Teaching Kendo in Tokyo 1980

It was only now that Kazuma realized—he'd somehow walked straight into one of those so-called shuraba situations.

A love triangle scene out of a romantic drama... this was a completely new experience for him.

But then he thought about it—wait a second. A shuraba usually required him to be two-timing. And right now, he hadn't established a relationship with either of these girls.

So what was there to be flustered about? Just stay calm and handle it normally.

Kazuma felt like a genius for figuring out the heart of the problem so quickly.

With that, he gave a casual wave to Mikako. "Yo, Mikako. What brings you here?"

Mikako, carrying a carefully-prepared bento box, darted over to his side. "Visiting the patient, of course! I even put a lot of effort into making this bento!"

Then she glanced at Nanjo Honami. "And who's this? You finally getting a student for your dojo?"

Kazuma smiled, about to introduce Nanjo-san properly—but then it hit him. Wait a minute... was Mikako making a move?

By labeling the other girl as just "a dojo student," she was subtly positioning herself higher. Not bad at all, Mikako!

Kazuma glanced at his childhood friend again. Somehow, she suddenly felt a bit... unfamiliar.

Nanjo-san blinked, clearly caught off guard. She quickly tried to explain. "Oh no, that's not it. I'm here to visit as well. I..."

Mikako cut her off smoothly. "You too? So you know Kazuma? Funny, I didn't know he was friends with such a refined young lady."

She turned to Kazuma. "Kazuma, don't tell me this is one of those old-fashioned arranged engagements your grandfather set up?"

Given that the Kiryu family had once been quite well-off, her question wasn't unreasonable.

Kazuma answered honestly. "No, of course not. Nanjo-san and I just happened to meet a few days ago."

"Oh, I see." Mikako eyed Nanjo again. "So you've only known each other a few days, and already here to visit him in the hospital? That's awfully fast progress."

Kazuma found himself re-evaluating his childhood friend. Wow, Mikako... you're pretty sharp at this court intrigue stuff. Poor Nanjo-san's already been put on the defensive.

Glancing at the somewhat flustered Nanjo-san, Kazuma felt a twinge of sympathy and decided to step in. "Actually, here's what happened—Nanjo-san is part of the Etsukawa Girls' kendo club. The other day, when I was taking my sister to school, I happened to meet their head coach.

"I saw through the coach's fake credentials, gave him a good beating, and exposed the fact that he wasn't actually menkyo kaiden. After that, Nanjo-san was impressed with my swordsmanship and asked to spar sometime, so..."

Before he could finish, Mikako grabbed his sleeve, exposing his bandages. "She wants to spar with you in this condition? That's just taking advantage, isn't it?"

Kazuma sighed. Mikako was in full battle mode—like a territorial mother cat.

He'd owned cats in his previous life—started with one, eventually had two. Whenever a new cat came home, the old one would get jealous and chase it away, insisting that Kazuma only pet her.

Just like now.

Nanjo-san quickly spoke up. "That's not what I meant. I hope Kazuma-kun will recover soon so we can have a proper match as promised."

"Oh really?" Mikako narrowed her eyes meaningfully. "I'm not so sure. I mean, Kazuma does look pretty cool when he's wielding a sword. It's only natural he'd attract attention."

Kazuma couldn't help thinking, Mikako, aren't you being a bit too blunt? I thought Japanese people valued subtlety?

But her next comment nearly made him spit—good thing he hadn't eaten breakfast yet.

Mikako said, "He already has our class rep completely smitten. You can't let your guard down for a second."

Chiyoko gave Kazuma a disapproving look. "Bro, is that true?"

"I'm not! I didn't! Mikako, stop making things up!" Kazuma replied with a practiced triple denial. "She was just inspired by me to aim for Todai, that's all!"

Mikako shot back, "But she tried to stop me from coming here today under the pretense of being 'study buddies aiming for Todai'!"

"Well, she didn't succeed, did she?"

At that moment, Nanjo-san seized the opportunity to chime in before Mikako could retort. "Todai—as in the University of Tokyo?"

Kazuma nodded, about to explain, but Mikako cut in, "What else? It's not Tohoku University—they call that Tohokudai."

Nanjo-san looked surprised. Kazuma suddenly realized she probably didn't know about his university plans. After all, they hadn't talked that much since meeting.

"The University of Tokyo?" Nanjo-san couldn't hide her astonishment. "I thought you'd go through a kendo recommendation track, maybe to the police academy or something."

Mikako immediately picked up on the shift in tone—Nanjo-san had deliberately switched to calling him Kazuma-kun. In Japan, using a first name without honorifics between a boy and girl was a pretty intimate gesture.

Clearly, Nanjo-san was countering Mikako's repeated "Kazuma, Kazuma."

Mikako's right—this girl's got a clever side too, Kazuma thought.

Nanjo-san met his gaze directly, seemingly unfazed.

"Um, I was originally planning to enter the police academy through kendo," Kazuma admitted—well, the previous Kiryu Kazuma had been.

"But now I've changed my mind. To truly change my fate, getting into a top university like Todai is the key—to reach the peak and achieve greater ambitions."

And there was another reason now—if he didn't get into Todai in ten months, he'd have to face the entire Kanto Union alone.

Nanjo-san lit up, glancing at her old butler. Even Kazuma, not great at reading girls, could tell what that look meant.

The old butler finally spoke. "The University of Tokyo, eh? Quite the admirable goal. But remember, passion and determination alone aren't always enough in this world."

Kazuma couldn't shake the feeling there was a deeper meaning behind his words. Does he know about the ridiculous bet forced on me by the Kanto Union boss?

Nanjo-san, still excited, said, "If you're aiming for Todai too, we can study together! My target is Keio University's Faculty of Letters. The Japanese language and essay sections overlap quite a bit with Todai's."

Keio's top program was Political Science—a breeding ground for politicians—but its Faculty of Letters was famous for producing elegant society ladies.

In traditional elite families, wives were expected to manage the household, support their husbands, and cultivate tasteful hobbies like ikebana, literature, music, and so on.

Naturally, the Faculty of Letters at Keio was perfect for grooming such refined young women.

She could help me with Japanese, Kazuma thought. That's my weak point. Studying together sounds like a great idea.

But... studying together didn't involve kendo lessons, so no tuition fees…

As he was thinking this, Mikako jumped in. "I want to study too! I'm aiming for Sophia University's English department. With Kazuma's amazing spoken English, he can help me pass their notoriously tough interview!"

Kazuma gave her a look. "Hold on—how did this suddenly become a group study session?"

Mikako scratched her head. "I don't know! But whatever you two do, count me in. Oh, and about that sparring you mentioned—I'm in too! I'm competing in the district preliminaries. I'll probably face Nanjo-san, so it makes sense to spar now."

Kazuma frowned, glancing at both girls.

"Um... Mikako, maybe let's not. You might not win against Nanjo-san."

That had the opposite effect—Mikako's fighting spirit flared. "How would I know if I don't try? You've got armor and bamboo swords here, right? Let's do this!"

Realizing he couldn't stop them, Kazuma turned to Nanjo-san. "Nanjo-san, I know your swordsmanship is excellent, coming from the Akutagawa Dojo—"

"But we haven't actually sparred, have we?" Nanjo Honami interjected smoothly. "And I'm not an official member of Akutagawa Dojo. As a girl, I can't formally enroll. I only train there because of my father's connections.

"In terms of status, this young lady and I are the same—just ordinary high school kendo club members. So, Kazuma-kun, please lend me some armor and a bamboo sword."

Kazuma could only scratch his head. Looks like there's no stopping this match...

How did it come to this...

He glanced helplessly at Chiyoko. "Go ahead and take the ladies to change and gear up."

Chiyoko seemed delighted. "Alright! But remember, our dojo charges rental fees for lending armor and swords to non-members."

Kazuma blinked. "Wait, seriously?"

"Of course! It was Dad's rule—for dojo revenue. Hold on, I'll grab the official price list."

She dashed inside and soon returned with a beautifully crafted signboard. "See? Dad's handiwork—I've kept it carefully stored."

"I'll rent them!" Nanjo Honami declared, pulling out an elegant wallet and handing Chiyoko a 10,000-yen bill.

"That's too much," Chiyoko said, pointing to the board. "For one day, it's just 500 yen."

"I don't have smaller bills," Nanjo-san replied coolly—a classic line.

"In that case, I'll rent for 20 days."

Mikako set down her bento, checked her wallet, and found only 3,000 yen.

"Moooom!" Mikako wailed.

Kazuma patted her shoulder. "It's fine, just rent one day at a time. Chiyoko, take this 10,000 yen to the shopping street and get change."

"Okay!"

As Chiyoko prepared to leave, the old butler entered. "I have change. Milady, how many times have I told you to keep smaller bills on hand?"

"Sorry, Suzuki Grandpa. I'll remember. I just didn't expect to need cash today."

Chiyoko nudged Kazuma and mouthed: Convince her to rent for 20 days!

Kazuma sighed. Great. My sister's turning into a money-grubber over one bill...

Finally, after the little interlude, Butler Suzuki bowed. "Well then, I'll take my leave. I'll be back this evening to pick up the young lady."

Nanjo Honami nodded. "Thank you."

As soon as Suzuki left, Mikako's mother, Fujii Keiko, bustled in, already looking a bit plump. "Alright, Mikako, Mama's heading off too. I'll pick you up tonight. Do your best! Mama's cheering for you!"

Mikako clenched her fists. "I will!"

Kazuma stood awkwardly to the side, watching the scene.

Nanjo-san turned to Chiyoko. "Shall we go change?"

"Of course, right this way."

(End of Chapter)