Chapter 275

"Matsuda, is that you? It's been a while."

The greeting came from the security guard stationed at the Academy's main gate. My eyes widened in surprise as I asked,

"Sir? What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean? I'm working."

"Has everything been quiet lately?"

"It has. Thanks for asking. What brings you here?"

"I'm stopping by the Kendo Club Room."

"Why?"

"Just to practice for a bit."

"Is that right? Well, you need to be out before nine o'clock."

"Understood."

Students using the club rooms over break was common enough. Moreover, the guard I had just spoken with was someone I'd grown close to during my campus community service. As one of the people who had witnessed firsthand how much I was changing, he let us inside without suspicion after a brief check of Renka's student ID.

"...You two seem close?"

Renka asked as the car pulled into the empty Parking Lot. I gave a calm nod and answered.

"Yeah."

"How come?"

"We got to know each other while I was doing my campus service."

"Really...? I didn't know that."

"You didn't?"

"No. I had no idea."

"Why not?"

"What do you mean, why not...? How was I supposed to know?"

Renka scrunched up her face as if wondering what kind of fault I was trying to find this time. I furrowed my brows in displeasure and said, "We passed each other at the main gate a lot, and you saw me chatting amicably with him."

"What are you talking about...? Am I supposed to remember something like that?"

"You should."

"You're just being completely unreasonable... This is ridiculous."

Was this the first time I'd seen her act like this? Far from it. Wasn't it about time she adapted, conformed, and submitted? Keeping those thoughts to myself, I parked the car in the Parking Lot and got out with Renka.

As I was crossing the quiet campus with her—spatter.

The already dark sky grew gloomier, and raindrops began to fall.

"Oh...? It's raining."

"So it is. Shall we hurry? Give that to me."

"W-Wait..."

I half-forced the box Renka was carrying onto the top of my own, then hurried toward the Club Room. It felt like it hadn't rained in a long time. It was as if God was telling me to set a romantic mood when I did that sort of thing with Renka.

By the time we opened the Club Room door and stepped inside, the rain had started coming down hard. Great timing. As expected of a protagonist chosen by the heavens. Finding the sight of the trees swaying in the wind and rain outside the Club Room window quite atmospheric, I set the boxes down on the floor.

"What should we do now?"

"...Stretch."

"Stretching for what?"

"For Kendo, obviously... You're having weird thoughts again."

"What weird thoughts?"

"Ah, be quiet...! Do your stretches and put on your Bogu."

"I don't know how to put on Bogu."

"..."

She gave me a look of pure disbelief. I shrugged my shoulders, acting as if I were being unfairly accused, and continued.

"It's true. Master put it on for me every single time."

"You can't even put on the Do and Kare by yourself?"

"No. I know how to do those."

"Then you do know how...! You just need help with the Men. Why are you lying?"

"The Men is a part of the Bogu, so it wasn't a lie."

"Haa... I'd have better luck talking to an animal than having a conversation with you."

"Why? Is it frustrating?"

"Yeah. Get ready now."

She wanted to start right away? So impatient. Or maybe she just wanted to finish practice quickly so she could spend some steamy time with me? I decided to believe that. It made me feel better, after all.

"Are we going straight into sparring, though?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"I need to check if your skills have gotten rusty."

Hmm... Was it just my imagination, or did it feel like she was using that as an excuse to pay me back for all the humiliation she'd suffered so far? No, judging by her blazing eyes, it wasn't my imagination. To think she'd use a sacred Kendo sparring match for a personal vendetta... Renka really had fallen a long way. That just made me like it even more.

*

"Ah, stay still...!"

At the reprimand from Renka, whose long hair hung down beneath her Men, I lifted my head from where I sat swaying slowly from side to side on the floor.

"Why?"

"I have to wrap the Face Towel around you, so what am I supposed to do if you keep moving like that...!"

"Is that right? I didn't know."

"...Does it make any sense that someone who's been in the Kendo Club this long wouldn't know that? You're just pretending not to know to screw with me."

"'Screw with me'? Watch your language."

"Just stay still."

After scolding me in an incredibly firm tone, Renka wrapped the Face Towel around my head and placed the Men over it. Then she lightly knocked on the top of it with her fist.

"Done. Get up now."

"Why did you hit me?"

"I was checking to see if it was on right."

"Not just because I'm being annoying?"

"Why are you acting so slippery today? Stop talking nonsense and put on your Kote."

"You'll go easy on me, right?"

"Yeah."

Judging by her voice, it didn't sound like she was going to go easy on me at all. I got the feeling I was about to get thrashed, just like during the training camp. Grumbling, I stood up, put on the Kote, and picked up my shinai. In the meantime, Renka had already assumed the Sonkyo posture at the line drawn on the floor.

"Sit."

I crouched down across from her, already fully prepared as she was, and asked, "Are you really going to go easy?"

"I told you I would. And be quiet from now on. We're right about to spar, so control your breathing first. We'll start as soon as the Sonkyo is over."

"Do we really have to go this far?"

"Quiet."

I didn't know if she had gotten serious because we were about to spar, or if she was just messing with me. I wanted to look into Renka's eyes through the mengane of her Men and try to read her thoughts, but because only some of the Club Room lights were on and it was raining outside, the interior was incredibly dark, making it hard to make anything out.

"I'm getting up."

Broken out of my thoughts by Renka's words, I straightened my bent knees and slowly rose, simultaneously raising my shinai above my head. And then, "Hap!"

Watching Renka rush at me with a sharp kiai, I quickly swung my shinai.

Clack-!

The sharp sound of bamboo clashing against bamboo rang out. I deflected Renka's shinai, which she had thrust straight forward for a throat thrust, to the side. Stomping my foot hard for a counterattack, I went on the offensive to strike her lowered wrist.

Thwack-!

But it didn't connect. I aimed for the striking area where the Kote wrist tube was located, but ended up hitting the Tsuba instead. It wasn't even the striking area of the sword, so even if it had touched the Kote, it wouldn't have been recognized as a valid scoring strike.

This was the result of Renka intentionally extending her hand at the exact moment my shinai swung down, shifting the point of impact forward. It was a bold play. If her reflexes had been even slightly slower, my shinai would have struck the fist portion of her Kote, which would have hurt her fingers... I couldn't help but be impressed.

The situation naturally turned into a tsubazeriai. With our Swords pressed together in such close quarters, the blueberry scent wafting from Renka grew stronger. Mmm... Fragrant. Wasn't there any research on why pretty people always smell so good? Suddenly, I felt like looking up academic papers on the subject.

Just as I was thinking that and trying to create some distance, Renka beat me to the punch. She instantly fell back and snapped her wrists. Startled, I tried to raise my arms straight up, but her shinai had already touched my Kote.

Smack!

A somewhat heavy sensation spread from my wrist. Having scored an Ippon, Renka retreated to the white line drawn on the floor and said, "That's an Ippon."

"...It is."

"You gave up a point so easily because you were distracted by useless thoughts. You were just thinking about something weird, weren't you?"

"I was thinking that the President smells good."

"Ah, jeez...! Aren't you going to focus...!?"

She was flustered. How like Renka. Anyway, sparring with her now that our relationship had progressed so much felt incredibly novel. Renka must have been thinking the same thing, considering she was huffing and puffing more than usual for no apparent reason. I would have to try a few more psychological attacks from here on out.

"Go back to your position."

I nodded at Renka's words, returned to the line, and bent my knees to face her. Then I asked, "How long are we going to do this?"

"Until one of us scores 5 points."

"Can't we just make it 3 points?"

"No. And be quiet."

"Let's just do 3 points. I want to go to the Lounge already."

"..."

I could see Renka's body sway ever so slightly. It was proof that my suggestive words had flustered her.

With all her tournament experience, Renka probably had a lot of resistance to this kind of trash talk. However, since her opponent was me—someone she was intimate with—and I was even making sexual jokes, she didn't seem to be having an easy time composing herself.

Chuckling inwardly, I straightened my knees first, and stomped my foot precisely as a startled Renka rose to meet me.

*

After taking off my Men, I basked in the sense of openness as my stifled field of vision expanded, and looked at Renka. She was pulling out the hair tie she had fastened tight against her head. Meeting my gaze, she scrunched up her face and said, "You cheap bastard..."

"What's cheap?"

"How could you go and say things like that...! No Kendo practitioner says such vulgar things in an actual match...!"

She must have gotten swept up in the trash talk that continued non-stop from the first clash until the end; though she won, she had given up 2 points and her pride seemed deeply wounded. In that sense, from Renka's perspective, she won but lost. From my perspective, I lost but won.

"Was it vulgar?"

"Is that even a question...?"

"Did you not like it?"

"I really didn't like it. It was absolute trash."

It was an insult I heard all the time, so I felt absolutely nothing. Accepting it for what it was, I walked past Renka, who was still taking off the rest of her Bogu, and opened the door to the Lounge. Then, without even closing the door, I began to lay out the mat.

"W-What are you doing..."

Having seemingly predicted what was about to happen, Renka's voice trembled. Without even looking back at her, I answered.

"I'm laying out a place to lie down."

"...I mean, why would you do that..."

"Are you going to shower now?"

"Practice isn't even over yet, what do you mean shower... Hurry up and come over here..."

"Do you have a towel?"

"I do, but... I told you we aren't done yet...?"

"I know."

Faced with my consistently sly attitude, Renka shut her mouth. Her intuition must have told her she couldn't escape; she stopped arguing and started kicking the innocent floor, stealing glances in my direction.

She was like a fierce female warrior when we were sparring, but now she looked like a noble lady on her wedding night. Thinking that the gap between the two was incredibly arousing, I approached Renka, who was killing time by swinging her shinai in the empty air, and wrapped my arms around her waist.

"Hya!?"

As she gave a massive jolt in shock, I smoothly began to untie the outer strings of her Training Uniform.