Distant Thunder: Chapter 4

The Tenth Day of the Month of Shinjo, 1137

Ikoma Kaoku made his careful way through the corridors of Shiro sano Ken Hayai, acknowledging the respectful bows of samurai and peasants alike with a friendly smile and wave of the hand. To those he met, he appeared little more than a harmless old man, a simple historian long past the age of retirement, likely too buried in his scrolls to have noticed how the world had changed around him. They respected his age, and his position as Ikoma daimyo if they realized it was he that bore it, but Kaoku was under no illusions as to what they thought of him – which is to say, he knew that few in the Lion gave him any thought at all.

In some ways, he mused, they were right to do so. He was an historian, and many of his fellow Ikoma were far more skilled in the courts than he. His nephew, Ikoma Sume, for example, had mastered the art of making friends with engaging stories, and then building on those contacts for the gain of the Lion; Kaoku already had plans for the young storyteller when the time came for his retirement in truth. Nevertheless, the samurai who dismissed him as a simple historian were wrong when they assumed that meant he paid little attention to the present. The present is when history happens – it is one's only chance to get the tale right. Kaoku paid very, very close attention to the present.

It was that attention that drew him here now, to the military center of the Lion Clan. He came to a simple door, flanked by vigilant guards, and bowed to them, leaning heavily on his cane. "I am Kaoku, daimyo of the Ikoma, and I present myself at the request of Motso, daimyo of the Kitsu and Champion of the Lion," he intoned. The guards bowed with the proper respect for his station, and one opened the door and gestured for him to enter. With a grateful smile, Kaoku stepped into the personal chambers of Kitsu Motso.

Motso was seated on a simple cushion as Kaoku stepped within, but rose at once and bowed to Kaoku, more deeply than Kaoku's position would have demanded. Kaoku remembered how once Motso had sworn never to give respect to anyone based on their age alone (an extension of Motso's well-known bitterness toward the ancestors, who had never spoken to him as they did nearly all other Lion); the historian wondered whether this new attitude represented a softening of Motso's attitude or a display of respect for Kaoku personally. Regardless, Kaoku thought, it was a good thing.

The Champion of the Lion was a conventionally handsome man, clear-eyed and intense, with the trained physique and callused hands of a dedicated warrior. Despite his physical skill, however, it was Motso's tactical insights that had made him the first Kitsu to ever hold the title of Lion Champion, and it was said by some that Motso could defeat even Toturi himself in games of pure strategy (though Kaoku had never heard of such a contest actually occurring). Motso smiled broadly and gestured for his guest to take a seat, politely waiting until Kaoku had eased himself down onto a cushion before resuming his own position on the other side of the small, finely-carved table between them.

"Kaoku-san," Motso began, still smiling, "I am pleased you could join me. I had hoped that you might indulge me in a small pastime while we talk – I have lacked for strong opponents in shogi, and I thought perhaps you might consent to a simple game?"

Kaoku blinked. He was no great shogi master, as Motso well knew, though he of course was familiar with it. Moreover, board games were not what had brought him to the Lion Champion's study. He had gained much patience in his long years, however, and decided to see what game Motso might truly be playing. "Of course, Motso-dono. I am little more than a fan of the game, no true player, but I would be pleased to receive a lesson from the Master Tactician of the Lion," Kaoku smiled.

"Lessons," Motso smiled back as he rose and brought forth a shogi set from a nearby cupboard, "can be found in many places, Kaoku-san." With practiced skill, Motso quickly placed the various pieces on the tiled board in classic order, waited for Kaoku to do the same, then bowed to indicate that Kaoku should go first. The historian was not fooled; he knew very well that the minor advantage he would gain from taking the first move would not offset Motso's greater skill. Nevertheless, he pushed a pawn forward to begin the game.

"Motso-dono," he began, as he and the Kitsu began a series of simple opening moves, "I requested this audience to speak to you about the reports I obtained from several attendees at Kaede-sama's funeral."

"Indeed?" Motso replied noncommittally, deftly capturing one of Kaoku's knights while seemingly leaving open an attack line against his own bishop.

"…Yes," Kaoku said, briefly distracted as he attempted to decide whether the opening was legitimate. It seemed too good to be true, but all of the possible exchanges looked to be in his favor, so he took it. "I have been told that you agreed to several unusual proposals, from factions that I find perplexing. Can you explain them to me, that I might give direction to my family's diplomats appropriately?"

Motso did not respond directly to the loss of his bishop, shifting to a holding position that seemed to focus primarily on preventing any of Kaoku's pieces from being promoted. Astonishingly, the game seemed to be moving in Kaoku's favor so far. "Perhaps if you were more specific as to the agreements that concern you, Kaoku-san?" the Champion asked as he shifted one of his generals, blocking Kaoku's rook.

Kaoku considered whether to move directly to the matter that most concerned him, but decided a more circumspect approach would work best. As he thought, he moved several pawns, looking for a way past the defensive position Motso had built, but found nothing. "Your negotiations with the Crane," he said, "caught me somewhat off-guard. We are to provide them with military advisors? And in exchange, they will… beautify our fortifications?"

Motso shrugged dismissively, pushing his other general forward, a move that seemed to be testing Kaoku's own defenses. "I am not interested in the Crane at the moment," said Motso. "And they are not currently interested in us either. Their attention is being turned elsewhere, and I am content to let it be so. If they wish to decorate our castles, so be it; they will waste time and resources. Our military advisors will be Akodo students in need of seasoning – it is doubtful any of them will prove more tactically capable than Uji or his new pet, Doji Meihu, and it will do them good to observe an active military action."

"Then you do not intend to pursue any military actions yourself," Kaoku said, perhaps more sharply than he meant to. For a moment, he had forgotten the game entirely – this was, for him, the heart of the matter. Motso, however, cleared his throat slightly and pointed back at the board with his chin, clearly waiting for Kaoku's next move. After a moment, the historian looked around the board and realized Motso was slowly preparing for an attack, the initiative on the verge of shifting to the Kitsu. Kaoku dropped his captured bishop on the board, deciding it was time to break the defensive position before it became completely impenetrable.

Motso smiled, and Kaoku was not sure if it was in response to the play or his words. "I do not, Kaoku-san. Indeed, I agreed to a non-aggression pact with the Unicorn and Crab to reinforce that fact. Oh, I also agreed to shift some of our auxiliaries to the Phoenix border next spring, to give cover for the Agasha's bloody-minded vengeance, but that is as far as I intend to launch any aggressive action." He moved his rook away from the new bishop's line of attack, as though daring Kaoku to follow through on his threatened offensive.

Kaoku tried to keep the building anger out of his voice as he formed his next sentence. "And is that why you have not given my family sanction for a blood feud against Utaku Xanesha for the murder of Ikoma Tairusho?" he asked, his hand gripping the table hard enough to turn the knuckles white. "Because you do not wish to anger the rest of the Empire? Is that why you have chosen to agree to this non-aggression pact with the Unicorn and so spit in the face of my family's honor?" He realized faintly that his attempt to keep his voice calm had failed completely, but he was rapidly approaching the point of not caring.

Motso sighed slightly, but otherwise showed no response to Kaoku's outburst. "It is your move, Kaoku-san," he said calmly.

With a furious glare, Kaoku shoved his bishop forward, supported by his king and gold general. Let Motso's calm demeanor and careful defenses crumble when Kaoku pushed them. The Champion's attitude was outrageous, and if he could not lash out any other way, he would do so on the shogi board. With an angry grunt, he leaned back, waiting to see what Motso would do.

The Lion Champion, however, did not touch his pieces for a moment. "I wonder, Kaoku-san, if you would indulge me in a recitation of history," Motso said instead, studying Kaoku as the latter tried to regain his face and rebuild a veneer of calm.

"What history?" Kaoku asked warily. Motso still did not touch his pieces or the board.

"The battle of Firefly River, last year."

Kaoku blinked. "Firefly…? Ah, yes, Motso-dono. The forces of Moto Gaheris clashed with the Akodo legions under the command of Akodo Ginawa. Gaheris launched an offensive against our lands last spring. With aid from my own family in the courts, the Unicorn advance was slowed enough to allow Ginawa's troops to meet the Moto forces as they crossed the Firefly River. Ginawa's superior tactics drew away the Moto reinforcements and caught the bulk of the Unicorn army in the midst of the river, where their speed was of no use; the Unicorn push was halted and turned back, with remarkably few casualties on the Lion side."

Motso nodded, reaching a hand toward the board before drawing it back. "Thank you," he said. "Now, tell me this: how do you think Gaheris took his loss?"

Kaoku frowned. "He is reported to have been extremely angry and humiliated," the Ikoma replied slowly.

"That is what I hear as well," Motso agreed. He put out his hand again, and picked up the knight he had captured during the first exchange of the game. "Let me ask you this, then, Kaoku-san. Let us say that the superiority of the Lion armies over those of the Unicorn, whose blood you so thoroughly desire, is a given. What then is the greatest obstacle we would face in conquering their territory and avenging the slight they have given your family?"

"If they could not defeat us on the battlefield…" Kaoku answered slowly, "…they would turn to the courts, I suppose. They might seek an Imperial command, requiring us to withdraw."

"Quite so," Kitsu Motso beamed, as though he were a sensei whose student had just answered a tough question correctly. "And Ide Tadaji has, of course, just become the Imperial Advisor. Moreover, the ambassadors of the Ide family, though skilled enough on their own, have always been able to call upon the Doji and Kakita for assistance in the courts. Were we to invade, the politics might well prove more troublesome than all the Utaku and Moto legions. Where would your revenge be then?"

Kaoku's eyes widened as Motso carefully placed the captured knight in the midst of the Ikoma's forces, immune to attack and threatening Kaoku's king and gold general both. "On the other hand, however, what would the Crane do if the Unicorn violated a freely-given non-aggression pact? What would Tadaji say if the Moto spoke words of peace and then invaded without provocation? The Crane have accepted our military assistance and have offered to strengthen us in the courts. How hard will they argue when the Unicorn violate honor and the law?" Motso smiled – the smile of a hunting lion about to pounce. Kaoku could see that, no matter how he responded to the knight's position, his attack would crumble, and his defenses would lie exposed. The game was essentially over.

"Hear my words, Ikoma-san, and know them for history that has not yet happened. Gaheris' pride will not suffer his defeat to go unanswered. The pact will be violated, and when it is, we will answer the insult of the Unicorn with blood and steel, and there will be no political tricks to stop us. The strength of the Lion will stand revealed for all the Empire to see."

Kaoku nodded, flipping over his king in acknowledgement of Motso's victory. "Hai, Motso-dono," he whispered, and smiled back.