Chapter 47
On Friday, with the weekend just ahead, during club activities.
Behind me, as I stood blankly staring at my phone, Miyuki rose onto her tiptoes.
After checking over my shoulder to see what I was doing, she asked.
“Why are you trying to buy a barbecue grill? Are you planning to grill meat at home?”
“Yeah. This says it can make yakitori too.”
“Why yakitori all of a sudden?”
“Because you like it.”
Mentioning yakitori specifically meant I intended for us to eat it together later.
Miyuki, realizing the hidden meaning behind my words, shyly lowered her head.
Ever since the night we spent together, Miyuki had kept blushing whenever she looked at me.
Not that she hadn't before, but it happened more often now.
She'd probably keep doing that for a while.
Every time it rained, she'd think about sleeping with me.
“Um... Matsuda-kun.”
She called to me while squirming awkwardly.
I put away my phone and answered.
“What.”
“I have to stay really late today because of the cultural festival preparations... We rented the gymnasium, so we have to decorate it.”
“Already?”
“It's not ‘already’; even if we started now, we'd still be late... So go home first when club activities end.”
That wasn't a false offer made in hopes that I'd say I would wait for her; she was sincere.
It looked like she'd finish around eight or nine...
Waiting at school until then would be overdoing it, so I should come pick her up around that time.
“I'll come pick you up, so contact me twenty minutes before you're done.”
“You don't have to...”
“Enough. Contact me.”
“.... Okay...”
Miyuki answered reluctantly, and her eyes went round.
She pinched a lock of my bangs between her fingers, brushed it from top to bottom, and said.
“Your hair's gotten a little long.”
“I'm not cutting it.”
“Who said anything? I just think it suits you...”
Miyuki carefully straightened my bangs.
I watched her in silence, then raised one corner of my mouth.
“Hey, Miyuki.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you staying at my place again tonight?”
Miyuki's fingers stopped dead while gripping the middle of my bangs.
Her eyes, stretched as wide as they could go, blinked once.
“Tonight...?”
She regained her composure much faster than when I'd asked her to stay over a few days ago.
I took Miyuki by the wrist, lowered her hand, and said.
“Let's get up, take a short rest, and catch an early movie together. Then I'll drive you home. How about it?”
“Ah... um...”
It's hard the first time, but the second time is easy.
You're tempted too, aren't you? I know.
If accepting outright feels awkward, should I give you a reason?
I think I will.
“You still haven't given me the clothes you wore last time.”
“I-I was going to give them to you this weekend...!”
“Then stay over while you're at it.”
“I have to stop by home to get them...”
“Then stop by on the way.”
“.....”
Miyuki mumbled, as though something was weighing on her mind.
After hesitating for a long while, she said in a tiny voice.
“My mom and dad know what model car you drive, Matsuda-kun. If your car is parked in front of the house, they'll get suspicious... So...”
“So?”
“P-park it... farther away... Okay?”
A tiny glimmer of anticipation showed in Miyuki's eyes as she made the request with her face flushed.
I gave her a warm smile, released her wrist, and stretched as though refreshed.
“Okay.”
**
Is jōdan-gamae's foot position different from chūdan-gamae's, with the right foot behind and the left foot in front?
Since the left hand is supposed to deliver the strike, that's probably to extend the range even farther.
I was watching a jōdan-gamae instructional video on my phone when I cautiously poked my head up over the hill.
No one was around. Perfect for practicing alone.
Let's try a little before Chinami comes.
I raised the shinai above my head, assumed an exceedingly clumsy jōdan-gamae, and tried the sliding step.
The basic rule of the sliding step is to move the foot in the direction of travel first.
Keeping that in mind, I moved my feet slowly, and it went reasonably well.
How should I strike?
Jōdan-gamae is centered around fast attacks and powerful strikes.
To increase my speed and destructive power...
‘All right.’
I followed the movement I had pictured in my mind exactly.
“Hup!”
I inhaled, then exhaled sharply as I pushed hard off the ground with my right foot and took a large step with my left.
My glutes and thighs tensed hard, and my left foot lifted heavily before slamming down onto the ground with force.
At the same time, I brought the shinai I'd been holding straight down,
Whooosh-! Boom!
Along with the sound of splitting the air, a heavy thud shook the ground.
‘Did I do it?’
It seemed roughly similar to the men strike from the jōdan-gamae I'd seen in the video, but without anyone watching me, I couldn't tell whether I'd done it correctly or made a mistake.
I endured the sharp pain shooting up from my left foot and tried once again to launch an attack beginning with a stomp.
However,
“Aaaah!?”
When Chinami's horrified cry came from behind me, I had no choice but to freeze.
I hurriedly relaxed my stance and scratched my head as Chinami came striding toward me with her eyes wide.
“Looks like you've finished wiping down the shinai.”
“I finished wiping them all! But, Matsuda-kouhai! What were you just doing!?”
I should play dumb for now.
“I was practicing as usual.”
“As usual...? That's strange. If you were practicing as usual, Matsuda-kouhai, you should have been practicing in chūdan-gamae. But I'm sure I saw you take jōdan-gamae?”
“I don't think so.”
“No, it was! It was definitely jōdan-gamae!”
“How strange. Perhaps you saw wrong?”
“Matsuda-kouhai...! Are you trying to lie to me!?”
Chinami pressed me with her hands on her hips.
She seemed to be trying to look stern, but her naturally gentle face, small stature, and overly cute way of speaking left her with no intimidating presence at all.
Since I'd been caught anyway, I might as well be honest.
After securing the shinai at my waist, I said.
“Actually, Master saw correctly.”
“I knew it!?”
“Yes.”
“How many times have I told you not to do it? Why won't you listen?”
“Because... I want to?”
“.....”
She looked dumbfounded by my nonchalant circular reasoning.
I casually stepped closer until I was right in front of Chinami, looked down at her, and opened my mouth.
“No matter how important the fundamentals are, I think finding something interesting is important too. Doing nothing but chūdan-gamae and footwork every day is boring.”
Of course, fundamentals were important.
Not just in kendo but in anything, the fundamentals are something you can never practice enough.
However, if the person learning those fundamentals couldn't find them interesting, it would be worse than not doing them at all.
These days, even boxing gyms teach beginners the one-two combination from the very first day to pique their interest.
You have to give them a carrot like that and help them find it fun before they'll develop grit.
If you focus too much on the fundamentals, all the club members will start dropping out.
Wait, why had this suddenly turned into a hot-blooded sports story?
Let's calm down.
“I understand how you feel, kouhai... But kendo is about purifying the mind, spirit, and body...”
Right. Mind, spirit, and body, virginity... Important.
“Wouldn't that training of the mind, spirit, and body work better when there are no distracting thoughts?”
“.... I suppose...”
She looked like she might give in. Let's keep pressing.
“Honestly, when I first learned chūdan-gamae, I wondered what the point was, but after watching that jōdan-gamae video and trying the men strike, it was fun. I can feel my passion welling up.”
I overdid it by even clenching both fists, and Chinami perked up her ears.
“Y-you did...? Really...?”
“Yes.”
“Hmmm...”
Chinami pondered, letting out a long, low groan.
She had been staring at the ground, deep in thought, when she seemed to get a good idea and offered me a compromise.
“As you said, interest is a very important factor. But as Renka and I told you, if you don't learn chūdan-gamae, jōdan-gamae is not even a half-decent aiming stance. In other words, you'd be easy prey for your opponent.”
“So I should learn chūdan-gamae?”
“Yes. I'll teach you jōdan, but you have to train mainly in chūdan. What will you do?”
“If you're willing to teach me, I'm all for it.”
“Good. Then demonstrate the men strike you did earlier. To remind you of the importance of fundamentals, I'll watch you once and give you feedback.”
“Let's do that.”
I answered listlessly and assumed the jōdan-gamae I'd taught myself.
Then, before Chinami could say anything,
“Hup!”
I swung the shinai while letting out a short breath.
Whooosh-! Boom!
Once the stomp ended, that same heavy sound rang out.
Thinking I'd at least had good momentum, I retrieved the shinai.
Then I turned to Chinami and asked.
“How was it?”
“.... Hweh?”
She let out a brief exclamation and gaped at me.
From her astonished expression, I could tell that even if I hadn't done it correctly, I'd at least shown her something completely unexpected.
So I really did have talent.
Yeah, it made no sense for the protagonist not to be special.
I approached Chinami, who was still dumbfounded, and
“I asked how it was. Did I do well?”
Pretending to ask for her opinion, I gently rubbed the back of her neck as I had last time.
Then,
“Ah...! It's just that... That stance just now... Hyaaah...”
All the strength drained from Chinami's body, and her eyes went completely unfocused.
Just like last time, and this time too...
Her reaction was so intense. Could this be an erogenous zone?
Or was she simply weak to a man's touch?
I'd have to find out properly next time.
**
Clunk.
“I'm late, aren't I? I'm really sorry...!”
Miyuki apologized the moment she climbed into the passenger seat.
I saw that it was nearly ten, started the car, and scolded Miyuki.
“Why are you so late? I almost fell asleep.”
“I told you I'd be late... What were you doing at home...?”
“I looked at a lookbook.”
“A lookbook? Of men?”
“No, women. Apparently there's one where they change their panties without taking off their clothes.”
At my blatant statement, Miyuki's expression went blank.
I glanced at her and let out a silly laugh.
“I'm kidding.”
Miyuki, somewhat relieved, asked suspiciously.
“You're really kidding, right...? You don't look at things like that... do you?”
“Can I look if I want to?”
“Th-that's for Matsuda-kun to decide...”
“Would that be okay too?”
“.... No. I'd rather you didn't.”
“Then you show me.”
“What are you talking about...! I'd hate that even if it killed me!”
Miyuki shook her head furiously, horrified.
She squeezed her eyes shut, looking so adorable that I nearly forgot I was driving and lunged for her lips.
Hold it in. I have to hold it in.
Tomorrow was the weekend. There was no need to go to sleep worrying about having to get up for school.
So once we got home, I could take my time melting Miyuki.
As I'd thought at the café, it was important to gradually raise the intensity and get Miyuki used to it.
I wouldn't overdo it today, but I'd try something more risqué than last time.
“Is it really so bad you'd rather die? That hurts my feelings.”
“What's there to be hurt about...! Sigh... I don't think I can control my emotions well when I'm with you, Matsuda-kun...”
“It's good to be honest with your feelings.”
“It's not honesty; it feels like I'm losing my mind.”
“Isn't it even better if we go crazy together?”
I smoothly brushed off Miyuki's affectionate complaint, and when she let out an incredulous hollow laugh, I grinned and turned my gaze back to the road.