The Inuyama Rebellion- Part Three

Jiro shook his head. “No lad, it’s not stupid at all. It’s desperate.” He smiled ruefully, and then looked at Masato. “Do you have anything that’s really precious to you?”

Masato’s forehead creased as he thought about it a moment. “You mean like my sword?”

“Yeah, okay.” Jiro agreed. “Like your sword. So let’s say you and I made a promise, and I wanted to make sure you kept it no matter what. How could I force you to keep it?”

“Well, uhh.” Masato considered. “You’d have my word.”

“Yeah. Yeah.” Jiro nodded. “But, sometimes having someone’s word isn’t enough, lad. People don’t always keep their word, not even samurai.” Then he added when he saw the look on Masato’s face- “Oh we’re supposed to keep it, but victory is about winning in the end, isn’t it? So, how about to make you keep the promise I take that sword of yours and tell you that I’ll break it if you don’t follow through. Now I can be sure you’d keep it, right?”

“Yeah, of course I would. You’d break my sword if I didn’t.”

“Well, it’s the same thing with our lord, lad. The Kurokawa wanted to make sure he’d live up to his side of the peace treaty, so they made him give them the most precious thing in the world- his sons.”

“But…the lord has other sons.” Masato pointed out.

“Yes, he does, but they’re not the first born, are they?”

“No, I guess not.” The lad agreed. “But this means our lord is breaking the treaty, right?”

“He doesn’t want to, but the Kurokawa have forced him into it. We have to pay them tribute every harvest, and they demand more and more each year. They’re doing in on purpose- trying to break us and keep us weak. The people are already starving in the hills, and any more will make them revolt. We either die on our feet, or we die in our beds.”

“But how are we going to get to the boys? We don’t even know where they are.”

“I’ve got a plan, and that’s where Shiori-chan comes in. Speaking of whom…”

The sliding door glided open again, and Shiori stepped through carrying a small cloth bag with her that she placed before Jiro. “Here are the documents you will need, please be careful. If you are caught with them it will go badly for you.”

Jiro nodded and finished his last cup of sake. Then he stood up, coming face to face with their hostess. “I appreciate this a lot, Shiori. Thank you.”

She shook her head. “It is nothing. Do not let it concern you.”

Their eyes met, and then Shiori turned away.

“C’mon Masato, let’s…” The older man began to tell his student, and then suddenly he stopped and his hand dropped instinctively to the hilt of his sword as he spun to face the door. Masato wasn’t sure what he was reacting to until a moment later when he too heard the running footsteps that approached their room and the door was flung open.

“Shiori-chan! Shiori-chan!” Shouted one of the inn’s girls in a panic, and then froze and gasped as she met eyes with Jiro. His very aura at that moment was enough to take her breath away, and instinctively she was paralyzed by fear.

Pushing Jiro gently aside, Shiori quickly brought the girl’s attention back to herself with a gentle touch. “Natsuko? What is it?”

The girl blinked, and then the panic returned to her face.

“Men! Men on horseback! They’ve surrounded the inn!” She wailed. “They’re demanding to search the inn but Obasan won’t let them!”

“Are they here for us, Sensei?” Masato asked as he jumped to his feet and joined his teacher at the ready.

“No idea,” Jiro answered as he scooped up the cloth bag Shiori had brought them. “But, we’re not going to wait and find out- Shiori is there a place for us to hide?”

“We have special tunnels for important clients. Follow me and I will take you to them.”

“Right,” Jiro gestured towards their things in the corner. “Grab those and let’s move, lad.”

* * *

Chaos was breaking out in the Inn of a Thousand Lanterns. As the small band dashed through the halls they could hear the shrill yells of the Obasan below, the screaming of women and the shouts of angry men. Masato was also sure he could hear the distant sounds of swords clanging together, but in the din and confusion it was hard to say for certain.

Coming to the end of a hallway, they began to trundle down a staircase, but had barely gotten halfway down when a group of scruffy-faced men in dark colours appeared at the bottom brandishing swords.

“They’re here! They’re here!” Shouted a man with a red bandana, gesturing at the samurai.

“Well, I guess that answers one of my questions.” Jiro commented as he gestured for the group to get back up the stairs. “We’ll have to find another way.”

Previous Post

The Inuyama Rebellion- Part Two

Next Post

The Inuyama Rebellion- Part Four


*      *      *       *      *      *      *      *      * Want to put a little something in my tip jar out of appreciation? Click here and donate!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *