Chapter 15: Ichikawa Seiji
"Seiji, you must know, you are the heir of the Ichikawa family, someone who always seeks strength. You cannot be weak, whether in abilities, body or mind."
Since he was a child, Seiji, he had been rigorously trained to become the strongest. His grandfather's teachings had always been engraved in his mind, sometimes they motivated him to strive for more, but sometimes they became a heavy burden, making him push himself even when exhausted. For a six-year-old child, training and becoming strong was a dream. But if that dream was not nurtured with joy, was it still a dream? Or had it become a burden that was obligated to fulfill?
"Am I deceiving myself into thinking that this is my dream? Do I really want this?"
This was the questions that nine-year-old Seiji Ichikawa pondered and asked himself.
The first time Seiji encountered Suoh was when they were both seven years old during a training session between the two clans. Ninjas and samurais were two distinct schools of thought, even though they shared the same beliefs, ideals, and loyalty. When it came to ninjas, people often thought of their cleverness, subtlety, agility, and flexibility, while samurais evoked a sense of strength, resilience, and an unchanging spirit of steel. Seiji had always believed that his mental strength was unmatched because he was a samurai. A ninja might beat him in speed, but they couldn't match his unwavering determination to win at all costs. However, when he met Suoh, he realized he was wrong.
Seiji underwent a change in his worldview when faced with Suoh's calm demeanor, enduring spirit, and tranquility. In terms of technique and ability, they were evenly matched, engaging in combat using all the martial arts they had learned, from karate, judo, aikido to wooden sword kendo. Suoh remained as calm as a lake, while Seiji, in crucial moments, lost his composure due to his impetuosity, bellicosity, and his own arrogant disdain for his opponent.
Despite Seiji's efforts to find inner peace, every time he faced Suoh, his discomfort resurfaced, and he couldn't control himself, leading to defeat at critical moments. Deep down, Seiji knew what he was lacking, but he refused to acknowledge it.
On a beautiful day, Seiji once again lost the archery competition to Suoh, even on the final arrow. He wasn't angry, not at all, just disappointed. He quietly walked away before the radiant glory of his legendary opponent's victory. He didn't care that no one came to congratulate him; he knew any congratulations would only be out of pity. The self-respect of a samurai didn't allow him to accept pity.
At that moment, someone bumped into him. Seiji turned irritably, only to see a girl. He furrowed his brow, thinking she must be a fan of Suoh. He was about to apologize and walk away when he heard her say, "Congratulations on coming in second place."
Seiji was astonished, not because he received congratulations from a fan of his opponent or out of pity as he had thought, but because it turned out he wasn't as intolerable as he had imagined. Receiving congratulations for his achievement through his own efforts was a reward. Seiji stood motionless for a while before finally uttering, "Thank you."
After that, Seiji often unexpectedly encountered that girl more frequently. It could be said that, for some reason, he could recognize her at any time they passed each other, while she seemed to not remember him at all. It must be acknowledged that the girl was peculiar. She rarely engaged in lively conversations with friends during breaks, didn't gather to play, and never went out with anyone or went shopping or socializing with friends after school. Most of her time was spent in the library with books. The books she read were not ordinary textbooks, nor were they related to each other. Seiji felt himself becoming peculiar as well when he suddenly found himself paying attention to things that didn't related to him.
Then one day, the school literature lovers were abuzz with excitement over a short story by a super young author that won a special prize in the annual literary competition of the school's literary magazine. And the author was none other than that girl, Hanazaki Kanon. Seiji was curious and decided to read it, and he was surprised when he remembered the recent books the girl had been reading: "Animal Life: Foxes and Cats," "Traditional Japanese Cuisine," "The Noodle Road: From Traditional to Modern in Japan," and "Japanese Folktales."
All are related to each other. On a day one year later, that day was not beautiful at all, the weather was cold and a little rainy. After completing the delivery for the family, Seiji wanted to take a walk while it was still early. When he passed by the shopping center, he saw a long line waiting to buy the latest donut from the famous Clamp bakery. Everyone was eager to enjoy the hot, fluffy, sweet donut in this cold weather. Among those eager faces, there was a very familiar face. For some reason, Seiji wanted to stand there and watch over her, even though he didn't know what he was watching for. Seiji leaned against a nearby lamppost and waited. The longer he waited, the tighter his brows furrowed, clearly Kanon's position in the line was not too far from the vendor, why was it taking so long. Upon closer inspection, Seiji finally discovered the reason.
"Oh, grandma, please go ahead of me!"
"Do you want to buy first, little boy?"
"Do you need to go back soon? Then please go ahead, I can wait!"
In that way, this person follows on from the other, leaving only Kanon and the last donut.
"Oh, Mom will like this for sure!"
But the donut ended up in the hands of a little girl who arrived too late and burst into tears because she couldn't buy the it.
Kanon, empty-handed, turned around, muttering to herself, "Mom will probably like something else better," and looked around for a replacement. Unfortunately, as the late afternoon approached, only a few restaurants and bakeries were still open, as it was the end of the weekend.
Kanon sighed. This happened because she always reminded herself, "I have all the time in the world." It was true that she did, but she had forgotten that just because she had time, it didn't mean others did too. This was still a world that required appropriate interaction. Shaking her head, Kanon decided to go to the supermarket to get some ingredients to bake a cake for her mom. Just as she turned back towards the supermarket, something hot and smelly hit her face, making her jump:
"Ah!"
Looking closely, sniffing carefully, Kanon's stomach rumbled at the smell of taiyaki. Her mouth began to water uncontrollably. The hot, fragrant taiyaki truly stimulated all the senses of someone with a hunger like hers. Kanon forgot everything around her, only inhaling the scent of the delicious fish cake. A small, mischievous chuck echoed, and Kanon looked up in surprise, but before she could see who it was, a paper bag full of taiyaki was thrust into her hands. That person turned and walked away. Kanon, with blurry vision from hunger, looked around, but that person had quickly disappeared into the twilight, concealing their identity. Kanon only caught a glimpse of a black long coat and a familiar black hair, with the rest being the bag of fragrant taiyaki in her hands.
And not long after, beside the bewildered Kanon, our invisible little character appeared a bodyguard. Suddenly, one day, when she opened her eyes, she became someone's "lady", catching Kanon off guard but also helping her become immune to many surprises in the future. In the end, whether this is a blessing or a curse, only the god know.
