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Chapter XXIV “Terrain”

  Chapter XXIV

  “Terrain”

  “The Art of War”

  ~by Sun Tzu~

  The word went out quickly to Masao and the other villages to muster the ashigaru. I had my 2000 troops I would be taking with me. I had Chudai go and explain to the heimin why we had to go, now. Nobu had concerns he expressed to Daiki and us.

  “I am not sure how my Daimyo will view this many troops marching across the Honshu.”

  Daiki reassuringly said, “Daimyo Masao owes me many favors. I will ask him to visit Daimyo Yamamaya in Toshi no Honshu and explain why this is best. We need to put an end to the chasm if possible. This is starting to get out of hand.”

  “I am really upset that I may have dishonored myself by telling you about this.”

  Hiroki replied to him. “I am a cruel, prideful man, Nobu san. But even I know the difference between pride and honor.”

  Daiki nodded, “It would have been dishonorable not to ask for help on something that could affect us all.”

  I saw Shingan's father watching all of this. The expression on his face told me he was torn for the pain his new friend was in and what was best for us. Between issuing orders I looked at him and said, “I overheard you talking to my father the other day, Raijin san. You wondered what I was like in a battle? It looks like you are going to find out.”

  He nodded. “Yes. I can see no other way around it. I would like to give the Honshu time to handle this on their own, but if they have been overrun twice already then we have to move.”

  By the time my men were mustered, Masao had arrived. I was taking everyone, even the monk was coming as he thought we might need him. I had never seen Soryo's daisho before. It was of an Awaji design. They are a small House whose island lies between the capital, Teikoku Toshi no Kyoto, and the island of the Shikoku House. The Awaji motto was “You must go through us,” which I thought was highly appropriate at the time. Masao needed to be brought up to speed. Once that was done and he was reassured we had sent word to bring all the troops from the other villages, he called Kira over and told her to retrieve Fujibayashi Sanuro from Shiro no Nokizaru. He had missed the wedding due to his first child being born.

  Masao said to her, “I do not care if the woman is squeezing him out as you land! You get him here as soon as you have recovered from your flight!” Kira nodded and took off into the air like a Shang Di worshiper's rocket.

  I stepped over to him. “Masao sama, we have not worked with Sanuro since the Bei-oshi and the only thing Shingan and I have practiced together is pillowing. Are you sure it is wise to put us together for this?”

  He looked at me with a firm expression. “You three were always able to accomplish amazing things together. We need that now. So you will find a way, Hiro san.” After that he excused himself. We waited for Sanuro to arrive while preparing for the battle that would come. I spoke to my mother and father.

  “Father, I think you should take Mother and our family back to Goemon Toshi.”

  “Well, I am going with you. As for your mother and of course your aunt and uncle, they insist on staying here while you are away.”

  I know I looked confused as my mother spoke. “We were told you are leaving 100 ronin and Kubikiri to act as your Shugodai while you are away. I think he may need someone to talk to until your return and it will give us more to do than just ‘waiting.”

  I could see their minds were made up so I gave it up and moved on to help with the preparations. Eventually Sanuro landed and Masao immediately collected him, Shingan and me. Then he directed us to follow him. Once we were inside my castle he asked, “Is there a secret place where we can talk?” I nodded and led us to the tunnels underneath the castle. When he was sure we were alone he had us sit.

  “I have been waiting until the right time for this and now I am afraid it is here.”

  Shingan replied, “Why the wait, my Daimyo?”

  “Because Hiro could die.”

  Sanuro, Shingan and I glanced at each other with some concern.

  He took a breath, “...When Goemon traveled Giapan he was known as the best assassin in the world. The first Emperor was terrified of him.” I had never heard that. “He granted Goemon a name and land in an attempt to bribe him to the Emperor’s cause.” I, and every other child in Giapan, had always been taught it was a reward. “As a measure of security against Goemon, the Emperor went on to do the same for his brother Iga and the Emperor kept Iga very close.” This was all news to us. “Goemon honored the Emperor's gifts as it was best for everyone and he had never been a greedy man. If the Emperor had fears then that was fine with him as long as he never hurt anyone because of them. That is how we came to serve the Tenno family…

  Goemon eventually wanted to hand off his duties to his son, but the man died immediately and so he could not. He had to search his House for the man that could take over his duties. In time he found a man named Shotoku. This man could do the job.” I had no idea what this had to do with our present situation but I had faith that he must be going somewhere with it.

  Shingan asked, “I had always heard Goemon's daughter led the House after him because she was his only child.”

  Masao nodded, “She was, at that time.”

  “How did his son die?” She asked.

  Masao had a narrow and long cloth bag tied to his back. He removed this after her last question and removed a sword from it. It was a very old sword, not of Giapanese design. It looked to be from the Tiger Empire. The sheath, tsuba and handle were all made of some kind of bone. I think it is called ivory. The handle was tooled with images of Izanagi and his wife Izanami creating Giapan, while the sheath was tooled with images of them having their first child and Izanagi’s pursuit into the underworld for his wife. The tsuba was carved in the image of a winged woman wrapping herself around the blade. The Kashira at the end of the handle had been carved with a hole in it from which hung a crimson red tassel.

  “The man died the moment he drew his father's sword.” Masao continued as he held the blade in both hands before me. “This is ’Shi no Tenshi‘ and any man who draws her but is not worthy, will die. Instantly.” …Angel of Death.

  We just looked at him quietly. “Why now, Masao sama?”

  “Shi no Tenshi will kill anything you touch with the blade, no matter how small the cut. It is said that if you fight your way to heaven to seek an audience with Amaterasu. She will not grant it until you set the angel down.” I nodded my understanding when I realized he was not exaggerating. “Whatever lies at the bottom of the chasm will be dangerous. This will kill it, even if it is a ghost. It would kill a ninja while moving as mist.” Then he slightly offered the sword to me.

  I took it from him with both hands and held it in my left hand. I unlocked the blade from the scabbard by pushing the tsuba with my thumb. Took a quick breath and drew the sword. The blade curved like a katana but at the tip, instead of an angled end, it continued to a sharp point. It was a very old design. The blade looked to be as black as if it had been dipped in oni's blood.

  I asked, “How long before we know?”

  “We already know. You are the “Te no Shi.” …Hand of Death.

  And then he bowed until his forehead rested on the dirt floor. Shingan sat there wide eyed a moment until she realized what was happening. Then she pivoted her position quickly to sit next to him and bowed her head to the floor as well. I sat there staring at Sanuro until he came to his senses and did the same. I continued to stare, stunned, at them all for a few more moments not knowing what to say. I had only seen truly terrified peasants bow like that to Daimyo Hiroki.

  “Rise.” I said.

  Masao continued, “We would be very grateful if you would proceed to the bowels of the chasm and kill what threatens us, Te no Shi sama.”

  “It would be my honor, Masao san.” I said, expecting him to say something like “don't push it boy” or some such. So I was very surprised when instead he said, “Arigato gozaimasu, Hiro sama.”

  “...That is going to take some getting used to.” I replied as I put the sword away. “How did you know I could draw the blade?”

  He gave a quick nod. “I have known since your tattoo for the death strike was granted. Most of these say things like Shingan's, Strength or like Sanuro's, Persistent. But yours says “Goemon.” Which means: whereas I may lead the House, I must answer to you, my Shishou.” I nodded again. “The only people who may know this are sitting in this tunnel. This is our House's greatest secret. This is what Goemon handed down to us. This is why I need you two to survive the chasm and get us children.”

  Shingan commented, “We will, my Daimyo. We have been working on it very hard.” She smiled.

  He gave a small laugh and said, “Good. Now the three of you should bound to the chasm and we will be leading the troops there as quickly as we can. Scout out the chasm for us and let us know what we are up against.”

  “What if things change once we are in there?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “I answer to you, Hiro sama. Whatever you think is best once you are there is what we will do.”

  I stood up and had them follow me out of the tunnels. “My Daimyo, I think it may be time for you to take that flight to Daimyo Yamamaya. We do not want him to get the wrong idea about any of this.” He nodded his agreement and went to get his flying man.

  Sanuro looked at me and said, “I always knew you were good but I never thought...”

  “Imagine how I feel.” I replied.

  I had a servant take my triple daisho to my room and to collect a wakazashi I had in my trophy room from the Shugodai of the Etorofu that Ino, Sanuro and I killed years ago in the Bei-oshi. Once that was taken care of we made our goodbyes and then ran to the woods on the far side of my village and began to bound our way to the chasm. We did not want to make it obvious what we could do but due to the nature of the problem we had to hurry. So instead of it taking us a week to get to Honshu-ko by traveling only at night, we would instead bound all day and evening until we got there, which put us at the chasm on the third day.

  We did manage to catch up on what was happening in each other’s lives during the two breaks we had to take.

  Sanuro said, “I knew you two had a thing for one another. That is how those Kyushu caught me that time in the capital. You two go running off together and poor Sanuro's left to get clobbered.”

  Shingan was nodding. “Yes that is it exactly. Except that I thought we should leave you for a while so we could go make out. He said no and so once again you ruined everything.”

  It was his turn to nod. “I have that effect on people.”

  I asked, “How is married life treating you?”

  He smiled real big. “Not good,” He said as he shook his head.

  I was trying not to laugh. “What happened?”

  He shrugged. “I should have known something was wrong when her dowry was ten gold pieces. Who wants to get rid of someone so bad that they will pay that much?”

  Shingan asked, “Is it just the difficulties with pregnancy?”

  He shook his head. “No, she is just a mean damn woman.”

  “Why did you marry her then?” I asked.

  “It seemed like the decent thing to do. Her father is a friend of mine. One of Daiki's advisers.”

  “Which one?” I asked.

  “Fujibayashi Matuashi.” I nodded that I knew him. “Anyway, he expressed some difficulties and so I volunteered to help. The dowry was nice and she was beautiful. Plus Daiki was all for it so I figured this would be a good thing. No. It was not a good thing.”

  “Have you tried wooing her?” Shingan asked.

  “Done that.”

  “Telling her you love her every morning?” I asked.

  “Check.”

  “Is she in love with another?” Shingan asked.

  “Who would have her!?”

  “I am not sure what to do there.” I said.

  He continued. “She is so mean that before I left I brought in her father as witness and told her, “If I claw my way through whatever hell Masao is sending me to, and get back here to find you have been cruel to our baby, I – will – cut – your – feet – off!”

  We were trying not to laugh. I mean it was not funny. I know. But it kind of was. “What did she say to you?” I asked.

  He nodded again. “For once she just said “Yes, my husband.” I think she understood I was not joking. I do not mind her being mean to me or others so much but I had a hard childhood. I will not have it for my children.”

  We both patted his shoulder and told him it would be alright. We slept for three hours that night. We had one of us up at all times while the others slept. Once we were rested we moved on. We rested the next night as well and then continued on to the small village of the chasm. They had set up many shelters for the wounded. There must have been almost three thousand of them. We had been perched on a rooftop looking at what lay before us. The wall was being repaired from what looked like its last breach and the land nearby was pretty well burned. While we sat there I heard a voice from below.

  “Please tell me you are here to help.”

  I looked down to see a very tired Taisa of the Honshu. “I did not think the Honshu liked the Koga's help, Taisa san?”

  He actually mocked a face of being affronted by that statement. “I cannot imagine where you would have heard that, Ninja sama.”

  I laughed a little. “You must really want our assistance.”

  He nodded. “Very much so. If you are willing to give it.”

  We dropped to the ground. “I am afraid we have no choice.” His smile faded a bit. “Daimyo Masao ordered us here for that very reason.” His smile returned. I gave a small chuckle. “Right now he should already have met with your Daimyo Yamamaya to explain why twelve thousand Koga are marching across the Honshu to the chasm.”

  “Twelve thousand?!” He asked.

  “Yes. Half are ashigaru but you have to take what you can get, my friend.”

  “The ashigaru sound great if they know how to fight. I am just surprised by the amount. I suspect Yamamaya will have concerns about this being a trick.”

  I nodded. “That is why Daimyo Masao went to speak with him personally. If we were going to fake an invasion then we would send everything we had. Instead, we are sending what we have that will not put the Koga lands in jeopardy.”

  He nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! That I can believe.”

  “Good. My friends and I were sent here by Daimyo Masao to scout the chasm. His intent was for us to go into it. Is there any reason you know of that we should not do that?”

  “Because no sane man would?”

  “...The Honshu have one comedian and I have to find him here.”

  “How do you think I got this station?” He asked.

  We laughed before I said, “We have to go, Taisa. Defend the wall while we are gone. The troops will be here in about a week.”

  We started to leave when he said, “Wait! You are probably going to die and I do not even know your names.”

  “Inari knows our names.”

  It was two hops to the wall and one to clear it. We went to vapor as we went inside of the chasm. It was a very large hole in the ground. Blood and mud were all over the place and it smelled like some ape's toilet. We drifted through the tunnel for what felt like several miles until we came to an opening in the cave system. There were eight tunnels going in different directions and the heavy traffic on the path showed all of them having been used recently. We were not sure in which way to proceed.

  I whispered, “Any ideas?” They both just shrugged at me.

  Shingan stated, “All of these tunnels look equally used. Maybe we should just pick one?”

  I thought a moment. “Myobu Ainu? Can you hear me?”

  A moment later I saw a little white light appear in a corner across the room. Both of my friends jumped a little when it appeared. It slowly built until we could see the body of a white fox standing there shyly. She seemed a little skittish.

  “Myobu Ainu?”

  “Yes, Hiro sama?” She replied.

  Hiro sama? It took me a moment to remember what Masao had said about the sword. I removed it from my back and tossed it to Sanuro. I motioned her over again and this time she ran quickly to me. I scratched her under the chin and this time she looked like she was happy.

  “Can you tell us which way to go?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “None of them are safe, Hiro sama.”

  “Why? What is down there that we do not know of?”

  “He is very selfish and very angry. He is frustrated at the Honshu for stopping him all this time. He has prepared another army to attack and they will siege the wall again. Tonight.”

  I could see my team losing hope. “If we survive tonight, how long do we have before the next force attacks?”

  “It will take him two weeks to reform an army. He knows he is wearing the Honshu down.”

  “I need to ask, your name, does it mean you are close to the Ainu?”

  “They are my favorites.” She smiled.

  “How many can you get here by tonight?”

  “They do not want to die, Hiro. They are not samurai.”

  “I do not expect them to die for us but anything they can do will help. These monsters are a threat to all of Giapan.”

  She nodded. “I can have 30 Ainu here by this evening.”

  “Anything you do will be very appreciated, Ainu sama.”

  She smiled and was gone.

  “We have to get back and warn the Honshu.” I said. We bounded through the cave as fast as was possible. When we hit the open air the guards at the top of the wall jumped. We bounded to the top.

  “Where is the Taisa?” I asked. The men pointed to a spot not far from where we left him. “Get ready. Another attack is coming tonight.” They all nodded and we bounded off to the Taisa.

  It did not take long to get his attention. I do not think he expected to see us again. He quickly understood what was going to happen.

  “What state is the wall in?” Shingan asked.

  “Not good. They have broken through the same portion of the wall the last two times they charged. It is still not fully repaired from the last break.”

  The section he was referring to was the right hand side of the chasm enclosure. There was nothing beyond it but scorched earth.

  “Good.” I said. He looked at me like I was insane. “Get all of your heimin to tear down those buildings and homes to use as traps in the field beyond the wall. When they break through they will run into a death trap.” He nodded his understanding. “Do we have anyone to bless the troops and the weapons?”

  “Yes.”

  “Get them.”

  We quickly joined the peasants and mononofu in tearing down and building a defensive perimeter around the large field with spikes and spears and as many trips and traps as we could manufacture before nightfall. The nice part about them having three ninja with them was the expertise in trap building. The killing area of the field was about 300 feet wide by 200 feet long. The bad part was most of the priests were concerned about blessing us. It was very difficult to convince them.

  I eventually had to go and grab one of them and drag her to my friends. Her associates followed nervously.

  “I am not sure about this.” She said.

  “Do it!” I said.

  And they did. I was very tired by this point and night was almost upon us, so that was me being diplomatic.

  “That is no way to talk to a priest of Shinto, basket head,” Said a deep bass voice that seemed to rattle my bones.

  I froze. Then slowly turned around. “Michi?”

  There he stood in the heavy samurai armor of his Shikoku House, with a mempo war mask hanging over his chest waiting to be put into place for battle. And of course a huge smile.

  “There was an enchantment on me, so my face was not my own even if you did get a good look under that basket. And now I am wearing a Ninja hood. How could you possibly know it was me?”

  He thought a moment. “It could be that the Azure Dragon came to me and said “Basket head is fighting a demon army this night at the chasm of the Honshu,” and when I got here there was one ninja obviously in charge.” I nodded. That made sense I guess. “Or it could be that your aura is very distinctive.” He nodded.

  “Do all monks say things like that and assume it makes sense?”

  “Yes.” He shrugged and nodded.

  “...Were you able to bring any mononofu with you?”

  “I could only get 500 Sohei that could make it here in time. More will come if we make it through this battle.”

  I nodded my understanding. “We have 12,000 troops on the march here but it will be a week before they arrive.”

  “Yes. We saw them on the way here. I talked to your Daimyo Daiki. When he found out a battle was eminent he decided to send every Onmyoji he had that could fly. So you should have another 200 arriving soon.” That was good news. “From what he said, about half of those can carry another person so we should get about 100 more, mononofu? He said that word kind of... sarcastically. I thought you would know what he meant.”

  “Yes. He means ninja.”

  “I am hoping that is good news.”

  “It is.” I doubt he could see the smile under my hood but then again, the man was a legend. Who knows what he could do.”

  I explained what we were doing in the field and had them help us with the building. Not long after that we saw several lightning strikes and we had another fifteen Onmyoji standing there, each with someone in tow. Right at the front of them was Daimyo Daiki who had brought Daimyo Hiroki with him. I quickly explained what had happened and what we were preparing for. They were not happy at all about the manual labor part of this plan but when I quoted our family motto to them they sullenly fell in with the rest of us. I was a little concerned about Hiroki being there. He was a terrifying man but to my knowledge he was just a samurai. I didn't want to offend him but I would have preferred a shinobi or an onmyoji.

  Night was upon us when the rest of the onmyoji arrived with their shinobi from the column of Koga. We got them up to speed and put them in place. Ever since Michi and his Sohei arrived there had been blessings going off all around us. Big, loud, explosive ones with light. But finally it had settled down and we waited. Some of the scouts had reported seeing Ainu in the woods. I had them direct the Ainu to watch over the field and kill any of the enemy that tried to make it through as best as they could.

  No sooner had I issued that order than it happened. We heard a ground shaking trumpet sound and the earth was trembling from what I assumed was a large amount of troops coming up the chasm. I saw Michi casually tie his mempo into place over his face. The other mononofu followed suit soon after him. Weapons came out and we waited.

  Then I saw Hiroki a few feet down the wall from me. He was chanting and moving his arms until he began an odd sort of tribal dance. While he danced he pointed into the pit around the chasm. Every time he pointed a group of dark wraiths would come out of the ground and wait. By the time the army arrived, he had brought up 300 of the dark creatures. The demons crested the chasm and his wraiths flew at them. Hiroki's creatures would disappear into the oni and then that oni would spasm for a few moments. When they stopped convulsing they would immediately attack their fellow oni.

  The Honshu were going to launch arrows at the enemy until they saw what was happening and held their fire. It did not take but a few moments for Hiroki's minions to be defeated but they had taken many with them. Then came the arrows from the archers and spears from the mononofu along with lightning and fire. I could see Michi and his Sohei slicing through everything that tried to crest the wall. Soon Michi stepped back from the edge and screamed something at the sky. Tsukiyomi, the moon, went full and a hard rain fell. Every creature in the pit began to scream and sizzle where the water touched them. Michi went back to fighting.

  The rain felt refreshing but when I looked at Hiroki, he was sizzling and steaming like the oni.

  “Are you alright, Daimyo?!”

  “It hurts like a deep knife wound! Domo arigato for asking, Hiro!” He replied.

  Then Hiroki called down shards of ice, sharp as razors to fall on the oni while the other shinobi and I blinded everything in the pit we could. The oni and their friends kept rampaging towards the walls. I could see them making their way to the portion they had weakened in past attacks. I stuck close to Hiroki and kept anything quick or large enough from getting to him. Sanuro had slipped over to Michi and was doing the same for him while Shingan had fallen in next to Daiki and was playing the role of his yojimbo.

  About that time was when we heard a loud roar and out of the chasm came what looked like Zennyo Ryu the Dragon King. I cannot say for certain it was him, but he spewed poisonous water everywhere as he tried to fly above the fight like it was him.

  Before he could get far I leaped as far as I could and cut him across his stomach, slicing him open. Bile and guts fell on the oni below as the dead ryu's large corpse fell to crush many of his beasts below. I was going to land just short of the far wall when I saw a Honshu wizard some 30 feet away extend his hand towards me and somehow moved me to the wall. When the dragon died the battlefield went silent for a moment as the demons saw something they could not believe. Once the realization of the dead beast settled in, they panicked.

  And bedlam followed.

  The oni army flailed at everything as they tried to get out of the pit. There was no more order to their fight. We stabbed and sliced at everything that came near us. The spears flew along with lightning mixed with rays of light from the moon. The weak wall collapsed due to the mayhem as they spilled across it to the field beyond. We had even more mononofu surrounding the field behind makeshift cover.

  The Ainu began pitching spears from the safety of their forest that lay along one edge of the field while our yumi launched many arrows into the demons. It was not a long battle after that. Between the Sohei and the Onmyoji it was hard to say who killed more. There were thousands of beasts dead in the field and the chasm. Many types of oni I had never even read about. But they died like the rest.

  We were exhausted. Our dead count lay at 30 and our wounded count was 80. It had been a good night. I dropped to the outside of the wall, sat down and rested against it. Many of my friends came to rest near me a few moments later. I leaned over and whispered to Hiroki, “Be sure to scavenge as many oni faces as we can without arousing suspicion, my lord.”

  He was exhausted but he nodded.

  Shingan sat next to me and removed her hood. She looked worn out with fatigue. She lifted my hood and kissed me, then rested her head on me.

  Seeing this Daiki commented, “Happy honeymoon, by the way, you two.”

  Everyone who was not Koga looked surprised at us.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Michi asked, “You were just married, basket head?'

  I nodded. “Yes. About two weeks ago.” He looked very surprised. “I know. Hard to believe I could find anyone fool enough to do that.” He was shaking his head but still couldn't find the words. “It helps that I never remove the hood.” The others were laughing.

  “No. No, why are you here?”

  Shingan and I looked at each other and shrugged. “This is what we do, Michi sama.”

  All he got out was “Huh.”

  The Shinto priest from earlier asked. “Please be seated, Michi sama. You look exhausted.”

  He sat down as one of the Honshu Taisa asked, “What do we do next?”

  I replied, “If my information is correct, it will be two weeks before the next attack. So all of you will begin repairs while the three of us go back into that pit to find out what we can.”

  Michi replied, “I cannot let you three go in there alone.”

  “I thought you loved manual labor?” He just frowned at me, while I shook my head. “You and your Sohei cannot come with us. The oni would sense you immediately.”

  He nodded. “True. But we have 100 of your shinobi who can go with you.”

  “That, Michi sama, is a very good idea.” I turned to the shinobi who was with us and said, “Tell the ninja we will rest for one hour and then we go into the pit.”

  “Yes, Hiro sama.” He bowed and left.

  Michi waited a moment before casually asking, “Hiro?”

  I looked at him. “That is just what we call each other.”

  “Ah.” He did not look convinced. Especially with all of the Koga giggling like children.

  I removed my hood and looked at Hiroki. He appeared to be uncomfortable as he whispered with some of his people.

  I waited for him to finish before asking, “Hiroki sama? Did you want to see if the Sohei could help with some of your wounds?”

  He shook his head. “Domo arigato, Hiro san but they would just make it worse. I have one of my Onmyoji coming to help me.”

  “Are the Ainu still here?” I asked.

  The Honshu Taisa replied, “Yes. They are scavenging the killing field where they helped. Some of the Oni had nice weapons. I gave orders to thank them and leave them be.”

  I nodded and rested against the wall with my wife. The hour passed and we soon had to go back down into the pit. We said our goodbyes and met up on the far side of the wall. I whispered to them, “We will move in teams of three or four. We go to mist once we are out of sight of our hosts. Remember, we need information more than heroics.” They all nodded and we entered the chasm. We were together until we came to the room with the eight tunnels. We broke up into eight groups and continued on.

  We traveled like that for a few hours. Tunnels would split off and return later to other tunnels. It took us two days to map out the entire area until we realized we had covered all of it and never even seen another creature. The tunnels all roughly converged in the same area where one great room connected to another great room with a multitude of tunnels between.

  As I checked the far room I could see five secret tunnels hidden by illusions in the sides of the tunnels. I marked them with some chalky stone we found and broke into groups again.

  The moment we passed through into the tunnels each group ran into several satori and other sundry oni guarding the entrances. Thankfully they died quickly. We crept along the tunnel. As we moved we noticed some odd veins in the walls. They looked like veins of silver but not quite. The tunnel went on and the veins became larger. By the time we reached the end of the tunnel it opened into a room large enough to hold a toshi. And it did. The cave was made entirely out of the metal from the veins. It shimmered and glistened in the lights from the town. There must have been thousands of buildings below us. We saw our friends emerging from the other tunnels. One of them was pointing to the far end of the cave. There stood a great castle with what looked like an altar at its top.

  Sanuro stated, “Well this is going to take an army.”

  “Thankfully, we just happen to have one,” replied Shingan.

  I waved all of the ninja back to the previous room. I addressed the troops. “OK. We must hold these tunnels. I am going to assume that they will send more guards to replace the ones we killed. We need to buy time for the Koga to get here. Sanuro, get outside and find out how far away they are and how many mononofu we have to work with. And tell them what we found.

  Sanuro returned a day later. They had sent more demon guards that walked through my mens' mist and died before they knew there was a threat. Sanuro reported that the Koga had gathered over the last couple of days and were on their way down. The shinobi were to scout the Oni Toshi for any more tunnels while the army would attack as soon as they mustered on the outskirts of the city. The plan was a sound as anything else we could have come up with so I went with it. The Honshu led the way. We showed them through the secret entrances and sprinted ahead to scout the city.

  There were an additional ten tunnels on the other walls of the toshi. I could not spare everyone to search them. So I stationed three shinobi per tunnel and prepared for the coming battle. We saw our troops slip out of the tunnel and begin to form. None of the oni noticed at first but once the Sohei came through and each glowed like a bright lantern, THAT they noticed. The light appeared to be painful to them. We had no choice but to begin. The Sohei and the Honshu Onmyoji began to cast and chant everything they had. The Koga followed soon after and all hell broke loose. I ordered my men into the fray and we began to slaughter every oni we came across.

  We misted our way through the city, stopping long enough to terrorize the demons when they didn't expect it and moving on once they found their feet. It was a long fight of hit and run. I lost track of where I was until suddenly I turned a corner and there was the front line of the battle. I could see my ashigaru hacking their way through the host of oni while my samurai held their flanks. I could see Chudai holding off several oni to keep one of our wounded safe while the line reformed. I started hacking my way towards her as I could see her holding, but it did not look as if she would stand up for long. The Angel dropped the oni two and three at a time when I swung her. I love this sword. Half way through the enemy and I saw Chudai finally go down from several blows. I heard several of my men scream as they surged forward in anger. The dark army was being pushed back while the shinobi and I sliced through them from behind. I had to mist through my men to get to Chudai. There was blood everywhere but she was alive. I drug her to a Sohei I saw near the rear and he began to work on her.

  The battle had been very one sided until now but soon a great wizard took the altar of the castle. I didn't realize it until I heard the screaming from our men. I was looking at Chudai while the monk tried to stop the bleeding when I saw 20 Honshu literally being thrown over my head from some explosion. I looked up to see what had happened. That is when I saw him on the far side of the city.

  He was a young man with long black hair. His black kimono had green patterns of ryu that seemed to move upon the material. He stood upon the altar and cast black fire at our men. They died by the dozens whenever his flames touched them. Seeing this I bounded from roof to roof trying to reach him before he could do more damage. Before I could get there I saw a painfully bright beam of red light slam into his chest and he seemed to stumble. I looked to see where it had come from and there, looking insane, was Hiroki. Screaming with laughter while a winged demon flew him across the toshi as he hung from the creature's foot with his left hand. I shook myself and continued to bound towards the wizard.

  I saw him trying to get to his feet when suddenly bright blue flames erupted from behind him. He arched his back and screamed before falling forward over the altar to reveal Akiko standing behind him with blue flames burning around her fists. She looked angry as she continued to hit him while he was down. After seven or eight jabs he finally mustered the strength to hit her with a backhanded swing. Black fire flared from his fist as she hurtled backwards off the building. She hovered in air as she prepared her next attack. The wizard began to chant, until I landed just atop the castle beside him. He quickly drew a katana and swung at me.

  “You will die by the edge of Fukushu the living blade!” I parried it and his blade turned black before crumbling to pieces. He was shocked but managed to get out, “You will never de...” I stabbed him through his chest before he could finish, and he died. While standing over his body I noticed Akiko landing next to me, soon followed by Hiroki.

  “He does not look like much now.” She commented.

  Hiroki just laughed. I looked up at him. His expression was one of an insane person smiling at something only they could find funny. It was not a normal look for Hiroki.

  I turned to the city with my sword in the air and screamed as loud as I could, “KOGA!!!!” I heard a huge reply from all of our army in the city. They surged towards me hacking and slashing everything between them and the castle. The ashigaru made me very proud. You could not tell where they fought from the samurai. Their yari slashed and gutted thousands of the demons. I saw my father, Nobu and Shingan's father working their way through a horde on the west side of the toshi.

  “Akiko! Hiroki! My father fights there!” I pointed to where he stood. “Let us go to him!”

  With that Akiko grabbed Hiroki and I by our collars and flew straight across the toshi to drop us into the mix. I heard Hiroki's laughter the whole time. I think he became louder when he hit the ground, surrounded by the oni horde. I began to sweep through them like a farmer harvesting rice while I saw large red explosions coming from where he stood. He sent them hurtling through the air like a child tearing through a pile of leaves. I didn't see her at the time but Akiko hovered overhead blasting anything that could fly.

  I slaughtered everything in my path. The demons fluctuated between terror and fury as they watched me maiming their fellows. The frightened fled into Hiroki’s psychotic tantrum or into the line of Koga being led by Father, Nobu, and Raijin. Those with courage, charged me. I spun, sliced, blinded, death punched and misted my way up and down the line of oni. By the time I finished off the immediate threat, I was so spent that I removed my hood and vomited on the ground. I wiped my mouth and lowered my hood, looking up to see Father and his friends staring at me.

  “I did not kill all of them!” I said to alleviate their worry.

  They laughed and we went back to the fight. It took hours to clear out the city. There were some very large horned oni and the huge grub like defilers but thankfully the army lacked any more dragons. In the end nothing could stop us.

  Once everything settled down I received reports from the men in the tunnels. There had been many demons killed trying to flee but none got through. We did lose about 25 of our ninja. Most of the tunnels lead to more rooms filled with the strange silver, though one of them led to the outside. That one we all assumed was an escape route but there were no fresh tracks outside the cave. I found the many leaders of this expedition congregating around the entrance to the castle.

  Hiroki appeared a little saner but he was rubbing his head as if he was in some pain. “Are you alright, Hiroki sama?”

  “No. This place is full of evil. I can still feel the Sohei rain so this place is not doing me any good. I am not sure you can trust me while I am down here, Hiro,” He replied.

  I looked to a Ninja near me, “Get him to the surface as quick as you can!” A ninja's guest

  cannot move, speak or feel while in mist form. So she grabbed him, misted and took off as fast as she could.

  Once I was sure they were safely away I asked, “Does anyone know what this metal is?”

  “Kamisuchiru. It is a mystical metal and very rare,” said Michi appreciatively. “Also, very expensive.”

  Daiki just whistled. I looked at him and shook my head. “This belongs to the Honshu, my lord.”

  “I was simply expressing how grateful I am that they are our friends, Hiro san.” He smiled.

  Nobu actually laughed. He must have been a very tired Honshu. “I have no doubt that my Daimyo will share with the Koga and the Shikoku. This is a vast wealth we would not have without the both of you.”

  I said, “That is very kind, Nobu san... but I think we should get a bigger share.”

  Everyone looked at me, stunned. Michi had to play along. The large Sohei just couldn't help it. “I do not see why. We did most of the work.”

  “All you had to do was walk down here.”

  “It was a long walk.”

  “You like to walk!” I said.

  Brother Yuri, who I didn't even know was here, stopped us. “Well before you two start a war of the Houses, perhaps we should get on to more serious business? Like what to do next?”

  Daiki replied with a smile, “Yes. We need to search the town, especially the castle. Before we do, does anyone have anything important to say, or anything vital to us that they saw during the fight?”

  There was silence for a moment until Akiko stated, “I am pregnant…”

  Our friends did not understand all of the cheering from the Koga. It was explained quickly enough but Daiki broke in with, “Why did I not know this?!”

  She shrugged. “I did not want to miss the battle.”

  “You could have been hurt! The baby could have been hurt!”

  “And that is why I did not tell you.”

  He let out a sort of exasperated howl/yell sound. “I want you back above ground before some stupid trap harms you...” She was looking offended. “Go, wife!” She hung her head and flew off across the toshi.

  I leaned over to Shingan. “Why not follow her topside.” I could see she was offended under her hood. “Go on. It will do her good to have someone to commiserate with over what bastards husbands can be.” She was not happy about it but she bounded her way after Akiko. The rest of us congratulated Daiki.

  The sacking of the city was orderly and slow. We were all pretty tired. My shinobi and I went to the castle. If there were traps then that would be the most likely spot. The wizard's castle was laid out like most. We started at the top. He had a personal library with many odd books and scrolls. These I had taken to the outside of the castle for the Honshu Onmyoji to go over. There were many weapons of Giapanese design and build. I can only assume he collected these from mononofu he had killed over the years. There were 1000's of tons in ingredients and poisons. We left those be until the Koga experts could have a look at them.

  Most of the castle's rooms had been occupied by human servants but all of those were killed in the battle. We did find a group of slaves in the dungeons where his laboratory and torture rooms were kept. I ordered they be kept locked until we could deal with them. While searching the castle, Shingan returned to report Hiroki felt sane again once he was up top. Daimyo Masao and Daimyo Yamamaya were about to arrive and would be coming down immediately. The scouts had returned from the exit. It let out into a forest not far from Honshu-ko. They could find no evidence of it being used recently and there was nothing there but the woods. The castle had many secret tunnels and hides tucked into its crevices but nothing too surprising.

  The amount of treasure in the city alone was enough to make the Honshu fairly rich. The Kamisuchiru mine that this place would turn into however, was going to make them unbearably rich. But to be fair, if there was one House I would trust with that much wealth, it was the Honshu.

  I eventually went to the dungeons and watched the prisoners. I was very surprised to find the Koga Shogun, Eita sitting in front of the cells drinking tea. I sat and bowed to him.

  When he returned it I said, “I was not aware that you had come to the fight, my lord.”

  He nodded as he offered me some tea. “There is something... off about them,” He stated as he motioned to the prisoners. When I looked at them it was almost as if there was a second image hovering around them, fading in and out of their own.

  “Yes. I cannot tell what it is but you are right.”

  “I think we should kill them,” He said.

  I looked around the room. There was a mix of, fifteen or so, shinobi and samurai down here with us. “Ninja. Samurai. Would you give us the room for a moment please?” I asked.

  They politely left the dungeon. “That is fear talking, my lord.” I said once we were alone. “When in doubt. Kill it.”

  He nodded. “It has worked very well for me so far, little brother.”

  I laughed. “I think they may still have some information that we could use.”

  He sighed. “Very well.”

  I stood up and stepped into the first cell. I had the Angel sheathed but in my left hand. The prisoners seemed to edge away from me as I entered the cell. When I moved to touch the first prisoner with the handle of the Angel he shied away with a very frightened look on his face. The others stepped farther from me as well.

  I watched them for a moment before saying, “So you are more than you appear.”

  One of them spoke up, “Yes, Shishou.”

  I nodded. “If you answer my questions, I will let you live. But if you do not, I will most assuredly kill every last one of you. Do you understand?”

  He bowed quickly. “Yes, Shishou.”

  “What are you?”

  “Enenra.”

  I thought as much. “Where did these people come from?”

  “...They were captured by the oni and drug back here to serve as hosts for us as we served Kodoku.”

  “When I tell you to leave, where will you go?”

  “Where would you want us to go?”

  “I do not want you to hurt anymore people. Do you have a preference?”

  “Kodoku drug us here as well, from the underworld. We would go home to the land of the dead if that is acceptable to you.”

  “Will any of these people die when you leave them?”

  “No. They are all very healthy. They are constantly frightened, but healthy.”

  “Good. I want you to stay for now. There is a price for leadership. In this case I have questions for you. Answer them to the best of your ability. If you can do that then you will be free to go as well. Agreed?”

  “You are far more generous than our last master.” He bowed.

  “Kodoku could pull you left or right but he could not kill you...

  “Oh. Not the tyrant, my shishou. Our last shishou,” He stated.

  He meant the last Hand. He must have been a very old enenra. “…Now, if the rest of you would please leave your hosts and go home, I would be grateful.” I said.

  Immediately we saw over 100 Enenra leave the people they were in and drift off through the floor. It became much louder as the people, for the first time in years, had use of their bodies. They had heard the conversation. They had no idea what it meant or who I was but they were smart enough to stand still and thank me many times. I raised my hands to quiet them down.

  “It will be alright. The Koga and the Shikoku have aided the Honshu in destroying Kodoku's toshi.” I retrieved a ninja and brought him back to the cell. “If you will follow my friend, he will escort you out of the toshi and back to the land of the living.” They were thanking me again so I had to hold my hands up once more. “Do not thank me yet. There will be many questions for you once you get free from here. Please answer as best you can.”

  I had the Ninja escort them and waved them on while pulling my new friend aside. Eita walked up to me while they were leaving. “What was that, Hiro?”

  “I cannot say, Eita sama.”

  He just nodded and waited with me. Once everyone had left I turned to our prisoner. “What is your name, Enenra?”

  “When I walked Giapan it was Wajima Tennaka, shishou.”

  “And your host?”

  “He is a ronin peasant from Chiba's peninsula. So his name is simply Kama.”

  “How did he get so far from his home?”

  He shrugged. “Gomen nasai, Shishou. I cannot see his memories so I do not know. The oni brought him in for me.” Eita and I had tea and spoke for several moments with our new friend. The whole time both of us taking notes on what he had seen. Once we had everything he knew I asked Eita, “Do you have any more questions before I let him go?” Eita looked satisfied so I said, “Tennaka, it has been a pleasure to speak with you. Now, go home and have a safe journey.”

  He bowed and replied, “Domo arigato, Shishou. It has been an honor to help.”

  And then smoke leaped out of the man's body, formed into a rough human shape and quickly descended through the floor. The young man's face looked like he had just put down a heavy weight.

  “Domo arigato, my lord.” He bowed.

  “Is there anything you want for now, Kama san?”

  “Do you have any more tea? I would kill for some tea, Koga sama.”

  Of course we gave him a cup. Eventually we finished with our notes and had another Koga escort poor Kama back above ground while Eita and I left to find the Daimyo. While we walked Eita asked me,

  “Can you tell me what that was all about? How did you do that?”

  I shook my head slightly. “Gomen nasai, Eita sama. I cannot say.” He did not like that answer.

  We located the lords on the top floor of the castle. Both Yamamaya and Masao had arrived while we had been in the dungeons. They were discussing what to do with what was found. What house should handle dispersing certain areas and many other logistical issues. We sat and joined in with them. It took a long time to get everything settled. After all the talking I had to stretch. I stood up and walked to the balcony of Kodoku's suite that overlooked his toshi.

  I heard the others talking with the two House Daimyo about what they learned from the prisoners above ground. All of the prisoners agreed that they were grateful but wanted no part of the Ninja with the white sword. What we did figure out was that Kodoku had been preparing to conquer the Honshu. He had a vast knowledge of dark magic but needed to learn how to craft the Kamisuchiru into weapons. That was the last piece he needed before he felt he would succeed. As for why he never used the other exit, no one knew. He had been advised to use it but would not listen to his generals. It was an odd little mystery.

  Shingan and Sanuro joined me on the balcony. She slipped her arm around me and I leaned in to give her a kiss. That's when I realized I was still wearing my mask. We both laughed a little as I removed it and put it away. I kissed her and realized something. I went back into the room.

  “My lords, where are my father and father-in-law?”

  Masao replied, “They were sent up top to man the recovery effort and to prepare for a counter attack in case Kodoku had forces we were not aware of.” I nodded relieved. “They both wanted to come back down but Hiroki refused. They are two of the best we have at defense.”

  “I bet they are both angry about that.” I said.

  Yamamaya replied, “They seemed very accepting when I spoke to them, Hiro san.”

  “Yes, to you, my lord. You do not have to ride home with them.”

  I could tell something about what I said struck him as odd, as he cocked his head a little to the side. “You seem familiar to me, Hiro san. Have we met before?”

  “All Koga act alike, my lord.” I smiled.

  Michi did not help. “That is not true,” He said as he shook his large head.

  I frowned at him. When we were sure we had uncovered everything we headed back to the land of the living. Once back on normal ground we ate and rested. I had seen Nobu talking to his Daimyo quite often on the walk up. I didn't think anything of it as he was the man's lord. I greeted my father and father-in-law.

  “How is it up here?”

  “Quiet and peaceful,” stated Father in a dry tone. “Like a monastery.”

  “Domo arigato?” I asked.

  “Do itashimashite, Hiro sama,” Father said with heavy sarcasm. “What did you find in the castle?’

  “What you would expect. Weapons, poisons, treasure, spells and prisoners.” I answered.

  Raijin commented, “I would have liked to have seen it.”

  I nodded. “I have no doubt the Honshu will let us see it many times once everything is settled.”

  Yamamaya called all of us to sit in the shade and discuss what the Honshu wanted to do next.

  Nobu asked me, “What are your thoughts, Hiro san?”

  “I think Michi and Brother Yuri are correct.” I had heard all of the monks and priests complaining about the need for cleansing this pit. I couldn't blame them. With the way Hiroki was acting I thought it should be cleansed immediately as well. “The first thing is to destroy the altar and cleanse Oni Toshi. Once that is done, I agree with the Daimyo. The wealth is too great to just bury and it means too much to your people.”

  “So you agree we should have the Koga help us in the mining of the steel?”

  I shook my head. “No.” Every Koga became tense except Masao. “My people are good at deceit and death. Those are our gifts. We are loyal to our friends but greed? That is our downfall. If we were involved at the source of the metal it would eventually prove too tempting for us... We would have to try and get more for free. That would lead to war with the Honshu at the least. It would definitely stop what I expect will be a steady flow of the metal to us.” I shook my head. “No. We need that metal to come regularly. We need that far more than greed. We can help keep it safe but I would not have us help you with the mining.”

  “I agree,” commented Masao.

  The Koga relaxed after that. “But I would also not accept Michi's offer either. I trust him and I trust his Sohei but I think that much Kamisuchiru would be too tempting for most of his House. I would secure the second exit and use only Honshu to mine and gather the wealth of Oni Toshi.”

  Yamamaya replied, “You are very honest about your House, Hiro san. Should you not argue for them to have more of a share?”

  I smiled and was about to say “Yes we should!” but Michi was looking at me like this wasn't the time. “...Should I argue that the Sohei deserve a share but the rest of the Shikoku should not? They were not present. We must walk carefully over this next part if we are to keep the friendships we have built today. The Koga and the Shikoku deserve equal portions. The Honshu deserve the greatest share as it is your mine. To prevent any issues between our Houses we and the Shikoku should provide security to augment your forces here but our mononofu should not even mount the wall unless there is a good reason.”

  “So to be sure you get it in trade, you must keep your distance?” asked Nobu.

  I nodded. “Greed is our worst enemy now. For all of us.”

  Yamamaya smiled, finally. “I know I will regret this, but how is greed my worst enemy? I have a city full of God steel.”

  I nodded. “…Have you decided when to inform the Emperor of his new wealth? He does own 90% of everything harvested or mined.” All of them stopped smiling. “...You see how quickly greed creeps in, my lord? Even the great Michi, the most righteous of any of us, made the same face of disappointment.”

  Masao smiled and asked, “Which brings us to a legitimate point. How did you want to inform the Emperor, Yamamaya san?”

  “Yes, I should do it now. It would be best if Michi and you sent messengers to notify your courtiers in the capital as well.”

  After some discussion of logistics Daiki asked, “The one thing I cannot understand is why Kodoku refused to stage an invasion from the other exit.”

  Hiroki smiled, “That is your only question?” Daiki nodded. “Pride! It offended his pride that the Honshu could defeat him, time and time again.”

  Father asked, “You seem to understand the man, my lord.”

  “A little. I have seen his type before. I have come close to being him before.”

  Father nodded. “Maybe you can tell me, my Lord, what was the altar for? None of the survivors ever saw it being used.”

  Hiroki nodded. “Yes. For dark magic you have to sacrifice something important to you. You cannot just go grab a peasant and kill him as that is no sacrifice to you. But your favorite weapon? A powerful scroll?... The woman you love... Those would grant you great power.”

  It wasn't until he spoke those words that I noticed we had a pair of Komuso monks with us. At his last statement they looked at each other, got up and moved closer to the Sohei. Several present uttered nervous laughter and began to discuss the best way to manage the cleansing.

  At that moment someone sat on the other side of me from Shingan. “Yoshio?” I said.

  He looked at me pretending to be offended. “Hiro?”

  “When did you get here?”

  He was dressed in a fine kimono of red with black trim and the Shotoku crest over his breast.

  “I came with Daiki and Hiroki.” He smiled.

  “...Where have you been?” I asked sweetly.

  “Hiding of course! It was dangerous down there!” He exclaimed with a smile.

  I looked at his clothing and could see enough to say, “Then why are you dressed like a ninja under that kimono?”

  He adjusted his robe. “I find these clothes more comfortable.”

  I nodded and leaned over to whisper. “Did I bark orders to you while we were down there?”

  He thought a moment. “Do you remember when you grabbed that ninja by the collar and said “Take 20 men and hold that exit! And by all you hold holy let nothing pass!”

  I cringed. “Yes.”

  “I was standing behind him.” He smiled.

  I exhaled.

  As we sat there resting a large group of around 500 Shikoku arrived, onmyoji carrying nobles and samurai.

  Masao looked at me and whispered in my ear, “Please. No jokes about late comers, Hiro sama.”

  I shook my head reassuringly to him. I was pretty sure that wouldn't have been funny. Yamamaya rose and greeted their Shikoku House Daimyo, Uwajima Ryu.

  “We are very honored to have you here, Ryu san.”

  Ryu looked around. “I take it we missed all the fun?”

  “Your Sohei were more than enough support.”

  With that Ryu ordered his men to help with the cleanup and healing of the wounded as he and his court came to join us.

  “Michi san?” At his Daimyo's statement Michi quickly rose and bowed to him. “Will you walk with me and catch me up on all that I have missed?”

  “Of course, my Daimyo,” His voice rumbled.

  The rest of his court joined the motley group of Yamamaya's court of Honshu, priests and Koga. Eita took this time to tap me on the shoulder and motion for me to follow him. I rose and followed as we walked away from the group out of hearing distance from the others.

  “OK. What is going on, little brother?” I started to shake my head at him. “Do not act like you do not know what I am talking about! …You can order enenra to do your bidding and they are happy to do it. You voice an opinion to another House Daimyo without conferring with Masao and he supports it!?”

  “Eita sama, there is no secret. Both Masao and I want what is best for our House.” I replied.

  “…That is a lie.” I tried to look offended. “I should order you to commit seppuku,” he said, almost excitedly.

  I smiled a little. “That would not be best for our House, Eita sama.”

  He had an expression on his face as if he had just been enlightened. “You would not do it.”

  “I certainly did not say that!” I replied.

  “But it is true! I can see it on your face! You would not do it because you do not have to!” I didn’t know what to say. He continued after a moment. “There is a secret here and I want to know what it is… You owe me, little brother.”

  I nodded. Finally. “If there is a secret, then it is the greatest one our House has to keep... I would hate to be forced to order Masao to order you to let this go… Now, that statement should tell you all that any Koga would need to know about this subject…, Eita san.”

  I could see by his expression that he understood. “…What do I do if my brother’s orders contradict yours?” He asked.

  “They will not. As I said. We both want what is best for the Koga. Daimyo Masao leads the Koga. I just handle… other matters.” I put my hand on his arm to reassure him. “Let us get back to the others. Who knows what we are missing.” I smiled.

  He still looked concerned. “It is not normal, Hiro.”

  “It is, actually. It is the way our House has always done it… Nothing has changed.” I said.

  He gave a quick nod but I could see he still had some concerns.

  It was rare to have all of the Honshu Daimyo in the same location as The Koga and Shikoku Daimyo so we took the opportunity to discuss anything that concerned all of us. It quickly turned into negotiations but after what all of us had just been through it proceeded very pleasantly. We discussed the disbursement of the wealth of what we now referred to as Oni Toshi or Demon City. The wealth of the mine, even at 10% was still quite considerable. The Honshu felt they should keep 50% of it and distribute the rest between the Shikoku and Koga evenly. That part only took a day.

  While we were there, Honshu Daimyo Yamamaya thought it would be a good idea for all of us to discuss trade in general. That part took much longer. After the fourth day it was decided we should all retire to Honshu-ko due to its close proximity. It was nice to see it again. There is a peacefulness to the Honshu castles. Maybe it is their minimalist tendencies towards decor. Or the fact that as a people they are generally quiet as they go about their day. Either way it was nice. For the first day.

  “Hold on! The Honshu have always sold some of the most inexpensive rice in Giapan but now it is double?!” Yelled Daiki.

  “The price will not be permanent!” replied Yamamaya forcefully. “These last few months have been expensive and we have to recoup our losses if we are to mine the chasm properly!”

  Daiki growled in exasperation. “Daiki san?” asked Masao. When Daiki looked at him, Masao motioned for him to sit next to him. Once he obeyed, Masao looked at me. “Hiro san, how high is this price?”

  I did a double take. After a little shrugging I said, “It is not the worst price for rice.” Across the room from me I saw one of the Kokujin of the Honshu almost raise his fist in triumph. I looked sternly at the man and he calmed quickly. “We pay that amount to the Okayama for their rice, my Daimyo. We should ask them to clarify for how long they will need to keep the price elevated. We get a lot more rice from the Honshu than we do the Okayama.”

  “Why should our Daimyo have to clarify anything?” Said a Honshu I didn't recognize.

  “Who are you?!” I demanded. I looked at Nobu across the room near his Daimyo. “Can I hit him?” I asked.

  Nobu commented. “He is the Magome Family Daimyo, Magome Hachirou, Hiro san.”

  “I can hit a Honshu Daimyo!” I said as I started to rise.

  I felt Masao put his hand on my arm gently and pull me back down. Masao looked at Hiroki, who nodded emphatically and stated, “Yes. Hiro can hit him.” Masao shook his head and glanced at Yoshio, whose expression suddenly seemed to lighten from the flattery of being addressed by our Daimyo. That is until Masao shook his head again after a moment of thought. Yoshio made a mocked expression of disappointment as Masao stood slowly and walked over to Yamamaya.

  “How long do you think the price would have to stay this high?” He asked calmly.

  But before Yamamaya could reply, this “Hachirou” person interrupted with, “The time is not...”

  Masao cut him off. “Shut – Up. The only reason I am not letting those four,” He jerked his thumb at us, “drag you off and beat you to death is because I do not wish to shame myself in front of Yamamaya and Ryu!”

  Yamamaya actually smiled. “…If the God steel does not prove profitable quickly it could take us up to three years to recover with these increased prices, my friend.”

  Masao nodded. “That sounds fine.” He looked around the room before asking, “Break?”

  Daiki, Hiroki and I quickly went to the nearest balcony. The Honshu did not have many and we wanted to make sure we got there first. Michi and three Sohei beat us there.

  I looked at him. “Of course you are here first.” He smiled. I nodded. “Is there sake?”

  We had to make sure not to get drunk. There would be more meetings later. After my third sake Michi asked,

  “Basket head?’ I looked at him. “I overheard something this morning I wanted to talk to you about.”

  “Certainly, Michi sama. What is it.”

  “One of the Honshu mononofu commented to his friends how he hoped these talks went well as there are still a lot of Koga around Oni Toshi.”

  I thought a moment. “Was his tone one of concern?”

  He shook his head. “No. But there was a note of potential concern. His peers seemed to feel the same.”

  I gave a small laugh. “Thank you for fighting for us. Please leave.”

  Michi chuckled before saying, “It is almost ten thousand able bodied Koga we are talking

  about.”

  I nodded my understanding. “Masakari?” My man appeared from nowhere. “What is the wounded count at today.” I asked.

  “Jerukukami’s last report showed us at just under one thousand who would need more time to heal before they could be moved home, my Kokujin.” He replied.

  After the battle our initial wounded was at almost six thousand but between the Sohei, priests, monks and onmyoji they had been able to bring that number down quickly. They had first stabilized the most grievously wounded and then handled all of the lesser wounded before resting on the first day. By that evening they were able to heal many of the more seriously wounded with a second round of healing. I was impressed with all of them.

  “There is no reason for us to keep the rest on hand. We should send them home tomorrow or the day after.” I stated.

  “Should you not confer with your Daimyo first?” Michi asked.

  I nodded. “Please do not misunderstand, Michi sama. I am not going to tell my Daimyo what they must do. But these men are friends of mine. I grew up in their courts. I am going to relay the situation to them and give them my opinion. Since it is reasonable. They will probably agree with me.”

  This last part I stated while looking at Daiki, Hiroki and Yoshio. They had been present on the balcony and all of them had slowly stepped closer to us when they heard Michi’s comment about them.

  “Probably?” Asked Yoshio.

  I smiled at his comment. We discussed what we did need to keep at the Chasm. Mostly shinobi to help with security. The wounded and the healers of course would stay put, but the rest could go home so we got our argument together for when Masao arrived after the House Daimyo meeting that always seemed to follow one of our courts since our victory at Oni Toshi.

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