The Ring of Water - Chris Bradford [49]
‘No, they belonged to Akiko’s father,’ replied Jack. ‘She gave me the honour of bearing them.’
‘Akiko! She lives?’ queried Kazuki. ‘I thought … hoped I’d killed that traitor.’
‘She’s tougher than you think,’ retorted Jack.
Kazuki held up his right hand. Covered in a black glove, the fingers were curled into a permanent and useless claw.
‘This is her fault,’ he spat. ‘When I’ve killed you, I’m going to punish your precious Akiko for her crime. She won’t be so pretty when I’ve finished with her.’
Jack felt his anger start to boil, both at himself for having let slip Akiko’s survival and at Kazuki for his malicious threat. He would never let Kazuki harm her.
‘Is she here with you in Kyoto?’ demanded Kazuki.
Jack didn’t answer. In spite of his error, Akiko remained safe as long as Kazuki had no idea of her whereabouts.
‘Where then?’ he demanded, drawing his katana with his left hand.
‘Kazuki-san,’ addressed Araki, stepping between them. ‘I appreciate you have debts to settle and traitors to punish, but first I have a duel arranged with this samurai.’
‘Samurai? He’s no samurai!’ said Kazuki with utter disgust.
‘Oh, but he is,’ corrected Araki. ‘He’s the infamous gaijin samurai. A master of the Two Heavens.’
‘I could do the Two Heavens,’ muttered Kazuki tetchily. ‘It’s nothing special and it didn’t help Masamoto in the end, did it?’
‘Please respect our arrangement, Kazuki-san,’ insisted Araki firmly, ignoring Kazuki’s bitter comments. ‘This duel is a matter of honour. Of course, if he survives, he’s yours. If not, you may have his … head.’
Kazuki glared at Araki, then stepped back a pace and sheathed his sword.
‘Don’t disappoint me by dying too soon, gaijin,’ said Kazuki. ‘But if you do I want you to go to your grave knowing that I will find Akiko.’
30
WATERFALL DUEL
‘What a perfect day for a duel!’ said Araki, admiring the sunlight glinting off the waters. ‘This will be a fight to remember.’
Jack turned to Ronin and whispered, ‘If I lose, I die. If I survive, I die. Not much of a choice, is it?’
‘You win a war one battle at a time,’ replied Ronin, his hand not leaving the hilt of his bokken. ‘Focus on this battle first.’
The excited crowd organized itself into a large semi-circle to create a duelling area, its boundary marked by Yagyu Ryū students on one side and the waterfall behind.
‘When you are ready!’ said Araki, bowing formally to Jack.
Putting aside his immediate concerns about Kazuki, Jack returned the bow. Araki drew his katana, slowly and precisely. The Shizu blade was like quicksilver in the sun.
Faced with a battle against his own swords, Jack felt his resolve momentarily give way. Only now did he truly understand the awesome power of the weapon. Victory seemed etched into the very steel itself and Jack knew his defeat was no more than a single sword thrust away.
Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Jack unsheathed both Ronin’s swords. In one flowing motion, he raised his katana to the sky and held the shorter wakizashi across his chest as a guard. He only had to get first blood, he reminded himself. A simple nick or cut would suffice.
Araki seemed in no hurry to attack. He circled slowly and Jack kept in step with him, always maintaining a good sword length’s distance between them. Jack knew Araki was assessing his competence by the sureness of his footwork. The samurai then fell back into a side stance, his katana held low and the blade hidden behind his body. This made it very difficult for Jack to predict the direction of any impending sword strike.
All of a sudden, Araki stamped his front foot.
Jack jumped back, his swords primed to receive the attack.
But none came.
‘Nervous?’ laughed Araki, once again circling like a hawk over its prey.
Jack didn’t answer. The samurai was playing with him, but he wouldn’t give Araki the satisfaction of a response. Instead he waited patiently for the samurai to make his move.
From nowhere,