The Ring of Water - Chris Bradford [42]
‘They’re all part of his Scorpion Gang. Their sole purpose is to hunt down gaijin like me and kill them.’
‘The skinny one’s a metsuke,’ added Hana helpfully.
‘That explains it,’ said Ronin. ‘They suspected you were a foreigner but, as I staggered off, they were arguing over whether it was actually you or not.’
‘We must leave Kyoto now,’ said Jack, feeling the city closing in on him like a noose. ‘If Kazuki thinks I’m here, he’ll tear the place apart looking for me.’
‘This is a big city,’ reassured Ronin. ‘And I have good news – we won’t need to stay much longer. I’ve found Matagoro Araki.’
‘Where?’
‘We’re headed there right now,’ replied Ronin. ‘In keeping with what you seek from him, he’s at the renowned sword school – the Yagyu Ryū.’
26
YAGYU RYŪ
Jack felt as if he was jumping from one fire into another. He had a history with the Yagyu Ryū and the last place in Kyoto he wanted to go was the samurai school founded by the Shogun himself. Especially one he’d so publicly disgraced two years before by defeating their students in a Taryu-Jiai, an inter-school martial arts contest.
‘Araki’s the eldest son of the Matagoro clan. He’s revered and feared in equal measure,’ explained Ronin, oblivious to Jack’s alarm. ‘But, from what I can gather, he values his integrity and is essentially honourable. I’m confident we can persuade him to return your swords.’
‘That might be more difficult than you imagine,’ interrupted Jack. He retold the events that led up to the Taryu-Jiai and of his part in the Niten Ichi Ryū’s controversial victory over their rival school.
Ronin grunted with amusement. ‘You’re right, the Yagyu Ryū will never forgive you for that! But it’s a bit late to turn back now,’ he said, approaching a large wooden gate set into a walled enclosure. ‘We’re here.’
‘But what’s to stop Araki turning me over to the Shogun?’
‘Nothing. Just keep your hat on, your head bowed and let me do the talking.’
Ronin reached for a rope attached to a bronze bell hanging above the door and pulled. ‘Hana, stay here. Keep an eye out for the Scorpion Gang. If you see anything suspicious, ring the bell three times and run. We’ll meet you back at the Niten Ichi Ryū.’
Nodding obediently, Hana hid from view in a nearby alley.
As the bell’s chime faded away, the sound of shuffling feet could be heard on the other side of the door. A slat opened and two brown-flecked eyes peered out. ‘Yes?’
Ronin bowed. ‘We have come to seek an audience with Matagoro Araki.’
‘Does he know you?’
‘No, but he may have heard of my father, Obata Torayasu.’
‘Wait!’ The slat snapped shut.
Several long moments passed and Jack began to worry that word of his arrival in Kyoto had already spread, that the Yagyu Ryū were preparing their reprisal and about to greet him, swords drawn.
Then the shuffling feet returned, followed by a click of the latch, and the gate swung open. A wily old man impatiently beckoned them inside.
‘Leave your swords,’ he rasped, pointing to a rack in the entrance hall.
Ronin glared at the man. ‘This is a sword school, isn’t it? Surely you don’t expect me to walk around without mine.’
The old man looked Ronin up and down, and clearly decided the argument wasn’t worth the hassle. ‘Please yourself. It was for your own safety. Those carrying weapons can be challenged to a duel at any time by anyone. No refusal allowed. School rules.’
Ronin didn’t even blink at this veiled threat. The old man, glowering at the samurai’s brazenness, ushered them along a corridor, not even bothering to ask Jack to remove his hat. Through a latticed window, Jack glimpsed lines of young samurai in a courtyard, training with their bokken. As their wooden swords rose and fell in unison, cries of kiai echoing off the walls, he felt a wave of nostalgia for the glory days of the Niten Ichi Ryū.
The old man led them into a reception room, carpeted with fawn-coloured tatami mats and a polished cedar dais at one end. Hanging from a wall was a calligraphy scroll, each kanji brushstroke looking like the slash