They rode up to the temple without warning and the lead rider tossed a bag of coins to the monks. Payment, I suppose for any damage wraught or for me. They crashed in to the arena where I had been practicing. There was so many of them, I did not even think to use my sword, it was probably better for me that I had not. I made a run for the trees, but they were too far away and the horses to fast. I was pulled over the back of one horse like a sack of potatoes or a spoil of war, and they made off with me without saying a single word to the monks.

I knew who they were. I did not for a moment believe they were the bandits their behaviour suggested. Although they made a small effort to hide the symbol of Yoshinaka's family, it was slight and the coverings fell of during their raid."

She said these words with a completely blank face, no tears or emotion on her face. I believed that she had shed all her tears in the days previous. Now she was too worn or she felt her position as too permanent to allow further despair to appear on her face.

"They threw me at his feet and took away my sword. The sword my sister had given me."

I frowned at this dishonor. To take a sword from a samurai, even if said samurai was a woman, was the most barbaric behaviour and the gravest insult. Normally this called for a samurai to defend his, or her, honor with a challenge for a duel to the death or at least a public apology. But I already knew that Kiso would not have allowed this.

"He struck me. Called me a whore and told me that he would allow me to regain the honor that my name had supposedly lost, by becoming his wife. Allow? As if I had any choice in the matter what with being surrounded by men who were eager to see me break."

Those words tore at me. I had not been there to protect her. I knew she would not appreciate such a thought but I still felt that my absence had partly caused the entire situation.

"He made me swear an oath of loyalty" she whispered so softly that I almost could not hear her. I was forced to write in blood and choke down the vile drink of the ashes of that contract. Now it will forever be with me." She looked away as if she could not bear to meet my eyes. I did not know what to say to this and merely placed my arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

We did not sleep that night. We spent the hours talking of everything that had happened in our separation and whispering soft nothings into each other's ears.

As the first sign of dawn broke onto the horizon and the mists crept in to hide our passage, we separated, back to our respective homes. There were many false starts and backtracking for one last kiss or just one more whispered farewell, but we eventually tore ourselves away completely.

The day of the duel dawned upon us bright and early. And at the set hour, we appeared ready for battle. She had shed her court apparel to once more dawn the boyish clothing she had worn when we first met. I compromised with the occasion by shedding the ornate robe and remaining in an undershirt and pants, as normal for me. The court clothing was itchy and tiringly burdensome, it felt good to be rid of it.

We met as if we were complete strangers. Bowing to each other and to our audience, for indeed we had somehow managed to gather quite a crowd. Then we introduced ourselves to each other including name and rank. Or at least that is what our onlookers thought we said to each other, but really we were questioning each other's readiness. We had a plan of course. It was to fight for all we were worth, neither could afford to lose and we both hoped to battle to a standstill. Hopefully after an hour or so of this my brother and her husband, how I hated the term, would call a draw as equal opponents. We were merely pawns in their games of political power play, after all.

After the slow pace of introductions and approach, the speed of our swords came as something of a shock to the crowd. I heard a low murmur of surprise. We were not hiding our skill and I knew we looked impressive despite our differences in style.

As a smaller figure, she favored speed and used quick thrusts and withdrawals to her advantage. Her footwork was particularly impressive, almost like a dance. A quick movement forward, and then just as I lunged, she jumped backwards sword en pointe so that I would overextend and she would go in for a slash towards my head.

Fortunately I was used to her style and had come up with my own to combat hers. While I did not have the build for speed, I did not focus on the brute strength that would have culminated in my defeat. I used movement to confuse her faking a slash as I sidled around to her other side. Using muscle hints to throw her off and to guess her next move.

As it was acceptable to find joy in battle, I grinned unabashedly, revelling in this opportunity to work against an equal opponent. Our movements were almost synchronized they seemed to flow from one to the next. Flashing blades in the midday sun and light clouds of dust from our footwork. Our battle extended beyond the area set out for the duel, as we lost perception of the onlookers and became completely focused in each other. We knew they were there, it was just that they were insignificant to our dance.

Finally we were broken out of our trance by loud applause and the shouts of my brother to stop, that it was almost noon and that they could see that we were well matched. With a bow we separated, and calmly walked back to our respective positions, as if a couple hours of swordwork meant nothing.

I was privately congradulated by my brother for, in his words, "pushing my feelings to the back of my mind in order to seek the blood of my opponent." I accepted this praise with small grace. I am afraid I gained something of a reputation as a cold hearted warrior, but that is acceptable if it will serve to hide any strangeness in my actions.

I was not able to speak with Tomoe again before the men under Yoshinaka marched away.

Then it was back to business as usual, I returned to training the soldiers, and they seemed to follow my leadership with a new vigour. The only difference was, now Kiso was out training his own units. After a few weeks they broke off to march east, to take up a position closer to the capital as a kind of unspoken threat. However, before any overt actions could be taken, the kamis decided they wanted to hurt us even more. Poor harvest brought starvation and disease. Generally this affected the lower peasantry, but a starving farmer could not work and thus the soldiers did not receive sufficient food, and the disease spread in the troops. Fortunately, our relatively active lifestyle meant we were very healthy in the beginning, and thus were not hit as hard as some of the citizens of the densely populated towns. In the capital the famine and plague caused chaos, and all fighting was forestalled until the situation had been dealt with. At least for those with honor.

Yoshinaka, was not one of those with honor. He made a series of small movements against his weakened opponents for no other reason than the gain of spoils, as he did not make the kind of large scale maneuvers that would have given us a tactical advantage. Such zeal would have excused his disreputable behaviour. Regardless, my brother was quite angry. Yoshinaka had apparently made the motions of accepting my brother's leadership and thus should have waited for his command. His recent actions disproved this and portrayed him as self serving. Foolish, is what my brother called it. He was more willing to wait and see instead of showing his hand all at once. He felt that Yoshinaka had destroyed any possible element of surprise.

As soon as the situation became more stable, however, Kiyomari's young heir began to move. And instead of focusing on our forces, as my brother had perhaps expected, his attention was turned to Yoshinaka, who he apparently deemed the great and closer threat. True Kiso did hold military prowess as a tactical commander, but he did not hold the ability of a leader. As soon as he achieved his immediate goal, he allowed everything to dissolve into chaos.

The Taira host departed from Kyoto in May, and in Kaga Province split up. One force, under Tomomori, advanced to the north and swung through Noto Province. The other, larger force, led by Taira Koremori, advanced due east towards Etchû Province. This splitting of his force, if used correctly, would have surrounded Yoshinaka, cutting him off from any supply lines and prospective allies. It was a good plan, if there had been sufficient forces. However, with the limited number he had to work with, Prince Munemori no Taira only served to weaken each indiviual group.

Yoshinaka managed to ambush the force led by Taira Koremori, supposedly the stronger of the two, at Kurakawa and engineered a rout of the Taira warriors. He followed this up with a decisive victory at Shinohara and the marched on the capital. My brother was left in the wake of these accomplishments, which did not suit him at all. This anger was emphasized by Kiso's aggrandizement and arrogance. For one who had acted so subservient in the presence of my brother, it came as quite a contradiction when distance further increased his pompous and condescending attitude. My brother who had not been subject to this attitude previously, felt the difference more deeply.

The rapid defeats and the approach of such violent opponents, effectively demoralized the Taira and they abandoned the capital, taking many valuables with them, much to Kiso's disgruntlement I am sure. I say abandoned, but Munemori phrased it as an organized evacuation. This man did not have the stomach of his predecessor, else Kiso would have had a much more difficult time in his conquest of Kyoto.

In the early weeks of August Yoshinaka, and a recent follower of his Yukie, another distant cousin, marched into the city.

The now defenseless city was ripe for the plucking. The men Kiso brought in were not the most discreet and they obviously enjoyed the finer things of life with little care for others. They prowled through the streets without order, pillaging and sacking. Taking whatever they wanted and destroying what they did not. The people lived in fear of the sight of Yoshinaka's family crest, emblazened on all of his soldier's shoulder.

The residing emperor, Go-Shikawa, was not amused.

His actions, I suppose, would have been accepted as a necessary evil by said ruler, if only they were part of a continuous movement against his powerful opponent. But they were not. His actions were slow and ineffective. Sluggish at best and non-apparent at worst. He did send one of his generals to the west with the task of reducing Yashima, the Taira headquarters on Shikoku. But the preparation was so lackluster that this force was easily defeated at Mizushima. Another harsh blow to Minamoto pride.

Yukie was finally disillusioned with Yoshinaka, disgusted with his minimalism and his rampant greed for the spoils without actually earning them. He attempted to recoup after the losses and led an army against Taira forces at Muroyama in Harima Province. While well intentioned, the actions of Yoshinaka and his effect on the capability and willingness of the soldiers to depart from this city of so much opportunity for materialistic gain, had its consequences. Yukie was soundly defeated and barely managed to escape with his life.

The impudence of Yoshinaka knew no bounds. Despite his losses and his dark reputation within the city, he went so far as to whine to Yoritomo about his position in their unofficial hierarchy. He wrote that he felt he should be labelled with some rank on an equal, if not greater level as my brother, since he was the one who had taken the capital. He somehow managed to forget his scurrious actions regarding said conquest, as well as the territorial distributions that they had previously agreed upon. My brother was caught between outrage at his cousin's gall and mocking pity for this conspicious demand for a power that he had not truly earned. Kiso thought that the clans would recognize his prowess, but he did not realize their communication with Go-Shikawa and their relatively unhindered perspective on the consequences of his actions. True, he had won the city, but it was unlikely that he would be able to maintain his position, and neither did it appear likely that he would make any further progress against the Taira.