Nazca (時空転抄ナスカ)

Excuse me! Pardon me!

Begin!

Uh..are you all right?

Be more careful! Mr. Wild Boar!

Huh?

Well uh... !

I...l'm very sorry!

Unbelievable...

Kyoji!

Master!

You over slept again?

I'm sorry I'm late!

How's the first round going?

It's almost done.

You won?

All right!!

I'm so sorry. I must be really late.

Thanks for coming. You must have been busy.

Tate, this is your big game. So I postponed the deadline for my article.

Oh! It's you!

Sorry about before...

You both know each other?

We bumped each other at the train station.

Here, you for got this.

Oh my god! What was I thinking? Thank you.

Next to your life, that sword is the most important thing, eh?

Well, I was in a hurry.

Let me properly introduce both of you.

This is my friend and kendo disciple, Mr. Miura.

Kyoji Miura. Nice to meet you.

Yuka Kiritake, I'm a freelance journalist. Although, I just started.

And uhm, she is also my fiancee.

What?! I never knew you were engaged!

True love is always a mystery.

What?

The second round is starting soon. Could you please escort Yuka?

Shall we?

Uh, yeah.

Head!

Head Strike! Game point!

He did it! Perfect!

Now he's made it to the semifinals.

There will be a 15 minute break before the semifinal round.

Uh, Yuka, would you like something to drink?

No thanks. I'm all right.

Well then, I'll be right back...

Huh?

Daimon! What the hell are you doing? You scared me!

You broke your own rule about being on time...

Now you leave a beautiful girl all by herself...? You really are an idiot!

It's not like that! Her name is Yuka Kiritake...

she's Tate's fiancee!

She's Tate's?

Ah, now it all makes sense. The two of you were so mismatched...

it looked like beauty and the beast.

What do you mean by beast!? Take it back!

A...all right! I'll take back the beast. How about "wild animal"?

Go some place else if you two want to fool around.

Well, it's my high-school kendo rival, Shinri Shiogami!

Ah, Miura. What a shame. You're still an unworthy opponent.

That bastard!

So that's the demon swordsman of high school kendo, Shinri Shiogami?

He likes using the name Shinri, because it means "god of death".

His sword skill is incredible,...

but he uses illegal attacks to deliberately injure people.

Do you think you could beat him?

I'd never want to lose to him!

Ladies and Gentlemen, we are about to begin the semifinal round.

I got to get back!

Head!

The final two competitors are Nishiwaki and Tate.

The winner will represent Tokyo in the Japan national tournament .

Bow!

Begin!

Forearm! Head!

Whew...that was close.

Don't!

That sword technique...l must have it!

Doctor!

This is just a nightmare...

This is just me, having a nightmare...

Today, a strange accident occurred at a Kendo tournament held in Tokyo.

During the final round Of the tournament,...

4th ranked Tate struck 5th ranked Nishiwaki's breastplate...

with an unusual stroke that cut the breastplate...

squarely in half and broke four of Nishiwaki's ribs.

That's incredible!

It's really looks like he cut it with a sharp sword.

Oh! You're back, big brother.

You must've seen it. The breastplate cut in two pieces. His broken ribs!

I saw it, but I still can't believe it.

Despite his victory, Masanari Tate declined the invitation...

to represent Tokyo in the National Championships.

What?! How could he turn it down?

Tate sensei could certainly win the national championship!

He injured a person. Of course he would decline the invitation.

But what a waste!

He has the nobility to choose...

good sportsmanship rather than the crown of victory.

Kyoji should only learn from Tate's good example, right?.

I saw it...l clearly saw it with my eyes...

That was not a dream.

Here is...the proof it wasn't...

I was on duty today, so I was the first person to come to school.

Then I saw these TV cameras all lined up!

Rena, maybe you will get discovered as a TV Star!

I couldn't believe it when I saw it on TV.

Because he's really a strange looking, effeminate man.

He's both the art teacher, and the adviser for that loser Kendo club...

That makes me think there's something fishy about him.

What do you mean by fishy?

N...nothing.

Hey! Kyoji. You must have seen the tournament.

There were so many TV reporters here covering Tate's story, just before.

Wha...?

Hey wait, Kyoji!

Oh there you are.

I have to get to the teacher's room.

Tate's not there.

Huh?

I heard the school got a call from him, asking for a leave of absence.

I stopped by his place this morning. He wasn't there.

Disappeared...hmm?

People think he acted like a fiend. The media is in a frenzy.

That's stupid! The match was ruled as perfectly fair. You were there.

I saw it. But I still can't believe what I saw.

How did you see it?

How?

Tell me exactly the way you saw it.

Well...

Nishiwaki tried to do...

a forward stroke to the head like this...

Tate moved quickly, and struck the breastplate with a follow through.

And at that moment, did Tate look different to you?

Not really...

But I felt a strong spirit from him. A shiver ran down my spine...

when I saw Tate's eyes through his mask.