Chapter 192: The Most Crucial Battle
The back garden of Sobu High. The Hikigaya siblings walked together, chatting and laughing.
"By the way, Brother, can you help me put this on?"
"I was waiting for you to ask that."
With one hand holding the hair clip and the other gently brushing away the bangs from his sister's forehead, Hikigaya clipped back her soft, silky hair.
"Hehe~ Let's take a photo." Komachi took a selfie with her phone, leaning her head against Hikigaya's shoulder and flashing a peace sign with a grin.
"Great! Should I send the photo to you, Brother?"
Hikigaya shook his head and said with a helpless look, "Advanced Nurturing's school rules prohibit students from contacting people outside the school. My phone is customized and installed with special monitoring software; it can't send or receive external information."
"That's so strict!
Wait, if you're secretly contacting Komachi this time, aren't you breaking school rules?" Komachi asked nervously.
"I am indeed breaking them. But this level is at most just taking advantage of a loophole. The school will likely turn a blind eye." Hikigaya explained patiently.
"As expected of Brother, you still love your loopholes!"
"Hehe~"
"I wasn't complimenting you!"
Warm and happy times always pass particularly fast.
9:45 AM.
"It's almost ten o'clock; the welcome ceremony is about to start." Hikigaya remained leisurely. In his view, it didn't matter whether he attended this so-called welcome ceremony or not.
"Brother, you're going to perform on stage too, right?
I'll find Totsuka-niisan and watch you from the audience."
.
.
.
Sobu High Gymnasium.
Teachers and students from the whole school were gathered. As VIP guests, the Advanced Nurturing group was seated in the very front row.
"On this bright and beautiful morning, let us use warm applause to welcome the students from Tokyo's Advanced Nurturing High School..." A bald, elderly principal spoke cliché platitudes.
The speech lasted nearly an hour, making the audience below drowsy.
"Hikigaya, we're sending five representatives to perform martial arts on stage later. Do you want to go?"
"No, my tenure in the club is still shallow; let the senpais go instead."
Hikigaya tactfully showed modesty, though mainly because he found it troublesome.
The members of the Martial Arts Club cast friendly looks at him upon hearing this. For them, this was a great chance to show off, and they couldn't let it pass!
"Next, we invite our school's Judo Club and the members of Advanced Nurturing's Martial Arts Club to perform martial arts on stage for everyone."
Exciting BGM echoed through the gymnasium. On stage, members of both clubs exerted themselves, performing a variety of martial arts movements. At a glance, both sides looked quite professional. However, only an insider could tell the truth.
Most members of the Sobu High Judo Club were just showing off flashy but useless moves. The Advanced Nurturing Martial Arts Club members, however, were almost all solid, trained fighters.
"How is it, Yukinoshita-san...?" Saki Makoto, the Judo Club President, asked cautiously.
"The disparity in strength is too great. We have zero chance of winning in a direct confrontation," Yukinoshita Yukino made a ruthless judgment without mercy.
"Ah? Is it really that big?"
"If we lose too badly, our Judo Club's activity budget for next month will be cut!" Saki Makoto looked anxious.
Sobu High's Judo Club focused on personal interest and self-entertainment. Or rather, most high school clubs were at this level. Since they weren't a sports-specialized school, was there a need to pursue such high standards?
"Seriously, what's with this Advanced Nurturing?
A high school's priority should be studying. Why set up a combat club? It's not like they're vocational school thugs!" Saki Makoto complained and grumbled.
He became the Judo Club President purely to coast on the budget; he usually spent more time eating and drinking in the club than practicing. For a school performance, doing some flashy
moves on stage was fine. He originally thought the visiting Advanced Nurturing group would be at a similar level.
Who knew the other side was a group of stat-monsters? This wasn't a spar anymore!
"Your request came too late. If it were a month or two earlier, I could have helped train the Judo Club members." The philosophy of Yukinoshita Yukino's Service Club was "Better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish."
'Train my ass! Practicing this doesn't add points to the entrance exams!'
Saki Makoto didn't care for that. After some thought, he walked over to the Advanced Nurturing section and communicated with Captain Mutou, bowing and scraping with a humble look. Yukinoshita Yukino frowned at the sight, her fists clenching slightly inside her sleeves.
Surrendering when meeting a strong enemy—that wasn't her style!
"Don't worry, Saki-brother.
The spar will naturally stop at the point of contact." Mutou was a flexible old veteran who quickly understood the other's meaning.
"It seems martial arts isn't just about fighting and killing; it's also about social grace and worldliness," Hikigaya mused while watching from the side.
The demonstration ended. The applause from below was sparse; some people even yawned. After all, watching people punch the air wasn't very exciting—it was just like radio calisthenics.
Next was the main event: The friendly spar between Advanced Nurturing and Sobu High! Each side would send one member onto the stage to compete.
"Wow! Finally something worth watching!" The atmosphere in the gym finally heated up. Young boys and girls in their prime were instinctively interested in a fight.
First Match: Advanced Nurturing sent a second-year named Kyowaki. The opponent from Sobu High was a second-year named Yamashita. Both looked similar in build, but once they engaged, the result was one-sided! Kyowaki knocked out Yamashita in one round!
"Haha! I won!" Kyowaki cheered triumphantly on stage. The students of Sobu High below didn't look so pleased.
"Kyowaki, you idiot!
Didn't I tell you to hold back?" Captain Mutou suppressed his anger.
Second Match: Kyowaki stayed on stage. Sobu High sent a big guy who was much taller than Kyowaki. However, Kyowaki still managed to win using his technical advantage after ten minutes.
Losing two matches in a row, the school leaders of Sobu High looked unhappy. Saki Makoto had no choice but to bite the bullet and go up himself. Believe it or not... despite his harmless appearance, his combat power wasn't low. With a shoulder throw, he slammed Kyowaki into a daze.
Fourth Match: Saki Makoto defended the stage and successfully won back two rounds. Cheering erupted from the Sobu High audience, and the atmosphere became lively.
Fifth Match: Captain Mutou went up personally. Fist and feet collided in a fierce battle for over half an hour. Their strength seemed equal. However, Hikigaya knew that Captain Mutou was holding back a whole ocean! He was giving his opponent plenty of face.
"Mutou-brother, thank you!" Saki Makoto whispered to him during a close-range grapple and then intentionally fell.
"You're too kind!
Sobu High's Judo Club is indeed powerful!" Captain Mutou was victorious but humble, bowing to the crowd.
"This Mutou-senpai is so graceful!
Our President Saki wasn't bad either; it was a glorious defeat."
Sobu High students clapped in respect.
Sixth Match: Mutou defended the stage and won easily. Seventh Match: The opponent was a thin, small fellow.
Mutou displayed superb acting skills. After grinding for ten minutes, he won with a "slight" advantage. Immediately afterward, he claimed he was out of stamina and withdrew from the eighth match.
"This is the kind of student Advanced Nurturing produces.
This boy has a bright future!" The Sobu High leaders were old foxes; they could naturally see through Mutou's micro-management and praised him one after another.
The sparring match drew toward its conclusion.
"Pay attention to the 'temperature control' (holding back), you understand." Captain Mutou patted the shoulder of a slightly plump senior sister. Hikigaya remembered that Senpai Cheng was ranked in the top five of the club—a ruthless fighter who had once flattened Ibuki Mio!
"Got it, got it. Remember to treat me to dinner afterward." Ryuu Sei gave an 'OK' sign.
Sobu High also sent out a female contestant. Hikigaya was stunned when he saw the person walking onto the stage.
"Sobu High, Yukinoshita Yukino. Please guide me." Yukinoshita Yukino announced her name while taking a standard fighting stance. To an insider, her movements shouted "trained professional!"
"Interesting~ Seems Sobu High isn't without talent." Ryuu Sei's eyes narrowed: "Advanced Nurturing, Ryuu Sei. Please guide me."
Though they were women, they didn't hold back at all once they started! Thud! Fists and feet collided, creating loud impact sounds. The audience watched with great excitement, cheering loudly.
'This Yukinoshita... her combat power isn't lower than Horikita's.'
Hikigaya watched with interest. He expected monsters in a place like Advanced Nurturing, but he hadn't expected someone from a normal school like Sobu High to train their martial arts to this level.
After a bitter struggle, Yukinoshita Yukino caught a flaw in Ryuu Sei's defense and used an arm-bar to successfully subdue her.
"Thank you for the match, Ryuu Sei-senpai." Yukinoshita Yukino's breathing was slightly ragged, and fine sweat had broken out on her forehead.
"Hahaha! You little girl, I didn't expect you to be so pretty and so good at martial arts!" Ryuu Sei stood up laughing and gave her a thumbs up.
"Waaaaah!" The crowd below erupted into even more fervent cheers. Hikigaya's ears twitched, keenly catching his sister's cute cheering from the cacophony. He turned his head and saw Komachi standing up in the audience, clapping with worship in her eyes: "Yukinoshita-senpai, Saikou (the best)!"
"It seems we've been played...
I didn't expect the Sobu High Judo Club to have such a hidden master." Captain Mutou looked annoyed.
From the earlier demonstration, he had gauged the level of the Judo Club. He had calculated the "temperature control" perfectly, but who would have thought the opponent was keeping a trump card for the end?
"No, she isn't a member of the Judo Club.
Forget it, that's not the point."
Hikigaya could roughly understand that Yukinoshita Yukino's Service Club was something like an "Odd Jobs" club, taking a request from the Judo Club to step in.
"Hikigaya, this is the most crucial battle!" Captain Mutou placed his hands firmly on Hikigaya's shoulders, his expression incredibly serious.
"The future of our Martial Arts Club depends on you!!"
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