Chapter 75: Pitapita!
While Kazuma and Tsubaki were deep in conversation, Issei finished his kata practice and returned to them.
“I’m done, you two!”
“Good work, Master.”
“Good work.”
Tsubaki, who must have prepared them at some point, handed Issei a sports drink and a towel.
Kazuma, watching from the side, felt a pang of envy at the truly enviable sight and waited for Issei to finish wiping his sweat.
“Phew… Thanks, Tsubaki.”
“Kisaragi. After you rehydrate and rest a bit, you’ll spar with me.”
“Yeah. Got it!”
“Master. Allow me to help you stretch.”
Issei followed Kazuma’s instructions, taking a break for a while, chatting pleasantly with Tsubaki.
After Issei finished his break, Tsubaki helped him stretch, lightly loosening his muscles, before he faced Kazuma in the center.
Issei was protected head to toe with protectors, while Kazuma wore nothing of the sort, dressed in comfortable athletic wear.
“I went all out earlier, but this time I’ll match your pace. It’ll basically be a real combat format. Come at me however you like.”
“Yeah! Please take care of me!”
Issei, who replied energetically, bowed before raising his fists.
In contrast, Kazuma had his hands hanging loosely at his sides, completely relaxed.
Tsubaki stood at a distance from the two, watching over them.
Issei moved first.
He took a large step towards Kazuma and unleashed a straight punch.
“Shi!”
It was a clean straight punch.
The fist, extended straight, closed in on Kazuma’s face.
A direct hit would surely cave in his nose, making a serious injury unavoidable.
But that was only if it landed.
Kazuma dodged the fist approaching his face by a hair’s breadth.
Issei knew Kazuma’s strength well.
No, it would be more accurate to say he was painfully aware of it.
Having actually fought him and been instantly defeated, Issei knew Kazuma’s power and trusted it. That’s precisely why he didn’t let up on his attacks at all.
“Fuh!!!”
He unleashed a flurry of punches.
Issei threw a relentless barrage, giving no time to breathe.
His movements were faithful to the basics, so clean they were almost captivating to watch.
Watching those movements, Kazuma felt a twinge of jealousy, thinking that Issei indeed had more talent than him.
It made him think that if Issei had been the one summoned to the other world, he might have saved it more skillfully than Kazuma himself.
However, he was the one who had been chosen.
Therefore, he couldn’t afford to lose confidence. He mustn’t forget his pride.
He mustn’t deny the path he had walked.
(‘…How absurd.’)
Kazuma inwardly scoffed, thinking it wasn’t something to ponder in the middle of a spar.
Issei was certainly a bundle of talent.
His Gift was one thing, but his own innate talent was also so tremendous it was terribly envy-inducing, yet Kazuma himself was probably quite something too.
After all, he had learned magic in another world and was now unmatched in this one.
“Haaah!!!”
A clean roundhouse kick exploded forth.
Issei’s roundhouse kick was aimed at the side of Kazuma’s head.
However, it didn’t connect; the kick sliced through the air, and Issei lost his balance.
In that instant, Kazuma kicked Issei’s standing leg, sending him tumbling.
Issei instantly broke his fall and regained his posture, but Kazuma’s fist was stopped right before his eyes.
“!”
“Not bad moves. But, you’re a little too straightforward. Being faithful to the basics is good. However, it might be better if you learned a few more feints.”
“I see~”
Issei flopped onto his back and looked up at the ceiling.
As if seeing Kazuma, who seemed completely out of reach, in the ceiling, he extended his hand and clenched his fist tightly.
Still, he continued to reach, strongly vowing to become strong enough to at least graze Kazuma’s back with his fingertips someday.
“…What’s wrong?”
“Ah, no… I was just thinking… you’re so far away~”
“Hm? Ah… Well, I’m not in a place where you can catch up so easily.”
“…Kazuma, are you surprisingly perceptive about people’s feelings?”
Issei hadn’t expected Kazuma to realize what he was thinking inwardly.
With a surprised look on his face, Issei stared at Kazuma.
“What a rude fellow. Well, I guess it can’t be helped if you think that… I’ve messed up quite a bit since coming to Hawaii, after all~”
“You were aware of it…”
“I may be an idiot, but I’m not dull-witted, you know.”
“O-Oh…”
“Well, whatever. More importantly, get up quickly. There’s still plenty of time. If you want to catch up to me even a little, then show me you can struggle more.”
“You don’t have to tell me!”
Issei shot up energetically and raised his fists again.
Kazuma likewise raised his fists and, with a smile, slugged Issei, who reminded him of his former self.
“Hah-ha! Letting your guard down is your greatest enemy! A fight doesn’t start with a ‘Ready, set, go!'”
“Guh! You…! You went and did it!”
“That’s right! Cherish that feeling! That’s what will make you stronger!”
“Uoooooooooooh!”
Letting out a war cry filled with a competitive spirit, Issei continued to spar with Kazuma.
Even when punched, kicked, and knocked down, he got up again and again, fighting desperately to catch up to Kazuma’s back even a little.
Although it was only a short time until bed, the time they spent was very intense, becoming a memory Issei would never forget for the rest of his life.
“Haah… Haah…!”
Issei’s chest heaved violently, like a high school baseball player collapsed and drenched in sweat on a scorching summer day.
Beside him stood Kazuma, laughing cheerfully, looking refreshed as if he’d had a good sweat.
“You’ll be sore all over tomorrow! Make sure to stretch well and don’t forget to rehydrate. Well then, Tsubaki-san. I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“Yes. Thank you for your hard work. If you have the chance again, please have a match with me too.”
With a smile as bright as the morning sun, Kazuma raised a hand and left the training hall.
Issei, left behind, remained lying on the floor until his breathing settled.
“Haah… I’m tired.”
“You worked hard. How was it, Master?”
“…Strong. He’s endlessly strong. And, as I thought, Kazuma is a good guy. He said he disliked me, but he still sparred with me properly until the end.”
“That’s right. Kazuma-kun is a good person. Though he does have a merciless side.”
“Haha, now that you mention it, I was pretty much slaughtered at first, wasn’t I?”
“Master, let’s think a little more before we speak, shall we?”
“Aih…”
Even though it was a fact, Tsubaki got annoyed, thinking he should have sugarcoated it a bit more, and pinched Issei’s cheek.
“Owowow… Hey, Tsubaki. Do you think I can catch up?”
As Kazuma had acknowledged, Issei had talent.
Tsubaki understood that too, but still, she thought it would be impossible.
Certainly, Issei might eventually be able to reach Kazuma’s back with his fingertips.
However, the fundamental problem, even before talent, was that there was far too little time.
Kazuma’s strength was forged through vast experience, placing him in a realm Issei couldn’t reach no matter how hard he tried.
Perhaps, even if Issei dedicated the rest of his life to martial arts training, he wouldn’t even reach Kazuma’s feet.
That’s how vast the difference in strength between Kazuma and Issei was.
“Tsubaki. Answer me without any lies or falsehoods.”
“…!”
It wasn’t quite a forced command, but Issei’s earnest gaze made Tsubaki steel her resolve.
If her master had made up his mind, what was the point of her hesitating?
Tsubaki would tell Issei the cruel reality.
“Master, it is impossible for you to catch up to Kazuma-kun in your lifetime. No matter how much you train from now on, you won’t even reach his feet, let alone his back.”
“…I see. I see~…”
Issei held back tears, as if chewing over Tsubaki’s words.
He had known, but hearing it stated anew still hit hard.
If possible, he had wanted even the slightest chance.
However, reality wasn’t so kind.
Understanding that there was a wall more precipitous than a sheer cliff between him and Kazuma, Issei felt tears about to spill.
“…Usshi!”
Issei removed his protectors and rubbed his eyes hard.
Wiping away the tears that had been about to fall, Issei made his resolve.
“It’s fine if I can’t catch up. But I won’t give up. Not me.”
“Master…”
“Besides… the higher the goal, the more rewarding it is!”
Issei thrust his fist towards the ceiling and turned a cheerful smile to Tsubaki.
There wasn’t a hint of shadow in his expression; his declaration of not giving up came through strongly.
The goal was far too high, but if Issei aimed for it, Tsubaki would not spare any possible assistance.
“Is that so? Well then, shall we make your training even stricter starting tomorrow?”
“Eh, ah, no, I’ll probably be sore tomorrow, so maybe the day after…”
“Why are you getting fainthearted? If you’re aiming for Kazuma-kun, something like this should be nothing, right?”
“S-Surely, I think some rest is necessary…?”
“Normally, I would permit it, but if your set goal is Kazuma-kun, then there’s absolutely no time to rest. Please be prepared starting tomorrow.”
“…Yes.”
He slightly regretted that he might have been a bit hasty, but Issei resolved that since he had said it, he couldn’t back down.
Meanwhile, Kazuma had gone to the large public bath to wash off his sweat.
Most students were satisfied with the bathrooms in their own rooms, so there were no students using the large public bath at this time.
In the large public bath, which he practically had all to himself, Kazuma frolicked about in his birthday suit. Finally, after doing about three sets of the penis enlargement exercises a celebrity had been demonstrating, he left the large public bath.
After patting himself on the back for another hard day’s work, Kazuma then went to sleep.
“Good night!”