Henan province, encampment near Sishui Pass
The sun was only starting to set when the council was called; there was probably about another hour or two before it became too dark to see unaided. As before, Sousou, Sonken, Haru, Enshou, and Kousonsan were all present, with Jun'iku accompanying Sousou, Ryomou accompanying Sonken, and Shoukatsuryou accompanying Haru.
Sousou's stunt a week earlier had done nothing to lessen tensions between them. Haru's normal scowl was as dark as a thunderhead waiting to break, while Sousou's smirk only seemed to grow wider whenever she looked at Haru (and Jun'iku seemed visibly repulsed by him, if her half-lowered eyelids and morose stare were accurate). Everyone noticed it, even Enshou, but no one said a word about it.
"According to the information from the spies, Kayuu is the general in charge at Sishui," Sousou said. She and Jun'iku were standing in front of the others; there was a table with a map laid out in front of her. "She's known to be a stubborn sort, so I imagine that she'll likely try to out-fight us even with her inferior troop numbers." She walked up to the map, and pointed at the black square that marked Sishui Pass, then to another black square that was further behind the first. "As you can see here, Hulao Pass is basically at the top of the ravine, whereas Sishui is at the bottom. We will probably have to take both of them in one day, or they'll have enough time to reinforce their defenses at Hulao and outlast us, possibly even cut us off from our supply chain if it comes down to that."
"So then, how are we going to handle Sishui?" Sonken asked. "A frontal assault would waste time and troops."
Sousou smirked, and Jun'iku spoke instead. "Exactly why we need someone to act as the decoy. If Sishui Pass is like a tortoise's shell, then all we need is the right bait to get Kayuu's forces to come out of that shell. Once we lure them out far enough, we can ambush them and allow the other forces to storm the fortress; Kayuu's men will be so thinly spread that they won't be able to defend both locations." She came to the map and picked up some small stones that rested beside it, placing one in the middle of the ravine. After that, she put another two on the left-hind side of the front stone, then another two behind on the right-hind side. "The armies will distribute themselves like this, but these four units in the rear will be farther back. If we make it too obvious, then they won't bite, but if we give Kayuu just enough motivation to chase them down, we win."
Ryomou nodded, and took a moment to adjust the monocle over her eye with a push from her hand, covered as it was by her extremely long sleeve. "Simple, but straightforward. I support it. But who will be the bait? Did you have someone in mind?"
Jun'iku immediately put her mouth into a smirk that could all but match Sousou's. "Why, yes, Lady Ryomou, I did have someone in mind. I think the Zhuo army would be well-suited to that role."
Haru and Shoukatsuryou had been listening with all due diligence, but at this remark they both looked sharply in Jun'iku's direction. Haru nearly responded to Jun'iku's suggestion with a very eloquent suggestion to "eat shit and die," but then he remembered that he'd promised Shoukatsuryou that he would stop doing things like that.
Of course, Jun'iku took his hesitance as a sign to keep prodding him. "Your numbers are small enough that Kayuu would likely underestimate your strength. You need not fight till the last man falls, only long enough to ensure that our attack would succeed." The girl's thin lips curled upward even more, and Haru realized just how wrong that self-satisfied expression looked on a girl that young. "If you don't think your men are up to it, we most certainly could volunteer someone else; it makes no difference to me or to Lady Karin either way."
"Lady Jun'iku, you forget yourself," Shoukatsuryou said sharply. Her voice rose only slightly in volume, but the harsh frown on her face and her narrowed eyes said very clearly that she wasn't about to take another insult to her soldiers. "Our men are more than capable of handling such a simple matter. It would behoove Gi to avoid insulting us further."
Though she at least stopped smirking, Jun'iku kept her cool and stepped back from the table, standing at Sousou's side once again. "There was no insult intended. I simply wanted to make sure that you were willing to participate in the operation."
Haru recovered himself and gave Jun'iku a hard stare that made her flinch. If she hadn't been in front of a large group she probably would have hidden behind Sousou outright. "We're damn willing. We can pull our weight just as much as any of the big boys can."
Sousou nodded, still appearing comfortably self-assured. "Very well, then. I'll leave it to you, Haru, Shoukatsuryou. I expect nothing but success." She then surveyed the other leaders. "If no one else has anything to say, then I'm dismissing this meeting. We'll be moving on Sishui Pass tomorrow morning, and I will inform you of your positions as according to the plans that Keifa laid out just now. All of you rest well tonight and don't overindulge."
The others nodded and left to their own camps. Haru and Shoukatsuryou were the first to depart, not wanting to allow Sousou any more chances to antagonize them; Sonken and Ryomou were second, mostly because Sonken was clearly following behind Haru and Ryomou was following Sonken in turn. Kousonsan and Enshou left simultaneously.
The Zhuo and Go parties had made it about fifty or so paces from the table when Haru stopped and turned to face Sonken, folding his arms and staring at her tiredly. "What do you want, Sonken? I'm tired from marching and I need some sleep, since apparently that bitch Sousou and her strategist seem to enjoy putting me in situations that piss me off."
Sonken's blue, cat-like eyes didn't waver, and the contrast between the brightness of her eye color and the tan of her skin, as well as the intensity of the stare itself, made clear to Haru that she would respect his desires, but would not be cowed by him. It was a subtle reminder that, her dubious choice in clothing aside, she was the leader of an entire kingdom. "I wanted to compliment your behavior earlier. Not just now, but when we first met and Sousou and Enshou were at each others' throats. It's refreshing to have someone else who doesn't have much patience for pointless posturing." A familiar expression, that not-quite, almost-there smile, passed across her face. "I've heard a lot of stories about you, and I've wanted to see for myself just what kind of man the Messenger of Heaven was. I'm… somewhat surprised that it turned out to be someone more like a peasant than a noble."
"If that's supposed to be an insult," Haru said, "I'll give you credit. It's at least less blatant than what that idiot Enshou said about me and Hakukei being low-born."
Ryomou shook her head rapidly, appearing visibly dismayed, while Sonken put on a slight grimace. "That wasn't Lady Renfa's intention at all!" Ryomou replied. "What she meant to say was that you behave like a regular person. Differences in status and title don't really matter to you. You don't lord your status over people's heads like Sousou and Enshou—you're a little bit rude sometimes, but you're honest, and..."
Sonken raised a hand. "That's enough, Ashe." Without breaking stride, she bowed her head. "Forgive my impertinence, Haru. I didn't mean to insult you." She looked up again, and Haru could see honesty in her troubled frown. "It is as Ashe said, though. I respect your honesty even in the face of rather trying situations. I feel as if you are a man that really rules under the Mandate of Heaven, and I can respect that."
Shoukatsuryou blinked at that, as did Haru. Sonken had just given Haru a compliment that not many rulers would give to their ostensible rivals; she had effectively just said that Haru's rule was justified and supported by Heaven itself. I know that Sonken is much less focused on conquest than her predecessor Sonsaku, but I had no idea it was to such a degree that she would acknowledge Lord Haru like that. She managed to avoid frowning, knowing that the gesture could be interpreted very wrongly. Is there some sort of alternative angle here? Could she just be trying to ingratiate herself with Lord Haru...?
Ryomou seemed discomfited as well, but before she could say anything, Sonken turned away and began to walk off. "Good fortune tomorrow, Haru," Sonken said. "Rest well."
After a hasty bow, Ryomou followed after Sonken. Haru kept his eyes on both of them, then after a moment, nodded with a surprisingly toothy grin. "When this is over with, we're sending a messenger to Go. I like her."
Shoukatsuryou's face went red, and she had to fight of the surge of jealousy that wormed into her heart. "I-If you wish to, Lord Haru, we can arrange for it."
"Hey, now, take it easy," Haru said. Shoukatsuryou realized that he'd shifted his gaze back to her, and could likely read the discomfort in her face (or had heard her stutter). "Look. She doesn't bullshit around, you know? And for all her talk about how I don't hold my status over other people, she doesn't either. When she fucks up, she's honest about it. Aside from Bachou and Ryomou, she's probably the first person I've met during this alliance that doesn't have their head up their ass."
Realizing that Haru had admitted that he was only interested in being friendly with Sonken, Shoukatsuryou relaxed. "I see. Then, I'll make a note of it, Lord Haru." She smiled a little. "And thank you for not taking Jun'iku's bait earlier."
Haru shrugged, and continued walking back to camp, leaving Shoukatsuryou to follow after him. "A promise is a promise. I said I'd try to do better, didn't I?"