I did say that I had never held a sword.
But I never said that I didn't know how to use one, right?
Back in my old world, one of my favorite things besides reading novels was watching cool martial arts videos! One of my favorite martial arts to watch was—'Kendo'. Kendo is a Japanese martial art that focuses on swordsmanship, especially the 'Katana' sword.
Sometimes when I watched it, I really liked to imitate it. It just looked so cool! Like making a 'Woosh' sound when striking, and then—'Pak! Pak!' when clashing. And I did all of that in a dark room. I just used a phone as the source material—placing it on the bed not far away. And a Japanese broom that I used as a substitute for the 'katana' sword.
And from that casual hobby, for some reason, it produced something good in this novel world.
Amazing!
My 'katana' clashed fiercely against his greatsword. The impact was heavy—his strength clearly superior. I knew I couldn't keep going like this. So I pushed my blade upward slightly, using the force to spin backward a few times before landing smoothly. My stance steadied again. His gaze was still sharp, but something had changed—a condescending smile slowly formed on his lips.
"... Hey! Are you sure you don't want to stop and change that stupid sword?! Just a single-edged sword and even smaller, how can you defeat my sword? Hahaha!"
I smiled even wider. This feeling of being looked down upon.
"Enough! Just be quiet. I'll show you how great this sword I'm using is."
After I said those confident words, he seemed to get even more annoyed. From the bulging veins and grinding of his teeth.
"You… You!"
He strengthened his legs again, flying towards me. His sword pulled back, trying to swing directly at me. Before his greatsword touched me, I dodged to the side. The gust of wind and its rumble were heard after the tip of his sword touched the concrete floor. His attack didn't hit me. His growls sounded even stronger afterward. I swallowed. Looks like I managed to provoke him. In a fight, the first thing that makes you lose is losing your composure. And I used that opening. Nice!
He attacked me again quickly. As usual, I avoided him from various directions, from jumping over him to taking a few steps back. Several times I struck at him lightly. And after all those exchanges, not a single attack landed on me. Instead, he now seemed exhausted, evident from his panting breath. … Maybe it's time to end this. I prepared my stance again. The 'Katana' sword was placed back on my waist. I gripped the handle tightly. My eyes closed. A thin sigh escaped from my mouth, creating a faint vapor.
The exhausted person in front of me seemed to want to attack me again.
"GRRAAA!"
He raised his greatsword, trying to swing it at me. When his greatsword was only an inch away from my head, I ducked. My body lowered slightly. And with a swift movement, I rotated my sword, circling half of his body, and now… the grip of my right hand was already under the sword's handle. The sharp blade of my wooden sword was close to his neck, slightly pressed.
The greatsword slipped from his hand and hit the ground with a heavy thud—likely because of its weight. His head was now slightly raised, while examining the 'Katana' sword that he had just underestimated.
"Ugh…"
I looked at him with a sharp gaze. And a few moments later, my eyes returned to normal—I realized. I pulled my sword away from his neck, then for a moment observed the 'Katana' sword whose handle I was holding flat with my right hand. For some reason, when I fight using a sword like this, I feel like I'm possessed by ayuki-onna.[1]
And if Yuki-onna is a youkai with a female manifestation, then I am a human with a male manifestation who has the same cold nature as her, but only limited to the scope of the fight.
I looked at the person in front of me, his face seemed mixed with feelings of annoyance and exhaustion. He was holding his neck, as if I had already slashed his neck.
A thin smirk appeared at the corner of my lips.
"... Hey, buddy. Even though my sword only has one blade and is small, never underestimate it!"
Because the advantage of this 'katana' sword lies not in its size, but in its lightness and length.
Without me realizing it, beside me was already, Big Brother Fukuro who was clapping his hands. His laughter was only heard after the third clap sounded. His head tilted up as he laughed, and looked at me again after his laughter stopped.
He held my shoulder, patting it a few times. "So cool, my little brother Touji! You have shown a great fight! I didn't know there was anyone whose greatness almost matched 'that' person!"
My eyebrow rose, surprised by his words. Why does he always say things that are so ambiguous?
He changed his gaze to the person behind him, who had just fought with me. His gaze softened over time, with a toothy smile—while giving a thumbs up to the person in front of him.
"That was a cool match, my little brother Risshun!"
For a moment, the eyes of the person who received the praise widened, his gaze lowered while stroking the back of his neck. From the face he showed when he bowed his head, he seemed shy.
I looked at him while smiling. … Such a Tsundere.
A few moments later, Big Brother Fukuro changed his gaze to the group of people who seemed more enthusiastic—after seeing my fight. His eyes moved across the ten people standing there. I, who was interested, changed my gaze too. He examined the front row, before his eyes widened seeing someone from afar. A subtle smirk was planted on his face, when he saw the person leaning against the wall covered in a dark silhouette.
"... My little brother Risshu!"
My eyes immediately changed to that person when Big Brother Fukuro called his name. My eyes narrowed to get a clearer look. There, I saw a person who had brown hair and eyes, with a unique hairstyle like the one who had just fought with me. My eyes widened when I saw his bangs pointing to the right diagonally. I mean, the only difference between the person who had just fought with me and the person there was the direction of their bangs.
… Are they twins?
The person called "Little Brother Risshu" was leaning his leg against the back wall with his arms folded. He seemed to be asleep, before looking up when his name was called. His face looked like he had just woken up, plus the hand stretches he did a few moments later made it feel clear.
His steps began to move from that position. He came out from behind the shadows, and the sun shone on him from the right corner. His hands reflexively raised, blocking the light for a few moments before he finally got used to it. His steps moved again slowly with his body bent, like a lazy person. Until without realizing it, he was already in front of the place where the collection of wooden weapons was placed. His hand entered the pile of weapons and took a weapon—a Spear. His steps moved again, passing the stairs, and now he was already in front of me.
The person who had fought with me glanced briefly at the person who had just entered, before finally leaving the arena by going down the stairs. My gaze immediately changed to the person in front of me. He now seemed to yawn, covering his mouth with his left hand. From his relaxed face—there was no aura of hostility coming out of him.
My eyes narrowed slightly. I swallowed my saliva, which felt heavy.
… He seems different from the others.
In fact, it is people like him that I must be wary of. Because people who have calm characteristics are usually harder to knock down than people who are easily provoked.
He saw me and raised a hand in greeting. His gaze was relaxed, his smile meeting my sharp stare. I didn't know whether there was something hidden behind that smile. If there was, it had to be dangerous.
… If that's the case.
My steps retreated as many as six steps, creating a long enough distance between me and him. Seeing my reaction, his expression turned slightly serious. Big Brother Fukuro who had been watching our treatment could only smile. He moved forward as many as five steps. His hands stretched out, limiting us before the fight started.
He and I began to prepare a steady stance after seeing that sign. My stance at this time was slightly different from the previous fight, which was only standing quietly. Now, I started with a wide stance—leaning down slightly. The stance of the person in front was also the same as mine, with a slight difference in the location of our weapons. If he pointed his spear slightly downwards, I prepared it next to my waist, the sharp blade facing upwards as before.
The countdown began.
"Three…!"
Our gazes sharpened at each other.
"Two…!"
The grip on the weapon and the pressure on our back feet began to strengthen.
"O…ne!"
Our back feet pushed each other strongly, making us shoot out quickly. And before our weapons collided with each other, what I did made the eyes of the person in front of me widen instantly.
"...Heh?"
[1] Yuki onna is one of the famous female youkai in Japan with an attractive appearance and a body as cold as ice. It is said that they live near mountain roads by preying on travelers who come and go, and some information also says that they are cold-blooded.