Chapter 14 : Intruder

Following Sensei Yamada's reassurance that his fears were unfounded, Jack

would have been in good spirits that evening had Yamato not reminded him

of Sensei Kyuzo's punishment. So, while everyone folded cranes and

sought a solution to Sensei Yamada's koan, Jack was hard at work polishing

block after block of the Butokuden's training area.

The wooden floor seemed as vast as an ocean to Jack as he rocked

back and forth with the polishing oil, his shadow ebbing and flowing like a

tiny wave across its surface.

'Put your back into it!' snarled Sensei Kyuzo, who was eating his

dinner in the ceremonial alcove of the large hall.

The tantalizing aroma of grilled mackerel wafted past and Jack's

stomach rumbled with hunger.

'I'll return in the morning,' the sensei suddenly announced, having

finished his meal, 'and I expect the Butokuden to be gleaming. Or else you

will miss breakfast too.'

'Hai, Sensei,' Jack mumbled, bowing his head all the way to the floor.

However much he despised this samurai, he had to show the

appropriate respect.

When Sensei Kyuzo had left, Jack resumed his punishment. He had no

intention of being here in the morning and intended to work until his fingers

were raw and his knees felt like granite, if need be.

Despite the injustice of the punishment, Jack found solace in the chore.

He was reminded of all the times he'd had to holystone the decks of the

Alexandria. Though it had meant toiling under the blistering heat of a

Pacific sun with the rest of the crew, the task had been necessary work to

maintain the ship, not a punishment. Scouring the decks became a time of

songs and merry tales, when friendships were made and worries forgotten.

He was reminded of Ginsel, his shark-toothed friend, who now lay

dead at the bottom of the ocean. He missed their camaraderie. In fact, he

missed all the crew, even the Bosun, who had kept the men in check with

the threat of the cat-o'-nine-tails!

But most of all, he missed his father. His murder had left a gaping hole

in Jack's life. His father had been the one he'd always turned to, the one

who had guided and protected him, the one who had believed in him.

Jack wiped an unexpected tear from his eye and turned back to the task

in hand.

The moon had nearly completed its arc across the heavens by the time Jack

had polished every block of the wooden floor. The inky black sky was

showing the first signs of dawn on the horizon as he emerged from the

Butokuden, exhausted and light-headed with hunger.

At least breakfast would soon be served, thought Jack. Not that he was

particularly looking forward to it. Miso soup, cold fish and rice were hard to

stomach early in the morning. How he longed for a normal English

breakfast of crusty buttered bread, fried eggs and ham.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a movement on the

opposite side of the courtyard. At first he thought his eyes were deceiving

him, for who else would be up at this time?

He looked harder.

A shadow flitted along the edge of the Hall of Lions.

Whoever it was, they didn't want to be seen. Dressed all in black, the

figure kept close to the wall and barely made a sound as it crept towards the

entrance of the Hall of Lions, where the students slept.

Jack's senses went on alert. The intruder looked like a ninja.

Retreating behind the Butokuden's doorway, Jack watched the ninja's

progress.

So Dragon Eye had finally returned.

'Another time, gaijin! The rutter is not forgotten.' The ninja's words

resounded in Jack's head. He cursed himself for not having spoken with

Emi yet to arrange going back to Nijo Castle to hide the logbook. But Jack

had foolishly begun to think that Yamato had been right and that Dragon

Eye had died from his wounds, for there had been no sight or sound of his

sworn enemy for months.

But it appeared that Dragon Eye wasn't dead.

Akiko had suggested that the ninja, as an assassin for hire, had simply

been employed by someone else on another mission. Clearly that

assignment was over and he'd returned to finish his original job.

The figure in black reached the doorway and, as it turned to enter the

Shishi-no-ma, the moonlight caught the intruder's face.

Jack drew back in surprise. It was a fleeting glimpse, but he could have

sworn it was Akiko.