[58] Kotonoha's Self-Doubt

"The bento was really delicious. Please thank Mrs. Yuigahama for me."

Hearing Hachiman's words, Kotonoha's heart was filled with ripples.

Mrs. Yuigahama, Yui's mother, making lunch for Hachiman? Could it be that they were in a romantic relationship and it had reached the point of meeting parents?

"Hehe, it's nothing, my mom said it's just a way to thank you." Yui chuckled in response to Hachiman's words.

So it's just a way to express gratitude?

Kotonoha breathed a sigh of relief.

"But Hikki, don't you usually bring lunch? You always say you're a great cook."

"Lunch? I'm not used to bringing lunch." Hachiman shook his head. It wasn't just him; even Komachi rarely brought her lunch.

Since his sister didn't bring lunch, Hachiman naturally didn't prepare one for himself.

"I see..."

Upon hearing this, Yui seemed to think of something, and not only her but also Kotonoha on the other side had a subtle change in their expressions.

Hachiman doesn't bring lunch regularly? Maybe I could prepare one for him.

Kotonoha was quite confident in her cooking skills.

I'll prepare one for Hachiman tomorrow and see how it goes.

She made up her mind.

On the other hand, Yui had a similar idea.

I should talk to my mom about it and prepare an extra lunch for Hachiman every day.

The two girls coincidentally had the same thought.

From then on, Hachiman would have a satisfying lunch every day.

---

After school, at the Kendo club.

They changed into their uniforms, and Hachiman and Kotonoha began their practice for the day.

"Kotonoha, come at me with all you've got." Hachiman smiled as he looked at the girl with her long ponytail.

"Yes, Hachiman-kun, please be careful." Kotonoha was well aware of his abilities, so she didn't hold back and immediately launched her signature Iaido strike.

Facing her attack, Hachiman simply lifted his sword and blocked her advance.

However, he didn't rush to counter-attack. Instead, he took a step back, inviting her to attack again.

"Keep going, Kotonoha."

Kotonoha nodded and took two steps back before adopting her attack stance again.

Swish, swish.

Receiving the two consecutive Iaido strikes from the girl, Hachiman confidently smiled at her.

"Kotonoha, now it's my turn to attack, so be careful."

Hearing his words, Kotonoha focused her mind. She knew Hachiman's strength and couldn't afford to let her guard down.

Seeing her on high alert, Hachiman smiled faintly.

He was aware of the gap in their abilities, so he didn't plan to use his full strength.

"Be careful." Saying this, Hachiman swung his sword down.

Kotonoha clearly saw the trajectory of his strike, and she crossed her hands to block his attack.

"Huh?"

The two wooden swords clashed, and the girl was somewhat surprised that the wooden sword wasn't as heavy as she had imagined.

"Kotonoha, don't lose focus."

His attack blocked by Kotonoha, Hachiman didn't mind at all. He followed up with another strike, his intention being to challenge the girl.

"Understood."

The girl sharpened her focus, continued to concentrate, and did her best to parry every one of Hachiman's moves.

Swish, swish, swish, swish...

The sound of wooden swords clashing repeatedly filled the air. Hachiman's strikes were perfectly calibrated in terms of strength and speed, always within the range that Kotonoha could handle.

Observant Kotonoha had also noticed this. Having experienced Hachiman's full force before, she was well aware of how ferocious his attacks could be.

Is Hachiman going easy on me?

I'm really useless, I can't even perform well as a sparring partner. If it were Busujima-senpai...

The girl's old habit of feeling inferior resurfaced. Lost in her thoughts for a moment, she failed to block Hachiman's next strike.

"Ah." Due to her distraction, she couldn't secure the attack she should have caught, and she was pushed back a few steps, eventually falling to the ground.

"Kotonoha, are you okay? Did you get hurt anywhere?"

Seeing this, Hachiman quickly approached and crouched down beside her.

"I'm fine..." Kotonoha's face didn't look good at the moment.

"Kotonoha, what's wrong? Can you talk to me about it?" Concerned, Hachiman asked when he saw her uneasy expression.

Hesitating for a moment, Kotonoha finally lowered her head and spoke in a subdued tone, "Hachiman, do you ever think I'm useless?"

"Why would you say that?" Hachiman was curious.

"Because... because in kendo, I still need you to hold back."

"If your opponent was Busujima-senpai, you'd definitely be able to go all out, right?"

"Hachiman, you shouldn't worry about me anymore. You should practice with Busujima-senpai instead. That way, your kendo skills will surely improve faster."

"I guess I'm just not skilled enough."

As she finished speaking, Kotonoha buried her face in her knees, appearing quite despondent.

For someone with upbringing like Kotonoha, not being able to help the person she cares about is a mark of her own inadequacy.

While Hachiman isn't someone she loves in an exaggerated sense, he does hold a special place in her heart, which makes her feel even more disheartened by her perceived shortcomings.

Listening to her words, Hachiman understood the situation.

Kotonoha believed that he was intentionally going easy on her because he thought her skills were weak.

While Hachiman did indeed not use his full strength, it was with the intention of giving Kotonoha more opportunities to practice and improve her kendo skills.

However, it seemed his good intentions were misunderstood.

Seeing the girl sitting on the ground, arms wrapped around her knees, Hachiman felt a mixture of helplessness and hesitation.

He gently placed his hand on her head.

"Kotonoha, don't be too hard on yourself. It's not about being useless. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. You're doing great in kendo, and there's always room for improvement. Besides, it's not a competition; we're here to support each other and grow together. If practicing with Saeko-senpai helps me improve, it doesn't mean I value your progress any less. We're friends, remember?"

"And It's not because you're weak, but because I've reached a plateau in my kendo skills. I think I need to learn some sword techniques from Saeko-senpai to make a breakthrough."

"So, Kotonoha, you need to keep your spirits up and not be sad." As he spoke, Hachiman couldn't help but gently pat the girl's head.

"Really?" Hearing his words, Kotonoha raised her head slightly, looking at him with hopeful eyes.

"Of course, I wouldn't lie to you."

Seeing her hopeful gaze, Hachiman's heart softened. He continued to pat her head, much like stroking a cat.

"Um... Hachiman, your hand..." Feeling his actions, Kotonoha blushed with shyness.

"Cough, it's involuntary, it's involuntary." Since she spoke up, Hachiman naturally felt embarrassed to continue, so he withdrew his hand with a sheepish smile.

"Come on, Kotonoha, let's continue practicing." Hachiman encouraged her after retracting his hand.

"Kotonoha, you have to work hard. We'll be practicing together in the future."

"Yeah."

The girl understood his meaning. If her kendo skills were too far behind his, they wouldn't be able to practice together.

So she had to put in the effort to improve her kendo.

I can do it. I will definitely catch up to Hachiman.

With this determination, Kotonoha's face once again showed a confident smile.

"Please teach me more in the future, Hachiman..."

She stood up and resumed her attacking stance.