Chapter 76: The Opponent
The second pair stepped onto the arena. As the two names appeared on the screen, the entire hall hummed with excitement.
Chikiki Takumi.
Shodai Kenji.
Both were former national champions. Chikiki Takumi was the 51st champion, while Shodai Kenji was the 56th.
Both were tall, lean, middle-aged men.
In the world of Kendo practitioners, you didn't find many fat people—or rather, among those called experts, none were overweight, and not many were overly bulky either.
Kendo was a matter of technique; a bulky or fat body easily interfered with the execution of those techniques, especially regarding speed.
The advantage of a muscular build was great physical strength, which is why someone like Suzuki Tsuyoshi essentially practiced the Itto-ryu style.
A single strike from his sword often left an opponent unable to keep their own blade steady.
But when it came to physical power, Akishin truly feared no one. A physical quality double that of a normal human wasn't just a simple calculation of one plus one.
"Chishima-san, who do you think will win?"
Akishin was watching intently. Chikiki Takumi and Shodai Kenji were still in the process of bowing. Suddenly, Suzuki Tsuyoshi's voice drifted from beside him.
Akishin turned. Suzuki Tsuyoshi wasn't looking at him; instead, he kept a serious gaze fixed on the two men in the arena.
His words sounded as if they were spoken casually, almost by accident.
"Have you fought them before, Suzuki-san?"
"In the 56th tournament, I fought Shodai-san in the final round."
"The 56th... so you lost!"
Wasn't the 56th tournament the period when Shodai Kenji claimed his title? Suzuki Tsuyoshi had obviously lost.
—In fact, they had already watched videos of their opponents' matches, including various data sent by Vice Chairman Kiyohara yesterday afternoon under the guise of understanding the competition.
"That's right." Suzuki Tsuyoshi continued to watch the two, observing the judge announce the start of the match.
The two Shinai touched, testing each other. "That match was quite similar to my match against you, Chishima-san. Not even two minutes into the final, I had already lost; the opponent took two points instantly."
"It seems you already have your answer then, Suzuki-san."
The match officially began. The two exchanged blows. The two Shinai collided with a sharp crack. Both gripped their swords with both hands, pushing against each other, their face protectors almost touching before they instantly broke away, only to clash again...
The speed, the movement, the aura, and the fierce Kiai shouts made the audience reflexively tense up.
Suzuki Tsuyoshi tapped his knee and said, "I think Shodai-san will take this. Chikiki-san, much like myself, is starting to see a decline in his stamina."
His voice wasn't loud, just enough for Akishin to hear. If one wasn't paying attention, it would go unnoticed. As fellow participants, it wasn't good form to speak openly about others.
"Men!"
With a loud shout, Shodai Kenji's Shinai landed squarely on Chikiki Takumi's face protector. He scored the first point. Thunderous applause erupted from the stands.
As the applause died down, the two began eyeing each other again. Two minutes had passed on the clock.
In the first row of the stands, about twenty meters away from Akishin, Shizuka and Hachiman were also watching the match seriously. Shizuka asked, "Hikigaya, how do these two compare to your teacher?"
Hachiman glanced at Shizuka, who looked curious. He didn't answer directly, but instead asked a question of his own. "Hiratsuka-sensei, have you ever seen Chishima-sensei get angry or become... really terrifying?"
These were two different things. The first part referred to the incident at the tennis courts the day before yesterday; the latter referred to the moment Akishin had released that killing intent in the Service Club, which had momentarily paralyzed both him and Yukinoshita Yukino.
Hachiman didn't know what that situation was, but it was horrifying—far more terrifying than when Akishin had been angry the other day.
"Never. Your teacher always seems to be laughing whenever he's around me." Shizuka shook her head.
Reflecting on her time with Akishin, it was true; he had never even shown a hint of impatience.
Despite her smoking habit, her drinking, and her explosive temper, Akishin never seemed disgusted. Instead, he always advised her patiently.
She used to go through a pack of cigarettes in two days; now, two weeks could pass without her finishing one.
As she thought about it...
Shizuka's face began to redden again.
The phrase 'I like girls like you, Shizuka-chan' seemed to echo in her ears. Subconsciously, she glanced toward where Akishin was sitting.
Akishin seemed to sense it. He turned his head in surprise, meeting Shizuka's gaze. Frozen for a second, he then nodded while offering a warm smile.
Shizuka immediately averted her face, not daring to linger on his gaze.
Hachiman was still seriously watching the match while responding to Shizuka's question—Chikiki Takumi and Shodai Kenji had already decided the winner; since the match time had run out, Shodai Kenji was declared the victor.
"I think Chishima-sensei is stronger than them. Not just in terms of physical strength, but the aura... I only saw Sensei fight Mr. Suzuki once, but I felt Sensei was far superior. From Mr. Suzuki or the four Kendo experts here, I don't feel that same aura Sensei has. Sensei's aura is too terrifying, like a true swordsman, like a murd—... Hiratsuka-sensei, Hiratsuka-sensei, are you listening?"
In the middle of speaking, Hachiman accidentally glanced at Shizuka. He found her eyes glazed over, her teeth slightly gritted, and her face a faint shade of crimson.
"Ah! Yes... I'm listening, I'm listening. What was the last thing you said?" Shizuka snapped out of it, adjusting her posture and staring intently at the third pair of participants entering the arena.
Hachiman opened his mouth, but eventually shook his head. "Nothing. Let's just watch the match. I'm sure Sensei will definitely take first place."
The last sentence he'd intended to say was "like someone who has truly killed before." Because he interacted with Akishin the most, Hachiman had felt that sensation multiple times—as if his body were about to be torn apart.
Especially near his neck; back at the Service Club when Akishin had first pointed a sword at him, he truly felt like Akishin was going to swing that Shinai into his throat.
But thinking about it, Hachiman felt a bit silly. How could something like that actually happen?
—Though it seemed this wasn't the first time he'd thought that.
Hachiman had seen photos of killers on the internet, including high-profile criminals who committed serial murders, and some had truly terrifying faces.
But compared to Sensei, they were nothing, and they shared no resemblance whatsoever.
Hachiman felt he was just letting his imagination run wild.
Tossing aside the unnecessary thoughts, he resumed watching the matches seriously.
Pair after pair went up, match after match concluded. Among them, Yunomoto Shinichi took his turn and defeated a participant from Tokyo, successfully moving on to the next round.
Finally, at the 15th match, Chishima Akishin's name was called. Hachiman and Shizuka bolstered their spirits and watched with absolute focus.
Chishima Akishin, clad in his Kendo gear, descended from the participant stands. When he reappeared from the tunnel, he was already wearing his Men (mask) and Do (chest protector), with his Shinai tucked into his belt. On his red Tare (waist protector), "Chiba" was written horizontally and "Chishima" vertically.
Director Okazawa, sitting near Hachiman, enthusiastically pulled out a video recorder to capture the moment.
Akishin's opponent was named Uchimura Ryoichi, the general champion of the 57th Kendo Tournament—specifically, the year before last. He was also a tall, lean, middle-aged man.
Akishin had watched videos of his opponent's matches; the man was formidable.
The two bowed to each other, then to the audience. After that, they drew their Shinai and touched the tips together.
The judge announced the start. Akishin took one step forward, clearing the opponent's Shinai in an instant, then executed a Tsuki to close the distance, landing a strike squarely on the face protector.
Clack!
"Men!"
The sound of the impact resonated through the hall. Akishin pulled back his Shinai. Uchimura Ryoichi's blade was less than twenty centimeters from Akishin's waist, unable to move an inch further.
It was strikingly similar to his first match against Suzuki Tsuyoshi.
Even if one had watched the opponent's match videos and knew how they attacked, so what?
In a Kendo match where victory is decided in the blink of an eye, if you can't parry, you can't parry. If you can't win, you simply can't win.
It was vastly different from a game of basketball or soccer.
The applause from the stands was scattered. Many spectators hadn't even had time to react.
Suddenly, a point was already scored!
Where was the back-and-forth?
At the very least, where was the several seconds of testing each other?
Akishin was the first participant across all the matches so far to attack immediately without any preliminary testing, leaving the audience feeling completely thrown off.
The three judges were frozen for two seconds before finally coming to their senses. They raised their small red flags and decisively awarded the Ippon to Akishin.
The first point had been secured.
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