Sisters of the Sword (8 page)

I kneeled to serve Ken-ichi and his two friends, holding my sleeve back and pouring with as much grace as I could.

Ken-ichi watched me with a sneer on his face. “What did you say about kneeling to no one, rice boy?” he hissed. “Isn't that what you said just before I defeated you?”

I flushed with anger, but I remembered Goku's words to Ken-ichi about controlling his pride and didn't respond. Determined to follow the
Master's advice, I finished pouring for Ken-ichi and moved on.

When everyone had been served tea, I returned to Choji, along with Hana and Ko. We waited silently for our next orders.

Master Goku's dark gaze swept the hall as he spoke, seeming to take in every face. “You are all here because you have been chosen,” he said. “I have watched each of you fight and selected you because you each possess a core of inner strength. And it is my belief that each and every one of you can be a champion. Work hard. Keep your focus. Allow determination and passion to burn within you, and you will be rewarded with success.”

A ripple of anticipation went through the students. Looks of sturdy determination appeared on the faces of the older boys while a few of the younger ones began to whisper eagerly to each other. I saw Ken-ichi exchange a glance with one of his friends. A smile of superiority curved across my cousin's lips, as though he had already decided that
he
would be champion. I gritted my teeth, hoping with all my heart that Ken-ichi would not succeed. If he did, his vanity and arrogance would be unbearable!

The students were still chattering, and as the level of noise rose in the hall, Master Goku smiled and
held up his hands for silence. “Enough with words!” he cried. “Let us see
action
. I declare the
kenshu
open…and may the demonstrations commence!”

Immediately the hall took on an atmosphere of expectation as a pair of young warriors in full combat dress sprang onto the central practice mat. One was a short, stocky boy with a face as round as a pumpkin, the other had bushy eyebrows that reminded me of caterpillars. They bowed to Master Goku on his platform and then to each other, their faces composed. Then they leaped into action, arms poised and legs kicking high. I could see that both were skilled, and I found myself studying their moves carefully, hoping to learn what I could from them.

After several minutes of sparring, it was clear that the boy with the bushy eyebrows was the victor. Cheers rose from the assembled students as he bowed and accepted a word of praise from Master Goku.

At a whispered instruction from Choji, Hana and I hurried out to the center of the hall to wipe down the floorboards that may have been scuffed during the combat. Afterward we swiftly made our way back to the head servant and waited for the next demonstration.

A pair of combatants came in carrying
jo
. They
sparred elegantly with the long, straight wooden poles, but with a deadly ferocity that stole my breath. When they had finished, four of the younger students dashed into the ring and displayed the twelve movements of the
kata
. Their small faces were taut with concentration as they moved slowly and gracefully, striving hard to please the Master. At the end of their bout, they stood in a perfect line and bowed low, their faces pink with pleasure as the applause rang out.

“You must help with the next demonstration,” Choji whispered to Hana and me. “Set up the archery target!” and he pointed to the far wall.

We had just returned to our places at the edge of the room when Hana nudged me. A student was making his way through the crowded room. I recognized him as the boy who had been practicing alone in the outer courtyard when we had first arrived at the dojo. He was bright faced, cheerful-looking, and I guessed that he was about my age. He was holding an elegant longbow as he stepped confidently into the mat area.

“Tatsuya?” I heard Ken-ichi scoff at the boy's name, just loud enough so Tatsuya could hear. “Why is that peasant doing a demonstration?”

Tatsuya blushed but ignored Ken-ichi's taunt. He took his place in front of the archery target, bowed
to Master Goku, and fitted an arrow to his longbow. Everyone fell silent as he took stock of the target, eyes narrowed. Then he turned and strode to the far end of the hall.

Slowly Tatsuya raised his longbow until the arrow was level with his nose. Elbow high, he drew back the strings and took aim. The longbow flexed, its supple length curving backward. Abruptly Tatsuya loosed his arrow. It sliced through the air, straight and true, piercing the target dead center.

Almost before the first arrow had hit, Tatsuya was loosing a second, and then a third. The second arrow split the first straight down the middle of the shaft to embed itself in the same spot at the center of the target. The third split the second, so that all three arrows were held in the same hole.

I gasped, impressed. Tatsuya beckoned to Hana and she leaped to her feet. He pointed to a tall, thin paper screen that stood against the wall near the target.

“Would you bring that forward, please?” he asked her with a friendly smile. “Position it so that I cannot see the target.”

Hana did as he asked, and the two bowed to each other before she returned to her place beside me.

Tatsuya's face was blank, his eyes dark and unreadable as he stared at the paper screen. Then he fitted
a fourth arrow to his longbow, took aim, and loosed…

The arrow whistled as it flew through the air, cleanly piercing the screen with a neat hole and hitting the target with a thud.

There was silence in the hall as Hana hurried to remove the paper screen. Immediately everyone in the room could see that Tatsuya had speared the three previous arrows with this fourth—and hit the center of the target with almost impossible accuracy.

The students burst into wild applause and some of the younger boys shouted out encouragement. I noticed that Ken-ichi was not applauding, his face set in a hard frown. His jealousy of Tatsuya was obvious.

Master Goku smiled. “A perfect demonstration of all that can be achieved with self-discipline, tenacity, and long hours of practice,” he said. “Despite your humble beginnings, Tatsuya, you have the makings of a warrior of the finest class.”

Choji beckoned us back, and as Hana and I threaded our way between the rows of students I saw that Ken-ichi's face was so sour it looked as if he had sucked the juice from a whole barrel full of citron fruit. He caught my gaze and jerked his chin up.

As I drew level with him, he shot his foot out and
caught me hard across the front of my ankles.

His movement was so swift that I did not have time to take evasive action. I pitched forward like a felled tree, arms outstretched. I knocked against another student and spilled his bowl of tea into his lap.

The student leaped to his feet. “Watch out!” he cried angrily. “Clumsy idiot.”

Everyone in the hall turned to see what the commotion was about. Master Goku was frowning, an expression of displeasure on his usually tranquil face. I scrambled to my feet in time to see a furious-looking Choji bearing down on me.

“I'm so sorry,” I said to Choji through gritted teeth. I was furious with myself for not remembering Ko's earlier warning about Ken-ichi's habit of tripping servants. I had just ruined my plan for not drawing attention to myself. “It was an accident.”

“Accident or not, you will apologize to this student,” Choji said tightly.

I bowed low. “My humble apologies,” I said sincerely.

The student gave me a curt bow and Choji pulled me off to the side of the mat.

“You must be more careful, Kagenashi,” he said in a stern voice. “We must never disturb the students in their learning. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, Choji,” I said meekly.

As Choji stared down at me, his gaze hard, I silently prayed that his kindness would stop him short of throwing me out of the dojo.

“Let there be no repeat of this clumsiness,” he said at last.

“No, Choji.” I bowed.

As the head servant turned away from me, I caught a last glimpse of Ken-ichi. He looked so pleased with himself that it took all my self-control to stop myself from leaping at him and punching the smirk off his face.

A
fter the demonstrations, the ceremony continued with a feast. At a gruff word from Choji, Hana and the other servants hurried to bring long, low tables.

I glanced at the head servant and he gave me a curt nod. “You, too. But be careful. I'll be watching you.”

We positioned the tables and began to serve food. The students gathered around, kneeling and helping themselves eagerly to balls of sticky rice, rolled seaweed, and platters of fish that had been crisped on a hot griddle.

At Ken-ichi's table, I noticed that my cousin was sitting beside Tatsuya, who was holding his longbow across his lap. They were talking quietly, their dark heads bent together.

As I served rice and fish nearby, I strained my ears to hear what Ken-ichi was saying.

“…and ceremony also demands that we never
use our
hashi
chopsticks to point, or to share food with another student,” Ken-ichi told him. “To use your
hashi
like that would be most impolite.”

“Thank you, Ken-ichi,” Tatsuya said. “I'm grateful that you're taking the time to tell me these things. It's so difficult to remember all the rules, and I'm terrified of offending Master Goku in some way.”

“I don't suppose you learned such things as etiquette, growing up in the rice fields as you did,” Kenichi said.

I glanced sharply at my cousin, but there was no trace of mockery on his face. He looked serious and concerned, as if he really was trying to be kind and helpful. Tatsuya seemed to have been taken in, despite Ken-ichi's earlier taunting, but I was suspicious of my cousin. He was up to something—but what?

I decided to keep an eye on him as I went about my duties. I carried trays and bowls to the young masters, served more tea, and hurried back and forth between the hall and the kitchens. But Kenichi carried on being friendly and attentive to Tatsuya.

“You're a good friend, Ken-ichi,” I heard Tatsuya say. “Coming here to this school has made me realize how little I know about the rules of society.”

“You'll learn,” Ken-ichi told him with an easy smile.
“Just stick with me, Tatsuya, and you'll be fine.”

I wanted to speak out—to warn Tatsuya that it wasn't true. But I could feel the head servant's gaze on me and I knew I couldn't risk getting into trouble for disturbing the students again.

The ceremony and feasting had gone on so long that some of the lanterns had gone out. Conversation filled the room and fireflies danced above the heads of some of the students and masters as they chattered. Choji handed each servant a large ornate bamboo fan and told us to take up places among the students. We were to stir the air above their heads and keep them cool as they relaxed after the feast.

I quickly whispered to Hana, and together we made our way to Ken-ichi's table. I was determined that if my cousin made a move, I would be there to stop him.

At last, Master Goku held up a hand for silence. He was still sitting in formal style on a tatami mat up on the platform. A couple of the other young masters had joined him during the feast.

“We have gathered here as students, teachers, and friends,” Master Goku said. “We've seen demonstrations of great combat and skill that seem almost magical. But remember that inside each and every one of you beats the heart of a warrior. Magic is merely practice and discipline.” He smiled serenely
and bowed his head. “And now—I will bid you good night.”

I noticed Ken-ichi whispering to Tatsuya but I couldn't make out what he was saying. Then, Tatsuya began to stand up.

My heart skipped a beat. On such a formal occasion as this, rising before the Master showed a terrible lack of manners. Master Goku would be insulted—and Tatsuya would be completely shamed. I couldn't think how to stop him, until Hana nudged me and motioned stepping down with her foot.

Quickly realizing what she meant, I deliberately placed my foot on the back of Tatsuya's kimono, making it impossible for him to stand up. He wobbled, and furiously whipped around to glare at Hana and me. I pressed my finger to my lips and shook my head, trying to warn him with my eyes. I hoped Choji hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary.

Then, up on the raised platform, Master Goku was on his feet. Tatsuya turned back just in time to see the Master gesture to the rest of the school, his hands spread wide, palms upward. I released Tatsuya's kimono.

In a heartbeat, every student and master in the hall were on their feet, including Tatsuya. He shot Ken-ichi an accusing look as he realized what had
almost happened. But my cousin's cruel smile showed no remorse.

As Tatsuya half turned to give me an almost imperceptible bow of thanks, Ken-ichi looked sharply at me, but I avoided his gaze.

All around us, the students parted to make a pathway for Master Goku as he swept down from the platform and made his way toward the doorway. As he drew level with me, his dark gaze slid to my face, and he regarded me for a brief moment. There was curiosity in his glance and I wondered whether he had noticed what I had done.

Then the moment was over. Master Goku had left the room and disappeared into the night. I could breathe again.

“Get moving, slave!” Ken-ichi snapped, glaring at me. I guessed that he knew I was the reason his trick with Tatsuya had failed. “You're not supposed to stop fanning us until the hall is empty!”

Normally I would have reacted angrily, but this time I knew I had scored a victory over Ken-ichi. I smiled sweetly at him and bowed low.

Ken-ichi seethed. A moment later he was gone, roughly shouldering past me with his friends at his heels.

Later, back in our room, we whispered about the events of the evening as we got ready for bed.

“Ken-ichi is even worse than I thought,” Hana said, loosening her hair from her topknot and combing it with her fingers. “I'm so glad you stopped Tatsuya from shaming himself.”

“Me, too,” I agreed. “He seems nice. And I've never seen anyone use a longbow with such accuracy!”

“I've never seen anyone who knows as much as Master Goku does,” Hana said, shaking her head. “He knew you'd helped Tatsuya.”

“He doesn't miss a thing, does he?” I agreed. “We'll have to be very careful when we're around him. If he finds out that we've lied to him…that we're not who we say we are…”

Hana looked troubled.

“Don't worry,” I said firmly, as we shook out our bedding rolls and climbed into bed, arranging the thin covers, and the extra blankets that Choji had offered, around us. I was so tired that I hardly noticed they weren't the soft, silk-covered quilts I had enjoyed at home. “We've convinced everyone that we're boys. Now all we have to do is make sure that even
we
forget that we're girls. Then we won't put a foot wrong, and everything will be fine.”

Hana seemed to accept that, and very soon she was asleep, worn out by the events of the past two days. I stayed awake longer, lying with my arms
tucked beneath my head. The paper screens had a small gap between them and for a while I watched ragged clouds drift across the face of the moon.

It had been only a day since our father and brothers had been taken from us. Our home, too. My sister and I had killed a man—a samurai! And now we were servants in a samurai training school, disguised as boys, under the watchful eye of Master Goku. We were safe, for now, and I offered up a prayer that Mother and Moriyasu would also be kept safe until we could all be together again.

Just before I slipped into a fitful sleep, I vowed to myself that I would do everything I could to please Master Goku, so that he might teach me the skills of a samurai.

And once I had become a warrior, my uncle would never be able to hurt my family again.

 

The next morning Hana and I were up before dawn, woken by a harsh knocking on the door frame and Choji's voice. “Come on, skinny boys!” he cried. “The kitchen chores are waiting.”

“I hardly slept a wink,” I grumbled to Hana as we pulled on our jackets and breeches. “I ache all over from our fight with Master Goku yesterday.”

“And from all the serving,” Hana said. “The sleeping mats are so thin. I'd give anything to have my
lovely futon bed from home, covered in a pile of soft feather quilts!”

We hurried to the kitchens, where we found that our first job of the day was to help Ko and Choji serve breakfast to the students and masters. When they had all eaten and hurried away to their lessons, Choji thrust bowls of sweet rice into our hands. “Eat,” he commanded. “And then it will be time to clean the bedchambers.”

When we had eaten, Ko hurried to clear away the bowls and Choji ordered me to make tea for everyone. I nodded and hurried across the kitchen to hang the large pot over the bright charcoal brazier. Making tea was something I had done for my mother and father many times, and I felt a lilt of happy confidence as I took the lid off a big black teapot.

“Here's the tea,” Ko said helpfully, lifting a bamboo box down from a high shelf and handing it to me.

“Thank you.” I heaped green leaves into the pot, trying to work out how many scoops I would need for everyone. There were ten servants, and Choji, and Hana and me—

“What are you doing?” Ko grabbed my wrist. “You're using far too much tea.” He peered into the pot for a moment and then glanced up at me
in astonishment. “Only the Emperor himself could afford to use all that!”

I froze, panic-stricken.

“I…I…” I swallowed hard, my mind almost a blank.
Think, Kimi!
“Our last master was quite wealthy,” I stuttered at last.

“Wealthy?” Ko said, giving me a strange look. “Your last master must have been the
Jito
himself. Us ordinary mortals can only afford one scoop of tea.”

I bit my lip as I realized how different life was here. One scoop, for so many people? I was beginning to understand how privileged Hana and I had been.

Luckily no one else seemed to have noticed anything, and the rest of the meal passed without incident. Soon Hana and I were on our way to clean the students' bedchambers, armed with brooms and dusters.

The first room we were assigned to was Ken-ichi's. He was still there, rifling through piles of discarded kimonos as he searched for his
bokken
. When he saw us, he shot us a filthy look and deliberately kicked over a half-full bowl of bean curd soup. The brown liquid seeped across the floor and began to soak into one of the bedsheets.

“Clean that up, rice boy,” he snarled. “I want this
room spotless by the time I get back. If it isn't, I'll complain to Master Goku. He saw you throw tea into that student's lap last night, so he already thinks you're clumsy. And once I tell him you spilled soup in my room, I guarantee you'll be out of the dojo by midday.” With that, Ken-ichi snatched up his
bokken
and swaggered off down the hallway.

Hana and I watched him for a moment, and then Hana shrugged and got down on her knees to mop up the mess.

“I'll do that,” I said. “It's me he hates, not you.”

“We'll both do it,” Hana replied quietly. “He's my cousin, too.”

We mopped up the soup, and then attacked the rest of the room—flinging open the shutters and shaking out bedding as we had seen our own servants do at home. I struggled with a discarded kimono for a while, trying to remember how my own had been folded. Were the arms folded inward, or behind…? At last it looked right, and all the kimonos were put tidily away in a cupboard.

“Remember how we used to play games with the maids while they were dusting?” Hana asked me as she went over the floor with a damp cloth.

“I'm glad we did,” I said with a nod, reaching up with a leafy bamboo pole to hook fine cobwebs from the corners of the ceiling. “Otherwise we wouldn't
have a clue what to do now.”

Eventually we were finished.

“I hope every room isn't going to take us this long,” I muttered.

The next bedchamber was so neat that at first I thought it must be a spare room. But then I saw a student sitting in
seiza
, head bowed and eyes closed. It was Tatsuya, and he was meditating.

Horrified at having almost disturbed him, I began to back out, but I backed into Hana who protested and Tatsuya's eyes flashed open. He stared at us in surprise.

“My apologies,” I said, bowing deeply. “I didn't realize any of the students were in their rooms.”

“Please come in.” With a friendly smile, Tatsuya scrambled to his feet and beckoned Hana and me into his room. His brown kimono was fastened with a white sash and black breeches that stopped just below the knee. “I was hoping to see you today.”

“You—you were?”

“I wanted to thank you for what you did at the feast last night.” He spoke slowly, haltingly, as if he wasn't used to using such a formal way of speaking. “If you had not stepped on the back of my kimono, I would have risen before the Master and disgraced myself.”

“It was Ha—” I caught myself just in time. “Not
me—but my brother who saved you,” I finished, stumbling a little over the word
brother
as I drew Hana forward. “He noticed, and nudged me. I just did what anyone would have done.”

“Then I am indebted to you both.” Tatsuya bowed low. “If there's anything I can do for either of you—you have only to ask.”

We bowed and returned to our cleaning. Tatsuya picked up his longbow and began to tighten the string, his hands quick and confident. I remembered his demonstration last night, his skill and accuracy, and suddenly an idea came to me.

“Tatsuya,” I said hesitantly. “Maybe there is something you can do for us….”

He glanced up at me, smiling. “What?”

“Would you…” I hesitated again, afraid that he would dismiss my request. After all, he was a student while Hana and I were just lowly servants. But Tatsuya's smile and bright, friendly eyes gave me confidence. “My brother and I would like to train, as well as work as servants. It would be good for us to practice with a student as skilled as you are. Would you spar with us sometimes?”