Kazuya was engrossed in reading books about swordsmanship gathered by Kanae Shimazaki. While these book couldn't be used as a skill book, it contained interesting anecdotes about the ancient swordsmanship. It was helpful for broadening his knowledge.
Modern kendo generally referred to sports swordsmanship, a form of competitive activity. Its predecessor, swordsmanship, was a combat skill that had been active on battlefields for a long time. Swordsmanship was primarily divided into three major schools: Itto-ryu (One-Sword School), Shindo-ryu (God's Way School), and Yagyu-ryu (Yagyu School).
The earliest recorded swordsmanship school was the Itto-ryu, founded by Chojiro Nagahide. Its core philosophy could be crudely summarized as "Cut down the enemy before they cut you down." The "one-sword" referred not only to using a single sword but also to the idea of swiftly defeating the enemy before they could attack. Many branches of this school employed techniques for dual-sword combat, but there were no terms like "two-sword" or "three-sword".
The core spirit of Ittoryu, the pioneering swordsmanship school, persisted throughout the development of Japanese swordsmanship. The emphasis on swiftly taking down the enemy to prevent oneself from being struck made Japanese swordsmanship inherently offensive...
Kazuya slowly turned the pages of the book, verifying the ideas about swordsmanship in his mind. He found that, indeed, as the text described, even the defensive maneuvers in Japanese swordsmanship were designed to follow up with an attack and swiftly defeat the enemy. There were countless instances in his mind where actual combat encounters lasted no more than thirty seconds.
Staring at the line of text in the book, he muttered to himself, "Any practical combat lasting more than one minute means both sides are just putting on a show... Truly a lethal skill, with such a simple goal."
Kazuya stretched his arms, feeling the soreness. His arms were still aching. It seemed he wasn't used to such intense physical activity. He knew he had never engaged in such strenuous exercises before and needed some time to adapt. Putting the book down, he glanced at his guest and found her absorbed in her homework, hunched over her backpack. Her small, sock-covered feet were neatly curled.
To be honest, Kazuya had never paid much attention to girls in his previous life. Glancing at her, he guessed she was about ten years old—probably in the fourth or fifth grade of elementary school.
She was dressed in a typical elementary school uniform: a white shirt with a light blue tie, a navy blue hat with an upturned brim, and a matching jacket and skirt. Her oval face with dimples showed when she smiled. A small, cute nose and tiny lips accompanied a pair of big eyes that shimmered under the lamplight. At this moment, however, they reflected a sense of confusion. She gave off the vibe of a little beauty.
Yoko had noticed Kazuya's gaze even with her head lowered. She looked up and quickly flashed a smile, attempting to please.
Kazuya responded with a smile, but after a moment, a sense of bitterness crept in. He was familiar with that type of smile—he used to wear it when he desperately needed others to help him survive! Weak and powerless, forced to seek self-preservation by pleasing others... Just from that smile, he could tell that Yoko probably didn't have an easy life.
He gently asked, "Is the homework hard? If there's anything you don't understand, I can help you."
Yoko hurriedly refused, "No, no need. I can do it by myself."
"It's okay!" Kazuya walked over, jokingly adding, "Onisan is a top student. I can definitely help you."
He sat cross-legged next to her backpack, lowered his head, and pointed at the exercise book, "Do you have trouble with this last question? Well, it's just a bit tricky. Don't worry too much about the numbers and decimal points. It's actually testing your knowledge of fractions... You see, the question mentions a billing error, and the actual amount is one-tenth of the original price. Once we know this..."
Kazuya went on to explain in detail, and Yoko, looking at the face under the lamplight, suddenly felt a bit dazed. However, she quickly focused her attention and listened attentively. It took her quite a while to understand, but once she did, she happily exclaimed, "Thank you, Onisan!" She went back to writing.
Kazuya watched her for a moment, confirming there were no mistakes. Glancing at her red backpack under the exercise book, he recalled that he used to wonder why Japanese elementary school students carried such large backpacks. Did they have so much homework? Were textbooks and exercise books so numerous that they needed a backpack as big as a mountain climbing bag? He reached out and gave the backpack a gentle squeeze, finding it surprisingly elastic, almost like real leather. It seemed rather expensive. Meanwhile, Yoko had finished the last question of her homework and looked at him with some confusion as he examined the backpack.
"What's wrong, Onisan?" she asked.
"Just curious. Isn't it heavy to carry such a big backpack?" Kazuya inquired.
"Not at all. Onisan, haven't you carried one before?" Yoko was so puzzled. These backpacks were mandatory at school, and every elementary school student she knew had one since the first grade.
"I came here from Tottori Prefecture to attend high school. Things are different there compared to Aichi Prefecture," Kazuya prevaricated, taking advantage of Yoko's lack of travel experience.
Yoko, who had never been far from home, accepted the explanation, raising the backpack with a smile. "It looks big, but it's very light." She put it on her back and demonstrated, lying down, "If there's an earthquake, just lie down like this, cover your head with the backpack's lid, and it can prevent injuries from falling objects. If you fall into the water, holding the backpack without moving can keep you afloat for fifteen minutes. And the backpack reflects light, making it highly visible under car headlights, preventing accidents..."
Eager to please Kazuya, she shared information she learned from school safety education. "It's said that this backpack goes through over two hundred steps in manual production, so it's very expensive. But after six years of elementary school, you can sell it back to the school."
Kazuya patted the backpack and marveled at its craftsmanship. Japan was prone to natural disasters, including earthquakes, volcanic eruption and tsunami, so it made sense for such peculiar items to be produced to increase the survival chances of students.
Seeing Kazuya's expression, Yoko felt satisfied, thinking she had helped him. After putting her exercise book in the backpack, she gave Kazuya a look inside. The meticulous workmanship was evident—multiple layers of thick leather stacked like armor with a lifebuoy attached.
With her homework done, Yoko found herself with nothing to do. Since she wasn't familiar with Kazuya and couldn't think of anything to say, she sat there hugging her knees. However, her eyes couldn't help but glance at the clock.
Kazuya also took a look at the clock and noticed it was almost half-past ten. Yoko's mother had yet to return. While it was common for Japanese staffs to do overtime, this seemed a bit late. Kazuya comforted her, "Don't worry. You mom should be back soon."
Yoko remained silent for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "Are you going to rest, Onisan?" She looked at the slightly ajar door, as if contemplating whether it was time to leave. "I've been here for a long time. Thank you..."
Kazuya sighed softly and interrupted her, "Just wait here honestly. I thought you were worried about your mother and in a hurry. Don't overthink it." He felt awkward sending a child out onto the streets at this hour.
"Is it really okay?" Yoko asked hesitatingly. Fidgeting with her fingers, she explained, "I just glanced at the clock because the night drama I usually watch is about to start. I wasn't in a hurry... My mom usually comes home very late."
Kazuya became curious about what Yoko's mother did for a living, but he didn't want to ask. Instead, he looked at the small 14-inch television and said, "I haven't paid the TV fee, so I can't get many channels. Do you want to watch it?"