Young Samurai 06 - The Ring of Fire (7 page)

‘Try him.’

Toge jumped to his feet and hurried over to the man. Jack and Sora watched as, bowing profusely, Toge introduced himself and invited the samurai for tea. The warrior appeared to ask a question, to which Toge answered. The samurai then shook his head and walked on. Toge returned to the tea house, a glum expression on his face.

‘He said to thank you for your offer, but he wasn’t in need of a job.’

They resumed their search.

‘What about him?’ suggested Sora, pointing to a well-dressed samurai with a long moustache, plump jowls and a visible paunch.

‘No,’ said Jack, realizing the man was too affluent to be a
ronin
. ‘We need to find
hungry
masterless samurai.’

‘How about that one?’ said Toge.

A stick-thin warrior with pinched cheeks and a shabby brown kimono wandered through the market.

‘Possibly,’ replied Jack, taking a sip of tea while he considered the man.

The samurai drew closer. As he passed a fruit stall, he slipped an apple into his kimono sleeve.

‘He’s definitely hungry,’ said Sora.

‘He’s also a
thief
!’ muttered Toge.

Jack was inclined to agree with Toge’s disapproval. They needed honourable trustworthy samurai. But under the circumstances, they couldn’t be too choosy.

All of a sudden there was a commotion in the crowd and an old woman barged her way through. Raising a gnarled walking-stick aloft, she began to beat the hungry samurai around the head.

‘You pathetic excuse of a samurai!’ she shrieked. ‘Hand back my apple!’

‘I … I … was going to pay,’ protested the samurai feebly, scrabbling for his purse.

‘You’ll pay all right!’ she crowed, thumping him again and again.

The samurai cowered under her blows. Dropping the apple, he ran as if his life depended upon it. The surrounding shoppers burst into laughter at the sight of the warrior fleeing an old woman half his size.

‘No good,’ said Jack. ‘Any recruit has to be brave, at the very least.’

With potential candidates few and far between, their quest was proving even more difficult than he’d expected.

Then a tough, battle-hardened samurai strolled past the tea house. Judging by his frayed kimono with no affiliating
mon
, the warrior was a
ronin
seeking work. Furthermore, his
sayas
displayed the scars of numerous fights.

‘He’s our man,’ said Jack.

Toge hurried over and bowed to get his attention.

‘May my master have a word?’ asked Toge, directing the
ronin
to Jack, his face shielded beneath the straw hat.

Intrigued, the
ronin
curtly nodded his agreement. He sat down at Jack’s table, placing his swords close by his side. Sora immediately poured out some
sencha
.

‘Thank you for taking the time to join me,’ said Jack, toasting the
ronin
with his cup. Adopting his guardian’s name, Jack introduced himself. ‘My name’s Takeshi.’

The samurai bowed his head. ‘I’m Honen. How can I be of service?’

‘I’m seeking samurai on behalf of Tamagashi village – to defend them against bandit raids during the winter.’

‘An honourable if inglorious cause.’

‘But a worthy one,’ countered Jack. And, guessing the
ronin
would appreciate directness as well as a challenge, he added, ‘The bandits’ leader is the notorious Akuma, the man they call Black Moon.’

‘He’s a fearsome warrior. Killed hundreds of men, I hear.’

‘What sort of courage does it take to defeat unarmed farmers?’ said Jack. ‘Such a bandit wouldn’t stand a chance against a samurai like you. Are you willing to join us in our campaign?’

Taking a long draught of
sencha
, Honen considered the proposition.

‘And if I was to accept, what would my reward be for such
dangerous
work?’

‘As poor farmers, they can offer three meals a day and lodging.’

The expression on the samurai’s face turned from sympathy to indignation.

‘How dare you, a fellow samurai, offend me with such a paltry offer!’ he growled, slamming his cup on the table. ‘I may be a
ronin
, but that doesn’t make me a beggar!’

Grabbing his swords, the samurai stormed off.

‘This is hopeless,’ moaned Sora.

‘We can’t give up yet,’ said Jack, though he was beginning to doubt their chances.

With the light fading, the market grew quieter. Still they managed to attract the attention of two more samurai. The first had also heard of Akuma and hurriedly made his excuses to leave; the second balked at the lack of glory in dying for lowly farmers.

‘I’m sure we’ll have better luck tomorrow,’ said Jack, hiding his own disappointment.

Dispirited, Toge paid the bill and the three of them headed back to the storehouse. As they crossed the street, Jack sensed someone following them. Without looking round, he indicated for Toge to take the next alley.

But their pursuer wasn’t far behind.

Weaving through the backstreets, Jack urged the farmers to quicken their pace. Still they couldn’t shake him off. Signing for Toge and Sora to continue, Jack ducked into a narrow passageway. Footsteps crunched in the snow. Jack tightened the grip on his sword. A shadowy figure passed by.

Then stopped.

‘Do you always hide from friends?’

10

AN OLD FRIEND

A round-faced boy with thick bushy eyebrows and an ample belly grinned down the passageway at Jack.

‘SABURO!’ exclaimed Jack, recognizing his old friend at once. ‘What are
you
doing here?’

‘I was about to ask you the same question.’

Toge and Sora shuffled back, bemused expressions on their faces.

‘You know this samurai?’ queried Toge, eyeing the swords on Saburo’s hip.

‘
Know
him? I trained with him for three years!’ Jack exclaimed, as he abandoned Japanese etiquette and embraced his friend warmly. ‘We were at the
Niten Ichi Ryū
together in Kyoto.’

‘And Jack was the teacher’s pet,’ teased Saburo, elbowing his friend in the ribs.

‘Yes, the one that was kicked and punched around the
dojo
by Sensei Kyuzo.’

Saburo laughed. ‘Well, you needed toughening up!’

‘How did you
ever
find me?’

‘I was watching you for ages in the market,’ explained Saburo. ‘I couldn’t be certain it was you, so I waited until you left the main square.’

‘Does your samurai friend want to join us for supper?’ interjected Sora.

Saburo beamed at the suggestion of food. ‘I’d be delighted.’

The four of them made their way back to the dilapidated storehouse.

‘You’re living the life of a lord!’ mocked Saburo as he inspected the decaying wooden walls and dirt floor.

‘I have to keep a low profile,’ explained Jack, noticing the shame on Sora’s face at his friend’s offhand comment.

The farmer manically tried to clean the raised platform before inviting both of them to sit.

‘So, what are you doing in Okayama?’ asked Jack.

‘I’m on my
musha shugyō
.’

‘You!’ said Jack, surprised. His friend was a loyal and occasionally brave samurai, but he wasn’t a born fighter or a glory seeker.

Saburo gave a weary nod of the head. ‘My father’s idea. After my brother’s legendary sacrifice at the Battle of Osaka Castle, my arrow wound for saving your life during the school attack was no longer so impressive. You know how my father is – not satisfied with one heroic son, he wants to brag about my duelling exploits. He even presented me with this new
daishō
.’

Saburo passed Jack two impressive-looking swords. ‘As a good-luck gift.’

Jack admired the honed blade of the
katana
. ‘So, how many duels have you won with this?’

‘All of them,’ replied Saburo.

‘Really!’ said Jack, handing back the weapons with respect. ‘You’ve certainly become a mighty swordsman.’

Leaning in, Saburo lowered his voice. ‘That’s because I haven’t fought any yet,’ he admitted with a canny grin. ‘But I won’t be telling Father that.’

Jack laughed.
Same old Saburo!

‘And what about you?’ asked Saburo. ‘The last I heard, you’d left Akiko in Toba some time back in spring. What have you been doing all this time?’

While Jack recounted the events of his last six months, the farmers huddled in the far corner, discussing the new arrival and leaving Neko to tend to the rice. Saburo was amazed and appalled in turn to learn of Jack’s exploits and hardships: his escape from Osaka Castle with the wounded Akiko; the pursuit of the Shogun’s samurai through the Iga mountains; the intervention of the ninja and how they helped him; the violent robbery with the loss of all his possessions and his memory; and the relentless hunt by Kazuki and his Scorpion Gang across Japan.

Although Jack trusted his friend completely, he was careful not to go into too much detail about his encounter with the ninja. He wasn’t sure how Saburo would react to the news that he’d become a fully trained
shinobi
.

‘That Kazuki’s a bully and a thug!’ exclaimed Saburo, upon hearing of the boy’s intention to go after Akiko. ‘I knew his father had been made
daimyo
of Kyoto Province, but the power’s gone to Kazuki’s head too.’

‘I’m just praying Hana’s reached Akiko first,’ said Jack.

‘Don’t worry,’ consoled Saburo, laying a hand upon Jack’s shoulder. ‘We both know Akiko was one of the best samurai at our school. Even if Kazuki does find her, she’ll make him regret he ever did!’

Jack took comfort from Saburo’s confidence. It was good to have a friend by his side again – one he could rely on while being himself, without fear of prejudice.

Neko padded over and presented Jack and Saburo with two heaped bowls of rice. They tucked in, while the farmers ate their share in the corner.

‘Good rice,’ said Saburo, through a mouthful of food.

‘Enjoy it while you can,’ replied Jack. ‘The farmers don’t have much to go round.’

Saburo looked up and saw the meagre portions the others had.

‘Glad I wasn’t born a farmer,’ commented Saburo and resumed eating.

Jack realized his friend wasn’t being purposefully hard-hearted. Having been brought up a samurai, he was simply indifferent to the lower social castes.

‘What are you doing with these farmers anyway?’ asked Saburo.

‘I’m helping them to recruit samurai.’

Saburo almost spat his food out. ‘
You!
What on earth for?’

Jack explained about Akuma and his forthcoming raid at the next black moon.

‘Just one bandit?’ queried Saburo.

‘No, forty.’

Saburo whistled in awe. ‘Those farmers don’t stand a chance!’

‘That’s why I’m going to fight for them.’

Saburo’s jaw dropped open and he stopped eating. ‘You’re not serious, are you? You have to leave Japan before the Shogun or Kazuki find you.’

Jack nodded his intent to stay. ‘If we don’t help the farmers, no one else will.’

‘
We?
’ spluttered Saburo, his high-pitched exclamation drawing the farmers’ attention.

‘Yes, I was hoping you’d join me.’

‘You’re worse than my father!’ said Saburo, his eyes widening in alarm. ‘You’re
both
trying to get me killed.’

‘It won’t just be us,’ countered Jack. ‘We’ll recruit another five samurai.’

‘That’s still only
seven
samurai against forty bandits!’

‘
Please
, Saburo. These people are desperate and we don’t have much time left.’

Sighing heavily, Saburo considered Jack’s proposal. The farmers had stopped talking and were now transfixed, awaiting Saburo’s answer. Jack realized he may have asked too much of his friend.

‘You’ll be the death of me, Jack,’ Saburo said finally.

‘You’ll help me then?’ replied Jack, both amazed and relieved. ‘We’ll be rewarded with food.’

‘Well, why didn’t you say so?’ said Saburo, grinning. ‘That’s all the incentive I need!’

The farmers threw themselves to the ground in gratitude.

‘But I’m only agreeing to this,’ added Saburo quietly, ‘because it’s
you
who asked. I expect that I’ll be needed to save your miserable life again!’

11

A HELPFUL MONK