Young Samurai 06 - The Ring of Fire (33 page)

A shout from the square broke their grieving silence.

‘This nightmare needs to end
now
,’ said Jack with determination born out of sorrow. Standing up, he retrieved his swords.

In the square, Saburo was commanding the farmers to hold back.

‘What’s the problem?’ Jack asked, looking over the crowd of agitated villagers.

‘Akuma won’t admit defeat,’ Saburo explained. ‘And he’s demanded to talk with you.’

The farmers parted to allow Jack through.

‘Be careful,’ said Saburo, sticking close to his side, his sword at the ready.

Nodding, Jack stepped into the circle.

‘Face to face with the infamous
gaijin
samurai, at last!’ snarled Akuma, looking him up and down with contempt. He stood defiantly in the centre, seemingly indifferent to the ring of steel-tipped spears that surrounded him. ‘I’d heard the rumours but never believed them to be true. It appears I’ve paid the price for not heeding the myth. It just sounded so improbable – a foreign boy trained as a samurai who’d mastered the Two Heavens. And, to my eyes, one who appears to be a ninja as well! What other powers do you possess,
gaijin
?’

‘I don’t have any
powers
,’ replied Jack, keeping a wary distance.

Akuma snorted. ‘
My
power is fear.’

He faked an attack with his trident and the farmers jumped nervously away. ‘See how they still tremble! Yet
you
don’t show fear.’

Jack stared into Akuma’s demonic eyes and felt a cold chill run through him.

‘I have loyal friends by my side, so I’ve no need to be scared of you,’ Jack explained. ‘
That’s
the reason we defeated you. Now lay down your arms and surrender.’

Akuma laughed. ‘And you’ll let us live?’

‘Unlike you, I am merciful,’ replied Jack, his leniency shocking the villagers. ‘I’m a samurai and follow the code of
bushido
. And these villagers are farmers, not bandits. We didn’t train them to become cold-blooded killers – only to defend their lives against the likes of you.’

The bandit with Akuma immediately threw down his sword and bowed his submission to Jack and the farmers. The next moment he was dead.

‘We do
not
surrender,’ said Akuma coldly, leaving the trident sticking in the bandit’s back.

Jack was sickened by Akuma’s cruel nature. The man’s heart was made of stone.

‘I no longer care if I die,’ roared Akuma, ‘as long as
you
die too!’

Drawing his black-handled blades, he charged at Jack.

But Akuma hadn’t taken two paces when he suddenly gasped and dropped to his knees. Behind him, Natsuko stood with her bony hands clasped round the shaft of a spear.

‘A devil like you deserves to be stabbed in the back,’ stated the old woman. ‘That’s for my son.’

As Akuma rose to his feet, Toge stepped from the ranks and planted another spear in the bandit’s back. ‘That’s for my wife and child,’ he cried.

But Akuma kept coming for Jack, determined to have his revenge.

Another farmer pierced the bandit in the stomach. ‘That’s for my daughter, Naoko.’

Still Akuma refused to surrender.

One by one, then in a rush, the villagers surged forward to defend Jack and vent their fury and grief. The naming of Akuma’s victims went on. And so did the spear thrusts.

‘Shouldn’t we stop them?’ said Saburo.

‘I think they must end their nightmare their own way,’ Jack replied, as Black Moon fell beneath the torrent of spears.

Jack and Saburo made their way back to the pond, where Yori was chanting prayers over Hayato’s body. Yuudai and Miyuki stood nearby, their heads bowed in respect.

As they approached, Yuudai looked up. ‘Where’s Neko?’ he asked.

Jack glanced at Miyuki, who was distraught at the reminder.

‘She’s … dead,’ said Jack, much to Yuudai’s alarm. ‘But if it wasn’t for Neko, the Ring of Fire wouldn’t have worked …’

Yuudai swallowed hard and, for the first time since Jack had met him, he appeared vulnerable. Heaving a great sigh of sorrow, he said, ‘Neko may have been born a farmer, but to me she had the heart of a samurai.’ A great tear rolled down his cheek.

‘And the makings of a … ninja,’ added Miyuki, her voice choking with sorrow.

Their grieving was interrupted by Kunio. ‘Jack, do you think I can keep Hayato’s bow and arrow?’

‘Show some respect!’ Saburo snapped, shooting him a scolding look. ‘Hayato’s spirit is not even departed and Yuudai’s just found out Neko’s dead.’

Kunio blanched. Then pointed behind them. ‘If she is dead, then that must be her ghost!’

A blackened figure emerged from the rice store. Her eyebrows were burnt off and her clothes singed, but otherwise she appeared alive and unhurt. Everyone gasped in astonishment at her miraculous survival. Despite the pain in his chest, Yuudai ran to meet her. But before he could get halfway, a musket shot blasted out.

Yuudai stumbled and fell to the ground. Neko gave a strangled cry. Jack and the others searched for the source of the shot as the villagers scattered for cover.

‘Up there!’ cried Miyuki, pointing to the top of the watchtower.

Behind the protective screen, Kurochi was loading another round.

Neko took one look at Yuudai writhing helpless on the ground and ran away.

Jack and Saburo sprinted across the square to drag Yuudai to safety, but he was heavy. They were still pulling him towards the cover of a building, when Kurochi took aim once more.

But suddenly the watchtower swayed.

Neko was furiously hacking at one of the supporting pillars with the axe she’d taken from the woodpile. Kurochi screamed as the structure keeled over into the still-burning moat. Fuelled by the bandit’s gunpowder, the watchtower exploded in a ball of flame … taking Kurochi the Snake with it.

59

TEARS AND CELEBRATION

Snow fell across the Okayama Plain like the tears of a thousand angels. The patches of blood, so stark and red, gradually disappeared beneath a fresh blanket of white. Even the moat scorched black by the fire lost its colour and faded from view. All around, the land was healing itself from the previous days and nights of battle.

And so too were the farmers and young warriors.

The villagers gathered quietly in the square to honour and bury their dead, while upon the rise overlooking the village Yori made the final preparations for a funeral pyre.

As Jack crossed the square with Miyuki and Saburo, he spotted a glint of steel in the snow. A red cloth fluttered in the breeze. Bending down, he picked up Akuma’s abandoned
hachimaki
. The blood-red bandanna was all that was left of the mountain bandit. But even this seemed to harbour evil – a grim reminder of all the pain, suffering and death that Black Moon had once caused.

Asking his friends to wait, Jack made his way over to the pond. Standing upon the bank, he threw the
hachimaki
into the ice hole and watched it sink without trace.

The three of them then climbed the rise and joined Yori beside the funeral pyre. Yori was wafting incense over Hayato’s body and quietly chanting a sutra. Hayato had been laid carefully upon the stacked wood, his arms crossed over his chest, his bow and quiver by his side, a white
hachimaki
tied round his head. He looked like a true warrior at peace with himself.

‘Is there anything more we can do?’ asked Jack, when Yori had ceased chanting.

Yori solemnly shook his head. ‘I’ve not performed funeral rites before, but I think everything is in place. We’re just waiting on Yuudai now.’

Jack and the others turned to watch Yuudai limp up the rise, Neko helping him along.

‘You’re a powerful healer,’ Yori remarked to Miyuki.

Humbly acknowledging the compliment, Miyuki replied, ‘He’s strong, as well as lucky that the bullet only hit him in the leg.’

Yuudai stiffly bowed his respects to his fallen comrade. In a quiet voice, he said, ‘A courageous warrior, an honourable samurai and a loyal friend. We’ll never forget your sacrifice.’

Offering more incense to the pyre, Yori now began the ritual and they all fell silent. Then the fire was lit and Hayato’s body was given to the flames.

Below in the square, the villagers knelt in honour of the young samurai. The sound of their weeping drifted up as tears of grief flowed for Hayato and all who’d lost their lives.

‘Like the snow covering this earth, there will be new beginnings,’ Yori proclaimed. ‘Winter will pass, spring will bring new life and this village will blossom once more.’

Later that morning, Junichi’s remains were cremated in the same manner as Hayato and his ashes buried in the fields. Once these rites had been observed, Toge was duly appointed as the new village leader. Over the course of the next few days, he organized the farmers to bring down the barricade and start the building of a new bridge. All the weapons, including the bandits’, were collected together and offered to the young samurai and Miyuki out of respect. But it was agreed that the farmers should keep them – they had earned the right.

While Miyuki and Neko cleared the forest of traps, Jack and Saburo helped in salvaging what they could from the burnt-out mill. Yori visited each family in turn, offering spiritual comfort and guidance where needed. And Yuudai, despite his injuries, refused to rest and spent his time chopping the watchtower into firewood.

On the fourth day, a celebration was deemed in order. That afternoon, everyone gathered in the square to eat, drink and rejoice in their victory over Akuma and his bandits. Breaking into their most precious of stores, a feast was laid on by the women of the village. Along with mounds of rice, they’d prepared miso soup, tofu, pickled vegetables, grilled fish, and even a barrel or two of
saké
had been opened.

‘Yuudai seems quite settled here,’ remarked Miyuki, nodding in the boy’s direction.

Jack looked over to where Yuudai was sitting. Their friend was trying not to laugh as Neko stuffed another pickled vegetable in his already-brimming mouth.

Jack smiled. ‘Neko looks happy too.’

Miyuki considered the couple. ‘Perhaps a ninja’s life isn’t for her, after all.’

She turned to Jack. ‘So have you thought about when we’re leaving for Nagasaki?’

With Akuma dead, the village now safe and his health restored after four nights of rest, Jack realized he had no further reason to stay – other than to be in the company of good friends. Thick snow still covered the roads in and out of the village, but with the weather improving every day it wouldn’t be long before the Funasaka Pass opened up and the Shogun’s samurai resumed their hunt for him. It was time to move on.

‘In a couple of days,’ he replied. ‘Let’s gather our strength and supplies first.’

Miyuki nodded her agreement. Then she looked Jack directly in the eye. ‘You do
want
me to come with you, don’t you?’

Jack returned her gaze. She’d already done so much for him and asked for nothing in return. Over the past month, he’d come to rely upon her bravery, her bold spirit and, most of all, her friendship.

‘Of course I do,’ said Jack, smiling warmly at her.

Yori and Saburo wandered over.

‘I could get used to this,’ said Saburo, through a mouthful of rice and fish. On his head, he wore the dented helmet as a badge of honour. ‘I can’t wait to tell my father about the battle. We’re heroes, thanks to you, Jack!’

‘I wouldn’t have survived one day without all of you by my side,’ replied Jack. ‘I’d agreed to an impossible task. But having your belief, Saburo, along with Yuudai’s strength, Hayato’s skill, Miyuki’s cunning and Yori’s wisdom,
together
we achieved the impossible and saved this village. As Hayato said,
in a storm a single tree falls, but a forest still stands
.’

‘But it takes a captain to sail a ship safely through a storm,’ said Yori, raising his eyebrows meaningfully at him.

Jack laughed.
Trust Yori to have the last word
, he thought.

Toge took to the veranda and clapped for everyone’s attention. He beckoned for Jack and the others to join him. Since the death of Akuma and his ascendancy to village leader, he’d become less sullen and more friendly. Addressing the villagers, he said, ‘The black moon is no longer a cause for fear … but one for celebration!’

The farmers applauded and shouted their delight.

‘We may have lost much in our past, but with Akuma gone we’ve gained a future – one made possible by these young warriors. For that, we shall be forever grateful.’

Toge bowed low to Jack and his friends.

The villagers chanted ‘YOUNG … SAMURAI!’ then bowed as one to their saviours.

Yoshi tottered over to Jack, smiling a toothless grin.

‘I’ve always believed, a child is not a vase to be filled but a fire to be lit,’
he said. ‘And your fire burns the brightest of anyone I know.’

Jack felt humbled by his praise. ‘I only wanted to help.’

Stepping down from the veranda, Jack was greeted by Sora, his wife, and his daughter, Miya.