Young Samurai _ The Way Of The Dragon - Chris Bradford [115]
Stunned, Jack expected to feel the hard steel of the nodaichi cut through his throat at any second. But the Red Devil had halted his attack to stare at Jack.
‘A gaijin samurai!’ he exclaimed, shocked at seeing Jack’s blond hair and bright blue eyes.
An arrow shot through the air striking the Red Devil in the gap between his helmet and menpō. He staggered backwards, blood pouring from his eye socket.
‘Never hesitate,’ said Jack, snatching up his katana.
But the samurai didn’t die.
Screaming in agonized rage, he charged at Jack. Another arrow penetrated his chest as Akiko was joined by Sensei Yosa at the gate. Yet still he attacked. Jack dodged the Red Devil’s wild strike, and a moment later Masamoto was by his side.
‘Go!’ ordered Masamoto, attacking the seemingly indestructible samurai with vengeful fury.
Jack ran over to Yamato. Removing the spear, he helped him to his feet and they staggered towards the gate. Behind them, hundreds more Red Devils stormed up the road. Akiko and Sensei Yosa launched arrow after arrow, trying to stall the enemy’s advance.
Masamoto, disarming the Red Devil with a lightning fast Autumn Leaf strike, thrust his wakizashi into the samurai’s gut. The Red Devil groaned and fell to his knees.
‘That’s for my son!’ declared Masamoto.
He then brought his katana slicing across, decapitating the gold-horned Red Devil. The man’s head fell from his shoulders and bounced down the road.
‘And that’s for Taro!’
As soon as Masamoto was inside the inner courtyard, the guards slammed the gates shut against the Red Devil horde. The enemy hammered against the other side, but the reinforced doors held. For the time being at least.
Jack laid Yamato on the ground. Akiko knelt beside him, her face etched with worry.
‘I’m fine,’ wheezed Yamato. ‘It’s not deep.’
Akiko gently rolled him to one side to inspect the wound.
‘How is he?’ asked Masamoto, standing over them.
‘He’s bleeding badly, but his armour’s taken the brunt of the blow.’
‘Can you stand?’ asked Masamoto of his son.
Yamato nodded.
‘Good,’ said Masamoto. ‘Take him to the keep and get him bandaged up.’
Even now, Masamoto’s austerity prevented him showing the love and approval Yamato desperately needed. Jack realized his guardian probably thought it a sign of weakness to display any emotion in front of his students. But Jack saw how Yamato’s head dropped when there was no recognition of his valour in saving Cho.
Taking Yamato by the arm, Jack and Akiko helped him across the courtyard.
‘Thanks… for saving… me,’ said Yamato between spasms of pain. ‘I owe you both my life.’
‘It’s Akiko we should be thanking,’ replied Jack. ‘If it wasn’t for her archery skills, we’d both be dead by now.’
‘It was a terrible shot,’ said Akiko.
‘What do you mean?’ exclaimed Jack. ‘You got him straight through his left eye!’
‘I was aiming for his right.’
The three of them burst into laughter.
‘Stop it,’ groaned Yamato. ‘It hurts to laugh.’
Inside the keep, ashigaru rushed past, ferrying arquebuses and gunpowder to the troops on the inner walls. The three of them headed up the stairs to the second floor. Daimyo Takatomi was there, giving orders to the surviving generals. He broke away from the group as soon as he saw that Masamoto’s son was wounded.
‘Take Yamato-kun to my quarters immediately. He can use my personal physician.’
As they climbed the stairs to the sixth floor, the sound of cannonfire appeared to be getting closer. Through a window on the fourth floor, Jack glimpsed the battle outside. Daimyo Kamakura’s troops were closing in on all sides, sending flaming