Young Samurai _ The Way Of The Dragon - Chris Bradford [81]
Jack feigned a desperate rush for his swords. Kazuki jumped in his path. At the last second Jack switched directions, sprinting for the Weapons Wall instead. He seized the only remaining katana. Jack didn’t even have time to unsheath the sword before Kazuki’s blade cut at his neck.
Jack blocked the strike, the saya of his katana shattering on impact. Shaking off the remains of the scabbard, he hurriedly retreated and raised his weapon. The sword didn’t compare to Masamoto’s. It was heavy, unbalanced, its blade chipped and the handle worn smooth from constant training practice.
Kazuki noticed the uncertainty in Jack’s stance and attacked. A whirlwind of blades sliced through the air. Jack tried to defend himself, but his second-rate weapon put him at a disadvantage. He deflected a thrust to the stomach and countered with a strike to the neck, but Kazuki easily evaded the blade. Stepping off to one side, he smashed his sword on top of Jack’s, snapping off the tip of the battleworn blade. Jack stared at his broken weapon in shock.
Kazuki drove forward, shoulder-barging Jack into a nearby pillar. Jack crumpled against it as Kazuki’s katana came round in a great arc to cut him in half. In desperation, Jack swung his own sword across and the two weapons clashed and locked. Jack tried to disengage, but as he pulled away Kazuki executed a perfect Autumn Leaf strike, disarming Jack of his katana.
‘Defeated yet again!’ gloated Kazuki, placing the sword’s kissaki to Jack’s neck. ‘On your knees, gaijin!’
With no alternative, Jack did as he was told. It appeared that Kazuki was going to force him to commit seppuku. The thought terrified him. How could anyone slit open their own stomach?
Kazuki looked over at Hiroto, still screaming in the corner.
‘Will you be quiet! You’re not dying. It’s only blood.’ Kazuki shook his head in irritation. ‘Nobu, over here.’
Nobu sat up, rubbing his head. When he saw Jack on his knees, defeated with Kazuki’s blade to his throat, his face lit up with glee.
Kazuki studied Jack a moment, seeming to be in two minds whether to kill him or not.
‘You’re not samurai. Gaijin don’t deserve to die honourably by the sword,’ he sneered, drawing the blade away and flicking the kissaki across Jack’s right cheek. Jack grimaced as a thin line of blood oozed to the surface. ‘That should even up your scars, for a start.’
Nobu lumbered over, the kanabō on his shoulder, and awaited Kazuki’s command.
Sheathing his swords, Kazuki grabbed Jack by the throat.
‘You killed Moriko!’ he said, a tremor seizing his voice. ‘You will suffer for it.’
‘I didn’t –’ protested Jack, but Kazuki cut him off.
‘Nobu, break his legs. We don’t want him getting away this time. I want the gaijin to burn, just as she did.’
Nobu obediently raised the kanabō to shatter Jack’s ankles.
‘Stop!’ said a timid voice from the doorway.
Yori ran in, his sword drawn.
‘If you hurt Jack, I’ll kill Kazuki,’ he threatened, pointing his sword at Kazuki’s heart. Despite the courage of his words, Yori’s sword arm trembled.
‘Nobu, do what he says,’ said Kazuki, bowing his head in defeat.
Nobu, his podgy face wrinkling in bemusement, was about to lower his club when Kazuki struck. With lightning speed, he withdrew his katana and knocked Yori’s sword to the ground.
‘Yet again, your little bodyguard fails you, gaijin,’ sneered Kazuki, poking Yori in the chest with his finger. ‘Go on, Yori, run away like you always do.’
Yori stood there, his lip trembling. He sobbed in great gulps of air and looked like he was about to cry.
Kazuki walked away, laughing coldly. ‘Nobu, after you snap the gaijin’s legs, crush the mouse.’
Grinning, Nobu raised the kanabō above his head.
All of a sudden, an ear-splitting kiai filled the Butokuden.
‘YAH!’
Nobu staggered backwards, a confused expression on his face. All his strength evaporated and he dropped the kanabō on his head. Lurching like a Daruma Doll, he