Chapter 33 : The Taryuu Jiai

Kazuki's face leered at him.

'Didn't you hear me, gaijin? I said, what are you doing outside school?'

'Leave him alone, Kazuki. You promised!' said Akiko.

'Oh, it's the gaijin lover! Still can't defend himself, is that it?' taunted

Kazuki. 'Need a girl to fight for you, gaijin? Did you hear that, boys, the

gaijin has to have a girl bodyguard!'

Snorting with amusement, Kazuki glanced over his shoulder at the four

lads who were with him. Nobu rolled with laughter, his large belly heaving.

Two boys, whom Jack didn't recognize, jeered approvingly, but the fourth

member of Kazuki's gang looked decidedly uncomfortable, suddenly

finding his tabi of great interest. It was Yamato.

'Well, Akiko beat you, didn't she?' said Jack, and one of the lads

chortled.

'Only because I had my back to her,' snapped Kazuki. 'Anyway, I'd be

far more concerned about your welfare than mine, gaijin. We've got a score

to settle.'

'No!' exclaimed Akiko. 'I warned you, I'll tell Masamoto.'

'Tell him what? That a few moons ago we had a little argument in the

Buddha Hall. I don't think so. Bit late for that.'

He took a step closer to Jack, goading him to make a move.

'You forget, Akiko. My promise only extended to the school walls.

Outside, he's fair game. We're not governed by Masamoto here.'

'Come on then,' dared Jack. 'Let's get it over with.'

Jack was fed up with the taunts, the whisperings behind his back, the

bullying in the taijutsu classes, and the constant intimidation and threats. It

was like living under a permanent shadow. He couldn't be free of it until the

matter between him and Kazuki was settled, once and for all.

'I'd think carefully, gaijin, before starting a fight you can't win,' said

Kazuki. 'I don't believe you've ever met my cousins? This here is Raiden.

His name means "Thunder God".'

One of the lads stepped forward and bowed. When he righted himself,

Jack was astounded at the boy's size. Raiden was a good head taller than

Jack. His arms were thick and meaty, and he had tree trunks for legs. He

was also unusually hairy for a Japanese person. His eyebrows, dark and

bushy, hung off a pronounced forehead and a profusion of chest hair was

trying to escape from inside his kimono.

Jack would have been completely intimidated by the lad's thunderous

appearance, if Raiden's eyes hadn't been slightly too close together. They

made him look like an overgrown ape, but a bit more stupid.

'And this is his twin brother, Toru. You don't want to know what his

name means, I assure you.'

He was identical. Only even more stupid-looking, thought Jack.

'They're from Hokkaido, but you wouldn't know where that is, would

you, gaijin?' said Kazuki, baiting Jack again. 'Let me enlighten you. It's the

north island of Japan and these boys are from the Seto clan, the toughest

and most ruthless samurai you'll ever come across. That's why they're

enrolled at the Yagyu School here in Kyoto. It's renowned for producing

some of the most fearsome warriors in Japan. Sponsored by the great

daimyo Kamakura Katsuro himself, no less!'

'This is just between you and me, Kazuki,' interrupted Jack, fed up with

Kazuki's attempts to terrorize him. 'Send your apes home!'

Raiden and Toru snarled at the insult, lumbering forward with the clear

intention of pulling Jack limb from limb.

'Eh? Whass' going on 'ere?' slurred Saburo, stumbling from Kiku and

Yori's grasp and planting himself in between Jack and the two approaching

giants. 'Leave my friend alone… We at a ha-ha-hanami party and you

'aven't been invited.'

Saburo wobbled slightly, like a Daruma Doll, then fell forward, his head

thumping against the chest of Raiden. Raiden slapped him away as if he

were swatting a fly.

'Oww!' said Saburo, reeling from the blow, blood dripping from his

nose. 'You fat oaf! That hurt!'

Kiku and Yori ran to his aid, but Saburo shrugged them off and wound

himself up to take a swing at his assailant. Raiden simply raised his great

slab of a fist and drove it at Saburo's face.

'Oi! Pick on someone your own size!' said Jack and let loose a yoko-geri,

side-kick, his heel striking directly into Raiden's ribs.

Raiden grunted, staggered sideways, his fist sailing past Saburo's startled

face and straight into the trunk of a nearby sakura tree. Raiden howled in

pain. Furious, he then attacked Jack with a series of wild swinging punches.

Jack retreated to avoid getting caught in the head.

'Watch out!' cried Akiko.

But it was too late. Toru had come up from behind and grabbed Jack in a

bear hug, pinioning Jack's arms to his side.

'What are you going to do now, Gaijin Jack?' taunted Kazuki, who was

watching with unrestrained glee. Behind him, Yamato backed away into the

shadows in an attempt to distance himself from the escalating fight.

Toru's grip tightened and Jack's breath was crushed from his body. Jack

felt himself passing out, but Toru's grip eased as the great brute let out a

wounded groan.

Akiko had kicked him with ushiro-geri, a spinning back kick, the most

powerful kick in taijutsu. It had struck Toru straight in the side. Any normal

person would have crumpled under such a direct hit, but Toru only loosened

his grip slightly and glared at Akiko.

So she followed it up with a mawashi-geri, roundhouse kick. Ready for

the attack this time, Toru spun round and put Jack directly in its path.

Akiko, desperately attempting to avoid Jack, lost her balance. Toru trapped

Akiko's flailing leg with one arm, while keeping hold of Jack with his other.

Once he had them both under his control, he slipped his left arm up

Jack's chest and encircled his throat. Toru then began to throttle Jack.

'Stop it!' cried a distraught Kiku, Yori frozen in wide-eyed alarm next to

her. 'Yamato, help them!'

But Yamato, ignoring her pleas, retreated further away from the brawl.

Meanwhile, Kazuki and Nobu were delighting in the spectacle, urging the

cousins on and taunting Jack.

'Haven't you learnt anything, gaijin? Any real samurai would be able to

fight their way out of that,' Kazuki sneered.

'Come on, Toru, snap him in half!' shouted Nobu.

Toru tightened his grip round Jack's throat and Jack choked. But Toru's

throttling was the least of Jack's worries. Raiden, with both fists raised, was

heading straight for him.

Jack, still pinioned by the iron grip of Toru, and realizing he only had his

legs to defend himself, clamped his hands on to Toru's arm, pulling it down

just enough to snatch a breath. Then, using Toru's arm for support, he lifted

himself off the ground, simultaneously firing off a double mae-geri, front

kick, from each leg. The move was totally unexpected and Raiden, being a

fraction too slow to react, was pummelled in the face. He stumbled

backwards, bringing his hands up to his flattened, bloodied face.

Saburo spotted his chance and shot out a foot, catching the back of

Raiden's legs, who tripped over and bounced off a sakura tree. The tree

shuddered. The force of the impact dislodged a paper lantern that dropped

straight on to Toru's head.

Its flimsy frame split apart on impact and the little candle inside fell on to

the boy's greasy hair, which instantly caught light. Toru immediately

released Akiko and Jack and began to leap around like a dancing bear. He

flapped frenetically with his hands at his flaming crown, trying to

extinguish the fire.

Saburo, Kiku and Yori broke into peals of laughter at the dancing Toru,

but their joy was short-lived.

In the chaos, Raiden had regained his feet and now grabbed Saburo by

his hair, winding up to punch him out. The incensed Toru, his head smoking

like a chimney, now bore down on Akiko and Jack.

Their playtime over, the two Seto twins were determined to end the fight

with the next strike.

'YAME!' boomed a voice with such unquestionable authority that even a

passing group of drunken samurai halted in their tracks.

'What in the name of Buddha is going on?' demanded the voice.

Out of the darkness stepped Masamoto, his scarred face glowering. The

retreating Yamato immediately went pale and bowed his head shamefully,

while Kazuki and Nobu dropped to their knees in supplication.

'Leave my students alone!' Masamoto ordered and his hand shot out a

nukite-uchi with lightning speed at Raiden's neck.

Masamoto's 'spear hand thrust' struck a hidden pressure point at the back

of the neck and caused Raiden's knees to buckle instantly. He collapsed like

a puppet whose strings had been cut.

Saburo, rubbing his head where a big clump of hair was missing, scurried

over to Kiku and Yori. They then all bowed in deference to Masamoto.

'Masamoto! Leave my students alone,' commanded a second voice from

behind Masamoto.

A samurai in a blue, yellow and gold kimono strode down the path. As he

got closer, the lanterns illuminated his face. Jack immediately recognized

him. It was the daimyo from the lacquered palanquin on the Tokaido Road,

Kamakura Katsuro.

The man was a little shorter than Masamoto, but still he attempted to

look down his nose at him. Kamakura had a cruel pointed face with a

stringy moustache that flicked up from a tight mouth. He surveyed the

scene with an air of arrogance, his eyes examining each of Masamoto's

students in a pitiless manner, as if they were vermin to be exterminated.

Kamakura gave off an air of pomposity and self-righteousness. Jack thought

of the old tea merchant who had been beheaded simply because he hadn't

bowed in time.

'Maintain better control of your students or I will,' replied Masamoto

firmly. 'It appears to me that you have a discipline problem in your school.'

'We have no problem with discipline,' said Kamakura haughtily, 'but it

seems your school has a problem with training. I have never seen such poor

technique.'

'There was nothing wrong with their technique! Akiko executed an

outstanding ushiro-geri and I'd like to see any of your students deliver a

mae-geri while being strangled!'

'Masamoto, please. We are old comrades-in-arms,' said Kamakura in a

conciliatory yet devious tone. 'This is not a matter to be settled in a public

park. Let us do this in the proper tradition. I propose a Taryu-Jiai between

our two schools.'

'A Taryu-Jiai?' repeated Masamoto, taken off-guard.

'Those three,' said Kamakura, indicating Jack, Akiko and Saburo with a

dismissive wave of his hand, 'against Raiden, Toru and one of my girl

samurai, any of whom could outperform against the ushiro-geri girl!'

'What disciplines do you propose?' queried Masamoto, disregarding the

insult directed at Akiko, but warming to the idea.

'Kenjutsu, kyujutsu and taijutsu.'

'Agreed,' said Masamoto without the slightest hint of concern.

Jack had no idea what it was, but from the fact that Akiko's face had

gone pale and Saburo had instantly sobered up at the mere mention of it, a

Taryu-Jiai did not sound a promising prospect.

'Any preference as to the timing of this little contest?' asked Kamakura.

'How about the day before the Gion Festival?' replied Masamoto

nonchalantly.

'But that's three moons away!' said Kamakura, incredulous.

'By the look of their performance tonight, your students will need the

extra training. We want this to be a real competition, don't we?' replied

Masamoto, giving a broad smile as he bowed. 'Besides, I always like to

celebrate my victories with a good festival.'