Yamada Monogatari: The War God's Son

by Richard Parks

  “Revenge is an occasion to gloat, Lord Tenshin,” I said. “Justice, on the other hand, is a more serious matter.”

  The man laughed then. It came out more of a cackle. “Justice? What do you know about it? The leeches at Court draw their power and wealth from the provincial nobles, who gain nothing but disdain in return. The Court is decadent and weak. I should know—I was part of it for long enough. The Abe Clan and those like them are the future. I have seen it.”

  “The Abe who locked you away in this place to rot?” I asked.

  “Lord Sadato is . . . confused, but great rewards call for great sacrifices, and he will realize this in time. If my plan had worked, the war would have been over! Yoriyoshi is too old to advance his cause now, and without his son he would have been forced to surrender his claim. And then who would dispute the Abe rule? The Heike? Feh. They have no interest in this part of the country, and no one else is strong enough. The Emperor would have been forced to accept the Abe Clan’s rule by default. How long do you think it would have taken for the other great lords to see the future as Lord Sadato does?”

  “Lord Sadato understood perhaps the cost of the war had become too high. At least so far as you are concerned,” I said.

  He giggled, and it was easy to see the madness in him. “You call that gloating? It is nothing. Here, since I am the one who has his revenge, I will gloat! Your sister is dead, even as she stands there next to us. For the difficulty you have given me, for your clumsy interference, I gladly admit to what I have done. I have killed your sister, and so you must kill me now, but you know this will surely destroy what is left of her as well. You will have your ‘justice,’ Lord Yamada, but it is I who will have revenge!”

  It took every ounce of control left to me not to strike down Lord Tenshin where he kneeled. It would have been easily done. My sword had remained sheathed throughout the battle, and was sharper than a shaving razor. The time had almost come to use it, but not just yet. I heard my sister’s chains rattle. There was a little slack in the reach of it and she used that to approach Lord Tenshin, and then kneel in front of him, no more than three feet away. She looked into the man’s face, and Lord Tenshin fell silent while she studied him.

  “You’re the one,” Rie said. “I have seen through your eyes.”

  He looked away. “Stupid woman. You are nothing. You failed me.”

  “You failed yourself,” she said then. “You compelled me, but I never served you. The soul that is Rie had no part of it. My death, my sister nuns’ deaths, even your own death . . . all for nothing. You’re a far greater fool than my own sweet brother, and that is saying a great deal.”

  Rie looked up at me then. “I could wish you spare this man’s life, even now, but whether that is within you or not, I must ask you to destroy me first. I do not wish my final destruction linked to him in any way, do you understand? If you must kill him, then do so, but let my death be my own. Kill me first, brother.”

  “He cannot kill you, as I have already done that. Destroy you? Pointless!” Lord Tenshin said. “I am the one who matters, here, and he must kill me. That is the way it must be done. Or how else may justice be served?”

  I drew my tachi then. “It seems that I have two mutually exclusive requests, and obviously I cannot honor them both.” I turned to Kenji then. “In my place, old friend, what would you do?”

  For a moment Kenji just stared at me, then he looked away. I nodded. “Do not worry—I did not expect an answer, for I am the only one who can or should answer this question. But before I do, Lord Tenshin, I have a question for you—what did you do with my sister’s body? Her real body, that is?”

  He grinned his mad grin. “Couldn’t find her, eh? Fool, you should have counted your nuns.”

  “You had Rie bring her own dead body into the nunnery after the slaughter. She was tending the fallen, so it would have been simple to wrap it for cremation like one more murdered nun, and no one the wiser.”

  Rie shuddered. “Yes. I remember now.”

  Lord Tenshin hugged himself, barely able to contain his glee. “Clever, yes?”

  “Very clever. I admit I never suspected that.” I looked at them then, my sister and the man who murdered her, both kneeling before me. “Lord Tenshin, prepare yourself.”

  “Brother—” Rie began, but the change happened before she was even able to speak. I saw the gleam of triumph in her eyes, and the sad calm in Lord Tenshin’s, and with one sure stroke, without even pausing to think about what I was doing, I cut off my sister’s head.

  They both fell as one, but no sooner had Rie’s head touched the stone floor than her outline wavered and became just one more battered piece of paper, only this one was spattered with the dark stains that indicated blood. Even so, there was not so much as a mark of any kind upon my sword.

  I sheathed my tachi and went to Lord Tenshin’s side. He groaned and I helped him to sit up. For a moment he just stared at me, then stared at his hands as if he had never seen them before, and then, with a surprisingly gentle touch, ran his hands over his face.

  “What have you done?” he asked, and his voice was strange.

  “Justice,” I said. “The rest is karma, and none of my doing.”

  Kenji looked from one of us to the other. “Lord Yamada, what in the blazing of the Firejar Hell is going on?!”

  “I’m not yet sure,” I said. “But I think perhaps something I did not expect. Lord Tenshin?”

  “Lord Tenshin . . . ” He frowned as if he’d never heard the name before. Then he looked at me. “ ‘Even as I am, whatever karma has brought us to this, you remain my brother.’ ”

  “So I suspected. You are in great need of a bath,” I said.

  “And food,” he said, and he sounded surprised. “I am hungry.”

  Kenji finally understood, and his voice was barely above a whisper. “Buddha have mercy.”

  “Yes,” I said. “Sometimes.”

  It was then that Akimasa’s subordinate returned, looking rather officious. “Are you prepared to identify the onmyoji now?” he asked.

  “I’m afraid they’re not here,” I said. “This is just a pack of common thieves and whatnot, but their crimes were against the Abe, not us, and not worth the time to sort out. You may as well let them go.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Minamoto no Yoshiie: “The weaving of your sleeve has come undone.”

  Abe no Sadato: “It pains me, yet it cannot be mended.”

  That is one variation of the exchange. The encounter was less than two weeks old, and already I had heard at least five different versions. I wondered what news of the event would be like by the time it reached the capital, but the basic details of the matter were not, to the best of my understanding, in dispute—Lord Yoshiie’s forces had routed Lord Sadato’s in one of their few open battles, and Lord Yoshiie had personally given pursuit when he spotted Lord Sadato fleeing the field. Lord Sadato was close to escaping, but Lord Yoshiie called out he had something to say to him. I have no idea why Lord Sadato would fall for such an obvious ploy, but it did lead to the exchange of verses, as laden with symbolism as any at Court. The “weaving of your sleeve” reference was to Lord Sadato’s fortresses, which were either in dire straits or already fallen to the Minamoto and their allies. Lord Sadato’s poetic response, in that context, is plain enough. From that point, the story made less sense. Supposedly Lord Yoshiie had prepared to fire an arrow at Lord Sadato, but changed his mind and let the man escape to fight again.

  I resolved to ask Lord Yoshiie what really happened, if I ever had the chance, but such things did not have my highest priority. What was already clear enough was the encounter was well on its way to becoming the sort of thing legends were built upon. Considering he was already informally known as “Hachimantaro,” or the Son of the God of War, I didn’t think the legend had far to go.

  All this had happened even before our own forces rejoined the main army, minus a substantial number to re-garrison the fortress with bushi
loyal to the Minamoto cause. Unless any force Lord Sadato could muster was able to enlist the aid of a reluctant kappa, I did not think the stronghold was in much danger of changing hands again.

  That only left Kuriya Castle, which was already under siege. Lord Yoshiie had cleverly diverted the Kuriya River itself to flood the area immediately around the castle, making either escape or relief much more difficult. I pondered looking for more kappa at that point, but I couldn’t quite bring myself to put young Taro through the ordeal again. I had already tested my own luck and that of those around me far more than even I considered wise. My armor was now packed away in the supply wagons, and so far as I was concerned, it could stay there. My last act before departing the northern castle was to set fire to the cart that had been my sister’s prison and watch it burn. We made new travel arrangements, as was necessary.

  There was little for Kenji and me to do, except to wait on Lord Yoshiie’s pleasure. After another week Lord Yoshiie summoned me. I found him seated on a campstool on a hill near the river that had a commanding view of the siege. I kneeled, but he motioned me to sit on the empty stool beside him. At his nod, his guards and other counselors withdrew out of earshot.

  “I have Akimasa’s report,” he said without preamble. “He apparently credits you for keeping our losses much lower than expected on the northern fortress, the details of why this is so remain a bit hazy, however. Could you enlighten me?”

  “I . . . persuaded, for want of a better word, someone in a position to sabotage the gate to do so in our behalf. That was all. Most of the credit must go to Akimasa and the bushi under his command. He is a very capable person.”

  “You were one of the first through the gate, according to Akimasa.”

  “I had business within the fortress, my lord. Some of which you knew about.”

  “And Lord Tenshin?”

  “Lord Tenshin is dead. I killed him.”

  “And the person you have been seen with who strongly resembles the dead man?”

  “Is someone else, someone to whom I owe obligation. You have my word on this, my lord. The man responsible for the slaughter at Yahiko-ji is dead.”

  Lord Yoshiie grunted. “Well, then . . . we will consider the matter closed.”

  I bowed. “Thank you, my lord. And I was in earnest when I said most of the credit must go to Akimasa-san. It is a pity he is not of higher rank. He would make an excellent general.”

  “That he would, I believe.”

  “As for the issue of his rank . . . someone, perhaps, in a position of power could do something about this.”

  “True,” Lord Yoshiie said. “Perhaps someone will, at the proper time.” He didn’t say anything else for a while. I simply waited.

  He finally grunted. “Lord Sadato cannot hold out much longer. The castle will fall soon, and whether he surrenders or not, I must take Lord Sadato’s head back to the capital. There are no more shikigami, nor will there be. Is this not correct?”

  “It is, my lord.”

  “My father told me he saw a sign of our impending victory in the clouds while he was traveling to Dewa and arranged for a small shrine to the God of War to be built near Kamakura. I think I will visit it, on my way back to the capital. Perhaps I will take the time to enlarge it, if I may. My father is a great man, but he is always . . . circumspect, where his gratitude is concerned. My own is less constrained.”

  “I am sure Hachiman-sama would look on such an act with approval,” I said, mostly because I wasn’t sure what else to say, but Yoshiie just ordered one of his attendants forward, who kneeled in front of me.

  “You may consider your obligation to my welfare as requested by Prince Kanemore to be faithfully discharged, Lord Yamada, but I would ask a favor of you.”

  The attendant produced two scrolls from a silk bag and presented them to me. Both were sealed with the Minamoto crest. Yoshiie went on, “I will supply a suitable escort for you and your associates to return to the capital. I would ask only that you personally deliver these two scrolls to Prince Kanemore, with my compliments.”

  I—we, were going home. I considered it far past time. “I will be honored to do so,” I said, “but if may I be so presumptuous as to ask a favor of you in return?”

  He frowned. “What is it?”

  “Please release Lord Yasuna into my custody, so he may return to the capital as well. His presence or absence can make no difference to your enterprise now.”

  “Except he has become a rather morose fellow these days,” Lord Yoshiie said. “Considering the matter, I do think it best for all concerned that he is returned home. You will actually be doing me another favor to take charge of him.”

  “And I will be honored to do so.”

  Once I was dismissed, I went to find Kenji. “Lord Yoshiie has discharged us, as our mission is complete,” I said. “We are going home. Lord Yasuna as well.”

  He yawned. “Finally. It has been a splendid adventure indeed—if you can call chancing death most days of the week splendid—but I am weary of the provinces, and I am sick to death of cleaning up the human wrecks these bushi leave behind. Worse, I was beginning to think you were going to turn into one of them.”

  I sighed. “Do not worry. While I am as uncertain of my place in the world as any man may be, I know the profession of warrior is not my path.”

  “You should consider holy orders,” said Lord Tenshin, for I was, for the moment, still thinking of him in those terms. “Sister” was no longer appropriate, but “brother” was still too far away for me to grasp, as a concept and a reality both. Still, as confused as I was, I could only imagine it was worse for the one who had once been my sister, and yet she—he—had apparently accepted the change as the working of karma and was dealing with the matter probably far better than I was. I could see he had shaved his head and wore the garb of simple monk now. The clothes did not fit him well, but for now they would have to do.

  Kenji snickered. “Please, if there was ever a man least suited for the monastic life—”

  “—you mean aside from yourself?” I asked.

  “Cruel, yet accurate,” Kenji said. “My point, however, stands.”

  “Aside from myself,” Lord Tenshin said. “But that is the road fate and karma have left to me, so it is the one I will take. I fear we will soon be parting again, brother.”

  “How are you . . . I mean, really? I was telling the truth; I did not plan what happened. How could I?” I asked.

  “Honestly, I do not know how you men manage it,” he said as if he hadn’t heard a word I’d said. “Such obvious vulnerabilities and spiritual disadvantages . . . seriously, I had no idea. Yet if you can cope with what you are, then so can I. It may, however, take some time to adjust. I cannot be Rie, but I am certainly not Lord Tenshin. I will need time and solitude to figure out who and what I am.”

  “Where will you go?” Kenji asked.

  “I considered Yahiko-ji,” he said. “But it occurred to me to do so would mean I was punishing myself, which is not the path to enlightenment. Perhaps Mount Oe. Master Kenji, you yourself spoke of being trained there. It sounds wonderful.”

  “Wonderful? It was hell on earth,” Kenji muttered.

  “All the better,” said Lord Tenshin, looking serene. “I do think it best that I not remain in the north or in the capital where he—I mean I—might be recognized. I think my path must be west.”

  “I think that would be wise. Yet our path home is through Yahiko-ji and on to the capital,” I said. “For now, let us go and give Lord Yasuna the good news.”

  Our party increased by one before we returned to Kyoto. I think I had half-expected Mai to choose to remain at Yahiko-ji after all, but no sooner had we arrived than she presented herself to me, her spare clothes and everything else which belonged to her gathered into one bundle and ready for travel.

  “Mai-chan is a fine young woman,” the old nun Tomoko said to me. “But she is not ready for holy orders, and so I must trust her to your care, Lord Yama
da. The Lady Rie I remember would approve, I think.”

  I was less certain of this, myself, but it did occur to me all I had to do to answer the question was to ask. I decided to let it lie. Once we left Yahiko-ji behind, our escort also increased by one. Several times I saw a flash of white in the hills and forests along the road. No more than that and no opportunity for a meeting. I considered the possibility Lady Kuzunoha had not yet forgiven me for our confrontation over Lord Yasuna and perhaps never would. Even so, I still believed it was a very good idea to be traveling in Lord Yasuna’s company. Our bushi might have been overwhelmed by a large enough force of bandits, but I pitied any such group thinking of attacking us so long as the fox demon was our shadow.

  By the time we returned to Kyoto, I was still of uncertain mind where Mai was concerned. I felt it obviously inappropriate for her to stay in my rooms, yet I was afraid if she were lodged anywhere else at the Widow Tamahara’s establishment, the poor girl might assume I had sold her to a brothel. Fortunately, Kenji was able to arrange for her lodging at a nearby temple. Not that this prevented her from coming to my rooms on a daily basis to fetch and carry and clean and in all things behave as my servant. I wanted to tell her this was not necessary, but it also occurred to me, if she was not my servant, then what was she? Everyone needed a place in the world, so what would hers be? I did not know, and yet I had made a promise to her, and I was determined to keep it, yet I was far from certain as to how this would be accomplished.

  Kenji was aware of my dilemma and, if anything, less sanguine on the subject than I. “I have said this before, Lord Yamada, and your situation has hardly changed since—you can barely take care of yourself. How will you look after Mai as well?”

  “I can’t turn her out on the streets, Kenji-san.”

  He looked affronted. “Did I suggest such a thing? No. The simplest solution would be to marry her, not that I believe this would be a great improvement to her situation.”

  “Don’t be absurd. How fares my . . . your brother monk?”