I am in Mihua, and the ladies all like me

Hattori Shizuka threw one of them at Serabel.

Serabelle raised her hand to take it, grasped the scabbard, pulled out a little, glanced at it, and immediately raised her eyebrows.

If this is not some kind of black technology from the last century that can make the fake look real, then there is no doubt that this is a real knife.

But... just use a real knife?

Before Serabelle could finish her struggle, Hattori Shizuka broke the silence.

"For a dojo, the sound of sharpening swords during battle can remove more dirt than cleaning in the common sense. What do you think, Sera-kun?"

"..."

Serabelle did not answer immediately.

This was not his illusion. The kindness that should have been present in Aunt Jinghua before him had completely disappeared since she entered this Taoist temple.

Instead, there was the fighting spirit that was unique to the children of a samurai family.

On the other side, Hattori Shizuka was still looking at him and waiting for an answer, and Serabel could only shrug.

"Although I don't know kendo, but like I said... I don't know how to say it, after all, I don't know kendo."

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand.”

Hattori Shizuka held the sword in one hand and took off the hairpin she used to tie up her hair. Suddenly, her long black hair fell down behind her like a waterfall.

She pursed her red lips slightly and gripped the hilt of the sword tightly.

"Remember what I said that night at Yulong Temple? I'm looking forward to fighting you again when you're fully prepared, Sera-kun. I've spent more than two months on this. Since this dojo is so big, I could only come here every now and then to clean it up. It wasn't until yesterday afternoon that I finally cleaned it up."

"And now, there is only one last step left."

More than two months?

Serabelle noticed this timing.

Because more than two months ago was exactly when Zhenchun was on winter vacation, and that was when they came to Kyoto for the first time.

That means that Shizuka Hattori started preparing for today after they went back?

Meh? Is it a coincidence?

Although she vaguely felt that something seemed to be wrong, Serabelle did not reject this possibility.

After all, if he had continued fighting in Yulong Temple at that time, with the injuries on his hands, it would have been more disadvantageous to him and it was entirely possible that he would lose something.

Now that both sides are in full condition, the competition at this time can best reflect their strength.

"correct."

Just when Serabelle thought that Hattori Shizuka was about to take action, she suddenly stopped, smiled and asked a question.

"I swore a vow on the first day I learned kendo when I was a kid. Do you want to know?"

"…If it's convenient to say."

Said Serabelle.

Hearing this, the curve of Hattori Shizuka's lips became even bigger, but the katana in her hand slowly came out of its sheath.

"I'll tell you when I win!"

After saying that, she swung her sword and stepped forward to kill.

Ding~!

Two cold lights flashed and crossed each other, and in an instant, the sound of the cool sword chanting was like ripples caused by a stone thrown into a calm lake.

Three breaths after the battle began, the left shoulder of the beautiful woman's kimono was torn by a sword.

Chapter 573: Married Woman and Maiden's Confession

"call……"

Inside the dojo, Hattori Shizuka slowly calmed her breathing.

In just ten breaths, the two had fought nearly fifty times, with their swords colliding four to five times in every breath.

Such high-intensity battles are almost impossible to occur in modern official competitions.

Because modern kendo competitions emphasize competitiveness, the only goal of all players is to hit the opponent's scoring point with one strike to win the round.

But the battle between Serabelle and Shizuka Hattori is different.

They all held real swords in their hands, and neither of them wore protective gear, just like the fights between ronin in the Edo period.

Because I don't want to be the one who gets killed, I have to risk my life to block it.

Because you don't want your opponent to survive any longer, you have to do your best to kill him.

As a result, the final situation was a life-and-death battle.

However, this level of intensity is nothing to Serabelle and Shizuka Hattori, and at best it can only be regarded as a warm-up.

"Then it's almost time to officially begin."

After adjusting her breathing, Hattori Shizuka straightened her back, while her sword-holding arm naturally dropped to her side, with the tip of the sword pointing to the floor at her feet.

Then she let go and pushed it down gently. With a slightly dull thud, the katana fell under the pull of gravity and pierced straight into the ground. The tip of the sword just got stuck in the gap between the wooden floors.

?

A question mark appeared above Serabelle's head.

In his eyes, Hattori Shizuka clearly said that she wanted to officially start, but the actual action she took was to put down the sword.

What does it mean?

But he soon understood.

I saw Hattori Shizuka free her hands and grab the collar of her kimono, pulling it to both sides with a little force, and suddenly a large area of ​​snow-white skin was exposed to the air.

"Hmm...I'm more used to this after all."

The beautiful woman unbuttoned her arms from her kimono without a care in the world, moving her shoulders and rotating her slender and tight waist. The amazing curve of her chest was faintly visible through the gaps between the layers of bandages.

That's right, according to Japanese tradition, no underwear is worn under kimonos and yukatas, so for today's battle, Hattori Shizuka specially wrapped a breast wrap inside her kimono.

In this way, the range of motion of the upper body and arms is completely freed.

Call——

After exhaling a breath of foul air, the beautiful woman pulled out the katana that was stuck in the ground, gripped the handle with both hands and got ready.

"Okay, let's continue."

The battle started again, and this time, without the constraints of the kimono, Hattori Shizuka's movements were obviously sharper... and more vigorous.

For example, if the Shizuka Hattori who was wearing a kimono before was Nagisa in Sekiro, and every attack seemed so calm and carefree, then the Shizuka Hattori who took off the kimono completely entered the berserker state.

She stepped down and rushed towards Serabelle, holding her knife high in her right hand and slashing down diagonally to the right, but the boy who saw through her attack swung his knife away.

But before Serabelle could swing her sword to counterattack, she saw that Hattori Shizuka, who had failed to hit her, not only did not retreat immediately, but instead loosened her katana in mid-air, and used the recoil force to lift the katana into the air, where it was caught steadily by her left hand as her body rotated and fell, and was held in the palm of her hand.

She's going to strike again!

Ding——!!

In a hurry, the blades collided again, and in an instant, the dazzling sparks that exploded with the collision point as the center overshadowed the sunlight coming in from outside.

After the exchange, Serabelle took a step back with the sword in hand.

Hattori Shizuka took three steps back, covering the junction of her neck and shoulder with one hand, and gently touched it with her fingertips. No blood was seen, but there was a slight pain.

"…Why did you change it to the back of a knife?"

The beautiful woman raised her eyes and looked at the young man five steps away.

What why...

For a moment, Serabelle didn't know how to answer this question, but she thought about it seriously.

"Because there is a large artery in the neck, if it is cut open, it will kill you instantly."

"You think I can't stop it?"

"..."

This is a very subtle statement. In the many times the two of them had clashed before, Hattori Shizuka was always suppressed by Serabelle, but she was not angry at all.

As a result, she started to get a little angry because her unexpected full-strength attack was blocked by the latter.

Could this be what the Japanese Bushido means by "giving your all is a sign of respect for your opponent"?

But if we really go all out...wouldn't someone die?

Serabel's idea is very simple, that is, no matter how much she convinces herself, Shizuka is still Hattori Heiji's mother, and he and Hattori Heiji are friends.

If you kill your friend's mother because of something like this, even if it was her own request, it would still be a bit too much.

"But the fact is that you didn't block it."

Sairabel shrugged.

"..."

This was more of a mockery than an explanation, but Hattori Shizuka, who had added fuel to the fire, was stunned for a moment and then murmured.

"Yes, I didn't stop it."

But she immediately changed the subject.

"Then I will go all out next time!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Hattori Shizuka jumped back half a step, and as her feet left the ground, her hands reached into the kimono hanging behind her.

Huh?

Serabelle noticed this action and subconsciously became alert, ready to block with her knife at any time.

But Hattori Shizuka's target was not him.

The beautiful woman took out a hairpin from her kimono behind her, the same one she had taken out of her hair before.

She took it in her hand and swung it in the air. The hairpin that looked delicate like a work of art instantly turned into a cold light and stabbed upwards, cutting through the air and hitting the knot in the center of the dome of the gym.

Before, Serabelle had always thought that this knot was just a decoration, but as the hairpin broke through the air and cut the knot, the bamboo curtains that were originally rolled up on both sides of the gym fell down one after another like the elastic band of sweatpants broke.

The fallen bamboo curtain completely blocked out the light from outside. The dojo, which had no lighting facilities, was suddenly pitch black. Only a few faint rays of light shone through the gaps between the bamboo curtains, which could not provide any lighting at all.

coming!

Before Serabelle's eyes could adjust to the low-light environment, the sound of a kimono fluttered in the darkness.

The subtle sound of the toes landing was right in front of him one second, and the next moment it was already in front of the left, and then jumped to the front of the right.

Curve breakthrough!

Without thinking, Serabelle chopped down with her sword, which collided with the sword coming across in mid-air.

Sparks burst out again, and in a flash of light he could clearly see the figure of Hattori Shizuka and the look of surprise on her face.

This time, Serabelle didn't give her the chance to follow up with a second blow. After being knocked back by the first blow, she immediately leaned forward and dived. Qingxue swept her foot along the floor and hit her ankle, destroying her center of gravity and knocking her down on the spot.

However, just as Serabelle was about to continue the pursuit, the fallen Hattori Shizuka rolled several times to avoid it.

She retreated into the darkness again.

Upon realizing this, Serabelle immediately stopped chasing and went on the defensive.

It is advantageous for him to counterattack from behind, because he relies on hearing to detect the opponent's movements when he cannot see with his eyes, whether it is the sound of footsteps or the friction of clothes.

Even just the slightest sound of breathing will do.

So he just had to wait.

call--

The sound of breathing was heard in the darkness, and the hot and humid breath blew against my ears.

? !

Serabelle's pupils suddenly contracted, and she subconsciously swung her knife to block.

There is no doubt that there are only him and Hattori Shizuka in this dojo, and there cannot be a third person.