Young Samurai: The Ring of Sky (9 page)

Sensei Kyuzo stopped in his tracks and fixed
Jack with his beady eyes.

‘Because I’ve an old score to
settle first,’ he revealed, cracking his knuckles.

15
 
 

Sensei Kyuzo dropped into a fighting stance
and beckoned Jack to engage.

Even uninjured, Jack had been no match for
the hand-to-hand combat skills of his
taijutsu
master. And with one limb
incapacitated he was as good as dead.

So Jack reached for the
kunai
in
his belt.

Sensei Kyuzo was unperturbed by the
appearance of the weapon. ‘At least it’ll make the fight a bit more
challenging
,’ he mocked.

They circled the woodblock floor, their bare
feet scuffing across its polished surface. Sensei Kyuzo waited patiently for Jack to
make his move.

‘You can have first strike,’ he
promised, narrowing his eyes in anticipation.

Sensei Kyuzo’s confidence in his own
combat skills had turned to arrogance. Still, Jack knew this opening attack might be the
only chance he’d get. He had to find a gap in his
taijutsu
master’s
defence before committing to any strike.

At first glance there was no obvious
weakness, his sensei’s stance being near perfect. Then Jack noticed the lead left
hand
was a little low. To a trained warrior, this was an open door
inviting a full-on assault. On the other hand, when dealing with an opponent as cunning
as Sensei Kyuzo, Jack knew such a defensive error could equally be a trap.

He decided to feign an attack at the
supposed opening, then switch to a low thrust to the ribs.

As the
kunai
jabbed high, Sensei
Kyuzo shifted his arm to block the attack. Tricked by the bluff, his left-hand side was
now exposed and Jack changed the
kunai
’s trajectory. But Sensei Kyuzo had
been ready for it. His right fist shot across, the knuckles targeting the back of
Jack’s right wrist. They struck a nerve point, causing Jack’s hand to spasm,
and he lost grip on the
kunai
. The weapon flew across the room and clattered
into the darkness.

Before Jack could retreat out of range,
Sensei Kyuzo countered with disconcerting speed. His left fist targeted Jack’s
lower ribs. Jack buckled under the paralysing blow. A right hook caught his eye. Then a
left uppercut to the jaw floored him. Seeing stars and his head ringing with pain, Jack
writhed on the ground, an easy target. But his
taijutsu
master made no attempt
to finish him off.

‘Get up!’ snarled Sensei Kyuzo,
a malicious glint in his eyes.

As he recovered from the hammer-like blows,
Jack realized the old man intended to extend and
enjoy
the fight. While he had
no wish to give his teacher such pleasure, neither could he allow himself to be defeated
so easily. Wiping blood from a split lower lip, Jack pulled himself to his feet.

‘Have you not learnt anything
I’ve taught you?’ said Sensei Kyuzo in a disappointed tone. ‘Not that
I ever wanted to teach scum like you.’

With brutal force, he front-kicked Jack in the
chest and sent him skidding across the floor. This time Sensei Kyuzo had hit
Jack’s solar plexus. Feeling as if his lungs had imploded, Jack found himself
fighting for every snatch of breath. Sensei Kyuzo approached unhurried, relishing
Jack’s suffering. He flexed his fingers in readiness for the next barrage of
blows.

Despite being half-crippled from the
after-effects of the kick, Jack rose again. All the
taijutsu
lessons in which
he’d been
uke
for Sensei Kyuzo were now paying off. Over time he’d
built up a tolerance to the pain his teacher could inflict – a resilience in the face of
constant punishment. Jack also
knew
his opponent. He realized he could see the
telltale signs of each technique – and had been taught the counters to each of his
teacher’s attacks. But, more significantly, Jack had one big advantage that Sensei
Kyuzo had no idea about: his
ninjutsu
training.

The ninja’s hand-to-hand fighting
style was specifically developed to counter the samurai arts. And one of those
techniques was to feign weakness and defeat.

Half-bent over, he gave Sensei Kyuzo the
target of his head. His
taijutsu
master went to roundhouse-kick him there, but
Jack suddenly leapt into action. Avoiding his sensei’s foot and stepping inside
the arc of the kick, he trapped the leg with his left arm and drove an Extended Knuckle
Fist strike at the mid-point of the inner thigh. Sensei Kyuzo grunted with pain as the
unexpected attack hit a
kyusho
point. The nerve was struck with such force that
it paralysed his teacher’s entire leg.

Jack then brought his head up, using Demon
Horn Fist to ram Sensei Kyuzo under the jaw. His
taijutsu
master staggered
backwards. Jack heel-struck Sensei Kyuzo’s left ankle and
swept
him off his feet. Sensei Kyuzo tried to correct his fall with his right leg, but the
immobilized limb simply gave way beneath him. He crashed to the ground, his face
contorted in shock, anger and pain at being beaten.

Jack didn’t hesitate now. He rushed
forward to finish him off. But Sensei Kyuzo lashed out with his still-mobile left foot.
He targeted Jack’s injured hand. Jack cried out as a searing stab of pain almost
caused him to pass out. Sensei Kyuzo kicked him again, then rolled out of harm’s
way. By the time Jack was able to focus on something other than sheer agony, Sensei
Kyuzo was standing and furiously massaging his leg back to life.

‘This will be your
final
lesson,
gaijin
,’ snarled Sensei Kyuzo, his near defeat having brought his
cruel game to a swift end.

As his
taijutsu
master limped
determinedly towards him, a deep-throated growl emanated from behind Jack. Glancing over
his shoulder, he caught a glimpse of the Akita hunting dog at the open
shoji
.
It leapt for his back. On instinct, Jack dived aside. He felt the dog’s claws rake
his neck as it flew past to collide with Sensei Kyuzo instead. As dog and teacher both
tumbled to the ground, the Akita tore its teeth into Sensei Kyuzo’s right
shoulder. While the
taijutsu
master wrestled the ferocious beast in his arms,
Jack scrambled away and headed for the
bugyō
’s office.

A crack, like a branch breaking, abruptly
ended the snarls and gnashing of teeth. Sensei Kyuzo shoved the Akita to one side, its
body slumping lifeless to the floor.

‘I never did like that dog,’
spat the sensei, inspecting his ravaged shoulder. Blood dripped down his arm, which now
hung limp at his side.

‘Your superior,’ said Jack,
emphasizing the
bugyō
’s status, ‘won’t be happy you killed
his dog.’

Sensei Kyuzo glared at him.
‘I’ll simply blame it on you,
gaijin
.’

Jack ran for the door and his swords, but
Sensei Kyuzo pounced on him in a miraculous leap. With his one good arm, he grabbed Jack
and executed
Yama Arashi
. The Mountain Storm throw tossed Jack high in the air
before bringing him smashing into the wooden floor. Sensei Kyuzo then dropped beside him
and wrapped his legs round Jack’s neck.

‘This is
Yoko Sankaku
Jime
,’ explained Sensei Kyuzo, as if he was instructing Jack in a class.
‘It’s a triangular choke. The technique gets its power from the pressure
exerted by the legs.’

Sensei Kyuzo began to squeeze. Jack
spluttered as his airway was instantly cut off.

‘The top leg also imparts direct force
on your carotid artery, blocking the blood to your brain.’

Jack felt a horrendous pressure starting to
build in his head.

‘The second leg working in conjunction
with the arms optimizes the choke.’

Jack felt as if he was gripped in a human
vice.

‘Within a matter of seconds,
you’ll pass out,’ revealed Sensei Kyuzo with evident glee. ‘But if I
then keep the choke on … brain damage is certain … followed by
death.’

The throbbing in Jack’s head grew
thunderous. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the dull sheen of an iron blade
beside the office door. Jack desperately reached for the twine handle. Blackness was
seeping into his vision. He had mere seconds to live.

His fingers clasped round the
kunai
.

As the curtain fell over his vision, he drove
the iron tip into Sensei Kyuzo’s right leg. His
taijutsu
master yelled in
agony and the pressure was instantly released. Jack pulled away, taking the
kunai
with him. All sensation returned in a flood.

He then leapt on his wounded
taijutsu
master. His rage boiled over at the sensei who’d made his
life hell at the
Niten Ichi Ryū
– the teacher who’d publicly humiliated
and tortured him in front of the entire class. Now this man had arrested him and cut off
his finger … and had been determined to murder him.

‘Go on, kill me!’ goaded Sensei
Kyuzo, blood pouring from the laceration in his leg.

Jack raised the
kunai
and brought
it down hard. He struck his
taijutsu
master in the temple with the blunt end of
the handle.

‘No, I follow the code of
bushido
, unlike you,’ said Jack as Sensei Kyuzo slumped unconscious
on the floor. ‘And I still
respect
my sensei.’

16
 
 

‘You look terrible!’ exclaimed
Benkei as Jack limped into the barn with a black eye, split lip, bruised jaw and swollen
throat.

‘You should see the loser,’
rasped Jack.

‘Well, I hope the damage was worth
it.’

Jack nodded and patted his treasured
swords.

‘We should go,’ said Benkei,
grabbing their bag of supplies. ‘As soon as the sun rises, they’ll come
after us. And I don’t want to end up looking like you!’

Jack didn’t argue. He shouldered his
pack – all the contents still there – and followed Benkei out into the night.

They darted across the moonlit paddy fields
to the cover of the trees. Heading west, they climbed the valley and up the steep slope
of the double-headed volcano. Trees gave way to hardy bushes, then to a barren rocky
landscape. Following animal tracks, they traversed the mountainside and reached the
first peak just as dawn was breaking.

Like a newborn phoenix, the sun rose out of
the glistening Seto Sea in the far distance. Its warming rays were a welcome sight for
Jack and Benkei, who were cold and fatigued from the ascent. Hearing the flapping of a
flock of birds, Jack looked
up but couldn’t spot any flying
overhead. Then, as they crested a small ridge, he discovered the sound was made by
hundreds of prayer flags fluttering in the wind. At their heart was a solitary shrine
perched atop an outcrop of rock. Adorning its wooden eaves were streams of brightly
coloured silk banners.

Jack and Benkei passed through a grey stone
torii
gateway and up steps hewn into the rock. They entered the shrine.

‘I feel so drab compared to these
flags,’ remarked Benkei, dumping their supplies in a sheltered corner and
disappearing behind the altar.

Exhausted, Jack sat down at the
shrine’s entrance and gazed at the rippling prayer flags. The constant flutter of
silk was like an unending mantra to the gods, the yellow, green, red, white and blue
hues forming an undulating rainbow against the cloudless sky. He recalled Yori once
explaining the significance of these colours for a Buddhist monk. To his surprise,
they’d corresponded to the Five Rings of the Ninja …

Earth was yellow.

Water denoted by green.

Fire symbolized by red.

Wind represented by white.

Sky signified by blue.

These five great elements of the universe,
which were the spiritual touchstone of Buddhist monks, also formed the basis of the
ninja’s philosophy to life and combat. Both groups channelled the energy and
wisdom of the Five Rings: the monks for peace and the ninja for protection.