The Way Of The Dragon (19 page)

Jack barely avoided the blade and would have been choking on the
katana
, if Kazuki hadn’t aimed a fraction too wide. He retreated before Kazuki retaliated.

‘Is
that
the best you can do?’ spat Kazuki.

Riled, his emotions getting the better of him, Jack went on the offensive again. Their
katana
clashed in mid-air. Before Jack could react, Kazuki drove forward, striking with his blade twice upon the back of Jack’s weapon. The
katana
was knocked from Jack’s grip and clattered to the wooden decking. Kazuki held the tip of his sword to Jack’s neck.

‘Would you believe it?’ gloated Kazuki. ‘The Autumn Leaf strike works!’

Jack still had his
wakizashi
, but there was nothing he could do to save himself. A single thrust from Kazuki would end his life. His rival was about to claim his so-called prize for defeating Yamato.

Kazuki forced Jack back off the veranda and up against a standing stone.

‘I’ll
always
defeat you with the Two Heavens,’ said Kazuki, savouring the panic in Jack’s eyes.

‘You wouldn’t dare!’ breathed Jack.

‘Again, that’s the difference between a true samurai and a
gaijin
like you. I most certainly would,’ said Kazuki, pressing until a pinprick of blood appeared on Jack’s skin.

Jack grimaced, feeling the razor-sharp steel pierce his flesh. He pulled back, but had nowhere to go. Kazuki grinned vindictively, a cruel intent in his eyes.

‘But I’ll spare you, this once,’ he said, retracting the blade.

Jack breathed an unsteady sigh of relief, then tensed in shock as Kazuki’s steel
katana
flashed before his eyes. It skimmed past his nose, the blade slicing him across his left cheek.

‘
That
, though, will serve as a reminder of what awaits you!’

Kazuki left Jack in the garden, blood trickling down his face and dripping red spots on to the pure white sand.

‘Your cut’s bleeding again,’ said Takuan as he and Jack led their horses back to the school stables the following evening. ‘It must have opened up during that last gallop.’

Jack’s hand went to his cheek where a raw red line now marked his skin.

‘You’ll have a good scar when that’s healed,’ observed Takuan. ‘Though you still haven’t told me how you got it.’

‘Two Heavens training,’ Jack replied, not wishing to elaborate further.

‘I’m glad I’m not in that class!’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Akiko injured herself during one of those lessons too.’

Jack stared blankly at Takuan.

‘Haven’t you noticed the bandage round her arm?’

Jack shook his head. As far as he was aware, nobody had been hurt during Two Heavens practice. Though
he
hadn’t revealed the whole truth about his own injury, why would Akiko lie about hers? And
how
had she got it in the first place?

‘I have to go,’ said Takuan, passing Jack the reins to his horse. ‘You don’t mind stabling them both, do you? I’m due to help Akiko with her
haiku
.’

‘No, of course not,’ replied Jack, forcing a smile.

‘Thanks. We’ll work on improving your seat position next time.’

Bowing, Takuan headed back to school.

Dusk had fallen by the time Jack had unsaddled the horses and tethered them in their stalls. He’d have to hurry. Taro would be waiting for him in the
Butokuden
to start their extra Two Heavens practice. Jack much preferred that to horseriding. Their first session together had proved very helpful and, by the end, Jack had nearly mastered the Flint-and-Spark strike. Taro was a natural teacher, so they’d arranged to meet every evening to build on this initial success. At breakfast that morning he’d enthused about Taro to Akiko in the hope she’d join them, but to no avail. She was already busy. Now he knew why – Takuan.

As Jack put some extra hay into the horses’ troughs, he heard the back door of the stable block open.

‘So what have you found out?’ breathed a girl’s husky voice.

‘My father’s told me
daimyo
Kamakura now has some fifty thousand troops at his command.’

Jack instantly recognized the voice as Kazuki’s.

‘Fifty thousand!’ squealed the girl excitedly.

Creeping into an adjacent empty stall, Jack peeked through a gap in the wood. Kazuki was sitting close to Moriko, her pale face ghost-like in the darkness. The floor had recently been swept and like all Japanese stables was spotlessly clean.

‘So our lord’s ready to attack,’ she said in eager anticipation. ‘We can finish off the
gaijin
! Exterminate him like a rat!’

‘Not yet.’

Moriko’s face dropped.

‘Don’t worry. His time will come. I left him with a scar so he wouldn’t forget his fate.’ Kazuki smirked as he ran finger across his own left cheek.

Moriko’s eyes lit up with sadistic glee. ‘He must now look even uglier!’

Jack felt his cut throb as the two of them laughed at his expense.
Moriko has some nerve to call me ugly
, he thought.
She has black teeth!

‘But when will
daimyo
Kamakura strike? When can the Scorpion Gang begin its work?’

‘Patience, my Moriko,’ said Kazuki, resting a hand on her knee. ‘Our lord is waiting for more samurai to come to his side. My father told me
daimyo
Satake of Dewa Province has recently joined his ranks. But
daimyo
Kamakura needs
all
the northern lords to pledge their allegiance to him.’

‘Why? He already has enough samurai to drive out every
gaijin
in our country.’

‘But
not
enough to take over the country.’

‘So the rumours are true?’ she breathed.

Kazuki nodded.

‘How do you know this?’

‘My father’s one of
daimyo
Kamakura’s most trusted samurai.’ Leaning closer to Moriko, he lowered his voice conspiratorially. ‘I’ve been asked to carry out a special mission. By order of Kamakura himself.’

Moriko gasped. ‘What do you have to do?’

‘The clever hawk hides its claws,’ he replied.

‘I don’t understand,’ she said, her face screwing up in puzzlement.

‘It means a great warrior doesn’t reveal his true strength until the time calls for it. But
daimyo
Kamakura will reward me for my service when I do.’

‘What with?’

‘My own castle!’

Moriko could barely contain her excitement.

‘You’d be made a
daimyo
!’ she fawned.

Jack had heard enough. Whatever Akiko had said about the Oda family fighting alongside
daimyo
Takatomi, that was no longer true. He
had
to tell Masamoto.

Slipping unnoticed out of the stables, he ran back to school.

As he hurried across the courtyard, Jack spotted his guardian entering the
Butsuden
with Sensei Yamada. Taking the steps two at a time, he found them standing before the large bronze Buddha, deep in conversion. Barging through the doors, he dashed over to them.

‘I overheard Kazuki… talking in the stables…’ blurted Jack, in between snatches for breath. ‘His father’s on
daimyo
Kamakura’s side -‘

‘We know,’ interrupted Masamoto, holding up his hand.

Jack was stunned into silence.

The two samurai looked at each other gravely for a moment, before Sensei Yamada said, ‘I don’t think we have any choice but to tell him.’

Masmaoto turned to Jack. ‘We’re about to trust you with a highly sensitive secret. Do you understand?’

Jack bowed to show he appreciated the gravity of his guardian’s words.

‘Oda-san’s actually on our side. He’s keeping us informed of
daimyo
Kamakura’s plans,’ Masamoto explained.

‘Kazuki’s father’s a spy?’

Masamoto nodded. ‘In order that Kamakura wouldn’t suspect a thing, Oda-san’s entire family had to pledge their allegiance, including Kazuki-kun. Even they don’t know.’

Jack realized Kazuki was totally convinced by the set-up. Dangerously so.

‘Don’t worry about Kazuki-kun,’ said Masamoto, seeing the concern on Jack’s face. ‘Oda-san will tell his son the truth when the time comes. But, until then, you mustn’t say a word of this to
anyone
. If
daimyo
Kamakura ever found out, Oda-san and his family would be put to death instantly.’

‘I promise I won’t,’ replied Jack, understanding the seriousness of the situation. ‘But if you know
daimyo
Kamakura intends to take power, why aren’t the Council stopping him now?’

‘It isn’t as simple as that,’ said Masamoto. ‘Even though we know this coming conflict isn’t just a question of faith, publicly
daimyo
Kamakura insists he’s only interested in expelling Christians and foreigners. As a key member of the Council, he claims to be acting in Satoshi’s best interests. He’s defending Japan against the supposed threat of
gaijin
and fighting in the Emperor’s name.’

‘But he’s killing innocent people. Isn’t that justification enough?’ implored Jack.

Masamoto sadly shook his head.

‘Unfortunately not,’ he sighed. ‘
Daimyo
Kamakura is as cunning as a chess player. Until he directs his forces against a Japanese
daimyo
, no one can act against him. Otherwise the Council become the aggressors. If we start the conflict, then
we
are the enemy of the Emperor.’

‘So war is inevitable,’ said Jack.

‘Not necessarily. It depends upon
daimyo
Kamakura getting the support he needs. Though his army is large, it’s still no threat to the Council’s combined forces.’

Despite Masamoto’s assurance, Jack remained unconvinced.

One thing was certain, the impending war wouldn’t aid Jack’s search for the
rutter
. And the logbook definitely wouldn’t be a priority for Masamoto, whose enquiries had still come to nothing. But there was little he could do about that. He would have to hope the logbook remained undeciphered. In the meantime, his priority was to learn the Two Heavens. He had to be prepared for the future – however uncertain it was.

Jack sat upon his wooden horse among the decaying brown leaves.

Autumn was over and the trees lining the
Yabusame
course of the Kamigamo shrine were almost bare. The threat of war, once so sharp and terrifying, had now dulled and hung on the horizon like a distant storm. Though news continued to trickle in of foreign persecution and
ronin
drifting northwards,
daimyo
Kamakura had yet to attack a Japanese lord and the conflict itself had failed to materialize. Many students considered the danger had passed. Jack realized such complacency was hazardous with a man as devious as Kamakura. But even he was beginning to hope the
daimyo
‘s crusade had lost its momentum and that the samurai lord hadn’t got the support he needed.

‘In-yo, In-yo,’ said Jack half-heartedly, as he went through the motions of drawing an arrow, nocking it on his bow and shooting the wooden target.

He could do this now with his eyes closed. He knew the exact height of the mark. He could hit the target from any distance and any angle. He knew precisely how long it would take him to nock an arrow, fire and prepare for his next shot. And he knew the
jindou
arrows with their blunt wooden ball heads had a tendency to drop slightly during flight. But he still had no idea whether he could do this on a galloping horse.

Jack watched enviously as the rest of the class thundered down the
Yabusame
track on their steeds. Emi went by, taking out the first two marks but missing the final one. Despite the months of training, no one – apart from Takuan – had struck all three targets in a single run. Occasionally, a student took a tumble in the dirt, but Sensei Yosa didn’t relegate them to training permanently on a wooden horse – as she had with Jack.

‘Takuan tells me your horsemanship has improved greatly in the last month,’ said Sensei Yosa, startling Jack as she approached him from behind.

‘Really?’ he replied, snatching at this glimmer of hope. Though he was surprised to hear this, considering Takuan spent more time watching Akiko’s prowess on the course than observing his riding skills.

‘He says you’re ready to learn how to ride without using the reins,’ she told him, patting the head of Jack’s dobbin affectionately. ‘If you make good progress, we’ll have you on a real horse for
Yabusame
by springtime. Now come over to the track, I have an announcement to make.’

Jack sighed at the thought of staying on his wooden horse for another three months. Dismounting, he kicked it in its unresponsive rear before trudging after Sensei Yosa.

‘How’s your mighty steed?’ said Saburo as Jack knelt down between him and Yamato. ‘Still eating sawdust?’

‘Very funny, Saburo.’

‘So when are you going to join us on a real horse?’ asked Yamato.

‘Not until spring!’

‘But that’s ages away!’ he exclaimed.

Jack nodded despondently. At least someone took his situation seriously.

‘You’ll have been on that dobbin so long, you’ll be getting splinters!’ said Yamato, his face cracking into a grin.

Seeing the funny side, Jack joined in the laughter. Sensei Yosa raised her hand for silence and the three of them stifled their giggles.

‘I’m very pleased with everyone’s progress. In the light of this, I’ve proposed a
Kyosha
against two of the local samurai schools, the
Yagyu Ryū
and
Yoshioko Ryū
. This competition shoot will take place as the first blossom forms on the
sakura
trees. In the meantime, I’ll be assessing everyone’s abilities and will select three riders to compete for the honour of the
Niten Ichi Ryū
.’

There was excited chatter among the students as they left the Kamigamo shrine and returned to school.

‘I wonder who’ll be chosen?’ asked Kiku.

‘Takuan will be,’ said Akiko. ‘He’s the best archer and rider.’