Chapter 74: Swift Wind and Swift Thunder
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 74: Swift Wind and Swift Thunder
"The Fuma Style Assassination Art?"
When I asked back with a dazed expression, Fuma-senpai nodded and spoke.
"It's an assassination art with a staggering 500-year history, passed down to a single successor per generation. It's one of the Fuma clan's secret techniques, handed down since the Sengoku period."
Just from the summary, I could tell it was no ordinary martial art.
After all, in shonen manga, it was an unwritten rule that any martial art described as being passed down to a single successor was guaranteed to be incredibly powerful.
But there was one part I couldn't just gloss over.
"A single successor per generation? Does that mean only one person learns it in each era?"
"That's right. The head of the Fuma clan traditionally learns two assassination arts called Swift Wind (Gale) and Swift Thunder. My father… the 17th Fuma Kotaro, was revered in the underworld as the Black Yaksha for having perfectly mastered both."
"Then why would you offer something so precious to me…?"
Fuma-senpai replied with a serious expression.
"Because the Fuma Style Assassination Art, Swift Wind, was designed from the very beginning to be learned by a 'superhuman'."
"A superhuman?"
"The name Fuma Kotaro is a hereditary title passed down through the heads of the Fuma clan. And the ninja destined to become the head undergoes grueling training from a very young age, reborn as a superhuman who transcends human limits."
Hyoneko-ssi, who had been listening from the side, chimed in.
"The only Fuma Kotaro recorded in the history books is the fifth one. And his appearance was described like this: he was seven cheok tall [approx. 7 feet or 212 cm], his entire body was muscular, his eyebrows curled upwards from the bottom, and four of his molars protruded like an oni's."
"Isn't that an exaggeration?"
"Well, it's a record from ancient times, so of course there's some exaggeration. However, it's an undeniable fact that the heads of the Fuma clan have been superhumans for generations. And because the number of people who can learn it is limited, they have occasionally taken in outsiders as disciples to pass the art down to the next generation. That's why we're making you this offer now. In the weakened state of the current Fuma clan, there's no one left who can learn Swift Wind."
After listening to their story, I asked cautiously.
"Um… is Fuma-senpai's father, the 17th clan head, deceased?"
Fuma-senpai shook her head readily.
"No, my father left home ten years ago because he didn't want to remarry. We haven't heard from him since. He's probably alive and well somewhere."
"In that case, isn't there no need for me to learn it?"
"But until my father returns, as the acting clan head, I have a duty to carry on the clan's traditions. That's why I specifically made you this offer. I thought that you, as the possessor of an Extreme Yang Body, would be able to learn the assassination art without any special training."
"…Could I have some time to think about it?"
"Of course. Take your time. Marriage is one of life's most important events, so it's not something to be decided on impulse."
I nodded at Fuma-senpai for her gracious offer and said.
"Thank you… wait, what? Marriage?"
Fuma-senpai tilted her head in confusion.
"Didn't I just tell you? It's a secret art passed down to a single successor."
"You did."
"You learning the Fuma Style Assassination Art is synonymous with becoming our family's adopted son-in-law."
"……."
At Fuma-senpai's completely unexpected remark, I felt my mind go blank for a moment.
Don't just suddenly inject a rom-com vibe into this when we've been going with a battle manga atmosphere the whole time!
*
"I'm sorry."
No matter how I looked at it, I never expected talk of marriage to suddenly come up, so I rejected Fuma-senpai's offer flat out.
At that, Fuma-senpai's expression hardened as she asked back.
"Is there something you don't like about me? I'd like to think I'm quite confident in my looks. I've also received proper bridal training."
I felt a strange sense of pressure.
"No, that's not the issue."
I waved my hands as I spoke, then added more.
"I'm truly grateful for your offer, senpai. But I was wondering if I really need to learn a martial art to become stronger. It's the middle of the semester, so I don't have time for that, and aren't I strong enough as it is?"
As I said that, I flexed my bicep slightly, striking a pose to emphasize my muscle. Hyoneko-ssi let out a small "Ooh!" of admiration.
Fuma-senpai, who also saw it, seemed to be reminded of our 1-on-1 duel and was at a loss for words for a moment, but she soon shook her head and said.
"Certainly, you could probably beat most opponents as you are now. But what if you were up against a powerhouse on the level of the Seven Fist Masters? Besides the God of Destruction, Ivan, and my father, the Black Yaksha Fuma Kotaro, there are five other incredible martial artists in the world. If they came for you, you'd be helpless as you are now, wouldn't you?"
"Can't that be resolved through conversation?"
"Through conversation?"
"Yes. I don't think I need to accept every single fight that comes my way."
"That… I hadn't considered."
"And besides me, don't you want to marry someone you love, senpai? I'd rather get married through a normal relationship than one based on some kind of condition."
Hearing my words, Fuma-senpai wore a blank expression, as if she'd had some kind of epiphany.
I stood up from my seat.
"Thank you very much for the offer today. But I don't think I can accept it."
After a deep bow, I told Hyoneko-ssi I was leaving as well.
"Ah, wait a minute! Take this with you!"
What Hyoneko-ssi handed me was the object I had touched earlier, the Honwongyeong.
"Once this thing is used, it can only be used by that person. Since you've already touched it, no one else can use it anyway, so you should keep it."
"Isn't this expensive?"
"It is, but it was basically a bribe anyway, so it's fine. Yukika and I will smooth things over with the elders back home, so just pretend you didn't hear anything today."
"…Alright."
"The real way to use the Honwongyeong is to look into the mirror while channeling your ki into it. If you do that, you'll naturally come to understand what your ability is."
After saying that, Hyoneko-ssi gave my back a push and said.
"Next time, let's meet as an employee and a customer, not like this."
I said my goodbyes to Fuma-senpai, who was still sitting in her chair, and quietly left the maid cafe.
*
Fuma Yukika was a rigid person.
Unlike her father, who had left home unable to forget her deceased mother, she believed she could offer up her own body anytime for the sake of her clan's revival.
It was how she had been educated, and she had lived her life believing it was the right thing to do.
After becoming the acting clan head in place of her father, who had left when she was eight, she had subjected herself to bone-breaking training every single day without fail.
What she mastered through that was the Fuma Style Assassination Sword, Swift Thunder.
And to preserve the other martial art, Swift Wind, she had to find a candidate for an adopted son-in-law.
That had been her excuse to escape the stifling countryside and come up to Tokyo.
At first, she was just happy.
She could even meet her cousins who had gone to other regions to earn money.
But her position and theirs had completely changed from their childhood.
She was the acting head of the Fuma, and she had to act accordingly.
Because of that, she was under pressure from all sides, known and unknown, to produce results.
She was a diligent student by day, worked a part-time job at night to cover her living expenses, and occasionally took on jobs from the underworld to prove her competence as the acting head.
The three years she spent like that flew by in a flash, and she was now on the verge of graduation.
In about eight months, she would have to return to the suffocating countryside.
Though she felt a little sad about that fact, Fuma Yukika had no intention of abandoning her duties as the clan head.
That would be like becoming the same as her father, who had abandoned her and left.
Her daily life, lived like a single cog in a machine for the sake of her clan's revival, was completely turned upside down—
After she met a man named Kim Yoo-Sung.
*
The weekend passed.
On Saturday, I went to the maid cafe in Akihabara and met Fuma-senpai, and on Sunday, my group members and I met up and went grocery shopping together at a large supermarket.
In the process, I happened to learn that the protagonist, Sakamoto Ryuji, lived not too far from my house.
I knew we lived in the same neighborhood since he came over to eat once, but I never imagined he lived this close.
If you walked straight for about five minutes from the intersection in front of my house, you'd reach the high-end apartment building where Sakamoto lived. With a little exaggeration, it was just a stone's throw away.
Upon learning this, it wasn't just me who found it strange; Sakamoto did too.
"We live so close, how have we never seen each other?"
"…I know, right?"
Honestly, I was wondering the same thing.
From what I heard, the time he took the subway wasn't much different from mine.
The fact that we had never once run into each other couldn't be explained away as simple coincidence.
Anyway, having left home a little earlier than usual, I had that conversation with Sakamoto, whom I met on the subway, and then we joined up with Rika, who came over from the next car.
I could feel the gaze of Sakamoto's younger sister, who was peeking at us from his side, but I did my best to ignore it and checked my schedule on my smartphone.
Because today was finally the day we were leaving for Chiba for the forest school.