'Chocho! Chocho-san!'
The clear young voice carried to them and they all turned to see Mikeru running towards them. The tube of darts slung across his back slapped up and down as he ran, setting up a rattling counterpoint to the thud of his feet.
'What is this chocho business?' Will muttered to himself. But his friends overheard the comment.
'It's a term of great respect,' they chorused, and he glared at them.
'Oh, shut up,' he said. But now Mikeru had drawn up with them. He leaned forward, regaining his breath, heaving in deep lungfuls of air, his hands on his thighs.
'Mikeru, we're going to need you back with your men,' Will began. The small but potent force of dartmen was stationed on the far side of the line. But Mikeru was shaking his head as he gathered enough breath to speak.
'Chocho,' he managed to gasp, 'there are men coming. Soldiers!'
'We know,' Horace said, jerking a thumb at the approaching Senshi. 'Be a bit hard to miss them.'
But Mikeru waved his hands in a negative gesture. 'Not there!' he said. 'There!' And he pointed to the east.
Three sets of eyes snapped around to follow his pointing finger. To the east of their position, past the end of the left flank and the low cliff, lay another ridge line, two kilometres away. Emerging from behind it, and onto the plain, was a huge body of troops. As the three friends watched, the column kept streaming out from behind the ridge, dust clouds rising to mark their movement.
'It's the girls,' Horace said quietly. 'They made it. And they brought the Hasanu with them.'
'There must be thousands of them,' Selethen said, as the column continued to emerge into sight. And now they could hear the faint sound of a distant chant. Will realised they could hear it because the cheering from Arisaka's army had died away as all eyes turned to the east.
'Kotei! Kotei! Kotei!'
'What are they saying?' he asked Mikeru.
The young fighter grinned at him. 'They are saying "Emperor! Emperor! Emperor!"' he told them.
Will let go a huge sigh of relief. He glanced round to where Halt stood and saw his old teacher, his cowl pulled back and his head bared, nod quietly to him.
The Hasanu had deployed fully onto the plain and they began to advance towards Arisaka's Senshi. The chant grew louder and louder as they approached and Arisaka's men turned uncertainly to face the oncoming horde. Even with Yamada's men, they were outnumbered at least three to one and they watched apprehensively as they began to make out details of the Hasanu. Huge figures, over two metres in height, covered in what appeared to be long reddish hair and brandishing spiked clubs, pikes and heavy spears. Unconsciously, the Senshi grouped closer together as they faced this terrifying new threat.
And as they did so, they seemed to forget that behind them were the deadly fangs of the Wolves and the Sharks. Will glanced at the two goju, in perfect, disciplined formation. He realised that this was the ideal opportunity to smash Arisaka's army. His small but highly trained force would be the hammer. The huge Hasanu army would be the anvil upon which they broke Arisaka once and for all.
'Mikeru,' he said, 'get your men to advance as far as the hedgehogs. Hit the Senshi from the flank. Let 'em have all your darts, then run for it.'
The young man nodded and sprinted away. Will turned to Horace and Selethen.
'Advance all four goju and hit them in the rear,' he said.
The two commanders nodded and ran to their positions. Orders rang out. There was the familiar crashing sound of the massive shields being raised into position, then the Wolves and Sharks stepped out in perfect unison, the depleted gojus of Bears and Hawks formed up behind them.
Some of Arisaka's men sensed their approach and turned to face them. The rebel army were trapped. The wings of the massive Hasanu line would encircle them within the next few minutes. And the grim-faced Kikori fighting machine was in their rear. But the Senshi were warriors, and trained in a hard school. They might have no chance, but they would sell their lives dearly. Those at the rear turned to face the steadily advancing Kikori gojus. Forty metres out, Horace called for the Kikori to halt, then for the rear ranks to open out, their javelins poised.
'Stop!'
The voice, deep and resonant, rang out over the battlefield.
Will spun round, and saw Shigeru, with Halt beside him, striding towards the Kikori line. After a moment's hesitation, the young Ranger moved to join them. Shigeru was holding a green branch above his head, the Nihon-Jan equivalent of a flag of truce. A hush had fallen over the battlefield as thousands of warriors waited to see what was about to transpire. The green branch was an inviolable symbol and must be respected.
Halt, Will and Shigeru strode across the plain, until they stood between the Kikori gojus and the Senshi line. Shigeru stopped, still holding the green branch high above his head.
From the Hasanu force, they saw another group of figures, also bearing a green branch, detach from the main group and begin to move to join them. Will's heart surged with relief as he recognised Alyss, with Evanlyn beside her, trying to match the taller girl's long strides and still retain her dignity. They were walking a pace or two behind a tall, aristocratic-looking Nihon-Jan in warrior's armour. As they drew closer, Will met Alyss's eyes and they smiled at each other.
'Lord Nimatsu,' Shigeru said, 'it's good to see you.'
The tall Nihon-Jan bowed deeply. 'I am at your service, your excellency, as are my people. Give the order.'
Shigeru said nothing for the moment. He turned to the rebel forces, now barely fifty metres away from him.
'Arisaka!' he called. 'We have to talk.'
For a moment, nothing happened. Then a movement rippled through the rebel ranks and the Senshi warriors parted as a group of three men moved through them – Arisaka, his face hidden by the almost demonic-looking red lacquered helmet, and two others. They stopped. On Arisaka's right was one of his lieutenants, a stocky Senshi nobleman, bearing a huge recurve bow. On the left was an older nobleman, also in armour.
Shigeru bowed to this last person. 'Lord Yamada, do you recognise me?'
The older man peered at the figure before him. He wasn't sure. His eyes weren't as good as they used to be and the person was some distance away. But he definitely looked like the Emperor.
'I was told an impostor had taken the Emperor's place,' he said, his voice uncertain.
Suddenly, the bowman on Arisaka's right moved, drawing back an arrow he had already fitted to the string.
'Death to the impostor!' he screamed as he shot. Shigeru stood, unflinching, as the arrow pierced his left upper arm, below the protective armour. Blood began to stream down over his white linen sleeve.
A roar of protest rose around the battleground, from friend and foe alike. The green branch of truce was sacrosanct. To breach it was an abomination in the eyes of the Nihon-Jan. But before anyone else could move, or the bowman could prepare another shot, Will whipped an arrow from his quiver, nocked, drew, sighted and released in one movement.
His arrow punched through the nobleman's armour like a hot knife through butter. The man staggered under the impact, his recurve bow falling from dead hands, then he crumpled to the ground.
The crowd grew suddenly silent, stunned by Will's lightning reply to the treacherous attack. Voices started to murmur again, uncertainly at first. But again, Shigeru stilled the crowd. Quickly, he took a scarf from around his neck and knotted it around the wound in his arm. Then he put his uninjured hand on Will's bow and took it from the young Ranger. His voice rang out once more.
'Enough! Enough bloodshed! Lord Arisaka, let's end this now.'
Arisaka's sword hissed from its scabbard. Once more, a murmur of strong disapproval rippled across the plain, both from his own men and his enemies. To draw a weapon in the presence of the green branch was a gross breach of the Senshi code of behaviour. Even Arisaka's troops could not condone such an action.
'This will only end with your death, Shigeru!' Arisaka screamed.
Yamada turned to him, the anger and shame he felt all too obvious on his face.
'Shigeru?' he repeated. 'Then you've known all along that this is no impostor? You lied to me and my men?'
Arisaka, furious beyond reason, tore the helmet and face piece from his head and hurled them to the ground in rage.
'He's weak, Yamada! Weak and dangerous! He will destroy everything that we hold sacred!' He glared now at Shigeru, his face flushed, his eyes blazing with hate. 'You want to destroy the Senshi class and everything it stands for! I will not allow you! I will stop you!'
'Arisaka.' Shigeru's deep voice was calm and reasonable by contrast. 'I will not destroy the Senshi. I am a Senshi. But for too long, the other people of Nihon-Ja have been repressed and downtrodden. I want to rule for all people. Like the Kikori here, and the Hasanu. The ordinary people have the right to have a say in our country. Tell your men to lay down their weapons now and let's live in peace. Let's live together in peace.'