2 Ms. Rin and the Steep Road

The Torii Pass was definitely a tough one.

As I carried my large luggage, I felt a little regret since I should have asked for help at the Narai Inn.

Slowly but surely we climbed, being careful not to scratch our skin with the bushes along the way.

My breathing became uneven. I found a shady spot to catch my breath; after which I wondered if my sensei was fine.

"Nisuke, are you okay?"

Well, he was worried about me, too. Dr. Tokuhon's breathing was not too erratic. Yes, he seemed to be in good health.

"Can I take a little break?"

"I don't mind it."

I placed my luggage down and sat on the ground. Having done that, sweat began to pour out of me. I wiped it from my forehead with a hand towel.

The doctor sat down beside me and helped me to get rid of it too.

"It can get really hot when you have to move."

"Very much so."

The sun had risen nearly to the top and was gradually gaining momentum. Below us, we could see several villages scattered around. The river meandered and flowed as if it was weaving among them.

After resting for a while, a woman came up to me. We were about the same age. She was not dressed in travel clothing, but in a kimono with blue stripes on a white background. She seemed to have been following Dr. Tokuhon.

"Are you Dr. Chisokusai Nagata?"

"Yes, I am."

"Oh, thank God! People told me that you had already left Narai, so I was worried about whether or not I would be able to catch up with you. I followed you from the Motoyama Inn. My name is Rin."

She smiled at me, as if relieved. I was a little flustered.

She had dazzling large eyes, her nose was smooth and the corners of her mouth were tight. In short, she was beautiful.

Since I was at a loss for words, the doctor asked her on my behalf: "Do you need a medical examination?"

"Yes, I do. Well, actually, not for me, but for someone else."

"Well, I suppose we’ll have to head back to Motoyama."

"Would you be so kind?　I'm afraid he can't move."

"Please don't worry about it. It's a doctor's duty to go to the sick."

"Thank you so much."

Ms. Rin bowed to me as well, but I was so nervous that I could not bow back properly.

"I'm Nisuke. I'm Dr. Tokuhon's disciple."

"I'm awfully sorry that you have to go back to the inn because of me."

"No, no… it's, uh…umm…"

While I was trying to think of something clever to say, a hoarse voice interrupted me.

"Where the master goes, the disciple must follow along. Don't worry too much about him. Let's get going."

We descended the pass and walked toward the Motoyama Inn. Ms. Rin was walking so fast that, on several occasions, my sensei and I were about to fall behind her. Her striped kimono swayed in the distance.

She turned around every now and then to make sure we were following her. At times, we caught up with her, but soon afterwards the distance widened again. Since the doctor was older than her, this situation was expected; but as for me, it was frustrating because I was just a young man.　

After passing Narai and reached Motoyama, I was soaked in sweat and started to breathe heavily. Ms. Rin's facial expression denoted that she was completely okay. The doctor smiled at us and said to her, "You're truly a good walker!"

"Well, I've been going this way since I was a little girl," she said with a shy smile.

When I was finally able to breathe in a normal way, I complimented her on her walking ability: "I couldn't catch up with you at all! The speed and stamina of your legs are impressive!"

"It’s embarrassing that they are too muscular for a woman like me, nonetheless," she pointed out as her face started to blush.

The way I said it and the way I looked at her made me regret my words, since I might have sounded a bit… inappropriate.

Ms. Rin started to walk again.

The Motoyama Inn was a rather small station, but it usually was overcrowded.

Among the travelers, a few samurai could be spotted here and there.

Since the defeat of Katsuyori Takeda of Kai by Nobunaga Oda of Owari in the last battle of Nagashino, the area has been in turmoil.

Dr. Tokuhon hated wars, so the sight of those feudal soldiers seemed to have made him uneasy. He called out to Ms. Rin.

"Lots of samurai attend this place, seemingly."

"Yes, they do.They often come to eat buckwheat noodles. They come from around Kutsukake as well."

"Oh, I see," said Dr. Tokuhon while nodding. I understood it too. This much attendance was due to the reputation of the buckwheat noodles. Some of them came all the way from far away to eat here. The day before yesterday we also tried this food, as it is a specialty of this inn. It was really delicious. The process of eating those noodles gave us a great feeling of satiety. It was seasoned with Shinano miso paste, which just made it taste much better. Since I had come all the way back here, I wanted to eat it one more time. As if she knew what I was thinking about, so she said, "We have buckwheat noodles at home, too. Please come and enjoy it sometime!"

"Thank you very much!" I exclaimed as I bowed my head.

"Come on! Don't be as gluttonous as a cow; focus on treating the patient first," said the doctor as he gave me a shove.

Ms. Rin just laughed it off.

"We're almost there."

Her house was a short distance to the east of the inn.

It was an unexpectedly shabby hut.

After passing through the dirt floor, there was only a six-tatami mat room with an irori (hearth) in it. A futon was laid out beside it, and a man who must have been over forty was lying on it.

His well-tanned face was manly sculpted, and wrinkles stood out in the corners of his eyes. He was quite thin, but his shoulders and arms weremuscular.

There was no one else in the hut, maybe just the father and his daughter.

I felt sad as I thought of Ms. Rin's hardship with her sick father.

"This is my husband. His name is Tahei."

I was surprised to learn that they were a couple with many years of difference between them.

"Let's have a look,"said the doctor as he walked over to the patient's bedside.I followed him.

He seemed to be asleep, but woke up when the doctor and I went to his side.

"The doctor's here," Mrs. Rin announced with a gentle voice.

"…… Oh."

Mr. Tahei tried to raise hisupper body. My sensei quickly asked him to stay lying down. He took both of the patient's hands, checked his pulse, and asked, "What is the problem?"

"I can't seem to stop passing stools. I was supposed to have nothing left, but I still have the need to use the bathroom. Thanks to this, I can't keep myself more than ten steps away from the toilet."

I see. So that's what Mrs. Rin meant with unable to move.

I thought it was a serious illness that would leave him bedridden, so I was a little disappointed. Well, it was a serious problem for him.

"Open your mouth, please," ordered the doctor in order to examine it. From my position, I could not get a good look at him because the physician's white hair was blocking my view.

"Take a look, Nisuke."

"Yes."

I switched places with him and looked into the patient's mouth.

His tongue is white, which indicates that his stomach is cold. There are teeth marks on the edge of his tongue and it is spread wider than usual. That is a sign that he has a weak stomach.

Mr. Tahei kept his mouth open the whole time I was looking at him. He was trying to speak, but I could not understand what he was saying.

"Ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah."

"What is it? I am done with the medical treatment, so feel free to talk."

"Again! I need to evacuate my bowels again!" cried out Mr. Tahei as he stood up, holding his buttocks.

"Please take a small sample of his stool in something."

When the doctor said this, Mrs. Rin hurriedly brought an ochoko (small cup for drinking's sake).

"Is this okay?"

"Yes, thank you."

Mr.Tahei took the ochoko and asked me, standing anxiously.

"Isn't this a little too small?"

"No, that will be enough for us," I responded with a wry smile. The patient hurried to the toilet.

Mrs. Rin looked worried and asked the doctor, "What does he have? What do you think?"

"I can't say for sure until I hear more."

"If there is anything I can tell you, please let me know."

She placed her hands on her plump breasts and leaned toward the doctor.

"I'll ask you a few questions. When did it start?"

"Since last night. At first he said he had a stomachache. He vomited once during the night. Then this morning, he started evacuating."

"I see. Then please tell me what he ate, starting with the most recent."

"Last night he had buckwheat noodles for dinner. For breakfast he had yam, porridge and green leaf soup. The day before yesterday, his dinner consisted of buckwheat noodles, and he followed this diet almost every day."

"I see. Did he eat anything unusual?"

"Not that I know of."

I thought it might have been a food poisoning or something, but according to her, it was not the case. So, what could he possibly have?　

I was stuck in my thoughts. The doctor continued with his question.

"Was it cold last night?"

"Yes, it was. Lately we get this kind of temperature."

Well. The diarrhea was caused by the cold weather. His tongue was white, so it could well be that.

"Has he lost any weight lately?"

"No. I don't think he changed much."

"What is Mr. Tahei's job?"

"He is a mago (packhorse driver)."

"Does he have any worries about his work?"

"No, I don't think he does."

"Do you and your husband get along well?"

"Yes, we do."

"Have you done anything together recently?"

"Come again?"

"Last time you got intimate with each other?"

Mrs. Rin blushed deeply. The doctor kept on pushing: "That's very important for me to know."

"…… yesterday, before his stomach started to ache……," she acknowledged in a muffled voice.

I wondered if the doctor had any idea what he was asking. Or was he doing that purely out of curiosity?

Then the patient came back. He was holding the ochoko in his hand.

"Is this okay?"

Mr.Tahei gave me the ochoko, I received it feeling aversion. What's more, Dr.Tokuhon assigned me a very smelly task: "Nisuke, you must take a good look at it and see if there is anything unusual about it."

"……Yes!"

My goodness gracious! The path of medicine can become excruciatingly hard sometimes! Much more challenging that the steep Torii Pass!