The Way Of The Dragon (18 page)

‘Add a pair of wings

to a pepper pod, you would

make a dragonfly.’

A collective hum of understanding filled the hall as Kazuki sat back down, his moment of glory quashed.

‘I had hoped by autumn that this class’s attempts at
haiku
would be of a higher standard,’ she sighed. ‘Nonetheless, most are now passable so I will risk organizing a
kukai
for the start of winter. That should give those falling behind in class enough time to improve.’

Sensei Nakamura was met with a roomful of puzzled looks. She tutted loudly, her eyes widening in exasperation at their ignorance.

‘A
kukai
is a
haiku
contest. I will be inviting the renowned poet Saigyo-san to preside over the
kukai
, so ensure the poems you present are only those of the highest quality!’

She dismissed the class with a wave of her hand. After tidying away their ink blocks, paper and brushes, the students filed out of the hall.

‘It’s very exciting, isn’t it?’ enthused Yori as they were slipping on their sandals in the courtyard. ‘I mean, to have the great Saigyo-san come here, to our school! He’s my favourite poet.’

‘I think I’ll enter,’ said Saburo, to everyone’s surprise.

‘You?’ said Akiko, giving him an incredulous look. ‘There won’t be any prizes for poems about bodily functions.’

‘I’ll write one about love then!’

‘What do
you
know about love?’ laughed Akiko.

Saburo suddenly looked flustered. ‘As much as anyone here.’

‘Akiko!’ called Takuan, beckoning her to join him.

‘Though probably not as much as some people,’ he muttered under his breath, and strode off in the direction of the
Chō-no-ma
for lunch.

Jack heard the comment and glanced over at Akiko and Takuan talking.

‘Let’s go, Jack,’ said Yamato, chasing after Saburo. ‘Otherwise there won’t be any rice left after the Poet of Love’s finished!’

While Jack found his sandals, he overheard Takuan say, ‘I was thinking of entering this
haiku
into the competition and I’d value your opinion.’

‘It’s lovely,’ said Akiko, bending closer to read the paper he held. ‘The mountain image is so clear. I can just imagine myself there.’

‘It’s yours to keep,’ Takuan offered.

Akiko flushed, bowing humbly. ‘But this is your entry for the
kukai
.’

‘I can write another,’ he said, placing it into her hands. ‘The greatest honour is that
you
appreciate it.’

‘Thank you,’ she said, bowing and accepting the
haiku
.

‘Come on, Jack!’ shouted Yamato impatiently from the other side of the courtyard.

Jack followed him into the
Chō-no-ma
, though his appetite had gone.

‘Are you going to enter the
kukai
?’ asked Jack, gazing out of Yori’s tiny bedroom window at the stars glimmering in the night sky.

‘Yah!’ squeaked Yori.

‘Do you think I should?’

‘Yah!’ squeaked Yori again.

‘Are you even
listening
to me?’

‘Yah!’

Yori stood in one corner of his room, shouting at the small singing bowl perched on a stand in the other. He was determined to make it ring. Since his chat with Sensei Yamada, he’d been convinced that
kiaijutsu
was his undiscovered talent and the martial art would save him in the forthcoming war. So far the bowl had remained silent.

Jack caught a movement outside in the courtyard. He spotted Akiko leaving the
Niten Ichi Ryū
by its back gate. No doubt visiting the monk at the Temple of the Peaceful Dragon.

‘Sorry, Jack, what were you saying?’ gasped Yori, trying to get his breath back.

‘I said, are you going to enter the
kukai
?’

‘Hopefully, if I can compose one worthy enough for Saigyo-san. He’ll expect something special. What about you?’

‘There’s not much point, is there? I’m useless at
haiku
. Unlike Takuan.’

Yori gave Jack a sideways glance.

‘I’m not jealous,’ insisted Jack, turning away from Yori. ‘It’s just that I saw Takuan give a
haiku
to Akiko.’

‘If you’re so desperate for a poem, I’ll write you one,’ said Yori, suppressing a smile.

‘You know that’s not what I mean,’ Jack replied tetchily. ‘Doesn’t it have some sort of significance in Japan? In England, that would be seen as
love
poetry.’

‘Not with Takuan,’ assured Yori. ‘I saw him compose a
haiku
for Emi the other day. He’s probably written one for each of the girls. They like such gallant gestures. That’s one reason why he’s so popular. If it’s bothering you, why not write Akiko a
haiku
yourself?’

‘You know that I’m no good at
haiku
. She’d just laugh.’

‘No, she wouldn’t. I’ll help you,’ said Yori kindly, pulling some paper from a pile.

Jack reluctantly took the paper. ‘But this isn’t a love poem, right?’

He felt his cheeks flush and hoped Yori wouldn’t notice.

‘No, of course not,’ said Yori, his face the picture of innocence. ‘It’s just practice for the
kukai
.’

Despite denying being jealous, Jack realized his feelings for Akiko amounted to more than just friendship. If he was honest with himself,
she
was the reason he was having second thoughts about leaving Japan.

‘
Hajime
,’ commanded Masamoto, beginning the Two Heavens
kata
between Jack and Taro.

The two of them cautiously approached one another from opposite sides of the Phoenix Hall
dojo
, until the tips of their
katana
touched, their
wakizashi
held in a low guard.

Suddenly Taro exploded forward. Without lifting his sword, he drove his blade along the length of Jack’s
katana
, pushing it aside and striking at Jack’s heart. Taro displayed perfect control over the attack, and Jack felt only the lightest pressure of the
kissaki
hitting his chest.

‘Excellent, Taro-kun. A faultless Flint-and-Spark strike,’ commended Masamoto. ‘Your turn, Jack-kun.’

Maintaining contact with Taro’s sword, Jack now thrust the tip of his
katana
at his opponent’s heart. But the end of Taro’s blade jabbed into Jack’s stomach before he could reach his target. He hadn’t deflected Taro’s sword wide enough.

‘If that had been a steel blade, Taro’s
katana
would’ve cut straight through you,’ said Masamoto, a grim expression on his scarred face. ‘Jack-kun, you
must
execute this strike with great certainty. Put more strength into your feet, body and hands, and strike quickly with all three at once.’

‘
Hai
, Masamoto-sama,’ replied Jack, glumly kneeling back in line with the rest of the students. He’d been the only one in the class not to manage the Flint-and-Spark attack.

‘We’ll move on to the Autumn Leaf strike,’ Masamoto announced. ‘An appropriate Two Heavens technique for the season, I think. The heart of this attack is to strike down upon your opponent’s lead sword, disarming him and picking it up yourself. Watch carefully.’

Masamoto and Sensei Hosokawa withdrew their swords. As Sensei Hosokawa moved to attack, Masamoto surged forward, hitting Sensei Hosokawa’s
katana
twice in quick succession with his
kissaki
. The sword clattered to the floor.

‘This technique will only work if you don’t let up for a second during the attack,’ he explained, ushering the class to take up fighting positions in the
dojo
.

‘Practise until you’ve mastered it.’

Glad to escape the training pressure of Masamoto’s
dojo
, Jack stood alone on the veranda of the Southern Zen Garden. He gazed thoughtfully at a long rectangle of white sand raked to look like miniature waves. This formed the central feature of a garden decorated with large granite standing stones and meticulously pruned shrubs. In the far corner, like a frail old man, grew an ancient pine tree, its branches so twisted and bent by the elements that its trunk had to be propped up by a wooden crutch.

Jack took a deep breath, hoping the tranquil setting would lift his spirits.

By the end of a morning’s training, he’d still been struggling with the Autumn Leaf strike. Why couldn’t he do it? He was skilful enough with a single sword. But when he held two, he lost his control and accuracy. It frustrated him that after three months of Two Heavens training, he seemed to be getting worse rather than better.

Jack was certain the simplicity of the forms was hiding a deeper secret within. One Masamoto had yet to reveal. Or one he’d entirely missed. Whatever, he wouldn’t give up. With the possibility of war and Dragon Eye still out there, the Two Heavens was the key to his survival.

Taro emerged from the Hall of the Phoenix and, spotting Jack on the veranda, joined him in the Southern Zen Garden.

‘Don’t be disheartened by your lack of progress,’ said Taro. ‘The Two Heavens is known to be the hardest sword style in Japan. Learning it is like climbing a mountain with your feet tied together and your hands bound.’

‘But you can do it,’ said Jack. ‘What’s the secret?’

‘I once asked Masamoto-sama that,’ said Taro, laughing. ‘He said, “The secret is there
is
no secret.” ’

‘I don’t understand. There has to be.’

‘Exactly what I said. He just replied, “The teacher is the needle, the student the thread. As a student, you should practise without end.” I suppose
that’s
the secret. Continuous hard training.’

He gestured to the Zen garden with a sweep of his hand.

‘The Two Heavens is like this garden. I’ve no idea how the gardener created this. It looks beautiful, perfect and, at the same time, so simple. But I’m certain a great deal of time, thought and skill were put in to achieve this.’

‘So how long did it take you to master the technique?’ asked Jack.

Taro chuckled at the idea. ‘I’m barely a beginner. The Two Heavens takes a lifetime to master.’

Jack’s face dropped. ‘But I don’t have a lifetime. There’s a war coming.’

Taro nodded gravely. Studying Jack out of the corner of his eye, he said, ‘I can see you’re determined like me. If you want more practice, I’d be willing to train with you outside class.’

‘When?’ said Jack, bowing his appreciation.

‘You
are
keen. This evening?’

Jack nodded eagerly.

‘See you after dinner,’ said Taro, bowing and heading off in the direction of the
Shishi-no-ma
.

Jack remained behind in the garden. With Taro as a training partner, he was already feeling much more optimistic. He could learn from the boy’s mistakes and improve at a faster rate. Hearing a
shoji
slide open, he turned round. Sachiko, Mizuki and Akiko were now leaving the Hall of the Phoenix.

‘Akiko!’ called Jack, running over to her.

She bowed as he approached. ‘That was a hard lesson, wasn’t it? The Autumn Leaf strike is almost impossible.’

‘Yes,’ agreed Jack. ‘But Taro’s offered to give me extra Two Heavens practice this evening. Would you like to join us?’

‘Thank you, Jack,’ replied Akiko. ‘That’s very kind of you, but Takuan’s offered to help me with my
haiku
for the competition. Maybe another time.’

‘I understand,’ he replied, trying to hide his disappointment.

‘Great. I’ll see you later at lunch,’ she said, smiling breezily. ‘I’d better go, Sachiko and Mizuki are waiting for me.’

Returning to the garden, Jack sat down on the veranda, his head in his hands. He could hear Yori’s voice in his head, telling him that Takuan helped lots of people, including Jack himself. So there was no reason for him to be upset. Why, then, did he feel as if he’d suddenly sunk to the bottom of the ocean?

‘You look sad,
gaijin
,’ said Kazuki, leaning nonchalantly against one of the veranda pillars. ‘Jealous Akiko’s got a prior engagement?’

‘No!’ replied Jack. ‘Takuan’s just helping her with her
haiku
.’

Kazuki grinned, realizing he’d got under Jack’s skin. ‘I can understand what Akiko sees in Takuan. He’s handsome, intelligent, not really a fighter but a fine horseman nonetheless. And, of course, he’s
Japanese
. Are you certain it’s just his
haiku
she’s interested in?’

‘What do you mean by that?’ Jack scrambled to his feet, his hand on his sword.

‘Willing to defend her honour. How noble!’ Kazuki snorted. ‘If you’re so up for a fight, how about a little extra Two Heavens practice?’

Kazuki withdrew both his
katana
and
wakizashi
from their black-and-gold
saya
. These were the
daishō
Kazuki’s father had given him for successfully entering the Circle of Three. Their blades gleamed devilishly in the light.

Jack was wearing his steel
daishō
too, a privilege allowed all Two Heavens trainees. In class, though, these swords were only used for solo
kata
practice. Sparring was always done with wooden swords for safety. Jack wasn’t confident enough with both blades yet to rise to Kazuki’s challenge.

‘Or maybe you lack the guts?’ baited Kazuki, seeing Jack hesitate. ‘You see, that’s the difference between you and Yamato. He has honour and courage. He isn’t afraid to take a risk. That’s what makes him samurai and you
not
!’

Jack’s hand tightened round the hilt of his sword, but he refused to respond.

‘Your sort are spineless. I don’t blame Akiko for wanting to be with a
real
samurai.’

In spite of himself, Jack was goaded by Kazuki’s taunts.

‘Take that back!’ he exclaimed, unsheathing his swords.

‘But it’s the truth. It’s obvious she prefers Takuan to you.’

Jack could hold back no longer. He attacked, aiming for Kazuki’s head.

Kazuki was ready for him. He blocked Jack’s sword with his
wakizashi
and at the same time drove forward with the tip of his
katana
. It was the most basic of the Two Heavens techniques – a simple ‘parry and strike’ – but it worked.