The guard captain watched the five ruffians with concern, and then turned his eye on the two samurai. “Is this true, sir? Are these horses really yours?”
Jiro instantly knew what was what. The pursuers were trying to get the disguised samurai arrested in hopes of being able to capture them or get what they wanted from them later. The bandits would likely have border guards on their payrolls, so getting to the two samurai would be surprisingly easy and the Kurokawa’s own guards would have done the work for them. Since Jiro and Masato had stolen horses from the bandits the night before, why not tell the truth and say that the pair were indeed riding stolen horses?
Jiro, also knowing how the game was played, also dropped to his knees and bowed. “My lord, we bought these horses fairly from a seller. These men are crazy- ah don’t know what they’re talking about.”
Giving Jiro an unhappy look, the accuser again bowed deeply to the officer. “My lord, these horses are from our stables and I can prove it! All our horses have a tattoo on their left hip with the character for Red. It’s my father’s nickname. You just check these horses and I’m sure you’ll find they’ve got the same tattoo!”
“You rat!” Jiro swore. “Who put you up to this?
The accuser smiled at Jiro confidently. “You’ll get your due, thief!”
“I see,” considered the guard captain, then grabbed his sword and stepped forward. “Guards, keep an eye on these men while I check their mounts.”
Masato was now extremely nervous, their swords were hidden among their belongings on the horses, and the discovery of the weapons alone could put both of them into the hot pot. He did his best to keep his breathing even as the officer first looked him over, and then casually walked around the horse- tugging here, poking there. The horse, not liking this much, whinnied and pulled at the reigns.
“Hold this horse steady, boy!” The captain barked, and Masato did his best to comply.
“Sorry, sir.”
As the animal came under control, the officer moved to its left side. “There, that’s better. Now you said that it was on their left hip?”
“Yes my lord! Just on the hip. You might have to move the fur a bit, but I’m sure you’ll find it!”
It took only a moment of brushing away the dust with his gloved hand, and then the officer nodded. “Hmm, ahh yes. Here it is!” He called out. “You said it was the character for red, didn’t you? And you’re sure about it?
“Sure as the day I was born, sir!” Answered the ruffian confidently.
The officer stepped back around into the view of the men, walking past Masato and up to Jiro.
“Old man?” He said.
“My lord?” Asked Jiro, not having to feign any nervousness.
“Remember what I told you when you’re over on the other side.” Then he patted the side of Jiro’s horse and motioned for his men to open the gates.
“Yessir! I will sir!” Jiro gushed. “C’mon boy! We’ve got us some drinkin’ to do!”
As the two disguised samurai led their horses through the gate, the officer turned to the astonished accuser and his men. “Guards, take these men away. I wish to discuss with them the penalties for making a false accusation.”
* * *
“Sensei! I sure thought were done for!”
The checkpoint was now in the distance, and the pair were riding at a slow pace up the road into the forest.
“Take this as a lesson, lad- it never hurts to be cautious. Now you know why I wanted to switch horses before we came over. Bandits often ride stolen horses, and they always check at those border crossings. That’s half the point of the crossings!”
“Yes, sensei. I’ll remember.” Masato agreed readily. “So, where to next?”
The old man raised an eyebrow and looked over at the boy- “Why, you curious about the Hidden Pearl, lad?”
“Oh!” Said Masato, turning bright red. “Oh, no sir!”
Jiro laughed. “That’s good, because we ain’t got time for that kind of fun.” He gestured to the blue hills to the South of them. “The boys are in one of the summer houses up in those hills about 3 days ride. We’ll have to ditch the horses as soon as we leave the main trade roads though, because they’ll attract too much attention. We’ll find some farmer to take care of them for us and we’ll foot it from there.”
“Oh,” answered Masato, unhappy at the thought of walking. He rather liked riding, and this was a good horse. “Uhh. Yes. Sensei.”
Jiro reached out and shook Masato’s shoulder affectionately. “Don’t worry, kid. We’ll be plenty busy once we’re getting close. You know how to skin rabbits?”
Masato shook his head.
Jiro grinned. “You will soon!”
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