The Way of the Warrior - Chris Bradford [98]
‘Jack-kun, the sword is the soul of the samurai,’ said Masamoto with great import, and presented the daishō to him, his amber eyes fixing Jack with a stern stare.
‘With the possession of such a weapon comes great responsibility,’ instructed Masamoto, not letting go of the swords so that now both he and Jack held them. ‘It must never fall into the hands of your enemy. And you must always uphold the samurai principles of bushido. Rectitude. Courage. Benevolence. Respect. Honesty. Honour. Loyalty. Do you understand?’
‘Hai, Masamoto-sama. Arigatō gozaimashita,’ replied Jack with complete sincerity.
Jack took the swords from Masamoto and immediately felt his hands sink under the weight of their responsibility. He bowed low and returned to his place between Akiko and Yamato, the daishō by his side.
‘Now that we have finished here, I ask you all to kindly leave, except for Yamato-kun. I wish to spend some time with my son. We have much to discuss,’ said Masamoto, a smile brightening the unscarred side of his face.
Everyone bowed and respectfully departed from the Hall of the Phoenix.
Jack and Akiko wandered into the Southern Zen garden to wait for Yamato. They stood between the two standing stones and stared in silence at the night sky together. The moon was bright and gibbous, two days from becoming a full moon, and the stars shone keenly in the heavens.
‘See that star, the brightest one in the sky. That’s Spica,’ said Jack after several moments had passed.
‘Which one?’ enquired Akiko. ‘They all look the same to me.’
‘Start from the handle of the Plough, the constellation above us, then follow the arc to Arcturus and speed on to Spica,’ said Jack, guiding Akiko’s eyes with the tip of his finger. ‘Then the one over to its left we call Regulus and the one next to that, Bellatrix. The twinkling one over here is Jupiter, but that’s not a star, that’s a planet.’
‘How do you know all this?’ asked Akiko, turning to Jack.
‘My father taught me. He said if I was to ever be a pilot like him, I would need to know how to navigate by the stars.’
‘And can you?’
‘Yes. Enough to guide a ship back to port,’ said Jack, then with a sad longing. ‘Possibly even enough to get home.’
‘You still want to go home?’
Jack returned Akiko’s gaze. The moonlight reflected in her jet-black eyes, sending small shivers down his spine like shooting stars.
Yes, he did still want to go home. He missed England’s green fields in spring, and the cosy warmth of his parents’ fireplace in winter where his father would regale him with tales of daring sea voyages. He longed for the rowdy chaos of London and the noise of street criers, cattle and hammering blacksmiths. His stomach ached for beef, pies and bread thick with butter, as much as his brain cried out to speak English to someone. But most of all he missed his family. Jess was all he had left now. He needed to find her. Make sure she was all right.
Yet, for the very first time, standing next to Akiko under the stars, Jack felt like he could belong in Japan.
‘Wherever it is you may be, it is your friends who make your world,’ his mother had told him when they had moved yet again between Rotterdam and Limehouse due to his father’s work. He was only seven at the time and resented having to move, but now he understood what she meant. Here in Japan, Jack had found friends. True friends. Saburo, Yori, Kiku, Yamato and, most important of all, Akiko.
‘Akiko-chan!’ called a voice.
It was Sensei Yosa.
‘May I have a moment of your time? I need to explain the particular characteristics of your bow.’
‘Hai, Sensei,’ said Akiko, but before going she turned back to Jack. ‘I know you miss your home in England, Jack, but Japan can be your home too.’
Then, with a warm gentle smile, she bowed and walked away down the garden and was gone.
Jack stared up at the night sky, continuing to name each of the stars in his