Yagi (Usagi Yojimbo)
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Yagi, the Lone Goat Assassin is a character in the comic book Usagi Yojimbo; he is an anthropomorphic Goat, and is a highly skilled assassin. His most recognizable trait, is that he carries his son, Gorogoro with him in a baby carriage. He was once an honorable samurai, and despite his dark path, Yagi still considers himself an honorable warrior, and will not accept jobs that target innocent or honest people.
He was once a high-ranking samurai who served Lord Hirone, but a corrupt councillor, Lord Wakame framed him for treason; instead of committing seppuku (ritualistic suicide) to preserve his honor, Yagi left, taking his son, Gorogoro with him. He is now a hired assassin, carrying his son in a carriage, and they are often referred to as the Lone Goat and Kid; Yagi is a skilled swordsman, while Gorogoro aids his father by attacking enemies with various weapons concealed in the cart. To signal one's intent to hire them, a person posts a picture of a baby carriage.
In the comics, Yagi and Gorogoro meet Usagi three times. On the first, Lord Wakame is plotting to kill Yagi, as he could ultimately expose his corruption, when he hears of a duel between Usagi, and one of Lord Hirone's former samurai, General Oyaneko. Through a third party, Wakame hires Yagi to hunt down Usagi, saying that the ronin tried to assassinate Oyaneko; in truth, the former General was dying from illness, and challenged Usagi to a duel to die in combat. Yagi and Oyaneko were old friends, so he quickly accepted the job, and hunted down Usagi. Usagi tries to tell Yagi that he is no assassin, and did not try to kill Oyaneko, but Yagi is still intent on carrying out the hit; with help from Gorogoro and the traps in the cart, Yagi is able to defeat Usagi, and sends him rolling down a rocky cliff. Lord Wakame was watching from afar, he was hoping that Usagi would win, but seeing little choice, he sends in a band of samurai to finish Yagi; and dispatches his accomplices, intent on framing Yagi for their deaths as well. Yagi sees that he was set-up by the real traitor, and starts fighting the samurai, quickly killing them all. Wakame finds himself alone with Yagi, and attempts to use Gorogoro to keep him at bay; but Yagi does not stand down, saying Gorogoro is the son of a samurai and lives with death by his side. Gorogoro uses one of the cart's traps to kill Wakame, who collapses, pushing the cart down the hill as he falls. Yagi runs after his son, as the cart crashes into the rocks below; but he finds that Usagi survived the battle, and saved Gorogoro. Yagi apologizes to Usagi for trying to kill him, and gives back the assassination fee to Wakame.
The second time Yagi appears, he is hired by some merchants to kill a pair of money lenders, Hondo and Hoshi who have been gouging them with heavy interest on their loans, and bullying them with hired muscle. By the time Usagi appears, Yagi has already dispatched one of the brothers, and Gorogoro is on his own while Yagi targets the other; Usagi finds Gorogoro being threatened by one of Hoshi's men, and helps fend him off. Usagi offers to help Gorogoro, but he doesn't trust anyone, not even the ronin who saved his life before; eventually, Usagi manages to get Gorogoro into town for a meal. The thug makes his way back to Hoshi to report, and is sent after Usagi and Gorogoro with a small army of fighters, cornering them on a bridge. Usagi intends to fight them off, when Yagi comes up from behind; Hoshi's men are no match for Usagi and Yagi. When the fighting stops, Usagi returns Gorogoro to his father, and Yagi comments that his memory is long, and will not forget that he owes Usagi his son's life, twice.
The third time their paths cross, Yagi is ambushed in the woods by some brigands after a reward on his head; although they are slain, an archer still manages to fire an arrow into Yagi's back before he is killed. Unable to do anything about the arrow, Yagi resumes pushing the cart, until he comes to an abandoned hut near a river; going inside, he collapses. Gorogoro tries to help his father, but doesn't know what to do. He goes outside to get some water, and finds a young boy washed up on the rocks, Jotaro. Gorogoro helps Jotaro and points to the hut; Jotaro also tries to help Yagi, but he is also unable to do much for him. The next day, the hut is besieged by boss Sanpei; Jotaro and Gorogoro try to defend the hut, when Usagi comes up from behind, and starts attacking the thugs. Once the threat is gone, Usagi follows Gorogoro inside, and removes the arrow from Yagi's back. Meanwhile, Sanpei sends word back to big boss Mitsuhana, and asks for his elite guards, the Seven Blades to help kill Yagi. Under the cover of darkness, Usagi slips out and knocks out the guard left behind to watch the hut, then gets everyone out before the Seven Blades arrive. When the Seven Blades arrive the next morning and find the hut empty, they believe that they've been set up, and turn on boss Sanpei; while Usagi, Jotaro, Yagi and Gorogoro go their separate ways.
[edit] Stories where he has appeared
- Way of the Samurai (mentioned)
- Lone Goat and Kid
- Return of the Lone Goat and Kid
- Fathers and Sons
[edit] Trivia
- Yagi and Gorogoro—a.k.a. Lone Goat and Kid —were inspired by the manga "Lone Wolf and Cub"; a baby wolf is called a "cub", and a baby goat is called a "kid". Like Yagi, Ogami Ittō, the Lone Wolf, was a high ranking samurai, who was disgraced by false accusations, and then turned his sword in vengeance against those who framed him; he took his son with him, pushing him in a carriage.
