Young Samurai: The Ring of Wind (2 page)

The Letter

Japan, 1614

 

My dearest Jess,

I hope this letter reaches you one day. You must believe I’ve been lost at sea all these years. But you’ll be glad to know that I am alive and in good health.

Father and I reached the Japans in August 1611, but I am sad to tell you he was killed in an attack upon our ship, the Alexandria. I alone survived.

 

For these past three years, I’ve been living in the care of a Japanese warrior, Masamoto Takeshi, at his samurai school in Kyoto. He has been very kind to me, but life has not been easy.

 

An assassin, a ninja known as Dragon Eye, was hired to steal our father’s rutter (you no doubt remember how important this navigational logbook was to our father?). The ninja was successful in his mission. However, with the help of my samurai friends, I’ve managed to get it back.

 

This same ninja was the one who murdered our father. And while it may not bring you much comfort, I can assure you the assassin is now dead. Justice has been delivered. But the ninja’s death doesn’t bring back our father – I miss him so much and could do with his guidance and protection at this time.

 

Japan has been split by civil war and foreigners like myself are no longer welcome. I am a fugitive. On the run for my life. I now journey south through this strange and exotic land to the port of Nagasaki in the hope that I may find a ship bound for England.

 

The Tokaido Road upon which I travel, however, is fraught with danger and I have many enemies on my trail. But do not fear for my safety. Masamoto has trained me as a samurai warrior and I will fight to return home to you.

 

One day I do hope I can tell you about my adventures in person …

 

Until then, dear sister, may God keep you safe.

 

Your brother, Jack

P.S. Since first writing this letter at the end of spring, I’ve been kidnapped by ninja. But I discovered that they were not the enemy I thought they were. In fact, they saved my life and taught me about the Five Rings: the five great elements of the universe – Earth, Water, Fire, Wind and Sky. I now know ninjutsu skills that go beyond anything I learnt as a samurai. But, because of the circumstances of our father’s death, I still struggle to fully embrace the Way of the Ninja …

Ambush

Japan, spring 1615

Miyuki held a finger to her lips in warning. Jack, Saburo and Yori fell silent, glancing with unease round the forest clearing. It was barely dawn and, although the four friends hadn’t encountered anyone in days, they remained on their guard.

The Shogun’s samurai were proving relentless in their hunt for Jack. As a foreigner, a
gaijin
, Jack had been banished from Japan. But he was
also
a samurai warrior. Having fought against the Shogun in the Battle of Osaka Castle, he’d been accused of treason. It didn’t matter that he was a mere boy of fifteen. There was a price on his head and, as a
gaijin
samurai, he was wanted dead or alive.

The dirt track ahead looked deserted. There was no movement among the bushes, nor any sounds to betray a hidden enemy. But Jack trusted Miyuki’s instincts. Being a ninja, her senses were highly attuned to danger.

‘Ten or so men passed through here,’ Miyuki whispered, studying a patch of downtrodden grass. ‘Less than an hour ago.’

‘Which way were they headed?’ asked Jack, not wishing to cross their path.

‘That’s the problem,’ she replied, her dark eyes narrowing. ‘They went in
all
directions.’

At once, Jack understood what she was implying. An ominous feeling like the tightening of a noose seized him. His awareness heightened by the potential threat, he scanned the undergrowth a second time. Having trained in the Art of the Ninja himself, he knew what signs to look for. Almost at once, he spotted several broken stems among the bushes as well as debris disturbed underfoot. He then realized the forest was too quiet and the birds had stopped their singing.

‘We have to get out of here!’ said Jack, shouldering his pack to run.

But it was already too late.

A flutter, like the wings of a startled sparrow, heralded the ambush. Ducking at the very last second, Jack dodged the steel-tipped arrow targeted for his head. It clipped his straw hat before embedding itself in a nearby tree trunk. A moment later, a troop of fully armed samurai burst from the bushes on all sides and charged towards them.

Instinctively, Miyuki, Saburo and Yori formed a protective circle round Jack.

‘We won’t let them take you,’ Yori promised, holding his
shakuj
ō
in both hands. The wooden staff with its pointed iron tip and six metal rings was the symbol of a Buddhist monk. But it was also a formidable weapon. The rings jingled as the fearful yet valiant Yori braced himself for the fight.

‘And I won’t let them harm you,’ said Jack, knowing that Yori as a monk preferred to avoid confrontation.

He drew both his
katana
and
wakizashi
. A parting gift from his closest friend Akiko, their perfectly balanced razor-sharp blades glinted in the early morning light as he raised them into a Two Heavens guard. Likewise, Saburo unsheathed his
katana
in preparation to do battle. Although he’d trained at the
Niten Ichi Ry
ū
with Jack, he hadn’t been taught the legendary double-sword technique.

‘At least the odds are better than last time,’ Saburo quipped, referring to the forty bandits they’d confronted in Tamagashi village the month before.

Sounding a battle cry and brandishing their weapons, the samurai soldiers closed in for the kill. Miyuki turned to face the first of their attackers. Before he was within striking distance, she flicked a
shuriken
from her hand. The deadly throwing star flashed through the air and struck the soldier in the neck. He choked and stumbled. Miyuki leapt into the air, executing a flying side-kick that sent the samurai sprawling to the ground. As she landed, the next samurai swung his sword to cut off her head. Pulling a straight-bladed
ninjat
ō
from the scabbard upon her back, Miyuki blocked the attack and engaged in a vicious sword fight with the man.

Weapons clashed as Jack, Saburo and Yori fought the other samurai warriors. Jack was confronted by three at once and had to use all his skill to keep them at bay. His swords whirled above his head as he deflected each of their strikes. At the same time, Yori was thrusting the iron tip of his
shakuj
ō
at any samurai who dared to get close. He winded one in the stomach and was driving another back when Jack caught a movement in the bushes. The samurai archer was taking aim.

‘Yori, watch out!’ cried Jack.

But, with no cover nearby, Yori was an easy target.

Using a lightning-fast Autumn Leaf strike, Jack disarmed his nearest assailant, then kicked him hard in Yori’s direction. The defeated samurai staggered backwards into the line of fire just as the archer released his arrow. The arrow hit him square in the chest and, groaning with pain, he crumpled to the earth. But the precious seconds Jack took to save Yori’s life now put his own into harm’s way. One of the other samurai lunged with his sword. The steel tip was set to impale Jack when a second blade came out of nowhere and deflected it aside.

‘Saved your life … yet again,’ Saburo gasped, jumping between Jack and his assailant. With a furious shout of
kiai
, Saburo charged forward and forced the warrior to retreat.

Grateful as he was, Jack had no chance to thank his friend as the next samurai advanced on him. Jack also realized the archer now had him in his sights. Almost at full draw, the man was ready to release his deadly arrow. While the samurai was proving no match for his sword skill, Jack couldn’t hope to stop the archer.

Then Jack recalled a ninja technique from the Ring of Fire.

Fending off his samurai attacker with his
katana
, Jack held his
wakizashi
aloft and angled its polished blade to catch the early morning sun. The sudden blaze of light dazzled the man. He lost his aim and the arrow shot wide.

But Jack knew this was just a short reprieve. The archer would kill them one by one if they remained in the open much longer. He shouted to his friends, ‘Into the forest!’

Miyuki was still battling her samurai. The man was strong and threatened to overpower her. Just as her defeat seemed inevitable, she reached inside her jacket and threw
metsubishi
powder into her attacker’s face. Blinded by the mix of sand and ash, the samurai was powerless to stop Miyuki side-stamping his knee and crippling him.

‘This way!’ cried Miyuki as the samurai collapsed in agony.

Without a moment to lose, the four friends sprinted from the clearing into the dense undergrowth. Behind them, they heard roars of rage as the surviving samurai soldiers crashed through the bushes in hot pursuit.

Trapped Like Crabs

‘Do you think we’ve lost them?’ panted Saburo, his chest heaving.

Hidden behind a tree, Jack and the others peered back through the forest. Being young had been an advantage in their escape, since their larger, less agile pursuers were slowed by the dense thicket. Gradually, the shouts of the samurai had grown more distant until they’d faded altogether.

Braving another look, Saburo ventured further from the cover of the tree.

Thunk!

An arrow implanted itself in the trunk just short of his nose.

‘I think that answers your question!’ said Miyuki, dragging the startled Saburo away.

The four friends shot off again. They fled through the forest, paying no heed to direction. Branches whipped at their faces and tore at their clothes. Jack felt the air burn in his lungs as they vaulted fallen logs and weaved through clumps of trees.

To Jack, it seemed as if he’d been running forever.

Before his friends had joined him, he’d been chased by samurai, ninja,
d
ō
shin
officers,
metsuke
spies and, most relentless of all, his old school rival Kazuki and his Scorpion Gang. And since departing Tamagashi village, every day had been a perilous tightrope of evasion, concealment and constant flight. Cautious to avoid major settlements and the busy coastal road, the four fugitives had been forced to negotiate tangled forests and treacherous mountain paths. They couldn’t risk staying for more than a night in a single place, fearful of being spotted and reported to a local samurai lord. Yet despite this urgency, their progress had been slow upon their journey southwest towards Nagasaki, the port from where Jack hoped to find a ship bound for England.