Part 19 (1/2)

'He's lying,' said Momochi. 'Are we to believe he overcame a guard and escaped from a locked cage all by himself? He must must have betrayed us.' have betrayed us.'

'NO!' Jack insisted. 'If anyone was betrayed, it was me me.'

'Please explain,' said Shonin, holding up his hand to silence Momochi's objection.

Jack took a second to compose himself. Momochi had been undermining his defence from the very start, pus.h.i.+ng for his immediate execution as a traitor. Now he wanted to turn the tables. To discover whether Momochi had betrayed him, or Gemnan had lied.

'The daimyo daimyo's torturer said a ninja ninja,' Jack looked directly at Momochi, 'had informed them of my presence.'

A moment of shocked silence pa.s.sed between the three men. Soke looked at Momochi questioningly.

'If you're accusing me,' contested Momochi, 'then think again. From the outset I've made my disapproval clear, but I would never never jeopardize the safety of our village. My family are here, remember. Shonin, I respect your authority and would have informed you of any such plan.' jeopardize the safety of our village. My family are here, remember. Shonin, I respect your authority and would have informed you of any such plan.'

Jack was almost convinced Momochi was telling the truth. And so too, it appeared, was Shonin. That left Miyuki. But she'd been with him throughout the mission. No, that wasn't entirely true No, that wasn't entirely true, Jack realized. Miyuki had gone on her own to see the priest at the temple at least, that's what she said she was doing.

'Perhaps it was someone else,' suggested Jack, glancing over his shoulder at Miyuki.

'Nonsense!' snapped Momochi. 'A ninja would know better than to endanger a mission like that. This samurai Gemnan was obviously trying to get you to talk. And I suspect you did did!'

'That's not true. I was willing to give my life to protect this village,' declared Jack.

'I believe you, Jack-kun,' said Soke.

'You would!' Momochi shot back irately. 'But your judgement of character has been called into question once before '

'Enough!' interrupted Shonin, seeing the old wound open up in the Grandmaster. 'I've heard both of you and listened to Jack's recount. What we need is an informed judgement. Where's Zenjubo?'

Miyuki bowed and spoke. 'He returned to the castle. His plan was to rescue Jack or ensure he didn't talk.'

Jack understood the cold-blooded implication of that statement. If he hadn't managed to escape, he'd have been the victim of a ninja a.s.sa.s.sination.

'Shonin,' called a ninja in the doorway. 'Zenjubo's just coming into the square.'

A moment later, Zenjubo walked in, dirty and travel-worn. He barely looked at Jack as he pa.s.sed by. Bowing before the council, he made his report.

Shonin listened without comment, then asked, 'Has the village been compromised in any way?'

Zenjubo shook his head. 'The boy said nothing.'

36.

ONE OF THE C CLAN.

'I owe you an apology,' said Miyuki.

Jack was startled by the admission. She stood before him, her head bowed in respect. Miyuki had found him by the village pond, where Jack had gone after the council meeting to recover and gather his thoughts. The question of who'd betrayed him still remained unanswered. Although it was more than likely a ploy by Gemnan, Jack as a samurai was yet to be convinced of a ninja's loyalty and honour to him. s.h.i.+n.o.bi s.h.i.+n.o.bi may follow may follow ninniku ninniku, but they weren't bound by the code of bus.h.i.+do bus.h.i.+do like the samurai were. like the samurai were.

When he'd seen Miyuki approach, Jack had tensed for yet another confrontation. But her remorseful att.i.tude took him completely off-guard.

'Apologize?' said Jack.

She looked up at him, her dark eyes, once so full of hatred, seeming to have thawed.

'I was wrong,' she confessed. 'My bitterness at my family's fate would only let me see you as samurai.'

Jack listened, speechless. Was this the same girl who had thrown him into a manure heap? Knocked him out cold? Put a knife to his throat, twice? Was this the same girl who had thrown him into a manure heap? Knocked him out cold? Put a knife to his throat, twice?

Miyuki continued. 'Soke once told me that a single tree doesn't make a forest. But I thought all samurai trees grew from the same seed. You proved me wrong. The spirit of ninniku ninniku is within you.' is within you.'

She placed a hand over her chest. 'Jack, you have a pure heart. You didn't betray us to the daimyo daimyo. In my eyes, that makes you a true true ninja.' She bowed low, this time holding it. ninja.' She bowed low, this time holding it.

'Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?' she asked in a tremulous voice.

Jack knew the j.a.panese valued apology highly. A sincere and respectful one was considered to wipe away all transgressions. He also realized it took Miyuki great courage to admit she was wrong, considering all the hostility that had pa.s.sed between them. He wasn't one to hold grudges. Besides, hadn't he also been guilty of misjudging the ninja? Unless Miyuki was attempting a very cunning deception, it seemed doubtful that she'd betrayed him. And it would do him no favours to throw her apology back in her face. He decided to take the risk and trust her sincerity.

'Of course,' said Jack. 'On condition that you'll accept my apology for breaking your water pot.'

'Yes,' she replied, a smile lighting up her face.

That evening, Shonin arranged for a celebration of Jack's official induction as a ninja. He held a formal dinner in his farmhouse, inviting all the heads of family, as well as Tenzen, Miyuki and Hanzo. To Jack's surprise, Miyuki chose the seat beside him.

'May I?' said Miyuki, offering to pour Jack his tea.

Jack hesitated. After all the antagonism between them, he still couldn't quite believe she was acting so amicably. He also recalled her lethal answer to the Ring of Water.

'I haven't poisoned it, if that's what you're thinking,' she laughed.

'No, of course not,' Jack replied, and, hurriedly thinking of an excuse, added, 'It's just, in England, a man pours his own drink.'

'Well, you're in j.a.pan,' she said, filling his cup.

'What's England like?' asked Hanzo, who sat on Jack's other side.

Jack thought for a moment. An unexpected wave of homesickness. .h.i.t him. He could recall green fields, dirty streets, bustling ports, the smell of baking bread, the stink of the tanneries, the peel of church bells on a Sunday, the laughter of his little sister. But these memories of home were fading like a s.h.i.+p in fog. He'd been gone too long, far too long.

'Very different from j.a.pan,' he replied, a faraway look in his eyes. 'But some things are the same. It's an island like j.a.pan. We have castles. Farms. But we grow wheat, not rice. No one drinks tea, though we do eat fish. Just not like this.' He picked up a slice of raw salmon with his has.h.i.+ has.h.i.+ and popped it in his mouth. and popped it in his mouth.

'Do you have samurai and ninja too?' asked Hanzo eagerly.

'No,' replied Jack, smiling at the idea. 'But we used to have knights who fought for the King. They followed a code much like bus.h.i.+do bus.h.i.+do called chivalry.' called chivalry.'

'But if you don't have rice, tea or ninja, why would you want to go home?' asked Hanzo, his brow creasing in bewilderment.

Jack almost laughed out loud at Hanzo's childlike logic, and was only stopped by the nagging worry tugging at his heart.