The Ring of Water - Chris Bradford [47]
‘I thought you were in trouble.’
Hana laughed again. ‘I am! Ronin’s teaching me.’
‘And I have an inept student!’ huffed Ronin, taking a swig of saké and turning to Jack. ‘I hope you prove better.’
‘What are they?’ asked Jack, eyeing the peculiar arrangement of wooden stumps. At least a dozen of them stood in a spiral pattern, driven into the earth at different heights.
‘They’re plum flower poles,’ explained Hana eagerly. ‘Ronin built them to help improve my balance.’
She leapt on to the first stump, then stepped up to the next level.
‘The higher you go, the more they wobble.’ Her arms wavered as she climbed. ‘And the harder it is to –’ She fell, this time managing to stay upright. ‘It isn’t easy!’
Ronin tutted. ‘Keep your centre!’
He irritably strode over and mounted the plum flower poles with ease. Halfway up, he leant back until his body formed an arc. To all appearances, he was completely off-balance and about to topple over.
Ronin pointed to his stomach. ‘See, when I move, my centre is always above my point of balance –’ indicating his feet – ‘That way I always stay in control.’
Jumping from one stump to another, he reached the topmost pole and stood on one leg, arms primed in a fighting guard.
‘Be nimble like a cat.’
He leapt off to land lightly beside Jack. ‘Now you try. Remember, put the weight on the balls of your feet.’
Jack tested the lowest pole with one foot. It hardly moved and he had little problem standing on it. As he climbed higher, he compensated for the growing sway of the poles with his body, while his feet instinctively sought the best placement. He discovered the plum flowers were just like being atop the main mast of the Alexandria.
‘You’ve done this before!’ said Ronin.
‘I was a sailor –’
Without warning, Ronin threw his bottle at Jack. But Jack was ready this time and caught it confidently, not even wavering.
‘Good, you’re learning,’ said Ronin as Jack stepped down to return his prized saké. Picking up his swords from the veranda, Ronin offered them to Jack. ‘You need to practise with my daishō for tomorrow.’
Jack bowed, holding out both hands to receive Ronin’s swords with respect.
‘I appreciate the honour, but why didn’t you take up Araki’s offer?’
‘Not a chance,’ snorted Ronin, seizing the bokken. ‘Any sword he lent you would be unbalanced and flawed. Araki may be honourable, but he’ll do everything in his power to ensure he wins.’
Sliding the sayas into his obi, Jack unsheathed the two weapons and weighed them in his hands. They were functional, brutally efficient and well used. Their balance was good and the cutting edges expertly honed, numerous times. While they weren’t crafted like the Shizu blades Akiko had given him, he was confident he could defend himself with them.
‘You’re skilled in the Two Heavens,’ said Ronin, taking up a fighting stance, ‘and I only have a bokken. You should easily beat me.’
With that, he struck at Jack’s neck. On instinct alone, Jack blocked the wooden blade and countered using the wakizashi. Ronin evaded the attack and came at him with a surprise upward cut. Jack barely moved out of the way in time. He was slow and unsure from lack of practice, while Ronin was an experienced and highly skilled swordsman.
‘Is that your best?’ challenged Ronin, and the duel really began.
They fought through the garden, the huge standing stones forming a natural arena. As the night drew in, the two fighters flickered orange in the firelight. Hana watched with dread fascination from the veranda.
‘Come on, Jack! You can beat him!’ she cried.
A sharp look from Ronin, though, made her quickly change allegiances.
‘Take him down, Ronin!’
But Jack was warming to the swords and gradually his Two Heavens moves began to flow once more. Flint-and-Spark strike. The strike of Running Water. Mountain-to-Sea. Moving the Shadow. The Autumn Leaf strike. Ronin felt the pressure and retreated towards the plum flower poles. As Jack made a cut for his chest, Ronin jumped on to the first stump.