The Way Of The Sword (21 page)

Spurred into action, the Scorpion Gang hurled their snowballs as hard as they could. Jack and Tadashi attempted to evade the barrage, but it was useless. They were completely exposed and several hit home.

Other students from the
Niten Ichi Ryū
, seeing the snowball fight start, began to congregate in the courtyard.

‘Look, we’ve got spectators!’ said Kazuki, a genuine smile spreading across his face. ‘Let’s have a game of
Yuki Gassen
?’

‘You’re on!’ shouted Tadashi, gathering more snow.

There was a murmur of excitement from the gathering crowd, whose numbers swelled as word of a snowball contest spread. Even the men working on the Hall of the Hawk downed tools to watch.

‘How do you play
Yuki Gassen
?’ Jack asked, seeing several groups of students start to build waist-high walls of snow across the courtyard.

‘The aim is to capture the other team’s
bokken
,’ explained Yamato as Tadashi began to kick snow into a large pile a couple of paces in front of the
Butsuden’
s steps. ‘Each team is allowed ninety balls. You can hide behind the snow walls, but if you get hit by a snowball, you’re out.’

Tadashi removed his
bokken
and thrust it vertically into their mound like a flagless standard at the start of a battle. At the other end of the courtyard Kazuki did the same, then selected five of his friends to form his team. They huddled under the snow-laden eaves of the Hall of the Hawk’s nearly completed roof.

‘So who’s going to be in our team?’ asked Tadashi.

‘You can count me out,’ said Kiku immediately, hurrying over to the sidelines.

‘Well, that leaves six,’ he said, looking at Akiko, Yori, Saburo, Jack and Yamato. ‘We have our team.’

They all began to build up their arsenal of snowballs. Soon they had six equal stacks around their
bokken
.

‘Ready?’ shouted Tadashi to Kazuki.

‘Hang on,’ replied Kazuki, poking his head up from his team huddle. ‘We’re discussing team tactics.’

‘What are
our
tactics?’ asked Yori, in a timorous voice.

Tadashi studied the layout of the battle area. At the centre of the rectangular courtyard was a waist-high wall of snow. Set back on either side were two shorter snow-wall shelters, then a couple of sloping mounds and finally a waist-high semi-circular wall around each team’s
bokken
.

Tadashi frowned. ‘Kazuki’s clever, he’s pitched his
bokken
right next to the Hall of the Hawk and the building work stops us approaching from behind.’

The team glanced at their own
bokken
, which was dangerously exposed to attack from the rear.

‘OK, here’s the plan. Yori and Yamato, you stay back to defend the
bokken
.’ Yamato was about to protest, but Tadashi continued. ‘We need strength at the back and Yamato, you look to be the best thrower among us. Saburo and Akiko, you take the middle ground to cover Jack and me, while we launch the attack.’

They all nodded in agreement and took up their positions to start.

Kazuki and his team gave a great shout, then split apart and positioned themselves strategically across the courtyard. Nobu and Raiden stayed at the back, while Goro and Moriko took midfield, leaving Kazuki and Hiroto up front.

‘Who’s going to referee?’ shouted Tadashi.

‘I will,’ offered Emi, emerging from the crowd.

She beckoned the team leaders over.

Kazuki and Tadashi faced off.

‘Remember, this is a friendly game and my decisions are final,’ said Emi, making eye contact with both of them to ensure their understanding.

Jack immediately recognized her father’s natural authority in her.

‘What are your team names?’ she asked.

‘The Scorpions,’ stated Kazuki with pride, raising his arms skyward.

A loyal cheer erupted from the sidelines.

‘And your team, Tadashi?’

Tadashi looked back over his shoulder at Yamato.

‘The Phoenix Team,’ he replied, a round of applause immediately breaking from the crowd.

Jack saw Yamato nod at Tadashi and grin. It was a good choice, the phoenix being Yamato’s family
kamon
.

‘Take up your positions,’ announced Emi, and the excited spectators roared their approval.
‘Yuki Gassen
will begin in five… four… three… two… one!’

A volley of snowballs flew through the air and Jack dived behind the nearest snow wall.

‘OUT!’ cried Emi.

There was a great cheer from the crowd and for a moment Jack thought he’d already been caught. Then he saw Saburo wiping the remains of two snowballs from the front of his kimono. His friend gave a half-hearted bow before slouching off to the sidelines.

‘Jack! To your right!’ warned Akiko.

Taking advantage of Saburo’s departure, Hiroto was sneaking forward and now had Jack directly in his line of fire.

Jack ducked as a snowball whizzed past his head. He threw two balls back in retaliation but they missed, striking the spectators instead. A mixture of catcalls and boos broke from the crowd. Jack retreated to behind a snow mound on his left, randomly throwing balls as he ran.

‘They’re going to overrun us if we don’t attack!’ shouted Tadashi over the growing chants of the Scorpion Team’s supporters.

With that he launched several snowballs at Moriko, who was advancing down the right.

‘OUT!’ cried Emi.

Pretending she hadn’t heard, Moriko kept lobbing snowballs.

‘OUT! Or forfeit the game!’

Moriko kicked the nearest snow wall in frustration and hissed at Emi. The Phoenix supporters booed Moriko’s dishonourable behaviour.

‘Cover me!’ shouted Jack as he sprinted forward to join Tadashi behind the central wall.

Akiko and Yori let loose a round of snowballs. Three of them struck the lumbering figure of Raiden as he stepped out from behind his defence to target Jack.

‘OUT!’ announced Emi.

The Scorpion Team retaliated with a barrage of snowballs. A moment later, there was a squeal of pain from behind.

‘OUT!’

‘They’re using ice balls!’ cried Yori, a large bump already swelling on his forehead as he staggered to the sidelines.

Tadashi gave Jack an uneasy look. ‘And I thought this was supposed to be a friendly game.’

Tadashi stood up and quickly blasted Kazuki’s team with several balls. The rest of the Phoenix Team joined in, but despite a courageous offensive, a long shot from Kazuki took out Akiko. Fortunately the ice ball struck her arm and not her face.

Only Jack, Tadashi and Yamato were now left against four Scorpions.

Tadashi spotted Nobu trying to ferry ice balls to Kazuki. Launching a lightning attack, he managed to smack Nobu twice in the rear.

‘OUT!’

‘Shame we’re not using ice balls,’ commented Tadashi, giving Jack a mischievous grin.

‘Or snowballs for that matter,’ replied Jack. ‘I’ve run out.’

With the fight now three on three, their main problem was the dwindling supply of ammunition. Tadashi indicated he only had five left, but he nonetheless passed three to Jack.

Tadashi then spotted Saburo’s original stockpile by the
bokken
and signed his intention to get them. Jack threw a covering shot at Kazuki while Tadashi zigzagged towards them. Tadashi dived the last few paces but was plastered by two ice balls from Hiroto and Goro.

‘OUT!’

Tadashi thumped the snow in annoyance, then got up and and walked off the court. As he did so, he secretly signed to Jack where one of the Scorpion Team was hiding. Jack nodded his understanding.

‘Scorpions! Scorpions! Scorpions!’
chanted the supporters of Kazuki’s team.

Jack and Yamato now stood alone in defence of the Phoenix
bokken
and the small group keeping up a chorus of ‘Phoenix!’ were in danger of being drowned out.

Yamato indicated to Jack he was out of snowballs. Jack pointed to Saburo’s pile. Yamato took a deep breath and darted over to them, sliding behind the semi-circular snow wall as an ice ball skimmed overhead.

As Yamato attempted to pass Jack some snowballs, Goro had a clear view of him. He emerged from behind his defence but Jack, having been tipped off by Tadashi, was ready for him and flung a snowball at the Scorpion. It struck him cleanly, but too late. Goro had already launched his ice ball at Yamato.

‘OUT! OUT!’ declared Emi in quick succession, dismissing both Goro and Yamato.

Now it was two against one.

Jack peered from behind the protection of his shelter, trying to locate Kazuki and Hiroto. They had retreated to their
bokken
and were huddled safely behind the semicircular rear wall plotting their strategy to get the Phoenix’s
bokken
without being hit by Jack.

Jack had one snowball left. How on earth was he going to defeat them both? Jack ran for Saburo’s remaining stockpile, but a barrage of ice balls sent him diving for cover behind the nearest mound. It was then that Jack’s eyes fell upon the shattered remains of one of the ice balls. Hidden inside was a shard of rock. Not only had the Scorpions compacted their snowballs into ice, they had now made them doubly dangerous.

Jack didn’t know what to do. He had a single snowball. He could attempt to reach the remaining stockpile, but he would surely get hit and seriously injured. He could surrender, but he was certain Kazuki would throw his lethal iceballs anyway. Or…

Carefully peering round the edge of his snow mound, he spotted the perfect target. Ducking back down as an ice ball sailed past, he grabbed a couple of handfuls of extra snow and squeezed them together with his remaining snowball until he’d compacted it into a large ice ball of his own. Then, with all his strength, he lobbed it high and hard over the heads of Kazuki and Hiroto.

The Scorpions’ supporters heckled loudly at Jack’s wild pitch.

Jack ignored them. Instead he watched the ice ball sail up on to the peak of the Hall of the Hawk’s roof. He smiled in satisfaction as it slowly began to roll down the steep angled roof.

‘Pathetic!’ cried Kazuki with glee.

But, unbeknown to Kazuki, the ice ball had picked up speed gathering powder snow as it went. As it reached the heavily laden eaves, its momentum caused the amassed snow to cascade like an avalanche. Kazuki and Hiroto glanced up just in time to see a wave of powder snow come crashing down on them. Within seconds, they were buried up to their necks. As more and more snow slid off the roof, they rapidly disappeared from view, much to the amusement of the crowd.

Jack emerged from behind his shelter, strolled over to the Scorpion Team’s
bokken
and lifted it high above his head in a victory salute.

‘I pronounce the Phoenix Team the winners!’ Emi announced, smiling broadly at Jack.

The rest of the Phoenix Team rushed over, lifting Jack high into the air to cheers from all the spectators.

‘Brilliant!’ shouted Yamato.

‘Inspired!’ agreed Tadashi, slapping Jack hard on the back.

However, their celebrations were cut short by the jeering from the Scorpion Team.

‘The
gaijin
cheated!’

‘He played without honour!’

‘Nothing in the rules require snowballs to be aimed directly at an opponent,’ declared Tadashi above the shouting. ‘No question about it, we won.’

Jack couldn’t help but smile as he watched Kazuki and Hiroto being dug out of the snow. He had beaten the Scorpion Team.

But his smile faded as an irate and shamed Kazuki shouted for all to hear,
‘Gaijin
, you’re going to pay for that with your life!’

‘I’m going to kill you!’ roared the samurai.

Jack didn’t know what to do. The sudden attack had taken him off-guard.

Sensei Hosokawa had gone crazy, his dark eyes merciless and intent on murder. He was charging directly at him with a razor-sharp
katana
and Jack realized that in the blink of an eye he’d be sliced open like a pig, his guts spilled out across the
dojo
floor.

Only a few moments before Jack had been training with Tadashi in the
Butokuden
in preparation for the Circle, barely a month away. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Jack had caught a gleam of steel and had spun round to see Sensei Hosokawa bearing down on him, his sword drawn.

Sensei Hosokawa struck with lightning speed, the
katana
emitting a high whistling sound as it carved across Jack’s chest and down past his stomach.

Jack shakily looked down, afraid of what he might see. But his entrails weren’t spread all over the floor. His belly remained intact. He was completely unharmed. The only thing cleaved apart had been his
obi
. The belt, sliced in two, fell to the floor in a defeated heap.

‘You’re dead,’ stated Sensei Hosokawa.

Jack swallowed back his shock, unable to respond. Gradually it dawned on him that this attack had been a ruthless lesson in martial arts.

‘You were thinking too much,’ Sensei Hosokawa continued, resheathing his sword. ‘You allowed yourself to be scared and it caused you to hesitate. If you hesitate in battle, you die.’

Sensei Hosokawa looked at both his students, ensuring they understood the warning.

‘B-but I thought you’d gone crazy,’ stammered Jack, suddenly regaining his voice. He trembled with a combination of shock and shame at being the victim of a sword stunt in front of his new friend Tadashi. He felt belittled. ‘I really thought you were going to kill me!’

‘No, but next time the attack could be for real,’ replied Sensei Hosokawa gravely. ‘The three evils for a samurai are fear, doubt and confusion. You just displayed all of them.’

‘So I’m not good enough? Is that what you’re telling me?’ snapped Jack, his frustration at his progress boiling to the surface. ‘Am I ever going to be? It seems there’s always something wrong with my technique. Why aren’t I getting any better?’

‘Mastering the Way of the Sword is a long road,’ explained Sensei Hosokawa kindly. ‘Rushing it only hastens your death.
Ichi-go, Ichi-e
. Have you heard that phrase before?’