บท 5: A Deal

Lunchtime rolled around soon enough and Gengyo marched confidently toward the open-walled hut in which everyone was starting to gather for lunch.

Aritada and Yoritomo trailed behind him with fury on their faces. He'd made them receive the scorn of the entire field, and to make matters worse they still had not landed a single stone on him.

"Fuck… Hurry up Yoritomo I won't be able to eat until I beat that little shit up."

"Yeah. I hear you."

Rin and Masaatsu were already feasting on some rice balls, and waved to Gengyo as he came closer.

"Oyyy, how's work little bro?"

At this Gengyo could not help but laugh, recalling the events of the morning.

"To be honest, Masaatsu, I think I'm starting to enjoy it."

Rin raised her eyebrows at this.

"For someone who got nailed on the head with a stone yesterday, you sure are optimistic. Aren't those two picking on you today?"

Gengyo smiled.

"No. In fact, someone else is picking on them instead today."

"Ehh… I don't get it but if you're having fun, I guess its fine."

Masaatsu agreed, whilst handing Gengyo a ball of rice.

"Yeah, if they don't bother you that's what matters. Here you go. I'm looking forward to having meat with dinner for a change – that should be nice."

Rin looked a little curious at this.

"Are we? How come?"

"Masaatsu caught a crow this morning."

"Really? But he's never caught anything before… anyway you'd need a bow."

"Yeah, Tadakata borrowed one from old man Azai yesterday"

Masaatsu chipped in.

"Mmm… You've never been interested in stuff like that before Tadakata."

"Yeah well I—"

Gengyo was cut off by the seething Aritada.

"You. Come with us."

He forcefully grabbed Gengyo's shoulder, and started to drag him away.

Masaatsu moved to get up, as did Rin, but Gengyo shook his head and shot them a confident smile, freezing them in their tracks.

"Come on. Let's take a walk down that mound. People can see us here."

Aritada pushed Gengyo from the back, forcing him to walk forward. But Gengyo was only too happy to oblige.

Instead, he maintained his façade of innocence.

"Do you have something secret to tell me Hijikata-kun? If you want to be friends you don't need to go through all this trouble to ask."

At that Aritada brought his palm to his face before turning to Yoritomo and laughing a little madly.

"Haha… Yoritomo… I'm just going to kill him, okay?"

It seemed he'd all be broken down, as he raised his hoe toward Gengyo preparing to swing

Yoritomo quickly went behind him and secured his arms, preventing him from attacking.

Aritada thrashed about wildly in response.

"LET ME GO! I NEED TO KILL THAT LITTLE FUCKER!"

Yoritomo's grip remained firm however, as he attempted to talk some sense into him.

"Calm down bro! If you really do kill him then we're fucked. No one's going to let us get away with murder. Just calm down and we'll beat him up a bit okay?"

Aritada took a few deep breaths and stopped struggling.

"Okay… You're right. Let's get this over with."

Yoritomo slowly nodded, and tentatively released him, ready to quickly lock him down again should he attempt to attack Gengyo.

"What's wrong Hijikata-kun? You really don't need to be that embarrassed about asking to be my friend."

This time Aritada just attacked instantly, seeing red.

Yoritomo managed to secure his arms just in time before the hoe cracked open Gengyo's head.

"FUCKKKKKK THIS LITTLE SHIT! I CAN'T. HE'S TOO ANNOYING. JUST LET ME KILL HIM!!!"

"Aritada! Calm down. He's just being stupid and messing with you."

"Ok. I'm just going to hold your arms all the way there, ok? Then we can stop and beat him up."

"Nah! I've calmed down now. Let me go."

"Sorry. I don't trust you. This is for your own good, ok? Miura, get moving, yeah? No more talking from you."

Gengyo merely smiled innocently as he walked in front with a spring in his step.

"Fuck… I'm going to mess him up so bad."

"Yeah, just wait till we're out of sight. And don't touch the face, yeah?"

…

"Ehh? What do you mean you want to beat me up? I thought we were all going to be friends…"

Gengyo said with a hint of sadness.

Aritada didn't respond, he merely put all his anger into a fist sent toward Gengyo's stomach.

It landed, and hit hard.

Gengyo bent over, winded from the blow. He struggled to keep his thoughts sound as he coughed, struggling for air.

'Not yet… need the right moment.'

This time it was Yoritomo's turn. A kick to the side sent Gengyo sprawling on the floor.

Aritada moved in, and sent more kicks to his stomach and chest, as Gengyo used his arms to protect his face.

Aritada grew tired of the kicking, and searching for a way to make him feel more pain. He decided on blows to the back, which Gengyo would be unable to defend from.

Gengyo struggled to get up, as his whole body wracked with pain.

Their mistake lay in allowing him to stand. He had never engaged to thoroughly in martial arts or anything of the like, so his skill was questionable, and being 2 on 1 as it was, the odds were stacked against him. Yet he had something that they did not - something that had allowed him to abstain from being pushed around as a child, despite his lack of care for training. Aggression. Pure unfiltered aggression.

As Aritada came in to punch him once more, he threw himself towards the boy's discarded hoe, and snatched it from the ground.

They looked towards him, unsure, as he wielded the weapon, a certain look in his eye.

"You wouldn't dare..."

Aritada muttered, eyeing him down, but still unwilling to find out. A few bruises would be allowed to slide, but with a hoe he was liable to kill someone.

'Silly boy. This is what I was aiming for from the start.'

He took a step forward, unwilling to show fear to the likes of Miura. There was no way the likes of him would dare to strike out.

But as his foot hit the floor, the flat end of the hoe shot through the air, and connected with his stomach.

"THE FUCK!?"

Yoritomo shouted, startled. He couldn't believe it. He'd actually used the hoe has a weapon.

"YOU COULD HAVE KILLED HIM YOU CRAZY BASTARD!"

He was furious, but before he could close the distance, and check to see whether Aritada was okay, Gengyo shot forward, and secured his target.

"Ah. Probably best not to do that, eh?"

The winded Aritada struggled for air, as the shaft of his own hoe was held at his throat tightly, with the pressure increasing all the while. From lack of oxygen he was beginning to grow blue, and his made terrifying choking noises.

It was too much for Yoritomo, who could hardly believe what was happening. Such maddened, dangerous behaviour. It was uncharacteristic of the timid Miura. Everything that had happened today had been unexpected. They had been entirely caught up in his flow, and now that he looked at them, he truly believed that he would kill his friend. He had no reason to doubt that he wouldn't.

"...What the fuck Miura..?"

He asked, terrified.

"Let him go, alright?"

"Yoritomo."

Was his calm response. There was no need to rush things. He was entirely in control of this situation, and could work towards his desired outcome at a pure and measured pace.

"...Yes, Miura?"

"Do you not think you have been rather unkind to me in recent years?"

There was an edge to his voice. They were not speaking on level terms.

"It was just a bit of fun! We never meant to... this... Please let him go man!"

"Do you think you're a good person, Yoritomo?"

The young man stared at him, baffled. It was not the kind of thing he had ever bothered to consider.

"I don't know man... Please! I just don't know..."

He was beginning to get choked up from fear, seeing Aritada's condition gradually worsen.

"I would not say you're a bad person. Neither is your friend here."

Gengyo decided, not changing his grip on the weapon.

"But the thing is, your little assaults on me - they've grown tiresome. Do you understand what I'm getting at?"

He spoke slowly, holding back a sigh. This was the opposite of what he wished would happen. There was nothing peaceful about this situation. And it was frustrating, because in order to secure peace, he had to act in a way that he considered measured. Such was the drawbacks of being an adult - as a child, he could merely hit an aggressor, and get away with it.

"I get it! We promise to leave you alone in future! Don't we Aritada?"

He desperately called out to his friend, who had almost lost consciousness. Gengyo looked down on him with an inquisitive glance, as though expecting a response. And then, as though just realizing why he was not getting one, he released his hold on his throat, and allowed him to fall to the ground.

"How about you, Aritada? You in on that deal?"

"...Screw...You..."

He spat, suddenly gaining his confidence back now that he was free. But a moment later, he was back within Gengyo's grasp.

"Ah. That's not very good, is it? Now, Yoritomo. Let us make a deal. You will tell Baba that you wish to be transferred fields, and then we can forget all this ever happened, eh?"

"But... But... We'll have to work harder if we do that."

Gengyo squinted. It was certainly not his problem.

"And?"

He pressed down harder, forcing a choke from Aritada.

"FINE! WE'LL DO IT, OKAY?"

He'd had enough. Whatever the crazed teen said, then he was liable to agree to it. He simply wanted to get out of this situation.

He threw Aritada down to the ground once more.

"Now, Aritada. I trust that you will follow through with my request? You've exhausted me. Should you think that you are safe - now that I do not have your hoe under your chin - then let me remind you of something. This happened when there were two of you present. What would happen if I were to find you alone? Perhaps young Aritada will be found in a certain river, having thought himself to be a swimmer?"

He left that threat hanging there as they scarpered away. His intent had merely been to terrify them, and leave that thread of unpredictability hanging in the air. He sat down with a sigh after they left.

'That was truly exhausting...'

He lamented. It was not how he wished for things to go, but it was a very simple way of dealing with things. Humans were essentially animals, and once they knew that they could not defeat someone, they submitted, believing their lives to be more important. Of course, there were exceptions, and it was entirely possible that they would merely come at him with a vengeance, but he judged that they would not.