Young Samurai 06 - The Ring of Fire (34 page)

‘Thank you for your faith in us, Jack,’ said Sora, bowing deeply. ‘If it hadn’t been for you, we would never have seen our daughter again.’

Miya stepped forward and presented Jack with a new straw hat.

‘For your journey home,’ she said.

As Jack accepted their gift and bowed his gratitude, Kunio ran into the square shouting, ‘SAMURAI! SAMURAI ARE COMING!’

60

KOBAN

The celebrations came to a swift end. The villagers looked anxiously to Toge, whose expression was especially grave at the news. He issued urgent instructions to hide all the food and prepare for their arrival.

‘
Daimyo
Ikeda’s samurai only ever visit us to collect his rice tax,’ Sora explained to Jack. ‘But they already have this season’s. I can only think they’re looking for you!’

As the villagers hurriedly cleared away all signs of a celebration, Sora bundled Jack, Miyuki and the other young samurai into the rice store, closing the door behind him. They peered, unseen, through gaps in the wooden wall.

Toge and Yoshi were waiting on the veranda to greet the samurai, while the rest of the farmers gathered round the edges of the square, heads bowed. The sound of horses’ hooves drew nearer. Then ten fully armed samurai rode in. Dismounting, the lead samurai strode on to the veranda. Toge and Yoshi bowed deeply, keeping their eyes lowered to the ground as he approached.

‘What happened to your bridge?’ demanded the samurai.

‘It was destroyed by Akuma,’ Toge replied.

‘Where’s that troublesome bandit now?’

‘Dead.’

The samurai looked surprised. ‘Dead! Who killed him?’

‘Some
ronin
,’ explained Toge.

‘
You
hired masterless samurai,’ he said, incredulous. ‘What with?’

‘Rice. It’s all we have.’

Laughing, the samurai glanced at the submissive villagers. ‘No wonder you all look so hungry!’ He turned back to Toge, his hand upon the hilt of his sword. ‘Now, where’s the
gaijin
samurai?’ he demanded.

Toge swallowed nervously, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground.

‘Come on, I don’t have all day.
You
told us he was here.’

‘I don’t believe it!’ cried Sora. ‘Toge, of all people, betrayed you.’

Jack was equally shocked. He’d known the farmer was bitter, but hadn’t thought him a traitor.

‘
That
explains why Toge wasn’t around when you went to look for Akuma’s camp,’ whispered Yori, shaking his head in dismay.

‘Don’t worry, you’ll be paid,’ said the samurai, pulling four
koban
from a purse.

Toge’s eyes alighted on the glittering gold coins. Then he glanced towards the rice store.

‘He’s about to tell!’ exclaimed Sora.

Saburo drew his sword. ‘We won’t let them take you, Jack.’

‘I’ll distract them, while you three run for the forest,’ said Miyuki, her
ninjatō
at the ready.

‘No, I won’t let you sacrifice yourselves,’ said Jack. ‘This isn’t your battle.’

Toge looked back down at the ground. ‘The
gaijin
samurai is … dead.’

Jack and his friends held their ground, stunned by Toge’s reversal.

The samurai studied the farmer with suspicion. ‘Where’s the body then?’

Toge struggled for an answer.

The samurai jingled the coins in his hand. ‘Alive or dead, he’s still worth four
koban
.’

Yoshi shuffled forward. ‘As much as we want to serve our Shogun, the
gaijin
was killed by Akuma during the battle. Unfortunately, both their bodies were burnt in the fire.’

The samurai grabbed Toge by the hair and wrenched his head back to face him.

‘I should cut out your tongue for wasting our time.’ He threw the farmer to the floor with disgust. ‘
If
the
gaijin
samurai is dead, our job is done. But no body, no reward.’

Turning on his heel, he pocketed the four
koban
and mounted his horse. The samurai gave one last look around the square. For a moment, he stared directly at the rice store. Then he urged his horse on and the ten samurai warriors rode out of the village.

‘That was close,’ said Saburo, sheathing his sword. ‘At least now the samurai won’t be looking for you, Jack.’

‘I’m afraid you’re wrong,’ said Sora, shaking his head with regret. ‘Samurai
never
believe us farmers. They’ll be back.’

61

FUGITIVES

Early next morning, Sora helped Jack gather the supplies he needed for the long journey south to Nagasaki. With every chance that
daimyo
Ikeda’s samurai would return, Jack decided he had to leave as soon as possible.

While the old farmer filled four straw containers with rice, Jack retrieved his pack from beneath the floorboards. Safe inside were Akiko’s black pearl, his four remaining
shuriken
and, most important of all, his father’s
rutter
. His thoughts once more turned to home and his sister, Jess.

Neko came over with some water and
mochi
. Kneeling before Jack, she gazed silently at him with doleful eyes.

I made these for you
, she signed, and handed him the rice cakes.

Smiling gratefully, Jack took a bite of one. Filled with red bean paste, it was deliciously sweet.

Very tasty
, signed Jack.
You’re a good cook
.

Neko bowed at the compliment, then signed,
Are you coming back?

Jack shook his head.

Neko’s eyes welled with tears.
Friends forever?

Jack signed,
Yes, friends forever
, and she beamed at him.

Getting to her feet, Neko joined Miyuki for another tearful goodbye.

Jack stowed the
mochi
, water and rice containers Sora had prepared in his pack. Picking up his red-handled samurai swords, he secured them in his
obi
and felt reassured by their presence on his hip. He was ready to go.

Yori and Saburo entered the farmhouse, their packs already on their backs.

‘You don’t have to come with me,’ said Jack, fearing for his friends. ‘This journey is going to be very dangerous.’

Saburo looked at him and laughed. ‘And fighting a bloodthirsty group of bandits
wasn’t
dangerous?’

‘But you’ll be fugitives,’ argued Jack.

‘Some roads aren’t meant to be travelled alone,’ said Yori, picking up his
shakujō
.

Thinking of all the challenges ahead, the treacherous journey seemed impossible. And for that reason Jack would welcome having his friends by his side. Together, they might stand a chance. Shouldering his pack, Jack walked out of the door.

The entire village was waiting to wish them farewell. Familiar faces bowed and offered their thanks for all they had done.

Yuudai stepped up. ‘I trust you understand my reasons for staying. We can’t leave this village completely defenceless.’

‘Of course we understand,’ replied Jack, exchanging a knowing glance with Miyuki as Neko stood proudly at Yuudai’s side. ‘But we’ll miss you, my friend. I’ve come to rely upon your strength and good humour.’

Yuudai smiled broadly. ‘It was an honour to fight alongside you. I hope our paths cross again one day.’

They bowed to one another. Then, as Saburo, Yori and Miyuki were saying their goodbyes, Toge burst through the crowd and threw himself at Jack’s feet.

‘I made a terrible mistake in judgement,’ he confessed. ‘I truly believed that turning you in for the reward was our only chance … How wrong I was … I beg your forgiveness.’

Toge’s forehead touched the ground in abject apology, expecting at any moment to feel the edge of Jack’s sword. Jack realized Toge had brought great shame upon himself and lost all respect among the farmers. But Toge had also redeemed himself at the crucial moment and Jack recognized that the village needed a strong leader at this time, one who could rebuild their community.

‘There’s no such thing as a mistake,’ said Jack, remembering what Sensei Yamada had once said when he himself had needed a second chance. ‘As long as you learn from it, then it’s a lesson.’

Toge humbly bowed his understanding. Forgiven and absolved in the eyes of the villagers, he returned to the veranda to stand beside Yoshi.

His mission to save the village accomplished, Jack put on his new straw hat and waved a final goodbye.

With the rising sun at their backs, Jack and his friends hiked south-west across the glistening snow-clad plain, leaving four sets of footprints where before there had been only one.

NOTES ON THE SOURCES

The following quotes are referenced within
Young Samurai: The Ring of Fire
and their sources are acknowledged here:

1. ‘Know yourself, know your enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.’
   By Sun Tsu (Chinese military commander).
   
2. ‘Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear.’
   Excerpt from ‘No Peaceful Warriors!’,
   Gnosis: A Journal of the Western Inner Traditions
   , © 1991 by Ambrose Hollingworth Redmoon (pseudonym of James Neil Hollingworth, 1933–96).
   
3. ‘People who fight fire with fire usually end up with ashes.’
   By Abigail Van Buren (pen-name of American journalist Pauline Phillips, b.1918).
   
4. ‘In order to be walked on, you have to be lying down.’
   From Brian Weir (original source unknown; no evidence of publication).
   
5. ‘A child is not a vase to be filled but a fire to be lit.’
   By François Rabelais (French writer and doctor, 1494–1553).
   

CHARACTER NAMES

A Young Samurai website competition was held to suggest the name for the fearsome bandit leader who would be Jack’s enemy in this book.