Kendo sparring

In Kendo, it was about attacking vulnerabilities in the opponent's posture when they move and how to induce those vulnerabilities. There are two types of techniques, ones that are used to initiate the battle (Shikake waza) and ones that are used in reaction to the opponent's attack (Oji waza).

Furthermore, the choice of posture can increase offensive or defensive power and so influence the number of effective techniques that can be used in a certain situation.

However, most kendo techniques were impractical to use in a tournament. Aito was also simple-minded. He focused on striking fast and if deflected, aimed to attack the opponent's broken posture.

However, he couldn't always attack first, after all, partners needed to practice and he couldn't hog all the first strikes for himself. He also practised on counterattacking to surprise Hikaru.

Aito watched carefully as he waited to hit first when Hikaru begins to strike. Finally, he saw Hikaru moved his hands.

'Now!'

"Kiai!"

*Tap*

'Huh?'

He was flabbergasted. He had seen Hikaru move but his body was moving too slow in comparison that it seemed like his body was lagged. His brain felt like there was toffee clogged in his gears and he waited for his mind to catch up.

Unbelievable.

'Did Hikaru also grind in the last few days too?'

The onlookers were surprised that Hikaru moved so fast that Aito didn't react but their reactions were not as intense as Aito's who experienced it firsthand.

Chiho knew that was Hikaru was the best but thought that Aito was one of the weakest. When Aito asked Hikaru enthusiastically for a spar like one would ask their mentor to do a demonstration, it left that sort of impression on Chiho. Little did she know that Aito was the third strongest student.

Hikaru returned to Chudan. Aito snapped out of his daze and readied himself. Kendo tournaments are won out of three rounds and will either end in a 2:1 or a 2:0. Also, for the strike to count they must yell "kiai!" at the moment of impact.

This time, Aito decided to strike first the moment the spar started. After a few seconds when they entered Chudan, either side could initiate.

Their swords were kept steady and pointed at each other. A nerve impulse went from Aito's brain to his arms and the blade began to move. Aito swung at Hikaru's head and was about to shout Kiai when he noticed his hands were holding onto thin air.

"Kiai!"

*Tap*

Hikaru chopped Aito in the head who was frozen solid. Aito was trying to figure out where his sword was until he heard a clack behind him and turned around to look. His sword had vanished from his hands and fallen on the ground 2 metres behind him.

Aito didn't notice it but the spectators had seen Hikaru hook Aito's sword with his own and spun it up into the air, all in a fraction of a second. Then he struck at Aito's headgear. This is known as the Maki technique.

"Did he use the Maki waza on me?" He murmured.

Aito shook his head. He realised Hikaru had leapt far ahead in such a short time.

Chiho covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a giggle. No one else was laughing because they were all shocked. Chiho, who had no knowledge or skill in Kendo couldn't gauge how epic the display was.

As an outsider with fresh eyes, she thought it looked funny when Aito stood in a battle pose holding an imaginary sword with a bewildered look on his face. How funny would it be if she could see his facial expression through the mask?

Aito thought that Hikaru was truly talented. Yet he knew that even someone as talentless as him could reach Hikaru's peak if he continued to do his best. He didn't think that he could be as good as Hikaru if Hikaru had never stopped training.

He had heard that Hikaru didn't intend to pursue a career in Kendo. If he could be as good as Hikaru now or a level better, he would be satisfied.

Aito smiled with the spirit of a sportsman.

'Hikaru, you're too amazing!'

He went over beaming and gave a hi-five which Hikaru accepted.

"That was awesome! Did you practice recently senpai?"

"Ah, you could say that."

Everyone was giving praises except for Giichi and sensei Ichigorou. Ichigorou was stunned and was busy replaying the fights in his head whereas Giichi had a scornful look on his face. Giichi walked into the circle of applause and spoke.

"Hikaru! Will you spar with me?"

"Sure."

They put on their helmets after Hikaru accepted the challenge. Both faced each other with chudan.

Hikaru went in with a downwards strike and Giichi stepped backwards to move out of his range but Hikaru simply stepped forward and double-tapped on his head.

After seeing this fight, Chiho thought that Kendo was pretty easy that even she could be good at it. One simply had to be fast on their feet. However, what Hikaru did was hardly replicable.

After doing a downwards slash, Giichi would have stepped back in and counterattacked while Hikaru was still recoiling. Yet Hikaru was able to lift his sword back up and responded too quickly to Giichi's dodge. If one saw it in slow-motion, it would seem like Hikaru suddenly accelerating and moving faster than everything else that was in motion.

'What the hell was that!' Giichi cursed.

He kept it to himself and tried to relax his facial features. Making an unsightly face would ruin his image.

Giichi was bewildered and upset at Hikaru's sudden growth spurt.

He had his father hire a professional Kendo instructor who had won the All Japan Kendo Championship once which was a national tournament. With an instructor like that, he would eventually eclipse Hikaru even if he had only reached half of the instructor's strength.

'Did he seduce a grandmaster and made her... or him train him? That has to be it.'

Giichi thought that was the most likely outcome.