'No!' screamed Jack, snatching for him, but Yamato disappeared into the
white swirling curtain of the waterfall.
Jack scrambled down the rock face and leapt back on to the butai. He
pushed past several pilgrims who had gathered on the wooden deck and
were intrigued by what was happening.
'Can anyone see him?' demanded Jack, peering over the rail and into the
churning waters below.
'No. He went under the waterfall. He hasn't come up yet,' said one of the
pilgrims, eyeing Jack suspiciously.
'He's probably hit the rocks,' said another.
Several more people emerged from the Hondo and ran over to look.
'Hold on, there he is!' shouted a pilgrim, pointing to the rocky pool.
Yamato briefly surfaced, gasping for air, then was immediately caught in
the current and sucked back under.
'Hey, that boy has our Jade Sword!' cried one of the monks emerging
from the Hondo's inner sanctum. 'Seize him!'
Jack glanced over the edge. He judged the butai was at least as high as
the yardarm on the Alexandra, but he had seen sailors fall from greater
heights into the ocean and survive. Could he make it?
'Stop him! He has the sword!' urged the monk.
Without deliberating any further, Jack leapt from the butai.
The air rushed past and, for a brief moment, Jack felt weightless, almost
at peace. He caught a glimpse of Kyoto through the mist before plunging
into the freezing waters.
The impact knocked the breath clean out of him and he swallowed large
mouthfuls of water. Kicking hard against the weight of the sword, he broke
the surface and retched several times before regaining his composure.
Jack looked around for Yamato, but he was nowhere to be seen. Taking
several lungfuls of air, Jack dived under the swirling waters.
He swam towards the waterfall but still couldn't see any sign of Yamato.
Rocks loomed out of the murky waters and eddies pulled at Jack,
threatening to hold him under forever.
His lungs reached bursting point and he was about to head back to the
surface when something smooth brushed against his hand. Blindly, he
grabbed for it, dragging the object towards him. He got an arm round the
dead weight and kicked with both his legs, driving them both upwards.
Jack and Yamato broke the surface as one, only to be carried over the lip
of the rock basin and down the gorge with the raging river.
Jack could hear people shouting as he tried to keep himself, Yamato and
the sword afloat in the rapids. The water poured through the gorge,
relentlessly bearing Jack and Yamato with it, Jack's energy ebbing away as
he desperately swam for the shore.
They were now far beyond the Hondo, the temple disappearing out of
sight as they rounded a bend in the river, but fortunately the waters calmed
and Jack somehow managed to reach the riverbank. With the last of his
strength, he dragged the limp form of Yamato ashore.
Collapsing beside him, Jack lay there for a while, gulping air like a
stranded fish in the heat of the sun. As he recovered, he vaguely wondered
if he had been too late to save Yamato, but then he heard him splutter
loudly, retch and come to.
'Let me die,' he groaned, pulling his wet hair out of his eyes.
'Not when I can save you,' panted Jack.
'Why? I've never shown you kindness.'
'We're supposed to be brothers. At least that's what your father
commanded, isn't it?' said Jack, giving a sardonic smile. 'Besides, you
taught me how to use the bokken.'
'So what?'
'You made me realize that I wasn't a helpless gaijin,' said Jack, letting
the offensive word hang in the air between them.
Yamato gave Jack a bewildered look. 'When have you ever been
helpless?'
'When my father was killed, I couldn't save him. I was defenceless
against such skill,' admitted Jack. 'Dragon Eye laughed in my face when I
tried to attack him. You showed me the Way of the Warrior. You gave me a
reason to live and for that I'm grateful.'
'I don't understand you, gai-… Jack,' began Yamato, sitting up and
holding his head in his hands. 'I ignored and despised you, yet when that
ninja went to kill me, you attacked without hesitation. With honour and
courage. I couldn't have done that. You acted like a brother. A samurai.'
'You would have done the same.'
'No… I wouldn't,' said Yamato, swallowing hard as if his words had
become stones in his throat. 'The night I saw Kazuki beating you up, I was
too afraid to do anything. I knew he was a better fighter than me. He knew
it too. I didn't have the guts to take him on…'
Yamato turned away, but Jack could see him wiping the back of his hand
across his eyes, shuddering with each tearful breath.
'The Seto twins… again I was too scared to help you. I didn't want to be
known as a gaijin lover. And after that night, I was too ashamed to be your
friend. You didn't deserve me. That is the real reason. I'm so sorry…'
Jack leant forward, a confused expression on his face. 'I don't
understand. What are you apologizing for?'
'You showed me my true self, Jack, and I didn't like what I saw. My
father was right. I'm not worthy to be a samurai, let alone a Masamoto.
You're more his son than I can ever be. You didn't steal my father. I lost
him by myself.'
'Don't be an idiot, Yamato. You haven't lost him. He's not dead, like
mine,' said Jack pointedly. 'Masamoto may be angry, but he can have no
reason to be ashamed of you. Not with the way you fought today. And if it
is a matter of pride between you and me, forget it. Kazuki's not worth
getting upset over. He's a righteous pompous pig with the face of a liondog's arse!'
Jack grinned at Yamato and Yamato smiled weakly in return.
'Besides, you've now apologized to me. Doesn't that mean you've
regained face?'
'I suppose so, but –'
'No buts, Yamato. Every day I have to apologize to Akiko for some
blunder or other! She's taught me everything there is to know about
Japanese forgiveness. She forgives me each time, and I now forgive you.
Friends?' said Jack, offering his hand.
'Thank you, Jack,' said Yamato, uneasy in shaking Jack's hand in the
English custom. 'But I still don't understand why you would forgive me.'
'Yamato, you've every right not to like me. I hated it when Jess was born
and got all my father's attention. And she's my little sister! I dread to think
what it would have been like if my father had adopted some French boy!'
exclaimed Jack, grimacing at the idea. 'I don't blame you for being angry.
But it's not me you should be angry with. It's Dokugan Ryu. If he hadn't
killed Tenno and my father, we wouldn't be sitting here now, half-drowned,
a stolen jade sword in our hands!'
The absurdity of the situation suddenly struck home and both the boys
began to laugh. The tension between them evaporated as if it had somehow
been washed away by the Sound of Feathers waterfall itself.
After their laughter had died down, they sat there in silence, throwing
pebbles into the river, unsure as what to say or do next.
'We had better get back,' said Yamato eventually. 'The sun will be setting
soon and the Niten Ichi Ryū need to know they have won.'
'You should carry it,' said Jack, untying the Jade Sword from his obi and
handing it to Yamato.
'Why me? You were the one to get it.'
'Yes, but your father doesn't need to know that, does he?'