Author's Note
Well here's the next chapter. Also I considering only posting one chapter a month from now on but it may go either way at this point. And again any reviews are greatly appreciated.
So on with the story!
Chapter 3
"A little more and you would be late."
"Sorry sir. Had a meeting before this." I said entering the principal's office.
"We have some very big wigs here so do mind your conduct and speech." Mr Kenshin reminded with a sigh as he got up. The two of us proceeded to make our way to the meeting room nearby. "Remember, only start talking when I give you the go ahead."
Entering the meeting room, I noticed the three guest were already seated on one side of the long rectangular table. After thanking them for coming and waiting, Mr Kenshin took up his seat at the head of the table as I took up my seat opposite of our guests. The attendees holds a lot of weight in the world of Senshado. Nearest to Mr Kenshin is Kodama Shichiro, the Director of Senshado Federation, followed by Shimada Chiyo, a member of the Japanese Senshado Federation and the current head of the Shimada Style, Nishizumi Shiho, head of the Nishizumi style and a legend of sorts in Senshado and surprisingly her daughter, Maho.
Though I expected the first three to attend the meeting, it is a surprise to me that Maho would also be attending the meeting at all. I did half expect her to come with her mother but I was under the impression that she would only be waiting for Ms Nishizumi to settle the meeting. Didn't expect to see her in here. Somewhat surprised herself, Maho paused and looked at me for a moment before greeting me with a nod.
"Ladies and gentleman, I thank you for time off your busy schedule." Mr Kenshin started. "As you may know, we are here to discuss on allowing male students to participate in Senshado. Please express your point of view on this subject."
"Well, Senshado is a lady's sport. To have men participate in it...it's a little odd isn't it?" The bald Mr Kodama said trying to put his thoughts to words delicately. "It's to help girls develop their self-esteem into a young woman. To train the part of them that makes them feminine. These aren't exactly qualities of a confident young man. Wouldn't it be better for the boys to participate in SurCom instead?"
"Men have no place in Senshado. It is a maiden's sport and it should remain that way. Women have different qualities to men. Senshado is specifically for women. It would be diminishing Senshado itself for men to participate in it." The elder Nishizumi stated coldly. She is a diehard Senshado practitioner. To her, the very idea of men practicing Senshado is nothing short of heresy.
"I have no objections on the matter at hand. Rather, I think it would be interesting to see what would come from this." Shimada Chiyo said rather cheerfully. "By the way, is it you who came up with this Kenshin-sensei?"
"Thank you for your honest opinion." Mr Kenshin said getting up from his seat. "To answer your question Mrs Shimada, no. It's not me who came up with this but this young man with us today." Mr Kenshin said gesturing towards me. "Mr Shinamura will be giving his side of the argument on the subject at hand. If you would Mr Shinamura."
"Thank you Principal Kenshin." I said getting up and handing a file to each of the representative and also to the younger Nishizumi. "A quick introduction, I am Shinamura Keiji, the student who proposed male to be let into Senshado and that is a lot of objections...yikes." I introduced myself faking an exaggeratedly fearful look, earning an angry glare from the elder Nishizumi and an amused smile from Mrs Shimada.
"Mr Shinamura. Remember what we discuss earlier?" Mr Kenshin reminded me while looking through a file he brought in earlier.
"Right. Sorry. I guess I will first address how can Senshado be a unigender sports and continue from there." I stated in an almost bored tone as I idly flipped through some files in front of me. "As I understand, besides the qualities that was mentioned, also helps with teamwork since it takes the cooperation from all crewmembers in the tank for it to function efficiently. That part is a gender neutral quality that would benefit both male and female. Adding to that there's the requirement for fast reaction while in a match. That itself will also help men and women alike, especially those who plans to take up occupations where quick decision making is the difference between life and death. All that I mentioned can be found in the first few pages of the files given in case anyone was wondering." I fired off in an all too casual well practiced pace. "These are common sense stuff but I put in some studies at page six if any of you need credible sources."
"This is a very detailed report." Mr Kodama commented after glancing through the mentioned pages before putting his file down. "But again, Senshado fosters a women's quality. It's not something for men."
And yet you are the director of Senshado in this country. Are you an idiot or did you just conveniently ignore the fact that it dangles? It's like I am talking to a fucking moron. How do you even make it this far in life is nothing short of a bloody miracle.
"I am just getting to that Director Kodama." I responded with my most polite smile even though my thoughts contradicts what I am showing. "The next chapter in the file shows a breakdown of the qualities of Senshado. The gist of it is patience, decisiveness in doing something, confidence , caring for one another and discipline. There are a few others, not as significant but still relevant, in the files if you are interested." I explained and waited for all four in front of me went through the contents further. "I assume everyone is in an agreement on the analysis?" I asked for confirmation after seeing that everyone was done.
"Wow, you even put in the studies for this part. Impressive." Mrs Shimada chimed merrily.
"What is your point? These studies only proves that men are not suitable for Senshado." Mrs Nishizumi pointed out bluntly.
"Before we rush to the conclusion, do look at the next chapter. Its a breakdown on the qualities fostered by SurCom. And as a reminder, SurCom is a male sports that recently open to both gender so we can conclude that the qualities it foster can be catered to men and women." I said and waited for everyone to go through the chapter I mentioned. After a while I noticed subtle surprised reactions from everyone. Even Mr Kenshin looked impressed as he nodded his head. And boom goes the dynamite.
"As all of you noticed, the majority of the qualities from Senshado and SurCom are the same. While Senshado helps fosters qualities in females, it can also foster qualities in males. It can foster confidence in male like how it foster self-esteem in female. It can teach male to be a gentlemen just like how it teaches female to be a lady. Male needs decisiveness just as much as women and Senshado can teach both gender that. Though general knowledge dictates Senshado can only benefit female, it can also benefit male as well. Like SurCom, it can foster qualities to both female and male. On the plus side, Senshado do not need any real modifications to its rules and regulations while SurCom, a contact sport to some degree, needs to overhaul to its close quarter combat rules to some degree to cater for female players. In that sense, if SurCom, a traditionally male sports, can cater to female, there should be no issue for Senshado to cater for male." I concluded my argument. "Now that was a mouthful." I said sarcastically sighing.
"Mr Shinamura, your conduct if you would." Principal Kenshin reminded again hardly looking up from his file.
"Of course sir." I responded before turning my attention back to the guests. "That concludes my argument on Senshado being suitable for male in terms of value. Is there any question or issue before we move on?"
"The data you gathered are quite impressive. I wouldn't have imagined that you would be able to link two entirely different sports like that." Mr Kodama said stroking his chin as he began to wonder the possibility this would unlock for Senshado. Since other countries are also contemplating on allowing the other gender into the Senshado, Japan could seize the initiative and pioneer this new ground while the other countries are left in the dust.
"Even so, Senshado is traditionally a woman's sport. Men has no place in it." Mrs Nishizumi stated standing her ground.
"That is why it should be opened up to male as well. Being an only women sport, it develops and changes at a slow pace because there are innovative tactics. Forgive me if I offend, but Senshado at this point is stagnant. It is not progressing because of the input by a limited source, not to mention that the progress and outcome of the majority of the matches has become predictable and boring." I explained. "This means that the crowd would lose interest in the sport itself and hence the sport's decline. Since the government is in the process to revive the sport now it would be fine for now. But it is just a short term solution. Spamming tournament as a solution can only go so far and there would be an eventual decline in participation and interest in the future. But if you were to put in new players, things would definitely heat up fast. And by opening the sport to the other half of the population, participation would skyrocket. With more minds, there would be a variety of plays hence interest would also go up."
"Even if men were to participate, it is not possible that they can improve Senshado like you said. Men's participation are pointless as they would be unable to out-perform women."
"That is why we are here today. I would like to propose an experiment if you would, to prove or disprove that men can also participate in Senshado." I said getting up and handing everyone the another set of files. "This experiment is to put together an all male Senshado team. They would be put through a best three out of five match with other schools. If the female teams win you will hear no more of this from me, but if the male team wins I would like the Senshado Committee to consider allowing male participation."
"And why should any school even consider humouring your experiment?"
"Because it may be something that would benefit Senshado. I mean if the male team actually makes it through. There would be more interest in the sport at least. If the male team lose like you predicted, the the status quo would be maintained and you would have nothing to worry about since your point has been proven, hence stopping any future attempt. To me it's a win-lose but to you as a veteran professional Senshado practitioner, it's a win-win is it not?"
"As much as I hate to admit it, I cannot argue with your logic." Mrs Nishizumi said after some thinking. "But I must voice that I do not agree with men participating in Senshado regardless of their proficiency in a tank."
"Of course Mrs Nishizumi." I said looking around the room and notice a look of disapproval from Mrs Shimada. "Is there anything distressing you Mrs Shimada? I recall you have no issue in this."
"Yes but the file you just handed out. The team you proposed is somewhat worrying. All of them have some discipline issues."
"Yes. Like this Nomura Tetsuo and his group. According to this file, they stole a vehicle and ended up ramming it into a building when the vehicle lost control."
"For the record they built that race car for a vehicle building competition. There is also Ryosuke Ryoji. Former head prefect, he and his group were kicked out after it was discovered that they have been organising a betting pool for several different sports and operating a business without a license or permission from the school. Next is Tamaba Fukuda, former school representative for the school in archer. He purposely flunked his last competition by intentionally hitting the flagpole some distance behind his target. The surprising thing is that he hit the same exact spot three time in a row. Then we have a Inaba Eiji and his group who constantly pick fights with other students. Well in their defense, they did it because the other students were causing problems for the school and bullying others." I surmised the 'deeds' done by the people I am gathering. "Trust me I am well aware of their discipline issues and I can say with confidence that at the moment they are a bunch of misfits in this school."
"And yet you are considering them for your proposal?" Mrs Shimada asked.
"And it says here that you yourself are facing a disciplinary hearing after you attack a member of the opposing team in a SurCom tournament." Mrs Nishizumi pointed out.
"Mr Kenshin, I understand that since it's under investigation I cannot say anything about it but can we make an exception here?"
"Very well. But keep your statement neutral." The principal replied to which I nodded in acknowledgement.
"The official statement on that incident is that I dislocate the jaw of a member of the opposing team after he allegedly used a banned equipment in a hand to hand engagement that resulted in a member of my team getting sent to the hospital." I explained almost as if I am reading from a textbook. "The case is still under investigation but the fact is that I harmed another participant and am already receiving my punishment."
"I can vouch for Shinamura here. He is normally a rule abiding student so there is no need to worry about his conduct in that area. Currently he is confined to his dorm with the exception of going to class. Anywhere he wished to go is restricted and subject to rejection." Mr Kenshin said leaning back into his chair.
"I am not trying to defend myself here but merely to give context to the disciplinary issue I am facing." I said. Seeing that there are no further questions on that matter I decided to get back on topic. " The students in the file are all problem students. Social outcast to some degree at this point and slated for expulsion like me by the MEXT official. So I discuss the matter with him and came to the solution that if me and the others participate in Senshado and have them straightened out, then they would be removed from the expulsion list."
Not that they really need any straightening out since majority of them are model student before they shot themselves in the foot.
"So all this is talk about having both gender in Senshado is just so that you would not get expelled?" Mrs Nishizumi asked.
"Not just that. It's like killing two birds with one stone. On one hand, I am able to keep me and a few other talented students from expulsion and on the other hand, I wanted male participation in Senshado because I like the sport and would like to help it grow." I concluded my motives. "So, do I have your approval for an all male team in Senshado? Also, I would like to leave the selection of opponents up to any one of you. That was if the male team do come out on top there would be no objections that the opponents selected were inappropriate for the task."
"Well, we will need to talk with the other schools for their participation but I think we can all agree to allow for this experiment to go ahead." Mr Kodama said looking at the other two ladies to his side. The two of them gave him their approval.
"Then I have a letter of agreement here that requires all of your signatures." I said producing a document for all present to sign. "And that concludes our meeting. Again, thank you for your time and approval."
"Now that the meeting is done, care for a drink Shichiro? We can reminiscent the time when I was your teacher in highschool." The principal invited Mr Kodama, evidently his former student, while I stared at him with a blank expression. Looking at me, Mr Kenshin gave me a cheeky smile. "What? I was his teacher a some time ago. He was just as much of a pain in the ass as you and I need to rant to him about you and all the others."
That fucking son of a duck! I spend the whole week on the computer searching for most of the shit I used here but all it takes was a short phone call to baldy here to confirm it!? If there is no law I swear I would boil him in oil and hang his mustache on the wall in my room as a trophy! YES! I am going to make me a mustache trophy!
"Y-You never tell me you knew Mr Kodama, sir." I said barely able to control my face from twitching due to anger.
"That's because you never ask." Mr Kenshin said with a bigger smile.
I hope you choke on your booze old man.
"Sensei, you shouldn't tease your student like that." Mrs Shimada said covering her mouth to hide her amusement. "Don't mind him alright Keiji. He always does that to all his students"
"Mr Kenshin, you still drop formality too quickly. It's unbecoming of a man in your position." Mrs Nishizumi said.
"You knew all three of them sir?" I asked in disbelief.
"Of course. I taught Shichiro in highschool and these two lovely ladies in university." Mr Kenshin said reveling in my misery. "Would have saved you a lot of work if you were to ask me about them right?"
"Y-Yes it would." I said forcing myself to smile. That's it! I am done! I am going to sneak into your room and suffocate you with a pillow tonight! Then I will burn down your place so there is no more trace of your evil left in the Earth! "So I take it that the four of you would be spending time together?"
"Of course. Nishizumi, I don't think your daughter would enjoy listening to this old man talking. I can have Keiji here show her around the school. The SurCom training ground here is something to be seen." Mr Kenshin offered.
"Maho?" Mrs Nishizumi asked to which her daughter agreed with Mr Kenshin's suggestion.