The lord strode forth with two of his men in tow, his face full of thunder, with deep creases sullying his forehead.
He neared the cage and barked an order to his subordinates whilst he fixed Gengyo with a furious glare.
"Open it."
The men did as they were bid with haste, taking great care not to worsen their lord"s mood.
The bamboo door was open within seconds – the twine easily sliced through - and Nakatane pointed at the prisoner.
"You. Out. Now."
He crawled his way out of the cage on his hands and knees. Upon seeing that Gengyo"s hands were not tied, the master"s eyes flickered with irritation, but he did not mention it.
"Can you ride?"
"No sir."
He made haste in response, and did so with clarity and respect, for the enraged individual in front of him was rather different from the man he had made contact with previously.
"You will run then. Follow my horse."
He marched swiftly away, expecting the young man and his guards to follow immediately.
Daring not to betray his expectations, they hurried along after him. Three horses were present, and the master – followed by his men – mounted one each, before setting forth along a road out of the village at an urgent pace.
The villagers looked on at the strange scene of Miura"s youngest son sprinting behind the mounted master for all his life was worth. But Gengyo did not have the luxury of paying them any of his attention, having to dedicate all his energy to the task of keeping up with the well-bred horses.
He was caught off guard by the master"s brusque behaviour, having him pegged as an amiable man earlier on, but he supposed – as they had not shown him any redeeming qualities – that the fault of his mood likely lay with the misinformation spewed by the guards. It was almost unfathomable how detached and irresponsible the men were in regards to their job.
They soon sped out of the village, down the gravelled track that led to the lord"s mansion. The footing – having been made with horses and carts in mind – was unideal for a human runner. Every stride he took required more energy than it might, as with each stride the stones were forced backwards a bit before supporting his foot, allowing it to push off.
Needless to say in a very short amount of time he was exhausted. The stamina he had was as a result of working in the rice fields, and it did very little to support him in this fast-paced run.
But he dared not slow nor stop. The angered man that rode ahead – though perhaps in truth he was angry at misinformation – held his life, and the life of his family in his hands. Should he slip up, and insult the man by not respecting his command, who"s to say he would be given a second chance to prove his innocence?
Thankfully, after another few minutes pa.s.sed, the walls of the mansion loomed into sight, and seconds later they had made their way to its gates.
Gengyo had to make a mighty effort to stop himself from collapsing. His heart was pounding and his breathing was ragged. Even standing as he was – with hands on his knees – felt exhausting.
The droplets of his sweat hit the floor, and he reached up to dry his face with a sleeve, and then he had to continue forward once more as the guardsmen opened the gates, allowing the horses through.
The master was in such a fit of fury that he did not even unsaddle the horse that he usually dotted over and cared for as though it were a second child. Instead, he dismounted swiftly, motioned to one of his stable hands, before glaring at Gengyo and striding toward the mansion.
Taking that as a signal to follow – though there was still doubt in his heart – he hurried after him, making sure that he would not lose sight of him within the many halls of the grand building.
He noticed that Nakatane tore his sandals off, and left them by the door, before proceeding inside barefoot. He hastened to do the same.
The cool of the smooth wooden floorboards felt pleasant against his sweltering feet that had roasted inside his sandals during the run. He used that sensation as a stimulus, and focused on it, attempting to calm his breath and his mind and prepare himself for the task ahead.
They soon came to a set of stairs, which the master proceeded up, two at a time. Gengyo followed shortly after him, careful to maintain a slight gap.
The master entered a room via a sliding door a few moments later, leaving the entrance open. Taking this as a signal for him to follow the master inside, Gengyo stepped into the room, and quietly slid the door closed behind him, before standing still, awaiting further instruction.
Nakatane was seated at his table, fixing the young man in front of him with a cold, and curious glare.
"Sit. And speak. If I don"t like what you have to say, a.s.sume that I will grow very angry."
Of course, he needed not mention what the lad should speak of. Nor did Gengyo ask. He took his seat opposite the master, bearing the full weight of his intimidating glare, and using the fewest amount of words possible he spoke.
"The man who my father duelled with, Kyougoku, attacked my home and my family at the second of hour of dark yesterday evening. In response, I killed him and all four of his men."
The expression upon the master"s face s.h.i.+fted. This was evidently new information to him.
"Hoh…"
He fingers tapped upon the wood of the table, as for the first time he drew his gaze away from the boy in front of him, and instead directed it toward a half-empty gla.s.s of saké that grew warm on his table.
He stroked his short beard lightly, processing what had just been said. After a few seconds his temper flared up once more and his fist drove into the wood of the table.
Gengyo flinched slightly at his reaction, and bowed his head, as though in apology.
A whisper of guilt pa.s.sed over the master"s face, as he waved his hand and hastened to correct him.
"No, that"s not for you. It"s for those useless guards of mine."
Still daring not to break his tone of the highest respect, Gengyo responded lightly.
"I see…"
"Would you like to know what they told me last night, upon imprisoning you? They told me that a local village man had gone on a rampage, killing a series of travellers and that his name was Miura."
To his eternal shame, Gengyo could not hold back a tut. He was tense from dealing with the master"s fluctuating rage, but upon hearing something so mindlessly incorrect, something so easily corrected, his tut came almost instinctually.
He reddened slightly, embarra.s.sed at his inappropriate reaction.
"Ah… My apologies, lord."
Watching the youth wriggle so uncomfortably after his outburst, the lord could not stifle his chuckle.
"Hahaha. Lad, I thought I told you to call me Niwa?"
Gengyo raised his eyes up from the floor, seeing a glimmer of hope.
"Ah, yes. Niwa-san."
"Good. Now – you"ve put me in a bit of a situation. Whilst I did not entirely believe that you had done as my guards had said, that does not mean you escape punishment."
"I understand."
He"d come here prepared for the worst, but still wished to work towards a better result that would not cause too much hurt to his family.
"Very well. Tell me what happened, in detail, from the very beginning."
Nodding, the young man obliged.
"That evening I had spent deeper within the forest, practising my skill with the bow."
"Hoh? Are you going to try out for my bow as.h.i.+garu?"
"Yes, sir. That is the plan."
"Good, we"ll see how you do. Do continue – I won"t interrupt you again."
Doing as he was bid, Gengyo continued.
"On my way back, as I mentioned, the hour had grown late. I was talking my time, enjoying the evening. And then I heard whisperings. Kyougoku and his crew came out from the forest, and lit a torch, before throwing it at the roof of my house."
"Ah yes, the guards did mention something about your house burning. They supposed it was a cover, or something of the like? Oh, right, sorry. Continue."
Almost immediately breaking his promise not to interrupt again, the master motioned for him to continue his telling.
"Well, the house caught fire, and my family fled outside. They beat my father and brother to the ground, and dragged my little sister by her hair. Kyougoku said that he wished to see my father suffer. He pa.s.sed his hands all over my mother, before contaminating my innocent sister with his foulness."
Nakatane was imagining the scene in his head, but in Rin"s place sat his Akiko, and instead of Gengyo"s mother he saw the face of his departed wife. He could see the young man"s fist bunch up as he recounted the tale of the previous evening, with his face an undisguised portrait of pure disgust.
"And then, he threatened to **** them both, before deciding that it was pointless to allow my brother to live, and acted with the intent to take his life. That is when I took his instead."
Caught up by the last detail, the master posed a question.
"How?"
"With my arrow, through his neck."
Gengyo stated that fact without emotion. It was the first time he had taken a life, but if there was ever a being more deserving of death than Kyougoku, than that person would be the devil himself. He had acted solely with the intent of saving his loved ones, and that relief he felt upon seeing their still lively faces, replaced any guilt he held toward ending another"s life.
"That"s quite the shot… What of the rest of them?"
"The same. They were holding my blades to my family"s necks. I did not wish to risk their lives."
Nakatane"s brows furrowed slightly at the rather surprising facts. It was a difficult feat for any archer to shoot with that degree of accuracy – especially when a misfire could mean that hurt their own people.
His fingers continued to dance across the wood of the desk, and he sat in thought.
"I deem your actions justified…"
"Thank yo-"
"However, it is not entirely down to me."
In response to Gengyo"s questioning look, he explained.
"The men you killed were not men of this village, and so I do not have full authority on handling this matter."
"Surely the other landholder will share the same opinion? Even if Kyougoku was one of his workers, he was one of the most depraved dogs to walk the earth. Surely he wouldn"t sully his honour by defending such a man?"
"Hoh, you"d be surprised. But that can wait for later."
He stood up, and opened the door, shouting the name of one of his servants.
A second later a friendly-looking old man appeared.
"You called for me lord?"
"Yes. Send some of my men with a cart to the Miura household, north of the fields, and tell them to retrieve the five bodies left there. Bring them here. Also, find the Miura family – all of them, and bring them here as well."
Easily absorbing that amount of information, the old man bowed lightly.
"Yes my lord."
And turned to leave.
Just as he was about to disappear down the staircase, Nakatane stopped him once more.
"Ah, you don"t need to worry about the youngest son! He"s in here with me."
"Understood lord."