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400 Years Apart	By : Cynthermes Category: +M to R > Mirage of Blaze Views: 4238 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Mirage of Blaze and its characters solely belong to Kuwabara Mizuna. I’m just going to creep into a corner of her sand box and play the part of a wannabe historical writer. No profit has been made in the construction of this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter Sixteen:

War of the Usurpers: Part 4

A/N: The Hojo are caught in a confusing pincer tactic deployed by two unusually cooperating (or are they?) rival/ enemy clans.

I know war scenes are boring but this is part of the plot so please bear with me for a while.

***

A maze of fire made in one night…

Kousaka couldn’t commend the Go-Hojoshi Daimyo more. It turns out that Ujimasa had no intentions of mindlessly setting his precious Odawara on fire. It was done with plenty of consideration and tactical precision that possibly, not a single house was burned. And who could fare better in its execution than the highly-esteemed shinobi of the Fuma Clan? The Danjo wished to avoid such an encounter with the assassins-in-disguise at all costs. Fortunately, the shinobi seem more preoccupied with other matters than impede his advance towards the castle itself.

They were almost there. He could already see the watchtower in the distance. Much to his comrades’ surprise not a single alley was ablaze when they reached the residential clusters of the jokamachi. Sometimes blind courage does pay off for they might never have found the hidden passages in the maze if their commander hadn’t kept pushing them on. Kousaka led them up front risking his own life so the buke followed him. They would have followed him down to the very depths of the seven hells if he wills it.

Unbeknownst to them, there was nothing honorable about the Danjo’s scheme. Kousaka brought them to serve as decoys for the Uesugi. None but he and the other two Danjochu of the Takeda knew about this covert alliance. His experience today proved that the Hojo were too strong for either the Uesugi or the Takeda to subjugate alone. Rivalries aside, the only way to utterly annihilate the ruler of Kanto and with his secret objective realized⁶⁶ was to secure a silent agreement between the two clans.

Kawanakajima was a gigantic scar. Not many samurai loyal to either Shingen or Kagetora are willing to consider cooperating for once. Only the neutrally-inclined key vassals would be able to agree with the proposition. The outcome of either daimyo’s gamble would depend on the impartial few namely, he, the sohei, shinobi, and a handful of generals not yet actively taking part in the grand stratagem. If it fails… at least not every bushi would join in pointing fingers and start rebellions.

To be in such a difficult position, brings him the ultimate thrill.

It makes me feel alive to have a purpose…

My existence is meant to be used this way by you, Nobuharu-sama. I can’t find a much better way to die…

That was why he was willing to risk everything, throw his own life if need be so his lord could succeed.

This has always been Kousaka’s ultimate goal:

I’ll destroy everything in our path and bring you an ideal successor: one who is truly worthy of your name. So please wait until then…

That very thought echoed within, the deeper they ventured into Hojo territory. As the chosen cavalry returned to its original formation, Kousaka signaled his captains via the horagai⁶⁷ to slow their march and be on high alert. They shouldn’t be too complacent. Aside from the Fuma, not a single enemy warrior has been encountered so far. He deduced the Hojo were preparing to sortie.

When the last tail end at the left joined the body of the war commander’s main unit, a scout returned, reporting, “Enemy ranks are waiting for us, just behind the watchtower!”

Past the residential clusters of the jokamachi was an open field wide enough to gather large armies. Thousands of sandal and horseshoe marks freshly marred the ground; an army has just departed from the castle. Their trails disappeared in the indiscernible darkness beyond west where lush foliage of the woodland hid alternate pathways.

The reason a Hojo army would untimely leave Odawara-jo and completely bypass a direct enemy approach would be…

“How many?” The Danjo calmly inquired. Ujimasa-hime-sama wishes to cut off my escape routes. Whatever am I to do?

“An estimated of five thousand strong, Danjo-sama.” The approximate number says it all. There were elements out of his control now. Though he accomplished his primary objective to compromise security on the enemy’s fortress he couldn’t help but feel a little thrown off course. Something doesn’t sit right with him.

To have such a vast space of land and deliberately avoid constructing a single building save a watchtower and another set of wooden gates (excluding the protective ditches or hidden traps on the other side) justified the Hojo daimyo’s confidence. So it wouldn’t make a difference if the jokamachi burned to the ground. Odawara-jo would remain impregnable, detached from its subjects like the cold, untouchable overlord, Ujimasa was. It was almost terrifying how much the castle resembled its master.

Seven years ago, the castle was more receptive towards outsiders and the townspeople could wander freely having minimal restrictions. Fortifications in defense and reinforcements in structure changed all that. Kousaka finally remembered. This empty ground used to be homes of the Hojo kokujin. And during former alliance meetings, Takeda troops camped here as well.

Back then, he heard rumors that Ujimasa was planning to have an elite force of samurai employed in his service. To have a distinct line drawn between the peasant folk and the warrior class was testament to this purely militaristic agenda. Perhaps nothing was left in him after the passing of so many. Without his parents, without his wife, and without a son, where was he supposed to concentrate all his efforts but his fortress, his ambitions, his subjects, and… his brothers?

A man who has nothing he can call his own.

A man who can only keep hardening his shell, building more and more walls to isolate himself.

A man with neither emotional attachments nor spare thoughts for sentimentality.

A hollow man.

Not a man…

…but a beast steadfastly strengthening his territory… was a very dangerous one.

Kousaka Danjo was suddenly gripped by a fierce resolve. Any haphazard goal or half-hearted drive shattered to pieces. He had made up his mind. A mock siege, this was not. He would raise arms to fight for real. So that the lives of his men would not go forfeit, he would right himself this way. They were told to go to war and therefore a battle shall be fought.

“Prepare yourselves; we’re going to meet them head-on!” As if to set an example, the Danjo extends his hand to his underling ashigaru who dutifully handed him his spear.

“But Danjo-sama they already know our position!” The captain on the left argued.

“Let them expect us.” Kousaka smirks. “I’ll lead the frontlines, the fastest riders with me. In the meantime those left behind should make a broad formation three rows wide. Wait my signal for ‘retreat’.”

“Danjo-sama is planning to…” One of his captains had his mouth agape.

“Crush them through a three-spear width as they pursue us from behind.” Kousaka finished with a wicked gleam in his serpentine-slanted eyes. He could already taste their blood… “THE TAKEDA KIBA-TAI IS A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH THROUGHOUT THE REGION! LET’S PROVE IT TO THE HOJO!”

This battle cry couldn’t have raised the Takeda’s morale any more than Shingen leading this siege himself.

The chosen aligned themselves in a single file flanking the Danjo and await the opening of the gates.

At the sound of the Hojo’s war horns Kousaka readied his men for a full-tilt charge. And as the wooden barricades parted, the Takeda were already storming through: a single arc going against the bulk of ten times more.

The Hojo were completely taken by surprise not because of the Takeda’s swiftness in the offensive but because they were clearly much outnumbered in a scale of fifty to one.

A distinguishable armor stood out among the Takeda. Riding in the fastest horse, Kousaka Danjo cleanly slices the head off the nearest foe on the front lines. The Takeda samurai flanking him also draw their first blood, their horses neighing high pitched noises.

The spray of blood, pained cries, and bellows of angry Hojo captains dispel the initial shock. They swiftly move to retaliate only to watch the Takeda pull back, mounts skirting past readied spears and narrowly maneuver their horses for a sharp turn.

Kousaka blows a distinct deep note and two of his captains join him raising the Takeda war flags as they turn tail and flee back to the other side. Lured into a rage to strike back, the Hojo were simply tricked to follow.

As the first, second, and third row of Hojo kiba-tai eventually broke off from their formation to chase the Takeda, the general of the Hojo was yet to take total control of his troops.

Matsuda Hideharu stood vigilant at the top of the watchtower armed with his sword of honor and a war horn. His vantage point was built over the slight incline of the hill. Unlike his subordinates he had the advantage to oversee the majority of the Takeda forces amassed on the other side. Cowards, they have some nerve...!

Anger simmers within him as he witnesses his men ride through peril and uncertainty. His hand curls instinctively around the hilt of his blade. He could perceive what the Takeda were planning so he brings the mouthpiece to his lips and blows a long steady note in halt, preventing the fourth row from disrupting their position.

Cool eyes peer through an expressionless mask when the idling majority of the Takeda eventually make its move. At first they were slow, advancing almost like a march but when wide gaps started to appear in measured distances the Takeda cavalry picked up speed.

Horses' hooves pounded the ground like a thunderclap. When Kousaka Danjo and his chosen warriors galloped past the intended gaps the Takeda kiba-tai of three rows readied their spears. Their alignment shifts and they ride like a massive wave skewering their unsuspecting enemies who were dead before they know it.

Takeda captains shouted their victory while the Danjo blows a loud resonating note to regroup. Kousaka positioned his men at the rear bracing for the inevitable. The frontlines could only fight onwards and thus a fierce battle between armies will begin. The strength of each, disregarding the actual number shall determine the victor.

Hideharu endures the dying, pained cries of his men and seizes his chance. He watches the Takeda make their second charge— this was what he was waiting for. Using the war horn he commands the archers to take their aim and at his signal, they fire.

Poison-tipped arrows went flying towards the Takeda. A nearly invisible rain of death from the sky pierces straw armor and wounds both men and horses. It didn’t take long before the front lines of the Takeda were in complete chaos.

Archers, The Danjo winced. The Hojo held a bit of upper hand. I won’t lose, still. Kousaka smiles at the face of danger and calls his men to order. “Don’t falter! Move forward on to the bastion! Raise your spears!”

The Takeda kiba-tai charges faster, braving the arrows, which hit less the mark due to their speed. They unsheathe their katanas and at their commander’s signal throw their spears high. Like skilled javeliners they struck the archers who stood in the open while many scurried for cover.

The Hojo simply mirrored the move as a form of revenge. Captains directly under General Matsuda Hideharu barked the troops to spear the Takeda’s mounts instead. Startled and injured horses unseat their riders while some others simply drop to the ground, the toxins in their bloodstream finally taking effect.

Human and animal obstacles impede the majority of the Danjo’s cavalry from completely engaging the Hojo in combat. Was this a sure sign that the gods pronounced the Takeda have no hope of victory? Kousaka’s mind raced, quickly thinking of ways to turn this war into their favor. The Hojo didn’t lay in wait, unprepared. They must also have a fine commander able to match with the Danjo’s tactics. Should Kousaka leave the outcome of this battle in the firm belief that his men were better warriors?

The break in the Takeda frontlines essentially boosted the morale of the Hojo. Not a trace of hesitation or fear could be detected in their previously shaken forms. At another sound signal from a war horn unmistakably coming from the watchtower the Hojo kiba-tai started marching in a steady pace. Kousaka hated the man issuing the commands with a passion. Who dares fight battles against him without ever showing his face?

Coward, He growled. “Onwards! How can you fear an army whose commander is not even on sight! Fools!” Kousaka Danjo raged.

His powerful words push the fallen back on their feet. They abandon their incapacitated horses, raise the Takeda war flags and fight with their swords. The Danjo’s captains reestablish control and patch up the front, utilizing the middle ranks as compensation.

A second storm brews between two amassed forces when all of a sudden, black, dull stars fell from the sky… was that a sound of a launching catapult? Kousaka blinks, wide-eyed when loud explosions swallowed all else. Then smoke blanketed the field like thick fog. The Takeda lost sight of their armies. Samurai, horses, flags, spears, and the dead bodies disappeared in the haze.

Smoke bombs! The Danjo didn’t expect to deal with shinobi again so soon. Could the Hojo have so many tricks hidden up their sleeve? For a brief moment, panic seized him. The Takeda were in no condition to fight an army backed up with a unit of shinobi at any given time. He could hear his troops yelling at each other in confusion. Kousaka regretted his most recent decision at once. Nobuharu-Oyakata-sama…

Fight like a blind man. Use a warrior’s good ear and guide them… The shiny facets of the horagai⁶⁷caught the Danjo’s eye. A sudden realization struck him. The commander atop the tower with a war horn at one hand… was no coward. Kousaka now understood the reason why the general chose not to fight alongside his men. He chose to be the eyes of his men below. The Takeda had lost this battle before it began.

The war trumpet slipped from his grasp but landed on swift hands. “Danjo-sama, this clumsiness is unsightly of you. Takeda-kou might think you love him less for throwing his gift away.”

Kousaka started at the unannounced presence of a man beside him. In reflex, his katana shot out; its tip grazed the straw hat* obscuring the man’s face. And as if to infuriate him, the man chose to remove his sugegasa* intentionally sweeping the blade away.

“You!” Kousaka Danjo sees eye to eye with the person responsible for this interference. The man was a shinobi and in the absence of a tenugui had the nerve to bare his face. He was most definitely not one of the Fuma.

To appease the Danjo’s ire, the shinobi lowered his head breaking eye contact and spoke, “Hurry and retreat Danjo-sama. We will give you enough time.”

The sound of catapults launching and bombs exploding in the background continues. Kousaka glares at the man who dare give him instructions. “Who sent you here, Danzo?”

“I now think Kousaka Danjo-sama is not in immediate danger like Tono-sama believed him to be if he has time for idle chatter.” Kousaka pales at this reply. It couldn’t be… The lord, coming to involve himself… He feels both flattered and horrified. The very thought of his lord deeming him incompetent plagued him, however. Has he no faith in me?

“Her ladyship would see red in jealousy if she learns that her husband has gone out into battle for the sake of his favorite wife.” Kato Danzo⁶⁸ seems to have the uncanny talent to pick the most infuriating of words. Denying the shinobi satisfaction from such taunts, Kousaka wears an aloof mask of indifference.

“The next time you speak to me that way, I might forget you belong to the Takeda.” The Danjo retrieves the horagai from the shinobi’s open hands with a flick of his blade leaving a small cut for the insolence.

“I shall remember not to incur your wrath for Takeda-kou’s I earn as well.”

Kousaka dismisses his presence with a small gesture and brings the mouthpiece to his lips calling his troops to fall back and retreat. He will neither have pride nor honor left if he allows Shingen to fight his battles. Why did you leave the camp? You and I both know that your health is not suited to the battlefield anymore.

Taking advantage of the distraction set by Kato Danzo’s followers, the Takeda flee following the wood trails left by the previous Hojo army. Although astonished by the Danjo’s decision at first, not a single man from the kiba-tai resisted. They all run away with him, abandoning the battle against Matsuda Hideharu’s troops.

The Nige-Danjo rides his horse like he was chasing the very winds of the earth. Any semblance of calm couldn’t be found on his tense bowstring-taut frame. Loud heartbeat was thundering in his ears. He felt haunted by the ghost of Kawanakajima yet this time, his lord had gone for the trouble and that couldn’t be so much worse. Be safe, Nobuharu-Oyakata-sama…

If Kousaka could have the wings of the tengu in exchange of his arms he would have flown to reach his master’s side right now. Even his heart and mind couldn’t convey his desire to abandon everything else for Shingen. Why did you do this? I should be the one coming to your aid, instead!

When the explosions ceased, the smoke cleared to reveal the absence of the enemy: The Takeda had fled.

The Hojo hailed Benzaiten their victory in defending the outer vicinity of Odawara-jo. However Matsuda Hideharu couldn’t shake a feeling of disquiet. Was it the malicious whispering of the cold night wind or the baleful howling of the wolves in the deep forests? He was not one to believe in fictitious and baseless things. And yet he couldn't banish the little trepidations assaulting every pore of his skin.

XxXMOBXxX

Forgive me Saburo...

It seems I cannot fulfill my promise to you...

Stabbing and excruciating pain kept him awake enough to convey these last thoughts before his consciousness plummeted down the abyss.

~TBC



66 – This is regarding a certain *cough* tiger cub *cough*

67 – Conch shell trumpet; (See chapter 13)

68 – Historical shinobi who Uesugi Kenshin employed in his service when the daimyo was only 24. Kato Danzo switched allegiances to Takeda Shingen after ‘being more dangerous than useful’ to his former master. Yet Shingen thought of him as Kenshin’s spy and had him executed. But In this story he will be very much alive.

Post A/N: Watch out Kotarou! Here comes your rival!

Comments, reviews, and constructive criticisms are much appreciated. :-)
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400 Years Apart