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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Nekorune
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As I got off the bus, I felt the gaze of several women. Their gaze was definitely not directed at me, though.
The women looking our way had their eyes solely on Renka. Eyes filled with admiration and wariness. It wasn’t easy for a student to be so well-known by name and face… She must have been famous not only for her skill but also for her beauty.
I knew Renka was promising, but it was the first time I had seen such reactions from people, so it was fascinating.
There were also some who glanced at Chinami next to her. I wasn’t sure if it was because she was cute or as famous as Renka. Given her small stature, her use of the unorthodox Jōdan stance, and her excellent skill, it was likely the latter…
“Inoo, you lead the girls’ team on your own.”
“Yes, Director.”
I, who had been lost in various thoughts, snapped back to reality upon hearing Goro and Renka’s conversation. I asked Yamazaki, the third-year senior who would participate as the captain.
“Do the girls’ team and boys’ team have separate matches?”
“Huh? Of course. It’s not a mixed-gender match.”
That meant Renka and Chinami wouldn’t be able to see me perform any amazing plays, did it? If this had been before I started dating Miyuki, I would have just shrugged it off, but in this situation, who would fall for me? The bread girl? The vice class president?
Damn it, no matter how much of a crappy game this was, couldn’t it compromise on something like this? It was truly unyielding. Just like Doki Doki Academy.
As I was thinking that…
“The girls’ team will probably start first, though? They have fewer participants than the boys’ team, so their preparations finish faster.”
I inwardly cheered at Yamazaki’s subsequent words. Of course, this was a romantic comedy; you couldn’t have the heroine miss the protagonist’s cool moments. Still, she wouldn’t see my early matches. That was a bit disappointing.
“I see.”
“But why are you asking this?”
“No. I was just curious because the Director told the Captain to lead the girls’ team on her own.”
“Didn’t you read the recruitment guidelines?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“…That’s so you.”
“How far do we have to win to qualify for the next tournament?”
“Our boys’ team’s goal is 4th place, right?”
“Yes.”
“That’s it.”
So, we only needed to reach the semifinals. However, if we qualified for the next tournament exactly in 4th place, they would surely pit one of the 1st or 2nd place teams from other regional tournaments against us. That was a characteristic of preliminary tournaments, where 1st and 2nd place teams had an advantage.
To prepare for what came after, it was better to aim for a higher rank to get an easier draw in the next tournament. However, given the nature of Kendo team matches, where one person from each position fought in sequence, the average skill level of the players would have to be high.
Considering that, our boys’ Kendo club’s goal was unrealistic. Unlike the girls’ team, we had never achieved any notable results so far, and our team had Tetsuya and me, who had no experience.
Although they said the goal was 4th place, they honestly probably weren’t holding high expectations. Otherwise, why would they include me and Tetsuya? It would be better to form a team with more experienced players, like second-years or above.
If this current tournament had been a regional preliminary for the national tournament, our team would have been in a state of mourning by now. It was only natural, as we were already a weak team, and with two beginners added, we had become the weakest.
However, since today’s tournament was a regional one, the team atmosphere wasn’t bad, as simply participating was considered meaningful enough. Still, there was a slight tension. It was the boys’ team’s wish to achieve good results here, at least.
Anyway, as I had thought before, it was honestly a tournament I was half-forced to participate in, but I couldn’t be a nuisance to the team, so I had to do my best.
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The interior of the tournament venue, which I entered with Goro, couldn’t exactly be called large. The facilities were quite good. The spectator stands were also numerous for the size of the venue. Given the considerable Kendo enthusiasm in the local district itself, even a small regional tournament had decent facilities.
While Goro was talking to an official, I looked around the venue and lightly tapped Tetsuya’s shoulder, who was already looking nervous.
“There are quite a lot of people.”
“Even though it’s a simple regional tournament, it starts from the round of 32… so there’s no choice but for there to be many. And you’re going first, too. Aren’t you nervous?”
“Yeah… sort of. Let’s do our best together.”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
If it had been an individual match, I would have gently provoked him, but I couldn’t do that in a team match. Because he could crumble during the match. Every single point was important, and he was the next participant right after me, so it was better to encourage him now, stabilize his mental state, and increase our chances of winning.
Before long, Goro, who had finished his conversation with the official and received the inspected equipment, led us to a corner seat. He then told the club members to put on their equipment and began to help me and Tetsuya.
“Only the Senpou matches will be held simultaneously, and as I said on the bus, unlike friendly matches between club members, the matches themselves will unfold chaotically. You can consider there to be no breaks. The moment the start signal is heard and you sit down and stand up, the match begins immediately, so you need to concentrate from the very beginning.”
His tone was softer than usual. It was clear that he wanted us to do our best.
As I was putting on my equipment with Goro’s help, I felt the scornful gazes of students from other academies around us. They seemed to find us, who couldn’t even put on our own bogu, amusing. Opponents who looked down on the protagonist’s team… it was one of the classic clichés, but it felt a bit dirty.
Regardless of what they thought, Goro meticulously helped me and Tetsuya put on our do and then, after properly putting on our men, tied a white string to the strap that crossed to its back and said:
“Just do as you’ve been taught. Then you’ll win easily.”
Goro’s encouragement was very Goro-like. Thinking that, I looked at the bracket set up where the referees were seated.
Our first opponent was an academy called Kaisei. I wasn’t sure if they were a strong team or a weak team, but given that Goro didn’t tell us information about the opposing team, and the expressions of the second-year seniors who checked the bracket slightly stiffened, it seemed to be the former. It seemed it would be tough from the start. Although, for us, a weak team, there weren’t any easy matches anyway.
Originally, the protagonist’s team was the underdog, and it was the national rule for sports anime shows that the underdog pulls off an upset and draws amazing reactions. At the very least, I vowed to definitely win against whomever I faced.
As the match time approached, the air inside the gymnasium grew heavy. As the organizer’s short speech began from the speakers set up in the gymnasium, the slight commotion also quickly died down, becoming quiet.
-Then, each team to your positions.
A solemn voice was heard immediately after the speech ended. At that, the five players lined up on the outer edge of the arena. Following the instructions, they bowed to the opposing team and the referees, and also bowed towards the spectator stands high above.
Taking advantage of that moment, I scanned the spectator stands. Parents and students were visible. As thirty-two academies had come to compete, quite a few people were there to cheer.
I quickly scanned the stands and found Miyuki, the bread girl, and the vice class president, along with a few other classmates, seated. They must have come straight after classes ended… Miyuki held a cheering stick, filled with air, which she had gotten from somewhere. It seemed to have a baseball team logo on it. Was it the team Miyuki’s family supported?
Miyuki looked around and then placed the cheering stick at her feet. The atmosphere inside the venue itself was quiet, so she probably judged that she shouldn’t use it.
She then waved both hands wildly at me and Tetsuya. I chuckled at her cute behavior, and as I heard applause and Yamazaki and other team members told me to do my best, I bumped fists with them. Afterwards, as our team and the opposing team moved to the outer edge, I bounced around and warmed up.
Soon, two of the three referees, the two assistant referees on either side, crossed the arena and positioned themselves on the opposite side.
Seeing the main referee unfurl his flag, I exchanged a light bow with the opposing Senpou. And then, waiting for the start signal that would come from the speaker, I reviewed what I had learned.
‘Kikentai no ichi… Kikentai no ichi…’
For scoring, Kikentai no ichi—that is, spirit, sword, body in unison—was important. Especially the kiai. I had to passionately shout my kiai during a strike, which I had been too embarrassed to do properly until now, to be able to get a good score.
Also, the virtue of the Senpou—the first participant in a team—was courage. One must not be afraid of any opponent. And their skill, needless to say, had to be excellent.
In that sense, my opponent was an excellent adversary. Despite the fundamental difference in physique with me, he showed no signs of being intimidated. His skill, having stepped forward as the Senpou, would naturally be outstanding.
Wasn’t it the national rule for such sports events that the first match opponent was arrogant? No, perhaps it was because there was an underlying perception that the Yeboni Academy boys’ Kendo club was a weak team, which was why he was acting that way.
The best thing to do was to finish quickly, so that the next hitter could carry on my momentum and intimidate the opponent. The opponent must have been thinking the same thing.
I was nervous because Tetsuya was behind me, but I decided to go by the book. After all, I didn’t know any other way.
-Match…
A voice was heard as I was steadying my breathing. I took one last breath, then,
-Start!
As the start signal sharply pierced my ears, I moved towards the boundary line in the arena. And then, taking out my shinai from my waist and extending it towards the opponent, I sat down on the boundary line and stood up.
“Do your best!”
“You can do it!”
At the same time, the second-year seniors and Yamazaki, who were sitting on the outer edge, shouted loudly. The opposing team did the same, passionately shouting “go get ‘em!” and cheering for their team’s Senpou. I had thought the match would be played solemnly throughout, but that wasn’t the case.
I immediately took the Jōdan stance and spread my elbows wide as Goro had taught me, and I saw the opponent’s eyebrows twitching through his men.
Did he feel a slight sense of intimidation because I looked bigger? Or was he flustered by facing a stance he wasn’t familiar with?
His right hand, which was supporting the shinai’s grip, was twitching. Was he thinking of thrusting if I approached? Indeed, a typical weakness of the Jōdan stance was a direct throat thrust from the Chūdan stance.
I shouldn’t think too long. As Chinami had taught me, I decided to rush in as soon as it started. As soon as I saw the opponent’s back foot—which had indeed taken the Chūdan stance—slightly receding, I immediately stomped my foot.
Taking a large step forward, I glanced at the opponent’s face and saw that he was flustered. Perhaps my momentum was better than he had anticipated?
*swish-!*
Pushing with my right hand and snapping my left as hard as I could, I realized that if I struck like this, I would succeed in a head strike, but I wouldn’t be scored for it. The distance was a bit off, and it seemed it would hit the middle of the shinai, which means no points.
What should I do then? I needed to slightly relax my left hand and pull my back foot less than usual to shorten the range. In a split second, I finished assessing the situation and executed my thoughts,
“Haaah!”
I let out a kiai so loud that the not-so-large gymnasium echoed.
*crack-!*
At the same time, a crisp sound was heard. I quickly retreated and showed my determination by taking the Jōdan stance again.
I had accurately struck the scoring area of his armor with a valid part of my shinai. And it had been a powerful strike. Its sound echoed widely around. Although my final stance was a bit clumsy, I wondered if I could get a point with this? Just then,
*flap*
The referees swiftly raised their white flags. It meant it was a nearly perfect ippon, enough for all three referees to be certain I had scored. Feeling my chest surge, I grinned as I heard the loud voices of our club members from the outer edge.
“Alright!”
“Well done, Matsuda!”
Their shouts of encouragement, it wasn’t bad. I also liked the part where I observed every move of the opponent and exchanged psychological warfare during the short time right before the match started.
The exhilarating feeling of impact that traveled from my fingertips after landing a proper strike was also good… Honestly, I had been indifferent to Kendo, but I wasn’t sure if it was because my intended attack had worked, but Kendo was starting to become fun.
Following the main referee’s instructions, I returned to the center and glanced at the spectator stands, where Miyuki was clapping like a seal very quickly. I was still wearing my men and the distance was far, so it wasn’t clear, but she seemed surprised and happy at the same time.
Seeing my opponent’s sour expression, visible through the men, I chuckled silently, then steadied my breathing and knelt down at the boundary line. Afterwards, as soon as I stood up, I rushed towards the charging opponent and swung my arm.
*crack*
*thwack-!*
Another strike landed on the head. This time, two referees raised white flags.
“To your positions.”
Having scored two consecutive points and decorated the first Senpo match with a victory, I listened to the main referee, went to the boundary line, and bowed to the opponent. And then, I had a short conversation with Tetsuya, who was taking deep breaths on the outer edge.
“Congratulations.”
“You make sure to win too.”
“I will.”
His voice had dropped considerably. His eyes were serious too. He must have been fired up with competitive spirit after seeing my play. I lightly patted his back as encouragement and then went to where the club members were and took off my men.
The club members were looking at me with admiring eyes. They hadn’t expected me to do so well, it seemed.
“Good work. You did well.”
I gave a thumbs-up at Yamazaki’s compliment and watched Tetsuya’s and his opponent’s match. Tetsuya, who finished his greetings and took the Chūdan stance, only subtly moved the tip of his shinai. I suddenly felt deflated and let out a small, dry laugh.
I didn’t understand. Even if it was understandable for the opponent to play cautiously since his preceding teammate had been helplessly defeated… Why was Tetsuya like that? If our Senpou had achieved a passionate victory, shouldn’t he have taken that momentum and aggressively charged in?
The opponent clearly looked intimidated, so why didn’t he attack…? As expected, I couldn’t get along with that guy.
*clack*
After a long exploratory phase, the two clashed lightly. Objectively, compared to the Senpou match that had just happened, it was a boring match that would make one yawn. Thinking that I wished the match would end quickly, I looked up at the spectator stands where Miyuki was.
She was still clapping and watching Tetsuya’s match. Her tension seemed a little lower, but was Miyuki also deflated like me by his timid appearance? That couldn’t be. Miyuki was so kind.
“Hey, wipe the sweat from your hands.”
As I was having various thoughts, a second-year senior handed me a towel and said that, so I checked my hands. Quite a lot of cold sweat was on them. I hadn’t noticed it, but I must have been nervous without realizing it.
I took the towel and wiped my hands, then watched Tetsuya and his opponent, who were beginning to actively exchange offense and defense.
*thwack-!*
*clack-!*
Tetsuya’s clingy playstyle was gradually emerging. He stuck close, not giving distance, and when a gap appeared in the scoring area, he made light attacks, slowly trying to drag the opponent into his swamp.
Still, he had talent, so he was doing quite well. Though I kind of wished he’d fall over.
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Thanks neko!
Thx for the chapter ❤️