Young Samurai_ The Way of the Sword - Chris Bradford [111]
They began to ascend the stone steps of the Buddha Hall, and Jack felt heartened by his sensei’s wisdom, each step he took seeming to atone for another of his failings.
‘You have always done what you thought was right. This is the first virtue of bushido, rectitude. The goodness in your heart is the one thing Dokugan Ryu can never take from you. As long as you possess this, he can never win.’
‘But I’ve made an unforgivable mistake,’ protested Jack, ‘and I can’t take it back.’
‘There’s no such thing as a mistake, young samurai.’
Sensei Yamada ushered Jack inside the Butsuden. The great bronze Buddha sat silent in prayer, surrounded by a ring of flickering candles and the tiny red glowing tips of burning incense sticks. The temple bell hung motionless above the Buddha’s head like an ethereal crown, and Jack wondered whether one hundred and eight chimes would ever be enough to absolve him of his sins in the Buddha’s eyes. First, though, he had to answer to his own God.
‘Mistakes are our teachers,’ explained Sensei Yamada, bowing before the Buddha. ‘As long as you recognize them for what they are, they can help you learn about life. Each mistake teaches you something new about yourself. There is no failure, remember, except in no longer trying. It is the courage to continue that counts.’
Jack bowed and, in his despair, prayed for both Buddha’s and God’s blessing.
Sensei Yamada motioned for Jack to enter a side room of the Butsuden.
‘You may see her now.’
The small room was aglow with candles. Jack bowed his head and entered alone, the richly aromatic smell of white sage and frankincense wafting in the air around him.
Akiko lay upon a thick futon, dressed in a fine silk kimono of cream and gold, delicately embroidered with pale-green bamboo shoots.
Jack approached quietly and knelt by her side.
She looked to be asleep. He took her hand gently in his. It felt cool to the touch.
‘So your first dream did foretell our fortunes,’ she whispered, her voice hoarse but resilient.
‘You’re lucky to be alive,’ Jack replied, squeezing her hand affectionately.
‘Mount Fuji, a hawk and the leaf of a nasu,’ she laughed weakly. ‘Sensei Yamada was right, they brought us all the luck in the world. What more could we have asked for?’
An explanation, thought Jack, but he let it pass. Now wasn’t the time to ask about her miraculous survival.
Jack had overheard Sensei Yamada and Sensei Kano, as they laid her in the Buddha Hall to recover in peace, discussing dokujutsu, the ninja Art of Poison. The two sensei had both agreed that someone had helped her to build a tolerance against ninja poisons. Jack suspected the monk from the Temple of the Peaceful Dragon was responsible. He recalled how Akiko had appeared ill at New Year. She had told Kiku that it was something she’d drunk and then had gone straight to the monk for help. Had her condition been caused by trying to build up a resistance to such poisons? Akiko had a lot to explain, but for now Jack was just glad she was alive.
‘I’m so sorry, Akiko. I should’ve listened to you. Whatever Sensei Yamada says, I made a stupid mistake in not –’
‘Jack, it wasn’t your fault,’ she interrupted, softly putting a finger to his lips. ‘The only mistake was Dragon Eye’s – he let you live.’
Akiko beckoned Jack closer, drawing his face towards hers.
Their cheeks touched and Jack felt her warm breath grace his skin. For that brief moment he experienced total peace, safe within her arms.
Whispering in his ear, Akiko said, ‘You have to get back the rutter. You must follow the Way of the Dragon.’
NOTES ON SOURCES
The following quotes and facts are referenced within Young Samurai: The Way of the Sword (with the page numbers in square brackets below) and their sources are acknowledged here:
1. [Pages