Young Samurai _ The Way Of The Dragon - Chris Bradford [74]
‘Good luck,’ mumbled Kazuki, bowing.
‘You too,’ she replied, flashing a blackened smile at him. Kazuki pushed past Jack, ignoring him. Jack wondered if he’d been passing on more news from his father, unaware the samurai was really on Masamoto’s side.
Moriko mounted her black steed and headed towards the start.
‘Nice pony trick,’ hissed Moriko, giving Akiko a withering look as she passed by. ‘Shame it won’t count.’
‘What do you mean?’ said Akiko, rising to the bait.
‘You’d ridden past the end of the course,’ gloated Moriko. She trotted off, leaving Akiko stunned and unable to protest.
‘Ignore her,’ said Jack, seeing the concern in Akiko’s eyes. ‘The official’s flag went up. It must have counted. Anyway, who cares if she gets all three targets, we still have Takuan. He won’t fail us, will he?’
31
FALLEN RIDER
Moriko’s horse pounded down the track, snorting under the exertion. But she rode with calm confidence, her eyes locked on the first target. Standing up in her saddle, she maintained perfect balance. With no sense of urgency, Moriko nocked an arrow, drew back on the bow, fired and destroyed the first mark with brutal proficiency.
The next target was also obliterated.
Approaching her final mark, Moriko waited until she was almost alongside before releasing her jindou. The wooden-tipped arrow struck dead centre and annihilated the target, splinters of wood flying in all directions. A huge cheer erupted from the students of the Yagyu Ryū.
Akiko shook her head in dismay. ‘That was impressive,’ she admitted.
‘But shooting backwards surely proves you’re the more skilful archer,’ said Jack.
She smiled kindly at Jack’s belief in her. ‘Let’s wish Takuan good luck. He’ll need it after that display.’
They followed the path round to where the horses were tethered.
‘What’s wrong?’ said Akiko, rushing over to Takuan, who lay on the ground, groaning and clutching his side.
‘I was saddling my horse…’ he gasped, wincing with each breath, ‘when I stepped back and knocked into another horse. It kicked me in the ribs. I think they’re broken.’
‘Will the last rider for the Niten Ichi Ryū please come forward?’ announced an official.
‘Do you think you can still ride?’ asked Jack.
Takuan tried to sit up, but the effort was too much. He shook his head feebly. ‘It hurts like hell. I can hardly breathe.’
‘Final call for the Niten archer!’ shouted the official.
‘But the schools are tied on points,’ said Jack. ‘You only need to hit one target for us to win.’
‘You do it,’ Takuan wheezed.
‘But I’ve not trained on a real horse!’ protested Jack.
‘You let go of the reins last week,’ said Takuan, giving Jack a pained smile.
‘And I fell off!’
‘Jack, don’t worry about it,’ said Akiko, kneeling down beside Takuan. ‘It’s just a competition. It’s more important we look after Takuan.’
Jack realized an opportunity to impress Akiko was about to slip through his fingers. Kazuki was right. Akiko wanted a real samurai, one who wasn’t scared to take a risk.
‘No, I’ll do it,’ he said, untying Takuan’s horse.
He led it to the start line, not daring to look back in case Akiko saw the fear on his face.
Jack gazed down the length of the Yabusame course and swallowed nervously. It appeared to stretch on forever, the targets impossibly small. He shifted in his saddle, trying to get a better grip with his thighs. Takuan’s stallion was so much bigger than his wooden dobbin. Not only that, it had legs! There was simply no way he could do this.
The faces of hundreds of young samurai stared expectantly in his direction. Jack spotted Saburo gawping back at him in shock, a half-eaten stick of yakitori hanging from his open mouth. Sensei Yosa came up on the pretext of checking the bridle on Jack’s horse.
‘Where’s Takuan?’ she