The Hand of Death Ch. 24

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?"