He accepted, just like that? Did he not realize I was in the national tournament last year? Was he thinking he could beat me because he was stronger than me for a time in elementary school? I was more annoyed that he thought it would be an easy win.
“I heard you made it to the top three in nationals last year,” he said, sounding amused. “Make sure you win it this year.”
I was actually happy he had known. But his next words rekindled my anger.
“I’m going to do you a favor and knock all the crap out of you before then. You should thank me.”
“Shut up! I’ll be the one knocking you around!”
He laughed and told me he’d call again, then hung up before I could say anything else. He was the cocky one here.
I let out a muffled shout and tossed my phone onto my bed.
Two days later, he informed me that our match would be held at the dojo where we used to practice.
The old man who taught there would never allow us to use it for a personal grudge match. Kogetsu said he’d told him we needed it for practice. The owner was an old friend of Kogetsu’s family, so it was easy to convince him.
I felt guilty for lying to the old man, but we only needed it this once, so I apologized to him inside my head.
And so, while everyone else was making plans for Obon, I was preparing for my match. Finally, the day arrived.
“...Is it just me, or does Kogetsu look upset?” I asked.
“Yeah. Leave him alone. He got in trouble with Urara again.”
I had arrived earlier than planned so I could clean the dojo as a sort of apology to the old man.
Kogetsu arrived at the appointed time, but gone was his calm-and-collected attitude from our phone call.
When I asked Ui, who had come along to referee, he merely chuckled and gave that as an answer.
It had been so long since I last saw Ui. His affable nature was the same as always.
“Again?!” I shouted. “What did he do this time?”
“Shut up!” Kogestu butt in. “I didn’t make her mad!”
Clad in a white gi with his hair pulled back into a ponytail, Kogetsu might have had a nice face, but the way he was thundering about the dojo, it was hard to see him as anything other than male.
But when I saw him that day in his school uniform and all, I really thought he was a girl. That maybe Kogetsu had a sister.
When he saw the accusatory look on my face, he suddenly started mumbling excuses.
“I just offered her a handkerchief when she started crying for no reason. I have no idea what I did wrong.”
“Didn’t she slap you? You definitely did something wrong,” Ui said.
I stared at Kogetsu and got a heavy sigh in return.
If she could make Kogetsu this upset, my sister really was a force to be reckoned with. At least where he was concerned.
“Enough with the chatter. Let’s get this over with,” Sakutarou intoned. He never was good at reading the room.
The three of them came together. Ui I expected. I hadn’t guessed that Sakutarou would come along, let alone that he would be so pushy.
“Right. Let’s get on with it. You already know I’m gonna win, though, right?” Kogetsu said, waving us forward. Sakutarou then explained his conditions.
“Our terms are the same. For your silence.”
I had no intention of losing, so it was easy for me to say okay to that. I had improved significantly. I touched my mask to signal I was ready.
“Begin!”
The instant we heard Ui shout, we rose, our bamboo swords aligned, and moved apart.
I figured he would come at me and make the first move, but he defied my expectations. He pushed past my sword and went for my wrist.
Maybe he didn’t hit the right spot, as neither our referee, Ui, nor his assistant, Sakutarou, said anything. Normally, we wouldn’t need two judges, but today we were playing under special rules.
“Haruto. Keep your mind on the match,” Kogetsu muttered. He used to always warn me about the same thing.
I went at him again in a rush. The sound of our bamboo blades clashing resounded throughout the dojo.
I thrust forward, my sword within range of Kogetsu’s head.
“You have gotten stronger, Haruto.”
“Or have you just gotten weaker, Kogetsu?”
I was trying to put everything I had into coming off tough, even glaring at him through my mask even though he could not see me, but despite that, he heaved a sigh of relief and chuckled.
“You haven’t changed. You need to train harder.”
He knocked my sword aside and lifted his own from targeting my torso to targeting my head.
I laughed. He was the same old Kogetsu, trying so hard to sound cool. Fine, if he wanted to play badass, I would show him just how badass I could be.
The instant both of us stepped forward, I realized I was a second too slow. He was coming for my head. In a panic, I thrust my sword forward as hard as I could.
“That’s the match,” Ui announced. I only then realized I had lost. Had he hit my head? I looked to Ui for an explanation.
“You won,” he said with a laugh.
“Huh?”
I turned back to see Kogetsu in his white gi doubled over on the floor.
He was wheezing and groaning in pain, massaging his throat. I realized then that I had gotten him.
“I was the one who lost,” I said. “Hitting the throat is against the rules.”
In middle school kendo it was, at least. I knew that, but I had been so bent on not losing to Kogetsu.
“Sorry,” I said, offering him my hand, but he smacked it away.
“Ha! I don’t care about your middle school kendo,” he said and began removing his armor on the spot. He opened his gi, exposing his torso and neck. I could see the base of his throat was red. It looked painful. That was gonna leave a mark.
“Ah, I guess I lost. Who ever thought I would lose to Haruto.”
“Stop mocking me. I competed in nationals.”
“Is that so?” He laughed and sat cross-legged. That look on his face was so nostalgic. It was like we really had gone back to those days.
I hadn’t meant to talk his ear off about my sister back then...
At that moment...
“Chouko! Haruto!”
I heard my sister’s voice echoing throughout the dojo. What was she doing here?