Chapter 46: Hikigaya Hachiman's Choice
By afternoon, the rain was pouring down heavily again. The downpour obscured vision and dampened any desire to venture outside.
The fourth period was PE under Chishima Akishin's supervision. The students of Class 2-F had already changed into their green athletic gear and gathered in the indoor basketball court.
Looking at the dozens of students lined up neatly, Akishin shouted, "Sound off from the first person!"
"One, two, three, four... forty-five."
Once the count was finished, Hayama Hayato, acting as the sports representative, reported to Akishin: "Reporting, Chishima-sensei. Class 2-F is all present and accounted for."
"Good. Begin warm-ups."
Akishin nodded and instructed the students to spread out with about a meter of space between them. This was a warm-up routine Akishin had developed by incorporating elements of Chinese calisthenics.
Ten minutes later...
Almost every student was breaking a sweat. Akishin announced that everyone was free to engage in independent activity; they could play basketball or do something else.
Finally, his gaze settled on Hachiman, who was standing at the very back of the line with his usual half-lidded, dead-fish eyes. "You. With me."
The students of Class 2-F watched as Hikigaya Hachiman stepped out of line and walked toward Akishin alone.
"Is that a classmate of ours?"
"I think so! I've seen him a few times."
"What's his name?"
"I think... I think it's Hikig... Hiki-penguin (Hiki-gae), yeah, that's it."
Faint whispers like that rippled through the crowd. Akishin looked at Hachiman with a smile, while Hachiman just scoffed and let out a disinterested grunt.
Akishin waved for everyone else to disperse, then led Hachiman toward a corner of the gym.
In the crowd, only a pink-haired girl with a dango-style bun and a white-haired boy whose physique looked more feminine than masculine watched Hachiman with a different sort of intensity.
As they walked, Akishin asked, "Hikigaya, have you been exercising lately?"
"...I went for a run this morning."
"For how long?"
"...Ten... ten minutes."
"That's not enough, Hikigaya. If that's all you're doing, then when you're with me, I'm going to have to double your training."
Hachiman's expression soured, and he replied reluctantly, "Un... understood. I'll make more time for it."
"Better to get thirty minutes to an hour in the evening. Do you want me to buy some exercise equipment for your house?"
As he spoke, Akishin reached into a cardboard box in the corner and pulled out two shinai.
Hachiman commented, "Sensei, that offer was basically a nudge for me to just buy it myself, wasn't it?"
"Haha, no! I didn't mean that as a polite formality. I'm serious about helping you."
Hachiman blinked, momentarily stunned. Akishin stood there, gripping a shinai before tossing it to him.
"Want to go straight to practice, or put on the protective gear first?"
Hachiman gripped the shinai, glanced at the kendo armor inside the box, and remembered the beating he'd taken while wearing it two days ago. He-gritted his teeth and said, "Practice with the armor."
Akishin looked at him with surprise. "I thought for sure you'd choose to practice without it. Are you not afraid of me striking back?"
"Tch!"
Hachiman scoffed and began putting on the kendo gear by himself. Deep down, he felt a bit stung by Akishin's earlier comment about 'not yet meeting the qualifications.' He wanted to prove himself; in certain things, he simply couldn't back down.
A little physical pain was nothing compared to the psychological frustration.
Hachiman's mentality was starting to shift, and the change was palpable. Or perhaps this trait had always been within him, and Akishin was simply the one who had managed to trigger its emergence.
—Hikigaya Hachiman was able to put on the kendo gear because he had fantasized about this during his chuunibyou phase and had specifically looked up how to wear it.
"Is the registration for your kendo competition finished, Sensei?"
"It's done. Five days from now, you might see me in the preliminary rounds."
"Well then, good luck."
"Naturally."
Hachiman finished putting on the gear, donned the Men (face mask), took up the shinai, and stepped his right foot forward, the tip of his blade pointing toward Akishin.
"The loner?"
"Hachiman?"
Two voices called out, belonging to Yuigahama Yui and Totsuka Saika. Yui pointed at the two of them and asked hesitantly, "Loner, are you... practicing with Chishima-sensei?"
She knew Hachiman was Akishin's student, even if it hadn't been officially recognized yet.
On other parts of the basketball court, people were watching with curiosity—including Hayama Hayato's group—since space in the gym was limited.
Hachiman didn't say anything, only giving a small nod from behind his face mask.
"You've changed a bit, haven't you?"
Akishin murmured softly while looking at Hachiman, then smiled. "Hikigaya, do you know why I'm having you practice in public?"
"Why?"
"Because you still care too much about what others think. You're afraid of standing out, and you don't want to. However, I'm actually relieved that your nature isn't quite as extreme as it could be..."
In the next instant, Akishin executed an explosive Tsuki strike, appearing in front of Hikigaya Hachiman and swinging the blade with one hand.
Hachiman's pupils shrank behind the mask. That familiar, mountain-heavy pressure felt as though it were trying to crush him. Without time to think, he threw his shinai up.
Clack!
A sharp, wooden impact echoed. The shinai in Hachiman's hand was sent flying. The tip of his opponent's blade landed squarely on Hachiman's throat protector, sending him tumbling to the floor.
"Get up. Again."
This wasn't the first time. Two days ago, while wearing the armor, he had been struck down like this several times before he could even raise his sword.
Wearing the armor prevented injury, but the pain was still very real.
Hachiman said nothing. He pushed himself up, coughed a few times, retrieved his shinai, and charged at Akishin again.
Hachiman's calm reaction actually startled the onlookers, especially Yuigahama Yui and Totsuka Saika. Worry immediately flashed in their eyes.
Yui looked at Akishin and said, "Chishima-sensei, isn't your attack a bit too..."
"Silence!"
Akishin glanced at them, then swept his eyes over the students who were beginning to gather. Every student who met Akishin's gaze felt a jolt of fear and reflexively took a step back.
When Akishin was training Hachiman, he looked like a completely different person from his usual self. If it weren't for the rain, Akishin would have taken Hachiman under the big tree as usual. These people were, quite frankly, a nuisance.
Clack!
Hachiman swung his shinai, targeting Akishin's head. Akishin parried with his blade, then twisted and pulled the shinai. Hachiman felt a powerful yank, and his body reflexively lurched forward.
Thwack!
Akishin's shinai slammed into Hachiman's stomach. Despite the protection of the Do (chest plate), Hachiman was still pushed back several steps.
A second later, Hachiman remained silent and attacked again, still aiming for Akishin's head.
Akishin moved his sword to parry. At that exact moment, Hachiman stepped his left foot forward, and the downward swing suddenly transformed into a thrust—a Tsuki.
A flash of surprise appeared in Akishin's eyes. He took a step back. The tip of Hachiman's shinai stopped less than three centimeters from Akishin's nose, unable to move a fraction further.
Akishin's sword tip was holding back the Tsuba (hand guard) of Hachiman's shinai.
Realizing his attack was stalled, Hachiman responded immediately by pressing his shinai downward, slashing toward Akishin's right hand.
As if it would be that easy. Akishin tilted his head, stepped his right foot forward, letting Hachiman's shinai pass by his cheek, then unleashed a downward strike of his own. Hachiman's pupils shrank again!
Clack!
Thud!
Instantly, Hachiman was floored, letting out a groan of pain.
Akishin held his shinai and praised him: "Good progress. You actually made me take a step back."
Hachiman looked up at Akishin. Seeing Akishin nod at him, a small smile formed on his hidden face.
"Get up. Again."
"Right."
This time, the shinai in Hachiman's hand didn't fall. He used the sword as a crutch to stand back up.
"Chishima-sensei, are you really teaching Hikigaya-kun kendo?"
Suddenly, a discordant voice rang out. Akishin and Hachiman both turned. Hayama Hayato was standing at the front of the crowd with an expression of visible anger. Because of the commotion, the students of Class 2-F had gathered around them in a dense circle, keeping a distance of about three meters.
"I am," Akishin nodded and smiled. "Does Hayama-kun have an objection?"
The entire class had gathered, so it wasn't a good idea to use intimidation right away. Furthermore, his method of training Hachiman looked more like abuse than practice to anyone else. If not handled correctly, these students would come to fear and loathe him, which would only hurt his own position.
The more serious problem was that if they reported this to the school administration, it would be a massive headache.
Hayato glanced at Hachiman, then looked back at Akishin and said seriously, "Chishima-sensei, you aren't teaching kendo. There are no rules, no kendo spirit—you're just beating Hikigaya-kun one-sidedly. Please stop this at once."
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