53 Current Capabilities (1/2)
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The kendo club was shut tight with no people aside from the guest instructors inside. All the outsiders were sent on their way and informed that the club would be in closed door training until the nationals. This was the excuse that was used to avoid information leaking out about what they had just witnessed.
”Huff… huff…” Kazuya tried hard to catch his breath.
He appeared haggard and tired but still had a smile on his face. Kazuya's and the deep breaths of the four instructors were the only sounds that could be heard in the silent kendo club.
”Point and match goes to Instructor Yon!” Jirou raised his arm and declared Kazuya's loss. His leg was out of bounds due to their last clash in which Kazuya had lost.
”Thank you for the pointers instructor” Kazuya took a deep breath and straightened himself up before bowing politely to the victor.
”Still got it in you to continue later at the dojo boy?” Jirou approached him with Tomoyo who handed him a towel.
”I made sure to save enough energy for you later grandpa Jirou” he smiled with confidence.
”I'll look forward to that later kid” Jirou decided not to mince with words this time and let Kazuya start recovering his stamina for later.
Miyamoto asked some of the members to give the instructors some water and towels before moving to stand with Jirou in the middle of the dueling area to face the club members.
”I'll be honest with all of you, this match was to show you what your two aces are capable of. You are all people of the same club and although rivalries for positions cannot be avoided, each and everyone of you should be aware of what your team can achieve” Jirou spoke to the remaining members, he especially looked at the 5 people who were going to be participating in the nationals.
All of them couldn't help but swallow deeply. The matches that Kazuya had just done in succession were deeply engraved in their minds. They were both in awe and little bit fearful of what they just witnessed. Who could have ever imagined that such a kid would be so ferocious.
Kazuya won two out of four matches against the 4 instructors. It was a feat that Tomoyo who suffered continues defeats against them had not yet achieved. They felt like they weren't watching a kendo match but rather a duel that they could only see on TV.
Nishida and Tomoyo were especially pumped up after witnessing what they did. They were the two who trusted Kazuya the most and were the happiest when he won the seemingly impossible matches.
”Even though I want to boost everyone's confidence, I also want to remind you of something this kid Kazuya once told me. There is never a 100% certainty in battle. Anything can happen and although I want you to enter your matches with confidence, this is a reminder to never be too complacent” he continued.
All of them glanced towards Kazuya a bit surprised. From the time they spent with him, they indeed believed that those words came from him. If he, with all the talent he just showed them had that mentality then all the more should they humble themselves.
The instructors were split up as soon as they were able to recover their breaths. Two of them took two of the participants while the other two were responsible for Tomoyo and Nishida. Like the previous tournament, both Miyamoto and Jirou shared the same view that those two were important factors for the team battles.
Kazuya was aware of what they were planning and he agreed with their opinion so he sat in a silent corner and concentrated on recovering as well as reflecting on what he had just experienced. He had lost two matches out of four yet rather than being depressed, he was in a very good mood.
”(Truly different eras have a way of affecting how one fights)” he thought as he tried to replay his experience with his mind.
Kazuya had chosen to use mana only to enhance his abilities so that he can match his opponents. He figured that he would improve his skills more this way. If he had used too much mana, he would have no way of explaining how he could overpower adults and he would have gained nothing for himself.
Even if he were to use his mana without restraint, he at most, would only be able to win three out of four matches because he still had not improved enough. He would have likely fainted at the fourth match because of mana and stamina deprivation.
”(Still not enough…)” he sighed. Thinking about his conservative expenditure, if he went up against a group of capable people, he would likely be forced to retreat or worse, be captured.
What Mei said about the Kuroganes orchestrating the tragedy that changed his life was still weighing on his mind. If they were to send a direct attack, the current him would have little chance to protect his mother.
He knew the chances of that happening were slim especially after they had just won a convincing victory and getting Lee kicked out of the Kurogane family. They would have no gains aside from gaining the enmity of his grandfather's network of friends and acquaintances but he still couldn't calm himself knowing that he was still incapable of doing it himself.
”(Thankfully this is modern society and we are not in a position that could easily be bullied)” he calmed himself with the thought.
Kazuya wasn't the only person reflecting on the matches that he had with the instructors. Jirou who seemed to be observing the members of the club also thought about how he should handle him when they reach the dojo later.
His first victory showed how quick-witted he was. Kazuya took advantage of the limited vision of his opponent as well as his size to confuse the instructor into losing sight of him. This clearly showed that he was quick not only physically and adapted quite well to the situation he was in.
His second opponent took what he observed from his colleague's defeat and took precaution and didn't let Kazuya take advantage of his vision by keeping a good distance from him. He used his body's superior reach which gave Kazuya some trouble. This forced the boy to unleash his ferocity and forced himself despite the enemy's tight defensive stance.
His third and fourth opponents definitely had the advantage. Both were well versed with the counter defensive style of the Shiroyuki dojo so after battles of attrition, they were able to wear down the ferocious attacks and eventually connected with their counter attacks.
After the battles, Jirou knew that he had still underestimated the boy. He knew that the boy was still holding back since he had felt it in the previous tournament. Kazuya was definitely using the instructors as whetstones to sharpen his skills.
It was then that an idea popped into his mind. It would be something beneficial for Kazuya and his granddaughter as well. He tapped Miyamoto's shoulder and excused himself before taking out his phone to make a call.
--
Kouzuki Headquarters, CEO office.
Kyouko sat on her chair feeling restless. It has already been a while but the changes of her assistant have been becoming more obvious as the days went by. She had a bad feeling and she had complete confidence in her in intuition.
”Hey Mei, be honest with me since it's just the two of us here. What's happening with you?” Kyouko looked at her assistant with concern.
*Klak Klak Klak*
Mei didn't notice Kyouko talking to her and continued concentrating on her work. This made Kyouko even more concerned. Her concentration has been really impressive these days. It reminded her of when they first started working together.
”MEI!” she raised her voice.
”Hmm? What is it boss?” Mei's fingers stopped as she turned to her boss who looked annoyed.
”What's with you? Are you sick?”
”I don't know what you mean? I've never felt healthier”
”It's just the two of us here so you don't have to hide anything. Are you seeing someone?”
”What!? That's absurd! How can I betray my Kazu like that?” she felt the thought was ridiculous and almost laughed out loud.
”But that's what's weird about it! I've been taking Kazuya these past few days to sleep with me and you haven't kicked up a fuss like you would have if you were your normal self” Kyouko mentioned her strongest point.
”I've just been really busy with a few things. Besides, it would be good for both of you if I let Kazu spend some time with you”
”Huh? Why?”
”We had a good talk when we had our date you know. I don't think we need to worry about him anymore. You don't need to continue consulting those doctors about him anymore”