SAMURAI

Chapter 4; Code of Conduct

    “Goro-dono!”

    “But, Goro-dono…”

    “What if…?”

    Dubious voices threw out. Goro's white skin turned red. Hearing that some samurai doubted his abilities, anger ran through his heart. 

    "Don't underestimate my ability," he hissed.

    Immediately, all the tones of worry gone as the air rushed from the tin roof. I smiled. I saw a way to escape. The challenge had been raised, abstinence was withdrawn. This young samurai looked weak. His body looked thin and frail. His face was smooth, calm, not violent. He was more accurately called a writer than a warrior. 

    “I, Takezaki Suenaga, General Shoni Kagesuke's special envoy will put my head on the line. I'm warning all of you. Don't touch this stranger if he can win." 

    The young man's eyes stared at everyone present. 

    "Saburo, give him the sword!" Goro ordered his brother.

    The handsome young samurai left the place without arguing. A moment later he returned with two long swords typical of samurai. One sword was given to me. Another sword pushed to Goro. I received the katana still wrapped in its sheath. This was not a game. It was a battle of life or death, a fight of two pride. The pride of a templar knight and the pride of a samurai.

    My eyes widened. Goro rejected the katana that was given to him. 

“Saburo, I don't need a katana to face him. The bamboo sword is enough for me."

    There was no objection. Even some samurai were even interested in seeing the greatness of the young samurai whom the general ruler of Kyushu had trusted as a special envoy. 

    Saburo ran backward again. Not waiting for long, he returned with a piece of bamboo. But it was the same size and length as the katana I was holding.

    He would kill me with a bamboo stick? My heart was molested. My hands trembled to hold back the raging anger. My pride was being abused. I promised I won't give mercy to this arrogant samurai. My body loomed high in front of him. Muscles filled my hands, shoulders, and stomach. Although the wounds all over my body had just healed, my energy was almost fully recovered. 

    It would not take long. I was sure I could knock down this skinny samurai. He had determined the future of his life.

    Goro took a definite step I caught up with him. Another samurai followed our steps. The place chosen was not a field full of warrior tents. Behind the first-floor room, there was a fairly large garden. Open land that was deliberately used for martial arts practice. The soft sandy soil without gravel was the right place to show skill. 

    Three members of the Sashi clan, the head of the So clan, Fujiwara Kaneto, Taira no Kagetaka ruler of Iki, and Saburo took their place on the veranda. Small pillows warmed their bottoms. Barefoot, Goro, and I prepared to take our respective places.

    The sand fell soft against the soles of my bare feet. We were five meters apart. Our hakama pants and haori kimono shirts fluttered in the wind. The sun shifted to the western horizon, shining brightly from the side. The shadows of the two knights wielding swords reflected extending on the left side. Both my hands gripped the hilt of the sword. 

    This Japanese katana was slightly shorter than the sword I usually wear. This typical samurai sword was sharp only on one side. The flip side was flat. Different from the Templar sword that could slice two sides at once. For the first time, I used another sword in a battle. This samurai sword made me a little awkward. But I was sure it's quite deadly to fall into the hands of the former Knights Templar.

    My two feet threaded firmly into a stance. The right leg bent forward, one left leg straight-backed. I held the katana handle with my right hand. The tip of the sword stretched forward. My eyes stared closely at every movement Goro would take. I was ready to wait for the attack to start.

    Goro held his bamboo sword in two hands. The leg in front was parallel to the left foot behind the position. The tip of the bamboo sword pointed forward, two shoulders straight slightly down. His sharp eyes looked into mine. The friendly smile turned into a sneer. On the third sign, we moved quickly closer.

    The sword I raised high I swung cut from above my head. Fast, full of energy. My right foot advanced to increase the power of the punch. If Goro held the piece from above with his bamboo sword, I could be sure that the collection of bamboo pieces would split in two, and my sword continues through his body. 

    Instead of holding my sword with his bamboo sword, Goro didn't move. He waited for my sword to approach. I could no longer pull back the energy I released. There was no other way to escape death except splitting this samurai's body in half. There's no mercy, I must come out victorious. It's better to face a fragile samurai than to fight against tens or even hundreds of samurai who were ready to surround me.

    What the heck? My calculations were missed completely. As the sharp point of my sword was only inches from his head, at a speed difficult for the naked eye to follow, the frail samurai tilted his body. My sword shot into the empty air. The energy I had fully gathered in my hands seemed to be swallowed up by the water that had accumulated in a deep pool.

    The bamboo moved quickly from the side, slashing into the right shoulder. If it wasn't for the bamboo sword, my shoulders would have split open. I made sure my arm would break from the base. Without realizing it I moaned. The other samurai cheered, then clapped their hands.

    The pain hadn't gone away. This time it was Goro who took the initiative to attack. The bamboo sword seemed to have multiplied, attacking me from all sides. I could parry the swing from top to bottom. But the powerful fast s***h from the left side couldn't help it. Two of my ribs broke when the bamboo pieces hit my body. If it were a sharp sword, my body would be split in two. 

    I screamed in pain.

    Without mercy, Goro raised his bamboo sword above his head. As fast as lightning, he swung the bamboo sword through the air straight at my head. I couldn't keep up with the movement speed with my eyes. Before I could deflect, the bamboo strip-cut open my head. A crackling sound could be heard as the result of the collision between the skull bones and the bamboo. The contents of my head seemed to be free from the veins that tied it. Dozens of sharp teeth of the wolf seemed to grind the flesh. 

    My eyes were dizzy. My ears were ringing. Blood flowed from the open head wound, creeping up the forehead, down through the eyelids, wetting the cheeks, and ending up dripping onto the ground after briefly stopping on the lips. My consciousness began to disappear.

    Goro was still not satisfied. Before my body collapsed, a hard kick on his right leg hit my chest. My body bent backward, crashing into the bamboo fence bordering the training area and the park. I rolled on the lawn. My heart was reluctant to beat. My breath caught.

    In three strokes, I've been knocked down. Years of training as a Templar knight seemed to have disappeared without a trace. Experience fighting in several matches was meaningless against a young samurai. To him, I was like a dog that is easy to play with.

    In the consciousness that began to evaporate, the voice of Goro was still heard. He snorted contemptuously.

    "Lock him up. Make him confess. If three days of not talking, cut off his head! I want the punishment to be carried out in the field, in front of the samurai. So that the news spread to the Ilkhanat troops. Don't ever underestimate Japanese samurai skills!”

    Cheers and applause took turns blaring. The straw sandals of two of Kagetaka's subordinate samurai approached, dragging my feet. I had no more energy. Consciousness, the only thing I had left, finally vanished.

                                                                                                        *****

    I was stuttering. A bucket of water poured over my face. I regained my consciousness. The back of the head was throbbing hard. Chest, shoulders, and all over my body screamed moaning again. My eyes have not opened yet, the yell sounded loud blaring.

    "Speak!"

    I knew what my questioner means. Half consciously I shook my head. Didn't wait long, the punches hit my stomach repeatedly. My empty stomach struggled. I coughed, vomiting yellow liquid and leftovers.

    There was no light except for an oil lamp, alone in the corner. My consciousness was getting better. I could not move. My hands were raised, tied to a chain attached to a peg on the wall. My legs bent so that my knees almost touched the floor. The cold and damp. Hakama pants and a typical samurai kimono haori dress had changed into tattered clothes, the clothes I wore when I was found hanging in the sea. I snorted in annoyance. 

    "Speak!"

    I opened my eyes perfectly. In front of me, a large figure stood up in a fist. His body was full of flesh and thick muscles. His head was bobbing without a strand of hair. Short sagging neck.

    "Speak!" shouted a voice. 

    I shook my head.

    Again, a fist tore my mouth. My teeth cracked. My tongue curved inward. Blood melted from the corner of my lips.

    "You are stubborn, Stupid Gaijin!"

    Another voice came from the corner. The dim room hid his figure. But my alert eyes still recognize the owner of the voice. His face is reddish, oily. A chubby body with a sagging neck laughing. He sat on a short round stool carrying a cane. The ruler of the island of Tsushima smiled contemptuously.

    He enjoyed every punch that whacked my body. I returned the mock smile with laughter. He blinked his narrow eyes at the executioner. The giant punched me. Two to the stomach, one to the nose. Blood splattered all over my clothes and the uncovered skin. My body swung, fell backward, pulled forward again. The veins of my hands were tied to chains, the bones of my wrists crunch. My mouth tasted salty blood.

    "Enough ... enough ... I ... will ... talk." I gasped.

    So Sukekuni looked happy. He felt victorious over other samurai because of the information he would get.

    "Come closer ... I just ... can whisper," I continued.

    The blood that leaked from my nose and lips clotted in my mouth. So Sukekuni stood with difficulty from his seat. He smiled crisply. Victory in sight and triumph to be had made him bring his ear to my mouth. 

    I took a breath. I kept it in my stomach to give me enough energy to launch an attack.

    “The Mongol army… will move… with tens of thousands of soldiers. Hundreds of ships will be dispatched. The first goal is….”

    I deliberately stopped my sentence. So Sukekuni couldn't wait.

    "Hurry up and tell me!"

    Before the energy I had stored up, I threw out the attack sentence. “Tsushima… will become… fields… slaughter. Your children… will become slaves. Your wife and concubine will be r***d in turn. You're going to cry… Hahaha”

    The burst of laughter made the fat samurai inflamed.

    “You bastard! Bastard! Killer!"

    So Sukekuni jumped crazy. The wooden stick in his hand whacked my body all out. He got even madder when I spat the clot of blood mixed with saliva in my mouth in his face. In return, my head, hands, feet, stomach were hit by a wooden stick many times. 

    I laughed. He jumped angrily like a monkey on fire.

    "Beat him! But don't let him die!" he ordered.

    "Tub, tub, tub, tub."

    A fist the size of a flying brick whacked my head, stomach, and chest. The voice that came out of my mouth was a mixture of moaning and jeering. I didn't groan one bit. There's no point in begging for mercy. Better to take this secret to hell than to break an oath. 

    The stripes on my body drew a line between the wound and my intact skin. My eyes were swollen. My lips chapped. My forehead was a lump.

    "You're going to rot! Ilkhanat's army is nothing more than a mob of vandals. Before that time comes, I'll make sure your head leaves your body. Ouch! f**k!"

    The sentence that came out before So Sukekuni and his executioner left the detention room was the last sentence I heard before my consciousness disappeared again.

    The human body is special. Constant blows and torments are accepted, making the body one with suffering. Pain is only the beginning of suffering. Furthermore, the continuous pain turned tasteless. The giant executioner's blow didn't hurt anymore, it only weakened the body's defenses.

    I could not track night or day. A pile of oil lamps that became lights could not tell the change of days. Waiting for the day of execution seemed long. The seconds passed slowly. My two hands that were hanging were getting numb. Every time I tried to straighten my legs, my knee bones did not support me. My face was shapeless. Bumps here and there spoiled my good looks.

    I haven't fully recovered my strength and health yet. But, I had to suffer again in the dirty room. Without eating. Only dirty water that the guards flushed as a stomach filler. The flesh and muscles that once inhabited my mighty body disappeared. Soon the journey of a knight's life ended in a far country. No troop salute, no crying relatives.

    I didn't know on what day, at what seconds, I had a special guest. The cell door made of hardwood creaked open. Goro appeared accompanied by his brother. Saburo was like a guarding angel, always tailing wherever his brother moved.

    In contrast to the always smiling Goro, Saburo's face was unpredictable. Angry, sad, happy was the same face. I wanted to know how his face looked when that young man fell in love.

    The bald giant did not accompany him. In other words, no torment would follow. However, precisely because of that, I felt like my death is getting closer.

    Like So Sukekuni, Goro brought his seat; a short round chair. He threw his ass, scrutinized my entire body, then took a deep breath. 

    Saburo stood beside him. Silence without a sound.

     "How are you?" he asked opening greetings.

    I snorted in annoyance. In this half-dead state, he still asked questions like an old friend who had just met. With the remaining strength, I answered the question.

    "If you come this time ... to persuade me to reveal the secrets of the State ... you are wasting your time."

    There were no more 'dono' or 'san' calls. The enemy did not deserve respect.

    "I have to admit, I already like you. Love your soul of chivalry. Too bad you are stubborn. If only you wanted to work together, I would be happy to make friends with you.”

    I raised my head. The image of his thin and frail body but with the strength and high-level sword technique looks small between my slightly opened eyelids. Two bumps blocked the view. In the gloom, his face was honest. I laugh bitterly. A hoarse groan escaped from the choked throat and empty stomach.

    "Saburo, untie the ties."

    The cold-faced young samurai followed his elder brother's orders. My body was like an empty sack, limping weakly when the chain that tied my two hands came loose. The floor made of stone felt cold against the skin.

    Goro called the guard, ordered to bring the best food. I didn't exchange words while waiting. My body is weak. My knuckles were like skull hands. When a bowl of rice, a slice of beef, and a plate of vegetables were available on the tray, without even looking at the two samurai on guard, my skull fingers moved swiftly to feed bite after bite into my mouth.

    My throat choked as the desire to quickly fill my stomach competed with mouthfuls of rice and vegetables. In an instant, all the food had turned to the stomach. The remaining rice stuck to my fingers runs out. I'm more and more convinced, soon I will no longer feel the pleasure of world food.

    "Why?" I asked after adjusting my breath due to satiety.

    "What do you mean?"

    “Why are you feeding the prisoner you are going to execute in the end? Don't expect rice, vegetables and a piece of meat to be exchanged for information."

    Goro laughed. "Not. I will not force you anymore. Your nature is the same as mine, stubborn. But cheerful. Too bad we were not brought together as friends."

    The intimacy that was conveyed broke the barrier that had been shackling it. There is no point in arguing with someone whose life is only counting hours.

    "Tell me about yourself. About the lands you have conquered," he pleaded.

    For a bowl of rice, vegetables, meat, there's nothing wrong with turning back the memory of my life's journey. I followed the story from my family background. About my father, mother, sister, childhood, adolescence. He joined in with questions about family relationships and the beauty of the center of the Mongol empire.

    Stepping on the story of the battle that I followed during the conquest of a country along with the destruction of castles, cities, and the mass murder of its inhabitants, Goro bent his face. 

    Saburo, who was standing next to him, glared in disbelief at the cruelty the Ilkhanat troops could do. The nutrients contained in the food I finished eating gave me energy so that my mouth would flow the story even though the pain was still felt to insulate the tongue.

    "I can't stop thinking. The Shogun must have heard of the combat prowess of the Ilkhanat army, its cruelty to a nation that did not want to surrender. Why doesn't he just give up? Acknowledge Khan's sovereignty, submit and become part of a great empire."

    "Bushido," said Goro briefly.

    "Bushido?"

    "The honorable path of death of a samurai."

    "By sacrificing the lives of the little people?"

    "We Japanese, do not see the samurai caste, peasants, or merchants at all, better die in honor as a nation than live colonized!"

    I shook my head in understanding. Nationalism is worth fighting for. Yet sacrificing hundreds of thousands, millions of lives, women, parents, children for a path of death that honors me makes no sense. The Ilkhanat troops will dump this country and its contents like flying cotton. They are scum in the fierce waves of the ocean. Bobbing aimlessly.

    "If you care about our situation, wouldn't it be better for you to join the war on our side as well?" Interrupted Goro.

    Traps were being prepared. This samurai never gave up. Even at the last moment, he was still executing his strategy. I laughed softly.

    "By revealing the secret plan of the attack and breaking my oath to someone?"

    I shook my head. Said firmly, "No. It's better to have my neck separated from my body." I continued, "Since you have treated me well, I am giving you just one suggestion."

    "What?"

    "Make as many boats or ships as possible."

    "What for?"

    "Save the residents!"

    Goro snorted in annoyance. "Do you think we are afraid?"

    “It's not a matter of being afraid or brave. However, they are innocent people. The Ilkhanat army will not be merciful to the people whose leaders are fighting back. "

    The image of the cruelty of Ilkhanat forces that plagued Europe, Baghdad, Syria raged.

    Goro took a deep breath. "OK. We will consider. See you tomorrow morning at your final resting place."

    He got up from his seat. Saburo followed. Both of them left me, who sat stunned on the cold, rough tile. The creaking sound of prison bars met the chain of locks leaving a loud splitting sound. Two pairs of feet step away, for a moment invite me to change my mind. 

    The shadow of the country traitor samurai whom I defended with my life spread. I growled. Get rid of the shadow of the pleasure that freedom has to offer

    "Bushido" The path of death is more honorable than treason. 

     I lay my body. A damp chill covered the tiles, biting the skin of my body which was covered with wounds. I do not care. My eyes opened to the stone roof. My thoughts drifted away. Visiting my hometown, visiting my sister, visiting my mother. On the thatched roof, I saw the woman who gave birth to me was washing clothes.