Dale Furutani - Kill the Shogun

This is my favorite time, Honda.” Ieyasu was anxious to get to the hunt. Behind him, several horses with packs that supported perches for birds trailed, led by the bird’s trainers. They were followed by a half-dozen mounted bodyguards.

The hawking party broke out of the forest and into a meadow. It was one of Ieyasu’s favorite hawking sites, and he ordered the birds forward, so he could decide which one he wanted to fly first.

Ieyasu looked up at the blue sky. “It’s a perfect day for the birds,” he remarked.

“It won’t be a perfect day for the prey,” Honda grumped. “Today they’ll die.”

“To live is to die,” Ieyasu said, quoting a proverb. “Besides, when you have to die, it’s probably best to die on a day such as this one. When it is my time to go to the void, I wish it would be on a day just like today.”

Kaze watched one of the men pop his head up over the top of the rock, and then say something to the one with the musket. The man with the gun took out his flint and steel, and setthe cord on his musket burning. He was getting ready to shoot. Kaze looked in the meadow in front of the rock and saw a party out hawk hunting. He realized the two men on horseback were Ieyasu and Honda.

The man with the musket stood and started taking aim. He was using the most modern gun and technology available. Kaze chose a more ancient weapon. More ancient even than his sword. He picked up a fist-sized rock and threw it with all his strength.

The rock hit Niiya in the side of the head just as he pressed the trigger of his musket. The burning cord hit the touch hole, and the musket fired with a loud crack that shattered the silence of the meadow. Niiya collapsed, his musket ball flying harmlessly into the air.

Niiya’s companion drew his sword and turned to face Kaze, just as the ronin ran from his hiding place to the rock. The man was a good swordsman but not an excellent one, and the duel was over in an instant, the man falling dead to the ground from a cut across his neck and shoulders as Kaze rushed past him.

Kaze wanted Niiya alive, and he knelt down next to the prone man, loosening the man’s jacket sash and using it to tie up Niiya’s hands. Across the meadow, Kaze could see Honda and Ieyasu’s bodyguards springing into action, riding at full tilt toward the sound of the shot and the rock. Honda joined them, the old warrior acting instinctively to defend his Lord. It was over a hundred paces to the rock, so Kaze was able to quickly tie Niiya’s hands as the samurai charged forward.

Just as Kaze was completing the knot securing Niiya, he sensed a presence behind him. Grabbing his sword, which he had laid on the ground next to him, Kaze spun halfway around while still kneeling, just in time to block a cut to his head by the man who had been holding the horses. He had come to investigate when his two companions didn’t come to the horses to make their escape right after the shot was fired.

At a disadvantage because he was still in a kneeling position, Kaze blocked a second cut without having an opportunity to go on the offensive. The man was smart enough not to let up, and he drew back for a third cut before Kaze could regain his feet. A large shadow suddenly blocked out the sun, and Kaze realized that a horse was jumping over the rock, sailing over Kaze and Niiya. The body of the horse blocked Kaze’s view of the blow, but as the horse hit the ground, Kaze was able to see the results. The man’s head was flying through the air, cleanly taken by the horseman while still in the midst of the jump. As other horses drew up on either side of the rock, Kaze glanced at the first horseman and saw it was Honda. Honda’s eyes burned with excitement, and the call to arms had stripped away years from the old warrior’s face.

Honda pulled his horse around and trotted back to Kaze.

“What is the meaning of this?” he demanded.

“This is the assassin of Lord Nakamura,” Kaze said, pointing to the prone Niiya, who was just beginning to regain his senses.

Honda peered at the bound figure and said, “Nonsense! That’s Captain Niiya. He’s in Lord Yoshida’s service. I know him. It’s impossible that he’s the assassin.” He pointed at Kaze. “Drop your sword!”

Kaze shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t want to do that until I have convinced you that this is the assassin.”

Niiya, who was still shaky, had recovered enough to say, “He lies. He’s the assassin.”

Honda scowled. “Drop your sword,” he growled.

“No.”

“Then, by the Gods, I’ll make you drop your sword or kill you in the process!”

“That wouldn’t be wise.”

Honda looked up. Ieyasu rode up to the tableau in time to offer advice. “I saw you take that man’s head as you cleared the rock, Honda-san, so I know you’ve lost none of your skills, but it’s foolish to fight with this man when you have six other samurai with you, especially since this is the man who won Hideyoshi’s sword-fighting tournament.”

Honda gave a start, and said, “I knew you were lying! You are the assassin!”

Ieyasu shook his head. “Look at the evidence before you, Honda-san. Do you see a bullet pouch on the ronin? Do you see a powder container? He’s not equipped as a musketeer. More important, his weapon is the sword. I was never convinced he would suddenly change to a musket to assassinate me. Now look at Niiya. The ronin has taken off his sash to bind him, but you can clearly see the bullet pouch and powder containers lying next to him. They were tucked into his sash. Niiya is known to be an expert with a musket. Obviously, he is the assassin.”

At Ieyasu’s words, Kaze returned his sword to its scabbard.

“This doesn’t make sense,” Honda spluttered.

“Nevertheless, it appears to be true,” Ieyasu said.

“You and your master are the worst kind of traitor,” Honda said to Niiya. “Trying to assassinate the Shogun is the worst crime imaginable.”

Niiya said nothing, his face a stoic mask.

“With all respect, Honda-san, I think you’re wrong,” Kaze said.

“What are you talking about? You caught him in the very act of trying to kill Ieyasu-sama.”

“No. I think he was trying to kill you.”

“Me!” Honda exclaimed. “What possible reason would he have for wanting to kill me?”

“The same reason he had for killing Nakamura-san,” Kaze said.

“This is ridiculous,” Honda replied. He looked at Ieyasu. “This man must have gone mad.”

Ieyasu said nothing, studying Kaze intently.

Kaze thought he was being dissected by those eyes. Every portion of his character was being divided into manageable parts, examined, and then put back together so Ieyasu could have a complete catalog of his soul. Ieyasu’s ability to read and manipulate people was the foundation of success for what was otherwise a very ordinary man.

“I know what you’re saying,” Ieyasu said. “But how can such a thing be proved?”

“Niiya is the finest shot in Japan. I was being chased across the roofs of Edo, and he took a shot at me. He hit my kimono sleeve when no one else could possibly do so. I asked who was in charge of the party pursuing me when that shot was taken. I knew that shot was made by the man in charge, and that man could hit whatever he wanted to. Once the thought occurred to me that you were not the actual target, Ieyasu-sama, I realized that it was the marksman, not the gun, who was the link to the real assassins. At that distance, any man could miss you and hit Nakamura-san by mistake. It would require an extraordinary marksman to ensure he would not hit you, but still kill Nakamura-san, who was standing next to you,” Kaze said. “Niiya is that man. If you’ll allow me to do a demonstration with him, I can prove it.”