Move!

"Are you sure, master?" asked Takeshi. One could hear the confusion in his voice.

"Yes, I am… Well, maybe not entirely," the old mad made a bitter smile.

"However, we truly have no choice on that matter. The tournament is just around the corner. We have to hurry, or… Maria, could you please bring the bucket?"

"Yes, grandfather…"

'How f*cking annoying.'

The girl left and then came back with a little wooden bucket in her hands. It was full of green leaves. Among them, you could see the pink petals of a cherry blossom tree.

Maria placed the bucket on the ground.

The old man gazed at it and then said:

"Very well…"

After that, he waved his hand. Takeshi lifted the bucket with both of his hands. The old man, Rokosuke, unsheathed his sword and the next moment Takeshi poured the leaves on his head.

A smile appeared on the old man's lips. Suddenly, I saw something move very swiftly. It was as fast as lightning is. Then, after the leaves fell on the ground, a confusing sight appeared before me.

The old man was stretching his wooden sword forwards. Its tip, which was not sharp at all, was piercing a fresh green leaf.

I recognized that move. The old man used it on me not so long ago. What's more… Now I could see that if his sword had actually touched me, he could easily cut through my throat.

I would have been dead then…

Shirogane was looking shocked. His eyes went wide, so now he resembled a stupid fish.

A very fitting expression.

'What a dumb face. It fits him'

Thought Maria. She also was looking at Shirogane.

Wait… Doesn't it mean that we had the same thought?

Maybe I am also a Haraguro-type character…

As I was thinking about that, the old man suddenly started speaking:

"This is the special move of our dojo," he swept the leaves that fell on his shoulders.

"You should master it if we wish to have any chances on the upcoming tournament, Kiryu. Do you understand?"

"Yes, yes I do," I nodded.

"Good. You have a great talent, so you should be able to do it. However, we don't have much time, so you still will have to give your best. Will you?"

I nodded again.

The old man smiled.

"Very well… Toma, you will be teaching Toshihiro today. And you Kiryu follow me…"

…

And so I started mastering the mysterious 'special move' of our dojo. It had a name, but I was not told it. According to the rules set by our kendo school, I could only learn it after I will be able to execute this technique.

Until then, I had to refer to it as a 'Special Move'.

Master Rokosuke was much more eloquent than Takeshi was. He also was telling me about the wind and other stuff, but it was easier to understand the meaning that he was trying to convey. I felt like I was reading a machine translation while listening to Takeshi; now, it became a good human-made translation.

Because of that, and my talent, it was easy for me to grasp the basics. Rokosuka was very pleased with my progress and even said it aloud, which annoyed Shirogane who had been practicing with Takeshi nearby.

After we had done with the theory, it was time to practice.

Rokosuke picked up the bucket with leaves and found among them the one that he pierced with his sword.

"You have to be able to make the tip of your sword go through this crack, Kiryu…" he said.

"Then, you will achieve the first stage of mastery…"

I nodded.

All of this reminded me of the task of catching the cherry blossom petals. Seems like there was some connection there.

After that, Rokosuke went to practice with Takeshi, while Shirogane started beating the wooden doll.

I sighed and looked at the cute girl standing in front of me. Maria was holding the bucket with the leaves and smiling with a gentle smile.

She was asked by her grandfather to help me with my training.

[Relationship with Maria: -8]

And wasn't very pleased about it…

…

On the other hand…

'Congrats, hero! You have worsened your relationship with Haraguro type character, so now you will receive points!'

+4!

Seems like Yuji was telling the truth. I really should worsen this girl's opinion of me. It was very profitable.

What's more, it was easy. I just had to annoy her.

Ha.

That should be easy.

"So… Should we begin?" asked Maria.

"Yes, I think so… By the way, I hope we don't bother you with all this kendo stuff?" I asked while forcing a smile on my face.

"Of course not. I'm happy to help my grandfather…"

'Yes you do, you bastards. Getaway already! As if I have nothing better to do than throw leaves from the bucket. I look so stupid doing that stuff!'

"Let's begging then…" I said aloud and placed both of my hands on the hilt of the sword. The girl was about to throw leaves at me, when suddenly…

"By the way, if I'm not being rude… Do you have anything to eat? I've been starving since morning?" I asked Maria with an innocent smile on my face.