The Way Of The Sword Read Online Free PDF Page B

Jack, bowing even lower.
    ‘No, I’m not your sensei,’ laughed Takatomi. ‘However, I would like you, Akiko-chan and Yamato-kun to join me for
cha-no-yu
in Nijo Castle tomorrow evening.’
    A murmur of astonishment spread among the bowing students. Even Masamoto’s typically stoic expression registered surprise at this unprecedented invitation. A tea ceremony was regarded as the purest art form, one that took years, if not a lifetime, to perfect. For a student, let alone a foreigner, to be invited to a
cha-no-yu
hosted by the
daimyo
himself was a momentous event.
    ‘I have not had the chance to express my gratitude to you personally for what you accomplished in stopping Dokugan Ryu,’ continued Takatomi. ‘My beautiful daughter will be joining us. I believe you’re already acquainted with Emi, for she has spoken of you on a number of occasions.’
    Jack glanced over to a tall, slender girl with long straight hair and a rose-petal mouth. She smiled sweetly at him, exuding such warmth that Jack had to bow again to hide his reddening face. Not that it went unnoticed by Akiko, who had looked up and spotted the exchange.
    ‘Takatomi-sama, they would be honoured to attend,’ answered Masamoto on Jack’s behalf, before leading the
daimyo
out of the
Chō-no-ma
and into the night.

    There was a great buzz of excitement in the air when the sensei left. Groups of students clustered together, everyone discussing the Circle of Three and watching to see who would enter first.
    Sensei Kyuzo, their master in
taijutsu
, a dwarf-sized man whose ability at hand-to-hand combat was legendary, sat at the head table, a roll of parchment before him. He waited impatiently for the first entrant.
    As was typical of the sensei, he picked at nuts from a small bowl and crushed them with his bare hands, just as he was inclined to do with Jack’s spirit at each and every opportunity. The man despised Jack, and made no effort to disguise the fact that he resented a foreigner being taught the secrets of their martial arts.
    After a moment’s hesitation, a strong boy with broad shoulders and a bronzed face walked over to the dais. He picked up the ink scribe and wrote his name upon the parchment. Soon afterwards three other students approached, encouraging a steady stream of hopefuls to queue up too.
    ‘Come on,’ said Yamato, striding over to the growing line.
    Jack looked to Akiko for final reassurance, but she was already in line. Jack should have known. Akiko was no ordinary girl. She was samurai and, being the niece of Masamoto, courage was in her blood.
    He joined her in the queue. When they reached the head table, Jack watched Akiko as she wrote her name on the parchment with a series of brushstrokes that formed a beautiful but mysterious pattern of Japanese
kanji
characters. The symbols made little sense to Jack.
    Sensei Kyuzo glared over Akiko’s shoulder at Jack.
    ‘You
are entering the Circle?’ said Sensei Kyuzo, giving a short incredulous snort at Jack’s appearance.
    ‘Hai
, Sensei,’ responded Jack, ignoring his teacher’s contempt. He had waited with the others in the queue to sign his name and was not going to be put off by Sensei Kyuzo’s antagonism now.
    ‘A
gaijin
has never partaken in the Circle,’ stated Kyuzo, with deliberate emphasis placed on his use of the derogatory term for a foreigner.
    ‘Then this will be the first time, Sensei,’ said Akiko, pretending not to notice his blatant disrespect towards Jack.
    ‘Sign here,’ ordered Sensei Kyuzo. ‘In
kanji
.’
    Jack paused as he looked at the paper. The names of the participants were all carefully inked in the Japanese characters.
    A cruel smile cut across Sensei Kyuzo’s lips. ‘Or maybe you can’t? Entry must be in
kanji.
It’s the rules.’
    To Jack’s frustration, the sensei was right. He didn’t know
kanji
. Jack could write easily enough. His mother had been a fine teacher. But only in Roman characters. While Akiko’s guidance, together with