Chapter 289

Stepping off the bus, we drew the stares of students from other Academies. The main target of their attention was Renka, of course. It was exactly like the last tournament.

With her impassive expression, others probably thought Renka looked aloof and dignified. But if they ever learned the truth—that this girl radiating a cynical aura was actually a tsundere who only ran her mouth when standing in front of me—they'd fall over in shock.

"Hanazawa isn't coming to cheer us on?"

Renka asked, completely unfazed by the constant attention she was receiving. I looked around and nodded.

"Yeah. Some relatives are visiting the area, so she had to go see them."

"You sure know a lot of the details."

Even though she already knew full well about my relationship with Miyuki, her intention to dig deeper was transparent. I decided to play along.

"I can't help but know the details."

"Why?"

"Hmm? I wonder why?"

"...Forget it. I just wish you'd disappear from my sight."

"Me?"

"Yeah. You."

"You want me to die?"

"W-Why are you taking it so negatively...! You absolute piece of trash... Ahem...!"

Renka cut herself off and quickly cleared her throat, clearly conscious of the eyes around us. She must have been embarrassed to catch herself about to curse in public.

Come to think of it, I could feel people's eyes lingering on me, too. Did they recognize me from the newspaper article the other day? No, that was just a small piece in a local paper; it was highly unlikely that Kendo Club members from Academies in other regions had seen it.

It wasn't because I looked particularly close to Renka, either. Right now, it probably just looked like we were bickering.

Then why were they staring at me? Perhaps the coaches of the other Kendo Clubs recognized me as the guy who swept both the Rookie of the Year and the overall MVP awards at the last tournament, and had warned their teams to watch out for me.

"You're getting a lot of attention, huh? If you don't work hard, you might just humiliate yourself."

I snorted at her obvious provocation, knowing she had noticed the other guys staring.

"Do you think that's the right way to motivate me?"

"Then how should I do it?"

"You should pat me on the shoulder and tell me to do my best."

"Me? To you?"

"You say that like you can't."

"Of course I can't."

"Alright then. See you later."

"What... are you retaliating now? How petty can you get...?"

I beckoned with a finger to Renka, who had instantly lost her nerve. She swallowed hard and leaned in, allowing me to whisper softly into her ear.

"Why do you keep pushing it when you know you'll just end up on the losing end?"

"L-Losing end...? Who said I was going to lose to anyone...!"

"After the tournament and the award ceremony are over, make some time and come behind the Arena."

"W-What for...?"

"To punish you."

"You crazy bastard...! I'm not going...!"

"I told you to come. Keep that in mind."

Ending the conversation like a royal decree, I sneakily gave Renka's rear and the back of her thigh a light pat where no one else could see. She gave a faint shudder with every touch, as if a chill had run down her spine. I shot her a meaningful look, then turned and beamed at Chinami, who had just walked over.

"Master, do your best in your matches, too."

"Yes!"

Fired up by my simple encouragement, Chinami clenched her fists and continued.

"Do your best as well, junior. For the record, your goal for today is to win the championship. They say results follow effort, and I believe it's entirely possible for you since you've worked so hard up to now."

Chinami's expectations were far too high. If this were an individual tournament, it might be a different story, but in a team competition, winning would be difficult on individual skill alone... Regardless, hearing her say that made my conscience sting for slacking off on my training.

"I'll try my best to achieve that."

"Hehe... That's the spirit."

As I chatted with the two of them, Goro called all the Kendo Club members together. After encouraging us with his usual booming voice, he asked Renka to lead the female members, then took the male members toward the Arena.

"You've been in the Kendo Club for almost half a year now, and you still can't put on your Bogu by yourself?"

This was the scolding from Ikeda sunbae-nim, who would soon become a Third Year. As I put on my Men with his help, I retorted.

"I only struggle with the Men. I know how to put the rest on."

"Same thing. There, all done."

Ikeda finished tying the strings of my Men and tapped me lightly on the head. I thanked him, and seeing that the matches were about to begin, I stood up.

"Do your best."

"Yes."

I bumped fists with my teammates, then did the same with Tetsuya. I thought he would pretend not to see me and avoid it, but he at least knew how to separate public and private matters. He really was a complex guy.

"Vanguards of each team, take your positions."

At the referee's words, I picked up my Shinai and rolled my shoulders as I headed toward the center, just outside the boundary line. There were quite a few spectators. Perhaps some Academies had already started their semesters; I could see a whole row filled with students in uniform.

Not many people had come to cheer for us. Pulling off an underdog's rebellion like last time would be nice.

The vanguard of the first match was a position that drew everyone's attention. That subtle pressure tended to make players nervous, but a moderate amount of tension actually helped in a match.

"Ready."

Staring at my opponent standing far across from me, I slowly stepped forward when I heard the referee's voice. As I did, I observed him.

His height was similar to mine. So was his build. It seemed it would be difficult to intimidate him physically. Naturally, he probably had more Kendo experience than I did, but I believed my battle sense was superior.

Stopping firmly in front of the line drawn on either side of the Arena's center, I bent my knees and performed Sonkyo at the referee's signal. And then...

"Begin!"

The moment the shout signaling the start of the match rang out, I straightened my bent knees and took the Upper Stance. I then charged straight at my rushing opponent and swung my Shinai down.

Clack—!

Our Shinai clashed right in front of our noses. As it instantly devolved into a tsubazeriai, I poured all my strength into the hands gripping my hilt so my opponent wouldn't be able to overcome my power and would have to back away on his own.

At that moment, my opponent's feet moved fluidly, slipping to the side and away from me.

'Huh?'

Because I was placing my weight on the balls of my feet, my center of gravity naturally faltered, and my opponent didn't miss that opening.

"Hiyah!"

Smack—!

Along with my opponent's samurai-like kiai, a dull sensation struck my wrist. A downward strike to the wrist had landed perfectly. Just as I thought this might be dangerous... the referee raised the red flag, the color of the opposing team.

"Ippon!"

'Holy shit...'

I had given up a point in the blink of an eye. Staring blankly at the striking area that had been hit, I sighed inwardly upon hearing the referee tell us to return to our positions. Then, I scolded my own attitude as I walked back to the center line.

"Nice!"

Seeing my opponent and his team celebrating the first point made me angry. I wasn't boiling with rage at them; I was going crazy over how pathetic I was.

'Unbelievable... What a dumbass.'

The people in this Arena were strong competitors who had advanced by finishing the previous tournament with excellent results. Why had I been so full of myself when I already knew that? It wasn't like I had won the last tournament to get here, so why was I being arrogant? This was just too... fucking stupid.

I was mortified that I had silently brought up individual skill when Chinami mentioned winning the championship, especially when I possessed this kind of mindset and skill level. Cursing myself as I returned to the line, I heard the vigorous cheers of my waiting teammates.

"Matsuda! Let's do this properly! You can do it!"

No matter how self-centered I might be, I wasn't so deeply individualistic that I didn't care about my own teammates. Get a grip. I'm the vanguard. If I got helplessly pushed back, the following players would have to start their matches demoralized.

"Ready."

I needed to stop trying to use unnecessary tricks like tsubazeriai and just do what I was good at, having adopted the Upper Stance as my main posture. If I gave up even a single point from now until the end of the tournament, I'd commit seppuku. Making that vow as I performed Sonkyo, I shook off all my distracting thoughts and focused entirely on my opponent.

"Begin!"

"Meeeeen!!!!!"

Crack—!

With the striking area of my Shinai, I accurately hit my opponent's striking area. But in Kendo, that wasn't the end of it. The zanshin is incredibly important. Staying alert and maintaining my ki-ken-tai as I held my posture, I waited.

"Ippon!"

As all three referees simultaneously raised their white flags and the head referee declared an Ippon, I tightly clenched my fist.

'Nice.'

A 2-1 come-from-behind victory. I had been easily hit in the beginning, but once I braced myself and used my long reach to launch powerful strikes, I quickly tied the score. After that, my opponent, who had seemed entirely immovable, was overwhelmed by my momentum and faltered, allowing me to dig into his openings.

Ignoring the applause coming from our side of the stands, I capped off my first match with a win and tagged out with Tetsuya, our second vanguard, who was waiting on standby.

I didn't offer him any particular advice. Not only was his opponent different, but I figured talking to him might just break his concentration.

Tetsuya seemed to have felt something upon seeing me—someone who usually suppressed his kiai as much as possible—let out such a roaring shout; he was observing the opposing second vanguard with a grave expression. He seemed to have learned from my earlier match that a single distracted glance could send him straight to hell.

Kneeling on the cushion provided outside the Arena, I lightly bumped fists with Mori, our center player, and took off my Kote. My hands were soaked in sweat. I must have been subconsciously incredibly tense after giving up that first point.

"...da. Let me... help you."

A voice came from behind me. As I turned my head from watching the second vanguard match right before it started, I saw Goro looking down at me with a refreshing smile.

"I said I'd help you take off your Men. You need to let that sweat out."

Goro's kind voice sounded as if he knew exactly what I was thinking. Belatedly snapping out of it, I wiped my hands with the towel he handed me and took off my Men with his help.

"Drink some water."

"Ah, yes. Thank you."

"That really snapped you awake, didn't it?"

"Yeah... Well..."

"Then that's enough."

Goro didn't offer any specific advice, simply patting my shoulder a couple of times with his large hand. For some reason, I felt embarrassed, as if he had read my mind.

"Begin!"

The second vanguard match started immediately. Listening to the kiai let out by Tetsuya and his opponent, I banished my distracting thoughts as much as possible and glared at the match with wide eyes. I couldn't afford to be half-hearted; I needed to watch everything. There might be something worth learning.