The Way of the Warrior - Chris Bradford [39]
Jack spun off his futon, rolling to one knee, simultaneously bringing the bokken up to defend himself. A flash of silver flew past his face and a shuriken thwacked into a wooden beam behind him.
Jack froze.
Crouched in front of him was the shadow warrior, his single green eye fixed upon Jack.
‘Dokugan Ryu!’ uttered Jack in disbelief.
20
AKIKO
Dragon Eye momentarily faltered at the mention of his name.
Jack seized the initiative. There was no way he could defeat the ninja, but there was still a chance he could escape.
Jack flung himself with all his might at the outside wall of his bedroom. The thin wooden crossbeams splintered and the fragile paper tiles disintegrated as his body ripped through the wall.
Semi-stunned by the collision, Jack staggered to his feet, snatched up his bokken and, without a backward glance in Dragon Eye’s direction, sprinted away down the veranda.
Jack caught a glimpse of two shadows flitting through the garden and another one entering a room further ahead.
Akiko! He had to warn her.
The noise of the breaking shoji had roused the household and the cook stepped out on to the veranda to see what was happening. Bleary-eyed and bemused at the young gaijin running straight towards him, they almost collided but Jack jumped aside at the last second.
As he did so, a second shuriken flew over his shoulder and plunged itself into the neck of the cook. The cook registered a look of mild surprise, shock blocking out the pain of the weapon now embedded in his throat. He gurgled something indecipherable at Jack, then flopped to floor.
Jack kept running, Dragon Eye in deadly pursuit.
Jack switched direction and dived through an open shoji just as Taka-san emerged brandishing both his swords.
Dragon Eye was caught off-guard by Taka-san’s sudden appearance. Taka-san, battle-hardened and courageous, gauged the situation in a single glance. With calculated precision he cut at the ninja’s head. Dragon Eye evaded the strike, bending effortlessly like a blade of grass in a breeze, and Taka-san’s katana sliced through thin air, passing just above the ninja’s upturned face.
Then Dragon Eye twisted and let loose a lightning kick into Taka-san’s midriff which sent the samurai careering into a nearby pillar.
Dragon Eye drew his own sword from the saya strapped to his back and advanced on Taka-san.
The ninjatō with its distinctive square tsuba, hand guard, had a straighter, shorter blade than the katana of the samurai, but was no less deadly. Dragon Eye attacked without remorse.
Taka-san blitzed Dragon Eye with his own barrage of lethal blows and drove the ninja back along the veranda.
Meanwhile, Jack escaped into another room, only to be confronted by a second ninja. Fortunately for Jack, this ninja had his back turned, focused on fighting someone else who was frantically fending him off. But the ninja’s victim suddenly lost their footing and dropped to the floor. Jack glimpsed Yamato’s face, drained white with fear, staring up at his assailant. The ninja raised his ninjatō to deliver the killing strike on Yamato.
‘Nooooo!’ screamed Jack.
All the confusion, fear, pain and anger he had suffered since his father had been murdered welled up like a volcano.
The ninja were responsible for the death of his father, his friends, his crew, and now were attacking the only other family he knew. Jack’s muscles exploded with burning aggression and, without thinking, he charged the ninja.
Startled, the ninja spun round, his ninjatō at the ready, but Jack drove his bokken down with every ounce of strength he possessed on to the ninja’s sword arm. Jack heard a sickening crack as the ninja’s wrist snapped and the man let loose a howl of pain.
Jack brought his weapon round for a second attack, trying to recall everything Yamato had taught him. He aimed for the ninja’s head.
The ninja miraculously ducked, then flung himself out of the way, picking up the dropped sword with his undamaged left hand as he rolled. The ninja snarled at Jack, his broken wrist hanging useless by his side.
Jack backed away, suddenly