The Ring of Earth - Chris Bradford [34]
Remembering Soke’s advice, Jack thought of his sister Jess. He imagined returning home to her, seeing her pretty face shining with joy at his long-awaited return. He tried to picture how her appearance would have changed in all the years he’d been away.
This helped him past the initial burn and the challenge became easier. Jack was aware that several students had already given up. But he kept going. He wanted to prove he was as capable as the best of them.
Another minute passed. Jack now felt a little light-headed and somewhat detached from his body. The urge to breathe was once again building, like water up against a dam. More students succumbed, gasping air back into their oxygen-starved lungs.
Miyuki wasn’t one of them. She remained calm and focused, her eyes fixed on Jack. He returned her gaze, and a personal battle of wills was taken up.
Jack was determined to beat Miyuki. She seemed unfazed by the task. But a vein pulsed in her neck, the muscles of which twitched under the strain. She was struggling too.
This gave Jack hope as they entered the third minute. Although he’d never attempted a feat like this before, he understood the principles that allowed the body to achieve the seemingly impossible. During the Circle of Three challenges the year before, he’d learnt the only limits were those of the mind. Akiko had proved this when she stood beneath a freezing waterfall for longer than the burning time of three sticks of incense and hadn’t gone into thermal shock.
The body can keep going as long as the mind is strong, the Tendai priest had said.
Jack concentrated on his memories of Akiko. Seeing her smiling face before him, remembering their times together beneath the sakura tree, feeding off the strength of their relationship.
Forever bound to one another.
There were now only three students left – Tenzen, Jack and Miyuki.
‘Look! His face is red as a Daruma Doll!’ exclaimed Shiro.
Jack barely registered the comment, the voices distant and detached. Darkness was seeping into the edge of his vision, but he was too close to winning to give up now. His samurai pride was at stake.
Tenzen submitted and took several relieved breaths. Now only the two of them remained: Miyuki and Jack locked in silent combat.
‘Come on, tengu!’ encouraged Hanzo, unable to control his excitement.
The other students took up a whispered chant of ‘Miyuki! Miyuki! Miyuki!’
Miyuki’s whole body was trembling now.
I’m going to beat her, thought Jack. I’m going to beat her.
19
CONSTANT THREAT
‘I can’t believe you passed out!’ exclaimed Hanzo, his face creased with laughter. ‘I thought you’d died!’
‘Just concentrate on your cutting exercise,’ snapped Jack, holding up his shaft of bamboo as a target.
As likeable as the boy was, he could be infuriating at times. Jack was attempting to give him a sword lesson in the yard before dinner, but Hanzo was unable to get over Jack’s dramatic defeat in the breathing challenge.
Hanzo lowered his weapon, his brow suddenly furrowing into a worried expression. ‘But tengu can’t die, can they?’
Jack shook his head, though he was thinking, This tengu can!
Determined to beat Miyuki, Jack had stopped breathing until his oxygen-starved brain blacked out. Thankfully, his body instinctively started breathing again and, coming to, he’d been greeted by the Grandmaster’s concerned face. ‘That was a remarkable first effort,’ Soke had said. ‘But an unconscious ninja is as good as dead. A lesson for you all: recognize your limits.’
Even though he’d lost to Miyuki, Jack had gained respect from the other ninja who’d been impressed by his astounding willpower.
The rest of the lesson had been devoted to shallow breathing techniques: first controlling the sound of their breathing; then recognizing the difference between someone asleep and someone pretending; and finally