KATANAGATARI 3

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Though not because Togame the Schemer lost to Zanki Kiguchi in their game of shogi─on the contrary, she beat her host, which was exactly what she had planned to do.

All disputes were settled over shogi.

While this may have been something of an exaggeration, it was true enough to call a rule in Tendo─though even if this was the holy land of shogi players, there were surely people here and there who never played. If Zanki Kiguchi had fallen into this category,2 the scheme would have gone nowhere, but the other day, when they first visited Heartland Dojo, the keen Schemer had not failed to espy a shogi board positioned in the alcove.

If the terms had simply been “Fight Shichika, and if he wins, we get to have Oto the Cured,” Kiguchi would probably have refused─in which case Togame would be unable to receive consent, pushing them out of the realm of negotiation and into that of violence.

Considering the possibility that Kiguchi would sooner snap the Cured in half than let someone outside the Heartland School take it away, those terms would never do─so Togame introduced a buffer or two.

They would play a game of shogi.

But the game would not directly impact the result─if Togame won at shogi, Kiguchi would fight Shichika, creating a second opportunity for Togame to convince their adversary to cooperate.

For Kiguchi, beating Togame in their game of shogi3 would yield the status quo,4 but even if she lost against Togame, all she would have to do toward maintaining the status quo was defeat Shichika─thus safeguarding Oto the Cured. It would appear the stakes were fairly low.

The Heartland School was not designed for taking life, but giving life.

In turn, it forswore unnecessary conflict, being a discipline of swordplay for its own sake─although to witness Kiguchi practice in the Heartland Dojo was to know that she had no shortage of faith in her abilities.

There was no telling how skilled she would be at shogi, but by dint of living in this village, if she played at all then surely she had some degree of confidence.

As a pretext for getting rid of a liaison from the bakufu, going along with what Togame had proposed would likely be a tempting option for Kiguchi─but once they had her onboard, the circumstances would prove to be quite satisfactory indeed for capturing Oto the Cured.

Togame had a knack for shogi.

Her skill was known throughout the bakufu.

Indeed, though her prior visits to the village had been predominantly as a military advisor, not missing the opportunity to have some fun in this holy land of shogi players, she had behaved like a proper tourist─which was rare for her. An unsurprising hobby for a tactician, one might say, yet she did display extraordinary ability.

When she faced off against Kiguchi, she found her host to be quite skilled in her own right─but Togame made light work5 of her.

Without letting on that it was light work for her, naturally.

One hundred and seventy-eight moves.

It would only be unhelpful to run through every single move, so let us dispense with a play-by-play6─and just say that Togame pretended that they were evenly matched. In that sense, she’d played not against Kiguchi, but against the shogi board itself.

There is no greater headache than staging an entire game of shogi.

Yet it would never do to win so overwhelmingly that it upset Kiguchi. At the end of the day, this game of shogi was no more than a skirmish7 before the actual battle for Oto the Cured.

To put it another way, Togame had seen little reason to go easy on Kiguchi─to say the least, the match had been a league above the games she played for fun back in Owari.

“I’m out. You got me.”

Kiguchi apparently had no regrets about the outcome─and resigned the game with gusto. So much gusto, in fact, that Togame realized that playing for real may have been an option.

But she was not here to delight herself in games of shogi─she was here for what came next.

Or what she hoped was next.

And yet one could fairly say that things turned into a farce─completely fell apart, even─because Kiguchi was such an honest person.

“Alright then,” Kiguchi said, standing from the shogi board.

Dressed in the same gi as earlier.

Oto the Cured had sat beside her the whole match─she barely parted with it, carrying it everywhere she went.

Which meant that she was always ready for action.

She showed no sign of shying from the fight with Shichika (who, oblivious to how shogi was played, seemed bored throughout the game).

She welcomed it─with gusto.

This is when Twelfth Master Zanki Kiguchi truly won Togame over.

Perhaps she simply had the peace of mind now to see Kiguchi as a person. As confident as Togame had been in her abilities, there had been no guarantee that Kiguchi would not defeat8 her. In the world of shogi, there is no way that you can size a player up without seeing them play.

“You must be tired from the game,” Togame ventured. “Feel free to take a break.”

“That won’t be necessary.”

Kiguchi had yet to relax her expression.

“If I may, I come from warrior lineage─and a warrior never goes back on her word. I am prepared to risk Oto the Cured, the trademark9 of the Heartland School, according to the terms we have agreed upon. Let us begin.”

Kiguchi gave off the impression of a string pulled taut─no wonder she declined to take a break.

“Soooo…”

Worlds away from this high-strung demeanor, a happy-go-lucky Shichika sat himself up (he had been sprawled out on the floor) and doffed his armguards.

His sandals he had left outside the dojo.

Happy-go-lucky? Sure─but now Shichika was ready for action, too, just like Kiguchi.

“Okay, let’s get started─you know, I don’t think that I’ve fought against a wooden sword since we were in the Capital. Don’t worry, your sword is real important to us too. We won’t break it. It’s gonna be fine. Nothing’s gonna happen to the Cured─not if you’re torn to smithereens.”

Togame winced at this premature deployment of his catchphrase─and with good reason, as she would find out presently.

“Understood. Now, Master Shichika─as it would appear that you have not brought your own gear, I would be happy to provide you with a wooden sword and pads.”

Zanki Kiguchi made this offer sound absolutely natural.

“Huh?” Shichika was stunned. “W-Wooden sword─and pads?”

“Yes. Please, don’t be shy─we have loads of equipment leftover from when the school had followers. It may be vintage, but not to worry, I’ve kept it all in good condition. Though most of the pads will probably be too small for you, I’m sure we’ll find something that will fit.”

“U-Um…” Shichika could not hide his befuddlement. “Er, how can I put this… I don’t use swords or pads…”

“What?”

With that.

Kiguchi’s gaze, already sharp, grew twice as sharp.

“Are you playing games with me? If you spar10 me without pads on, what happens if you hurt yourself?”

“H-Hurt myself?”

“And not using a sword! Quit pulling my leg.”

“It’s just, the Kyotoryu─”

─Oh.

She must not know.

“Using my body as a sword is what makes me the Kyotoryu─so, uh, I can fight without a sword.”

“If you don’t stop joking around, I’m going to get seriously angry.”

Kiguchi gave no credence to what Shichika was saying.

Standoffish11 to the extreme.

“Yeah, but─”

“How can a swordsman fight without a sword!”

Too late. Shichika had pushed her far enough.

Kiguchi was already seriously angry.

“Are you honestly asking me to let you fight me without pads or a sword? That would be a disgrace12 to the Heartland School!”

“…”

“If you’re adamant about not needing a weapon or protection, I’ll have to ask you to leave─I have no interest in taking gross advantage of a helpless individual!”

Totally lost, Shichika shot a glance to Togame, who was still sitting by the shogi board─but the Schemer was as baffled as him by this turn of events.

Though Shichika had no weapons.

He was a lethal weapon in his own right.

While his form of swordplay hardly left him helpless, she could not deny that in the eyes of the world, it must have looked like he was emptyhanded, or practicing karate. That said, Togame had honestly never imagined this to be grounds for refusing to do battle.

Confronting an unarmed adversary, most enemies let their guard down, assuming they would have the upper hand─even those who knew about the Kyotoryu inevitably underestimated it on that account. True, here and there, someone like Meisai Tsuruga would take the nature of the Kyotoryu into consideration and snooker him with traps─

But Kiguchi was the opposite.

In fact.

She wanted Shichika to be armed, albeit with a wooden sword!

“Sh-Shichika.”

“Y-Yeah.”

“Sorry. I don’t know what to say.”

“…nkk!”

As this was to be a good, clean fight on principle─Shichika could not possibly refuse.