I Don't Want To Lose

Haruka stepped catiously with every step, ready to exert force at any time. Her body kept moving forward to lure the opponent to draw her sword, so that she could have a chance to get behind her inner ring. 

She had studied the opponent, but the opponent had also studied it. Kikuchi passed her and regarded theposition under the lower abdomen as a key protection area. Her sword point constantly threatened the weak point below, and sometimes she would half-step back and move sideways to avoid giving her a chance to sneak in and attack.

Haruka was the dark horse of this regional competition. The Private Kinsei Academy had studied her in detail and knew that she was skilled and quick in reaction. She was very good at taking advantage of her short size and flexibility and her style was very strange and difficult to tell. More importantly, she was very aggressive to fight and full of offensive spirit, who defeated her opponents several times by cutting them head-on and winning with one attack after another. Twenty people from the kendo club of the Private Kinsei Academy spent the whole night and analyzed her thoroughly by watching the video of Haruka's competitions.

To deal with such a player, give priority to defense, don't give her a chance to get close and be deceived. Give priority to protecting the hands and abdomen, find the right opportunity to battle with her, and tretreat without hesitation if the attack fails. In order to deal with the best player in Hope's Peak Academy, they analyzed her and got these conclusion. They could even write a book "How to Beat the Shorty in a Kendo Competition".

Kikuchi defended rigorously, was focused to avoid being fooled. She was extremely cautious when using her sword, while Haruka didn't dare to rush and strike for a while. They spent the first thirty seconds of walking in circles in the arena and the sound in the audience completely disappeared. The entire stadium seemed to suddenly become silent.

Haruka couldn't find a chance, and She also wasn't willing to waste time with the opponent until time ran out. The other party didn't worry that this round will be a draw. Kikuchi didn't seem to be the strongest player on the other side, but Haruka was the strongest on her own side. If this was a draw, it actually counted as the opponent winning.

Her eyes suddenly condensed and she was ready to attack by force, or at least sneak into the opponent's defense circle to start a close combat. However, a sudden bright light dazzled her eyes, making her couldn't help but squint her eye. The opponent moved her feet diagonally and slashed at her with a reverse cassock chop at the same moment. 

Haruka was too short, so she had to look up at Kikuchi, but Kikuchi seduced her and moved to the predetermined position, making her look directly at a big light slanting on the roof of the gymnasium. This was a trick that a first-year student in their club came up with on a whim last night when he saw Haruka's height in the video.

Under the cover of the dazzling light, Kikuchi decisively drew out her sword and the bamboo sword struck the side of Haruka's face almost instantly. Kikuchi yelled "Men (面)" at the same time. It was almost a perfect attack. If Haruka couldn't find the chance, it was their turn to use the plan to get one point first!

Haruka was caught off guard and had no time to strike. Even if she knew that the opponent had figured her out, there was nothing she could do. She could only forcefully block by tilting her sword. However, she was unable to release her force in a hurry to use the technique of blocking and counterattacking. SHe was completely losing the initiative and could only defend with all her strength to deal with Kikuchi's continuous attacks.

Suddenly, the sound of clashing bamboo swords was heard repeatedly. Haruka was beaten and kept retreating to get a chance to breathe, hoping to cut through the opponent's sword head-on. Kikuchi's small steps matched her big steps and followed closely her, paying great attention. The continuity of the strikes was not intended to determine the outcome with one strike, but stopped Haruka from getting any time to adjust.

Kikuchi used her left hand to control the sword so the direction of her sword strike was very tricky, which made Haruka's muscle reaction that he had developed during practice useless and even harmful. Several times she tried to counterattack and almost sent herself into the opponent's traps. 

Even if she gave up now, the other party got the first point but she still had a chance. However, she was unwilling to accept it and persisted desperately until retreating to the bottom line without being hit.

This series of fierce attacks and defenses was rare in the game. Although it lasted only a few seconds, the people on the sidelines who came to watch the regional competition finals were all more or less knowledgeable. They couldn't help but applaud together. Kanae and the others members stood up nervously, feeling extremely worried as they watched Haruka being pushed into a desperate situation.

Haruka had no way to retreat. But she managed to adjust her posture at the critical moment and couldn't care less about whether she had a chance or not. After blocking,s he roared and pushed back against the opponent's sword, trying to squeeze out some space. She fled sideways, but Kikuchi was also experienced and had even rehearsed the routine. She directly chose to wrestl with her, betting her entire body weight on Haruka, hoping to push her out of the field with her strength, though she was extremely surprised and didn't expect that a first-year student could have such resilience and withstand such a stormy attack despite being at a huge disadvantage.

During the internal practice of the club, the players who were like Haruka were all defeated by the continuous blows just now, and they didn't have the chance to compete in the finals.

Although Haruka's strength was not inferior to that of ordinary boys, and was a little stronger than Kazuya for a while, Kikuchi's strength was greater than that of ordinary boys. She pushed up a little but was soon pressed back. She gritted his teeth and refused to take a step back, but her back became more and more bent.

The three referees also gathered around and saw that the swords of both sides were stuck together. They hesitated to separate the two of them. Kikuchi was the dominant side now and there was only a thin line to get another point. It would be unfair for Kikuchi to separate them. One of them hesitated for a while and chose to start looking at his watch, giving Kikuchi a little time.

In the audience, Junko and her friends also forgot to eat snacks. Seeing Haruka's small body pressed into a bow shape, leaning extremely backward, as if it would break at any time which made people worried to death, they felt extremely nervous. 

Kikuchi kept applying pressure to defeat Haruka before the referee separated them. She noticed that Haruka's strength was about to be exhausted from her left foot keeping shaking. If she pushed harder, the opponent was in the limit of endurance and she would win this round!

But Haruka gritted her teeth and persisted to keep standing the pressure no matter what, even if there were tears in her eyes.

I don't want to lose! I don't want to lose no matter what!

I don't want to be pitied, I don't want to feel like I lost for granted!

After losing to that guy, I don't want to lose to anyone again! Failure is too painful and frustrating. As long as there is a chance, I must strive for victory!

She roared suddenly and her voice full of the cruelty of a trapped animal still fighting. She endured the pain in the muscles of her arms and forcefully pushed Kikuchi's sword away from her. Her waist gradually straightened up. The opponent isn't as good as that guy, I can definitely win! If I can't defeat this person, how will I defeat that gigolo in the future!

I don't want to lose, I want to win!