Young Samurai 06 - The Ring of Fire (32 page)

A blast of gunfire scattered a bunch of villagers hiding behind a woodpile; one fell dead before he’d taken two steps.

Jack hunted for the deadly Kurochi among the bandits, but the square was too chaotic to pinpoint where he was firing from. To Jack’s relief, though, Yori was still holding off his attacker. The bandit, on foot and armed with a battle-chipped
katana
, fought to bring the little monk down. But Yori used his ringed staff to deflect the strikes.

Jack was amazed at the skill with which Yori wielded his
shakujō
. Apparently Sensei Yamada had been teaching his friend a great deal more than Zen philosophy and meditation. As the bandit thrust for Yori’s gut, Yori drove his staff directly at the sword’s tip. He hooked the blade through one of his
shakujō
’s iron rings, then wrenched it upwards. The steel blade snapped in two.

Stunned at the loss of his weapon, the bandit was taken by surprise when the end of the
shakujō
whipped round and struck him in the jaw. The blow dropped him in a heap. A group of farmers, emboldened by Yori’s spirited defence, charged forward and the bandit disappeared beneath a forest of spears. Offering the dead man a quick blessing, Yori hurried back to tend to Hayato.

His mind now clear, Jack recalled Miyuki’s plight. Looking to the barricade, he saw Sayomi with her
naginata
poised to cut straight through the exhausted ninja.

‘
Miyuki!
’ Jack cried in despair, too far away to prevent her death.

Then he spotted a familiar glint of steel flash through the air. Sayomi flinched as the
shuriken
Jack had given Miyuki embedded itself in her upper chest. But Sayomi’s armour prevented the throwing star from penetrating deeply. She recovered quickly from the attack and swung the
naginata
’s blade down on to Miyuki.

Jack was unable to tear his eyes away, however much it tortured him to witness Miyuki’s murder.

At the last second, Yuudai rose from the hay bales and caught the
naginata
’s wooden shaft, halting the blade in mid-swing a fraction from Miyuki’s head. He yanked the weapon from Sayomi’s grasp and snapped it in half. Seizing her with his great hands, Yuudai then lifted the bandit off her feet and over his head.

Sayomi flailed helplessly in his grip. With a tremendous shout, Yuudai tossed the woman into the air. She flew through the flames of the moat to crash into the top of the barricade. As she tumbled over the other side, her long black hair became entangled in the spikes. Sayomi ended up swinging high above the sharpened bamboo stakes that were planted at the foot of the barricade. Her screams echoed up the valley as her hair ripped from her head and she dropped to the ground.

Yuudai, the arrow still embedded in his chest, turned to Miyuki. Grimacing against the pain of his wound, he offered his hand to help her to her feet. Seeing Miyuki rise, Jack realized the young samurai were far from defeated by Akuma’s men.

‘Rally the other units,’ said Jack to Saburo. ‘Order them to corner the remaining bandits using their spear drills. It’s time we brought Akuma’s reign of terror to an end, once and for all.’

As Saburo began barking out commands, Jack spotted Nakamura, his leather armour scorched black, leaping on to the veranda of Junichi’s farmhouse. The bandit began kicking at the door. From inside came the screams of women and children. Unable to break it down, Nakamura took his axe and in a single swipe shattered the door open.

Leaving Saburo to lead the units, Jack dashed over to the farmhouse. He burst through the entrance just as Nakamura prepared to chop Yoshi’s head from his shoulders. The bandit kicked Yoshi to his hands and knees and raised the axe.

‘Say
sayonara
to Grandpa!’ laughed Nakamura.

57

THE POND

Jack dived head first at Nakamura as the axe blade came hurtling down. There was no time for any other strategy. Yoshi was seconds from death.

Charging forward, Jack kept his back straight and neck in line just as he’d been taught during his Sixteen Secret Fists
ninjutsu
training. His head collided with Nakamura’s ribcage and the bandit experienced the full crushing force of Demon Horn Fist. There was a crunch of fracturing bones and Nakamura was sent flying into the back wall. His axe fell from his hands, missing Yoshi by a whisker.

Gasping but not defeated, Nakamura seized Jack before he could roll away. Caught in a massive bear grip, Jack struggled to break free as he felt the life being squeezed from him.

‘You won’t get away this time,’ Nakamura growled, his scarred face a knot of fury.

Drawing a forearm across Jack’s throat, he began to crush his windpipe. Jack choked, the veins in his neck bulging under the crippling pressure. Clawing at Nakamura’s arms, he kicked and writhed. But the bandit’s iron-like grip didn’t give at all. Black spots blurred his vision and his head once more throbbed as if about to explode. With his strength ebbing away, Jack knew he didn’t have long to live.

Across the room, the women and children looked on, paralysed with fear.

As he spluttered his last breaths, one of the girls finally plucked up the courage and ran over. Clasping her hand into a ninja fist, she drove her thumb into Nakamura’s injured ribs. The bandit howled in agony as Finger Sword Fist dug deep.

In his pain, he batted the girl away. But Jack managed to wrench himself free and roll to his feet. Turning on the bandit, he launched a stomping front kick at his chest. Nakamura caught his foot and twisted it, intending to snap the ankle. Jack whirled in the air, spinning with the attack. At the same time, he thrust out his other leg. His free foot caught Nakamura in the jaw and the bandit went sprawling to the floor.

Jack hoped this would be the end of it, but Nakamura was even tougher than he imagined. Despite being dazed, the bandit snatched up his battleaxe and swung it at Jack’s legs. Jack jumped in the air, the steel blade whistling beneath his feet. As he landed, Nakamura rose up and chopped madly with his axe.

The women and children scattered, desperate to avoid the deadly swipes.

Jack leapt away from the attack, but failed to notice the hearth behind him. He stumbled into the hot ashes of the dying fire, lost his footing and fell.

Nakamura rushed forward, his axe raised to cleave him in half.

Yoshi, still on his hands and knees, found his walking-stick and thrust it between Nakamura’s legs. Nakamura tripped and the axe head buried itself in the wall just above Jack’s head, splinters flying everywhere.

Cursing, Nakamura brutally kicked the old man to the ground. Jack jumped up but before he could draw his swords, Nakamura barrelled into him like a raging bull. The two of them careered into the rear wall which, already split by the axe, now disintegrated. They tumbled out of the farmhouse and down the slope, throwing kicks and punches as they fell.

In the square, Akuma and his bandits had returned, but Saburo was marshalling the farmers to corral them. One bandit had been knocked from his horse and was making a frenzied attempt at an escape. The villagers soon caught the doomed man. But Akuma rode defiantly straight at the farmers, driving them back again and again with his trident.

Jack and Nakamura rolled to a stop. Nakamura stunned Jack with a head butt, then scrambled through the snow to retrieve his battleaxe.

‘I’m going to take your head,
gaijin
,’ said Nakamura, spitting blood. ‘And your arms and your legs and your …’

Grunting with the effort, Nakamura brought his axe hurtling down.

Jack rolled aside as the blade thudded into the frozen ground. Scrambling to his feet, he unsheathed his swords and went on the attack. His
katana
flashed through the air, slicing for the bandit’s neck.

Nakamura blocked the blade with his axe head, sparks flying on contact. Jack spun and thrust with his
wakizashi
. Almost skewered on its tip, Nakamura twisted away at the last second and brought the axe handle down on to Jack’s left arm. Pain rocketed through Jack and he was forced to drop the short sword.

‘Your fancy sword techniques won’t beat an axe blow!’ laughed Nakamura.

Swinging the massive weapon in a lethal series of arcs, he forced Jack on the retreat. Realizing the axe could shatter his
katana
’s blade, Jack had to hope for a gap in Nakamura’s attack before retaliating. But his foot slipped from under him. As he tried to regain his balance, Nakamura chopped down with all his might. The axe head skimmed past Jack’s face and chest to hit the ground with an ear-splitting
crack
. Fissures in the snow snaked their way out from where they stood. Water spurted up and the ground shifted beneath their feet.

Jack dived away. But Nakamura, too slow to realize what was happening, dropped through the ice and disappeared with his axe into the freezing depths of the pond.

Jack lay as still as he could, spreading his weight to prevent the pond’s surface breaking up any more. But all around he heard ominous cracking. He saw Yori leave Hayato and come running over, quickly followed by Yuudai and Miyuki who’d witnessed the brutal fight.

‘Stop!’ cried Jack. ‘No closer.’

Throwing his
katana
clear, he began to ease himself away from the hole and towards the bank.

‘I’ll get a spear!’ cried Miyuki.

A moment later she was back, lying on the ground, the spear outstretched towards him. Jack grabbed the shaft and she began to haul him in.

All of a sudden, a hand seized Jack’s ankle, dragging him the other way into the ice hole.

‘Not s-s-so f-f-fast,’ spluttered Nakamura, his scarred face turned blue.

Jack slid into the freezing waters, pulling Miyuki off the bank. Half on the ice, half in the pond, he lashed out at Nakamura. But the bandit refused to let go.

Fighting the cold and Nakamura, Jack felt his fingers slipping off the spear.

58

END OF A NIGHTMARE

‘I can’t hold on much longer!’ yelled Jack.

Yuudai reached for Miyuki to pull them
all
in. But Nakamura yanked on Jack’s leg, seemingly determined to drown them both.

‘Let Jack go!’ Yori shouted, throwing a snowball at the bandit.

But Nakamura kept tugging Jack into the hole. Jack’s grasp slid to the very end of the spear. Gritting his teeth, he clung on for dear life. Nakamura began to crawl up his back, trying to prise him away from his lifeline. At the same time, the frigid waters of the pond lapped at Jack’s waist, chilling him to the bone and sapping his strength.

He was about to give up all hope when an arrow shot past his shoulder and struck Nakamura. Jack heard a pained groan followed by the slosh of water as Nakamura lost his grip and slipped beneath the surface. Looking up, Jack saw Hayato propped up against the little farmhouse, bow in hand, Kunio holding his quiver. The effort of firing the arrow, however, had proved too much. Clutching his wounded stomach, he collapsed to the ground.

Hauling Jack out of the pond, the four of them rushed to Hayato’s side. He was still breathing, but a thin stream of blood trickled from his mouth. Yori gently eased him into a sitting position.

‘Is … the battle … over?’ Hayato gasped, his face deathly pale, the snow around him a pool of red.

Jack looked to the square. Only Akuma and a single bandit remained. Having lost their mounts, they were trapped within an ever-tightening circle of armed farmers. The fearsome Black Moon had no chance of victory … or escape.

‘We’ve won.’

Hayato smiled at their triumph. He turned his eyes on Miyuki.

‘Was the Ring of Fire … your idea?’

Miyuki nodded.

‘I wish … I’d thought of it,’ said Hayato. With his last breath, he proffered a final truce. ‘Ninja have all the best ideas …’

Reaching out, Miyuki tenderly touched his cheek and shed a tear. For a moment, no one spoke. Jack was choked at their tragic loss so close to victory. Hayato had just saved his life – and he hadn’t even had the chance to thank him.