Young Samurai_ The Way of the Sword - Chris Bradford [63]
‘How can that possibly happen? Even if Dragon Eye did try, he’d be caught out by the Nightingale Floor and captured by the guards before he got anywhere near the daimyo,’ argued Jack. ‘Besides, how can the daimyo be in danger when only the three of us know the rutter’s location? Dragon Eye would never think of looking there, and we’re certainly not going to tell him.’
30
STICKY HANDS
‘Shall I let you into a secret? I’m not really blind…’
Jack knew it. The bō master had been faking all the time. That would explain why he could guide his students into the mountains, trick Kazuki and wield the bō so skilfully. He simply fooled people into believing he was blind.
‘I just can’t see,’ finished Sensei Kano in his deep sonorous voice.
‘I don’t understand,’ said Jack and Yamato in unison, the icy winter air making their breath puff out in large clouds of mist.
They had returned to the gardens of the Eikan-Do Temple. The glorious reds and oranges of autumn were all gone now, replaced with bare skeletons of trees frosted in winter snow. The three of them sat on a stone bench next to a slender wooden footbridge. The wide stream passing beneath it was iced over, though further up the slope a small waterfall still trickled and ran beneath the surface to the frozen pond in the middle of the gardens.
‘People think that seeing is the perception of the world through the eyes. But is it?’ questioned Sensei Kano, waving the tip of his staff at the scene before them.
He picked up some pebbles from the path and passed one to each of his two trainees.
‘When you see a stone, you are also feeling it with your mind’s hand. Seeing is as much touching as it is sight, but because the sense of vision is so overwhelming, you are unaware of the importance of touch.’
‘But without being able to see, how did you ever learn to fight in the first place?’ Yamato asked.
‘Disability doesn’t mean inability,’ the sensei replied, throwing his own pebble into the air and striking it with his staff. The pebble landed on the pond and skittered across the ice. ‘It just means adaptability. I’ve had to use my other senses. I’ve learnt to feel my way through life. I’ve become adept at sniffing out danger and tasting fear in the air. And I’ve taught myself to listen to the world around me.’
Sensei Kano stood up and walked towards the stream.
‘Close your eyes and I will show you what I mean.’ He continued to talk to them while moving around, emphasizing each step with the thud of his bō striking the ground. ‘In these sessions, I’m going to train you in sensitivity techniques. You’re going to learn to use everything but your sight. Can you both point to where I am standing?’
Jack and Yamato raised their hands to indicate his position.
‘Open your eyes. Were you correct in your assumption?’
‘Hai, Sensei,’ they replied in unison, pointing to their teacher on the bridge.
‘I would hope so. If you can hear me, then you know where I am. Close your eyes again. Aside from the sounds that your opponent may make, don’t forget the background noise that will also indicate where they are. The human body creates a sound shadow, just like a light shadow cast by the sun. If you listen out for the hole in the background noise, you can determine the position of your attacker even if they remain silent. So listen to the sounds around you, then tell me where I’ve moved to.’
Jack tried to follow the bō master’s movements with his ears, but, with Sensei Kano now maintaining silence, it was impossible to judge his progress. Instead Jack had to focus on the noises he could hear.
Yamato’s breathing.
The trickle of the waterfall.
The distant bustle of the city.
A lone bird calling among the treetops.
Then… he swore he heard the waterfall fade ever so slightly.
‘You’re in front of the waterfall,’ deduced Jack.
‘Excellent. Very perceptive, Jack-kun,’ praised Sensei Kano as Yamato and Jack reopened their