The Ninja Apprentice: The Lost Scrolls of Fudo Shin

by Jon F. Merz

  Jimmy ran a hand over his head. “So, you’re saying that I’m not me? That I’ve got the spirit of one of my ancestors inside me?”

  Vanessa seemed thoughtful. “I’m not sure yet.”

  “Yet.”

  Vanessa sighed. “We haven’t been quite able to determine whether that’s the case or not. But I think we’ll know soon.”

  “Great. In the meantime, there’s this psychopath named Kotogawa after me because he thinks I’m the one who killed him hundreds of years ago.” Jimmy leaned against the train. “What if we told him that the spirit or soul or whatever isn’t in me? Would he just leave me alone at that point?”

  Vanessa shook her head. “Highly doubtful. Kotogawa would view that assertion as your attempt at conning him into not doing something. He’s not very trusting, as you can well imagine.”

  “Why would he be? He thinks I’m out to kill him.”

  Vanessa said nothing, but checked her watch and then looked back at Jimmy. “Look, I know this isn’t exactly a normal thing for someone like you to be going through.”

  “There’s an understatement.”

  “I’d just ask that you hold your questions and concerns until we have a chance to get to the mountain and see what He has to say about all of this.”

  Jimmy eyed her. “Does He have a name?”

  “Yes. But I won’t tell you. He wants to introduce himself and I won’t deprive him of that.”

  Jimmy sighed. “Fine. How much longer until we get there?”

  “About thirty minutes. We’ll stay in a ryokan tonight and start out for the mountain first thing in the morning.”

  “Are you sure that’s safe? Won’t those guys we just pushed off the train come after us if we’re in a country inn somewhere?”

  Vanessa grinned. “I doubt it. They’ve got bigger things to worry about now.”

  “But if they called Kotogawa and told him they’d found us on this train then he could have had time to set up an ambush for us. I’m assuming there aren’t that many inns in the town we’re heading for?”

  “There aren’t.” Vanessa smiled. “I like how you’re thinking. Very strategic of you.”

  Jimmy shook his head. “I’m trying to save my butt. I don’t know that strategy has much to do with it.”

  “You’ll be fine for the night, trust me.”

  “I have been,” Jimmy muttered.

  They found their way back to their seats and Jimmy tried to close his eyes and sleep, but he couldn’t. How was it that he had ended up in Japan, clear around the world from where he’d been living in the orphanage, minding his own business? All he wanted to do was draw. Hang out. Play some video games.

  The thought of Derek and Jamal massacring another video game filled his mind. They always had such a good time demolishing supposedly unbeatable games.

  Now they were dead.

  Jimmy felt his throat tighten. He hadn’t had much time to think about them since Vanessa had scooped him up out of that place right before Kotogawa’s killers had stormed it and burned it to the ground.

  But the clacking wheels flying over the tracks brought all that back now. And as Jimmy thought about the fun they’d had, he felt his heart grow heavy. The memories of those fun times, the few they’d had together, seemed so long ago.

  A lifetime even.

  They might still be alive if not for Jimmy.

  And Kotogawa.

  You did not kill them.

  Jimmy sighed. I’m not really in the mood to talk to you right now.

  I know. You are upset. Angry. You feel as though you have no control over your life. That yours is a predetermined destiny and you have only to read your lines without ever writing them.

  Kinda.

  Before you fall back asleep, I will tell you this: your life is not predetermined. You still have the ability to choose and decide what you want to happen.

  If that was true, thought Jimmy, then I’d go back and wish that none of this had ever happened.

  That is because you do not want your friends to be hurt. You have a deep sense of honor within you born out of the warrior line you come from. As difficult as it is to understand that right now, you must realize that running away from evil is never the answer. Evil left unchecked will only flourish and doom more good people to tragedy.

  Jimmy sighed. I guess.

  If you truly wish to honor the memories of your friends, then you will avenge them by battling the evil that Kotogawa spreads. Help others and by doing so, your friends will live on.

  Jimmy blinked and his eyes felt suddenly hot. But he swallowed and took a deep breath. Will I see you tomorrow?

  I hope so.

  And then the voice was gone as suddenly as it had appeared. Jimmy stared out of the window at the dark night. Nothing in his world felt certain and as much as he’d longed for a life of adventure back at the orphanage, he had to admit that he wasn’t sure how much more adventure he could stand right now.

  * * *

  After they left the Iga-Ueno train station, Vanessa had a taxi take them forty minutes outside of the town to a tiny village set deep into the side of one of the towering mountains. From there, they walked the streets until they got to the inn.

  The ryokan was a small two-level structure set back from the main road in town. By the time Jimmy and Vanessa arrived, it was almost midnight. The rest of the town seemed eerily quiet. All around them, the peaks of mountains rose toward the night sky, topped by snow and fog.

  “I feel like we’re walking backwards in time,” said Jimmy.

  “It does tend to have that effect on people,” said Vanessa. “The land around us is very old and those mountains have seen a lot of years slip by them.”

  “The place feels strange.”

  “Land of the supernatural,” said Vanessa. “Come on. The locals like to say that if you stay out too late on the road, the tengu will swoop down and kidnap you.”

  “Tengu?”

  “Part crow, part goblin creatures who live in the forests surrounding us. They are supposedly incredible warriors who have trained some of the greatest samurai and ninja in Japanese history.”

  Jimmy grinned. “Yeah, right.”

  “I’m being serious. The old tales are quite certain that a number of famous samurai were trained by the tengu.”

  “Yeah, but you don’t believe them, do you?”

  Vanessa winked in the glow of the ryokan’s outside light. “You never know, I guess.”

  “I guess.”

  They walked inside the inn and a sleepy innkeeper ushered them up to their room. He didn’t say much and Vanessa seemed quite happy about that. She waited until he’d left before turning to Jimmy.

  “Let’s get some sleep.” She pointed to the futon beds set on the straw tatami mats lining the floor. “I’ll take the one closest to the door, okay?”

  Jimmy settled himself on the futon, wiggling his toes, which were finally free after being in shoes for the entire day. “Won’t that innkeeper start blabbing all over that we’re here?”

  “Who is he going to tell?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure it’s not everyday that he has two people show up at midnight asking for a room.”

  “That’s probably true. But I tend to think we’re safe.”

  “Why?”

  “Because people in the rural areas of Japan value their privacy a lot more than those in the city.”

  “You’re sure about that?”

  Vanessa laid down on the futon and propped herself up on one arm. “I’m not ever certain of anything in this game, Jimmy. But that’s just the nature of what we have set before us. We do the best we can with what we have at hand. We make decisions and hope they’re the right ones. Sometimes they are.”

  “And if they’re not?”

  “Then we deal with the consequences of that. But the important thing is to not stay sitting on the fence in life.”

  “Meaning what?”

  “Meaning that you ne
ed to make a decision about where you stand. Too many people in this world try to live their lives appeasing others, living in fear. They never commit to anything. They never stand up for an ideal. And as such, they aren’t truly alive.”

  “You’re saying I need to commit?”

  Vanessa shrugged. “I know you’ve committed to the training. We all saw that on the ship on the way over here.”

  “So, what then?”

  “The bigger picture, Jimmy. The reason you’re here.”

  "I'm not sure I have the complete big picture yet."

  Vanessa smiled and then stifled a small yawn. “Well, you will soon enough. And I hope then when you have the answers to the questions you’ve been wanting to ask, that you take some time to digest them before making a decision.”

  “I will.” Jimmy laid down on his futon and yawned.

  “Because,” continued Vanessa, “it may well be the biggest decision you ever make in your life.”

  Jimmy turned and looked at her. “You really know how to make a guy relax right before bed.”

  She laughed. “It’s a talent.”

  “That’s one way to phrase it.” Jimmy took a breath. “Did you always know what you wanted to do?”

  “Me?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I guess. I mean, growing up the way I did, I always wanted to make my father proud of me. I guess it was a pretty natural thing for me to enter the military and then work for the government afterward.”

  “Especially after he-“ Jimmy’s voice trailed off.

  But Vanessa nodded. “No, it’s all right. You’re correct. After he died, my path seemed even more certain.”

  “And you’ve never had any regrets?”

  Vanessa shrugged. “I guess not. Suppose I can’t really imagine doing anything else with my life.”

  “Thanks.”

  “For what?”

  “Being honest with me.”

  Vanessa smiled at him. “I know this hasn’t been easy on you, Jimmy. But if it’s any consolation, you’ve handled it all like a professional. And I mean that.”

  “I appreciate that.” Jimmy stretched his arms and legs trying to get the kinks out. “I feel like I could sleep for days.”

  “Unfortunately, you’ve got one more thing to do before you go to sleep.”

  “What’s that.”

  Vanessa winked at him. “Turn out the light, silly.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Morning dawned bright and early, although the fog remained a constant presence all around the village. To Jimmy, the cool mountain air and the fog combined to produce the feeling of always being watched, but never knowing where the watchers were.

  They ate a quick breakfast of rice and fish in relative silence. Jimmy felt rested but also anxious about the day ahead of them. The voice in his head had promised answers. Vanessa had warned him about the need to make a decision about where his life was headed. And Jimmy just wanted to get on with things.

  After they ate, Vanessa packed their things and they set off from the ryokan, fortified with a final cup of bitter green tea. The innkeeper wished them well on their travels before bowing and leaving them alone on the village street.

  “I get the distinct feeling they’re not exactly used to strangers around these parts,” said Jimmy.

  Vanessa shifted her backpack and smiled. “Welcome to the country. Travelers aren’t as often seen as they would be in the city. And you see all the signs out here have a lot more of the kanji on them than the easier syllabary hiragana or katakana characters. So if you are a traveler in these parts, you’d best know your kanji or else you’ll get lost in no time.”

  “I take it you know a lot of them?”

  “I know enough. The real question is whether you know them or not.”

  Jimmy smiled. “Guess I’ll need to learn.”

  Vanessa pointed them down the main street. “We’ll backtrack out of town until we come to the small bridge we walked over last night.”

  “There was a bridge?”

  Vanessa eyed him for a moment before smiling. “You did seem fairly exhausted last night. I suppose I can’t fault you too much for missing the fact that a stream bubbled by underneath us.”

  “Sorry.”

  “Forget it, let’s get moving.”

  They headed back down the main road and eventually left the last house behind them. From both sides of the road, towering pines curved inward, forming almost a tunnel with their long limbs. The asphalt was littered with pine needles and the air around them smelled of the sticky sweetness of the trees.

  Vanessa took a deep breath and exhaled smoothly. “Good clean mountain air. Nothing like it anywhere in the world.”

  Jimmy took a breath of his own and enjoyed the headiness he got from the scent of the pines. “How far is it to the mountain?”

  “Why? Are you in a rush?”

  “Yep.”

  Vanessa nodded. “I would be, too. We’ve got about a mile until the bridge and then from there, we’ll get off the road and onto the paths that curl up around the mountain. From the time we leave the road until we get to where we need to be? I’d say we’ve got a good couple of hours of trekking ahead of us.”

  Jimmy shifted the weight on his back. “Should we run the distance we have left on the road?”

  “You really want to?”

  “Well, I just thought….”

  Vanessa smiled again. “Take your time today, Jimmy. Don’t rush things. You might find out a lot about yourself today. Just don’t rush it too much, all right?”

  “Yeah.” Jimmy felt a breeze go rushing past him and took another breath. The area might have been spooky at night, but there truly was a serene beauty to the place that made him feel good.

  Neither of them spoke as they made their way down the main road. Vanessa guided them with her feet making little noise on the paved road. Every few minutes she would glance back at Jimmy, as if making sure he was still back there. He grinned. She was clearly concerned about him, but in a good way.

  Not that he had any intention of running anyway. Where would he go? And why would he? Finally, after so many weeks of puzzles, he had a chance to get some real information about this entire mess. May as well see it through to the end, he figured.

  They came upon the bridge and Jimmy saw that it was actually not much a bridge as a stretch of road with a culvert cut under it to allow the stream to pass through. So he hadn’t been totally out of it last night. That was good to know.

  Vanessa waved him over and squatted off the road in the shadow of a hulking pine. “We’re going to be following a very small unmarked trail for a while. You’ll need to pay attention. The land around here slopes away in places. A wrong step and you’ll go for a quite a tumble.”

  “Got it.”

  “There are hidden cliffs as well. So mind what I do and step where I step. I don’t want my last image of you to be one of you bouncing down the mountainside.”

  Jimmy sighed. “I said I’ve got it. I’ll be careful. Promise.”

  “Right. Off we go then.”

  She ducked out from under the pine and brought them halfway up the nearest incline. She paused as if remembering something and Jimmy drew in closer to her.

  “Yeah?”

  She pointed at the top of the ridge. “Something for you to store in that head of yours. See the top of the ridge? Never travel along it. It’s easy going, yes, but you’ll also skyline yourself.”

  “Skyline?”

  “Make a target of yourself from a distance. A good sniper, like our friend Merlin, would be able to drop you without a second thought.”

  "Is she really a good shot?"

  "She's a gifted shooter, yes."

  Jimmy pointed way down at the valley. “It’d be easier walking down there as well.”

  “Another no-no. You can be fired down on from a higher elevation. In olden times, they would position archers higher up in order to rain down arrows from such spots. Trust me, you w
ouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of any of those.”

  “Gravity would help them fall and puncture,” said Jimmy. “Gruesome.”

  “Indeed.” Vanessa led them on. Jimmy found the way tough going as one leg was straighter than the other as they wound their way up the mountain. Traveling as Vanessa suggested, midway up the slope, was tactically superior, but it also made Jimmy feel constantly off-balance.

  “You’ll get used to it,” said Vanessa quietly. “Just do your best and try to keep the noise down. Sound travels much farther in the forest like this.”

  Jimmy did his best to watch his footing as they climbed. The trees seemed stuck into the side of the mountain with exposed roots jutting out of the soil at weird angles. The floor of the forest was a bed of soft pine needles, which helped cut down on the noise, but Jimmy still had to make sure that he didn’t go stumbling with every step he took.

  He changed his walking style and started leaning forward to take some of the strain off of his thighs. And every time he spotted a root looking to trip him, he’d carefully lift his leg straight up, rather than slanting up at an angle. Vanessa glanced back and nodded her approval, but kept them moving on a solid pace.

  About mid-morning, Vanessa called a halt to their progress and sat down with her back against the closest, thickest tree. From her backpack, she hauled out two bottles of water and passed on to Jimmy. “Drink it, even if you’re not thirsty. Dehydration can get you in the desert, the jungle, the artic, or even a nice forest like this.”

  Jimmy popped the top and sucked the water down. It tasted wonderful and he kept drinking until he felt like he’d replenished himself.

  “That’s delicious.”

  “Nothing like being on a hard tab to make you appreciate the simplicity of having fresh water.”

  “Your father took you on long hikes a lot, didn’t he?”

  “What makes you say that?”

  Jimmy shrugged around another long sip. “Just a thought I had. You seem so totally at ease out here. I can’t imagine where you would have grown so comfortable unless you’d been brought up doing this.”

  She smiled. “My dad used to take me everywhere he could whenever he had time. Being with the Regiment, he’d be stationed at home during rotations on the counter-terror team. He’d go into work, get the day’s jobs done and then scream home and whisk me away to some inhospitable hunk of rock for climbing.”