The Ring of Earth

by Chris Bradford

  Jack leapt between them, forcing the samurai to retreat under the onslaught of his katana. Miyuki, deflecting Gemnan’s spear thrust, swiped with the jagged edge of her shikoro-ken at his head. But Gemnan was surprisingly deft with his weapon. Dodging her attack, he drove the forked tip into Miyuki’s shoulder. She screamed, thrown back into the wall.

  Gemnan watched her struggle. ‘Does it hurt?’ he asked with a gleeful smile across his face.

  As he went to thrust again, this time aiming for her heart, a chain whipped round his throat and he was yanked off his feet. Losing grip on the spear, he landed heavily on his back. Gagging, his face bright red, he managed to get his fingers round the chain and off his throat before Zenjubo could move in for the kill.

  But Momochi was waiting for him.

  The ninja, his rage entirely focused upon the torturer, seized Gemnan and lifted him high above his head. The man struggled futilely in his grip.

  ‘This is for my son!’ Momochi bawled, tossing the hated samurai into his own cauldron.

  Gemnan, shrieking from the scalding water, flailed and writhed. His screams of pain pierced the shouts of combat, and the samurai Jack was fighting took one look at this horrific sight then fled from the courtyard.

  Crawling out of the pot, Gemnan staggered around in maddened agony.

  Miyuki was waiting for him now, wanting her revenge. ‘You murdered my father! My mother! My little brother!’ she cried, advancing on him.

  Gemnan, seeing the bitter hatred in her eyes and the lethal Sword of Destruction in her hands, cowered from her. ‘Devil! Devil! Everywhere devils!’ he blurted, incoherent.

  Stumbling in the darkness, Gemnan fell to the ground and gave a gut-wrenching moan. ‘HELLLLLP me …’

  His whole body twitched twice then fell still, the sharpened barbs of bamboo thrusting like a dozen spears through his chest.

  Miyuki, her sword limp in her hand, stared coldly at the man who’d destroyed her life. Her eyes showed no joy, no pity, not even relief at his death. But there was no satisfaction either. His suffering was over far too quickly, but Miyuki’s would remain with her for the rest of her life.

  Jack, grabbing her arm, shook Miyuki out of her daze. ‘It’s time we got out of here,’ he said.

  The battle for the courtyard was over, but the ninja knew reinforcements would be on their way. Despite losing two in the fight, with another three injured, the shinobi hadn’t lost hope.

  ‘Let’s go!’ ordered Shonin, leading his clan out, with Soke helped by Hanzo.

  They hurried through the castle compounds, heading straight for the eastern side gate. Thanks to Kajiya’s efforts they met with little resistance, most of Akechi’s troops having rallied to the defence of the castle’s southern wall. Approaching the gate, another explosion ripped through the castle grounds. The five sentries stood awestruck, staring into the night at the raging flames.

  ‘Seal the gate!’ ordered Shonin as they marched purposefully towards them. ‘We’re under attack by ninja.’

  The guards, shocked out of their trance, obediently followed orders. As they turned, Shonin drew his katana and drove it through the back of the first guard. Takamori brought down the second and third. Tenzen, appearing from behind Shonin, choked the fourth, leaving Akiko to deal with the last. Still unwilling to kill a fellow samurai, Akiko executed Fall Down Fist. Tenzen said nothing, knowing they’d be long gone before the man regained consciousness.

  Meanwhile, Jack and Miyuki opened the gate and the clan, now guided by Zenjubo, fled the castle compounds. Disappearing into the backstreets, the band of ninja made for the town gate. Bypassing the main square, Jack saw the intoxicated samurai running in all directions, with no one sober enough to command them. The ensuing chaos gave the ninja vital cover and they quickly reached the main entrance of Maruyama. Shonin employed the same tactic at this gate, and in a matter of moments the sentries were overwhelmed.

  Fleeing down the avenue of empty crucifixes and into the mist, Jack took a final glance back. The castle’s watchtower, now an almighty flaming pyre, collapsed in upon itself, sending sparks like fireworks into the night. But a group of drunken samurai had rallied themselves and were charging after the escaping ninja. They reached the main gate, then suddenly all began hobbling and crying out in pain.

  Tetsu-bishi.

  Tenzen and Zenjubo had dropped the spiked caltrops before making their own escape. Warned of the trap, however, a group of mounted samurai, armed with bows, jumped their horses over the hazardous spikes and galloped on.

  ‘SCATTER!’ ordered Shonin as the samurai approached and arrows flew.

  The ninja clan split into units, running in different directions through the mist. Akiko, bending to take Kiyoshi into her arms, was amazed when the boy put on a lightning burst of speed, dragging her along with him.

  Takamori, as the strongest of the ninja, carried Soke over his shoulder. But despite his speed, he was felled by one of the samurai’s arrows. They both went down. The Grandmaster rose to his knees, but Takamori lay still, the arrow having gone straight through his heart.

  Jack and Miyuki rushed to Soke’s aid as a samurai horseman bore down on him. Shouldering the Grandmaster under one arm, Miyuki taking the other, Jack hauled him to his feet and in the direction of the forest. The thundering of horses’ hooves drew closer and the swish of arrows flew through the air like unseen hunting hawks. Only the mist prevented them being picked off one by one.

  ‘Leave me,’ gasped Soke. ‘You’ve no chance of escape carrying me.’

  ‘Every path has its puddle,’ replied Jack, hurrying as fast as he could for the treeline.

  Zenjubo appeared ahead, beckoning them towards him.

  ‘You just have to learn how to avoid them,’ said Jack.

  As they ran up to him, Zenjubo cut a tether hidden in the long grass. Out of nowhere, two restrained bamboo stems sprang up either side of them, the rope of a kaginawa strung taut between their tips. Enshrouded in mist, the samurai behind didn’t know what hit him as the cord struck his chest and threw him from his horse.

  Soke grinned approvingly at Zenjubo’s Ring of Earth tactic.

  Only a few more strides separated them from the cover of the undergrowth.

  Zenjubo was hard on their heels as the mounted archers converged on these last four fleeing ninja. Miyuki stumbled, but Zenjubo caught her and they all kept running.

  The samurai were almost on top of them. Suddenly a huge wall of flame burst from the ground as they crossed into the forest. Jack praised Kajiya’s foresight in planning a Ring of Fire defence. The horses whinnied in terror, the samurai cursing their steeds as they were thrown from their saddles.

  Stumbling on through the undergrowth, Jack heard a final swoosh cut through the bushes. A second later, he was knocked to the ground by a crippling blow.

  55

  NINJA OR SAMURAI?

  A searing pain, like a red-hot poker pushing through his body, broke the blackness. Jack’s eyes flickered open. Beside him knelt Akiko, her face etched with concern as she tried to hold him up.

  The red-hot poker returned with a vengeance, bursting though his left shoulder. Zenjubo, taking a grip on the bloody arrowhead, yanked the rest of the wooden shaft through and out. Jack moaned in sickening agony.

  ‘Got it!’ Zenjubo said triumphantly, holding up the arrow for inspection. ‘All of it.’

  Miyuki, a swatch of cloth at the ready, pressed hard on either side of Jack’s wound to stem the bleeding. Jack cried out a second time.

  ‘Don’t make such a fuss,’ chided Miyuki. ‘I had a spear in my shoulder. Anyway, I thought you were a ninja, not a feeble samurai.’

  Jack noticed she was already bandaged, a bloodstain seeping through the dressing. Groaning with the effort, Jack shifted into a more comfortable position. A second spike of pain caught him in the thigh. He winced, but kept his mouth shut, realizing the needle shuriken he’d used to try to pick the lock had stabbed through his pouch into his leg.


  They were in a small clearing deep within the forest and Jack realized he must have been carried there. Tenzen was nearby, leaning against a tree, a bloodsoaked cloth held to his forehead. Other ninja were also recovering from their injuries and the frenzied escape. Shonin was tending to Soke’s injured leg. Hanzo held his grandfather’s hand, promising to look after him when they got back to the village.

  ‘I’ll be able to stop the bleeding,’ explained Miyuki to Jack. ‘But I’ll need more time to heal the wound properly.’

  Forming the hand sign for Sha, Miyuki positioned herself over the hole the arrow had gouged in Jack’s flesh and began to chant, ‘On haya baishiraman taya sowaka …’

  Jack felt a warm tingle settle over the stinging wound.

  Akiko, relieved to see he was OK, excused herself. ‘I think it’s time I explained my presence to Kiyoshi and Soke.’

  Jack watched as Akiko apprehensively settled down beside Hanzo. Like four seasons in a day, Hanzo’s expression changed from shock to joy to sadness and then to disbelief.

  ‘I’m a ninja, not a samurai!’ he protested, looking to Soke for reassurance.

  When he saw that the Grandmaster wasn’t denying the story, just looking sad and accepting, Hanzo didn’t seem to know whether to laugh or cry.

  Akiko leant forward and whispered in his ear.

  ‘You weren’t, were you?’ he replied, his eyes widening in astonishment. ‘Can I be both too?’

  Akiko nodded.

  ‘I’ll be just like the tengu!’ he exclaimed. ‘Do I get to use a samurai sword?’

  Akiko smiled. ‘Of course.’

  ‘I like having a samurai sister,’ said Hanzo, giving Akiko a hug.

  ‘I love having my kachimushi back,’ she sobbed, holding him so tight Jack thought she’d never let him go again.

  As Jack followed this tearful reunion, Momochi strode over, his face puffy and blackened with bruises.

  ‘Are you going to live?’ he grunted.

  Jack nodded, waiting for the next round of abuse from the man.

  ‘Good. There’d be no point in apologizing to a dead person,’ he said, bowing his head in repentance. ‘Soke was right. You’ve got the heart of a ninja.’

  Speechless, Jack returned the bow, wincing as his wound opened up again.

  Miyuki grabbed his shoulder. ‘Stop moving,’ she complained, ripping a strip of cloth to bind his injury.

  ‘Momochi!’ called Shonin as more ninja in black shinobi shozoku emerged from the bushes. ‘Kajiya’s back. Gather everyone together.’

  The group huddled in the centre of the clearing. Shonin looked dismayed at the pitiful number of survivors.

  ‘Kajiya, where’s the rest of your team?’ he asked.

  The bladesmith sadly shook his head. ‘Only myself and Danjo remain. Kato didn’t make it back and the others were killed in the attack on the village.’

  There was a moment of grieved silence.

  ‘We’ll mourn our losses another day. But tonight we must plan our survival,’ stated Shonin with grave efficiency. ‘First, we’ll head back to the village. Akechi is bound to send his troops looking for us, but we should have enough time to gather supplies before retreating to our final refuge in the northern mountains. Zenjubo, send our fastest runner to the mothers and children, and tell them to prepare for the journey. We’ll need everyone –’

  ‘Shonin?’ called out Jack, as Miyuki was tying off his bandage.

  ‘What is it?’ said Shonin tersely, unaccustomed to being interrupted.

  ‘Am I right? The sparrow never lands where the tiger roams.’

  Every ninja stood up – but one.

  Realizing his error, this ninja lunged at Shonin, a blade drawn. The attack was so unexpected none of the other shinobi could react in time. But Jack was ready. He flicked his hand, sending the shuriken flying.

  The needle pierced the outstretched arm of Shonin’s assassin. The man yelled in shock, almost dropping the knife. He took a second swipe at Shonin.

  By then the clan leader had rolled safely out of the way. The assassin dived after him, but Zenjubo leapt into the fray. The assassin fought back as they wrestled for control of the knife. Zenjubo, more skilled at hand-to-hand combat, broke the man’s wrist, twisting his arm up and into his body. The assassin doubled over in pain as his own knife cut into him.

  Collapsing to his knees, he let the bloodstained blade fall to the ground. Zenjubo ripped off the assassin’s hood.

  Blood oozing from his lips, his eyes wild, daimyo Akechi spluttered his last dying breath. ‘You can never trust a ninja …’

  56

  THE RING OF EARTH

  ‘How did you know?’ asked Miyuki as she continued her daily healing, her hands hovering over Jack’s wound.

  Their escape, two nights ago, already seemed like a bad dream as they sat beside the village temple, letting the early morning sunshine warm their bodies.

  ‘A ninja without observation is like a bird without wings,’ grinned Jack, giving the same response he’d been giving everyone since Akechi’s death.

  ‘Stop teasing and just tell me!’

  Jack finally relented. ‘I wouldn’t have known if Kajiya hadn’t said Kato was dead. With Shiro gone too and you healing me, I couldn’t work out why there were still five ninja in full shinobi shozoku.’

  ‘It was lucky you were counting. Otherwise Shonin would be dead by now.’

  ‘I was surprised it was daimyo Akechi himself,’ Jack admitted. ‘He struck me as a coward. But his obsession with revenge must have made him desperate.’

  ‘You were right, by the way – revenge doesn’t solve anything,’ said Miyuki, her expression becoming sorrowful. ‘Even though Gemnan’s dead, I still miss my family just as much.’

  ‘I miss mine too,’ replied Jack, the void opening up in his heart as it always did when he thought of his mother and father.

  For a moment, neither spoke, consumed by their grief, but comforted by each other’s presence. Then Miyuki lowered her hands.

  ‘That should do for now,’ she said, forcing a smile back on to her face and gently touching his shoulder. ‘It’ll still be stiff for a few days. But as long as you rest, you’ll be performing the Two Heavens in no time.’

  ‘You definitely have healing hands,’ said Jack as he took hers in his.

  A forced cough alerted them to Tenzen walking over, a large pack on his back. ‘It’s time to go. Shonin wants to move before the sun’s fully up.’

  ‘Are you certain you don’t want to come with us?’ asked Miyuki. ‘It’ll be peaceful in the mountains and I can finish tending to your wound.’

  Letting her hand go, Jack shook his head. ‘You’re very kind, but –’

  ‘No … I understand,’ she replied as Akiko appeared. ‘Of course you can’t.’

  Miyuki stood and bowed at her approach. Akiko returned the greeting. Though there was no love lost between them, Jack saw there was now at least a sense of mutual respect.

  ‘This is goodbye then,’ said Miyuki, turning back to Jack.

  ‘Yes, I suppose it is.’

  Miyuki hesitated. Jack sensed she wanted to say more, but couldn’t in Akiko’s presence.

  ‘I never did apologize for throwing you in the manure,’ she said, flashing an embarrassed smile. And she still didn’t. Blinking away a tear, Miyuki bowed a hurried goodbye, then walked purposefully over to her parent’s grave marker.

  ‘Will she be all right?’ asked Jack, watching her with concern.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ said Tenzen. ‘I’ll look out for her.’ Reaching into his pouch, he produced five gleaming shuriken. ‘These are for you,’ he said, putting them into Jack’s hand. ‘A small token of thanks for helping me.’

  ‘What did I do?’ asked Jack.

  ‘You were the one who told me a ship that attacks the wave will rise and conquer. I realized if I didn’t take control at the temple we were all sunk,’ he explained. ‘And now I know you can hit a moving target, I’ll challen
ge you to a shuriken contest the next time we meet. So you’d better practise.’

  Jack laughed. ‘I’d never beat you.’

  ‘That’s why I won’t hold my breath!’

  Tenzen bowed formally to both Jack and Akiko before joining the rest of the clan, gathering their belongings on the ridge.

  Jack looked up at Akiko. Like Miyuki, she appeared to be on the verge of tears. ‘Are you all right?’

  Akiko mutely nodded, staring over to where Hanzo was playing with his friend Kobei, both thrilled at being reunited.

  ‘Kiyoshi’s happy,’ she said, with forced joy in her voice.

  Hanzo, noticing they were both looking at him, came bounding over. Without thinking, he took Akiko’s hand in his.

  ‘Tengu, can you keep a secret?’ he asked.

  Nodding, Jack bent down close so Hanzo could whisper in his ear.

  ‘Soke says I’m going to be the next Grandmaster!’

  ‘Really?’ said Jack, glancing up at Akiko and realizing she already knew this.

  That was why she was upset.

  ‘Yes!’ Hanzo exclaimed, too excited to keep his voice down. ‘I’ll be allowed to see the densho, actually read the scrolls with all our clan’s secrets!’

  ‘That’s a big responsibility,’ said Jack.

  ‘I know. Soke says it’ll take a few years of preparation and then a lifetime of learning.’

  ‘When are you starting?’

  ‘As soon as we get to the refuge,’ replied Hanzo.

  Jack nodded his understanding of the situation.

  ‘Come on, Hanzo!’ cried Kobei, waving at his friend.

  Hanzo smiled apologetically, as if he’d suddenly matured. Pulling Akiko by the arm, he said ‘You can be on my side.’

  Hanzo ran to rejoin his friends. ‘sayonara, Jack!’

  Jack couldn’t help but laugh.

  ‘What is it?’ asked Akiko.

  ‘That’s the first time he’s called me by my proper name!’ he said, shaking his head in disbelief. He saw the sadness in Akiko’s eyes. ‘Are you not going with him?’