The Ring of Earth - Chris Bradford [91]
The red-hot poker returned with a vengeance, bursting though his left shoulder. Zenjubo, taking a grip on the bloody arrowhead, yanked the rest of the wooden shaft through and out. Jack moaned in sickening agony.
‘Got it!’ Zenjubo said triumphantly, holding up the arrow for inspection. ‘All of it.’
Miyuki, a swatch of cloth at the ready, pressed hard on either side of Jack’s wound to stem the bleeding. Jack cried out a second time.
‘Don’t make such a fuss,’ chided Miyuki. ‘I had a spear in my shoulder. Anyway, I thought you were a ninja, not a feeble samurai.’
Jack noticed she was already bandaged, a bloodstain seeping through the dressing. Groaning with the effort, Jack shifted into a more comfortable position. A second spike of pain caught him in the thigh. He winced, but kept his mouth shut, realizing the needle shuriken he’d used to try to pick the lock had stabbed through his pouch into his leg.
They were in a small clearing deep within the forest and Jack realized he must have been carried there. Tenzen was nearby, leaning against a tree, a bloodsoaked cloth held to his forehead. Other ninja were also recovering from their injuries and the frenzied escape. Shonin was tending to Soke’s injured leg. Hanzo held his grandfather’s hand, promising to look after him when they got back to the village.
‘I’ll be able to stop the bleeding,’ explained Miyuki to Jack. ‘But I’ll need more time to heal the wound properly.’
Forming the hand sign for Sha, Miyuki positioned herself over the hole the arrow had gouged in Jack’s flesh and began to chant, ‘On haya baishiraman taya sowaka …’
Jack felt a warm tingle settle over the stinging wound.
Akiko, relieved to see he was OK, excused herself. ‘I think it’s time I explained my presence to Kiyoshi and Soke.’
Jack watched as Akiko apprehensively settled down beside Hanzo. Like four seasons in a day, Hanzo’s expression changed from shock to joy to sadness and then to disbelief.
‘I’m a ninja, not a samurai!’ he protested, looking to Soke for reassurance.
When he saw that the Grandmaster wasn’t denying the story, just looking sad and accepting, Hanzo didn’t seem to know whether to laugh or cry.
Akiko leant forward and whispered in his ear.
‘You weren’t, were you?’ he replied, his eyes widening in astonishment. ‘Can I be both too?’
Akiko nodded.
‘I’ll be just like the tengu!’ he exclaimed. ‘Do I get to use a samurai sword?’
Akiko smiled. ‘Of course.’
‘I like having a samurai sister,’ said Hanzo, giving Akiko a hug.
‘I love having my kachimushi back,’ she sobbed, holding him so tight Jack thought she’d never let him go again.
As Jack followed this tearful reunion, Momochi strode over, his face puffy and blackened with bruises.
‘Are you going to live?’ he grunted.
Jack nodded, waiting for the next round of abuse from the man.
‘Good. There’d be no point in apologizing to a dead person,’ he said, bowing his head in repentance. ‘Soke was right. You’ve got the heart of a ninja.’
Speechless, Jack returned the bow, wincing as his wound opened up again.
Miyuki grabbed his shoulder. ‘Stop moving,’ she complained, ripping a strip of cloth to bind his injury.
‘Momochi!’ called Shonin as more ninja in black shinobi shozoku emerged from the bushes. ‘Kajiya’s back. Gather everyone together.’
The group huddled in the centre of the clearing. Shonin looked dismayed at the pitiful number of survivors.
‘Kajiya, where’s the rest of your team?’ he asked.
The bladesmith sadly shook his head. ‘Only myself and Danjo remain. Kato didn’t make it back and the others were killed in the attack on the village.’
There was a moment of grieved silence.
‘We’ll mourn our losses another day. But tonight we must plan our survival,’ stated Shonin with grave efficiency. ‘First, we’ll head back to the village. Akechi is bound to send his troops looking for us, but we should have enough time to gather supplies before retreating to our final refuge in the northern mountains. Zenjubo, send our fastest runner to the mothers and children, and tell them to