The Champion Carnival boxing finals, which Yoshiyuki Kujo was so eager to see, were being held at Tokyo's Korakuen Hall.
For a boxing enthusiast, the afternoon's lightweight final was an event that simply couldn't be missed. By the time the Kujo family arrived with Hayashi Shuichi and Reiko, a long, winding queue had already formed at the ticket office, despite the match being several hours away.
"So many people," Kotonai Kujo remarked, her brow furrowing as she took in the crowd. "How long are we going to be stuck waiting in this line?"
"Don't worry, I came prepared," Yoshiyuki said with a triumphant grin. He pulled a few tickets from his wallet and gave them a cheeky wave. "I had someone buy these for me well in advance."
"There are still a few hours before the match starts," Kotonai noted, glancing at her watch. "Why don't we take a stroll through the Koishikawa Korakuen Garden nearby?"
Since his wife had agreed to accompany him to a boxing match, Yoshiyuki wasn't about to argue. He gallantly took her handbag, and the family set off down the tree-lined path toward the historic garden.
Koishikawa Korakuen was built during the Edo period. Tokugawa Yorifusa, the first lord of the Mito Tokugawa branch, had received the land from the Shogunate and began the meticulous process of designing the estate. The garden was completed under the supervision of the second lord, Tokugawa Mitsukuni.
Following the advice of his friend Zhu Shunshui—a scholar and refugee from the fallen Ming Dynasty—Mitsukuni named the garden "Korakuen." The name was inspired by a famous line from the Chinese poet Fan Zhongyan: "Be the first to worry about the world's woes, and the last to enjoy its pleasures."
The garden was a masterpiece of the kaiyu-shiki (strolling) style, centered around a large pond with artificial hills and winding water features. Incorporating Chinese landscapes like the "Full Moon Bridge" and the "West Lake Embankment" under Zhu Shunshui's guidance, it possessed a unique, cross-cultural charm.
It was also one of Tokyo's premier spots for cherry blossom viewing. Shuichi had visited several times as a child with his aunt and uncle, so the terrain was familiar to him.
After entering through the West Gate, Kotonai—wearing high heels—soon found herself tiring. She sat down on a bench to rest, accompanied by Yoshiyuki. Reiko, however, was far too energetic to sit still. She grabbed Shuichi's hand and pulled him deeper into the greenery.
The siblings wandered along the stone-paved paths until they reached the edge of a pond. A narrow stone embankment, barely a meter wide, stretched across the water. This was the "Seiko-no-tsutsumi."
As the name suggested, the embankment was a miniature replica of the famous Su Causeway at West Lake in Hangzhou, China. Its stone bridges were tiny and delicate. Shuichi stood at the water's edge, watching the reflection of the blue sky and white clouds shimmer on the surface. He felt he finally understood the melancholy of that Ming scholar, Zhu Shunshui.
Unable to return to his homeland, the man had sought to recreate its beauty here, finding a small measure of comfort in these familiar sights.
On a previous visit, Shuichi had explained the history of the garden to Reiko. Looking at the miniature embankment now, the little girl couldn't help but dream of the real thing. She rested her chin in her hands, her eyes wide with curiosity.
"Onii-chan, what does the real West Lake look like?"
"Well, it's many times more magnificent than this," Shuichi replied, imagining the vast, mist-covered waters of the actual lake. "After all, the real causeway is built across a massive lake, not just a small pond."
"Onii-chan, let's go see the real one together someday, okay?" Reiko looked up at him with a face full of longing. "The scenery there must be so much more beautiful."
"Alright. When you're older, we'll go," Shuichi promised with a smile.
The siblings were about to continue their walk when they heard a young boy's voice behind them.
"Korakuen, West Lake, Mount Lu... why are all the names here so weird? Kenji, do you know why?"
"How should I know?" another boy replied. He had droopy, willow-shaped eyes and semi-long hair. He shook his head. "It's my first time here, too."
"Chihaya-nee, do you know?" the first boy asked, turning to a girl about Reiko's age.
The girl had her hair tied in a high ponytail and wore a light blue short-sleeved shirt and trousers. She was focused intently on a guide map. "I think it's because everything here is modeled after China," she said, her voice a bit uncertain. "So the names follow the places over there."
"China?" the curly-haired boy echoed, looking confused. "Why would Tokyo copy things from China?"
"Stupid Jinpei," the boy with the willow eyes teased, swaying his head. "The 'China' Nee-san is talking about is clearly the country across the sea!"
The exchange was so innocent that Reiko couldn't help but giggle.
Hearing the laughter, the boy named Jinpei felt his pride take a hit. His face flushed red, and he barked back, "If Chihaya-nee hadn't said anything, you wouldn't have known either, Kenji! What gives you the right to call me stupid?!"
The two boys began to bicker, and before long, the argument evolved into a challenge: they would race to see who was "smarter." The chosen racetrack was the one-meter-wide "West Lake Embankment."
The beautiful girl named Chihaya tried to stop them, but before she could get a word out, the two mischievous boys had already bolted onto the narrow stone path. She could only chase after them, her voice rising in worry.
"You two, be careful! Watch out, don't fall in!"
The warning had barely left her lips when disaster struck.
The stones of the embankment were still slick from the previous night's rain. The boy with the willow eyes—Kenji—slipped. With a sudden yelp, he lost his balance and tumbled sideways into the pond.
He clearly didn't know how to swim. He thrashed violently in the water, his small arms flailing wildly and sending plumes of spray into the air.
Jinpei, who had been competing with him just seconds ago, immediately forgot the race. He dropped to his knees at the edge of the embankment, desperately reaching out to grab his friend, but he was too small and his arms were too short.
"Kenji!"
Chihaya screamed, her face turning deathly pale as she reached the edge. Her brother's frantic struggling was only pushing him further from the shore, and he was beginning to sink. Panic seized her, and she prepared to jump in herself.
Suddenly, a loud splash echoed through the garden.
A teenager, several years older than them, had already sliced through the air and into the water.
It was, of course, Hayashi Shuichi.
He swam with powerful strokes toward the boy, hooked an arm firmly around his waist, and pulled him back toward the embankment.
"Over here!"
The girl with the ponytail knelt at the water's edge, her hands trembling as she helped pull her soaking-wet brother onto the stones.
"Kenji isn't moving... is he...?" Jinpei's voice cracked, tears welling in his eyes as he shook his friend's shoulder.
"No! Kenji will be fine!" Chihaya cried, frantically patting her brother's cheek, her own tears beginning to fall.
"Onii-chan, he...?" Reiko ran over, looking at the limp boy with terror.
"Don't panic, he still has a pulse," Shuichi said. He knelt on one knee, flipped the boy over, and draped him across his lap facedown. He began to rhythmically and firmly pat the boy's back.
One hit, two... finally, the boy let out a wet, hacking sound and vomited a large amount of pond water.
Between his violent coughs, the deathly pallor of his cheeks slowly began to fade, replaced by a faint, healthy flush of color.
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