'You must be mistaken. Dokugan Ryu would never dare show himself at a
festival,' said Akiko as they all ran down the alleyway after the black devil.
'I definitely saw him,' said Jack. 'He only had one eye and it was green!
How many Japanese do you know who have one green eye?'
'One,' admitted Yamato.
'Exactly. I just pray he didn't recognize me.' Jack pulled off his mask as
he ran. 'So where does this alley lead?'
But before Yamato could answer, they rounded a corner and found
themselves opposite Nijo Castle. They had emerged at one of its side
entrances, a small gateway accessed via a narrow bridge across the moat.
'Do you think this ninja of yours went inside the castle?' said Saburo
uneasily.
'Must have,' said Jack, looking up and down the deserted thoroughfare.
'Where is everyone?'
'They'll all be watching the fireworks by the Imperial Palace,' said Kiku.
Jack searched the darkness for any sign of Dragon Eye. Nothing moved.
That was the problem.
'Where are the guards?' asked Jack. 'I thought this is where Emi's father
lives. Isn't Takatomi the daimyo of Kyoto? Surely he would have guards on
all his entrances?'
'Yes, but it's Gion Matsuri,' said Yori. 'He'll be at the festival and so will
most of his guards.'
'Of course! What better time for a ninja to enter a castle?' said Jack.
'But why would he want to?' questioned Kiku.
'Who knows,' said Jack, shrugging, 'but you can bet it's not to see the
fireworks. Come on! Let's find out what he's up to and stop him.'
'But he's a ninja!' exclaimed Saburo.
'And we're samurai!'
Jack sprinted across the thoroughfare to the gangway. After a moment's
hesitation, the rest of them joined him, with Saburo trailing reluctantly
behind.
'Saburo, you'd better stand guard with Yori,' suggested Jack, to Saburo's
evident relief.
The remaining four then cautiously made their way across the narrow
wooden bridge to the gate.
'Do you think it'll be open?' queried Akiko. 'What if he went over the
wall?'
'Only one way to find out,' said Jack, and he pushed on the heavy
wooden door.
It swung open without resistance.
Jack peered into the inky blackness. He couldn't see a thing. Taking a
deep breath, steeling himself for an ambush, he swiftly slipped inside.
Before he had gone two paces, he tripped and fell face down on a hard
stone floor.
'Jack, are you all right?' asked Akiko, alarmed at his muffled grunt of
pain.
'Yes, fine,' he whispered back. 'You can come in. I fell over the guard,
that's all. He's dead.'
The others found him kneeling over the dead body of a samurai.
'There's another one behind the door,' said Jack.
Kiku let out a stifled yelp as she caught sight of the body of the second
samurai, headless.
'It looks like he was killed with his own sword,' said Yamato, as Akiko
drew Kiku to her.
'Kiku, go back to the others,' ordered Akiko in a sharp whisper. 'Raise
the alarm with Masamoto and tell him what is happening,'
She nodded mutely before skirting the decapitated samurai to slip out of
the door, then ran off towards the Imperial Palace.
'What now?' asked Yamato.
'We find him and we stop him!' said Jack with ominous finality.
He began to scan the open courtyard for movement.
'Or we find a guard that's still alive who can raise the alarm,' added
Akiko, concerned at Jack's intentions.
'Too late for that,' said Jack, pointing to a black shadow barely visible by
the battlements. 'There he is! Next to that wall, on the far side of the
courtyard.'
Looking around, Jack spotted the katana of the headless samurai on the
floor. Snatching up the bloodied sword, he ran off in the direction of
Dragon Eye, leaving Yamato and Akiko staring after him.
'This is insane!' said Akiko, 'He's going to get himself killed.'
'Not if I can help it,' said Yamato, hunting the darkness for the other
samurai's katana.
'But neither of you have ever used a real sword before!'
'It doesn't matter. Once you've mastered the bokken, I'm sure it can't be
too hard to wield a katana. Ah, found it,' said Yamato, discovering the
second sword discarded behind the guardhouse. 'Come on! Jack's already
on the other side.'
'Perfect! Leave me with the short sword, why don't you?' muttered
Akiko, unsheathing a wakizashi from the nearest dead samurai, before
hurrying after the receding figure of Yamato.
By now, Jack was under the lee of the castle wall and could see Dragon Eye
ahead, hiding in the shadows. He was making for the five buildings that
formed the central complex of the castle. Jack presumed by their highly
decorative design that this was Takatomi's Palace.
Dragon Eye had not seen Jack yet for he was too occupied with scouting
ahead.
This was Jack's chance.
Jack shifted the katana in his hands, adjusting his grip. The sword felt far
weightier than his bokken and he knew he'd have to be careful not to let the
kissaki drop and leave himself exposed.
Jack edged closer, Dragon Eye still oblivious to his approach.
As he crept to within ten paces of the ninja, all the pent-up anger and
pain Jack felt at his father's death welled up like molten rock and exploded
within him.
Now was the time! Dokugan Ryu would finally pay for his father's death!
But Jack hesitated.
He couldn't do it.
'Never hesitate,' hissed Dokugan Ryu, his back still turned.
Dragon Eye spun on the spot and a silver shuriken glinted in the
darkness.
'Watch out!' screamed Yamato, throwing himself in front of Jack.
The shuriken hit Yamato, embedding itself in his chest. He fell to the
floor, blood gushing over the stone courtyard.
Jack saw red, his fury boiling over. Screaming at the top of his lungs, he
charged Dragon Eye, his sword held high, and brought it down with all his
might at his sworn enemy.
Dragon Eye pulled his ninjatō from the saya strapped to his back,
smoothly deflecting Jack's blade at the same time. He then countered,
slicing across Jack's midriff.
Jack predicted the move and blocked it. Immediately, he pressed forward
with his own attack, cutting up at Dragon Eye's face. But the ninja flipped
backwards to avoid the rising blade. As he flew through the air, Dragon Eye
kicked out and his foot caught Jack's hands, dislodging the katana. Dragon
Eye landed on his feet just as Jack's sword clattered to the ground, leaving
him unarmed and defenceless.
'You've improved, young samurai, for a gaijin!' he said with genuine
respect. 'One day, you might actually be worth fighting. But you're not my
mission today, so go home like a good boy!'
'I don't have a home. You killed my father. Remember?' said Jack,
outraged. 'Was my father a mission too?'
'Your father was nothing. The rutter was my mission!'
Jack stared in disbelief at the ninja. 'Who's ordering these missions?'
'You won't give up, will you?' hissed Dragon Eye in irritation. 'Let's
hope you still live without your sword arm!'
Dragon Eye raised his ninjatō and brought it down to sever Jack's right
arm.
Out of the night like a shooting star, Akiko's wakizashi spun through the
air towards Dokugan Ryu. At the last second, the ninja twisted on instinct,
the arc of his sword shifting and missing Jack's shoulder by a hair's
breadth. The wakizashi pierced Dragon Eye's side and, though the blade cut
deep, he barely made a sound. Staggering slightly, the ninja glanced
absently at the weapon protruding from him.
'Who did you learn that from? Masamoto?' he spat in disgust at Akiko as
she appeared by Jack's side.
The ninja carefully removed the bloody blade, glaring at them in
defiance. He then flipped the short sword over in his hand and was about to
throw it back at the now defenceless Akiko, when the main gate burst open
and Masamoto and his samurai dashed into the courtyard bearing flaming
torches.
'Spread out!' ordered Masamoto. 'Find them, and kill the ninja!'
'Another time, gaijin!' hissed Dragon Eye. 'The rutter is not forgotten.'
The ninja dropped the wakizashi, and scaled the castle wall like a
malevolent four-legged spider, disappearing into the night.
In the distance, fireworks exploded and brightly coloured sparks reigned
down like a meteor shower in the night sky.