บท 26: Kendo Tournament
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One week quickly passed by. A cold atmosphere can be felt inside the kendo club's dojo. No one had any idea why, but it was getting colder as the day went by. All the members were afraid to approach the corner of the dojo where the chill was originating from. Only one person emotionlessly remained by that side training with dedication. That was none other than the girl who had adapted the nickname 'robot girl'.
"Captain do you know what's wrong?" one of the members asked Mahiru.
"I don't know. I didn't really notice anything until yesterday when I asked for another spar"
"Could it be the pressure since the tournament is tomorrow?"
"Hmm… maybe. I'll go ask him then" Mahiru walked towards the corner where Kazuya had been training with a wooden sword.
She stopped as chills went down her spine as he continued to swing his sword in different directions. Each strike emitting a strange pressure that she felt could injure her even if he was still a distance away.
"?" Tomoyo turned towards the team captain after seeing her approaching. Mahiru ignored her since she knew that the robot girl would interfere if she tried to get too close to him.
"Kouzuki Kazuya, can I ask for a match?" surprisingly, it wasn't Mahiru that talked but was another member.
"Hmm?" Kazuya's gaze landed on the person who now bypassed Tomoyo and Mahiru. "You are… err… short hair senpai"
"It's Ainu! At least remember the names of your teammates Jeez!" Ainu stomped on the wooden floor.
"Wear your gear… I accept" Kazuya didn't plan on making small talk and immediately accepted which piqued the interest of the other members. He would usually reject people and make them challenge Tomoyo first. They were immediately worried for the short haired girl who they were afraid that would get Kazuya's bad mood get poured on.
"Sensei, please referee for us" She said before turning towards Kazuya. "Please treat this a serious match. I don't want pointers and just want to experience a match with the most likely candidate to take the individual championship" She wore her equipment and faced him seriously.
"I see…" having realized something, Kazuya complied and wore his own gear. Everyone was surprised because he would refuse to do so every time he did a spar. Even Tomoyo couldn't help but stare at him curiously for this. She had already completed his request and got acknowledgement for her swing but he still didn't wear the appropriate gear when they sparred again.
"Ready?" Miyamoto oversaw them. Kazuya took his usual stance and held the sword with his left hand. "BEGIN!"
Ainu wasted no time and attacked. Everyone's mouths instantly gaped. However, it was not because of any attack but rather he purposely stepped over the line of the duel area. Everyone noticed this aside from Ainu as she continued to chase him.
"Point Ainu!" Miyamoto immediately shouted but Ainu didn't hear him. As her focus remained on Kazuya who was smirking inside his headgear.
"HAA!" she tried to strike. Kazuya on the other hand raised the bamboo sword horizontally in front of her vision and showed her how he let it drop to the ground as if dropping a microphone tauntingly.
*Klak* the sound of the sword falling to the ground was like a pin drop in the silenced hall. It was only then that Ainu had noticed that he had gone over the line on his own volition.
"Congratulations. You have won this match. Are you satisfied to have won the match against the 'most likely champion?' Can you focus all your attention towards the tournament now? I warn you, focusing on anything else will be detrimental to your future" He didn't bother looking back and went back to his corner.
"Kazuya-kun that was a bit mean" Mahiru walked up to him.
"That wasn't directed only at her. It was directed to everyone. There's no need to focus on anything else right now" he mercilessly replied and glanced towards those who were still looking in their direction instead of training,
"Did something happen? Why does your mood seem to be getting worse every day?" She asked straightforwardly because she would never get through this guy if she beat around the bush.
"See? Didn't I already say to focus on winning the tournament?"
"Can't you see that I care for the state of mind of my teammates as their captain?" Mahiru knew that he may seem a bit scary, he was actually a very reasonable guy.
"Hmm… Fine. It's just that I've had bad luck in fishing recently. The fish have been extra careful and the people with me keep scaring the ones I'm about to catch so it's quite annoying" he sighed regretfully.
"Fishing?" Mahiru tilted her head since she never took him to be the type to go fishing. "Are you trying to catch them by hand by any chance?"
"Something like that" he gave a wry smile.
Kazuya had been pretty excited when he noticed that he was being observed. It wasn't only at school but there were several people outside that took notice of his presence. This was without a doubt Lee making a move. He was a little impressed since he could even extend his hands over students in his department to do his bidding.
His excitement however de-escalated as the days went by. Tomoyo had been a major reason for it because she would always insist on sticking close to him. He found a couple of opportunities to shake her off at school but nothing happened. He even went as far as approaching them alone but they made no moves.
The meticulousness of them didn't look like the work of Lee so he was at a loss. That guy would always straightforwardly bully him so what was the difference now? This made Kazuya have second thoughts about these weird observers being under the command of that bastard.
Kazuya's mood got worse as the days without movement went by. He had a bad feeling about how everything was going so his senses was on edge. He didn't know when they were going to strike so the only thing he could do was wait.
Talking to Mahiru seemed to have lightened his mood a little. He thought that this girl was clever and humorous. She took his words literally and would probably faint if she found out what he really meant whenever they talked. She would usually talk to him about how he became strong or if she and the team would get stronger if they were to do all his weird training.
"That sounds pretty amazing. Are you strong without your sword too?" she looked as the wooden sword in his hand.
"Me? I'd have to say that I can't beat the strong enemies I've faced before without it" he answered honestly.
"I find that hard to believe"
"Believe it or not… it's true. I probably won't even be able to make them look at me in my state…" he knew that he couldn't even make their heads turn towards him if they saw him now.
"You're looking down on yourself too much. We're only human and can get sick. Don't beat yourself too much about it" It was unusual for Kazuya to show any weakness so she blamed it on his mood and tried to comfort him instead.
"That's not what I… never mind. It will be a while before I face them again. All I need to do is catch up" he laughed.
Everyone was amazed, she was able to turn the seemingly hopeless situation after talking to him. They considered her captain status had become in-name only after Kazuya joined. All of them gained new found respect for Mahiru after she made the chilling atmosphere disperse by talking to him.
"
…" Tomoyo, was a little surprised, He had never shown that side of himself whenever she talked to him. Well, communicating with their weird way. He was always hard on her training and she didn't mind but she envied how Mahiru was able to communicate with him like that.
"Looks like your faithful robot is going to send me away soon" Mahiru giggled as both of them noticed Tomoyo approaching.
"Huh? Faithful robot?" Kazuya turned to the person in question who seemed to have stopped in her tracks. She stared at him as if waiting for his response.
"You were the one who called her robot girl. We observers changed it a bit to your faithful robot since she only follows and listens to you" Mahiru giggles after stumbling onto something interesting. She was always shooed away by Tomoyo and this was a rare chance to get back at her.
"You seem to be misunderstanding something. She just follows me around but doesn't listen to me. It's her grandfather that she listens to and not me so she's her grandfather's robot not mine" he quickly denied it.
"Really? So following you around are orders from her grandfather?" Mahiru asked as she monitored Tomoyo's every response at the side of her sight. Tomoyo froze after hearing his reply and she had sunken deep into her own thoughts.
"Yeah so calling her as such is wro—" the robot girl suddenly moved in front of him. She looked directly into his eyes and she would only do this if she wanted to make a point.
"oh? Looks like she disagrees with you Kazuya-kun?" Mahiru giggled.
"Is that so? You don't like to be called your grandfather's robot?"
*nod*
"Aren't you just following his orders?"
*n…od* she couldn't deny it.
"You ignore it when I say you don't need to follow me around all the time right?"
*nod*
"Is it because your grandfather said so?"
*nod*
"Then why are we even having this discussion?" he raised his eyebrow and looked at her like a cop who just cornered a criminal into confessing.
"…" she looked down on the ground.
For Kazuya, getting this girl to speak on her own was a challenge he decided to take on. Even if he did understand her to an extent, it would be less trouble for him if she actually spoke with her mouth.
"Kazuya-kun, I think she's trying to say that she doesn't like to be called her grandfather's robot because she doesn't think she is" Tomoyo looked at Mahiru as if wondering what this girl was suddenly up to.
"Oh you understand her?" Kazuya was surprised that she got it right. Tomoyo didn't deny it so that was proof that she did not make the wrong assumption.
"Not her per se… but I do know how girls think. She probably doesn't even mind being called robot girl by you"
"Is she right?" he turned towards the girl in question who had taken a step back to his side.
*nod*
"How about you prove it Shiroyuki-san?" She smiled. "at the Tournament tomorrow, you are to stay with the team and not follow Kazuya-kun unless he calls for you. Like he said earlier, everyone should solely focus on winning the tournament so unless he has advice to give you, do not follow him around. That should count as following his instructions"
"…" Tomoyo thought deeply. She found no reason to refuse her suggestion. They would be there as a whole team and her grandfather would be present as an advisor to their coach as well. She gave a nod to them after thinking it over.
"Good! Hopefully our team can get this year's team championship too!" Mahiru clapped her hands in excitement and left the two to themselves. Kazuya went back to his corner and continued his training and Tomoyo followed soon afterwards.
Kazuya went home early today since Jirou had instructed him to take a rest. They both knew the burden his training puts on the body so he was taken home instead of training at the dojo. Mei and Kyouko on the other hand worked overtime so they could show their support in the tournament. They were not able to see him when they got home and when he left for school.
The tournament's schedule was, team matches in the morning and the individual matches in the afternoon. Kazuya and the rest of the kendo club were exempt from classes because of this.
They met up at the club's dojo before getting on the academy's bus to head for the tournament venue. The bus dropped them off in front of a stadium where various teams from different schools have been gathered.
A lot of eyes were on their bus as their academy was famous for always having a good rank for each major sport they invested in. The other teams however focused their gazes on a single person that got off the Sacred Forest Academy's team bus.
"It's her. She's back"
"I wonder if she can get the top spot this time"
"Word is that the Shiroyukis separated her from their famous elite class for special training"
The students murmured as they passed by. Tomoyo remained unmoved despite the students not really lowering their voices. She silently stood with the team and followed her grandfather and their coach's lead to the stadium.
"What do you think Kazuya-kun? Shiroyuki-san is pretty famous right? No one in the first grade has ever made the top three so that should say a lot about you since you always say that she's weak"
"Doesn't matter to me. It's true anyways. A lot of people our age have to fight to live" he replied. Kazuya had seen it with his own eyes. She wouldn't believe him anyway so he didn't bother explaining.
"Do you think we're still in the feudal era or something" Mahiru giggled and assumed he was once again joking with his weird sense of humor.
"I was referring to something close to medieval times" he gave a dry laugh.
Their team approached the registration area where Miyamoto submitted the list of students participating in both the team matches and the individual matches. They were placed in the D block for the team matches while in the individual matches, Tomoyo was seeded in Group A and Kazuya was placed in Group C.
Miyamoto and Jirou were relieved to hear the news. The two stars they were counting on were only going to meet in the finals if they make it through to the rounds. Jirou was especially ecstatic as he looked on his dojo's logo printed on the back of both his granddaughter and Kazuya's uniforms.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Shiroyuki Jirou and the Sacred Forest Academy team" another strong looking elderly man approached. He led another team of students who looked hostile.
"What do you want old bat?" Jirou's eyebrows twitched after hearing a familiar voice he didn't want to enter his ears.
"Nothing much. Just wanted to see you and your team before you drop out from the team matches like last year" his team snickered with him. Kazuya looked at some members of the other team and immediately lost interest.
"Hey Kazuya-kun do you know who the tallest girl with the long black hair is?" Mahiru whispered to him.
"Not interested in pretty girls"
"So you do have eyes! That's not what I'm talking about though. That girl was the individual champion last year and that coach's granddaughter. The successor of the Kuronuma dojo. She's the Shiroyuki-san of their team so to speak"
"So she's the one that beat the robot girl?" Kazuya took another look at the girl hidden at the center of the team. The black-haired girl's eyes were looking at Tomoyo shifting slowly through the team. She met Kazuya's gaze and his eyes and he immediately avoided it after getting a feeling.
"Yup! She's a 5th grader same as me. What do you think?" Mahiru looked at Kazuya but she was already too late as he had already fallen into his thoughts.
"(This girl… I can sense mana coming from her. She can use it?)"
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