Horace's grin broadened. 'You are. It's what the men call you,' he said. Then he added, 'It's a term of great respect.'
Behind them, Halt nodded confirmation. 'Great respect,' he agreed. There was the hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth and Will knew he would have to find out the meaning of the word before much longer. But he had no more time to think about it as Shigeru began to speak.
'Kikori, I am honoured to have you as my soldiers. I am proud of your commitment and your courage and your loyalty. You have your Emperor's gratitude.'
There was silence around the parade ground now. These were simple timber cutters, peasants for whom, up until recently, the Emperor had been a distant and much revered concept, way above their reach and their station. Now he lived among them and spoke directly to them in terms of the greatest respect. His words were simple but the sincerity behind them was all too obvious and the Kikori felt their hearts swelling with pride. Such was the charisma of this man that they would die for him. Shigeru seemed to sense this and he continued.
'Soldiers! I know you would die in my service.'
There was an instant roar of assent and he immediately raised his hands and his voice to quell it.
'But I do not want this!' The shouting died away and the faces that watched him were puzzled.
'I want you to live in my service!' he shouted and they roared their acclaim once more. When the sound of their voices died down, he continued. 'Chocho has taught you a new way to fight. He has taught you the code of Issho ni! If you are faithful to this code, you will win a great victory.' He paused. 'And I will be there to see it! I am coming with you!'
Now the cheers were deafening. Shigeru moved forward to walk among his men and they broke ranks to surround him, cheering him, bowing to him, reaching out to touch him.
'What?' Will said. 'What is he talking about?' He made to follow the Emperor, to draw him back.
A hand seized his arm from behind him and he turned to see Halt's face. His old mentor was shaking his head.
'He's right, Will. He has to be there.'
'But if we're beaten! If we fail…he'll be taken by Arisaka!' Will said helplessly.
Halt nodded. 'That's right. But he's willing to gamble on these men. He believes in them. Don't you?'
'Well, yes, of course. But if he's there…'
'If he's there, they'll fight to keep him safe. You know they can beat the Senshi. I know it and Shigeru knows it. The only people who aren't sure are the men themselves. Oh, they're fine here and now. But when the crunch comes, they're going to be facing an enemy they've never felt worthy to face before. Our biggest potential danger tomorrow is that, faced by warriors who they have always believed are their superiors, they'll lose that confidence. And if they do, they'll break. They'll fight bravely. But they'll die bravely – because they will believe they have no right to win.'
'But -' Will began but now Horace interrupted.
'Halt's right, Will,' he said. 'If they know Shigeru is there and that he trusts in them, they'll have greater trust in themselves.'
'He could be killed or taken prisoner,' Will protested.
'No,' Horace said. 'Your men won't let that happen. He knows he has to be there.'
'He's a great man,' Selethen said quietly. 'The sort of man you're proud to serve.'
'They think so,' Halt said, gesturing to where Shigeru's bare head could be seen, moving among the jostling crowd of helmets and javelin points. 'And they'll need that sort of pride if they're going to win.' He paused, watching the scene on the valley floor through slitted eyes.
'And they are going to win,' he added. He saw that Will was still doubtful about the entire idea and clapped him on the back cheerfully. 'Try and have some faith in your men, Will. At least as much as the Emperor does.'
'Isn't there any way I can stop this?' Will asked despairingly, and this time it was Horace's turn to slap his shoulder.
'Of course. Just figure out a way to tell an Emperor that you forbid him to do something he's determined on. That should be easy for someone as devious as you.'
His three friends all grinned at him. Then Halt jerked his head towards the narrow gully that led to the secret pass.
'Let's get going. We've got a battle to win tomorrow.'
Evanlyn's hair stood on end, literally. She controlled an impulse to leap to her feet and spin around, confronting the unknown creature behind her – although logic told her it must be one of the Hasanu. Her song had died away as the hand entered her field of vision. In a quavering, uncertain voice, she began to sing again, very softly.
'Round and round she went, softly stepping circles in the sun…'
She was sure she could hear the sound of chewing close behind her. She took another piece of fruit and put it in her mouth. Then, almost as an afterthought, she selected a second piece and placed it away from her, on the log.
'For you,' she said, then continued humming the melody to the song. After a few seconds, the hand appeared again and took the fruit. She finished her piece and smacked her lips again in appreciation.
'Mmmm. Good.'
'Mmmmmmmm.' The sound was echoed behind her, along with the lip smacking. She took a deep breath and set another piece of fruit to one side.
'For you.'
Again, the hand appeared. This time, it didn't dart in and out as on the two previous occasions. It took the fruit and withdrew more slowly. Then she heard the voice again – husky and a little slurred. Just the one word.
''rigato.'
Arigato, she knew, was the Nihon-Jan word for thank you. She searched her memory desperately for the correct response, but it eluded her. She settled for, 'You're welcome.'
There was one apricot left. She waited until she could hear no more sound of chewing behind her, then set the remaining piece of fruit out to the side. This time, there was a long pause. Then the voice said:
'Ie, ie!'
It meant 'No, no!' It was the Nihon-Jan form of polite refusal. The hand appeared, picked up the fruit and put it back close by her side. She smiled to herself. The odds against her being torn limb from limb seemed to be getting better, she thought. Casually, she drew her saxe knife.
Instantly, there was a rustle of alarmed movement behind her. She paid it no heed, other than to repeat the same phrase.
'Ie, ie!' It mightn't be the exact phrase needed but she thought it would do, and she made her voice light and reassuring as she said it. The movement stopped. She sensed that the Hasanu had backed off a few metres. Now she used the saxe to divide the remaining apricot in half. She re-sheathed the big knife, took one half of the apricot and set the other to one side. She heard him move in again, this time not bothering to move silently. The hand came into view once more, took the fruit and exited from her field of vision.
'I think it's time we met each other,' she said gently. Making sure she made no sudden movement, she rose from her seat on the log. She paused, fixed a smile on her face and resolved that, whatever she saw, it would stay there.
Then, she slowly turned around.
The figure crouching on the ground behind the log was massive. Long, shaggy red hair hung down to its shoulders, matched by an equally long, equally unkempt beard. The huge body appeared to be covered in long red-brown hair as well. As yet, she could make out no features. She kept the smile fixed on her face. She felt vaguely like a death's head. Then she swept down in a graceful curtsey, her arms extended to the sides, her head bowed.
The Hasanu stood erect. She glanced up, still smiling, and caught her breath. He was at least two and a half metres tall and now she saw that the long red hair that had appeared to cover his body was nothing more than a long cloak, made of fur or shaggy wool, she couldn't tell which. He bowed clumsily to her and she lowered her gaze, then they slowly stood upright together.
Now she could make out more of his features. The face was broad, with prominent cheekbones and a heavy, flat nose. The eyes were narrow but set well apart under heavy brows with luxurious, untrimmed eyebrows. There was a definite light of intelligence and curiosity in the eyes, she saw. Then he smiled. His teeth were large and even. They were somewhat yellowed and stained, but they were normal human teeth, with no fang-like incisors. Evanlyn touched one hand to her own chest.
'Evanlyn,' she said, enunciating the syllables carefully. 'Ev-an-lyn.'
He frowned. The name structure was unfamiliar to him but he attempted it.