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‘Yes, I pray for his safe return. Dragon Eye kidnapped him the same night he killed Tenno.’

There were shouts from below and they both crouched further into the shadows to avoid being spotted by the archers.

‘My family was visiting Masamoto-sama in Kyoto at the time. I was woken by a noise in the garden and opened the shoji to see a black ghost standing over Tenno. He had a tantō in his hand. I was only a little girl at the time. I couldn’t save him. I just watched as the ninja thrust the blade through his heart.’

Her eyes filled with tears at the memory and she clenched her fists in frustration. Jack knew what she was going through, having felt that exact same sense of helplessness. It pained him every day to think how he’d stood there, frozen with fear, as Dragon Eye throttled his father with a wire garrotte. He too had been powerless to prevent the murder.

‘Dragon Eye looked at me, blood dripping from his knife. I remember how it left a trail of red spots like rose petals on the white stone path. I ran. I know I shouldn’t have left Kiyoshi all alone, but I was scared. By the time I’d woken Masamotosama, Dragon Eye was gone. So too was my brother.’

‘I’m so sorry,’ said Jack, reaching for her hand to comfort her. ‘But why become a ninja?’

‘That was Masamoto’s idea.’

Jack stared in shock at Akiko. ‘He knows about this?’

Akiko nodded. ‘He’s the one who introduced me to the monk at the Temple of the Peaceful Dragon. The monk’s a member of the Koga clan and is a ninja grandmaster. Well, he used to be until he became a priest. In return for a donation to the temple, he was willing to teach me the secret arts of the ninja.’

‘I always suspected that monk!’ exclaimed Jack, remembering the man’s hands that looked like knives. ‘And it certainly explains all your hidden talents! But I can’t believe you lied to me all this time. You could’ve trusted me, you know.’

‘I trust you more than anyone in this world, Jack,’ said Akiko, her hand taking his in earnest. ‘And I never lied to you. It’s just a different version of the same truth. I did receive spiritual comfort from the monk, but I also got training in ninjutsu. It was vital to my safety that no one knew I was leading a double life.’

‘But why did Masamoto-sama even want you to learn the Way of the Ninja?’

‘After we prevented daimyo Takatomi’s assassination by Dragon Eye two years ago, Masamoto-sama realized the tide of peace was turning. He believed that in order to know your enemy you must become your enemy.

‘I jumped at the chance. I felt certain Dragon Eye hadn’t killed Kiyoshi. And I became convinced when the monk told me of a rumour about a boy of samurai status entering a ninja clan in the Iga mountains. I thought if I could infiltrate the ninja, I might find my brother.’

‘But how would you even recognize him after all this time?’

‘I’d never forget Kiyoshi. Even if they shaved off all his hair and called him by another name, I’d always know him. Besides, he has a birthmark like a petal of sakura blossom on his lower back.’

She smiled at the thought.

‘So does Masamoto-sama expect you to be an assassin?’ asked Jack tentatively.

Akiko shook her head. ‘My only task is to gather information from the enemy.’

An arrow clattered above their heads.

‘I think it’s time to go,’ she said, slipping her hood back on. With that, she ran off the edge of the roof and disappeared into the night.

46

THE BLESSING

The following morning, dressed in battle armour, Jack stood beside Yamato and Yori in the square of the Hokoku shrine. A light rain fell from the weeping clouds and mixed with the tears of the young samurai gathered before the funeral pyre of Takuan.

Masamoto-sama and the sensei of the Niten Ichi Ryū formed a semi-circle round the body, now wrapped in a stark-white kimono. Sensei Yamada wafted incense and chanted a sutra as the feeble light of dawn entered the courtyard. In the distance, the rumble of cannonfire rolled on.

Once Sensei Yamada had completed the burial rituals, Masamoto addressed the school.

‘The Way of the Warrior is found in death.