The village was quiet as Uesugi made his way down the central path, though the silence was not on his account. Uesugi caught several uneasy yet curious glances made through barely cracked doors as he passed. He had seen this before, it was the look of a populous frightened into submission. Through heavy taxes, strict edict, and ruthless samurai bodyguards given leave to cut down any commoner foolish enough to speak out, the lord of this han had sucessfully reigned in his citizens. They were nothing more than beasts of burden to him, reduced to farming rice or weaving baskets, too subdued to even leave their homes to trade. He knew he need not fear any resistance from the commoners, but could he count on any assistance? He proceeded to the town center to make an announcement. "People of Tottori, I come to see justice served. Your Daimyo is a cruel and dishonorable dog, and I have come to cut him down. I do this out of duty, for he has tarnished the name of my lord, taking his life dishonorably and spreading decipt in order to take his lands. You have nothing to fear from me, but I will find your Daimyo and end his life. Have any the courage to help me? Speak out!" For a moment it seemed that none would. Uesugi heard whispers in hushed tones and shuffling of feet. Ronin, he heard.
"I will stand with you Samurai!" An enthusiastic boy of perhaps fifteen years came bounding out of a bamboo and straw hut. Through the open door Uesugi could see the boys' parents, kneeling inside with arms outstretched, unable to keep their son against his wishes. They wore the simple cotton kimono of a peasant, even the mothers' was dirty with signs of hard work. She turned to the boys' father and grasped at the folds of his kimono, sobbing a wordless protest against her sons' decision.
The father called after him, "Mitsushimi, no, you're just a boy!" The boy stopped then, halfway between his parents and Uesugi, seeming to contemplate his decision. Uesugi agreed with the boys' father.
"I appriciate your offer Mitsushimi, but your parents' need you more than I." Uesugi paused a moment to collect his thoughts, but before he could continue he heard a familiar high pitched whistle. Acting on instinct, he drew his katana and deflected the first arrow, sidestepping a second. He spared only a moment to look to Mitsushimi, but it was already too late, the boy had been struck. He lie on his back with an arrow protruding from his chest. His mother had begun to move, a wail rising in her throat, but Uesugi issued a harsh command to the boys father, "NO!" It was understood, and he grasped his wife's kimono and pulled her back to him, holding her tightly, not allowing her to go to her son.
Uesugi deflected another arrow, taking the time to trace this one's trajectory back to one of the guard towers at the village gate. the angle of the arrow he had sidestepped suggested that it had come from the second tower. Two archers. Why had the cowardly dogs not fired on him as he fought the seki guards? No matter, they had found their courage now, enough to slay an innocent unarmed boy, at least. Uesugi ducked another arrow and ran full speed toward the first tower holding his katana out behind him, bobbing and weaving to disturb the archers' aim. It worked, as three more arrows failed to find their mark before he reached the closest tower. Uesugi cleared the three flights of stairs to the top of the tower in nine steps. The archer was not expecting his unnatural speed, and did not even have his wakizashi drawn when Uesugi breeched the top room. The man still had an arrow set in his bow as his eyes widened in surprise at his arrival. Uesugi snatched the arrow from the bow in one swift motion and thrust it through the archer's throat. He had time to drop the bow and reach for his wakizashi before he realized he had been mortally wounded. The archer hesitated drawing his sword, looking confused, so Uesugi drew it for him with his left hand and pierced the man's abdomen. They locked eyes for a moment, and the archer's look seemed to ask why? Uesugi answered the look, "You are a cur. You serve a dog and cut down the innocent. You know nothing of Bushido. I improve this world by ending your life."
Uesugi had a clear view of the second tower from here, and spotted the other archer taking aim. He swung the Wakizashi in that direction in time to block the arrow with the first archer, still impaled on his own sword, still looking at him. Uesugi sheathed his katana and backed up to the guard tower's farthest side. He blocked another arrow with his human shield, then released him to fall down the stairs, crawling onto the railing of the tower then climbing onto the roof. The roof of the tower was steep, and provided cover from the other side. Uesugi glanced around the side and spotted a rope bridging the two towers at their roofline, with a basket on one end. It would have been used to transport food and small items from one tower to the other. Uesugi climbed to the top of the roof, dodged a single arrow, then leaped onto the supply line and ran across to the other side. He heard the archer drop his bow and draw his wakizashi, so he ran to the northern side of the tower's roof, listening to the guard's footsteps below following him. He then flipped backwards off the southern side of the tower, catching its' roofline on the way down and using his momentum to swing inside the tower and place both feet square in the back of the guard who was expecting his descent from the opposite side. The archer was knocked forward violently into the rail, so hard that when he hit it he pivoted like a lever, clearing the railing, bouncing off the wall with his face and continuing his decent feet first. The guard landed hard on his heels, but Uesugi could tell by the distance that his wounds were not mortal. Ignoring the screams, he picked up the bow, notched an arrow and took aim at the man lying on the ground. He loosed the arrow and hit dead on target, pinning him to the ground through his forearm. Now that Uesugi knew the guard wasn't going anywhere, he casually descended the three flights of stairs to the ground.
"Where is your Daimyo? Why have you so few Samurai here?" Uesugi asked the pinned archer. The man turned his head away from Uesugi. "Let me ask another way, then," and with that he grabbed a hold of the archer's left ankle, obviously shattered, and squeezed. The man screamed in agony. "I can assure you that none of your wounds are fatal. I could leave you pinned here and these people would let you die of thirst before they would let you drink their urine. Does that sound like an honorable death? If you tell me what I want to know, I will return your wakizashi to you and allow you to end your own life." Uesugi released the man's ankle and awaited his answer.
"Tokaido." He sobbed.
"The road? Where does he travel?" Uesugi demanded
"Edo. My lord has made his journey to Edo to report to the Shogun and see his wife and children." Uesugi stood and paced the distance to where the wakizashi lie in the dirt. He picked the sword up and turned around, walking toward the man, but stepped over him and continued toward Mitsushimi. "Please!" The archer called after him, but Uesugi ignored him.The boy's mother had shaken loose of her husband and was now in the street cradling her son. When Uesugi reached them he knelt down to adress her. He placed his hand on her shoulder, but when she looked at him, it was a look of hope. He glanced down at the boy to see that his chest was still rising rhythmically, if slowly, and his eyes fluttered beneath the closed lids. The arrow had lodged in the boys' collar bone. Uesugi helped the woman carry her son inside their house. Once inside he helped to remove the arrow, and gave the woman the pouch of herbs for his wounds. While Mitsushimi's mother dressed his wounds, Uesugi adressed Mitsushimi's father.
"I promised that man I would allow him to end his own life, and though I abide by Bushido, it is obvious that he does not. He was the one who pierced your son with that arrow, and I thought best to leave his fate in your hands." He held out the wakizashi to the man, who waved his arms as if to ward it off.
"I am no Samurai sir, I am just a commoner. For me to even touch such a weapon is against strict edict."
"Who's edict? That dog outside? Perhaps his master? The Shogun himself? Sir I see none of those people here. I am no Samurai myself. My Daimyo was slain. By edict I am ronin, but I seek justice. Justice for all. If you love your son you will take up this sword and end that man's life, it is only right he die by your hand." Uesugi took the man by his hand and placed the hilt of the wakizashi in his palm, closing his fingers around the handle. "I will see that justice is served, wherever my path leads me."
To Be Continued...
¶ 4:25 AM 0 comments
