“You know, that almost looks like a five year old wrote it.”

Ayane looked up from her calligraphy at the sound of Sou’s voice.

“Almost. A five year old would have been neater.”

Sou smiled and ducked under the paper ball that flew over his head.

“If I’m to take cultural lessons from you I might as well take etiquette lessons from a pig.”

“The pig might have a thing or two to teach you.”

“Are you here because you’re bored or are there other reasons?”

Sou sat next to Ayane as she took out a fresh scroll and began a new piece. They were the characters for ‘courage.’ He put the bonsai tree that Yuki had given him on the table. There was one more thing he had to do before retiring for the night.

“Father’s asked me to go north and deal with the Wada.”

“Congratulations.”

“I want you to come with me.”

Ayane’s brush stopped mid-stroke and she looked up at him.

“You want what?”

“I’d like your assistance.”

Ayane’s eyebrows furrowed.

“I’m sorry, I’m not sure I understand. I haven’t even been allowed to leave the castle grounds for the last year now, and you want me to go into battle with you?”

“Put simply, yes.”

“And your father is okay with this?”

“It’s my battle. I decide.”

Ayane pinched between her eyes in pain and confusion.

“I don’t think this is the best idea, Sou.”

Sou picked up his own piece of paper and brush. He began writing characters down from memory, swift and accurate. It was one of his favourite sayings, ‘ichigo ichie.’ Together the four characters conveyed a once in a lifetime chance or opportunity. It was a concept he felt strongly about.

“I respectfully disagree, and while I won’t force you to come along, I highly encourage you to assist me in this matter.”

Even to his own critical eye the characters were beautiful, although he could also see all the mistakes. This stroke was too long, this one too short. This hook wasn’t precise enough, and this stroke too thick. Overall the design was beautiful, but upon closer inspection it was full of tiny flaws.

“What exactly do you want me to do?”

“I won’t ask you to fight for me. I’m not that stupid.” Sou smiled, but Ayane didn’t return the gesture. “But you have an intelligent mind. You have a way of seeing things that other people don’t. These are not your lands. Not your people. I know that. I’d like to think that, despite the circumstances, your stay with us has been…” he tried to find a suitable word, “… pleasant.”

“You mean the part where I was abducted and used as ransom against my own father and held captive for over a year when he refused to comply with your demands. That stay?”

Sou’s face twitched, but she wasn’t wrong. “Yes,” he replied.

Ayane sighed and put the brush down.

“What makes you think that, if I do join you, I won’t just find a way to escape back to my family?”

“I’m fully aware that you may try to leave. I know that if I were in your place I’d try to do the same. I certainly wouldn’t blame you for trying. Just like I hope you wouldn’t blame me for trying to stop you, whatever it took.”

Sou and Ayane had grown close over the last year, like a real brother and sister, despite their circumstances. He truly wanted her help during the upcoming battle, but at the same time he understood the risk of potentially losing her as a valuable hostage. It was a difficult situation, perhaps moreso for him than her, but leading was all about dealing with difficult situations to the best of one’s ability. Nobody ever achieved great things by sitting back and hoping for the best.

“Alright,” she finally replied. “I can’t guarantee how useful I’ll be, but I’ll go.”

Sou smiled. “Excellent. We’re leaving in a few days.”

“What do you know about the Wada? I thought the lands north of here were controlled by the Saito clan?”

“Until recently they were,” Sou confirmed. “They were defeated in battle by a man named Wada Kuniaki. Supposedly a former oil merchant, he managed to gather enough men around him to defeat the Saito and then killed off all who didn’t flee or surrender. After securing Daisen Castle he turned his attentions towards us. He’s been raiding our northern towns and villages for the last few months now. Perhaps in his post victory euphoria he sees us as an easy target, or perhaps he just wants our lands for his own as well. It doesn’t matter. The point is, he may have defeated the Saito but he’s still inexperienced, and now weakened from the takeover. He’s also unaware that we’re coming.”

Ayane nodded. “Has he made alliances with any other clans yet?”

Sou shook his head. “Not that we’ve heard of. Since defeating the Saito he’s been consolidating his power and hunting down those who managed to escape. If the attacks on our lands are anything to go by, it would appear he’s now finished with that and starting to look elsewhere.”

“And nobody else has bothered to attack them yet?”

“Again, not that we know of. Saito was not well loved, his loss is not going to be missed by the majority of the other clans. On the contrary, most probably feel like Wada did them a favour.”

“Hmm.”

“What?”

“Saito was never a direct problem for us, although we had heard about his cruelties. The Wada may be leading attacks into your lands now, but in the eyes of the other clans they’ve saved them the time and trouble of dealing with yet another tyrant. Are you absolutely certain that no other clans have moved to make alliances with them yet? It’s far easier to make a new friend than defeat an old enemy.”

She was right. It would save the other clans a lot of time, people and resources to just ally with the Wada for the time being while they tried to maintain control of currently unruly lands. Yet they couldn’t just sit by and wait to see what happened while they continued to move into Yashiro lands.

Sou stood up. “We move out in a few days. Be ready.”