Dragon of the Red Dawn: A Merlin Mission (5 page)

“I would like plates of sushi for me and my two students, please,” said Basho.

“Thank you,” said the waiter, bowing.

While they waited for their food, Jack studied the people in the room. Jack noticed that even little kids were eating with chopsticks. He and
Annie had never had much luck using chopsticks in Asian restaurants back home.

Soon the waiter brought over three plates of small cakes of sticky rice wrapped in dark green, paper-like strips. He also brought napkins and three pairs of chopsticks.

When the waiter had gone, Basho spoke to Jack and Annie in a soft voice so no one else could hear. “We call this
sushi,”
he said. “It is rice with pieces of raw fish in the middle.”

“Raw fish?” said Jack. He gulped.

“And what’s this part?” Annie pointed at the papery wrapping.

“Seaweed,” said Basho.

“Seaweed?” said Jack.

“It is very good,” said Basho.

Jack was so hungry he was willing to try anything, even raw fish and seaweed. His only problem was the chopsticks.

“Try it this way, Jack,” said Annie. She carefully picked up a piece of sushi between the
wooden ends of her chopsticks. Jack copied her. But as they both tried to bring their food to their mouths, their pieces of sushi fell onto the table.

Jack and Annie laughed and tried a second time. Annie was successful. But Jack dropped his sushi again. Without thinking, he grabbed it with his fingers and popped it into his mouth.

“Mmm!” said Jack. The vinegar-tasting rice, the raw fish, and the green, salty seaweed were delicious!

But Jack stopped in mid-chew. Two samurai at another table were glaring at him. One of the men had a big scar on his face. The other had fierce dark eyes.

Jack’s throat was dry as he swallowed.
They saw me mess up with my chopsticks!
he thought.
They can tell I’m not from Japan!
He picked up another piece of sushi with his chopsticks. He glanced again at the samurai. They were watching him like hawks.

Jack’s hand felt shaky. He tried to stay calm. He remembered a passage from their research book:
Samurai did not show their feelings. They had great powers of concentration.

Jack tried very hard not to show his fear. He
concentrated on holding the sushi with his chopsticks. He raised the sushi to his mouth and ate it calmly. He lowered his chopsticks and picked up another piece of sushi. He ate it calmly.

When Jack looked back at the samurai, they were no longer watching him. Jack let out his breath. He picked up his last piece of sushi with his chopsticks and ate it calmly.

“Very good,” said Basho, smiling at him.

“Thanks,” said Jack.

“Let us go now,” said Basho.

Basho folded his napkin neatly and left it beside his plate. Jack and Annie did the same. Basho paid for their meals, and then they stopped at the entranceway to put on their shoes. As they stepped outside, a drum began beating loudly. A huge crowd had gathered on the grassy riverbank.

“What’s happening?” Annie asked.

“Come, I will show you,” said Basho.

People moved aside so Basho could lead Jack and Annie to the front of the crowd.

A large ring had been marked off on the ground with straw. In the middle of the circle,
two enormously fat men squatted at opposite sides of the ring. Each man looked as if he
weighed more than four hundred pounds. They clapped their hands. Then each began stomping his feet.

“Who are
they
?” said Annie, her eyes wide.

“Sumo wrestlers,” said Basho. “Sumo wrestling has been our most popular sport for over a thousand years.”

The two wrestlers were now perfectly still. Crouching down with clenched fists, they were glaring at one another. The whole crowd seemed to hold its breath as the wrestlers stared into each other’s eyes. Suddenly one wrestler lunged forward and grabbed the other. Then the hugely fat men began pushing each other around.

“They are trying to force each other out of the ring,” said Basho.

Grunting and groaning, the two men moved backward and forward as spectators cheered wildly. Then one wrestler made a quick move and shoved his rival out of the circle. The crowd roared. Jack found himself cheering, too.

When the noise died down, Basho turned to Jack and Annie. “The first match is over,” he said. “Shall we go now?”

Before Jack and Annie could answer him, two samurai stepped in front of them. One had a big scar on his face. The other had fierce dark eyes.

“Excuse me,” the scar-faced man said. “May we see your passports, please?”

J
ack froze.

Basho stepped forward. When the two samurai saw him, they bowed. “Good afternoon, Master,” one said.

“Good afternoon,” said Basho. “These are my students, Koto and Baku. I am afraid they left their passports at home today.”

“They are your students?” said the samurai with the scar.

“Yes, excellent students,” said Basho. “They have much natural talent.”

“Ah.” The two samurai looked at Jack and Annie with interest. “Will you share your talent with us?” one asked, smiling.

What talent?
Jack wondered frantically.
Some samurai-warrior talent?

Basho saw Jack’s confusion. “Perhaps you would each recite one of your poems,” he said.

“One of our poems?” squeaked Jack.
What kind of samurai talent is that?
he wondered.
Do samurai warriors have to know poems?

“Sure,” said Annie. “Here’s a poem.” She took a deep breath and then recited:

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.

The samurai with the scar nodded. “Very good, Koto,” he said. “The little star twinkles like a diamond.”

The other samurai closed his eyes as if he
were seeing the star. “Yes, yes, very good!” he said. “A sparkling diamond high above the world! Excellent.”

Both samurai then turned to Jack. “And you, Baku?” one said.

Jack stared at them. He couldn’t remember
any
poem—not even a nursery rhyme!

“Uh … a poem? Right,” said Jack. “Um. Let’s see…. Okay.” He took a deep breath and said:

I love Japan.
Oh, man.
I really love Japan.
The land of Japan
Is cool.

Jack bit his lip. He knew his poem was bad. He glanced at Annie. She looked as if she were trying not to laugh.

The dark-eyed samurai turned to Basho. “An excellent student?” he said.

Basho nodded. “Well, yes…. Baku has a—a special talent. He needs work, but the talent is there.”

The samurai frowned. “You say he left his passport at home, Master Basho? Where is his home?”

Just then the drumbeat started again. The samurai turned to look. A new sumo match was beginning. The two samurai moved closer to the ring to get a better look.

Basho turned to Jack and Annie. “We should leave now,” he said calmly. “I will take you to my home, where you will be safe.”

Jack, Annie, and Basho quickly left the sumo crowd and blended in with shoppers walking down a busy street. Peddlers carried long poles
over their shoulders with baskets swinging on the ends. They shouted about their wares: “Shoes and socks!” “Cakes and pastries!” “Rope and twine!”

One woman had a large box strapped to her back. “Books! Books!” she shouted.

“No thank you,” said Jack. He loved books, but he kept going. He was afraid the samurai might show up again at any moment.

A boy carried birdcages and shouted, “Birds! Birds!”

Suddenly Jack felt a hand on his shoulder. He nearly had a heart attack! But it was just Basho. “I live
that
way,” said Basho, pointing. “Over the bridge.”

Jack and Annie walked with Basho over a small, narrow bridge that crossed a canal.

Basho led them past a temple, then past small bamboo houses with chickens in their yards. Little children were spinning tops on the dusty ground. One called out, “Hello, Master Basho!” Basho smiled and waved.

Then Jack and Annie walked with Basho along the dirt path bordering the river. Tall pine trees lined the riverbank. A dry wind blew leaves and pine needles into the shallows. Jack started to breathe more easily. He felt safer now.

The trail grew more narrow. The sun slipped behind the tops of the trees. Jack was eager to get to Basho’s castle. He looked for a steep roof and high stone walls like the castles of the samurai.

Through the deepening shadows of twilight, Basho led them to a clearing not far from the river.

At the center of the clearing was a pond overgrown with weeds. On the far side of the pond, moss-covered stones led to the door of a tiny hut. The hut was made of bamboo and had a roof of wood shingles. Next to the small hut was a large plant with droopy green leaves.