I pulled out the bamboo sword and armor that I had shoved in the back of the closet. When I took them out of the bag, I was hit with a strong moldy smell. It hadn't been touched in six years, so it was only natural that mold had taken over. I wiped the surface of the armor with a rag and dried it in the shade. By the time I got home, the mold had been removed.

Wednesday. I finished work early and headed to the kendo class Minato had mentioned. I collected my armor and bamboo sword from the coin locker at the station. It had been a while since I'd carried my armor bag, and the straps dug into my shoulders. I got off at the nearest designated station and stepped into the elementary school near the station. In the silent school building, only the gymnasium was brightly lit.

"Ah, Urabe-san."

Minato, who had arrived earlier, came running over. He was already dressed in his gi and hakama. Following Minato's lead, I set down my bamboo sword and protective gear in a corner of the dojo. Just as Minato had said, there were about ten young swordsmen in the gymnasium who looked to be elementary or middle school students. Each one was changing into their gi and chatting with friends.

"Please wait a moment."

With that said, Minato left the gym again.

With nothing better to do, I decided to change into my karate uniform. It had been a while since I'd worn it, and it felt stiffer than I'd expected. While I was putting on my hakama, a child who looked to be still in elementary school started running around in front of me. He seemed to be chasing a friend. The two of them were running around the gym, discussing something. Some women who seemed to be parents were watching them amiably. Suddenly, the boy stepped over a bamboo sword that was lying on the floor. The moment I said "Ah," a sharp voice rang out.

"Don't step over the bamboo sword!"

The voice came from the entrance to the gym. Turning around, he saw a man in his thirties glaring sternly at the boy straddling a bamboo sword. Behind him stood Minato. The man took off his shoes and lined them up neatly before entering the gym. He bowed to the seat of honor and then walked over to the boy. The boy stood there, stunned.

"You shouldn't step over the bamboo sword. Courtesy is the basis of kendo."

The boy still looked up at the man with a dumbfounded expression.

"What's your answer?"

"sorry"

The boy finally spoke. I thought it was impressive that he didn't even burst into tears and apologized properly. Minato ran up to the man and looked my way. He hurriedly tied the strings of his hakama pants that he had been putting on. The man walked over, still carrying his protective gear.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Suzuki, the organizer."

"My name is Urabe."

They both bowed their heads. Looking closer, Suzuki's face was deeply wrinkled. His features were strong and he looked young, but in reality he looked to be over 40 years old.

"I heard Urabe-san came in third at the Inter-High. Daigo told me he's pretty strong."

"No, not at all. It's been six years since I left kendo, so I wonder how much my body can move."

After exchanging a few words, Suzuki put down his protective gear on the seat of the head of the gym. It seemed that this was his usual place. As I was stretching and waiting for practice to begin, a middle-aged man with a young boy came in. He had a large, protruding belly.

"It's been a while, hasn't it, Nakakura-san?"

"I heard that a new person was coming today, so I forced myself to come out of the office. Oh, is this the person?"

The man Minato had called Nakakura approached with a friendly smile, and the boy who had accompanied him ran off to the group of children.

"My name is Urabe. Nice to meet you today."

"It's Nakakura. I heard from Daigo that he's a high-level attacker. Apparently he's quite strong."

Without his knowledge, Minato seems to have set the bar quite high.

Nakakura greeted me politely and then sat down next to me in his protective gear. He seemed a little too fat for kendo.

Suzuki, dressed in a judo uniform, raised his voice with a bamboo sword in his hand.

"gather!"

The scattered children quickly lined up in front of Suzuki. The child at the front right shouted "Sit down," and everyone sat upright. Minato, Nakakura and the others sat upright behind him.

"Meditation"

At the command, everyone closed their eyes. When Suzuki said "Stop," the young swordsmen bowed twice to the shrine and to the front. Some of them looked like they had just started elementary school, but they were so well-behaved. I was simply impressed. Perhaps their emotions were showing, because Nakakura, who was sitting next to them, whispered in their ears.

"Isn't it amazing? It's all thanks to Mr. Suzuki's teaching skills."

Suzuki called on several children to state their goals for today's practice.

"I'll be careful not to miss the opportunity."

"I'll use a pulling technique to move back so my opponent can't catch up."

Once that was done, I was called "Urabe Sensei."

"Today I'd like to introduce a new person to you. Professor Urabe Motonobu."

"Teacher, that's..."

Suzuki felt embarrassed, but continued with the introduction regardless.

"Urabe Sensei will be taking jodan. You are not yet able to take jodan, but once you reach high school, you may have matches against opponents with jodan. Think of today's training as a valuable lesson for that. Thank you, Urabe Sensei."

"Thank you for your help."

The children bowed in unison, stammering, "Thank you very much," and bowed.

It was fun practicing after such a long time.

Even during practice, I noticed that my upper arms were really tense, but I couldn't let it go. I put on protective gear and joined in the basic training. After that, I practiced on the ground with the children. It had been a while since I'd last practiced jodan, but it was all I could do just to swing the bamboo sword up. I can't deliver the quick strikes I did in high school. But with Suzuki's introduction, I couldn't give up on jodan. I was exhausted, but I continued practicing against the children.

Towards the end of the ground training, Minato called out, his right kote thumb raised.

"Urabe-san, one-on-one match."

Give me a break. I swallowed those words and faced off against Minato. Naturally, Minato easily took my small hand.

"I'm here."

"Urabe-san, one more."

Minato's relaxed expression made me a little irritated. I'm not going to lose.

In the end, Minato landed three kote and one men. What was strange was that Minato's kendo had become much more beautiful than before. If he was only concerned with winning, there were other ways to do it. At least, I remember Minato doing it differently at the Inter-High. I wonder if he was taught the correct kendo in college. I don't remember seeing Minato's matches after he became a university student. Or perhaps something triggered him to make an effort to change. I don't know the truth, but somehow I hoped it was the latter.

With his final move, he slammed his bamboo sword into Minato's face from the front. It might be more accurate to say that it hit him rather than that it hit him. After being hit, Minato finally seemed satisfied, saying "I give up," and stepped back. The children watching around him let out cries of admiration.

"That's fast."

"Amazing."

Suzuki approached and told the children to practice, sending them away.

Just as I was thinking that I could finally rest, Suzuki flashed a thumbs up right in front of me.

"One please."

At the end of the practice, the children lined up again, facing Suzuki. By the time I started the kake practice, I was no longer sweating. I wondered when was the last time I had been this tired. I'm glad I'd stretched so thoroughly, I thought to myself as I took off my mask. Even though it was July, the outside air was cool against my face.

There was another man sitting next to Suzuki who I didn't know. I wonder when he had joined the practice. He was a thin, crane-like man who looked to be in his fifties. He was sitting in the seat of honor next to Suzuki. The name Morita was written on the hanging scroll.