Divine Wind - Chapter 2

Chapter 2


Riding as fast as the horse would stride, Kobayashi did not reach Kyoto until past nine at night. He was immediately escorted to the Honno temple where Oda Nobunaga was staying. Blood-drenched mud dripped off his armor as he told the events of the morning to his lord, Oda Nobunaga.



“You did not stay to question my retainer?” the shogun asked at the end.



“No, my lord.” he answered. “I did not expect an answer.” That was not the full extent of what he wanted to say, however it would have been inappropriate to reveal his true feelings on Akechi Mitsuhide.



Nobunaga was sitting on a pillow in a room inside the Honno temple, Mori Ranmaru, his personal bodyguard to the right. However Kobayashi’s attention wavered from his lord the left and the diminutive man called Omo who Nobunaga kept in his presence to entertain him. At present he was playing with two puppets representing a dragon and some god, reenacting some comical tale no doubt.



Oda pondered on the situation. Being in his forties his mind was still sharp enough to maintain his vast empire. “I shall deal with Akechi accordingly when the time comes.” He said. “And I shall need you here to prove these claims. Until then let us hope he and Hideyoshi bring a swift end to Takamatsu castle.”



Kobayashi bowed in respectful agreement.



“But in the meantime,” Oda continued. “You are wounded and require rest. We shall speak again tomorrow.” The samurai bowed again, more reluctant this time.



But, he couldn’t rest. After painfully taking off his armor Kobayashi dressed his wounded shoulder in clean fabric. Being a warm summer night he wore a simple robe and went to the temple grounds to clean his mud encrusted armor. After drawing water from a well he sat down to wipe the armor down with a rag. No one else seemed to be outside. Normally Nobunaga would be in the capitol, Kamakura, but was here in Kyoto to entertain nobles of the court. Only a small personal guard was here with him.



As the bloody caked on mud dripped of his black lacquered armor he briefly felt sorry for Akechi, remembering an event years ago, in 1578. It involved the Hatano clan of Tamba. Nobunaga’s army under command of Akechi Mitsuhide invaded Tamba after going to war with the Mori clan. After subduing the clan Akechi convinced Hatano Hideharu to submit to Nobunaga, promising safety. No one really knows why but Nobunaga overturned that promise and executed Hideharu a year later. Avenging that death the Hatano seized Akechi’s mother from his lands in Omi province and killed her. Nobunaga and Akechi haven’t really been the best of friends since.



“Who shall I thank for bringing you back so soon, Tokyujumaru?” a soft voice called from behind Kobayashi. “Surely not my uncle.”



It was Noriko, Nobunaga’s niece. She often traveled with him “for good luck” he would claim. In truth she begged her uncle to let her see as much of this country as she could. It had been like that almost her whole life.



Kobayashi smiled, “Still calling me by my childhood name?” he said. Looking up at Noriko he could see her silhouette next to a garden. The moonlight dancing around her round face and the curves of her body just visible under her floral patterned robe.



“What’s wrong with the name ‘Tokyujumaru’? I always liked that name.” She said then laughed quietly and slowly walked towards Kobayashi. Noriko was twenty, just two years younger than he was. They had grown up together in the Oda clan. Nobunaga’s sister, and Noriko’s mother, requested for her to live with her uncle soon after she was born. Kobayashi’s family has no blood ties to Nobunaga, but his father, a minor daimyo in Kii province, is very loyal to the shogun. Noriko and Kobayashi, then Tokyujumaru, spent the early years of their lives together. The tutors at the capitol taught them how to read and write, Noriko would tease him because she learned faster than he did. They didn’t see much of each other when they got older and Kobayashi began training as a warrior. Only when he began to serve as Nobunaga’s lieutenant and travel with him did the two get to spend time with each other again. Kobayashi was stunned the first day he walked in on Noriko writing calligraphy. She had gone from the little girl who teased his reading to the beautiful woman that constantly occupied his mind.



“I forgot.” She said. “You’re Kobayashi Sadatsugu, the great swordsman and wielder of Masamune’s last blade. Not Tokyujumaru, who fell into the palace pond while trying impress me and catch a goldfish.” Noriko couldn’t help teasing him some. She was very close to him now and reached out to lightly embrace him. He winced when she touched his wounded shoulder. “Ugh! You’re hurt!”



“No! No, it’s all right. It’s not bad.” He said.



“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”



“Akechi.” He said harshly.



“The general did this to you?”



“No. That’s who you thank for my early return.”



“Oh. Is everything all right?” she asked.



“Yes, I’ll be fine. I’ve been injured before.”



“I know.” She said. Noriko looked at the full moon and inhaled deeply. Her voice lost its joviality and almost became a whisper. “There was a reason my uncle came here to Kyoto. The nobles he is talking to…I think he’s arranging for me to marry one.” He could see tears begin to stroll down her cheeks.



He swallowed hard. “That’s good then, your old enough now.” It was hard to say that.



“Hey! Show some respect. You could be speaking to a future empress.” She said. Now her tears couldn’t be stopped. Kobayashi held her close to the healthy shoulder. “I don’t want to marry them, Tokyu. I don’t.”



“What do you expect me to do, Noriko?” he said.



She stroked her hand on Kobayashi’s thin beard and whispered in his ear. “You know what I want.”



He knew very well that she meant the two should run off together. Such a thing was unthinkable for Kobayashi. “I…I can’t.” he began. “my duty…”



“I know you.” She said. “You’re not a warrior.” He could think of a dead Mori general that would argue. “You’re still that boy who fell in that pond.”



“You pushed me, remember.” He whispered, and though he did not like the idea, he could barely stop from crying himself.



After that she leaned in even closer to him and just barely the two kissed. Kobayashi didn’t feel her put something in his hands. And then briskly walked off.

Kobayashi unraveled the scroll Noriko slipped him and read it. It was a poem.



Always you were there

I give my love forever

Don’t leave me without



He found it even harder to sleep now. Surely, he would have gone to bed early if he knew the dawn would bring the worst day of his life.



Kobayashi’s uneasy sleep was interrupted at sunrise by a loud explosion. Immediately he drew his sword from next to where he slept. Racing to the temple gardens he could tell the cause of the explosion was that someone had set off a barrel of gunpowder in a storage shed being used by Nobunaga’s personal guard. The entire shed was blown apart and flaming debris were landing all over the temple.



The samurai’s duty was to protect his lord. Nobunaga was across the gardens. He was shocked at what he saw. Mori Ranmaru and another of the shogun’s guard being attacked by many men in full armor. Assassins, was Kobayashi’s immediate thought. Most shocking of all was that the assassins wore the armor of the Oda clan.

None of them saw Kobayashi and he landed a killing blow to one who was attacking Ranmaru. He was too busy to show gratitude. “Run!” he yelled. “Nobunaga, in his chambers!”



Sprinting through the temple Kobayashi glanced briefly towards Noriko’s room on the second floor, on his way to the main chambers on the third floor. There was no way to tell if she was all right.



The door to Nobunaga’s room was busted down and Kobayashi could see what was going on. His lord was being held to his knees by four men and above him was Akechi Mitsuhide. The general raised a sword over Nobunaga’s exposed neck. Bringing up his sword for a powerful attack Kobayashi charged into the room. He never saw Umetada Masamitsu behind him with his tetsubo already poised to hit. The massive war club hit the samurai before he could get inside the room. His last conscious vision was of Akechi bringing his sword down upon Nobunaga.