Young Samurai: The Ring of Wind (11 page)

‘I can see a fin already!’ cried the two-headed snake pirate.

For a minute or so, there was intense silence as they followed the progress of the shark through the water. Jack and the other prisoners couldn’t see the grim show – nor did they want to. There was a cry of disappointment as the shark apparently missed the bait. Then came a cheer, followed by a spluttering scream of agony.

‘He’s caught it,’ yelled the crucifix pirate with glee. ‘Tiger, pull him up!’

The tiger-tattooed pirate hauled in the rope. After several strong pulls, the crewman swung before them. His face was pale and his mouth fixed into a howl of pain. His right arm was missing, bitten off at the elbow.

‘You let it go!’ exclaimed the two-headed snake pirate in disappointment.

The ninja pirates laughed heartily at the joke. Jack felt sickened to the pit of his stomach.

‘Try again,’ ordered Skullface. ‘This time ensure a shark takes a good hold.’

The bleeding crewman was dumped back into the sea. The water churned and the ninja pirates whooped and hollered in delight as several other sharks appeared. A bloodcurdling scream rent the air. Then all went quiet.

Tiger tugged on the line. This time it came up easily. At the end of the rope dangled a single ragged leg.

Skullface cuffed Tiger round the head. ‘Idiot! You lost the bait!’

Captain Kurogumo

‘
That’s
why the
Fuma
are more pirate than ninja,’ said Miyuki darkly, as Skullface and his gang left the disembodied leg swinging in the wind, just beyond the reach of the snapping sharks. ‘They lack any spirit of
ninniku
.’

Jack understood.
Ninniku
was the ninja’s equivalent of the samurai code of
bushido
. As part of their training, a ninja strived to cultivate a pure and compassionate heart, one that didn’t harbour grudges and always sought peace and harmony. In Jack’s eyes, these Wind Demons didn’t even possess a heart.

‘But that’s not the only reason why the ninja and
Fuma
are enemies,’ continued Miyuki, talking to divert their attention away from the grim reminder of their own potential fate. ‘Twenty years ago, the
Fuma
clashed with the ninja. Grandmaster Soke told me the whole story …’

Jack, Saburo and Yori gathered closer to listen – anything but think about the crewman’s horrific death.

‘The ninja Grandmaster Hattori and his clan were hired by the
daimyo
of Suo Province to wipe out the Wind Demons, who’d been raiding villages up and down the Seto coastline. Hattori set sail with a fleet of warships. He found the
Fuma
hiding in Beppu Bay. There was a great battle. Hattori destroyed almost all the Wind Demons’ boats. It seemed victory was assured. But the
Fuma
sent a fireship into the midst of Hattori’s fleet. Knowing that it could explode at any moment, Hattori gave the command to withdraw. What he didn’t know was that the
Fuma
had swum beneath their ships and disabled their rudders. With no way to avoid a collision, Hattori ordered his men to jump ship, but to their horror they discovered the whole bay was covered in a slick of oil. Before any of them could swim to safety, the
Fuma
ignited the trap and the whole clan, including Hattori himself, perished in the flames.’

‘That’s a cheery bedtime story,’ said Saburo.

‘It’s meant as a warning,’ replied Miyuki. ‘The
Fuma
are merciless
and
cunning. That makes them very dangerous. Soke cautioned me to steer clear of them at all costs.’ She gave a resigned sigh. ‘I was never any good at following Soke’s advice.’

‘We’re doomed then!’ cried the last crewmember of the
Golden Tiger
.

‘Hey, we did survive the sea dragon at least!’ said Saburo, half-heartedly attempting to lift the man’s spirits. But the reminder of that fearsome beast just turned the crewman into a quivering wreck.

‘That’s true …’ said Jack, still doubting his own eyes as to what he
actually
saw. ‘If that was a dragon, why didn’t it attack the Wind Demons? We might have stood a chance if they’d had to battle a monster too.’

A lice-ridden slave coughed and shuffled over. His eyes had a crazed look and his bare back showed the scars of numerous whippings.

‘The
Fuma
control the dragon,’ he croaked.

Jack and his friends regarded the Korean man dubiously.

‘No man has such power over wild beasts,’ said Yori.

The slave cackled. ‘The Wind Demons aren’t men. They’re gods of the Seto Sea! And we’re no more than fish food …’

He trailed off, a terrified expression on his face as he retreated towards the back of the cage.

‘I trust my crew are treating you well?’ enquired a gruff voice.

Jack and his friends looked up into the intimidating face of the pirate captain. His eyes were snake-like gleams of jet-black, his high cheekbones were sharp and his chin pointed with a long tuft of beard. He still wore the dragon-horned helmet and was robed in a green and black suit of body armour; the breastplate and square shoulder guards were constructed from hundreds of tiny leather scales that gave it the appearance of dragon skin. The pirate captain’s right arm was tattooed with a large spider’s web that stretched all the way from his wrist to his neck, where a black widow spider nestled, the tattoo unsettlingly real.

Despite the man’s fearsome demeanour, Miyuki was outraged by the question. ‘
Treating us well?
They just fed one of us to the sharks!’

‘Sharks are hungry animals,’ the pirate captain stated matter-of-factly, grinning to reveal a set of teeth filed into razor-sharp points.

Yori, who was closest, recoiled in horror. The captain laughed at his reaction.

‘Captain Kurogumo at your service. Welcome aboard the
Black Spider
,’ he said, bowing contemptuously. His shark-like grin vanished. ‘Now! Who are you?’

‘We’re … just pilgrims returning from Shikoku Island,’ replied Yori, quickly regaining his composure.

‘And I’m the Emperor,’ he mocked. ‘It’s evident from your weapons and swords skills that you’re far from pilgrims.’

‘We’re samurai,’ said Saburo with pride.

Captain Kurogumo regarded Saburo for a moment. ‘You may be. But
she
certainly isn’t.’

He returned his attention to Miyuki, who stared defiantly back.

‘Your weapons and clothes in the bag are of ninja origin. What clan do you belong to?’

Miyuki stayed tight-lipped.

‘No matter. A ninja is a ninja. All traitors.’

Seeing Miyuki rile at the insult to her honour, Jack had to restrain her. Her fiery temper would get them into even more serious trouble than they already were. And they each needed to keep a level head if they were to have any hope of escape.

Captain Kurogumo noted Jack’s intervention.

‘I’ll deal with the ninja later,’ he promised. ‘But you,
gaijin
, are of real interest to me. Quite extraordinary – a
gaijin
samurai!’

He clicked his fingers and a young boy came running across the deck, carrying a pair of samurai swords. Their distinctive red handles marked them out as Jack’s
daish
ō
. The boy, fresh-faced and eager, knelt before the captain and held the weapons out to him. Captain Kurogumo took up the
katana
and, unsheathing it, examined the blade.

‘A Shizu sword!’ he exclaimed in disbelief. ‘Unless I’d witnessed it for myself, I’d have thought anyone a liar who told me you were a samurai … and I’d have cut out their tongue. But your fighting skills are undeniable. You put a number of my men to shame.’

Captain Kurogumo glanced up to where four pirates hung by their wrists from the yardarm. ‘You can cut them down now,’ he shouted to Skullface. ‘Let’s hope they’ve learnt their lesson and won’t be beaten so easily by a
boy
next time.’

The pirate captain took a few practice swings with the
katana
. He smiled appreciatively at its perfect weight and balance. Then he struck out at the pirate boy. The blade sliced through the air, its tip stopping just short of his throat. The boy swallowed nervously as a single bead of blood welled up from where the steel point had pierced his skin.

Sheathing the blade with satisfaction, the captain asked Jack, ‘Who gave you these swords?’

‘A friend,’ he replied.

‘A very
special
friend indeed, to part with such fine blades.’ With a wave of his hand, the captain ordered the pirate boy to return the swords to his quarters. ‘I’m intrigued – how on earth did a
gaijin
become a samurai?’

‘It wasn’t by choice,’ said Jack coldly. ‘I was a rigging monkey on a trading ship before ninja pirates like
you
killed my father.’

‘Now
that
is interesting,’ said Captain Kurogumo, raising his eyebrows at the revelation. ‘So, young warriors, the question is what to do with you. As samurai and ninja, you don’t warrant mercy. But it’s not in my nature to slaughter children … without good reason.’

He gave a flash of his shark teeth.

‘Tatsumaki must decide your fate.’

Fugu

Exposed on an open deck, the cage offered scant protection from the elements and Jack and his friends were forced to sit in the full glare of the sun. Although Captain Kurogumo had promised food and water, he still hadn’t provided them with either. And Jack didn’t hold out much hope he ever would. The pirates held little concern for the well-being of their captives.

Jack had to be grateful for small blessings, though. From their conversation with the captain, it seemed he was unaware of Jack’s reputation or the bounty on his head.

‘So who’s Tatsumaki?’ asked Jack, his mouth parched.

‘Or what?’ corrected Yori. ‘The word means “tornado”.’

‘Perhaps the captain’s going to set us adrift in the middle of a storm,’ suggested Saburo, who looked faint from hunger. ‘And let fate decide our lives.’

‘Then we might have a chance,’ said Jack. ‘I’ve survived countless tempests at sea.’

The Korean slave was cackling again.

‘Tatsumaki comes out of nowhere … creates havoc … then …’ His gnarled fingers exploded outwards. ‘… disappears into nothingness.’

His wild eyes stared at the young warriors with amused pity. ‘All that remains is chaos and desolation. For you to pin your hopes on Tatsumaki is like putting your head inside a hungry lion’s mouth!’

The Korean slave laughed, then broke into a coughing fit. His skeletal body shuddered with the effort. Jack, along with the others, began to feel an overwhelming sense of despair at their situation. Glancing round at the despondent expressions of the other prisoners, it seemed inevitable that death would be their only way out.

The cage door opened and the pirate boy appeared with a jug of water.

‘Compliments of the captain,’ he said, setting it down next to Jack.

The boy retreated and the gate was closed.

Jack snatched up the water but, seeing Yori lick his dry lips in anticipation, offered the jug to his friend first.

‘No, after you,’ insisted Yori.

Jack lifted the brimming jug to his lips and took a huge welcome gulp. Almost at once, he gagged violently.

‘It’s seawater!’ he rasped, spitting and hacking up bile.

The sound of hearty laughter reached their ears. Skullface and his gang were lounging beside the main mast, clapping each other on the back at their prank.

‘How’s the water, fishface?’ jeered Snakehead, his tattoo of the two-headed serpent stretched out along his gangly legs upon the deck.

Jack vomited, expelling the last of the salt water. The pirate gang roared even louder.

‘That trick never fails on new prisoners,’ grinned Skullface.

Wiping the back of his hand across his mouth, Jack glared at the ninja pirate. ‘Tastes better than you look!’

The other pirates stopped laughing and uttered an exaggerated cry of shock.

Skullface took the insult more seriously. Seizing a wooden club, he strode over to the cage. ‘You need some respect beaten into you,
gaijin
.’