Held in a hand you trust, it is your ally.
Held in a hand you do not trust, it is you enemy.
Learn the way of fire and you learn the way of the world.
- The Tao of Shinsei
The soft breeze gently pulled at the hair that fell down his back and filled his nose with the smells of spring. He looked down from the hillside into the valley and shooke his head. it was going to be a massacre.
An army of yellow and gold stood to the north while blue and silver samurai stood to the south. Two riders stood before each army, the omns of the Crane and Lion flying on their banners. As he watched, the Lion general rode before his army to the center of the battlefield. He raised his spear and shouted at the hundreds of Cranes. Ginawa bent forwards to hear the Lion's words.
"I was at the battle of Denoben Falls! It was my arrows that slew Iuchi Kizawan! When Otomo Chizen's head fell from its shoulders, it was I who was wiping his blood from my blade! I am Matsu Turi! The blood of a hundred generations of Lions flows in my beins! This day, your blood will feed the grass beneath your feet!"
Ginawa smiled. "Matsus and their bragging," he whispered.
Hijiko looked at him. "What do you know of Matsus, Ginawa-san?"
"Enough." Then he looked at the samurai-ko. "Perhaps too much."
The Crane general rode forward, meeting Gohei at the center. Ginawa chuckled. "now it is time to watch the strategy of the Crane."
"What strategy would that be?"
"You will see." He pointed at the two samurai. "The Crane is telling the Lion that fighting here will only bring bloodhsed, not glory. His army is greater and the Crane are willing to make concessions to see that no men waste their lives here today."
On the battlefield, the Lion samurai raised his spear and thrust it in the direction of the Crane.
Ginawa continued. "now the Matsu is telling the Crane that there is always glory in warfare, and that the Crane is a coward for suggesting otherwise."
The Crane samurai threw his spear to the ground and pointed at the Lion and then at his katana.
"Now the Crane is telling the Matsu that if he thinks he is a coward, he is willing to prove it with his steel."
The Lion shook his fist at the Crane and dismounted, slapping his horse, sending it back to the Lion army. The Crane followed suit.
"They are going to fight here?" Hijiko asked.
"Hai. Honor has been questioned."
She watched the two samurai standing five paces apart and remembered her duel with Ginawa only a day before.
"Look at them carefully, Hijiko-san. Can you see it now?"
She looked at the Lion, his body trembling with fury, his hands shaking with anticipation. Then, she looked at the Crane, his body posed and steady. The Lion shifted his stance twice while the Crane stood still.
"He doesn't stand a chance," she whispered. "The Lion will die at the Crane's hands and his army will be routed."
Ginawa looked at her and nodded. "That's Crane strategy. Coax the Lion into a frenzy, question his courage and get him to challenge you to a duel. The army is considerably weakened by the loss of their general. The Cranes offer them a chance to surrender. The Lions refuse and fight without their commander."
"A giant without a head," Hijiko said.
"Exactly. Now watch."
As before, the duel was over in a heartbeat. The Lion charged the Crane. The Crane waited until the last moment, struck as he leapt back and the bleeding body of the Lion fell at his feet.
Shouts erupted from the Lion army as thr Cranes charged, arrows flying over their heads. The Lions scrambled to raise wide, flat shields to protect themselves from the arrows as the Cranes reached the halfway point where their general stood, wiping Lion blood from his blade. Suddenly, an arrows shot across the field and plunged into the soft flesh of the Crane general's neck. He staggered for a moment, then his sword dropped and he fell onto the body of the Lion general.
"Where did that come from?" Hijiko asked, her eyes darting around.
"From somewhere close. Too close." He stood and before he knew it, his sword was free from its saya, the blade flashing in the morning light.
Hijiko looked to the woods just west of their position. "Where are the Scorpion magistrates?"
Ginawa nodded. "I think you are right, Hijiko-san."
He ran by her, straight into the forest. She tried to catch him, calling out his name as he ran, but he was already too far away. She looked down at the battle far below them as the armies crashed together. It was going to be a massacre.
The thick branches of the tree cut at his face, but he kept his eyes ahead of him.
You are charging into the nest of your enemy, said the voice of his sensei, but the blood pounding in his head made the voice a distorted whisper.
Finally, he broke through the trees into a small clearing where the magistrates stood, looking over the battle from their hidden position. The shugenja and samurai turned to look at him, but the others kept the attention on the battle.
Umako eyes him suspiciously. "Why are you here and where is Hijiko?" she asked.
"You kiled him," was his only response.
The samurai stood slightly before Umako and drew his katana. The shugenja shook her head. "I'm certain I have no idea what you are talking about."
"The Crane general. You killed him."
Umako shook her head. "I'm afraid you are gravely mistaken. We had nothing to do with that arrow."
"A lie is stil la lie, no matter how pretty it sounds."
The samurai stepped forward. "You call my mistress a liar, ronin?"
"Scorpion by name, scorpion by nature," Ginawa said through clenched teeth, his hands twisting on the handle of his katana.
"I hope your soul is ready for death, dirty one."
"It's ready."
Ginawa set himself into his stance, letting all the thoughts in his mind fall away. His eyes focused on the samurai's chest, hips, and shoulders. He felt the tensions in his muscles sink into nothing and his feet stood ready to propel him at any moment.
He was as the leaf that falls to the earth, as the child who paints or sings, as the mother bringing life into the world. He never saw the samurai move. He never felt his own body respond. All was one motion, one fluid moment that seemed to last forever.
The samurai's blade swept up and his own blade met and they kissed... sparks flew between them, his own blade riding on the steel of his opponent... his blade moving along the steel, singing as it did a strange song of hunger and pain... the fear of his opponent told in the jerking movements he made... his sword swinging down, bitingcuttingtasting the skin of his opponent... and the blood... the blood... the blood...
He didn't know if it was him or the blade, but someone was laughing.