anko power

Met Kiyokawa and Iwata-chan in Azabu-jyuban, had some shaved ice, and we all came back to my house to cut.
Unlike last week, Kiyokawa and I were in fine form; nailed just about every cut smooth as silk. Verdict: it's all about the anko. In the summer, anko and green tea flavoring on shaved ice, in the winter, anko-stuffed tai-yaki. Whatever the form, anko is the power that makes the sword cut!
In the evening we had class in Nihonbashi, and Tanaka-sensei showed up to basically grovel. Seems that without the Akabane students, there's no way they can even make enough money from monthly dues to run their own dojo. Niina-gosoke, out of the goodness of his own heart, decided to 'loan' Akabane to them for as long as necessary. Now ordinarily, if one of your top students goes to open his own dojo without your consultation or consent, you ask for him to kill himself and, if that's not possible, you send someone to see to it. However Niina-gosoke is considerably more forgiving, and knowing that Tanaka-sensei is not the brightest of bulbs, is doing everything he can to help out.