[Senkumo Saga: Book of Blossoming]: The Art of Lying

In the following days after meeting with Yoshimasa, each and every member of the Senkumo clan had to prepare themselves for their first battle. Every man, woman, and child did all that they could in order to mentally ready themselves. On one particular morning, Tsukiakari ventured out into the light of the sunrise, curious to see how her fellow Senkumo were handling the news of approaching battle.

She saw many of the young women tending to the gardens with the younger girls. While the girls were nervous, their older comrades seemed excited to finally be able to take part in the Onīn War. For many of them, the upcoming battle was a chance to go back to Kyoto, the city that had been taken from them.

The women told their younger counterparts stories of death and loss, of homelessness and military cruelty. Tsukiakari noticed, above all else, that as they recalled these horrific experiences, the women all smiled. Not a single one of them were brought to tears, nor were they particularly angered. There was no aura of grief or hatred around any of them.

Tsukiakari then observed the men lingering about outside of their quarters. Most of the men took it upon themselves to exercise as a group, completing laps around the courtyard while fully armored and packed for battle. The others sat in front of the mansion, using grindstones to sharpen and refine their stock of swords, knives, and spears.

More than the women, the men seemed motivated by revenge, bolstered by their hatred of the Yamana and Hosokawa clans. Even so, the men still managed to laugh and joke amongst themselves. The older men took the time to know the younger teens and boys more personally, bombarding the timid souls with questions pertaining to their birthplace, or what their fathers did for a living.

As she observed all of this, Tsukiakari wondered why more of them weren’t feeling uneasy. Even the younger recruits seemed eager to help out in Kyoto, in any way they could. The adults surely knew that not everyone would come back to the Senkumo base alive. They must’ve known the younger recruits would see and experience things that would change them for the rest of their lives.

Of course, they all knew. Perhaps that’s exactly why everyone spent their time laughing and joking with their comrades. Perhaps, a conscious effort was being made to spend what could very well be their last days in bliss, rather than agony. Tsukiakari learned then and there, that above all else, every member of the Senkumo prioritizes peace of mind in the current moment, rather than the pain and regrets of the past.

“Something on your mind?” asked Taeko, startling Tsukiakari out of her deep thought.

“Goodness, Taeko," Tsukiakari cried with faint breath, her hand placed over her racing heart.

“Damn, did I scare you? Sorry about that! I’ve always been really light on my feet, so people usually never hear me when I walk by. It’s a curse, as you can see.”

Taeko stood side by side with Tsukiakari, watching the other Senkumo go about their day along with her.

“Taeko, aren’t they scared," Tsukiakari asked beneath her breath.

“Of course they are. The nights must be particularly rough for all of them,” Taeko inferred. “We’re all thinking the same thing. We’re all wondering if we’ll come back alive, or if our friends will live through the battle. Anticipation like that bears its own kind of pain, Tsukiakari.”

“I’m a goddess, and even I’m nervous. It’s only been six years since I joined, but it feels like this has all happened so fast. I mean, I’m excited too, but…I can’t help but feel anxious as well.”

“Good,” Taeko cheered with a smirk.

“How is that good,” Tsukiakari chuckled.

“I have a feeling it’ll help the men view you as a person, rather than an idea. You’re a goddess, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t tangible or relatable. If you’re going to lead these people into battle, you need that quality about you. You need them to believe in you.”

Taeko gently patted Tsukiakari’s back and walked off, leaving the goddess to her thoughts. Tsukiakari plopped herself onto one of the wooden benches in the courtyard with a heavy sigh, continuing to study her fellow Senkumo until noon. Anchored to the bench, she felt as if trying to navigate the base any further would be like trying to traverse a spider’s web.

The gravity of her own thoughts kept her there until the distant echo of gongs caught everyone’s attention. The gongs rang out from the entrance of Bishamon’s mansion, hushing the laughter and conversational chatter around the base. Everyone, save for the guards posted on the walls, made their way towards the mansion.

All of the people she had been watching just moments ago walked past Tsukiakari like pilgrims on a journey to a holy city. Catching sight of Ebina among the moving crowd, Tsukiakari stood and called out to her.

“Ebina! Over here,” she shouted with a wave.

“Gekko,” Ebina responded, her silver hair tied into twin tails. She had started calling Tsukiakari by her nickname, Gekko, as her real name was too tiring to repeat.

Ebina squeezed through the shifting crowd to reach Tsukiakari. The two watched as every man, woman, and child sauntered past them, forming a great crowd outside of Bishamon’s mansion.

“What’s going on, Ebina? Are we being summoned,” Tsukiakari questioned.

“When you hear the gongs, no matter what time it is, we all show up inside of Bishamon’s mansion. This usually happens when he wants to make a speech or announce something,” she explained.

“Oh, I didn’t know that. That makes sense. I guess we should make our way inside then, huh? He probably wants to say something about the mission.”

“Yes, we should," Ebina suggested as they slowly made their way down the crowded dirt path. “By the way, Tsukiakari…”

“Yes?”

“Don’t get hurt when we deploy to Kyoto, okay,” Ebina joked with a smug smile and a thumbs-up.

“Same to you. I’d sure hate if it Taeko used any minor injury as an excuse to touch your body for medical purposes. That wouldn’t be funny at all. I’d be too mortified to laugh myself to death.”

Furious, Ebina slammed her sandal upon Tsukiakari’s toes like a hammer upon an anvil. Having gotten her revenge, Ebina drew catharsis from the goddess’s pained squeals. Despite her throbbing toes, Tsukiakari was humored by Ebina’s unchanging attitude in the face of their impending deployment.

In that moment, Tsukiakari could almost fully understand why someone like Ebina, or the various men and women she observed earlier could keep their heads held high when they knew they were going to battle.

The Senkumo weren’t just a community of lordless commoners. They weren’t a lowly band of warriors without a daimyo, rattling on about their sovereignty and independence from the country’s feudal system. When the time came to march into battle, each and every Senkumo was a martyr.

They could see the gods they devoted their lives to, live under them, and laugh with them. Tsukiakari and Bishamon weren’t just ideas. They were living, breathing gods, dwelling among their own men. And so, there was no pain or doubt in martyrdom, no fear in dying. Their cause was as real as the soil beneath their feet and the sky above their heads.

Realizing this, Tsukiakari too felt her worries fade away. She found a strange humor to her own realization, knowing that unyielding loyalty had been the oldest wish of any ruler. As it turned out, all anyone really needed was to see exactly what they were fighting for.

Of the six hundred people summoned by the gongs, only the two hundred-fifty marked for deployment were instructed to step inside. Everyone ascended to the third floor, filing into Bishamon’s sanctuary in a quiet, orderly fashion.

Trivial chatter and idle conversation all died as each person crossed into the threshold of the sanctuary. The lingering scent of incense and the heavy silence choking the room served as unspoken indicators that they were not to speak a word. Bishamon sat in his usual place in a meditative state, on the purple cushion in front of his golden statue.

It was an unspoken rule of etiquette that everyone should sit with formal posture when they were summoned before Bishamon. This required one to sit on their knees, with their bottoms resting upon their heels and feet. One’s back was to be straight at all times unless given permission to relax. Any slight adjustments to this posture were frowned upon by the other members, as well as Bishamon himself. Everyone waited patiently, for several minutes, for Bishamon to address them.

At last, he spoke.

“Six years…” he began. “Six years ago, we welcomed a new deity to the Senkumo clan. For good reason, I kept the extent of her identity a secret from most of you. I wanted to wait until she was fit to fight, fit to lead an army on her own. Now, I feel that time has come. Tsukiakari, please come and stand over here.”

All of the other two hundred forty-nine heads in that room turned towards Tsukiakari. She could feel their eyes crawl over her like swarms of insects. Everyone in front of her spread apart from each other, forming a small walkway leading right to Bishamon. She stepped forth, facing her fellow Senkumo while Bishamon stood alongside her.

“Tsukiakari Senkumo is the daughter of Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi Okami," Bishamon declared, drawing shocked gasps from the audience. “Before coming here to Earth, Tsukiakari was the princess of Heaven, set to rule after her mother. The goddess came here in search of her true calling. Within each and every one of you, she has found it.”

Tsukiakari quickly scanned the faces of every man and woman in the room, observing a shared feeling of surprise and immense respect. Very few of them actually knew that Tsukiakari had such powerful lineage. Most of them pegged her for a no-name, minor goddess.

“Tomorrow, you will all deploy to Kyoto. It will be the Senkumo clan’s first time out in a real battlefield. Until now, our clan has remained in the shadows, tucked away on a little slice of land in the countryside. I promised that this clan will grow, that we’d have several bases like this one built across the country. This is the first step towards that goal. As such, Tsukiakari will be the one leading you all into battle. I firmly believe she has the power to command a force of her own. You will obey her just as well as you have obeyed me. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Lord Bishamon,” Everyone collectively responded. Bishamon nodded at Tsukiakari, giving her permission to say her piece.

“I am Tsukiakari Senkumo, the former princess of Heaven. As Bishamon said, this will be our first battle. Casualties are almost guaranteed. Some of you will not make it back here alive…”

Tsukiakari paused after her forewarning, allowing her words to truly sink in. Grave and pained expressions replaced the blissful smiles she encountered earlier.

“…But you have something that no other force on this earth does. You have gods on your side. The gods that you worship are here with you, in the flesh, struggling alongside you. You weren’t told to die for something you couldn’t see or touch. Your lives won’t be thrown away on the whim of a flawed mortal who has crowned himself as your better. A Senkumo can live and die knowing they’ve been blessed by the gods they worshiped. A Senkumo doesn’t just believe his cause is righteous. He knows it. Let go of your fears and place your trust in me. Death is no punishment for such righteous mortals. It’s your chance to live forever.”

And so, devoting themselves to the princess of Heaven, the Senkumo bowed to Tsukiakari, their foreheads touching the tatami mats. From that moment on, Tsukiakari Senkumo officially held command over nearly two hundred-fifty troops. For the first time in her turbulent life, she possessed her first sliver of power.

In the early hours of the next morning, Tsukiakari gathered her fighting force. After bidding farewell to their comrades remaining in the base, the Senkumo troops marched through the countryside towards Kyoto. With much of the land being flat and the weather temperate, it was a relatively easy march. In almost six hours, the Senkumo arrived within a three mile distance to the war-torn Kyoto. Immediately upon arrival, the men set up camp in the hills overlooking the city.

After they had prepared their tents and cooked their meals, Tsukiakari and Taeko laid down the details of their plan to lure out the Yamana and Hosokawa forces. The two hundred-fifty men were split into ten groups of twenty-five, each with their own leader and chain of command. However, the first stage of their operation would only involve Tsukiakari, Taeko, Mayumi, and Ebina. Tsukiakari and Taeko would enter the territories of the Yamana to plant the seeds of disinformation within them. Mayumi and Ebina were to remain at a safe distance. They would be responsible for ensuring the other two got in and got out safely.

And so, they began the first phase of their operation the following morning, the rising sun veiled behind thick rainclouds. The rain was heavy and merciless. Kyoto looked unrecognizable with all of the homes and stores completely destroyed, gutted like corpses on a battlefield.
Tsukiakari marched alone through the messy and desolate streets, protected from the cold, battering rain by her black cloak. Her eyes scanned every alleyway to her left and right, being mindful of bandits taking advantage of the chaos rocking the city.

The harrowing caws of crows taking shelter from the rain caught Tsukiakari's attention. A flock of them hid within one of the destroyed buildings, picking at the decomposing corpses of the family that couldn't make it out in time. 

I guess some people just weren't able to escape the fighting, she thought.

A man's thunderous voice rang out from ahead, accompanied by the hiss of swords being pulled from their scabbards.

“You there! You are in Yamana territory! Raise your hands and stand perfectly still!” 

Tsukiakari turned just slightly to get her eyes on the column of armored Yamana samurai blocking the road. More of them were positioned on top of the large piles of rubble and dilapidated roofs of buildings, aiming at her with their bows and arrows.

“If you refuse to comply, we will strike you down!” shouted the Yamana soldier.

Without further delay, Tsukiakari slowly revealed her arms from beneath her rain cloak and raised them into the air.

“Confiscate her weapons and take her in!” The Yamana soldier commanded.

With her hands up the whole time, the group of two dozen, armor-clad samurai took Tsukiakari with them. They led her deeper into the ruins of town, through the gates of a dilapidated mansion. Once she passed through the gates and saw more Yamana troops inside, she realized they were using it as a makeshift command center.

The heavy steps of the samurai creaked against the soaked, wooden walkway as they approached one of the sliding doors. Tsukiakari gazed at the rain-battered garden beyond the walkway, smelling the drenched trees of vibrant green and the colorful fruit hanging from their branches. 

One of the samurai sat on their knees before knocking on the sliding door and receiving permission to open it from the other side. After he slid the door open, he bowed his head towards his commander, who sat comfortably at a black, wooden desk in the center of the room, in the middle of writing letters. His heavy, iron scale armor was cast aside in a pile, but he kept his sword close to him. 

“Commander! We have brought you the girl described by Lord Yoshimasa. We made sure we weren't seen by anyone on the way back,” the grunt informed.

Ōkawa Yamana was just as young as Tsukiakari was .He couldn't have been out of his 20's. His face was shockingly youthful, but his eyes were the tired and forlorn eyes of one who had seen gruesome combat. He sat there, with his hair in a short, top-bun, writing some letters with black ink and a small brush.

“Ms. Senkumo, is it? Please, have a seat,” Ōkawa said

Ōkawa finished his final letter of the day, handing it to the bowing samurai for him to deliver. The supposedly fierce commander wore only the brown cloth pants and long sleeved shirt of a low-class citizen as he moved his papers to the side, pouring a cup of tea for Tsukiakari as she sat down with him. The other samurai entered as well, standing along the sliding door and walls with disciplined and upright posture. The smell of rain, tea, and tatami mats took their minds away from the desolate battlefield outside.

“Shogun Yoshimasa mentioned you had intelligence on Hosokawa positions in the city, as well as their supply routes,” Ōkawa stated.

Tsukiakari remained calm and confident as she sat with him, surrounded by his samurai. Of course, she had no reason to feel intimidated by a Yamana commander, for she was the daughter of Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi. There was no one in that room of more royal blood than her.

“Yes. This information comes right from Yoshimasa himself. Lord Yoshimasa has decided to intervene in the madness consuming Kyoto, and he lends you power of the Senkumo clan to aid you in finishing this war," Tsukiakari deceptively informed.

“Senkumo clan? The name is new to me. How did you become Yoshimasa's guard dogs in complete secrecy? Why did he choose you and not the other prestigious clans in the country?” Ōkawa questioned.

“Because, with all due respect, in addition to being free from the influence of warring lords, the Senkumo clan's combat abilities outclass even the military prowess of the Ouchi clan.”
Ōkawa chuckled, genuinely impressed by Tsukiakari's bold statement “Very well. In the state we're in right now, it wouldn’t hurt to start believing in miracles. So then, Ms. Senkumo, please go over the information you came to deliver. The Yamana will organize and act on it accordingly.”

“Understood," Tsukiakari promptly replied.

After all was said and done, Tsukiakari was released from the Yamana, and Taeko was released from the Hosokawa. The two of them took different routes to a pre-arranged meeting point, the ruins of a razed Buddhist temple on the outskirts of town. All that remained of it were the soaked, splintered piles of wooden beams and walls, topped with the broken pagoda roof dedicated to Bishamon.

Life-sized, stone statues of samurai kneeling with their heads bowed brought a feeling of center to the shrine. They were built along the walkway that led to the pagoda, where Tsukiakari and the others met after accomplishing the prelude to their mission. Once all of them had arrived, they removed the hoods of their rain cloaks and smiled at each other with proud glee as the rain continued to pour down on Kyoto.

“How did it go, everyone," Mayumi asked.

“Remind me to thank Tomiko for the letters. Thanks to her, I was able get in without much of a hassle," Tsukiakari proudly proclaimed.

“Yeah, it was pretty easy for me as well," Taeko added. “The Hosokawa seemed desperate to take any avenue possible to end the fighting. They bit the bait. The Hosokawa are going to be plotting their assault. They're putting most of their weight behind this one.” 

“And the Yamana," Mayumi inquired, prompting an answer from Tsukiakari.

“They're also at the planning stage. It looks like they'll be going for a hard, frontal assault as well. The way things are going, the two forces are going to just end up smashing right into each other.”

“In that case…” Ebina began. “We should prepare ourselves for the second phase.”

“Right," Tsukiakari affirmed with a nod. “Tomorrow, we hit their supply lines. Taeko and I will infiltrate the Hosokawa supply cache to the south. Ebina, Mayumi, you two will handle the Yamana supply cache on the opposite end of the city.” 

Piece by piece, one strategy at a time, Tsukiakari eagerly continued to prepare for her success in the field. Most of all, she was preparing for her successful, triumphant debut as a new goddess of war.