"What? You just show up out of nowhere and want us to form a team to go fight in Tokyo? Dude, we just graduated, you know? It was cool training Kendoushi all these years—it was fun and all—but man, I think I'd rather go to university, study, become somebody, that kind of thing."
The guy with the buzzcut and delinquent glare in front of me was Hiro—one of the only childhood friends I had left from middle school days. He'd been practicing Kendoushi since he was 15, and now at 18, freshly graduated like me, he was thinking of putting the bladian aside for good. But I couldn't let that happen. He was Level 38—one of the strongest in Hokkaido! I needed him on my team. That's when an idea hit me.
"Well, Orihime's gonna be really sad when I tell her you turned it down. Oh well, what can you do…"
I started turning my back to Hiro. He'd always had a crush on Orihime—another Kendoushi practitioner. Along with her, Hiro, Nakaido, Lyn, and Sayaka, we were the "survivors" of central Hokkaido's Kendoushi scene. After what happened to my parents, most people started quitting the sport. Every week the number of practitioners dropped, dojos closed one by one, until finally we were the only active ones left. Sure, some people still practiced casually to build muscle or whatever, but unlike us—who trained every day, sparred constantly to refine techniques and build combat strategies—we were basically a team already. Most of them had decided to quit Kendoushi once high school ended. Except for me and Nakaido, the rest were moving on to other paths. I guess that was normal, but I couldn't give up. Going to Tokyo was the first step to changing how people saw Kendoushi. I wanted to make people who dreamed of being baseball players or artists turn their eyes back to bladians. I wanted to see the world like it used to be—walking through parks and seeing crowds practicing everywhere.
"S-she agreed? But she told me she was going to take a photography course in Shibuya… Damn it, if a girl's willing to face that shitty team, then I have to go too! You're such a schemer, Shin. Gotta have a real man in the group, right?"
That was easier than I expected. Looks like his love was the real deal.
"Alright, now we just need two more." I said that, but honestly, I hadn't even talked to Orihime yet. I had to convince her before Hiro found out, or he'd back out! "Hiro, can I use your bathroom? Suddenly gotta go, you know."
Once inside his house, I grabbed my phone and called Orihime directly, praying she'd say yes.
"What? Go to Tokyo? With everything paid for? Like a school trip!? Can we eat those famous crepes in Shinjuku? Let's go, let's go! Can I start packing?"
I couldn't believe how easy that was. All I did was mention free lodging and wandering around the city—which I knew wasn't true. Now I'd have to cover the girl's expenses. But if this helped in the long run, it'd be worth it. I had some savings, and Orihime was Level 37—she wouldn't let me down.
"Orihime, since you're Lyn's best friend, could you convince her? I need five people. I was thinking you, Lyn, Hiro, and Nakaido. Sayaka said she's going with her mom for treatment that day, so you're my only hope!"
"Hm, I think she'll agree if she knows we're staying in a five-star hotel."
"Hey! Who said five-star?" Damn it, now I'd have to cover another one? At this rate, I'd need a loan.
"Shin, you got diarrhea or something?" Before Orihime could hear Hiro's voice—or Hiro hear me talking to her—I quickly said goodbye, hung up, and flushed the toilet.
"Hahaha, sorry, man. Think I ate too much today. Nerves, you know."
"So, this Tokyo team—is it strong?" Hiro looked at me seriously. He was one of the best Kendoushi fighters I'd ever seen. My only loss had been to him, but after that I'd won 38 times with two draws. I figured he just never fought seriously—he always needed motivation.
"You don't know? They're Level 40 and up, but I doubt they're as strong as people say. We started around the same time as them—we should be on the same level. No one in Hokkaido can touch us. You're not scared, are you?"
"Tch, shut up, you jerk. Like I'd be scared of some Tokyo rich kids!? I'm gonna kick their asses. When Orihime sees me looking badass winning first place in that tournament, she'll fall so hard she'll sigh with her mouth open staring at me and…"
"Okay, enough dreaming." I punched him lightly on the head to snap him out of it. Those delusions would hurt too much later. Now we just needed to head to Nakaido's place—I had a feeling he'd be the easiest to convince.
"I'm out."
What!? This idiot didn't know how to say no! Why the hell would he refuse his best friend's offer!? Like Hiro, I'd known Nakaido since we were kids. We weren't super close, but he was the gentle type who couldn't say no or be rude to anyone. But there was a problem: he was a total otaku, and I think I knew why he didn't want to go.
"W-what's stopping you, man? You don't do anything all day!" I might've hit too hard, but it was the truth—no denying it. He was a nearly 2-meter-tall otaku with a skinny build and black hair down to his shoulders. The dark circles under his eyes screamed late-night erotic RPG marathons.
"Are you kidding me? You said the tournament's on a Sunday—the 29th. You know what happens on the 29th?" I probably wouldn't have known, so I just made a dumb face and let him explain. "IT'S THE FINAL EPISODE OF FATE/EXTRA, DUDE! YOU THINK I'D MISS THAT? I'VE BEEN WAITING SINCE THE LAST ONE! I SET A COUNTDOWN CLOCK! I'M PULLING AN ALL-NIGHT VIGIL THE DAY BEFORE! YOU THINK THIS IS A JOKE?" Nakaido started yelling like he was possessed. Classic hardcore otaku. Still, he was Level 40, same as me.
"Shin said he'll take you to Akihabara and buy you a bunch of Love Live DVDs, Blu-rays—right, Shin!?" What the hell was this idiot Hiro doing!? At this rate I'd have to sell my house to fund the trip!
"T-that… that's for real?" Nakaido started sweating bullets. I was shocked, but yeah—he was the type who loved moes and idols above everything.
"Of course! He even said he'd try to get you an autograph from Kana Hanazawa. Shin's famous—he can pull it off." Hiro was spouting impossible promises, but when I saw the sparkle in Nakaido's eyes, I couldn't deny it. I needed a team.
"Ah, screw Fate/Extra. It'll rerun the next day anyway."
"WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR VIGIL AND ALL THAT HYPE YOU WERE JUST ON ABOUT?"
"So… we're a team now?" As I said that, I sensed two presences approaching. I turned and saw Orihime and Lyn.
"So, when do we leave?" Orihime was already holding her suitcase, smiling.
"I remember very clearly saying it's in a week, you know." I couldn't believe it—we were all together again. It had been over two months since we'd drifted apart after high school ended. Now we had the chance to show Hokkaido's strength to the world. Maybe this would change these four's minds about Kendoushi too. I wouldn't give up until I made it happen.
"We're sleeping in the same room as two real 3D girls?" Nakaido didn't look thrilled, and it made me question his sanity—but no, idiot, of course not.
"That otaku's coming too? Why didn't you call Sayaka? Tch, bet he says crap like that but stares at us when our backs are turned. I see everything!" Lyn was the classic problematic tsundere—always snapping for no reason—but otherwise shy and got along with everyone. She was Level 38 and clearly hadn't stopped training, even if she called it "just a hobby to kill time."
"Sayaka can't go. You think I didn't talk to her first?" When I said that, Nakaido started radiating dark energy.
"I can hear everything, you know?"
"O-Orihime-chan, you're really gonna fight? I mean, I thought you'd quit for good…" Hiro still got all flustered talking to the girl he loved. But considering he'd been into her for over three years, that was pretty normal(?).
"Well, it sounds fun!" Orihime didn't seem to take it too seriously, but deep down I knew she hated losing. When we first started Kendoushi in this city, there were over a hundred of us. Back then everyone set up daily duels, mini-tournaments—it was a golden age. Orihime was always there, even though she had to take care of home because her dad was disabled. I think she did it to forget her problems. Not just her—we five, the survivors of Kendoushi, were still standing because we needed to fight.
"Is it true there's actually a prize?" Lyn spoke seriously this time, though she turned her face away—she never looked people directly in the eye. Wasn't that extreme tsundere behavior already?
"From what I saw, yeah, there's compensation. Not sure how much, but does that really matter? If we beat one of Japan's strongest teams, I bet everyone in Hokkaido who quit will come back! Not just here—small hopeless teams everywhere will think they can too. We'll show them people without fancy resources can still go pro. We're at the top levels in Japan—we can't stop here."
"Man, you're always with that optimistic speech, but I've seen videos of that team. Narami—they fight for real. Elite training, Western coaches, top-tier gear. Don't think effort alone will cut it." Nakaido hit a realistic point, but Kendoushi wasn't about that—not for us.
"I agree they're better in every way, but we've beaten almost everyone in Hokkaido. Experience made up for lacking imported bladians and good coaches. They might have the best dojo, but we started way earlier and don't have their arrogance. We're gonna win this shit." Hiro lifted his head and flashed his usual confident grin. The guy just wanted to look cool for Orihime, but his words were spot-on.
"Well, but first we need to train, right? I mean, in the days left…" Orihime looked at me, and yeah, I already knew—we couldn't go in blind without some strategy against Narami.
"As for that, we can train like old times: whoever takes the most hits pays for dinner at the end." Nakaido barely let the sentence finish before slamming his door in our faces.
"I'm out." But Hiro yanked it open and dragged him outside.
"Ara, I was thinking something a bit different… We're facing really strong people." Orihime wanted to set a strategy? That was new—she usually just went along with whatever we said.
"And what do you suggest? I'll accept anything from you!" Hiro got ignored as usual. Orihime looked straight into my eyes with a coldness I'd never seen before.
"I already suggested it. I called everyone in Sapporo who practices or still practices Kendoushi—over 50 in total. I proposed a battle: the five of us against all of them. That would be real training, right?" Orihime smiled sweetly while I got even more hyped—and at the same time wondered if she was the one losing her sanity.