Ch.60The Kiryu Family Vacation (5)

“AAAAARGH!!! Stop it already!!”

When Umi and I were in the middle of our romantic display at the café, Saito Kana stood up.

“Huh? Why are you here?”

I asked Kana.

“Could it be… stalking?”

Umi glared at Kana as she spoke.

“Stop talking nonsense!! You self-absorbed, indecent couple!!!”

Kana jumped up and down as she shouted.

“This has been my regular spot all along!! But… to come to a place like this and…”

Kana immediately burst with anger.

*Smirk*

At that moment, Umi grinned.

“What? Jealous?”

Umi said with a smile tinged with superiority.

“I am not!!”

Kana snapped back immediately.

Umi and I held both hands together and struck a pose looking at Kana.

“I pity you for not knowing the coolness of love…”

I couldn’t resist saying that line.

“AAAAARGH!!!! I’m not pitiful?!!”

That pressed Kana’s rage button.

“I came here to avoid you two!!! But!! To meet you here!!”

Kana tore at her hair.

———-

Before all this happened, Kana had opened her eyes at 8 AM. Though she could have slept in longer since she was here for Golden Week vacation, her eyes opened early.

That’s right. She hadn’t slept at all.

She had tossed and turned all night, haunted by images of the two lovers sharing a passionate kiss.

“Sigh…”

Kana got up and immediately soaked in the open-air bath. But the distracting thoughts wouldn’t go away.

“Some prosecutor he is… chasing after women.”

That point infuriated her.

I’ll definitely crush that Arigiri Shota or whatever his name is on the ferry back. Kana renewed her resolve.

“My pace is ruined too.”

Kana clicked her tongue and revised her plans for the day.

She thought she would spend some elegant time at a quiet, refined café where that vulgar couple wouldn’t come. With that in mind, she headed to the café she always visited when in Hakone.

But then…

“Ahh… use your mouth, not your hands.”

A blonde woman speaking vulgarly with her chest exposed.

“Really… Umi is so spoiled.”

Seeing the man who said this while burying his face in her chest, Kana immediately lost her grip on sanity.

——-

“Consider my feelings too!!”

Kana fumed after explaining everything.

“In summary, you’re just jealous.”

Umi said indifferently.

“Really… you look empty-headed and you actually are!! How did you come to that conclusion?!”

Kana exploded with anger again.

“Shota. Did I misunderstand?”

Umi said, leaning into me.

“No. Our Umi has amazing reading comprehension. You’d get full marks in Japanese.”

I mindlessly patted Umi’s head.

“Hehehe… but what’s reading comprehension?”

Umi added an empty-headed comment. Well… I’ll explain it to her later.

“I can’t take this!! You two… are deliberately insulting me, aren’t you?”

Kana shouted.

“No, that’s not it…”

Really, it’s not.

“It’s a duel!!! I’ll knock you down right here!!”

After saying that, Kana called out to her secretary.

“Huh? There’s no referee?”

I asked. Surely she doesn’t intend to fight bare-handed? She’ll die!

“What. Scared? I can see the caliber of a man from his poor taste in women… you really are an inadequate man.”

Kana smiled smugly as she spoke.

“…Fine, let’s fight.”

Hearing those words, I couldn’t avoid the fight.

“Shota? It’s dangerous. Let’s just ignore this lunatic. Shota… you look much weaker than her. You’ll get completely thrashed.”

Umi spoke with concern.

I appreciate the concern… but that assessment is harsh.

However, Umi’s words were true. Having trained in swordsmanship myself, I could gauge strength through basic aura.

If I were level 9, Kana would be over level 60. Yes. In an old game, her level would just be displayed as a skull. She was an untouchable powerhouse.

“She insulted Umi. The best woman I know. This is about your honor too.”

I stated firmly.

“Shota…”

Umi immediately looked touched.

“Hey! Bring two wooden swords!!”

Kana shouted to the café.

Wait. Why would a café have those? I was about to raise that objection.

*Whoosh!*

A woman dressed like a ninja dropped from the café ceiling. Not a ninja… a kunoichi would be more accurate. So they really do exist. This really is an otaku story.

“Here they are, miss.”

The kunoichi handed over two wooden swords.

“No, I don’t need two.”

I said, picking up a nearby tourist brochure.

I rolled it up. It could roughly serve as a sword. I felt like I was back in elementary school. A paper sword, the kind kids use for sword-fighting games.

“I’ll fight with this.”

I stated firmly.

“Are you mocking me?”

Kana glared.

“If an accident happens during our match, you could get seriously hurt. You’re beautiful with a bright future. I don’t want to ruin your smooth path ahead with youthful recklessness.”

I said.

Yes. If she gets hurt, even seppuku wouldn’t be enough to take responsibility. If the wooden sword hit her face, it would be truly irreversible.

Besides, Kana is beautiful. I didn’t want to damage that beauty by injuring her.

If Kana were an ugly woman? Then I’d just swing the wooden sword full force at her face.

Well, hiding such thoughts, I glossed over with nice words.

“I try to minimize harm when facing women. That’s my resolve as a ‘man’.”

I looked straight at Kana.

“You’re already hurting women by building a harem… yet you say such things. Playboy.”

Umi complained from behind, but I ignored it. Don’t break my immersion.

“…….”

Kana was strangely quiet.

“B-beautiful… woman? Do I look like… I mean, I am a woman, but…”

Muttering something at incredible speed, Kana blushed and shook her head.

Is this some pre-match routine?

“Let’s go outside.”

Anyway, the match was being delayed. I spoke to Kana, unable to wait.

“Ah… okay.”

Kana said, snapping back to attention.

——–

The backyard.

Kana and I stood in position.

“Prepare to have some bones broken. You’ll spend the rest of your trip in a hospital bed.”

Kana smiled and pointed her wooden sword at me.

“Then your date would be ruined too.”

Kana then smiled an incredibly vicious smile.

“You… do you hate couples that much…”

I unconsciously swallowed tears.

“Sniff… how pitiful!”

Umi also wiped tears with her handkerchief.

“That’s not it at all!!!”

Kana immediately got angry.

“Anyway, I won’t go easy on you.”

After saying that, Kana took her stance.

*Swoosh!*

Holding the sword pointed forward, she supported the bottom of the hilt with her other palm. It was an incredibly distinctive stance.

I recognized it from being an otaku myself.

“Taste the Tennen Rishin-ryū… properly.”

Kana smiled aggressively.

That’s right. The Tennen Rishin-ryū.

A combat-oriented sword style passed down from the Shinsengumi, the shogunate’s direct swordsmen group during Japan’s opening period.

It wasn’t a sword technique created by samurai families, but a highly practical combat style developed by commoners.

Though once dismissed as a style without pedigree, that dismissal was quickly overturned. The Shinsengumi slaughtered the Yōmeishi, who were full of renowned swordsmen, using only the Tennen Rishin-ryū.

Kana’s distant ancestor, Saito Hajime, also survived by cutting down numerous enemies.

A strong sword style is ultimately the strongest sword style. Nowadays, no one speaks ill of the Tennen Rishin-ryū.

“Here I come!!!!”

Kana rushed toward me.

*CLANG!*

My paper sword and her wooden sword collided.

Naturally, the durability of the paper sword was terrible. The paper sword began to crumple at tremendous speed.

“AAAAARGH!!!”

I immediately pulled my body back. Despite rolling the paper extremely tightly to compress it… it seemed the durability of a wooden sword was unbeatable. No matter how tightly rolled, paper was still paper.

Origins are important… I deeply felt that. When Rock Lee trains, Naruto and Sasuke are training too.

Anyway, it was impossible to engage in sword-to-sword combat. I had no choice but to properly observe Kana’s attacks and dodge them.

‘Shit… I should have just used the wooden sword…!!’

Because my ego dominated my brain, I made such a stupid suggestion.

“You can still use a wooden sword if you want?”

Kana smiled proudly and took her stance again.

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

I stated firmly.

“…Hick?!”

For a moment, Kana blushed and hiccupped.

“Tch.”

Umi clicked her tongue with an extremely uncomfortable expression behind me, but I decided to ignore it.

“I see… then die with that resolve!!!”

Kana launched a powerful thrust, the trademark of the Tennen Rishin-ryū.

*WHOOSH!!!*

The wooden sword came flying almost like a bullet. Rather than using a swing with mediocre startup and recovery delay, she thrust with no delay. It was extremely practical, true to the Tennen Rishin-ryū.

However, I definitely read its trajectory.

‘I’ve watched enough otaku samurai shows!!’

Thanks to my otaku experience, I immediately predicted the thrust.

*WHOOSH!!*

I twisted my body to avoid the thrust.

“…What?!”

Kana’s expression froze for a moment. She clearly hadn’t expected me to dodge.

‘I see it…!’

And then I clearly felt that sensation. With a feeling like lightning running down my spine, time seemed to slow around me.

I felt like Kana’s wooden sword was being reconstructed in my perception. I could sense exactly where to strike for a clean cut.

“KIEEEEEEEEEK!!!!!!!”

I immediately let out a strange cry and swung my sword.

The rolled-up paper sword struck the wooden sword directly.

*CRACK!*

Then, the wooden sword began to crack with tremendous force.

*CLANG!!*

And the wooden sword shattered.

This actually works? Even so, breaking a wooden sword with a paper sword seems a bit much. I had to question it myself.