Yabu prowled the interior of the shrine like a caged tiger, eyes searching the walls, the floor, everywhere. Near the center of the small shrine young master Tai leaned against the base of a small statue while the old priest examined his wounds.
Jiro sat quietly against the wall, cleaning and polishing the long, glittering blade of his naginata. Although he tried to project an image of calm, it was obvious to any one who looked that his face was pale and his hands shook slightly.
Saburo was likewise shaken and struggled to master his emotions. "There is no understanding in fear," he murmured to himself, "and death is but a release." But he was still troubled. Death by the blade was something he understood. But for a head to scream when removed from the body... that was not something he understood, and he was greatly distressed, even as he attempted to regain his wa.
Yabu stopped beside the other two, although his eyes kept moving, flicking up to the ceiling and then back.
"In all my years of warfare, I have never faced an opponent such as this."
Jiro nodded, "I thought such things to be only stories, tales to be told in the darkness of winter to pass the time."
"The old priest must have great power, to have stayed here for months, fighting this abomination." Yabu started to pace again.
Jiro looked to where the priest knelt, tending to Tai's injuries, "Yabu-san, for him to leap from the roof as he did, his power must be very great indeed. He would make a powerful ally."
"That is what we want from him. But do not lose sight of the objective -- we want him as an ally for Ogame-san against the usurper Togai. In that battle, his ability to bounce around like a grasshopper is irrelevant."
Jiro bowed his head slightly, "Of course Yabu-san, forgive me for speaking foolishly."
Saburo looked up at the other two samurai. "More than his ability to leap, I was impressed when the ghost declined combat with the priest."
Yabu nodded. "This priest must have some power against such an abomination."
"Perhaps...", began Saburo before rubbing his chin thoughtfully and continuing again, "The priest may indeed be very gifted in the physical world as his leaping would indicate. But he must also have great strength in the spiritual world. I am intrigued as to the nature of his spiritual strength, but I am wondering if he would be better served to concentrate on the spiritual while we assisted him in the physical world."
Yabu frowned, uncertain how to respond.
Saburo thought for a moment longer before opening his hand and dismissing his thought. "No matter", he said, "With the knowledge and wisdom of the priest, it is he who will tell us how we may assist him."
"Even so," Yabu agreed. "Ignorance can be fatal. We know nothing of this monster."
Struck by a different thought, Yabu's voice changed. "If I fall in battle, I ask you both -- do not let that monster have my head. To be controlled and used by such a horror after death ....." Yabu shook his head, clearly distressed by the thought.
Jiro stood and bowed to Yabu, "This I so swear, Yabu-san." Swallowing heavily, he then turned to look at Yabu directly, "And I ask that you do the same for me."
Saburo grunted and then paused before speaking, looking Yabu in the eye.
"I am greatly impressed with your martial skills. Before I engaged the two risen on the left, you had already dispatched three on the right and still were able to help me while dodging the blade of the ghost. I understand your desire not to be used by him, but it is more important to me not to fight you while you are under his power. Or you," he said, nodding to Jiro, "You will understand, then, if I destroy your heads if you fall. It is not out of lack of respect, nor do I expect any less from you if I also fall".
Yabu bowed in assent. As he straightened, his brow was still furrowed. "Although it has powers beyond that of mortal warriors, its weapons were physical. Jiro-san, is it not true that you blocked it, when it struck at Saburo-san? And I hit it, twice -- once in the temple, and again when it attacked me invisible outside the temple. Ah, I wish I had my armour here! To fight a physical enemy without fear -- that is easy. But this horror?"
Jiro nodded, "That is true Yabu-san.. Twice it stuck at either me or Saburo, but I was able to stop its attacks. But when I went to strike it in return, my blade passed right through its body as if it was not there."
Yabu grimaced. "We must think, and plan. Against such an enemy we must use our wits. I struck it, and twice; I think I wounded it both times. Once when it was on the stair, I waited until it struck at Saburo, then I attacked. My thought was this -- if it can touch us, then perhaps we can touch it in return. It is our only hope, I think."
"That, and not allowing ourselves to be separated." Jiro gestured at his companions, "We need to stay together, to remain close by, else the ghost will cut us down one by one."
"More than close by -- against an unseen foe there is no chance against the first blow. We must be in pairs, or all together, moving as a team looking in all directions. When it attacked me after Tai, I saw a faint shimmer in the moonlight. Not much, but enough to fight, and have a chance."
Saburo stared into the dark as he recalled the encounter. "It appears to be vulnerable one moment, and then untouchable in the next. Fire, we know, will effect it. That was very clever, Jiro-san," he turned his head and acknowledged Jiro, "And it seems whenever it attacks it can be touched. But I do not know if it can be killed, or if it will just flee when the threat it too great. I would like to know the source of its power and whether that source can be destroyed."
Yabu looked over at the holy man, bending over young master Tai. "Only one among us has that knowledge." He forebore from disturbing the old priest, who was clearly busy.
Yabu paced some another few steps before stopping with another thought. "I think it wore armour, under its robes. That gives me to hope. Why wear armour, unless you can be hurt? But I wish we had our armour here with us."
Jiro gave a slight sigh, "So do I, Yabu-san."
"Saburo-san. Had you seen this figure before? We saw him watching the end of your duel, even as we came up to the sound of fighting. Had he been watching long?"
Saburo shook his head, "No. I don't know how long he had been watching, but I never saw him before the fight. I was fully concentrating on my opponent, so I have no idea when he appeared. I know nothing more than you about the ghost. The priest has been living with him. When he is done tending master Tai we should ask him what he knows."
Yabu nodded, assessing Saburo with a long glance. "That was well done, that duel. If you will permit me to ask, why did you fight?"
Saburo grunted and bowed his acknowledgement. He took in a breath and let it out slowly, gazing off into the distance. "Why did I fight?", he said more to himself than any other. After a pause, he answered.
"We both were lodging at an inn some...seven days ago," he recalled, "and he was loud and obnoxious. I must confess to some irritation. He was ill-mannered and was disturbing others and myself. So I challenged him. And as he was drunk on sake, I proposed that we fight the next day. He, of course, accepted.
Saburo stared at the mat before him, frowning. "But the next day, he was not there. Someone went for him and they discovered that he fled during the night. This was intolerable. Ill manners can be forgiven. But I swore that if he would not live as a samurai, perhaps I could teach him to die as a samurai."
Yabu looked away as Saburo paused, knowing the embarrassment he must have felt at his loss of face.
"So I found the way he he fled," Saburo continued, "and I followed him. I could do nothing else. Always he was ahead of me, and I was moving very fast. So last night I did not rest but continued walking until I came upon the village below in late morning. They told me that this... man... was there, but was turned out as he had no coin for his lodging. They say he came to this temple here. And when I announced my intention to follow, I was told that it was a place of great danger.
He looked at Yabu and Jiro and smiled. "And they were right. But I could do nothing else. It was my karma. So I followed my path and arrived here at dusk. He must have seen me, for as I entered the temple, I heard someone jump from the second floor into some leaves. I rushed out, and it was he. I told him who I was. He already knew, of course, but I think he tired of running. So he accepted his fate and offered me supper before a moonlight duel.
Saburo smiled to himself. "I was pleased for him. While he feared death and strayed from his path, he was less than a man. But he found his courage and became Samurai once again before his death. And I would honor him as such.
The smile disappeared from Saburo's face as he thought of the aftermath.
"When the old man offered to act as his second, I assented, as a man of honor deserves one. I had no idea that he would be taken in such a manner. He deserved to die as Samurai. Not as some... creature."
Saburo looked at Yabu and Jiro gravely. "I will help destroy this ghost, or die trying. I have a debt to repay."
Yabu bowed to Saburo. "I honor your decision."
Jiro looked as if he wished to speak, but after struggling with his thoughts for a few moments, simply bowed to Saburo. "I am honored to fight beside you," he said at last.
After a few moments, Yabu frowned and broached a new topic. "Saburo-san, I wonder if chance alone guided our meeting. Jiro and I came here with a very specific purpose, in service to our Lord. If I may ask without insult, are you ronin, or in service to someone?"
Saburo frowned and did not speak for a moment. When he did, he seemed to choose his words carefully. "You will forgive me if I do not answer you fully. I was in service, as my father before me was, to a man of no honor, as it turns out. I am ronin now, and I choose to say no more on the subject."
"Ah," Yabu said.
For a long moment he looked away, then spoke again. "I am reminded of the death-poem of the Lord of the Toshigamatsu.
"At the go board
It is not possible to sacrifice
Honour for position.
I take my place among the battlements.
The plunge as cold as steel
As soft as ashes."
Saburo's face was still as he considered the poem. "Just so," he said quietly. "Honor transcends the stones. And even if there was no one to remember, if the stones themselves disappeared, there would always be yourself."
Yabu nodded. "Forgive me if I tell you something that you know already, but do you know the story of Toshigamatsu?"
Saburo smiled, "I know enough to know when I am ignorant. Please enlighten me."
"He conspired against the bakufu governor for pride and ambition, unaware that he was being used as a pawn in a larger conspiracy against the Emperor. After his pride and folly were revealed to him he threw himself from the walls of his castle."
Saburo stared at Yoshi for a time, wondering if it was karma or if Yabu knew more than he was letting on. Then he turned away before the stare became impolite. "Still, others can believe what they will of you. It is the man that knows his own honor. No other." He looked as if he wanted to say more, but held his tongue.
Yabu nodded. "Too often it is as Toshigamatsu implies -- samurai are just stones on a go board. For the stone to go where it is sent is not a dishonor to the stone. But sometimes the player forgets that the pieces are not stones, but samurai."
"And the family of samurai", murmurred Saburo softly. He was silent for a moment before grunting.
Yabu let the moment stretch out before returning to his subject. "I did not ask if you were in service out of vulgar curiosity. Our lord is seeking to hire worthy samurai for a campaign in the north. Would you be interested?"
"Ah," Saburo smiled, "I cannot judge if I am worthy in your lord's eyes. I know only that I live by my honor and will relinquish it to no man. Why does you lord seek to do battle?"
"Our Lord is Arai Ogame, Lord of Ariki. He has been dispossessed by his uncle Arai Togai, a foul usurper who betrayed and slew his own brother Lord Arai Tetsuo, Ogame-sama's father, in battle. We are raising men to recapture Ariki and Seidan province for Ogame-sama."
Jiro glared and spat, "Togai is a man with out honor. He sided against his own brother in battle, cutting him down without a second thought. He had many noble samurai put to death, or forced them to flee..." Jiro paused, "My lord wished to take back what is rightfully his, and there is no deed that I would rather do."
Saburo grunted and said gravely, "That is foul, indeed, and perhaps it is a campaign that needs to be fought. But you must understand that I do not wish to rush into any lord's service. I walk my own path now, and it has taken me here. I will honor my commitments as I have made them tonight. I do not know what the next day holds for me. That will be made clear to me on the morrow."
Yabu nodded. "No man can know the karma of another."