Young Samurai: The Ring of Sky (19 page)

Bowing a final goodbye, and with a lingering
look towards Benkei, Junjun hurried inside the curtained encampment.

‘Like the cherry blossom in spring,
she disappears again!’ sighed Benkei.

‘You’re a poet?’ queried
Okuni, with the protective tone of a mother.

‘No, a conjuror.’

Okuni seemed pleased by this answer.
‘Perhaps one day you can show us your talents? We’re always looking for new
acts.’

‘I’d very much like to
–’

‘Come on!’ urged Jack.

Offering an apologetic smile, Benkei hobbled
after Jack and Akiko as they lost themselves in the throng of the market. The patrol
reached the bridge and paused, their eyes drawn to their glamorous welcome party. The
six men stood little chance against the charms and attention of so many beautiful girls.
Like sailors bewitched by the song of the sirens, they dismounted their horses and
allowed themselves to be led into the tented enclave.

With the patrol hopelessly distracted, Jack,
Akiko and Benkei left the market and disappeared down the road towards Kumamoto.

31
 
 

Benkei sat astride the white stallion.
Akiko had offered her saddle to him so he could rest his leg following their escape. And
although he’d never ridden a horse before – such a privilege being reserved for
the samurai class – he was clearly enjoying the experience. Settling in the saddle, he
patted the horse affectionately and announced, ‘This is the
only
way to
travel!’

Jack and Akiko walked on ahead, leading the
horse by its reins. With evening drawing in, the dirt road to Kumamoto was deserted and
Jack and Akiko were able to talk freely. Lost in each other’s company, they barely
heard Benkei as he continued to expound the virtues of riding to the only companion now
listening – the horse. ‘
No more aching feet, no more muddy
sandals …
’

‘How did you
ever
find
me?’ asked Jack, still reeling from Akiko’s surprise arrival.

‘I knew you were headed for Nagasaki,
but it was mostly luck,’ she explained, then raised her eyebrows in a teasing
accusation. ‘Not that you were too difficult to follow given the trail of
destruction you leave behind!’

Jack held up a hand to protest his innocence.
‘I’m just trying to get home. And I left some clues on purpose.’

‘I know, and you’ve made some
very loyal friends on the way too,’ she added with a smile. ‘Shiryu sends
his regards, as do Yuudai and Hana.’

‘Hana?’ exclaimed Jack, fondly
remembering the girl thief who’d helped him recover his stolen swords and
possessions. ‘So she made it safely to Toba?’

Akiko nodded. ‘Along with my
brother.’

As she said this, her eyes lit up and her
face seemed to radiate happiness. Jack realized how important her brother’s
homecoming was to her. Kiyoshi had been kidnapped by the ninja Dragon Eye when he was
just five and Akiko had spent years searching for him. By pure good fortune, Jack had
discovered her brother living among a ninja clan, hidden in the Iga mountains.
He’d managed to reunite Kiyoshi with his sister, but their meeting had been brief
– the ninja clan forced deeper into the mountains for safety, and Kiyoshi going with
them.

‘My mother is beside herself with joy
at seeing Kiyoshi again,’ explained Akiko. ‘And he and Hana agreed to stay
and look after her, while I came looking for you.’

‘But didn’t Hana warn you about
Kazuki?’

‘Of course. She told me the danger you
were in.’

‘But so are
you
,’
insisted Jack, alarmed that his warning had gone unheeded. ‘Even more so now
you’re with me.’

‘I’m no defenceless butterfly,
Jack,’ Akiko replied, laying a hand upon her bow and narrowing her eyes with
steely determination. ‘If Kazuki wants to find me, let him come. But he’ll
discover I’m the bee that stings him first.’

Jack had to admire Akiko. She was as brave as
she was beautiful. But Jack also knew that Kazuki was as devious as he was deadly.

‘Kazuki’s not an enemy to be
underestimated,’ he reminded her. ‘He has the help of his Scorpion Gang and
a thirst for revenge. By leaving a trail, I’ve been trying to lead him
away
in order to protect you.’

Akiko’s expression softened. ‘I
know you strive to be the “English gentleman”, Jack. But I’m the
daughter of a samurai. I’m a trained warrior and know how to look after myself.
Besides,
together
we stand a greater chance of defeating Kazuki.’ She
took his hand in hers, this time not caring if Benkei saw.

Jack realized her plan made sense. He began
to wonder why fate had ever parted them in the first place. They were
meant
to
walk this road together.

Akiko let out a small gasp of shock.

‘Who did this to you?’ she
asked, for the first time noticing his missing fingertip.

‘Sensei Kyuzo,’ said Jack,
touched by the tender way she examined his injury.

Akiko’s eyes widened in disbelief.
‘NO! He wouldn’t dare …’

But she saw the cruel truth in Jack’s
eyes. She sorrowfully shook her head. ‘The Shogun has much to answer for. His rule
is destroying the very spirit of
bushido
. It’s a dark day when a sensei
turns against his student.’

They walked on in silence, their shadows
following hand in hand, stretched thin and long across the road by the dying light of
the day.

‘Can we stop, please?’ moaned
Benkei, his face grimacing
in pain with every jolt of the saddle.
‘My rear’s bruised black and blue!’

Spotting a copse of trees, they turned off
the road to make camp. Benkei stiffly dismounted and stroked the stallion’s
mane.

‘Thanks for the ride, horse, but I
think I’ll stick to walking tomorrow.’

While Akiko tended to her stallion and
unpacked their provisions, Jack and Benkei went off to collect firewood.

‘So what’s the story with you
and the samurai girl?’ asked Benkei, as he picked up a dead branch and passed it
to Jack.

‘We trained at the
Niten Ichi
Ryū
together.’

‘Looks more than that to me!’
pressed Benkei, giving him a knowing wink.

‘Akiko’s just a good
friend,’ Jack insisted, feeling his face flush.

Benkei suppressed a grin. ‘Of
course,’ he replied and continued gathering wood.

Once Jack’s arms were full, they
returned to camp and built a fire. Akiko wrapped several handfuls of rice in a cloth,
soaking the bundle in water before burying it beneath the fire to cook. Among the
supplies Shiryu had given them, Benkei found a couple of dried fish and Jack cut these
into strips to eat with the rice.

As the sun dipped behind the mountains and
darkness closed in, they gathered round the fire. The tinder-dry wood cracked and
popped, sending sparks like fireflies into the night sky.

‘Did you know the reward is now twenty
koban
?’ said Akiko, digging out the cooked rice and sharing it
between them.

Jack shook his head in disbelief; every month
the Shogun seemed to double the price on his head.

‘Twenty
koban
!’
exclaimed Benkei, almost choking on his fish. ‘That’s enough gold coin to
feed a man for a lifetime!’

‘You’re not thinking of turning
me in, are you?’ asked Jack, grinning playfully as he tucked into his rice.

‘I could do with a new kimono,’
replied Benkei in all seriousness and began inspecting his tattered patchwork of robes.
Then he noticed Akiko glaring at him. ‘I wouldn’t dream of it, Akiko! The
nanban
saved my life. He’s my friend.’

Akiko smiled cordially, but Jack could tell
she didn’t fully trust Benkei. His explanation of how he’d met the conjuror
caused her to question Benkei’s integrity. In her opinion, anyone found buried up
to his neck in sand and who made a living tricking people wasn’t to be trusted.
But in the time Jack had known Benkei he’d more than proved his loyalty.

As soon as the meal was over, they turned in
for the night. Akiko unclipped a blanket from the saddlepack on her horse and spread it
on the ground.

‘Three’s a crowd!’
remarked Benkei, giving a wide, obviously feigned, yawn. ‘I’ll let you two
catch up. See you in the morning!’

Finding a grassy patch and a rock for a
pillow, he lay down, wrapped his kimono tightly around him and closed his eyes. Within
moments, he was snoring away. Jack didn’t mind if Benkei was faking sleep; he just
appreciated the gesture of privacy.

Akiko settled on the blanket and invited
Jack to join her. For a while they sat in silence, the chirps of the crickets
sounding all around them, the flickering light of the fire dancing
off their faces.

‘So tell me,’ whispered Akiko,
‘did you
really
save an entire village from bandits?’

Jack nodded.

Akiko gazed at him with wonder and
admiration, but also a touch of sadness. ‘Your good heart will get you killed one
day.’

Jack prodded the dying embers of the fire
with a stick, unable to meet her eye. ‘And my friends.’

‘What do you mean?’

Holding his head in his hands, Jack tried to
pluck up the courage to tell her. ‘They’re
dead … Yori … Saburo … Miyuki.’

Akiko went visibly pale at the news.
‘No … they can’t be!’

‘All drowned at sea … and
it’s
my
fault.’

Jack tearfully recounted their escape from
Pirate Island, the devastating storm that struck their tiny boat and his failure to sail
them safely to shore. Akiko listened without interruption or judgement. When he’d
finished, she laid a hand on his arm to comfort him.

‘It was an act of nature. You
mustn’t blame yourself. ‘

Jack swallowed hard, trying not to let grief
overwhelm him once more. ‘But I do. If I hadn’t agreed to them coming with
me, they would
still
be alive.’

‘Jack, it was their choice. They were
willing to risk their lives to help you get home. They
wanted
to be with
you … just like I do.’

Akiko gently kissed Jack on the cheek, then
lay down. ‘Get
some rest. We need to make an early start to stay
ahead of the patrol.’

Despite his exhaustion, Jack continued to
coax the fire a while longer. He fought sleep, not wanting to close his eyes, in case he
woke the following morning to find Akiko’s arrival was all just a dream.

32
 
 

‘The hop’s done – only a skip
and a jump left!’ declared Benkei, pointing to Shimabara Bay in the hazy
distance.

With the morning sun at their backs, Jack
and Akiko joined him on the rise and gazed across the grassy plain. The Shira River
meandered like a silver thread before passing through the city of Kumamoto to join the
glistening waters beyond. Across the bay, its summit shrouded in cloud, the volcanic
peak of Unzen-dake could be seen brooding on the far reaches of the horizon.

But what drew Jack’s eye was Kumamoto
Castle. Set atop the only high ground on the floodplain, the fortress dominated the
skyline. Built on epic proportions, the complex even challenged Osaka Castle in size –
and
that
had been a city in itself. The stone walls boasted over fifty turrets
and the battlements stretched for almost a mile in each direction. From what Jack could
make out, the formidable fortifications enclosed a grand palace with majestic arching
roofs, several gardens, a proliferation of courtyards, rows of barracks, at least four
tree groves, a small lake and, at its heart, a black-and-gold keep that looked like an
armoured eagle poised for flight. Beyond
the castle walls, Kumamoto
city itself fanned out across the plain, the dwellings clustered like dutiful servants
in the shadow of the fortress.

‘Kumamoto is the stronghold of
daimyo
Kato,’ warned Akiko, as they set off towards the city.
‘A fiercely loyal supporter of the Shogun, he rules this province with an iron
fist – even prides himself on the brutality of his samurai to keep law and order. So we
must stay vigilant.’