This past week she's been training her body desperately, to improve her pathetic physique. in the morning before going to school she train herself by jogging around the neighborhood, ever since last saturday she's been waking up at 5 am if not earlier, the result she's been able to improve her stamina. On the first day she's training, she's only able to run for 10 minute before she finally loses her breath, but today she's able to jog for more than 15 minutes. When you think about it, the feat that she pulled back last saturday is quite impressive. When she was in school she trained herself by being her bully's gopher, usually it took her 10-15 minutes to fulfill her task, but now she's able to trim the time into 5-10 minutes, the result being that they increase her workload….. When she finally arrived home she spent her time training her strength, through perseverance she managed to do 10 push ups in one go…. with inclines. The result might not be that impressive, but an improvement no matter how little is still an improvement.
She can do much better in the strength department, but the time and equipment that she has is quite limited. Other than training she also needs to spend some of her time studying if she still wants to reconsider Ojo as a viable option. To train her muscles properly, of course she needed training equipment, yet at the moment she doesn't even have a dumbbell. Forget about dumbbells, her number one priority for now is to buy the ball first. She never played american football before so she wanted to at least familiarize herself with handling the ball. Since she still doesn't have the ball, all she can do is train her physique.
Today is Saturday, just because it's the weekend doesn't mean she can slack off from training. She woke up at 5 am, notified her parents, then she went outside for her jogging session. Usually she's only going to run around the area of her neighborhood, but this time she decided to run toward the river where she met that man.
'Hopefully i can meet him today'
She doesn't know if she'll be able to meet him today, she can only hope he doesn't change his jogging route and schedule. The motivation behind her decision to meet up with the man is because she felt bad for being rude last time she met him. She wanted to apologize for doing something so rude to someone she met for the first time.
'I hope I can meet him today so I can challenge him again….. NO! I need to meet him so i can apologize properly for being rude last week'
Motivated by her guilt she increased the speed of her run, faster than the pace she usually did when she was jogging around her neighborhood.
Sena has been waiting for more than 10 minutes, while waiting she's been doing jumping jack, burpee and high knees to keep her warm in this cold air. After waiting that long she's beginning to think that maybe the man she's been waiting for isn't going to come after all, the probability of him using the same track at the same time ain't that high to begin with. She's about to leave because the likelihood of her meeting him here is quite low. She hasn't yet given up on meeting him though, she'll come back again next week in the same spot.
'Haah… meeting him today is no more than a faint hope after all, but i can try again next week then maybe he'll use this route by that time WAIT! ISN'T THAT HIM?!'
Coincidentally when Sena was about to go home, she spotted Shin jogging toward her direction. Caught off guard by Shin's sudden appearance, she's baffled on what she needs to do.
'Get yourself together Sena, all you have to do is apologize HIIII! WHY HE'S RUNNING TOWARD ME?!'
Sena's plan to apologize is thrown away, when looking at the man in front of her accelerates his speed. Scared of what will happen to her, she decides to dodge the man coming her way. Normally when someone bigger and stronger is chasing after you, the best thing to do is run toward the opposite direction, but Sena as if approving her death warrant running toward her pursuer. Focusing her sight and her mind she's trying to find the best route to dodge her pursuer.
'I can't find it, they're all closed'
Sena realizes the decision to approach her pursuer is a mistake, this man has come prepared. If she tried to sidestep to his side, his arm would surely catch her. The small street beside the river isn't big enough for Sena to shake off her pursuer. Knowing all the routes are closed she took a step back. But her effort to escape by backing off is futile since her pursuer has extended his arm that strike at the right side of her ribs
"KHUH'
Sena fell backward after receiving the strike, her hands clenching around the area where she had been striked. Finding it difficult to breathe, she can't even let out a scream of pain. For a sheltered girl like Sena this is the first time someone ever strikes her this hard. The feeling of pain is something to be expected, but there are 2 kinds of feelings she didn't expect, joy and restlessness.
The joy isn't caused by the strike she's receiving, she's not a masochist, if she can avoid being hurt she will. The joy she's feeling right now is caused by the exchange she just did, fighting against a proper opponent far more skilled than her, igniting the dopamine within her. The adrenaline is more than enough to make her forget about the pain
The restlessness she's feeling is certainly caused by her defeat. She's quite confident in her speed, but her speed alone isn't enough for her to pass the man in front of her. She's more aware than she was before on how lacking her stat is. She feels like a fool for thinking the improvement she made in a week is satisfactory. 'If only i've train how to bump maybe i can strike him before he strike me', if only i train my arms more maybe i can block his attack', 'if only i train myself sooner maybe i'll have more option to face off against him' unending what ifs keeps on attacking her minds, the regret of not doing enough brings a tear to her eyes.
'There's no use in regretting the thing i didn't do in the past, it just means i need to do more in the future right' encouraging herself she's able to wipe out the regret of not having done more.
Without her realizing the man starts walking toward her, she only realized it when he's only 1 yards away from her.
'HIIIEE WHAT IS HE GONNA DO TO ME' all kinds of horror comes up in her minds, what's worse she can't move her body, since she's still gasping for air
Her worry instantly disappears when the man extends his hand to help her stand up.
"Sorry i tried to hold back my power but it seems like i tackled you too hard" saying his apology shin still keep his composure around the girl in front of him
"N-no i-i sh-should be the one to need to say sorry for being rude last week" struggling to talk properly due to the lack of air in her lungs, she managed to express her apology with her head bowing towards the man in front of her.
"I don't really mind. What's your name and which team you're playing for?" shrugging last week incident, shin proceed to ask Sena the question he's been wanting to know
"My name is Sena kobayakawa you can call me Sena because kobayakawa is hard to spell and uhm…. I'm not playing for any team at the moment but i wish to join one as soon as i enter highschool" Sena suspicion regarding the man is on point, she suspects that he is an american football athlete, hence explaining her reaction when she saw him last week.
'It's strange isn't he supposed to be angry, it's not like i can tell what he is thinking with his stoic expression not giving me any hints at all'
"But you used to play in a team right?"
'that's the only way to explain the sharpness in her run, and how she handled my tackle'
Sena managed to dodge shin tackle the first time and this time she almost dodge his tackle by stepping back, but since her speed to the back is slower when she's stepping forward shin still manages to tackle her. When Shin said he held back his strength it's only a half truth. At first he wanted to hold back when he struck her, considering how small her body is. Shin doesn't want to inflict injury toward her, but when Sena stepped back shin decided to strike her with his normal speed if not she'll be able to dodge his hand.
"Uhm… no i only learned about american football until recently" technically speaking she only knows about american from last week. Strangely she has american football knowledge like rule, position, technique even though she doesn't know about it before.
'Someone who knew about the sport until recently managed to get past me….' it's hard for him to believe it. Even none of his senpai can't pass through him, how come a newbie could. Shin is not someone who puts himself on a high pedestal, but his evaluation is objective, when it comes to physique and technique he considered himself above average for an athlete his age. Thoroughly looking at her trying to evaluate her objectively, it makes sense, with that kind of body she can't be an american football athlete. But her speed is phenomenal, there's probably only a handful of people who can reach that speed.
Her speed and her ability to pass him isn't the reason why he is convinced that she is an athlete, her ferocity is. The ferociousness that he felt last week is so intense, and it's not something that normal people can emit naturally. When he talks to her normally like this, she appears to be harmless and docile. It's hard to believe this small and docile girl is the same beast lunging at him last week.
"E-excuse me…. May I know your name and what team you belong to?"
The question surprises Shin even more than knowing she's not an American football athlete. If she doesn't know who he is then why is she charging at him as if she already knew Shin is an american football athlete. He still can't figure the reasoning behind her action, yet he decided to answer anyway.
"The name is Shin Seihjuro, why do you want to know my team" he answer her question partly
"Uhh…. i'm kinda having a hard time deciding on which high school i need to join in order for me to play football" scratching the back of her neck she answered truthfully the motives behind her question.
"I'm a linebacker for Ojo white knight"
'So she's asking because she wants to join our team. it's understandable, if she wanted to join the team of someone who's able to stop her. With enough training she'll become a key player within Ojo white knight. With her on the team, defeating shinryuuji or teikoku is no longer out of the question. But somehow i'm against the idea of her joining the team'
"So you're an Ojo highschool student…. Thank you for the information Shin-san, now i'm convinced more than ever i'll have to join Deimon american football team"
'!' surprises after surprises come out every time she opens her mouth. Shin misinterprets her asking about his team as her wanting to join his team. It turns out she doesn't want to join Ojo, what's more the team she wants to join is Deimon out of all teams. Strength wise Ojo far outclasses Deimon on every aspect, with only 2 permanent members inside it she'll have a hard time playing american football properly.
"To be honest Shin-san i've been having a hard time deciding which school to enter between Ojo or Deimon, but after knowing you're playing for Ojo, i'm convinced Deimon is a much better option"
'WHAT?! The reason why she decided to join Deimon is because I belong to Ojo…. Maybe i gave her a bad impression after striking her 2 times without hesitation'
"So you don't want to join Ojo because i play for them" trying to confirm his suspicion he asked Sena
"YES!" Sena answer enthusiastically while nodding her head
"I guess you don't want to join a team of someone who tried to tackle you twice without hesitation"
"Hmm?" tilting her head to the side, Sena can't fathom why shin said what he just said
'OOOOHHH! I AM SO STUPID' she realized the way she told shin make it seem as if she doesn't want to enter Ojo because she's avoiding shin.
"NO SHIN-SHAN! I th-think you misunderstood the reason why i decided to join demon instead of Ojo, it's not like i don't want to play in the same team as you, i just want to play with you as the opponent" Sena said with panic in her voice while flailing her hands around like usual.
"I'm sure playing in the same team with you would be fun, but i think it would be more fun when i played american football with you as my opponent"
'Aw…. I'm sure he wouldn't believe my reason, even if she believes her, she sounds too arrogant thinking she'll be able to fight against him. What was I thinking, it's not like he's inviting her to her team, and she's daring enough to reject his nonexistent invitation. I might've gone too full of myself'
"I understand" contrary to her belief, shin actually understand her reason clearly
'So she doesn't want to play in Ojo because she wants to fight me in a match. I think i feel the same way, maybe this is the reason why i'm against having her in the team because i also want to fight against her in the field'
He can't wait to see her perform in the field, with her absurd speed she would be untouchable. Which means he would be the one who needed to stop her. Just imagining the scenario makes his blood boil.
"I'm sure even if you enter a team like Deimon, we'll be able to meet on the field as long as you keep on playing American football," Shin said in order to reassure her.
After he said that he's about to continue his run, he can feel the tug on his sleeve, preventing him from running further. It's the girl who's holding the sleeves of his hoodie.
"Ano Shin-san will you be here next week" looking down on her feet she asked shin shyly
"Usually i pass through this river around 5.30-6.00 on saturday, why do you want to know about it?"
'Maybe she wanted to train together, if that's the case then he'll ask her to join his running routine on weekday too'
"Because next week i'll make sure to pass you" she answered confidently while staring at shin's eyes.
Hearing her answer, Shin felt the familiar ferocity once more, the predator inside her was eyeing Shin as her prey. It's amazing how she can be so meek, yet intimidating at the same time.
"I-i-i mean i'll try m-my b-est to pass you shin-shan" Sena corrected her wording after realizing how cocky she sounds
"I-i-i mean it's not like i'll b-be able to pass you shin-san b-but it's worth try-"
"I'll see you next week" cutting off Sena who's fumbling awkwardly shin finally continue his run
"Y-yeah i'll see you next week shin-san" after saying that Sena also continue running toward the opposite direction of where shin is running
While running, Shin is pondering about his encounter just then.
'Her name is Kobayakawa Sena huh, what an interesting girl' he's fascinated by the girl she encountered this morning. Her physique might be lacking, but her speed is astounding. Even for someone who's socially inept and awkward like Shin, he's aware of how awkward Sena as a person, it's kinda fun seeing her panicking and flailing her arms around trying to fix the misunderstanding. On one side she is awkward but on the other she has the same kind of ferocity as wild anime that has been starved for weeks. Seeing her flip constantly between doubting and being confident in herself is quite amusing for him to witness. He noticed that her other side comes up when she has a goal in mind, right now without a doubt shin is her goal
'I'm sure this is what shogun meant by ambition. That's fine if she want use me as her goal, but i won't lose next week'
While Sena is showering in her bathroom, she's thinking about her encounter with shin
"Shin…. He's not as scary. I imagine him to be" she expects someone who strikes at her twice without hesitation would be someone scary. Her conversation with him is brief, yet deep down she can tell that she can trust him.
'He is still scary, especially his tackle' looking at the are below her chest, she can feel the throbbing pain
'It's going to leave a bruise isn't it?'
When she thinks about it, it's kinda scary. She doesn't want to experience the pain exposed to this morning. She stopped breathing for a second, she's in so much pain she can't even scream. Nonetheless she wants him to come at her with full force, she still remembers the feeling of ecstasy right after he took her down. That feeling of fighting against a worthy opponent is more than enough for her to numb the pain she's feeling at the time. It's not like she's planning to get taken down once more, whatever it takes she'll pass him next week. After all she already told him she'll pass him next time
'...'
"AAAAAHHH WHY DID YOU HAVE TO SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT SENA!" groaning from embarrassment she can't help but to scream.
'I'm not even sure if I can pass him, why did I make myself sound brash like that. I mean yeah i want to pass him, but why do i have to make a bold claim like that. If i want to make it less embarrassing then all i have to do is to pass him next week' Embarrassed that he is at the moment, it doesn't wither her ambition to beat Shin.
'I need to revise my training schedule, with how low my stats are I'll only be an anchor for my future teammate. I also need to take mamori-neechan cooking lesson. I can't forge my body without proper material. If i do all that, can i even beat Shin-san' even with her ambition fueling her to improve herself, the doubts she had on her own strength still linger.
'No matter how you look at it, there's no way I'll be able to beat pass shin-san. The last time I passed him happened because I caught him off-guard. The only superior arSenal she has over him is only her speed other than that he overwhelms her in every aspect. Training my body alone won't be enough, I need to devise some kind of plan to pass him. Let's see how about usin-'
"Sena how long are you going to stay in the shower? Come on hurry, you haven't eat your breakfast this morning" her mom cuts her thoughts
'Looks like i need to hold up plan devising for later'
AN: the flow of this chapter is all over the place, if anyone have suggestion on how to fix it, feel free to leave a review (or maybe a dm)