Young Samurai: The Way of Fire (short story) Read Online Free

part of his training to become a samurai warrior, but
this
was suicidal.
    ‘Jack-kun,’ said Sensei Yamada, smiling broadly. ‘I would have expected nothing less of you.’
    Jack, glancing over his shoulder, saw all the other students standing behind him in a line. He alone stood out in front, appearing to have stepped up to the challenge. ‘But I didn’t move …’
    Sensei Yamada ignored the protest and beckoned him closer.
    Jack had no choice. He couldn’t back out now. He would lose face among his classmates. Kazuki, in particular, would delight in telling everyone at the
Niten Ichi Ryū
how the
gaijin
had been too much of a coward to enter the Way of Fire.
    Jack reluctantly approached the raging inferno, the intense heat scorching his skin.
    A moth, drawn by the flames, fluttered in front of Jack’s face before flying straight into the fire.
    The little insect was snuffed out in an instant.

A Final Test
     
    ‘This is a matter of faith and entrusting your body to the fire,’ explained Sensei Yamada, having completed the prescribed rituals.
    The Zen master had sprinkled the ground with salt to consecrate the clearing. He’d then parted the bonfire with a long stick to create a flattened, flaming walkway. Finally he had blessed Jack, wafting the curling smoke around him and rubbing it into Jack’s body.
    Sensei Yamada gave a nod of his head to indicate all was ready and the students began to chant the Heart Sutra. Jack turned to face the final challenge.
    He was still several paces away, but a scalding sheen of sweat prickled on his skin. His heart thumped within his chest, his mouth was dry with fear. The candle test may have proved the act of meditation could overcome physical heat, but
this
was no candle. It was a huge flaming pyre. He was going to be roasted alive.
    Taking a deep breath, he choked on the smoky air. Desperately he tried to calm his mind, emptying it of all thoughts. Sensei Yamada waited patiently at the other end of the flaming path. Jack focused his eyes on the old monk’s wrinkled face.
    He stepped closer, passing through a patch of salt to purify his feet before entering the fire. The circling words of the students’ mantra thrummed in his ears, while the crackle and pop of wood receded into the background.
    Jack kept walking, his body cloaked in a swirl of flames, his eyes never leaving his sensei’s face. He had no idea how far he’d gone as time seemed to melt away to nothing.
    Suddenly Jack stumbled on a branch. He caught himself, but lost eye contact with Sensei Yamada. His concentration broken, Jack glanced down at his bare feet. The coals upon which he stood glowed a fierce red. He could now feel the blistering heat pressing all around him. His throat dried to dust and his lungs burned as he gasped in the scorching air. He thought he could smell the flesh searing on the soles of his feet, a sharp brilliant pain intensifying …
    ‘JACK-KUN!’ shouted Sensei Yamada above the roaring blaze.
    Jack looked up, locking eyes with his sensei. He could feel the panic rising in his chest like a ball of flame. The smell of smouldering hair filled his nostrils. He was going to burn to death.
    ‘Focus on where you want to go, not on what you fear.’
    His teacher’s gaze was so intense that Jack felt his mind being drawn back to its meditative state. Jack fought his fear and grappled for control of his senses. With the help of Sensei Yamada, his mind quickly emptied of sensation and the fire lost its ferocity. Jack then resumed his steady pace through the furnace, the flames fanning him but not singeing his skin.
    Exiting the blaze, Jack felt his feet come to rest upon a cool green mat of wet cedar branches. He breathed an immense sigh of relief.
    He had walked the Way of Fire.
    ‘Slow down!’ pleaded Saburo, who hobbled several paces behind Jack, Akiko and Yamato as the class wound its way through the moonlit cemetery back to their
shukubo
.
    Like true samurai, everyone had