The Way of the Dragon

by Unknown

  Jack strained to hear their conversation as the three daimyo rounded the corner.

  ‘… our enemy will proclaim that we’ve broken the spirit of an inviolable agreement… He’ll declare war again, but with Osaka Castle now dangerously weakened…’

  Jack couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. If Emi’s father was right, then this false peace was merely the calm before the storm.

  ‘Spying, are we?’ hissed a voice in Jack’s ear.

  Dropping his haiku in shock, Jack spun round to be confronted by the malignant face of Father Bobadillo.

  ‘N-no,’ stuttered Jack, trying to get away.

  ‘It looked like it to me,’ said the priest, grabbing Jack by the scruff of his kimono. ‘Skulking behind a tree. Listening in on private conversations. Do you make a habit of poking your nose into places you shouldn’t?’

  Father Bobadillo glared into Jack’s eyes, hunting for a glimmer of guilt. Jack shook his head.

  ‘You do know spying is punishable by death?’ uttered Father Bobadillo, emphasizing the last word with relish. A thin smile formed on his thin lips. ‘I’m afraid I’ll have to report this.’

  Jack realized he had little chance against the priest. Father Bobadillo would do everything in his power to discredit him, using the excuse of spying to have him killed or, at the very least, banished. It would be his word against a retainer of the ruler-in-waiting.

  ‘Jack!’ called a voice merrily.

  The smile dropped from Father Bobadillo’s face at the interruption. Over the priest’s shoulder, Jack glimpsed Takuan striding through the trees towards them. He’d left his friends upon a bridge watching the carp in the pond.

  ‘There you are!’ he exclaimed. ‘We finished playing kakurenbo ages ago. Thank you, Father, for finding him. Jack always wins hide-and-seek!’

  Father Bobadillo eyed Takuan suspiciously, then glared at Jack.

  ‘My pleasure,’ he muttered, letting go of Jack’s kimono collar.

  The priest marched off in the direction of the tea house.

  ‘Thanks,’ said Jack, breathing a sigh of relief.

  ‘What did that man want? I saw him follow you into the trees. It looked like you were in trouble.’

  ‘It’s nothing,’ replied Jack, not wishing to involve Takuan. ‘We just have a conflict of religion.’

  Takuan nodded his understanding. ‘Well, come and join the party. You’ve been missing all the fun.’

  Jack glanced over to where Akiko still sat in darkness. He’d have to give her the poem another time.

  ‘What’s this?’ asked Takuan, bending down to pick up the piece of paper at Jack’s feet. ‘A haiku!’

  Jack snatched at the paper.

  But Takuan was too quick. He danced out of reach and read the poem out loud:

  ‘In my own garden

  English rose, sakura flower

  growing together.’

  ‘Is this yours?’ asked Takuan.

  ‘Give it back,’ Jack pleaded, embarrassed.

  ‘But this is wonderful! I didn’t realize you were such a poet.’

  ‘I’m not… it’s nothing like your haiku.’

  ‘No, this is better. You must have been very inspired –’

  Takuan stopped in mid-sentence. He’d spotted Akiko on the bench. Looking at Akiko, then at the haiku and finally at Jack, an enlightened smile formed on his handsome face.

  ‘Rose? Sakura? This is you and Akiko, isn’t it?’

  ‘No…’ protested Jack feebly. He felt horribly awkward and exposed. Takuan was surely going to taunt him about it and tell everyone. This was worse than being caught by Father Bobadillo.

  ‘I must apologize to you, Jack,’ said Takuan, handing him back the haiku with a low bow. ‘I’ve been insensitive. I had no idea you felt that strongly for Akiko. If I had, I wouldn’t have expressed interest in her. I’ve acted dishonourably. You must hate me.’

  ‘Not at all, you misunderstand…’ insisted Jack, realizing now that Takuan was not only an honourable person, but a samurai of great integrity. ‘It’s not like you think. We’re just friends.’

  ‘Just friends,’ said Takuan, arching his eyebrows. ‘All she ever does is talk about you.’

  ‘Really?’ Despite himself, Jack felt his heart lift.

  ‘I think I should leave you to deliver your haik-k-k–’

  Takuan appeared to be choking. He collapsed into Jack’s arms.

  Piercing his neck was a small poison dart.

  42

  NIGHT ATTACK

  ‘Akiko!’ cried Jack, struggling to drag Takuan behind a tree for cover.

  His eyes hunted the darkness for ninja, but if there were any, their black shinobi shozoku concealed them.

  A moment later, Akiko was by his side.

  ‘What happened?’ she gasped as she helped Jack lower Takuan to the ground.

  ‘Blow dart,’ replied Jack, pulling the poisoned tip from Takuan’s neck.

  Akiko glanced around. ‘Up there!’

  A shadow flitted like a ghost on top of the castle wall.

  Hearing a twig snap upon the path, Jack and Akiko spun round.

  ‘Takuan, we’re all waiting for you… TAKUAN!’ Emi screamed, seeing him slumped in Jack’s arms.

  She rushed to his side. ‘Are you all right?’

  Takuan tried to focus on her face. His breathing was shallow and his lips had turned blue. He attempted to speak, but his voice was barely a croak. Emi leant in closer and Takuan graced her cheek with a kiss.

  Then his eyes closed and his head lolled sideways.

  Emi took hold of his hand. ‘Stay with me…’ she sobbed.

  But Takuan had stopped breathing.

  ‘Akiko, you must warn the others,’ said Jack, gently resting Takuan’s head upon the ground. In the distance, the sound of musket fire could be heard and Jack realized daimyo Takatomi’s suspicions were right. ‘Daimyo Kamakura has returned with ninja!’

  She nodded and ran back through the trees.

  Jack heard Masamoto shout, ‘We’re under attack! Samurai of the Niten Ichi Ryū, guard the inner gate!’

  This was followed by further shouts of ‘Protect his lordship! All daimyo to the keep!’

  Feet pounded across the wooden bridges and samurai were called to arms. Jack heard daimyo Takatomi’s voice above the clamour. ‘Emi-chan? Where are you?’

  ‘There’s nothing we can do for Takuan now,’ said Jack, pulling the weeping Emi away from his lifeless form. ‘You must go to your father.’

  Jack urged her towards the garden, then ran in the opposite direction.

  ‘Where are you going?’ she called.

  ‘To find Takuan’s killer!’ Jack replied, heading for the stone staircase that led up to the inner castle walls.

  Jack took the stairs two at a time. As he emerged on to the walkway of the ramparts, he drew his katana.

  The wall was eerily deserted. Where had all the guards gone?

  Suddenly there was a thunderous explosion to the east of the castle, followed by a second volley as if a hundred guns had been fired all at once. All over the castle compounds, lights were doused.

  Hurrying to the parapet, Jack stumbled over something in the darkness. A dead samurai lay slumped on the floor, his throat slit open. At least he now knew where all the guards had gone.

  From his position on top of the inner bailey wall, Jack could see endless lines of flaming torches advancing upon the great outer gate.

  Daimyo Kamakura’s army had returned in full force.

  The attack had begun.

  Thousands of Satoshi’s troops converged on the main gate to man the battlements and defend the barricades. But they didn’t realize the enemy was already within the castle compounds.

  A three-pronged grappling hook sailed through the air and the kaginawa caught upon the edge of the parapet where Jack stood. Jack cut down with his katana, severing the climbing rope. The grappling hook clattered to the stone floor as the rope slithered away into d
arkness.

  Looking over the edge, Jack could barely make out a thing. Then he realized this was exactly what the enemy wanted. The gunfire had been a diversion, not only to draw the defenders to the east gate but to force them to extinguish all the lanterns in the castle so the keep didn’t become a target for repeated cannonfire. Any black-cloaked ninja was now virtually invisible in the darkness.

  Jack stared into the void and couldn’t believe what he saw. Moonlight, reflecting off the waters of the inner moat, revealed shapes walking across the surface. Below him, shadows were scaling the walls like spiders.

  Suddenly two eyes appeared out of the darkness. A flash of steel whistled through the air. Jack threw himself backwards, the shuriken barely missing his throat. A ninja scrambled over the parapet.

  Without hesitating, Jack retaliated with his katana, cutting across the assassin’s legs. But the ninja jumped high into the air and somersaulted over his head. He landed behind Jack to kick him in the kidneys. Jack crumpled against the parapet as pain seared up his side. He heard a swooshing noise and instinctively rolled to one side. A heavy lead weight cracked into the stonework where his head had just been, sending shards of rock flying into the air.

  Jack scrambled away, his sword out to defend himself. The ninja held a sickle and chain and was spinning the weighted end above his head. Releasing his grip, the chain whipped out at Jack. With nowhere to go on the narrow walkway, Jack cut down with his sword blocking the chain. It wrapped itself round Jack’s blade and the ninja yanked the katana from Jack’s grasp.

  The ninja hissed at Jack. Leaving the sword where it had fallen, he advanced on him, the chain once again spinning above his head. In his other hand, the assassin held the curved blade of the sickle, primed to kill Jack once he’d ensnared him with the chain.

  Jack backed away. He still had his wakizashi and the ninja tantō, but he’d be dead by the time he drew them. The ninja wound up to strike. Jack timed his move perfectly, stepping inside the arc of the chain and executing kuki-nage.

  The ninja was taken completely by surprise, the air throw whipping him off his feet. Just as Sensei Kyuzo had done to Jack on countless occasions, Jack now spun round using the attack’s momentum to fling his assailant into the air. The ninja flew over the side of the parapet and disappeared into the blackness, his screams ending in a faint splash as he hit the waters of the moat.

  Retrieving his katana, Jack didn’t have time to appreciate his perfect kuki-nage. During the fight, several more kaginawa had appeared on the wall. Jack began to cut the ropes, but three ninja further along the battlement had already clambered over. They went unchallenged, the guards all dead from the advance raiding party. Using the cover of darkness, the ninja crept towards the keep.

  Jack realized Satoshi and the Council must be the target. With every defender focused on daimyo Kamakura’s forces outside the walls, the ninja would be silently assassinating the heads of state within. For all Jack knew, some of the assassins were already hidden inside the keep awaiting the Council’s retreat.

  He had to warn Masamoto.

  43

  ASSASSINATION

  Jack bounded down the stairs. He ran through the now deserted tea garden to the inner gate of the bailey, where he found Yamato and the rest of the Niten Ichi Ryū students on guard.

  ‘Where’s your father? Where’s Masamoto?’ demanded Jack, breathless.

  ‘He’s escorting daimyo Takatomi to the keep.’

  ‘We have to stop him!’ said Jack, pulling Yamato from his post.

  ‘But our orders are to man the gate,’ he protested.

  ‘Ninja are in the bailey and may have broken through to the keep,’ explained Jack hurriedly. ‘Our duty is to protect your father and daimyo Takatomi. Are you ashigaru or samurai? Now come on!’

  Grabbing his staff, Yamato sprinted after Jack.

  Yamato glanced around the moonlit courtyard as they ran. ‘I can’t see any ninja. How did they evade the wall guards?’

  ‘The guards are all dead.’

  As they approached the donjon entrance, samurai armed with spears and swords rushed to confront them.

  ‘Who goes there?’ challenged the lead guard.

  ‘Samurai of the Niten Ichi Ryū,’ replied Yamato. ‘We must speak with Masamoto-sama.’

  ‘No one’s to enter.’

  ‘But this is Masamoto-sama’s son,’ insisted Jack.

  ‘Our orders are to let no one through.’ The guard’s hand went to his sword.

  ‘But ninja may already be inside!’

  ‘Impossible. The enemy hasn’t even breached the outer walls.’

  ‘What’s going on?’ demanded a voice. It was Sensei Hosokawa.

  ‘Sensei!’ cried Jack, waving frantically to their swordmaster.

  ‘Let them pass,’ he ordered and the guards reluctantly backed off.

  Jack and Yamato ran through the gates and up the steps to Sensei Hosokawa.

  ‘You have to warn Masamoto-sama. There are –’

  Masamoto descended the second-floor staircase at that very moment.

  ‘What are you two doing here?’ he demanded. ‘Why are you not at your post?’

  ‘The attack outside’s a diversion,’ blurted Jack. ‘Daimyo Kamakura has hired ninja to assassinate the Council.’

  ‘Trust Kamakura to resort to such tactics,’ he growled. ‘Sensei Hosokawa, inform all the patrols and have a sentry posted at each window. Double the guard round the Council on the sixth floor and –’

  ‘It’s too late for that,’ said Jack. ‘I think they’re already inside.’

  ‘Are you certain?’ asked Masamoto, his eyes narrowing.

  Jack nodded furiously. ‘I saw several ninja and all the guards on the battlement had been killed before the alarm was raised.’

  Masamoto didn’t wait to hear any more. ‘Come on!’

  He turned and thundered up the stairs. Jack and Yamato hurried after him, while Sensei Hosokawa barked orders to the guards. They raced along the corridor, up another staircase, past patrols of samurai and up to the sixth floor. By the time the two of them caught up with Masamoto, he was already speaking with the head guard.

  ‘No, Masamoto-sama, all’s quiet,’ replied the samurai. ‘The daimyo and his lordship are safely in their rooms. I’ve stationed guards outside each door.’

  ‘Organize an immediate search. Begin with his lordship Satoshi’s floor.’

  The guard bowed and ran off.

  ‘We’ll start on this level,’ Masamoto said, addressing Jack and Yamato. ‘Daimyo Takatomi is our priority.’

  They headed down the corridor and bore right. The hallway was dark and shadowy. With all the torches doused, the only light came from the soft glow of candles seeping through the inner paper walls and the pale moonlight that filtered through the slatted windows of the keep. Danger appeared to lurk in every darkened corner. Masamoto led the way.

  ‘Stay alert,’ he whispered. ‘Daimyo Takatomi’s room is down the next corridor.’

  As they hurried along the hallway, an alarm bell rang in Jack’s head. Didn’t the samurai say he’d put guards on every door?

  All of sudden Jack slipped on the polished wooden floor and landed with a thump. Masamoto spun round, his two swords at the ready.

  ‘I told you to stay alert!’ hissed Masamoto, glaring at him.

  Not bothering to wait, he ran on, Yamato close on his father’s heels. As Jack scrambled to his feet, his hand touched something sticky and wet. His palm came away slick with blood. He followed the trail, shiny in the moonlight, to a small wooden door. As he undid the latch, out fell the body of a guard, his throat slit open exactly like the sentries on the wall.

  ‘Back here!’ shouted Jack, trying to stifle his shock.

  Masamoto and Yamato turned on the spot and saw the corpse hanging out of the storage room. They ran back down the corridor as Jack slid open the unguarded shoji to an inner room. A man lay sprawled across the tatami-matted floor, a large pool of blood st
aining the fine rush straw a deep red.

  ‘Daimyo Yukimura!’ exclaimed Masamoto, pushing past Jack.

  The shoji to the adjoining room was ajar. Masamoto flung it aside, only to discover a second member of the Council spreadeagled across the tatami, a garrotte wrapped round his throat.

  Hearing a cry for help, the three of them ran back into the hallway and sprinted for daimyo Takatomi’s corridor. The two guards that had been posted outside his door lay dead. Masamoto burst in.

  Three ninja surrounded daimyo Takatomi who lay wounded on the floor, blood pouring from a cut to his sword arm. Emi was by his side, a tantō in her hand poised to defend her father to her last breath.

  Masamoto charged, cutting down the first ninja with his katana before the assassins had time to react. The second ninja made a lunge for daimyo Takatomi with his sword, but Masamoto slammed his wakizashi on top, deflecting the thrust away from his lord. The ninja retaliated, now attacking Masamoto and driving him through a wall into the next room.

  Seizing the opportunity, the third ninja rushed at daimyo Takatomi with a tantō. Jack was too far away to stop him. But Yamato used the reach of his staff. As the assassin thrust his knife at their daimyo, he swiftly brought his bō down on to the ninja’s wrist. There was a crack of bone and the tantō was knocked from his grasp, barely a blade’s breadth from daimyo Takatomi’s startled face.

  The ninja’s reactions, though, were lightning fast. He kicked Yamato in the chest, sending him flying backwards. Reaching for the ninjatō strapped to his back, the ninja now rushed to impale Yamato on his blade.

  Jack leapt to his friend’s defence. At the same moment, Emi buried her knife into the assassin’s leg. The ninja screamed in pain. Outnumbered and injured, he fled through the door.

  ‘After him!’ ordered Masamoto as he drove his katana through his opponent.

  Jack pursued the assassin into the corridor. The ninja turned the corner. But when Jack reached the outer hallway, the ninja had disappeared.