Once this practice match is over, I'll quit the kendo team.
I'll join some other club.
Like the cooking club would be nice.
And I'd get to bake cakes.
I'm not a very big eater,
but if it's cake, I've always got room for more.
I'd use lots of whipped cream and make a really big one.
Oh, that would be like a dream...
Men!
I like the air humming with energy
My quickening pulse expands outwards
Take in a deep breath
And all I see now is straight ahead
No one can take my place
A path only I can walk
Even those tears will all begin to sparkle
That's why when I raise my hand high, there's power in my palm
I'll head straight for tomorrow without hesitation
In just the blink of an eye
I'll make the story of my dream come true
Even if it's hopeless and far from my grasp
I'll never give up
Sounding the bamboo beat that's mine and mine alone
Okay, I'll go for a wrist strike next.
Oh, all right.
Kote!
Even as an amateur, I can still tell...
This person is...
...incredible!
Okay, please execute strikes against me next.
But...
I've never executed any strikes against people yet...
Men! Men! Men!
Then, I'll teach you.
First, please execute a strike at my wrist like I just did.
All right.
- Swing up small, and strike at the same time as you step in. - Men! Men! Men! Men! Men!
All right.
Kote!
Damn it! He got me!
But this is nothing...
This is nothing!
Was that... all right?
I think you might have...
...missed the valid strike zone by a bit.
- I'm sorry. - No, it's okay.
You stepped into it with your left foot, so go with your right this time.
Also, you're leaning forward, only striking with your arms,
so make sure to propel your body forward, too.
All right.
Um, Team Captain?
- Why am I doing this, too? - Men! Men! Men! Men!
Because we're short by one person.
Yes, but I'm not on the kendo team...
As long as you have experience, it's okay!
You say it so lightly...
Oh, honestly! You're annoying me!
Doh!
Oh, my...
Men!
She's fast! I can't see her movements at all!
Then, next, please try executing a body strike.
Um, my name is Mei Ogawa.
Pardon?
What's your name?
It's Tamaki. Tamaki Kawazoe.
Kawazoe-san, I'm fine, so please execute more strikes.
What? But...
I want to watch you more!
I understand. Here I go.
She's so cool!
I don't know, she's just Tama-cool!
Men!
Oh, somehow, that feels Tama-kinetic!
That little one's the only daughter of the Kawazoe Dojo.
The Kawazoe Dojo? No wonder.
Well, she's the strongest we've got.
Including me.
Yoshikawa-sensei, you don't have to sit so properly.
R-Really?
In that case...
- Men! - Doh!
"Kawazoe" - Men! - Doh!
"Kawazoe" Isn't she kind of amazing?
"Kawazoe" She might be quicker than our boys.
"Kawazoe" "Chiba" She might be quicker than our boys.
"Kawazoe" "Chiba" She's none other than our secret weapon
"Kawazoe" "Chiba" as well as our ultimate weapon!
"Kawazoe" "Chiba" "Kuwahara" as well as our ultimate weapon!
"Kawazoe" "Chiba" "Kuwahara" Tamaki Kawazoe. That's who she is.
"Kawazoe" "Chiba" "Kuwahara" Secret weapon...
"Kawazoe" "Chiba" "Kuwahara" The ultimate weapon...
Tamaki... Kawazoe...
Hey, hey, Mei-chan, trade places with me!
All right, senpai.
Come on, come at me!
Um...
Go ahead, Tama.
Do as she asks.
Yes, sir.
Men!
Awesome! That was awesome! Thank you!
- Me next! Do me, do me! - And me after that!
Me, too! A body strike! Do a body strike!
Whoa...
- A head strike! I want a head strike! - Then I get a wrist strike!
I can't wait!
You know, with kendo,
- if you receive a really clean strike, it can feel kind of good somehow.
- Keep that up, Dan-kun! - If you receive a really clean strike, it can feel kind of good somehow.
Strange, isn't it?
Men! Kote! Doh!
What's with this enthusiasm?
It looks so cool when you can move well like that...
Like me? I move like a robot because the protective gear's so heavy.
If I practice... If I continue with kendo, could I also...
...get to be like that, too?
Even me?
Every one of our girls started kendo in high school, after all.
So we don't have anyone this good on the team.
Excuse me, would it be possible to have her packed up to-go?
Ah-ah! That's a no-can-do, ma'am.
I'm starting to remember.
It's more...
It's more... like this!
Like this! Like this! Like this!
That's not it!
What am I doing getting serious about this?!
I'm so stupid! Stupid me!
Um, may I be excused to go home soon?
I know, Tama-chan!
Let us see you do an equal sparring match next! With Azuma-chan!
What?
We wanna see!
No, uh...
Sounds like a good idea!
It's a good idea, right?
Yeah, we wanna see!
Come on, Tama-chan.
The girls seem to be really getting into it somehow.
Looks like it.
Winston. Houston. Winston. Houston. Winston.
She's only been photographing Miya-miya this whole time.
Yeah.
Winston. Houston. Winston. Houston.
The square root of 5 is 2.2360679. The square root of 2 is 1.41421356.
Miyako-chan's so cool...
She was cool back then, too, but...
Fo... cus...
But now that the cool Miyako-chan's begun practicing kendo...
Aw, man! Damn it all! I love you, Miyako-chan!
This phone number is currently not in use.
Please check the number you are dialing and try again...
Um, they're getting rather fired up, aren't they?
Yes, well...
I'm sorry about this odd turn of events.
Not at all. This is a learning experience.
Tamaki Kawazoe...
I... want to fight a match with her!
- She's fast! - Men!
I can evade it!
Men!
Baited body strike! Doh!
She's strong!
- She's st... - Men!
This sensation...
It's how it feels to receive a really good strike...
That sensation, like my head's been completely cleared.
Tamaki Kawazoe.
She's strong. She's really strong!
But this is nowhere near what I'm capable of, either!
I can move better!
I can do better than this!
One more round!
One more round, please!
- Good! - What the?!
Certainly.
She's... strong.
- Please! - Yes.
Fight a match with me.
I'm a baby. Bamboo, bamboo.
I'm sorry.
Men!
- Did Azuma-san have such an imposing presence?
- Men! - Did Azuma-san have such an imposing presence?
She also moves well.
Azuma's only with us for today, though.
Go for it, both of you!
Azuma-chan, it'll be incredible if you can score a point off Tama-chan!
It'd be bravo!
Your students seem to have a lot of fun.
Oh, pardon me. It's because I'm easygoing.
Things used to be a bit stricter back when I was a student.
But if you did that now, beginners and such wouldn't be able to keep up.
So you find that to be true as well.
Oh, no! Part of it is that I really am that laid back.
Uh, no, I mean...
You're very fired up, Ishida-sensei! Especially lately.
What? O-Oh, well, I've been doing kendo for a long time now, so...
You see, my students practice kendo like it's an onerous chore.
What?
Almost like how it was for me back then...
Hayashi-sensei...
You see, I used to absolutely hate kendo.
I'm beginning to see!
I'm getting so I can move now!
All I need now is for my instincts to return and my body will react!
- Men! - A wrist strike!
I won't let you!
All right, I can move!
Men!
She's fast...
I couldn't see her at all.
Shall we keep going for a little longer?
No. Thank you, Kawazoe-san.
All right! Stop! Time for a break!
Hey, hey, how did you get to be so strong?!
What? How?
Okay, okay, everything goes through her manager first.
Oh? Who makes that antiperspirant?
It just came out. Don't they have them in the stores over here?
Azuma-san!
Sensei! What are you doing here?
I was so surprised! You're really strong!
Are you okay without your glasses?
Oh, these are fake glasses, so...
I thought maybe they'd make me smarter.
Miyako-chan, open up.
Dan-kun, isn't that the stalker girl that Miya-miya was scared of?
- Oh! Miya-miya! - Miyako-chan!
Take that!
When I was little,
back in the day when kids still used to play at being samurai outdoors,
I was an utter weakling who was always getting hit by my friends.
You, a weakling?
Seeing how I was, my father forced me to begin kendo.
Naturally, I was unwilling at first.
Even after my father got me a full set of equipment,
I was rebellious and determined not to do it.
Then, how did you get to where you are today?
I accidentally saw what the kendo equipment cost.
To a young child, those numbers were astronomical.
Especially since my family was poor.
I see.
After that, I devoted myself to kendo in earnest.
I could not let the equipment go to waste.
That was my motivation.
Perhaps it suited me. I was able to get decently good at it.
That was good, then. That must have made your father happy as well.
Yes.
But in truth, that kendo equipment...
...had been given to us.
What?
A child in my extended family had abandoned them in one week.
They were hand-me-downs.
Well... that's...
But by the time I found out, I no longer had any desire to quit.
Kendo had become a part of me.
Both the pain and the joy. All of it.
That was how kendo came into my life,
so I can only teach it in a similar manner.
I only know how to be strict.
I think that's fine, though.
Today, another one of our girls quit.
What will become of her kendo equipment?
However...
...it appears another has similarly decided to continue.
Or so it seems.
I owe that to coming here today.
- Thank you very much. - Not at all!
It's not me, it's because we have Tama.
She's the pillar of this team.
It's impressive that you can come out and say that.
Oh, no, well... It's the truth.
That's how it is with Muroe High's kendo team.
I no longer see any children playing at being samurai.
The times change and the children change along with it.
I'm sure people's reasons for starting kendo
and continuing kendo will change as well.
But I will not change my principles.
After all...
kendo is not going to change.
You're right!
Sensei... You, Hayashi-sensei, must not change.
Yes, I will continue to be strict from now on as well.
Even if it may cause members to quit in a week due to the hardships.
I will work to make sure
the one week serves that child well in his or her life.
He's so cool! I dunno, he's just Hayashi-cool!
But it's nice to see students having fun once in a while, too, though.
He gives me Haya-shivers!
Compared to him, I'm just...
Okay, this is a competition from here on out!
We're not showing them any mercy!
Yeah!
So, what should we do about the order of the match-up?
Wanna do rock-paper-scissors?
Isn't that being too arbitrary?
Miya-miya, do you want to try being vanguard for a change?
Sounds good.
- I'll just get it over with. Can I go home when I'm done? - Hey, you! Don't photograph her!
Well, when you think of what's most logical...
Vanguard, Azuma-chan.
Deputy vanguard, Miya-miya.
Center, me.
Second-in-command, Kirino.
Commander, Tama-chan.
I think that settles it, right?
Commander is a little...
I don't feel like I should be...
I think the team captain should be commander...
That's not true, Tama-chan!
The strongest person takes the commander position!
If the team captain is the king, the commander is the general!
If the team captain is the Goddess,
the commander is the Three Great Shinki!
- Right... - So we'll be counting on you, Tama-chan!
Right...
I didn't understand that at all.
Azuma-chan!
Yes!
We're leaving vanguard to you, right off the bat! You up for it?!
Yes! I'll give it everything I've got!
I'll go all-out to get the rest of you fired up!
That's the spirit! Get your fire on! Fight!
I know you can do it, Azuma-san! Good luck!
Thank you very much!
I don't know if I'll be able to meet your expectations,
but I will fight with all my might!
Wait... Am I being conned into doing this?
Azuma-chan, we're going to start!
Oh, yes!
Begin!
Doh!
Body strike!
All right! Azuma-chan got a body strike!
Match over!
Hey, Kirino, I know what you're up to.
You want Azuma-chan to just do kendo
to gradually make her remember how fun it is,
and you're trying to make it so she can't leave it behind again, aren't you?
Precisely.
I never imagined that Azuma-chan would be so simple
and that my plan would go this smoothly.
She said it!
She's so simple, she came right out and said it!
Besides...
Watching Tama-chan...
There isn't a girl out there who wouldn't feel electrified.
She's amazing!
She's a first year, but she's the commander!
All right, I'll do my best!
Deputy vanguards, come forward!
Tsuki! Tsuki! Tsuki!
I fricking told her not to do that...
You're awesome!
Miyako-chan, it's like you're trying to kill someone!
You're out of this world!
Maybe this isn't for me, after all...
Kote!
Men!
Match over!
Thank you very much!
Could it be... that... our team is strong?
"Seimei Muroe" "Vanguard Takahashi (M) D Azuma" "Deputy Vanguard Ogawa K X F Miyazaki"
"Center Nomura M (D) K Kuwahara" "Second-in-Command Kawaguchi (M) M Chiba" "Commander Suzushiro (M) M Kawazoe"
Next time, don't lose.
Yes, sir!
Sensei.
So, how about we fight a match to cap things off?
What?
Men!
Sensei, you're weak!
You moron! Hayashi-sensei's a 7th dan!
There's no way I can win!
Whoa, he went and said that himself...
Are you all right?
Really, sensei, that wasn't very mature of you!
We need to take home at least one win, too.
So, sensei really is strong...
Yeah...
"(M) M Kojiro-sensei, that was pitiful~~ Ishida"
Please excuse us!
"(M) M Kojiro-sensei, that was pitiful~~ Ishida" - See you again! - Bye-bye!
Let's do this again sometime!
Come again!
Man, that was a good match, wasn't it, Azuma-chan?
Yes!
No, uh...
Are you okay, Miya-miya?
Yes...
But I'm at my limit...
Get a hold of yourself. She's gone.
Miyako-chan, you sure were cool.
I'm calling the star rise
The wishes begin to sparkle in the twilight
Shooting stars, come down into my hands
Barefoot by my window, looking up at the night
Sleepless, alone with the moonlight
What I did during the day flickers before my eyes
I'm the only one spinning my wheels and I still feel impatient
I'm calling the star rise
I close my eyes, listening to my heart
I want to meet the me that I haven't gotten to know yet
I'm calling the star rise
The wishes are sparkling brilliantly
Shooting stars, come down into my hands
I appreciate you taking the time to do this. I'm Mei Ogawa.
Today, we had the practice match, so I've gotten really hungry.
So, I'm going to eat cake now.
Incidentally, the next episode of Bamboo Blade...
...is "Satorin's Resolve and Nomming."
Oh, it's gone.
Okay, I'm going for seconds!