Aoto looked at Kondo and Okita nearby.
“Kondo-kun and Okita-kun are as close as brothers with Hijikata Toshizo… No wonder they’re arguing about whether Kondo-kun should visit Hijikata Toshizo alone, or if they should both go back to visit him…”
“You’ve already mentioned four of the five vajra guardians, so who’s the last one?
Who is the final vajra guardian?”
“The last vajra guardian…” Suzuki’s face turned into a bitter gourd, “The last vajra guardian is the most troublesome person at Shieikan, and also the most terrifying.”
“That person is our Mrs.
Kondo.”
“Mrs.
Kondo?” Aoto let out a low gasp.
“Yes.
Mrs.
Kondo’s temper is quite something.”
Suzuki seemed to recall some unbearable memory, shrinking his neck.
“Let me tell you something that’s well-known at Shieikan—our master is quite afraid of Mrs.
Kondo; even at his old age, he’s still completely controlled by her.”
“The young master is also very afraid of his mother.”
“So, the father and son are often scolded mercilessly by Mrs.
Kondo, not daring to even breathe loudly.”
“Therefore, we often discuss privately: the true head of the Shieikan is neither the master nor the young master, but Mrs.
Kondo.”
—Afraid of his wife, huh… It seems that no matter the country or the era, there are always henpecked husbands…
After muttering this to himself, Aoto silently noted down the names Hijikata Toshizo and Mrs.
Kondo, which Suzuki had just mentioned.
Just then, Kondo and Okita’s argument finally ended.
Kondo’s expression was normal.
Okita, however, had a crestfallen face.
Their expressions already revealed who had won their recent argument.
Kondo led the dejected Okita back to Aoto and Others.
“As you all just heard, Toshizo got into a fight and was injured, so I need to go to Tama to see him.”
Kondo didn’t know that Aoto had already learned who Hijikata Toshizo was through Suzuki, so he specifically explained to Aoto now:
“Toshizo is one of the disciples of our Shieikan, and also my close friend.
He’s currently injured from a fight, and I can’t just ignore him.”
“I won’t be able to return until tomorrow at the earliest.”
“Until I return, Shieikan will temporarily be managed by Soji.”
Aoto’s peripheral vision suddenly noticed—after Kondo’s last sentence fell, Suzuki and Others’ expressions subtly changed, and a hint of bitterness appeared on their cheeks.
“Soji.” Kondo then turned his gaze to Okita, “I’m entrusting Shieikan to you for now.
I’ll be back as soon as possible.”
“I still want to go with you to see Hijikata-sensei…” Okita smacked her lips.
“Soji.” Kondo’s face hardened, “Don’t be willful.”
“…Understood.” New chapters come out on g.com first.
…
…
After giving some more instructions to Okita, Aoto and Others, Kondo hurriedly strapped on his sword and quickly left Shieikan with the burly man named Koroku.
Watching Kondo leave, a faint look of regret flickered in Aoto’s eyes.
He had planned to have a good spar with Kondo today to see if he could copy any talents from him, but who knew such an unexpected event would occur.
The more capable a person is, the greater the likelihood of them possessing special talents.
Aoto believed that—compared to mediocre ordinary people, Kondo, who was already a Teachers Assistant of a sword dojo at a young age, undoubtedly had a much higher chance of possessing special talents.
—There’s no other way.
Aoto consoled himself in his heart.
—I’ll just have to wait until next time I come to Shieikan to practice sword, and then have a good match with Kondo-kun.
I hope Kondo-kun won’t happen to be away from the dojo for some reason then…
As Aoto was secretly muttering to himself, Okita kept pouting, looking in the direction Kondo had left with a hint of resentment.
After a long while, Okita slowly retracted her gaze and turned her attention to Aoto and Others.
“You all heard Kondo-kyo’s words, right?”
Okita put her hands behind her back.
Being small in stature, this action had a strange sense of humor.
“Shieikan is currently under my management.”
“In other words—until Kondo-kyo returns, I will be instructing all of you!”
“Well then, without further ado, let’s quickly start today’s practice!”
“Ah ah…” Suzuki, with a bitter gourd face, twitched the corner of his mouth and mumbled, “Okita-kun is going to instruct us…”
Suzuki-kun’s volume was very low, and Okita didn’t hear his murmur.
But Aoto, who was standing next to Suzuki, heard it.
“Is Okita-kun’s teaching not good?” Aoto asked in a low voice, “Why did your expressions change just now when you heard that Okita-kun would temporarily manage Shieikan?”
“No… It’s not that Okita-kun’s teaching isn’t good.” Suzuki responded in a low voice, “On the contrary, he’s very good at teaching.
It’s just that he… in sword instruction, is a bit… too strict…”
“Too strict?”
“Yes… Anyway, you’ll know what I mean by ‘too strict’ in a bit…”
Just as Suzuki finished speaking—
“Suzuki-kun!”
“Here!” Suzuki quickly stopped talking and stood up straight.
“Just now, after watching your match with Tachibana-kun, I found that you have many areas that need improvement.” Okita said meticulously, “For example, your sword-holding posture.”
“You still haven’t mastered the basic sword-holding posture of Tennen Rishin-ryu—Heigan.”
“So, today you will mainly practice Heigan.”
“Go get a sword.
And also get me a bamboo sword.”
“Yes!” Suzuki quickly took two bamboo swords from the nearby sword rack, handing one to Okita and keeping the other for himself.
“Now, show me a Heigan.”
“Yes!” Suzuki immediately complied, raising the bamboo sword in his hand and assuming a rather unique sword-holding posture.
“Don’t step so hard with your right foot!
And don’t grip the sword so tightly!
Relax your grip a bit!”
“Yes!” Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
“Your hands are still too tense, relax a bit more!”
“Yes!”
“Why did your left foot suddenly lift?” Okita swung the bamboo sword in her hand, gently tapping Suzuki’s left calf, “Lower it a bit, lower it a bit more!
I told you to lower it!”
Crack!
Okita swung the sword again, striking Suzuki’s left calf.
This time the force was slightly heavier than before.
“Yes!”
“How come when your left foot lowers, the bamboo sword also lowers?”
“Yes!
I’m sorry!”
…
…
The three apprentices who came to practice sword with Suzuki seemed to be accustomed to such a sight, casting sympathetic glances at Suzuki, who was being “disciplined” by Okita.
Aoto, witnessing this for the first time, couldn’t help but look at Okita, who was completely different from before, with a stunned expression.
Okita just now was a cheerful young man with a refreshing smile always on his face.
But Okita now…
For some reason, looking at Okita now, Aoto couldn’t help but recall his bald driving instructor from his previous life, who wore a gold chain around his neck and sunglasses at all times…
(You stupid idiot, can you stop touching the handbrake with your clumsy hands?!
That’s right!
Release the handbrake!
Damn it!
Are you brainless?!)
Even now that he had transmigrated, the sincere teachings of the bald instructor, shouted in standard Cantonese-accented Mandarin, still echoed in his ears…
The only difference between Okita now and the bald instructor was probably that Okita didn’t swear.
At this moment, Aoto recalled what Suzuki had just told him—
(Anyway, you’ll know what I mean by ‘too strict’ in a bit)
[japanese History Classroom is now open~]
Many readers who have watched a lot of japanese anime might mistakenly think that “Heigan” is a very powerful sword technique, like “Heigan Three-Stage Thrust.”
[“Heigan” is not a move]
“Heigan” is a classic sword-holding posture in japanese swordsmanship, taught by many sword schools.
It can basically be understood as a middle-stance posture with a unique form.
[Middle Stance: Holding the sword with both hands, the sword is held in front of the body, the pommel pointing towards one’s abdomen, and the tip of the sword pointing diagonally at the enemy’s face]
The so-called “Heigan Three-Stage Thrust” starts from the Heigan posture and then launches a three-stage thrust towards the enemy.
It is not that the move itself is called “Heigan.”
*******
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