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‘NO,’ replied Yamato, grabbing Jack’s arm. ‘Kazuki was looking for a fight. If we pull out now, I’ll lose face.’

‘So you’re going to do it?’ Saburo asked eagerly.

Yamato nodded. ‘It’s time someone taught Kazuki a lesson.’

11

HAIKU

Having returned to his tiny paper-walled bedroom in the Hall of Lions, Jack got changed out of his ceremonial kimono into his training gi. He neatly folded the kimono and laid it upon the tatami-matted floor beside his swords, bokken and the little inro carrying case containing Akiko’s black pearl. The ninja tantō was wrapped in a cloth nearby and he slipped it beneath the kimono. It felt safer there, out of sight and out of mind.

As an afterthought, he placed the Daruma Doll on top. The single eye Jack had painted on its mischievous face two years previous stared back at him with indifference. Jack was supposed to fill in the other eye once the wish he’d made on the doll came true. But the Daruma Doll had yet to deliver on its promise. Until then, Jack thought, it would make a good talisman against the evil spirit of the Kunitome blade. Not that he believed a word the tea-house owner had said.

Hearing the other students leave their rooms, Jack got up and quickly watered his bonsai, which sat upon the window sill of the room’s small lattice window. The little tree looked a great deal healthier since being cared for by Uekiya. Then he hurried from his room to find his friends waiting in the courtyard. Together they headed over to the Taka-no-ma for their first lesson with Sensei Nakamura. No one yet knew what martial art she would be teaching but, like many of his classmates, Jack had decided to bring his bokken just in case.

Inside the Hall of the Hawk, they were greeted by five regimented rows of tiny wooden tables laid out across the dojo floor. Upon each table was a bamboo writing brush, an ink block and several sheets of plain paper.

‘Leave your weapons at the door,’ instructed Sensei Nakamura. Her command was softly spoken, though her voice carried clearly throughout the Hall.

She sat motionless beneath the shrine in her black kimono, her hair a billowing snowdrift down her back.

The thirty students did as they were told and Sensei Nakamura waited patiently while everyone settled at their tables. Jack found a place between Yamato and Saburo in the third row and sat down cross-legged upon the floor. Akiko, Kiku and Yori took their places in the line in front. On the first row, Jack spotted Emi, Cho and Kai. They’d positioned themselves next to the new boy, Takuan, while Kazuki and his Scorpion Gang ensured they had the back row all to themselves.

The lesson was still a mystery to everyone, so there was a great air of expectation in the room. Jack looked around and couldn’t see anything in the dojo that resembled a naginata. Without weapons, he wondered whether they might be training in taijutsu, but Sensei Kyuzo already taught them hand-to-hand combat. The pieces of paper upon the tables hinted that they might be doing origami, but Zen Buddhism, meditation and the spiritual arts were Sensei Yamada’s responsibility. With the ink and brush present, Jack feared they would be doing a written test. In spite of Akiko’s private lessons in kanji, Jack knew he wouldn’t be capable of writing at any length.

Before the sensei even spoke, the class became still as if some soundless command had been issued.

‘My name is Sensei Nakamura,’ she said quietly, ‘and I will be teaching you haiku.’

The announcement provoked a mixed reaction from the class. Many of the students were disappointed, while a few looked absolutely delighted with the news.

‘What’s haiku?’ whispered Jack, seeing that Yori had already picked up his brush in eager anticipation.

‘Poetry,’ groaned Saburo in response.

Sensei Nakamura’s eyes turned upon Saburo and he fell silent under her stern gaze.

‘For those unfamiliar with the form,’ continued Sensei Nakamura, addressing the class, ‘let me explain its main principles. Haiku is a