Free Young Samurai: The Ring of Sky by Chris Bradford Page A

why
     you’re in my class!
’
    Benkei laughed. ‘Well, I’m glad
     I never went to samurai school!’
    ‘Not all the teachers were that
     harsh,’ said Jack, remembering his kindly Zen master, Sensei Yamada. ‘In
     fact, I owe onemy life. When I washed up on these shores, half-drowned
     and orphaned, I was taken in by Masamoto Takeshi, the head of the
Niten Ichi
     Ryū
. He treated me as his own son. Fed, clothed and sheltered me. Taught me how
     to fight with a sword. Made me a samurai. If it wasn’t for his kindness, I’d
     have been dead a long time ago.’
    ‘It must be good to have someone care
     for you like that,’ said Benkei wistfully. Then his expression hardened.
     ‘But where is he now, when you need his protection most?’
    Jack sighed, saddened at the memory.
     ‘The Shogun forced him into exile, banishing him to a remote temple on Mount Iawo
     for the rest of his life.’
    Benkei studied Jack, clearly feeling his
     pain and loss. ‘And you’ve not seen him since?’
    Jack shook his head. Upset at the thought of
     his imprisoned guardian, he tried to move the conversation on. ‘So you never went
     to school?’
    Benkei snorted. ‘My mother always
     wanted me to become a monk, so I could learn to read and write.’
    ‘Did you?’
    ‘Of course not! I’d have had to
     shave off all my hair!’
    On the seventh day, they emerged from the
     Kuju range to be faced by a formidable wall of rock. The escarpment rose before them
     like a gigantic tidal wave, stretching north and south as far as the eye could see.
    ‘Welcome to the Aso caldera,’
     announced Benkei, noting the disbelief on Jack’s face. ‘We could go round
     it, but that would take days.’
    ‘Then we’ve no choice but to go
     over it,’ accepted Jack.
    Benkei led the way up the precipitous slope.
     Traversing back and forth, they made painstakingly slow progress towards the summit. The
     sun beat down and with every step their legs grew heavy as lead weights.
    Eventually, after a whole morning of
     relentless climbing, they breached the wall to be greeted by an awe-inspiring sight. The
     caldera was a single giant collapsed volcano, its crater wide as a sea and equally as
     long. The opposite side was little more than a hazy mountain ridge on the distant
     horizon. Over the centuries, the fertile soil of the vast inner plateau had been farmed
     into a carpet of green paddy fields, laid out like
tatami
mats for the gods. At
     the heart of the ancient crater was a group of smouldering peaks, a potent reminder that
     the massive volcano was still very much alive.
    ‘Aso-san’s five
     peaks … are supposed to look like … a sleeping Buddha,’ gasped
     Benkei, struggling to get his breath back. With an exhausted wave of the hand, he
     indicated the eastern peak to be the head and a steaming vent on another to be the
     Buddha’s navel.
    Although Jack couldn’t quite see the
     resemblance, standing on the lip of the caldera he felt as if he was on top of the
     world. The sky above was a cloudless blue dome, while the bowl of the crater dropped
     away into forested slopes to meet the patchwork plateau far below.
    Before they began their descent, Jack stole
     one final look at the Kuju mountain range behind. Upon a far ridge, he caught the sun
     glinting off something. Calling for Benkei to wait, he shielded his eyes and looked
     again. He now wished he possessed Miyuki’s eagle sight, but his eyes were goodenough to spot more reflected gleams moving rapidly in their
     direction.
    Jack turned to Benkei to deliver the bad
     news. ‘We have company.’

18
  
Naka-Dake
    ‘Those samurai don’t give up
     easily, do they?’ panted Benkei, as they weaved in between the shimmering fields
     of rice.
    ‘Focus on your breathing,’ said
     Jack, not breaking his stride.
    He’d taught Benkei the art of Dragon
     Breathing, the secret to the ninja’s ability to run like the wind. This special
     cyclic pattern of inhales and exhales