The Ring of Earth - Chris Bradford [47]
Jack gave in to his enthusiasm. Pulling back the covers of his futon, he joined Hanzo crouched by the shoji. Cautiously sliding it open, they both stealth-walked across the hearth room to Soke’s door.
Jack reached for the handle of the shoji. Hanzo stopped him. Then, producing a small bottle of vegetable oil, he ran it along the bottom edge of the frame.
To stop the squeaks, he mouthed.
Jack smiled at Hanzo’s ingenuity. The boy certainly has Akiko’s cunning, he thought.
Putting his hand to the door frame, Jack pulled on the shoji. It slid silently open. Soke was fast asleep on the far side of the room, his head resting upon the pillow. Jack wondered how they were going to remove it without waking the old man.
They crept closer, quieter than mice.
Yet, before they were even halfway across the room, the Grandmaster opened his eyes.
‘You need to silence your mind too!’
26
THE DEMONSTRATION
The blade of the ninjatō almost took Jack’s head off.
Ducking beneath it, he retaliated with a devastating cut to the midriff. Miyuki blocked it with her sword and drove forward to skewer him. But Jack wedged his blade against hers, sparks flying as the two weapons ground against one another. Deflecting the ninjatō, Jack aimed his sword’s kissaki at her throat, the razor-sharp tip stopping short of piercing her neck.
A perfect Flint-and-Spark strike.
Her attack halted, Miyuki glared at Jack before retreating to safety.
A murmur of respectful appreciation arose from the crowd gathered round the village square. Shonin, who sat to one side beneath a large parasol, observed Jack with increasing admiration. His eyes never left the young samurai as Jack raised both his swords into a high Two Heavens guard and waited for Miyuki’s next assault.
The challenge was supposed to be a ‘friendly’ one, for the benefit of Shonin to witness the Two Heavens in action. But the fight had quickly escalated in ferocity, becoming more of a duel than a demonstration. Miyuki was determined to beat Jack – to prove the Two Heavens was flawed and show that the ninja were more skilled than the samurai.
Equally, Jack wasn’t willing to lose face at the hands of Miyuki. Not only was the reputation of Masamoto’s technique at stake but Jack’s personal honour too. Having been defeated in hand-to-hand combat during his escape attempt, Jack had no intention of letting her do the same with the sword.
The hot sun beat down and, like Miyuki, Jack was breathing hard from the exertion of combat. Blinking away the perspiration running down his forehead, he tried to manoeuvre himself so that his back was to the sun and Miyuki would be forced to look directly into its glare. His opponent being such a skilful fighter, Jack needed every advantage he could get.
So far Miyuki had tried every ninja trick – throwing dust into Jack’s face, feigning surrender, and even standing on his toes during one particularly close encounter. But she’d been unable to break through his defence.
Miyuki had one third and final chance to defeat him.
What would her strategy be now?
She squinted into the bright sunshine, looking for a gap in his guard.
‘Two can play at that game,’ she said, bringing up her blade and angling it so the sun reflected into Jack’s eyes.
Momentarily blinded, Jack had to rely upon the blind fighting skills Sensei Kano had taught him. Hearing the scuff of Miyuki’s feet and the swish of her sword cutting through the air, he instinctively blocked her incoming strike with his wakizashi, then brought his katana round in a counter-attack. Miyuki neatly evaded it and came at him from the opposing angle, her sword cutting down towards his neck.
Only then did Jack notice the subtle but crucial shift in her fighting style. She now wielded her ninjatō left-handed!
Jack was almost caught out, her blade slicing dangerously close to his right ear. He rapidly retreated across the square. But Miyuki’s attacks were even faster now. As he blocked her barrage of strikes, Jack suspected she was naturally left-handed and had