An Unexpected Responsibility

"Nii-san, wake up! Everyone is going already."

Rin came in to wake a rather sleepy Gengyo, who was catching up after spending the previous night inside a cage.

"Mmm… Where are they going?"

He rubbed his eyes sleepily, not quite sure what was going on.

She sighed at his lack of awareness, but dutifully explained.

"We have to go to the market square to train with the rest of the villagers and servants – that's what the old man servant said."

"Jikouji?"

"Mhm, that's him."

He pulled himself from beneath his covers, and shrugged on his new kimono, shaking away the last remnants of sleep.

He, Masaatsu and Rin had been sharing one room, whilst another was used by Fuku and Morohira, and the last was used as a dining area. It was a little cramped with the three of them, but his siblings were careful not to wake him as they went about their business.

By now all the food in the dining room had been cleared away, and by the looks of it there had been a couple of tasty dishes. However, all that remained were two rice balls, but the young man did not utter a single complaint as he picked them up, and followed his family out the door.

Immediately Morohira was there to poke fun at him for oversleeping.

"There he is! Sleep well did ya princess?"

"It was very pleasant. How was your sleep, grandad?"

"Granddad…"

Masaatsu was smiling at their banter, looking as refined as ever in his new outfit.

And Fuku was fussing about them being on time.

"We better get going…"

She kept reminding them. But it took Rin's assertion for any movement to finally happen.

"Hurry up you slow toads! We're going to be late."

And then she marched authoritatively on ahead, toward the wide-open mansion gates.

"Slow toads…"

Morohira and Gengyo shared a glance, running the word over in their heads. Almost simultaneously they decided that they were not terribly fond of it, and made haste to overtake Rin.

She seemed wise to their antics however, and ploughed on even more aggressively ahead.

Masaatsu and Fuku were left in the dust shaking their heads at such foolishness so early in the morning.

The courtyard had long since been empty, and the Miura's seemed to be the last family to leave.

Just as they were about to pass through the gate, a shout rang out behind them.

"Oi! Miura-kun!"

They turned around as one, for it was a name they shared, and to their surprise they saw the panting figure of Nakatane jogging toward them.

He neared them, and rested with his hands on his knees, breathing wildly.

"Where… Were you?"

They all knew who the question was directed at, though it was never specifically mentioned.

"Asleep, Niwa-san. I did not realize you had need of me."

"Asleep, is it..? And where… are you going now?"

Gengyo raised an eyebrow, as he thought that much was obvious.

"Toward the market square, like all the other people."

A prompt smack on the top of his head determined whether that was the correct reply.

"You buffoon, you're a bow ashigaru, why would you be attending yari training?"

"Oh… so that's what it was."

"Correct. Now, tell me again, where are you going?"

"I'm not sure… I've passed the test, so perhaps to training?"

He raised his hand as though to smack him again, and the young man flinched in response, but he was made to look foolish as the hand continued onwards toward his own head, which he then scratched.

"What's the matter with you lad, got a twitch?"

Gengyo could tell that he was struggling to stop himself from smiling, and that question was by no means genuine, so he – in a futile attempt to retain his dignity – chose to ignore it.

"But as a matter of fact, you are wrong, again. There are currently 30 men waiting at the archery range behind my house. You're going to go there, and evaluate your future comrades."

None of the Miura family looked surprised when they heard that Gengyo had made it into the bow ashigaru. After the demonstration of his skill that night, in their hearts, they had all but confirmed that he would enter.

Still, they did not expect him to be admitted so soon, and to have skipped the test was unheard of. But of course they did not know what he was up to yesterday morning.

"Oh, in that case, can I bring my brother along? He wants to try out for the bow ashigaru to."

The young man pointed toward his older brother, who received the gaze of Nakatane with a stoic expression etched upon his face, and with a light bow to demonstrate his respect.

Internally, Nakatane nodded vigorously with the approval. The young man was in his mannerisms and appearance far ahead of that of the majority of samurai youth.

"Very well. Young man, follow your brother to the archery grounds. I have a matter to attend to, and then I will be with you shortly."

He then turned on his heel to leave, and headed toward one of the other buildings that were scattered across the mansions vast grounds.

Gengyo bid farewell to his family.

"Well, I suppose I'll see you later then. Have fun with training!"

"But me and mum aren't going to be training…"

Rin corrected. The women were told to attend for a different reason.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure."

Furrowing her eyebrows at his cryptic words, she went quiet.

Morohira used that opportunity to hurry things forward, as they were already extremely late.

"Well, good luck with your test Masaatsu".

"Yup, good luck, Masaatsu!"

Fuku joined in.

His accepted their best wishes with a small smile, feeling rather nervous about the whole affair. But soon his family were heading down the road into the village, and he was left to follow his younger brother as he felt the pressure mounting.

Gengyo skirted around the outside of the building, heading towards the grounds that he knew would be beyond. As soon as they rounded the corner, and the first sumo ring loomed into sight, they could already see a group of nervous-looking men.

They stood hovering near the archery range, some evaluating the distance to the targets, and others merely standing still, trying to still the quickness of their racing hearts.

There were none that he recognised amongst the 30, but there were a good amount who seemed to recognise him. They looked Gengyo and Masaatsu up and down with wonder, trying to figure out exactly what good fortune had been thrown their way for them to be dressed so lavishly.

Most in the village had given him up as dead after they heard the news of the murders. And when they saw Toda galloping away with his men in tow, his death had all but been confirmed.

Yet here he was, with his brother beside him, looking better than he ever had in his life.

A series of murmurs passed round, and before long a youth who was a little older than Gengyo stepped forward and posed a question.

"Are you both here for the ashigaru test?"

It seemed like a silly question, but given how they were dressed, no one could be sure. He did not exude confidence as he asked it either, and stood stiffly, his voice on the point of quivering.

"He is, I'm just watching."

That raised even more mutterings as they wondered why someone who was not taking the test would be able to simply stand there and watch. It was a mandatory requirement for all who were not in the bow ashigaru to endure yari training.

The brothers ignored them as they shared a quiet conversation, with Gengyo pointing out features of interest within the training area, as Nakatane had done with him the day prior.

It took a further ten minutes before the master showed himself, strolling into the training area idly.

"Miura-kun."

"Yes?"

"Why haven't you started?"

"Pardon?"

"I asked you to take over the exam, did I not?"

"I don't think so-"

"Well, you were complaining about the test yesterday. So why don't you show me what a better test looks like?"

"Right now? With no preparation?"

"Exactly. Good luck. I'll be watching from over here."

Nakatane did exactly as he said, and moved to sit on the porch, arranging himself so comfortably that it looked as though he had been sat there all morning.

Gengyo rubbed his temples. The master was a hard man to keep up with. He wasn't sure whether he was simply over evaluating his ability, or whether he expected everyone around him to be able to read his mind. Either way, he had made an affirmation the previous day, and did not plan to break it so quickly.

Instead, he turned to his fellow peasants who were staring at him wide-eyed, wondering how on earth he was able to interact with the master so freely.

He opened his mouth to speak, but could not stop the sigh that came out first.

"…As you know, I am Miura Tadakata. Yesterday, I took the bow ashigaru test, and now today, it seems I will be overseeing you as you take yours."

"Now, I imagine you're all quite familiar with the procedure, as it is not exactly classified information. But today, we're going to switch it up a little."

He paused briefly as he wondered just how he was going to switch it up, and then he decided he would simply evaluate them based on his own training routine.

"Okay. You will shoot at ranges of 50 paces, 75 paces, and 100. You will get one shot at each range. The three ranges will be worth 1, 2 and 3 points respectively, providing you hit the target. No extra points will be awarded for securing the bullseye."

He glanced around the yard, and spied the gong that he had seen yesterday. It had a large log that served as a striker, and such a log was strung up by two sets of thick twine, and when allowed to, it would oscillate freely. He chose that to hold the target for the motion test.

"There will also be a motion test. You will have the same ranges, but the targets will be moving. Each hit will be worth three times the points. In order to pass this test you need eight points. Does everyone understand?"

As ever, his public speaking skills were impeccable, and he showed not the slightest hint of nervousness, and even passed his gaze along the row of men before him, inviting them into the discussion.

The young man from earlier stuck his hand up.

"Yes?"

"What if less than ten people pass?"

The pessimistic question reflected his confidence entirely, and even the coldest man might feel a little bad for him.

But Gengyo did not afford him any raft to cling on to. He wanted all the participants to do their best, without any kind of safety net.

"Then I will be very disappointed."

Nakatane was watching the proceedings intently, though he tried his best to be casual. If you looked closely, the smallest hint of a smile could be seen on his face, trying its best to breakthrough.

"I should be over here…"

Masaatsu, of his own accord, walked over to where the rest of the participants were standing, before looking toward his brother expectantly.

Gengyo acknowledged his decision with the briefest of nods, before assuming his role as the bow ashigaru examiner.

"Alright then, let's get started."

He pointed toward the man who was closest to the range, and gestured for him to step up to the mark.

There was a bow, and a quiver of arrows lying ready against a stand, and he took them up with shaking fingers.