The Way of the Warrior - Chris Bradford [25]
‘My father knew.’
‘Only we, the Portuguese, the Righteous, possess safe passage,’ countered the priest indignantly. ‘It’s well-protected against Protestant heretics like your father.’
‘Your warships were no match for my father. He outran them in a day,’ said Jack, a fiery sense of pride filling him as the priest begrudgingly informed Masamoto of this Portuguese humiliation.
Jack studied the priest distrustfully. ‘Who are you anyway?’
‘I am Father Lucius, a brother of the Society of Jesus, the protectorate of the Catholic Church and their sole missionary here in the port of Toba,’ replied the priest fervently, making the sign of the cross upon his chest then kissing the wooden talisman that hung from his neck. ‘I report to God and my superior, Father Diego Bobadilla, in Osaka. I am his eyes and ears here.’
‘So what position does this samurai hold?’ asked Jack, nodding his head towards Masamoto, ‘And if you’re so important why do you bow to him?’
‘Boy, I’d be more prudent with your words in future – if you want to live. The samurai demand respect.’
Bowing low again, the priest continued. ‘This is Masamoto Takeshi, Lord of Shima and right-hand man to Takatomi Hideaki, daimyo of Kyoto province –’
‘What’s a daimyo?’ interrupted Jack.
‘A feudal lord. He rules this whole province on behalf of the Emperor. The samurai, including Masamoto here, are his vassals.’
‘Vassals?… Do you mean slaves?’
‘No, the peasants, the villagers you’ve seen, are more akin to slaves. The samurai are members of the warrior caste, much like your knights of old, but considerably more skilled. Masamoto here is an expert swordmaster, undefeated. He is also the man responsible for plucking you, half-drowned, from the ocean and fixing your broken arm, so show him due deference!’
Jack was astonished. He knew such medical skill was unheard of in England. A broken limb at sea meant a slow agonizing death from gangrene or else a painful and risky amputation. He was indeed extremely fortunate to have met Masamoto.
‘Please can you thank him for saving my life?’
‘You can do it yourself. Arigatō means “thank you” in Japanese.’
‘Arigatō,’ repeated Jack, pointing at his broken arm, then bowing as low as his arm would allow. This appeared to please Masamoto, who acknowledged the respect shown with a curt nod of his head.
‘So is this Masamoto’s house?’
‘No, this is his sister’s, Hiroko. She lives here with her daughter Akiko.’ The priest started coughing violently once more and it took a moment for him to recover. ‘Enough of your questions, boy! Where’s the rest of your crew?’
‘Dead.’
‘Dead? All of them? I don’t believe you!’
‘A storm drove us off-course. We were forced to shelter in a cove, but a reef hulled the Alexandria. We had to make repairs, but were attacked by… I’m not sure… shadows.’
As the priest translated Jack’s story, Masamoto’s interest piqued.
‘Describe these shadows,’ asked Father Lucius for Masamoto.
‘They were men, I think… dressed in black. I could only see their eyes. They had swords, chains, throwing knives… my father thought they were wako.’
‘Ninja,’ breathed Masamoto.
‘Whatever they were, one of them killed my father,’ said Jack, his voice taut with emotion, the memory of the night rising up like fire in his chest. ‘It was a ninja with a green eye!’
Masamoto leant forward, tense and clearly disturbed by Father Lucius’s translation of Jack’s outburst.
‘Repeat exactly what you just said,’ demanded Father Lucius on behalf of Masamoto.
The image of the ninja’s hooded face and his father’s death replayed in Jack’s head. He swallowed hard before continuing, ‘The ninja who murdered my father had one eye. Green like snakeskin. I’ll never forget it.’
‘Dokugan Ryu,’ spat Masamoto, as if he had swallowed poison.
The samurai guards visibly stiffened at his words. The black-haired boy’s face flashed with fear and Akiko turned to Jack, her eyes full of pity.
‘Doku-what?’ asked Jack, not understanding what Masamoto had said.
‘Dokugan Ryu. It means “Dragon Eye”,’ explained Father Lucius. ‘Dokugan Ryu was the ninja responsible