I Teach Kendo in Tokyo

Chapter 7: Dvořák Tunes Under the Setting Sun

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

After leaving the snack shop, Kiryuu Kazuma and Fujii Mikako remained silent, as if they’d been struck by a spell. In the end, they said goodbye to each other briefly at the usual bus stop and went back to their respective homes.

On Kazuma’s way home, he recalled how he had defeated those yakuza members today.

He felt that his current kendo level of Shinto Style 6 was a little too much for those hooligans.

As the only person who could wear their family emblem, that gangster leader should be the strongest among them. However, he was only at the level of Judo 1, and Kazuma had beaten him easily. Kazuma had expected more from him.

Could it be that the entire Tsuda Family was relatively weak, so they had chosen someone like him to be the head? Kazuma suspected so.

It was a pity that he had not discovered his cheat earlier. He had only activated it during his meditation the night before. He hadn’t been able to see other people’s martial arts styles before this morning either.

During the afternoon training, Kazuma had seen Daimon Goro’s number. He was Muryu Style 8, even better than Kazuma.

However, when he met Daimon at the school gate in the morning, and when he was punished to run laps with Fujii, he couldn’t see any number on him.

Obviously, the cheat had to be activated step by step. When the other group of hooligans came to deliver the chicken this morning, Kazuma’s cheat had not been fully activated, so he could not see their strength.

He wondered if those hooligans were as lousy as this bunch.

‘If they are really that weak, I should change my strategy and go to their office directly to beat them all.’

The thought made Kazuma a little excited. He was a fan of a Japanese video game called “Ryū ga Gotoku1” which was about the yakuza. He felt that it was very cool for the main character in the game, Kiryu, to single-handedly destroy the entire criminal group just because he got annoyed.

If the yakuza was really that weak, then Kazuma would love to experience the thrill of destroying a yakuza group by himself, just like Kiryu.

However, it was just an impulsive thought. Kazuma knew that the yakuza could not be that bad. They must have some experts too.

After all, this was the yakuza’s golden era.

Kazuma took a deep breath to calm himself. Then he remembered another detail he had just noticed.

‘After defeating a few enemies in one go, my cheat allowed me to see the “deterred” state on people.’

However, due to the urgency of the situation, Kazuma had not paid much attention. Now, he was no longer sure whether he had really seen the red word “Deterred.”

However, Kazuma could directly see the wound on Fujii’s left arm, which could be considered a debuff too. Therefore, logically speaking, it was only natural that Kazuma could also see the “deterred” state.

What Kazuma was trying to figure out now was whether this state was a natural psychological response after those hooligans saw their comrades being defeated by Kazuma in one shot. Otherwise, it could be a special ability from the cheat.

As Kazuma walked, he checked his skills again. Now, he could check them at any time without meditating.

“I don’t have any skills that can impose the state of deterrence,” he muttered to himself.

Could it be a natural response?

Well, that’s understandable. After all, he had defeated several people in a row. Any normal person would be terrified.

To be safe, however, Kazuma decided to test it… But how should he test it? Should he shout “Come at me, all of you” at the Kendo Club training tomorrow?

No way. The only result of doing that was being punished to run laps by Daimon.

How about trying it out at the kendo competition? But it was not a tag-team match. The team members would be fighting against the opponents one-on-one, senpou against senpou, jihou against jihou, and so on.

Judging from the trend last year, it was very likely that Kazuma would assume the position of the chuuken or the fukushou. The taishou of the team would definitely be the club captain.

Regardless of whether he would be the chuuken or the fukushou, Kazuma would only fight one round during each match.

If it was a tag-team match, he could try to see if he would cause a “deterred” buff on the fourth player after he had defeated the first three in a row.

As Kazuma was deep in his thoughts, he turned into the street where his house was located and saw one of his neighbors moving.

“Kawa-san,” Kazuki said, greeting his neighbor who had just put furniture in the truck. “Good afternoon.”

“Welcome back, Kiryuu-kun.”

“Thank you. Are you…”

Kawa-san smiled. “We are moving. We’ve been living in Katsushika for so long, so it’s a good time to take a breather somewhere else. I saw Ogasawara-san from Sumitomo Construction walking toward your dojo. I think you should sign the contract and sell the house soon too. Move to somewhere else.”

Then, Kawa-san sighed.

Kazuma could tell from his expression that he had chosen to leave because he was afraid of the yakuza.

After saying goodbye to his neighbor, Kazuma quickly walked toward his home. Then, he saw Ogasawara, who was in charge of acquiring properties for Sumitomo Construction, standing at the entrance of his dojo.

Ogasawara was dressed in a suit and leather shoes, just like any typical office worker. When he saw Kazuma from afar, he bowed and greeted him.

To be fair, Kazuma had a good impression of Ogasawara. He had been reasonable and polite during the negotiations. Most importantly, he was willing to increase the price, which left a good impression on Kazuma.

“Good afternoon, Ogasawara-san,” Kazuma greeted him.

“Good afternoon.”

“Why are you standing outside my house?” Kazuma asked. At the same time, he saw his sister Chiyoko washing something at the entrance of the dojo.

Obviously, she had been ignoring Ogasawara.

“Chiyoko, it is basic courtesy to let a guest into our house,” Kazuma could not help but scold.

Chiyoko frowned and glanced at Kazuma.

Before Chiyoko could speak, Ogasawara said, “It’s okay, Kiryuu-kun. I’m actually here to say goodbye.”

Chiyoko was surprised to hear that. She stood up with a rag in her hand and stared straight at Ogasawara.

“Sumitomo Construction has founded a new department called the Relocation Department. The trial operation had begun a while back, and the team had achieved outstanding results. They saved a lot of capital for the company. Hence, from today onwards, land acquisition matters will be handled by the new department. Our Marketing Department will no longer be in charge of these after six o’clock today.”

Kazuma had a vague feeling that something was wrong. The newly-founded department had had outstanding results and had saved a lot of capital for the company…

Why did he have a bad feeling?

Ogasawara continued, “Any agreement signed between us before six o’clock today is still valid. I advise you to sell it. Once the Relocation Department takes over, it will no longer be the same price.”

Before Kazuma could speak, Chiyoko interrupted, “We are not selling it! No matter how much the price is, we are not selling! So even if your price is lower, it has nothing to do with us!”

Ogasawara wanted to say something but he didn’t. He looked at Kazuma quietly.

Kazuma understood what he meant.

‘Crap. It seems if I don’t sell it now, there won’t be such a good price in the future.’

Since the construction company had hired the yakuza to handle this matter, it was impossible for them to offer such a high price. At the very least, they had to deduct pay commissions to the yakuza.

Of course, it was also possible that the yakuza would buy the land with their own money and then sell it to Sumitomo Construction. But either way, Kazuma would definitely receive less money.

Kazuma glanced at Chiyoko, who had started to wipe the floor again. He asked, “What happened to the floor at the door? Didn’t you wash away the chicken blood this morning?”

Chiyoko glared at Ogasawara. “Ask him!”

Kazuma turned to look at Ogasawara.

“We really don’t know,” Ogasawara said honestly. “My department does not deal with the yakuza.”

“They threw seven or eight dead rats in front of our door! The rats’ blood spilled all over the floor! How dare you tell me that you don’t know?” Chiyoko said angrily.

Ogasawara lowered his head. “I’m very sorry, but I can’t do anything about that. As long as you sign…”

“No! Do you think I’ll believe you? This is a trap! You can fool my brother, but you can’t fool me!” Chiyoko shouted.

Kazuma said, “Chiyoko, I think…”

Chiyoko interrupted him. “Sign it if you want to sell it! You are the elder brother, the owner of the house. You have every right to sign it! But if you dare to sign it, I will jump off the Tokyo Tower!”

Kazuma had no choice but to shut up.

When it came to matters related to the dojo, Chiyoko would get very emotional, unlike her usual self.

That was understandable. After all, he had inherited the memories of the original Kiryuu Kazuma, and he knew that this dojo bore the memories that the siblings had shared with their late parents.

Chiyoko shouted at Kazuma, “You swore to me that you would revive the dojo business! You big liar!”

After saying that, Chiyoko threw the rag aside and ran into the room angrily, leaving Kazuma and Ogasawara outside.

Kazuma sighed. “Ogasawara-san, I appreciate your kindness, but Chiyoko will really jump down from the Tokyo Tower. I dare not sign this.”

Ogasawara also sighed. “They threw dead rats today, but who knows what it would be tomorrow? Don’t hold any hopes for the yakuza. They can do anything. They are just a bunch of beasts.”

Kazuma wanted to say that he had experienced it today.

The Tsuda Family had smashed that snack shop and mercilessly beat up the owner of the shop, a lady who was almost 50 years old. Kazuma had witnessed the whole process.

Then, he fought off the Tsuda Family.

Ogasawara took back the document file that contained the contract and raised his hand to look at his watch.

“Three minutes to six o’clock. Take care of yourselves, Kiryuu-kun.”

“I will.”

“Protect your sister. If you have any difficulties, you can contact me. I will do my best to help you.”

With that, Ogasawara glanced at the door of the dojo again and shook his head. Then, he left with his briefcase.

The sun was setting in the west, shedding orange light on Ogasawara’s slightly bald head.

Kazuma bit his lips.

‘Why do I feel like I’ve made a crucial choice?’

‘Should I sign it and tie Chiyoko up for a few days so that she can calm down?’

At this time, the neighborhood association’s loudspeaker began to play Dvořák’s “Symphony No. 9 in E minor,” which was part of a symphony called “New World.”

This was unique in Japan. Every day at sunset, the neighborhood office would use the public loudspeakers set in various parts of the district to play this tune, urging children to go home.

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Later on, due to urban development in major cities like Tokyo, most of the public loudspeakers had been removed, so this tradition had also been abolished. However, it could still be seen in many places in Japan’s countryside today.

It gave off a strange atmosphere to have the lonely Dvořák tunes playing in the empty field, which was used by many artists to create an eerie effect.

Some people also used the song to signal the arrival of demons.

However, in the 1980s, people in Katsushika District would hear the same Dvořák tune every day at the same time.

Kazuma watched Ogasawara as he walked away under the setting sun. As he listened to the music, an inexplicable feeling welled up from the bottom of his heart. He felt that he was walking into the realm of demons, where ghosts and monsters traversed the world.