Young Samurai 06 - The Ring of Fire (11 page)

Out of nowhere, a
manriki
whirled through the air towards Hayato. He ducked, but the short weighted chain wrapped itself around his bow, incapacitating it. A moment later, a white shadow materialized from behind a tree and kicked Saburo in the gut. He collapsed to the ground, winded. Hearing his cry, the farmers fled in panic. But Yori quickly rallied them back into a group, holding out his
shakujō
’s pointed iron tip as a weapon.

Jack turned to pursue Saburo’s assailant, but once again the white shadow had vanished. As Hayato disentangled his bow, Jack scanned the woodland for their invisible enemy. But it was like hunting for a needle in a haystack.

He felt a tug on his sleeve and Neko was by his side, indicating with her eyes to a nearby tree. He saw nothing. Yet Neko was insistent.

Staring more intently, he noticed a slight bulge on the topside of a lower bough. Yuudai spotted it too. Being closest, he rushed to grab the hidden form. But it flew from the bough, kicking out as it launched itself over Yuudai’s head. A mountain of snow cascaded from the branches, engulfing the boy up to his waist.

The white-clad assassin landed cat-like in front of Jack.

Before his opponent could attack, Jack brought his
katana
slicing downwards. Pulling a white-handled blade from the
saya
on its back, the shadow deflected the lethal strike and locked eyes with Jack.

‘
What a way to welcome a friend!
’ hissed the assassin.

Jack almost dropped his
katana
.

‘Miyuki?’ he said, recognizing the voice behind the mask.

‘Who else could sneak up on you so easily?’

Miyuki was dressed head-to-toe in a pure white
shinobi shozoku
, the customary winter garb of a ninja. Sheathing his
katana
, Jack burst into a grin at being reunited with his ninja training partner.

Hotei the Laughing Buddha is certainly on my side
, thought Jack.

Although to begin with Miyuki had despised him for being a samurai – a ruthless samurai warrior having murdered her parents and baby brother – over time their respect and trust for one another had grown until they became firm friends. He was over the moon to see her again.

‘NO!’ shouted Jack, as Hayato freed his bow and aimed an arrow at her back.

In the blink of an eye, Miyuki spun to throw a
shuriken
in retaliation. Jack grabbed her arm before she could release the deadly throwing star. Hayato and Miyuki glared at one another, a fierce battle of wills in play.

Yuudai, shaking off the snow, advanced on her too.

‘Miyuki’s a
friend
!’ insisted Jack, holding up a hand in a vain attempt to stop the massive boy.

‘She’s a ninja!’ said Hayato coldly, keeping the bow in tension.

‘And you’re a samurai!’ replied Miyuki with equal contempt. Her free hand now held a throwing knife targeted at Hayato’s throat.

Jack stepped between them, trying to break the tension. ‘Her ninja clan once saved me. She’s on our side.’

Groaning, Saburo struggled to his feet with the help of Neko.

‘If she’s a friend of yours,’ he wheezed, rubbing his belly, ‘why did she have to kick me so hard?’

‘I didn’t know if
you
were friend or foe,’ replied Miyuki, offering no sympathy.

Yori, leaving the bewildered farmers huddled at a safe distance, placed himself in the middle of the confrontation.

‘I’m Yori,’ he said, bowing respectfully to Miyuki. ‘I’m a friend of Jack’s – which must make us friends too!’

His smile was both genuine and disarming, and Miyuki lowered her knife in acknowledgement. With the situation defused, Hayato released the tension on his bow and retreated with Yuudai. But he didn’t take his eyes off the ninja.

‘What are you doing
here
?’ asked Jack.

Miyuki stared at him as if the answer was obvious.

‘To rescue you, of course!’ she replied, pulling off her hood to reveal a striking girl of sixteen with spiky black hair and eyes as black as midnight.

‘But I’m not in trouble.’

‘That’s not what Hana said.’

‘
Hana?
’ exclaimed Jack, surprised Miyuki knew the girl.

‘Don’t worry, she’s fine. She got lost in the Iga mountains, but Hanzo’s guiding her to Akiko as we speak.’

Jack was reassured by this news. He was also delighted for Akiko and for her mother, Hiroko, who would be seeing her long-lost son – Hanzo, originally named Kiyoshi – for the first time since his kidnap by Dragon Eye at the age of five.

‘We didn’t believe Hana to begin with,’ continued Miyuki. ‘We suspected she’d stolen your
inro
. But her detailed knowledge of you convinced us. She was very worried about Ronin and your safety.’

‘Did you find Ronin on your travels?’ Jack asked hopefully.

Miyuki shook her head, much to Jack’s dismay. ‘But
you
were easy to track! Didn’t you learn anything from the Grandmaster?’ she scolded.

‘I left a trail on purpose. So that Kazuki would follow me, instead of Akiko.’

Miyuki rolled her eyes in disbelief. ‘Well, it worked. Not only are his Scorpion Gang after you but half the Shogun’s samurai!’

Jack blanched and felt an icy shiver run down his spine. ‘How close are they?’

‘The last storm closed the Funasaka Pass. No one will be getting through there for a month or so.’

Jack breathed a sigh of relief, knowing his enemies couldn’t follow his trail for a while at least. Miyuki glanced round at his travelling companions, her brow wrinkling in puzzlement at the odd mix of farmers, samurai and the tiny monk.

‘What are you doing with these people anyway?’ she asked.

‘I made a promise to help these farmers,’ he replied, and explained why they were heading to Tamagashi village.

‘Now I remember why I like you so much, Jack,’ said Miyuki, her usual cool demeanour breaking into a dazzling smile. ‘Looks as if you could do with some help, though.’

‘A ninja wasn’t part of the agreement,’ spat Hayato, his expression fierce.

‘But we do need another warrior,’ argued Jack, who was delighted at her offer. ‘Miyuki’s one of the best ninja I know. Her skills will be invaluable.’

‘She’s the
enemy
,’ said Hayato with a clenched jaw.

‘And samurai are
my
enemy,’ shot back Miyuki.

The two of them reached for their weapons.

Yori raised his hands for peace and cut in, ‘Our
only
enemy is Akuma.’

17

ARMY OF CHILDREN

‘So that’s our castle!’ laughed Saburo as they approached the run-down village of Tamagashi. ‘It’s more like a dunghill!’

‘Samurai are so arrogant,’ said Miyuki, shooting him a reproachful look. ‘This is their home. Show some respect.’

Chastened, Saburo became ashamed at his insensitive comment, but Hayato glared at Miyuki for having the audacity as a ninja to criticize a samurai. He barely managed to keep his hostility in check.

Jack thought he may have to step in again. He’d explained about his relationship to Miyuki and tried to convince Hayato that the ninja were misrepresented as a whole. Hayato had acknowledged that Jack as a foreigner might be able to bridge the gap, but that he would
never
trust a ninja. This suited Miyuki just fine, since she wouldn’t ever trust a samurai. Thankfully, Yori managed to negotiate a truce between Hayato and Miyuki – the differences of the samurai and the ninja were to be set aside for the common goal of defeating Akuma.

But Jack realized this was a fragile alliance.

‘Tamagashi may not be much to look at,’ he said, ushering the two of them over the mill’s rickety bridge. ‘But I can assure you its people deserve defending.’

They followed the farmers along the muddy track and into the square. As they passed the ramshackle homes, the villagers came out to greet them. But upon seeing the tender age of their saviours, they could only gawp in disbelief.

‘Not much of a welcome!’ remarked Hayato.

‘They’re probably just nervous,’ suggested Yori, although he too sensed the growing awkwardness of their arrival.

Entering the square, they made for the main farmhouse where Junichi was waiting on the veranda. He bowed low at their approach, keeping his eyes respectfully to the ground.

‘As the head of this village, I welcome you and offer our undying gratitude for helping us in our hour of need. Please consider Tamagashi your home –’

Standing up, Junichi took a double take and became lost for words. He stared aghast at the four young samurai, one tiny monk and the lone ninja before him.

Jack and his recruits bowed back, all made uneasy by Junichi’s horrified expression.

‘
What’s the meaning of this, Toge?
’ demanded Junichi, out of the corner of his mouth.

Toge stared blankly back, while Sora piped up in their defence, ‘We couldn’t get any more samurai.’

‘That’s not what I mean,’ hissed Junichi. ‘You’ve hired
children
to do men’s work!’

‘They’re the best we could do,’ replied Toge grimly.

An air of desperate disappointment consumed the villagers gathering in the square.

‘We might as well give up now!’ shouted a farmer to Junichi.

‘Akuma will slaughter them,’ cried an old woman, her face pitying the young warriors.

‘Where are the
real
samurai?’ shouted another man.

The calls of outrage, frustration and despair grew louder and Junichi’s pleas for calm went unheeded. The farmhouse door opened and Yoshi the elder came tottering out. He thumped the wooden veranda with his walking-stick and fixed the villagers with a furious glare.

‘What right have you to judge these young samurai? When you can’t even fight as men yourselves! This village doesn’t deserve to be saved.’

The crowd fell into a disgraced silence.

Then the old woman cried, ‘You can’t allow children to fight our battles!’

‘Who else has stepped to our defence?’ challenged Yoshi.

No one answered.

‘These young samurai have skills we don’t. They are brave and willing to make a stand for us. We should respect them.’

‘I can really see Akuma respecting them,’ shouted a farmer sarcastically. ‘He might just laugh himself to death!’

At this the crowd began to disperse, realizing the futility of battling bandits with a pitiful army of children.

‘It appears we’re
not
wanted, after all,’ said Hayato, turning angrily to leave.

‘This is simply a misunderstanding,’ said Jack, exasperated by the farmers’ short-sightedness. Unwilling to give up on them, he added, ‘Let me explain the plan to them.’

‘No, the situation is perfectly understood. The farmers don’t want
our
help. Come on, Yuudai.’

Bowing farewell to Jack, Yuudai followed Hayato back in the direction of Okayama.

‘I have to agree, Jack,’ said Miyuki. ‘We’re wasting our time here.’

‘But how will the farmers survive without us?’ said Jack, thinking of poor Neko and the fate of her parents.

‘You can’t help those who won’t be helped,’ responded Yori with a reluctant sigh.

Heading back down the track, Saburo asked, ‘What about food and lodgings tonight?’

Jack was about to answer, when an alarm suddenly clanged.

The faces of the villagers became taut with terror. ‘Bandits!’ cried a farmer and everyone fled in wild panic. A few desperately gathered their belongings, others ran for their lives, but most rushed after the departing young samurai.

‘Save us! Save us! You must help us!’ they implored.

‘
Now
they want our services,’ called back Hayato. Nonetheless, he unslung his bow and dashed into the square, Yuudai at his side.

Jack, Saburo and Miyuki unsheathed their swords and prepared for the surprise attack. Yori gripped his staff, his hands trembling at the thought of the forthcoming battle.

‘Which direction is Akuma coming from?’ demanded Hayato, running up to the main farmhouse.

‘I don’t know,’ cried Junichi, his eyes darting fearfully in all directions.

‘Well, who rang the alarm?’

‘It wasn’t
me
,’ he said, as if the raid was his fault.

‘Then who did?’

‘It was her!’ shouted Kunio, pointing to the roof of the blacksmith’s hut.

Neko was standing upon its ridge, an iron bar and hammer in hand. She pummelled it again and grinned in delight as the villagers scattered like startled mice.

‘So where are the bandits?’ questioned Miyuki, scanning the deserted horizon.

It was then Jack realized Neko’s ploy. ‘There are no bandits!’

Smiling with relief, Yori said, ‘She’s just proving to the farmers they really do need us.’

‘There’s more to that girl than meets the eye!’ said Yuudai, letting loose a great booming laugh at the chaos she’d caused.

Neko, seeing Yuudai applaud her, rang the alarm again. Yoshi shuffled over to the edge of the veranda and addressed the young samurai.