Chapter 113

A surprise throat thrust is hard to block.

Or at least, that is only true when one's posture is poor.

Before taking that throat thrust, Miura had been completely prepared.

He had even been holding a middle stance. If he'd been properly braced, he could have blocked it just by shifting his hands a fraction.

Yet Miura had failed to do so.

Was it because his reflexes were too slow? No.

Matsuda was simply too good.

He had cleverly slipped into an angle that restricted Miura's movement, precisely driving his shinai home the exact moment Miura tried to act.

His breathing might have been a little subdued, but his fighting spirit was fierce enough to feel like raw qi. The shinai had shot forward with incredible power, and the movement itself carried zero wasted effort.

His footwork looked a bit sluggish, but he had perfectly executed the unity of spirit, sword, and body right through to his zanshin, leaving no choice but to award an Ippon.

Objectively speaking, save for a few minor issues, it had been an excellent strike.

So much so that for a split second, she actually thought it looked cool.

A second-year student with enough Kendo experience could have blocked it.

But for a beginner like Miura, it was impossible.

He wouldn't have been able to block it even if he had seen it coming. The attack had carried that much fierce momentum.

That's too harsh...

She knew there would be a gap in their skills—no, their talent—but she hadn't expected it to be this severe.

What should I do...?

She wanted to step in and stop them right now... but halting the match here would deal a massive blow to Miura's pride.

After all, she had seen his competitive spirit burning so brightly when he asked for this sparring match earlier.

Even so, letting them continue made her anxious about how the second round would go.

If it ended in a flash like the first, his mentality would take a tremendous hit...

Of course, Miura hadn't shown his true abilities yet either, but even taking that into account, he had zero chance of winning.

"You're good."

Miura praised Matsuda, checking to see if his Men had been knocked crooked.

Hearing his calm voice, Renka breathed an inward sigh of relief.

Miura's tone hadn't wavered in the slightest.

It meant he was keeping his composure.

He was a little angry, but at that level, it could safely be written off as healthy competitive drive.

Tucking away her urge to stop the match, Renka caught her breath and spoke up just as Miura prepared to perform Sonkyo across from Matsuda.

"We're taking a short break. That strike was too hard; you need time to recover."

"Did I do something wrong again?"

"...Not quite."

"Understood."

Matsuda replied casually, turning around without hesitation to approach Chinami, who was currently struggling to suppress her joy.

"You told me to watch out for the first strike... I'm sorry."

Miura had walked over to her side at some point to apologize.

Wearing a gentle smile, Renka shook her head.

"No. Don't let it weigh on you too much. I'd like to give you a piece of advice if you're up for it. How about it?"

"I'd appreciate it."

"Your specialty is drawn-out battles. Base your strategy around close-quarters combat, hiki-waza, and defense. Matsuda uses a left-handed Sangdanse, so his left side will be wide open when he attacks. The moment you get a chance, focus your aim there and drag this into a mudfight. Don't try to open up the distance. The Sangdanse has a long reach."

"Understood."

"It also wouldn't hurt to try striking his head right at the start."

"What? But the Sangdanse is great for defending the head."

"If you stick close to him while striking his head, he'll think you're trying to initiate tsubazeriai. He'll definitely try to push you away, so pretend to let yourself be pushed back and strike his wrist."

"Yes. Head strike, then hiki-waza wrist strike... Head strike, then hiki-waza wrist strike..."

Miura muttered to himself, as if trying to carve the strategy into his brain.

Bursting into a chuckle at his innocent demeanor, Renka said, "Of course, Matsuda won't just stand there and take it, so if things don't go as planned, it's fine to fall back quickly. Always keep thinking while you fight. If you obsess too much over winning or losing, your body will stiffen up, so it's perfectly fine to stay relaxed. Just do what you normally do."

"I'm having trouble with my distance control, so maintaining a one-step, one-strike distance might be hard... but I'll try."

"That's normal. With Sangdanse, the shinai is obscured, which makes it difficult to gauge the distance. Is your neck okay?"

"Oh... it's a bit better now, but it completely knocked the wind out of me when I took the hit."

"Let me have a look."

Renka tugged on the neck protector of his Men and leaned her upper body slightly forward.

"P-President...! You're too close...!"

Ignoring Miura's naive squeak, she checked the condition of his neck and said, "I don't see any bruising. If it hurts too much, we can stop here."

"N-No, I'm fine. I'll keep going."

"All right. Do your best."

"Yes, President...!"

To think he would answer so boldly.

Did her encouragement give him strength?

Or was his competitive spirit firing up again?

Whatever it was, it wasn't a bad thing.

A scoff escaped my lips.

To think she would examine Tetsuya's smelly body right in front of me.

I would make her pay in full later for that little display of insolence.

The second round played out differently from the first.

The moment Renka signaled the start, Tetsuya rapidly stamped his feet and closed the distance, aiming for my well-defended head.

Clack!

I easily blocked the strike to my head and frowned as Tetsuya initiated a tsubazeriai.

I hated the idea of colliding with his filthy body, but since we were wearing Bogu, I figured it would be fine.

I lowered my arms and blocked Tetsuya's shinai as he rushed in with great momentum.

Clang!

A distance so close our Bogu were nearly touching.

When I subtly put strength into my arms and pushed to peel Tetsuya off me, his body smoothly slid backward.

Seeing how he retreated without even trying to hold his ground, he was definitely aiming for a hiki-waza.

It seemed he'd gotten some advice from Renka... but he could have at least pretended to hold out for a bit.

It was way too easy to read.

Also, his retreat was so wide that he was serving up the perfect range for me to strike.

Snorting inwardly, I stared straight at Tetsuya as he graciously opened up the distance for me, and I swung my arms.

Whoosh—! Crack—!

The distinct, crisp sound of bamboo echoed from Tetsuya's waist and near my wrist.

We had struck each other at almost the exact same time. The wrist I had been hit on was an invalid scoring area, whereas the waist Tetsuya had been hit on was a perfect striking area.

However, it wouldn't result in an Ippon.

That was because what touched Tetsuya's waist wasn't the striking area of the shinai, but the Tsuru running down its back.

Due to the rules of Kendo, where a strike with anything other than the striking area is invalid, it was by no means worthy of an Ippon.

This was entirely intentional on my part.

Even though I could have easily aimed for an Ippon, I had deliberately overextended my arms just to toy with Tetsuya.

Pretending to be clumsy with my distance control.

"Ugh...!"

Tetsuya, who had let the strike land so helplessly, clenched his teeth.

In the past, he would have whimpered like a coward, but now he was trying to put up a fight. It seemed he'd grown a spine since joining the Kendo Club.

Before Tetsuya could even gather his senses, I lunged at him and brought my shinai down.

"Gah...!"

Terrified, Tetsuya tried to raise an arm, but the shinai had already reached his shoulder.

Smack—!

The Tsuru bent into an arch and then snapped back.

The impact felt incredible. I thought he was just a useless lump of flesh, but he had some small value after all.

"Ugh..."

Tetsuya let out a groan through his teeth, as if trying to endure the pain.

It shouldn't have even hurt with those thick padded flaps hanging down from the sides of his Men to protect his shoulders, but he was putting on a massive show.

The one actually in pain was my wrist, which had been hit by his blind shinai.

It was still throbbing even now.

Of all places, he just had to hit the bare skin right below the Kote... son of a bitch.

The ensuing sparring match was a one-sided beating.

Tetsuya, who had so confidently bragged that he wouldn't fall behind even against me, was now entirely preoccupied with just blocking my onslaught.

Through the mengane, I could see his eyes growing increasingly clouded with panic.

He had to be utterly dumbfounded.

He had probably trained incredibly hard in his own right and thought he finally had a chance, yet here he was, getting beaten to a pulp without even putting up a proper fight.

Smack! Whack!

His head, his waist, and even his back.

Acting as if I was gradually losing my reason, I gleefully pounded him to a pulp, stopping just short of actually leaving physical injuries.

"Stop! Enough!"

Then, hearing Renka's furious shout, I ceased all movement.

I cast a slow glance at the bastard, who was cornered and on the verge of stepping out of bounds, before turning my head to Renka.

"Was that an Ippon?"

"An Ippon...? Are you kidding me? What the hell are you..."

Just as Renka let out a scoff of disbelief and was about to scold me, a voice interrupted: "Junior! What on earth are you doing?!"

Chinami came charging over and punched the Men I was wearing very weakly with her fist.

Tap!

"The movements you just showed were sheer violence! That wasn't a posture for a legitimate attack at all!"

Tap! Tap!

"The shinai you're holding isn't a steel pipe or a baseball bat! You're so mean!"

Tap! Tap! Tap!

It was cute how she stood on her tiptoes to discipline me.

Come to think of it, something similar had happened during my very first sparring match...

Silently accepting Chinami's adorable attacks, I offered an apology.

"I'm sorry. I got hit hard on the wrist earlier and lost my temper."

"Your wrist? You mean during the first exchange?"

"Yes."

"Let me see."

Taking off my Kote, I rolled up the sleeve of my Training Uniform and showed her my wrist.

The skin was stained a deep red in a straight line, slightly swollen.

Chinami flinched when she saw it.

"Ah... that looks like it hurts a lot...?"

She touched the spot with her slender hand.

Feeling a sting, I twitched one eyebrow, and she continued.

"Are you okay...?"

"Yes. It's bearable."

"I'll apply some ointment for you later. It's common for emotions to run high when beginners spar with each other. But even so, what happened just now is entirely your fault, Junior. That was... behavior that strays far, far outside the boundaries of martial arts. If this had been an actual match, you would have forfeited for a conduct violation."

"I'll be careful from now on. I'll also apologize to Miura separately."

While I was getting scolded by Chinami, Renka was next to us checking on Tetsuya's condition.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes... I'm perfectly fine..."

Tetsuya's voice was terribly hoarse.

He had despaired at the overwhelming difference in skill.

Noticing his despair, Renka helped him to his feet and patted his back.

"Take a break for a while."

The bastard slumped his shoulders like a puppy drenched in the rain.

His pride had to have taken quite a scratch.

You've realized that the arrogant one here wasn't me, but you, haven't you?

Grind your teeth all you want, and come back to get beaten up again later.

And since your role for today is over, go back to the Lodging and cry your eyes out or something.

"Chinami. I'd like to speak privately with Matsuda for a moment, is that okay?"

Renka said, striding over to where we stood.

Chinami, who had been huffing through her nose while scolding me, nodded her head.

"Ah... yes. Please don't scold him too much. I've already given him a stern talking-to."

"...I won't. Follow me, Matsuda."

Calling my name in a frosty tone, Renka walked out of the Training Room.

After I followed her out and closed the door, Renka spoke in a subdued tone.

"Chinami might not have noticed, but I know. I saw you specifically targeting areas covered by his Bogu. On the outside, you looked like you'd completely lost your temper... but for someone who lost control, weren't your strikes a bit too perfectly aimed?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying... you did it on purpose. The way you beat Miura when he was on the defensive—not from a Kendo stance, but like a thug wielding a weapon... I can't help but think you did this for personal revenge against Miura, or just to humiliate him. Tell me if I'm wrong."

She saw right through it.

I kept my mouth firmly shut, letting my silence answer for me.

Then, Renka gestured toward my wrist with her chin and asked, "Is your wrist all right?"

"Yes. It's manageable."

"When I was a beginner, I used to get angry even if a strike just grazed me. I was highly ambitious and hated losing, so I always wanted to pay my opponents back no matter what. But... I think you crossed the line today. Your actions went way beyond a healthy competitive drive."

"I admit it."

"Still, it's a relief you're freely admitting your fault. Chinami is soft on you. She's so kind-hearted by nature that she can't even bring herself to say harsh words. So, I'm going to step in. You have talent. But your personality is far too arrogant and hot-tempered; it isn't suited for Kendo."

Things were finally falling into place.

"Are you telling me to quit?"

"That's not what I'm saying. I mean I'm going to set you straight."

"Set me straight?"

"Spar with me. Not a guidance match like last time, but an actual match."

She had taken the bait hook, line, and sinker.

Tetsuya really had been excellent bait.

"An actual match...? You directly with me, President?"

"Yes. Isn't that what you wanted? You said you wanted to spar to your heart's content. I'll give you that chance. Do you hate the idea?"

"No, well... I'd be grateful if you did, President... but it sounds more like you're trying to fix my attitude. And honestly, objectively speaking, there's a massive gap in our skills."

"Are you afraid of losing?"

As if.

I could afford to lose dozens, even hundreds of times as long as I could get what I wanted.

Scratching the back of my head, I said, "It's not that... I just think we should bet something, if only for motivation."

"Bet? Bet what?"

"One point."

"...One point?"

"Every time I take one point from you, President, you have to grant me one wish."

At my out-of-the-blue proposal, Renka's eyes went wide.