'You are a loyal subject of the Emperor,' she said. It was a statement but it was posed so that he must answer it.
He nodded. 'That's correct.'
'And your people are loyal to you – and the Emperor?'
Again, he nodded his agreement, bowing forward from the waist to do so.
'Surely you have no respect for General Arisaka,' she said and he shook his head immediately.
'I consider Arisaka to be a traitor and an oath-breaker,' he said. 'As such, he is an abomination.'
Alyss spread her arms in consternation. 'Then I cannot understand why you would refuse to help Lord Shigeru,' she said. Perhaps, she thought, she could have phrased it in more diplomatic terms. But she felt it was time for plain speaking.
'Forgive me,' Nimatsu said. 'Of course I will offer my help to Lord Shigeru. I phrased my statement badly. I am sworn to support him and so I will.'
Frowning, Evanlyn attempted to interrupt. 'Then…'
Nimatsu held up a hand to stop her as he continued. 'But I am afraid the Hasanu people will not.'
'They won't follow you? You won't order them to?' Alyss said. He shifted his steady gaze back to her.
'I won't order them because I won't put them in the position of refusing to obey an order from their rightful lord. To do such a thing would cause them enormous shame.'
'But if you order them, they must…' Evanlyn stopped. The frustration was all too obvious in her voice and she strove to control it, knowing that to show anger would not advance their cause. As a princess, she was used to issuing orders and to having them obeyed immediately. She couldn't fathom why Nimatsu was reluctant to do the same.
Alyss, more used to the oblique nature of polite diplomatic negotiation, thought she saw a glimmer of hope. Nimatsu's refusal was a reluctant one. He would obviously prefer to help them but, for some reason, he was unable to.
'Lord Nimatsu, can you tell us why you cannot ask the Hasanu people to help their Emperor?' she asked. She chose the word 'cannot' advisedly. It was less confrontational than 'will not' and she felt that there was more to this than a wilful refusal to help. There was something preventing him from doing so.
He looked back at her now and his eyes told her that she had guessed correctly.
'The Hasanu are afraid,' he said simply.
Alyss leaned back in surprise. 'Of Arisaka?'
He shook his head. 'To travel to Ran-Koshi, we would have to first pass through Uto Forest,' he said. 'The Hasanu believe there is a malign spirit loose in the forest.'
'A malign spirit?' Evanlyn asked.
Lord Nimatsu bowed his bead briefly in apology to them. The girls sensed that this was a painful subject. He had no wish to hold his simple followers up to the ridicule of outsiders. Then he seemed to come to a decision.
'A demon,' he said. 'They believe that an evil demon roams Uto Forest and they will not set foot inside it.'
'But this is superstition!' Evanlyn said. 'Surely you won't…'
Alyss laid a restraining hand on her arm. There was nothing to be gained by forcing an argument with Nimatsu. He noticed the gesture, registered the way Evanlyn forced herself to cut off her vehement protest.
'This is a superstition that has already killed seventeen of my people,' he said simply.
Evanlyn was completely taken aback. The Hasanu might be shy of strangers. But they were huge and powerfully built and their reputation said they were fierce fighters. What could possibly have killed so many of them?
'Do you believe in this demon, lord?' Alyss asked. Again, those calm, steady eyes met hers.
'I believe there is some terrible predator at large in the forest,' he said. 'A demon? No. I don't think so. But that's not important. The Hasanu believe in demons and they believe there is one in the forest. They will not pass through it. And I will not order them to. There is no point giving an order that I know will be refused. That refusal would shame me and the Hasanu equally.'
'Is there nothing we can do?' Evanlyn asked.
He shrugged his shoulders. 'I can't think of anything you could do to persuade them.'
Alyss took a deep breath, then set her shoulders. 'What if we kill the demon?'
General Todoki watched, first in disbelief, then in mounting fury, as his men began streaming back in retreat. Initially, there were only a few, but as they broke and ran, more of their comrades followed them, trying to place as much distance as possible between themselves and the terrible, impersonal wall of shields and darting blades.
Todoki, surrounded by half a dozen of his senior staff, ran to intercept them. He drew his sword as he ran, screaming orders at the retreating Senshi.
'Cowards! Cowards! Turn and face the enemy! They are peasants! Turn and face them!'
The men nearest him stopped their headlong retreat. But they made no move to turn back towards the two gojus, which were now silent. His officers moved among the shamefaced warriors, shoving them back around to face the enemy, shouting insults and threats, striking them with their fists or the flat of their swords. One man resolutely stood with his back to the enemy. Todoki stood before him, their faces barely centimetres apart, and screamed at him, his spittle landing on the other man's cheek.
'Coward! Deserter! They are peasants! You are Senshi! Turn and fight!'
The man raised his eyes to meet the general's. There was shame there, Todoki saw, but also confusion and fear.
'Lord,' he said, 'they killed Ito and Yoki beside me.'
'Then go back and avenge your comrades!' Overcome by rage, Todoki slapped the man hard across the face. A trickle of blood ran down from the corner of the warrior's mouth but he made no move to turn back.
'Kill them!' Todoki screamed. 'Kill five of them for each of your dead comrades! Go back and fight, you coward! Teach them they cannot stand against the Senshi!'
Which was all very well in principle. But these men had just seen at first hand that the Kikori, the despised peasant class, could indeed stand against the Senshi – and kill them. Thirty-five of their comrades lay dead on the battlefield to prove it.
'Lord,' said the warrior, 'how can I kill what I can't see?'
Aware that the eyes of the other Senshi were upon them, Todoki felt an overpowering rage building inside him. These men had shamed him by their craven behaviour. Now this insolent coward was daring to bandy words with him! Rebellion like this could be infectious, he realised. Let one man refuse an order and others would follow.
His sword flashed in a blur of reflected light, striking the man in the gap between helmet and breastplate. With a startled, choking cry, the Senshi staggered and fell. Todoki stepped over his body to face the other Senshi, who backed away before him. He gestured with his reddened sword blade towards the silent lines of the Kikori.
'There is the enemy! Attack! Fight them. Kill them!'
The immediate fear of his sword, and the ingrained discipline in which they had been raised, proved stronger than their fear of the Kikori gojus. Shoved and harried by Todoki's staff, the men turned back to face the enemy. They did it reluctantly, but they did it.
Will, watching from his vantage point, saw the Nihon-Jan general rallying his troops. He was tempted to try a shot at the general but Todoki was surrounded by dozens of milling figures and hitting him would be a matter of luck. Better not to waste the element of surprise with a stray shot, he thought. The time would come.
He had suspected that something like this might happen, and now was the time to put the second part of his plan into effect – to catch the Senshi with another unexpected tactic.
Now he put his fingers in his mouth and emitted two short, piercing whistles.
Selethen and Horace heard the signal. Horace gave the order for both gojus.