Kuroba Asashin's Arc

Chapter 11 of 44

At first light Kuroba stood on the stone path in front of the old hall. Ona swept the last leaves from the boards. Tish set out cups of water on the step. Kenji sat against the post with the lizard on his knee. No students came. The sun climbed above the ridge and the jasmine along the rail opened white. Kuroba waited. He had thought the first day would be empty. He was ready for it to be empty. Then a small figure came up the valley road on foot, alone, a bundle across his shoulders and dust to his knees. The boy stopped at the bottom of the steps. He was short and lean, with dreadlocks tied back and a long beard. One eye caught the light wrong and glowed pale blue. His left arm was black metal to the shoulder, bolted at the joint. He set the bundle down. "Heard about you two valleys back," he said. "Man in black. Cuts down armies. I came to see if it was true." He looked at the odachi on Kuroba's back. "Spar me. One round. That's all I want." Kuroba studied how the boy stood. Weight on the front foot. Shoulders squared like a street fighter who had never been taught to hide. No shame in him. Only hunger. Kuroba pulled the mask down. "Name." "Jackie. Jackie Jones." Kuroba stepped off the path onto the packed earth of the yard. He left the odachi against the post. "Come." Jackie came in fast. Kuroba shifted his back foot two inches and the boy went past him into the dirt. Jackie rolled up, swung with the metal arm, and Kuroba was already behind him. He tapped the boy's ankle with the edge of his sandal. Jackie fell. He got up. He came again. Kuroba let him throw four punches and moved through them without lifting a hand. On the fifth Jackie stopped, breathing hard, the blue eye whirring. He looked at the ground where his own feet had betrayed him four times. He dropped to his knees on the stone. "Teach me," he said. "I'll sleep in the yard. I'll haul water. I don't got nowhere else." Kuroba looked past him to the porch. Kenji tapped the stick once against the post. Kuroba turned back to the boy. "Stand up. You don't kneel here." Jackie stood. "Wash at the well." Jackie picked up his bundle and went. Ona watched him go, then looked at Kuroba. "That's one," she said. Kuroba pulled the mask back up. The dojo had a student who was not Ona. The door was open now, and the road ran both ways.