Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes.

197.5 Extra Chapter: Muramasa Taki's Daily School Life
6 month.

The only month in Japan without any public holidays, and it's also the rainy season, so things can get damp and things can easily smell musty.

It is a nightmare month for many students.

Primary school students are no exception, because International Children's Day is not as prominent as Boys' Day and Girls' Day, and it is not as prominent as Shichi-Go-San Day (Note 1).

But Dongshan Du has been looking forward to June for a long time.

The reason is simple: the middle school's school trip is scheduled for June 1st.

Originally, it was also arranged to be in Kyoto, which is also a classic choice for Tokyo schools. Kyoto + Nara is a very stable option, and the teachers have plenty of experience leading the teams.

The downside is that it's too predictable; you can guess what the attractions will be like, and there's absolutely no surprise—that's what Dongshan Du complained about.

Then, perhaps to give Higashiyama a little surprise, the Giant Disaster broke out in Kyoto.

This surprise almost scared the school to death.

If this disaster had happened a few days later, wouldn't they have been hit by it?!
They thought Tokyo was unsafe enough, but they didn't expect Kyoto to be affected as well, and on an even more serious scale. As a result, the school once considered canceling the school trip plan.

But after careful consideration, they changed the location to Kyushu Island at the last minute, thinking that there shouldn't be any problems in such a rural place.

The only problem might be that none of the teachers have been there before, so we'll have to hire a travel agency to lead the group.

Higashiyama was quite pleased that he didn't have to go to Kyoto, a place he had visited before, and didn't mourn for the victims of the Kyoto tragedy for a single moment.

"Bye-bye, bro, see you in three days~"

Upon arriving at school, Higashiyama Doku waved to Higashiyama Shin and Chiba before running towards his classroom.

They first gathered at the school, then boarded the bus together and set off.

Higashiyama Shin wasn't worried at all. He had already divined Higashiyama Doku's fortune for the next few days, and it turned out to be slightly auspicious, meaning that good things would happen during this school trip.

"Our school trip back then was to Kyoto and Nara, I think."

“Yes, three days and two nights,” Chiba replied.

"I remember you back then." Higashiyama Shin seemed to recall something.

Chiba suddenly quickened his pace, not giving Higashiyama Shin a chance to recount his embarrassing past, and quickly went inside the building to change into indoor shoes.

"Ouch, that hurts! Watch out, you idiot!"

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry! Are you alright?"

"How can it be--"

Shinichi Higashiyama saw that the exhausted Umeta Oshima accidentally bumped into an older student, causing the student to hit the back of his head on the shoe cabinet.

Oshima immediately apologized. The senior student, who looked unfriendly, was about to take a few steps forward to stretch his muscles when his eyes suddenly changed, becoming extremely kind and bright.

"How could anything be wrong! You're seriously underestimating my physical abilities! I'm the vice-captain of the boxing club, and I won the Rising Star Award in the Kanto Region High School Boxing Tournament in 2039!"

As he spoke, he struck various bodybuilding poses.

Oshima smirked, then caught a glimpse of a profile and finally understood why the guy in front of him had suddenly started displaying his peacock-like display.

The most popular member of Komagome Academy, Muramasa Taki, has arrived.

A group of girls, centered around her, seemed to spring up from all around and gathered together, creating a bustling scene that gave no other men a chance to get close.

"Mr. Muramasa! Have you eaten yet? These are cookies I made myself!"

"Taki-san, I got up at dawn to make tiramisu, please try it!"

"Isn't it too sweet to eat dessert so early in the morning? What would you like to eat, Taki-san? I brought the portable kitchen!"

Shinichi Higashiyama and Chiba were already used to this.

He grabbed Chiba's hand and pulled her out of the crowd of girls, her once straight long hair now looking a little messy.

Higashiyama Shin smiled and took out a unique comb, then combed her hair a couple of times.

Chiba, unusually confused, asked, "Why did you bring a comb?"

"This is a gift for Auntie, to thank her for treating us last time." Shin Higashiyama placed the comb in Chiba's hand.

Chiba stared at Higashiyama for a few seconds before taking the comb.

"Oh, I almost forgot, these are a pair. You can have this one."

After she accepted it, Higashiyama Shin took out a box with packaging, which was clearly more suitable as a gift.

"Thank you."

Chiba accepted it with a slight hesitation.

"You're welcome, Happy Children's Day." Higashiyama Shin smiled triumphantly.

Chiba paused, silently lowered her head, and walked towards the classroom.

The disturbance continues in the entrance hall of the teaching building.

"They're really popular."

"Muramasa-san is beautiful, gentle, and strong; she's like an anime character brought to life. How could she not be popular?"

"It's a pity that the trend of a useless male lead paired with a strong female lead is no longer popular. Otherwise, in terms of how useless you are, none of you here can match me!"

The boys, who had been relegated to the sidelines, could only sigh in despair.

When Muramasa Taki returned to school, even though she had many friends, most of them didn't dare to be as close as they used to be.

Only after several days of conversation, confirming that Muramasa Takii was still the same as always and had not changed, did they dare to communicate so closely.

Then Takii's school support team found out about the situation and wanted to post pictures of her whenever they had the chance.

However, this is naturally limited; it's a very subtle feeling.

Although Taki often wore a serene smile, she could clearly express her inner meaning, and none of them dared to disobey her.

"The cookies are beautiful, but I've said I can't accept other people's food, I'm sorry."

"Tiramisu? I've made it before, it's quite troublesome. Thank you, but I guess you'll have to eat it for me."

After dealing with the fans and signing autographs for a few people, Takii showed no impatience; or rather, it was a kind of self-cultivation. Although it was somewhat mystical, she could feel that being with her classmates dissipated a lot of her inner resentment, even if they could be a bit annoying at times.

Moreover, it can also help her develop the confidence and focus required for growth. Overall, she can be sure that going to school is definitely more beneficial than harmful.

While at school, she also began screening people on campus.

The main objectives are as follows:

The name contains elements of moon, forest, and island, and refers to a student and teacher who has recently shown exceptional performance and is shrouded in mystery.

Logically speaking, Shinya Higashiyama should also meet the second point.

However, he has been an outstanding student since entering school, neither mysterious nor popular, and his name is not suspicious, so he is not in Taki's investigation sequence.

On the contrary, Chiba Shion is more suspicious.

He walked into the classroom carrying the conspicuous Demon Slayer sword. Most of the fans were kept outside the classroom, and only a small number of his classmates came in with him.

Walking to her seat, she placed the sword on the knife rack specially set up for her.

She is probably the first student in history to be officially allowed to openly bring a real knife to class.

"Today's investigator is Kojima Mori from the swimming club, who displayed astonishing skill in collaboration with the judo club during the sports festival."

"And then there's Takaya Imagawa from the archery club, a man of few words with few friends."

Thinking of this, she looked at Higashiyama Shin, who was sitting in the front row by the window.

Among Imagawa's few friends, Higashiyama Shin was one of them.

Thinking this, she unconsciously looked at him for a few more seconds. Higashiyama Shin didn't react, but she seemed to have disturbed Chiba behind him.

Those were icy eyes filled with deep vigilance.

Taki smiled gently at her, a smile that was as warm as a spring breeze, and her aura was in no way inferior.

Rather, it's quite remarkable that Chiba's aura could go toe-to-toe with a transcendent being.

If Takii hadn't been completely unable to sense any extraordinary aura from the other party, he probably would have concluded that the other party was definitely an extraordinary being or a player.

This standoff gradually dissipated only after Higashiyama Shin turned around and started talking to Chiba.

The student caught between the two men's gazes felt a strange mix of cold and warmth, and was at a loss.

The day passed uneventfully, without any extraordinary disturbances in the city, until the infamous scene of Taki taking a phone call and leaping out of the window with a knife occurred.

Many students were slightly disappointed, as they were prepared to pull out their phones at any moment.

"Taki-san, I... I am a member of the Kendo Club, and I would like to invite you to join our Kendo Club on behalf of all the members. Our club president is willing to give up his position!"

After class, a girl mustered up her courage, bowed deeply to Taki, and said nervously, as if awaiting the judgment of fate.

"I'll go take a look later, and we can all give each other pointers." Taki didn't refuse, and the girl was overjoyed, thanking him profusely.

The kendo club and the archery club are not far apart. After she finishes giving instructions on kendo, she can naturally go and check out the archery club.

As for joining or anything like that, she's not considering it for now, because it's a bit too much of a bullying move.

She could offer some pointers, but with her current peak swordsmanship skills, none of these students could withstand a single blow.

The same is true.

An hour later, at the Kendo Club.

The members lay sprawled on the floor, while Muramasa Taki's fan club cheered excitedly from the sidelines.

The minister knelt on the ground in a daze, supporting himself with a wooden sword, panting heavily, sweat dripping onto the wooden floor.

The gap was too big. Even though Taki didn't use any strength or energy beyond that of an ordinary person, he still easily defeated more than a dozen of the kendo officers who attacked him together.

This was clearly a restrained attack, giving them many opportunities to attack and defend.

Otherwise, they wouldn't just be exhausted and lying on the ground; a single sword strike would send them into a deep, infant-like sleep.

But at the same time, he felt he had gained a great deal!
This brief engagement—no, it should be called a massacre—was more effective than any special training exercise!
Muramasa Takii is their savior in the kendo club! With his help, the school will no longer be in a situation where archery and judo are vying for first and second place, swimming is just holding onto third, and kendo is just sitting on the sidelines!

Just as he finally came to his senses and wanted to shamelessly invite Taki to become a "resident guest" of the kendo club, the other party had already been gone for a while.

"They seem to have gone to the archery club, and many of us followed them."

Archery.

"Report! The Ninth Muramasa has carried out a bloody massacre of the Kendo Club and is heading towards us!" The archery club scout who was sent out ran back to report.

Upon hearing this, Haruko Minamikawa became serious and prepared for the worst.

"Higashiyama-kun, Imagawa-kun, and all of you! Join me in the battle against the extraterrestrial demons! The honor of the Archery Club rests in our hands!"

"They're from our school, not here to cause trouble." After finishing his archery practice, Higashiyama Shin had packed his things and was ready to go home with Chiba.

"Dongshan-kun! This is the only one in my life—" Nanchuan was about to cry again, but Dongshan had already predicted it.

"You've already exhausted all your hopes for the next life at the sports festival, Captain. Where's your cleverness? Isn't this a great opportunity to boost archery popularity?" Shin Higashiyama said, looking back at the throng of people walking in outside.

Nanchuan's eyes suddenly lit up.

Yes, this is an opportunity to boost popularity and completely overshadow the judo club!

We'll just play an exhibition match; the main thing is to get everyone who can come to watch.

She quickly called a broadcaster she knew.

Make sure this exhibition match is absolutely amazing!
"Bring out all our bows! Let Takii-san shoot an arrow and we'll exchange it for a new bow. That way, we can claim every bow we use is from the Extraordinary Imperial Court!"

Upon hearing the minister's constructive words, the members' eyes immediately changed, and they excitedly went back to get their bows.

In that case, wouldn't Muramasa Takii's fans immediately join the club?

Haruko Minami, hands on hips and head tilted back: I'm a genius!
"."

Standing silently to the side, Takaya Imagawa watched Shinji Higashiyama's departing figure with an envious expression.

　I guess I'm taking a day off today.

　　Note 1: Boys' Day (May 5th, carp streamers, public holiday), Girls' Day (March 3rd, displaying dolls), Shichi-Go-San Festival (November 15th, for 3- and 5-year-old boys/3- and 7-year-old girls, praying for healthy growth at shrines).
　　
　
(End of this chapter)