Chapter 30 – The Real Game
The clubroom felt different today.
Kotarō stepped in after the final bell. There were no raised voices, no flying paper balls or mock debates happening mid-lunch. Just the clatter of binders opening, pages flipping, and chairs scraping the floor into a semicircle.
Souta was fencing with a rolled-up schedule sheet. Mikako was highlighting a thick handout with deadly precision. Haruka stood near the whiteboard, flipping through a debate manual.
Kotarō sat down quietly.
Mikako dropped a heavy binder in front of him.
"Hope you like fine print and frustration," she said. "Today's the real stuff. No more school-made Frankenstein formats."
Haruka turned from the board.
"If you want to take this seriously," she said, "you need to know what actual English debate sounds like."
"This isn't just prep anymore.
It's scouting the battlefield."
"Let's start with the basics," Mikako said, clicking a marker open.
She wrote in big, block letters: HEnDA and WSDC.
"These are the formats used in official competitions.
Most Japanese high schools use HEnDA. International teams use WSDC. Both are... intense."
Souta raised a finger. "Also: fun. Like, heart-pounding, mind-frying, unreasonably enjoyable fun."
Mikako ignored him.
HEnDA (High School English Debate Association - Japan)
3 speakers per team (Government vs. Opposition)Speech Order: Government 1st Speaker Opposition 1st Speaker Government 2nd Speaker Opposition 2nd Speaker Government 3rd Speaker Opposition 3rd SpeakerSpeech Time: 4 minutes (5 in finals)No POIs (Points of Information)Judging Criteria (100 pts total): Logic & Structure (30) Strategy & Relevance (25) Fluency & Language (20) Team Coordination (15) Responsiveness (10)
"This is the standard for nationals in Japan," Mikako said. "It's more rigid than WSDC, but cleaner."
WSDC (World Schools Debating Championships)
3 main speakers + 1 reply speakerSpeech Time: 8 minutes + 4-minute reply speechPOIs allowed (questions asked during another team's speech, between minutes 1 and 7)More theatrical and strategic in flow
Souta jumped in:
"This is where things get spicy.
Interruptions. Closings. Real-time pressure."
Haruka added:
"It rewards adaptability.
You need structure, but also charisma. And quick thinking."
"Everything Ayumu did...
It was WSDC, wasn't it?"
"Your final match?" Mikako said. "That was closer to WSDC than HEnDA.
The committee panicked and patched together a mess, but Ayumu... he played like he'd been trained for this."
Souta made a rectangle with his fingers like framing a movie poster.
"Structure of a machine. Smile of a villain."
Haruka smirked. "You say that like it's a compliment."
Kotarō listened. Quiet. Focused. His pen moved faster than usual.
"They're breaking it down like chess. Like language is a weapon set. And I've been fencing with a spoon."
As the whiteboard filled with arrows and speaker roles, the tone shifted.
Mikako leaned on the edge of a desk.
"We're sending a team to an invitational next month," she said. "Official HEnDA format. Real judges. Real opponents."
Souta nodded. "We're running internal mock tournaments weekly until then. WSDC-style. Full time. POIs, reply speeches, everything."
Haruka looked at Kotarō.
"If you want to fight Ayumu again... this is the road."
Kotarō didn't answer immediately. He flipped to a new page in his notebook. Drew the speaker layout again from scratch.
"No more school-made shortcuts.
No more surprise formats. Real rules. Real rounds.
And no excuses."
Chapter End