The incense gave a last puff of smoke then died.
'Hajime!' cried the Imperial Palace official.
Jack sprinted for the door, Yamato hard at his side.
The cheers swelled as they broke free from the Buddha Hall and flew
down the stone steps two at a time. The crowd, which had amassed in the
courtyard, parted like one immense human wave as Jack and Yamato
hurtled towards the main gate.
Outside the Niten Ichi Ryū, Jack and Yamato veered left up the street and
the crowd surged out behind, willing them on.
A few students tried to keep up but Jack and Yamato soon broke away.
At the end of the road, Yamato edged ahead and suddenly took a short cut
down an alleyway. Jack kept close on his tail, the noise of the crowd fading
behind them. He didn't want to lose Yamato. Not that he was worried about
getting lost. Akiko had told him how to get to the Sound of Feathers
waterfall. Jack just didn't want to get too far behind so early on in the race.
In the run-up to the start of the Rite of the Jade Sword, Akiko and Saburo
had bustled Jack into the Hall of Lions in a frantic attempt to prepare him.
While Jack changed into a fresh kimono and feverishly gulped down food
and water, Akiko explained the history of the Jade Sword.
'The Jade Sword belonged to Emperor Kammu himself, the founding
father of Kyoto. It is said that the samurai who wields the Jade Sword can
never be defeated. Emperor Kammu therefore commanded that it never
leave Kyoto so that his city would always be protected. He presented the
Jade Sword to the Buddhist priest Enchin for safekeeping, who placed it at
the very top of the Sound of Feathers waterfall in order that it could
overlook Kyoto and guard the source of the Kizu River.'
'So where is this waterfall?' asked Jack between rushed mouthfuls of
rice.
'It is behind the Kiyomizudera Temple in the mountains. You reach it by
the steep path that leads off from the main bridge.'
'You mean the bridge we entered Kyoto over?'
'Yes. The path will be on your left. It winds up the mountain and will
take you directly to the Nio-mon, the Gate of the Deva Kings. This is the
main entrance to the temple. You cannot get lost,' she said emphatically as
she tied Jack's obi round him.
'It's a pilgrim path and is clearly marked. Once inside the complex, head
directly for the Sanju-no-to, it's a three-storeyed pagoda, the same colour as
the torii in Toba. Then cut through the Dragon Temple and the middle
gateway to the Hondo. This is the Main Hall. On the other side is where you
will find the Butai, the monk's dancing stage, and to your left the Sound of
Feathers waterfall and the Jade Sword shrine.'
'That doesn't sound too difficult.'
'Don't be fooled, Jack. Enchin placed the sword there for a reason. The
waterfall is extremely dangerous. The rocks are slippery and wet and the
climb is impossibly steep. Many samurai have fallen in their quest to touch
the sword, but only a few have ever laid their hands upon it.'
Then before Jack could ask any more questions, he was hurried into the
Buddha Hall to begin, the weight of the Niten Ichi Ryū's honour resting
entirely upon his shoulders.
'Watch where you're going!' shouted an irate merchant as Yamato and Jack
careered past the man's market stall, knocking fruit to the floor.
They dodged and weaved through the throng of startled shoppers, soon
reaching the outskirts of the city. Jack was relieved to escape its stifling
heat. Yamato got to the bridge first and clattered over it before bearing left
up the pilgrim path. In the distance, Jack could see the Sanju-no-to, the
three-storeyed pagoda poking above the trees.
Akiko had been right; there was no way Jack could have got lost. A
steady flow of pilgrims were making their way up to the temple. Hawkers
lined the dusty path, proffering talismans, incense and little paper fortunes,
while more reputable merchants sold water, sencha and noodles to the
multitude of exhausted and famished travellers. Jack weaved his way in
between them, trying to gain on Yamato.
'More haste, less speed!' cried one of the hawkers, waving a paper
fortune in Jack's face as he shot by.
Jack kept going, increasing his speed.
Yamato had already entered the forest that marked the lower reaches of
the mountain. The path wound its way up the slope, disappearing and
reappearing among the swath of trees. Jack welcomed the cool shade as he
too reached the forest. His heart hammered in his chest but he continued to
pump his legs, working hard to catch up with Yamato. The route became
steadily steeper and as Jack rounded a bend he saw Yamato beginning to
slow up.
Jack reckoned he could pass Yamato when the path straightened out
again, so gave an extra burst of speed, but as he took the corner he collided
full force with a large soft belly. He bounced off and landed
unceremoniously in a heap on the stony ground.
'Whoa! Slow down, young samurai,' said a rotund monk in saffron robes,
rubbing his generous stomach tenderly.
'Sorry,' said Jack, hurriedly scrambling to his feet and dusting himself
off, 'but need to catch up… matter of honour.'
Jack bowed quickly, then sprinted after Yamato.
'Oh, the youth of today, so eager for enlightenment… Buddha will wait,
you know!' called the monk amiably after the rapidly receding figure of
Jack.
Jack couldn't see Yamato as he dashed round the final bend and passed
under the Nio-mon, the Gate of the Deva Kings. Barely glancing at the two
huge lion-dogs that guarded the entrance against evil, he ran up the flight of
stone steps, past startled pilgrims and through a second gateway to the
Sanju-no-to. The three-storeyed pagoda was painted a deep red and clearly
stood out against the dull brown of the other buildings.
Yamato was still nowhere in sight as Jack hurried towards the Hondo, the
Main Hall, an immense building that dominated the temple complex.
He passed through a small shrine, bearing a vivid painting of a coiled
jade-green dragon on the ceiling, under another gateway guarded by liondogs, and entered the outer sanctuary of the Hondo. Weaving his way
through the pilgrims prostrating themselves in prayer, he headed straight for
the inner sanctum.
Inside, there were only a few bemused-looking monks, who observed the
hot, sweaty and out-of-breath gaijin with serene interest. The inner sanctum
was dark and cool and, unlike the other temples, was decorated with ornate
gold-leaf images of the Buddha, but Jack only had time for a fleeting glance
as he hunted for an exit.
'Sound of Feathers waterfall?' asked Jack in desperation.
A lithe tanned monk, in a half-lotus position, pointed to a doorway on his
right. Jack briefly bowed his appreciation, ran through and emerged once
again into the bright sunlight.
He found himself standing upon a large wooden platform, the butai, that
jutted out over a deep gorge, thick with lush vegetation and trees. The
sound of water thundered in his ears and through a fine watery mist, Jack
could see the entirety of Kyoto spread out across the distant valley floor.
The city shimmered in all its glory like a mirage and a faint rainbow fell
upon the Imperial Palace at its centre.
To Jack's immediate left, the Sound of Feathers waterfall cascaded over a
sheer cliff and into a large rock basin, some five storeys below. The water
churned into a frothy confusion of eddies and whirlpools before easing and
then flowing down the gorge into the Kyoto Valley.
Jack looked up and saw that Yamato was already clambering up the rock
face, heading towards the tiny stone shrine perched at the lip of the fall.
Jack judged that the waterfall was about the height of the crow's-nest onboard the Alexandria. Yamato was a short way above the butai and clearly
struggling. Even from where Jack stood, he could see Yamato's legs
shaking, his hands blindly feeling for the next hold.
Clambering over the rail of the butai, Jack spotted a narrow ledge from
which to begin his own ascent. He would have to jump from the safety of
the butai to the cliff. Way below him, the raging pool of water provided his
only safety net. Jack took a deep breath, steeling himself for the jump, and
leapt for the rock face.
He landed cleanly upon the ledge but immediately lost his footing on its
slippery surface. He slithered out of control down the cliff face. His hands
grabbed for a rocky outcrop, his days as a rigging monkey paying off a
hundredfold as they instinctively found handholds and halted his descent.
Jack caught his breath and calmed himself. He would need to be far more
careful if he were going to survive this challenge.
Looking up, he could see Yamato had made little progress, and Jack
began his climb with renewed vigour. It might still be possible for him to
reach the Jade Sword first.
Once Jack got used to the slippery surface of the cliff, he began to
increase his pace. Rock climbing, Jack discovered, was little different from
climbing the rigging on-board the Alexandria and, suffering no fear of
heights, he soon levelled with Yamato.
'Are you all right?' asked Jack, concerned by the quivering form of
Yamato.
Yamato said nothing. He merely glared at Jack, his face drained of
colour, and his eyes stony with fear.
'Do you need my help?' said Jack, remembering how terrified he had
been the first time he'd climbed to the crow's-nest.
'Not from you, gaijin! Once was more than enough,' he hissed, but his
voice cracked with fear as he grimly hung on to the slippery rock, his
knuckles white with the effort.
'Fine. Then fall,' replied Jack and carried on past.
He reached the lip of the waterfall with no further difficulty. He gave a
cursory glance at Yamato, who remained fixed to the rock face like a
limpet, then crossed several large rounded stepping-stones to the little
shrine erected in the middle.
He slipped inside and found the Jade Sword within a shady recess.
It rested upon a ruby-red lacquered stand, glistening in the watery light.
The Jade Sword was a ceremonial katana, its saya a scabbard of black
lacquered wood into which a golden dragon had been carved. A large jade
stone was set into the wood as the eye of the dragon. Jack's blood ran cold.
Dokugan Ryu. Dragon Eye.
Jack tried to steady his hands as he lifted the heavy sword from its rack.
He gripped the leather hilt, feeling the bubbled texture of the white rayfish
skin beneath, and withdrew a gleaming blade of polished steel so sharp that
it cut the eye just to look at it. The faint shadow of a second dragon had
been etched on to the metal's surface and Jack quickly re-sheathed the
shining blade.
He slipped the Jade Sword into his obi, carefully tying the saya to him,
and left the shrine.
Looking down, Jack saw that Yamato still hadn't moved.
He quickly descended and came level with him once more. Yamato
didn't even look at him this time. He merely clung to the cliff wall, his
whole body shuddering like a leaf in a storm.
'Listen, you've frozen up,' said Jack, trying to get his attention.
He had seen this many a time with sailors on-board the Alexandria. The
mind seized up with fear and the body refused to move. A swimming sense
of vertigo took hold and eventually the sailor lost his grip and fell into the
ocean, or worse, on to the deck.
Realizing Yamato had little strength remaining, Jack had to get him down
fast.
'Let me help you. Take your right foot off…'
'I can't…' said Yamato in a feeble voice.
'Yes, you can. Just drop your foot and place it on the little ridge below
you.'
'No, I can't… it's too far…'
'No, it's not. Trust me, you can do this.'
'What do you care anyway? You stole my father!' said Yamato viciously,
the swiftness of his anger breaking his paralysis.
'Stole your father?' said Jack, bewildered.
'Yes, you! Before you came, everything was all right. Father was finally
beginning to accept me. I was no longer in Tenno's shadow. Then you stole
him –'
'I didn't steal your father. He adopted me! It wasn't as if I had a choice.'
'Yes, you did. You could have died with the rest of your crew!' said
Yamato with unbridled hatred.
'Well, you would have been killed by that ninja if it wasn't for me!'
retaliated Jack.
'That's exactly what I'm talking about. I could have died a honourable
death like my brother. But you went and saved me! I lost face because of
you!'
'You Japanese and your sense of pride!' shouted Jack in frustration.
'What is it with your "face"? I saved your life. We were… friends. If I'd
wanted Masamoto for a father, I could have let you die then. I don't want
your father. I want my father, but he's dead!'
'Well, maybe I should be dead too!' said Yamato grimly, looking to the
submerged rocks below him. 'You have the sword. The glory is all yours.
My father will never recognize me now. I've betrayed him. Whether you
want Masamoto to be your father or not, he is yours!'
With that, Yamato jumped.