The moment of judgement drew on, as Masamoto took his time appreciating his tea. Jack’s stomach tightened into a knot of iron.

‘You surpass my expectations every time,’ he finally said. ‘You have developed your martial skills considerably. You are loyal to your friends. And you have the spirit of a lion. Are you sure you weren’t born samurai?’

‘No, Masamoto-sama,’ said Jack, a wave of relief rushing through him at the reprieve.

Bowing, Akiko asked, ‘Excuse me, Masamoto-sama?’

‘Yes, Akiko-chan?’

‘Are you telling us that you saw the whole thing?’

‘Yes.’

‘Then why did you not prevent the fight happening?’ interrupted Jack, astonished at this revelation.

‘You appeared to be handling yourselves well enough,’ he said, taking a sip of sencha. ‘Besides, I was interested to see how you would perform under pressure. The ultimate measure of a samurai is not where he stands in the comfort of his dojo, but where he stands at times of challenge and threat. I must say, while untidy, your mae-geri was inventive and proved effective.’

Jack, Akiko and Saburo looked at one another aghast. Masamoto had viewed the whole episode as a martial arts test, while for them it had been a matter of life and death.

‘Now, on to the Taryu-Jiai. I am sure Akiko-chan has told you what a Taryu-Jiai is?’

On the march back to the school Akiko, highly alarmed by the whole idea, had explained it to Jack in a tremulous voice: ‘A Taryu-Jiai is a competition between different martial arts schools. Participants fight in selected disciplines to establish which school is the best, but there is much more at stake than a simple match. A Taryu-Jiai is a matter of honour. The winning school will be crowned the best in Kyoto and the founder of that school has the rare privilege of an audience with the Emperor. It is unthinkable to Masamoto that we should lose.’

Jack nodded his understanding to Masamoto.

‘Good,’ said Masamoto, putting his teacup down. ‘You therefore understand the importance of such an event and why we must win.’

‘But how could we ever win?’ blurted out Saburo. ‘As you say, they are twice our size and would have killed us if you hadn’t –’

‘Enough!’ said Masamoto, cutting dead Saburo’s outburst. ‘Defeat is not an option! Wipe out all thoughts of losing. I do not wish to hear the word uttered again. Besides, the greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.’7

‘Hai, Masamoto-sama,’ they agreed doubtfully.

‘We are fortunate that I managed to negotiate enough time for you to perfect your skills. True, they are bigger than you. But the bigger they are, the harder your enemy falls and, with the appropriate techniques, they will fall.’

Akiko had been right, thought Jack. Defeat was an alien concept to Masamoto’s mind. He expected nothing less from them.