Second person Daigo Minato

The first time I hid from the mist, my field of vision felt unusually narrow.

"Tuck your wrist inward more. You're just making your opponent do a little slash."

Mr. Yonekura scolded him. He replied, "Yes," and squeezed his wrist tightly. After repeating this several times, the teacher finally said with satisfaction, "Yes, that's fine."

"This stance will take you all over the country."

I have been dealing with this strange stance for three years now, ever since I received instruction from the teacher.

I was surprised to hear that Kikuchi from Kagoshima had lost two matches on the court next door. I didn't expect that a famous player who was considered one of the favorites to win in the "kendo world" would lose in the third round.

"Who's the other person?"

When asked, Watanabe pushed up his black-rimmed glasses and replied as if to say, "I've been waiting for this."

"Ishizaka Shou."

Ishizaka was last year's winner and a star player representing his grade. No matter how strong Kikuchi is, it would not be surprising if he lost by two points to Ishizaka.

"What technique did you use to win?"

Without taking his eyes off the match in front of him, Watanabe asked, "The players currently playing were from Saga and Oita. Whoever wins this match will be my next opponent."

Still, I wonder why there are so many strong kendo schools in Kyushu. Coming from Hokkaido, which is at the opposite end of the spectrum, I have no idea.

"The first one was a double-faced attack. After Kikuchi hit the face, I followed up and hit him with a slap."

"Ishizaka's mask is really fast."

"It was fast, and the sound of the strike was amazing. It echoed like this. The second strike was a thrust."

"Thrust?"

I've seen Ishizaka in practice matches a few times, but I don't remember seeing him throw a thrust.

"Yeah, double-handed thrust. That was beautiful too."

At the high school level, few athletes, even those competing in national tournaments, are able to master the thrust technique. Ishizaka is likely one of those few athletes. His ability to win as a second-year student is no joke.

The match in front of him was about to be decided. The Oita player had taken the lead with the kote and was trying to hold on. Finally, his opponent jumped in for the men, but it was blocked. The silly buzzer rang out. As soon as his opponent for the fourth round was decided, I asked Watanabe:

"Do you know that player? Iwata from Oita?"

"Yes, they're famous. Last year they were the runner-up in the prefecture and went on to compete at the nationals. They lost in the first round last year though."

Watanabe is not competing in the tournament, but he came to Tokyo as a practice partner. He doesn't win many matches, but his kendo is beautiful and the cutting edge is correct. Watanabe is also a kendo nerd, and knows most of the famous kendo players in his grade. That knowledge comes in handy at the tournament.

Being conscious of Professor Yonekura's gaze, I spoke to Watanabe in a low voice.

"What's Iwata's kendo like?"

"It has a long reach but is easy to hit."

"Are you the type to take the initiative?"

"That's true. Well, I think you should be careful about attacks from a distance."

Saying this, Watanabe lightly tapped the hanging piece that had "Minato" written on it.

"What's the matter? Don't just hit me in the groin out of nowhere."

"You idiot. Time to put on a face."

On the other side of the court, Iwata was putting back on the mask he had just taken off.

"What are you doing, hurry up."

I heard Mr. Yonekura's voice from behind me. I quickly sat up straight, bowed, and put on my mask. Strangely, I didn't feel any pressure, even though it was the big stage of the national tournament.

I think that the athletes who compete in the Inter-High School Championships are all kendo elites. They are unrivaled in their local area from elementary school, and by middle school they perform well in national tournaments and grow into main players at prestigious high schools. That's the image I have, and the careers of top athletes featured in magazines are generally similar. So when I occasionally come across an athlete who was unknown until middle school, I feel like I've discovered a friend.

He started kendo when he was in the fourth grade of elementary school. He was neither particularly strong nor weak, and occasionally participated in inter-dojo matches as the second-in-command. His specialty was men, but the reason for this was that he was unable to properly hit the kote or do.

At a public junior high school in Sapporo, he served as captain of the kendo club. He wasn't selected based on ability. There were only two other female members in his year, so he was only selected by process of elimination, "because he's a boy." There was no way that a captain selected by process of elimination could demonstrate leadership, and neither the individual nor the team could even advance to the prefectural tournament.

He didn't have any particularly strong techniques, but he was good at bringing the game to a draw. He wasn't good at hitting, but he was confident that he was reasonably good at dodging and blocking his opponent's hits. While he was dodging, the time would run out and the game would often end in a draw. When his team was leading in a team match, he was able to pass the ball to the next player while maintaining his advantage, so he was sometimes praised even in a draw. However, that team rarely took the lead in the first half.

The individual matches went into continuous overtime. Official junior high school matches often have a time limit of three minutes, but in tournament format, overtime continues until the winner is decided. In individual matches, it's common for the match time to extend by five or even ten minutes, and there have been matches that lasted over thirty minutes. By the end of the match, the opponents were usually completely exhausted, and even if they won, they would stagger into the next match.

In my last game as a junior high student, I lost in the third round of the regional tournament. As I was getting ready to go home, seeing off my opponent who, as usual, was unsteady on his feet, a man approached me. He looked to be around fifty years old, a man of swarthy appearance with dark skin. His slim suit suited him well. The man called out in a clear voice.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Yonekura and I'm the coach of the kendo club at Hokushin High School. You're Minato, right?"

My opponent introduced himself politely, but I knew who he was without him having to be told. Hokushin is arguably the strongest team in the Hokkaido high school kendo world. The boys' team in particular wins spots in the Inter-High School Championships and the National Sports Festival almost every year. It goes without saying that they gather promising players from all over the prefecture, but their success every year is largely due to the guidance of Coach Yonekura. In the 20 years that Yonekura has been in charge of coaching, Hokushin has always been at the forefront of Hokkaido's high school kendo world.

He was completely confused when he was approached by the coach who is said to be the best in Hokkaido. At first, he thought that Coach Yonekura was looking for someone he knew, but judging from his attitude, it seemed that he really had something to ask of him.

"You're Minato Daigo, right?"

"Ah, yes."

"Sorry to interrupt you out of nowhere. What are your plans for the high school entrance exam?"

"For now, I plan to just take the regular public high school entrance exam..."

"If you'd like, why not come to our high school and practice kendo?"

For a while, I couldn't comprehend the meaning of Yonekura's words.

"Me?"

"Yes. You have very good kendo skills. You may not be able to win now, but with proper training you'll win easily."

I had never thought that kendo was truly interesting. To be honest, I just continued practicing it out of inertia.

"I'm not sure yet whether I'll continue kendo in high school."

"It would be a shame to quit kendo now!"

Yonekura tapped me on the shoulder. It was probably just a light tap, but I instinctively stumbled a few steps.

"You just don't realize your own talent yet. I've had the opportunity to watch your matches a few times, but this is the first time I've seen a player dodge his opponent's strikes so unsteadily."

I couldn't tell if I was being praised or criticized.

"You're a player who draws a lot, in a good way. If you learn how to strike, you'll become incredibly strong. I wonder?"

Yonekura quickly extended her right hand.

"Why don't you try your best with me for three years?"

I wonder what would happen if I refused to shake hands here. I'd better get through this safely for now. With that in mind, I shook Yonekura's right hand.

At the time, I didn't know that it was a contract with a demon from hell.