Young Samurai_ The Way of the Sword - Chris Bradford [86]
‘Take her out now!’ ordered the High Priest, looking alarmed as the third stick reached its end.
Akiko emerged to triumphant cheering. She walked across to Kiku, who quickly wrapped her in a robe. Jack hurried over and, ignoring Japanese formality, began to rub her hands for warmth. The strange thing was, although Akiko shivered slightly, her body was hot to the touch as if she’d stepped out of a volcanic hot spring instead of a freezing waterfall.
Jack raised his eyebrows in surprise, but she just smiled serenely back at him.
Leaving Kiku to assist Akiko with getting into dry clothes, Jack and Yamato rejoined the rest of the students on the far side of the pool. Passing the High Priest and Masamoto on their way, Jack couldn’t help overhearing their conversation.
‘Truly remarkable,’ said the priest. ‘That girl stayed beneath the waterfall longer than any person I’ve witnessed in my lifetime. She’s clearly been taught mind control by a great master.’
‘I would agree with you,’ said Masamoto. ‘Sensei Yamada, you have done a remarkable job in training our students.’
Sensei Yamada shook his head gently, his shrewd eyes glancing over at Akiko in curiosity. ‘This is not a skill I’ve taught my class.’
‘In that case, she is a samurai of rare talent,’ commended the High Priest.
The priest turned to address the school, casting a considered eye over the remaining Circle entrants. Harumi was now standing to one side with her friends, who were trying to console her.
‘In life sometimes you must do the things you think you cannot do,’ said the High Priest. ‘But always remember, the only limits are those of the mind. By pushing the limits of what you believe, you can accomplish the impossible.’
The High Priest beckoned to Akiko, and Jack felt his heart swell with pride at her achievement.
‘This girl is proof that you can expand your mind beyond anything you think it’s capable of. And the mind, once expanded, never returns to its former dimensions. Learn from this challenge to be the master of your mind, rather than being mastered by your mind. This knowledge will aid you greatly in tomorrow’s Spirit challenge.’
42
FIRST BLOOD
‘I got your message,’ stated Jack, tossing the paper note at Kazuki’s feet. ‘So what do you want?’
Kazuki merely smiled, looking like a cat whose prey had just dropped into its lap. He was leaning nonchalantly against the town well. Built of stone, with an aged wooden bucket attached to a rope, it was the only feature of the Iga Ueno’s town square, a place enclosed on all sides by shops and two-storey wooden houses.
The shops were now closed for the day, their windows shuttered and doors barred, offering little incentive for people to hang around. Apart from a single villager hurrying home down a side street ahead of the encroaching storm, the place was deserted.
‘I don’t believe you’re here alone,’ said Jack, glancing around the darkened alleyways. ‘Where’s your Scorpion Gang?’
The note Jack had found slipped under the door of his bedroom after dinner that evening had demanded a oneto-one meeting between himself and Kazuki. Akiko had tried to dissuade him from going, but Jack, despite having no idea what Kazuki wanted, felt honour bound to attend. If he didn’t appear, he would be considered gutless. He would be branded a coward.
Besides, he wanted to confront Kazuki about Yori.
Kazuki took a step closer to Jack so that they were eyeball-to-eyeball with one another.
‘I dislike you, gaijin,’ Kazuki hissed, his hooded eyes shadowy in the twilight, ‘and I don’t like accusations of being a cheat. I can easily beat you in the Circle without having to resort to cheating.’
‘You barefaced liar! We both know for a fact that you cheated,’ exclaimed Jack, his blood boiling at the thought of Yori lying fevered in bed, his leg swollen to twice its usual size.
‘I don’t lie,’ retorted Kazuki, his voice taut with indignation, ‘I don’t cheat and, for the record, I don’t steal things either! Don’t judge me by your gaijin standards. I come from an honourable