I teach judo in Tokyo.

......

The sky outside was dim, and the lights in the temple were dim.

The cherry blossom trees in the courtyard rustled in the breeze.

Kuno Aoi, who was concentrating on drawing in her room, twitched her ears.

"Huh, why is there no sound?" She stopped writing and wanted to go downstairs to see what her mother and Atobe Shihan were doing.

But I couldn't bear to give up the painting that I had already half-finished.

In the painting, her beloved mother and Teacher Atobe are embracing each other tightly.

Xiao Kui is still young, and her drawing is messy. She puts her mother's hands, which should have been on the teacher's back, in other places.

After thinking for a moment, Xiao Kui picked up her pen again and decided to finish drawing before going down to find the adults.

......

......

It's 9:30 p.m.

After taking his second bath, Atobe Sousuke returned to the second floor feeling refreshed.

As I passed by the beautiful woman's door, I saw that it was tightly closed and couldn't help but smile.

The allure of a widow's coy reluctance is indeed very tempting.

Although it didn't solve the problem immediately, it did help me resolve it.

I wonder what Ms. Kuno is thinking now.

He thought for a moment and then opened the beautiful woman's panel.

[Disciple: Kuno Jinruko]

Tuition fee: 50000 yen/month (10000 yen already paid)

[Existing self-defense technique: Judo - not yet mastered]

Today's teaching task: Throwing techniques (footwork) - Completed

Current status: So tired, my hands are so sore...

It seems that the lady did not feel abrupt tonight.

Sosuke smiled and returned to his room.

On the other side, Kuno Maruko, with a rosy complexion, sat quietly on her bed, unconsciously stroking her sleeping daughter with a slightly shy expression.

I never expected things to turn out this way.

However, after all, Sosuke-kun... Atobe-sensei is still very young, and his body is so strong. He also has to teach him self-defense techniques. It's only natural that he couldn't control himself after such frequent contact.

Moreover, without Atobe's rescue, she and Aoi probably wouldn't even have a place to stay by the end of the month.

Kuno Maruko felt a little scared when she thought about the scene where she and Aoi were homeless and would even lose their right to work at the convenience store because they lacked a stable place to live.

If things get to that point, it will be utterly hopeless, and they'll have no choice but to slink back to their hometown with Xiao Kui.

But the reason why he resolutely brought Xiao Kui to Tokyo was that his "home" in the countryside no longer had a place for him.

Most importantly, I have a deep understanding of Atobe Normal School...

Thinking of this, Kuno Maruko's face became even rosier.

***

The next morning, Atobe Sousuke turned off the alarm clock and sat up in bed.

What a refreshing day!

Having successfully joined the school's judo club yesterday, he now has a legitimate club affiliation.

Inevitably, I had to get up earlier than usual so I could leave for school earlier to participate in departmental activities.

As soon as I came downstairs, I saw Kuno Maruko busy in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Kuno-nee." Sosuke changed his address to the beautiful woman without hesitation.

The beautiful woman trembled, and before she could even turn around, her earlobes had already turned red.

She turned around hesitantly, her alluring eyes avoiding Atobe Sousuke's gaze: "Good morning, good morning, Atobe-sensei..."

"Just call me Sousuke." Sousuke raised an eyebrow at the beautiful woman.

Upon hearing this, Kuno Maruko blushed and lowered her head shyly, but still obediently did as Sousuke said.

"Zong, Zongsuke-kun..."

Sosuke nodded in satisfaction, then turned and went into the bathroom to wash up.

A few minutes later, he sat down at the dining table facing Kuno Maruko. Seeing the beautiful woman's shy expression, he couldn't resist teasing her.

"Kuno-nee, do you think I was being presumptuous? Then how about I..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the beautiful woman who hurriedly looked up.

She hurriedly shook her head and explained, "No! Sosuke-kun, I, I..."

She was about to say something when she saw Atobe Sousuke's smiling expression as he looked at her, and she couldn't help but blush and lower her head again.

"If the object is Sousuke-kun... I... I don't mind..."

The sound was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, but Atobe Sousuke heard it clearly.

What a kind and generous beautiful woman...

He stopped teasing the already embarrassed Kuno Maruko and changed the subject: "Kuno-nee, your talent for judo has exceeded my expectations. At this rate, I will teach you some parrying and ground techniques. Before long, you will be considered a beginner in judo."

Kuno Maruko's face lit up with joy. She gently covered her mouth and said, "Really? I thought I was a bit clumsy. I only learned two tripping moves in one night."

Sousuke Atobe shook his head: "These two tripping moves seem ordinary, but it is actually quite difficult to use them accurately in practice or even in actual combat."

He tilted his head and thought for a moment: "To be honest, it's almost impossible for someone without talent to learn these skills in one night."

After being praised by Atobe Sousuke, Kuno Maruko forgot the awkwardness of the ambiguous relationship between the two and became happy.

Since Sosuke praised me, does that mean I'm one step closer to becoming a dojo instructor?

The beautiful woman thought to herself with delight, and even the miso soup in her mouth tasted much better.

The pleasant breakfast time passed quickly as Atobe Sousuke praised Kuno Maruko.

Soon, having finished packing, Sousuke left the dojo as the beautiful woman gently saw him off.

Chapter 18 List Battle

After leaving his own dojo.

Atobe Sousuke quickened his pace and ran towards the school.

Generally speaking, he is a person who is quite willing to follow the rules.

He found Japanese high school life particularly appealing, and the heavy academic pressure he had accumulated from his predecessors was relatively easy for him.

The relaxed school hours allowed him to fully enjoy the happiness of being a high school student.

More importantly, he joined the judo club while possessing advanced judo skills.

To use a popular phrase from the world he traveled to before he arrived.

It means "showing off in an area where you're good at it".

This kept him quite interested in participating in club activities.

Soon, dressed in sportswear, he jogged to the school, which was already quite close to his dojo.

This time, he didn't go straight back to the classroom. Instead, after entering the school gate, he turned a corner and went to the judo club's martial arts arena.

Before even pushing open the door, one could already hear bursts of energetic training shouts coming from inside.

It seems that although it is not a strong club in the school, it does not affect the members who love judo to train actively.

After changing into his judo uniform in the changing room next door, Atobe Sousuke opened the door to the martial arts arena.

What came into view was a training scene with only a dozen or so people.

Everyone was moving around on the ground, doing "rib twists" and "shrimp moves".

The rib-cross is a movement in which you lie face down on the ground, keep your whole body still, and move forward by contracting your armpits and using your elbows.

The shrimp is a creature that lies flat on the ground and uses its waist, hips, and legs to shape its body into a "shrimp" shape.

Practicing these two movements can enhance the strength and agility of a judo athlete's key areas, and increase the athlete's success rate in breaking free from ground techniques. Therefore, they have always been common training exercises in judo.

Sosuke quickly scanned the area and found his target.

In the dojo, which had fewer than twenty people, at least ten of them were men, and they were currently training diligently under the guidance of the club president, Yahiko Iga.

In a smaller area on the other side, only four girls were exercising.

It was a group of female club members led by the petite class leader, Yumi Mifune.

Among the four was Yotsuba Saki, Sosuke's classmate who had come to report for duty yesterday.

It seems that judo is not a very popular sport among female college students.

After all, this is a combat sport, and you need to wear a thick judo uniform, as well as many techniques such as ground techniques and hold-down techniques that can easily lead to accidental exposure and embarrassment.

It's really not the first choice for young girls.

Atobe Sousuke arrived at the girls' area.

Compared to the boys' enthusiastic profuse warm-up exercises, the girls' warm-up movements were much gentler.

Yumi Mifune is leading three people in a judo training session that resembles gymnastics. If you look closely, you can see the influence of various throwing techniques and judo footwork in these movements.

He took the initiative to greet the two people he knew: "Class monitor, Saki, you're both here?"

"You're late!" Yumi Mifune said, glancing at Sousuke Atobe with a hint of displeasure as she earnestly led the way in demonstrating the movements.

"You only joined the club yesterday, and your abilities have been recognized by me and the club president. Atobe-kun, you need to work harder!"

Her small stature did not diminish the boundless energy she seemed to possess. She completed each movement in the warm-up exercises with remarkable skill, demonstrating her profound judo foundation.

On the other side, Yotsuba Saki, also dressed in a judo uniform, glanced shyly at Atobe Sousuke and weakly greeted him, "Good morning... Sousuke-kun, actually I just arrived not long ago..."

She was a bit taller than Yumi Mifune, but even though she was wearing a judo uniform and exercising, she still wore those black-rimmed glasses, making her look like a frail young girl.

Sousuke looked his little classmate over carefully: "Saki, you look cute in your judo uniform."

"Ah..." Yotsuba Saki adjusted her glasses sheepishly.

"That's enough small talk. The captain has seen you several times. He has high expectations for you. Hurry up and join the team to start training!" Mifune Yumi interrupted Atobe Sousuke's attempt to chat a few more words.

Upon hearing this, Sousuke shrugged helplessly and winked at Yotsuba Saki, who had been silently watching him.

Then she quietly returned to the boys' group.

***

It's been about half an hour.

Iga Yahiko raised his hand and clapped twice, a gentle smile on his face: "Alright, the group warm-up is over, everyone gather around."

Once the line was straight and quiet, he said in a serious tone, "Now that the warm-up is over, I have two announcements to make."

"First, let's celebrate! Just yesterday, our judo club welcomed two new members: Atobe Sousuke and Yotsuba Saki from Class 3 of the second year of high school. Everyone, please welcome them!"

After saying that, he led the applause, and all the club members looked at Atobe Sousuke and Yotsuba Saki standing together and sincerely offered their applause.

Yotsuba Saki immediately lowered her head shyly, not daring to speak.

However, with his experience as a seasoned veteran from a previous life, Atobe Sousuke remained completely calm in the face of this awkward little situation, and instead nodded calmly to everyone.

"And then there's the second thing!"

Iga Yahiko hesitated slightly before decisively stating his thoughts: "As everyone knows, we failed in the Kanto Tournament just two months ago. The IH Regional Preliminary Tournament, which is scheduled for the next few days, is our last chance..."

He glanced at the numerous club members who were gradually getting to the point, and continued, "To increase our chances of winning a ticket to the national competition, I must do everything possible to select the strongest players in our club to form a team. And we submitted our team roster to the organizers half a month ago..."

He looked at a few familiar members of the boys' group, gave an apologetic look, and continued, "Well then, I'll be frank. Some of you may have already seen it yesterday: Atobe Sousuke, who recently joined the judo club, is quite strong in judo. I plan to apply to change the team roster to include Atobe Sousuke, which will inevitably mean eliminating one person. Therefore, I'm going to use a simple competition during this afternoon's club activity to re-determine the team roster. Those of you who were already selected, please prepare yourselves."

The minister's last sentence was the first thing he said.