"Tsuchi-kun, put away your spear – I will handle things from here."
The old man spoke, still maintaining his smile.
"But Momochi-sensei! They desecrated our holy steps with blood. We waited for your judgement, it is true, but they should not be allowed to live."
The young monk said passionately, it seemed he had taken personal offence at their actions. Gengyo used the moment of infighting to cautiously glance around, and see how Kitajo was fairing.
The lad was frozen on his horse, with the blade of the other monk's spear pressed under his neck, just as had happened to Gengyo a few minutes earlier.
Still, he breathed a sigh of relief, pleased to see the lad was still alive, as the monks certainly could have sliced their throats without them even knowing what had happened.
"Young Tsuchi-kun, calm your rage. Blood will not wash away blood."
He said slowly, paying more attention to Gengyo than he was his own pupil. He followed Gengyo's gaze toward Kitajo, and nodded.
"You too Chiman-kun. Bring that boy over here so I might speak with him."
Before Kitajo even knew what had happened, the blade by his throat was replaced with a tight arm, that dragged him from his horse, seemingly not caring about being gentle. He barely managed to remain upright as he fell, but as he was turned around to face Gengyo, his face held visible relief, as he had worried severely for his master's safety.
His chokehold was removed and Kitajo was thrown the ground before Momochi. He quickly scrambled to his feet, and moved beside Gengyo, only to find that a moment later he too had a spear pointed towards him.
He was not foolish enough to attempt to fight them – it would only make the situation worse. And he had heard Gengyo fighting, which, by the looks of things, had not ended well. That could only mean that the enemy they were facing was insanely strong, and he himself would never have a chance of matching them
"Ho…"
Momochi muttered, as he looked over the pair, analysing everything that he could about them. It was certainly an interesting aura that they had.
"Now, young men. What do you have to say for yourselves?"
Gengyo seized the opportunity to apologize. The sooner they managed to get away from these people, the better. As things stood, the odds were not in their favour.
"Please accept my most sincere apologies for bloodying your steps. This was not my preferred location for a duel either."
The old man looked at him through squinted eyes, and ignored his apology, merely asking another question instead.
"Why did you come here?"
"To gaze up-"
Momochi cut Gengyo's reply off straight away, and shook his head.
"Not at all. You would not travel all this way to simply visit our temple, and practise something you do not believe in. Tell me, what brings you here?"
Gengyo shared a glance with Kitajo, wondering quite what to say. His lie had been cut through easily enough, though he felt it was not entirely false.
"To train my blade on the road."
Perhaps, he reasoned, posing as a wandering swordsman might be more believable.
But the old man merely stared in response to his answer, before parting his lips slightly, and refuting it.
"Young man, if you lie to me once more, I will have my pupils skewer you."
He threatened, though his face did not betray a hint of malevolent intent.
'Damn it…'
Gengyo cursed. He did not know quite how the old monk was seeing through his lies, but given what had occurred so far, that was exactly what he was capable of doing. But he was reluctant to share his true purpose for entering South Shinano, as he feared it would not be to the monks liking.
'Still… I have to try it.'
It was the only chance they had. And since the monks of Menryo-ji had vowed to be impartial when it came to contests of the land, he hoped he would not be judged too harshly.
"I came to South Shinano to gather men."
He replied, firmly this time, for it was the truth that he spoke.
"I see. For what purpose?"
"To cut the head from Imagawa Yoshimoto's shoulders."
He had already revealed much, and since his life was already very much in their hands, he was not losing anything by sharing this much at least.
"Hm…"
Momochi continued to examine him.
"So he's the one, is he?"
"Pardon?"
Gengyo asked in response to the rather odd question.
"One can not have an aura like yours without being exposed to a particularly dark side of humanity."
He proclaimed.
The young man could merely stare back. It would appear that this old monk knew much. No wonder he could tell that he was lying.
But there was nothing he could say in response to his statement, so he merely remained quiet, for fear of offending him and his pupils further.
"Mm… Who are you?"
He asked at last.
"Miura Tadakata."
Oddly, the monk flinched at his speedy reply, but he quickly covered it up with another question, this one directed at Tsuchi.
"He fought rather well – for an outsider – did he not, Tsuchi-kun?"
The young monk frowned at that, clearly not seeing the point in discussing such things. By all rights, these outsiders should already be dead, so that they might clean the holy steps of the blood that they had been bathed in.
"He is below average…"
Came the reluctant reply.
The old man laughed at the bitterness laced within his words, and admonished him.
"Come now, Tsuchi, I'd wager he's a little better than that."
But Tsuchi said nothing in response – he could not. Not without lying.
"I've come to a decision."
Momochi said firmly. Everyone perked their ears to listen. He was very much in charge.
"You two," he began, pointing to Gengyo and Kitajo, "have committed a grave crime – one that would normally result in death."
The way he spoke so casually about killing them caused as shiver to run down Kitajo's spine.
"However! Today, I am in an especially good mood. And, it has been years since I have last met with outsiders."
"Therefore, you will be granted a special opportunity. We will use the grievances you have committed to our advantage. You will join us, at our temple, and will serve as an example of the outside world, so that the younger, less strongly minded monks might become used to it."
Three men opened their mouths as one to protest, but a single raised finger from the old man silenced them all.
"However, you must realize this is a great honour, and you will have to respect our rules. I imagine there will be many looking for an excuse to kill you, so you had better remain on your toes."
"…I have a mission to carry out."
Gengyo muttered. He did not have time to act as an exhibition in a temple, so that children could stare at him as though he were some rare animal.
"That's as may be, but you cannot carry out your mission if you are dead, can you?"
Momochi put in, maintaining his friendly smile.
"So we're your prisoners?"
He asked bitterly, preferring if the old man simply said things as they were.
"Now, now. Not prisoners, you are our guests. Though you will not be allowed to leave without my express permission."
The old man corrected swiftly.
In that moment of quiet, Tsuchi sprang forth to vent his opinions on the matter.
"But Momochi-sensei! Such a thing will cause an uproar! This is not a punishment at all! There are many other outsiders who are far more worthy of this opportunity than he, yet we turn them away, and not only allow him – who has offended our holy order – to live, but we allow him to live amongst us!"
He protested bitterly, thoroughly unhappy with the way things were moving forward. He had been ready to kill Gengyo moments before, and now he was being told to withdraw his blade indefinitely. He could not agree with this course of action.
"Ah, but Tsuchi, what constitutes a punishment is particular to the individual, is it not? We are interrupting an important mission of theirs by asking them to stay. If a person who dislikes pickled vegetables is given them to eat, would he not think that to be a punishment? Yet if one were to love pickled vegetables, it would be a hearty treat."
Momochi explained patiently, his smile not faltering one bit as he received the brunt of his pupil's outburst.
"But, an outsider! Why must we violate our most foundational rule for the likes of him? The other monks will not accept this, Momochi-sensei. They'll turn against you."
But the old man simply waved his concerns away.
"Do not worry so much, young one. They will able to take advantage of an opportunity when it presents itself, have no doubt. Our order has been declining as of late, and, I think, in giving our young monks more experience, we will make them stronger too."
"Perhaps… But a man different to this, if you must. He killed that swordsman without even blinking. He's evil! We cannot allow him to come close."
"And his friend?"
Momochi asked, though he had a different point to his question.
"He's just as bad! He killed someone younger than he as mercilessly as I cut bread!"
"Ho… That's quite the predicament, Tsuchi-kun, for they are the only two outsiders I see around, ready to step up and fill this role. It is unfortunate the way fate plays out, but atlas, this seems to be ours."
Gengyo watched the old man argue with his student, baffled. He could not understand why he was so insistent on bringing them into the temple. Surely the younger students could merely venture into the village, or something of the like, to experience the outside world? They did not have to bring him along with.
But nor could he necessarily refuse it. If he was inclined to, he could have both of them killed on the spot, so any lamentations Gengyo had would only lead to him biting his own tongue and staying quiet.
In his eyes, they could simply stay for a couple of days, and then attempt escape. It was better than death, he reasoned.
The old man turned away and began to slowly walk back up the steps, at a speed that might be expected of an old man, rather than that rapid pace in which he had descended.
Tsuchi ground his teeth aggressively, clearly angry with the state of affairs. He jabbed at Gengyo's back with the wooden end of his spear, forcing him forward.
"If you walk too slowly, I'll kill you."
He threatened.
Kitajo began to walk forward in time with his master, daring to speak for the first time in a while.
"Miura… This is bad, isn't it?"
"I would say so."
Gengyo agreed. They were about to enter the nest of the dragon. If Tsuchi was not the height of skill in the temple – which he doubted he was, for if he was more important he would not be charged with guard duty – then they were hopelessly outmatched indeed.
"Chiman, are you fine with this? Why didn't you speak up?"
Tsuchi asked, with an edge to his voice. He was clearly disatisifed that the other monk had not supported him in his arguing.
But Chiman merely shrugged, as though he did not care.
"I think Momochi-sensei is wiser than I could ever hope to be, so for me to question him would be foolish."
"Tsch."
Tsuchi tutted in disgust, turning away, taking his anger out on Gengyo as he once more bashed him with the end of the spear.