Meanwhile, Kadowaki Ayako was at Katou Kiyomasa’s family temple, Honmyou Temple
.
It was located northeast of Kumamoto Castle1, in an area called Hanazono [Flower Garden]. On the grounds was a long, long flight of stairs, the ‘Precipitous Path’ [Munetsuki Gangi], which ascended to the Pure Pond Mausoleum [Jouchi-byou]: Katou Kiyomasa’s resting place. It was said to be the exact same height as the tower of Kumamoto Castle, and offered, like the tower, an unbroken view of the town. It was also said Kiyomasa’s body lay beneath the Pure Pond Mausoleum in full armor and helmet in a sarcophagus covered with cinnabar to prevent decomposition, and that even now, nearly four hundred years later, his form remained unchanged.
After his resurrection, Kiyomasa had made this place the center of his barrier, and his own body the cornerstone which maintained the integrity of the whole.
In accordance with Kaizaki’s instructions, Ayako had come to protect the barrier.
(It really has gotten quite weak.)
Kiyomasa had erected the barrier to defend against incursion from enemy spirits. But the «Golden Serpent Head» had gained in power within his barrier, its influence galvanizing earth-bound spirits whose swelling spiritual energy now threatened the barrier with collapse.
Shimazu’s troops were near at hand. If they were allowed to penetrate the barrier, the city would become a battlefield. She wanted to avoid a repeat of Matsumoto by any means necessary.
(I have to preserve the barrier at least until Kagetora returns.)
Shimazu Iehisa was the problem. If he figured out the barrier’s mechanism, he would attack immediately. To remove the barrier, he would have to destroy Kiyomasa’s body.
Ayako swung into action. First she trapped the perimeter by burying many wood tags in land-mine fashion. They were rather heavy-handed; anyone who tread on them would receive an electric shock and be stuck in place. As an additional defense, she hastily performed the rituals of the Flame Vajra and the Web Vajra to protect the barrier.
But these were emergency measures. How long would they hold?
Ayako anxiously prepared to meet the enemy’s attack.
(Kagetora...)
Ayako hadn’t heard from him or Kaizaki and was at a fever pitch of impatience. She wanted to tell him about Naoe as soon as possible. She wasn’t clear on his reason for becoming Kaizaki, but if she was correct, Takaya had had good reason to be agitated on E Island. Takaya had probably felt guilty about projecting Naoe onto a stranger, but in reality the exact opposite was true. He had unconsciously perceived the real thing.
(Naoe is still here, Kagetora,) Ayako thought toward Aso. (Even if you return to reality you won’t be overwhelmed by despair!)
She clutched her fists at a rush of impatience.
“!”
Her sixth sense prickled at an unnatural shift. Her traps were popping off. In some places, her mines were losing their power. Something was happening, she thought, rushing to the gate. Then she skidded to a stop.
Several men were climbing the stone steps. Each carried a long sword on his back. Their faces were familiar.
“We meet again, woman.”
(Shimazu Iehisa...)
They appeared to have discovered her traps. Ayako concentrated her power at a point beneath her navel to ready her will and glared right into her enemies’ faces. They had discovered the barrier point, it seemed.
“Here we thought we had finally finished off Kiyomasa’s «nue»—now we find someone reinforcing the gap in his barrier. What a nuisance.”
“I knew you’d show up here sooner or later. I’ve been waiting, swordsmen.”
“You seem eager to fall prey to our swords. Choose. Step aside, and you will be spared. Otherwise you will die.”
The Shimazu swordsmen slowly but steadily advanced on her position. Ayako unsheathed her sword and assumed a ready stance. She had experience with the sword. In the Bakumatsu period, despite being a woman, she had learned the North Star Blade style [Hokushin Ittou Ryuu]. She knew how to counter the Taisha style—or at least the Revealed Reality style [Jigen Ryuu]. The first stroke: if she could evade that, she had a chance of victory.
“Interesting. A fight with real swords, eh?” Iehisa’s eyes assumed the look of a swordsman. He shuffled forward on tip-toe, his blue-glowing sword raised. The point of his sword flashed. “In that case, hold nothing back!”
Howled war-cries came at her from three directions. Pressed, Ayako’s initial charge came a second too late. Her three opponents attacked her like a strong gale. They were too fast...!
A heavy wind howled at her ears. She evaded one blade, but not the second—not completely. Sword edge clashed against sword edge with a clang, scattering sparks as Ayako caught the blow with her own sword. But the terrific force of the Taisha style snapped Ayako’s sword right in half.
“!”
For an instant three sword-points flashed in front of her eyes. What was this monstrous speed...!
Crash!
Ayako’s hurled will struck her opponents’ swords head-on. Two of them were sent flying with a sound like a rock cracking apart. Iehisa slashed at Ayako as she rolled.
“Cheesto—!”
Ayako immediate shot her will at him. As soon as he flinched, she produced a tiny ocarina with lightning speed. She drew in a breath and blew with all her might. A fierce wind rose to the piping reverberation and pressed against Iehisa’s chest.
“Ugh...!”
Fuuten’s seed syllable ‘ (baa)’ flew out of the spirit-flute like scales and sent Iehisa and his men arcing through the sky. One tumbled down the stone stairs. Another slammed into the temple bell and crumbled to the ground. But Iehisa turned a magnificent somersault and on landing immediately resumed his fighting stance.
“...Curse you!”
Zing!
A vacuum whirlwind tore into Ayako. Iehisa unleashed his attacks in succession as pain dazzled Ayako’s eyes. Though she protected herself, her hair and cheeks sustained numerous cuts.
“How...dare you!”
“Dieeee!”
Iehisa leapt high into the air and swung his sword downward. Ayako tried to call wind to send Iehisa flying, but he flicked the flute out of her hands with his will. His shadow filled her entire field of vision.
His sword-edge descended toward her forehead...!
Ayako managed to block the blow with a «goshinha» by a hair’s breath. But then the completely unexpected: a high-voltage electrical current struck her. She screamed shrilly and fell unconscious.
Iehisa had struck her with a simultaneous lightning blast.
“All bark and no bite.” Iehisa snorted a laugh and stood. His subordinates belatedly joined him. He approached the Pure Pond Mausoleum. Kiyomasa’s body, the barrier’s support, was buried in the ground underneath this mausoleum. To his spirit-sight the mausoleum blazed gold as sun-fire, proof that the corpse possessed power even to this day.
“Hmm... I’ll cut it in two with this sword, just like this mausoleum.”
Iehisa took a deep, slow, modulated breath and shifted to hold his sword straight out at eye level. Bluish-white flames ignited along its length as he concentrated and gathered his power. The flames quickly lengthened like a pillar as an accumulation of terrible destructive power transformed the sword. From time to time lightning-like electric currents twined around the blade like living snakes.
“Haaaah...”
The sword flashed upward into the sky. He would cleave both the body and the mausoleum in two...!
“Cheeestooo—!!”
At that instant, something strange happened. Flames suddenly billowed from the Pure Pond Mausoleum and swallowed Iehisa’s sword.
“What...! Graah!” Flames engulfed Iehisa. He writhed in agony.
“Iehisa-sama! ...Waugh!”
His retainers stiffened. A high school student wearing his school uniform was standing in front of the gate, gazing at them with arms folded. His head and chest were bandaged.
“You need another ten thousand years on you if you want to think about laying a finger on my corpse.”
“Damn you, you must be...!”
“Precisely.”
A tall man appeared behind the student. He had distinctly chiseled features and radiant tan skin. The man came to stand in front of the student, his back very straight, and laughed boldly.
“For you see, this man is offensively obstinate by nature. If you destroy his body, he will curse you for fifty thousand years.”
(Who...?)
Groaning, Ayako lifted her upper body. The student who spoke of his corpse—was that...!
“Cursed Kiyomasa! Have you come to die too?!”
“I have come to make certain of a death: yours.”
“What...?!”
“Enough already, Kiyomasa. This chatter is a waste of time,” said the man in the jeans. He held a can of Coke in one hand, and at intervals drank from it in loud gulps.
Iehisa could not believe his ears. Who in the world was this man who treated Kiyomasa like a subordinate?
“Now that we’re in Kumamoto, I was hoping for a warm-up. I have so looked forward to finally wielding my power. Give me this kill,” he said, swinging his arm as if he were really performing warm-up exercises. He then took another drink from his cola, roughly wiped his arm across his mouth, and smiled a smile etched with cruelty. Everyone shivered. His gaze alone was enough to overpower all who were present. This was no ordinary man. How was it possible for him to exude such force with his eyes alone...?!
“Could he be...! That man, could he be—!”
“Now then, you are my tiny quarry. Fight me with everything you have!”
A magnificent golden flame blazed from the man. Iehisa’s men pointed their swords at him in their terror. There was nowhere for them to run.
“Damn you...! Damn you damn you damn yooooou!” They leapt, shouting like madmen. But the man only smirked.
There was the heavy sound of a crash.
The two retainers were smashed to the ground. Ayako gasped. Their hearts had already stopped. The smiling man had killed them alone and unaided.
“Asao! ...Miyauchiii!!”
Iehisa glared at his opponent with naked fury. He had already guessed the man’s true identity. There was no other person on earth like him; there was only one man in the «Yami-Sengoku» who could be Kiyomasa’s master!
“So you’ve finally come to Kumamoto , Oda Nobunaga!” Iehisa yelled like a wild beast bellowing. “But the likes of you won’t take Kyuushuu! We warriors of Satsuma defend this land with our lives!”
“Ah! Lay as much of your life on the line as you like! Be certain you won’t regret it!”
Iehisa’s fighting spirit surged. Overflowing with all the power he could hold, he attacked. Yet Nobunaga caught the stroke containing his entire heart and soul in the palm of his hand.
“What?!”
“Haaaaaa!!”
A terrible energy shot out of that palm!
The flash hit Iehisa flat-out and head-on. His body arced through the air, and that was it. He hit the ground and didn’t move again.
Nobunaga casually looked him over and took a large gulp from his Coke.
“Aaah...aaah...”
Ayako was so terrified she couldn’t speak. She’d seen just now the instant of a soul’s shattering. It really had been smashed to pieces like glass. This was not just death. This was the crushing of a soul. This was annihilation.
...This was the «hakonha».
Nobunaga glanced at Ayako, shocked into muteness. The man who had wielded such terrible power acted as if nothing had happened. Metal crunched as Nobunaga crushed the can in his grip. Ayako came back to herself at the sound and realized that Nobunaga’s gaze was directed straight at her. She was paralyzed. It was nothing so simple as feeling like frog being watched by a snake.
“Ho, here’s something interesting.”
“Ah...aah...aaah.”
“A servant of that annoying tiger. What was her name?”
Ayako felt a quiver start from her very marrow. No matter how much she tried to suppress it, her teeth chattered, and her eyes blurred with tears. Taking in her terror, Nobunaga smiled pleasantly. He was a man who reveled in his quarry’s fear. A man who habitually declared he felt no greater pleasure than when he looked into terrified eyes. He suddenly stretched out a finger and lifted Ayako’s chin.
“A pretty woman. I’ll make a fine pet out of you.”
He called his subordinates and ordered them to take Ayako with them. Ayako was carried off without being able to offer much resistance.
“Tono, do you know that woman?”
“She’s one of the Uesugi Yasha-shuu. Kakizaki Haruie is her name.”
“Uesugi... Then she’s one of Kagetora-dono’s followers.”
“You were with Kagetora, I believe.” Kiyomasa’s shoulders jerked. There was nothing for him to feel guilty about, but Nobunaga’s cross-examination felt as if he were inspecting each of Kiyomasa’s thoughts. “Why did you not kill him? Did you not at least read his mind? With your abilities, I’m sure you could manage it easily.”
“That is...he is a guarded man.”
“Hmm, I suppose that is so. He must be. I know of his odd talent for making others disdain him; I know not how many painful experiences my vassals have undergone due to his cunning.”
Nobunaga folded his arms and looked in the direction of Aso.
“Heh! That dear old stage is near at hand, and all the actors have been assembled. That Kagetora has also come must be the so-called hand of fate. I suppose we’ll reenact that old battle,” Nobunaga said, eyes half-lidded. “Naturally, the script calls for his death this time.”
“Tono...”
In the next instant, Nobunaga suddenly exploded with laughter. “Ha—! Hahahah! Things have gotten interesting! Kenshin, come to join the battle? ’Tis so funny I’m about to fart! That senile man who was so crazy about righteousness has now come to make a show of being equal to the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven. I am truly amused. ’Tis hilarious, Kiyomasa!”
Nobunaga had already heard the entire truth about the «Golden Serpent Head» from Kiyomasa.
“The Kihachi Tribe, eh? How thrilling that a single skull is stuffed with the onryou of the ancient people of Hyuuga. A tin can of onryou, when all is said and done. ’Tis said a wraith’s power grows in proportion to its years. Quite a pool must now be accumulated. The Ootomo don’t even know that much; the eight-headed, eight-tailed serpent? Laughable.”
“The Shimazu army is approaching Kumamoto. The barrier must be strengthened immediately.”
“There is no need, Kiyomasa,” Nobunaga snapped. “The barrier is superfluous.”
“Superfluous...? Are you saying I should remove it?”
“Let Shimazu enter Kumamoto. My army need not be involved.”
“You intend to have them join battle with Ootomo?”
“Oh aye. Let those who wish to fight do so; let them expend their strength on each other. I will look on from afar. I will send out my spies. We will watch until they have lost their momentum and exhausted themselves.”
Kiyomasa was astonished. Nobunaga was serious. He really intended to invite Shimazu in.
“But Kumamoto will become a battlefield.”
“Does that displease you, Kiyomasa?” Kiyomasa’s face stiffened. Nobunaga looked down on him intimidatingly. “You are a Nobunaga retainer. In other words, Kumamoto belongs to Nobunaga. Do you have any objections?” Kiyomasa couldn’t answer. Nobunaga smiled with satisfaction. “You said Kihachi’s head is at the old castle.”
“Aye. I know it must be destroyed without a moment’s delay, but the old castle is currently under Ootomo occupation. It seems to me taking it will be next to impossible.”
“Not at all.” Nobunaga smirked as he looked toward Kumamoto Castle. “My other self has even now penetrated into Old Castle High School. ...Heheh. Well, we shall see. It will be such an unexpected twist.”
“Huh...?”
Kiyomasa once again doubted his ears. Had he said an unexpected twist?
“Whaaat. We need not take a single step. It will fall into our laps without the least toil on our parts. I shall test whether this Kihachi’s head can truly sink Kyuushuu beneath the waves.”
(What a man...!)
Kiyomasa was dumbfounded. Nobunaga had made up his mind as soon as he’d heard Kiyomasa’s tale. Rather than destroying Kihachi’s head, he would make it his.
“Please don’t! ’Tis...’tis too perilous!”
“Perilous?”
“Takeda, Kikkawa, and Ootomo do not know its true terror! It cannot be a weapon! If the onryou, once released, truly sink Kyuushuu beneath the waves... ”
“Intriguing. You do not wish to see it sunk?”
“!”
“Would not the sinking of this enormous island be a rare sight? If it can be done, would you not wish to see it? ’Twould be the event of the century. What would become of Japan, I wonder?”
Kiyomasa was extremely rattled. He could not tell what this man was thinking. He couldn’t be serious, could he? Did he mean it?
“If Kyuushuu sinks, a great number of people will die, and their onryou will be mine to control. Kenshin, Shingen, and the other «Yami-Sengoku» onshou—none will be worth mentioning next to my power. I will make them surrender to me; all will become my slaves! Then we will take over the world!”
Nobunaga laughed loudly. This was paranoia 2. Though all were angry and resentful wraiths at their core, no onshou had ever contemplated such ghastly stratagems.
(Wh...what in the world is he...!)
“Only one with the courage to be supreme ruler can manage a runaway horse. I will ride the Himuka onryou and establish the power to transform this country root and branch thereby. Kiyomasa, follow me and I will show you an incredible vista.”
Profound astonishment held Kiyomasa mute. Nobunaga surveyed the castle town of Kumamoto with the eyes of a military man.
“O warriors of Satsuma, show me how the ‘strongest of the Kyuushuu’ do battle. I will observe from this spot.”
Aso’s Kokuzou Shrine was partly thrown into a state of disarray by the succession of reports that came pouring in.
Among them, news of a Kaga uprising dropped like a bomb blast.
It astonished even Mitsuhide. The Ikkou Sect territory had fallen into civil war. Their followers, who were thought to surpass all others in solidarity, had given rise to revolt-inciting traitors. Their uprising had surprising momentum. Reports speculating that it had been incited by Kenshin flew in, immediately raising tensions. Kennyo hurriedly appointed Rairen commanding officer of Kaga, to be recalled from Aso as soon as possible.
“I must depart for Kaga immediately. Akechi-dono, I leave the rest to you,” Rairen said, before rushing off toward Kumamoto airport.
But that was not the end of it. Similar seeds of revolt had been planted everywhere.
Date’s Northeast, Takeda’s Kai, Chousokabe’s Shikoku, Mouri’s territory in northern Kyuushuu—there were incidents of local ghosts acting violently in all these places. These attacks in their unguarded moment shook the commanders of various territories, and they hastened to dispatch their soldiers.
“It appears to be the Uesugi Ladies in White who are inciting insurrection.”
“So it is Kenshin...!”
“Toyama and Niigata appear to have already fallen.”
“It is said their integrated fighting strength is several times that of Oda.”
Mitsuhide’s vassals excitedly exchanged rumors. Kagetora was also on the premises. Of course, these reports were fed into his ears in minute detail.
The news effected no change in Takaya expression.
It was almost sunset before Mitsuhide could put down his work and visit him in his room.
The first words out of Mitsuhide’s mouth were a question. “You didn’t order the Ladies in White to incite insurrection, did you?”
Takaya looked at Mitsuhide quietly. He had not.
Mitsuhide knew that, but had wanted to make certain.
“What do you think of the New Uesugi?”
“...What should I think?”
“You remain unconvinced by Takemata’s testimony?”
Takaya was silent.
He slowly shook his head. “I have not confirmed it with my own eyes.”
“You’ll be satisfied if you do?”
Takaya was again silent.
Gazing at the expressionless Takaya, a little of the tension left Mitsuhide’s shoulders.
“If you want to confirm the reports yourself, do so to your heart’s content. Your confirmation would become ours as well. There is a question I want to ask you. If you withdraw from the Uesugi, will your powers be revoked? What of your «choubukuryoku»?”
“Probably...not, I think,” Takaya answered flatly. “They were offered to me by Lord Kenshin, but granted by Bishamonten. So long as my beliefs remain firm, I don’t think even Lord Kenshin will be able to revoke them.”
“So they cannot be used as corroboration. What about the Sword of Bishamonten?” Mitsuhide knew of the sword. “I have heard it is a spirit-sword carried only by the supreme commander. If you were removed from that post, you will no longer be able to wield the Sword of Bishamonten—is that not so?”
“I don’t think it would constitute proof.”
The sword was the incarnation of Bishamonten’s energy—«choubukuryoku». Once someone learned how to manifest it, it could not be taken from them. So long as Takaya did not lose his «powers» completely.
“In other words, even if someone is no longer a Yasha-shuu, they would still be able to wield «choubukuroyku». No one would make a more dangerous enemy.”
Takaya nodded.
And how much more so for the former general...
“What do you intend to do?”
“...”
After a long silence, Takaya quietly lifted his eyes. “There is a simple way to prove I am no longer Uesugi’s general. What will Uesugi’s followers do if gave an order directly contradicting that of the new general’s? It will lay everything plain.”
“You’ll call for destruction of Naoe and his followers?”
“Such a careless declaration of war...would be suicide.”
Mitsuhide was surprised. “Is that not a faint-hearted view? You must know there is no fearful gap in battle strength between you.”
“You don’t know Uesugi’s true strength. A switch in generalship means a transfer of authority to set the Meikai Uesugi Army into motion.”
“Set in motion?The Meikai...what is that?”
“Uesugi’s hosts sleep in the realm of the dead.”
Mitsuhide’s mouth dropped open in astonishment. “What do you mean?” he asked.
“Uesugi’s soldiers in this world constitute less than half of its full strength. They are the dead with a connection to Echigo who were put to sleep in the underworld when we underwent our first kanshou.”
“By the realm of the dead, you don’t mean the other world?”
“No. It’s neither the other world nor this one. It’s a dimension in the boundary between the two worlds. The sleepers there are not purified. Time does not exist. Thus they are not really sleeping.”
Kagetora and the others called existence in that realm ‘sleeping’. Only one person could summon them from that underworld: the supreme commander of the Meikai Uesugi Army.
Naturally, this was the first time Mitsuhide had heard of the existence of such an Uesugi force. If Uesugi had troops that were not in the world, how large was its actual army?
(Easily several times ours...)
“If I have been removed from my position, I have also been stripped of my authority to command them. Therefore, if I can no longer summon them, it would be proof that I have lost my authority over them,” Takaya said emotionlessly.
Mitsuhide gazed at him, wondering about his state of mind.
Takaya didn’t know why he had been tossed aside. A loss of someone of Uesugi Kagetora’s fighting power had to count as a minus; why, then, did he have to be discarded?
“New Uesugi has said they will eliminate you, I believe. I heard you were told as much by Takemata. What will you do? Will you fight?”
“... I have to at least protect myself,” Takaya said, standing so abruptly that he startled Mitsuhide.
“Where are you going?”
“I thank you for looking after me. But I have no intention of siding with you. For now on, I will side with no one.”
“Do you intend to return to your comrades?”
“Comrades? What comrades?”
He couldn’t trust either Nagahide or Haruie. They were probably in communication with Kenshin. He could do nothing but hide, perhaps.
“Wait, Kagetora-dono,” Mitsuhide called out sharply. “Won’t you lend me your strength?”
Takaya stopped.
“We need power to defeat Oda. Won’t you lend us yours?”
“...”
“If you will cooperate with us, we have arrangements in place for sheltering you from Uesugi. Having you would give us heart. No, that’s not it.” Mitsuhide stated emphatically with grim determination: “I want you to become our leader.”
“What...!”
That surprised him, naturally. An expedient lie, he thought, but Mitsuhide looked serious.
“If I could, I would end this «Yami-Sengoku» as quickly as possible. I created the anti-Oda Alliance, but reconciling all the various commanders’ expectations is all but impossible. But if we do not consolidate our forces, we cannot match our adversary. I need a unifying force. Something that can weave together the hearts of these onshou.”
“...They have you.”
“I have not the disposition. It is a role for which I am unfit,” Mitsuhide said with clear-eyed rationality. His wise eyes regarded Takaya. “You have the qualities I lack. Your abilities are equal to a war with Lord Oda Nobunaga. And you are the former supreme commander of the Uesugi. You have ample reason to fight Kenshin; you have the necessary conviction. This alliance needs one who can transcend the interests of each separate army. We lack a force which will restrain and unite all the onshou of the alliance. They can trust you, for you are not swayed by self-interest. I wish you to be the standard-bearer of the anti-Oda Alliance, Kagetora-dono, and think with me on the source of the «Yami-Sengoku».”
“The...source?”
“Kagetora-dono...” Mitsuhide paused to sort out his thoughts before continuing. “Have you never wondered why the onshou have gone berserk now, after four hundred years? Why the «Yami-Sengoku» erupted so recently? I wish to show you its source, Kagetora-dono.”
Takaya’s brow creased as he listened.
“I’ve wondered if the «Yami-Sengoku» was not roused by artificial means.”
“Artificial...means?”
“Yes. My tentative guess is that the responsible party is either Uesugi Kenshin or Oda Nobunaga.”
Takaya was shocked. He’d never even thought of such a thing before, and now it was thrust in his face.
“There’s no way...”
“I have felt for a long time that someone or something devised this battle. People who have been beneath the earth for four hundred years all roused to war. That in itself is an unnatural situation. There must be a starting impetus. What great power triggered the awakening?”
“You’re saying that...someone set up the «Yami-Sengoku» with some sort of purpose in mind?”
“I have no conclusive evidence.” Mitsuhide elucidated. “But if someone did do such a thing, I can think of no candidates other than Uesugi Kenshin and Oda Nobunaga. I don’t know the purpose. I do know that a situation in which so many spirits are used in futile battles cannot be ignored. It must be ended. I desire a like-minded comrade who is willing to search for a solution with me.”
“That’s the anti-Oda Alliance?”
“I have not spoken of this to them. You are the first,” Mitsuhide told him emphatically. “We also became the anti-Kenshin Alliance the instant he entered the war. I had only one reason for establishing this alliance: to find the source of the «Yami-Sengoku» and destroy that person. I believe that is the shortest path to ending the «Yami-Sengoku». I need a power which will bring this alliance together. I want you to be that power. What do you think, Kagetora-dono?” Mitsuhide asked.
His tone held no trace of childish eagerness; it was rational from beginning to end.
Takaya was silent as he carefully examined Mitsuhide.
The silence, which seemed like it might go on forever, was finally broken by Takaya. “Do I really seem such an optimist that I would simply go along with it?”
“Kagetora-dono.”
“I already told you I won’t enter into any alliance. I haven’t changed my mind.”
“You feel a sense of duty toward Kenshin? Loyalty carried too far makes one a fool.”
“That’s not why,” Takaya responded clearly. “The instant I ceased to be supreme commander, my bonds to both the Uesugi and the «Yami-Sengoku» were severed. So I will return to an ordinary life. I wish to return to Ougi Takaya’s life.”
“If you do, Naoe will hunt you down. As long as you are Uesugi Kagetora, the circumstances won’t allow you to sever your bonds—however much you want to. Therefore, Kagetora-dono, should you not engage your powers to end the «Yami-Sengoku»?”
“You overestimate me,” Takaya smiled darkly. “Try someone else. Uesugi Kagetora does not have the kind of power you hope for.”
“Kagetora-dono.”
“Otherwise I would not have been cast away,” Takaya said, and started to walk out of the room. Mitsuhide stopped him sharply.
“Then you’ll leave Kumamoto to its fate? You don’t care if many civilians die for the Ootomo and Uesugi?”
Takaya stopped.
“We also have a hostage. I suppose you don’t care about that either?”
“Hostage?”
“She’s a girl wearing a uniform very similar to Kagetora-dono’s; it has that exact same badge. If you leave, she will be killed. But you don’t care about that either, I suppose.”
Takaya’s eyes sharpened. Affixed to his standing collar was his school insignia and grade level. If she wore the same, then she was a junior at Old Castle High School.
Apparently feeling that he had scored a hit as he studied Takaya’s reaction, Mitsuhide added a little more calmly, “You can meet her if you want to confirm for yourself. Are you still prepared to leave?”
Takaya slowly turned and looked Mitsuhide in the face. Apparently not.
“Let me see her, then.”
It was fully dark when they went outside. Mitsuhide led Takaya to the stone burial chamber where Inaba Akemi was confined.
Takaya was surprised by the sight of Inaba Akemi sleeping within the sarcophagus. The colcothar from burning the yellow ocher of Aso kept Akemi sleeping soundly.
“Why did you take her?”
“To set the Miike family in motion,” Mitsuhide explained. "The Miike family has Asara-hime. Asara-hime can communicate intentions to Kihachi. She is also the only one who can suppress the unleashing of the Kihachi tribe’s onryou. Kihachi’s head is the «Yami-Sengoku» nuclear weapon. Even possessing it will strike fear into one’s enemy and serve to deter enemy attack. In this instance, its use is secondary. But to use it requires the controller: Asara. Without her there is no point. We know that Asara is a daughter of the
Miike family. Her older brother goes to Old Castle High School."
“Miike... Miike Tetsuya?!”
“You know him?”
Takaya was flabbergasted. Miike Tetsuya, the only ordinary student who was not haunted. He’d never have expected him to have this sort of connection to the «Yami-Sengoku».
“Kihachi’s head is apparently in the ruins of Sassa Narimasa’s castle.” Takaya’s shoulders rocked slightly. “Old Castle High School, in other words. Did you and Kiyomasa know that?”
“I know of an object called the «Golden Serpent Head».”
“«Golden Serpent Head»...”
“It’s said to be the head of the eight-headed, eight-tailed serpent. Ootomo is trying to exhume it.”
“So it’s true. Ootomo has zeroed in on it as well.”
“But I don’t know if they know about Kihachi. They never regarded Miike Tetsuya as anything more than a problem child.”
“Careless fools. Be that as it may, there is danger in their obtaining it. Have you heard of their occupation of Old Castle High School?”
“Occupation? By the Ootomo?”
“They’ve packed it with the students, whom they have trained as the castle garrison. They appear to be brainwashed, but we couldn’t tell by what method.”
Demonic serpent, Takaya thought. The demonic serpents Mikuriya had implanted in the students had hatched. It had given them «power», transforming them into combatants and even a castle garrison.
“We must proceed to Kumamoto and recover it. I do not think the Shimazu army alone will be enough. If they receive assistance from the New Uesugi, it will present a problem. Kagetora-dono,” Mitsuhide said in a low voice, “I want you to come. To counter «choubukuryoku» with «choubukuryoku». No, you must come. If you do not want the hostage to lose her life.”
“Weren’t you going to exchange her for Asara?”
“The hostage won’t be exchanged—not until you promise to cooperate with us.” Takaya was silent. Though the words were threatening, there was no trace of coercion in Mitsuhide’s profile. “Think about it.”
Mitsuhide left him and walked out of the stone burial chamber. The glow of the light bulb went out. Takaya gazed at Inaba Akemi in the shaft of moonlight that pierced the chamber in its stead.
What should he do? He had to think.
(I have no choice...do I?)
He could only obey, he concluded, and was about to leave Inaba’s side when he saw out of the corners of his eyes the spot at the nape of her neck undulate—though she lay as still as death. Something was wriggling beneath her skin.
At he stared at it, it happened a second time, then a third.
“...”
He looked at it over his shoulder for a moment before finally turning on his heels and leaving the stone burial chamber.
A familiar man was waiting for him as he descended the incline outside: Kikkawa Motoharu. Takaya stopped and returned his gaze with lightly narrowed eyes.
“I am leaving for Kokura,” Motoharu said. “There’s been an uprising there. I do not think I should leave, but...it cannot be helped.”
“...”
Takaya was about to slip silently past when Motoharu said to him, “Naoe died at Hagi.” Takaya stopped dead. “The shock was so great that you placed an auto-suggestion on yourself.”
“...”
“Last night you were about to remember. You recognized the auto-suggestion. I hope you will reexamine those memories.”
Takaya didn’t turn toward him. He listened with his back turned. Motoharu said forcefully, “A miracle has happened.”
Takaya didn’t move.
“...” After a moment of silence, Takaya said in a low voice, “Thank you...”
He walked away.
Motoharu couldn’t see his reaction.
He remained silent. There was nothing more he could do.