The Lost Scroll of Fudo Shin (11 page)

Chapter Eleven

The Kage Maru made good time pulling out of the port of Los Angeles.  While Coast Guard helicopters buzzed the area searching for the bodies of a teenage boy and woman, no one noticed the 189-meter long cargo ship slipping out of the port en route to Tokyo, Japan.

Technically, the Kage Maru was designated a Handymax cargo ship, meaning it carried, on average, roughly 54,000 deadweight tonnage of dry goods.  Measuring about six football fields in length, it spanned almost one hundred feet in width.  Four cranes positioned along the ship would help move the containers during docking and were capable of lifting up to 30 tons.  

The ship contained five cargo holds normally packed with everything from televisions and electronics from China and Japan to clothing from Southeast Asia and foodstuffs from all over the Pacific.  All of the cargo was destined for shelves in the massive superstores in the United States, where even discounted heavily, the goods would still mean high profits for store owners.

Having emptied her holds in Los Angeles, however, the Kage Maru’s powerful two-stroke diesel engines steamed her ahead bearing only its 28-man crew as cargo.  And as of one hour earlier, that crew number increased by two.

“I think it’s okay now,” said Vanessa.  She stood outside the bridge high above the deck far below.  

Behind her, Jimmy stood looking at the amazing number of intricate navigational instruments filling the panels on the bridge.  The Captain and his first officer had barely nodded at Jimmy and Vanessa when they’d come aboard.  The reception was less than warm.

Behind them, the first rays of sun poked up from the Los Angeles skyline, warming the early morning air.  Jimmy left the bridge behind and stepped outside with Vanessa.

Even this high up, he could still feel the slight spray of salt water on his face and he grinned in spite of himself.  He was embarking on an adventure that he might have only dared imagine days ago.  And yet, here he was, chased across the country, leaving a false trail behind him, and now bound for Japan.

“How long will we be at sea?”

Vanessa turned and smiled.  “Almost two weeks, I’d expect.  Obviously, these ships aren’t built so much for speed as they are their carrying capacity.  Still, they do tend to make good time.  If we were doing a round-trip then I’d tell you to expect to be at sea for a month or more.”

“We’re not returning on the boat?”

Vanessa shook her head.  “Oh no.  We’ll probably fly back if things work out the way I expect them to.”

“Cool.”  Jimmy looked at the four cranes poking out of the deck like lonely trees.

“It’s good,” said Vanessa.  “You did remarkably well back there, you know.”

“Where?  At the harbor?”

“Everywhere,” said Vanessa.  “You’ve got excellent instincts.  I thought you might, given your background.”

Jimmy frowned.  “I don’t really have a background.”

“That you know of,” said Vanessa.  “But trust me, that will start becoming more evident as our journey progresses.”

Jimmy let a yawn slip out of him and his eyes watered as he clamped his mouth shut.  “Sorry, didn’t mean to yawn quite that loudly.”

“I’m surprised you’re even still able to keep your eyes open after everything you’ve been through.”  Vanessa put a hand on his shoulder. “You should get some sleep.  You’ve got a lot of work to do.”

“Work?”

“Absolutely.  We’re going to take advantage of this trip to get you trained up to snuff on a number of things.”

“More fighting?”

Vanessa grinned.  “More than you’ll probably want.  But there’s no point starting when you can’t even see straight.  We’ll start later on today, once you’ve woken up.  That sound all right?”

“I guess.”  He frowned.  

Vanessa nudged him.  “Something bothering you?”

Jimmy thought about the voice he’d heard back at the orphanage and how it hadn’t spoken to him since they were on the airplane.  Had it disappeared forever?  Or was there some reason why he wasn’t hearing it any longer?

“Jimmy?”

He looked up at Vanessa.  “Huh?  Oh, sorry, I was just thinking about something.”

“What?”

Jimmy smirked.  “It’s nothing.”

“Come on, what is it?”

“You’ll think I’m crazy.”

Vanessa eyed him.  “Will I now?”

“Yeah, it sounds pretty strange.”  Jimmy shrugged.  “Besides, it’s not really all that important.”

Vanessa shrugged.  “If you say so.”  She pointed at the door leading back inside the super structure.  “You know your way to your cabin?”

“Yeah, downstairs.  Down a lot of stairs.”

She smiled.  “Elevators are a luxury most cargo ships don’t have, Jimmy.  You’ll get used to it.  Besides, it’s good exercise for you.  Don’t forget that you’ll be training a lot, okay?  The sooner you get used to that, the easier it will get.”

“If you say so.”

“I do.  Now go get some rest.  I’ll wake you in six hours for a quick meal and then we’re getting started.”

Jimmy groaned.  “I could sleep for twelve.”

“I know you could.  But you get six.”

Jimmy started for the door and then stopped.  “Aren’t you going to rest, too?”

“I will.  I’ll probably doze for a few hours.  Not much more.  I want to keep on my usual schedule.”

“Which is?”

“About six hours a night.”

Jimmy blinked.  “That’s normal?”

“It’s my normal,” said Vanessa.  “Now get going.”

Jimmy tuned back to the super structure and walked inside and down the flight of metal steps before him.  The ship was huge and he hadn’t had a chance to get to know it all that well yet.  He felt tiny and insignificant amid the rest of the giant vessel.  

Congratulations on your journey thus far.

Jimmy stopped.  The voice.  It hadn’t left after all.

Where did you go?

Nowhere.  I’ve been with you all the time.  

But you didn’t talk to me, thought Jimmy.

Doing so would have distracted you.  And as you know, that might have proven deadly for you.  

I guess.  But what is this all about?  Vanessa said that I’d find out once we got on our way but I’m still confused.

You must sleep first.

But I want to know now.

For a moment, the voice didn’t respond and Jimmy felt sheepish for sounding so rude.  It had been a long night, though and he was tired of not knowing exactly what all this was about.

Impatience is often the cause of death.  You must learn to keep your mind, body, and spirit disciplined so as to not rush or act with haste.

Easier said than done, thought Jimmy.

You will learn how.

How?  From Vanessa?

She will teach you a great many things.  But I will teach you even more.  Eventually, you will learn things that you have never dreamed possible.  But to reach that level, you must train always as if this is your last moment alive.

I’m still confused, thought Jimmy.  Nothing anyone says seems to make any sense to me.

All will be revealed in time.  For now, you should move.

Jimmy opened his eyes, unaware that they’d even been closed.  “Whoa!”

He jumped back, seeing the boy standing before him for the first time.  He was Asian with a mop of black hair and wore a sneer across his face.  Jimmy guessed he must have been a few years older than he was.

Jimmy grinned.  “Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

The boy leaned closer and made a gesture as if he was sniffing the air around Jimmy.  Then he looked deep into Jimmy’s eyes.  “I do not like you.”

“You don’t know me,” said Jimmy.  “I just got here.”

“I do not need to know you,” said the boy.  “I see a spoiled little brat in front of me.  And right now he is blocking the path to the galley.  I am hungry.  And you are in my way.”

Jimmy turned and moved so the boy could pass.  “Really sorry about that.  I was just going to bed.  I’ve been up for a long time.”

“Why would I care?”

“I’m just saying-“

The boy held up his hand, silencing Jimmy.  “I do not care what you are doing.  I only care that you make sure you are not in my way.  If you cross my path, I will slice you open.”  His black eyes gleamed in the dull light.  “Do you understand me?”

“Slice me open, yeah,” said Jimmy.  “I got it.”

The boy glared at him and drew a finger across his throat.  

Jimmy took a breath.  “Look, I said I was sorry.  You have a good breakfast and I’ll make sure I don’t make the mistake of bumping into you again.”

“Make sure you don’t.”

Jimmy watched him vanish down the hallway and let out a breath of air.  “Well, that was some kind of nice welcome.”

He is dangerous.

You don’t say, thought Jimmy.  And here I thought he was going to ask me to play poker with him after dinner.

What is… poker?

You don’t-  Jimmy frowned.  Never mind.  It’s not important.  He sighed and turned back down the stairs.  His feet echoed on the metal framework, descending further into the bowels of the massive ship.  Somewhere far down below, the engine room churned an incessant pulsing.  But the noise was contained and hardly seemed to permeate the rest of the ship the way Jimmy thought it might.

Eventually, he wanted to get a look at the entire vessel.  If this was going to be his home for the next few weeks, he might as well learn every inch of it that he could.  

As long as he stayed out of the way of the nasty Asian dude.

That wouldn’t be any fun at all.

Two decks down, Jimmy stopped and wandered down the thin-carpeted corridor that lead to the guest cabins.  Vanessa had told him that while the majority of cargo shipping lines didn’t offer travel for non-crew, some still did.  And it just so happened that this line in particular was one of the best.

Jimmy opened the door to his cabin and stepped inside.  It wasn’t a five-star hotel or anything but the single bed nestled next to a small refrigerator.  He had a small bathroom complete with a shower and the porthole above his bed looked out onto the ocean still far below his cabin.

The sun spilled over the ocean now as it rose higher into the sky.  Jimmy kicked his shoes off and sat down on his bed, noticing for the first time the bag at the base of his bed.

He opened the bag and found a bunch of clothes, shoes, and a new sketchbook and pencils to replace what he'd lost on his journey so far.  He closed everything back up and smiled.

You must sleep now.

I’m going, I’m going, thought Jimmy.

He yawned again and then laid back on the bed.  His eyes dropped shut and within seconds, he was fast asleep.

Chapter Twelve

True to her word, six hours later, Vanessa banged on Jimmy's door.  Through the veil of sleep that had snuggled over him like a nice warm blanket, Jimmy groggily wiped his eyes.  "Already?"

Vanessa' head poked into his cabin.  "Let's go sunshine.  Time to get the lead out.  Meet me on the deck in five minutes with your sweats and trainers on."

"Trainers?"

"Sneakers, silly."

Jimmy found a new bag of gear at the bottom of his bed and rummaging through it, came up with a set of dark sweat pants and a sweatshirt.  He slid into them quickly and then laced up his sneakers.  Five minutes wasn't a lot of time and Jimmy had to huff his way up the stairs two at a time just to make it out onto the deck in time to meet Vanessa's deadline.

"About time."  She looked mildly amused.

"Yeah, well, those stairs are a killer."

"That's the point.  Remember what we talked about before: you need strong legs to do martial arts.  If you don't have them, the fight's already lost.  So all this huffing up and down stairs is a good thing."

Jimmy frowned.  "I'll withhold my opinion for now, if that's okay."

"Sure.  For now, let's get you doing some laps."

Jimmy glanced around.  "Laps?"

Vanessa pointed.  "The ship's just a tad over six hundred feet long so that means that one lap should be about a quarter mile or so, give or take a few.  So let's start you out with twenty laps."

Jimmy blinked.  "That's five miles."

"Oh goodie...you can multiply.  Excellent.  Now, off you go."

Jimmy frowned.  Coming on the heels of what they'd been through over the past few days, he thought this was a bit much.  He hadn't even eaten yet.  Where was he supposed to find the energy to run five miles right now?  He hated running anyway.

"You're wasting time, Jimmy."

Vanessa shot past him and he watched as she easily ran down the length of the ship, dodging hatches, and other dips in the deck.  Jimmy frowned.  Well, if she was going to do the run, too...

He started to jog and then found he needed to increase his pace just to keep up with Vanessa.  She seemed born to run whereas Jimmy's lungs heaved with every step.  In no time at all, he was sweating and gulping air.

You are forgetting the lessons.

He frowned.  The voice was back again?

Keep your tongue on the roof of your mouth, remember?

That's easier said than done, thought Jimmy.  How was he supposed to keep his tongue on the roof of his mouth when he couldn't even keep enough air in his lungs?  He kept trying and failing.

Relax your body and bend your knees.  It will get easier.

Jimmy bent his knees and eased himself into the run, finally reaching the bow of the ship.  He turned and ran back toward the stern of the ship.  Vanessa was already headed back to the bow.  She smiled as she ran past.

"Hanging in there?"

"You know how much this hurts right now?"

She winked.  "I can guess."

And then she was gone again, vanishing in his wake as her legs carried her effortlessly over the deck.  Jimmy frowned.  Why was it so easy for her?  He sighed, took another deep breath and then exhaled smoothly, trying to ease himself into the run better.  Without thinking about it, his tongue lifted to the roof of his mouth and he found it easier to breathe now.

Yes, that is the way.  Now keep your knees bent.