The Ring Of Earth Part 23

45.

FIRE IN THE F FARMHOUSE.

The two samurai bore down on them. Without warning, the one wearing the menp menp attacked his leader. In a lightning strike, he chopped at his neck with the edge of his hand. The samurai collapsed to the ground, unconscious. attacked his leader. In a lightning strike, he chopped at his neck with the edge of his hand. The samurai collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

'Fall Down Fist?' uttered Miyuki, more stunned at the technique than their sudden change of fate.

Their samurai saviour pulled off his mask to reveal a girl's face. The long dark hair was hidden by the helmet, but the half-moon eyes, dark as black pearl, and the rose-petal lips were instantly recognizable.

'Akiko!' cried Jack in astonishment and delight.

He rushed forwards, embracing her. For that brief moment, the battle receded into the distance and he was back in Toba.

'Forever bound to one another,' she whispered in his ear, returning his embrace.

'You know know this samurai?' exclaimed Miyuki, her sword still raised. this samurai?' exclaimed Miyuki, her sword still raised.

'This is Akiko,' said Jack, as if that explained everything. 'My closest friend.'

Akiko bowed her head respectfully, though she kept her eyes on Miyuki throughout.

'We don't have time for formalities,' responded Miyuki, barely acknowledging Akiko's bow. 'We have to get out of here.'

Their innate distrust of one another was immediately apparent. For one brief moment, Jack wondered whether Akiko, as a samurai, had revealed the location of the ninja village to daimyo daimyo Akechi. But Jack trusted her implicitly. Besides, Akiko wouldn't have wanted to risk her little brother's life in a ma.s.s attack upon the village. Akechi. But Jack trusted her implicitly. Besides, Akiko wouldn't have wanted to risk her little brother's life in a ma.s.s attack upon the village.

'I can take you prisoner,' Akiko suggested, overlooking Miyuki's slight. Glancing at Jack, she added, 'Just like Sensei Kyuzo did at Osaka Castle.'

Miyuki laughed at the idea. 'No samurai will ever take me me prisoner.' prisoner.'

'And I'm afraid it wouldn't work,' said Jack. 'Daimyo Akechi intends to kill us all. And he Akechi intends to kill us all. And he definitely definitely wants to kill me.' wants to kill me.'

'You can't fight your way past a thousand samurai,' Akiko argued.

'We don't need to,' shot back Miyuki.

Jack wondered what she had in mind. Escaping disguised as samurai warriors was out of the question. They were trapped in the farmhouse, lacked a second set of armour and, besides, Akechi's army was on the alert for imposters.

'You trust this samurai samurai?' Miyuki asked of Jack.

'With my life,' he replied.

'Then I suppose I'll have to,' she said, sheathing her sword. 'Follow me.'

Miyuki stepped on to the dais. The sounds of fighting drew nearer. Suddenly a figure staggered into the room.

'Tenzen!' said Jack with relief, having given him up for dead.

The ninja was battleworn and bloodstained, a nasty gash on his forehead. Seeing Akiko, he went to throw his last remaining shuriken shuriken.

'NO!' Jack shouted, jumping into his line of sight. 'She's with me.'

Tenzen shot Jack a disbelieving look, but Miyuki gave an affirmative nod and he lowered his hand.

'Where's Shonin?' asked Miyuki urgently.

'I don't know,' Tenzen replied with dismay. He pressed his hand to his wound. 'I took the commander's other eye out and my father took his head. But I lost him after that. The battle was too chaotic.'

'And Soke? Hanzo?' asked Jack.

Limping over, Tenzen put a hand on Jack's shoulder, both for comfort and support. 'I'm sorry. I haven't seen them.'

'We have to go,' Miyuki urged.

At that moment, Kajiya the bladesmith ran in. 'They've set fire to the farmhouse!' he shouted.

Behind him, s.h.i.+ro and two other students appeared, Danjo and Kato, panic etched on their faces. Smoke was already billowing from the corridor into the room.

'Good,' said Miyuki to everyone's surprise. 'It will cover our escape.'

She pushed at the wall panel with the painting of the kingfisher. It pivoted open to reveal a secret corridor. Jack stared open-mouthed, but he didn't know why he should be surprised. This was a ninja house after all.

'Who's the samurai?' Kajiya demanded as Miyuki disappeared down the pa.s.sageway.

'A friend of Jack's,' replied Tenzen, limping after Miyuki. 'On our side, supposedly.'

Kaijya stared at Akiko. 'You picked a fine day to visit,' he said, ushering her and Jack ahead of him.

The corridor led through a door into a small hidden room. They crowded in, barely enough s.p.a.ce for the eight survivors.

'We'll be burnt alive in here!' commented Akiko.

'Out of the way,' Miyuki ordered, pus.h.i.+ng Akiko to one side.

Bending down, she removed the shoji shoji's wooden runner and lifted a square section of the corridor's floor to reveal a secret pa.s.sageway.

Now Jack was was surprised. surprised.

'Go!' beckoned Miyuki as the sound of flames crackled above them. 'Kajiya, you lead the way.'

The bladesmith jumped into the hole, swiftly followed by the other ninja and Tenzen. Miyuki, affecting a bow, stepped aside to allow Akiko down. 'samurai first.' first.'

'Thank you,' replied Akiko, equally civil.

'You next, Jack,' said Miyuki. 'I'll protect your back.'

Jack landed in a narrow pa.s.sageway that led down and away from the farmhouse. The floor was wooden, but the walls and low ceiling were hard-packed earth and rock, reinforced by beams. He had to crouch and shuffle along. Up ahead, he could just make out the faint light from Kajiya's candle and the sound of running water. Behind him, it was pitch darkness as Miyuki shut the trapdoor.

'Hurry,' she whispered, 'and be quiet as we pa.s.s under the well shaft.'

When they reached the bottom of the slope, they entered the water. Jack went waist deep, its chill almost taking his breath away, but at least he could now stand. Pa.s.sing through a patch of pale light, the sounds of cheering could be heard echoing down the shaft.

'It's all over,' said Miyuki in a quiet voice.

Jack looked back to see her face ghostly in the reflected light, a single tear running down her cheek. Once again, her life had been destroyed by the samurai.

They forged on, the slope rising slightly beneath their feet. The current became stronger as the sound of running water grew louder in the darkness.

'Where are we?' whispered Jack.

'Under the mountain,' replied Miyuki. 'Shonin came across an underground stream when digging the well.'

'Why didn't everyone use this escape route?'

'It's a secret only known to a select few. The holding of the square was to give the children and their mothers time to escape. Shonin wasn't going to let the samurai slaughter them this time.'

Jack was amazed by the ninja leader's cunning and sacrifice. Akechi and his samurai saw all the villagers run for the square. With everyone dead there and the farmhouse burnt down, the daimyo daimyo would believe he'd wiped out this ninja clan. would believe he'd wiped out this ninja clan.

Miyuki sighed. 'Unfortunately, we didn't hold out long enough to get Shonin, Soke and the other heads of family through.'

Or Hanzo, thought Jack desperately. How am I going to tell Akiko I've lost her little brother to the fight? How am I going to tell Akiko I've lost her little brother to the fight?

'We should keep mov'

Miyuki stopped and listened. The sounds of splas.h.i.+ng were approaching fast from behind.

'Go!' said Miyuki in alarm.

Quickening their pace, they entered a rift in the rock. The stream cascaded down and they had to climb against the flow. Tenzen slipped and tumbled past Akiko. But she grabbed him, halting his fall. Recovering his footing, Tenzen nodded his appreciation, clearly surprised at her reactions and strength, and resumed his climbing.

Near the top, Kajiya reached for a ladder that led into a wooden shaft. In turn, they scrambled up the steps towards another trapdoor. Jack clambered out after the others, emerging behind the statue of the Buddha. As Miyuki exited, she drew her s.h.i.+koro-ken s.h.i.+koro-ken in readiness to cut down their pursuers. Out of the darkness, a sword red with blood rose to meet Miyuki's blade. in readiness to cut down their pursuers. Out of the darkness, a sword red with blood rose to meet Miyuki's blade.

46.

THE N NINE N NINJA.

Black with smoke, Zenjubo's face appeared, his eyes narrowing when he spotted Akiko. 'Prisoner?'

'No, friend,' answered Miyuki, though her hostile expression suggested otherwise.

'Did anyone else make it?' asked Tenzen. 'Momochi? My father? My father?'

Zenjubo shook his head.

Distraught at the news, Tenzen stormed out of the temple, Miyuki hurrying after him. Zenjubo nodded for everyone to follow as he closed the trapdoor behind them.

Gathering outside where Tenzen was slumped on the steps with Miyuki, the survivors gazed in stunned silence at the devastation. A plume of smoke rose from the flaming farmhouse into the clear blue sky. Samurai swarmed over the village like a nest of angry wasps, and the bodies of friends and family lay scattered in the dust. Seeing the soldiers ransack the farmers' homes, Jack's anguish intensified, his concern for the rutter rutter's fate adding to his grief at losing Soke and Hanzo.

Akiko, noting Jack's distress, took him gently to one side. 'How did you end up here here? As a ninja ninja?'

'It's a long story,' sighed Jack. 'But I ran into trouble in Shono and it was Soke, the Grandmaster, who saved me.'

Akiko gave him an incredulous look. 'But the s.h.i.+n.o.bi s.h.i.+n.o.bi are our enemy!' are our enemy!'

'A frog in a well does not know the great sea,' he replied.

'When did you you become Sensei Yamada?' she said, shaking her head in wonder. become Sensei Yamada?' she said, shaking her head in wonder.

'The ninja aren't who you think they are.'

'I realize that truth more than any samurai,' she replied. 'I trained as one. All the more reason not not to trust them.' to trust them.'

Akiko held Jack's gaze. 'You've changed.'

'Perhaps,' admitted Jack. Then, smiling warmly at her, he added, 'But I'm glad you haven't.'

She returned his smile with equal warmth. 'I see you still have my father's swords. In my eyes, you'll always always be a samurai.' be a samurai.'

For a moment, neither spoke, simply content to be in each other's company again.

Finally, Jack broke the silence. 'I was beginning to worry my message hadn't got through.'

'I came as fast as I could. The merchant you sent was held up in Kameyama. He apologized profusely. Then it took time to figure out your message. These mountains are a maze, one rocky outcrop looks like another. I had no option but to return to Maruyama. There I discovered daimyo daimyo Akechi was mobilizing for an attack on a Akechi was mobilizing for an attack on a s.h.i.+n.o.bi s.h.i.+n.o.bi village, and it was rumoured there was a foreigner ... a village, and it was rumoured there was a foreigner ... a gaijin gaijin ninja.' ninja.'

Akiko raised her eyebrows at Jack knowingly.

'With a reward on his head, I joined the army to capture him for myself.'

'Lucky for me you did!' replied Jack. 'I'm just sorry there's no reward.'

Akiko's expression became serious. 'Your message said you think you've found Kiyos.h.i.+. Where is he?'

Jack, unable to meet Akiko's eyes, sadly shook his head.

'Hanzo ... who might be Kiyos.h.i.+, insisted on staying to fight.' He gazed across the smoke-filled valley, remorse overwhelming his heart. 'I tried to protect him, but in the middle of battle he ran to save his grandfather, Soke. Kiyos.h.i.+'s a brave soul. But I fear he's ... dead.'

A wave of grief struck Akiko as all her hopes were dashed. Her face drained of colour and Jack reached out a hand to steady her.

'I'm too late ...' she wept, her eyes welling with tears as Jack took her in his arms.