Testing The Totomi (Hake)

[Chimosa Hake]

Hake pocketed the pouch of money somewhere deep within one of his sleeves as he motioned for Gabriella to lead the way to the nearest Sake place. As the local, Gabriella would be better suited to determine the best place quality and price wise. "I'm sure we both thought we were going to win." Hake smiled as she followed after the woman. It was difficult to see the town as a normal village town now, after having dissected it with a strategic point of view. The soldiers had gathered themselves up as best they could and were marching towards the barracks, Hake presumed.

"Gabreela-san, how did you get in this type of job? And out here of all places? It isn't easy for women to get to a position such as yours. Any tips?" Hake smiled and winked at the woman as he did his best to catch up with Gabriella. He looked around the town, trying to take in the sights of something that was but moments ago a battlefield in Hake's mind. It was difficult indeed. As they got to the tavern, Hake ordered them a jug of sake as they sat down.

While Hake was quite used to it, it was different here and the stares he got from the people around seemed more those of people not enjoying the company of strangers rather than men oogling a pretty woman while they thought she couldn't see it. Hake shifted a little uncomfortably in his seat before settling down, glad that the walk had been only so short. Sitting was good and Hake made an effort not to show too much of his labored breaths.

[Gabriella Santos]

Gabriella sat down and await the sake pouring them out the drinks before she got round to answering Hake. "Well it more unofficial then anything else. I joined the men here because of someone else that did. Really though I think it comes down to knowing the men." Gabriella replied carefully drinking her drink. "What motivate them and things like that." She continued putting her drink down, trying to stop herself from drinking to quickly and being rude to Hake. Even though the pain in her body cried out for more.

"Know what your men want, because when you lead them into a crisis that they don't agree with. Well there ain't going to fight as hard as they probably could." Gabriella said looking over to the door, imagining the men. "Well unless you are ruthless I guess. But Lord Amakusa isn't. Strong yes, possible willing to happily kill those who would the men here harm, but not ruthless to the men of Totomi." She said not knowing how much Hake knew about the Daimyo of these lands. "I'm more interested in where someone like you learned to lead. You don't often see travelling strategist really. I hadn't really expected someone to answer my notice for quite some time." She smiled as best she could at him. Before picking up her drink and continuing to drink it. 

[Chimosa Hake]

Hake listened to Gabriella's story as he poured himself some sake as well, emptying the small cup as was required. The sake brought a warmth to his body that seemed to sink down the middle of his chest to his stomach, where it spread out from there. It was a good feeling, as it also helped to take off some of the edges that Hake's illness brought to life. It was interesting to learn that Gabriella looked at the men under her command as people she should get to know, a point of view completely opposite to Hake's, who kept a distance from them so that when she would need to send them to their death in order to secure victory, it wouldn't hurt him so much.

When the conversation shifted to the local Daimyo, Hake was surprised to hear the man being so kind. All she had heard was that he was some sort of Demon who slaughtered enemies by the hundreds. He had single handedly killed two armies at the same time to take over control of the Totomi lands. It was nice to know the locals looked differently at their lord. "I don't really know where I learned it. I just happened upon it. I settled in a small farmer town near the Uesugi borders, an accident, really, and one day there was a bandit attack. Nobody knew what to do so people went with my idea. And we won. And I guess from there it just got more and more official every time I solved a problem for them." Hake half shrugged, brushing off his list of achievements away as if they meant nothing to him.

"I came across your notice only by sheer luck. The carriage that brought me here stopped outside of town, rather than in the center, so when I walked in I saw it. I didn't really think it through, just approaching a stranger like that. But it turned out quite well in the end." Hake smiled as he rested his head against his left hand, placing his thumb on the side of his jaw and his index and middle finger against the side of his forehead, pressing onto the temple there. The oncoming headache was starting to pain Hake to a point where it became visible on his face. "More Sake?" Hake said as he lifted the jug up to refill Gabriella's cup. He definitely needed more.

"You mentioned joining the Totomi because of someone else. Who was this person that you followed them into something as major as this? He must have been quite handsome, no?" Hake chuckled, trying to hide the pain in his head behind his melodious laughter before emptying another cup of sake.

[Gabriella Santos]

Gabriella listened to Hake story intently. Learning by adversity, not a bad way to learn something, except the baggage it could bring. Did make sense thought that she had lost. Hake obviously had more experience tactically from his story while she was just going off of instinct and book smarts. Drinking quickly, she accepted the drink when offered , but was then shocked at Hake's question about the man she had followed in to the Totomi's services. Pressing the sake cup to her lips but not drinking she momentarily thought about how to answer.

"Yes he is, strong to, but that wasn't why I followed. He...He was the first person who looked pass my issues, looked passed orders, but still...still want to protect me. In my mind, I've never met a kinder man. To me at least. Though I'd advise that if you ever met him you don't push that point. He can be extremely rough around the edges as it were."

Gabriella drained her drink, and poured another. The pair were quite quickly going through what they had, which was good in Gabriella mind. The happy dull feeling it brought blocking out her own pain. Smiling she leaned back where she sat. "Well down the line, if I plan anything like this again. I know who to look for." Gabriella mused aloud.  

[Chimosa Hake]

Hake listened to Gabriella's words as she learned a little more about her adversary. It seemed like the woman had her own set of problems, on top of being a foreigner and a woman in a man's world. Some people just didn't seem to catch a break. The sake cups were refilled after Gabriella emptied hers, Hake made sure that the cups stayed full. It was in both his own interest to do so and it seemed like Gabriella could use it. With a smile, Hake lifted her small cup and held it up for Gabriella to toast to it. "Here's to kind men who help us out. Kanpai!" He spoke softly, reminded of the old Gentarou-san who helped him out when he first arrived as a stranger in his town.

With a wave towards the waitress, Hake ordered another jug as she emptied the first one out in Gabriella's cup. "I'm always up for practice, although you'd have to give me enough warning. The message has to go all the way to Shimotsuke first and then I need to travel here so it might take a bit of time." Hake smiled before suddenly erupting in a bout of coughing so strong he had to lean on the table as he tried to gasp breaths between coughing. When it finally ended, Hake managed half a smile. "That one went down the wrong throat."

"I have to ask, back to the spar, how did you set your men up first? And what was the gunshot for? That startled me quite a bit." Guns were not allowed in practices like these, due to the inability of guns to not wound or kill people when fired correctly. Hake remembered the shot and the chilling that had moved across his back thinking of the troops firing on their own with live ammo. But that had not been the case, which Hake had found out near the end.

[Gabriella Santos]

Gabriella like Hake style. Keeping the cups full at all times before raising a cup in toast. However Gabriella hadn't heard the word he ended his toast with before. assumed it had something to do with given them. "Indeed, Saúde." She said toasting in her native tongue. Raising her glass and knocking the drink back quickly. It seemed odd for her to toast with the word. It meant health, though she noticed not good health. Maybe the tradition people knew that drinking could probably be bad or good for the system of the body. 

Gabriella listened as Hake mentioned about the logistics, of contacting him in the future for such a event. It was quite bad. If only she had some control  over a 'courier' of some description in the area of Japan. Ahh well no matter. She leaned in concerned when Hake started coughing, but it was brushed aside by his next comment. "We've all done that before." She said with a laugh, leaning back once more. 

"Well a split them into two teams on the main road, with some patrols on the outskirts of town. The gun shout was to put them on alert when we first saw the majority of your forces, before I could get a messenger down to them in order to reinforce us." Gabriella explained what she had done. "I am slightly surprise that you split your force three ways however, but impressed you managed to resist the main road until the fighting had really kicked off." She admired slightly. Splitting his forces with one of his groups so small could have lead to it being crushed quickly if she had been a better leader. 

[Chimosa Hake]

Hake downed the cup of sake after their toast. Somehow, the world Gabriella had used sounded a little odd and Hake tried to speak it for himself. "Saude. Saudé?" Listening to himself say the word, Hake giggled softly and hid his mouth quickly behind his sleeved hand, trying to stop it. "Sorry, Gabreela-san. It just sounds funny. Saude." Hake could tell the sake was starting to make a fool out of him but he managed to suppress the thought. It mattered not. He had won the fight and, as the victor, he was entitled to some silliness.

When Gabriella explained her initial set up to Hake together with the gun shot, Hake's mind turned alert again and focused on what was being said. Clever tactic. Hake was impressed by the woman's quick grasp of the situation and reaction to it. Most men might have done something stupid, like attack head on or retreat from a easily defensible location like the alleys. But Gabriella had not.

"Well, it was really just a two way split and then I positioned one company somewhat exotically. It helps to surprise the enemy when they can't understand how your formation works." Hake shrugged and reached for his sake cup, without lifting it off the table. "I knew from the start the main road would be a death trap. You could have taken out a third of my force there before I would have even seen you. So I moved to the alleys, splitting up my force for a pincer. It was a gamble, as you could have had your entire force on one side and it would have crushed both sides of the pincer in turn, one before the other could reach it to support. But in the end it paid off, no?" Hake smiled and glanced at the pouch of money on the table.

"Now, in hindsight, knowing what you know, what would you have done differently after the initial spotting of the enemy troops?"

[Gabriella Santos]

Gabriella couldn't help but be amused by Hake rolling the foreign word around. It was nice to here another soul using her language again. She hadn't since the last time she had seen her father. Before she had left and joined the Amakusa. She wondered how he was. Was he even still in the country or had he left on one of his ships once more. 

"It did pay of I'll admit." Gabriella replied, thinking about what she would have done different because of the question. Well the alleys had been a way of funnelling the enemy but it wasn't good enough.  "Maybe have both groups meet in the centre of town. Have the archers lay down in wait on the roofs, while the troops hide in a few of the buildings. Wait until your men had arrived and crush them on to founts by surprise. Well if the people lives had truly been at stake, wouldn't want to have disturbed them for just a training exercise." Gabriella would explain, gesturing with her cup and drinking between sentences. 

[Chimosa Hake]

Hake sipped the rest of his cup of sake. As he lifted the jug up to refill their cups he noticed he felt light headed and a little off balance. It brought a smile to his lips as he poured them both another cup of sake. It would be the last one for Hake for now. Gabriella's alternate strategy was quite a good one in fact, to ambush the enemy force. It would have provided them with the element of surprise that so often changed a battle around.

"Yes. I would have done the same. Prepare an ambush and have it spring with the enemy in the middle of it, possibly even cutting the enemy into three parts. One third already through the trap, one third not yet in the trap and a third right in the middle of it. And then split up my forces outward after taking care of the trapped third. Than half my troops would fight a third of your troops on two fronts while under fire from the archers."

Hake had set up the two jugs and her sake cup on the table in a sort of column, illustrating with her hands how her troops would move and how the sake enemy would react to those movements. He had squashed the middle jug with both hands and then had pushed outwards towards the cup on one side and the other jug on the other side. "Total victory." Hake smiled and downed her last cup of sake. At least the headache had been dampened enough now. But Hake knew that tomorrow would probably bring a different kind of headache.

[Gabriella Santos]

Gabriella was amused by the display of discussing tactic, with sake cups and jugs providing a visual aid. She wondered how many meeting about tactic for war had been made in the presents of large amounts of alcohol. Probably quite a few, which wasn't the smartest thing to do. She wondered how many of those meeting had actually lead to victory. 

"Well as total a victory can be in war." Gabriella would reply with a smile. She doubt that any tactic or large numbers could lead to a victory with absolutely no losses on your side. That would be a total victory in her mind. Only diplomacy had the chance for a lossless win and even then it wasn't guaranteed. 

"Well it has been a pleasure meeting you Chimosa-san. Though I should really go rest. Hit my arm harder then I thought I would today." Gabriella would say standing before giving Hake a bow. She would await Hake reply, before making a good attempt to not stagger as she left. 

[Chimosa Hake]

As Gabriella stood up, so did Hake. "Of course, of course. It was a most interesting experience, Gabreela-san. I thank you for it." Hake returned the bow to the woman and let her leave. Drinking the last of the jug on his own, Hake pondered over the fight, letting it move on repeat through his mind. It had been a good one, evenly matched forces and, apparently, evenly matched strategists. He had only barely won at the end. The Totomi troops had been impressive.

Hake paid for the two jugs from his winnings and stood up, feeling the world spin a little as he did. It was not the best feeling but it sure beat a pounding and stabbing headache. A little unsteady on his feet, Hake walked down the street, looking for a place to stay the night. Tomorrow would be a resting day and the day after, if nothing came up, Hake would be off again. His vacation was but those few short days, a luxury compared to most people. Hake smiled at nobody in particular, swaying a little from side to side as he moved down the street.