Chapter 24 : Trial By Wood And Fire

A wintery smudge of sun rose in the sky to reveal a world bleached white

with snow. The curved eaves of the Butsuden hung heavy with powder

drifts and the school was oddly peaceful, all sound muffled by the abrupt

change in season from autumn to winter.

Jack's breath billowed out in front of him like smoke as he sliced

through the frozen air with his katana.

Every morning since Kazuki and his Scorpion Gang had attacked him

in the Hall of the Hawk, Jack had risen early to practise his kenjutsu in the

Southern Zen Garden, performing a ritual of one hundred cuts of every kata

before breakfast – just as he had vowed he would. Sensei Hosokawa may

have forbidden him to use his sword in class, but that wasn't going to stop

Jack practising with it in his own time. He was determined to succeed in the

Gauntlet, whatever the Trial by Sword entailed.

Jack would then head over to Butokuden and strike the makiwara fifty

times with each fist, conditioning his bones for the Trial by Wood. He

would hit the padded post so hard that his hands would still be trembling

during breakfast and he'd struggle to hold his hashi.

In the afternoons following classes, he joined Akiko in the garden as

she perfected her kyujutsu skills in preparation for the Trial by Fire.

Between arrows, she would correct his stance, guide his aim and help him

'forget' the target. Occasionally Jack would even hit it. Afterwards, when

they had time, she would test him on his kanji and teach him a new

character.

Once during these unofficial lessons, Jack had brought up the matter of

her extraordinary tree-climbing skill, but she just dismissed it as natural

ability, laughing at his suggestion of ninja training and ending the

discussion by exclaiming, 'I'm no more a ninja than you are Japanese.'

Jack even joined Yori in his nightly ritual of folding cranes, hoping to

increase his chances in Sensei Yamada's Trial by Koan. He had now

mastered the various folds and was finding the process of origami to be

somewhat soothing, though why Yori needed so many of the paper models

was beyond Jack's comprehension. His friend's tiny room was overflowing

with hundreds of the little white birds.

Through this daily routine, Jack's life in Japan acquired a steady

rhythm and day by day, brick by brick, the invisible wall that stood in the

way of his samurai training was crumbling. He knew he'd improved, but

would it be enough to secure him a place in the Circle?

If it had not been for Kazuki and his Scorpion Gang, he would have

been almost content with his life at the school. Following Masamoto's

decree, Jack was no longer physically threatened by any of the gang

members, but it didn't stop them from taunting him, spitting insults or

whispering 'Go home, gaijin!' whenever the opportunity presented itself.

These were the attacks Masamoto couldn't protect him from. The ones he

needed to apply fudoshin against.

Initially Jack was able to let the empty threats wash over him, but it

became harder as more students began to sympathize with Kazuki's point of

view. It was as if a split was forming in the school between those who

accepted foreigners and those who didn't.

He was beginning to wonder if Masamoto had been entirely truthful

with him regarding Kamakura's influence over Japan. Despite his promise,

the samurai had been summoned away twice in the past three weeks by

daimyo Takatomi, and Jack would occasionally bump into students

discussing the news of another Christian who had been persecuted or

banished by daimyo Kamakura and his samurai. Any time this happened,

the students would appear embarrassed by Jack's presence, the conversation

grinding to a halt, before they made their excuses and walked away. Jack

got a real sense that, though some of them still liked him, they could no

longer afford to be associated with him. He was quickly learning who his

true friends were.

Jack, raising his sword to make the final cut of his practice session,

heard the crisp crunch of snow behind him. He spun round, half expecting

to see Kazuki or one of his cohorts.

'I thought I'd find you out here,' said Akiko. She was wrapped in

several layers of kimono against the cold, but her warm smile thawed the

winter chill in the air.

Jack dropped his guard and sheathed his sword.

Akiko glanced around at the thick blanket of snow that had fallen

overnight. 'You do know what this means, don't you?'

Jack nodded.

'The trials for the Circle of Three.'

Later that morning, stepping up to the three wooden blocks carefully

stacked in the centre of the Butokuden, Jack prayed all his efforts would

carry him through the trials. He needed to be among the top five, but it was

just his luck the selection began with the toughest of these trials –

tamashiwari.

No one so far had broken through three blocks and Jack knew he had

only one chance to get this trial right.

The entire school lined the length of the Butokuden to watch. They fell

silent as Jack positioned himself to strike.

Jack rubbed his hands for warmth, even though the morning sunlight

was filtering through the slatted windows. Making his final preparations, he

tried to summon the explosive energy he'd tapped into when he had

demolished the two blocks in front of Masamoto.

Sensei Kyuzo, who was the official adjudicator of this trial, stood to

one side, his arms crossed. 'When you are ready,' he said, staring irritably

at Jack. 'Not that you'll ever be,' he added under his breath as Jack raised

his fist.

Jack tried to ignore the comment, but his concentration had been

thrown by the sensei's deliberate distraction. Implanted in the back of his

mind was now the thought that he wasn't ready, that the combination of

three blocks was too thick.

THUNK!

Jack's fist collided with the wood. The first two boards broke, but the

third layer of cedar held and Jack's hand was brought to an abrupt halt,

sending a sickening wave of pain up his arm.

A murmur of disappointment washed through the dojo.

Jack massaged his throbbing hand, infuriated at himself for allowing

Sensei Kyuzo's comment to break his concentration. It had been that sliver

of doubt that had prevented the break.

He hastily bowed his respects to Masamoto, who was watching the

proceedings from the ceremonial alcove with the other sensei. His guardian

had returned to the school that morning for the selection trials and the

journey appeared to have left him tired and irritable. His scarring was

inflamed and he slowly shook his head, clearly as disappointed with Jack's

performance as Jack was with himself.

As he knelt back into line with the thirty students who'd entered the

trials, Jack caught Sensei Kyuzo grinning smugly.

'Don't worry, Jack,' said Akiko, who had also been defeated by

tamashiwari. 'We still have three more trials to prove ourselves.'

Jack was reassured by her words until Kazuki stepped up to the

challenge accompanied by shouts of encouragement.

Sensei Kyuzo replaced the cracked blocks with new ones, while

whispering in his protégé's ear.

Kazuki nodded once, then focused his attention on the blocks of wood.

With an unwavering look of determination, he smashed his fist through all

three blocks, splintered pieces of wood flying through the air.

The school erupted in a huge cheer while Masamoto and his sensei

applauded respectfully. Even Jack had to admit that the feat was impressive.

Kazuki bowed smartly to Masamoto, his reputation affirmed as the first

student to pass a trial.

The dojo was cleared and reset for Sensei Yosa's Trial by Fire. An archery

target was positioned at the far end, a tall wooden candleholder placed

before it and a slim white candle fitted on top so that the wick was in line

with the bullseye.

The trial participants prepared themselves at the other end of the

Butokuden, choosing bows from the weapons rack and checking that their

arrows were in good order.

Jack went to select his, but Kazuki, Hiroto and Goro pushed in front to

seize the best ones. The only bow left was well-used and past its prime.

Jack tested the draw strength and knew straight away that it had lost much

of its power.

'The first trial by Sensei Kyuzo tested strength,' proclaimed Masamoto

to the assembled students. 'Strength of body and strength of mind. The next

trial will be led by Sensei Yosa and will assess your skill and technical

ability.'

Sensei Yosa stood and made her way to the target, her long black hair

shimmering in waves down the back of her blood-red kimono. She held a

burning taper in her hand, which she used to light the wick. The candle

flickered into life, its flame a tiny petal of light before the bullseye.

'Your challenge is to snuff out the candle,' explained Sensei Yosa.

'You will be allowed two attempts.'

'Good luck,' Yamato whispered to Jack.

'I think I'll need more than luck,' replied Jack, glancing down at his

bow.

The firing distance was equal to the length of the Southern Zen

Garden, making it a difficult shot even without the additional factor of the

flame.

The first to step up was Goro. Jack's earlier annoyance over the

selection of the bows was tempered by the boy's appalling performance. A

ripple of laughter broke out as one of his arrows missed the target

completely and glanced off one of the pillars, narrowly missing Sensei

Yosa.

Then it was Akiko's turn.

She finished tending to the bamboo bow and hawk feather arrows that

Sensei Yosa had presented to her earlier that summer. Being the only

student to have her own weapon, she hadn't needed to fight over the

school's. She lined herself up with the target, nocked an arrow on to her

bowstring, then raised the weapon above her head. She did all this with an

ease and elegance that was reminiscent of Sensei Yosa herself.

Akiko's first arrow pierced the bullseye with a resounding thump like a

heartbeat.

There was a moment of awed silence.

Akiko didn't need to fire a second. Her arrow had flown so true that it

had actually sliced the flame in half as the feathered flights snuffed out the

candle.

The Butokuden was drowned in ecstatic applause.

Akiko's performance put everyone else to shame. Each entrant filed

through, firing to the best of their ability, but no one could match Akiko's

skill. Yamato struck the target both times, but missed the candle. Kazuki's

performance was more impressive, his second arrow slicing the edge of the

candle and almost cutting it in half. To Jack's relief, though, the flame

stayed lit. Even Emi, who was usually on a par with Akiko, didn't

extinguish the flame, though she did get two bullseyes. Hiroto was the only

one to prove the exception. His second arrow clipped the wick of the

candle, snuffing the flame out.

Then it was Jack's turn.

With Kazuki, Akiko and Hiroto having succeeded in a trial and

therefore standing a good chance of being chosen to enter the Circle of

Three, he was starting to feel the pressure.

He had to be chosen. He had to prove himself.

He had to learn the Two Heavens.

Drawing upon all his reserves of concentration, Jack took up position

at the mark. He focused on the tiny flame at the far end of the hall, no larger

than a rosebud. He drew back on his bow, moving fluidly between each

movement as Akiko had instructed, and let loose his first arrow.

Jack grimaced in disappointment. It was a good hand's width below

the bullseye. The bow's limited draw strength had thrown his aim off. He

adjusted his stance to compensate. Focusing hard on the flickering light, he

was about to fire his second arrow when he remembered Sensei Yosa's

words: 'When the archer does not think about the target, then they may

unfold the Way of the Bow.'

Jack finally understood what she meant. He was so focused on the

flickering candle that he hadn't noticed his body tensing up.

He stopped thinking about the target, let his mind go and relaxed with

the bow. Starting again, he gave each moment of the draw his full attention.

As he breathed out, he released the arrow. It whistled down the length of the

dojo, straight towards the centre of the flame.

It struck the bullseye.

The whole dojo stared at the candle, the arrow quivering slightly above

it. The flame guttered briefly and some of the students began to clap, but

their premature applause died as soon as the candle flared back into life.

The next moment, the arrow's feathered flights burst into flames like a

terrible omen.

Jack had failed the second trial.