"You can go to ...... and get your face down here ......!


　As soon as Masamune appeared, Thistle bared his hostility.

　In contrast, Masamune opens her mouth with a cool face.


''It's a face like this. It's the face my sister and mother-in-law raised me with.''
You're not on my mind.
'Yes, well. Even now, as I do this, all I can do is hate, but ...... it's past time.
You killed him!
I don't know. It seems to me that there is nothing anyone can do about the disease.


　Something is heating up between the two of us.
　I don't care what it is, I just want you to lend me your sword quickly.

'Masamune.'
Oh, sorry for the wait. Here you are, Mr. Second.

　When I called out numbly, Masamune handed me the sword.
　A beautiful sword, as neatly groomed as any Akaneko.

　I was impressed, and Masamune advised me.


But you shouldn't do that. You'll be disappointed. You're weaker than me.


　A moment later, Thistle stood up as if he couldn't stand it.

　Her clenched fists were trembling. It's frustrating, but you can't say it back.

'Let me taste it for now,'
It won't be good.
I don't know. I can eat an awful lot of damp crackers.
...... It's a blur.

　Masamune took three steps back with a 'oh dear' look on her face, leaned against the wall and crossed her arms.

　Akaneko stared at her like that.
　And when she returned her gaze to me, she broke the silence with a questioning look.


"You look quite close to Masamune-dono, don't you?　No way, last night?　You're not doing anything crazy again, are you ......?


　In some cases, he is so feisty that he almost draws his sword from his waist.

　The wrong words could get you in trouble. I should just state the facts briefly here. So I responded.


'We've shown each other our crotches.

Well, I haven't seen it yet!


What?
What?

...... ah!


　Everyone's eyes were drawn to Masamune.

　Even Thistle, who should have been enraged just now, had his eyes darted to the ground.


''No, no!　It's called misrepresentation!　It was seen, but not shown, but still looked at ...... oh no!　What am I talking about?


　Masamune patted herself on the head with a faint smile and her face turned bright red.

　I couldn't stand the Akaneko's laser-beam stare, so I turned to face the thistle to escape.


' ...... I've never seen that girl like that before. You're a mystery to me.
Come on, let's just get on with it.
Yeah.

　After exchanging a word or two, we moved into the dojo.

　The dojo was cleaned up. There was not a speck of dust. It's probably Azami cleaning it every day.


"Well, nice to meet you.
Please.

　They finished greeting each other and faced each other with a pause.

　A momentary ...... silence reigned over the place.



''-- Begin!''


　Akaneko's command resounded.


　I took the first move with the [Incense Car Battoujutsu].

　You can tell by the way you put your weight on it. Azami is good at blocking (...).

　You have to attack it.


"You're good.

　I couldn't help but spill my impressions.


　Thistle ducked the first move, "Incense Car Battoujutsu," with a flutter.

　However, that's not what should be praised.
　She didn't duck and then pull the sword (・・・・・).

　Nice patience!　I have to say.

　It's not a good idea to use the Battoujutsu. I'm sure you're not going to be able to get away with it.

　I'm not going to be able to get to the bottom of it. In that case, the counter would explode and I would be the one to end it.

　I cancelled the 《Kakuyo Battoujutsu》 that I had prepared and took a moment to deliver the sword again.


''I broke out in a cold sweat.
Don't worry, I'll finish up next time. Then you can take a bath and get warm.
...... not less, mouths.

　We'll partition and do it again.


　Thistle's weaknesses have been identified.

　She's dull (...).


　...... regrettable. But this is all innate, it can't be helped.

　She is certainly not a good match for the sharp, delicate and fast Benzai style. Now I understand why Masamune called Thistle weak.


　But even with the advantageous situation, you still managed to see through the counterattack of the Kakugyo Battoujutsu. That is worthy of praise.

　Good, I'm feeling much better now.


"This is a service. I'm going to show you one thing.


　True quickness is what speed is.


　Everyone has a misunderstanding of what it is.

　They simply assume that they can move their swords more and more quickly.

　That won't work. There is a limit to what we can do.

　And that's what the world rankers need to know.


　The ultimate in speed is ingenuity. It is the art of how to make it look fast.



Let's go!

　I gently close the gap between the two as I prepare the Flying Car Battoujutsu.

''!

　The moment the opponent showed the initial move of response, he immediately cancelled the skill, lowered his posture and spun around and spun sideways once.


　The mechanism is simple. Slow and steady, hiding the moment of skill activation with your back.

　The skill is a nondescript, tame-free "Silver General Battoujutsu".

　That's all.
　That's all.


　It's .............


''Eh!''


　Immediately after seeing the slow preparation of the 《Skipping Car Battoujutsu》, if the sword is suddenly pulled out quickly from out of sight--this is what happens.


　Azami's "Golden General Battoujutsu" cannot be activated in time. This is a good thing.

　It's just a simple "Silver General Battoujutsu" but it looks ridiculously fast.


　It's a strange thing. Just a little bit of simple ingenuity can change the result.

　That's why it's so interesting. The game between people is an interesting one.


That's it!


　The match was over by the command of Akaneko.

　Azami still can't move. Because the cutting edge of the halted sword is thrust against her neck.


'You seem confident in your ability to block, but your reflexes are slow, so you shouldn't keep fighting to block. You should turn to attack in the middle of the fight. Or, if you take advantage of your strengths in your ability to judge the situation and bring it into a melee, you'll have a good line.

　I give Thistle some advice as I lower my sword.

　Thistle was listening to this quietly, and when I finished, she slowly opened her mouth.


'Are you saying that I should abandon the Kissho style?

　Hmm?　What does that mean?

'Is the Kichijo style the type that keeps on receiving?
Yeah. Yes. Fighting in a melee is out of the question. The secret of Kichijo-ryu is to take 'Go no Sen' and win beautifully.
Wow.

　I don't know what you're talking about.


But that's okay. Then you're not that talented. You're not cut out for it. You shouldn't do it.

......!

I don't understand what you're talking about when you can't aim higher. To begin with, what are you doing Battoujutsu for?　Isn't it because you like it?


　Silence.

　Thistle bit her lower lip and turned over.
　Its shoulders trembled in a small way.


It's just as you said. I've decided to review the Bensai style kata. You should do the same for your sister.



'What do you know?　To all of you!　My, what the hell?!



　...... screaming.

　It was a scream that seemed to explode all at once, all the things that had been pent up.


'Because you like ......?　You don't know how lucky you are to be able to do something just because you love it!　Congratulations!　I have something to take on!　The centuries-long history of the Kissho School!　The art of transmission of skills from one generation to the next!　I'm going to carry it on my back alone and live forever!


　Tears spill from Thistle's eyes.


'You're not talented. I'm not cut out for this. I've tried so hard to die, but no, no, no. My sister-in-law was many times better than me. Mother didn't expect me to do anything. You know that better than anyone!　And no money!　No family!　I have nothing to offer!　Still!　But still!　We have to protect the Kissho School!



　Well, I guess it was too much to ask. On a daily basis.

　...... I know exactly what you mean. I'm sorry to hear that.


"It's not as simple as you might think...

'Do you think I'm doing this just because I like it?'

Nah: "Nah: ......

'I do. I've been doing it all along, just because I like it.

"What if!

What then?

If it's ...... then it's .......


　Thistle's words are choked up.

　He's a man who struggles so much, how can he not understand?


　-- the difficulty of continuing just because "I love it".


　He told me a lot. I wondered what I would do next.
　I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried. In fact, I had nothing but anxiety.
　Every time I heard the word "future" or "society" I covered my ears and lived with my ears covered.

　Some of these guys made a career out of playing games, but I couldn't live with that kind of dexterity.
　I've only done Mevion. I was an idiot who only knew Mevion.

　There was no way I could live on that kind of prize money for the rest of my life.
　There's no way I'm going to make ends meet.
　There is no guarantee that Mevion will last for decades.

　There's no guarantee that Mevion will last for decades. ...... It was always bound to end somewhere.

　That's right. It's not a simple matter of "just because I love you.
　But I loved it. I couldn't help it. I was so into it that I would bet my whole life on it. Even though I knew I was losing that bet.


　But you know what?

　You can't fight what you love.

　And--


Hey, buddy. I'm gonna destroy everything.
What do you say ......?
'You're not allowed to be on this island. This isn't the place to do what you want.
So what!
Shut up. Just let me handle it.


　--Thistle, you know what?

　This world is actually a great place.