Tokyo's Most Affectionate - Chapter 104

Any Request

“Before we even start the match, don’t dampen my spirits.”

Because they were both men, Kurosawa didn’t mind changing clothes in front of him.

He had worn a hakama once before in the archery club, and although it was a somewhat special style, it wasn’t difficult to put on. 

The difficulty with the hakama lay in the obi, and the tying method was quite intricate, similar to the obi of a kimono.

“I’m not trying to dampen your spirits… but when you first came to the archery club, you didn’t even understand the eight steps of archery. Although your learning ability is strong, it’s only been a few days, and now you want to challenge a master.”

Seeing him continuously changing clothes, Uesugi was genuinely worried.

To be honest, when he received the call from Kurosawa initially, he was delighted. 

Learning that he wanted to visit the Windchaser Dojo  was even more unexpected and brought great joy, as this young man was undoubtedly a talent. 

If he could be tempered by Sato, he would surely become something great.

However, little did he expect that this guy wasn’t here to be an apprentice and learn the art, but he was here to flirt, and not only that, he challenged the master directly without knowing his place.

“Uesugi-sensei, could you please call Miss Shiromiya for me? The girl I just shook hands with,” Kurosawa said.

Soon, Kurosawa finished changing clothes, but he hadn’t tied the obi yet.

“Fine.”

Seeing that he completely ignored others’ words, Uesugi, thinking about the arrogance of a genius, didn’t insist further and just nodded.

Forget it, let’s use this match with Sato to weaken his spirit a bit.

Perhaps this match would ignite his competitiveness, and starting from next week, he might actively come to the club for training, instead of disappearing after showing up only once like before.

As he walked out, not long after, Shiromiya opened the door to the changing room and sneakily glanced inside.

“Kurosawa, why did you think of challenging sensei?”

Seeing Kurosawa dressed without any embarrassment, Shiromiya, anxious and curious, asked.

When she heard Kurosawa issuing the challenge, she was stunned on the spot. 

By the time she came to her senses, he had already agreed to a match with the sensei and entered the changing room.

Constrained by the presence of the maid, she didn’t have a chance to say anything at that moment. Now, being alone in the changing room, she finally had an opportunity.

“Because I want to shoot arrows with you. If I don’t challenge him, he won’t let me touch a bow and arrow.”

Kurosawa, still adjusting his collar, responded.

“Why did you call me in?”

Hearing that he wanted to practice archery with her, Shiromiya’s initial anger and confusion were dispelled. She hesitated for a moment and then asked.

“I don’t know how to tie the belt, can you help me?”

Kurosawa held onto his hakama to prevent it from falling and pointed to the belt on the bench, blinking his eyes.

“You don’t even know how to tie the hakama belt for kyudo, and you still dare to challenge sensei.”

Shiromiya scolded him after a moment of surprise.

Although it was a complaint, she still walked forward and picked up the belt from the chair.

Regardless, Kurosawa had put in some effort to come to the dojo to see her. Helping him tie the belt was just a small matter.

Shiromiya was tall, around 1.7 meters, very slender, and wearing the hakama made her look even more elegant.

“The way you wear the hakama makes you look more energetic than usual.”

As she approached and helped tie the belt, Kurosawa opened his arms, looking down at her with a smile.

“You’re pretty much the same.”

Shiromiya, who was bending down to tie the belt, blushed a bit at his words, responding without lifting her head.

This guy, ever since he suddenly asked her to take a break that day, had never been too serious.

“Hahaha.” Kurosawa didn’t mind this evaluation.

Being too serious while interacting with girls was not acceptable. Both men and women prefer interesting people; being too honest can be boring.

“By the way, what were you whispering to sensei just now?”

While continuing to help tie the belt, Shiromiya was a bit curious.

“He said that a competition is only interesting if there’s a wager.”

“A wager? What did sensei ask for?”

“If he wins, I have to stay away from you in the future and never set foot in this dojo again. He said that someone like me, an unknown junior, isn’t worthy of you.” Kurosawa thought for a moment and relayed the words exactly.

“Ah… you’re too forceful, be gentler.”

As soon as the words were spoken, Kurosawa suddenly felt a tightness in his waist and hurriedly stopped.

“I’d rather strangle you, you jerk!”

Shiromiya was a bit furious, lifting her head, and those ruby-like eyes glared at Kurosawa fiercely.

To use her as a wager, what kind of behavior was that?

Due to her exceptionally beautiful appearance, her expression of anger, pouting, and sulking made her not intimidating at all; instead, it added a touch of cuteness.

However, Kurosawa didn’t have time to appreciate whether she was cute or not, so he quickly added, “Don’t be in such a hurry to get angry. I haven’t finished explaining. I didn’t agree to his request.”

“Isn’t that the bet?”

Hearing this, Shiromiya immediately relaxed.

“Of course not. How could I use you as a wager?”

“Then what’s the wager?”

Realizing that he hadn’t agreed to the request of staying away from her, Shiromiya relaxed a bit more and asked.

“If I lose, I’ll apologize to him by bowing, and I won’t set foot in this dojo again.”

“That’s acceptable then.”

Hearing this requirement, Shiromiya thought for a moment and sighed in relief.

“Is that okay?” Kurosawa was somewhat surprised; this condition was quite similar to the previous one.

“Anyway, by challenging sensei this time and offending him, you won’t have a chance to enter the dojo in the future. Apologizing by bowing is a bit embarrassing.”

Shiromiya nodded, explaining.

“Hey hey, hey, do you think I’ve already lost?”

“Can you win?”

Shiromiya lifted her head, looking at him with her crimson eyes.

“What if I win?”

“There’s no ‘if.'”

“But what if? If I win, is there any reward?”

“If you win, I can agree to any request you have, anything.” Shiromiya hesitated for two seconds before saying.

“Any request?” 

Hearing this, Kurosawa’s gaze suddenly became sharp.

In his past life, he had come across the wisdom of a love expert. 

Supposedly, when a girl actively offered to grant any request, it meant that her heart was stirring, longing for something to happen between her and the guy, especially if it involved a punishment-like request.

“Within my reasonable limits, it can’t be too extreme, okay?”

Seeing his odd expression, Shiromiya suddenly felt uneasy and added.

“Can you give me a kiss on the cheek when the time comes?”

Although she knew about this kind of joke, Kurosawa thought for a moment and pointed to his cheek, very close to the corner of his mouth.

“You’re dreaming! I’ve tied it properly.”

Shiromiya, thinking he was referring to a kiss, blushed a bit and finally got it done.

The reason it took so long wasn’t just because she was unfamiliar with tying the belt. The main reason was that she had something to say.

Objective progress updated: 【Have her help you tie the obi belt of your hakama】 achieved.

At the same time, a line of text appeared in front of Kurosawa.

“Wait for my triumph.”

Having accomplished this goal, Kurosawa felt more at ease. He took a confident step forward, waving his hand as if heading to the battlefield.

Next, all he needed to do was to perform impressively, shoot an arrow into Shiromiya’s heart, make her take notice, and accomplish the mission in the competition to upgrade his proficiency in archery from skilled to perfect.

By then, he would have the confidence to compete even against a tenth dan, not to mention a ninth dan.

“Wait, you haven’t put on your tabi socks yet.”

Seeing him striding forward like a sumo wrestler, Shiromiya suddenly noticed that he was wearing black socks and quickly reminded him.

“Oh, right.”

Acknowledging this reminder, Kurosawa had to halt his march to the battlefield, turning around to go back.