'Pretty ugly more like!' smirked Miyuki. 'But as it's dark you should fool the guards.'

Jack squeezed his feet into the wooden geta and clip-clopped over to Akiko. 'I was so worried. I thought the daimyo had ...'

Akiko took his hand, squeezing it reassuringly. 'The guards didn't lay a finger on me. The daimyo had other plans for my fate. I was more worried about you.'

'And everyone will be worried about us, if we don't get moving,' interrupted Miyuki, purposefully passing between them to reach the door. 'The kabuki show must be almost over by now.'

Akiko stiffened slightly at Miyuki's ill-mannered barging, but said nothing. Though neither girl liked the other the rivalry of samurai and ninja running deep they at least shared a healthy respect for each other's skills.

Alert to the danger they now faced, the three of them cautiously made their way down the darkened corridor. Four unconscious guards lay sprawled on the floor. Half-drunk cups of sake were discarded on the stone slabs next to their lifeless hands.

'A sleeper drug,' explained Miyuki as she cleared away the evidence.

A ninja's presence should be like the wind always felt but never seen, thought Jack, remembering their training together under the Grandmaster Soke. Miyuki's cunning, expertise and thoroughness were only some of the reasons why he admired her so much.

They hurried along to the bottom of the stairwell, Jack tottering on his wooden clogs. The tight kimono restricted his movements and he stumbled over a stone slab. Akiko and Miyuki caught him on either side and they both exchanged a look of concern.

'Let's just hope we don't have to make a run for it!' remarked Miyuki.

39.

Mie 'You're cutting it fine,' said Okuni under her breath, as Jack, Akiko and Miyuki joined her at the edge of the stage. She arched her painted eyebrows at Jack's vastly altered appearance, but made no comment. 'The final act's about to go on.'

Junjun and six other girls, dressed in a collection of flamboyant kimono, waited in the wings for the previous act to finish. Jack peeked through a gap between two side screens. Daimyo Kato and his guests reclined on silken cushions in the keep's main reception room. It was a magnificent chamber with a gold-panelled ceiling of painted flowers and silk-screen walls adorned with exquisite scenes of blossoming trees and mist-shrouded mountains. The samurai lord took prime position in the centre of a large raised dais. He clasped his iron fan in one hand, tapping to the rhythm of the music played by three musicians on the stage. Ten high-ranking officials, their silk robes as grandiose as their status, sat either side of him. Four bore the kamon of the Shogun a trio of hollyhock leaves in a circle. And, around the chamber, another thirty armed samurai of the Shogun's personal guard knelt watching the show.

Jack thought he couldn't go any deeper into the lion's mouth without being swallowed whole.

Taking centre stage, a juggler in a multicoloured robe was performing the climax to his act. Juggling five eggs at once, he tossed them so high into the air that they almost hit the precious gilded ceiling. As he caught then threw one of the eggs, it miraculously transformed into a tiny sparrow that fluttered away. Each consecutive egg did the same until the room was filled with the sound of twittering birds.

'I don't believe it!' exclaimed one of the officials. 'He turned the eggs into suzume!'

The audience burst into astonished applause. Even daimyo Kato put down his fan to join in the clapping. The spiky-haired performer gave a flourishing bow, then bounded off the stage.

'You were amazing!' fawned Junjun. 'How on earth did you make that happen?'

'A good conjuror never reveals his tricks!' he replied, grinning from ear to ear at his enthusiastic reception.

'Benkei!' whispered Jack, both delighted and relieved to see his friend safe and sound. He wasn't a traitor after all. He was one of their saviours.

Turning, Benkei did a double-take, then laughed, 'You scrub up well, nanban.'

'Careful what you say!' hissed Miyuki. 'Anyone could be listening.'

Benkei immediately sealed his mouth, pretending to sew his lips together with a finger, as the musicians struck up a new song and Junjun and her dancers swanned out on to the stage for the finale.

'You have to watch this,' urged Benkei, too excited to keep quiet. 'Junjun is simply outstanding.'

Encircled by the other dancers, Junjun began to twirl and twist as if performing a Buddhist prayer dance. The shamisen twanged to the intense beat of the tsuzumi drums and the wooden clappers accentuated her movements. Floating in short dainty steps around the stage, she bobbed and weaved like a feather caught in the wind. Her hands flowed in complex patterns, seeming to press and lift the very air around her.

'I hope this dance is short,' mumbled Miyuki under her breath. 'We're living on borrowed time.'

Like the rest of the room, Jack was dazzled by Junjun's display, but he also felt Miyuki's agitation. Their breakout could be discovered at any moment a change of guards, a spot check, or even the alarm being raised if one of the comatose samurai recovered.

Junjun continued to flutter across the stage, teasingly exposing her wrists and displaying her painted neck. At the height of the music, she struck an unexpected pose. Stamping her left foot powerfully to the floor, she stood stock still, her right hand outstretched and flat towards the ground and her left pointing directly skywards. Her red-tinted eyes were opened so wide, they seemed to fill her doll-like face. The effect was so sudden and overpowering that many of the officials gasped in shock. Jack had never seen anything like it. Nor, apparently, had daimyo Kato and the other samurai. They all sat transfixed, their mouths hanging open like stunned goldfish.

'Junjun has cut a mie pose,' explained Okuni in hushed tones. 'I created the technique to draw attention to the emotional climax of the dance. This is what makes my kabuki show stand out from all others.'

The shamisen, drums and clappers reached a fever pitch, then ceased abruptly. The silence that followed was almost as deafening. While Junjun hesitantly bowed, the audience remained thunderstruck. The samurai all awaited the reaction of the daimyo to this dramatic and sensational display. Then, just as the lack of reaction was becoming unbearable, daimyo Kato smiled and began clapping and the whole room exploded into fervent applause.

Junjun gave another bow before Okuni joined her on stage and presented her star performer to the daimyo himself. After the necessary formalities, Okuni and Junjun took their leave and joined the rest of the troupe backstage. Junjun was immediately swamped by well-wishers, but Okuni shooed them away and set everyone to work packing up the show's clothes and props. To blend in with the troupe, Jack, Akiko and Miyuki did their best to help, while Benkei spent most of his time engaged in charming Junjun.

'How much longer do you think we have?' Jack whispered to Miyuki.

'Depends,' she replied, hurriedly folding up a kimono. 'Those sleeper drugs can last all night, or ... just a few hours.'

Once Okuni had settled her business affairs with the daimyo's treasurer and apologized for their need to leave for a booking in Shimabara the next day, she led her troupe from the reception room. Jack tottered along between Akiko and Miyuki. He kept his head down as they paraded past the daimyo, who gazed longingly at the departing Junjun. This worked in their favour, and he and Akiko slipped from the chamber unnoticed.

Descending several flights of stairs, the kabuki troupe exited the keep and crossed the gravelled courtyard that only three days before Jack and Akiko had been dragged over as prisoners. They approached the courtyard's inner gate. A unit of eight samurai stood sentry. Flaming torches lit the entrance, banishing the night and exposing anyone who passed beneath to their unforgiving glare.

Jack felt himself trembling with nerves. This would be his first real test. Could he really pass himself off as a kabuki dancer? He was taller and stockier than the others. His wooden geta clumped on the stone path, seemingly louder than all the girls put together. Perspiring heavily, he now worried that his make-up might be running. Miyuki had been crazy to believe this disguise could work. Any guard worth his salt would be able to tell that he wasn't a girl!

But it was too late to turn back now. Okuni was showing her castle pass to the guard. Satisfied, the guard beckoned the troupe through. Jack shuffled forward. The unit of samurai eyed each of the dancers. But they weren't looking for an escaped gaijin. They were simply admiring the girls. And Jack was quickly ushered through, none of them giving him a second glance.

Astounded to have made it past, Jack breathed a sigh of relief ... until Miyuki whispered, 'One down, six more to go.'

With each gate, however, Jack became more and more confident of success. The samurai soldiers, distracted by the beauty of the troupe, relaxed and lowered their guard. All the men were eager to please rather than be obstructive. With Okuni and Junjun leading the way, they breezed through each checkpoint.

'Last gate,' Miyuki whispered to Jack as the kabuki troupe proceeded along the road to the castle's main entrance. A full detachment of samurai guarded this gateway. Armed with swords and spears, they lined either side two deep. Beyond them lay Kumamoto city and freedom. For Jack, the temptation to run was almost overwhelming. But he forced himself to maintain a steady pace. The last thing he wanted to do now was trip over.

The guards leered as the troupe promenaded by, the girls smiling demurely and giggling with all the attention. Okuni at the head of the group handed over her castle pass to the chief guard, a hairy man with a bristling beard, heavy jowls and bulbous eyes. He gave the scroll a cursory glance and waved her through, more interested in her protegee than any paperwork.

Akiko and Miyuki stuck close to Jack's side, hoping to shield him from direct view. Jack kept his eyes demurely to the ground, while making every effort to walk in tiny feminine steps. Ahead, Benkei was already through the gate. Another ten paces and Jack would be too 'STOP THERE!' ordered the chief guard.

A criss-cross of steel spear tips forced Jack to a startled halt. The spears separated the troupe in half. His heart hammered in his chest as the chief guard strode straight over to him.

With his bulging eyes, the man looked Jack up and down.

'What's your name?' he demanded.

Flustered, Jack offered what he hoped was a coy sweet smile as he thought of a suitable name. Then, remembering Benkei's birds, he replied in a high-pitched, squeaky voice, 'S ... S ... Suzume.'

The chief guard thumbed the hilt of his sword as he considered this name. Out of the corner of his eye, Jack noticed Miyuki reaching into the folds of her kimono sleeve, where she concealed a knife. He felt Akiko tense, ready to pounce too. They would have to make a break for it.

The chief guard leant in close to Jack's face. 'Well, my little sparrow,' he breathed into his ear, 'you certainly caught my eye.'

Jack yelped as he felt his bottom get pinched.

'Fancy visiting my nest one day?' the man asked, grinning like the fat slimy toad he was.

'Certainly not!' Jack replied with as much grace as he could muster. 'This little sparrow's flying south for the winter.'

Acting offended by the proposition, he boldly clip-clopped past the chief guard and parted the crossed spears with his gloved hand.

'Come back soon, my little sparrow!' called the chief guard, admiring his departure from behind.

Not likely, thought Jack, hurrying out through the gate as fast as his wooden clogs could carry him.

40.

Reunited 'We made it!' exclaimed Benkei, giving a little skip as the kabuki troupe turned a street corner and the castle gate disappeared from view.

Miyuki shook her head gravely. 'We're not out of trouble until we're on-board the ferry and halfway to Shimabara.'

'I still can't believe your escape plan worked,' said Jack, grabbing hold of Akiko's arm to steady himself as they kept up their hurried pace. Okuni led them through the deserted city streets towards the harbour. Dawn was still a few hours off, but they needed to ensure they were on the first boat out of Kumamoto.

'It almost didn't when that guard took a liking to you,' said Akiko, shaking her head in disbelief.

'Some men have very unusual taste!' remarked Miyuki. 'Anyway, I can't take all the credit for the plan. Benkei was the one who suggested using the kabuki troupe for cover.'

'Then we owe you our lives, Benkei,' said Akiko, bowing her head, repentant for having doubted his loyalty.

He acknowledged her praise with a humble shrug. 'All in a day's work for Benkei the Great!'

The kabuki troupe crossed the bridge over the Shira River and turned down a side street.

'But how did you and Miyuki meet each other in the first place?' asked Jack.

'I recognized your friends, of course,' said Benkei, grinning like a Cheshire cat and pointing down the road.

Jack and Akiko both came to a stunned halt. Tethered outside one of the inns was Akiko's white stallion. Beside the horse stood a rotund young samurai with bushy eyebrows and a beaming smile. And next to him a small boy in monk's robes carrying a shakuj ringed staff. Their shadowy appearance in the darkened street made them look like ghosts.

'Saburo ... Yori ...' gasped Jack, almost too scared to say their names out loud in case the spell was broken.

Arms open wide, Jack ran towards his friends, and promptly fell flat on his face as one of his geta tripped him up. Rushing over, Saburo and Yori helped him back to his feet.

'Steady there, young lady,' smirked Saburo, trying to stifle his laughter at Jack's comic tumble and feminine appearance. 'These streets can be dangerous at night. Never know who you might meet!'

Jack looked from Saburo's face to Yori's and back again, still not quite believing his friends were real.

'Akiko!' cried Yori in delight, as she now joined the unexpected reunion.

'It's very good to see you too,' she smiled, bowing to them both. 'Jack told me you'd died at sea.'

'We almost did,' said Saburo, a grim look passing across his face.

'So how did you escape the storm? Or even find me?' asked Jack.

'Time for all that later,' cut in Miyuki, collecting her pack from a pile beside the inn's entrance. 'First let's catch that ferry.'

'After our last experience, I hope there aren't any pirates this time!' said Saburo, handing Akiko the reins to her horse and picking up his own bag.

Akiko tenderly stroked the stallion's mane, tears welling in her eyes. 'I never thought I'd see Snowball again. Thank you, Saburo.'

'It's not me you should thank. Yori was the one to recognize him.'

'I spotted your family's kamon on the saddle and thought Benkei had stolen your horse,' explained Yori.

'But I hadn't!' Benkei interrupted, hastily defending his honour.

'Then what were you doing with all their belongings, hightailing it out of Kumamoto?' challenged Saburo.

'Keeping them safe,' he replied, offering Jack and Akiko his most sincere smile. 'After getting the travel permits, I returned to the inn and saw the samurai patrol on the doorstep. So I hid in the stables. Once they were gone and the innkeeper was busy celebrating his future reward, I sneaked back into our rooms.'

'So it was the innkeeper who betrayed us,' said Akiko in disgust, 'even though we paid him off!'

Benkei shook his head. 'It was actually his wife, Momo.'

'I knew I was being watched,' said Jack, recalling the too lifelike eyes of the koto player in the screen painting.

'Anyway, I grabbed all our packs, your swords and bow, and made off on the horse. I wasn't thinking where I was going, just trying to '

'You got my pack?' interrupted Jack. 'I thought the daimyo had taken everything.'

Yori stepped forward, cradling the bag with its precious cargo. 'I've been looking after it for you.'

'Then it's been in safe hands,' said Jack, smiling at his dear friend as he felt the reassuring weight of the rutter inside.

Reunited, he gazed in turn at Yori, Saburo, Miyuki and Akiko. His circle of friends was complete as if another perfect ens had been drawn in his life. 'It's so good to see you all ... alive!'

'Are you coming?' urged Okuni, who'd been waiting anxiously with her girls. As leader of the troupe, she was only too aware of the danger she'd put them in by aiding the escape of a sworn enemy of the Shogun. Now they'd finished loading their belongings on to two handcarts and were keen to depart.

Saddling Akiko's horse with their packs, Jack and his friends rejoined the kabuki troupe and headed west along the main road out of Kumamoto. Still in disguise as a dancer, Jack couldn't be seen to carry any weapons, so his swords were also strapped to the saddle. Akiko and Miyuki walked alongside him to prevent any further mishaps, while Saburo and Yori followed behind, leading the horse.

The harbour was some distance beyond the outskirts of the city. So by the time they'd navigated the streets, avoiding the night patrols, and reached the mouth of the river, the early glow of dawn was visible on the horizon. Jack could hear the gentle wash of waves, as the velvet-black sky retreated to reveal the rippling bay before them. The silhouettes of four large wooden ferries were visible alongside a line of fishing boats moored to a broad stretch of dock. As they approached the harbour, a checkpoint loomed into view. A bamboo barrier straddled the road, beside which sat a reed-covered hut and a small wooden bunkhouse.

'What about travel permits?' Jack asked Benkei. 'Are the ones you got still valid?'