My Girlfriend is an Evil Woman

“Sure!” Ono Yoko’s voice sounded more cheerful, but she immediately seemed a bit hesitant. “Is it okay?”

The television had been left behind by the previous tenant and wasn’t worth much as a bulky old model. Kitahara Hideji kept it around for occasional use, especially to confirm his location when he first arrived, making sure he hadn’t been transported to a world similar to Japan but still different. Now that the little girl wanted to watch, he didn’t object—it seemed like Ono Yoko wouldn’t voice her desires unless she really wanted something.

He smiled and turned on the TV, letting Ono Yoko choose a channel. There were commercials playing at the moment, featuring a group of leggy girls dancing with milk cartons. Kitahara Hideji sat down and absentmindedly held the shinai in his hand, practicing his grip.

In Kendo, the way of holding the shinai was with both hands, but not as many people would imagine—instead of holding it like a stick, it was more like one hand had a firm grip while the other only used two fingers to adjust the blade’s direction. This grip was entirely different from their usual habits, so it required extra practice. Kitahara Hideji’s arms were sore, so Suburi (swinging practice) was out of the question, but he didn’t want to waste time either, so he tried to adapt his hands to this strange grip as much as he could. However, he felt a bit out of sync, like his body wasn’t quite accustomed to the 【Ancient Swordsmanship】 skill yet, making his reactions seem delayed.

Ono Yoko glanced at the shinai but didn’t say anything. Although Kendo was a niche sport, it wasn’t that uncommon, and she quickly refocused her attention on the TV.

Kitahara Hideji smiled faintly. Kids loved watching TV, after all.

Using his left hand’s ring and little fingers, he lightly adjusted the shinai’s grip, allowing the blade to follow his thoughts. His eyes also turned towards the TV, curious about what show could captivate Ono Yoko like this—

In a tranquil park, a man and a woman embraced each other, the air filled with melodramatic tension.

“Hyakujirou-sensei, can we really be together?”

“Of course, nothing can stop us, R-chan! True love can overcome anything!”

“But we have such a big age difference, and you’re my teacher. This is a forbidden love! I’ll ruin your social life… No, no, I can’t do this! I’m sorry, teacher!” A high school girl dressed in a school uniform suddenly pushed away a handsome middle-aged man, covering her face as she ran away in tears. “I can’t do this, please let me leave you, please!”

“R-chan!” The man named Hyakujirou reached out his hands, yelling loudly!

But R-chan only covered her face and ran away in tears, and in the next scene, she was suddenly on the road. A car came rushing in at a speed of at least 180 kilometers per hour, almost taking off, and without even braking, it crashed into R-chan. She flew into the air like a skyrocket.

“Ah!! R-chan!!!” Hyakujirou screamed in agony, while R-chan soared in the air, creating a breathtakingly beautiful scene with cherry blossoms flying all around. Despite spewing blood like a fountain, she managed to half-open her eyes and whimper, “Ah, I love you, Hyakujirou-sensei!”

R-chan flew in the air for about a minute before finally crashing to the ground, complete with special effects, creating a cloud of smoke and a sound like a meteor falling. Hyakujirou magically teleported to her side, embracing her and crying in anguish, “R-chan, don’t leave me!”

R-chan responded, “Forget about me, Hyakujirou-sensei. I am an ill-fated woman!”

…

Suddenly, the dog inside the box barked, snapping Kitahara Hideji out of his daze. What on earth was this chaotic mess? I mean, how can a car accident turn someone into a skyrocket? Shouldn’t you call an ambulance if there’s an accident? Why are you wailing like that?

Ono Yoko’s eyes appeared slightly red, seemingly moved by the scene, but she reached over and covered the dog’s mouth, apologizing embarrassedly, “I’m sorry, Onii-san. I named it after the male lead in the show, and it thought the TV was calling it, so it started barking.”

“Oh, it’s okay. It’s already well-behaved… But Yoko, what’s this TV show about?”

Ono Yoko sniffed and looked at the male lead who seemed to be in unbearable pain as he mournfully pounded R-chan’s “body”—even a living person would have been beaten to death. The female lead was spraying blood as if it were free, and she explained with some emotion, “This is the nighttime drama called ‘R-chan, Go for It.’ It’s about a poor rural girl named R-chan who falls in love with the sole heir of a huge conglomerate, Hyakujirou. However, in the story, R-chan hasn’t discovered that Hyakujirou is actually worth trillions of yen and just thinks of him as a poor high school teacher. She fears holding him back from his bright future, so even though she loves him in her heart, she has to reject him, which is really touching.”

Kitahara Hideji fell silent for a moment. It’s true what they say about TV dumbing people down. He couldn’t get into this kind of show at all. He watched as Hyakujirou turned R-chan into a ragdoll before the ambulance arrived. After a moment of speechlessness, he closed his eyes and focused on feeling the different sword-grip techniques stored in his mind. Meanwhile, Ono Yoko held Hyakujirou tightly and continued watching the show attentively.

Kitahara Hideji rotated the shinai in his hand, experiencing the angles for different strikes.

Japan Ancient Swordsmanship was catalyzed by the wars of nearly a millennium, emphasizing simplicity and directness to swiftly defeat opponents on the battlefield. It consists mainly of two types of strikes: thrusting and slashing, divided into eight techniques:

1. Tōtake: A straightforward overhead strike.

2. Kesa-giri: A diagonal downward strike from the right.

3. Gyaku kesa-giri: A diagonal downward strike from the left.

4. Hidari Yoko-giri: A horizontal strike from the left.

5. Migi Yoko-giri: A horizontal strike from the right.

6. Hidari-kiriage: An upward diagonal strike from the left.

7. Migi-kiriage: An upward diagonal strike from the right.

8. Gyaku-fu: A vertical upward strike from below.

These eight slashing techniques, combined with thrusting, blocking, footwork, body movements, and martial skills, encompass the entirety of Japan Sword Technique, which has evolved from the Sword Technique of the Wuyue region during China’s Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods to its current form.

Through these techniques, one can imagine the magnificent scenes of a thousand people engaged in sword combat during the Wuyue era’s struggle for supremacy. Even the famous Ming dynasty general, Qi Jiguang, incorporated elements of Wuyue Sword Technique into his family’s saber techniques with considerable success.

Ancient Swordsmanship is based on the characteristics of Japan swords, utilizing their sharp edges to easily sever tendons and bones, incapacitating opponents quickly. This emphasis on precision makes Ancient Swordsmanship more reliant on accuracy rather than brute force, which is why the control of the sword is highly regarded. Additionally, due to the vulnerability of the thin blade, it is preferred to block with the back of the sword, making control even more critical—although in dire situations, one may abandon this rule, as breaking the blade is better than being killed.

In Ancient Swordsmanship, the sword is constantly rotating in the hand, making the rigid grip style unsuitable.

After a long period of contemplation, Kitahara Hideji finally opened his eyes and was surprised to find that Ono Yoko had fallen asleep. The nighttime drama had ended, and the news program was on. Ono Yoko curled up with Hyakujirou, emitting adorable and rhythmic breathing sounds, already deep in slumber. Hyakujirou, too, closed its dog eyes and remained still.

Kitahara Hideji looked at the peaceful and relaxed expression on Ono Yoko’s sleeping face and sighed softly. He retrieved a blanket from the closet and covered her with it. Hyakujirou opened its dog eyes, glanced at Kitahara Hideji, and licked the back of his hand in a friendly manner, seeking approval. However, Kitahara Hideji looked a little disgusted by the saliva wetting his hand…

He wondered if the dog was sick or something?