Young Samurai 06 - The Ring of Fire, page 15
‘But don’t worry,’ added Miyuki, ‘Yuudai’s offered to cut it off cleanly with his nodachi.’
Jack glanced fearfully at the formidable sword on Yuudai’s back, before catching the smirk on Miyuki’s face.
‘Another ninja joke!’ he said, forcing a laugh as a wave of relief flooded him.
‘It should be fine in a day or so,’ Miyuki revealed, smiling warmly at him as she put aside the medicine. ‘The cold snow from the avalanche reduced the swelling. And with these herbs, there won’t even be a scar.’
Kneeling by his side, she clasped her hands together, her fingers interlaced, the index finger and thumb both extended. Closing her eyes, she began to chant softly.
‘On haya baishiraman taya sowaka …’
Her hands hovered over his wound, moving in a figure-of-eight pattern, and Jack felt a familiar warm tingle beneath his skin as the Sha healing ritual did its work.
‘What’s she doing?’ muttered Saburo, eyeing Miyuki suspiciously.
‘Kuji-in … Ninja magic!’ whispered Yori reverentially. ‘Sensei Yamada told me about it, but I’ve never seen it in action.’
Yori watched rapt as Miyuki went deeper into her trance, channelling her healing energies into the wound. Jack noticed his friend copying her hand position and silently mouthing the mantra as he tried to commit the words to memory. Always the most diligent student among them, Yori loved to learn such mystical techniques and Jack made a mental note to ask Miyuki to teach his friend some more.
After an hour, Miyuki opened her eyes. She looked exhausted from the intense healing session.
‘You still have healing hands,’ said Jack, sitting up. ‘I can feel my leg getting better already.’
‘It’s never any trouble … for you,’ she replied, wearily getting up and heading for her bed. Within moments, she was fast asleep.
Saburo and Hayato came over.
‘Does it really work?’ Saburo asked dubiously.
Jack nodded his head. ‘Have a look.’
The wound had lost much of its red rawness and the blisters beneath the green paste were starting to disappear.
‘The ninja possess some unique talents,’ said Yori admiringly as he continued to practise the hand sign, moving it in a figure-of-eight through the air.
‘I can see why you’re so impressed with her,’ conceded Hayato, now heading to bed himself. ‘Even if she is a ninja.’
‘Ninja or not, Miyuki’s proved to be a good friend,’ said Jack, a little defensive at Hayato’s inherent prejudice towards her.
‘Well, it’s obvious she thinks the world of you,’ said Yori, too wrapped up in his kuji-in to realize what he’d just said.
Jack glanced guiltily over at the sleeping Miyuki. He hadn’t been aware that her feelings ran that deep or were so apparent to everyone else.
Saburo raised an eyebrow archly at him. ‘Does Akiko know about her?’
‘Y-yes,’ said Jack, awkward at the implication. ‘They met once in the Iga mountains.’
‘I bet some sparks flew when they were introduced!’ Saburo laughed.
‘You’re not far from the truth,’ Jack admitted, recalling the girls’ first tense encounter within a blazing farmhouse, set alight during daimyo Akechi’s invasion of the ninja village.
Wanting to shift the focus from Miyuki and Akiko, he asked, ‘How’s Kiku? Have you seen her since the Shogun closed the school?’
It was now Saburo’s turn to look flustered. ‘She’s well,’ he replied, suddenly finding the hilt of his new katana of great interest. ‘In fact … she was the other reason I went on my musha shugyō … to impress her father!’
Jack grinned at discovering Saburo’s romance blossoming. He’d suspected as much when Kiku had stayed behind following Saburo’s injury in the attack on the Niten Ichi Ryū.
‘Well, if we survive beyond the black moon, you’ll have enough tales of courage to win her father over.’
‘If we survive?’ queried Saburo, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. ‘I thought you’d burnt the bandit’s camp to the ground. Surely Akuma’s no longer such a threat?’
‘Jack entered the cave and roused the bear,’ said Yori, now anxiously rubbing a set of prayer beads at the thought of the impending raid.
‘But the bandits will be weakened from hunger and without supplies or weaponry,’ Saburo argued.
‘Perhaps,’ said Jack. ‘But I wouldn’t be surprised if Akuma doesn’t have some hidden reserves.’
Alone with his two close friends, Jack felt he could admit his true concerns.
‘Having seen Akuma for myself, I’m even more worried than before. The man isn’t called Black Moon for nothing. His heart is black. He didn’t show an ounce of pity or remorse when torturing that farmer. Akuma’s not just cruel, he’s pure evil. We either win this battle outright … or we must prepare ourselves for the worst.’
38
STRAW SOLDIERS
The celebratory mood among the villagers quickly disappeared in the cold light of morning. Fear and worry returned with a vengeance when they realized that the black moon was little more than a day away. Noticing the growing panic, Jack immediately put the village to work and the furious last-minute preparations helped to distract the farmers from the coming attack.
Most were involved in the final push to finish the dry moat. When they showed signs of flagging, Saburo shrewdly split the workforce between the two ends and challenged his unit to race Yuudai’s to the completion point. A samurai’s sense of pride soon took over. Saburo and Yuudai’s competitiveness was heard throughout the village in their increasingly vocal shouts of encouragement.
While this digging race went on, Jack took the opportunity to inspect the state of the other defences with Yori. Thanks to Miyuki’s ninja healing, he no longer walked with a limp and she promised a full recovery in time for the battle.
Heading first to the barricade, Jack was stunned to discover it guarded by a line of samurai.
‘Where did all these ronin come from?’
Yori simply grinned at this reaction.
‘How did you persuade –’
It took Jack a second look to realize their new recruits were straw dummies wearing the spare samurai helmets and armour. Crossing the wooden gangway and drawing closer, it was now obvious. But from a distance, the impression had been entirely convincing.
‘This was your idea?’ said Jack, rapping his knuckles upon the helmet of the nearest straw soldier.
Yori nodded. ‘They’re no good at fighting, of course. But hopefully Akuma will be fooled into thinking we’ve got a whole battalion of samurai! We can also use them to draw musket fire.’
‘Yori, you’re a genius!’
‘I merely remembered one of Sensei Kano’s lessons,’ Yori replied humbly. ‘The eye sees only what the mind believes it sees.’
‘Well, my mind fooled me,’ said Jack. ‘And the bandits will definitely be deceived.’
The two of them made their way over to the forest. As before, the defences appeared to be non-existent – apart from Miyuki’s basic wooden barrier and Saburo’s thorn-filled ditch that now cut across the main path.
Yori glanced nervously at Jack. ‘Akuma could march straight in here.’
‘To see with eyes alone is not to see at all,’ said Jack with a wry smile, as he recited another of Sensei Kano’s teachings. ‘When you’re dealing with a ninja, it’s what you don’t see that you should be afraid of!’
As they crossed the southern paddy fields to the bridge, Jack’s heart dropped like a stone. In all directions, the water had become encrusted with ice.
‘We’ve flooded these too early!’ he exclaimed.
‘It can’t be very thick yet,’ said Yori, picking up a rock from the pathway and tossing it high into the air.
The rock bounced and skittered across the hardened surface.
‘Well … I doubt it’ll take the weight of a man,’ said Yori.
He placed a tentative foot on the ice. It crackled around the edges, but held firm. He stepped on with his other foot.
‘Oh dear,’ said Yori, fully supported by the ice. ‘It seems that –’
All of a sudden he fell through, ending up thigh deep in ice, water and mud. Yori looked down as he began to sink.
‘I suppose that’s good news,’ he said, trying to pull his feet out.
‘Let’s pray it stays that way,’ replied Jack, quickly hauling his friend back on to the path. ‘But if not, we’ll just have to station the majority of the farmers along this front line – and hope.’
They headed over to the bridge, Yori squelching at his side. As they approached the river, they heard sounds of bickering further back up the road. Miyuki and Hayato were positioned beside the hay bales at the village’s eastern entrance.
‘I thought you were a skilled archer!’ cried Miyuki.
‘I am,’ Hayato snapped, drawing another arrow from his quiver.
‘Then how come you missed?’
‘Because I’ve got you breathing down my neck.’
Jack and Yori hurried over.
‘What’s the problem?’ asked Jack.
‘Miyuki wants me to hit that charge with a flaming arrow from here!’ Hayato explained, indicating the gunpowder cask half hidden beneath the bridge.
A small wooden target had been set up in front for practice. From where they stood, the distance and awkward angle made the shot difficult for any archer. However, bushes near the bridge obstructed the view and made the task even more challenging. An arrow from Hayato’s previous attempt was embedded in the bridge’s supporting strut, a good hand’s breadth off-target.
‘It would be simpler and less risky to dismantle the bridge,’ Hayato urged Jack.
‘But we’d lose an opportunity to reduce Akuma’s force,’ Miyuki argued.
‘Can’t you move the gunpowder?’ suggested Yori.
Miyuki shook her head. ‘We have to put the main charge there,’ she explained. ‘Otherwise the bridge won’t collapse. And we can’t get any closer, since Hayato would become a target for musket fire.’
‘Why not use a line of gunpowder and light it from here?’ said Jack.
‘Over this distance? It’d be impossible to get the timing right. Akuma’s men could be across before it blew.’
‘I don’t understand why we can’t place two charges,’ demanded Hayato, indicating a second cask of gunpowder next to Miyuki. ‘Put that one where I can hit it and have the explosion set off the other.’
‘Sorry, but I need that cask,’ she replied.
‘More invisible ninja defences?’ said Hayato sarcastically.
Jack turned to Hayato. ‘Try again. I’m sure it’s just a matter of practice.’
Nocking the arrow, Hayato raised his bow, took aim and fired. They all watched with bated breath as the arrow sped through the air, its feathered flights whipping past the bushes. A moment later it clipped the target, but flew beyond and disappeared into the river. It was a good shot, but not good enough.
‘Missed again,’ Miyuki tutted.
Hayato glared at her. ‘I’d like to see you do any better!’
Jack stepped forward and handed Hayato another arrow. ‘Remember how you hit a moving target in that boat on the river. Just use the same technique now.’
Reluctantly, Hayato accepted the arrow and took aim a third time. But in mid-flow he paused and looked hard at Miyuki. A sly grin spread across his lips. Narrowing his eyes, he refocused on the target and fired.
The arrow shot towards the bridge and struck the target dead centre.
‘I knew you could do it!’ said Jack.
‘Yes,’ said Hayato, shooting Miyuki a sideways glance. ‘I just had to imagine the target was a ninja!’
Miyuki took the insult in her stride.
‘Whatever it takes,’ she replied coolly. ‘But you’d best hit it first time when Akuma comes, because you won’t get a second chance … just as you wouldn’t with a ninja.’
39
BATTLE CRY
A massive shout erupted from the moat.
Jack and the others turned to see Saburo astride the built-up wall of earth, punching the air.
‘We won!’ he cried in jubilation.
Exhausted and covered in mud, his unit crawled out of the trench and admired their work. The thorn-filled ditch now encircled the entire village, forming a daunting barrier to any invader.
‘The village wins,’ corrected Jack, his and everyone else’s spirits lifted by the accomplishment of such a monumental feat. At the start no one would have believed the task was possible.
Yuudai’s team laid the last of the thorn bushes.
‘Let Akuma come if he dares!’ he said to Jack, giving the barbed defence a final inspection. ‘That bandit’s about to get one very nasty shock.’
Flopped in the snow, Kunio was picking thorns out of the palms of his hands. With a pained expression, the boy begged, ‘Can we rest now?’
‘Tonight,’ said Jack, clapping him encouragingly on the back. ‘But first you must practise your spear drills.’
Groaning at the thought, Kunio marched off with the other farmers to fetch their weapons. After their last training experience, none of the villagers showed much enthusiasm. But the imminent threat of Akuma compelled them to make an effort and the return of their daughters had given them hope that the impossible could happen.
They obediently gathered in the square in their assigned units. Toge was the last to arrive and found his position at the front.
‘Let’s hope Akuma is late too!’ Hayato remarked, the farmers laughing at his jest.
Toge bowed his head in apology. This was the first time Jack had seen him since their return from Akuma’s camp and he hoped the farmer was coping with his grief. It must be hard to see all the other families reunited when his own never would be.
Under Hayato’s command, the units went through their drill formations. Jack was as relieved as Hayato when the farmers managed to keep in line and maintain at least a semblance of coordinated defence. But in spite of their efforts, their skills were still greatly lacking. Practising their attack manoeuvres, the units were hesitant and would run all ways rather than make a concerted charge.
After several false starts, Hayato called for a break and the young commanders gathered together on the farmhouse veranda.
‘They wouldn’t scare off a flock of birds!’ he muttered.
Jack nodded reluctantly in agreement. ‘Akuma’s going to plough straight through them. They’ve got no confidence in their abilities.’
‘These farmers lack courage,’ stated Hayato. ‘And we need a fighting force if we’re to have any hope of defeating the bandits.’
Yori raised a hand. ‘Even a sparrow has courage when it flies with others. Individually the farmers know they’re weak. We need to convince them there’s strength in numbers.’
‘What do you suggest?’ said Jack.
Yori thought for a moment. ‘A battle cry. One that will unite them.’
‘Good idea,’ said Hayato, nodding approvingly. ‘By all means, give it a try.’
‘I meant for you to teach them …’ said Yori, but Hayato had already stepped aside for him.
Jack offered him an encouraging smile as his friend nervously took centre stage on the veranda. The villagers stared back, wondering what the little monk was about to do.
‘A lion’s roar … can frighten the greatest foe … even if the lion has no claws,’ Yori began in a timid voice. ‘A strong battle –’
‘Speak up!’ cried a farmer near the back.
Yori cleared his throat and tried again. ‘A strong battle cry will scare your enemy; help focus and strengthen your attack; even overcome your own fear. So I want you all to shout.’
The farmers looked doubtfully at him.
‘Scream as loud as you can,’ urged Yori.
Feeling self-conscious, only half the farmers made an attempt.
‘You can do better than that!’ said Yori. ‘Roar like a lion.’
The second shout was louder, more farmers taking part, but they still lacked any conviction. Their third effort was no better. Yori began to despair.
‘You need to shout from your hara, your centre,’ he explained, pointing to his stomach. ‘Put your ki, all your energy into it. Like this!’
Taking a deep breath, Yori opened his mouth and roared.
‘YAAAAAH!’
The ear-splitting yell was so unexpected from a boy of his size that everyone was temporarily stunned. Kunio, who was directly in line, staggered backwards and landed on his rear. He lay there, clasping his chest, his face screwed up in agony.
‘What did you do?’ he wheezed. ‘It feels like you’ve hit me!’
‘Sorry,’ said Yori, smiling apologetically. ‘I … I got carried away.’
The farmers now all stared at Yori, dumbfounded.
Hayato and Miyuki glanced at Jack for an explanation.
‘Kiaijutsu,’ said Jack, referring to the secret fighting art of the Sohei monks, whereby warriors channelled their inner energy, ki, into their battle cry and used it as a weapon. Sensei Yamada had attempted to teach his students the skill at the Niten Ichi Ryū, but Yori was the only one to master it.
Yori’s convincing demonstration reinvigorated the farmers and he soon had them shouting in units at one another. Although there was no chance of them mastering kiaijutsu, their spirited battle cries gave them courage and gradually they bonded into a single united force … a fighting force.
40
DOUBTS
Jack stood on the rise overlooking the village. The square was deserted, all the farmers having retreated into their homes. After the tumultuous noise of so many battle cries, a deathly silence now took hold. Alone with their families, each farmer’s courage turned small and their confidence faded into fear once more.
Jack too felt an overwhelming sense of foreboding as he watched the sun sink below the horizon and the shadow of the mountains creep back over the plain. Compared to their towering peaks, the village’s improvised defences appeared weak and insubstantial. He began to question their ability to repel the almighty Akuma.
