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The Choshu Chronicles: Chapter Twenty-Two

by Omasu Oniwabanshi ::: 2005

Dawn. June 17, 1866. It was the day before the bakufu forces of Kokura, Kumamoto, and Kurume clans stationed on Kyushu Island planned to attack Shimonoseki, invade Choshu and destroy the little province that dared to defy the Tokugawa shogun.

Kenshin stood on the shore in the pre-dawn gloom. He'd skipped his morning sword practice. He'd be using his sword in battle today.

All around him soldiers were picking up their rifles, and stepping into the rowboats massed along the beach, their breath coming out in puffs in the early morning coolness.

Kenshin found a rowboat with an empty space and sat. The last two soldiers in pushed the boat off the beach and into the water, jumping over the side and landing with a thump in back. Those designated as oarsmen dipped their oars in the water and began to row.

The boat swayed forward with the motion of the rowers. The smell of the sea was all around them. Ahead of them a thick bank of fog lay drifting lazily across the strait, partially obscuring the large, broad profile of Kyushu Island, their destination.

The little flotilla of rowboats rowed on.

From his seat, Kenshin could see the five warships of the Choshu fleet moving away from the port, the two steam powered vessels, Ryoma's Union and Takasugi's Year Of The Tiger, leading the way. Soon Takasugi's ship and the two ships behind him cut away from the others and headed toward Tanoura.

Shortly after that, Ryoma's two ships disappeared into the fog.

The men rowed in silence. Surprise was essential. Minutes passed, with only the sound of the oars from other boats around them dipping into the water to let them know they weren't alone on the sea.

Then came the booming of cannons from somewhere up ahead. Ryoma's ship had opened fire.

The fog lifted, the shore was just ahead. Clustered along its banks were hundreds of junks, the low flat ships with broad high sterns, designed for sailing or rowing along the shore. They were to be the transportation for the invasion force.

The soldier in the prow of the boat growled at the sight, and pulled out a torch from under his seat. As they came closer to shore, he echoed the actions of the other lead soldiers in the boats around him and took the lantern off the ship's prow, using it to light his torch.

Then the rowboat bumped against the sand, and soon they were running up the beach. The soldiers with torches paused to toss them over the sides of the enemy junks, before running on.

Bullets whizzed by. Several Choshu men cried out as they fell. Kenshin ignored them and ran on. Soldiers were firing all around him, dropping to the ground at times to avoid the bakufu troops' bullets. However, they always kept getting up and advancing.

The sun was rising, casting a golden glow on the battlefield. Kenshin came to his first enemy soldier. Drawing his sword, he brought it up and under the man's rifle, ripping it out of his hands before thrusting in under the soldier's sternum, piercing his heart.

He ran on, using a variety of cuts, downward, horizontal, forward thrusts, anything to kill, and kill quickly. At one point a bullet tugged at his kimono sleeve. Kenshin whirled and ran at the hapless rifleman, executing him with a downward slash starting at the man's shoulder.

Then he wrenched his sword out of the corpse and moved on.

The Choshu forces were making a V shaped arrow, moving further and further inland, separating the bakufu forces, which fell back in confusion. Kenshin realized that he and a few others were at the head of the V.

Soon they passed the smoking ruins of artillery batteries and barracks that Ryoma's ships' cannon had destroyed. They pressed on to the batteries higher up on the hills.

Kenshin went into his hitokiri battousai mode and ghosted in first, running and hiding, scoping out his enemies, identifying targets who looked like they were commanding the others, and then striking, killing them and those standing nearest them.

He'd mastered the Hiten Mitsurugiryu methods of fighting multiple opponents, and used every skill his master Hiko Seijuro taught him about such situations. Cut. Slash. Thrust. Turn. Keep turning, and keep in mind at all times where each opponent is. Above all, be fast and never lose your grip on your sword.

At one point, he chased an enemy officer into an empty barracks. The man whirled and kicked a discarded bucket in Kenshin's way, thinking that he'd lured Kenshin in and would trip him then kill him. The officer yanked his pistol out of the obi at his waist.

Kenshin avoided the bucket easily by leaping over it, and as his feet came down, so did his sword, through the officer. The man's smug expression turned to shock. The pistol dropped to the ground, and so did he.

As Kenshin was pulling his blade back and out, he sensed a shadow in the doorway behind him.

"Kenshin?"

The word saved Hojo's life as Kenshin stopped his rush forward, sword angled back over his shoulder in preparation for a downward cut. He allowed his blade's tip to lower until it was pointed diagonally toward the floor.

Hojo was staring at the dead body behind Kenshin.

"Yes?"

Kenshin's word snapped Hojo out of his stupor. He shook himself. "I thought I saw you come in here. We have orders to burn the buildings. You should leave." He glanced once again at the corpse, and back at Kenshin. Then he turned and fled.

From the doorway of the barracks building, Kenshin saw that the light blazing away down the hill had nothing to do with the rising sun. The Choshu troops were burning everything in their wake, eradicating any building that the Tokugawa forces had used.

It was an ocean of flames, coming higher and higher up the hills of Kyushu.

Kenshin sighed and ran higher as well, chasing the bakufu forces ever higher, away from the coast and their plans to raid Shimonoseki.

o-o-o

In the end, the bakufu forces were routed. Their remaining troops fled inland, away from the coast, which was burned and blackened in the wake of the battle.

The smell of smoke permeated everything, hair, clothing, even the food tasted smoky. Kenshin remained with the squad he'd been loosely assigned to, hunting down bakufu stragglers, until it was clear there weren't any left.

One day Shunme showed up.

Kenshin was just finished cleaning his sword. The bloodstained sky-itoh, the silk cords wrapped around the rayfish skin covered hilt, had to be replaced, so it took him longer than usual.

He sat on the ground, ignoring the soldiers walking around him until he realized that one of them had stopped directly in front of him.

Raising his eyes, Kenshin saw that it was Shunme.

He looked tired, but happy. There were gunpowder burns on the sleeve of his kimono top, and a raw patch on one cheekbone, where it looked as if he'd hit the deck of Takasugi's vessel with his face, but he didn't seem badly wounded.

"Hello Kenshin."

"Shunme." Kenshin kept his face and voice neutral, but inside he heaved a sigh of relief. Shunme lived. Kenshin was surprised to find that it mattered to him that a man who didn't trust him, who most likely pretended friendship to everyone he met, had survived the battle.

Shunme's eyes twinkled. "You never change, Kenshin. You live through the most glorious victory against the bakufu ever recorded, and you're as calm as a fox in his den." He cocked his head to the side and squinted. "You know, with that hair color, you even look a little like a fox."

Kenshin sighed and got up. He remembered now why he tended to tune Shunme out whenever they were on guard duty together.

"You're a lucky little fox too, getting to fight on land. If I never see another ship in my life it will be too soon for me. Do you have any idea how hard it is to hold a rifle straight when all you want to do is throw up?"

Shunme belly laughed, the joyous ho ho hos causing soldiers all around to look. Blissfully ignoring the fact that he'd become the center of attention, Shunme continued. "The next battle, I'm fighting on land. The sea is for fishes. Men were never meant to fight on boats. It's unnatural. Give me a good land battle any day."

"Why are you here?" Kenshin cut off what looked to be a long diatribe against ships.

"Oh yes, Takasugi's going back to Shimonoseki. The battle here is pretty much over, and we've got cease-fires in effect on our other fronts, so you know what that means." Shunme ended expectantly.

Kenshin simply gave him a look.

"Celebration time! You know, a party! Fun! You remember fun, don't you?" Shunme pursed his lips and stared at Kenshin. "On the other hand, maybe not. Still, it's time you had some. I'm taking you back to Shimonoseki. With Hojo and Oshio fighting here on land with you, and me at sea, Katsura's been guarded by Nakamura and Takahata non-stop. I think he's about ready for a break from them, don't you think?"

"They are both fine swordsmen." Kenshin reminded Shunme. He'd seen them at practice in the inn's courtyard before, though Nakamura usually practiced in order to show up the non-samurai soldiers.

"True," said Shunme, leading the way to the beach. "But are they fine company at a party? I think Nakamura's face would crack and splinter if he ever tried to smile. He never even laughs at my jokes." Shunme grimaced in mock despair.

"I never laugh at your jokes either." Kenshin reminded him. Shunme mustn't know why Nakamura was so sad. It was bad enough that the man lost a woman he loved; he didn't need Shunme rubbing it in.

The older man grinned. "Ah, but with you it's just a matter of time. I'll get you to laugh one of these days, count on it."