Young Samurai_ The Way of the Sword - Chris Bradford [65]
‘We’ll never be able to do that,’ snorted Yamato. ‘It’s hard enough now and we can see what we’re doing.’
Without breaking his stride, Sensei Kano turned and walked straight across the frozen pond.
‘Watch out!’ cried Jack.
There was a splintering crack at the edges as the surface took Sensei Kano’s weight, but incredibly the ice held.
‘You would be amazed what things you can accomplish,’ shouted Sensei Kano over his shoulder to his two astonished students, ‘if only you have the courage to believe in yourself and trust your senses.’
31
YUKI GASSEN
‘How’s your training going?’ enquired Tadashi.
He sat down next to Jack and the others on the stone steps of the Butsuden. Tadashi had been the first student to be chosen for the Circle of Three and, following the selection, had politely introduced himself to the other entrants. Tadashi and Jack then found themselves paired together in sword training, striking up an easy friendship.
‘Good, I think,’ replied Jack. ‘Sensei Kano’s tough, though. I just hope I’ll be ready in time.’
Spring was now only two moons away and with it the flowering of the cherry-blossom trees that would herald the Circle of Three. Consequently, the sensei had begun to push their charges harder and harder. Jack and the five other entrants had been preparing for the Circle of Three for over a month and, like Jack, each of the participants had acquired a mentor. Yori’s was Sensei Yamada. Akiko and Harumi had been taken on by Sensei Yosa, while Kazuki was on an intense training schedule set by Sensei Kyuzo. In addition to his own lessons with Sensei Kano, Jack was being coached along with Tadashi under the watchful eye of Sensei Hosokawa.
‘And how about you, little warrior?’ Tadashi asked, turning to Yori.
Yori didn’t respond, but continued to gaze out at the thick blanket of snow covering the school’s courtyard. Tadashi gave Jack a nudge and mouthed to ask if Yori was all right. Jack nodded, pointing to the side of his head to indicate Yori was a deep thinker.
‘Sensei Yamada told me not to eat an elephant for lunch,’ Yori eventually replied.
Everyone stared at Yori, bewildered by his statement. Jack began to wonder exactly what sort of lessons Sensei Yamada was teaching his little friend.
‘How’s that going to help you in the Circle of Three?’ asked Saburo, looking baffled. ‘It’s impossible to eat an entire elephant.’
‘Precisely,’ said Kiku, shaking her head in exasperation. ‘Don’t you understand anything Sensei Yamada teaches us?’
‘I would if he didn’t always speak in riddles.’
‘He’s telling Yori not to get worried about the entire Circle of Three. Instead he should concentrate on one challenge at a time,’ Kiku explained. Then, seeing Saburo’s blank face, she continued, ‘In other words, if you broke a large meal down into smaller pieces, you’d be able to eat it all without choking like a pig!’
‘Got it!’ exclaimed Saburo. ‘Why didn’t you just say that before?’
‘That’s good advice,’ agreed Tadashi, ‘but has anyone discovered what the three Circle challenges actually are?’
They all shook their heads. Beyond knowing that the Circle referred to the three highest peaks in the Iga mountain range, the actual three challenges of Mind, Body and Spirit remained a mystery.
‘It seems bizarre to me that you’re training for something you know nothing about,’ commented Yamato, kicking the snow off the step below. Despite his best efforts to remain cheerful, he was clearly still upset at not being selected for the Circle of Three.
‘Sensei Yamada told me that’s the point. Only the unknown terrifies man,’ Yori revealed, his tiny hands trembling at the thought. ‘We’re preparing for the unknown.’
A snowball slammed into the side of Jack’s face.
Jack cried out in shock, his cheek smarting with the cold.
‘Bullseye!’ shouted a familiar voice.
Jack wiped the icy remains away and glared at Kazuki, who had entered the courtyard with his friends. They all carried snowballs and were playfully tossing them them at one another.
Kazuki ducked as