The Ring of Water - Chris Bradford [65]
Jack contemplated the innocuous bag. Once again the fate of his friends lay in his hands. At least, this time, he had an even chance of saving them.
‘I’m not having you decide whether I live or die!’ Hana snapped, grabbing Jack’s hand as he was about to reach in.
‘I don’t care who does it,’ said daimyo Sanada impatiently.
‘We’ll let janken decide,’ Hana announced, pulling Jack and Ronin aside.
‘What’s janken?’ asked Jack, bemused by Hana’s sudden intervention.
‘Rock, paper, scissors,’ she replied, rapidly making a fist, an open palm and a V-shape with two fingers. She lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘I saw the daimyo put two black stones into the bag.’
‘You can’t accuse him of cheating a second time,’ said Jack. ‘He’d execute us all on the spot.’
The three of them had a mock game of janken, not even paying attention to the result. They were purely playing for time in a desperate hope one of them would think of a plan.
‘He never had any intention of letting us go,’ spat Ronin, glancing round at the circle of heavily armed guards in preparation for a last-stand fight.
‘No more time-wasting,’ said daimyo Sanada, shaking the bag. ‘It’s a simple choice. White or Black. Life or Death …’
‘Let me do it,’ said Hana to Ronin and Jack.
‘What’s the point?’ said Jack. ‘We can’t win!’
‘Trust me,’ she insisted, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.
Striding over, Hana reached into the bag. A triumphant smirk formed on daimyo Sanada’s lips in expectation of the result.
Jack and Ronin waited with baited breath. They both knew she couldn’t plant a white stone in the bag. The daimyo would simply accuse them of cheating, since there would be three stones in play. So what was her plan?
With a flurry, Hana drew out her hand and clumsily dropped the stone before anyone saw its colour.
‘Oh, no!’ she cried as it landed among the other Go counters on the floor. ‘Now we don’t know which stone I took out.’
‘No matter,’ said daimyo Sanada, his patience worn thin. ‘You’ve lost your chance for freedom.’
He beckoned the guards.
‘Wait!’ said Hana excitedly. ‘We do know which colour stone I picked. Just look in the bag.’
Jack and Ronin exchanged glances at Hana’s brilliance. She snatched the pouch from the daimyo’s hand and emptied the contents into her palm. A black stone tumbled out.
‘See, I picked the white!’ she exclaimed. ‘LIFE!’
Daimyo Sanada fumed at being outsmarted. The guards faltered, unsure whether to proceed or not.
‘Your word is your bond,’ reminded Hana, smiling sweetly at him.
41
A PARTING OF WAYS
‘I can’t believe he let us go,’ said Jack as they fled the outskirts of Nara and entered the lower slopes of a mountain forest.
A light rain was falling, but even this couldn’t dampen their spirits. The daimyo, incensed as he was, had remained true to his word, even to the point of returning their swords and handing over the inro.
‘He won’t let us get far,’ said Ronin, supping on a fresh bottle of saké. Hana had been sly enough to slip a couple of Kanesuke’s coins into her kimono sleeve and they’d stopped briefly for supplies. ‘But at least we have a chance of escape. Thanks to Hana.’
Ronin clamped a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it with affection. ‘How did you ever think to outwit the daimyo like that?’
Hana lowered her eyes bashfully. ‘I’ve done a few confidence tricks in my time. It just takes one to know one.’
Laughing, Ronin pulled her close. ‘I take back what I said about you, Hana. You may be a thief, but you’re more courageous and loyal than many samurai I’ve known.’
Hana beamed at such praise. Seeing them together, almost like father and daughter, Jack realized they were good for one another – perhaps even needed each other. It was certainly the first time Ronin’s eyes had been filled with something other than regret.
As they came upon a crossroads, Ronin’s expression turned serious once again. ‘This is our parting of ways,’ he announced.
Hana’s jaw dropped, all her joy extinguished in an instant. ‘B-b-but why?’
‘There’s a warrant out for our arrest. As a group, we’re too easily