Chapter 51 : Kunoichi

The night was unduly warm and the room airless, making Jack sweat

uncomfortably as his hand fumbled in the darkness for his father's rutter.

The high floating sound of a bamboo flute entwined with the vibrating

plucking of a shamisen could be heard from the distant Grand Chamber of

daimyo Takatomo's palace, where everyone was gathered to celebrate the

completion of the Circle of Three.

'It's not here!' said Jack, a note of panic entering his voice.

'Are you sure?' queried Yamato.

'Yes. I left it on the upper ledge,' Jack insisted, as he emerged from

behind the silk white crane that hung upon the wall of the reception room,

'but it's gone.'

'Let me look,' offered Akiko. She stepped on to the cedar dais and

peered into the bolt-hole.

The three of them had slipped out of the celebrations, having left

Saburo and Kiku to look after Yori. Their intention had been to retrieve the

rutter and return before anyone noticed their absence. Masamoto, now

aware of the logbook, had asked to see it for himself, requesting that Jack

bring it to him the following morning. Jack had agreed, though he hadn't

revealed its location in case he further angered the samurai.

But it appeared they were too late. Dragon Eye had already stolen it.

'How could he have got into a ninja-proof castle?' despaired Jack,

slumping to the floor.

'Jack!'

Jack was vaguely aware that Akiko was waving something in front of

his face.

'Is this what you were looking for?' She smiled, brandishing the

oilskin-covered rutter in her hand, and placed it in his lap. 'It had just fallen

on the floor.'

'You are…' began Jack, but he didn't quite know how to express his

relief and joy to Akiko.

The music in the Great Chamber came to an end and in the lull a bird

could be heard singing.

A nightingale.

The grin on Jack's face faded as he remembered daimyo Takatomi's

unique alarm system built into the floorboards.

His growing look of horror was mirrored by both Akiko and Yamato.

Someone was coming.

'Quick! Hide the rutter,' instructed Akiko.

The Nightingale Floor sang with each approaching footstep.

Jack had no choice. He replaced the logbook on the upper ledge and let

the wall hanging fall back into place.

Outside the noise of the floorboards ceased.

The stranger was at the shoji door.

They looked at one another. What should they do? If it was a guard,

they could they pretend they were lost; but if it wasn't, shouldn't they be

getting ready to fight?

The shoji slid open.

A figure knelt before them, silhouetted in the corridor, the face veiled

in shadow.

No one moved.

Jack noticed the wall hanging was still swinging slightly and

desperately willed it to stop.

The figure bowed and stood.

A beautiful woman in a jade-green kimono, her long hair twirled high

upon her head and fastened with an ornate hairpin, glided into the room.

'The daimyo thought you might like some refreshments for your

private party,' the woman said softly, putting a small tray with a teapot and

four china cups down on the tatami.

She indicated for them to sit.

Bewildered, yet somewhat relieved, the three of them did as they were

told. Jack watched the serving woman pour out three cups of sencha. She

smiled kindly, offering Jack the first drink; her eyes, shiny as black pearls,

never leaving his face.

Jack waited for the others to be served before drinking.

The Nightingale Floor sang again and everyone froze.

The woman slipped a fan from her obi, flicking open its black metal

spine to reveal an exquisite handpainted design of a green dragon entwined

in misty mountains.

'It is rather warm,' she commented, fluttering the fan in front of her

face. 'You must be thirsty.'

Jack, his mouth dry with dread at the approach of a second visitor,

raised the cup to his lips.

The shoji slid open a second time and Emi entered.

'My father was wondering where you all were,' she said, her

expression rather indignant at not having been invited to their private

gathering. 'He wants to… Who are you?'

Emi stared at the serving woman. 'You don't work here.'

Before anyone could react, the woman flung her tray at Emi, spilling

the tea across the floor. The tray went spinning through the air like a large

square shuriken and struck Emi in the neck. She collapsed to the ground,

knocked unconscious.

'Kunoichi!' screamed Akiko, rolling away from the imposter.

'Don't drink it, Jack!' Yamato cried as he slapped the cup from his

hands. 'Poison!'

Momentarily stunned, Jack could only stare at the tatami, which gave

off tiny wafts of acrid smoke where the tea had been spilt.

'Ninja?' said Jack in disbelief, looking up at the beautiful woman

before him. He'd thought only men were ninja.

The female ninja snapped her dragon fan shut and brought its hardened

metal spine down on to Jack's head like a hammer. Yamato threw himself in

front of Jack, shoving his friend out of harm's way, but the iron tip of the

fan caught Yamato on the temple. He went down and stayed down.

Flipping to her feet, the kunoichi leapt over the prone body of Yamato

and advanced on Jack. As she raised her hand to strike a second time,

Akiko crescent-kicked the iron fan from the woman's grasp.

The ninja immediately retaliated with a devastating sidekick to

Akiko's stomach, sending her flying across the room.

In that brief moment of distraction, Jack managed to scramble to his

feet. Seeing his friends lying injured around him, his fury fuelled his

strength as he went on the attack.

The female ninja retreated before Jack's spinning-hook kick. She

ducked while putting a hand to her head. Her hair cascaded down her back

in a billowing black cloud and a bolt of lightning flashed out, straight

towards Jack's right eye.

Jack staggered backwards to avoid the sharpened hairpin, its glinting

point flying past his eyeball.

She stabbed at his face a second time, but was way off target.

Jack watched as the steel pin passed to his left and suddenly Sensei

Kano's lesson 'learn to fight without eyes' came to mind. His eyes had

instinctively followed the gleaming weapon, but the wild slash of the ninja

had been a distraction tactic.

When he turned back to face her, she held an open palm to her mouth

and blew a cloud of glittering black dust into his eyes.

Stung with a combination of sand, sawdust and pepper, tears streamed

down Jack's face.

His whole world went dark.

Jack had been blinded.