Chapter 223: Furuhashi Harunaka And Chiba Shiori

Even though the women’s category received cheers, it was still not as enthusiastic as it was for the men’s category.

In the hearts of many, they still were of the opinion that men would be more powerfully skilled in an activity like Kendo, and they would be able to harness the charm of Kendo better.

Very quickly, after announcing the seed team, Shu Nakajima then proclaimed that the Jade Dragon Flag National Competition had officially begun!

The Jade Dragon Flag National Competition was not contested according to districts.

After the best four teams for the men’s category emerged, the competition would pause. They would then continue with the women’s category instead, and after deciding the top four women’s teams, the competition would continue with the individual category. After the top four individuals were determined, the final day would then be used to determine the final ranking of the men’s group category, the women’s group category and the individual category.

Usually the men’s group competition would take two days, the women’s group competition would take two days, and the individual category would also take another two days. On the last day, all the final champions would be determined and the prizes would be given.

The order of the competition was done with the help of a real-time electronic lot-draw, so the competition schedule was very compact. It was basically like the minute two schools had finished competing, the next match would begin. The time interval between them would not exceed that of a minute. So this meant that every school would be readily dressed and waiting for their turn in the resting area.

Oddly enough, Kimura Kazuki did not leave. He was also seated in the resting area, watching the high-schoolers of various districts compete with great interest. Of course, he was not watching those average high-schoolers but the ancient Kendo practitioners in the youth category. These contestants were all using traditional Kendo techniques passed down through their families. Nonetheless, he was not as naturally gifted as Ikioi Ito and he did not have the ability to imitate these sword styles at a glance.

However, he was able to observe most of these sword styles. This would be a great help to him in the innovation of the Yagyu Flying Sword Style. Afterall, these sword styles were all techniques that have been passed down for a long time through a family line, and they were the accumulated essence of generational changes and modifications.

The intelligence of any single person should never be underestimated, especially the sword styles that have been passed on through numerous generations.

Chairman Shu Nakajima was also watching the competition nervously. After all, something unexpected had happened during the Tokyo District Qualifiers. He did not want a similar thing to happen during the National Competition, so as the Chairman, he had come personally to supervise this time. With this thought, he glanced at Kimura Kazuki, then at Ikioi Ito…

He could only pray that these youths of the ancient Kendo community would not cause some uproar again.

While Kimura Kazuki was watching from the side, he was also explaining the sword styles of these people to Harunaka. Naturally, he did not comment much on the usual sword styles that may be used by an average swordsman. Those that he pointed out were the sword styles that would dazzle and impress anyone.

However, at the beginning, Harunaka, who was seated beside him, had been a little distracted. Her eyes were sweeping the room as if she was searching for someone. After being reprimanded by him twice, only did she begin to listen with full attention.

Harunaka was clearly trying to find Chiba Shiori. She knew that that young girl was also here. She knew this because they had just parted with her in the morning. After all, Senior Kimura had specifically asked Chiba Shiori to take care of Kumoko.

Now that she was sitting with Senior Kimura, they must be looking very intimate in the eyes of others. She hoped that when the little big sister saw this, she would have the self-awareness to retreat in the face of difficulty instead of competing with her! To be honest, this was on her mind as she went to bed last night. The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt.

Last night, she had used the hotel’s computer to check the discussion forum of Akihide High School. Although the forum was not used by many, Chiba Shiori was well-known enough in Seigyoku District’s Akihide High School that there were a lot of posts discussing her. This allowed Harunaka to learn about Chiba Shiori’s virtues.

Like Senior Kimura, she was in her sophomore year and a top student. Her results came in first in her year. Apart from this, she naturally learned that Chiba Shiori was a light novel author. Her Novel The Loading File of Tokyo was currently trending in the light novel circle. She also looked up the novel’s reviews, and there was nothing but words of praise.

She compared and reflected on herself… Apart from her outward appearance, she seemed to be lacking in everything else? And Chiba Shiori’s beauty made her feel inferior occasionally too. On top of that her results were not good, her Kendo skills were also not great either… It seemed like she was a good-for-nothing!?

This was why Harunaka was so nervous. She felt really lost and did not know what she could do. She clearly did not have Ikioi Ito’s thoughts of being well-matched in family standing because she suddenly felt that she was unworthy of Senior Kimura. From the perspective of Harunaka as a 16 year old teenage girl, love was something beautiful. Harunaka’s concept of love was different from that of Fuyuno, her thinking was more simplistic.

The old her she might have given up at this point, but her individual competition with Senior Kimura at the Tokyo District Qualifiers had made her realize the true meaning of practicing Kendo.

A long time ago, she practiced Kendo for the sake of her mother, as her mother had died of an accident right in front of her eyes. Additionally, it was also because her other sisters were too young, si they did not experience the same heart-wrenching grief she did even though they were sad too.

It was not that Natsui and the others were heartless, they were just too young to fully grasp the concept of death. Only Harunaka experienced that feeling of intense pain. Thus, in order to sustain her mother’s wishes, she began practicing Kendo from a young age, even sacrificing her studies for it.

Sometimes Harunaka felt like giving up, but she always persevered. However, the more she trained, the more robotic her motions became. After a period of stagnation, Harunaka’s resolve sometimes wavered. It was during the Individual Competition where Senior Kimura gave her the reason to persevere. He had strengthened her mentally, and that had allowed her Kendo capabilities to improve tremendously. It brought her joy.

Senior Kimura told her that she had grasped the true nature of sword power! After comprehending her sword power, Harunaka had become more emotionally attached to Senior Kimura.

Since she liked Senior Kimura, naturally she should try to pursue him. This was also something Senior Kimura had taught her at the Individual Competition. If she had thoughts of giving up just because a better love rival had appeared, could her affections for Senior Kimura be true then? As she pondered, Harunaka decided to wipe away all the negative feelings in her mind and pay attention to the guidance of Senior Kimura instead.

This actually made Kimura Kazuki glance at her out of surprise. He could feel that Harunaka’s sword power had become more tangible… Even though he did not know why, he still exclaimed inwardly that Harunaka was truly talented in Kendo.

Chiba Shiori observed this scene silently from the audience seat as she teased Kumoko occasionally. She was not that well-versed in Kendo, she only wanted to use Kendo as a reason to get closer to Kazuki… However, she was too weak physically. Even if she were to begin working out, her physical performance could not improve in just a few days. Furthermore, physical strength was the basis of practising Kendo. As she thought of everything that happened in Akichi High School, she concluded that Kazuki’s power did not solely come from his Kendo skills.

However, it was hard not to care as she looked at Kazuki and Harunaka smiling and talking to each other. Last night, she had considered transferring to Sakura Kyu High School. After all, she was also a sophomore, and with her results she would definitely be placed in the same class as Kazuki. However, after some thought, she decided to give up.

Notwithholding the fact that her parents might not agree, doing such a thing seemed meaningless. Chiba Shiori felt that love was the coming together of values and outlook. Two people could only get together if they were to match in terms of perspective.

Currently, her interaction with Kazuki was not that bad, it was even quite comfortable… Perhaps for Kimura Kazuki, the best kind of love would be the kind that comes naturally?

This could only be confirmed through further observations.

Luckily from yesterday’s event, she could tell that Kazuki-san had no additional feelings for Harunaka-san.

This made her feel relieved.