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Ronin, Book 01, Chapter 42

Oba reached the treeline last and with at least three arrows piercing his hide. None of them were fatal, the shafts weren’t long enough for that, but he knew he was lucky to be alive. A decent number of rats had pursued them into the tree line, but not enough to stand against Oba and the surviving samurai. Together they had made quick work of their assailants and soon the forest had been devoid of any but their allies and wounded. Leaning his club against a tree, no beast here could wield it and wouldn’t get far trying to steal it, Oba surveyed his battered contingent.

There were no more than ten badgers in their number, though he knew many had broken to the opposite tree line with Zeru. All seemed in good health considering the scrap they had just survived, but not every faction in their party had been so fortunate. The samurai and ninja had each been effective at bringing their wounded with them, though what they could do for them out here was limited. There were maybe a hundred samurai, mostly Shiba and Irotomi, and maybe fifty ninja, only half of them fit to fight. The rest of their number were traumatized woodlanders and shaken monks. All in all they numbered less than two-hundred and could field even less than that. Obviously Oba, and maybe even the badgers, could turn the tide against a detachment of the massive force now trying to force its way into the Akita capitol, but simply rushing at their flank would end in a slaughter. If he knew how many of their allies had made it to the other side he might risk it, but for all he knew they hadn’t made it and were even worse off.

“Enemies approaching from the north!”

“I see them! They’re coming through the trees!”

Oba did not waste time moving to the north. He did not think the Hokkaido could have committed too large a force to patrolling these woods, but even a small, well trained group could put these battered creatures in danger. As the approaching strangers came into view, Oba took control, “Weapons down! Every beast! These are allies if I’m not mistaken!”

Three bears, a brown nearly as tall as Oba and two stout blacks that stood as tall as the ten boar that travelled with them, came jogging into view. None of these beasts looked injured in the slightest and instantly Oba felt himself relax. At least the wounded were safe. No mercenary in their right mind would charge into this lot unless a spear point drove him to it.

“Oba!” the brown bear called, ignoring the many ninja and samurai eyeing him and his cohorts with unease. “We worried that camp would be the death of you!”

“It was not my time,” Oba said, embracing the big bear in a tight hug. “It is good to see you Kuma.”

“It is good to see you too,” the brown bear said. “You have many wounded. Are you planning a counter attack? It doesn’t look like many of them are watching the tree line any longer. They just want in that damned city.”

“I would if I knew our allies had made it to the trees,” Oba said. “The real advantage would come from dividing their attention in two directions, not just charging headlong into their flank and hoping we can cut down the entire army or make them rout.”

“We have twice our number on the other side,” one of the boar said, gesturing across the field of battle to the opposite tree line. “The rest of the bears are there as well. If we charge, they will join us.”

“And we accomplish what?” Oba said. “Hit and run tactics will do very little once they make it inside. We have to stop their advance, force them to focus on defense. I say we wait until the other side charges. The badgers might be over there and they could turn the tide. If things get too dire and the badgers haven’t appeared, we will have to move on them, but until then, we wait.” None of the new arrivals looked like they liked the sound of this, but they didn’t challenge him. A smart decision.

Looking back out to the field, he watched as the Hokkaido army poured over the walls unchallenged and forced their way through where the gate had once stood. He would not throw his life away for the city. This was about more than that. All he could do now was watch the other tree line for signs of life and take comfort in the fact that, even if Kyokan proved victorious, he would have to leave the conquered city eventually. When he did, Oba would be waiting for him. One way or the other, the mad-wolf would never leave the Akita homeland. His lifesong ended here; Oba would see to that.

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Zeru took stock of his remaining forces with a grimace as one of his badgers tied off the deep cut on his forearm. Luckily the gash did not affect his ability to wield his ax, but it had hurt and he was trying not to see red and go charging back into the camp. If he’d had the numbers, he’d have done it without question, but he did not. He had started this whole endeavour with nearly a thousand warriors; as he looked around now, he saw half that number able to fight and maybe a hundred more wounded. He had a few hundred Akita samurai as well, a welcome addition, but the rest amounted to no more than a hundred odd ninja and woodlanders.

“Hard to know who's on the other side,” he said through gritted teeth as his bandage was tightened a final time.

“We could send a runner,” the badger, an older beast named Edo, said. “It will take them time to get around all of that,” he gestured to the battle, “but there’s a clear path. I’d do it myself if I didn’t know nearly any beast would be faster.”

“Not a bad idea,” Zeru said, checking his bandage and moving to assess the progress of the siege. He didn’t quite make it as rows of approaching samurai, along with a few black bears and a decent number of Inoshi warriors, marched towards him out of the woods to the south. This looked very much like a sizable chunk of the Shikoku army and, seeing how the bear and boar hardly looked like prisoners, it was clear to Zeru that they had found valuable allies in their darkest hour. “Well look what we have here!” he called out, drawing his troops' attention to the newcomers. “Looks like the fight’s not over yet! All of you that can still lift a weapon, get on your feet!”

The Shikoku general, the bears and two of the Inoshi strode forward to meet him as their troops settled in between the trees, still out of sight of the Hokkaido forces. “I hope we haven’t arrived too late,” the Shikoku general said, looking over Zeru to the chaos beyond.

“Never too late as long as we’ve got this many breathing and ready to fight,” Zeru said, grasping the wolf’s paw warmly. “I assume that’s what you’re here for?”

“We are,” the general said. “It looks like there are still a fair number of them outside the walls. I think a direct charge at their flank would be both simple and effective.”

“I like the way you think, wolf,” Zeru said, patting his ax in his paw. “We’ve likely got some allies in the woods across the way. When they see us charge, hopefully they’ll get the idea and come to our aid.”

“Even if they don’t” one of the Inoshi grunted, “I like our odds. Mostly rats and marten. They’ll scatter without too much effort.”

“They have Old Guard and some of the mad-wolf’s new troops back guarding the siege engines, not to mention archers in the camp. I doubt they’ll just watch while we attack,” Zeru said. He didn’t fear the wild wolves, but they would require his full attention if they decided to jump in.

“We’ll handle it,” one of the bears said.

“Are you sure?” the Shikoku general asked.

“I mean no offense general, but no wolf, no matter how rugged, can match a bear in open combat. We will handle this Old Guard and their counterparts alike. You focus on breaking that army.”

“Sounds like a solid plan,” Zeru said. “Now let’s get to it. Been enough talking! There’s a war going on!”

“Ready yourselves for a charge!” the Shikoku general called out, drawing his sword as his troops fell in with the badgers, Akita samurai, ninja and boar.

“Charge!” Zeru roared and their force, now close to two thousand strong, came rushing out of the trees. The last thing Zeru saw before it all went red was the look of fear on the rats and martens faces as they tried to form a quick line of defense.

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Oba felt a smile grow on his face as the opposite tree line filled with roaring badgers, squealing boar, silent ninja and hundreds of fresh Shikoku samurai. Turning to the assembled force behind him he said, “Those of you willing to fight, rally around the Inoshi and meet our friends in the middle. You bears though, you’re coming with me. Those Old Guard aren’t just going to sit there and watch. We need to head them off and take out the siege equipment for good.”

As the two groups separated, Oba saw the ferocious looking Old Guard already making their move. Leaving their armored counterparts at the siege line, they were already covering the open field in leaps and bounds, rushing towards the camp. Just as Oba was preparing to alert his fellows, a handful of bears came running out of the opposite tree line to cut them off. “Join them!” Oba roared to the bears at his side and they peeled off without debate.

Oba, confident his fellow bears could handle the feral wolves, adjusted his route. The siege engines were his target now. The others would join him when they could.

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Ronin could hear the sounds of battle intensify with each minute he waited in the stronghold’s inner courtyard. Koga had gathered the shoguns here with an elite honor guard to wait for Kyokan and his forces. They had no proof the mad-wolf would come seek them out personally, but all of them had agreed it was highly likely. Kyokan had created a cult of personality within his army and if there was any glory to be had, he would keep it all to himself.

Koga seemed to be growing anxious, pacing as messengers came and went, updating him on the progress of the war outside. The camp had been lost, its defenders scattered into the surrounding woods. None had a good estimate as to how many of their number survived since the walls had been lost soon after. Denji seemed intent on returning to the gate now that word that it had fallen as well had reached them, but Koga had forbidden it. He seemed shocked that his stronghold had finally given way, though he was not losing his mettle. If anything, he seemed to be itching for a fight.

“He should be here any moment now,” Koga said after a long spell of no news. “If I know him he wants my hide and Ronin’s more than any others. We can use this to our advantage. If he comes right for us, we can keep him at bay while the rest of you fall in on him. This is not about honor. We must kill Kyokan at all costs. If he chooses to rush into something, we will let him and make him pay.”

The others nodded along with Koga’s words, but Ronin simply stood there. He had maintained his calm fairly well since his entire clan had fallen to the mad-wolf’s schemes. Despite his desire for vengeance, he had done his part, never letting the feeling overcome him and always working towards larger goals. Now though, Kyokan was coming to them. When he arrived, and he would, Ronin would do his best to lead him away, get him alone. He had every intention of slaying the Hokkaido shogun himself and knew his allies would have a better chance of survival without the mad-wolf among them.

Koga would not like it, but that was hardly Ronin’s concern. Koga was not his liege Lord, not even his superior; if Ronin chose to handle this in his own way, the dog would simply have to accept that. Ronin had more than earned this and he would not let the opportunity slip by.

(Chapter 43)

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