Young Samurai_ The Way of the Sword - Chris Bradford [76]
Yamato gauged the move, pulling back out of reach and sweeping his hand across in a combined block and knife-hand strike. Jack caught it, trapped the arm and drove his fist forward. Yamato disengaged, slipping the punch and retaliating with a hammer fist to the bridge of the nose.
All the time they maintained contact with one another.
All the time they sought gaps in each other’s defence.
Throughout they were blindfolded.
‘Excellent, boys,’ praised Sensei Kano, who leant nonchalantly on his white staff in a side garden of the Eikan-Do Temple where the chi sao lesson was taking place. ‘But I sense you’re playing with one another. Go for the kill!’
Sensei Kano had been training them rigorously in the run-up to the Circle of Three and both boys had become adept at the Sticky Hands technique as well as the use of their other senses. Jack could now pick out sound shadows whether in a forest or a Kyoto side street, though he still found the task impossible in a silent room.
This was Jack’s final session to prove to Sensei Kano he was ready for the Circle of Three. He concentrated hard on following Yamato’s movements with his hands. He and Yamato were evenly matched so their attacks got faster and faster, becoming a blur as they tried to outdo one another.
Strike. Block. Punch. Evade.
Jack sensed Yamato shift his body weight, but was a second too late in retracting his foot. Yamato swept his front leg from under him and Jack lost his balance. The moment’s distraction was all Yamato needed. He open-palmed Jack in the head and Jack toppled sideways. With nothing to grab on to, Jack fell and plunged into the water below.
Sensei Kano had instructed them to fight on a narrow footbridge that straddled the stream running into the pond of the temple. This had been their last training session and this, their final test.
Yamato had won.
Jack had lost.
He came up gasping. The stream was icy cold in contrast to the heat of the day and he climbed out on to the bank, shivering like a leaf.
‘Your balance is still off, Jack-kun, but you’re ready nonetheless,’ said Sensei Kano. ‘We’ll have to focus on that when you get back from the Circle of Three. I’ll get you fighting with bō blindfolded on a log. That should sharpen your senses, or else you’ll grow gills from being in the water all the time!’
Sensei Kano chuckled deeply at his little joke before wandering off into the gardens. Yamato grinned too and Jack knew why. Not only had Yamato outperformed him in chi sao, but he was the best student in their class with the bō. He could beat Jack in sparring every time, even if he was blindfolded and Jack wasn’t.
With the final test over, Jack hurried back to the Niten Ichi Ryū, Yamato in tow, to pack for the next day’s arduous trek into the Iga mountain range.
As they entered the school gates, Jack noticed Hiroto and Goro hovering over a small boy from the year below. He was looking up at them and shaking his head vigorously. Goro pushed the boy hard in the chest and the boy stumbled backwards, striking his head against the wall. He began to cry.
Jack and Yamato rushed over.
‘Leave him alone,’ Jack ordered, grabbing Goro’s arm.
‘Stay out of it, gaijin!’ warned Hiroto, advancing on Jack.
‘No, we won’t,’ answered Yamato, stepping between Hiroto and Jack, ‘and don’t call Jack gaijin, unless you want to deal with me too.’
A stalemate occurred and the little boy glanced nervously between them, waiting to see who would make the next move.
‘You’ll be sorry for sticking your big nose into our business,’ threatened Hiroto, stabbing a stick-thin finger into Jack’s chest. Hiroto gestured to Goro and they left.
‘Are you all right?’ asked Jack, once the two Scorpion Gang members had gone.
The boy snuffled, choking back his sobs and rubbing his bruised head. He looked up at Jack, his eyes red with tears, then blurted, ‘They said I was a traitor, that I was no longer Japanese, that I was unworthy to be called a samurai and that I would be punished if I didn’t