A glorious butterfly with iridescent blue wings rested on the pink blossom of
a cherry tree. It sipped on the sweet nectar of the flower, gaining
nourishment and growing strong. Its antennae twitched as the breeze
shifted.
Out of nowhere a heavy iron bar came crashing into the blossom. The
butterfly flitted away, escaping death only by a fraction of a second. A giant
red demon came thundering out of the undergrowth, maniacally swinging
the bar, intent on catching the butterfly as it settled upon each blossom.
The butterfly effortlessly avoided the blows time and time again. Sweat
rolled down the face of the red demon, frustration etched on its brow. The
demon, boiling with rage, thrashed again and again at the butterfly, until it
collapsed on the barren earth, defeated by its own efforts. The butterfly,
with its iridescent blue wings still intact, fluttered away…
Jack's eyes fluttered open.
A languid trail of incense smoke curled its way to the ceiling of his tiny
bedroom. The red Daruma Doll sat perched upon the narrow window sill
next to the bonsai tree. The doll's solitary eye fixed Jack with an innocuous
stare.
Jack breathed heavily, reeling from the clarity of the vision.
Jack could regularly attain the third 'View', a pure mind, during his
morning meditations. It allowed him to think clearly for the rest of the day,
but he had never experienced a vision like this before. What had made him
see a demon and a butterfly? What did it mean, if anything at all? This was
far beyond anything he had been taught. He would have to speak to Sensei
Yamada.
Jack got to his feet and stretched. Taking a small jug from beneath the
window, he poured a little water on to his bonsai tree. He had done this
every morning as Uekiya had instructed. The old gardener would be
pleased, he thought. He hadn't managed to kill it yet.
As Jack tended to the bonsai, he spotted tiny pink flower buds emerging.
The same as those in his vision. Sakura blossom.
The blossom meant it was already spring.
Jack couldn't believe it. He had been training at the Niten Ichi Ryū for
over three months. He had been in Japan almost nine months. He had not
set foot on English soil in nearly three years! His life was so different from
what it once had been. He was no longer a child dreaming of being a pilot
like his father. He was a boy training to be a samurai warrior!
Every morning he rose before dawn to meditate for half a stick of time.
Then he joined the others for the same bland breakfast of rice and a few
pickled vegetables. What he would give for some English bacon and fried
eggs!
Then they embarked upon their lessons for the day. Two long sessions,
one in the morning, and one in the afternoon. Some days it was kenjutsu
and Zen; others it was kyujutsu and taijutsu. Following training, he would
gather with the students in the Chō-no-ma for dinner, the sensei all seated at
the head table, like a row of esoteric warrior gods looking over their
charges.
After dinner, they would be expected to practise by themselves,
perfecting the skills they had learnt. Learn today so that you may live
tomorrow was the mantra that was constantly drilled into them.
Yet, despite the regimented routine and rigorous discipline of this life,
Jack had to admit that he was more at peace with himself than he had been
for a long while. The routine was a comfort in itself. He was not a free
wheel spinning without purpose or direction. He was learning how to
defend himself, to live by the code of bushido, and to become a true
samurai.
He could now wield a bokken with power and accuracy and had mastered
the first three attacks – the only ones you will ever need, Sensei Hosokawa
had said.
He could shoot an arrow, although he had only hit the target a couple of
times, unlike Akiko who had taken to kyujutsu like she had been born with
a bow in her hand.
He could now kick, punch, block and throw. Admittedly, he only knew
the very basic techniques, but he was no longer powerless. The next time he
met with Dragon Eye, he would not be the helpless little boy who failed to
save his father. He would be a samurai warrior!
Since the fight with Kazuki in the Buddha Hall, many things had
changed. Akiko, having declared her friendship, was Jack's closest ally.
Yori had become a constant companion, but he was so reserved that Jack
still didn't really know him. Kiku was pleasant enough towards him, though
Jack thought that was more for Akiko's benefit than out of any real
friendship. Saburo sat on the fence. He was everyone's friend. He would
talk to anyone who listened.
Yamato, however, had distanced himself completely. He now sat on the
other table with Kazuki, Emi and Nobu. He still spoke to Akiko and the
others, but would blatantly ignore Jack. That suited Jack just fine.
On the upside, Kazuki had kept to his word. He had left Jack alone. He
still threw intimidating looks and would taunt him, calling him 'Gaijin
Jack' along with the rest of his cronies, but he did not lay a finger on him.
Except when training in taijutsu!
This was no-man's-land.
During the kihon and randori sessions in these classes, Sensei Kyuzo
would often turn a blind eye to Kazuki's excessive use of force. One time,
they had been practising ude-uke, inside forearm blocks, and the power
behind each block had escalated until they were both hammering at each
other's forearms. The bruises didn't fade for over a week. Jack had tried to
complain about Kazuki's behaviour, but Sensei Kyuzo shot him down,
saying, 'It's good conditioning for you. If you can't take a little pain, you
are clearly too much gaijin to be a samurai.'
Akiko's voice interrupted his thoughts.
'Jack, are you coming?'
She had appeared at his door in a sky-blue kimono decorated with
butterflies. Jack blinked. She was like the butterfly from his vision! Then
Kiku sidled up to her, wearing a light-green spring kimono and carrying a
small bag.
'Coming where?' asked Jack.
'Hanami!' she sang, and hurried off with Kiku in tow.
'What's hanami?' Jack called after her down the hallway.
'A flower-viewing party,' said Saburo, who had popped his head round
the corner. Jack could see Yori waiting silently in the background.
'A flower-viewing party? Sounds absolutely thrilling,' said Jack with
forced enthusiasm, but he put down his watering jug and followed after
them nonetheless. At least it would make a change from training, he
thought.
'This certainly does make a change,' said Jack, letting out a long contented
sigh as he lounged on the grassy banks of the Kamogawa River, shaded
from the sun by sakura trees that literally drooped under the weight of their
blossom.
Akiko, Kiku, Yori and Saburo were sitting beside him, equally enjoying
the bliss of the moment. This was the first time the students had been
allowed out of the school complex, and they were all relishing the freedom.
'So how do you like our hanami party?' asked Akiko.
'Well, if all it involves is eating, drinking and relaxing under cherry
blossom trees, Akiko, then this is the best hanami party I have ever been
to!' replied Jack.
'It's much more than that, Jack!' admonished Akiko, with a good-natured
smile.
'You're starting to sound like Sensei Yamada with one of his koan!'
replied Jack light-heartedly, and they all laughed.
'Seriously, though, hanami is very important to us,' said Akiko. 'The
cherry blossom marks the start of the riceplanting season and we use the
flowering to divine the success of the harvest. Judging by the fullness of the
blossom already, this year will be a good year.'
'The blossom also signals a beginning, a new stage in life,' added Kiku,
'so we make offerings to the gods who live inside the trees. See those
samurai over there?'
'Yes,' said Jack, peering over at three samurai who were sprawled around
the base of a cherry blossom tree. They were passing an extremely large
ceramic bottle between them and appeared heavily intoxicated from
drinking its contents.
'They have made the traditional offering of saké to the sakura and are
now partaking of the offering.'
'What's saké?' asked Jack.
'Rice wine!' said Saburo buoyantly. 'Want to try some?'
'All right,' said Jack, though he was hesitant after noticing Akiko's
disapproving look.
Saburo ran over to the drunken samurai and quickly returned with a
wooden box-shaped cup brimming with a clear liquid. He offered some to
Jack.
Jack took a swig. The saké tasted sweet and watery, but as he swallowed
it became sharper and more potent. He hacked as the saké burnt the back of
his throat.
'What do you think?' said Saburo eagerly.
'Well, it's not as rough as the drink on-board ship, but I'll stick to water
if you don't mind.'
Saburo shrugged indifferently, finishing off the rest of the cup in one
gulp. He went to return the cup to the samurai, only to come back with
another full one. He offered it to the girls this time.
'Saburo, you know we're not allowed saké,' scolded Kiku.
Saburo ignored her and merrily sipped the entire contents on his own.
They spent the rest of the day relaxing under their tree, occasionally
dipping their toes into the cool waters of the Kamogawa, Saburo getting the
occasional refill of saké.
As the sun began to set, paper lanterns were lit and hung from the
branches of the sakura trees, floating like glowing fruit above the
walkways. With dusk settling in, it was time for them to return to the Niten
Ichi Ryū.
'So, Jack,' asked Akiko, 'what do you think of the blossom now?'
'Beautiful but brief like life,' said Jack, echoing Uekiya's words.
'No! Fleeting like a woman's beauty!' blurted Saburo, the excess of saké
having gone to his head. His legs collapsed beneath him as he tried to stand.
Kiku and Yori helped him back up.
'Yes, Jack. Like life,' agreed Akiko, ignoring Saburo's drunkenness.
'You really are beginning to think like a Japanese.'
They walked back along the river path, the branches of the sakura
forming an enchanted bower of blossom and lamplight. Jack and Akiko
wandered ahead, while Kiku and Yori juggled the intoxicated Saburo
between them.
Under the soft glow of the lanterns, Akiko was even lovelier than usual.
He remembered the moment he'd first seen her by the headland temple, her
white stallion tethered to the standing stone. And she had been the one
reliable constant ever since he'd arrived in Japan – nursing him through his
fever, helping him to learn the language, teaching him their customs, then
defending him from Kazuki. How could he ever repay her for all that she'd
done?
He turned and began to speak, but the words got jumbled up in his throat
and all he could do was look at her.
She stopped, returning his gaze, her ebony eyes glimmering in the halflight.
'Eh, Gaijin Jack!' snarled a voice. 'What do you think you're doing?'
Jack felt his blood run cold.