The Way of the Dragon

by Unknown

  Jack turned to face his final adversary. But before he had the slightest hope of executing an air throw, Hiroto released the manriki-gusari and the chain wrapped itself round his body. A moment later, Jack was yanked off his feet.

  ‘And you were doing so well until then,’ commented Sensei Kyuzo sarcastically. ‘Fail!’

  Jack shrugged off the chain, stood and bowed to his four attackers. Though no bones were broken, he could already feel a painful bruise forming where the weighted end had thumped into his back. Being the final combatant in the weapon-disarming exercise, he returned the manriki-gusari to the Weapons Wall and rejoined the rest of the students kneeling in a line. They’d had an entire morning of taijutsu trials, assessing their fitness, fighting technique, grappling skills, breaking ability and disarming methods, all in preparation for the possibility of war.

  ‘Some of you have proved exceptional in your taijutsu training,’ said Sensei Kyuzo, glancing in the direction of Kazuki. ‘A few are disappointing, to say the least.’

  Jack felt Sensei Kyuzo’s beady eyes upon him.

  ‘However, I consider you’re all ready for the final test of your hand-to-hand fighting skills – Last Samurai Standing.’

  Sensei Kyuzo’s stern face broke into a fiendish grin.

  ‘All stand.’

  There was an uneasy murmur among the class as they got to their feet. Sensei Kyuzo was smiling. This could not be good.

  26

  ZANSHIN

  It was utter chaos.

  The dojo turned into a battle zone as fights broke out all over the Butokuden. Students began to pummel their nearest neighbour. Everyone was now a potential enemy.

  Sensei Kyuzo had set a simple but brutal challenge. A fight between every samurai in the dojo. Defeat was judged as being knocked or thrown to the ground. The only rule: no weapons.

  Jack ducked as a hook punch came out of nowhere. Retaliating with an elbow strike to the stomach, he winded his attacker. Then, reaching up, he grabbed the other’s arm and executed a seoi nage. The shoulder throw brought his opponent crashing to the ground.

  She cried out as all the breath was knocked from her.

  ‘Sorry,’ said Jack, realizing he’d just floored Cho, one of Emi’s best friends. Then again, she had just tried to knock his head off.

  Jack spotted Akiko on the other side of the dojo, effortlessly dispatching all challengers. She whirled through the air, executing a spinning back kick that sent Renzo, one of the toughest young samurai in their class, flying into a pillar. Suddenly Jack sensed someone behind him. He spun round to be confronted by Yori. He looked terrified.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ said Jack, dropping his guard. ‘I won’t fight you.’

  ‘Please throw me,’ pleaded Yori, glancing fearfully in the direction of Kazuki and his gang. ‘At least I know you won’t hurt me.’

  The four of them were cutting a swathe through their opponents and they weren’t holding back. Using his bulk to his advantage, Nobu would grab a student, then Kazuki and Hiroto beat him to the floor while Goro covered their backs.

  Jack understood. He picked Yori up round the waist, performing an o-goshi, and gently hip-threw his little friend to the ground.

  ‘Thank you,’ whispered Yori, pretending to be winded so that Sensei Kyuzo wouldn’t suspect he’d evaded the test.

  Jack winked at his friend and prepared for his next challenger. Beside him, Yamato was locked in combat with Emi’s other best friend, Kai. As soon as she saw Jack, Kai disengaged from Yamato and attacked him instead.

  She came in with a blistering combination of kicks. A front kick followed by a roundhouse, then a back kick, finished off with a brutal side-kick to the ribs. Jack rapidly retreated under the onslaught. But, as Kai went for a spinning hook kick to his head, Jack dropped low to the floor. Mirroring her turn, he executed a spinning ankle sweep and Kai went crashing to the ground.

  ‘Kai really had it in for you!’ said Yamato, his mouth open in astonishment at her vicious attack. ‘What did you do to upset her?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ gasped Jack, ‘but we have to stick together. Otherwise, Kazuki’s gang will win.’

  On the other side of the dojo Kazuki, Hiroto and Goro were battling their way towards Akiko. They had just taken out Saburo and Kiku. Bypassing the other students, Jack and Yamato ran over to even up the fight. As they approached, Jack spotted Nobu targeting Takuan. Nobu had noticed the new boy was out of his depth and was about to seize him from behind. Jack owed it to Takuan to save him, in return for all his horseriding lessons.

  ‘Watch out!’ he shouted, charging past Takuan and front-kicking Nobu in the gut.

  Nobu staggered away, though he remained on his feet.

  ‘Thanks,’ said Takuan, both of them now unsure whether they should fight one another or not.

  But they didn’t have time to ponder the issue. Jack, having been distracted with his rescue of Takuan, was immediately attacked from the rear.

  The punch to the kidneys almost dropped Jack there and then, but somehow he managed to keep his feet. Stumbling round, he threw up his guard, but a lightning kick blasted through his defences and caught him full in the face. Knocked senseless, Jack fell on his backside. Whoever had attacked him hadn’t held back.

  ‘That’s for using me to get inside my father’s castle!’ exclaimed Emi.

  ‘I… I said I was sorry,’ stammered Jack.

  He sat there stunned, the shame of his past attempt to protect the rutter once again coming back to haunt him. No wonder Cho and Kai had been so keen to fight him. The daimyo’s daughter held a serious grudge, though. The incident had been over a year ago.

  ‘And I thought you liked me,’ she said in a harsh whisper.

  Emi then noticed Takuan and threw him a coy smile. Takuan was so captivated by her that he was totally unaware of Hiroto until it was too late. The boy kicked Takuan across the stomach, doubling him over. A forearm strike to the back of the neck dropped him into Jack’s lap.

  Emi was outraged.

  ‘Leave Takuan alone!’ she shouted, palm-heel striking Hiroto in the chest.

  Shocked by the suddenness of the assault, Hiroto was completely unprepared for tomoe nage, the sacrificial stomach throw. Emi grabbed him by the lapels of his gi and rolled backwards. Jack and Takuan could only gawp as Emi tossed Hiroto high into the air and sent him crashing on to the dojo floor.

  Jack winced in sympathy for Hiroto. Emi’s foot hadn’t planted itself in Hiroto’s stomach. It had been much, much lower. Hiroto rolled around on the floor, his hands between his legs, whimpering in his high-pitched voice.

  Jack realized he’d been lucky to get away with a kick to the face.

  Emi flipped to her feet and shot Takuan another demure smile. A moment later, she was bowled over by Nobu who charged into her.

  Jack, now defeated, looked around the hall to see who remained standing. Akiko had just leg-sweeped Goro, finishing him off with a hammerfist strike to the stomach. Meanwhile, Nobu was seeking his next victim. The only other samurai still standing were Yamato and Kazuki, who were battling it out in the centre of the dojo.

  Yamato was putting up a strong defence, but over the course of two years Kazuki had received so much additional taijutsu training from Sensei Kyuzo that there was no one in the class to rival him. Jack could only watch as Kazuki systematically demolished his friend’s guard. A crippling roundhouse to the thigh dropped Yamato to one knee. Kazuki followed up with a crushing elbow strike to the head. Only a last-second block prevented Yamato getting a broken jaw, but the force of the blow sent him reeling across the dojo and on to the floor.

  Nobu, sweating heavily from his exertions, was now circling Akiko. He kept a wary distance, occasionally feigning an attack so as to keep her attention on him, while Kazuki advanced on her blind side.

  Jack, along with the rest of the class, held their breath as they waited for the outcome of this match. He knew Nobu was not the best fighter, his immense size having saved him fro
m getting thrown so far. He’d also toughened up in recent months and so was able to absorb any blows that once would have floored him.

  Despite the rigors of the battle and the threat Nobu posed, Akiko looked calm and collected. The real danger for her was Kazuki.

  However much Jack disliked Kazuki for his bullying, he couldn’t deny the boy was a skilled and clever fighter. His innate talent at the Two Heavens was as impressive as it was annoying for Jack. His abilities at archery and horseriding were strong. He was good at the bō, lethal in unarmed combat and had proved his worth by conquering the Circle of Three. Kazuki was developing into a supreme samurai warrior.

  Kazuki gave a subtle nod of the head to Nobu and as one they attacked Akiko. Kazuki going for the head, Nobu for the stomach.

  Unfazed, Akiko stood her ground. Suddenly she exploded upwards, jumping clear of Kazuki’s front kick and Nobu’s roundhouse punch. Rising above them, she simultaneously kicked out with both feet and planted them into Kazuki’s and Nobu’s gawping faces. Taken by complete surprise at such an advanced and agile technique, the two of them staggered backwards then collapsed on the floor.

  Akiko landed lightly in a fighting guard and surveyed the scene. She stood alone in a dojo littered with fallen and groaning bodies. The ones who’d been watching the final fight greeted her victory with stunned silence.

  ‘Who taught Akiko that move?’ whispered Takuan to Jack, an incredulous look on his face.

  ‘No idea,’ replied Jack, shrugging. But no one in this school, that’s for sure, he thought.

  Sensei Kyuzo strode over to her. As he approached, she bowed her respect. Without stopping, Sensei Kyuzo brought his arm up hard across her chest and, twisting, threw her over his hip. She landed in a dazed pile beside Jack. Everyone stared in shock at the taijutsu master, bewildered by his unwarranted attack.

  ‘This exercise was not simply to test your taijutsu skills,’ justified Sensei Kyuzo, his expression once again severe and pitiless. ‘It was to see how you reacted under pressure of battle. It also tested zanshin – your awareness of your surroundings and enemy. If you are to have any hope of surviving a war, you must apply zanshin at all times.’

  ‘But Akiko had won!’ exclaimed Jack, incensed by his teacher’s vindictiveness. ‘She was –’

  ‘No,’ snapped Sensei Kyuzo, cutting Jack off with a withering look. ‘She wasn’t the Last Samurai Standing. I am.’

  27

  KUKAI

  Snow blanketed the Niten Ichi Ryū’s courtyard, its crisp white surface peppered with footprints that crossed from the Shishi-no-ma to the Chō-no-ma and on to the Hall of the Hawk. The tiered roofs of the buildings were caked in snow and the eaves hung heavy with glistening icicles. Even the ancient pine tree in the Southern Zen Garden struggled to hold its shape, the branches drooping like a cascade of frozen miniature waterfalls.

  Inside the Taka-no-ma, the students shivered despite their thick winter kimonos, their breath misting in the chill air. Sensei Nakamura sat with her guest, the renowned poet Saigyo, upon the polished wooden dais furthest from the door. Saigyo was a small, unassuming man with sleepy eyes and large rounded ears. He wore a plain bowl-shaped hat and by his side was a weatherworn bamboo walking stick. Taking time to admire the mural of the swooping hawk on the ceiling, he warmed his hands in front of a clay hibachi. The students gazed enviously at the small charcoal brazier that Sensei Nakamura had reserved for their honoured guest.

  ‘Glowing coals

  melt away the icicles –

  Ah! I have hands.’

  A serene smile spread across the poet’s face at his composition, and so light and feathery was his voice the haiku seemed to float on the air.

  Sensei Nakamura initiated a polite round of applause, which quickly spread throughout the hall. The clapping was enthusiastic, mostly because it provided an opportunity for the students to warm their own numb hands.

  ‘We shall commence the kukai,’ said Sensei Nakamura with solemn ceremony. ‘Those who consider they have a haiku of merit may step forward. Each of you in turn will present your poem to our esteemed guest. Saigyo-san will deliver his verdict and announce the winner once all the haiku have been heard.’

  Several students rose to their feet and began to form an orderly line down one side of the hall.

  ‘Are you coming up, Jack?’ asked Saburo, wielding a crumpled piece of paper in his hand.

  ‘You must be joking,’ replied Jack. ‘You know what Sensei Nakamura thinks of my efforts.’

  Saburo laughed. ‘Well, wish me luck. I think you’ll like mine!’

  As Saburo eagerly joined the queue, Yori crept past.

  ‘Good luck!’ whispered Jack.

  ‘Thanks,’ replied Yori in nervous excitement and joined the queue.

  ‘Let the first poet deliver their haiku,’ announced Saigyo, rubbing his thighs in eager anticipation. ‘May it be a drop of dew in an autumn pond.’

  Sensei Nakamura beckoned Akiko forward. Bowing low in respect, she took her haiku out of the pocket sleeve of her kimono. Jack thought Akiko looked even more anxious than when she’d shot the arrow at Sensei Kyuzo.

  ‘Winter was my inspiration,’ she began.

  ‘The purple iris

  beneath the white blanket sleeps –

  there sprouts hope!’

  Having read her haiku, Akiko bowed again and awaited the poet’s verdict. Saigyo took a deep breath and gazed out of the window at the falling snowflakes. Akiko glanced in Jack’s direction, her brow furrowing in concern at the poet’s lack of response. Jack smiled back, trying to comfort her, then realized she was looking past him to the end of the haiku line where Takuan was nodding his head earnestly. Akiko seemed reassured. Jack felt a pang of envy at the exchange.

  ‘Like spring, your haiku is fresh, clear and promises much,’ spoke Saigyo eventually, much to Akiko’s relief. ‘Yet will it be the best blossom of the day? We shall see.’

  He gave Akiko a polite clap, then beckoned the next contestant over. Akiko sat back down as Emi took her place before the poet. Saigyo listened attentively before giving an equally profound response to her poem. Two more haiku were heard. Then it was Saburo’s turn.

  ‘This one is about love,’ he declared.

  ‘ “She may have only one eye

  but it’s a pretty one,”

  says the go-between.’

  A burst of laughter broke from the class. Jack grinned at his friend’s humorous verse, while Akiko rolled her eyes in despair. The amusement was silenced by a stern look from Sensei Nakamura.

  ‘That was not an appropriate entry,’ she fumed, wiping the smile from Saburo’s face.

  ‘Sensei,’ interrupted Saigyo gently, ‘the verse may have been somewhat coarse, but our young poet here is certainly novel. His entry amused me. Like a plant needs sun as much as rain, so a poet needs laughter as much as tears.’

  Sensei Nakamura inclined her head in acknowledgement of his judgement. Saburo returned to his place beside Jack.

  ‘You’ll be writing that one out two thousand times, at least!’ hissed Akiko over her shoulder.

  Saburo grinned as if he didn’t care.

  Jack gave his friend a wink. ‘I thought it was great.’

  The following entries proved to be less inspiring and, at one point, Jack thought the old poet had gone to sleep. Then Yori shuffled up. He nervously flattened the piece of paper in his hands and, in a voice so soft even Saigyo had to lean forward to hear it, he said:

  ‘Squatting by the tree

  an old frog observes the faces

  hidden in the clouds.’

  The poet’s face lit up like the dawn, his sleepy eyes bursting awake. ‘Why, that’s a haiku worth waiting for! My favourite topic is frogs!’

  Yori bowed and guiltily whispered, ‘I’ve always admired your haiku about the frog jumping into the old pond. I wished to write one like it.’

  ‘And so you have,’ said Saigyo, beaming at him. ‘You have spirit, little poet. And
so does your haiku.’

  Yori, looking relieved, sat back down next to Jack.

  ‘Well done,’ said Jack, patting him on the back. ‘You’ve won.’

  Emi leant forward and hissed, ‘Takuan has yet to read his haiku!’

  Takuan bowed to Saigyo and in a clear, confident voice recited:

  ‘Temple bell

  a cloud of cherry blossom

  Heaven? Hanami?’

  Emi applauded loudly and the rest of the class soon joined in.

  Saigyo nodded appreciatively, a deeply satisfied smile on his face. ‘Your style is pure like white jade. Without ornament, without carving, you get straight to the heart of the moment. This is haiku at its finest.’

  Takuan bowed his gratitude at the poet’s praise and returned to his place next to Emi. Sensei Nakamura’s characteristically sombre expression softened for a moment as she glowed with pride at her son’s achievement.

  A growing sense of excitement filled the room while Saigyo conferred with Sensei Nakamura. A few moments later, Sensei Nakamura turned to the class.

  ‘Saigyo-san has deemed the winner to be…’

  28

  THE GRACIOUS LOSER

  ‘… impossible to decide,’ Sensei Nakamura announced.

  ‘Like peas in a pod, we have two poets of equal worth,’ explained Saigyo.

  The hall was instantly abuzz with excited chatter as to who could be the most likely haiku candidates. Jack hoped Yori was one of them. It was just the sort of confidence boost his friend needed.