The Beauty of the West: The Gold Route

Chapter Eleven: The Infamous Badger

I woke up, not knowing how long I was out. My nose was congested,  and I had a splitting headache. I instinctively reached up to place my hand on my forehead in hopes to soothe the throbbing ache, and felt a bandage.

"I wouldn't do that..." a man with a pick axe sat nearby, probably keeping watch over me. "You hit your head pretty hard. We bandaged it up with what we had, but touching it will make it worse."

"Thank you for taking care of me." I was sure that the first thing that came out of my mouth was gratitude so he didn't think I was ungrateful. Then I got to asking, "where am I?"

"In the mines. The boss found you."

"You're not the boss?"

"God no! I couldn't imagine what the hell he has to deal with on a daily basis thanks to those chains. He isn't a bad guy...he is just misunderstood."

"What do you mean?"

"We only just met, but between you and me...I think he's hiding something. He was sent to murder some clan, but he won't talk about it. Usually the boss is boastful, but he hasn't said a word, and when one of is asks about it he changes the subject. Something is off."

"I see." I wasn't going to promise to look into the matter since it really wasn't my business. But if it came up, I would listen.

"I'm gonna tell the boss you're awake. Want some water?"

I remembered that I nearly died in the water. So I replied, "No thank you."

He left and brought a man with him a few moments later. He was a tall, bulky man, and had longer black hair with bangs that covered his eyes. All physical features aside, he was bound by a heavy prison ball that he dragged around almost effortlessly.

"Good to see you up, kid." He said to me, though it was hard to tell if he was talking to me or not, as I couldn't see him looking at me.

"You're the one that found me? Thank you." Again, I was sure to be grateful.

"The men and I were down by the stream getting water and just so happened to see you. It's your lucky day,  Kid. You got a name?"

"(Y/N)." I smiled. "What's your name?"

"...Kanbe." he seemed hesitant to answer. "Where did you come from?"

"I'm from the Saica Faction. I was sent on a mission...ugh...I sure failed it though."

"The Saica? Ya don't say. I fought with them a while back at Odawara. You weren't there though, so you musta come from somewhere before that. "

"Mikawa." I answered.

"With the Tokugawa? Ya can't expect me to believe that..."

"It's true. They saved me from the Oda clan."

"The...Oda?" He asked like he was making some kind of connection.

It was silent for a moment.

"Walk with me, Kid."

I had told him everything that I remembered, which wasn't much. All he did was listen, dragging that giant ball around like it was nothing, asking a question or two occasionally. What I told him probably didn't even make any sense from his point of view.

"So you came from somewhere, not sure where." He repeated, granting a nod from me.

"No matter how hard I try it's just... gone." I replied.

"Tell me more about this mission you were sent on. Maybe I can help."

"It was to find out what really happened between captain Chosokabe and Ieyasu Tokugawa.  All I know is that there are two men feeding him lies. I don't know if it's connected."

"Oh, they're connected, alright. The two bozos you were talking musta been Yoshitsugu and Motonari. The bastards..."

"What do you know about this?"

"I'll tell you what I know on one condition; take me with you when we leave here, and let me kill them."

"I'm not sure, how any of that would be up to me, but I can definitely take you with me. I'm supposed to meet back up with the captain at Mikawa Cliffs to tell him what I know."

"Good. Then everyone will be in one place. That leaves one..."

"Who?"

"Mitsunari Ishida. There's a special place in hell for that one."

There he was again, his name coming up I  conversation. Though I barely knew anything about him, his name seemed to continue to follow me. I just moved on with the conversation.

"So what do you know?"

"Might wanna sit down for this, Kid..."
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Kanbe told me everything he knew. He was the one who was sent to kill the Chosokabe clan and plant Ieyasu's banner amongst the rubble. He was promised freedom in exchange for the deed, but the agreement was never honored. And...he was the badger who had outlived his usefulness.  For that reason alone, I wanted to keep him near me. But there was something else. Something that maybe I was forgetting that kept tugging at my nerves to remember. I would figure it out, I thought, if I stayed near Kanbe.