Chapter 665 - Together
“Is Sora-chan already asleep?”
“Yep. It’s time for good kids to be in bed.”
“Fufu… she’ll scold you again for treating her like a child, you know.”
Master and student, walking side-by-side down a moonlit forest path.
Though this bamboo forest was part of her ‘domain,’ this might be the first time I’d ever seen her outside the physical grounds of the dojo.
Combined with her unfamiliar appearance, just walking beside her made me feel slightly nervous.
Instead of the simple, dark blue hakama-style do-gi that looked like a shrine maiden’s outfit when I first saw it, she wore a magnificent robe with a black and scarlet haori layered over it. Since she herself had said her usual katana was a ‘mass-produced item,’ I’d thought she wasn’t particular about her equipment, but perhaps that wasn’t the case.
…I feel like I recognize this design, or style, or atmosphere. A Japanese-style outfit where exquisite elegance and a subtle purity coexist. It was none other than Kagu—
“...? Is something wrong? You’re staring.”
“No, just thinking how lovely you look.”
“..., ...”
“...”
“...Haru-kun?”
“...I mean, it suits you. Your usual simple do-gi has a very ‘Ui-san’ feel to it that’s comforting, but seeing you all dressed up has a very ‘Sword Saint’ feel that’s truly…”
“It seems your tendency to be a little too honest hasn’t changed.”
I tried to cover up the honest thought that had slipped out while I was lost in thought by speaking quickly, but her soft chuckle only accelerated my embarrassment.
I’d basically just said, “I was captivated,” and while she looked momentarily blank at my direct praise, her ability to respond with such immediate composure was just so typical of my master.
“...Actually, this is the first time I have properly used it.”
“Hm? Oh, right.”
After gracing me with her characteristically modest smile, her following words made me turn to her. I found Ui-san pinching the collar of her haori… with a somewhat bashful expression.
“I had avoided relying not only on ‘skills,’ but on ‘equipment’ like this as well. …No, rather than avoiding it, I simply never thought to use it.”
“Well, that sounds like you, Ui-san.”
She wasn’t swinging her sword because she wanted to get stronger. She swung her sword for the sake of swinging her sword. In essence, her sword was ‘a sword with no target,’ so it was only natural that she had no need to augment it with skills or equipment.
If anything, for her, the grand objective of ‘swinging a sword with only her own body’ was being continually fulfilled, so things like skills and equipment could even be considered a hindrance.
“I received this with the words, ‘You can just use it as a decoration if you like’… Looking back, I have been quite rude for a long time. I am glad I could finally give it a chance to be worn.”
From the sound of it, it was a gift. The fact that I could instantly think, ‘It’s something worthy of her,’ meant that the person who sent it must be a considerably high-ranking artisan.
I had a feeling I knew who that person was, but I decided it wasn’t worth prying into and saved the confirmation for another time. More importantly…
“Are you sure about this?”
“Yes, I am sure.”
—It probably wasn’t what you’d call a conviction.
Still, when I threw a vague question at her for breaking with her long-held way of being, she affirmed it softly with her words and expression.
And then, she continued.
“I do not like to fight.”
“I’d imagine so.”
“I am not good at competing. Things where winning and losing exist are simply suffocating.”
“I know what you mean.”
“...You do?”
“Please don’t look so completely surprised.”
Having fought Irori with all I had, I was once again reminded that I much prefer the ‘let’s all have fun together’ of PvE to the ‘let’s fight’ of PvP. My words were sincere.
…Or rather, this is just my own subjective view, but—
“I don’t think I’ve ever once approached a PvP match in Arcadia thinking of it as a ‘fight.’ I mean, I thought I did, but I feel like deep down, I was unconsciously enjoying it with a different mindset…”
It was probably the place I reached after frantically climbing to the top. It was because everyone there accepted me not as an ‘enemy,’ but as one of their own.
Those who stood beside me, and those who stood against me… The ‘winning and losing’ Ui-san spoke of was certainly there, but in the end, my awareness of having fought an enemy was remarkably faint. Looking back, every single one of my PvP matches is better described by the sentiment, ‘We played our hearts out together.’
That must have been why I was so scared before my serious match with Irori.
“—…Anyway, that’s why I can sort of understand how you feel. Oh, but that’s only for PvP. When it comes to enemies, they’re my favorite.”
“...I… see. Yes, that is exactly it.”
“Huh? What is?”
As I rambled on about my perspective, my master nodded in understanding at the end. But I couldn’t quite grasp the flow of the conversation, so I tilted my head and asked for clarification.
We certainly had a connection as master and student, but in some ways, she was the hardest person to read. That’s why I tend to ask her more questions than anyone else in my quest to understand her heart.
I once made the mistake of being so honest and direct with my questions that she teasingly smiled and said, “You’re like a child,” which was quite embarrassing… but that’s beside the point.
“In the end, it is a matter of perspective—and watching you, Haru-kun, made me realize that. The face I saw in the videos, over and over again… it did not look like the face of someone engaged in a contest of strength.”
“Should I be embarrassed that I was being watched over and over, or should I be embarrassed by the possibility that you understand me better than I understand myself?”
“And so, I began to think. Haru-kun is surely not trying to compete, but is simply playing along with everyone… without overthinking it, just freely. And because of that, you are able to leap forward with a smile on your face more than anyone else.”
“Whether that’s true or not, from a different perspective, that sounds like a natural-born battle junkie…”
In any case, I mostly understood where this was going. That’s why, though I feel it’s a bit presumptuous, what she’s trying to say is this.
“It is the same as taking on a student—if one is to wield a sword that can be crossed with another, it is a waste not to do so. There are sights one can only see with another person.”
She took a breath, then continued.
“And if I am to step forward of my own will, to desire and face ‘that’ this time… I have reconsidered, and I believe it would be rude not to prepare my appearance as well as my heart.”
As always, and more than ever.
Her profile, as she spoke without hesitation, seemed to shine with a dignified light in the moonlit night.
“You desire this?”
“Yes, I do—and it is all your fault, and everyone else’s.”
We passed through the bamboo forest and arrived at the gate.
Pushing the closed door open gently with one hand, the [Sword Saint] turned to face me.
“It looked so, so fun… that I wanted to go there, too.”
She smiled bashfully, like a child asking, “Can I play, too?”
That must be a truly beautiful sight.