190 The Individual Competition

The Usui Spirit was momentarily stunned, but it regained its composure very quickly. 

The dead could be found too. 

"Do you have any other information?" 

"No." The photo was the only thing Kimura Kazuki took, he did not know anything about her name or address. But he replied anyway, "It is highly likely that this lady died in Tokyo." 

"Uh..." 

The Usui Spirit berated Kimura inwardly. Many died in Tokyo, how would it be possible to locate someone with just a photo, an image of a face? If she was dead, then her face would have decayed, and she would have been reduced to bones. How would it be able to find her then? 

Thinking of this, the Usui Spirit retained its warm smile nonetheless and said confidently, "Master Kimura, do not worry. I will definitely find this lady, but I may need more time." 

"Okay." Kimura Kazuki heaved a sigh of relief. He was worried that the Usui Spirit may be too weak and powerless to finish the job. Now it seemed like even if the recuperation of the reiki was not completed, the spirit's ability was not to be underestimated. At the thought of this, he spoke solemnly, "Then what is it that you need?" 

"What?" The Usui Spirit has stumped yet again, "Isn't being able to serve you something to be done naturally? 

Kimura Kazuki was stumped too. 

In the previous world where the reiki was well recuperated, payment was required for the service of land spirits. 

Land spirits all over the world had come together to form a Land Spirit Union. According to the rules of the Union, if the person seeking help was weaker than the spirit providing it, more payment would be required. If the person's power was equal to the spirit's, then it would be a fair exchange. If the person was much stronger, the payment could be a lot lesser. 

He had heard that the rule existed even before the formation of the Union. Was it possible that these rules were yet to be formed by the land spirits of this era? Kimura Kazuki kept his composure and said, "Nothing." It was his guiding principle to save and scrimp whenever he could. 

But the Usui Spirit's ears were sharp, it was not going to let it pass. Flashing a brilliant smile, it said, "Master Kimura, if you would like to pay me, I will not mind." 

Sighing slightly, Kimura Kazuki said calmly, "Then what is it that you want? I know the Yagyu Flying Sword Style, I could teach you a thing or two." He knew the rules of the land spirits, they had no want for money. The headquarters of the Land Spirit Union he knew of collected all sorts of martial styles, magic spells, talismans, and techniques. They were all obtained by various land spirits by trade to expand the Land Spirit Union's library. 

Kimura Kazuki spoke slowly, "I do not know many people. If you want a normal person, I would not be able to pay the wages." 

"I can pay the wages," the Usui Spirit said quickly. 

Glancing at the spirit suspiciously, Kimura Kazuki nodded his head slowly, "I can help you look, but I cannot guarantee whether the person will be willing." 

"There is no rush, please take your time Master Kimura. Only bring those that you are satisfied with," the spirit beamed and said. 

"In that case, please locate the person I'm looking for. It would be best if you could find her within three days." Kimura Kazuki produced a talisman and gave it to the spirit, "After you've found the body, destroy this attraction talisman." 

"Uh... Okay, I'll try my best." The spirit accepted the talisman in distress after hearing the time limit. 

Kimura Kazuki did not stay long after he settled his matters. 

The next day, Kimura Kazuki arrived at the school and followed Mr. Matsumura to Tachibana Budo Gym. 

Yesterday was the Women's Team competition, while today would be the individual event. 

In the car, Harunaka came over surreptitiously and asked curiously, "Senpai, why were you not here yesterday?" Yesterday as Sakura Kyu High School's Women's Team clinched the first prize, Harunaka had enjoyed the cheers of a multitude for the first time. Standing in the middle of ground-shaking applause, she felt light and trippy. Of course, she did not forget about Momoi and Sugawara, who were rather good at Kendo as well. Although she felt like she was floating on air, she was not proud or complacent. 

However, what disappointed her was that Kimura Kazuki was not present yesterday. She had heard from Mr. Matsumura that he had taken leave due to some personal matters. 

The old her would have never inquired about Kimura Kazuki, but Harunaka felt that since she had made up her mind to work hard and close the gap between them, she had to approach him in their daily lives too. Otherwise, they might end up as strangers even after all her hard work, and that would defeat the purpose. 

Hence, Harunaka wished to be included in Kimura Kazuki's life. She hoped that she would be the first person he would think of under any circumstances and that she would be the first person he would call if he met with any trouble. 

"Something came up yesterday." Kimura Kazuki smiled but said nothing else. 

Disappointment flashed in Harunaka's eyes. Evidently, she was not of any importance to Kimura Kazuki. 

However, Harunaka's thoughts were, in fact, inaccurate. Kimura Kazuki was not intentionally hiding his problems, it was because Harunaka's abilities were still lacking. 

So what if he had told her? If she could not offer any help, knowing his problems would just add to her worries. 

If Harunaka's skills were at the Third Foundation State or above, he would have told her. After all, during the apocalyptic era, those at the Third Foundation State were considered stronger in battle. However, Harunaka was only at the beginning of her training. She would not be able to withstand a few rounds with those time-hardened demons. 

Very quickly, they all arrived at Tachibana Budo Gym. 

Today was the individual competition. It was the last event of the district qualifiers, and also the final day of the Tokyo District Qualifiers. 

As the individual event included both men and women, Harunaka had reason to stand beside Kimura Kazuki at this point. She looked at the audience in the arena, then at her senior and said, "Sure enough...your popularity is high. There weren't that many people in the crowd during the Women's Team event yesterday." Yesterday was crowded enough, but there were still empty spaces within the seats. But today's individual event was fully packed with every seat taken. It was shocking. "Hey! Kimura-san." Ikioi Ito was on the other side, so he greeted Kimura Kazuki when he saw him. Seeing that there was no response, he came over directly and said discontentedly, "I'm sure you saw me, why did you not greet me?" 

"Should I be waving and jumping around like a teenage girl, like you?" Kimura Kazuki ridiculed him in a rare moment, "I see you have moved on from Miss Mikami's incident and is no longer sad?" 

"Hehe... that b*tch." Ikioi Ito smirked in disdain and waved his hands, "I no longer believe in love. Maybe I should just wait for my dad to match make for me. My dad is a great judge of beauty, so his choices should be good." Upon saying this, he glanced at Harunaka and perked up, "This must be your girlfriend." 

What? Harunaka was initially watching Ikioi Ito curiously. This student from Aoe High School, who was defeated by Kimura Kazuki, had become his friend instead. His sudden remark made her blush. 

"Don't spew nonsense, Harunaka and I are just friends." 

"Oh..." How could they be friends when they are already addressing each other so intimately? Ikioi Ito smiled cheekily and said, "I understand!" 

"Director Ikioi Ito, it is your turn to compete." 

"Coming," Ikioi Ito replied quickly and said to Kimura Kazuki, "Mister Kimura, I'll have to leave first." 

"Go ahead."