Isami Neruma: A student in his 3rd year of middle school (8th grade). His hobby is martial art trainging.

Isami Neruma (Neru) is a student at Kanze Junior high school. He is dreaming of becoming a martial artist like his grandfather, a great martial artist, who raised him and trained him. Isami has been training for his dream every single day.

One day, he wrote and submitted the document for his future course – being a great martial artist, but it was not accepted.

When Isami tried to throw the returned document away, his friend, Miki Okuto (Mikio) called him. Mikio told him to help a girl by using his martial arts. She was in trouble with two guys nearby.

The guys who was threatening the girl attacked Mikio and Neru. Neru kicked one of the guys and knocked him down. Neru had another purpose besides stopping the violence there.

He noticed the weapon the guy was holding.

“Is it a stick shuriken?” He was so excited!!

The guy tried to run away, but Neru wanted to hear from them so he followed the guy. Neru dropped something important.

The girl they saved was hiding in the back alley. She is Haiba Akebi. Mikio showed up to pick up something important to Neru. Akebi stopped Mikio and they started talking to each other. Mikio explained Neru’s life to Akebi.

Neru used to live in Kuruwadani which is far away from their high school and behind the mountain. Neru’s place with his grandfather had no life lines such as electricity, gas, or even water in the deep mountains. He was living a self-sufficient life while practicing Bugei with his grandfather. Four years ago, his grandfather suddenly disappeared. He is still missing. The only thing his grandfather left is a book about Bugei – Bugeisho. Neru called it a picture book and takes good care of it.

After hearing Neru’s story from Mikio, Akebi decided to visit Kuruwadani to wait for him.

In the meantime, Neru was seriously looking for his precious “picture book” that he dropped. He was running around to find it.

Since Neru was not coming home, Akebi started checking his house. She found so many masks and many scribblings of human shapes.

Neru was still looking for the picture book in the mountains. He recited parts of the book out loud.

Although he tried to be okay, losing his grandfather, who understood him well, was a hardship for him. He was wondering how to train even better to be stronger. He was trying as hard as others, but he felt that there was a big difference between them. He was wondering if he needs to belong to something to be strong.

I just want to catch up with my grandfather.

That’s his goal, but is it enough to master Bugei?

Neru was thinking, and then a girl with a mask showed up ── It was Akebi.

Akebi started talking while holding a Japanese sword.

What Akebi was telling him was a part of the picture book, Bugeisho, from his grandfather.

Right after Neru noticed it, Akebi threw the Japanese sword to him and jumped toward him.

Neru was trying to show her the results of his daily training and fought against her quick moves.

Neru lost to Akebi and he was knocked down by her.

He just told her.

Smiling Akebi told Neru,

2 days after the incident, Neru was brought to Amato Bugei Juu Happan High School for Bugei-ka on the 1800 meter high mountain in Amatodake.