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War of the Samurai
Written by Xake.
“It has been three year since Ashikiga Yoshimasa has become Shogun, and now Hosokawa Katsumoto is becoming the kanrei of Kyoto. We are a retainer family of the Shogun and we are the first line of defense for Kyoto. You are still too young to realize what a big responsibility has been placed on your shoulders young one, but I will teach you to be the way of the warrior.” said Yamamoto Ryuua.
He had been talking like this for at least an hour and poor Yamamoto Taisuke’s brain was fried. He looked at his teacher and not for the first time thought that he looked a bit like an aged monkey. His arms were over long for his body and his long black hair was flecked liberally with gray. Ryuua was perhaps one of the best samurai that had lived during the rule of the Ashikiga Shoguns; he was fast, strong, and did not hesitate to enter battle.
Taisuke was a skinny boy and the heir to the Yamamoto family. He was unconcerned with the coming and goings of his family’s fief or even with his training as a samurai; he wanted a normal childhood like some of the children he had met in the village the other day but he was destined to spend most of his youthful years in training, even though he was clumsy and slow.
“You start at dawn tomorrow and be prepared to work boy.” Said Ryuua. “You are dismissed.”
That night Taisuke did not sleep a wink; he was far too anxious about the following morning. He did not know what the training would involve besides learning how use a sword. The following morning he walked blurry eyed into his family’s training ring to find Ryuua already there red faced and furious.
“Your late! I won’t tolerate such insolence no matter who you are.” He yelled. “Now go and get us two of the practice swords.”
In his hurry to redeem himself in the eyes of his master Taisuke tripped and fell flat on his face. He got up quickly and returned with the swords.
“Now get into a fighting stance and defend yourself.”
Ryuua’s first strike made Taisuke’s arms go numb, and he quickly sidestepped a second crashing blow. Unfortunately for Taisuke his little maneuver had overbalanced him and Ryuua’s third strike knocked him to the ground. Panting, Taisuke got off the floor and took a fighting stance again. Ryuua did a completely different three-blow combo that sent Taisuke reeling again. By the end of their hour long training session Taisuke was covered in bruises, but there was no rest for the weary. Ryuua now had Taisuke learning his characters.
“If you can wield a brush you can wield a sword.” Was all Ryuua said during this two-hour lesson.
Finally Ryuua let Taisuke rest and eat something, but the respite was short and they quickly went back to work. By the end of the day he found out that he was going to learn not only how to wield a sword and brush, but he was also expected to learn to read maps, and how to develop tactics.
Over the course of three years, Taisuke went form a clumsy boy to a sure-footed youth. He could now hold his own against Ryuua for least a few minutes, sometimes even going on the offensive. He could now read and write, find locations on maps, and develop the best tactic for almost any situation. More responsibilities had been added to his workload. He was now expected to learn an art; he had chosen the art of playing go. He also had to practice with another samurai in training. He had been paired with Kobayashi Riku, son of Kobayashi Reiji; Taisuke’s fathers strongest ally. Riku and Taisuke were about equal in skill with the sword, but Riku was much stronger than Taisuke and when they practiced hand-to-hand combat, Taisuke almost always flat on his back. Riku was silent, but he seemed to like Taisuke and was always respectful when he defeated him in a contest. Where Taisuke was skinny and boney, Riku was muscular and sinuous.
“Today you will be sparing with the practice blades again. I want a nice and honorable match. BEGIN!” said Ryuua.
Taisuke feinted an overhand chop, but executed a side slash. His opponent easily defeated the attack and started a complex combination of chops and slashes each coming from an entirely different direction but Taisuke easily dodged and parried all of these waiting Riku’s momentum to play out. Taisuke soon found his opening and stabbed out hard with his blade. Riku could not dodge or parry and the force of the blow knocked the wind out of him. Taisuke slashed and chopped taking advantage of Riku momentary weakness. Blows rained down on Riku bruising his body and face, the blows happened in such rapid succession that Riku had no time to recover from each jarring blow.
“Enough!” Ryuua yelled and took the next blow that Taisuke would have dealt Riku, and dealt a crashing blow of his own to the head of Taisuke that knocked him to the ground. “That was not honorable. You nearly killed him! Learn to control yourself or do not come back.”
Taisuke had never seen his teacher like this; the hatred in his eyes was frightening. What was worse, Riku was a bruised and bloody mass; his face was swollen, and his arms had become bent a funny angle. He was never quiet sure what had made him act as he did that day, but Taisuke was determined never to let his self-control go like that again.
Riku was absent from training for several weeks after that incident, and while Ryuua never spoke of it again he treated Taisuke differently for quiet sometime. He showed Taisuke more advanced forms of reading, and asked him to recite poems, and long list of objects. Ryuua also introduced him to musical instruments and asked him to learn to play at least one song with each.
As the lessons started to focus more on academics than on warfare, Taisuke began to become restless. While he did feel bad about hurting the only friend he had in the world; he also felt accomplished that he had finally been the straight out winner of one their contest. He wanted to learn more advance sword techniques and start to learn how to use a bow.
Riku came back after two months of rest with all of his wounds healed perfectly. He had been as eager as Taisuke to get back on the training ground. Ryuua was hesitant to let them fight again, so he let them start their training with the bow early. Riku had a natural ability with this new weapon, hitting the bull’s eye multiple times in a row. Taisuke on the other hand, never seemed to hit the target. At the end of the day both boys had new calluses forming and the skin of their right arms was raw from the bowstring hitting them.
“Now both of you are done with your training. It has been an honor teaching both of you and I hope you serve your families well.” said Ryuua with tears of happiness.
“ Thank you teacher” Taisuke and Riku said in unison.
Both boys had grown into muscular warriors; Taisuke had become a swordsman to match his master, while Riku now specialized in the spear and bow. Both had become the deadliest of warriors for their families and they had come to forgive each other for the incident of seven years pervious.
But as their sons had become close friends, the Daimyo of the Yamamoto and Kobayashi families have become enemies. The Kobayashi wanted more land, and had started conquering Yamamoto lands. Many Daimyo were trying to gain more power since Yamana Sozen had gather warriors near Kyoto, and the Onin War had broken out. The Shogun had become weak and the Daimyo were taken advantage. Taisuke and Riku spent a few more days together sparring with each other and dreaming of glory.
Riku left the training ground three days after he finished his training. He was dreading his return home; he and his father had never gotten along. Riku for all his silence was a kind and gentle person. Daimyo Kabayashi was the polar opposite; cold, ruthless, and entirely unyielding in his views. Riku had tried to get out of his father tyrannical rule by training with the Yamamoto but it had been only a respite.
Suddenly an arrow took Riku’s horse in the head; killing it instantly. Riku Jumped off the horse before it crushed his leg. He drew his katana and came up in a defensive position.
“These are Yamamoto lands, traitor. You will not pass on any information you have gathered in your stay here. Now Die.”
A group of four warriors came out into the open. These were not high born samurai but Ronin. Their armor was mismatched and rusty, but they walked with a grace of highly trained warriors. Riku smiled to himself and thought At least I will die with a sword in my hand.
Riku sprinted forward and cut in a long vertical slash cutting the lead Ronin from head to waist, killing him instantly. He then used his remaining momentum to slash another run along the throat. His momentum played out Riku took a defensive stance. The last two Ronin worked in harmony slashing and filling in the other weak defensive points. Riku, as skilled as he was, could hardly keep up with these two perfect harmony.
An arrow took one of the Ronin in the head, and a huge shadow rushed in blocking Riku’s view. There was a spurt of scarlet and scream of pain and the last of the Ronin fell. The shadow came into better focus; it was his father. Similar in size and in build as Riku, Reiji Kobayashi was scarred and disfigured from all of the battles he had been in.
“I see you are as useless as ever my son. What man has his father save him? ANSWER ME THIS!” he yelled the last sentence. “Do not dishonor me again, you useless sack of muck.”
“Yes, sir” said Riku ashamed.
The ride home was uncomfortable for Riku; not only did he have to share a horse with another warrior, but his father kept up with a constant stream of criticism. Finally they reached the Kobayashi compound; where he was greeted by most of the Kobayashi household, but Riku’s father had other plans for the evening and called Riku away from the his welcome back celebration.
“What is it father?” asked Riku.
“Do you have any idea why you were attacked by those Ronin today?”
“ No.”
“Well to tell you the truth I am surprised the Yamamoto family let you out of their care. You see Riku; I have broken our family’s alliance with them. They were holding us back, and now that the shogun is weak we may be able to make something of ourselves.” Reiji said in a rush. “Since we have broken away we have had several skirmishes with them and we have won them all, but I have an important job for you. I need you to kill the heir to the Yamamoto family, Taisuke, and his cousin, the head of the Takahashi family, Randeburufu. With those two gone the army will fall apart and not even Yamamoto Ryuua will be able to stop our army one hundred thousand strong.”
“ Father I can’t…”
“You will or you will lose your rank and be banished from my lands.”
“ Yes, sir.” Riku said sadly.
The next morning Riku was awakened by one of his father captains. The sounds of shouting were coming up through an open window and a pale orange glow in the distance.
“Lord Riku, we are attacking the Yamamoto, and your father wants you out there now.” said the captain, and with that he left.
Riku quickly donned his armor and put on his double sword sheath and strapped his spear on his back. He ran quickly and quietly from the compound, running towards the sounds of shouting and the pale orange glow. When he reached the sounds he found a camp set up with a roaring fire from which the smell of roasting meat was rising.
“Good morning, my son.” Said his father, with a sneer. “Glad we could wake you from your beauty sleep.”
The men nearest the daimyo laughed loudly and Riku blushed. Riku quickly learnt from the soldiers around him that the army assembled here was going to invade Yamamoto lands and were going to take villages one by one. Riku thought that this plan had several flaws but he did not say any of them, knowing his father Riku was certain that he had something else planned.
Around an hour later the army marched off toward the small village on the border of the Yamamoto lands. The march was fast and furious and in no time at all they were in the small village 20 miles from the Yamamoto capital. The fight was over almost as soon as it began, the villagers were taken completely by surprise, and no one escaped. The Kobayashi army took all valuables including food and live sock, and set fire to the village. Riku had not killed any of the villagers and had hardly taken part in the looting. This drew more snickers from the soldiers and a deadly look from his father.
They met more resistance at the next village but not much. Soon Riku understood Reiji’s plan and it made him feel sick to his stomach. Reiji wanted to expose Riku to violence and he did this by taking small villages by surprise, soon or later Riku will find that he had to fight to survive.
That moment came sooner than Riku would have liked. In the tenth village they were attacked Randeburufu’s forces guarding that part of the region. Riku was immediately attack by two young warriors; each were holding a long cured pole-arm. Riku quickly drew his sword as he rolled sideways away from the first attack. Knowing the weakness of long weapons he charged close to one of the spearmen slashing across the man’s throat. He backed backpedaled furiously to avoid the deadly blade that flashed in front of him. Riku drew his second shorter sword, and used it to block the second stab of the spear, and using all the strength he had pushed the spear up into the air and beheaded the spearmen.
His blood lust at its max Riku sheathed the two swords and drew the spear on his back and started slashing and stabbing at anyone he could reach. He got nicked several times in his rush but that did not even slow him down. Finally he came to a rise where he saw a lone man shouting orders to the enemy. Thinking to accomplish half of his goal, he charged at the man and ran him clean through. It was not Randeburufu but his younger brother Yamato. With a hacking cough and a scream of pain Yamato took the blade head out of his stomach and drew his sword. He swung with all the strength he could muster at the blood-crazed monster that was Riku. He blocked the swing almost lazily and finished Yamato off with a cross slash across the throat.
Seeing their commander was down the Yamamoto troops fled the scene, but the Kobayashi went after them and killed all but one. Daimyo Reiji looked at the terrified warrior and laughed.
“Do not worry craven, we will not kill you.” said Reiji in a silky voice “I have a job for you. You will go to the Yamamoto capital and tell the cowards Randeburufu, Taisuke, and Ryuua to come out of hiding and fight us like men.”
Without another word the warrior got off the ground and ran as fast as he could toward the capital.
“AND NOW THE FUN BEGINS BOYS.” yelled Reiji.
It had been two days since the latest battle between the Yamamoto and the Kobayashi, and the Yamamoto were doing everything they could to fortify their capital. Taisuke did not want to believe what was happening, but Ryuua kept a consoling a word or two for him when he completely broke down. How could my friend kill my cousin? He thought how could he betray me like that. A large bang brought him out of his reverie.
“We are under attack,” shouted one of the guardsmen before an arrow took him in the head.
Gong, Crash.
The door of the fortified gate crashed down crushing ten men. Arrows suddenly filled the air in a black rain of death. Taisuke ran behind a building and drew his sword he waited until the last arrow hit the ground, and ran toward the first enemy he saw. His first blow disarmed the man his second killed him, and he was off again. He used his momentum to overbalance his second opponent and killed him while he was trying to gain even footing. He was surrounded by enemies now and did not know whom to attack. Randeburufu seemed to appear out of nowhere and killed two of the warriors surrounding Taisuke. With a path cleared Taisuke ran forward and went back to back with his cousin. Each filled in the others blind spots; their swordsmanship was superb each of their cuts and slashes seemed to take an enemy down. After the enemies had been cleared away from the gate area Taisuke and Randeburufu had a small rest.
“Thanks, you saved my life at least twice in that last fight.” panted Taisuke.
“Not a problem, coz.” said Randeburufu.
Randeburufu ran off one way, while Taisuke went in the opposite direction. Taisuke fought with a couple of poorly trained spearmen but did not get injured. Randeburufu was a different story however. As soon as he left Taisuke, he met up with the man who had murdered his brother, Riku. Rage boiled within him as he raised his sword and charged. Riku turned around just in time and raised his spear to block the blow. Randeburufu's strength was powered by anger and blood lust broke the spear cleanly in two and he pushed his advantage by striking Riku in the chest with the pommel of his sword. Riku fell to his knees gasping for air, and suddenly Randeburufu was standing above with him his sword raised to stab him in the neck.
“This is my revenge on the Kobayashi family.” Randeburufu muttered
While this was being said Riku drew his small dagger, and stabbed his assailant in the leg, and now he had the advantage. He got up, drew his sword and stabbed the head of the Takahashi family through each lung and then in the heart. Randeburufu died slowly, watching as his world turned into nothingness.
With half of his mission done Riku quickly went to find Taisuke. While he did not want to kill the man who had become a brother to him he feared what his father would do to him if he failed this most crucial part of the mission. Riku walked straight through many one-on-one battles searching for his prey. Riku soon discovered Taisuke fighting several novice spearmen with apparent ease. He waited until the fighting was over before he revealed himself to his opponent.
“Hello, Taisuke.” he said coolly. “Your cousins did not put up much of a fight but I thought you could.”
Riku tried to convey in that last sentence that the friendship was over. Taisuke's face contorted in rage as he charged towards him with sword drawn. Riku went on the defensive blocking Taisuke first strike. Even in a rage Taisuke still fought like he would normally, which made him dangerous.
“Do you enjoy murder Riku, or are you just afraid of what your father could do to you”
Now it was Riku who went on the offensive slashing and hacking with abandon. Taisuke blocked and dodged all of the attacks with ease. When Riku momentum slowed Taisuke went on the offensive again. They did a back and forth style fight for several minutes, but both were exhausted; they needed to finish the fight off quickly. Riku and Taisuke did an overhand slash trying to finish each other off at the exact same time. The force of the blow jarred both combatants and split their swords in half. They both were shocked; they have never seen swords brake before. Riku's reaction time was slightly slower then Taisuke's however; using Riku shock Taisuke picked up one of the spears that were lying around their feet and stabbed Riku in the throat, chest, and head in rapid succession. Riku was dead before he hit the ground.
The Kobayashi lost the final battle against the Yamamoto, but at the time Taisuke did not care who had won or who had lost the battle. He felt that he had lost his whole world. The lost of Riku, Randeburufu, and Yamoto were devastating to him. While he had known Randeburufu and Yamoto for a short time he had come to like both of them in different ways. Randeburufu for his straightforward and humorous manner, and Yamoto for need to achieve. Riku had been like a brother to him, they had trained together, even laughed and cried together. Taisuke no longer wanted to be a samurai, follow the way of the warrior, or even exist at the moment
Taisuke went on to be the greatest Daimyo the Yamamoto family ever had. He lowered taxes, became friendly with many of the local farmers. He also got the Kobayashi family to bend its knee to the shogun. After reaching these goals Taisuke never fought in another war and tried to make it so his son would not have to go through the same experiences he did. Taisuke died at an old age but he never stopped mourning the loss of his friend Kobayashi Riku.