L5r - scroll 05 - The Crab (8 page)

The Great Bear whirled around, his glare stopping the Scorpion in his tracks.

"Tell your sniveling cousin that I will never side with a weakling like him. I almost did. Looking over that ridge I thought that perhaps Bayushi had some courage in him after all. It certainly took some guts to kill Hantei. Slaying an emperor is a brave undertaking no matter how stealthily one plans it. I thought perhaps your cousin had strength enough to take the throne and hold it. That kind of strength I respect. But to kill an old man, loot his home, then call for help to keep what you've taken? That is the height of weakness. It may indeed be time for a new imperial line, but your 'Emperor Bayushi' stands alone—and he will be a line of one!"

The Scorpion ceased to exist for Kisada. There was only Oto-san Uchi and the weak usurper who locked himself within the walls of the Forbidden City.

Tetsuo mounted his horse and rode back toward the city, shame etched on his face. He would have to fight his way through the other clans to get back and report this failure to Bayushi. Kisada hoped Tetsuo found his reward on the blade of Shoju's sword.

That would be the Great Bear's punishment for failing such an important order, but Kisada would never have shown the weakness the Scorpion did. He would stand his ground and die defending what he had taken through force of might. He would never ask for help.

xxxxxxxx

Kisada led his troops directly toward the High Gate. Although the Crane, Lion, and Dragon armies ranged along the way, none of the other daimyo sent messengers or runners out. They simply stood back to watch what exactly it was the Great Bear had planned.

The Crab army marched up to the gate and stopped in unison— nearly two thousand strong, and they all moved at one man's command.

The Great Bear took the army's standard from his herald and planted it in the ground beside the banner marking the entrance to the Lion Clan camp.

A cheer went up from all the clan camps. The noise reverberated off the cracked and conquered walls of Otosan Uchi. It rolled out among gouts of flame and belches of dark smoke rising from the capital. It shook the very foundation of the Forbidden City, and the confidence of its residents as well.

xxxxxxxx

"Saving the city from fire is futile while the Scorpion holds the Forbidden City," Kisada interrupted. He sat in a pavilion with the daimyo of the other clans.

For the past ten minutes Doji Hoturi, the Crane daimyo, had been going on about the need to put out the fires the enemy set as they retreated. He was worried about saving the outer city while the venomous Scorpion still controlled its heart.

"That bastard Shoju can wait," Hoturi said. "He has no place left to run."

Typical! All prim and proper etiquette, these Cranes, but they had not even a basic instinct for how to win a war.

Matsu Tsuko agreed with Kisada. The acting head of the Lion (Jan wanted to force the Scorpion out and do it
now.
No one was sure where Akodo Toturi, the true Lion Champion, was—he disappeared several weeks before the coup. Most people had given him up as the victim of another Scorpion assassination, but Kisada knew Toturi too well to believe that. He was too strong-willed and vigilant to be taken in by a Scorpion plot.

"Better a city of ash than a city of Scorpions," Kisada grumbled.

Most everyone agreed. Even Shinjo Yokatsu, daimyo of the Unicorn Clan, concurred that it was most important to pry the Scorpion forces out of their hiding place before they managed to escape.

The daimyo might not all be in complete accord, but it was agreed. The next morning they would storm the Forbidden City.

xxxxxxxx

No plan ever survives contact with the enemy, but Kisada was used to plans remaining fixed until the armies were on the battlefield. Still, he found himself back in the same pavilion two hours before the attack because something had changed— something key.

Akodo Toturi had returned!

The Great Bear marveled at how the other daimyo responded to Toturi. If anyone should lay claim to the Emerald Throne when this brutality was done, clearly it was Toturi.

Still, the Lion Champion's plan did not sit well with Kisada. He called for them to use the same tactics the Scorpion favored— divert the enemy's attention with a fruitless attack while another force crept up and took the Scorpion by surprise. He would have the Crab begin a frontal assault of the Forbidden City's Fudotaki

Gate, then break off the attack in order to sneak through the River Gate in the dead of night. The very thought made Kisada's skin crawl.

"Acting like the Scorpion would bring dishonor to my clan!" he said and glared at Toturi meaningfully.

The Lion leaned toward him and casually said, "Then
you
can stay and storm Fudotaki Gate until we sneak in and open it for you."

"Yosh!" Kisada nodded with approval. "Just do not take too long, or we might break the gate down on your heads!"

xxxxxxxx

"This
is what we came here for!" Yakamo shouted. "There is only one way into the Forbidden City, and it is through these gates!"

At the head of the first wave of samurai, Yakamo looked at the Fudotaki Gate towering above him. The barrier surrounding the Forbidden City wasn't nearly as tall as the Kaiu Wall, but it was impressive. This was the first time Crab bushi had ever laid siege to such a structure—they usually defended one. It was a daunting prospect.

"We know the advantage of standing on a wall. We know the power that comes from high ground and a home to defend. But we know one thing more. We know that no wall is equal to our fury, and no army—particularly the cowardly Scorpion army— can stand against our ancient duty to defend the empire. No Crab army ever has failed in this sacred task, and we will not today! To defend the empire we must free the Forbidden City. To free the city we
must
take this gate!"

With a sound that caused the very earth to tremble, the Crab army surged forward. Yakamo and his samurai hefted a great battering ram and ran at full speed toward the gate.

Above them, Scorpion officers gave the order for archers to "skewer the dogs!" A rain of arrows poured around them.

A second regiment ran alongside Yakamo's, holding large wooden hoardings above their brothers carrying the battering iam. Arrows sank deep into the wood, some getting through unblocked. One bearer bit back a howl of pain as a Scorpion missile pierced his hoarding
and
the arm he used to support it. Still he siood his ground. Three of the bushi in his regiment fell, but the rest of Yakamo's warriors continued on.

Howling like a typhoon up the coasdine, the warriors reached the gate. The ram struck hard, harder than anything had struck this gate in living memory. It shook the structure from the ramparts to the foundation—but left no real measurable effect.

"Again!" shouted Yakamo.

In one fluid motion they rocked back and leaned into their larget again, striking even harder than before. Though small chips of ancient wood flew through the air, the Fudotaki Gate did not groan or give.

Yakamo stood there at the very head of the assault, driving the ram again and again against the gate. Arrows, burning oil, and magic spells came down like rain in the planting season. No matter how hard they hit, no matter how many good Crab samurai gave their lives in the effort, the enchanted gate held firm.

Yakamo had no idea how long this went on, but during all the hammering Lord Moon replaced Lady Sun in the center of the sky. To Yakamo, all things other than the Wall and the massive weapon in his hands had ceased to exist. His uncle, Hida Tsuru, came and insisted that the young man fall back to rest. Yakamo wanted to stay. He was about to object, but he knew that if he stayed the remaining samurai under his command would stay as well, and they all looked nearly dead on their feet.

"You have done well!" Tsuru said. "My regiment and I will take your place."

"Hai," Yakamo said wearily, and motioned for his troops to hand off their positions on the battering ram and follow him.

They sat against the wall of a soba shop, eating bowls of the proprietor's best udon noodles. It really wasn't much, particularly for someone as large as Yakamo, but it was all he had the stomach for. They slurped the hot soup and thick, chewy strands of flour absently as they watched their comrades continue the assault. The night seemed more like dusk because of the fires raging in various quarters of Otosan Uchi. Spells cast by both sides occasionally lit it up bright as midday.

Yakamo led his troops to a dark courtyard where they could get some fresh air. He ordered them to rest, but sleep eluded him. Sitting against a tree, he looked out at the Forbidden City and thought of the usurper Bayushi on the Emerald Throne. He narrowed his eyes and growled.

Just then, a line of samurai marched past—Akodo Toturi at their lead. To anyone on the wall they would look like more troops coming in to bolster the Crab assault on the Fudotaki Gate. But Toturi led his men deceptively away from the fighting.

Yakamo rose to his feet and stared after them. Toturi was a good commander and as honorable and trustworthy a samurai as any Crab. Yakamo could understand why the other clans respected him so, and he would make a fine emperor when this madness came to an end. But he still could not hold a candle to the Great Bear.

"So it is now," Yakamo said as he watched Toturi's troops angle closer to the unguarded River Gate.

"Yes!" a woman's voice replied. "After ten years it is
now
time to avenge my brother!"

From out of the darkness charged a Dragon samurai-ko dressed in full battle armor. She had her katana raised over her head and a murderous look in her eye. She howled a sharp "kiii-aiiii!" and swung at Yakamo's head. When he stepped to the left, she instantly pivoted and struck again. This time her blade struck his chest.

Sparks flew from the impact of the blow, but Yakamo's breastplate did not fail him.

"Mirumoto Hitomi," the Yakamo said with a dark smile. "Are these the actions of an 'honorable and civilized samurai?'" He reached down and grabbed his tetsubo.

Her answer was to howl again and strike with slashes to the throat, stomach, and knees in quick succession.

Yakamo ducked the first one and blocked the second two with his great club.

His samurai snapped out of their fitful slumber and rose to their commander's defense. Yakamo waved them back.

"Let the little Dragon have her fun," he said. "I spared your life last time, Hitomi. I will not be so kind tonight."

She came at him with a series of blows too fast for the eye to see. Yakamo was not looking at her sword. He was looking in her eyes. She was so filled with anger that he could see her attacks before she moved a single muscle. Every time Hitomi struck, her blade hit only his tetsubo. When her onslaught ended, Yakamo slid his weight onto his right foot and slammed his left into the Dragon's stomach.

Hitomi took five steps backward, but she did not fall or even stumble. She never took her eyes off her enemy.

She raised her katana above her head and lunged forward, but six arms held her back.

Three Dragon bushi, who had been among Toturi's troops, had stepped up to restrain the samurai-ko.

"Hitomi-sama," one said, "what are you doing?"

"Toturi has given the signal," another one told her. "The assault on the Scorpion has begun."

"The assault started this afternoon," Yakamo grunted.

"Of course," the third Dragon samurai said looking briefly over his shoulder. It was obvious he considered the Crab attack to he foolhardy. "Your diversion is what makes Toturi's plan work."

Hitomi struggled against her brethren, but their hold was too strong. Suddenly the light of reason returned to her eyes.

"Toturi has ordered the attack?" she asked.

"Just now," said the first Dragon.

Hitomi paused for a moment, considering her possibilities.

"Let's go," she finally muttered.

"Leaving so soon?" Yakamo called after her. "Is our fight over so quickly?"

Hitomi whirled in place. The other Dragon samurai started to reach for her, afraid she had succumbed to her hatred again. But she did not attack the Crab. She merely pointed a single finger at him.

"This fight is not over," she said. "And it will not
be
over until I have my revenge."

"Or you are dead," Yakamo growled.

"I'll be back, Hida Yakamo," Hitomi called as she turned and followed her comrades toward the River Gate.

"You still know where to find me," he called back. Then he turned to his stunned troops and said, "Come on! We're not getting any rest anyway. Let's go breech that gate before they can finish their swim!"

THE LADY SCORPION

All this for nothing!" Kisada spat on the floor, heedless of the fact that he was in one of the most sacred rooms in all of Rokugan. The Great Bear stood at a wood-slatted window in the imperial throne room.

Behind him, the chamber swirled with activity. Courtiers fawned over the new emperor.

Kisada paid them no notice. Instead he stared through the slats at the night sky. There were no stars. The air above the capital was thick with black smoke, lit underneath by orange flames.