By the time the club activities ended, the sky at the horizon had been dyed a captivating red-purple. The rays of the setting sun slanted down, intertwining the shadows of the students heading home and stretching them out long.
"See you next week~"
"Goodbye—"
The sounds of friends laughing and saying goodbye filled the campus. Shimizu Yu and Suzuki Sawami also parted ways at the school gate.
Walking alone on the way home bathed in the glow of the setting sun, Shimizu Yu was in a rather good mood. It was Friday today, there was no school tomorrow, and there wasn't much homework. She could read books to her heart's content when she got home... Just as she was thinking this, she suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure in the distance. The person had a bamboo sword in his hand, with the blade resting on his shoulder.
Hoshino Gen? Why was he carrying the bamboo sword from the Kendo Club? Shimizu Yu wasn't quite sure and couldn't help but quicken her pace. But as she got closer, that figure suddenly turned into the side alley.
The gentle evening breeze ruffled the hem of the girl's school uniform skirt. Shimizu Yu blinked her big, beautiful eyes and, as if drawn by some unseen force, followed and turned into the alley.
Shimizu Yu felt that this road was a bit unfamiliar. It was strange that she had never walked on it even though it was close to her home. On both sides of the alley were thick forests. Only in the relatively remote Koto Ward could there be such large areas of land used for planting trees. Places like Shinjuku and Shibuya could only envy this.
While her mind was wandering with random thoughts, she reached the end of the road.
Shimizu Yu stood in the tree-lined path, staring blankly at the dilapidated dojo in front of her which was much smaller than the one at school. The light of the setting sun filtered through the thick forest, casting mottled red spots of light, yet it didn't bring any warmth to the dojo at all. With a gust of cold wind in April, Shimizu Yu couldn't help but shiver.
Shimizu Yu quickly scanned the surroundings and soon spotted Hoshino Gen standing in front of the dilapidated dojo with the bamboo sword in his hand.
He somehow took out a yellow piece of something that looked like a talisman paper, pinched it between his index finger and middle finger and placed it against the bamboo sword, then gently stroked the blade with it. The yellow talisman paper turned into ashes, while the bamboo sword began to emit crackling electric light.
"Excuse me~" The young man said politely and cheerfully, and then casually walked through the door of the dojo as if he were going home.
Shimizu Yu, who witnessed this scene with her own eyes, opened her mouth wide, almost dislocating her jaw. She stared with her eyes wide open and her mind went almost blank.
What was that? Superpower? Onmyodo (Japanese occult art)?
Come to think of it, was this world not entirely based on science after all? Did the mysterious elements in novels really exist!?
Damn it! He was already outrageously good-looking, and now he could use such incredible mysterious power? Are you some kind of superpowered pretty boy? This kind of plot isn't even popular in light novels anymore!
In the tree-lined path, Shimizu Yu was in a state of utter confusion with her thoughts in a complete mess.
Another gust of chilly wind blew, and Shimizu Yu shivered and instantly came to her senses. No, no, what she had just seen must have been an illusion! How could there really be superpowers in this world? That was just too unbelievable!
Not everyone could immediately accept the shock of having their worldview shattered. Shimizu Yu rubbed her eyes hard and walked towards the dojo. Unless she witnessed it again with her own eyes, she would never accept such a thing!
Shimizu Yu quickly reached the doorless entrance of the dojo and stared inside with her eyes wide open.
This time, her jaw didn't dislocate, but her eyeballs almost popped out of their sockets.
In the dimly lit arena, two figures were intertwining and colliding with each other. The dull thuds and the crackling sounds of thunder intertwined.
One held a bamboo sword with闪烁的雷光, while the other brandished a blood-colored demon sword with black mist swirling around it.
One was dressed in a Western-style school uniform with a neat student tie, while the other was in tattered clothes, dressed like a ronin swordsman from a period drama.
Each collision between them seemed to make time intertwine at that moment.
The battle was so intense that the two figures were like two precise fighting machines. Every time the opponent swung his sword, the other would deliver a sword strike with the perfect angle and position in response.
The speed was so fast that it was like an impassioned concerto being played indoors.
Compared to the visual impact brought by this real and fierce fight, Shimizu Yu even felt that the Kendo competitions she had participated in before were like children playing house.
Just then, a talisman paper suddenly shot out from Hoshino Gen's left hand, turning into a crimson fireball and flying towards the swordsman. The firelight lit up the dojo, and Shimizu Yu saw the face of the ronin swordsman clearly. It was pitch black and chaotic, without any facial features.
Shimizu Yu took a step back in fright, but at that moment, her whole body was so stiff that just making this one movement seemed to have drained all her strength.
She watched this battle that exceeded her认知 and defied common sense with her pupils trembling, her teeth chattering. She couldn't tell if it was fear or excitement, or simply because of the cold, but the only certainty was that her mind was extremely excited at the moment!
She tried her best to keep her eyes wide open, not wanting to miss a single frame of this scene.
The demon sword with the red blade dispersed the fireball, but the young man with different-colored eyes approached the swordsman in the scattered flames.
The white electric light flashed wildly, carving out a blazing white fan shape in the air and slamming hard into the swordsman's waist.
Zzzzz—It wasn't the sound of an electric shock but rather a violent reaction similar to pouring cold water into hot oil. A large amount of black mist dissipated from the point where the bamboo sword touched the swordsman.
The swordsman's desolate and terrifying howl echoed instantly in the narrow dojo like a devil's voice. Shimizu Yu covered her ears in pain. That sound was even harsher than the sound of fingernails scratching on a blackboard!
Even so, Hoshino Gen in the dojo, who was facing this devilish sound directly, seemed completely unaffected. Only his left blue eye somehow glowed with a disturbing scarlet light.
The demon sword slashed at Hoshino Gen's neck with a trailing shadow. The young man quickly dodged backward, so fast that the scarlet light in his left eye almost drew a red line in the air.
But while he dodged the attack, the bamboo sword also left the swordsman's waist. So in the blink of an eye, the offense and defense reversed.
The swordsman sheathed the demon sword at his waist, but his figure rushed towards Hoshino Gen who was retreating at an incredible speed. The swordsman held the sheath with one hand and gripped the hilt tightly with the other, crouched down, and drew the sword.
The whooshing sound of the blade cutting through the air was deafening.
It was a Iaido (quick-draw sword technique)!
The terrifying strike whipped up a fierce wind in the enclosed dojo, carrying a terrifying momentum and aiming straight for Hoshino Gen's chest before he could fully dodge.
Swish!
Something snapped.
Shimizu Yu covered her mouth tightly, afraid that she might scream out involuntarily.
In the blink of an eye, Hoshino Gen barely dodged the strike by bending his body backward almost in a backbend position, but the bamboo sword in his hand had already broken. The remaining part of the blade flickered with a faint electric light twice and then quickly went out.
Hoshino Gen quickly rolled on the ground and moved away from the swordsman. When he got up, he glanced at the half of the bamboo sword in his hand that had completely turned back into an ordinary object, with a look of helplessness and disappointment in his eyes.
The swordsman pointed the demon sword diagonally at the ground and took a step towards Hoshino Gen.
Hoshino Gen calmly dropped the broken sword in his hand.
Then, he turned around and ran.
When passing by the door of the dojo, he didn't forget to grab Shimizu Yu's wrist and dragged her almost as he ran madly out of the end of the tree-lined path and back onto the regular road where they usually went to and from school. Hoshino Gen quickly threw a talisman paper towards the alley, and with a flash of light, the alley disappeared in an instant, as if everything that had just happened was just a dream.
Taking a long breath, Hoshino Gen turned his gaze to Shimizu Yu who was leaning on her knees, gasping for breath beside him.
The evening wind rustled the leaves around them, making it seem rather quiet. Only the girl's slightly rapid breathing interspersed among it, adding a touch of youthful charm to the evening scene.
After a while, Shimizu Yu, who had finally caught her breath, straightened up and looked at Hoshino Gen with a complicated expression.
Hoshino Gen had a gentle smile on his face and was also staring at her.
Looking at the scarlet light in the young man's left eye that was slowly fading away even now, Shimizu Yu's pink lips moved slightly, and she managed to say with difficulty, "Who... who on earth are you?"