The Fall of Daigo
Book 3 of the Dororo Novel Series
Toriumi Jinzō
Part 4 - Demon Dragon
Chapter 1
Hōichi and Hyakkimaru hid in the eaves of the abandoned warehouse inside the fortress city. It was pitch dark. Hyakkimaru was silent, deep in thought, while Hōichi leaned on his cane and hummed a tune. Hōichi didn’t disturb Hyakkimaru; he understood that he’d just met his mother and had a lot to process.
Hōichi was the one who had revealed that Hyakkimaru and Tahōmaru were brothers. Hyakkimaru knew that Hōichi’s eyes could see the true nature of people and things, but his timely save seemed awfully convenient. Hōichi must have found the Daigo Clan long before he did. Otherwise, how would he have known for sure?
But Hyakkimaru’s thoughts were more preoccupied with his mother than his brother. Meeting her in person seemed like a dream. She was a beautiful lady, and kind, just like he’d always wished for. She’d continued to think about and pray for him after Kagemitsu had put him in the river. She had taken no part in abandoning him, so she didn’t require his forgiveness. She’d done nothing to earn his hatred…that he knew of.
One thing still troubled Hyakkimaru deeply. It seemed like Nui no Kata had known nothing of Kagemitsu’s deal with the Hall of Hell demons, but what if that wasn’t the case? What if she knew all about the deal, and had closed her eyes to the circumstances?
It seemed likely that Nui no Kata didn’t know, based on her reaction to his prosthetic limbs. Maybe she’d assumed that he was cursed when he was born. By the time she was recovered enough to search for him, Kagemitsu had already sent him away, so there would be no way for her to verify that he was still alive.
What would Nui no Kata do if she discovered the truth about Kagemitsu’s deal with the demons?
Tahōmaru would probably believe his father and oppose Hyakkimaru. Hyakkimaru and Tahōmaru would be pitted against one another, just like Togashi Masachika and his younger brother Togashi Kochiyo. Nui no Kata’s words had not fully convinced Tahōmaru. Hyakkimaru doubted that she would be able to change his mind. He could only imagine how she would feel, having her children fight against tone another. One of them would probably have to die to end the conflict.
The first thing Hyakkimaru had to do was confront Daigo Kagemitsu about why he had made the deal with the Hall of Hell demons. In his vision of the Hall of Hell at the Unryū Temple Complex, he hadn’t seen Kagemitsu’s face, only his back, so he couldn’t even guess at the man’s motives. He’d hated Daigo Kagemitsu for so long that he’d never bothered to think about his motivation for making such a deal. Now that Hyakkimaru was here, he wanted to understand the heart of a man who was able to sacrifice his infant son to demons for the sake of personal power.
Hyakkimaru would never think of Daigo Kagemitsu as his father. Jukai, who had saved him, and Sakuzō, who had raised him without regard for his circumstances or where he’d come from, were much more worthy of love and respect. He honored them as his true parents.
He couldn’t dismiss his birth mother so easily, though. She hadn’t chosen to get rid of him. She wasn’t a monster or a demon. She had wept when she’d seen him, believing him dead while praying continuously for him to be alive.
“Nui no Kata must have been overjoyed to see you,” Hōichi said quietly.
“Hōichi,” Hyakkimaru said, “does my brother also have psychokinesis? He should, right?”
“I don’t know for sure,” Hōichi said. “He might.”
Hyakkimaru shuddered. It had taken Jukai many years to draw out Hyakkimaru’s own psychokinetic potential. Tahōmaru might also possess that potential, lying dormant and unused.
Or maybe it wasn’t dormant. There were people like Hōichi in the world, after all: people with psychokinesis who could use it from birth without any training required.
I don’t want Tahōmaru getting caught up in this. The Hall of Hell demons had sworn to eliminate psychokinesis from the world, but Tahōmaru was entirely blameless for his heritage, just like Hyakkimaru. Hyakkimaru didn’t want his brother to be forced to defend himself against the Hall of Hell demons.
“If the demons choose to attack Tahōmaru, it won’t be your fault,” Hōichi said. There were times when Hyakkimaru thought that Hōichi really could read his mind. “It is the choice of the demons, and Tahōmaru’s fate.”
Hyakkimaru had avoided Daigo Kagemitsu so far. That was why he had an incomplete understanding. He didn’t know his father’s motives, his brother’s capabilities, or what the Hall of Hell demons intended. He would have to come out of hiding to discover those things.
Hyakkimaru fixed Hōichi with a serious stare. “I want to lure the Hall of Hell demons here, to this fortress,” he said.
“I was thinking the same thing.” Hōichi’s white-blind eyes swiveled toward Hyakkimaru. “We won’t know what their limits are unless we fight them on their home territory. But--” Hōichi tapped his cane lightly on the rafters.
“Sh,” Hyakkimaru whispered.
The door of the warehouse opened with a loud creak. Two ashigaru carrying spears entered. Hyakkimaru held very still and peeked at them through a gap in the roof’s rafters. They’d probably been sent here on Kagemitsu’s orders. The entire fortress was being searched from top to bottom. The ashigaru held their torches aloft and looked at the ceiling.
Hōichi slid his cane across the floor with a pitter-patter sound. Then he brought his fingers to his lips and made a high-pitched squeaking sound. The pitter-patter sound faded away, along with the squeaking.
“A mouse?” one of the ashigaru muttered.
The ashigaru completed their search of the warehouse and left. Hyakkimaru was impressed at Hōichi’s quick thinking and convincing performance. Hōichi had received strict training as a vocal performer as part of his musical education: he could imitate other voices and make a wide variety of animal sounds. This was the first time Hyakkimaru had seen the results of that training in action.
If Hōichi hadn’t successfully convinced the ashigaru, things would have gone very badly for him and Hyakkimaru. The ashigaru would have called more guards and completely blocked their escape. Hyakkimaru bowed his head to Hōichi in gratitude.
“We can’t talk here,” Hōichi said. “There is too much risk of being discovered. We can plan better from outside.”
Hyakkimaru nodded. He wanted to confront Kagemitsu, but that could wait until he had a real plan in place. It was dangerous here, and he was eager to be away from the fortress. As far as he knew, Jukai hadn’t arrived yet. Meeting at Nomitadani Fortress was Jukai’s idea, so Hyakkimaru was worried that he hadn’t seen him so far. Had he been attacked on the road? Had some other disaster occurred?
“I’m worried about my father,” Hyakkimaru said. “He should be here by now.”
“Taifu Jukai is a wise man and a skilled fighter,” Hōichi said. “There’s no reason to be worried about him. I left the ruined temple shortly after the three of you did, based on Sakuzō’s information. If he’s not here already, he will be soon.”
Hōichi had infiltrated Nomitadani Fortress with the intention of supporting Hyakkimaru, and rescuing him if need be. When he’d found out that Dago Kagemitsu was the lord of the fortress, he had guessed that Hyakkimaru would sneak in. He’d heard about the celebratory banquet being held at the fortress through word of mouth. The entertainers had already been decided, but by good luck, one of the lute players was an old friend. He’d asked to switch places with him, which was how Hōichi had gotten in.
“I figured it would be easier to act if I was out in front of everyone like that.” Hōichi chuckled low in his throat, then stood up straight.
Hōichi and Hyakkimaru had to escape the fortress and find Dororo and Ochika again. Together, they could search for Jukai. They could all come back to the fortress after that.
***
Tahōmaru visited his father in his room inside the castle. The atmosphere between them was tense. They had both suffered through an extremely bad night.
“Father, Hyakkimaru looks like a monster,” Tahōmaru said. “He showed us that his arms and legs are missing, just like mom said they were when he was born. The limbs he has are manufactured--made of wood and wire.”
“Manufactured limbs?” Kagemitsu raised an eyebrow.
“Hyakkimaru is my older brother. He’s the same child you floated down the river many years ago.”
“This again?” Kagemitsu muttered. “You can’t know that just because his arms and legs aren’t real. There are many people who are missing limbs in the world. The son I placed in the river was not alive. He was born dead.”
Tahōmaru wanted to believe his father, but he had no good reason to do that. His parents had already admitted to lying to him once. And Hyakkimaru’s appearance here--and his appearance in general--gave Tahōmaru nothing but questions.
“You saw his limbs...are you saying that you encountered this intruder again, and you let him get away?!” Kagemitsu scratched at his beard.
Tahōmaru flinched, but his gnawing doubts refused to leave him alone. “When I first met Hyakkimaru, he told me that he was after your head,” Tahōmaru said. “He seems to feel resentment and anger because you abandoned him. Why else would he target you? What reason could he have?”
“Tahōmaru,” Kagemitsu spat like a curse, “enough of this. Your mother mistook the intruder for our dead son in a moment of weakness. I guess she never fully grieved for him. It was a terrible tragedy, but I’m sure she’ll be back to her old self in a few days. We need to focus on hardening the fortress’ defenses and preparing for battle.”
Kagemitsu smiled. “My dreams are nearing fruition. We’ve almost achieved what we’ve been working for. Now is not the time to be distracted.”
The watch-fires and torches were all lit and guards patrolled along every hallway inside the castle, but Tahōmaru barely noticed them. His eyes kept finding their way back to the forested garden around the castle where he’d first encountered Hyakkimaru. He was angry at his parents for not telling him about his brother. He understood that a stillbirth, or a bizarre birth, wasn’t likely to come up in ordinary conversation, but he felt like he should have been told.
If Hyakkimaru really was his brother, Tahōmaru felt sorry for him. It couldn’t be easy, living his entire life without real limbs. It was amazing that he could walk at all, much less fight. But Tahōmaru also feared Hyakkimaru. If he were in the same position, he would be enraged at the family that had left him to die.
Tahōmaru also found it difficult to make sense of his own life in light of Hyakkimaru’s. He hadn’t been abandoned: he’d been raised with loving care by both his parents. That had seemed completely natural and normal to him, but Hyakkimaru’s appearance here had cast a shadow over Tahōmaru’s entire existence. Why was he kept and raised when his brother had been discarded? Unless he’d been stillborn, like his father had said?
Tahōmaru believed that Hyakkimaru wanted to kill his father. His father had given him no reason why that should be the case. Tahōmaru assumed that Hyakkimaru, at least, believed what he was saying, even if it wasn’t the whole truth. Tahōmaru understood his rage because he would have felt it himself in Hyakkimaru’s place. In the turbulent, violent world they lived in, family killed family for far less justification than Hyakkimaru had.
Logically, though, Hyakkimaru’s rage should be directed at both his parents for abandoning him, not just one. Hyakkimaru hadn’t tried to kill Tahōmaru’s mother.
Everything about this situation was so uncertain. His father had worked so hard for so many years to get to where he was now, and his plans were currently in a precarious state.
Kagemitsu gathered together his most trusted advisors and generals, along with Tahōmaru, to discuss the current situation.
“If the Western Army comes here now, they’ll wipe us out,” Kagemitsu said. “We can pretend to surrender and save ourselves while actually joining the Western Army’s forces at Ichijōdani.”
There were murmurs of assent in the meeting hall. No one wanted to risk extermination by either the Eastern Army or the Western Army.
Kagemitsu waited for noise to die down, then said, “That’s not all we must do. There may be some in the ranks who are loyal to Togashi Masachika, or who won’t want to make a show of surrendering. We need to present a united front and deal quickly with any dissenters that oppose this plan.”
Kagemitsu’s advisors and generals appeared alarmed. Some started shouting at one another from across the room.
“Silence!” Kagemitsu commanded. The meeting hall quieted. “I am expecting a summons to the Judicial Office from the Togashi Clana any day now. How shall I defend myself before him? I am eager to hear your opinions.”
One by one, Kagemitsu’s advisors and generals gave their advice. “If I may speak, I believe that the current situation is not yet clear in all its particulars, but if a summons is expected, it seems that the Togashi Clan has already made up its mind,” a general said.
“I agree,” a court advisor said. “We will almost certainly receive judgment and censure from the province’s Judicial Office. My spies have heard rumblings regarding something of the sort.”
Tarao Tenzen, one of Daigo’s most trusted bodyguards, slid forward a little and said, “If the lord doesn’t pardon us--which seems very unlikely--our heads will roll. Our best plan of action is to fortify here and hope that the Western Army will agree to let us join them.”
Most of the assembled generals nodded in agreement.
“Lord Daigo, there is no reason to hesitate,” Tarao Tenzen said. “We are of one mind with you in this.”
Several men cheered. “That’s right!”
“I see,” Kagemitsu said. “Then it seems the decision is made. The Asakura Clan at Ichijōdani isn’t the only clan that can stage a successful revolt.” Asakura Takakage had betrayed Lord Shiba in Ezichen Province and was now a high-ranked general in the Western Army, so betrayal had worked out very well for him.
“We’ll take control of this fortress, and then the world!” a general shouted.
“Yeah!”
“Silence!” Kagemitsu commanded again. A self-satisfied smile played about his lips as the men quieted. He had decided to revolt long since, so he was glad that so many of the core people he relied on felt the same way he did. “Even if we don’t win the support of the Western Army, we don’t need them. We have this fortress! We can rule Kaga ourselves!”
The cheers of the men in the hall were deafeningly loud.
“I will decline the Togashi Clan’s summons,” Kagemitsu shouted like a road. “The Judicial Office will dispatch an army. We must be ready. Make preparations for battle. Those who distinguish themselves will be richly rewarded.”
The men cheered again; their voices echoed in the hall and shook the walls.
Kagemitsu dismissed most of his advisors and generals. A handful stayed behind to review his plan and talk strategy for the coming days.
Tahōmaru was present, and he stayed behind, standing calmly in a corner. He had listened to his father’s speeches, but he hadn’t cheered. He’d never seen his father so riled up before. The sight was a bit alarming. Tahōmaru felt like he was staring at a man he didn’t recognize, not the father he’d known all his life. He had wanted to present his own opinion of the war situation, but he knew that he would make no headway in the militant and warlike mood of the room, so he had remained silent.
The thing that alarmed Tahōmaru most of all was his father’s dismissal of the Eastern and Western Armies, and his desire to rule Kaga on his own. He thought that beyond foolish. For the first time in his life, Tahōmaru saw himself and his place in the world clearly. He had never been to war before, but the war was always raging outside the walls of the fortress. His father had been fighting in wars for decades.
Tahōmaru was frightened of going to war, but he was even more frightened of losing his place. He understood how easily and comfortably he’d lived so far, but he didn’t expect that to last.
The Daigo Clan’s allies would start mustering in the fortress starting tomorrow. He could do nothing but support his father now if he wanted to maintain his position.
***
Hōichi sneaked out of the abandoned warehouse and faced the rear wall of the fortress city, intending to scale it. He stuck to the shadows, avoiding the eyes of the patrolling guards.
The patrols weren’t all that Hōichi had to worry about. There were more guards and ashigaru stationed in other warehouses and outbuildings. He was wearing a white kimono, so under normal circumstances, he would have stuck out like a sore thumb. Fortunately, there were many guests and extra people in the fortress at the moment for the celebratory banquet. Hōichi hid in plain sight, trying not to call attention to himself.
There was a savory, appetizing smell wafting from a window in one of the stone buildings near the fortress city’s outer wall. Hōichi followed his nose with a little grin. The window was almost ten feet off the ground, but Hōichi hoisted himself up to the windowsill easily using psychokinesis. His lute was slung across his back, but it didn’t make a sound, even when he jumped straight up. He paused with his hands on the windowsill, listening, then pulled himself up and entered the room. He had a small, wiry build and moved like a monkey climbing a tree.
Hōichi stood up straight inside a large stone warehouse. A fire was lit near the center of the room he was in, but there was no sign of anyone here besides him.
This particular warehouse was used to store high-quality food consumed by the Daigo Clan. Large earthenware pots lined the walls. A pot hung over the fire in the center of the room; this was the source of the appetizing smell. Hōichi guessed that it was some kind of seafood soup.
Hōichi lifted the lid off the pot, grabbed the ladle from inside it and tasted the soup. “Mmm,” he said, smacking his lips together. He ate until he’d had his fill, then put his ear to the door of the room he was in. Hearing no one, he left the room and went down the hall, chuckling a little as he walked. He was slightly drunk and very full, so he was acting a bit strangely. He was used to traveling alone and often coped with his loneliness by drinking.
Hōichi reached the outer door of the warehouse and paused. He was very close to the outer wall of the fortress city here, but there was still one thing he had to take care of before leaving. He kept his back to the wall as he crept toward the Daigo Clan’s castle.
Hōichi couldn’t see, but he could sense the guards on high alert all around him. He moved around the castle to the cliffs behind it where no guards were posted. He scaled the cliffs with psychokinesis and took in the fortress city below. Guards swarmed around the back and front gates. Based on how many were in motion, Hōichi guessed that there was a guard shift change going on.
The Daigo Clan’s castle residence was directly under Hōichi’s feet. He was very close to Kagemitsu’s secret study. Two men emerged from the building, whispering to one another.
Hōichi strummed his lute, then said, “Is war coming soon?”
“Just small fry from the Togashi Clan,” one of the men said.
“None of your business,” said the other.
Hōichi jumped down from the cliff and faced the castle. Guards gathered around him in an instant. “Intruder!” they called out, drawing their weapons.
Hōichi hadn’t intended to blow his cover so quickly, or so thoroughly, but it was done now. He probably shouldn’t have drunk so much sake before leaving the abandoned warehouse.
“I’m not so old yet that I’d lose to the likes of you,” Hōichi said, drawing his own sword.
One of the shorter guards rushed up to Hōichi in full armor. It was Tahōmaru.
“Why does Hyakkimaru want to kill my father?” Tahōmaru gasped out.
“That’s not something I can tell you now,” Hōichi said.
“Why? If he hates my father for abandoning him, why doesn’t he want to kill my mother, too?”
“Now is not the time to reveal old secrets,” Hōichi said firmly. “I stepped in because I could not watch one brother kill another.”
“You stepped in to save me, but you didn’t try to stop Hyakkimaru from finding my father,” Tahōmaru said. “I’ll ask again: why?”
Hōichi scratched his head, then laughed. “Goodbye for now.” He slashed his sword toward the ashigaru and guards surrounding him. They took a step back in surprise. In their brief moment of distraction, Hōichi sprinted toward the cliffs that were just outside the fortress city and was lost in the darkness.
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