Kurashiki Kuraudo

Skull-head bashed the beer against the back of Ikki's head.

The other customers immediately screamed. The bottle smashed and fragments flew off. It had been bashed against Ikki's head with so much strength that he bent and crashed against the table.
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Ayase's face turned pale in an instant. That was because Sugawara was there in a form that was painful to look at with bandages and gauze all over his body and face.
"Those injuries, just what happened?"
Kaito, who was shocked too, rushed to Sugawara's side.
Upon seeing his instructor run up to him, Sugawara for almost burst into tears, and...
"Instructor…. I, I am so sorry!"
Just like that prostrated, almost like hitting his head on the floor of the dojo. Although his face couldn't be seen, his sobbing voice could be heard.
Kaito immediately understood that it wasn't something trivial.
"Raise your head. These injuries… it seems you didn't get these by falling down or something. Just what happened?"
"Th-That is, we were done in by that man who came by yesterday…."
"What…!?"
"Yesterday night, when we were on our way back from dojo, he was waiting to ambush us seven…. Then, all of sudden he attacked us with a stick! That guy is insane! Without any hesitation he tried to smash other people's heads. He is insane, mad I tell you…. That's why, with no other way out, all of us fought back, but…."
Sugawara sobbed heavily once at that point, and―
"We were helpless! All seven of us together weren't even able to touch him when he wasn't using his ability, nor was he even covering his body with mana."
"…!"
Ayase gulped, shocked upon hearing those words. Including Sugawara, other disciples too, like Ayase, had been learning the sword of Ayatsuji since their childhood―and for them to be that helpless against someone.
That guy, he was that strong….
"Even though we were trained by Instructor for so many years… we were played around with by that delinquent! I am very sorry!"
"You don't have to apologize anymore! More importantly, are the others all right!?"
"…Nitta was beaten to a pulp and that's why she was treated with a capsule, but all of the others were hospitalized. "
Capsules could only be used by claiming health insurance; otherwise it would be very costly. Therefore, it seemed within the seven of them, with Sugawara and Nitta out, five of them were still confined to bed. The ones with severe injuries were diagnosed with injuries such as their arms would never return to normal, et cetera.
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"Haha! Here I come!"
The moment when 'start' was shouted, Kuraudo ran towards Kaito, covered in winds. He obliterated the distance by pure leg strength, and swung his sword down on Kaito's head. There wasn't even a trace of technique in that single stroke, which ripped the atmosphere. He had not transmitted power from his legs, nor used lats by closing his armpit; he didn't do any of those.
It was a wild swing with just the power of his arm behind it. Obviously, it was a sword play belonging to an amateur.
Fast!
Even from the eyes of Kaito, who was a master, that swing seemed abnormal. He concluded that it would be dangerous to receive it upfront. Kaito quickly escaped the trajectory of the slash by sliding his feet to the side.
In that moment, Kuraudo's wooden sword grazed the tip of Kaito's nose, and split the floor of dojo.
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But, Kaito was different. He purposefully let it graze him. Adjusting the distance by sliding your feet was a basic skill of swordsmen. He did so, because it was to keep the opened distance short for him to counter. A full swing enough to split the floor; of course, the opponent wouldn't be able to take defensive stances soon enough to block the counter. That single moment becomes the deciding factor in a match with a master as an opponent!
And countering was Ayatsuji single-blade style's forte.
The moment when the tip of Kuraudo's sword plunged into the floor, Kaito slide his foot forward shortening the distance by half a step. That was Kaito's attack range.
"―!"
Kaito let out a small sigh and, this time, he was the one who attacked. Aiming for the same body area as Kuraudo, the head, he brought down his sword. But Kaito's swing was beautiful, incomparable with Kuraudo's barbaric swing, and faster. That speed was the same as light's. Even if he was sick, he had been still known as the Last Samurai in the past. The extraordinary genius. The very idea of comparing his sword play with an amateur's was foolish. Kuraudo, who had missed on his very first attack, could not escape the fate of being hit by that swing.
Or so it was supposed to be.
"Hahaha!"
*Thump*
Kaito's hands became numb after receiving the recoil of his own attack. It was not the head of Kuraudo that he felt he had hit. It was the wooden sword of Kuraudo that was launched at Kaito's attack. He repelled it with his own sword. Kaito's bone cracked because of that impact.
"You seem to be surprised, old man. Did you think you would be able to wrap it up like that?"
"…Yes. To tell you the truth, I didn't think you would repel it."
That was truly a surprise. One could say it was completely unexpected. But Kaito wasn't just some inexperienced swordsman to be shocked by every move of his opponent.
That's some instincts he's got there.
It seems he had predicted Kaito's counter. That reaction speed could not be explained any other way. It was beyond the speed of humans.
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While smiling like a brute, Kuraudo once again closed the distance by charging in with pure leg strength, and for the third time, swung his sword downwards.
He doesn't learn…! Such an amateurish move.
Certainly he predicted and parried the counter. Those moves were something. But, he just swings his attacks around with emotions and brute strength. That kind of sword play, with just power behind it, didn't pose any threat to an excellent swordsman.
I'll end it with this…!
Kaito, once again, took the stance for deflection with his sword at his left side. He'd deflect the attack, and finish it. Kaito, Ayase, who was watching from the side, and Sugawara, too, believed that.
At that moment, Kuraudo's wooden sword disappeared like mist.
Wha…!?
In that instant, the sound of Kaito's ribs breaking echoed inside the dojo.
　※　※　※
Kaito fell down after being hit in the torso by Kuraudo's wooden sword. He violently convulsed, but Kuraudo got a fair point in, to which no one could complain about.
However, Ayase didn't have the composure to calmly announce the point, because on the floor, Kaito was suffering from lung hemorrhage while holding his side. The amount of blood being lost was excessive. It was obvious from one look that his internal organs had ruptured. Realizing that, Ayase ran over to Kaito with a pale face.
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And, to deliver the ending blow to Kaito, now, whose entire body was covered in wounds, Kuraudo once again released the same attack that took one point from Kaito before. Aiming for the torso.
Kaito quickly took a defensive stance to that. A stance intending to receive the attack. However, just before clashing with Kaito's wooden sword, Kuraudo's wooden sword once again disappeared like mist and hit Kaito's body.
This time it was swung down on his skull.
It was incomprehensible. How did a sword, swung towards the torso, come from above the head. That action had probably surpassed the abilities of humans. Was it some kind of trick? They could not understand it. No one could tell what it was.
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Having lost all reason, Ayase charged towards Kuraudo after materializing Hizume.
But the arm that was about to swing Hizume was caught by Kuraudo and he easily lifted Ayase's body up.
"Don't lose your temper like that, I have no interest in weaklings."
"Let me go! Let me gooooo!"
"First of all, this isn't the time for you to go at it with me, am I right?"
After saying that, Kuraudo threw Ayase on top on Kaito's body.