The Way Of The Sword Read Online Free

cavernous, its elevated panel ceiling and immense pillars of dark cypress wood towering over the row of young trainee samurai.
    Jack was once again reminded of how utterly different he was from the rest of his class. Not yet fourteen, unlike many of the other students, he was nonetheless the tallest, possessing sky-blue eyes and a mop of hair so blond it stood out like a gold coin among the black-haired uniformity of his classmates. To the olive-skinned, almond-eyed Japanese, Jack may have been training as a samurai warrior, but he would always be a foreigner – a
gaijin
as his enemies liked to call him.
    Looking around, Jack realized that not a single student held a
katana
. They all carried
bokken
, their wooden training swords.
    ‘No, Sensei,’ said Jack, abashed.
    At the far end of the line, a regal, darkly handsome boy with a shaved head and hooded eyes smirked at Jack’s error. Jack ignored Kazuki, knowing his rival would be delighting in his loss of face in front of the class.
    Despite coming to grips with many of the Japanese customs, like wearing a kimono instead of shirt and breeches, bowing every time he met someone and the etiquette of apologizing for nearly everything, Jack still struggled with the strict ritualized discipline of Japanese life.
    He had been late for breakfast that morning, following his nightmare-filled sleep, and had already had to apologize to two of the sensei. It looked like Sensei Hosokawa would be the third.
    Jack knew his sensei was a fair but firm teacher who demanded high standards. He expected his students to turn up on time, be dressed smartly and be committed to training hard. Sensei Hosokawa made no allowance for mistakes.
    He stood at the centre of the
dojo’
s training area, a broad honey-coloured rectangle of varnished woodblock, glaring at Jack. ‘So what makes you think you should bear a
katana
while the others don’t?’
    Jack knew whatever answer he gave Sensei Hosokawa would be the wrong one. There was a Japanese saying that went ‘The stake that sticks out gets hammered down’, and Jack was starting to appreciate that living in Japan was a matter of conforming to the rules. No one else in the class carried a sword. Jack, therefore, stuck out and was about to be hammered down.
    Yamato, who stood close by, looked as if he was going to speak on his behalf, but Sensei Hosokawa gave him a cautionary glance and he immediately thought better of it.
    The silence that had descended upon the
dojo
was almost deafening. Jack could hear the blood rushing through his ears, his mind turning itself over and over for an appropriate response.
    The only answer Jack could think of was the truth. Masamoto himself had presented his own
daishō
, the two swords that symbolized the power of the samurai, to Jack in recognition of the school’s victory at the
Taryu-Jiai
contest and for his courage in preventing Dragon Eye from assassinating the
daimyo
Takatomi.
    ‘Having won the
Taryu-Jiai
,’ ventured Jack, ‘I thought I’d earned the right to use them.’
    ‘The right?
Kenjutsu
is not a game, Jack-kun. Winning one little competition doesn’t make you a competent
kendoka
.’
    Jack fell silent under Sensei Hosokawa’s glare.
    ‘I will tell you when you can bring your
katana
to class. Until then, you will only use
bokken
. Understand, Jack-kun?’
    ‘Hai
, Sensei,’ submitted Jack. ‘I just hoped I could use a real sword for once.’
    ‘A real one?’ snorted the sensei. ‘Do you
really
think you’re ready?’
    Jack shrugged uncertainly. ‘I suppose so. Masamotosama gave me his swords, so he must think I am.’
    ‘You’re not in Masamoto-sama’s class yet,’ said Sensei Hosokawa, tightening his grip on the hilt of his own sword so that his knuckles turned white. ‘Jack-kun, you hold the power of life and death in your hands. Can you handle the consequences of your actions?’
    Before Jack could answer, the sensei beckoned him over.
    ‘Come here! You too,