The Ring of Earth - Chris Bradford [49]
‘That’s not true,’ countered Jack, taken aback by the hatred blazing in her eyes.
‘Really?’ she challenged. ‘My family were murdered by samurai!’
So this was the source of Miyuki’s rage, realized Jack, and immediately understood the pain she was suffering. ‘I know how you feel –’
‘How can you? Let me tell you what samurai are capable of. Then you’ll see them in their true colours. Have you heard of the great General Nobunaga?’ she said, her tone thick with sarcasm.
Jack nodded, recalling Akiko telling him about the warrior’s famous battles of thirty years ago.
‘Well, that “brave” samurai sent forty thousand troops against just four thousand Iga ninja. Then he ordered them to burn all the villages to the ground and massacre every man, woman and child. What part did the samurai’s code of bushido play in that?’
Nose to nose with Jack, a thunderous expression on her face, Miyuki didn’t wait for his reply. ‘And he’s not the only one! Daimyo Akechi follows in his footsteps, laying waste to any ninja clan he finds. Where’s the rectitude in destroying whole villages? What honour is there in killing a defenceless woman, like my mother? How much courage does a samurai need to kill a child? My brother was not yet five!’
A tear ran down her cheek, her whole body trembling with emotion.
‘Miyuki, calm down,’ interjected Tenzen, stepping between them. ‘Jack’s not to blame –’
‘Calm down? Samurai like him are the cause of all our troubles.’ She turned her attention back to Jack. ‘Do you know there were nearly a hundred ninja clans in these mountains? Now they can be counted on the fingers of one hand!’
Miyuki thrust her hand in Jack’s face to emphasize the point.
‘So don’t tell me you know how I feel. You’re a samurai at heart. And always will be. I hate everything you stand for.’
Her rage suddenly spent, Miyuki began to sob uncontrollably. ‘I lost my mother … my brother … my father … everyone …’
‘I’m truly sorry,’ said Jack. ‘But I do understand how you feel. My father was murdered too.’
Miyuki stared at him through her tears, her eyes a mixture of shock and suspicion.
‘By the ninja Dragon Eye,’ explained Jack, to both Tenzen’s and Miyuki’s astonishment.
‘Maybe you do know a little of how I feel,’ she relented, shaking her head in dismay. ‘But Dragon Eye was never a true ninja. No matter how hard Soke tried, he was a lost cause.’
‘Soke knew him?’ said Jack, the heat of the day suddenly turning icy cold.
‘Knew him?’ replied Miyuki. ‘Soke taught Dragon Eye everything he knew.’
27
SOKE’S STUDENT
Clouds were gathering on the horizon, and the sun appeared like a blood-red eye peering over the mountaintops when Jack confronted the Grandmaster outside his house.
‘Is it true?’ he demanded.
Soke leant heavily upon his cane and sighed deeply, the weight of the world seeming to rest upon his bony shoulders. He looked at Jack with eyes sorrowful and full of regret. For once, the Grandmaster appeared as frail and old as his age.
He nodded slowly. ‘Yes … Dragon Eye was a student of mine.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me?’
‘Would you have stayed if I had?’ asked Soke.
‘Of course not.’
Jack had considered leaving the moment Miyuki had told him. How could he trust the man who’d taught his arch-enemy? The one who’d been the source of the deadly arts that had killed his father?
‘Then you have your answer,’ replied Soke, seating himself on the bench in his yard.
Jack was confused. Was the ninja playing some cruel game with him, like a cat taunting a mouse until it died of fright? The Grandmaster surely knew of the rutter and its importance. He was just biding his time to strike.
‘What do you want from me?’
Soke smiled kindly. ‘Only to help you.’
‘But why?’
‘Please sit,’ said Soke, patting the bench beside him. ‘Then I’ll explain everything.’
Reluctantly, Jack sat down, keeping a wary distance from the Grandmaster.