Kazuki's POV
I stood quietly in the middle of the dojo, rolling my shoulders as I tried to get used to the training armor called bōgu.
I wasn't particularly fond of it.
It felt heavy.
And the stares from the girls weren't making it any better.
"How does it feel?" Murayama-san asked as she held her men beneath one arm.
"Not particularly comfortable," I admitted, shifting my shoulders. "It's my first time wearing one."
"Your first time?" She tilted her head. "I thought you had experience in kendo."
"I don't," I replied, bringing the shinai closer to my shoulder. "I just learned the way of the stick. Not kendo."
"Well..." She put on her men before taking her stance. "I'm not going easy on you just because you're an amateur, Sakuragi-kun."
"I hope you don't, Murayama-san."
I spread my feet apart, my right foot slightly forward while my left stayed behind. Holding the shinai with only my right hand, I rested it horizontally beneath my right shoulder while raising my left hand slightly in front of me.
This was my stance.
"Pfft..."
A quiet laugh escaped my opponent.
Several girls watching from the sidelines couldn't help laughing as well.
"What's with that stance, Sakuragi-kun?" Murayama-san asked. "That's not a standard kendo stance."
Eh?
What's wrong with it?
"That stance leaves your front completely open... and your left side as well," Murayama-san explained. "You really are an amateur."
"I just said so..."
Murayama-san didn't answer as she calmly took a step forward.
Then another.
Her shinai remained steady as her eyes never left mine.
...
She stopped.
Eh? Why did she stop?
........................................
Murayama's POV
What's going on...?
His stance is full of openings...
So why does it feel like every one of them is a trap?
The closer I got, the stronger that feeling became.
He's waiting.
Waiting for me to strike first... then he'll deflect it and counter.
My instincts warned me to not attack recklessly.
........................................
3rd Person POV
Kazuki seemed to think she was taking too long.
Deciding not to wait any longer, he made the first move.
Pushing off his back foot, he rushed forward and swung his shinai from the right.
Murayama reacted instantly.
Clack!
The moment their shinai met, Kazuki pivoted to his left, slipping off the line instead of contesting her strength.
Murayama immediately answered with a sweeping upward slash.
Rather than retreating, Kazuki rotated around his lead foot once more, his body narrowly avoiding the strike as his shinai came back around in a counter.
Clack!
The sharp crack of bamboo echoed throughout the dojo.
Murayama blocked it.
"Wow..." Kazuki let out a low whistle. "You're quick, Murayama-san."
"Are you a dancer or something?!" Murayama blurted out.
The momentum behind Kazuki's strike was enough to push Murayama back a little.
She immediately planted her right foot, stabilizing herself before pushing forward with all her strength.
Instead of meeting her strength head-on, Kazuki used that momentum to disengage.
He pivoted, spinning to his right and moving toward the side where Murayama held her shinai.
The sudden change of angle forced her to readjust the position of her shinai before she could launch another attack.
That brief moment was all Kazuki needed.
He stepped in.
His shinai struck the side of her neck.
Murayama staggered before dropping to one knee.
"Captain!"
Katase and several of the girls rushed to Murayama's side, but she simply raised a hand, stopping them.
"...I'm alright."
"Murayama-san!" Kazuki called out as he hurried over. "I'm sorry. I hope I didn't hit you too hard."
"No, it's alright, Sakuragi-kun."
She stood up before gently tapping him on the top of his head with her shinai.
"Besides..." A faint smile appeared on her face. "The neck isn't a legal target in kendo."
"Eh, really?"
"I win, Sakuragi-kun."
Kazuki rubbed the spot where she had tapped him.
"Ah... I guess this is why I should've learned the rules first."
He let out a quiet sigh.
"I lost, huh..."
Murayama chuckled before taking off her helmet and Kazuki did the same.
It had been a short match, yet beads of sweat were already visible on both of them.
"I still feel bad for hitting you that hard, Murayama-san."
"Eh, you don't have to." She waved a hand dismissively. "Something like this is normal for me—"
She suddenly winced, instinctively clutching the side of her neck where Kazuki had struck.
"Yeah," Kazuki said with an awkward smile. "I think an apology is still appropriate. I'll treat you to some ice cream after school if you don't mind."
Murayama blinked, "...Wouldn't it make more sense to treat my injury first?"
"I don't know how," Kazuki admitted honestly. "But I can at least accompany you to the nurse's office to make sure it's nothing serious."
He scratched the back of his head.
"And after that... let me treat you to some ice cream."
Murayama stared at him for a moment before letting out a helpless laugh.
"...You're a strange guy, Sakuragi-kun."
By the time Murayama returned from the nurse's office, she had already changed out of her bōgu and back into Kuoh Academy's regular school uniform.
A small bandage was now visible on the side of her neck where Kazuki's shinai had struck.
Rather than heading home, she quietly waited near the school gate.
"...I wonder how long he'll take."
"Oh my~"
A familiar, gentle voice called out from behind her.
Murayama immediately turned around.
"E-eh? Himejima-senpai?!"
Standing there was Akeno Himejima, smiling as warmly as ever.
"My, my~" Akeno giggled. "You look surprised to see me, Kaori-chan."
"It's just... I-I wasn't expecting one of Kuoh Academy's divas to suddenly talk to me, Himejima-senpai."
With a playful smile, Akeno lightly flicked Murayama's forehead.
"Ouch..."
"It's Akeno-senpai for you."
Murayama instinctively rubbed the spot, earning another amused chuckle from Akeno.
"So," Akeno asked, her violet eyes drifting toward the school gate, "are you waiting for someone?"
"Y-Yeah..."
Before Murayama could say anything else, a familiar figure appeared in the distance, walking toward the school gate with his school bag slung over one shoulder.
Both girls noticed him at the same time.
"Kazu-kun!" Akeno called out, happily waving her hand.
"Sakuragi-kun!" Murayama called as well, raising her hand toward him.
"...Huh?"
The two girls froze before slowly turning to look at each other.
"..."
"..."
"You're waiting for him?" they asked simultaneously.
A short distance away, Kazuki came to an abrupt stop.
His eyes shifted between the two girls waiting for him at the school gate.
A single thought crossed his mind.
"...Why do I suddenly have the urge to run away?"