Life's Shogi

The morning to the next day arrived with the smell of blood in the air. It had a subtle slightly nauseating odor. It left him a little unsettled, but he pushed through the feeling. War continued without regard for his ills, the same as Aya.

Her plan remained the same and the battlefield looked like a mess still. The second day of the fighting would be very different from what she had orchestrated before. Based on what Yumi told him, the men that died yesterday were mostly Okamata’s men, something that she had planned for a while. He had no idea how she managed it, but they put their men at the front.

Today’s shogi board looked very different. The divisions reorganized with the remaining troops on both sides with no re-enforcements, at least on the surface. Reports from spies Aya had behind the lines told a different story. They had an additional two thousand waiting for orders to move and more being requested.

If Yori’s network was anywhere as good, likely Nerine’s spies, they knew of their additional thousand that consisted of nothing but Okamata’s men. Depending on how good Nerine was, they might have discovered the smaller elite force that Saki led with the plans to sneak into the enemy supply lines.

Aya seemed to have plans for everything. She counted on them knowing about her reserves and planned around that. Her tactics made moves that would counter such a move. It remained unknown how Yori would handle it. But today was going to be the first proper move of two rival shogi players. Yuki could only hope that Yori improved his game enough that Aya didn’t completely steam roll him. It would give him better survivability so that they could save him at the end of the war.

He would find out soon. Aya had him stationed out in front as a diversion for the main forces. All of the remaining troops from yesterday’s battle joined him. It was his job to keep them stalled out at worst and if he could advance, the bulk of the work would come from Saki and the reserve force.

Yuki measured his breathing and centered himself before the next round of enemies. He could see Seiji out across the field. ‘I wonder if Yori has the same idea. The two have a long history from what Saki explained. He probably knows her strategies. Let’s hope things aren’t so bad this time around…’

Without a replacement horse, he marched out with his men on foot. Yuki stepped forward, withdrawing his sword to thrust it into the air. He made a large motion to get the focus on him and his troops. “It’s time to send those bastards running today! Advance!” All of the men broke out into a full sprint towards the enemy lines.

Chapter 535 – Life’s Shogi

Three hours after the fighting started, the signal came from the enemy to retreat. Yuki finished off a couple of men unwilling to leave with the rest. He threw up his arm to his men for the day being won. It had been a complete rout.

Panting heavily from an even longer battle than the previous day, he sheathed his sword and motioned to four nearby soldiers. “Scout out ahead to make sure they’ve fully retreated. Don’t go further than visibility on camp. Report back to me when you return.”

“Yes, sir!” They all moved out together with promptness that had been lacking in them before. He watched them for a moment hurry off with their orders.

Once they were on their way, he turned back to the rest of the men that lived another day. “Congratulations, men! You can fight another day for the glory of Lord Matsushina! Return to camp, you’ve earned your rest!”

Cheering sounded through the crowds as they began the steady march back. Good moods despite the toll spread around with Aya’s winning strategy giving them confidence for the future. He only had a little to worry about on the battlefield. Once in the middle of fighting, he ceased to have a view of the battle and could no longer make large scale decisions. He could only trust in the plan.

“You won the battle,” Saki whispered, nearly appearing behind him as she came up along his side. Her small band of soldiers joined the rest.

Trying not to be startled by her sudden appearance, he gripped his hilt for balance. “And you’re becoming more like a ninja every day. Careful, Chiharu’s going to be jealous of you when we return.”

“I’m less worried about the outside and more the inside. That wasn’t a complete retreat.”

“Oh? I sent some men out to check on it.”

“From what I saw on my return, they’re moving to a fallback. They’re using the terrain to make fighting difficult with mountainous terrain and a thick forest. They’re out in the open, but I’m quite certain they’ve got traps and want to force a battle on uneven ground.”

“I had a feeling that might be the case. Against Aya, Yori needs every advantage he can get.” Yuki knew that Yori had to be sweating and frustrated right now with him being out maneuvered. Dealing with Aya wasn’t very easy. It made him wonder if Yori would have a success in the battles or would it be a constant push.

Saki motioned back to her team to move on ahead of her. Once they were enough ahead of her, she looked back to Yuki. “How did today go?”

“Better than yesterday. It’s less of a struggle, though I can still hear their screams and see the blood. I only slept last night because I was too tired otherwise.”

“You still need rest. We aren’t immune to death like anyone else here. So you need to keep healthy.”

“I know, it’s not always easy. I’ll keep doing what I can for Yumi.”

The day moved onto the next battle and next after. Aya and Yori continued their duel with human lives as things started to change from what Yuki expected. He shouted out to his troops to retreat. It seemed impossible, but Yori somehow out flanked them. With their entire east wing exposed, he couldn’t allow them to keep losing men.

A break in the fight brought everyone back to the camp. Yuki marched through the tent flaps still barring his armor. The blood and sweat started to become something that he couldn’t even smell. “They had a division of mounted troops that came out of the forest. Before we could even react, they already slaughtered half of the east wing in our column.”

Aya stared at the map as Yumi pointed out details for her in a low voice that he couldn’t pick up. They seemed equally engrossed in the strategy rather than the current circumstances. He couldn’t even be sure that they heard him.

“Lady Aya and Kaoin…”

Yumi looked up briefly to see Yuki before her. “Yes, we already heard the report from Michiko. Fortify the perimeter, you’ll get your new orders before long.” Once she finished her orders, she snapped back to the map.

‘Yumi…you’re not losing yourself in all this are you?’ Despite his position, he had little authority to speak with them. Aya didn’t view him as an equal and perhaps no one. He wasn’t certain about that. But since she rose high enough, she was no longer required to play the same games that she did. And it became quickly clear where everyone stood with her. Yuki was nothing more than a subordinate to her and his voice had no room for opinions.

He walked away to see to his men.

Focusing on the map, Yumi tried to keep pace with Aya. She pointed out on the map a shrine she had learned about during her investigation. “I think there’s a risk they might use this as a forward post.”

“I’m already aware that the scouts are using that for recon. That’s why I sent out Michiko’s group to wipe them out. The important part right now is cutting off the routes to limit their movements.” She began to run her finger over the regional map as her mind worked the data.

Yumi was a little surprised that Aya didn’t take the loss today very hard. It almost felt like she anticipated it even though she ordered the play anyway. The lack of concern over her troops was a little worrying, but there was a reason for it. She knew that much, but she hadn’t bothered to explain it to her. Each day a piece was rolled out to everyone, Yumi was no exception. ‘If I’m going to understand what she’s doing I’m going to need to be able to see further ahead and think more broadly…’

Watching the next battle play out more closely, she could see more of what Aya foresaw previously. The mounted soldiers came into the battle again, but were more confident having a clean rout the day before. They didn’t recognize the trap set in time and the whole group was wiped out. The sacrifice of her men hurt a little in Yumi’s mind that she would do such a thing just to get a complete victory to follow.

She had trouble seeing the men as pieces like Aya seemed to do. For her it looked like a more sophisticated version of shogi. Pieces had parameters and weaknesses that didn’t naturally exist in a unified board game. It added more complexity to the game, but it did nothing to slow the woman down.

The war pushed on with a solid victory and the loss of an important piece to the enemy’s military strength. Each day they moved the battle lines back further and further until Aya forced Yori into the corner. They found themselves at the final battle.

All of the remaining reserves that Yori could muster were standing between them and the city. Aya just had to crush the forces here and she would be able to walk into the city and capture the Lords. The war would be over today after only two weeks.

Yumi looked out over the field. It had been constant fighting since they started with no breaks. The only relief that the men received was each night. Between marching and fighting, they were always forced to do something. It amazed her a little how they looked like they were still able to keep going. Perhaps it was because this was the end that they looked like they had more energy.

They just had close things out. Aya would return victorious and with her revenge. ‘What’s she going to do after this? I know she has her eyes on Matsushina, but with her revenge does she still even want that? She’s not going to have anything to do now, no more motivation…’ At least for now, she didn’t sense that from Aya. She wasn’t sure if the future just didn’t concern the woman right now or if there were new plans that Yumi had no sense about.

But the future couldn’t be thought about for now. She stood next to Aya with Yuki before them. He looked a little unsure why he didn’t stand at the front of the troops like he always had. Unlike the other battles, Aya had a different plan in mind for him.

“Juro, you will take your best men and sneak into the city and capture all of the Lords. They’re planning to retreat during the fighting hoping to come back after they’ve made new allies. We’re putting an end to it all now.”

“But my presence missing on the battlefield will be noticed.”

“Michiko has already created an opening for you to sneak into the city. Once you are in, there will only be a small force protecting the Lords. Capture them all and bring them to me. Let no one escape.”

He paused for a moment before answering. “Yes, my Lady.”

Aya motioned to Yuki for him to leave. She then looked over at Yumi, eying her up and down. “You will be joining me on the battlefield today.”

“I am? You are?” Surprise poured over Yumi's face as she forgot her control in front of the woman. This wasn’t said anywhere in the plan. If this was going to be how it played out, she would have liked to have notice to prepare for it. “But I can’t fight.” Which was a mostly accurate statement. She did have some modest training for self-defense, but nothing that would give her any sort of standing on the battlefield.

All of her fighting from Masa’s world didn’t transfer over since that was honed with a different body. She could only try to use what she had there and pray that it didn’t get her killed. More practice would be required to utilize anything that she learned and pounded into her muscles. ‘Can Aya even fight?’

“We’ll be in the rear away from the fighting, but it’ll be an important symbol for the men fighting as well as the enemy. They’ll be more eager to fight if they think that they can bring us down. They’ll make more mistakes and be the necessary diversion to keep their eyes away from the city.”

“Yes, my Lady.” Yumi looked over hearing someone coming. Two servants arrived with a few pieces of armor in hand. The rest came carried behind them by further servants. It would seem that Aya was very serious about joining the battle. Yumi swallowed carefully as she would be seeing war up close today.