The invincible "Tiger of Fuyuki" had fallen.
Just a few seconds earlier, Shirou had still been staring blankly at the broken bamboo sword in his hand, wondering what had happened.
But he hadn't noticed the sly curve at the corner of Taiga Fujimura's lips.
She had deliberately handed Shirou a damaged bamboo sword.
From the very beginning, this was never meant to be a fair match.
And even that wasn't enough.
The instant Shirou raised an objection, Taiga Fujimura launched a surprise attack.
"No excuses! Only the weak make excuses! Hah!!!"
The ponytailed girl took a great step across the wooden floor, producing a heavy thud.
If her opponent had been an inexperienced beginner in kendo, the sheer force of that pressure alone would probably have frightened them so badly they would have fallen flat on the spot.
But Taiga Fujimura, hailed as an unbeatable swordswoman, possessed far more than mere presence.
Even while overwhelming her opponent with that crushing pressure, she moved with lightness and precision, instantly closing the distance between herself and Shirou and bringing down her bamboo sword in a flash.
It was a perfect fusion of technique and physical ability, all completed in a single instant.
Shirou was still standing there in a daze, completely bewildered, when the Tora-Shinai came crashing straight down at his head.
"..."
In the instant before the bamboo sword shattered, Shirou looked up.
He saw the smug smile on Taiga Fujimura's face.
"That's way too underhanded! I don't remember raising you to be that kind of child!"
Even her grandfather, who adored his granddaughter, couldn't stomach something that shameless and started yelling in outrage.
"Shut up, Raiga Fujimura! As long as I win, that's all that matters! As long as I win!"
Taiga Fujimura didn't care in the slightest, pouncing on the unarmed grade schooler like a fierce tiger.
"…I see."
Shirou's pupils widened slightly.
Giving the opponent a damaged weapon.
Launching a sneak attack that ignored the referee and the rules.
She had resorted to one despicable trick after another, all for the sake of securing absolute victory.
So this was the truth behind the invincible "Tiger of Fuyuki"?
No.
Taiga Fujimura's real intention… was probably to protect me.
To keep my pride from being hurt.
You were worried that if I lost in front of all these people, I'd never recover from it, so you deliberately played the clown and turned this into a farce?
You're really kind, Fujimura-san…
But it was unnecessary.
Because… I won't lose.
"Huh…?"
For some reason, Taiga Fujimura was staring at the dojo's wooden floor.
By the time she came to her senses, she found herself kneeling on the ground, with nothing in either hand.
What just happened?
I was just supposed to…
The girl looked around in confusion and saw that the yakuza lookalikes around the dojo, along with Raiga Fujimura, were all frozen with blank expressions of disbelief.
As for Shirou Amamiya, he was still standing where he had been, without taking any stance at all.
If anything had changed, it was only this: the Tora-Shinai was now in the boy's hands.
"Huh? Is this for real?"
Taiga Fujimura asked, staring blankly.
Even without asking, she already knew it was an undeniable fact.
The instant she launched her surprise attack, Shirou had casually taken her weapon away.
In Japanese martial arts, this is known as "Muto-dori," a legendary secret technique known to all… and now that legend had become reality.
She might not measure up to the famed swordmasters and saints recorded in history, but Taiga Fujimura was still an outstanding kendo practitioner of her time.
After that brief exchange, she clearly understood just how vast the gap between herself and Shirou really was.
So what if Taiga Fujimura was considered one of the strongest kendo prodigies of the modern era?
Compared to Shirou, who had fought his way through countless battles, the difference in both skill and experience was an unbridgeable gulf.
Not to mention, the thing Shirou had in greatest abundance was experience… especially fighting cunning and deceitful fairies. Tricks and cheap tactics simply wouldn't work on him.
"Thanks for the lesson, Fuji-nee."
Shirou politely handed the "Tora-Shinai" back to Taiga Fujimura.
"Ugh…"
Taiga Fujimura stepped back as if she had seen a real tiger, then let out a cry that echoed through the dojo.
"Ugh, ugh… uuuugh… I lost… I lost to an elementary school kid… uwaaaaaaaahhh!!"
The ponytailed girl collapsed onto the floor and burst into loud sobs.
"Ah…"
Shirou froze in shock. Oh no! He got carried away and made her cry!
He hurriedly looked toward Raiga Fujimura, only to see the old man hunching his shoulders as he led his yakuza clone army in an orderly retreat.
"Hey! Don't run away!"
"Shirou, listen carefully! If you make a girl cry, you have to take responsibility for it to the very end! That's what makes a real man!
"And as promised, I'll waive the interest on your debt."
After tossing out those words, Raiga Fujimura slipped away without a trace.
By the time Shirou finally managed to calm Taiga Fujimura down, two hours had passed.
"Want to go another round?"
Shirou suggested, secretly deciding to hold back properly this time.
But the girl refused. Taiga Fujimura had clearly experienced firsthand just how wide the gap between them was.
Though she seemed carefree—and in many ways truly was—she also had her more thoughtful side.
In any case, that was how Shirou came to know the Fujimura Group.
Every so often, Raiga Fujimura would call him over to his house, where he'd receive small gifts like fruit and dried persimmons as tokens of appreciation.
Sometimes, the old man would also use the excuse of having Shirou help repair his heavy motorcycle to give him what, for an elementary schooler, counted as a huge amount of pocket money.
...
...
A few weeks later.
Shirou once again visited the Fujimura Group's office.
This time, the yakuza clone guarding the entrance greeted him warmly from afar and stepped aside without hesitation.
"Grandpa Raiga, I'm here."
"You're here, Shirou. Come in, come in."
The one who opened the door for him was a girl with a smooth ponytail.
"Fuji-nee, you're here too? If your classmates see you coming in and out of the office, it might start some bad rumors, you know?"
"What's the problem? If that happens, we'll just use the group's influence to settle it~ Oh, want some rice crackers?"
"Yeah."
He sat down on the sofa and picked up a rice cracker from the fruit plate, only to notice the old man and his granddaughter sitting upright across from him with unusual seriousness.
"What's with the sudden formality?"
Taiga Fujimura folded her arms into the sleeves of her kimono and gestured toward the documents on the table with her chin.
"Shirou, take a look at this."
Shirou picked them up and saw that they were aerial blueprints of a residence.
Judging from the plans, it was a spacious, fully equipped Japanese-style mansion.
Shirou frowned.
"What's this?"
Taiga Fujimura leaned in close with a smile.
"Shirou, haven't you been staying at the Matou family's place lately, looking for a house around Miyama Town?"
…
Ps. In earlier settings, Taiga Fujimura's swordsmanship was officially stated to be on par with Shiki Ryougi.
However, as Type-Moon's power scaling has expanded, the latest setting places Shiki Ryougi's swordsmanship at the level of a "Sword Saint," capable of taking down six Taigas in a single strike.