Today, I plan to go outside with Mr. Saya to his association, which is like a club for a grown man, he explained. He is wearing a soft red yukata. I'm wearing a white long-sleeve shirt and a soft black skirt. The maid did my hair by using the soft red ribbon, tied my hair half up, and let my long hair loose half down.
The exit of the Bamboo House is like a maze to me. It's hard to pin down and clearly say where it is. I could probably get lost in the Bamboo forest and take three days to get out.
The Association
Mr. Saya walks inside the traditional wood-built building, which is a bit old. I couldn't say how old it looks, but this place might have existed for at least 20 years. Am I exaggerating? Maybe, but it looks like a heritage location.
I follow Mr. Saya closely, but not too closely. And six men wearing black suits follow us behind.
Inside, it's an empty stadium, like a training or sports center, and there are four big seat spots surrounding the center on the north, south, east, and west sides.
Mr. Saya sits on the north side, and I sit next to him, but there's a tiny wooden table between us. Three men stand in front of us, one step down, and three men stand behind us. Three important people are already in their seats. They kind of sit so far away from each other, including us.
If we talk, we are supposed to shout.
"Should we start?"
The old man across from us speaks up normally. He doesn't need to shout, and his voice echoes around the place.
That's impressive. My reaction can tell my curiosity because I look around and up to the surroundings.
"It's the wooden dome, and it is structured to keep the sound inside and not let the noise outside."
Mr. Saya explains to me while smiling.
Several men come out and lay a long mat out to cover the empty floor in the stadium's center. They quickly get back inside, and other men carry the bamboo, about 4 or 5 trunks stuck together into one. And they put down 4 spots in a square shape around the corner of the mat. A minute later, there's a long row of guys wearing the training outfit I used to wear when I was in the Sword Club. They walk into the center and greet us by bowing on each side. Then, they separate to sit in their positions; five people are the representatives of their own organizations or clubs or, should I say, gangs.
Mr. Saya has 5 representatives as well; they sit in the row on the same floor as the training mat in front of us.
I never thought I would ever witness this event.
"Please send your first member."
The committee announces.
I watch each of them get up and step on the mat, and they stand in their position in front of each bamboo.
"Prepare."
The committee announces.
And they do the position postures and pull out the swords, real swords.
"Ready."
The committee announces.
And they do other postures.
"Go."
And they all use the sword to strike the hard bamboo in half in a 180-degree straight line.
"Clap!!"
Everyone claps, so I do the same.
Several men rush in, remove the broken bamboo, and bring the new one.
"Prepare."
The committee announces again. The representatives do the position postures and pull out the swords.
"Ready."
Now, the position of the sword is different from the first time.
"Go."
And they strike the sword slantingly from left to right.
"Clap!!"
And everyone claps.
"Wow."
Then my reaction is out.
"How do they count the scores, Mr. Saya?"
"We don't."
"I thought it was a competition."
"We do this just for fun."
"..."
"It's an old man's activity for wasting our boring time."
He says, chuckling in his own words.
"It looks...neat."
"Neat?"
"I mean, they look very intense."
"The environment might perceive it that way, but we have done this for many years. They send the members of their clubs to show off their talents and abilities more than just want the trophy. And we don't give or reward anything to our representatives. They are quite ambitious on their own. If they don't do well, no one can judge them, only themselves. They enjoy doing their things, and we enjoy watching them, especially the talented ones. And for the newbies, they're trying to improve their skills each time we see."
So they are enjoying it...
"They are having fun."
Mr. Saya continues.
"Have you tried it out, Mr. Saya?"
I ask.
"Have I tried to show my skills? hahaha."
"Well?"
"I'll show mine when I find someone capable of feat me."
"Ahhh, so this is basic for you, Mr. Saya?"
"I can do it even with my eyes closed."
He praises himself
"Haha, I would like to see that one day."
The representatives are out showing their skills, and only the last person from each organization is left. The committee announces that the last one left will have a match.
I notice the person of Mr. Saya's member; he's tall and slender and likely in his 30s. He has long hair that is pulled back and tied up neatly.
"Sensei?"
I speak up.
"You know Furan?"
"Yes, Furan sensei, he sometimes came to teach us in the Sword Club."
"..."
Mr. Saya smiles.
Furan sensei has impressive skills, as I expected. He's very fast and very calm, and he easily takes down the opponent, as he would like. His sword swing, with his calm look, is very attractive.
"Wow."
They applaud loudly.
"Would you like to try?"
"Ha!? No, Mr. Saya, I'm a beginner."
"So?"
"I think I..."
"We have a new member to do the first try."
And Mr. Saya announces
"!!"
My eyes are wide open.
What the hell!
"Now show them what you got, young lady."
Mr. Saya softly hits me in the back for encouragement, then I stand up, and all eyes are on me while I take a step down and get to the mat floor.
"I can't fight with them."
"You can't because you're still a newbie."
He explains.
Then what do I have to do?
"She doesn't have a training suit yet."
Mr. Saya.
"She will earn it."
Another old man speaks up.
I step up on the mat, and someone comes after me and gives me the sword.
"Zephyra."
He calls me and gives me his sword.
"Sensei."
"I couldn't believe it. I'll let you borrow mine."
He says while smiling.
"Sensei, actually, I really don't know what the hell I'm supposed to do."
"It's okay...you trained it before."
He explains while doing the posture to me.
And suddenly, a man put the bamboo out in the middle of the mat.
"But the Bamboo might be thicker, so use your core nicely."
He says to me and walks out.
"You know her?"
Some member asks him.
"..."
"You act so nice out of the blue."
"I know her a little bit."
"...Is she your girl?"
"Argh!!"
Then Sensei punches his member and falls down to the floor.
"Prepare."
The committee announces.
Fuck! Fuck! breathe...breathe
"I hate the attention on me."
I mumble to myself.
I glance at the old man above, seeing him with a smiley face as always, and turn my eyes down. I see Sensei watching me with no expression like he usually does. Then he smiles a little and exhales the air out from his mouth for me to see understandably.
Then, I do the position posture.
"Ready."
"*Sigh."
"Go."
I breathe in and use my core from my stomach, swing my arms, hold the real heavy sword in my hands, and breathe out while I strike the bamboo in a straight line.
"Ooh."
"Clap!!"
Everyone applauds.
I turn to see the 5 bamboo trunks are cut off neatly on the ground.
"Hmm."
I made a sound in my throat.
I see it now. That's the full energy I put in on the first try, and I'm glad.
The new bamboo is brought out facing me. I turn to see Sensei. He gives his explanation with his hands.
"Prepare."
"Ready."
"Go."
I strike the sword slantingly from left to right, and this time, I use my back support a bit to push the sword to cut through all 5 of them.
"Wahh."
"Clap!!"
And all 5 of the bamboo trunks are cut off, and it's quite clean to my eyes.
"Should we do another one?"
The old man's voice behind me suggests.
"Since you're here...would you like to try?"
Mr. Saya asks me.
Well...
I nod to him.
They bring out another target. These bamboo trunks are on the horizon and are tied together with five other trunks as well.
This may be difficult.
I turn to see my secret helper. Sensei does the hand-acting, touches his stomach and his knees, straightens up his back, and bends down with both hands joined together.
"I have never seen him like this."
Other members gossip next to him.
"Do you think she understands this man?"
"Of course, they're telepathic. She must be his girl."
"Argh!"
And then Sensei punches the same man again.
It's probably a sign for me to do it.
"Prepare."
"Ready."
"Go."
Squad it out
"Woah."
"Clap!!"
"Hmpt."
I pout my lips a little.
"She's not satisfied."
Mr. Saya speaks to his bodyguard.
I cut straight down, but the last one is cut in half of the trunk.
"Amazing!! Only on the first try, she can cut down almost all of them!"
The committee speaks surprisingly.
I turn to look at their reaction. They look so surprised and shocked. Is it good? Am I doing well? But the last one is still there. I look at Sensei, and he's smiling so proudly.
"Can I do it one more time?"
I ask Mr. Saya from where I stand.
"Hehe, sure."
"Wow, young lady, you are so determined—like the rest of us here, hahaha—but you know all the members watching you here; not all of them can cut through them all."
Really?
"I try, please."
I say and bow to the committee.
And he smiles.
"Of course, bring her the bamboo!"
They put the horizontal bamboo in front of me. I pull out the red ribbon on my hair and let it loose, and then I braid my hair to the side and use the red ribbon tie at the end of my hair.
"Prepare."
"Ready."
"Go."
"THUG!!!"
"Wowww."
The sound of the people echoing in the dome.
"Clap!!"
Along with the applause, I turn around and hear the sound of their hands clapping. I have seen the audience admire and be impressed by my performance, but this time, I hear it clearly and loudly.
Because I just take time to listen?
"I couldn't believe it with a tiny body with tiny hands, but you have big strength in you."
The Committee.
"Where did you find this girl, Mr. Saya?"
Another old man asks.
"She's my granddaughter-in-law."
He answers.
"What!?"
Mr. Saya's response is shocker than my performance.
And everyone is out of their seats, and it's time to leave.
"Did I do it because of the Sensei sword?"
I ask myself softly in the middle of the center.
"Zephyra."
"Sensei."
I bow to him properly this time.
"Here, thank you so much for the sword."
"Anytime. You really did great back there."
"Thank you. I haven't touched the sword since I left the academy."
"But you still understand me well. I'm glad."
"Hehe, thank you again."
"You...are married?"
He asks.
"Ha? Oh, no, no."
I answer.
"Mr. Saya said..."
"She's engaged, Furan."
Mr. Saya comes in between and answers for me.
"Sir."
Sensei bows to him beautifully.
"You are her sensei?"
"Yes, sir."
"She's probably your favorite student."
Mr. Saya says his mind, so I turn to see Sensei respond.
"Erm..."
I'm not? I'm not surprised.
"You treat her differently from other students I see so far."
Really?
"She understands the sword well, sir."
Finally, Sensei answers him.
"I see, haha...well, you will see each other quite often from now on."
"Hmm?"
I tilt my head to Mr. Saya.
"You are a new member of this association, young lady."
"Oh, I'm in?"
"Of course, you don't want to?"
"..."
"Your silence hurts me."
Mr. Saya says while smiling.
"I'm in. I'm in, Mr. Saya. Thank you for your kindness."
I quickly surrender and bow to him.
"Hehe, let's go home."
"Yes."
"I'll see you soon, Sensei."
I say goodbye to him and bow.
"What are you going to do next?"
Mr. Saya asks while waiting for the car.
"I'll make dinner for Mr. Kaiza. He might come home late again. I asked the maid this morning if he ate all my food last night."
"I seee..."
He smiles.