ROSE TYLER, NINJA ASSASSIN
Chapter Twenty Six Hattori waited till the door was closed before hurrying down the corridor to the armory. Now that the samurai knew of his presence, he could walk along the floor and not raise an alarm. He went into the armory and Donna and Akira looked at him. Akira was now dressed in full black samurai armor. "What are they doing to him?" Donna said, hurrying over to Hattori. "Hitting him," Hattori said. "He made me hit him when I managed to talk to him alone. But Rose is alive and she's probably looking for us. So, Donna-san, the Doctor-sama wants you to go back down the tunnel and go look for her. He said to lead her back here and look for the…TARDIS." "What about the samurai?" Donna said. "Will they be there when I go back to the hidden entrance?" "I'll go with you," Akira said. "If they find us, I'll tell them I just captured you and convince them to go about their business. Once Donna-san is back in the tunnel, I'll come back." Hattori looked at Akira's face. His face was uncovered and he wasn't sure if Akira would be recognized. He walked over to one of the mannequins that were used to display the armor when not in use. Akira had put everything on except the metal mask that covered the lower part of the face. The mask had a red mustache on it and the mouth was shaped into a fearsome scowl. "Wear this, it'll help disguise you," Hattori said, taking it off the dummy. Akira took off the helmet and tied it onto his face. He put the helmet back on and Hattori nodded his approval. "Good. I'll go back inside the other room and make sure they don't decapitate Doctor-sama or hurt him too much." "I'm glad he sent me to find Rose because if I went in there, those samurai's heads would be rolling," Donna growled. "Follow me outside and you can walk with me to the door. They know I'm out here so your footsteps will be disguised with mine," Hattori said. Akira and Donna walked up behind him while he slid open the door. Hattori peeked out and quickly slid the door shut. "What is it?" Donna whispered. "Ieyasu, he's going in the room with some more samurai and his advisor," Hattori whispered. "We need to get the Doctor-sama away from here before he ends up dead." "Go in there and keep an eye on him, I'll join you when I get Donna-san back in the tunnel," Akira said. "If we have to battle the entire castle, we'll get him and his time machine out of here." Hattori nodded. He slid open the door, peeked out and nodded when the corridor was empty. He, Donna and Akira stepped out and he shut the door. The Doctor turned his head towards the door when Ieyasu entered with his retainers and his advisor. Ieyasu was dressed in red samurai armor without a helmet. He glared at the Doctor while the Doctor gazed at him calmly. "Who are you?" Ieyasu said once the door was closed. "Fenton Aloysius Butterworth the Third," the Doctor said. "Where are you from?" "Stoke on Chippenworth on Avon on Calling," the Doctor said. "What are you doing here?" "Well…I think I'm being beaten to within an inch of my life." "What are you doing in Japan?" Ieyasu said impatiently. "Oh! Sorry! I'm here to see your wonderful country," the Doctor replied. "Sorry, I thought you meant what was I doing at this very moment. Gotta be precise, old bean. We English are very literal creatures." "Why are you allied with the ninjas?" Ieyasu said. "Is that what they are? They told me they were monks. They wanted me to deliver a package to you, my mate and I, that is. But dash it all, you bally buggers put an arrow in my friend's back and he snuffed it. I tried to warn him. Gave him the code word, cabbage crates coming over the briny and caribou nibbling at the croquet hoops, but the silly blighter didn't understand a bally word. Shame. He was a jolly good chap. Who are you by the way, old fruit?" "I am Tokugawa Ieyasu, Shogun!" Ieyasu said pompously. "Oh, is that important, old squirrel? I'm sorry; I'm bally ignorant when it comes to Japan. Couldn't tell a samurai from a geisha if my life depended on it. Dash it all, I should have studied the country more closely but I thought I'd be able to walk through the bally country and be pompous and make all of you follow my ways. I'm a blessed blighter, I am. So, what's your job then?" "I am the leader of the country!" "Really? Where's your crown then?" "My, what?" "Crown, man! Dash it all, the king wears a crown! Don't you bally Asians know how to rule a country? Are we to come in and take you over and teach you how to do it properly?" "So is that why you're allied with the ninjas? You wish to overthrow me?" "You mean the monks? No, I was meditating with them. Course I did notice they seem to meditate with swords in their hands and they were prone to chopping off heads at a moment's notice but I thought that was a Buddhist thing. Sorry, bally ignorant about Japan and all." "You are a criminal and you will die like a dog for your treachery!" Ieyasu said, pointing at the Doctor. "Wait, wait, old bean, I seem to remember something. Something about how there really is an emperor but he's only a puppet ruler because the shogun took over command of the whole country and only keeps the emperor alive as a figurehead…or something like that, I mean I could be wrong, this blessed lack of education about Japan and all. But if that's true, then you're ruling without real authority…right?" "You dog! How dare you speak to his Excellency like that!" Yoshi said when Ieyasu was stunned into silence. "I'm sorry…and you are?" the Doctor said. "I am Fukioshi Yoshi, advisor to the shogun." "Mm, that's nice. Anyway," the Doctor said, looking at Ieyasu. "Am I right about you seizing power and ruling the country without permission? I'm a stupid gaijin and need to be told everything. Does the emperor know you persecute people in his name…old fruit?" he said, leveling his gaze on Ieyasu and looking him dead in the eye. The samurai looked to their leader for orders but Ieyasu was still silent as he looked at the dead calm on the Doctor's face. While their eyes were locked, Aoki heard someone walking across the floor outside. He opened the door and was taken aback. Hattori was standing directly in front of the door. "Can I come in?" Hattori said. "Yes," Aoki said. "Ieyasu-sama, this is Hattori-san. He escaped from the ninja village." Ieyasu spun around with Yoshi and he stared at Hattori in disbelief. "You're alive," he said to Hattori. "Yes, Excellency," Hattori said. He locked eyes briefly with the Doctor and was relieved to see he hadn't been harmed further. He noticed a few of the samurai around the shogun were staring at his severed hand with distaste and he guessed that they were thinking he should have committed suicide rather than stay alive and be dishonored. He loathed these people he used to call his friends who were now looking at him as if he were nothing just because his hand and topknot were gone. He realized that he had been living a lie anyway since they would have shunned him anyway if they'd known of his eta past. He suddenly wanted to find this TARDIS and get away with the Doctor. Traveling with him was sounding more desirable by the moment. He gritted his teeth when Ieyasu let out a howl of rage, spun around and backhanded the Doctor across the face. "THAT WAS MY BEST WARRIOR, YOU ENGLISH DOG!" Ieyasu bellowed at the Doctor. "AND NOW HE'S USELESS TO ME!" "I can think of men far more useless than him," the Doctor snarled back as he gave him a pointed look. Hattori gasped when Ieyasu pulled his katana from his scabbard and raised it, preparing to chop off the Doctor's head. Ignoring his own safety, Hattori yelled for Ieyasu to stop while he got between his friend and his former master.
Back Home Doctor Who Main Page Next