With the Nine Schools Competition over, most students would return to sweating in club activities or fretting over first-semester grades. For Tatsuya, however, club duties were less a choice and more an obligation he couldn't escape.
"Men!"
"Your side's open!"
Appointed as the kendo club's interim captain until the summer break ended, Tatsuya juggled final checks on flight devices at FLT and training with the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion. In between, he found himself guiding the kendo club with a firm hand.
"Next!"
"Please!"
Sayaka, absent from club activities since the spring incident, had returned around June and was now a candidate for club captain. Her name was rising fast.
"Men! Men! Do!"
"Too many wasted movements! That's why you're out of breath so quickly."
Tatsuya parried all of Sayaka's attacks with ease, landing a clean strike to her faceguard.
"Men ari! Winner, Shiba!" a club member called.
"It's just practice, no need for scoring," Tatsuya said, brushing it off.
Private chatter during a kendo match was strictly forbidden, so this spar didn't count as an official bout anyway.
"Let's take a break. Everyone looks exhausted," Tatsuya announced.
His training regimen was grueling, tough even for average high schoolers.
"You're moving the most, so how are you still so calm, Shiba-kun?" Sayaka asked, half-exasperated.
"When you ask why… I'd say minimizing wasted movements reduces stamina drain," Tatsuya replied smoothly.
In truth, he endured far tougher routines, but he couldn't say that. Instead, he offered a plausible half-truth to deflect her question.
"There's a tournament after the break, right?" he continued. "If you can handle this regimen by then, you're guaranteed a top spot."
"By then, you won't be our interim captain anymore," Sayaka pointed out.
"Why did you guys even nominate me? Weapons aren't my specialty," Tatsuya said, genuinely curious.
After the spring incident, the girls—led by Sayaka—and the boys who'd witnessed Tatsuya's prowess had pushed for him to take the role. But he'd never asked why they thought he was qualified.
"Watching you move, we just thought, 'This guy's probably better than us even with weapons,'" Sayaka explained.
"I told you before, my expertise is hand-to-hand combat," Tatsuya countered. "You can't judge my weapons skill from that alone."
"Details, details! You're coaching us now, so it doesn't matter!" Sayaka said, waving off his protest.
"It feels like a pretty big detail…" Tatsuya muttered.
Deep down, he was already dreading the blizzard awaiting him at home—Miyuki, furious that her time with him was being stolen. Sayaka's insistence only added to his growing headache.
"Alright, next up—"
"What?! Break's over already?" Sayaka interrupted.
"It's been five minutes," Tatsuya said flatly.
To him, five minutes was more than enough rest. To the kendo club, however, it was barely a breather after his intense regimen.
"What kind of training do you usually do? Just curious," Sayaka asked.
"Something like this," a new voice answered.
"Tominotsume-senpai," Tatsuya acknowledged.
Tomoe Tominotsume, from the swordsmanship club, had been dropping by the kendo club to train under Tatsuya. She handed him a sheet detailing a typical training menu.
"I see… This is the swordsmanship clubtimism club's menu, isn't it?" Tatsuya noted.
"…How'd you know?" Tomoe asked, surprised.
"Kendo doesn't use magic," he replied simply.
The menu Tomoe provided included magic-based exercises, which wouldn't be part of a kendo regimen. Sayaka, peering over, was puzzled—those details shouldn't be obvious at a glance.
"I give up. You really are something, Shiba-kun," Tomoe said with a grin.
"Well, now I know the level of intensity. Thanks, Tominotsume-senpai," Tatsuya replied.
"You two seem pretty close…" Sayaka muttered, puffing out her cheeks in a sulky pout.
"Oh? Is Sayaka jealous that Shiba-kun's being stolen?" one club member teased.
"Sayaka, the kendo purist, jealous?" another chimed in.
"That's not it! Stop making things up!" Sayaka snapped, flustered.
"She's mad!" one laughed.
"Run for it!" another shouted.
"If you've got that much energy, how about five laps around the field?" Tatsuya said, his eyes narrowing.
"We'll train seriously!" the two teasers replied in unison, halting their escape to bow apologetically.
"Seriously, Shiba-kun and I aren't like that!" Sayaka protested.
"What about Kirihara, then?" someone asked.
"Kirihara-kun's like a little brother," Sayaka said. "Speaking of, Tominotsume-san, what's your deal with him?"
"Nothing. Just clubmates," Tomoe replied coolly.
Tatsuya watched the exchange, inwardly sighing. It's like watching an older sister fretting over her little brother being taken. Kirihara wasn't dating anyone, so he was free to be close with whomever he liked, but in that moment, Tatsuya felt a pang of sympathy for him.
"Alright, enough chatter. Let's resume. We're wasting time," Tatsuya said firmly.
"Wasting time?!" Sayaka began to protest, but she froze when she saw his eyes—cold, unamused. Those were the same eyes he'd turned on the terrorists in the library during the spring incident. Only Sayaka recognized them.
After practice, while Tatsuya was doing final checks for cleanup, Sayaka—who'd left earlier—returned.
"Forget something?" he asked.
"No, it's not that. I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't expect you to get that mad," she said.
"That mad?" Tatsuya echoed, puzzled.
"You know, those eyes. They were just like the ones you had when you faced the terrorists last spring."
"Oh, right. You were there, weren't you?" Tatsuya said, the memory clicking.
It hadn't been significant to him, so he'd forgotten Sayaka was at the scene. But her words jogged his recollection.
"If you hadn't stopped me back then, I wonder where I'd be now," she said softly.
"Who knows? Maybe in prison," Tatsuya replied, his tone light but sharp.
"Don't say scary things like that!" Sayaka shivered, genuinely unnerved.
The conversation stalled, her reaction cutting it short.
"Well, I'm heading home after locking up. You should head out soon too, Senpai," Tatsuya said, giving a casual wave as he started to walk away.
Miyuki was waiting at home, and he needed to appease her before she froze the furniture in a fit of pique. But Sayaka hadn't said what she came to say.
"Wait!" she called.
"Something else?" Tatsuya asked, turning back.
"If I win the kendo tournament…" Sayaka began, her voice faltering.
"The one after the break? Go on," Tatsuya prompted.
He had a vague sense of where this was going but wasn't kind or arrogant enough to assume. It could be a misunderstanding, so he waited for her to speak.
"If I win… go out with me!" she blurted, then bolted from the dojo at full speed.
Days later, Sayaka won the tournament and, to congratulations all around, they began dating. But as Miyuki and Mayumi offered their blessings, Tatsuya alone noticed their smiles didn't reach their eyes.
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