Division【7700】
"Soji, what would you like to drink or eat?"
"Just regular green tea... I'm not hungry, so I won't order anything."
"Then I also want a cup of green tea. Sorry, we want 2 cups of green tea."
"Okay~~! Please wait a moment! Tea will be ready soon!"
Teshiro-san's energetic voice formed a sharp contrast with the calm tone of conversation between the Okita siblings.
To have such a chance encounter with the Okita siblings in this tea house, Qingnobo originally wanted to go over and say hello, but both the expression on the Souji's face and the tone of the two siblings' words all conveyed the message "It's better not to."
Just approach them casually first” aura.
The two siblings looked strange... Qingdeng hesitated for a long time and decided to stay put for now and observe the situation before making a decision.
What Souji and Okita Hikaru ordered were the most ordinary green teas. In just a blink of an eye, Teshiro-san returned to the Okita siblings' table with two cups of lukewarm tea.
While waiting for Miss Teshiro to bring tea, the two siblings remained silent and did not speak.
Okita Hikaru folded his hands on the table and looked at his nose and heart.
The Souji rested his right arm on the table, supported his head with his right palm, and lifted the ponytail from the back of his head in front of his body with his left hand. He curled his hair with his fingers while staring at the end of it in a daze.
"Two distinguished guests! Your tea is here~! If you need anything else, you can call me again!"
The energetic voice of Miss Teshiro also failed to dispel the stiff atmosphere that permeated the relationship between the two.
"Thanks."
It can be seen that Okita Hikaru has no interest in the cup of tea now placed in front of him.
From politely saying "thank you" to Miss Teshiro, to watching Miss Teshiro leave, she never once glanced at the cup of tea she ordered.
At this time, when Miss Teshiro put down the tea they ordered and returned to the kitchen with the tea tray in her arms, the strange silence between the siblings was finally broken by Okita Hikaru's voice.
The first words she spoke made Qingdeng almost spit out the sweet water that happened to be in his mouth.
"Okay, Director-General, let's continue the topic we just talked about. How do you want to give up swordsmanship?"
——Give up learning the sword?
Qingdeng's eyes widened, and with brute force and perseverance, he forced the sweet water that almost spewed out of his mouth back into his mouth from the corners of his lips, and swallowed it down into his stomach.
--what happened?
At this moment, Qingdeng couldn't care less about the sweet water and the gong was burning.
"Concentration" is activated directly! Gather your whole body and mind and listen carefully to the conversation between the General Secretary and Okita Hikaru.
"elder sister……"
Qingden heard the chief executive sigh heavily.
"I don't want to give up the sword..."
"Hey, you kid, don't you really want to rely on swordsmanship to earn a living in the future?"
"...It has nothing to do with whether I can make a living with the sword in the future. I like swordsmanship, so I don't want to give up swordsmanship. The reason is that simple."
"You...sigh..."
Okita Hikaru's sigh contained a full aura of "hating iron but not steel".
"General Secretary, how many times do I have to tell you before you understand? I have carefully investigated and found out that no matter how good a person is in swordsmanship, there are only very few people who can rely on swordsmanship to make a living, not to mention you..."
"elder sister!"
Souji suddenly interrupted Okita Hikaru's words with an extremely high-pitched tone.
The pitch was so high and the sound was so loud that it directly overwhelmed all the conversations in the tea house.
All the customers in the teahouse turned their heads and cast doubtful glances at the pair of siblings, both of whom were very good-looking.
Suddenly became the focus of the audience... This made Okita Hikaru feel at a loss.
While looking around with an awkward expression, she quickly said to the Souji:
"General, Chief, what are you doing?"
"Sister, can you please stop talking about this topic now?"
The general manager frowned and curled his lips vigorously.
"It's rare that we go out to play and buy things together, so don't talk about such heavy-hearted things anymore."
At this time, Qingnobo discovered: There was a square brocade box placed by the Souji's knee. On the brocade box was engraved a mark that most people in Edo were familiar with - it was a famous Wu in Edo.
The family crest of a service merchant.
The contents of this exquisite brocade box should be the clothes sold in the famous Wufu store.
Okita Hikari seemed to want to say something more, but the gazes of the people around her made her feel as if a heavy hammer was pressing on her body, and she was unable to say a single formed word.
In desperation, Okita Hikaru could only give in and make a compromise.
"Okay... I understand." Okita Hikaru shrank his neck and looked around the circle with cautious eyes, "Then let's not talk about this for now. I will find time to talk to you slowly and in detail later."
Souji smiled for the first time since Qingde met them in this tea house.
But his smile quickly disappeared.
"Then let's change the topic and talk about your marriage. Souji, you are already 16 this year. It's time to think about it..."
Chief: "Ouch! Ouch!"
Before Okita Hikaru finished speaking, the director closed his eyes tightly, raised his hands to cover his ears, and screamed "Ouch, Ouch, Ouch".
"This kind of topic is also very heart-breaking!"
"No, no, no!"
"I won't listen, I won't listen!"
The Souji, who closed his eyes tightly and covered his ears tightly, was like a Tyrannosaurus rex. He opened his mouth wide and howled to the sky. At the same time, he kept shaking his head vigorously, and the slender ponytail on the back of his head flew up and down.
Okita's roar and behavior attracted more eyes and attention.
Okita Hikaru, who didn't like the feeling of disturbing others, suddenly felt a strong embarrassment written on his face.
"Director, please stop shouting! Okay, okay, I won't talk about this in this place. I'm sorry for disturbing you, please forgive me."
After Okita Hikaru quickly dissuaded Souji from the "T-Rex roar", he quickly went to apologize to the people around him, and he was very busy.
After hearing Okita Hikaru say, "We don't want to talk about this in this place," the Souji immediately became quiet.
The expressions change so quickly, it's like a magic trick.
Director General: (=￣ω￣=): “Okay, then I won’t argue.”
Qingden could faintly detect a hint of naughty smile in Souji's half-closed eyes and the slightly raised corners of his mouth.
Okita Hikaru also noticed the smile on Souji's face.
I saw Okita Hikaru put his hands on his hips and said angrily:
"General Secretary, you are already a grown-up, why do you still act like..."
"Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch..."
"Okay, okay!"
Seeing that Souji was about to switch to "T-Rex mode" again, Okita Hikaru quickly interrupted him.
"Stop shouting, stop shouting, oh...it's true..."
Okita Hikaru let out a long sigh, picked up the tea on the table and took a sip.
Although Qingto could not see Okita's expression because Okita's back was facing him, from Okita's sigh, Qingto could vaguely feel that the eldest sister in the family seemed to have aged several times at this moment.
age.
At this time, Souji showed a naughty smile and laughed happily "hehehe", like a naughty child who succeeded in playing a prank.
When Qingdeng saw this, he couldn't help laughing.
This is the Souji Aomori is familiar with...a naive boy who never seems to grow up.
The heavy-looking face I saw just now doesn't match Souji at all.
With the chief making such a fuss, Okita Hikaru seemed to have no intention of staying in this teahouse any longer.
After she hurriedly drank the tea in the cup, she hurriedly led the chief commander away.
Although Souji had just used tricks to fool all the topics Okita Hikaru mentioned, the words Okita Hikaru just talked about were still firmly remembered in Qingden's mind.
"Are you giving up swordsmanship..."
Qingdeng mumbled like this slowly, as if chewing every word and every sentence
Souji is being urged to get married by his sister... Qingto has heard about this from Souji before, so he is not surprised.
But Souji's eldest sister is trying her best to persuade Souji to give up learning swordsmanship... This is the first time Aomori knows about this.
Qingden raised his head and cast a thoughtful gaze in the direction where the Okita siblings were leaving.
There is no way Qingdeng can put this kind of thing behind him...
…
…
It's day, evening——
Edo, Koishikawa Kohinata Yanagi Town, Imperial Guard Hall——
The setting sun that sets in the west disappears behind the roof. Under the afterglow of the setting sun, the clouds in the sky are framed with a golden halo.
These golden clouds pile up on the mountains in the distance, dyeing the mountains and the sky with magnificent colors.
The setting of the sun and the coming of darkness finally brought a hint of coolness to Japan's largest city.
Occasionally, a wisp of breeze blows from the distant sky, with a refreshing and pleasant meaning in the wind.
The Chief Sitting cross-legged on the verandah adjacent to the courtyard of the Imperial Examination Hall, enjoying the cool evening breeze and reading the arithmetic book in his hand under the relatively bright sunset light.
In his spare time, the General Secretary often studied arithmetic books and studied arithmetic alone.
However, even though he studies arithmetic so diligently, Souji is still terrible at arithmetic - but that is another story.
I saw the chief executive facing the yard in front, sitting motionless with his legs crossed on the floor of the corridor, his head hanging on his chest. An open arithmetic book was spread out on his legs.
Although he looked like he was reading seriously with his head down, he was still not seen turning the pages of the book.
His motionless eyes, which seemed to have lost focus, seemed to have passed over the same page a hundred times.
His heart is already in a distant, unknown place.
At this time, someone's sudden call made the general manager's heart return from afar.
"Okita-kun!"
"Uh... um? Tachibana-kun?"
Souji, who was frightened by Qingtou's sudden call, shook slightly a few times, then quickly turned his head following the sound and looked at Qingtou who was striding towards him.
"Okita-kun, do you have time now? I have something I want to tell you."
Qingden asked the DG directly.
"Hmm? Something?"
Souji blinked hard with a confused look on his face.
"I have time now...what do you want to tell me?"
"As long as you have time."
Qingden looked around.
"Come with me, what I want to tell you...it's best not to let anyone know about it first."
"What on earth is going on? It's so mysterious."
"You will know when you come with me."
The General Secretary, who was confused, put away the arithmetic book in his hand and followed Qingteng to a very remote corner of the Trial Guard Hall.
Qingdeng stretched his neck and looked around, listened carefully with his ears raised, and after confirming that there were no outsiders around, he cleared his throat vigorously.
"Okita-kun, today... I met you and your eldest sister in the teahouse you often take me to."
The Souji's eyes suddenly widened.
"Tachibana-kun, were you in that tea house at that time?"
"Well, I was sitting not too far away from you. Then...I accidentally heard the conversation between you and your eldest sister."
Having said this, Qingdeng couldn't help but hesitate.
A trace of hesitation appeared in his brow at this moment.
The General Secretary can be regarded as the person who has the best relationship with Qingto in the whole imperial examination hall.
The best friend he talked to about everything was forced to give up swordsmanship by his own sister... Qingden really couldn't turn a blind eye to this kind of thing.
No matter what, the reason must be understood. Qingdeng, who had deepened his determination, took a deep breath after hesitating for a moment, and then said in one breath:
"Okita-kun, your eldest sister asked you to give up swordsmanship...what exactly is going on?"
"Well……!"
The director-general muttered in astonishment.
There is a height difference of 20cm between the two parties. You hold your head high, and I keep my head down; you look at me, and I look at you...
Under the silent gaze, time passed bit by bit.
Qingdeng was not in a hurry, and just kept looking at the DG in silence, waiting for the DG's response.
A long time passed before the look of shock on the Souji's face slowly melted away.
"How could it be such a coincidence..."
Souji smiled bitterly and reached behind his head, playing with the ponytail on the back of his head.
"You can actually hear the conversation between me and my sister..."
The director-general gave a short sigh of "Alas".
"All right……"
"Since you, Tachibana-kun, have heard the conversation between me and my sister... then I will tell you roughly the whole story."
"I went out with my sister to play and buy things today."
"On the way back to the imperial examination hall, I suddenly felt a little thirsty, so I took my sister to the tea house, and I also gave her a hand to recommend this shop that I like very much."
"But who would have thought that as soon as we sat down at the teahouse table, my sister started talking to me about the topic of 'giving up swordsmanship' that I least wanted to talk about... which made my good mood disappear."
The director-general sighed again.
"My eldest sister...has never supported me in learning swordsmanship..."
"Since many years ago, my sister has been trying different ways to persuade me to give up learning swordsmanship."
"Perhaps it's because I'm getting older, and it will be too late if I don't switch careers and learn other skills... In short, since last year, my sister's frequency of persuading me to give up swordsmanship has become much higher."
"Now, sister, she is trying to persuade me at every opportunity."
"As soon as I get a chance, my sister will definitely rush over to me and give me a lecture... which makes me a little annoyed..."
Qingteng, who had been listening quietly to the DG's explanation, finally couldn't help but say:
"Okita-kun, why is your sister so opposed to you learning the sword? This doesn't make sense."
"Your swordsmanship is so high. Instead of learning swordsmanship, you should learn something else... This is simply a waste of resources."
"According to what I heard today, your eldest sister stopped you from learning the sword because she felt that there were very few people who could make a living through swordsmanship... Admittedly, her view is not wrong. Anyone who can make a living through swordsmanship is not wrong.
It is true that people are rare, but I always feel that it is too far-fetched to use this reason to prevent you, who is extremely talented, from learning the sword."
Anyone who has had some contact with Souji knows: Souji is an undoubted swordsman wizard!
Not only does he have swordsmanship skills far beyond ordinary people, but he also has innate excellent physical talents.
He is extremely talented and good at practicing swordsmanship, and his whole person seems to be born specifically for the sword...
Such a genius actually forced him to change careers and prevented him from giving full play to his talent in the field he was good at. It was like God chasing him and stuffing food into his mouth... Qingdeng really couldn't understand such an operation.
"Ah ha ha ha ha..."
The general manager laughed a few times and slightly increased the force of his fingers playing with his ponytail.
"Actually... worrying that I won't be able to support myself with swordsmanship in the future is just a secondary reason why my sister objects to me learning swordsmanship."
"Secondary reason?" Qingdeng was stunned, "Then what is the main reason?"
"Uh...well..."
The general manager's eyes suddenly wandered, his mouth started to falter, and he was unable to formulate a single sentence.
Qingdeng waited for a long time before he received a vague response from the Director-General:
"What is the main reason... I am not comfortable saying it. Mr. Ju, if I have a chance later, I will tell you..."
After saying that, Souji closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
After exhaling all the air he had inhaled into his lungs, Souji opened his eyes.
At the moment when he opened his eyes, his bright eyes were filled with the lively light and cheerful smile that Qingdeng was familiar with.
"Jijun, don't worry about me."
With a smile on his face, Souji put his left hand on his hips and patted his flat chest with his right hand with neither light nor heavy force.
"The Trial Guard Hall is my second home. Natural Rishin-ryu is my second life to me. No matter what my sister says, I will never leave the Trial Guard Hall and give up my swordsmanship."
"I will properly handle these trivial matters between my sister and I, so Tachibana-kun, just relax!"
Looking at the smile on the chief executive's face, Qingteng couldn't help but also smile slightly.
Since the Souji didn't want to elaborate on his sister's reasons for objecting to him learning the sword, it was inconvenient for Qingto to ask more questions on this issue.
After all, this matter is someone else's private matter. Since the director-general has made it clear that it is up to him to resolve it, it is better to respect other people's wishes as much as possible.
"...Okay then. If you don't want to give up learning swordsmanship, then you need to have a good communication with your sister."
"of course."
The Souji nodded vigorously without thinking.
At this time, the director seemed startled as if he had recalled something, and then said quickly:
"That's right, Tachibana-kun."
"I have never told anyone including my master, Brother Kondo, and Mr. Hijikata that my sister asked me to give up learning swordsmanship."
"So please help me keep it a secret and don't tell anyone about this matter."
"Why didn't you tell them?" Qingdeng asked in confusion.
"I don't want them to worry." Souji smiled shyly, "If I tell them that I was forced by my sister to stop learning swordsmanship... they will definitely be like you and won't sit idly by."
"This matter is not a big deal worth fighting."
"I can solve it slowly by myself."
"Can you promise me not to tell anyone about this?"
The general manager raised his eyes, blinked like a puppy, and cast a pleading look at Qingden.
The request made by the Director-General is reasonable and not too troublesome.
Therefore, Qingdeng nodded gently without thinking:
"Okay, I will."
…
…
3 days later——
The first year of Wanyan (1860), August 15th——
It was afternoon, the most crowded time of the day in the Trial Guard Hall.
Logically speaking, at this time, the dojo should be filled with the shouts of disciples and the sound of bamboo swords clashing.
But at this time, the dojo of the Trial Guard Hall was quite quiet.
There were shouts of apprentices practicing their swordsmanship, and there were sounds of bamboo swords clashing with each other, but not much.
The reason is that most of the disciples are now gathered in the northeast corner of the dojo to watch a certain pair of people compete.
"Haaah!"
Souji swiftly took a step forward, and with a deep shout, he swung his sword and struck Qingden in the chest.
However, as soon as Souji's sword struck out, Qingteng had already disappeared from the place where his sword had touched - Qingteng took a step to his left front and ducked to the side of Souji.
With such an excellent counterattack opportunity, there is no reason not to launch a counterattack.
Aoto used his lower right stance to strike Souji's side with an inverted cassock move. The potential energy contained in the sword was so strong that he was ready to cut Souji's body in half.
The DG, who had been on the offensive just now, switched to the defensive in the blink of an eye.
I saw Souji retracting his front feet slightly, planting his feet firmly, lowering the bamboo sword in his hand and the center of gravity of his body. The bamboo sword sword firmly blocked the place where Qingden's bamboo sword had to cross, and "snap"
With a precise sound, he picked up this powerful slash in mid-air, as if he was going to split him in half diagonally.
This group of offensive and defensive exchanges between Aoto and Souji were as fast as thunder and contained a lot of delicate skills. The spectators around them were all in high spirits, and they all watched the fierce "Aoto vs. Okita" with more concentration.
fight.
You can learn a lot by watching the battles of masters.
Therefore, whenever there are Aoto, Souji and other top masters in the trial defense hall sparring, Shusuke and Kondo will encourage the less powerful disciples in the hall to observe and learn more.
Currently, there are only a few people in the Imperial Guard Hall who are able to serve as Ayoto's candidates for competition, including Souji, Kondo, Hijikata, and Nagakura and Saito who are living here.
And the person who sparred with Aoto the most was Souji.
"Aoden vs. Souji" - this scene happens almost every day in the trial defense hall.
As his swordsmanship level continues to improve, Ayoto becomes more and more aware of Souji's power.
Souji's swordsmanship is not just 50 times that of ordinary people.
Qingteng dares to conclude that Souji must have multiple top talents! In addition to the "Sword Talent", he also has other powerful talents!
If Aonto could describe Souji's body in one sentence... it would be that every part of his body and every muscle is as if it is loaded with springs, full of explosive power!
People who are not familiar with Souji, after seeing Souji's slender body, would never imagine that Souji is the kind of swordsman with both "strength" and "dexterity".
The explosive power that is different from ordinary people gives Souji a slashing attack that lacks neither attack speed nor power; a lightning-fast movement speed; and the ability to easily jump from 1 meter in height without a run-up.
75 Qingdeng's jumping power over his head...
In addition to the talent of "explosive power", Souji also has talents related to "reaction speed".
Souji's reflexes are extremely developed, just like his explosive power, to an incredible degree.
One day, Souji playfully showed Qingto his reaction speed: he threw seven plates from the kitchen into the sky at the same time, and he easily caught up with them before they hit the ground.
, catch them all.
He has both powerful explosive power and incredibly fast reaction speed... In a nutshell: Souji is the kind of swordsman with both offensive and defensive abilities and both strength and agility who can make his opponents feel desperate.
Talking about attacks? Souji can strike with a swipe of his hand with astonishing destructive power.
Talking about defense? In the face of the General Secretary's reaction speed, all your actions are invisible.
With Souji's explosive power and reaction speed...just imagine how powerful a person would be to hit Souji?
Top-notch swordsmanship talent coupled with this body that is like a "gift from God"... the so-called "martial arts genius" refers to people like Souji.
In terms of combat power alone... Souji is currently the undoubted number one master in the Trial Guard Hall.
Shusuke, who is already old and whose shoulders will start to hurt even if he does some strenuous exercise, has long admitted that he is no longer Souji's opponent.
Souji, who started practicing swordsmanship at the age of 9, has already practiced swordsmanship for seven years. Ayoto, who has practiced swordsmanship for less than one year, is still far behind Souji.
The most powerful evidence that can be used to prove that Qingnobo's strength at this stage is not as good as Souji's is that when Qingnobo fights Souji now, his "lonely courage" will still be activated automatically.
Aomori had to use his "solitude" at full strength to fight evenly with Souji, who had practiced swords for more than 6 years longer than him and whose body functions were as strong as those of a cybernetic.
But such a powerful Souji also has two very obvious flaws: lack of physical strength and inability to fight one against many.
The general's fighting style is "single point explosion".
In a very short period of time, launch a fierce attack on the opponent like a storm, and kill the opponent in one go.
If he fails to kill his opponent in a very short period of time...then Souji will be in trouble.
Physical strength is not the strong point of the General Secretary. Once the battle is dragged out into a protracted war and a war of attrition, the General Secretary will be unable to continue.
As for Souji's second flaw... for some reason, Souji is good at one-on-one battles, but has difficulty in group battles with one enemy against many.
Once multiple enemies attack the DG, the DG will often become confused and unable to exert his due strength.
Qingto speculated that this might have something to do with Souji's stupid brain...
This does not mean that the IQ of Souji is not enough, but that the "information processing capability" of Souji's brain is not enough.
Judging from Souji's extremely poor arithmetic skills, which he could not learn well no matter how hard he tried, Souji was not good at such precise calculations.
If he only had one opponent, Souji's brain would still be able to function with ease.
But if multiple enemies attack... the enemy on the right front is approaching, the enemy on the left front is attacking, and the enemy behind is waiting for an opportunity... In such a complicated situation, the headmaster's brain may be
Can't handle it anymore.
Of course, the above are all Qingdeng's speculations. Whether they are true or not remains to be studied.
After swiping his sword to block Qingden's reverse cassock slash, Souji's body shape changed - he took a big step back. While retreating, he raised the tip of the sword and switched his stance from mid-section to flat blue eyes.
.
Seeing Souji's posture, Qingto knew that Souji was going to use his special skill!
Among all the sword skills of Tennirishin-ryu, Souji's best move is the thrusting technique: Mumyo Sword.
The Wuming Sword is originally a move performed with a mid-level stance, but Souji prefers to use Hiraishan to start the stance.
Isn't this a coincidence?
The sword skill of the Natural Rishin-ryu that Ayoto is best at is also the Mumyo Sword.
Moreover, Qingteng also doesn't like to use the traditional middle section to initiate moves, but prefers to use the Xia section to launch moves.
Qingdeng pondered for a moment, then raised the bamboo sword in his hand vigorously, and Yixia Duan held the bamboo sword in front of him.
The spectators, who were familiar with the two men's swordsmanship styles and their skillful moves, were all excited - these two were about to engage in a battle of unique moves!
They stretched their necks one after another, trying to take in the whole show that was about to be staged in front of them.
However... not everyone showed interest and excitement in this "trick battle".
Shusuke, Kondo, Inoue, Nagakura, who were standing not far away watching the battle, and Hijikata, who did not go on a date with a girl today but came to the sword gym to practice swordsmanship, all stared at the Souji with solemn expressions.
The same goes for Aoto who is sparring with Souji.
Qingto half-closed his eyes and cast a thoughtful gaze at the General Secretary through his mask.
*******
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This chapter has been completed!