Chapter 73: Preparations for Departure
Hikigaya's body was fine, save for a few minor scrapes on his skin. The nurse in the infirmary had already applied some liquid medicine for him.
It was late afternoon, during the sixth period—Physical Education.
In the triangular area beside the school building, beneath the shade of a large tree, Hikigaya Hachiman stood holding a shinai with both hands, clad in his Kendo gear. Standing opposite him was Chishima Akishin.
A breeze swept across the ground, rustling the fallen leaves with a dry srak-srak sound.
Suddenly, Hachiman's body leaned forward, his knees bending as he launched a Tsuki. In an instant, he closed the two-meter gap and appeared right in front of Akishin.
His gaze from behind the face guard was cold and sharp. However, his shinai didn't follow through with a thrust; instead, he shifted, swinging directly toward Akishin's head. Hachiman already knew that a pure stabbing attack would be useless against him.
Clack!
The two bamboo blades collided. Hachiman lifted his right foot, aiming a kick toward Akishin. At the same time, Akishin's speed was superior; he stepped down on Hachiman's rising foot before it could connect.
Hachiman pressed his shinai downward, using the leverage to swing his left leg toward Akishin. Sensing the move, Akishin released his hold on Hachiman's right foot and met the sweep head-on.
Thud!
Their legs clashed and immediately retracted. Hikigaya swung his blade downward once more.
Clack!
The shinai struck again and instantly bounced apart. Hachiman retreated a meter, resetting into a high-guard posture.
Behind his mask, Hachiman took several heavy breaths, trying to steady his racing heart.
Akishin gripped his own weapon casually. "Not bad. You've made a breakthrough compared to yesterday."
For the past three days, Akishin had moved beyond teaching pure Kendo. He had begun integrating it with practical hand-to-hand combat techniques.
Those kicks and sweeps just now were the fruits of that three-day labor.
Hachiman didn't respond, breathing rapidly to recover his stamina. The gap between his endurance and Akishin's felt like the distance between heaven and earth.
It was as if Akishin's stamina was bottomless.
Usually, after a single period ended, Hachiman would be so exhausted he couldn't even lift a water bottle, while Akishin wouldn't have shed a single drop of sweat. But that was then; now, Hachiman was actually capable of making Akishin break a sweat.
While the weather might have played a part, he was certain he had become stronger.
Yeah, that's right. Definitely, he thought, his expression turning grimly serious.
Akishin glanced toward the school building. At several windows, students stood watching the spectacle. He didn't chase them away; instead, he raised a hand in a casual greeting.
Most of the students raised their hands back.
By now, almost everyone at Sobu High knew that Chishima Akishin was teaching Hachiman Kendo during PE.
Their training spot under the big tree had become a bit of a local attraction. Every time PE rolled around, a crowd would gather at the upstairs windows to watch.
Among the spectators, a few faces appeared regularly. They were members of the Sobu High Kendo Club, and the looks they directed at Hachiman were thick with envy.
Speaking of the Kendo Club, they had actually approached Akishin before, begging him to be their advisor and coach.
Over the last two years, the club hadn't achieved anything of note, a sharp decline from their glory days.
First, there was the issue of personnel.
The number of students joining the club was dwindling, and most were complete novices. Once they joined, they had to start from the absolute basics.
Members like that usually ended up in support roles. Without Herculean effort, they wouldn't achieve a thing even after three years.
As for those who had practiced Kendo since elementary school or at a dojo, there were only five in the entire club—barely enough to form a single team.
Second was the issue of sheer power. Even when those five went to compete, in last year's Gyoku-ryu-ki tournament, they only made it to the second round before their entire team was wiped out by a single opponent.
They were on the verge of giving up until a new teacher arrived at Sobu High—one who turned out to be a legendary figure in the Kendo world.
The Club Captain and a teacher had visited Akishin personally to ask for guidance. However, Akishin turned them down, citing that he had no time in the afternoons because he had to run his shop.
But Akishin did give them one option: on Saturdays, when school was only a half-day, he could come to the club to guide them. His method of instruction would be the same as Hachiman's—direct combat.
Whether they were willing or not was up to them.
That was Akishin's answer to the school.
And the Kendo Club had agreed.
Akishin had visited once after that. He found that their daily routine consisted of nothing but endless repetitive swings. When he told them to spar, their skills were worse than a performance team at a Kendo arena.
Akishin defeated all five of them single-handedly with one sword, then assigned them training tasks to build strength and stamina.
Whether they actually did them or not was none of his business; he didn't push them.
Since then, whenever Akishin trained Hachiman, several of them would come to watch. Looking at Hachiman's training regime, they felt a mix of jealousy and pure terror.
It was the kind of training where someone was quite literally beaten into the dirt over and over again. Just watching it made their bones ache.
...
After resting for a few seconds, Hikigaya charged again. He swung his blade down, and Akishin raised his own to meet it.
Crack!
Snap!
Hachiman's shinai finally shattered. It had been in use for five days, and despite the maintenance, it couldn't withstand the constant high-intensity impacts.
Akishin narrowed his eyes, a small smile playing on his lips. Under Hachiman's mournful and indignant gaze, Akishin swept him to the ground with a single strike.
"Hikigaya, remember this: in battle, protecting your weapon is a vital point. Your swings are too reckless."
...
Once Hikigaya Hachiman regained his breath, he pulled off his face guard. The look he shot Akishin was filled with a sense of lingering resentment.
Revenge. This is definitely revenge for what happened this afternoon...
Akishin tossed a bottle of water to him. "Go home and ask your parents for three days off."
"Why?"
"You're coming with me to Tokyo. The official matches for the All-Japan Kendo Championship start on the eleventh, so we leave for Tokyo tomorrow. Oh, and Hiratsuka-sensei is coming along too."
"Fine."
Hachiman agreed without hesitation. His parents wouldn't say no, and since Hiratsuka-sensei was the chaperone, getting the school's permission was a non-issue
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
50 Power Stone = 1 Bonus Chapter (Up to 5 bonus chapters per week).
Read ahead and support the story on Patreon: patreon.com/FaaanzKun
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —