Young Samurai: The Ring of Sky (31 page)

‘Just pray for my safe return
home,’ said Jack.

‘We will. We certainly will,’
replied Takumi, putting his hands together.

‘And with
daimyo
Matsukura
dead,’ added Akiko, ‘you should be more free to do so.’

The joy in Takumi’s face died and he
gravely shook his head. ‘I’m afraid the
daimyo
’s son and heir
is equally cruel.’ He gave a heavy sigh at the burden they bore. ‘But we
have time to gather what little we have and start afresh in a more Christian-friendly
province.’

Jack wished them well, but wondered what
real chance they had, given that the movement of farmers was tightly controlled and the
Shogun had outlawed Christianity throughout Japan.

‘We should go,’ said Miyuki,
looking up at the sun, now a fiery eye in the smoke-laden sky. ‘We want to be as
far from here as possible by sunset.’

Collecting her horse from the barn, Akiko
and Jack followed the others out of the village. As they headed down the road, Jack took
a final glance back. The villagers were already on their knees, praying. Behind, looming
over them like a belligerent god, the volcano rumbled away.

‘Did we
really
save
them?’ asked Jack, thinking of the twin threats posed by the
daimyo
’s son and the Shogun.

Yori nodded sagely. ‘None may know what
tomorrow brings, so each day is a gift to be treasured. And you’ve given them that
gift.’

49
 
 

‘Less than a day’s walk and
you’ll be in Nagasaki,
nanban
!’ announced Benkei, polishing off his
breakfast of rice and fish, which Miyuki had steamed over a hissing vent from the hot
spring.

They’d spent the night camped beside
the volcanic pool and everyone was much revived from the combination of a good
night’s sleep and an invigorating soak in the spring’s warm waters.

‘It’s almost the end of the road
for you,’ remarked Saburo with a cheery smile.

Finishing his rice, Jack nodded in
acknowledgement. It was true his journey would soon be over. He couldn’t quite
believe that he’d made it this far – alive. But now he was so close to his
destination, he was filled with trepidation. Would Nagasaki deliver all that he’d
hoped for – a ship bound for England? Or would the countless risks he and his friends
had taken all be for nothing?

But if fortune did favour him with an
English or Dutch boat, Jack now considered what he might be leaving behind. There was
the Shogun and his threat of execution, of course,
as well as Kazuki
and his obsession for revenge. These he’d be glad to see the back of. But
he’d also be losing a valuable and irreplaceable part of his life: his
friends.

Jack gazed around the hot spring with its
rock pools and the lush vegetation hanging like silken curtains from the trees. Within
this idyllic encampment was almost everyone he cared for. Benkei, only known for a short
while but whose wild antics and exuberance would be hard to replace. Saburo, whose
jovial and big-hearted nature would be sorely missed. There was Yori, ever faithful,
understanding and kind. Jack wondered if he’d meet anyone in England who could
offer such calm wisdom and selfless friendship. There’d certainly be few English
girls to match Miyuki for her cunning, devotion or deadliness. Then there was
Akiko … Jack knew he could sail the Seven Seas for the rest of his life and
never find a girl like her again.

And very soon he’d be saying a final
farewell to her; to
all
his friends.

Saburo was right. It was the end of the road
– in more ways than one.

‘Time to go,’ announced Akiko,
tying the last of their packs on to her horse.

Jack stood. But his feet refused to move.
Despite the obvious peril he faced by staying in Japan and the pressing need to be
reunited with his sister, he
didn’t
want to go on.

There was a jingle of metal rings next to
his ear. Yori smiled up at him, the Buddhist staff held firmly in his hand.

‘When climbing a mountain, the push
for the summit can be the toughest part,’ he said, sensing the conflict in
Jack’s heart. ‘You never know if you have the strength to complete
what you started. Or what view awaits you when you reach the peak.
But know this, your friends will be with you every step of the way.’

Yori tapped his staff on the ground three
times to underscore his point, the metal rings jingling, beckoning Jack on. Encouraged
by his friend’s wise words yet again, Jack realized to stop now would be to betray
his friends and abandon his sister Jess. That was something he could never do.

Putting one foot in front of the other, Jack
headed down the road, Yori at his side, Saburo and Miyuki guarding from behind, and
Akiko and Benkei taking the lead. None of the friends talked much as they walked west
through the forested foothills of Shimabara peninsula. They too felt the end coming.

Though immersed in his own thoughts, Jack
noted Miyuki was being extra vigilant, her eyes scouring the trees for the slightest
sign of danger. Akiko kept tugging anxiously at the feathered flights of the arrows in
her quiver, occasionally glancing back at him. And Saburo’s hand never left his
saya
. Even Benkei was relatively quiet for once.

As they rounded a bend, Akiko held up her
hand, silently bringing everyone to a halt. A cloaked figure sat upon a rock. His head
was bowed and covered by a cowl. He leant upon his staff, still as a statue. With no one
else on the road, his presence so early in the morning was disconcerting.

50
 
 

‘One of Kazuki’s
ronin
?’ whispered Jack as they retreated out of sight from the mysterious
figure.

‘Could be,’ replied Akiko under
her breath.

‘I suggest we double back and find a
more stealthy route through the forest,’ said Miyuki, keeping her eyes trained on
the surrounding trees.

‘He’s only one
ronin
!’ said Benkei.

‘Then why don’t
you
challenge him?’ suggested Saburo pointedly.

‘Me?’ exclaimed Benkei, alarmed
at the proposition. ‘Shouldn’t someone more qualified do it?’

‘Don’t tell me Benkei the
Great’s scared,’ Saburo mocked.

‘Of course not, I simply value my life
higher than yours!’

‘Then you’ll be more careful
with it than Saburo,’ said Miyuki, impatient at their boyish posturing. ‘Now
go and find out whether he’s a
ronin
or not. If he recognizes you, then
we’ll know.’

‘You’re using
me
as
bait!’

‘I’ll have you covered,’
Akiko replied, drawing an arrow from her quiver.

‘Here, take one of my swords,’
Saburo added helpfully, passing Benkei his
wakizashi
. ‘Just in
case.’

With great reluctance, Benkei accepted the
wakizashi
and slid it into his
obi
.

‘Other way up,’ corrected
Saburo, twisting the
saya
so that the blade would emerge cutting-edge to the
sky. ‘And try not to cut yourself.’

‘Superb advice, O great sensei!’
replied Benkei sardonically, bowing with a flourish of his hand.

Jack had serious reservations about the
plan, but before he could object Saburo sent Benkei on his way.

Approaching the stationary figure, Benkei
called nervously, ‘Good morning … are you a
ronin
?’

No reply.

‘You don’t recognize me, do you?
Not that you should …’ Benkei quickly added. He took a tentative step closer
and bowed to get a glimpse of the stranger’s hooded face. He turned back to the
others and mouthed, ‘It’s all right. He’s asleep!’

All of a sudden the figure sprang to life,
grunting loudly. Panicking, Benkei lashed out with Saburo’s sword. He drew the
blade so fast, and without any real aim, that the sword sliced the man’s staff in
two.

‘No!’ cried the figure, cowering
at Benkei’s feet. ‘Please don’t kill me!’

His hood slipped off to reveal a scrawny
middle-aged man with thinning hair and a long stringy moustache. He blinked, bleary-eyed
in shock, at his rainbow-robed attacker.

‘Who are you?’ demanded Benkei,
his panic now turning to bravado at the sight of his opponent.

‘I’m just a lamp-oil
salesman,’ the man replied hurriedly, gesturing to a bamboo-framed backpack
containing an immense ceramic jar with a cork plugging the top.

Benkei whistled through his teeth.
‘Rather you than me carrying that load!’

The oil salesman nodded wearily.
‘I’ve had to travel this road three times this week alone. That’s why
I was resting. And I need a staff …’

He glanced down in despair at the severed
pieces scattered on the ground.

‘Don’t worry, there’s
plenty more where that came from,’ said Benkei, gesturing with a sweep of his hand
at the surrounding forest. He offered the man a rueful grin and pretended to look for a
replacement staff.

Satisfied there was no threat, Akiko spurred
her horse and led everyone along the road. Passing the despondent salesman, Yori handed
him some copper coins. ‘For a new staff. A decent one,’ he explained.

The salesman just stared at the coins,
amazed by the young monk’s generosity.

Benkei clapped the man on the back.
‘Clearly you’re a pious man for the gods to respond so quickly in your hour
of need!’

Leaving the bewildered salesman on his rock,
he hurried after the others and round the next bend.

‘Congratulations! Benkei the Great
defeated
Ronin
the Merciless!’ laughed Saburo, applauding him as he
trotted up to them. ‘Now I know who to call upon when I need some firewood
chopping!’

‘As long as I can use your
sword,’ retorted Benkei, holding the
wakizashi
aloft and cutting through
a branch overhead.

Twigs and leaves cascaded on to Saburo’s
head.

‘Give that back!’ he cried,
snatching the sword from Benkei’s grasp. ‘Before you do some
real
damage.’

Gradually the trees thinned out as the road
left the foothills and dropped down to a slender neck of land that tethered the
Shimabara peninsula to the Kyushu mainland. To the north, the waters of the Ariake Sea
could be seen glistening in the bright morning sunshine. To the south, the rolling waves
of the East China Sea beat against the shoreline, throwing up a silvery haze over the
pebble-strewn beach. A narrow ridge of higher ground ran along this southern stretch,
while northwards the land flattened out into a coastal floodplain, parcelled up into
neat rectangles of paddy fields.

The road they were on split, offering the
choice of either the ridge or the floodplain. Benkei paused, wiping his brow and trying
to decide which direction would be the best to take.

‘They both eventually end up at the
same village,’ he said. ‘It’s your choice.’

‘We should follow the ridge,’
called Miyuki from behind.

‘If I was Kazuki, then the ridge would
be the most obvious route to take,’ called back Akiko.

‘But on the floodplain we’ll be
exposed to attack.’

‘True, but at least we’ll be
able to see them coming.’

‘On the ridge, we have the advantage
of higher ground,’ insisted Miyuki with an exasperated sigh.

Just as Jack and the others expected the
discussion to break down into another quarrel and for Yori to throw his staff into the
air again, Akiko said, ‘That’s a fair tactical point. The ridge it
is.’

Miyuki was taken aback by Akiko’s ready
agreement. ‘Excellent … Of course, your reasons were also
sound.’

Akiko nodded politely, acknowledging the
magnanimous spirit of her reply.

Perhaps there is hope for a friendship
after all
, thought Jack.

They followed the ridge, keeping their eyes
peeled for danger. Each time they crested a rise, Jack half expected to see Kazuki, his
Scorpion Gang and an army of
ronin
waiting for them, armed to the teeth.