John Flanagan - The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

'These men are your comrades. These are your brothers. These are the men you fight with. These are the men you trust to stand beside you. These are the men who trust you to stand firm beside them! Be worthy of their trust!'

Again, a deep-throated rumble of agreement ran through the ranks of armed men. Will felt he had said enough. He had no time for lengthy, florid speeches from commanders on the eve of battle. They were usually made to please the commander's sense of self-importance. He had just one more thing he wanted to remind them of.

'Kikori soldiers!' he shouted. 'How do we fight?'

The reply came in a roar from the ranks.

'Issho ni!' they told him. 'Together!'

'How do we fight?' he asked, louder still, and the roar came back louder as well.

'Issho ni!'

'How?' he asked them one more time, and this time the valley echoed to their reply.

'Issho ni!'

On an impulse, he drew his saxe and brandished it high above his head. The two goju responded, holding their javelins high, then pounding them back to the frozen ground with a resounding crash of wood and metal.

Behind him, a deep, penetrating voice called a single word.

'Chocho!'

The one hundred troops in front of him responded instantly, echoing the cry and turning it into a chant.

'Chocho! Chocho! Chocho!'

Puzzled, and a little taken aback, Will turned to see that Shigeru had approached while he had been speaking. The Emperor was dressed in full armour, but no helmet. His two katana were thrust through his belt, their long hilts protruding before him like the crossed horns of a dangerous animal. Shigeru continued to lead the chant, dropping his hand on Will's shoulder.

'Chocho! Chocho! Chocho!' the men roared and, vaguely, Will realised that this somehow applied to him. Then Shigeru held up his hand for silence and the roaring voices gradually died down. Will disengaged himself and stepped back deferentially, sensing that Shigeru wanted to address his troops.

Horace was grinning hugely as Will joined him.

'What the devil is Chocho?' Will whispered.

Horace's grin broadened. 'You are. It's what the men call you,' he said. Then he added, 'It's a term of great respect.'

Behind them, Halt nodded confirmation. 'Great respect,' he agreed. There was the hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth and Will knew he would have to find out the meaning of the word before much longer. But he had no more time to think about it as Shigeru began to speak.

'Kikori, I am honoured to have you as my soldiers. I am proud of your commitment and your courage and your loyalty. You have your Emperor's gratitude.'

There was silence around the parade ground now. These were simple timber cutters, peasants for whom, up until recently, the Emperor had been a distant and much revered concept, way above their reach and their station. Now he lived among them and spoke directly to them in terms of the greatest respect. His words were simple but the sincerity behind them was all too obvious and the Kikori felt their hearts swelling with pride. Such was the charisma of this man that they would die for him. Shigeru seemed to sense this and he continued.

'Soldiers! I know you would die in my service.'

There was an instant roar of assent and he immediately raised his hands and his voice to quell it.

'But I do not want this!' The shouting died away and the faces that watched him were puzzled.

'I want you to live in my service!' he shouted and they roared their acclaim once more. When the sound of their voices died down, he continued. 'Chocho has taught you a new way to fight. He has taught you the code of Issho ni! If you are faithful to this code, you will win a great victory.' He paused. 'And I will be there to see it! I am coming with you!'

Now the cheers were deafening. Shigeru moved forward to walk among his men and they broke ranks to surround him, cheering him, bowing to him, reaching out to touch him.

'What?' Will said. 'What is he talking about?' He made to follow the Emperor, to draw him back.

A hand seized his arm from behind him and he turned to see Halt's face. His old mentor was shaking his head.

'He's right, Will. He has to be there.'

'But if we're beaten! If we fail…he'll be taken by Arisaka!' Will said helplessly.

Halt nodded. 'That's right. But he's willing to gamble on these men. He believes in them. Don't you?'

'Well, yes, of course. But if he's there…'

'If he's there, they'll fight to keep him safe. You know they can beat the Senshi. I know it and Shigeru knows it. The only people who aren't sure are the men themselves. Oh, they're fine here and now. But when the crunch comes, they're going to be facing an enemy they've never felt worthy to face before. Our biggest potential danger tomorrow is that, faced by warriors who they have always believed are their superiors, they'll lose that confidence. And if they do, they'll break. They'll fight bravely. But they'll die bravely – because they will believe they have no right to win.'

'But -' Will began but now Horace interrupted.

'Halt's right, Will,' he said. 'If they know Shigeru is there and that he trusts in them, they'll have greater trust in themselves.'

'He could be killed or taken prisoner,' Will protested.

'No,' Horace said. 'Your men won't let that happen. He knows he has to be there.'

'He's a great man,' Selethen said quietly. 'The sort of man you're proud to serve.'

'They think so,' Halt said, gesturing to where Shigeru's bare head could be seen, moving among the jostling crowd of helmets and javelin points. 'And they'll need that sort of pride if they're going to win.' He paused, watching the scene on the valley floor through slitted eyes.

'And they are going to win,' he added. He saw that Will was still doubtful about the entire idea and clapped him on the back cheerfully. 'Try and have some faith in your men, Will. At least as much as the Emperor does.'

'Isn't there any way I can stop this?' Will asked despairingly, and this time it was Horace's turn to slap his shoulder.

'Of course. Just figure out a way to tell an Emperor that you forbid him to do something he's determined on. That should be easy for someone as devious as you.'

His three friends all grinned at him. Then Halt jerked his head towards the narrow gully that led to the secret pass.

'Let's get going. We've got a battle to win tomorrow.'

Evanlyn's hair stood on end, literally. She controlled an impulse to leap to her feet and spin around, confronting the unknown creature behind her – although logic told her it must be one of the Hasanu. Her song had died away as the hand entered her field of vision. In a quavering, uncertain voice, she began to sing again, very softly.

'Round and round she went, softly stepping circles in the sun…'

She was sure she could hear the sound of chewing close behind her. She took another piece of fruit and put it in her mouth. Then, almost as an afterthought, she selected a second piece and placed it away from her, on the log.

'For you,' she said, then continued humming the melody to the song. After a few seconds, the hand appeared again and took the fruit. She finished her piece and smacked her lips again in appreciation.

'Mmmm. Good.'

'Mmmmmmmm.' The sound was echoed behind her, along with the lip smacking. She took a deep breath and set another piece of fruit to one side.

'For you.'

Again, the hand appeared. This time, it didn't dart in and out as on the two previous occasions. It took the fruit and withdrew more slowly. Then she heard the voice again – husky and a little slurred. Just the one word.

''rigato.'

Arigato, she knew, was the Nihon-Jan word for thank you. She searched her memory desperately for the correct response, but it eluded her. She settled for, 'You're welcome.'