Ch.83Midterm Exam (1)

I was completely surprised to find Saito Kana here, someone I never expected to see.

I wasn’t mistaken. There was no way I could confuse that distinctive silver hair and sharp features. Plus, she was incredibly beautiful, so there was no chance I’d misidentify her.

“Ah. Arigiri Shota. It’s been a while.”

Kana said with a smile.

“Ah… why are you here? Are you joining our dojo?”

I asked.

“You… know Saito Kana personally?”

One of the students exclaimed.

“Saito Kana has her eye on him… oh no. Our Shota will be another victim of her talent-killing!”

“We’ve just gotten attached to him! Don’t quit kendo!!”

Many of the students were worried about me. Well… these guys are actually pretty nice.

BABABABAM-!!

The students immediately surrounded me.

“You can’t have our Shota!!!”

“Hey!!! Kana go home!!!”

“Fucking Saito!!”

They all united to protect me.

These guys… I unconsciously sniffled, touched by their warmth.

“Hey!! I’m just here to hang out!!! Don’t make me out to be a villain!!”

Kana shouted loudly.

“Oh, really? I thought you came to join as a student.”

I replied. But… why come all the way here to hang out? Doesn’t she live in Tokyo? Did she really come all the way to this backwater Emoshita just to visit?

“As if I’d join this shabby dojo. A place with no value except for Kiryu Gonzaemon’s existence? Don’t make me laugh.”

Kana said with a completely arrogant expression.

“So you’re just visiting. Then how about playing tag, the Kiryu dojo’s traditional game?”

I immediately suggested to Kana.

“It’s time!!! Kiryu dojo tag!!!”

“I’ve been training for this day!!”

The students excitedly grabbed toy rubber knives from the corner of the dojo.

It was our dojo’s game that combined tag with kendo. The way the “it” caught others was simple. They just had to swing their sword and make contact with someone’s body.

The ones being chased could block the sword attack, but there was one condition. They could only block once. After using that chance, they had to run using all their physical abilities.

It’s incredibly fun once you try it. There were quite a few students who came to the kendo dojo just for the tag game we played secretly after training. Seriously. It’s super fun. Once you start, you can’t stop. Really.

“Hey. That. I’m playing too.”

One student said, throwing off his leg cast. It was Kinji, a senior member of our dojo.

“No… Kinji!!! You got a hamstring injury from playing tag too hard!! You’ve barely recovered and if you play again…”

Another student tried to stop Kinji.

“If I can play tag again… I don’t mind if my hamstring tears again. My hamstring will understand.”

Kinji said with a handsome smile.

This guy… was serious about tag. Kinji… what kind of man are you…!!

“Hehehehehehe.”

“Kekekekeke.”

Some students were already laughing convulsively at the thought of playing tag.

“I couldn’t sleep last night because I wanted to play tag so badly.”

“Huhuhuhuh. Me too.”

Everyone was obsessed with tag. It was practically a drug.

“What nonsense is this!!! Why would I do such a provincial game!!”

Kana pointed at me.

“Just spar with me!! That’s why I came here!!”

Kana said.

“Ugh… you came just for a sparring match? We can do that all the time at the Tournament anyway.”

My enthusiasm instantly deflated. This is why serious people are…

“Hey. Try it. Try it.”

I handed a rubber knife to Saito Kana.

“No way!!! We barely have enough time for proper training, and you want to play children’s games!!”

Kana swatted away the rubber knife.

“Whoa? Crossing the line?”

You’re disrespecting our dojo’s signature game?

“Just try it once. You seriously won’t be able to stop.”

I persistently tried to convert her.

That’s when it happened.

“You fools!!! I told you that dangerous game is forbidden!!!”

Gonzaemon entered right then.

“Damn it. This is your fault, Kana. If you’d just quickly agreed, we could have played at least one round.”

I said, looking at Kana.

“How is this MY fault!!!”

Kana shouted loudly.

“Kana… you should have told me you were coming.”

Gonzaemon said.

“Hehehe. Observing this dojo is free, right? I also wanted to see how much stronger Arigiri Shota has become.”

Kana said with a smile.

“For now, you and our Shota are opponents in the Tournament. If you reveal your techniques to each other, it could affect the competition.”

Gonzaemon started looking out for me. Master…

“Hmph. In any case, Arigiri Shota’s defeat by my hand is inevitable. Does it matter if techniques are revealed?”

Kana said with a smirk.

“Yeah. That’s the kind of overconfidence that got your real sword cut by a paper knife, right?”

I immediately touched Kana’s sore spot.

“Urgh!! I won that match!!!”

That seemed to trigger Kana’s outburst button.

“Yep. Your sword went snap, snap.”

“Hey!! Say that again!!! I’ll shut you up for good!!”

Kana shouted.

“Ah… I don’t feel like fighting such a boring opponent.”

“Who are you calling boring?!!”

Kana stomped her feet in frustration.

“Sigh… stubborn just like her grandfather. Shota, just spar with her a bit. Don’t go all out. Think of it as gaining practical experience.”

In the end, Gonzaemon said his piece.

“No. I’ll go all out.”

I immediately picked up a shinai.

“My full strength today will be different from my full strength at the Tournament.”

I said.

“I’m constantly growing, aren’t I?”

I smiled at Gonzaemon.

“Hmph. I suppose so.”

My confidence seemed to have reached Gonzaemon.

“Then go wild.”

Gonzaemon gave me a push on the back.

I quickly put on my men (helmet).

“Woooooah!! Shota!!!”

“Shota!!! Win at least one round!!! We don’t expect you to win overall!!!”

“Shota!! Shota!!”

All the students had already entered cheer mode. Some were even waving their shinai like glow sticks. Hey, you’re an idol otaku, aren’t you?

Anyway, Kana also smoothly and quickly put on her men.

Kendo expert trait: Puts on men incredibly fast.

It’s the same principle as a seasoned sergeant who sleeps until right before morning roll call and then gets dressed in one minute. It comes from doing it so many times.

“I’ll teach you your place. I won’t go all out, so don’t be scared.”

Kana immediately took her stance. It was the same stance as when I faced her before. The basic chudan stance of the Sennen Ishin style. Having faced it before, I knew how dangerous it was.

The foundation of Kana’s Sennen Ishin style was explosive power. Her technique involved launching her body like a bullet to close the distance, then overwhelming the opponent with consecutive attacks.

Defense? There was none of that. Her belief was that if she closed the distance, she would definitely win. That confidence made Kana’s sword technique even stronger.

But… we’ve already sparred once before. Her techniques have been revealed.

“I’ve already found a way to counter you.”

I smiled and took the chudan stance. Not yesterday… but this morning, I had gained plenty of practical experience while conquering the dungeon.

“Hmph. Counter, my ass.”

Kana took a deep breath. Taking advantage of that moment, I also regulated my breathing.

Swoosh-!!

As my vision brightened, I could see Kana breathing. As oxygen entered and left her lungs, Kana’s body trembled slightly as if stirring.

Normally I could only read breathing, but I discovered that with more concentration, I could even read muscle movements.

A red effect appeared on Kana’s arm and leg muscles. These were the muscles she would use in a few seconds.

If I could just know which muscles she would use, I could predict what attack she would make.

I immediately knew from how her leg muscles glowed intensely red. However, the red light on her arm muscles was faint. It wasn’t a cutting attack that would use a lot of arm and shoulder muscles. Was she going to thrust while charging?

FWOOOSH-!!

My prediction was correct. Her sword flew toward the heart area of my men.

Whoop-!

An attack I had already read was easy to avoid. I lightly turned my head to dodge the strike. The thrust of the shinai barely grazed my ear.

“…?!”

Kana’s surprised expression showed through her men.

WHACK-!!

I immediately struck Kana’s head with a short men strike.

It was a clean head strike.

“Ippon!!!!”

Gonzaemon shouted joyfully. He clearly hadn’t expected me to score a point.

“WOOOOOAH!!! SHOTA!!!!!”

“Shota!! You’re strong!! Equal to me or better!!!!”

“Shota!!! You’re the best!!!”

The students cheered wildly.

“KIYOOOOOOOH!!!!!!!”

Caught up in the atmosphere, I let out a victory cry.

“Shut up!!! Hurry up and get ready for the next round!!!”

Kana immediately complained to me.

“Oh!! Bring it on!!!”

I took my stance again.

———

Well, even in reality, you can’t expect a shounen manga development where you immediately dominate your opponent just because you learned a new technique…

Learning a new technique and mastering it are different things.

After boldly winning the first round, I lost the next two.

The skill gap was overwhelming. I painfully realized that the same result would occur if we fought again.

“Then Saito Kana is the winner.”

Gonzaemon declared the end of the match. At his words, Kana and I removed our men.

“…….”

The students, Gonzaemon, and even Kana were staring at my face.

Ah… is that it? They’re worried that Kana’s skill might have broken my spirit.

But… I wasn’t broken at all. I lost because I was weaker than Kana. That’s all. There’s no need to feel despair over such an obvious fact. I just needed to get stronger. As long as I didn’t give up, there were plenty of opportunities to become stronger.

“Kana. I understand now. Your level.”

I said, looking at Kana.

“…Level?”

“There’s less than a month until the Tournament, right? I’ll beat you by then. It’s a goal I’m confident is achievable.”

I declared.

“The wall isn’t as high as I thought? I’ll climb over it.”

At my words, everyone fell silent.

Though my declaration might sound arrogant, Gonzaemon and the students looked at me with relieved eyes. They were reassured because it was typical of me.

“…….”

Surprisingly, Kana just stared at me. Was she tired from the match? Her face was strangely flushed.

“Hmph. Try your best.”

Eventually, Kana regained her original haughty expression.

Somehow… Kana’s expression brightened considerably, or was that my imagination?