Dororo: Part Two
Nakamura Masaru
Part 3: Kagemitsu
Chapter 21
Kagemitsu received word that a high-ranked general and his right-hand man, Akimitsu Kabei, was on his way. He would arrive at sunset, so there wasn't much time to prepare.
"Lord Kabei is on his way," a breathless servant said, rushing in.
"Akimitsu?" Kagemitsu asked. "Very well. Bring him to me." He told no one, but he was the one who had summoned Akimitsu. He had a special task for him.
Akimitsu's father had helped Kagemitsu in his wars against the Kaneyama Clan before his retirement. Akimitsu had assumed his place, and while he was competent in his work, he had more than a few vices that his father completely lacked, chief among them being drinking.
Tahōmaru valued Akimitsu deeply for his contributions to his father's cause. Akimitsu had also been Tahōmaru's first instructor in martial arts; they had known one another since Tahōmaru's earliest childhood. The Kabei Clan were important retainers, and since his father's retirement, Akimitsu was the most vital of them all.
Lord Akimitsu was announced and admitted to Daigo Kagemitsu's presence in the fortress guardhouse. He brushed off the excessive courtesy of the servants, saying, "Lord this, lord that. Call me Akimitsu; we're all friends here. I'd be happier if you called me a bastard."
Akimitsu was steady on his feet, but he was red-faced and grinning from ear to ear--drunk, then, or getting there. He must have stopped at a tavern in town. For services rendered to the nation, Kabei Akimitsu could drink for free almost anywhere.
"Sir, won't you take a seat?" Tahōmaru asked.
Tea was brought, and Akimitsu was persuaded to sit and slug it down, moving jerkily like a puppet on strings. Tahōmaru was more conscious of Akimitsu's dignity than he was himself, but Tahōmaru was used to that.
"I'm done," Akimitsu said, setting aside his teacup--fortunately without breaking it.
Kagemitsu summoned more servants, some of which were carrying a basket large enough to hold a person. "Get in," Kagemitsu said.
"Why?" Akimitsu's eyebrows drew together.
"We are going farther into the fortress." Kagemitsu left exactly where they were going unspoken. The maze at the center of the castle had been designed to protect him and his family. Even his most important retainer wasn't permitted to just stroll in there on his own two feet with his eyes uncovered.
Akimitsu got in the basket without protest. He didn't squirm even when a lid was lowered down. There were enough tiny holes in the basket for him to breathe, but he could barely see anything. He asked a few questions and was rebuked for impertinence.
"Our lord has commanded you to ride in the basket, so you must ride," a servant said. "Resisting these commands would make you appear disloyal, Lord Kabei."
"I'm not resisting," Akimitsu said. "How much longer do I have to stay in here? It's hot."
"We are carrying you to a certain place. Our lord will decide the rest."
The servant's evasiveness told Akimitsu that they were heading for the forbidden part of the fortress--the golden tower, which he had seen from the outside but never set foot in before.
"I see," Akimitsu said. "Carry on." He thought of his wife and children during the long ascent to the tower. He had never been there before, and he might never leave it. That tower held many secrets, and few who had seen them lived to tell the tale.
The lid of the basket was lifted away, and Akimitsu was permitted to climb out. "Enter," Daigo Kagemitsu said.
With hesitant steps, Akimitsu approached the large stone door and pushed it open. The inside of the tower was like nothing he'd ever seen, and Kagemitsu himself--a familiar enough sight, given their years-long alliance--appeared as a creature from another world, standing in the center of it all.
The tower itself was of ordinary construction, though the gold dazzled and the craftsmanship was excellent. It was something in the air, hanging like a smell though it was not one, that made Akimitsu feel afraid. He wanted to turn and run, but that would certainly not be permitted.
Akimitsu prostrated himself before his lord and prayed with his whole mind and body that he would be spared.
"What do you know of Hyakkimaru?" Kagemitsu asked.
Hyakkimaru was an unfamiliar name to Akimitsu. He had heard rumors in town of a man wearing clothes with the Sakurazawa family symbol on them, and that this man had been brought to the castle. No name had accompanied the rumors, but Akimitsu didn't know of any other outsider that had been permitted into the fortress recently.
"Is that the name of the man who came to the castle today? The one wearing the Sakurazawa family symbol?"
"Yes. What do you know of him?" Kagemitsu asked.
Akimitsu started to reply, but Kagemitsu cut him off. "Never mind. It doesn't matter. Find him and kill him by sunset. If you fail in this task, I will execute you myself. Understood?"
"Perfectly, my lord," Akimitsu said, but privately he was thinking, Shit. He should never have come here. He should have listened to his intuition and run.
Akimitsu thought again of his wife and children as he put his back to the golden tower and returned to the city. He would never see them again.
***
Yuri sat at a writing desk in her rooms, looking out the window. To a passing servant girl, she asked, "Did you see the young man who was with Tahōmaru today?"
"Yes," the girl said.
"Then please send messengers to search for him," Yuri said. "I cannot bear to sit here, not doing anything at all."
"If he is found, what should be done with him?" the girl asked.
"Bring him to me, and quickly," Yuri said. "Do not let him be harmed. Send Rai and Ran to search, and have them tell him that he will not be hurt or kept. He's in danger and needs protection."
"Understood," the girl said, and she rushed off.
Yuri had asked Rai and Ran to go because they were old friends of her family and trustworthy; they were also strong fighters. She hoped that she wasn't too late. She didn't want to abandon her son again.
It's like I drowned him with my own hands. That was what she'd felt the moment the basin holding him had drifted away from her. She felt the same emotion now. Failing to act would would be the same as murdering her own child.
She should have expected Hyakkimaru to return. Some part of her had always hoped that he was alive. Tears streamed down her face as she remembered the terrible day when she'd left him behind, accompanied by an aged midwife.
"My lady," a servant said, bowing their head and stopping in front of her. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," Yuri said. She didn't stop crying. Her husband had given up their son's body in exchange for his own wealth and power. That son had grown up, gaining his own body--how, Yuri had no idea--and he had returned. She wanted him to live.
Yuri sat at her writing desk watching the sun set and waited for Rai and Ran to return.
***
While Yuri waited for news of Hyakkimaru, Tahōmaru sat alone, drinking amber-colored alcohol from a tall glass and staring into empty space. Every time my mother smiled at me, was it me she was thinking of, or someone else?
It was impossible to know. He'd been raised with love by both his parents, as his name suggested.
Tahōmaru.
Tahōmaru...
Who was Tahōmaru? Was it him, or the stranger? He remembered his mother's kind smiles over the years and wondered obsessively over who they'd been for. There had never been even a hint of a brother in his family until now, but he was forced to believe that his mother, at least, had not forgotten that older brother. The original Tahōmaru. Tahōmaru felt like an inferior copy.
What was my name supposed to be? If his brother was Tahōmaru, who was he? He felt like he'd lost his identity along with his name.
No matter what, he was going to war against the Isobe and Kabei Clans--the members of those clans that still resisted his father's rule. If he gained victory in war, Daigo Kagemitsu would recognize Tahōmaru as his heir, even with his mysterious older brother in the picture. But there was no guarantee that Tahōmaru would be successful in the coming campaign. And if he was unsuccessful, his parents now had a spare.
Who was Tahōmaru? Was it him, or the stranger?
Tahōmaru's thoughts moved in circles. He kept searching for a future path for himself and felt stuck wandering in the dark. He knew that his father had sacrificed his brother to secure the family's future. Tahōmaru had to be willing to sacrifice much, too. And he was--but he had no desire to sacrifice himself.
This world isn't big enough for both of us, Tahōmaru thought. His older brother was supposed to be dead. He sent for a servant and learned that his mother had sent Rai and Ran after Hyakkimaru.
"Bring him to me first," Tahōmaru said. "Give the commands. Hyakkimaru must not see my parents until he's talked to me."
As the servant scurried off, Tahōmaru thought, I'm Tahōmaru. The only one. Not him.
***
Soldiers flooded into the city looking for Hyakkimaru. It was growing dark, so most of the search parties bore lamps to aid in their search. Akimitsu chose to search in darkness, moving quietly and methodically. He had no time to consider his wife and children, but he did have time to do this right. If he failed, he would die. Hyakkimaru would kill him, or Daigo Kagemitsu would.
Tahōmaru's searchers followed him at a slight distance. The night was cold and some were drunk and unfocused, but they all moved with a singular purpose. Hyakkimaru wouldn't survive the night. Akimitsu would make sure of it.
***
At the same time, the half-human, half-demon girl was running through a mountain forest at top speed.
I can't let them catch me, she thought desperately as she ran. I have to get away!
She kept running after the sun set, enveloped in darkness. She couldn't see, and she assumed that her pursuers couldn't, either. Vines and creeping ivy grew lushly over a cliff face. The girl decided to try her luck at climbing up the vines.
Climbing was a lot of effort in her exhausted state. She paused, still holding on, and looked around. A little above her, there was the dark and gaping mouth of a cave. Looking closer, she noticed that several trees had been felled around the cave--and there were voices.
People. How many?
That mattered less than who they were. She noticed banners outside the cave, only just visible in the gloom: the Centipede of the North Star.
The half-demon, half-human girl had found the Kaneyama Clan's army.
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