In the very back row of the stands, directly opposite where Akishin's group was sitting, a middle-aged man in his forties with a buzz cut and a slightly stout build clutched his phone anxiously. Still no reply.
This was Okazawa Takahiro, a board mber of Sobu High. Since he'd never watched a Kendo match live, he'd had no idea when to buy tickets.
By the ti he'd received orders from the school, he'd only managed to snag a ticket online, and by then, only the back row remained.
If he'd been a few minutes later, even those would have been gone.
He had tried looking for people at the Kendo Federation offices, but no one was there, so he'd been forced into the stands.
The match had just begun when he sat down. He'd intended to find a staff mber to escort him to the internal area, but when he saw Akishin take the stage, he realized this was the teacher from his school. He sat back down to watch.
Initially, he'd thought: If Akishin loses quickly, I won't have to deal with all this hassle!
Sobu High was a prestigious, long-standing institution; a little extra fa wasn't sothing they were desperate for.
This was partly because the school administration hadn't given him a detailed briefing.
In reality, the Principal had issued the orders with extre gravity. The only thing he hadn't ntioned was the fact that Akishin had already defeated Suzuki Tsuyoshi once before.
At that ti, the competition hadn't started, and the news hadn't spread. The Principal hadn't thought much of it, assuming that if Akishin could beat him once, he could do it twice. It would be better to start the PR blitz once Akishin actually secured a title.
So, the first step was sending a Director to contact Akishin, discuss terms, and ensure Sobu High would provide a "reward."
But by the ti that order trickled down through subordinates—during a busy morning session where teachers were busy dodging responsibilities—the ssage lost its urgency.
A new teacher? A PE teacher, at that? Was he really worth the attention?
Plus, he had no track record of previous achievents.
Ultimately, a Director who happened to be on a day off was dispatched.
This Director had been planning a date with his wife when he suddenly got the order to head to the Kendo Federation for a teacher's tournant—a pure directive without the "Principal's special emphasis"—so he was naturally annoyed and hadn't taken the task seriously.
But when Akishin broke into the top six, Sobu High finally exploded. The higher-ups who had been indifferent were suddenly wide awake, frantically calling Okazawa Takahiro to establish contact.
But the match was almost over, and trying to make contact now felt embarrassing to Okazawa. His earlier ssages to Shizuka had been half-hearted, but his recent ones were dead serious.
The problem was, he couldn't get a hold of them!
The ssages from the school and his own personal texts to Akishin's phone were like stones sinking to the bottom of the ocean—not a single ripple.
They changed tactics and tried Shizuka, who was with Akishin. But Shizuka gave no real answers, only sending back a few polite, generic "thank you" lines on Akishin's behalf.
More often than not, she seed to just ignore them entirely.
Okazawa Takahiro finally understood the aning of "so close, yet so far." His target was right down there, but he couldn't get to him. He was stuck relying on a palm-sized screen, and whether he got a reply depended entirely on the other party's mood.
When Akishin defeated Suzuki Tsuyoshi, Okazawa racked his brain and sent one final ssage in his own na, hoping for a face-to-face eting.
He finally saw Shizuka show the phone to Akishin. Sensing a glimr of hope, he waited, clutching his phone like a holy relic. That wait lasted eight minutes, right until Suzuki Tsuyoshi was about to start his next match...
Finally, a reply ca through.
> [Director Okazawa, we cannot leave our current positions for the ti being. You may explain the situation to the staff and ask them to escort you to Waiting Room Number Three. We will et you there after the matches conclude.]
>
Seeing the ssage, Okazawa Takahiro breathed a massive sigh of relief. He'd planned to do exactly that, but given Akishin's current level of achievent, even as a school Director, he had to show proper respect.
This text was his "in." If the other party hadn't replied, he would have felt awkward just barging in; it would have looked disrespectful and dismissive of Akishin's status.
So might call it hypocrisy, but this was reality—a reality that made people feel both helpless and amused.
He didn't even bother watching Suzuki Tsuyoshi's match because the outco felt predictable now. Okazawa Takahiro found a security staffer, showed his Sobu High ID, explained the situation, and made his request. After the staff confird it, they were more than happy to lead him through the employee entrance.
...
After sending the ssage, Hiratsuka Shizuka exhaled, her face clearly displeased.
"How annoying. Honestly, I didn't want to reply to them at all."
"Shizuka-chan, they're our superiors after all. We still need them to sign our paychecks. Besides, this is just how the professional world works." Akishin didn't mind. He was used to this from his past lives. Back when he was building his company, he'd said much more hypocritical things and done much more "political" moves. "Besides, Shizuka-chan, you have to understand—few people help when you're shoveling snow, but everyone wants to add flowers to a garden in bloom. The forr is high risk/high reward, while the latter is low reward but at least you won't lose anything."
Akishin chuckled softly, completely unbothered, and turned his attention back to Suzuki Tsuyoshi—though secretly, he was curious about the inner workings of Sobu High.
Why did the Principal and the board, who already knew he'd beaten Tsuyoshi, pull this "fashionably late" stunt?
In this situation with Sobu High, pushing back would create conflict, but stepping back would actually force Sobu High to offer more concessions.
Because Sobu High knew they had screwed up.
The school knew they were in the wrong, but they'd never admit it because they were an Organization. If he started a direct confrontation, the school would feel lose face and lash out.
Conversely, by taking the initiative to "step back," he was giving the school "face." By doing that, the school wouldn't hate him; instead, their guilt over their mistake would turn into a sense of obligation.
And when people feel obligated, they naturally look for ways to compensate.
It was hypocrisy, yes, but it was the kind that yielded the most profit. So why not? It was a small matter with no real loss, only requiring a few insincere words later.
He spent most of his ti saying things he didn't an anyway; this was no different.
Shizuka was annoyed, but after years in the workforce, she understood the ga. If she hadn't, she wouldn't have sent that ssage in the first place.
When they t Okazawa Takahiro later, her reaction likely wouldn't be a scolding, but a smile while she prepared to "shear the wool" for whatever benefits she could get.
The biggest difference between an organization and an individual is that an organization doesn't act on emotion; it moves for interest. And right now, the other party needed him.
Haruno, sitting cross-legged to Shizuka's right, overheard Akishin and turned to him with a wide grin. "Chishima-sensei, you really hit the nail on the head. I'm starting to wonder... what exactly have you been through in your life?"
"Wondering won't get you anywhere. I'm just an ordinary PE teacher. All of this is written in books; you just have to read them."
Chishima Akishin shook his head, having neither the ti nor the inclination to deal with Yukinoshita Haruno. He adjusted his posture to watch the final bout.
Suzuki Tsuyoshi's match against Yunomoto Shinichi had begun.
The arena went silent. The judge gave the signal, and the two clashed. Suzuki Tsuyoshi scored the first point, followed shortly by Yunomoto Shinichi.
The three-minute limit expired without a winner. They took a five-minute break before entering the Encho—the overti round.
In overti, Suzuki Tsuyoshi scored the deciding point, finally overcoming Yunomoto Shinichi. With that, the Chiba Prefecture Kendo Tournant Qualifiers ca to a close.
The ultimate victor was Chishima Akishin.
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