Young Samurai_ The Way of the Sword - Chris Bradford [55]
In the courtyard, the snow continued to fall, settling upon everyone’s heads and shoulders. Jack heard Akiko kiai several times above the cries of battle, but just as he was wondering how far she had got, an ominous silence descended upon the Butokuden.
The dwindling group of entrants tensed to hear whose name would be called out next.
Eventually only Jack and Kazuki remained. They ignored one another, the tension of the Gauntlet getting to both of them.
‘KAZUKI-KUN!’
Kazuki straightened his gi and headed confidently towards the entrance.
‘Good luck,’ said Jack on the spur of the moment.
Kazuki glanced back over his shoulder, a grim smile on his face. ‘You too,’ he replied with uncharacteristic camaraderie. ‘We’ll need it.’
Then he stepped inside and closed the doors behind him.
From the shouts that ensued, Kazuki seemed to be doing well, but Jack’s body was too stiff with cold for him to care whether Kazuki succeeded or not.
‘JACK-KUN!’
Summoned at last, he tried to rub some warmth back into his bones. He didn’t know if he was shaking more from cold or trepidation. He gripped the hilt of his bokken in an attempt to steady himself.
Stepping through the doors of the dojo, he entered the Gauntlet.
26
THE GAUNTLET
Jack dared not move.
Down either side of the dojo were lined the students of the Niten Ichi Ryū, appearing at first glance to be a ceremonial welcoming party. They formed a narrow corridor of samurai, stretching from the entrance to Hosokawa himself at the opposite end.
At various points behind these two rows, Jack noticed the other Circle of Three entrants. All of them looked thoroughly beaten, some nursing bruised limbs, others bloody faces. Jack spotted Akiko halfway down the hall. She didn’t look too injured, though she clutched her side, wincing in pain as she shifted to get a better view of Jack.
‘Welcome to the Gauntlet,’ greeted Sensei Hosokawa from the far end of the hall. ‘Please join me so we can begin.’
Jack took a wary step forward.
Nothing happened.
He glanced to one side, eyeing a burly student from the year above. The boy ignored him.
Jack made another move, but the two rows remained stock-still. Perhaps they were just a welcoming party, with the Gauntlet starting only once he reached Sensei Hosokawa. Jack began to walk towards the sensei, but the moment he did, a shout of ‘KIAI!’ erupted from behind him.
Jack heard the swoosh of a bokken.
Instinctively he ducked, the wooden sword barely missing his shoulder. Jack spun round, unsheathing his own bokken to protect himself against any follow-up attack. The student from the year above had been the culprit and was now bringing his sword back down on to Jack’s head.
Jack countered, blocking the strike and swinging his own sword across his attacker’s gut. The blow winded the boy, bending him double. Jack kicked him hard in the side and the boy fell to the ground.
But no sooner had Jack dispatched his first assailant than a girl broke from the ranks and thrust a wooden tantō at his stomach. Jack leapt to the side, parrying the girl’s assault with his hand and knocking the knife from her grip. Slipping to her off-guard side, he brought his own weapon round in a low arc. The girl jumped to avoid it, but Jack raised the blade at the last second and caught her ankle. The girl was swept off her feet and landed in a crumpled heap upon the floor.
A faint rustle alerted Jack to an attack from behind. Two students were bearing down on him. They struck simultaneously, one sword at his head, the other at his stomach.
With no time to think, Jack dived beneath the two bokken, rolling between his assailants. As he passed through, he struck the knee of the boy to his left, hobbling him. Flipping back to his feet, Jack followed through with a back kick that caught the other in the kidneys, dropping the boy