Free Young Samurai 06 - The Ring of Fire by Chris Bradford

Jack, he stopped.
    Yuudai looked down at him and smiled. ‘Your offer sounds worthy.’
    Bowing in appreciation of his acceptance, Jack asked, ‘When can you join us?’
    ‘Now,’ he replied, collecting his nodachi sword from inside the warehouse door. He slung it across his back. In spite of its extra-long blade, the nodachi looked like a child’s toy in his hands.
    Striding over to her workforce, the withered woman snapped, ‘Stop idling! Get back to work!’
    The porters wearily hauled themselves to their feet.
    ‘Where are you going, samurai boy?’ she demanded.
    Yuudai gave a respectful bow of his head. ‘I have another job.’
    Her face became taut with indignation. ‘If you leave now, you’ll never work here again!’
    ‘That must be a relief,’ said Saburo, grinning at their new friend as they all walked away.
    Staring in rage as her workhorse departed, the woman slammed her cane upon a saké barrel so hard that it snapped in half.
    ‘That’s your fault!’ she squawked, shaking a bony fist at Yuudai. ‘You owe me a new cane!’

15
    OUT OF TIME
    ‘We only need two more,’ said Jack, as they split up and scoured the town for young samurai. Despite the odds, he was so close to fulfilling his promise to the village. But with market day and the Tōshiya contest over, Okayama had seemingly emptied of potential recruits.
    A whole afternoon went by and they spotted just one young samurai worth approaching. She quickly rejected their offer, saying her parents wouldn’t allow it. But they’d seen the fear in her eyes at the mention of Akuma. Jack didn’t blame the girl, though. Defending the village was no game; it would be a real battle and Akuma wouldn’t take any prisoners.
    ‘Perhaps Saburo and Hayato have had more luck?’ Yori suggested.
    The two of them had gone in search of the brother and sister who’d been at the archery competition the previous day.
    ‘I hope so,’ said Jack.
    A disheartened Sora led them back to the storehouse, Jack and Yori walking beside the mammoth Yuudai. As they wound their way through the side streets, no one dared approach them and, for the first time in many months, Jack almost felt safe. Even when Jack had shown his face, Yuudai had bowed courteously, offering a warm smile and stating, ‘Any friend of Hayato is a friend of mine.’
    A bored Kunio was slouched by the storehouse door, waiting for everyone to return. He almost fell over himself when he saw Yuudai enter. Unable to tear his eyes away, he simply gawped at the new arrival.
    ‘Don’t stare!’ hissed Toge.
    But Kunio remained open-mouthed and in awe of the mighty young samurai. Toge shoved him out of the back of the storehouse, ordering him to fetch some logs for a fire. A few minutes later, Neko appeared with freshly brewed sencha . She almost dropped the kettle when she caught sight of Yuudai.
    Bowing shyly, she poured tea for the samurai with a trembling hand. In her haste, she spilt some on the floor. Her dark eyes widened into massive moons and her face flushed red.
    ‘She’s deaf and mute,’ apologized Toge, pushing Neko to one side in shame at her mistake.
    ‘Let her be,’ growled Yuudai, fixing him with a stern gaze. ‘Most people with ears don’t listen anyway.’
    Chastened, Toge retreated into the corner. Yuudai smiled kindly at Neko and beckoned her to repour his cup. He bowed his appreciation for the sencha and, once Neko had served Jack and Yori, she backed out of the room. As they drank their tea, Jack noticed Neko peeking through the gap in the wall as she washed the rice for dinner.
    Saburo and Hayato returned soon after, appearing weary.
    ‘We found them,’ announced Saburo.
    ‘But unfortunately we were too late,’ explained Hayato. ‘They were already on a boat heading south to Imaban.’
    ‘It’s all over then,’ said Sora, his face downcast. ‘Our village is doomed.’
    ‘Don’t despair,’ said Yori. ‘We’ll look again tomorrow.’
    ‘What’s the point?’