Author's Games: Samurai

Task One Battle Task: Shiro Askura verses Hirotei Imagawa

Clan 7: Shiro Askura

"Are you ready?"

Shiro jumped at the sound of his brother's voice, and he forced his tensed muscles to relax before he answered. "Of course." He tried to project confidence and surety into his answer, but he was certain he had only partially succeeded. There was brief silence, and then his brother placed his palm against his shoulder. The silent gesture of encouragement brought Shiro a small measure of comfort, and he stood a bit taller, turning to face Kohaku.

His brother smiled, a triumphant glint in his eyes, as if they had already succeeded in taking over the Imagawa clan. Shiro envied his unwavering confidence. "We won't lose." Kohaku spoke the words as if he could see the future, and Shiro felt some of his nerves dissipate. He had always looked up to Kohaku, almost as much as he did his father, and he had faith in his older brother's words. As well as the plan they had come up with.

Inhaling deeply, Shiro composed himself as he turned to face the men behind him. His soldiers, his responsibility. Logically, he knew it was impossible to have zero casualties, and he could already feel the weight of inevitable deaths settle on his shoulders. He straightened, as though trying to become even taller. He looked over the small crowd of men in front of him, locking eyes with each.

He swallowed, trying to speak past his suddenly dry throat. Eloquence and composure seemed to have abandoned him, and he simply nodded instead of trying to say something. The motion seemed to be enough, for the others quickly went to their places.

"The Imagawa clan is closest to us. They should be our first target." Kohaku spoke confidently, his words sparking a silent interest with the rest of the members of the war council. After a moment, all eyes turned to Shiro, waiting for his reaction.

A lump of nerves clogged his throat, and Shiro pushed past it as he nodded in agreement. "I agree." The sentence felt like a noose around his neck, able to incapacitate him with one wrong move. "But we will need to plan an attack strategy carefully, and send out spies to see what their defenses look like."

There were murmurs of agreement, and then, "Askura-dono." Kohaku's voice sounded throughout the small room and the unexpected address made Shiro's eyebrows furrow together briefly. He turned to look at him, irritation rising up in him. He shoved it down as he waved a hand, gesturing for his brother to go on.

Looking only slightly apologetic, his brother said, "I already know what the Imagawa clan defenses looks like. I sent out spies a week ago in preparation for this meeting." A ripple of surprised looks ran through the circle of men, and Shiro could feel the air thicken with invisible tension.

Shiro's lips thinned at his brother's words, irritation flashing across his face before he replaced it with a mask of calm. "I see. And what did you find out?"

Something like a smirk crossed Kohaku's face as he answered. His voice was smooth with a faint hint of contrition as he said, "The castle has no moat, and the terrain is smooth and has many trees. The east side of the castle is in front of a large hill, and they have two catapults on either end of the castle."

Shiro listened carefully, absorbing the information and trying to figure out to turn each piece of information to his clan's advantage. The trees would provide cover, but if there was fire any advantage would be gone. Smooth terrain would make movement easier, and no moat meant one less problem to contend with. With a start, he realized that the rest of the council was staring at him again. Shiro resisted the urge to shiver beneath their combined gazes.

"Good." He paused, focusing on keeping his voice steady. He let his gaze wander over each of the other men, meeting their eyes. "The trees may be able to provide good cover, although they make it easy for the Imagawa clan to cut us off by setting them on fire."