5. Bubaigawara

The masked man stood frozen in place on the veranda. His large eyes, painted in gold and shining brilliantly in the light, were turned towards the two, but he did not make a single move.

'Pfft. What's he trying to do, scare us?'

Toshizou drank some more of his soup. He didn't even bother to look straight at the man. To say he was acting brave would be true, but for some strange reason, whenever Toshizou got like this, it seemed more like he was pouting. With an expression no different than a child sulking, he bitterly continued sipping his soup.

"Hijikata-san," Okita Souji couldn't take it any longer. "We have a guest."

"So ask him what he wants then. He'll probably answer in some weird dialect that sounds like a mixture between Joushuu and Edo." Toshizou had already inferred that the man standing before them was Shichiri Kennosuke.

Recently, after hearing the stories about how Lords of Commotion had been cropping up in the villages of the Tama area along the Koushuu Highway, he had realized they were looking for him. These students of Shichiri Kennosuke from the Kougen Ittou style doujou in Hachiouji were, of course, upon capturing Toshizou, planning to exact revenge on the death of Rokusha Souhaku.

'He's got some balls, though.' Toshizou had to admire the man's efforts.

The Satou estate (which still exists in Hino City in Tokyo -- although the present owner is the director of a post office, and the old structure was torn down and made into a refined rebar office building) was the manor of a rural samurai with a firmly-built gate along the rowhouse in front of it, so there was no wall around it. There were many stewards, tenants, and manservants living on the grounds, so it was still a rather hard place to sneak into unnoticed.

"What do you want?" Okita asked the Lord of Commotion.

The full moon was floating just above the masked man's right shoulder, and the pine trees planted around the courtyard glowed softly in the light.

"I'd like to ask you to come with me." It was the first time the Sarudahiko mask had spoke. Of course, the voice was that of Shichiri Kennosuke.

"Come with you?"

"Just follow me."

"To where?"

Okita had a good upbringing, so he didn't act rudely. He had a beautiful face that made his speech seem a bit noble and seductive, though.

"You're Okita Souji of the Tennen Rishin style, aren't you?"

"That is me," Okita smiled. This young man had a tendency of showing his courage in strange places.

"How fortunate to meet two Assistant Instructors of the Tennen Rishin style in the same place. You see, we bear a grudge against your style. How wonderful."

"Who are you?"

"The man sitting over there moving his chopsticks, Hijikata Toshizou-kun, should know." He had used the word 'kun.'

At the time, this sort of trend had become a bit popular among masterless samurai for use between superiors and inferiors. Shichiri, however, was a stubborn man from Joushuu, who didn't adapt easily to new ways, so it didn't seem to fit him at all.

"Pharmacist." This time he called Toshizou in a different manner. "The proof that you killed Rokusha is increasing. "If I go complain to a magistrate, that'll be the end of it. We of the Hiruma doujou, however, believe in mercy, so I won't. Rest at ease."

"..."

Incidentally, the Bushuu area (what is now Tokyo City, Saitama Prefecture, and Kanagawa Prefecture) including Edo, spread across roughly 15,600,00km, and was worth 1,280,000 koku. It was mostly area own directly by the government. The magistrates in Edo were controlled by government officials concentrated at the magistrate office in Nirayama, Izu, (owned by the Edogawa family) and had political clout incomparable to that of any daimyo. They received far more claims than the average magistrate and never got to them all, so their control over public order was rather lax.

Farmers would often say "We aren't the dirt-poor farmers of some daimyo, we're directly supervised by the Shougun himself."

They had a very high image of themselves, and their love for the Tokugawa house was cultivated over 300 years. These sort of feelings were ingrained in Kondou and Hijikata's blood as well.

Since it was a controlled magistrate, it meant that it was quite hard for their influence to stretch very far. As a result, gamblers exercised extensive control in brothels and inns, and village swordsmen would prowl in groups boasting of their strength. This kind of phenomenon, out of the 60+ areas in Japan at the time, was happening only in Bushuu and Joushuu.

The reason Shichiri Kennosuke wasn't going to complain to a magistrate was because he wanted to settle this matter sword to sword -- the way only a Bushuu swordsman would. Toshizou was fully aware of this.

"Souji, see him off to the gate." Toshizou picked up his rice bowl. "Make sure you ask him about the location and the appointed time."

Tonight he was eating one bowl more than usual.

After he finished, Souji returned. "The location is on Bubaigawara Bridge. The time is when the moon is at its zenith, at 9 PM. Only the two of us are supposed to come."

"Alright." Toshizou had been lying down trying to sleep, but stood up immediately, examining his sword. There were countless scrapes on the blade from when he had slain Rokusha, and it didn't look like it would be able to serve him very well.

"Souji, do you think I'll be able to cut with this?"

"I dunno. After all, I've never killed someone before like you, Hijikata-san..." Souji's lips curled up in a playful smile. Even though he had acted like he didn't know the whole story, he had apparently heard everything about the Rokusha incident from Kondou.

"This is pretty beat-up, though," Souji admitted, checking the sword. "I wonder if it can really do the trick?"

Toshizou quickly ran out to the shed and found five different types of whetstones to use as he started to polish his sword by the well. He was good with his hands, and if he was careful and took his time, could produce a result equal to that of a novice polisher.

As the moon finished drifting fully from its hiding behind the clouds, Toshizou started to hear the pitter-patter of footsteps on the grass behind him. Just when he thought he heard the footsteps stop, he realized that someone was coming up behind him and starting to reach their hand out to touch his back. Figuring it was just Okita, he simply ignored it and kept polishing his sword.

"Why are you polishing your sword at a time like this?" It was the voice of the estate's owner, Satou Hikogorou.

As mentioned before, he was Toshizou's brother-in-law, the husband of his elder sister Onobu and Toshizou's elder by six years.

The Satou house had been an esteemed family since the Sengoku Era, and had always enjoyed the martial arts. Hikogorou's late father had a passionate love for swordsmanship, and had done things like giving Kondou's adopted father Shuusuke financial backing, tearing down a part of the estate and rebuilding it into a doujou, and basically helped Kondou Isami, who was once a farm boy named Shouta become the adopted child of Shuusuke and turn into the young swordsman he was now. It wouldn't even be too much to say that without the assistance of the Satou family, the Tennen Rishin style would not have achieved the esteem it had in Tama, nor would Kondou Isami have risen to become such a legendary man.

Although the village headman Hikogorou was still young, he loved swordsmanship even more than his father, and had already become an honored student of Isami's adopted father.

He acted like a man who was born to be a rich elite, with a gentle aura about him. In his later years, he would be the one to find the creation of the Shinsengumi.

"..." Toshizou silently continued to polish the blade.

"Don't get into a fight," Hikogorou warned, as if he was reading Toshizou's feelings.

"I won't. Lately the wild dogs running around here have been getting out of control, so I figured I'd go get rid of them."

"Oh, wild dogs, huh? If you try to cut them from their hairy sides, it won't go so well. You've gotta do it like this," he explained, doing hand motions. "Like that. You know?"

Whether it was his upbringing or simply his nature, Hikogorou was always all smiles, and never doubted what people told him. This is why Toshizou and Kondou, who weren't very good around people, rather respected this lucky rich man. Kondou especially drank sake often with his brother-in-law.

"Elder brother, I have a request for you."

"Okay, what?"

"There's a small bridge called Bubai Bridge in Bubaigawara, right? I heard that's where most of the wild dogs congregate, so I'm gonna stack up the ones I kill around there. I want you to send one of your servants out there in the morning to clean things up, alright?"

"Sure thing."

Toshizou returned to his room. What he truly had wanted Hikogorou to take care of, of course, were the corpses of Okita and himself.

It was 8km to Bubaigawara.

Since they were traveling at night, it would take a bit of time. Toshizou and Okita had left the Satou estate in Hino as soon as possible. It was fortunately a clear, moonlit night, so they were able to see the road pretty well.

"I imagine there'll be two men," Toshizou spoke up, blowing out the lantern he had brought just in case.

"How surprising...." Okita was cheerful as usual.

"What do you mean?"

"That sounds awfully good-natured of you. Of course there's going to be a ton of men. It's a given. You really think those dirty bastards from Hachiouji would seriously stick to their promise of bringing only two?"

"Yeah, I guess you have a point."

It did make sense, that the same people who would resort to dressing up as Lords of Commotion in order to sneak into the Tennen Rishin turf would also resort to similar petty tactics this time. They were probably also thinking of putting Kougen Ittou style doujous in the villages of Tama after getting their revenge and killing Hijikata and Okita.

"But..." Toshizou smirked. "What do you like more, Souji? Small numbers or big numbers?"

"Oh, big numbers. And only at night, of course."

When a large group of men came to attack a smaller group of men at night, more often than not, it would be hard for them to determine friend from foe, which would result in general confusion and swinging swords around wildly. Okita seemed to be wise to these sorts of things.

"You really do know a lot."

"It's just what I heard at lectures in the hall. Since the world's been so peaceful lately, there have been a lot of samurai present there. Even performers have started reading books like Taiheiki and Sangokushi. How about showing your face once in a while, Hijikata-san? Who knows, you might turn into a genius strategist!"

"Pfft."

Toshizou considered strategy to be related to whether one was a natural at it or not. Secretly, he had confidence in himself. He'd rather die than go on in life without utilizing what he believed to be his own natural talents.

"Hey, let's turn right." Toshizou said once they reached the agricultural co-op at Nishifu, and they began moving down a footpath between the rice fields.

The scheduled time was drawing nearer, and there was a chance that if they kept walking out in the open, they'd be ambushed by the enemy. If they fell prey to a surprise attack, or were seen by a scout, their every move would be tracked.

"Keep yourself hidden."

The grass was wet with night dew, as they trudged further and further through it, toward the south. After walking about 1600 more meters, they found themselves at a graveyard in the middle of a field. It was part of the Shoukouin temple, which still exists today.

Toshizou knew the groundskeeper here, an old man named Gon. Despite being an elderly man, he loved petty gambling. Once when Toshizou came to the village to teach, he ended up saving Gon from being beat up by a bunch of thugs after losing too much money at a nearby parlor.

He woke up Gon and brought him out to the graveyard. "Go all the way to Bubai Bridge and then come back. Take one of the temple lanterns with you so you don't look suspicious," Toshizou commanded, implying that he wanted the man to take a good look around.

Bubai Bridge was still a good 500 meters to the east. Between the graveyard and the bridge, there was an entire field, its small canals glittering with moonlight.

The grass around the graveyard was deep and weedy. Toshizou hid Okita and himself in the small nook between the pagoda and a nearby monument.

"Souji, light the lantern."

The ground was soon illuminated. Toshizou pulled out some old chopsticks and began skillfully drawing a map in the dirt.

"This is where Bubai Bridge is. Understand?"

The roads drawn on the map were unbelievably complicated. Bubaigawara was connected to the Tama River, which continued far to the south. About 250 years ago, fields began cropping up along the source of water, and soon villages were developed.

The area had been turned into a battlefield many times since long ago, and Okita knew that even now, old pieces of armor, metal, blades, and human bone could be found in the soil.

He didn't just know about it, he had read entire paragraphs about the battles that had taken place here in Taiheiki. During the Nanbokuchou Era, in the fifth month of Genkou 3/1333, Nanchou troops led by Nitta Yoshisada invaded from the Kume River and fought with the Kamakura forces in Bubaigawara. They were unable to break through, however, and retreated as far as Horikane in order to regroup. Soon, Miura Yoshikatsu arrived with 6000 horsemen from Sagami, coming to the rescue of the Nitta troops. And so, with an army of over 100,000 horsemen split into three groups, they attacked the enemy troops at Bubaigawara and destroyed the great Kamakura army.

"Bubaigawara is a strategic crossroad," Toshizou explained.

Bubaigawara wasn't just any crossroad, though -- it was a place where four main highways came together. Like many other major crossroads, it was a place easy to shift troops around and became a strategic meeting point for many armies in the past. In a way, it was just like Sekigahara in Mino.

Aside from the Koushuu Highway and its branches, the Kamakura Highway, Shimogawara Highway, and the Kawasaki Highway all passed through this area.

"Here's where Bubai Bridge is."

Souji looked closely. To to tell the truth, though, deep inside, he was moved. He was moved by the fact that Toshizou was not only planning to take on a bunch of men with just himself and Souji, but was also going to great lengths to draw a map and plan things strategically.

'This man isn't just some 'thorned hedge'...' he thought, just as Gon returned.

"Holy shit!" Gon shouted, sitting down beside Toshizou. "It's dark out, so I can't be exactly sure, but adding up all the people I saw hiding out on the sides too, it looks like there's around 20 men out there!"

Apparently, though, there were only two standing on the bridge. He also mentioned that within the crevices of a dozen farmers' huts beneath the embankment, there were men waiting quietly in groups of three and four.

"So no matter which way we come from, they'll be waiting for us."

"They're all bunched up at the north part. Underneath the banks too, in the shadows of the zelkova trees!"

"Figures."

"You were expectin' this?!"

"Well, sorta." Toshizou had no intention of bragging to Gon, but it was exactly as he had imagined. They had expected Toshizou and Souji to switch off the Koushuu Highway onto the Kamakura Highway and head to Bubai Bridge from the north. It was common sense.

"This is great!" Okita whistled.

"Quit it."

"Aw, don't get mad. You're a great strategist, Hijikata-san. Your intensity really moved me. If we had kept going straight there on the Koushuu Highway, we would have run straight into them."

"Old man Gon," Toshizou said, pointing to a certain location on his map. "There aren't many of them around here, right?"

"Yup. I think I just saw one."

"Hmmm..." Toshizou glared at the map, thinking for a few moments.

Then, as if he had suddenly gotten a fantastic idea, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pouch.

"Gon, take this. You are not to talk about this to anyone, and I mean that."

"Understood." Gon disappeared into the darkness.

"Souji, as soon as we reach the river we're going to run in and attack. You'll creep in from the upper part, and I'll come from the lower part. Once we meet up below, we're going to run up the embankment and kill all the guys hiding there."

"I see." Souji was smart, so he caught on immediately. They were going to take advantage of the enemy's surprise as much as possible.

That wasn't all, though. The men hiding in the shadows of the bank were probably weak. In other words, in imagining the setup of the enemy's position, the strongest would have to be standing in the center, on the bridge. The two there would most likely be Shichiri Kennosuke, and the leader of the Hiruma doujou, Hiruma Hanzou himself. It seemed as if they were merely decoys, but from the dispersion of the men, the bridge had to be where their power was concentrated.

The next strongest men were probably the ones hiding on the north end of the bridge. Their role was to push forward and cut down the two approachers.

With that in mind, the men hiding on the bank were really no more than reserves, and the ones considered least likely to actually enter the fight. When attacking a big group with a duo like this, there were really only two ways to win. The better of the two would be to sneak in, kill the leader, and then escape. The only other plausible strategy, of course, would be to start by picking off the weaklings and then slowly, but surely work your way up to the boss.

Toshizou had decided on this second way.

"The guys on the bridge would never expect us to come up from the river itself. We'll start off by killing the weaklings nearby, and if all goes well, we'll step in and slay either Hiruma or Shichiri. If the enemy's formation seems too hard to break into, then we'll have to flee only after taking out a few."

"Where should we meet up afterwards?"

"This graveyard."

Toshizou pointed to the sack under his arm. "I put a change of clothes in here. Our clothes will end up getting splattered with blood and mud, so there's no way we'd be able to travel in the daylight. We'll change into these afterwards, and return immediately to Edo."

After saying that, he handed a whistle to Souji.

"If we get separated, and I blow my whistle, it means it's time to retreat. Only blow yours if you're in serious danger, then I'll come and help you."

And so, the two got up and left.

Next: Moon & Mud