Tomorrow's Bleeding

The Final Days of Konishi Yukinaga

His life is over, Yukinaga realized, the moment Mt. Matsuo moved to turn the tide of battle against them.

When Kobayakawa Hideaki's army swooped down from their hilltop position, swinging the banner of betrayal; when Otani's men, unprepared to defend against their charge, crumbled under the weight of their onslaught; when Hideie's units, at the centre of the battlefield, were routed by Fukushima's forces; when Wakisaka and several other generals of the Western Army took this moment as their cue to discard their old allegiances and raced to contribute to Tokugawa's inevitable victory, and Sekigahara was lost—just a few hours after it had begun.

What unfolded next was a scene of pure chaos. The sounds of panicked screams, the stampeding hooves, and the whir of bullets slicing through the air reverberated in his skull, and the world became a blur as both allies and enemies alike surged around him to either flee or pursue.

A tug at his arm entreated him to evacuate, but Yukinaga remained rooted in place—until a volley of gunfire blasted Kiyozaemon's right ear and almost knocked him off his mount.

Yukinaga caught his retainer before he fell. With one arm wrapped around the wounded man, and the other pulling at his horse's reins, he turned the steed back and galloped toward the mountains behind the battlefield, away from the pandemonium.

~*~

By the time Yukinaga crossed the threshold of temporal safety, his steed had already reached its limits. The black stallion keeled over at the wayside, forcing Yukinaga to carry his injured retainer on his own.

He dragged his feet across the muddy terrain while sweat and blood trickled down his neck. His heavy steps were propelled forward only by the decades of discipline steeled into his bones, and Kiyozaemon's diminishing heartbeat.

The rustling greens above shielded them from the afternoon heat, and the thick foliage drew a curtain over their crossing, until they finally stumbled into a village nestled at the foot of the mountains. 

~*~

The four days he spent at Kasuga Village was like a dream. The idyllic wonder of waking up to the cool mountain air, and being able to refresh himself in Mishima's waters while watching the local populace work their fields, was unlike anything Yukinaga had ever experienced before.

Secluded from the incessant murmur of tradesmen haggling prices, from the lavish parades of preening noblemen attempting to show-off their power, from the thunderclaps of gunfire and clashing blades, he might as well be in paradise.

But, just like a dream, these tranquil days are not meant to last. Tokugawa's forces would never allow him to disappear quietly. 

Thus, when the news came that Takenaka Shigekado's unit were approaching the village to look for him, Yukinaga gathered the people that had so kindly offered him refuge and told them: "Hand me over to the shogun for a reward."

Time itself seemed to bate its breath as the villagers gawked at him with rounded eyes.

"What?! Konishi-sama, we can't do that!" Hayashi, the village head, was the first to break the silence. Everyone else quickly chimed in, saying that it would be wrong, to harm a guest, to betray him, to profit from his misfortunes...

However, Yukinaga held up his hand to halt their protests. Addressing Hayashi, he said, "I am not the lord of this domain, and you have no obligations to serve me. If the ruler of the land knows that you are harbouring a fugitive, he will crush you. Is it right, to risk your wife, your children, your neighbours, for the sake of a stranger?"

His eyes briefly lingered at the makeshift cross planted at the far side of the stream, under which Kiyozaemon's body was buried.

"But... but then, they will... you could be..." Ashen-faced, Hayashi stumbled over his words.