Chapter 12   Before the Battle (3)

(Ikkenshi)

The night air was chilly despite the proximity of the bonfires.  I took a sip of the warm sake and looked across the valley.  Katsuo was better than I thought.  He had refrained from rushing down the valley in twilight to offer battle.  Otherwise, I would not need to suffer this discomfort.  But this would be worth it.  I would not miss anything for the chance to see my archenemy destroyed before my eyes.  Of course I would not lead my men into battle.  Bando, my lieutenant, would put on my armour and mask and be my kagemusa.  What did it matter anyway?  The idea of a commander-in-chief wielding a sword into battle was both archaic and ridiculous!
So I had set up my tent on this chosen spot to see him ride into my carefully prepared trap.  The two thousand archers were well hidden in the dense wood.  There was no sign that they were discovered or even suspected were there.  It would be a massacre.  Katsuo’s ranks had been swelled by his collection of those rebels that had fled Takeyama and should number around nearly four thousand.  But cramped into such small space, they could do little but act as practice targets.
I would personally carry out his beheading if he would be captured.  Of course, if he could be eliminated in battle, so much the better.
It would still be sometime till dawn and I involuntarily gave a big yawn.  The sweet prize of having Hitomi’s body under me was already capturing the better part of my thinking.  With her Katsuo removed, it would only be a matter of time that she would submit to my demands.
Tomorrow would be a most glorious day!