Chapter 21: 21)Start of the tournament
Enjoy the reading and feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments
After dinner ended with a little accident, I stayed with Shinso waiting for our parents to come and pick us up. The evening had been mostly fun, but that minor mishap had left everyone a bit flustered. Shinso didn't say much, just staring off into the distance.
"Thank you for earlier" said Shinso without looking at me. His voice was quiet but sincere.
"No problem, but you need to stand up for what you really want. You can't let people decide what you can or can't do" I said seriously, trying to sound encouraging.
"Okay, okay, boss. Good luck for tomorrow" said Shinso just as our mothers arrived to pick us up.
Like that, we separated and I started heading to our respective homes. The night air was cool and crisp, a slight breeze brushing past as I walked.
"So, did you have fun?" asked my mum when I got in the car.
"Well, it wasn't exactly a boring night" I answered—especially the last part, I thought inwardly,.
"See, it's good to go out and get along with people" said my mum in a wise tone, glancing at me through the rearview mirror.
Well, if they're not immature brats, that might be true. At least those two kids didn't seem half bad—they were kinda fun, actually.
When we arrived home, I went straight to sleep since tomorrow would be a long day. My mind was already racing with thoughts about the upcoming tournament.
The next morning…
"Ring ring!" With a slap, I stopped the alarm and looked at the clock.
Ugh, 6 a.m. I'm still mentally tired from yesterday. Socializing is more mentally draining than I thought. I sighed, rubbing my eyes.
Okay, let's start this day.
I began my morning routine—brushing my teeth, washing my face, and changing into my school uniform. After I was ready, the kendo team picked me up in a van.
As I was getting in, my mom accompanied me along with my sister and said, "Good luck, Hiro, and remember that weare proud of you."
My sister raised her fist and clenched it, saying, "Go, big bro, and make them cry!" Wow, the little one is fierce, I thought, glancing at the guys in the van who chuckled quietly.
"Okay, bye!" I saluted them and entered the van.
The tournament would be in Tokyo, so we needed about an hour to get there. The mood in the van was tense but excited, everyone focused on what was ahead.
After two hours, the tournament finally started following an eternal ceremony full of tradition and formality.
We drew the opposing team: Chiba prefecture, a school not too strong nor too weak. It seemed like a fair match.
We were the second team to compete. The first round was Tochigi vs Gunma. I saw some very boring matches, nothing too exciting.
"It's your turn, brats" said the old sensei with his usual seriousness, eyes sharp as ever.
"Hai!" We let out a war cry and prepared for our match, adrenaline kicking in.
After five minutes, I only had one thought: What the hell? Why are they so weak?
Yes, they are not considered a top team, but this is too much.
In the end, all five of us won our matches, a solid victory that boosted our confidence for the next rounds.