Chapter 7: Now, Watch My Performance

"Thanks, I'll treat you to a meal sometime," Cyrus said, pocketing the key.

As the bell rang and the students began to leave the classroom, Cyrus intentionally stayed behind.

"Teacher, I think I dropped something. I'll stay and look for it," he said, using a random excuse to get the female teacher to leave.

She didn't suspect anything and walked out of the classroom.

Cyrus then opened the glass cabinet and found two bottles of concentrated sulfuric acid. After inspecting them, he confirmed that the bottles were of high quality and well-sealed. Unless they were intentionally smashed, the acid wouldn't leak.

With these, Cyrus felt more confident in his ability to kill the parasites.

At five in the afternoon, when school ended, Cyrus put on his jacket and headed towards the kendo club.

The kendo club's training ground was large, and many members were already practicing with wooden swords. They wore simple protective gear to avoid injuries but getting hit with a wooden sword still hurt.

"Cyrus!" Yuuji called out, spotting him in the crowd.

"This is Cyrus, my classmate. He just joined the kendo club today," Yuuji introduced him to the others.

"Welcome, welcome!"

The other members welcomed Cyrus warmly, without any hint of rejection.

After greeting everyone, Cyrus moved to the side to watch them practice.

"Do we only have wooden swords here?" Cyrus asked when he noticed everyone was using wooden swords.

"We do have iron swords, but we don't use them for regular practice. They're too heavy and are only used in official matches," Yuuji explained.

As they talked, a group of tall students approached them.

The leader, a blonde-haired student, looked at Yuuji and the others with disdain. Their presence immediately brought a tense atmosphere to the ground. Curious, Cyrus leaned over to Yuuji for an explanation.

Yuuji, clearly holding a grudge, whispered through gritted teeth, "They're the seniors from third year. The leader is Hiroshi Aso, and he's rumored to be friends with some thugs outside school. They like to pick training partners from us and always go too hard during practice."

"What's this? Aren't you going to greet your seniors?" Hiroshi demanded.

Reluctantly, Yuuji and his friends greeted them, trying to avoid trouble.

Hiroshi laughed loudly, and his friends joined in. However, they quickly noticed Cyrus, who hadn't greeted them.

Hiroshi narrowed his eyes and sneered, "Looks like someone here doesn't respect their seniors."

"It's a tradition in the kendo club for seniors to toughen up the newbies," one of Hiroshi's friends added, glaring at Cyrus.

"Leave him be. He just joined the club. We don't want to scare him off," Hiroshi said, patting his friend on the shoulder.

Then, he picked a few people from the crowd as today's training partners, including Yuuji.

The kendo club members knew about the bad blood between Yuuji and Hiroshi. Every time they trained together, someone got hurt. But human nature is the same everywhere—when there's excitement, everyone gathers to watch.

In the center of the training ground enclosed by wooden barriers, two individuals were gearing up with protective gear. Compared to the tall and robust third-year students, Yuuji's partner appeared significantly smaller. His tense posture while gripping the sword hinted at his nervousness.

As expected, at the beginning of the training session, Yuuji's side fell into a passive defensive stance. Within a few short minutes, he had been struck several times consecutively.

Observing this scene, Cyrus shook his head silently. It wasn't that the third-year guy, Hiroshi Aso, was exceptionally skilled; rather, Yuuji's partner lacked any will to win and focused solely on defense. At this rate, victory was impossible.

True to Cyrus's expectations, Yuuji's partner was hit on the back of his hand, causing him to grimace in pain and drop his wooden sword, thus ending the match.

The subsequent matches followed a similar one-sided pattern.

"It's my turn now," Yuuji said, tightening his grip on the long sword and taking a deep breath as he stepped onto the training ground.

His opponent was Hiroshi Aso. At this moment, Hiroshi appeared relaxed, casually swinging his wooden sword while taunting, "You juniors really haven't improved at all. It's almost unbelievable to think that one day, you'll be taking over from us."

"Stop the pointless chatter," Yuuji retorted, launching the first attack. His speed was commendable, swiftly closing the distance to Hiroshi.

However, Hiroshi easily parried the strike.

Admittedly, being a leader among the kendo club's third-year students did imply some level of skill, though compared to Cyrus's discerning eye, Hiroshi's technique was riddled with flaws and not worthy of admiration.

"Too slow! Did you skip meals?" Hiroshi mocked, swiftly turning around and landing a blow on Yuuji's left arm, causing him to grit his teeth in pain.

"Just like before, always reckless. Kendo isn't for the rash," Hiroshi sneered, circling Yuuji. Enraged, Yuuji's forehead veins bulged as he swung his sword with renewed vigor, but his attacks became erratic and disordered.

Seeing Yuuji lose his usual composure, a smug smile crept onto Hiroshi's face. Taking advantage of Yuuji's exhausted state and before he could muster new strength, Hiroshi swung his wooden sword onto Yuuji's hand. Yuuji winced as the impact reddened the area struck.

"Admit defeat. The gap between us isn't something you can bridge with thoughts of bonds, friendship, or revenge," Hiroshi proclaimed, delivering several more attacks that left Yuuji staggering.

Even the referee couldn't bear to watch anymore.

Walking to the center of the ring, he declared Hiroshi Aso the winner.

With victory secured, Hiroshi grinned at Yuuji and said, "Sorry about that. Looks like I've won again."

Enduring the pain, Yuuji stepped down from the platform, head bowed. He whispered to Cyrus quietly, "Sorry you had to witness that. But one day, I'll defeat him."

"Rest up for now," Cyrus replied, taking the wooden sword from Yuuji and noticing the injuries on his opponent. He shrugged slightly.

"Next, watch my performance," he declared, advancing towards the platform, sword in hand.

..............

Stones?

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