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He adjusted Akiko’s grip on her leading sword. ‘Your grasp is too loose; you should always hold the sword with the intention of cutting down your opponent.’

‘Ichiro-kun and Osamu-kun, you’re too close. Beware of ma-ai. Mizuki-chan, put more strength into your feet. Perfect, Taro-kun, but ensure you’re employing metsuke.’

Masamoto noticed the confused look on Jack’s face.

‘Ma-ai is the distance between you and your opponent. Metsuke means “looking at a faraway mountain”. You should already be familiar with this second concept, Jack-kun. I believe Sensei Kano has taught you the principles of the Mugan Ryū, his School of No Eyes. This is similar. It’s the ability to see everything at once without focusing on one particular object. You should be aware of your opponent’s sword, yet at the same time not be looking at it.’

Jack nodded his understanding. Sensei Kano, their blind bōjutsu master, had spent most of the previous year teaching him not to rely on his sight during combat. This unusual skill had saved his life on two separate occasions, once against Kazuki, and the other time in a fight with Dragon Eye and his female assassin Sasori.

Eventually satisfied with his students’ stances, Masamoto continued the lesson. ‘Let me show you the advantage of holding a sword with just one hand.’

Masamoto drew his blade so fast, the air whistled. He stopped short of Jack’s throat. Jack gave an involuntary gasp. Kazuki smirked and Jack silently cursed himself for showing weakness in front of the class.

‘When you hold a katana with both hands, it’s more difficult to move freely to your left or right and you have less reach with your blade.’

Masamoto now grasped the sword with both hands to show the difference in range. Jack breathed a quiet sigh of relief as the razor-sharp tip drew back from his Adam’s apple.

‘By fighting with two swords, you’ll overcome the limitations of single sword fighting,’ Masamoto explained, resheathing his katana. ‘I’ll demonstrate a basic Two Heavens technique with Sensei Hosokawa.’

He turned to the swordmaster, who’d been observing the lesson from the dais. Hosokawa bowed and stepped forward. He drew his katana and Masamoto unsheathed both his swords. A split second later, Hosokawa attacked, his blade arcing towards Masamoto’s head. Masamoto blocked the cut with his wakizashi, simultaneously stepping to one side and thrusting his longer katana at Hosokawa’s throat.

It was over in an instant. If it had been a real fight, the swordmaster would now be choking to death on his own blood, his neck impaled by the hard steel tip of the blade.

Hosokawa retreated to a safe distance.

‘As you’ve just seen, the Two Heavens style is uncomplicated,’ Masamoto explained, resheathing his swords and bowing to Sensei Hosokawa. ‘There are no flamboyant or exaggerated movements. Targeting is precise, and distance and timing are tight, with no wasted movement. I compare the Two Heavens sword style to water, fluid and pure.’

The students were now given the opportunity to try the ‘parry and strike’ technique themselves. Jack was paired off with Kazuki this time. He faced off against his rival. Kazuki struck with his katana and Jack managed to block it with the wakizashi, but he completely missed Kazuki’s throat with his other sword.

Despite the apparent simplicity of the technique, Jack discovered the Two Heavens was like trying to pat his head and rub his stomach at the same time. It required intense concentration and coordination.

He tried again, this time focusing on his attack. The tip of his katana found its target, but he completely forgot about blocking. His head was almost knocked off his shoulders as Kazuki’s wooden katana smashed into his ear.

‘Careful!’ exclaimed Jack, clasping his battered ear.

Kazuki shrugged unapologetically. ‘You should have blocked it.’

‘And you should have controlled your strike, Kazuki-kun,’ observed Masamoto from the other end of the dojo.

‘Yes, Sensei. Sorry, I’m not used to holding two swords,’ replied Kazuki by way of an excuse. ‘My