Chapter 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 Moriko, the black-toothed wildcat from the rival

Yagyu Ryū, threw one back at him. She squealed as Kazuki plastered her

with two in quick succession. Jack now wasn't certain if Kazuki had

purposely aimed at him or had simply missed Moriko. Kazuki and his

friends continued to bombard one another.

To Jack's surprise, he noticed Kazuki's two hulking cousins among the

group. Raiden and Toru were the twin brothers who had attacked Jack at the

hanami party the previous year. Not only did it appear that Kazuki was

recruiting Scorpion Gang members from the rival school, but he was bold

enough to invite such students into the grounds of the Niten Ichi Ryū in

broad daylight.

'Kazuki, you've dropped your inro,' said Tadashi casually, while

reaching behind to scrape off a layer of snow from a higher step and

compacting it into a ball behind his back.

Without thinking, Kazuki glanced down to look for his wooden

carrying case. On looking up, he realized too late that he'd been tricked.

Tadashi's snowball struck him square in the face. He yowled in surprise as

half of it disappeared into his mouth.

Tadashi gave Jack a sly grin and they both burst into laughter.

Everyone else joined in, even Kazuki's friends.

'Attack! Attack!' spluttered Kazuki, spitting out snow.

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!'