Forged Steele - Andrew Scorah (books that read to you txt) 📗

His name is Chihiro Kitagawa; he was sitting cross-legged, as if he was a statue of some ancient deity, on the ridgeline as the sun came up. The amazing vista of the valley below is revealed as the sun pushes back the shadows. The ridge rolled down to the valley floor and stretched away to reveal swathes of grassland dotted with trees and scrub. A ranch house with several outbuildings is nestled at the foot of the ridge, a coral off to one side held several horses. He had spent the night here on this ridge after traveling the twenty-five miles from Red Bluff, where he had confronted the renegade Ninja; Sygo Takagi.
Chihiro had been born into the way of the Ninja and had trained since childhood in the art of the Shinobi. He had been dispatched to the Americas by his Sensei, and clan head ZatoChi Takagi to hunt down his son, for the murder of a fellow clan member. After a year of searching, he had found Sygo mixed up with a group of outlaws, the Long Riders, with the help or some would say hindrance of the English man Lord Kingsley Pugh, a garrulous reprobate, and he caught up with Sygo and dispatched his duty. Now it was time to return home, to the land where the sun rises and the cherry blossoms fall. He had a long journey ahead to reach the east coast and find a ship home.
Chihiro stretched and prepared to pack away his bedroll when a cry from down in the valley arrested his work. He looked down to the Farmhouse to see a woman dragged from the house by a large man dressed all in black, six men came out behind her and her captor. From the distance, he could see she was naked from the waist down. The man threw her down and pulled his .45. A shot echoed up to him and she moved no more.
The seven men mounted horses tethered nearby, and rode off down the valley. Chihiro shook his head, life was cheap in this land he knew, having seen it many times in the year he had been here. He finished packing his bedding and started down the rocky slope leading from the ridge.
Reaching the ranch he ran over to the body of the woman and knelt by her, she had once been pretty but the slug from the .45 had erased her beauty, signs of a vicious beating and possibly more covered her body. From a nearby fence, he took a horse blanket and gently laid it over the woman’s corpse. The sound of horses hooves made him look up. A man of about twenty-five years, dressed in a brown duster and black pants, is riding towards him; he pulled up short and jumped down from the saddle.
"Jenny!" he cried, falling to his knees next to her.
Chihiro stood back as he observed the man clutch her to him. Tears streamed his strong looking face. He looked up as if seeing Chihiro for the first time.
"Did you see what happened China man?" he asked, "I seen you putting the blanket over her, thank you for that."
"I am Japanese, I saw what happened from up on the ridge, I could not get to her in time to save her," Chihiro informed him, "There were seven men, they dragged her out of the house and one shot her."
A gamut of emotions passed over his face as he lay Jenny back down and recovered her.
"Damn Jubal Kane!" he spat on the ground and climbed to his feet.
"Who is Jubal Kane?"
"My wife Jenny and me, we came to Fort Blaine, that’s the town near here, a year ago," he said," We had a little money put by but not enough, Kane loaned us the rest of the money to buy this land, we fell behind with the repayments."
Chihiro understood, Jubal Kane was like the Daimyo in his native land, the Lords who controlled the land and therefore the people who lived and worked on it. Most being power hungry and cruel, Chihiro detested them and had much relished the times he had performed missions against them.
"I understand," Chihiro, said, “This is the work of his men as punishment."
"Your damn straight mister," he held out his hand, “Names Adam Steele."
"I am Chihiro Kitagawa of the Iga Kansetsu Ryu." Chihiro bowed from the waist then shook Steele's hand, “I am sorry for your loss and offer my service to you."
Chihiro had decided to help Steele out, he had a good feeling about the young man and his own sense of justice would not let him walk away.
"Din't understand much of what you said, but I think I got the gist of it," he said.
"I see vengeance in your eyes Steele San; I think this can not be done on your own."
"I do have vengeance in my eyes Chihiro, Jubal Kane just got himself a war but this is my fight," he said, "You don't owe me anything."
"A man who saves a life by inaction is owed a debt by the life saved, “Chihiro said, “You saw me by your wife and could have shot me thinking I had something to do with her death, You did not."
Steele looked at him scratched his head and said, “You are one weird turkey Chihiro."
"Thank you," he said and bowed again.
Steele laughed and walked towards the house, he followed him.
Inside was complete disarray, as if a tornado had blistered through the ranch house. Furniture smashed bits of broken crockery on the floor and clothes strewn all around. Steele picked through the debris, chucking pieces aside and placing others on the table, which was still intact.
The tears started to flow again and he stamped off through a door, coming back carrying a box. He placed it reverently on the table. Chihiro wandered over and watched him quietly.
Steele opened the box to reveal a shiny silver long barreled pistol with a larger than normal cylinder, nestled inside next to a black Buscadero style gun rig. He removed it from the box and showed Chihiro.
"This belonged to my father he had it specially made," he spun the cylinder, listening to the click of its movement, “Normal colts hold six slugs, this one holds ten, he was a sheriff in Tucson till he was ambushed one night." Steele took out the rig and put it on, tying it down to his thigh before holstering the pistol.
"I was fourteen at the time but I took this gun and found every one of those dogs and sent them to hell, my dad had taught me to quick draw since I could walk." He drew the pistol a few times, testing the leather of his holster.
"What are you packing?"
Chihiro drew back his black duster to reveal his Ninja-to sword.
"Mister you're gonna need more than that pig sticker, Jubal Kane and his men are very dangerous."
"So am I Steele San, trust me I do not need one of your guns."
Steele shrugged and walked out side, he retrieved his black Stetson hat from where it had fallen when he jumped off his horse. He turned back to Chihiro.
"I need to bury Jenny but I want to do it alone," he said, "Go into town and meet me at the Blackwood Saloon, we will speak more then." Steele walked over to the coral and took a saddle rig that was draped over the fence.
"Take one of my horses, I take it you can ride?" Steele fixed the saddle onto a black Saddlebred mare.
"I can, we do have horses in Japan."
"Good, this here's Molly; she is a good stead, well mannered."
Chihiro took the reins and mounted the horse. Steele, with a wave of his hand, indicated down the valley.
"Fort Blaine is five miles that away, be careful when you get there, foreign types are treated with suspicion."
Chihiro dug his heels into the horse’s flanks and moved off in the direction of the town.
Fort Blaine was a town, which lay in the shadow of the Shasta Cascade Mountains; it had grown up and around the Fort. Blaine was starting to become a thriving community, with its own Church, Courthouse even a Post Office and Railway Station. The Fort, which was the towns’ namesake, lay in the centre of town, with the buildings built around it in a circular fashion. Blaine had been a Cavalry outpost until some years back when it was handed over to the town.
Chihiro rode into town to the curious stares of its residents. He knew talk would spread of the stranger in town so maybe he would not have to look for Jubal Kane, he would come to him or at least his minions would for a man like Kane would not wish to sully his hands.
The street before him stretched all the way to the hill with the fort perched at its summit. Chihiro guided his stead along the street, taking note of the buildings on either side. The towns people looked the same as would be found in any frontier town but with one difference, they looked scared. He dismounted outside a building with the legend General Store above its doorway. Securing his horse to the hitching rail, he stepped into the shade of the overhang and leaned against the support pole. Chihiro knew if you studied the comings and goings of people on any street in the world it can give you a feel for the type of town the street belonged too. For the next ten minutes, he did just that, watched as people walked or rode past him. Some carrying packages, some just out for a morning stroll, all taking care of their own business. The aroma of tobacco smoke mingled with the smell of horse manure and the dust on the street. The people here seemed better dressed than in other towns, leading Chihiro to believe the people here quite prosperous, many in suits and waistcoats, which were at odds with the fear he saw and could almost taste.
A bell ringing drew his attention up to the Fort. Off to his left he noticed several men with rifles step into the street and formed a line across it. People stopped what they had been doing and began walking towards the Fort. He stayed where he was and waited for the men to reach where he stood.
"Get movin', up to the Fort," one said, gesturing with his rifle. The men were all dressed alike, all in black with red bands around their Stetsons. Chihiro pushed off the post and walked up the street. The mournful sound of the bell filled the air with its urgent call to what ever waited in the Fort. More people came out of the stores and saloons to join the throng on the street. Chihiro followed the crowd, noticing more black clad gunmen had entered the street urging the crowd on wards.
Dust filled the air from the shuffling feet of the crowd who seemed to be gripped with a feeling of dread. Chihiro's curiosity was peaked now as he wondered what kind of spell hung over this town. Rounding the end of the street they came to an open square at the base of the hill, the crowd settled in round the square, which was marked off by more men in black. He looked around to see other gunmen perched on nearby roofs scanning the crowd. In the centre of the