Wolf and Keeper

Chapter 12: A House's Memories

The journey from Mikawa to Owari had been mostly uneventful, and the arrival at the border of the province into Mino was the only point in that trip where anything of note even occurred. They made it to the border checkpoint and found themselves facing a rather large blocked off segment of road leading past one of the many camps. Two guards stopped them, and it was Emi to approach first, "Pardon me. We'd like to move past here, if possible."

The first guard shook his head. "Unless you have an Oda pass, no one gets through this area."

"This is our only route-"

"Sister," the second guard cut in, "we've had too many smugglers and ne'er do wells trying to cross through here. If you want to get through, you'll need a pass."

"Oi!" A voice made the two guards turn to face the man approaching them. He was on the short side and spindly, carrying himself with an almost exaggerated swagger as he approached them with a samurai in tow. "Why are you hassling these travelers?"

"Mister Kinoshita," the samurai leaned in close and looked up at Sen and company with a smile, "these are the ones."

"Ah!" The short man beamed and clapped his hands together. "You're the ones who saved Ayumu!" He paused and narrowed his eyes at the two guards, "And you haven't let them pass... why?"

"Ah, sir, we..."

"It doesn't matter now. They pass with my permission."

"B-but Lord Nobunaga..."

"Will be fine with one little group. Now get going already!" He shooed them away before he turned back to the group with a broad smile. "Sorry about that. Lord Nobunaga has been highly insistent on keeping these roads locked down until we get people inspected. You remember Ayumu, right?"

The samurai smiled behind his somen and bowed, "I was several feet shorter and a lot hairier, I fear."

It clicked. "Oh!" Sen exclaimed in surprise as the samurai beamed back at him.

The man named Kinoshita laughed heartily and grinned at them, "That's Ayumu for you! When he disappeared during our scouting mission, I got worried I wasn't going to see him again."

"Your army has many yokai," Hachirou observed as he watched some of the soldiers pass. "Is that by design?"

"Our Lord is... well, let's just say that strength and ingenuity are good for him regardless of where that strength comes from," Kinoshita scratched the back of his head and glanced over his shoulder. Sen followed his gaze and saw what he was looking at. Standing on the nearby ridge was a tall man garbed from head to toe in dark armor, the jinbaori he wore over it decorated with a scene of a midnight field of spider lilies and fireflies, and the helmet adorned with an upturned crescent that held the crest of the Tokugawa of Mikawa. Sen couldn't see his face past his somen, but the eyes that burned above the metal mask glowed a burning amber – the color of yokai. Kinoshita regarded him for a moment before he gave a friendly wave. The yokai hesitated a small moment before raising his hand and turning away and vanishing further over the rise. "Eh, he'll come around," the short man shrugged and turned back to Sen and company. "Anyway, as a favor for saving my pal here," he slapped Ayumu's shoulder as he spoke, "I'll let you all get through here to keep on your way. Uh, just, don't tell anyone I was spotting you some favors. Last thing I need is a chewing out from Shibata again..."

"I'll escort you to the end of the checkpoint," Ayumu nodded and gestured for the group to follow him. He led them through the makeshift checkpoint, and Sen couldn't help but marvel at the soldiers milling about. He hadn't seen that many troops before in his entire life, let alone so many fully armored. His eyes went to the ridges on other side of the road, and he saw camps and even more soldiers milling about. He couldn't even imagine what all of these troops were needed for.