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the formal lessons provided by Father Lucius, had enabled him to speak in Japanese, he had only limited experience of
kanji
. In Japan, the way of writing,
shodo
, was as much an art form as hand-to-hand combat and swordsmanship. The skill took years to perfect.
    Sensei Kyuzo savoured Jack’s discomfort.
    ‘That’s a shame,’ he said. ‘Maybe you can enter in another three years’ time, when you’ve learnt to write. Next!’
    Jack was elbowed out of the way by a student from behind and he could have guessed it would be Kazuki. The boy had been on his back ever since his arrival at samurai school. Now that Jack had gained the respect of the other students by beating their rival school, the
Yagyu Ryū
, in the
Taryu-Jiai
competition, Kazuki was on the lookout for any excuse to bully or belittle him.
    ‘I wouldn’t worry,
gaijin
,’ smirked Kazuki, signing his own name in the place where Jack’s should have been. ‘You won’t be around to participate anyway.’
    Jack rounded on Kazuki even as he felt Akiko guiding him away. ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘Surely even you’ve heard the news?’ said Kazuki with vindictive pleasure. ‘The
daimyo
Kamakura Katsuro is expelling Christians from Japan.’
    Nobu peered over Kazuki’s shoulder. He gave Jack a farewell wave of the hand and laughed,
‘Sayonara, gaijin
!’
    ‘He’s going to kill any
gaijin
he finds in Japan,’ added Kazuki spitefully, before turning to Nobu with triumph in his eyes at being the first to tell Jack the bad news.
    ‘Ignore them, Jack,’ said Akiko, shaking her head in disgust. ‘They’re making it up.’
    But Jack couldn’t help thinking that there
might
be a grain of truth in Kazuki’s story. Kamakura was the
daimyo
of Edo Province and the head of the
Yagyu Ryū
, the rival school to the
Niten Ichi Ryū
. He was a cruel, vindictive man with too much power. Jack’s overriding image of the
daimyo
was his gleeful face as he watched one of his samurai behead an elderly tea merchant, merely because the old man hadn’t heard the command to bow. Despite Akiko’s assurance, Jack realized Kamakura was more than capable of ordering the exile and death of foreigners.
    If it were true, then it wouldn’t matter whether he was in the Circle of Three. His life would be in greater danger than ever before, not only from Dragon Eye and his ninja clan, but also from Kamakura and his samurai.
    Perhaps he should start planning how to get to Nagasaki before it was too late, thought Jack. But first, he needed to find out whether Kazuki was lying or not.
    ‘Where are you going?’ asked Akiko as Jack headed purposefully out of the
Chō-no-ma
.
    Glancing over his shoulder at Kazuki and Nobu, who were still sniggering to one another, he replied, ‘Somewhere far away from those two!’

7
RANDORI

    Jack lay there, unable to move.
    The impact upon the
dojo
floor had knocked the wind clean out of him.
    ‘I’m so sorry,’ said Akiko, looking down at him with concern. ‘I didn’t mean to throw you so hard.’
    ‘Don’t… apologize,’ replied Jack, gasping for air and trying not to throw up his breakfast from earlier that morning. ‘It was… my fault… for not break-falling… properly.’
    Akiko had tossed Jack over her shoulder like a sack of rice in a move called
seoi nage
. Not that her remarkable fighting abilities were anything unexpected. He’d learnt early on never to underestimate Akiko, having witnessed her single-handedly despatch two ninja with only the knotted
obi
of her kimono.
    He was also more than capable of break-falling and should have landed safely. However, Akiko had told him something that completely broke his concentration.
    ‘What did you just say?’ asked Jack, sitting up carefully.
    ‘You’re in the trials for the Circle of Three.’
    ‘I don’t understand. How can that be?’
    ‘Kiku’s entered for you,’ she explained, a mischievous grin on her face. ‘I asked her to write down your name instead of hers.’
    Jack