The Tales of the Ninja Coder

I’m going to have to use a Bright Square kata to handle the Mitsugao gang. Clan Noriaibasha has a standard Bright Square tactic for use in urban fighting… but it was only intended for use against small groups, of no more than 5 opponents.

The Mitsugao gang has at least 15 members, maybe 20 or so.

I will have to improvise. I will have to extend the clan’s standard technique, and make it much more powerful. Sadly, I doubt my improvements will become part of the clan’s regular ryū; really, we should not have ever tried to use Bright Square in this situation at all. And we should not do so again. (If we ever do try it again, we should do it my way, but really, we should tell the nobles: “No. We may only use Bright Square under certain specific conditions, and these are not on the list!”)

I am still quite busy with handling Seijun’s team’s sudden crises. This is the part of a combined operation where we must all work together, in perfect coordination, to achieve victory. I just wish I could coordinate with Seijun’s team as well as I once did with Teruyoshi, back when we both fought with the Yaneura-gumi.

A busy morning at the Yaneura-gumi's headquarters. The armies of Saiongaso have won a resounding victory over their foes — a victory which we were instrumental in making possible for them. In the meantime, Haruo is busy assisting two Nichiren priestesses with their negotiations with Clan Mōfō over how to proceed into the final stages of their campaign. They are all very concerned with how much we can accomplish; they do not want to promise anything we can't actually provide.

The elder priestess, Romi, is constantly sending messages back and forth to the Mōfō clan leaders. The younger one, Mariko, often comes to ask Teruyoshi and I questions like, "If we station you in a mountain pass like such-and-so, how many enemies could you hold that pass against? What if they had spearmen, not just swordsmen?" or "How many foot soldiers of Ayamari can you take down in a frontal attack on a wide-open city street?" or "If you had to hold an eight-foot-wide gate against any number of enemies for 6 hours, what weapons and supplies would you require?"

Truly, they are trying to plan for every contingency. Teruyoshi and I stay in the courtyard at Yaneura HQ, sparring and waiting for Mariko to come with interesting and imagination-firing questions. Sometimes, we are sent on brief sorties, but I think they want us to conserve our strength.

In the evenings, I try to stop by Kusatsu on my way home, and learn more of its byways. It turns out that Jō staff fighting needs some strange adaptations to work properly there, and I am still trying to accustom myself to the proper ways.

For many years now, starting with my time with Clan Iwinaga, I have been largely cast in the role of a city fighter, working on rooftops with my chain and grappling hook. When employed by clans and armies, it's always been other people who fight in the mountains or the forests. Alternatively, there are times when I work on my own projects, and fight with the ninja-to wherever I can. When I was with the Totemo Akarui-gumi, I mostly fought alone; even if I knew Amon was battling other foes somewhere else, I couldn't actually see him doing so.

Over the past two days with the Yaneura-gumi, however, I have been working alongside a man named Teruyoshi. While I've been doing Pagoda Bearer style work with my ninja-to, he has been leaping from rooftop to rooftop, whirling his manrikigusari and grappling hook about. It's quite an interesting change.

Of course, the fact that I also know grappling-hook styles has made me that much more effective in supporting his efforts. We've been working well together. It is refreshing and pleasant.

This week, I was fighting for the Yaneura-gumi. My friend Meiun-no-Neko, who came with the Nanban traders and stayed to join the Okibi-no-Hito-gumi, knew of the Yaneura-gumi's need for a warrior, and sent messages to put us in contact with each other.

The odd thing is, the Yaneura do not use poisons. So I spent the whole week working with a non-poisoned ninja-to, and even with a jō staff (again with no poison; there are few poisons that will work on a jō's wood).

Now I am done with my assignment with the Yaneura, and getting back to a project I am doing for my own happiness. There are problems in Yumehaba and Seinikki, a pair of villages on the borders of Iga Province that I and many of my friends spend much time in. So, as I return to creeping about the back alleys of these villages, I find that I must re-apply the poison on my manrikigusari. It's an interesting feeling...

In many ways, it feels good. A poisoned weapon is much more reliable; when you strike someone with it, you don't have to wonder how much damage you did them, or how long they'll keep fighting you for.