Chapter 2
The war begins
It was still cold but the storm was easing. Everyone was quiet. They were all worried about Lord Nobunaga and his condition. Toshiie kicked his horse a little harder to catch up with Katsuie. "Do you think he will be alright?" whispered Toshiie. Katsuie raised his eyebrows. "Who?"
"Lord Nobunaga you dim wit"
"Oh right… well, hard to say really."
"I guess he seems fine now… but I am still worried about him"
"I think he will be fine. He is strong and can defeat any illness" Toshiie lowered his head and sighed. Nobunaga peered through the mist and sighted the enemy main camp. He pulled the reins on his horse and stopped. Everyone stopped behind him. Nobunaga turned around to face his army. "Okay" He started. "You all know what you have to do. Toshiie and I will find Lady Kicho while Katsuie and Ujisato keep the enemy occupied."
"What about me my Lord?" questioned Hideyoshi. Nobunaga grinned "I have a special job for you…" Hideyoshi looked confused but listened to what he wanted him to do.
Katsuie and Ujisato trotted to the river line. They stopped at the edge as they could see the faint red armour of the Mori army. Katsuie and Ujisato gathered their troops into a box formation and were ready to charge. One of the troops sensed danger and refused to move. "MOVE, YOU STUPID SOLDIER!" shouted Katsuie. Katsuie began to get very impatient. After a few beatings the soldier finally moved to his position. Katsuie whacked his horse with his sword and yelled 'CHARGE!' They splashed into the shallow water and galloped hard. The worried soldier tried to stay a bit behind, but Ujisato pushed him along. Katsuie's horse kept galloping and saw that the river grew deeper. The horse tried to stop but skidded. Katsuie then realised why the horse was stopping and pulled the reins hard. The horse stopped dead and Katsuie flew off and splashed into the deep water. Ujisato stopped his horse with ease and giggled. "Help me you half wit! I can't swim with amour!" screamed Katsuie. Ujisato rushed towards the deep waters edge. "What should I do"? He questioned. "Use your brain you moron and find me a rope!" Ujisato ordered his men to find a 'rope'. "Just hang in there. My men will find you a rope of some kind" yelled Ujisato.
Nobunaga and Toshiie wondered across the plains with their soldiers in search of Lady Kicho, but there was no sign of the enemy. It was dead. Toshiie suspected there could be an ambush near by, but Nobunaga told him not to worry. They pressed on across the empty plains. Toshiie froze as he saw an army in the distance approaching them quickly. Nobunaga stopped his army and prepared the box formation. Toshiie did the same to his little army and stood a bit back from Nobunaga. The faint army started to come more visible as they drew near. Nobunaga raised his sword and yelled for them to charge. They sped down the hill and across the vast plains. As the enemy drew near they could tell that it was only a scout. Still they best rid of them before they return back to their camp and report the news that Nobunaga had been sighted. As the scout army realised it was Nobunaga they started to retreat. Toshiie's army pressed on after them, with Nobunaga close behind. They soon caught up and surrounded them. The scout army all drew their swords and were shaking in fear. Toshiie launched the first attack against the scout leader. Soon everyone was killing each other.
Not too long after the scout army was defeated. Nobunaga bowed to the remains of the enemy then continued the search for Lady Kicho.
Hideyoshi was a few metres away from the enemy main camp with his army close behind. The enemy main camp was vast. There were a number of guards patrolling the outside and in. Hideyoshi told his army to stay put and rescue him if there was any danger. The troops nodded and stood perfectly still. Hideyoshi sneaked in the long grass and soon reached the wall of the enemy main camp. He peered through a small opening in the wall and listened in to what the enemy were saying. The Mori grand general was sitting at a small table opposite a woman. Hideyoshi couldn't tell who it was so he slowly moved to the right hand side of the hold and peered through again. He gasped as he saw who the woman was. It was Lady Kicho. Hideyoshi stayed put and listened in to the conversation. "My Lord, I heard that Nobunaga himself is here" said one of the guards. The Mori grand general stared at the guard shocked. "Nobunaga? Hmm… Set up ambushes around our camp. That way there is no way he can get in here" The guard nodded and ran off. Hideyoshi crawled away from the hole and headed back towards his army. "My Lord…" his troops began. "Is everything alright? What did you see?" Hideyoshi mounted his horse. He whipped him with his spear and galloped hard towards Nobunaga. His troops shrugged but soon followed. Hideyoshi looked from left to right, but couldn't see Lord Nobunaga. He crossed a small stream and wondered down a hill. He could then see Toshiie and his men resting at the shade of a tree. "TOSHIIE!" He yelled. Toshiie looked in the direction to which the noise had come from. He called over Nobunaga. Hideyoshi reached Toshiie and quickly jumped off his horse. Nobunaga appeared from behind the tree and smiled as he saw Hideyoshi. "Monkey" Nobunaga began. "What news do you bring us from the enemy?"
"My Lord, they know you are here and they are planning on setting up ambushes around their camp. Also Lady Kicho is there." Nobunaga nodded. He looked towards the sky then immediately took off towards the enemy main camp. Toshiie kicked his horse hard and braked in front of Nobunaga. "My Lord you cannot do this. You will be killed. We do not know where the enemy plans on setting up their ambushes" pleaded Toshiie. Nobunaga stopped his horse and froze. He thought for a moment before thanking Toshiie for stopping him.
One of Ujisato's soldiers came back with a thick vine from the trees and handed it to Ujisato. Katsuie was still shouting his lungs out and waving his arms wildly in the air. "HERE! You stupid bobbing duck" Ujisato yelled. He threw the vine out and told his troops to hold the other end. Katsuie grabbed the vine and was pulled out of the water. He stood up and was soaking wet with water dripping from his hair. Ujisato giggled but tried to keep a straight face. He knew how frustrated Katsuie became if you made fun of him. They both mounted their horses and planned on finding another way through. They decided to go through the thick forest not too far from the river. They stopped outside of the forest and looked in. It was dark and hard to see but they decided to try it. Katsuie went first, close followed by Ujisato. The forest was quiet… a little too quiet. Ambushes may easily be found in here. The weeds were all over the place which angered Katsuie. He swinged his sword about to get rid of the weeds but the more he slashed the more came back. Ujisato slowed his pace as he heard the sound of a woman crying. "Katsuie, can you hear that?" Katsuie stopped his horse then listened carefully. "Hai I can"
"Hai?" said Ujisato. "YES! You dip shit. Can't you speak Japanese?" Ujisato shrugged. He was used to these kinds of insults. He just lets them slip right past him. They followed the crying sound and soon reached a clearing in the middle of the forest. A young woman sat on a rock in the middle of the clearing. Tears rolled down her cheeks and hit the ground. As soon as her features were visible, Katsuie and Ujisato both yelled "LADY KICHO!" The young woman raised her head and wiped the remaining tears from her eyes. "Who are you?" she said softly. "We have come to rescue you. We have come to take you back to Lord Nobunaga" replied Katsuie. Ujisato just nodded. The young woman ran towards them and mounted Katsuie's horse. Ujisato laughed. "I think she is ready!" Katsuie growled and mounted onto the front of his horse. Ujisato laughed so hard that he had to hold his stomach while he mounted his own horse. "Oh shut up bird brain" growled Katsuie. Ujisato closed his mouth and led both Katsuie and Lady Kicho out of the forest. "Right, now the only problem is that we have to find Lord Nobunaga and get da hell out of here" said Ujisato "The enemy will realise that Lady Kicho is gone and will most definitely start searching for us". Katsuie, Lady Kicho and Ujisato all headed out to find Lord Nobunaga.
It was now pitch black and very hard to see. Toshiie and his troops grabbed a bunch of sticks from a near by forest and placed them in the middle of Nobunaga and Hideyoshi. He grabbed a near by rock and twisted the stick on top of it. Sparks flew and hit the wood. A light fire started. Toshiie gently blew on the fire to make it grow. Nobunaga sat around the fire with Hideyoshi and Toshiie wondering if Katsuie and Ujisato were okay. Hideyoshi fell back and dozed off. That boy could sleep anywhere, even in the toughest of times. Nobunaga's head began to spin. He gripped a log for support. Toshiie moved closer to Nobunaga. "Are you alright my Lord?" Nobunaga put his hand on his head to try and ease the spinning. "Yes, just a little dizzy" Toshiie turned away for a short moment then looked back to Nobunaga. Nobunaga looked at Toshiie then fainted. Toshiie shouted to Hideyoshi who was still half asleep but soon was wide awake as he saw Nobunaga unconscious. Toshiie mounted his horse and told his guards to stay put. "Hideyoshi, I will find some water for the Lord. You best keep an eye on him" Hideyoshi nodded as Toshiie sped off in search of water. Hideyoshi sat next to Nobunaga. He crouched up in a ball and rocked back and for waiting for Toshiie's return.
Toshiie wondered across the great plains but was unable to find a river. It was dark, cold and snow started to fall. Toshiie hugged himself with one arm and steered the horse with the other. He looked left to right but all was empty and plain. Then 2 dark figures were approaching him. He moved closer towards them and realised that it was Katsuie and Ujisato. They all greeted each other. Toshiie beamed and shouted. "I'm glad your okay and you managed to find and rescue Lady Kicho!" Katsuie grinned. "Where is Lord Nobunaga?" Ujisato asked. "He is unwell, resting by a camp fire not too far from here" Toshiie replied. They all looked concerned and headed back to the camp fire. Hideyoshi heard the sharp noise of horses approaching and looked up. "WOW! You are all here" said Hideyoshi. Toshiie leaned down next to Nobunaga. He asked if anyone had water. "I have some water" Ujisato said. He handed Toshiie the water. Toshiie slowly lifted up Nobunaga's head and poured some water into his mouth. Nobunaga coughed but swallowed the water. "Its best we take him back to the castle" Toshiie whispered. Everyone nodded in agreement and gathered up any loose supplies. Katsuie and Toshiie both lifted Lord Nobunaga onto his horse. "I best ride with him" Toshiie began. "We will use a rope and tie my horse with Nobunaga's. That way we won't loose him" Lady Kicho ran into the near by woods and soon came back with a thin vine that was strong enough to tie the horses with. Katsuie took the vine and tied a double knot to Toshiie's horse and joined it with Nobunaga's. They all mounted and left for Gifu Castle.