150 A Similar Feeling 3 in 1 (1/2)

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The first day of the national competition for gun marksmanship was full of surprises for all the fans and enthusiasts. Though it was not a competition that was very common because of the country's laws, the fact that the world stage has a competition on it, allowed the competition to be held once every two years. Very strict requirements must be met by the contestants and they are watched over by professionals.

Kurogane Tenma was a known name amongst all those who were well informed of this competition because many records were set by this person when he participated. Though some of them have already been broken, his stellar performance in the past had served to be a common basis for today's competitors.

Many held Tenma and his accomplishments in high regards especially in this competition. He was once part of the committee that oversaw the whole competition until he retired to focus more on the Kurogane conglomerate and his family matters. It was mostly his influence and guarantee that allowed his grandson, a middle school student, to be allowed to participate in the competition.

Many were skeptical about Kazuya when Tenma had announced his grandson's participation in the event. No one had ever heard of 'Kurogane Kazuya' before. Many of the other participants had a certain amount of reputation in the field so they were clueless as to why someone as unknown as Kazuya had been allowed to participate.

While it was true that the committee had given a lot of leeway towards Tenma because of the influence he still holds in their organization, they too were very reluctant to accept Kazuya's participation just because Tenma said so. It was only when they were shown a video of Kazuya's regular practice inside Tenma's shooting range were they able to accept the boy's qualifications.

None of the other competitors nor their coaches believed that this 'Kurogane Kazuya' had real qualifications. Many of them conducted their own investigations. It wasn't really difficult for some of the people to find out Kazuya's background because some of the participants were commonly part of some military background.

They indeed found out about this 'Kurogane Kazuya' and understood that Tenma's desire to change the boy's name to his own family's. Once they found out who Kurogane Kazuya really was, the competitors and their coaches wanted to shame the proud old man and his supposedly 'undefeatable' grandson.

The desire to beat someone who had been reputed to conquer every competition he participated in fueled the competitive nature of the participants who knew. They even went as far as to inform the other people who had wondered about who Kazuya was when he made an appearance. This led to an unofficial united front against the youngest ever competitor to enter the stage.

Kazuya had no idea about this and nonchalantly entered a room with the contestants. The tense atmosphere was strangely nostalgic and relaxing for him. It reminded him of how the mood was before the competitions at the academy where he was taught on how to be a hero.

”(So earth can give of this feeling as well…)” Kazuya smiled and took a good look at those who were eyeing him. There weren't many situations where he could get this feeling, so he looked forward into seeing these people in action.

”Huh?” there were various competitors that were hailed as champions once before so the images that were put up were of the people who had attained great achievements in the past. Kazuya was able to find a picture of someone he knew with the title 'Triple Champion'.

[Triple Champion: Sanada Yuriko]

”(Did my presence change this person's fate too as well?)” Kazuya crossed his arms and thought. The idol who had nothing to do with him had her fate changed and so he was unsure who else might have had their fate change from having good fortune to bad.

It may have been a natural thing in the eyes of others, but to Kazuya, it weighed heavily on his mind. What he wanted to do was merely change his life's tragedy and save those that he cared for. He did not want for any other people aside from those who did him wrong to suffer in the changes he caused.

”(Am I still soft?)” he sighed and gave a bitter smile. He somehow couldn't let this go because even though Hamasaki Hikaru had not done it especially for him, her songs helped him a lot in his previous life.

”Why the long face? Is my picture being here that unbelievable?” Kazuya turned to find Yuriko looking at him questioningly. The last time they saw each other was when the Kuroganes tried to target Kyouko so he tried not to think about that night.

Yuriko on the other hand was different. She thought of various ways to get another chance to encounter Kazuya. Her recent efforts have proved to be fruitless because of how tight the Kurogane clan's security was and the boy's extended stay with them.

This was why Yuriko immediately jumped at the opportunity when she was asked to become one of the judges for this competition. She felt that no one would be suspicious of her since people chosen to oversee the competition were people who performed greatly in the competition or those who are currently active in the military. These individuals would often talk to the competitors with the intention of recruiting them into joining the organizations they belong to in the future.

”I was just perplexed about whether I liked this younger version of you or the current you.” Kazuya smiled at her. ”I couldn't make a decision since both versions of you have their own unique charms.” He knew that there was something that she wanted from him, so he tried to stay away from the topic as much as possible.

Like Kazuya predicted, Yuriko's mind immediately got sidetracked. She wanted to get more information out of this boy to confirm her suspicions, but nothing seemed to go well whenever she would have this intention. She initially thought that Kazuya was fooling around but Kazuya bluntly told her that he was just thinking about her younger self while not being aware that she was around. She began to think that this boy truly had a crush on her.

”Oh? Unique charms you say?” while still not completely believing him, being a woman, how could she not like compliments? While being unaware that her initial purpose for approaching Kazuya was put to the back of her mind, Yuriko sought to see what he thought of her.

”The current you is very charming, beautiful and mature. I'm sure you have no shortage of admirers wherever you go.” Yuriko immediately used one hand to grab the other. She couldn't believe Kazuya could say such embarrassing words straight to her face. ”This younger version of yourself on the other hand is still beautiful but lacks a certain grace that the current you has. The one thing that this younger version of you may have that is to my advantage is that she is closer to my age and would probably consider my admiration for her unlike the current one that sees me as nothing but just a kid.”

”Wha…” Yuriko had nothing to say after she heard his words. Kazuya gave her a gentle smile but she couldn't help but feel a hint of bitterness underneath it.

”I'll excuse myself and get my mind ready for the competition. I wouldn't dare lie to a detective, so I'll use my actions to prove it to you Sanada-san.” Kazuya politely bowed and left for the competitor's waiting area. Since this woman was usually overbearing and treated him like a gopher in his previous life, interacting with her like this gave Kazuya some satisfaction.

”What a strange kid…” Yuriko mumbled as she watched Kazuya's back until he disappeared. She expected him to turn back at least once but he did not do so. Her impression of him improved as he looked like quite a determined person who only saw the competition in his eyes.

People who hold the title triple champions or double champions usually gained this title by placing first on various categories in the competition. Though Yuriko and Tenma were hailed as triple champions themselves, their participation when they received their titles were not limited to just three events.

”Let's see what you will show me.” Yuriko grinned as she saw this as a challenge. Various people have tried to impress her before but all of them did not meet her expectations. Though she looked forward to what Kazuya was going to do, she didn't really have much expectations for it since she had only improved herself after she moved on from this competition and was confident that she could beat her previous records.

It didn't take a long time until Yuriko and every single person who wanted to unite against Kazuya was left speechless. A record was broken every time he took the stage. This included beating the previous record he set on the same event.

”M-monster…” those who looked down on Kazuya for being admitted to the competition because of his connections or identity felt as if both sides of their cheeks were smacked. Most of them rushed to check the other events they registered for to see if Kazuya had signed up for them as well.

There were but three events that had strange occurrences. No one knew the reason why but 'Kurogane Kazuya' would start fast but would suddenly stop at certain intervals to look at the timer. Many people thought that he would have been able to beat the records if he didn't mind the time so much. There was only one person who thought very differently and kept her thoughts to herself.

”(Seriously…)” she watched Kazuya with seriousness ever since he flawlessly broke his first record. She was disappointed after seeing him start glancing at the timer. It was only after he did the same thing at another category that was very familiar to her did she understand that he was doing it on purpose.

The difference at the start was only a few milliseconds but Kazuya was slowly getting the hang of it. People stopped thinking whether he would be eliminated or not and just wondered if he would be able to break the record whenever he stepped on stage. The little game between these two gave a lot of tension towards the people who wanted to see records broken.

It wasn't only until the end of the first day of the competition that Kazuya was able to successfully match the three records that Yuriko held down to the last millisecond.

To everyone who witnessed this feat, even if the record was broken in the future, the competitor called 'Kurogane Kazuya' had just showed that not only can he beat records by a large margin, he also showed how much control he had by deliberately matching records.

One of the judges, Sanada Yuriko however, was trying to control her heartbeat. Though she didn't expect anything much from Kazuya, she silently wished for him not to succeed in this crazy endeavor. The boy's intentions was perfectly clear to her. As long as her record wasn't broken, their names would always be beside each other in the records. He had chosen to stand beside her rather than walk ahead of her.

With his actions, Kazuya was assured that the overbearing side of Yuriko would have a hard time showing itself. No matter what she wanted with him, Kazuya didn't want to get involved with someone like her who wouldn't hesitate to take him down if she found out any evidence of his not so legal deeds.

*Bzzz Bzzz*

After the participants were given back their personal items, Kazuya immediately received a call after his phone finished booting up. This was the personal phone he kept inside his storage ring so he exchanged the two by storing the other one as he pretended to rummage through his stuff

”What is it Ika?”

”Boss! You were right with your suspicions against Hamasaki Hikaru! That girl had her identity changed by the Kuroganes!” he didn't mince with words and informed Kazuya of his discovery.

A frown quickly appeared on his face. He had been reflecting over this woman before he met up with Yuriko and was thinking of ways on how to get her back to her career in Kazuya's previous life. This piece of news was something that he would have ever expected. Did the singer whose songs helped him in the past really work for the family that caused the tragedies he went through?

”You didn't call me without finding out her real identity, didn't you?” Kazuya's tone changed. How he would proceed to treat this person depended on what her intentions were.

”Well…” Ika felt a bit embarrassed. He was excited over this new discovery that he rushed to let his boss know right away. ”I wanted to let you know as soon as I found out. I thought that it might have been vital for you to know since I don't know if you're in contact with this person or not.” He explained.

”I appreciate the thought. I want to find out what her real identity is and if the person whose name she uses really exists.” Kazuya replied and thought if the Hamasaki Hikaru who appeared in front of him was the real one or not. Though it was highly unlikely that it was disguise magic, surgery to make one look like another person was a method that existed in this world.

”I'll get right to it!” Ika was relieved that his excused passed and immediately ended the call.

”(Was she sent to watch over me?)” Kazuya wondered. He felt like he missed a big piece to complete the puzzle. Why had it been Hamasaki Hikaru of all people? Did the Kuroganes assume that he would like the way that woman looked? Hamasaki Hikaru was indeed beautiful but as far as he was concerned, he hadn't shown any interest in women.

Kazuya's mind was occupied as he changed back to his regular clothes. He was completely unaware of the stares of both admiration and envy from his fellow contestants whose opinions of him changed after his unbelievable performance.

”Kazuya” a familiar voice reached his ears as he finished up buttoning his shirt. ”You did very well today.” Tenma gave him a warm and rare smile which surprised contestants that still remained. 'This terrifying old man actually just smiled like a real grandparent should!' they thought.

”Thank you grandfather.” Kazuya bowed politely. He couldn't bring himself to smile back to this old man. At least, not with his current mood.

”You've broken this old man's records but kept getting distracted by looking at the time for some others. You could have easily broken them if it you weren't paying much attention to it.” Tenma immediately brought up what he had observed.

''…” A hesitant Yuriko heard Tenma speaking as she was just about to enter the room. Kurogane Tenma was a person who she was warned to avoid so she didn't know what do to at the moment.

”Is there a reason as to why you deliberately didn't break these records?” how could Tenma not notice what Kazuya was doing? He was expecting this grandson of his to shock everyone and set records that couldn't be broken by a single person since he was carrying the Kurogane name right now.

Though it sounded like Tenma had been direct, he had already seen his grandson talking to Sanada Yuriko. He was slightly concerned that Kazuya was like his father too much. Kazuya's actions indicated that he was rather fond of this woman so Tenma was afraid that the past would repeat itself in which Kazuya would make the same mistake that Shishio did with Kyouko.

”As expected of grandfather. I knew I couldn't let it past you.” Kazuya grinned. ”As you are already aware, many people use grandfather as a model in which they would slowly adjust to their own preference. This is because of grandfather's achievements in the past and the rare recordings of your performance.”

”What about it?” Tenma was slightly confused about the sudden compliments. The boy never sucked up to him so he felt that Kazuya was boldly misleading him.

”Though I doubt that many would use my example in the same way, it cannot be avoided that the recordings of myself would be used as review materials as well. This is what's most important. I may not have broken three records, but I matched three of them successfully.” Kazuya's grin grew wider as Tenma seemed to have started to realize what he was trying to say.

”Experts like grandfather can already tell that I could have broken these records. So why didn't I? Why match the current record when I can break it?” Kazuya stopped his explanation. The participants who were curious at the bold and shocking claim turned towards Tenma and waited for an answer.

”Control.” Tenma nodded as he looked convinced. ”Breaking a record is one thing, but who can confidently say that they can match a record down to a millisecond?”

”That is correct. People can claim it as a fluke but doing it in three different categories will let the results speak for themselves.” Kazuya confidently smiled. ”Is my explanation satisfactory grandfather?”

”Yes.” Seeing the shocked reactions from the other participants who were eavesdropping, Tenma gave a satisfied nod. ”You should have told me of this plan of yours.” Though Tenma had accepted it, it didn't mean that he dropped his earlier suspicions. The fact still remained that the records that remained unbroken were of the person who his grandson was flirting with earlier.

Tenma felt that he needed to nip the bud before it grew. This was especially a dangerous time since the boy was reaching the age where he would be growing interests as well as fooling around with the opposite sex. Even his most impressive son had succumbed to his urges which led to Kazuya being born.

”I wasn't sure I could really do it so I felt that I shouldn't let grandfather expect something that I wasn't a hundred percent sure of achieving.” Kazuya replied as if it was a matter of fact.

”Very well. I retract my former complaint. You did very well today. The competition had just begun so i want you to maintain your focus for the rest of the competition.” Tenma held out his hand as if it was asking for something.

”?” Kazuya tilted his head.

”Hand me your cell phone. I will keep it for the remainder of the competition.” He didn't miss the frown that quickly reverted to a neutral expression from his grandson. ”This is to make sure that you will not have any distractions and keep your current state of mind.”

”I apologize but I'm going to have to decline.” It was already too late to hide the fact that he had been displeased by Tenma's demand. ”I've promised mother that I would call her daily so I'm afraid that is not an option.”

Everyone present, including Tenma's personal guards looked at Kazuya in surprise. There were very few people who could reject this old man but he did so without hesitation. They admired him for his courage but were worried about how Tenma would react.

”A promise you say? Is that more important than this competition?” Tenma was a little annoyed. This boy truly didn't show any regard for this face.

”Grandfather should be aware of how important certain 'promises' are. This is not something that I can consider no matter who is in front of me. I will however, give grandfather one as well…” Kazuya glanced around in the room before turning back towards Tenma. ”I promise in my name, I shall win this competition.” Kazuya politely bowed before excusing himself without looking back at the frozen crowd.

What Kazuya hadn't noticed was that as soon as he left, a wide grin appeared on Kurogane Tenma's face. This terrified even the guards who protected their master.

”(I've found another way! The answer lay right in front of me the whole time!)” he turned towards the door where Kazuya had left and ordered some of his guards to keep an eye on Kazuya who he saw leaving with the woman he had suspected was a target of his grandson's affection. He needed to think about this new revelation of his so he decided to leave.

The events that happened inside the room soon spread amongst the contestants and the coaches who weren't present to witness it. 'Kurogane Kazuya' had given his grandfather a promise to win the competition with confidence. After today's result, many of the contestants hoped that Kazuya joining the competition would keep on with his usual habit of changing the competition he attended every year. He made most of the elites lose all hope in just the first day so rather than fighting against Kazuya for first place, many of them were sensible enough to settle for second.

”Looks like you're brave enough to tell me how you feel but you cower in the presence of your grandfather.” Yuriko broke the ice and teased as they went up the stairs of the nearby park.

Daylight was coming to an end. The two of them stopped under a big tree while facing the city view. Kazuya put down the bag he was carrying and leaned on the iron bars before turning towards the detective.

”It's not that I am afraid of him, rather I am afraid of what he might try to do to you if he found out.” He replied and gave a bitter smile.