Chapter XII

  “Attack by Stratagem”

  “The Art of War”

  ~by Sun Tzu~

  “What do you mean she's dead?” I asked as I sat up.

  He sat down in front of me. “Her guards found her this morning. Apparently two Mito sneaked into her room and raped her.” I ran my hand over my hair acting speechless. In shock. He continued. “They believe the killers came over her balcony as the guard never left.”

  “Do they know who these men are?”

  “They found a necklace in her hand belonging to one of the Mito but both of them were passed out drunk on her floor. One was still between her legs when the maid came in this morning.”

  I just shook my head a little. He was looking at me kind of angry but suspicious as well.

  “What?!” I demanded.

  He went on. “You did not have anything to do with this I assume?”

  “Saburo!? No. No, of course not. I will not lie and say I loved the girl but I did like her. She was beautiful and competent. If I could have done anything to protect her, I would have.”

  Yes I know I’m garbage! That is not the point of this story!

  His features softened some. “I am sorry. You are the most dangerous man I know. So I thought.”

  I shook my head. “That is alright. In your place I would have considered the same thing.” I got up and began to clean up for the morning. “What is going on now?”

  “The Karafuto packed their things and killed their way to the courtyard. Mostly heimin and servants were killed on their way out but some of our fellow students and mononofu were hurt as well.”

  I shook my head. He went on to tell me the guard didn't hear anything all night. He took the heads off of the two rapists when he walked in so there was no questioning them. Her guard died soon after his report, by seppuku. The Karafuto House didn't have a large army so there was little worry about a siege. However, there was great worry that Shogun Kasuga, the dead girl's father, would conduct raids. His specialty.

  Training would continue as it had. We were just students; we would only be called if the city was under siege. Everyone was upset. There was rumor of a note ordering the attack so they all wanted to find the criminal that had been behind this. It didn't take long for someone to come up with the idea that it was ninja that had done it but most disbelieved this because that was always the excuse. It took the Nigata most of the day to restore order to Toshi no Nigata.

  Due to my close relationship with the girl, all of the Daimyo wanted to see me that morning. So I went back to Shigeru's suite and was grilled about what I knew. This part was easy. I knew nothing. I was very distraught at the loss. And thank Amaterasu these people didn't have proper interrogators. I spent some time in the garden. My friends thought I was overcome by the heinousness of the previous events. They were almost correct. I was trying to stay balanced and move on but it wasn't easy without further orders from my House.

  "You look very displeased, Kumikazu san."

  I looked around to see Ashi watching me. "Yes. Is not everyone displeased today, Sensei sama?"

  He nodded and fell in next to me as I walked. "You did very well with the task Shigeru set before you."

  "Domo arigato, Sensei sama. I am sorry it was a wasted effort."

  "Not so. The Bandai Shogun and all of the Daimyo speak of how great your skills are."

  I smiled faintly. "That is very good to hear but it does not mean the same today as it would have earlier." He nodded. "I keep thinking how honorably Eisai fought our duel. She did not deserve this."

  "Yes, but what person does deserve it?"

  "...I was told two of our men attacked her?"

  "I am not so sure. There was conclusive proof pointing at one of the families, but... it just seems so convenient. The timing I mean."

  I nodded. We spoke for a few more moments before he had to leave. I found out, when I returned from the garden, that Ashi had left with the other Daimyo and Shigeru for Toshi Towada. Our classes would be taught by his junior instructors until his return. I deduced that he had been on his way out when he stopped to talk to me. I left that morning to go to see Shinnon Jira. This war would affect the cost of Bandai coins. It wasn't what I wanted to do but he would expect it of me. And it would keep my mind off of…

  "I am surprised to see you, my lord," he said.

  "My not trading silver today will not catch the scum behind this, my friend."

  "Yes, I am in full agreement with you there." He sat next to me as usual.

  "I notice you haven't slowed down any today."

  "Oh, I took a short pause this morning. Long enough to hire a ronin I know to go after the man that killed my runner."

  "The little boy!?"

  He nodded. "He did not know what happened. So when he saw all the Karafuto leaving he went to watch. One of them slashed his throat as they rode by."

  I was surprised. "To be honest, Jira san, I did not know you even liked the boy."

  "Just because I did not act like his father does not mean I wanted the boy dead, my lord."

  I nodded and lifted a cup of tea. "May your man be fast and brutal."

  He lifted his cup as well. "Arigato gozaimasu."

  We drank then. I set my cup down and said, "I am sorry Jira san but I do not have good news for you.”

  “Seems to be the theme of the day.”

  I nodded. “With war looming I have no choice but to withdraw my money from our investments.”

  He hung his head. “Kumikazu sama, I truly need you to stick with me right now.”

  I was taken aback by his sudden honesty. Not the usual behavior for him. I shrugged. “Tell me what has happened.”

  “You are my last large investor. I have had nothing but one long trail of people today all with the same request. “Give me my money.”

  “You realize your issues are far simpler than some other people’s issues right now?”

  “Oh yes. Of course my lord. I do not wish to seem ungrateful for my station but I very well could lose my business today.”

  “So you want me to let my investment lay where it is?”

  “If it is at all possible, yes.”

  I nodded. “You know me pretty well by now, Jira san.” He nodded but he had a nervous expression. “So you have played this conversation out several times by now and you probably have a pretty good idea of what I am going to say. Do you not?”

  He nodded again but this time looked a little sad. “You want a part of my business.”

  “Of course. And the number you already know I am going to say is 50%. Yes?”

  “That is what I expected.”

  “Since we are actually having this conversation I assume that amount is acceptable for you?”

  “Yes, Kumikazu sama. It is not ideal but it is better than no business.”

  “With this war going on I am not sure when I may have to leave. There is a man in town who is a... friend of a friend. If he is willing to act as my go between, then you can keep my money in return for half of your profits. I will talk to him today and see if he is able to do that for me. If he is then he will come to you today.”

  “How will I know this man?”

  “I have 100 silver I am going to have him bring to you. So, you will know him by his purse.”

  “That does narrow it down, Kumikazu sama. And what do you want in return for your 100 coins?”

  I took a sip of tea. “I want you to succeed, Jira san.”

  We continued to drink tea and talk about business until it was time for me to go. As I left the tea-house I heard from behind me, “I thought dealing with money was beneath a samurai?”

  I turned calmly to see Saburo leaning against the wall in the shadows. I removed the hood of my cloak and smiled. “I am no samurai.”

  He nodded. “I was very surprised to see you doing business today. Why would you? Today of all days.”

  I gave a small shrug and started to walk again. He followed next to me. “Several reasons really. Least of which is Jira expected me to. He knows me as a shrewd business man. Next,” I looked at him. “I need the money. And most importantly, …I thought it would help me to keep my mind off of Eisai for a time.”

  “Ah. Did it work?”

  I shrugged again. “Some.”

  We walked and talked for a while and eventually headed back to school. Later that evening I went and found my contact with the Koga, Moto Hisao. I wasn't sure how he'd react to my offer as he was a shinobi and didn't exactly care about the money. His life here was one of a blacksmith. I met with him like normal for one of my reports and we discussed my desire to back Jira. He was all for it as it left us another avenue of information and him getting a third of my half was a nice enticement that he could use while here. I gave him the purse and he went off to find Jira.

  The next two months were painful. My friends had been hoping to find an excuse to see the Karafuto territory; now that would never happen. I pretended to be depressed; maybe I wasn't pretending all that hard. I consoled myself with the only thing I could, “A Koga does what must be done.”

  The Karafuto had raided and burned everything on their way back to the coast. The boats had been readied for the return trip to the island of the Karafuto. But instead of going home, Shogun Kasuga sailed for Toshi no Potomura, the largest port city the Bandai have and began his attacks on it. It only took him a week to eliminate every samurai the Bandai had in the city and it quickly fell into his hands. He had the city fortified and was conducting a holding action while 4000 reinforcements landed a week later to ensure he would keep the Toshi.

  The Bandai were mustering every man they could, friend and ronin alike, to march north on the Toshi, as it sat at the far end of Giapan. I could have warned them it was a bad idea, but I was rooting for the Karafuto. The Bandai marched north on Toshi no Potomura, laid siege to the Toshi and were destroyed in a series of night raids that lasted three evenings. They never even scratched the surface of the defenses laid in around the city.

  Word came that the Bandai were falling back to a more supportable position to reinforce the villages in the area. That would allow them to surround the Karafuto forces and provide a front line to focus on. This was announced at our school just before class began for the day. My fellow students seemed optimistic at the time, but before anyone could comment I heard someone say, “All this trouble over some slut who spread her legs for the wrong men.”

  I turned to see a young sensei smiling as several of the students laughed. I began to walk towards him. A few of my friends moved to stop me but Saburo waved them off.

  I heard Saburo say, “I have two silver on Kumikazu.”

  I walked up to the sensei. “Awfully brave talk for a samurai stationed at a school, sensei-ko.”

  Sensei-ko would mean 'little' teacher. He looked very angry and no one was laughing anymore. “Get back in line!” he yelled.

  I shook my head at him. “We are too far past that, sensei-ko. You need to ready yourself.”

  He was not as prepared as he should have been. He knew I was fluent in Jujutsu and Ju-Do so when he opened with a powerful punch for my sternum he was not ready for the duck, spin, reverse elbow to his stomach that you learn in Koga Jujutsu. It knocked the air out of him and he went to the floor. He caught his breath while I paced around him like a cat.

  “By your speech you claim to know much about people, sensei-ko. Just not what matters I suppose.”

  He looked furious as he stood and came at me again. He punched at me in a quick succession of left and right strikes. I blocked them and kicked him in the knee. When he yelled in surprise I quickly followed up with an elbow strike to his face. Blood flew around the room as I broke his nose and he fell to the ground.

  “Done so soon, sensei-ko?”

  I paced around him and waited. I saw Saburo stop two more of the sensei by shaking his head.

  “Surely a great samurai such as yourself can defeat a simple student in his second year of training, sensei-ko.”

  He jumped to his feet and ran to the far wall where his daisho sat. He turned around with his katana drawn. The most senior of the sensei, I believe her name was Akiami, yelled, “Stop!!”

  I waved her off. “Let him. His defeat will only be that much greater.” I motioned him towards me. “Come, sensei-ko. I do not have all day.”

  “Stop calling me that!” he yelled as he charged me.

  I waited until the last minute to throw myself sideways and rolled into him using my inertia to carry my right handed punch straight into his genitals. The sword went flying across the room while he collapsed over me and rolled up in a heap on the floor. I got up and put my foot on his neck.

  “Tell me you still believe Eisai sama was a slut... and I will give you the last lesson of your life, sensei-ko.”

  He lay there, holding himself and looked at me with big scared eyes. “Gomen nasai. I was wrong.”

  I watched him for a few more moments before I lifted my foot and walked to Sensei Akiami. “I will have to miss practice today, sensei sama. I am not feeling well.”

  She nodded as I left the dojo. Nigata Shun's Shugodai, Chosan sent sensei-ko to the front line the moment she heard about what had happened. She had not made up her mind as to what she should do with me yet. I attended classes for the next few weeks until finally I got something from the Koga House, and it was just what I had hoped for:

  Nigata Kumikazu,

  Your father has taken ill. The monks say he will not last a long night.

  Please return home immediately.

  Gomen nasai.

  Grandfather.

  I was ecstatic. I really needed to get out of here. I packed my things and made sure all was ready for my departure. It did not take as long as I had thought. Most of what I had acquired while I was here could stay. It was just stuff to fit the part. I left the letter as it would be discovered after I left and provide a simple explanation to my disappearance. I would have to say goodbye to Saburo. It would be frowned upon if my Daimyo discovered I told him I was leaving. But a lifelong enemy who was a Nigata duelist would be worse. I found him in his room meditating on his sword.

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  “You are smiling,” he said.

  “I should not be smiling right now.”

  “Because of Eisai?”

  “No. Because it is time for me to leave.”

  He looked confused. “Why?”

  “It is just time.”

  He shook his head hard. “No! It is not! How can you just leave now!? We have not even touched our katana yet!”

  I smiled. “I am not a duelist.”

  “What are you!?”

  I laughed and motioned for him to follow me back to my room. “I am your friend.”

  He did not look happy. “I do not understand how you can do what you do.”

  I thought on that a moment and put on my pack. “Saburo, you love the Bandai?” He nodded. “You would die for the Bandai?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  I took my meditation katana from its stand and slipped it into my obi.

  “Then how is it you cannot understand everything I do for my House?”

  He just stood there watching me.

  “Gomen nasai, I cannot stay and see you finish your training. You are a great man and it is my honor to call you my friend.” I handed him a small purse of 10 gold pieces. “I know, you do not need money but this may come in handy more times than not. I wish I had a more sentimental gift to give you but that just would not be my way.” I smiled.

  I stepped onto the windowsill as he said, “I will find you one day.”

  I looked at him and smiled again. “I truly hope so, Saburo sama.”

  And with that I stepped off the sill and fell as light as paper to the ground three stories bellow. I did not look back. I headed to the blacksmith's shop. I would not know it for many years but in an hour while Saburo was meditating on his sword again, the words House and 'I do what must be done.' would finally form a very clear picture of who his friend was.

  Saburo went on to become the best they had at that school with a spear. Later he would be the best at Kenjutsu until he became their best student in Iaijutsu. His last year in the Nigata school he won their annual Kenjutsu tournament. His father and family traveled all the way to Toshi no Nigata to watch him compete. I could not be there because at the time I was crawling through a sewer in the middle of the Kyushu lands.

  Once I was with my contact he introduced me to a girl that had brought the letter. She was a couple of years older than I and fairly attractive. We left immediately. She took us across country and didn't say anything until we were well away from any other people.

  "It looks to be a long night," she said.

  "Best if it is."

  "It sounds as if everything went well, Hiro sama."

  "Yes." I didn't know her and I sure didn't trust her.

  "Not the talkative type anymore? I had heard you were very outspoken."

  "Being surrounded by Bandai will do that."

  She nodded. "We will continue across country to a small village I know called Kuru. There is a farmhouse we will stay at long enough for us to change into... more appropriate attire. Then we travel only by night to Goemon Toshi. Yes?"

  I nodded once. She shrugged at my lack of response.

  "There will be a Gunso and two men waiting with horses at the farmhouse."

  She was waiting for me to comment but none came. She finally gave up on the idea, for a while. We rested during the day and she continued to talk as I prepared the meal. She talked about everything. Her family, her friends, she even told little bits about previous missions she had been assigned to before. I couldn't believe she was still alive, let alone my escort. I noticed she was subtly trying to coerce conversation from me, and her slant was one I didn't like.

  "Well, of course you know what it's like to kill, that last one was a beauty."

  I just ate my rice. Something about her bothered me though; I just couldn't put my finger on it.

  By the fourth day I had had enough, "Girl! Shut up! I do not care! Whatever you have done, wherever you have been! I. Do. Not. Care!" She was very taken aback by that.

  "Gomen nasai, my lord. I only wished to fill the silence. Perhaps you wish to talk?"

  "No! I do not! And if you ask me about my work again... I like silence."

  She looked hurt like a little girl. That I really didn't care about. We walked with her sulking for the rest of the way to Kuru. Some time that night we arrived at the farm house. It was a small building with no porch. It looked to have room for three or four people. There were five horses outside and three men in heavy Koga armor standing guard. Two of them were sitting near the front door on a round log, like it was a bench. One wore no daisho; I assumed he was the onmyoji. The other, the Gunso, stood as we approached.

  "How did he do?"

  "He is a prick, sir. He did fine."

  I looked at her stunned. Her whole demeanor had changed to something, competent. When would the tests end? I shook my head in exasperation.

  Her commander addressed me. "I am Gunso Sashi, my lord.” We bowed to one another. “There are some clothes and equipment for you to change into inside the house."

  I nodded and walked in with the girl behind me. They had set up two tables, facing away from each other in the middle of the room. My clothes were on one, and hers were on another. We changed into our new white and red kimonos, and heavy armor. Mine had a rich emerald green enamel, complete with helm and mempo war mask. I stole one or two glances at the girl’s back while dressing. She had a nice back. I slid the Shotoku daisho into my obi, and gathered up my things. She did the same. The men had started a small fire outside. The girl threw her peasant clothes onto the fire while I started packing mine away into the saddle bags of the pony they brought for me. One of the mononofu leaned over to me.

  "You do not wish to burn it, my lord?"

  "Is there a reason to destroy it?"

  "It is Bandai. That is usually enough for me."

  I couldn't help but let out a little laugh at that. "No, I may need it again." That he could understand. "Gunso Sashi san, who told you to bring this armor?" A slight look of concern crossed his face as I turned to look at him.

  "Daimyo Masao handed it to me personally, Taisa. Is there anything wrong with it?"

  I hadn't noticed the rank on my armor until then. "No, I just wondered how you knew my

  favorite color."

  He was obviously relieved. I was beginning to wonder what they had told him about me. I made them put me into the guard rotation with them and made sure we all stayed up late. The ponies needed rest and we were to travel by night. So we wouldn't be able to leave until dusk tomorrow. I was tired myself, and rest in a few hours wasn't sounding too bad. The night passed quietly, well except for some Ainu tribesmen that felt like playing.

  They normally stay up in the mountains. This was a group of about three scouts I think. The sentry woke us up because he wasn't sure what their intentions were. Ainu have been known to kill. One of the other men, Goemon Kai, walked them out some rice and left it. He hollered something in their tongue and walked back. I saw them eat quietly and take the pot when they left.

  "What did they want? Food?" I asked him.

  "They said they would remove our skin slowly if we did not surrender our things."

  I laughed. "What did you say?"

  "That if they know what is good for them they will not threaten Koga. They will simply ask. After they talked that over they asked for food. I did not think anyone would mind since it was my pot."

  Most samurai would think less of him for talking to these pitiful creatures. But Koga tend to be a bit more practical. Ainu make good scouts. The next day at dusk we mounted up and began our trip home. I found out the girl’s name was Shotoku Kiki. She rode next to me for the journey home.

  "So, you are not the whiny little girl you pretend to be, Kiki san?"

  "Of course not, my lord." She was not a big talker, I laughed. The Gunso would ride next to me, from time to time as well.

  "You are enjoying your journey, Taisa?"

  "Yes. Though not as much as I will the end of it."

  He grinned. "What will you do when we get home?"

  I thought a moment. "Talk with my mother. Give her the gifts I brought for her. And you? What will you do?"

  "I have a wife and small son I have not seen in over six months. Masao promised me and my mononofu no further duties for a month when this was done."

  "You sound as if you did not come from Goemon Toshi to get me."

  "Yes. Except for a short re-supply a few days ago, we have been away for a while, I cannot say where."

  I nodded my understanding. "Then this will be a well-deserved reward for all of us." I heard agreeing grunts from all of them.

  Kai asked me, "May I ask how long you have been away sir?"

  I looked over my shoulder at him and said, "Longer than several months." He laughed.

  I enjoyed their company. A few nights later we were riding when Fujibayashi Kajiru, the Onmyoji, noticed a light in the distance. It looked like a fire. As we approached we could make out what looked like a town. Some of the buildings were on fire but the occupants were acting... odd.

  "We need to get in there and help them, sir!" Sashi said.

  I shook my head at him. "No. If those people are the peasantry, then why are they just sitting around watching it burn?"

  He looked again. I gave the order to approach slowly. When we got closer we could make out what was actually a horde of oni, meaning demons. Several horned oni, and what looked like a giant tar oozing oni. That one was shaped like a large grub worm with two arms and a large mouth at the top of its head. There was a horde of others we could see as well. Enenra with their smoky bodies drifting around the village, Hibagon and Yokai. Just weird things smashing and breaking everything in sight along with demonic satori apes the little monkey demons, hihi, helping them to flatten what remained of the village.

  I looked at my men. “I am going to get this out of the way right now. I admit that we are in the middle of the Honshu territory and these are not our people.” They all nodded. “But we are going to do something about this anyway. If you believe that samurai owe no protection to peasants and that they are just there to service us, then you have found yourself in the unfortunate position of being under my command.”

  I was pleased to see them smile. Just then Kai tapped my shoulder. When I looked at him he pointed into the darkness.

  "The Ainu from the other night are here. They want to help in return for the rice we gave them."

  I had to squint to see them. They were keeping a very safe distance from us. I gave the OK. While they were gone I started coming up with a battle plan. I had been reading about a Bandai Shogun, Mito Yurei, a few months back. He was credited with many victories and he always won when vastly outnumbered by the enemy. That seemed to apply here. His secret was he would attack the enemy and run away. Then he would attack again and run away again. Not too difficult. I started working on the contingencies of the situation. Either the smaller yokai attack us after we attack them, or they run away.

  If they attack we fire two arrows each at the oncoming horde and mount up and run, then dismount and do it again. I like simple. If they run, we have to chase them down till they're within bow range. If they turn and attack, see plan A. I spoke with Kajiru next.

  “What can you do about that large grub worm?”

  “I was speaking with one of the Yosei. She said his name is Kui Biggu Minikui. He bleeds his filth around and it is not flammable until it is off of his body. He likes to eat what is left”

  “And?”

  “Well it is more of a “but” Hiro sama. She can do something to change it so he will ignite. It will take her a moment but she can do it.”

  “Fantastic! Have her wait until we are set. What else can you do for us here?'

  “I am more of a healer than anything else but I do have several friends I can call upon and more than a few blessings for us and our gear.”

  “Very good. Once your work is done I want you out of the way so we have a healer if we make it through this.” He nodded. “And Domo arigato Kajiru san.” He laughed.

  The Ainu returned with what we needed. There were 40 Hibagon and Satori, three Horned Oni, and of course the one big grub. The Enenra were hard to count but there looked to be eight of them. Right now they were contenting themselves with eating the town. The Ainu saw no living people but may have seen one or two undead. They weren't sure. I gave the word for them to run to safety. Kai relayed it to them and they took off at an incredible rate. I wish I could run that fast right now. I passed the battle plan along to my men. Kiki had a problem with it.

  "You expect us to run like dogs?"

  "I expect you to obey." I said.

  "It is not the plan our Taisa would have come up with."

  "That is true. And you would die. Leaving most of these creatures alive to ravage Giapan." I waited until they all nodded their agreement. “I know this is not the honorable way. But I also know that honor is given to the victor. If you want your honor, win this fight.”

  The four of us got ready with our two arrows. I gave the command, and Kajiru started. The little yosei appeared in front of him. She was only a few inches tall and floating in the air. Then she zipped across the field toward the horde of yokai. It was several moments before we saw a large fire erupt on the back of Kui Biggu Minikui, and his whole body burst into flame instantly. He started thrashing around in pain, crushing and burning many of his servants. I realized the town was not going to make it, but this fight was never for this town. It was for the next and the one after that. The vile army was in utter confusion. While it lasted I gave the order to aim for the large horned oni closest to us and we loosed, which made him very mad. We notched our second arrow and I gave the order again. While they were still in the air I gave the order to mount. The Oni went down. One arrow had found his brain.

  Now that they knew what was happening, and had seen where the last flight came from, what remained of Kui Biggu Minikui's army chased after us. We sprinted our horses out of range and dismounted. I had to wait for them to come into range again. When they did I gave the order and three more fell. They were approaching fast; we loosed a second and remounted. Not many of these creatures were intelligent. This was a major advantage for us. We retreated and attacked until all that was left was one large oni and a few stragglers. He had three arrows sticking out of his chest, but showed no sign of slowing. We were all out of ammunition by this time.

  I gave the order to mount up and ride away at a fast pace, not a sprint. The horses were exhausted and we would have to close with the remnants to kill them. As we rode I told them that when I gave the order to separate they were to spread wide to the sides and loop around behind the oni. I would distract him if I could. I gave the order, Kiki broke a hard right with Kai going to my front right. Sashi headed to the left front. I slowed some more, looking over my shoulder constantly, trying to act nervous, I wanted to be good bait. I drew my katana and waved it in a fashion meant to deter the oni. He really wanted to kill me and he was only twenty feet back.

  I saw Kai come up from behind and take a swipe but the ogre, stupid looking as he was, had been ready. He swung his large katana and took Kai from the saddle. When he stopped to finish him off, I pulled my horse to a halt. I turned the tired old girl and charged her at him. Unbeknownst to me Kiki was doing the same thing on the other side of him. When the ogre swung to kill Kai, both of us pierced his chest with our weapons. I had turned my horse left, while she turned hers right. We collided. The horses managed to turn their bodies away from the ogre. Kiki and I weren't so lucky. We came off of our horses and would have met in the air but I somehow misted at the last moment. Kiki managed to roll with it and only twisted her ankle a little. I became solid just to the side of a satori and took his head off. I had surprised what remained of the enemy enough that my follow through was able to cut the next hibagon in half. By that time the remaining satori and hihi turned to run but a spear appeared through the side of one and another pierced the last satori's back. He stopped immediately. When he fell I saw one Ainu standing there with his spear planted in the ground. When his friends showed themselves to recover their weapons, I bowed to them all in gratitude.

  We helped bandage up Kai's gut wound. After a little help from Kajiru he would be able to make it to the small town for some rest. We checked the dead and the town for any survivors. We found a few monkey demons, but we dispatched them easily. The town was destroyed and the large worm was just kindling now. I never did find out what happened to the Enenra smoke demons.

  Whatever had been here before was not recognizable now. Any inhabitants were gone or eaten and all of the buildings were nothing but ash. When we returned to Kai I had him ask the Ainu to come closer. The nice thing about being an assassin is you always have a plethora of weapons on hand. I gave a good knife to each of them as a ‘thank you’ for their help and asked if they could track where the oni had come from. They agreed and took off after making sure their interpreting friend was alright.

  Kajiru had to rest before he could help Kai so we waited there. I had taken the time to search for herbs but the best I could do was a mild painkiller. We waited for Kajiru's turn. In the morning we double checked the village and located ten of the women and children in a false floor below the barn, which made all of us very happy. The peasants were pretty surprised at who had saved them but grateful none the less. They explained the oni came out of nowhere and the men did their best to defend the town while getting them to safety. The Yakuza in this area had put a battle plan together in case of a surprise bandit attack. That is the only reason all of them had survived. From what little they could see and hear from the basement, the ronin and merchants of the Yakuza had died defending them.

  There had been no Yoriki or any other police in this town for years although the local lord did send his Zei-Dansei for the harvest regularly. I asked what town their lord resided in and they told me Honshu-ko shiro, another small town some two hour walk away. It was out of our way but the safest place for them. Also, if five samurai show up to vouch for the peasants then they will live on at his town. Otherwise some lord may start to think they did something to cost him money and this story of oni attacks is just to cover their duplicity.

  Kajiru was able to soothe and heal Kai. Once he stopped glowing he felt much better, although he would still need some rest. We were able to piece together enough from the wreckage to make three carts. This was enough for the survivors, Kai and three drivers as well as what money and weapons we could find in the daytime. Most of it was scorched but still serviceable. We tied the extra horse and pony to the last cart and set Gunso Sashi to ride up front with me bringing up the rear. Kiki and Kajiru were set as guards to our left and right. A half hour ride out of town the Ainu caught up with us. They had found a new chasm in the ground that the trail originated from. There had been a small tremor a few days before so we assumed that must have opened the ground. I gave them three of the katana from the village in thanks for their help. The swords were dirty but still very useful. Once Kai explained where we were taking the survivors, our three friends decided to head back to their home. For my first fight with the tribesman, I found them very useful.

  The trip to Honshu-ko shiro was thankfully without incident. We had to stop several times to give everyone a rest and swap out duties so by the time we got there, I was driving the lead cart. The town looked typical. The Honshu are samurai's samurai. Very utilitarian in nature and conduct. The town was bare and clean. The people were quiet and obedient. We pulled up to the gates of the town, as it was surrounded by a small one story wall, and I stepped down from the cart to greet the guard.

  “I am Taisa Shotoku Hiro and I am here to speak with Kokujin Utsunomiya Nobu.”

  The Gunso guarding the gate took a moment before bowing. I couldn't blame him. Five dirty Koga samurai just rode up in three rickety carts and said they were here to see his lord. That would have thrown anyone for a moment. I returned his bow.

  “Right this way, Hiro sama.”

  The meeting with Nobu went well. He was a stern man but even he appreciated the information about the new chasm on his land and the 150 gold pieces we were able to salvage from the village. He allowed us to get cleaned up and a few days for Kai to recover. I think he had not received a guest in a long time and enjoyed our surprise visit. At least as much as a Honshu can enjoy anything. I didn’t like sitting here doing nothing for so long. I was still being plagued by thoughts of a beautiful Karafuto Samurai-ko and I longed for my home.

  I made sure to send a pigeon with the news of what happened and where we were to

  Grandfather. If I had sent it to Daimyo Masao then our host would know how much pull his guests had and that might not be a good thing. I got confirmation from Sensei that evening that all was still well and everyone was eager to see me. Great. Nothing like a Daimyo you don't really know being eager to see you. The week passed well. We escorted Nobu to the chasm and back to the town. Discussed his options for rebuilding the town and what he could do to protect himself from any further attacks. After all of the tactical debates about the chasm it was decided to build traps just inside the chasm and a thick defensible wall around the opening in case another invasion force tried to come through. A new town would be built nearby to make supporting the defense against the chasm that much easier.

  By the end of the week, Kai was completely healed up and I realized my attitude toward this little plot of land in the Honshu had changed. I had begun the week a little bored but by the end of the week I was feeling a little sad. Kokujin Utsunomiya Nobu was a quiet man but very practical. I liked him. And all of the planning and work had given me something productive to do.

  Despite my change in feelings we still had to get home. The leaving was melancholy but the journey went fast. We crested the last ridge well into morning when I finally saw it. Goemon Toshi never looked so good.

  I was home.