Duels: a somewhat primitive, yet sacred tradition harkening back to days of old, thrilling and terrifying at the same time. One piece of the athletic field had been transformed into an arena, surrounded on all sides by spectators... and I, Kiriyama Yui, was in the middle.
Across from me stood an old friend and rival, Mihashi Chinatsu, wearing a spare Yamaboshi tracksuit.
The two of us were about to face off...
“Why this?!” I shouted at no one in particular. How the heck did I end up roped into this?!
Meanwhile, I could hear the onlookers whispering to each other:
“Wait, so they’re old rivals?”
“If she’s on par with Kiriyama-san, then she must be good!”
“I heard this is gonna be an all-out karate battle.”
“People would pay good money to see this...”
“Somebody set up a popcorn stand!”
There had to be, like, 50 people watching. At first I was confused, but then I remembered that three-fourths of the 600 entrants had been eliminated, which meant there were currently 450 students with nothing better to do. Makes sense.
“As usual, I’m a genius! This is sure to be the highlight of the whole event!”
“We’re lucky we stumbled across a trump card in the form of Mihashi-san.”
“Yes, and we’re lucky you were able to convince her, Nagase-san!”
“No, no! I gotta say, this is a brilliant way to get those forfeited flowers back onto the playing field, Fujishima-san.”
“Can you two quit flirting?! This is all your fault, just FYI!” I shouted at the two girls patting each other on the back at the front of the crowd.
Rather than leave the forfeited flowers in limbo, they decided the most fair way to reintroduce them would be to give them to a new substitute pair. And that pair was Mihashi Chinatsu and Kiriyama Anzu, neither of whom were Yamaboshi students. It made, like, zero sense. But according to Watase-kun, “Everybody loves it when a new challenger joins the fight!”
Whatever that means, I guess.
And since I was the obvious choice of opponent, they decided the most exciting battle would be one-on-one combat between me and Chinatsu.
“Are you sure you’re cool with this? You don’t have to humor them if you don’t want to,” I told her, feeling guilty.
“I don’t care about them. Right now, I only care about you.”
Her eyes glittered as she stared me down. You see, it was actually Chinatsu who first suggested she and I duke it out. After all, it was a rare opportunity to see which of us was stronger... and quite possibly the last chance we’d get while we were still in high school. She explained all this with a confident smirk on her face.
After a brief discussion, we agreed on the following rules:
Punches or kicks only; no grappling.
No barehanded strikes to the face or other dangerous areas.
Each round lasts 3 minutes.
The loser is determined by KO or forfeit.
“Man, those rules are harsh. Reminds me of a pro wrestling showdown.”
For a second I thought Taichi had said it, but it turned out to be some rando.
“Well, Yui... All I can really do is offer you towels, water, and emotional support, I guess,” said Aoki.
“Sis, I want you to do your best... but right now I’m on Mihashi-san’s team, and I’m gonna help her as much as possible. I’m looking forward to your battle!” said Anzu.
Since this was a one-on-one fight, our partners had been demoted to backup. Meanwhile, the crowd continued to grow.
“This is gonna be crazy!”
“Why waste time having our own battles when we could watch this one?!”
Apparently some active competitors had decided to watch us, too. As you’d expect, the chatter was getting louder and louder... and yet I was starting to tune it out. My focus was on Chinatsu and Chinatsu only.
“Now that we’re third-years, I guess we won’t be reuniting at nationals.”
It was a promise we made to each other once upon a time, but now it wasn’t looking likely. Not because of some super-dramatic reason, either; due to our differing ranks, we simply couldn’t enter the same competitions. Pretty mundane, I know.
We could always spar on our own time, but it would never be official. Just an extension of our training.
“Not that that was my whole reason for doing karate, but... it’s always been my dream to beat you.”
No wonder she leapt at the chance to battle me. In her mind, this empty field was the tournament arena she always dreamed of... It struck a chord with me. After all, she wasn’t the only one who had yearned for this moment.
“I’m gonna prove that hard work can surpass raw talent.”
“I don’t have talent...”
“So you say. And yeah, I know you put in effort, too. I know that. But to me, Kiriyama Yui will always be a natural prodigy.”
After a few moments of silence in which she glared daggers in my direction, she suddenly turned her back on me, as if to mark the end of our conversation. Evidently it was time to start the battle. But as for me, this was still too sudden, and I wasn’t emotionally prepared... I squeezed my eyes shut. Then I took a deep breath and started thinking.
So many people were hoping to win this event. No one was experienced in this, no one had practiced anything ahead of time, and so the playing field was level, which made it easier to feel confident in your own chances. Sure, maybe you’d lose, but on the other hand, maybe you’d win. That kind of thing.
Me personally, yeah, I was hoping to win... No, I was trying to win. I wanted Aoki (and myself) to have a leg up when it came to getting into college, and I wanted him (and myself) to win everyone’s respect, and I wanted him (and myself) to have one last happy high school memory. I mean, not that I was only doing this for him! I just really wanted to win, no matter the challenge. Losing was never fun, but if I was forced to lose, I would accept it gracefully, like a good sport. That was the kind of life I wanted to lead.
If this was an obstacle to my victory, then I would just have to overcome it.
Once upon a time, Chinatsu criticized me for drifting away from karate. But while karate stopped being my main focus, I gained so many new things in exchange. Precious, irreplaceable things. And then, eventually, I came back to karate like it was my home. Now I wanted to prove to Chinatsu that my life choices were just as valid as hers. To me, this was a battle I couldn’t afford to lose.
I opened my eyes, then walked over to Aoki for a minute.
“Yui... All I care about is that you try not to get yourself hurt. The second it feels risky, it’s okay to forfeit.”
I felt a twinge in my chest. I didn’t want to worry him... It made me start to have second thoughts about the battle.
“Just give it your best, okay?”
Then, right at the end, he gave me a tiny bit of encouragement. I could hear all the unspoken feelings behind those words, and while I felt a little guilty, it made me really happy at the same time. I wanted to win this, both for myself and for Aoki.
With a thumbs-up, I turned and walked back to my starting position. The crowd’s cheers were just background noise to me. Right now, the only other person in my world was Chinatsu.
I felt the grass bending beneath my gym shoes and the air against my skin. Gauging my footing, I scanned the vicinity. Then I fixed my gaze on one specific point.
“We’re gonna find out who’s stronger, once and for all,” Chinatsu declared as she finished her warm-up stretches. She seemed to be downright enjoying her position as the away team. But this wasn’t much of a surprise, given she’d been waiting for this moment since eighth grade.
“Is there really a point to making such a big deal out of it?” I asked.
“Haven’t you ever wished you could have an all-out duel, just once?”
She had a point. Anyone with martial arts training could relate to that feeling.
“Don’t worry. I promise not to totally destroy you,” she grinned.
“Yeah, because you won’t have the chance,” I shot back defiantly.
Sparks were flying. I had lost all sympathy for her; now she was purely the enemy. I dropped into my fighting stance, and the air between us froze. A dark flame ignited in my heart.
“Alright, is everyone ready? We’ll have three judges, including me...”
I could hear Fujishima-san talking, but I wasn’t listening.
“If at any point it gets too dangerous, we’ll stop the match, so try your utmost not to injure—”
Blah, blah, blah. Hurry up!
“BEGIN!”
That was my cue. Early bird gets the worm. I moved first, lunging at her with a full-speed jab. I could hear it cut through the air — but no impact. Chinatsu leapt straight back, dodging clear. But I wasn’t done yet. It was time for my follow-up.
Following through with my momentum, I unleashed a front kick. But right at the moment I anticipated an impact, she did another one of her flawless backsteps.
To go for a third attack, I’d need to adjust my position — but right as I pulled my leg back, she sprang forward. I put my foot back as far as it would go, but half of my other leg was still within range of her middle kick. The instant she went for it, I knew I wouldn’t be able to dodge. I shielded my torso with my arms... and the moment the blow landed, I felt my feet lift up off the ground.
What?! She knocked me back?!
I slid across the ground on my feet, using my backwards motion to reduce the impact. But even then, my left arm still tingled.
“Whoaaaa!”
“Did you see that?!”
“I don’t know anything about karate, but this is hardcore!”
I was now having slightly more trouble clenching my left hand. My grip strength was decreasing. This would affect the power of my attacks.
I knew going in that Chinatsu was in better shape than me, but maybe I’d underestimated her. Despite her weight advantage, she seemed to be on par with me in terms of speed, or perhaps just a tiny bit slower. That one exchange was all it took to make me realize just how much work she had put into honing her body.