Tokyo Soft Rice King.

Perhaps it was because she had played the swapping game several times before, or perhaps it was because she had seen everything about her sister, that she could imitate her sister so well that she was 90% accurate, and it could be said that she imitated her sister very well.

However, there is a fatal 'flaw'.

That is a talent that cannot be imitated.

My sister's innate musicality and unique perspective are talents that I cannot imitate.

Saionji Makoto couldn't dance her fingertips on the piano like her older sister, nor could she distinguish the sounds of different instruments in a symphony, let alone accurately distinguish pitch and intonation.

She realized how weak and incompetent she was... This was also the first time Saionji Machi felt jealous of her older sister.

They're sisters, they even look alike, so why don't I have any talent?

There's no point in complaining or blaming others. Besides, it's not the older sister's fault. Rather, the older sister, with her outstanding talent, didn't look down on her incompetent younger sister and was even willing to selflessly give everything for her. She's already the best older sister.

Therefore, I must also become an excellent person who will not disgrace my sister's name.

Since then, Saionji Mato has been striving to play the role of her ideal older sister well.

However, this path was even more difficult than she had imagined, because after parting ways with her sister, her sister had been deified and transformed into a flawless being.

However, no one is perfect in reality, and her goal is a mirage that can never be reached.

This leads her to think things through carefully before doing anything, for fear of making the wrong choice.

At this moment, she felt that her experience of playing the older sister had become instinctive, as if she had mastered everything she had learned, and her body moved on its own.

All the anxiety that had been building up in my heart, the fear of making mistakes and being exposed, had disappeared.

However, this made Saionji Machi somewhat worried. Was her future just going to be like this, only 'watching'?

But thinking about it carefully... this doesn't seem so bad...

Finally, I can get some proper rest...

The image of Saionji Madoka in her heart closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

The one who wakes up is the older sister's personality, who now has control over this body.

She got out of bed, rubbing her forehead, and murmured with her eyes closed.

"...It's today."

Today is an important day, my day of competition, a day of destruction and rebirth.

From the moment she was born, she already knew what her 'mission' was.

She had made full mental preparations for this day.

After getting up, instead of washing up and changing her clothes, she went to the fish tank in the room and threw some bait into it.

There are only two fish in the aquarium, both female betta fish. Because they are both female, they are relatively gentle. However, betta fish are naturally aggressive and have a strong sense of territory. They will fight for territory and attack each other, so conflicts will occasionally occur.

Every time Saionji Maju comes to feed the fish, the slightly larger betta will come up first to snatch the food, while the smaller one can only lie at the bottom and wait for the other one to finish eating before it can come out to eat the leftovers.

Of course, one could say that the larger one came first to test the danger, and only allowed the smaller one to come out and eat after it felt safe. But humans are not fish, so how can they know what fish are thinking?

She wanted to keep this kind of fish simply because female fighting fish are called 'sister groups', which made her feel that the relationship between sisters is like that of fighting fish in a tank. When one is strong and the other is weak, a protective relationship is formed, but at the same time, the stronger one oppresses the other.

This has always been the case, but today the little betta fish suddenly went crazy for some reason and rushed up to fight with the big one.

This time, instead of using a fishing net to stop them, she simply watched, wanting to see what the final outcome of the fight between the two female fighting fish would be.

If it's purely a matter of strength, the smaller one is definitely no match for the larger one. The result of a fight to the end would either be a miserable death or a beating followed by retreat.

Suddenly, a flash of silver light appeared, and tiny splashes of water rose on the surface.

The small betta fish leaped out of the water like an arrow released from a bow, its scales shimmering with a metallic luster in the light, its tail drawing an arc in the air as if chasing some kind of invisible freedom.

Water droplets dripped onto the edge of the fish tank and the table, and even splashed onto her face.

"So, in the end, it actually resulted in jumping out of the tank..."

Is this my sister's fate... or my own?

Saionji Machi shook her head, wiped the water droplets from her face, and then picked up the small betta fish with her palm and put it back into the fish tank.

The smaller betta fish is still alive, and the larger one has stopped attacking it. It seems that things will be peaceful for a while.

"It's a good omen, I suppose."

Saionji Mako smiled, changed her clothes, and went to the living room, where her father had already prepared breakfast and was waiting for her.

Saionji Kyouichi asked his daughter with a smile.

Good morning, Zhencheng. I remember you have a game today, right?

"Yes, the team competition is over, and we came in second place. Today is the individual competition."

"If you make it to the finals, you'll be facing your master's daughter, right?"

Did my father even follow my match?

I thought that once I switched to learning kendo, he lost all interest in his daughter...

The father and daughter don't communicate much on weekdays, mainly because Saionji Machi is afraid that her father will want her to pick up the piano again, which would expose the fact that she is actually the younger sister.

"Yes, I lost to her during the Spring Tournament."

"Well... after all, Master's daughter is a 'true genius' who obtained the 'Menkyo Kaiden' of the Jigenryu school at a young age. Even if you are no match for her, you don't need to feel inferior. On the contrary, being able to stand in front of her is already a remarkable achievement."

This wasn't something the father said to comfort his daughter, because the girl called 'Amane Hikari' was indeed a monster.

She is practically the embodiment of a knife.

Baihe High School was able to achieve a three-peat in the national women's kendo tournament simply because she hadn't yet "entered high school" at that time.

It is said that Amane's hometown is Sapporo. Heaven knows why people from Sapporo study the Jigenryu school of Satsuma... Satsuma is the southernmost part of Japan, while Sapporo is in Hokkaido.

The reason why Saionji Kyoichi called her his master's daughter is because when he went to Sapporo Otani University to help establish the music department in his early years, he met the head of the Amau family, who was serving as the advisor of the kendo club there. Amau Tatsumi was also known as the only person in modern times to have the title of 'Sword Saint'.

Then, for some unknown reason, Kyoichi Saionji, a conductor, suddenly became interested in kendo. And for some unknown reason, this contemporary sword saint actually took a conductor who had only ever held a baton as his disciple.

Saionji Makoto was unaware of the reasons behind it all. She only knew that her father greatly respected his mentor, and she took advantage of this to 'escape' into the world of kendo.

After all, if she continued playing the piano, her father would definitely find out that she was actually her younger sister.

But it would be strange for her to suddenly say she didn't want to play the piano anymore, so Saionji Masato used kendo as a shield to cover up the fact that she had no musical talent.

If it were any other interest, his father would definitely not understand, but if it were swordsmanship, his father, as a disciple of the Sword Saint, would definitely support him.

Then, as long as we achieve good results, we can ensure that my sister's honor continues!

Perhaps because she practiced dance with her older sister when she was young, Saionji Machi has pretty good balance and flexibility. As long as she can see her opponent's moves clearly, even if she doesn't have enough strength, she can create an opening by slightly changing the direction of her force and then counterattack.

With her keen eye and diligent practice, Saionji Machi won match after match, earning her own glory.

Until she met Hikaru Amane in the Spring Tournament, she once again witnessed the 'gap in talent' in a bloody way.

No matter how hard you try, you can't possibly beat that monster.

I can't even touch it.

An overwhelming defeat.

That was a really ugly loss...

This failure cracked the confidence that Saionji Masato had worked so hard to build, revealing her originally weak personality.

The sudden appearance of an insurmountable wall caused her to immediately lose her enthusiasm for continuing to practice kendo.

After losing the motivation to improve, she began to seek compensation from external sources, hoping to maintain her image as an older sister by helping her friends.

But it failed once again.

Unable to help Shion Murasaki no Miyabi or Mirai Takanashi, they eventually left the school.

Although they all left school with clear goals, it had nothing to do with them. It was the boy named Kuroba Akira who cheered them up.

Furthermore, Kuroba Akira and Kotomi have a very good relationship, and he himself has not been able to reconcile with Kotomi.

It turns out that no matter how much I struggle, it's useless... I'm no different now than I was as a child, still just as weak...

Without my older sister, I can't do anything...

At this critical juncture when everything was on the verge of collapse, Saionji Machi met her current 'sister,' her former older sister, Hikawa Makoto, and the man who had accomplished everything she had failed to do, Kuroba Akira.

At the time, Saionji Machi probably had conflicting and complicated feelings about "That's my older sister!" and "Why is it that only my older sister is having fun!" which led her to propose joining.

Only after joining the date and actually starting to talk to the guy she had bumped into a few times did she realize that Kuroba Akira was actually a pretty good guy.

But the more she followed behind them, the more Saionji Mato felt like she had gone back to her old self, like she was back to when she was following her older sister around... She was about to give up the act.

Her complex emotions led her to tentatively reach out and hold Kuroba Akira's hand, wanting to know how he truly viewed her sister and what her own feelings were.

At that moment, a miracle occurred: the shattered image of the older sister in Saionji Mato's heart miraculously merged together and generated 'autonomous will'.

That is the 'pseudo-personality' that is currently taking over the actions of Saionji Machi.

She is not the real Saionji Machi, but the 'ideal older sister' that Saionji Machi has been pursuing.

So if we have to say, the 'real father' who currently controls her body outside should be Kuroba Akira.

After all, it was thanks to Kuroba Akira's special ability that she, as the older sister, was able to be born.

Therefore, the person she trusts the most is Kuroba Akira.

All she needs to do is pass the baton.

After finishing breakfast, she asked her father.

"Speaking of which, Father, I'd like to ask why you didn't ask me why I suddenly wanted to learn kendo?"

"Well... it's just because I know the reason without even asking."

"……Why?"

"Saionji Kyoichi said with a wry smile."

"Actually, I'm not as serious about music as you think. My initial reason for studying music was the same as your reason for studying kendo..."

"..."

"I can only say that we father and daughter are indeed very similar in personality. Back then... no, even now I still haven't been able to shake off the influence of the Saionji surname on me... so I don't want to put too much pressure on you."

So, Father, you actually discovered it a long time ago...

"Go for it, my daughter. Whatever the outcome, I will never be disappointed in you, never."