Waterfall & Wings Version 1

Yoshitsune returns home and informs his kerai that he has been appointed as General for the mission to capture the Heike at Yashima. He apologises to them for making them spend their days in vain (cos their Master was left out of the previous mission...). The kerai are quick to assure Yoshitsune that they do not hold anything against him.

Benkei: "Our bonds and loyalty for you run deeper than that."

Yoshitsune is glad to know he has such good kerai.

Kagetoki is ordered by Yoritomo to aid (and check??) Yoshitsune in this mission. His son Kagesue is excited to work with Yoshitsune again after Ichinotani.

Yoshitsune has an intimate talk with Shizuka one evening before he left.

Yoshitsune: "This may be the deciding battle between Heike and Genji."

Shizuka: "Please take good care of yourself... You seem a bit strange today. I feel as if you are going to sacrifice yourself this time."

Yoshitsune: "I lost Yoritomo's trust for a while this time, by accepting the imperial post without his permission. I believed he will understand me eventually and that time has come! By giving me this mission now, he is showing me kindness. Therefore I must work hard this time to repay his kindness and redeem his trust, even if it costs me my life."

The day of departure arrives. (Yoshitsune says something to Moe here but wakaranaaaiiii..... The poor girl just doesn't look very happy. All victims of circumstances Yoritomo.) The hunter siblings that helped Yoshitsune at Ichinotani suddenly appears. Magome begs Yoshitsune to take her brother Washio no Saburo along as his kerai. Yoshitsune agrees. Saburo protests that they will have the same name. Washio decides to call himself by his childhood nickname "Kuma" (meaning bear) in respect of the senior Saburo. (Haaa, this part is very funny... so now the senior Saburo is the Crab and the junior Saburo is the Bear... LOL)

Meanwhile in the palace...

Go-Shirakawa: "They have left? Will they win..."

Tsubone: "It will be troublesome if they don't. We need to get the Three Treasures back from the Heike."

Go-Shirakawa: "But I feel Yoshitsune will get them back for me... I don't think he will hand it over to Yoritomo, you think?"

Tsubone: "I don't think so. Afterall everyone from the Genji clan seems to listen to only Yoritomo, but Yoshitsune in particular seems to honour you very much."

The Heike in Yashima learns of Yoshitsune's advance. Munemori is confident that they will win since the Genji are not good with naval warfare. However, Tomomori is worried that if Noriyori's forces in the west works with Yoshitsune's in the east and attacks them from both sides, they may lose. He decides to attack Noriyori's troops first before they get a chance to combine attack.

Muneko hears from Tokitada (Memory refresh: Tokitada is Tokiko's brother, also one of Kiyomori's trusted follower. Muneko is Tokitada's wife.) that Yoshitsune is coming to Yashima and is worried. She notices that Yoshiko has been acting weird lately and fears she may be spying for her brother Yoshitsune. She interrogates her in front of Tokiko and Tokitada. Yoshiko claims that the reason she has not been herself these few days is because she received news from Naganari in the capital that her mother has passed away.

Yoshitsune arrives in Settsu, which is located on the shore across the Seto Inland Sea from Yashima. He meets with the head of the Watanabe clan (some naval clan), Watanabe no Manabu. Manabu is willing to be Genji's ally and lend out his 40 boats. Combined with those under Kagetoki's rule, they will have 150 boats. However, Kagetoki's fleet is delayed and will reach only in a week's time.

Yoshitsune: "The Heike knows we are coming. They are already on the alert for us. We can't just sit around and wait for the remaining fleet to arrive. We must think of another plan to attack them!"

That night, Yoshitsune sent his kerai out to scout the area. Kagetoki wonders what Yoshitsune is up too, but Kagesue is confident he will think up of something after he witnessed Yoshitsune at Ichinotani.

The kerai bring back valuable information about the area around Yashima. Yoshitsune analyses the information and makes a decision. Instead of making a full frontal attack on Yashima by sea, he decides to use Manabu's 40 boats first and travel to Awa (another part of Shikoku) and then make a land attack on Yashima from the back. The journey to Awa takes 3 days and the waters are rough. The Heike will not expect them to take that route. Yoshitsune announces his decision during the next strategy meeting but faces opposition from Kagetoki.

Kagetoki: "There are Heike allies along the way from Awa to Yashima. Even if you manage to beat them, you still have the mountainous terrain to conquer. By the time you reach Yashima, both soldiers and horses will be tired and unfit for battle. I suggest we wait for our remaining naval fleet and make a concentrated attack together."

Yoshitsune: "But we are unfamiliar with naval warfare. And even if we wait for the remaining fleet to arrive, the Heike will still win us in numbers. If we attack them this way, we will definitely lose."

Even Kagesue agrees with Yoshitsune's plan and Kagetoki relunctantly accepts the arrangement.

However, on the day Yoshitsune is to depart for Awa, a fierce storm damages many of Manabu's boats. Kagetoki suggests to Yoshitsune again to wait for the remaining fleet since they are going to take time to repair the boats anyway but Yoshitsune is adamant.

Yoshitsune: "Once a samurai makes a decision to attack, there must be no thought of withdrawing!"

Kagetoki: "No, withdrawing is also a valuable tactic in warfare."

Yoshitsune: "If we always think like this, it will affect the soldiers' morale and we will be unfit to fight."

Kagetoki: "If the numbers are small, it doesn't matter. But if you are leading a large army, things are different!"

Benkei: "You are saying my lord is unfit to be General for a large army??!"

Kagetoki calls Yoshitsune a reckless boar who only thinks of going forward and Benkei gets real irritated. A fight almost breaks out.

(OK PAUSE. I must say something here. LOL~ Yoshitsune/Takki looks EXTREMELY MANLY here!!! His 1001% focused look!!! *diessss* He remained calm throughout the argument while Kagetoki got so agitated... uwaaaahahahah... Kakkeee~~~~ Everyone go see~~~~~)

Rain starts to pour and cools down both parties a bit. Yoshitsune tells Kagetoki that he treats every battle as the last battle. There is no next time. Kagetoki tells him if that is the case, he will not follow him this time and then leaves.

Back in his own camp, Kagetoki tells his son he cannot understand Yoshitsune at all. Kagesue thinks however believes that Yoshitsune is a man who thinks quickly in times of crisis. In Yoshitsune's camp, Tsugunobu assures Yoshitsune that he and the rest of the kerai all understand his intentions and support him wholeheartedly. Benkei informs Yoshitsune that the waters have grown rougher and the latter sees this as a chance to use the storm as a cover to avoid the enemy's eyes. He decides to set off rightaway with the undamaged 5 boats that remained. Kagesue asks to go along too. He tells his father he will regret if he doesn't follow Yoshitsune. Kagetoki asks Yoshitsune for the last time.

Kagetoki: "You really want to waste your life like this?"

Yoshitsune: "I do this for the sake of winning the battle."

There is the problem of finding men who are willing and able to steer the boats in that rough waters but it is soon solved by Jiro and the friends he found. With that, Yoshitsune brings with him 150 of his men and sets off for Awa in that rough night.

~End of Episode 31~