As I walked home after seeing more things I didn't want to see, I heard a voice calling me.
"You never learn, do you?"
Sayaka had followed me again—this was the third time this week, the third time I'd gotten into trouble with one of those rich kids. The last one was in the Otada district. I challenged two spoiled brats who were threatening a girl much younger than them. The girl was only there to stop me from doing anything worse.
"I didn't hurt anyone. You saw it."
"And does that matter? I already told you—you gain nothing from fighting people like that."
"Oh, don't act like my mom. You're older, sure, but we're on the same level."
"Level doesn't matter to me. I don't want you getting jumped out of nowhere by those idiots. You know they don't just use bladians these days. In a straight fistfight, you'd lose easily."
"Thanks for rubbing salt in the wound."
"You're the strongest kendoushi fighter in Hokkaido, Shin. But even so, you need to be more careful."
Sayaka worried too much. Ever since my parents died, she was the only one who really "looked after" me. She's twenty years old and has been my neighbor since we were eight. She used to play with me in elementary school. When I lost my friends after what happened in eighth grade, Sayaka was the only one who stayed by my side. When I was on the verge of killing myself, it was her who saved me. So the least I could do was listen to her and respect her decisions… well, at least sometimes.
"Okay, okay. I swear I'll TRY not to let it get to me. But come on—don't you get pissed off when you see stuff like that?"
"Of course I do! But we're not heroes. We're kendoushi practitioners. Being selfish once in a while isn't the end of the world. And you say that fight was unfair, but that guy was asking for it, right? Deep down, you just wanted to show off."
"Hahaha, you're right—as always."
"You were lurking on those internet forums and found out about that duel, weren't you? What's the reason for this, Shin? You're already the best in Hokkaido—probably one of the best in Japan for your age."
"You're right that I just wanted to show off a little and raise my level even more. But someone who wants to reach the top of kendoushi can't allow things like that to happen. I promised I'd use this sword for good—to bring peace to the world through kendoushi. So whenever I see crap like that, don't expect me to just stand there."
Yes—that's why I fight.
When I got home, my sister was waiting for me with lunch ready and her usual gentle, simple smile. Her name is Katsunaga Chizuru. She became paraplegic in the accident that happened three years ago. Calling it an "accident" felt too soft. My parents were murdered by someone using a modified bladian. In 2022, someone managed to alter the code of the bladian so its protective coating could be removed—turning the blade sharp and lethal. My father, Katsunaga Kenjirou, was ranked number 02 in Japan among kendoushi fighters.
That gray Wednesday, I had gone to train for my first week of kendoushi with my master, leaving my parents and my sister—who is two years older than me—at home. Around 7:00 p.m., when I returned, I was confronted with that image: the mutilated bodies of my mother and father scattered across the living room, blood staining everything. My sister had only been beaten, but the injuries were severe—she fractured her spine and ended up in this condition. I think they didn't kill her because she was only sixteen at the time. But even so… for a fourteen-year-old boy to come home and find his parents' bodies torn apart and the house soaked in blood—it traumatized me to the point that I forgot most of my life up to that age. The memories I have are vague. All I know is that I loved kendoushi, that I trained with my parents every day. Those were the only things that remained—everything I learned, my entire passion for the sport.
At the time, the committee and the state minister banned the sport for six months until all bladians could be inspected and the killer caught. Many people demanded the sport be abolished forever. Until then, its popularity in Japan had reached 98%—almost every child started practicing at age twelve. But after the incident, the number dropped to 30%, and today I doubt even 20% of people like or practice it. It became a forgotten sport.
But despite everything—despite the tragedy right in front of my eyes, despite all the criticism—I decided to follow my father's teachings. Before he died, he left me a letter he intended to give me when I turned seventeen. In it, he told me to keep going, to become the best kendoushi fighter in Japan, and to show that this sport could change the world.
Now everyone has a distorted view and fears that something like that could happen again. But I promised I would change that perception. I will prove that bladians can make the world better. The original purpose of this sport was self-defense—people could protect themselves from thieves, rapists, and delinquents with their bladians. In the beginning, it was very effective. But now everything seems to have gone back to square one.
If I can win the world championship… if I can reach the top, then I'm sure the world will listen to me. And there's something even more important than that: catching the murderer of my parents. That's why I fight. That's why I live.
"You're late, onii-chan. Got into another fight, didn't you? Honestly…" Chizuru looked at me with a pout, but she always made that face. I think she was used to her stubborn brother by now. The only thing that kept me motivated to keep wielding a bladian was the strength my sister gave me—my only remaining family. I will protect her, no matter the cost. Ever since I lost my parents, it feels like I've become a cold person. I can't truly care about anyone else except her.
"I'll never lose—you know that, right? Trust your onii-sama more."
"Don't expect me to ever call you that, hihi."
"Let me at least dream, okay!"
"By the way, delinquent onii-chan, a letter arrived for you."
"A letter?" I narrowed my eyes at Chizuru as she moved her wheelchair.
"It seems that mess you caused last week turned into something a little bigger. When you beat those two brats, someone from Tokyo was there. She saw everything… and now you've been officially invited to participate in a battle against Tokyo's strongest team: Kingdom Wings. Looks like they saw potential in you."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Kingdom Wings had invited me to a battle? This was my chance—my real chance!
"See? My fights out there aren't for nothing! But I never expected this…"
"Onii-chan… aren't you forgetting something?"
"Huh? What? Be proud of me, come on! It's not every day someone gets invited to duel one of Japan's top teams."
"You… don't have a team yet, do you? And the invitation says you have to come with your team, so… I think you're going to have some problems. The battle is in seven days."