to learn more. One detail Andreh Furansusan had mentioned had rocked him." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They had been discussing modern medical knowledge, and how easy it would be to train and equip a hospital: \"Chief Medicine Doctor in Kanagawa good, Sire. Hear Tairō Anjo sick. Hear maybe tairō see Chief Doctor-sama.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"When and where is this meeting to take place?\"\n\n\"My Master say: not sure if arranged yet, Sire. Perhaps Chief Medicine Doctor help tairō.\"\n\n\"If a meeting is arranged, tell me. Tell Serata also that a hospital is an interesting possibility.\"\n\nHe decided to let it go at that." }, { "from": "human", "value": "For the moment. But that was another piece of information that Misamoto had better forget." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "How can I get a personal interpreter I can trust? I must have one. Perhaps I should train Misamoto, he is my running dog, dependent and in my grasp. So far he has been obedient." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Certainly he handled the prospectors well." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Pity he was away, detailing progress to Hosaki, when they fought—like wild beasts, the samurai reported, how apt! Had Misamoto been at the mine, perhaps he could have stopped them. Not that it matters, one dead is one less to worry about, and surely the survivor is not long for this world. Coal! So we have an abundance of coal, Hosaki says, and that for these gai-jin coal is as good as gold." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Deliberately, he changed tack." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Ask Serata-san why gai-jin fire cannon and rifles and send warships up and down to disturb the peace of this Land of the Gods? Do they prepare for war?\"\n\nThere was a silence. The mood reversed.\n\n\"My Master say, no prepare war.\" He saw Andreh gai-jin was translating meticulously." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Prepare defend only. So sorry, tairō say all gai-jin must leave.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Why not leave for a month or two and then return?\" He laughed inwardly, seeing the consternation this generated.\n\n\"My Master says, Treaty signed by Lord Shōgun and made true by Bakufu leader tairō Ii, and Most High Emperor, allow us Yokohama, Kanagawa, Kobe soon. Treaty is good treaty for Nippon, gai-jin. tairō Anjo, so sorry, wrong to be angry.\"\n\n\"Many daimyos do not think so. tairō Anjo is the leader. You should do what he orders. This is our land.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"My Master says Furansu want help Nippon be great nation in world... as here too.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Say to Serata-sama, the tairō is the leader, what he says is to be obeyed, though sometimes,\" he said delicately, \"even the tairō may change if given the correct advice.\" He saw this register. \"So sorry, we have explained a dozen times that Satsuma matters may only be resolved by Sanjiro, the Satsuma daimyo.\"\n\n\"My Master say hope someone can give correct advice to tairō. Satsuma daimyo must say sorry, pay indemnity agreed in Yedo meeting, punish killer openly.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "He had nodded as if gravely concerned." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Abruptly, he got up to more consternation—no point in further talk with these underlings who were valuable in other ways, the Ing'erish Leader must be approached. This suited him perfectly. And while he kept his demeanor haughty and stern, he showed some friendliness and agreed, with pretended reluctance, to another meeting. \"Misamoto, tell them we can meet in ten days, in Yedo. They may come to Yedo for a private meeting.\"" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Just as he was leaving the warship, the gai-jin Andreh said, \"My Master wish you Good New Year.\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Dumbfounded, he learned that the gai-jin world had its own calendar, totally different from the Japanese—and Chinese-lunar calender that had been the way to count the days and the months and years since the beginning of time.\n\n\"The first day of our year, Serata-sama,\" Misamoto explained, \"is between 16th day of First Month and 22nd day of Second Month depending on the moon. This year, the Year of the Dog, First Day, which begins our season of festivals, is the 18th of First Month. That's when all China says Kung Hay Fat Choy.\"\n\nAll the way back to Yedo in the galley Yoshi had wondered about these men. Mostly he was appalled—gai-jin were like monsters in the shape of men who had come from the stars, their ideas and attitudes the wrong side of yin and yang." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Yet for us to survive as a nation, Nippon has to have bigger ships and guns and more power to protect ourselves from this alien evil." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Next message should be approximately 5 sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "And for now, he thought, feeling nauseated, the Shōgunate must make an accommodation with them.\n\nThey will never go away, not all of them, of their own accord. If not these, others will come to steal our heritage, Chinese or Mongols or Hairies from the Siber Ice lands who eye us like slavering dogs from ports stolen from China. And always the Ing'erish will be around us. What to do about them?" } ]

[ { "from": "system", "value": "Hey can you write like James Clavell and use whatever i write as a jumping off point?" }, { "from": "human", "value": "Sunset was just a lowering of light, the sun dying behind a blanket of clouds, regretting the loss of the day." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Hiraga said to the group of fishermen, \"That boat will do—no fishing tackle, but oars and sail are included.\" He was on the beach near Drunk Town and he paid the owner what had been asked without bargaining, still unwilling to lose face by negotiating though he knew now—too well hammered into him by Mukfey—that he was being cheated and overcharged and that this man and his compatriots would laugh at him as soon as they were out of sight. He knew he was to blame because he was dressed like a gai-jin and not properly with swords.\n\nHalf of him wanted to scream and lash out at their bad manners and have them crawling on the beach, begging for the privilege of giving him the boat." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The other half counselled patience: You have done what you must do, the boat is yours, tomorrow you die with honor in the cause of sonno-joi, these lice have no more value than the barnacles on the filthy little vessel they sell." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Leave everything in the boat,\" he said. Unctuously the owner bowed and grovelled his way out of range, then, with his comrades, walked away, blessing their luck for a double profit.\n\nThe boat was an ordinary little fishing boat for one to three men with a small sail and single stern oar. Part of samurai training was the use of boats on short distances to traverse rivers or to reach offshore coastal ships or galleys, so they could all handle it." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The news that he had bought one would fly around the village but that did not matter." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "By the time the shoya and others had worked out its probable use, the revelation would be too late.\n\nSatisfied the boat was safe, he began to walk through Drunk Town, through the crowded alleys, stepping over drunks and garbage, disgusted with the filth. Taira says his London is the cleanest, biggest, wealthiest city in the world but I do not believe him—not if so many of his kind live like this, with the rest of the Settlement not much better. Taking a shortcut he crossed into a smaller alley." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Men passed by, beggars held their hands out, eyes peered suspiciously from doorways but no one bothered him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "No Man's Land was as always, weed-covered and stinking, the main ref use dump of the Settlement. A few ragged scavengers raked through the latest pile of trash. They glanced at him briefly. His eyes went to the rickety well head." }, { "from": "human", "value": "The broken wooden cover that hid the secret passage to the Yoshiwara seemed untouched." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Ori's face fleetingly came from his memory and the time they were below, when he was ready to kill him and Ori had thrown, pretended to throw, the golden cross into the depths. Ori was baka to waste his life over that woman. We could use him tomorrow. He shoved Ori out of his mind." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Now his whole being was committed to the attack." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "All reasoning against it had vanished. There was a consensus, Akimoto gleefully in favor, Takeda, and the Sensei. Therefore he was also. The boat was ready." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Now he would collect Akimoto and they would go back and finalize the plan." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In reality he was glad. He would die in a blaze of glory doing the Emperor's wishes. What more could a samurai desire from life?\n\nWith the suddenness of an ice bath he was shocked from euphoria and disappeared into a doorway." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Three Redcoats stood outside the shoya's house, two more were emerging from the nearby hovel he and Akimoto rented." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Akimoto was between them, calling out at the top of his voice one of the few English phrases he had learned: \"So sorry, no unn'erstan' Nakama!\"\n\n\"N-a-k-a-m-a,\" the Sergeant said slowly and loudly. \"Where is he?\" Then louder, \"Where Nakama?\"\n\n\"Nakama?\" Akimoto's voice itself was loud, clearly trying to warn him if he happened to be within hearing." }, { "from": "human", "value": "\"Nakama no unn'erstan', so sorry,\" then in Japanese, \"Someone's betrayed someone,\" then in guttural English again, \"Nakama no unn'er—\"" }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "\"Shut up!\" the Sergeant said angrily, \"Corporal, this fool knows nothing. Butcher, you and Swallow stay here until Mister bloody Nakama comes back and ask him—ask him nice-like to come along wiv you to see Sir Will'm but make sure you bring the bugger. You,\" he stabbed a rough, iron-hard finger in Akimoto's chest, \"you come along wiv me in case the Guv wants you.\" Loudly protesting in Japanese, he went with them, then in English, \"Nakama, no unn'erstan',\" over and over.\n\nWhen Hiraga had recovered, and it was safe, he slipped out of the doorway, jumped a fence and hurried back to No Man's Land. There he ducked down into the doorway, not safe yet to run for the well, too much light, the three scavengers too near, too malevolent." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Must keep it secret." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Who has betrayed us?\n\nNo time to think about that now. He went deeper into the shadows as one of the scavengers moved nearer, muttering and cursing at the smallness of the pickings, a grubby sack in one hand. All three were skeletal and filthy." }, { "from": "human", "value": "One came close to the opening but passed without noticing him." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "In half an hour light would be gone, nothing to do but to wait. Suddenly the doorway was blocked.\n\n\"Thort I didn't see you, eh? Wot'cher doin?\" the scavenger rasped, heavy with menace." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Slowly Hiraga straightened. His hand was on the small pistol in his pocket." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Then he saw the knife appear in the clawlike fist and the man thrust forward viciously. But Hiraga was faster and caught the hand and chopped at the scavenger's throat. He squealed like a gutted pig and went down. At once the other two looked up and hurried to investigate." }, { "from": "human", "value": "They skidded to a stop." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "Now Hiraga was in the doorway, the gun in one hand, knife in the other and he stood over the man who writhed, choking in the dirt. Knives came out and the two men attacked. Hiraga did not hesitate and lunged at one man who darted away, leaving him the opening he needed. He was through the slot quickly, running for Drunk Town, not wanting to waste time fighting." }, { "from": "human", "value": "In moments he had reached a side street but in his haste his hat had fallen off." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "He looked back and saw one of the scavengers had grabbed it up with a shout. In seconds the other had a hand on it too and they began a cursing fight for possession.\n\nChest heaving, Hiraga left them to it. Another look at the sky." }, { "from": "human", "value": "Be patient. When they've gone you can go to the well." }, { "from": "system", "value": "Your next one should be approximately two sentences." }, { "from": "gpt", "value": "You must not reveal it, it's essential for the attack. Be patient. Buy a hat or a cap. What's gone wrong?" } ]