kscans

Chapter 15 - A Cowardly Sword

"Wouldn't it be better for you to get to know the disciples better?"

Just as the group was preparing to leave the Western Capital and head north, Shion made this suggestion, forcing them to pause their departure. It wasn't that Saneyuki hadn't considered it, but with Shion's journey being their top priority, he couldn't justify it. He had kept the thought to himself, so he was both surprised and pleased by her proposal.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. We can travel anytime, but this is an important period for Shintaro-sama. Once it passes, it won't come back."

And so, it was decided that Shintaro would begin helping the disciples with the repair work the very next day. However, Shintaro was not pleased that things were moving forward without giving him any time to prepare. He was being introduced as an instructor at an age where he was still considered a greenhorn, to men he had never met. He was greatly concerned about how the disciples would react.

Perhaps because of this, when Shintaro went to bed that night, he had a dream of the past.

*

It was the spring of his seventeenth year, the morning he was preparing to leave for the Hokura dojo.

"I'm sure you already know this, but you must act like everyone else, do you understand?" his mother had said, her voice laced with worry.

Shintaro had simply nodded in silence.

He had been an ordinary boy, just a little stronger and faster than the other children, until the age of eleven, when rumors of his abilities began to spread far and wide. It was around that time he had started to become aware of the power welling up inside him.

One day, Shintaro found himself captivated by a cliff he happened to glance up at. As he studied the rocks jutting out from its face, he felt that if he kicked off them in sequence, he could soar high into the sky.

"To the top of that cliff..." Before he could finish the thought, his body was already moving on its own.

From that day on, he found he couldn't suppress his power unless he consciously focused on it. It was around this time that people started saying he was possessed by a demon. It was also when rumors began to circulate that when he held a wooden sword, he fought with the eyes of a lion and moved like a dragon.

These unwanted rumors brought invitations from dojos near and far, but Shintaro refused them all. He wanted to use the power he had gained to help his parents. Farming was hard labor; the more hands, the better.

But his parents had told him, "It's not so bad to go out into the world instead of spending your whole life here. That power of yours... surely the gods gave it to you so you could become a great swordsman."

Persuaded, Shintaro had reluctantly toured various dojos to choose a place to train. But they all seemed much the same, and he was hesitant to choose one based solely on its fame. It was then that his eyes fell upon the Hokura dojo. He had fallen in love at first sight with the girl walking beside the dojo master.

As a motive for pursuing the way of the sword, it was impure, but his love for her had been genuine.

*

Shintaro awoke from the dream, sitting up and gasping for breath. He was surrounded by an unfamiliar ceiling, an earthen floor, and a wooden door. It was a room in a tenement house he had hastily moved into the night before. The reason he was alone in such a place was that, just last night, Saneyuki had finally told him he was the heir to the Tower Master.

"I've gotten to know your character from traveling with you, and I've heard many things from the townspeople. I hold no distrust toward you," Shintaro had replied.

Saneyuki and the others had laughed in relief. In the end, what they had been most concerned about was the state of Shintaro's broken heart.

Shintaro gave a wry smile. They were too kind, worrying about the personal affairs of a man they had hired as a bodyguard. He thought that if Kagasaki Razan possessed even a fraction of their compassion, he would never have done something like fall for a woman who was already spoken for. He should have easily imagined how much misery he would cause the other man if the woman chose him. Razan, who had done so without a second thought, was clearly lacking something as a human being.

After their conversation, Saneyuki and the others had quickly moved with Shion into the Tower. They reasoned that if they were going to be staying in the West for a while, they needed to save on lodging costs, and they couldn't keep a blind girl like Shion in a busy inn indefinitely. But Shintaro had dug in his heels, declaring, "It's out of the question for me to live in the Tower, even temporarily," and had them find him a vacant room in a tenement house instead.

Shintaro sighed once more, then counted the coins in his purse, calculating a remittance for his parents. He had been diligently saving the salary he received each day as a bodyguard, intending to send it from his new home.

After getting ready, he immediately went into town, bought some souvenirs, and had them bundled with the money to be sent by courier.

He hadn't sent any word home, but he was sure the news of his broken engagement with Mana had reached them. In any case, he hadn't contacted them since the betrothal, so they must have been worried. He hoped this would set their minds at ease, at least a little.

*

At the dojo where Shintaro was headed, the disciples had already gathered. There were two teenage boys, fourteen young men in their twenties, and thirty-one men in their thirties and forties. Today, they were supposed to start by weeding and pruning the garden trees, but the main topic of conversation was Shintaro, their new instructor.

"If the young master recommends him, I suppose we have no choice, but rumor has it he's quite young. Can he really handle the job?" a thirty-year-old named Yosuke remarked.

An older man named Yagami grunted. He was forty-five and served as the acting instructor. "Let's put him to the test. Let's see what he can do."

As they were talking, Shintaro walked through the gate. He was not only young but also had an impressive bearing that intimidated the disciples. The man had an undeniable presence. "No wonder the girls in town are making a fuss," one disciple muttered, which prompted another to ask, "They're making a fuss?" while others looked on with envy.

"Forget about tending the garden. I'd like to request a match," one of them said, stepping forward.

One by one, others followed, approaching Shintaro. Ignoring the weeding, they moved the proceedings to the training hall.

*

Shintaro never lost. And yet, his movements were somehow stiff and awkward.

He adhered strictly to the fundamentals, his sword technique flawless and showing no openings, but he seemed overly concerned with his footing.

Yagami stroked his chin. "Hmm," he said, observing Shintaro with a look of suspicion. Then, he slowly rose to his feet.

"Shintaro-dono. I will be your next opponent."

Shintaro looked at the man named Yagami. Yagami stared back. Shintaro had already faced more than a dozen men, yet his breathing was even. Yagami smiled at this.

"You seem distracted. These men are facing you with all their seriousness. Is that not disrespectful?"

Shintaro lowered his eyes slightly. "...My apologies."

"If you are truly sorry, then do not hold back. Well, I suppose the men who lose to you while you're holding back are a pathetic lot themselves."

Having spoken harshly to both Shintaro and the disciples, Yagami immediately took a stance with his wooden sword.

"That won't work on me."

With a thud, he stomped on the floor and unleashed a sharp blow. Shintaro, parrying it instantly, gauged Yagami's strength and realized he couldn't be dealt with like the other disciples. But the memory of his mother's face, her voice telling him, "Act like an ordinary person," flashed in his mind, and it threw him off. The fact that they were in the training hall also put him at a disadvantage.

If his opponent had been Saneyuki, it would have been different. Saneyuki knew the situation, and it was his dojo. He would have been prepared for the potential damage. But Yagami was different. Moreover, the feeling that he could probably manage a draw with the man was another factor holding him back. Still, to be so reserved against someone who was taking the match seriously was indeed extremely rude.

Shintaro continued to exchange blows for several rounds, his mind in turmoil. As he fought, he came to a conclusion: as an instructor, perhaps he couldn't afford to deviate from the standard forms. In a corner of his mind, he remembered his time at the Hokura dojo. He realized that being 'ordinarily strong' was sometimes necessary, depending on the situation.

Yagami, seeing Shintaro suddenly shift to a purely defensive style that could almost be seen as fleeing, grumbled, "Is this the extent of his skill?"

He must have been chosen for his potential, but to be an instructor when he's being pushed back by me...

Cursing inwardly, Yagami intensified his attacks. He intended to beat him down and show him his place.

The wooden swords clashed, ringing out as they repelled each other. The two men took distance from the recoil and glared at each other for a moment. The disciples watching the match held their breath.

"Is that all you've got?" Yagami asked.

Shintaro's gaze flickered away slightly. Yagami's brow furrowed.

At that moment, a figure who had wandered in at some point was watching Shintaro's stubborn adherence to basic forms with a look of stunned disbelief. It was Saneyuki.

"Shintaro-dono!" Saneyuki cried out, unable to bear it any longer. All heads turned toward him.

"Take this outside!"