The Tales of the Ninja Coder

The day has finally come. I leave Hoshiakari now and go to Castle Noriaibasha, to be inducted into their clan, and given a wakizashi and my first orders. I know not what else today may hold, but I shall do my best. My heart is full of hope.

Off I go! Wish me luck!

Even while Akane’s mother has been visiting, I have continued to meet with heralds and clans. And it seems my perseverance may have paid off! I have spoken with various fighters and other clan members of Clan Noriaibasha, and they have sent a message via their herald to offer me membership in the clan. However…

As one of the largest of the clans of Izumi Province, their security is paramount. They must have their agents investigate my background, and ensure that I am not a mole or other deep-cover enemy.

Of course, researching the background of a ninja from Iga is often an activity fraught with some peril, so this may take a bit of time. It is still conceivable that something might go wrong, but I pray to Kwannon that everything will turn out successfully.

In the meantime, I have gone to an interview with Clan Zajutsukura — yes, the ones who were once the on-again- off-again allies of Clan Tenya. They asked me to show them some sansetsukon kata, and I performed them well enough. (My recent practice seems to have been helpful.) Then they posed me some problems involving broad strategies and Shima-style net-fighting. Where they had only contemplated two ways of attacking the problem, I came up with a third strategy that combined the strengths of both. They were very impressed.

But sadly, they are a small, upstart group, with few warriors and no Zen monks, using ever-shifting tactics to try to pursue multiple campaign strategies at the same time. And their castle is full of the usual games and amusements, but has no privacy or places to concentrate. If I joined them, I would get to use the ninja-tō; and the Jōgesen style… but I know that I would not thrive. It would be a repeat of my experiences at Clans Nettobuku and Tenya.

Instead, I will pin my hopes on Noriaibasha. If I join them, it will be like my time at Clan Iwinaga: I will use the kama and manrikigusari, and specialize in city fighting. Occasionally, I will have to use the wakizashi, and there will be no occasion for me to use the sansetsukon or ninja-tō. I will have to deal with samurai, and work alongside them, and I won’t get to do forest fighting.

But there will be nobles who have experience leading, and Zen monks and Nichiren priests to guide us in the ways of righteousness and harmony. There will be enough treasury to keep the armies well stocked, and the clan will not be finding its way uncertainly, constantly stumbling and trying new things like an upstart group.

I have high hopes.

I have been very busy talking to heralds, and even to representatives of clans who might want to take me in. It seems that a flurry of messages back and forth is often needed just to set up one meeting with a clan’s scout.

On Tuesday, I spoke with a captain of Clan Mitsugenso, who was a pleasant type and enjoyable to talk to. Sadly, his clan uses a great deal of mounted combat, and I would have to do horseback riding with armor on. This is not my Way; it would only lead me to be conflicted and unhappy, as I have been before.

A discussion yesterday, with a man from Clan Atsuzen, went quite well. Binya of Atsuzen asked me many questions about combat, urban stealth techniques, and so on, and seemed quite pleased with my answers. I await word from their herald to see what the next steps will be… though I am unsure if the style and culture of the clan will suit me. I must visit their castle and evaluate the atmosphere there.

Finally, last week I spoke with a warrior from Clan Shōnindō. She seems to have been satisfied with my words, because that clan now wishes to evaluate my fighting skills. I will shortly receive a test kata, which must be performed within a short time.

Time limits are not my friend. I have long known that my problem is not in performing executions well or silently; it is in performing them quickly.

So, even though Shōnindō is probably much too small a clan for me, I still should throw myself into this exercise. I must practice being faster, and this will be a good way to do it.

And who knows? I may even succeed.

The messenger who will administer the test should be arriving shortly. I must prepare myself. Ganbarimasu.

I should describe my work with Clan Tenya, when I get a chance. I have been very busy, traveling and hiding and fighting along the trails in the forests of Ōmi Province. But for now, I should tell of my recent meeting with Iyona.

When I joined Clan Nettobuku, she was the most holy of the priestesses of the Nichiren Buddhist order, until the abbess Jīya came to join the clan. I had recently heard that Clan Nettobuku's fortunes have not been good, and many of the clan's members have left. Others were turned away in a large group a few weeks ago, much as I was turned out last year — and as others were sent away, only a month after I joined the clan.

Iyona, being very good at her priestess-ly skills, quickly found a new post with one of the larger and better-known clans of Settsu Province, with headquarters in Naniwa and castles from Edo to Heian-kyō. On Monday, I went to meet her for lunch at a tasty restaurant in the capital.

Her new clan is a very large one, and she has been accustomed to small ones. She is now but one priestess among many. But aside from that, she prospers and thrives. She also told me some news of Clan Nettobuku's fortunes after my departure.

I had hoped to hear that Jimon's strange strategies, based so strongly on Living Stone techniques, had caused part of the clan's problems. To be honest, I wanted to know that I had been unquestionably right, and Jimon unquestionably wrong, about our strategy.

But of course, life is never so simple and clear-cut. Iyona, being a priestess and not a warrior, was not so involved in the details of strategy. What she did know is that Lord Tai, for all his experience in Izumi Province, knows very little of conditions in Ōmi. Commander Kobushi, for all his previous skill as an individual warrior, had no desire for command. And so the Clan's core was not centered.

They successfully took a small part of the territory they aimed for. It remains to be seen whether they will be able to hold it. Apparently Jimon has left to form his own clan — a thing which I suspect must end in disaster, for he is not a leader who can inspire others. He is too much in love with his own fighting skill, and so he concocts stunningly intricate kata, then is surprised when nobody else can master them.

Iyona did mention that Clan Nettobuku was having trouble finding warriors who could cope with Jimon and Bunmei's strange kata. And that even they, when faced with a new problem, would often find it easier to simply invent new kata than to adapt the old ones. This is probably the closest thing I will ever receive to a sign that my intuitions were right.

Two nights after my lunchtime meeting with Iyona, Akane and I had dinner with our good friend Arisa and her husband Baku. I spoke of my current clan and their current plans, and the fact that I must have the mountain passes and the path from Hikone to Kotobasatsuki clear, by Wednesday. And there was some talk of my time with Clan Nettobuku. It very quickly became clear that even speaking of my time with Nettobuku made me very tense and anxious, while my current responsibilities... they may be an important and difficult task, which is its own sort of burden. But now I am motivated to do my best, not tied in knots by frustration and worry.

I am still very busy, but I will try to, at the very least, keep sending small messages and haikus. And I have some larger tales to recount, as soon as I have some time to write them down.

I have now spent two days at Castle Tenya. On the first day, my fellow ninja Ryouji took me under his wing, and showed me the broad outline of the clan's strategy and tactics. He also showed me around the armory. I have been issued some weapons, but I have had much work to do in sharpening, polishing, oiling, and ensuring that they are in good balance. Indeed, that work is not yet quite finished.

However, all polishing and no creeping makes ninjas quite sad, so I have also spent a bit of time reconnoitering in Ōtsu. And there are scrolls full of battle plans to read and accustom myself with.

So far, things have been largely uneventful. I am not yet ready to undertake missions on the clan's behalf. Not yet. But soon, if I am diligent.

As of Friday, I have finished my duties with the Yaneura-gumi. Their campaign on behalf of Clan Mōfō is not quite complete, but all the sneaking, assassination, and other goals which require a Pagoda Bearer-style ninja are done. I have acquitted myself satisfactorily. Haruo, Teruyoshi, Mariko and the rest were sad to see me go, and say they will send a messenger if they have other tasks the require my skills.

But for now, I am a free ninja again. I have returned to my personal project in Kusatsu, which is nearing completion... and getting more difficult at the same time. Kusatsu's streets are narrow and crooked, almost haphazard. It's odd: in cities like Nagoya, the rooftops are difficult to master. In Kusatsu, it's just the opposite. The rooftops are just perfect for leaping, rolling, and fighting on, but doing anything at street level quickly becomes a difficult struggle.

Still, I persevere. I have heard rumours of secret ways in Kusatsu, and I must investigate to discover if they can aid me in my goals.

All that I attempt goes awry. Have I angered Bishamonten? I must certainly go to His temple and make offerings, for every step I perform in the Pagoda Bearer style today is off balance, or malformed somehow. A bitter, evil wind is blowing from the northeast, the demon gate that lets evil in.

I must make offerings. I must re-sharpen my sword. And I must continue to persevere. The enemies that now seem so invincible — soon I will find a way to slay them. The ninja endures; the ninja perseveres.

 
I have been doing acceptable, if not inspired, work with my kusari-gama lately. But now comes a painful challenge: I have been assigned to assassinate three individuals of the Bāgu clan (one of our arch-enemies). These three targets are all in Nagoya, the stronghold of Oda.

General Oda Nobunaga rules Nagoya and the surrounding province with an iron fist. The populace there are downtrodden and terrified, and guards patrol everywhere. It is an unfortunate place for a ninja to have to go.

But I will go anyway, and do my best. I knew when I became a ninja that working in Nagoya would be necessary sometimes.


Edited to Add: Immediately upon entering Nagoya, I was set upon by the city guard. I have already had to do some truly impressive work using both the manrikigusari and the Jōgesen three-sectional staff techniques... and I haven't even gotten a line on any of my targets yet! Truly, Nagoya is a difficult city for a ninja.

 
I could try to describe this in ninja-speak, or I can just dump it in modern terms. Either way, I'll just use the established ninja names.

A week or so ago, Jimon was placed in charge of the front-end (urban-fighting) ninjas. Jimon is fairly new at my workplace. Like Bunmei and I, he's a pretty damn smart guy.

In fact, a large chunk of my distress comes from the fact that both Bunmei and Jimon are really smart guys. Either (or both) of them may honestly be smarter than me. They certainly have a hell of a lot of knowledge about Ruby, and Rails, and they're really well-versed in all kinds of cool-ass programming techniques.

Honestly, the two of them move pretty fast, and I'm really having trouble keeping up. I feel "old and busted", and like a tired, old dinosaur that's getting edged out by the newer, quicker creatures.

It doesn't help that Jimon is pretty good at pointing out when he thinks something has been done in a less-than-optimal way... but not nearly so prone to compliment something when it's done well. (Or maybe it's just that he actually thinks my stuff sucks. It would help if there were anything I'd done lately that I could point to and say, "I'm actually proud of that. I did a good job on that, and I know it.")

Half the time, I'm not sure what he's talking about, and I feel like I'm too stupid to understand. The other half of the time, I think he's just a really lousy communicator.

Regardless, I've decided that the best thing I can do is improve my own game. To the utmost. There's no sense in asking him, "Hey, do you just think I completely suck? Or are you great at slamming on stuff, but incapable of giving praise?" Nobody's ever going to respond well to that kind of thing. Instead, I should simply work to "lengthen my line", as Joe Hyams learned from Ed Parker. Improve my own skills, work on doing the best job that I can possibly do — and don't give a damn what anyone else is doing, or how well they're doing it, or even what they think of me.

That last bit is going to be the hardest part. I've always been a little too concerned with other people's opinions of me. But if I work hard enough on improving myself, maybe I can at least shut those doubts up for a little while.