The Way Of The Dragon (20 page)

‘That’s kind of you to say, but there are many other fine riders in the school,’ replied Takuan, smiling warmly at her. ‘You would be my choice.’

Saburo rolled his eyes at Jack, who tried to ignore the exchange but couldn’t help noticing Akiko’s face flush in response to Takuan’s compliment. Jack realized Kazuki had been right. Akiko clearly had feelings for Takuan.

‘I also reckon you’ve got a chance, Jack, with all that target practice you’ve had,’ added Takuan over his shoulder.

‘Well, unless there’s a category for wooden horses, it won’t be me,’ replied Jack, doing his best to hide his hurt. ‘Sensei Yosa said I have to wait until spring to do
Yabusame
on a real horse.’

‘You’re lucky,’ said Takuan. ‘I know one student at my old school who was made to train on a wooden horse for three years before he was allowed to ride a real one!’

Jack could well believe it. Judging by his experience of Sensei Kyuzo, there were clearly some very cruel sensei in Japan.

‘Don’t worry, Jack,’ said Yori, trotting alongside him. ‘When you do get on a real horse, your
Yabusame
technique will be so superior, you’re sure to be selected for the team.’

‘I wouldn’t get too excited about the
Kyosha
,’ interrupted Kazuki from behind.

‘What do you mean?’ asked Yori.

‘There’ll be a war on by then.’

Yori looked shocked. ‘But… but it’s almost winter and nothing’s happened. Surely the threat’s passed.’

Kazuki shook his head. ‘It takes time to gather an army. My father says this is just the calm before the storm.’

‘But why would Sensei Yosa be planning an inter-school contest for the spring, or Sensei Nakamura a
kukai
, if there’s still going to be a war?’ said Yori, a note of desperation entering his voice.

‘Competitions keep morale high and our minds off the coming conflict.’

Kazuki gave Jack a hard stare.

‘Nice scar,’ he said, before striding on ahead.

*   *   *

The knife flashed towards Jack’s stomach. He neatly slipped to Kazuki’s outside guard, struck the back of his wrist and disarmed him. But before Jack could enjoy the victory, a
bokken
sliced towards his head.

Jack evaded the blade’s arc, closing in on his second attacker, Goro, and grabbing hold of his arm. Applying a crippling lock, he disarmed the sword and drew the blade up between his legs.

Alerted by a shout from behind, Jack turned to see a spear ready to impale him through the chest. Barely avoiding the sharpened steel tip, he kicked his third attacker, Nobu, in the shins and took hold of the spear’s shaft. A quick twist and the end was driven into his face.

Jack turned to face his final adversary. But before he had the slightest hope of executing an air throw, Hiroto released the
manriki-gusari
and the chain wrapped itself round his body. A moment later, Jack was yanked off his feet.

‘And you were doing
so
well until then,’ commented Sensei Kyuzo sarcastically. ‘Fail!’

Jack shrugged off the chain, stood and bowed to his four attackers. Though no bones were broken, he could already feel a painful bruise forming where the weighted end had thumped into his back. Being the final combatant in the weapon-disarming exercise, he returned the
manriki-gusari
to the Weapons Wall and rejoined the rest of the students kneeling in a line. They’d had an entire morning of
taijutsu
trials, assessing their fitness, fighting technique, grappling skills, breaking ability and disarming methods, all in preparation for the possibility of war.

‘Some of you have proved exceptional in your
taijutsu
training,’ said Sensei Kyuzo, glancing in the direction of Kazuki. ‘A few are disappointing, to say the least.’

Jack felt Sensei Kyuzo’s beady eyes upon him.

‘However, I consider you’re all ready for the final test of your hand-to-hand fighting skills – Last Samurai Standing.’

Sensei Kyuzo’s stern face broke into a fiendish grin.

‘All stand.’

There was an uneasy murmur among the class as they got to their feet. Sensei Kyuzo was smiling. This could not be good.

It was utter chaos.

The
dojo
turned into a battle zone as fights broke out all over the
Butokuden
. Students began to pummel their nearest neighbour. Everyone was now a potential enemy.

Sensei Kyuzo had set a simple but brutal challenge. A fight between every samurai in the
dojo
. Defeat was judged as being knocked or thrown to the ground. The only rule: no weapons.

Jack ducked as a hook punch came out of nowhere. Retaliating with an elbow strike to the stomach, he winded his attacker. Then, reaching up, he grabbed the other’s arm and executed a
seoi nage
. The shoulder throw brought his opponent crashing to the ground.

She cried out as all the breath was knocked from her.

‘Sorry,’ said Jack, realizing he’d just floored Cho, one of Emi’s best friends. Then again, she
had
just tried to knock his head off.

Jack spotted Akiko on the other side of the
dojo
, effortlessly dispatching all challengers. She whirled through the air, executing a spinning back kick that sent Renzo, one of the toughest young samurai in their class, flying into a pillar. Suddenly Jack sensed someone behind him. He spun round to be confronted by Yori. He looked terrified.

‘Don’t worry,’ said Jack, dropping his guard. ‘I won’t fight you.’

‘
Please
throw me,’ pleaded Yori, glancing fearfully in the direction of Kazuki and his gang. ‘At least I know you won’t hurt me.’

The four of them were cutting a swathe through their opponents and they weren’t holding back. Using his bulk to his advantage, Nobu would grab a student, then Kazuki and Hiroto beat him to the floor while Goro covered their backs.

Jack understood. He picked Yori up round the waist, performing an
o-goshi
, and gently hip-threw his little friend to the ground.

‘Thank you,’ whispered Yori, pretending to be winded so that Sensei Kyuzo wouldn’t suspect he’d evaded the test.

Jack winked at his friend and prepared for his next challenger. Beside him, Yamato was locked in combat with Emi’s other best friend, Kai. As soon as she saw Jack, Kai disengaged from Yamato and attacked him instead.

She came in with a blistering combination of kicks. A front kick followed by a roundhouse, then a back kick, finished off with a brutal side-kick to the ribs. Jack rapidly retreated under the onslaught. But, as Kai went for a spinning hook kick to his head, Jack dropped low to the floor. Mirroring her turn, he executed a spinning ankle sweep and Kai went crashing to the ground.

‘Kai really had it in for you!’ said Yamato, his mouth open in astonishment at her vicious attack. ‘What did you do to upset her?’

‘I don’t know,’ gasped Jack, ‘but we have to stick together. Otherwise, Kazuki’s gang will win.’

On the other side of the
dojo
Kazuki, Hiroto and Goro were battling their way towards Akiko. They had just taken out Saburo and Kiku. Bypassing the other students, Jack and Yamato ran over to even up the fight. As they approached, Jack spotted Nobu targeting Takuan. Nobu had noticed the new boy was out of his depth and was about to seize him from behind. Jack owed it to Takuan to save him, in return for all his horseriding lessons.

‘Watch out!’ he shouted, charging past Takuan and front-kicking Nobu in the gut.

Nobu staggered away, though he remained on his feet.

‘Thanks,’ said Takuan, both of them now unsure whether they should fight one another or not.

But they didn’t have time to ponder the issue. Jack, having been distracted with his rescue of Takuan, was immediately attacked from the rear.

The punch to the kidneys almost dropped Jack there and then, but somehow he managed to keep his feet. Stumbling round, he threw up his guard, but a lightning kick blasted through his defences and caught him full in the face. Knocked senseless, Jack fell on his backside. Whoever had attacked him hadn’t held back.

‘That’s for using me to get inside my father’s castle!’ exclaimed Emi.

‘I… I said I was sorry,’ stammered Jack.

He sat there stunned, the shame of his past attempt to protect the
rutter
once again coming back to haunt him. No wonder Cho and Kai had been so keen to fight him. The
daimyo
‘s daughter held a serious grudge, though. The incident had been over a year ago.

‘And I thought you liked me,’ she said in a harsh whisper.

Emi then noticed Takuan and threw him a coy smile. Takuan was so captivated by her that he was totally unaware of Hiroto until it was too late. The boy kicked Takuan across the stomach, doubling him over. A forearm strike to the back of the neck dropped him into Jack’s lap.

Emi was outraged.

‘Leave Takuan alone!’ she shouted, palm-heel striking Hiroto in the chest.

Shocked by the suddenness of the assault, Hiroto was completely unprepared for
tomoe nage
, the sacrificial stomach throw. Emi grabbed him by the lapels of his
gi
and rolled backwards. Jack and Takuan could only gawp as Emi tossed Hiroto high into the air and sent him crashing on to the
dojo
floor.

Jack winced in sympathy for Hiroto. Emi’s foot hadn’t planted itself in Hiroto’s stomach. It had been much, much lower. Hiroto rolled around on the floor, his hands between his legs, whimpering in his high-pitched voice.

Jack realized he’d been lucky to get away with a kick to the face.

Emi flipped to her feet and shot Takuan another demure smile. A moment later, she was bowled over by Nobu who charged into her.

Jack, now defeated, looked around the hall to see who remained standing. Akiko had just leg-sweeped Goro, finishing him off with a hammerfist strike to the stomach. Meanwhile, Nobu was seeking his next victim. The only other samurai still standing were Yamato and Kazuki, who were battling it out in the centre of the
dojo
.

Yamato was putting up a strong defence, but over the course of two years Kazuki had received so much additional
taijutsu
training from Sensei Kyuzo that there was no one in the class to rival him. Jack could only watch as Kazuki systematically demolished his friend’s guard. A crippling roundhouse to the thigh dropped Yamato to one knee. Kazuki followed up with a crushing elbow strike to the head. Only a last-second block prevented Yamato getting a broken jaw, but the force of the blow sent him reeling across the
dojo
and on to the floor.

Nobu, sweating heavily from his exertions, was now circling Akiko. He kept a wary distance, occasionally feigning an attack so as to keep her attention on him, while Kazuki advanced on her blind side.

Jack, along with the rest of the class, held their breath as they waited for the outcome of this match. He knew Nobu was not the best fighter, his immense size having saved him from getting thrown so far. He’d also toughened up in recent months and so was able to absorb any blows that once would have floored him.

Despite the rigors of the battle and the threat Nobu posed, Akiko looked calm and collected. The real danger for her was Kazuki.

However much Jack disliked Kazuki for his bullying, he couldn’t deny the boy was a skilled and clever fighter. His innate talent at the Two Heavens was as impressive as it was annoying for Jack. His abilities at archery and horseriding were strong. He was good at the
bō
, lethal in unarmed combat and had proved his worth by conquering the Circle of Three. Kazuki was developing into a supreme samurai warrior.

Kazuki gave a subtle nod of the head to Nobu and as one they attacked Akiko. Kazuki going for the head, Nobu for the stomach.

Unfazed, Akiko stood her ground. Suddenly she exploded upwards, jumping clear of Kazuki’s front kick and Nobu’s roundhouse punch. Rising above them, she simultaneously kicked out with both feet and planted them into Kazuki’s and Nobu’s gawping faces. Taken by complete surprise at such an advanced and agile technique, the two of them staggered backwards then collapsed on the floor.

Akiko landed lightly in a fighting guard and surveyed the scene. She stood alone in a
dojo
littered with fallen and groaning bodies. The ones who’d been watching the final fight greeted her victory with stunned silence.

‘Who taught Akiko
that
move?’ whispered Takuan to Jack, an incredulous look on his face.

‘No idea,’ replied Jack, shrugging.
But no one in this school, that’s for sure
, he thought.

Sensei Kyuzo strode over to her. As he approached, she bowed her respect. Without stopping, Sensei Kyuzo brought his arm up hard across her chest and, twisting, threw her over his hip. She landed in a dazed pile beside Jack. Everyone stared in shock at the
taijutsu
master, bewildered by his unwarranted attack.

‘This exercise was not simply to test your
taijutsu
skills,’ justified Sensei Kyuzo, his expression once again severe and pitiless. ‘It was to see how you reacted under pressure of battle. It also tested
zanshin
– your awareness of your surroundings and enemy. If you are to have any hope of surviving a war, you must apply
zanshin
at all times.’

‘But Akiko had won!’ exclaimed Jack, incensed by his teacher’s vindictiveness. ‘She was -‘

‘No,’ snapped Sensei Kyuzo, cutting Jack off with a withering look. ‘She wasn’t the Last Samurai Standing. I am.’

Snow blanketed the
Niten Ichi Ryū
‘s courtyard, its crisp white surface peppered with footprints that crossed from the
Shishi-no-ma
to the
Chō-no-ma
and on to the Hall of the Hawk. The tiered roofs of the buildings were caked in snow and the eaves hung heavy with glistening icicles. Even the ancient pine tree in the Southern Zen Garden struggled to hold its shape, the branches drooping like a cascade of frozen miniature waterfalls.

Inside the
Taka-no-ma
, the students shivered despite their thick winter kimonos, their breath misting in the chill air. Sensei Nakamura sat with her guest, the renowned poet Saigyo, upon the polished wooden dais furthest from the door. Saigyo was a small, unassuming man with sleepy eyes and large rounded ears. He wore a plain bowl-shaped hat and by his side was a weatherworn bamboo walking stick. Taking time to admire the mural of the swooping hawk on the ceiling, he warmed his hands in front of a clay
hibachi
. The students gazed enviously at the small charcoal brazier that Sensei Nakamura had reserved for their honoured guest.