The Tales of the Ninja Coder

 
I have performed an extremely useful task for Clan Nettobuku, which will make life much easier for all of the clan's ninjas whenever we need to work in Nagoya, the chief city of Oda's lands. After much sneaking and infiltration in the city guard's headquarters and even in the regional lord's castle, I have secured some of the special grappling hooks that can gain a purchase on the city's rooftops. The city guard keeps a very tight grip on these hooks, and the penalty for being caught with them is death by torture.

But with these hooks on our manrikigusari chains, Bunmei, Jimon, Benjirō and I can go anywhere in the city, instead of being restricted to the streets and alleyways — and the city guards' many checkpoints. True, the rooftops themselves are still steep, slippery, and dangerous. But we will persevere.

My reward for bringing these valuable items back to the castle? The Nichiren abbess, Jīya, demanding to know about my plans for wintertime holidays, so she can plan the most auspicious times for company meditations. "I needed to know this yesterday!" she said. Truly, it is good to have one's efforts given the proper importance.

As further improvement of my day, I then attended a meeting in which Jimon taught the rest of the warriors about his new kata, which will be important to our work in the central provinces of Kawachi and Yamato. Of course, Jimon's kata are very pure examples of the Living Stone style. Perhaps I am simply overreacting to a slight overdose of Living Stone (and maybe also to Jimon himself), but his latest kata remind me uncomfortably of the Sturdy Pillar ryū that so annoyed me at Clan Iwinaga.

And, beyond that, Jimon... is not the best instructor. A good instructor can make difficult and complex matters simple and easy to understand. Jimon's presentation is disorganized and cursory, and may actually make simple matters seem more difficult than they truly are. He admits that he will not be writing any instructional scrolls, and that we all will simply have to study the movements on our own.

But no matter. I will study, and I will learn what is good in the Living Stone ryū, and I will not let what is bad in it cause me to reject the entire path.

And tomorrow, I will use the special Nagoya hook to track down and slay a merchant in Nagoya, a man who it turns out is aiding both our Ātosugijei and Reki enemies. I will keep my skills sharp, and when the new year comes, I will find a better clan.

 
I have improved my knowledge of the clan's new and special kata, so that I no longer feel that I am useless to Clan Nettobuku. Yesterday, I was even able to aid Bunmei by taking out one of the targets he was too busy to handle on his own.

In Henshukoku, I have been continuing with my ninja-ken kata, ensuring that I am still adept with it in case I find a clan that needs blade-work instead of sansetsukon experts. For now, I am doing my kata in the Journey of a Thousand Steps ryū, so that later I can revise the whole sequence into the style of the Living Stone school and compare the differences.

However, I am already starting to figure out some ways to use acrobatic rolls and other defensive techniques that are new to me. Not all the time, but I've managed to slip a few in here and there, and I'm getting better at them. This is a good thing, as more fighting groups are starting to see the uses of acrobatics.

At Clan Nettobuku... in addition to Benjirō, who joined us just over a week ago, we will soon be adding another ninja. He is a young, untested fighter named Saimei. He seems likable enough, but I am not sure that he has enough experience in dealing with larger teams. When the new year comes, I look forward to finding a different clan.

And I am revisiting Ōtsu, to see how the city has changed under the new Lord Mitsuhiro's rulership. The rooftops are as flat and inviting as ever, and I think it will be a most excellent place to practice my skills.

 
Last night, after spending a bit of time studying the Jōgesen ryū and improving my knowledge, I went out to enjoy some music and dancing in Ueno, the capital of Iga Province. There, I noted some handbills that said that Clan Iwinaga is looking for a warrior skilled with the weighted-and-hooked chain. It seems they still haven't found a good replacement for me.

Then, at the inn, I met two of the Buddhist priestesses that I once knew in Clan Iwinaga. It seems the clan has had to purge even more members, citing a shortage in its treasury.

Even if still feel very subordinate here at Clan Nettobuku (and I do), I am still in a better place now than I was then. I must remember this.

 
In the past few days, I have taken part in some talks between Jimon and Bunmei concerning our kata styles, and the forms and ryū we use. I have used some of Jimon's new kata in my recent activities, and...

I must admit, I have never really integrated Living Stone ryū techniques into my repertoire as fully as I should. They make it easy to improve a sequence of strikes, to adapt to changing situations. But in my early learning, I rarely had to deal with such changes. It was always too easy for me to get by in my self-taught Journey of a Thousand Steps style.

Now, when I can see at the very outset that something will fit well into Living Stone, I willingly use those techniques... but otherwise, I go down the wrong path, and later have to adapt things. It is not efficient.

And the insistence of the mounted samurai that everything should always be done in Living Stone style, even the smallest actions (that often make a very poor fit for it) has not helped matters any. The insistence on using Living Stone and Heavenly Patterns for everything is foolishness. But just because some fools have spoken of it does not make the entire school folly. My tendency to avoid it when I should embrace it more easily is folly.

Beyond that, I need to let go of my desire to focus on the small details of the movements and strikes. I need to look more at the larger patterns of kata, or even of the flow of combat between many warriors in a full battle. I have spent long enough looking at trees, and twigs; I must focus more on groves and on forests.

Truly, knowledge is ever-unfolding; there is no mastery, for the greatest master is still but a student. I must always continue my studies.

 
[This is going to be a weird mish-mash of ninja-speak and modern tech parlance. Sorry. I haven't got a lot of spare time, and it's hard to figure out how to say some of this stuff, so I'm just typing it up and posting it as fast as I can.]

I have finished taking care of all three of my targets in Nagoya, where only skilled ninjas succeed, and Jīya says I'm on schedule with my assassinations. On Sunday, Jimon checked in some changes that broke everything, and he had to spend all of Monday (and I think part of today) fixing it.

I need to tell myself that I am not messing up.

I feel bad because nearly all of my code winds up getting rewritten into some other format and style. I'm sure the other ninjas' code gets similarly rewritten, but since I'm not one of the ones doing the rewriting, I feel like it's just "No, your code sucks and needs to be changed. All the time."

I wish I knew if I get to rewrite their stuff or not... (Not today. I have way too much catch-up to do.)

 
Today, Bunmei and I tested another fighter who wanted to join Clan Nettobuku. This one was also unsuitable, though he did try. He was far more competent than the last one. This warrior had most recently spent time in the armies of Clan Shinano, and is very familiar with mounted combat. But he's versatile; he also knows the bo and jo staffs, and has familiarity with the sansetsukon, and the various chain and sickle weapons most used by urban ninjas.

But he isn't very good with nearly any of them. Though he can get through some basic kata with the manrikigusari, it was interesting to observe his stance with the sansetsukon: he had a basic, functional ability, but his footwork showed that he was still thinking of it like a sword.

He just wasn't as skilled as we needed. We will have to keep looking.

 
I was wounded today after dealing with an unexpected sneak attack last night — I slew the intruder, of course, but not before taking a nasty cut.

Despite my wounds, I persevered today, and worked hard to improve my skills, as I have vowed to do. Today, I performed my first successful Living Stone school kata using the Mūtou grappling hook.

And even if the sansetsukon kata Jimon and Bunmei have developed is difficult and intricate, I have begun to understand it. I will improve, and become an even better ninja, whether wounded or not.

 
I have been fighting hard using the three-sectional staff and the chain-and-grappling-hook at the same time, scampering over the roofs in Nara, the ancient capital, and chasing down our Takusan Clan enemies in the lakeside city of Hikone. It started off as something incredibly frustrating, as there were some bits of the Jōgesen-style footwork that were still eluding me. But I finally got those (with a bit of help from Bunmei), and today, the chase and the battle has become almost thrilling.

I remember what it's like to do ferocious battle across the rooftops again.

Unfortunately, I now need to head back to the castle for a major planning meeting, where we will plan the beginning of our Hitotsu Rokko campaign, which begins next week. Luckily, clearing the foes in Hikone and Nara will be a major step toward our campaign goals, so I'm getting a head-start on that aspect of things.

(I swear, I didn't choose the music on purpose! It just happens to be beautifully appropriate.)

 
For over a week now, I have been seeking a very wily enemy; a skillful ninja in the employ of the notorious Ayamari-gumi. This shinobi keeps popping up at the most unexpected times to harass us – usually, he goes after one of the Nichiren priestesses, and then is gone by the time Bunmei, Jimon or I can respond.

But now... Jīya has spotted him! He is in the lakeside city of Hikone! In the Ātosugijei district that overlooks Lake Biwa. I am on the way, joining battle with him on the rooftops.

He will not evade my pursuit this time! Mokkuro to senbotsu!

 
It is no news to those of us in Clan Nettobuku that Bunmei is very busy lately, trying to move from his current home in a faraway village to a place nearer to the castle.

When I first joined Clan Nettobuku, Bunmei was the lead ninja among the city fighters. Recently, Jimon joined us as a third ninja.

Commander Kobushi just informed me that, since Bunmei is so busy, he has had to step down as lead ninja, and Jimon has taken his place. Apparently Jimon has prior experience leading teams.

It has probably not helped that I have been somewhat gruff and unapproachable while working, and I have not been shy about pointing out problems. I point them out so that we might fix them, but I am afraid this has been perceived as not very leader-like.

I am displeased, with myself as well as with the clan.