It's been 3 days since the clash of Sena and her bullies. A lot has changed since then.
Ever since Karin and Sena found out their house is close to each other, they've been both going to school and going home after school together. Both trips usually go with both talking about their training or chit-chat about grades and any other trivial topic a teenage girl would talk about. Every Once in a while both of them ran out of topic for their conversation, leading up to awkward silence.
Sena's training is also a little bit different than usual. Before she trained alone, now she has Karin accompanying her. For an unathletic person, Karin is actually able to keep up with Sena's training schedule other than night training. While she can keep up with Sena's training schedule she can't keep up with Sena's training extent. If Sena did a 10 lap around the neighborhood, Karin only can do 3 at best, nonetheless she still tags along on Sena's morning and afternoon training. When Karin is done exerting her muscle she usually waits until Sena is done with her training so they can go home together. While waiting for Sena Karin usually drew on her sketchbook, she either drew the park or Sena's pose while she was moving.
Considering how often both Karin and Sena spend the time together, it leads to Mamori getting to know Karin. She's surprised that Sena made herself a friend who doesn't take advantage of her leg speed. Regarding Karin and Sena's relationship, they might not be close enough to have a relationship called friendship, but they don't mind each other's company. They're still awkward around each other and they still use suffixes when they address the other.
For the last 3 day Sena has been expecting for toda to ambush them, but the threat she expects never comes. Her days have been peaceful without any interruption, so peaceful that Sena starts dreading the worst case scenario.
To summarize, in the last 3 day her bullies stopped bullying her, and she got herself a friend (sorta). It might not be a huge change for many, but for a loner like Sena who's been bullied for the most part of her life, it's a pretty huge change.
Now Sena is stretching her limbs at the side of the river, preparing herself for the eventual face off she's been waiting for a week. Karin is sitting at the ground panting and huffing after running along with Sena to the river. She still doesn't know the reason why they don't use the usual route which is going around the neighborhood, instead this time they went to the river. She wanted to ask Sena but she can't even talk, because she's too busy catching up her breath at the moment.
Karin's answer will soon be answered with the arrival of a teenage boy wearing a blue hoodie. The boy stop her jog to set up his running stance, Sena also stopped stretching her limbs to ready her stance. With both teenager notifying each other through body gesture that they're ready, in an instant they run toward each other on full speed like it is a game of chicken.
When both the girl and boy are 4 yards toward each other, the boy loads his right arm so he can trust it at will. Just like last time, Sena decreases her speed as if she's gonna take a step back again. Calculating the decrease of her speed, Shin dash forward with his right arm thrusting toward Sena's rib. Unexpectedly Sena doesn't step back, but instead she dash toward Shin with her maximum speed. Caught off guard, Shin doesn't have enough time to retract his hand, seeing Shin's arm still extended Sena chop his hand with her left hand while cutting the left. With Sena's weight and strength the chop has zero to no effect on Shin, but the well-timed chop gave Sena an increase in speed while cutting. Shin tried to rotate his body in an attempt to strike her with his right hand. But before Shin is able to turn his body, Sena shoves Shin's back shoulder with her right hand. The shove doesn't affect Shin, but it greatly affects Sena's torque. By the time Shin turns around, Sena is already 5 yard away from him.
'I lost again' Shin said to himself, feeling both upset and amazed.
What happens just now is Sena feinted her step back while slowing herself baiting Shin's tackle. When Shin launches his tackle, Sena changes her pace from slow to fast so she can cut Shin. As a failsafe she also chops Shin's arm to break his posture and to increase her speed, as a double failsafe she also shoves Shin's shoulder for the same purposes of breaking Shin's posture and increasing her speed.
After training herself for a week she realized that she can't execute the technique she needed to master if she wanted to win against Shin. Cutting without decreasing her speed is still tricky for her because her knees can't handle the sudden angle shift needed to change her direction without losing her torque. Stepping back also put a lot of straint on her leg, stopping immediately without decreasing her
Speed is a crucial part of stepping back with the same speed as her usual speed, but dropping her speed instantaneously to zero ends up making her trip to the ground because her leg can't keep up with the huge momentum created by her speed. Her speed when running backward is still lacking, her muscle around the ankle area still not developed enough to reach the speed that she needed.
With how untrained her physique is, she needs to come up with a strategy to beat Shin. While she gives up on using the technique she's been drilling for a week, she knows her half-polished technique is still useful. After brainstorming she comes to a conclusion, if she can't execute 1 technique properly but those half-polished techniques are still useful, all she needs to do is to mix them up.
Sena's plan to chop Shin arms is inspired by the event 3 days ago, when she dropped toda to the ground by hitting his hand. Her plan is partly successful, since Shin is sturdier than she expects. She already expects it would be impossible to drop Shin especially with her thin arms but she also expects her chop to be able to break Shin's posture. While she fails to break Shin posture, she succeeds in increasing her torque. The shove to the shoulder is done instinctively by Sena, the chop is meant to be the finisher, yet it turns out it isn't enough for someone like Shin.
'It's only been a week, yet she improved this far….' Shin is amazed by the growth of the girl, he is also disappointed by his own lack of growth.
"Aaah! I lost again" this groan comes not from Shin but Sena
'What….? Is she perhaps mocking me?' confused by the intent of Sena's groan, he can't help but glare at the girl
"Ehehe it seems like it's still too soon for me to beat Shin-san" Sena said while awkwardly scratching the back of her head
'It doesn't sounds like she's making fun of me'
"Since i use both of my hands, it's the same as me letting go of the ball"
'Oh…. So that's why' finally understanding the girl's intent, Shin relaxed his tense body.
"No it's my loss, even without you shoving my shoulder i don't think i'll be able to catch you with your speed" Shin said in his familiar stoic manner
"B-but a-as a running back i should've guard the ball even if it cost my own body…." Sena said looking down while playing with her finger
"Let's call it a draw for now we can settle it later next week"
"Un!" Sena answer with a nod
"Same time same place"
"Yes"
"I'll make sure that to stop you next week Sena kobayakawa"
"I'll also try my best to pass you Shin-san"
With both having nothing to say to each other, Shin continued his jog, while Sena approached Karin.
"Let's go home Karin-san" Sena said while extending her hand to help Karin stand up, Sena extended her so Karin can use her hand as a leverage, but her hands remain ignored by Karin.
'WHAT WAS THAT!' shocked by the clash between the girl and the boy, she's paralyzed once again from trying to process what she just saw.
'Why did Sena suddenly dash toward him?'
'Why did he try to strike Sena?'
'What the hell is that speed?'
'Did Sena win or lose the exchange?'
'It was more intense than what happened 3 days ago' Karin thought the clash between Sena and his goons was intense, but the intensity of today's clash far outclassed the intensity of the clash 3 days ago.
Even for Karin who have little knowledge about anything sport related she still can tell that Shin is a fullfledged athlete by just looking at the outline of his body. Compared to Sena who have a childlike body it would be impossible for Sena to beat Shin, if it's not for her speed. Sena's speed that Karin witnessed today is something she's seeing for the first time. Karin already knows Sena is fast, but the speed that Sena uses today is more than what Karin usually sees when she trains with Sena.
"Ano Karin-san, are you alright?" a concerned voice broke her out of her thoughts.
Karin moves her head to look up toward the voice's source. A brown haired girl with a concerned looks on her face is staring at Karin's face with her shaky eyes
"I-im f-fine Sena-san" trying to convince Sena she's okay, Karin immediately stand up
'It's always full of surprises when i'm with her'
"Sena-san do you mind if i ask who that is" Karin ask with a worried tone
"Ah! It's Shin-san ojo linebacker!" Sena said with a hint of excitement on her voice
'I don't know what a linebacker is, but i'm sure it must be related to american football'
"So Shin-san is also your training buddy …" Karin's worry is decreasing a bit, since the way Shin-san strikes at Sena is quite concerning for her. She's sure it would be quite painful if those hands manage to land on Sena.
'Even for training partner isn't that quite excessive'
"I guess you could say that…. But rather than training buddy, it's more like he's my goal" the excitement on her voice and the glimmer in her voice make Karin question what Sena means by "goal"
"Uhm…. goal such as you want to go out with him?" Karin tilt her head confused
"WHAT?! NO! I-i-i just want to defeat him when I finally face him on the field, th-that's all!" while Shin is a member of opposite sex Sena doesn't have any interest of going out with him, the only reason she's interested at Shin is only limited to his capability as an athlete. While Sena admires how well-toned Shin's body is, she's only admiring it from an athletic point of view. Normal girls her age might drool when they saw Shin body, but Sena only sees it as a motivation for her to keep on training her own body.
'Well figures i guess' Karin feels so stupid for misinterpreting Sena's word.
"Aren't you scared? you know uhm… considering his physique and all" for Karin who's an observer, Shin's intensity is enough to give goosebumps on her skin. She can't imagine how intense it would be if she was the one who faced off against him.
"To be honest I'm really scared when I face off against Shin-san especially when I have experienced his tackle first hand, i still remember how painful it feels" it's been a week since his last encounter with Shin, but the hand-shaped bruise on her ribs is still visible.
"But the thought of facing off against Shin-san somehow excites me. I also know how much of an amateur I am compared to Shin-san, that's the more reason for me to do it, since I can learn more from the pros. It would be embarrassing if i choke or panicking on the field knowing how much of a coward i am, facing Shin-san is a way for me to condition myself how to act when i'm under an enormous amount of pressure"
'She's really serious about american football isn't she….' ever since Sena mentioned american football, Karin did her own research on american football. After looking through some match clips, and reading about the rules, position and general topic about it she concluded that american football is one hell of a brutal sport. The likelihood of someone getting themself injured is quite high, considering these athletes need to clash their bodies for the sake of gaining yard. The rate of CTE is the highest among any sport in existence, it's even higher than boxing. Even if they managed to avoid any injury, the further complication on one's body after over exerting itself would be impossible to heal.
At first Karin assumed Sena wanted to be a secretary for american football team even when Sena told her that she wanted to be a runner she thought that she misheard what she was saying at the time, the training she does is to get herself understood and familiarized with the sport. But the more Sena talks about American football and considering the way she trains, Karin realized that Sena wanted to play as a player rather than watching on the bench as secretary. Keeping in mind Sena's thin and short body, it's quite dangerous for her to play as a runner.
Runner is someone who plays the role of offense, they run across the field to gain more yards if not score a touchdown. For runners who play the role of offense means the opposing teams are going to try to stop the runner, one of many ways to stop the runner includes tackle.
The average weight of American football players is above 100 kg, especially for defense players. Looking at Sena's height and her lack of body fat Karin can roughly guess that Sena's weight is no more than 40 kg. If Sena gets herself tackled by those who weigh 2 times if not 3 times heavier than her, her body is going to break. Shin is a special case because he tackles only with his hand, but the textbook American football tackle is craShing your whole body with all of its weight.
'I'm sure she already knows the risk, but acknowledging the risk doesn't make it any less dangerous. Her leg is phenomenal, i'm sure there are lots and lots of sport where she can utilize her speed while being less dangerous than american football'
"Sena-san, are you really sure you don't want to play another sports instead ? i mean how did you get interested on american football in the first place?"
"Nope, i only want to play american football" Sena answer firmly while her second answer took her more time for her to answer
"And…. to be honest i don't really know why i suddenly got myself interested on american football, i just want to play i guess" contrary to Karin's sentiment towards american football which she thinks that it's a violent and merciless sport, for Sena it's a fun and thrilling sport.
The best word to describe Sena's feeling when she saw the clips of american football plays would be "epiphany". The epiphany changes her outlooks on how she lives her life.
Almost everything in her life changes when she encounters American football. Now she has a goal that she wants to accomplish, She no longer waste her time doing nothing in her bedroom when she can spend it training her body. There are many changes caused by her encounter with American football, but the biggest change she experienced so far is that she finally has something she can look forward to.
She's been reluctantly living her life wiShing for tomorrow to never come, at least she used to. The unrealized potential and the possibility she doesn't know that she has before, makes her look forward to how far she can grow. The thoughts of where she can finally play american football once she enter highschool, make her wish for tomorrow to comes as quickly as possible
"But…. you know… no offense to you Sena-san, but isn't the sport quite dangerous especially for you?" Karin doesn't want to offend Sena but her worry overcomes her courtesy. When Sena told her that Shin managed to tackle her, she realized that Sena's speed doesn't grant her the invincibility that she needs on the field.
"I know better than anyone the danger of this sport, Karin-san, that's why i haven't told my parents and Mamori-nee chan about it. I know that my body is more frail than most people, even my leg can only carry me so far until I meet an athlete as capable as Shin-san. That's the more reason for me to train myself, so i won't be worrying my parents, Mamori-nee chan and you"
'She's already dead-set on being an American football player…. It's no use to keep on worrying like this, the best i can do for her is help her'
"Uhm… s-Sena-san, is there any way for me to help you with your training ? physically i might not be able to keep up with you, but i'll try my best to assist you with your training"
Taken aback by Karin's sudden request/offer to help, Sena closed her eyes trying to think of the way for Karin to help her in her training.
"A-actually Karin-san, you are accompanying me in my training is more than enough help already. I don't think i'll be able to keep up with my own training schedule if not for you being there with me" after thinking hard and thorough she comes up with this answer
It might sound like a simple flattery, but for Sena Karin's presence is more than enough to motivate her in her training. No matter how much resolve Sena put in her training, there are days where she needs to fight the urge to slack off. Even for well-conditioned athletes there are days where they want to cheat on their training, but because they have their trainer to watch over their training they can't skip on doing it no matter how reluctant they are. Even for Sena who has enough perseverance to keep doing her training schedule, there are times where she wanted to skip on her training.
Karin's presence helps Sena greatly when it comes to overcoming Sena's lack of enthusiasm that happens every once in a while. Just like yesterday she's thinking of skipping her training, but the thought of Karin waiting for her to train together makes her abandon all thoughts of skipping. Having Karin's presence during training also eases the tension. While the urge to slack off comes out every once in a while, most of the time Sena do the opposite of slacking off.
To cover his weakness and increase Sena has been training to the point of puShing her body to the limit, while it is necessary to go to that extent if she want if she want step up her running game, it's also put a heavy strain on her body if she keep up overexerting her body like that it won't be long until she finally break. There's a saying of don't train hard but train smart, not overworking your body to the point of breaking it is also a part of train smart. It's only been 3 days since Karin starts training with Sena, yet every time Sena is about to overwork herself Karin is there to convince Sena to ease up. The reason why Sena doesn't tell Mamori about her training is because she's avoiding her nagging of not overexerting Sena's own body, but when Karin told her to rest she doesn't have any problem with it. Maybe because Mamori's excessive worry toward Sena is different from Karin. While Mamori still thought of Sena as a kid who can't do anything without her, Karin already knows what Sena is capable of, when she advises Sena to rest it's because she can somehow grasp Sena's limit.
Other than to prevent Sena from slacking off and overexerting herself, Karin presence also brings pleasant feelings for Sena. It might be because she's been a loner for the most part of her life, but having someone being there for her is quite comforting for Sena. Most of their interaction might be full of awkward moments, even if it's awkward Sena doesn't hate their interaction. While Sena is still not sure why Karin suddenly wants to train along with Sena, Sena is grateful to Karin for keeping her company.
"Th-that being said, Karin-san, I don't want to pressure you to keep on accompanying me while I train. If you're tired you can rest easy" while Karin's company is a positive change for Sena, she doesn't want to pressure her to join her training because she told her to.
'If me just being there for her is helping her, then i'll do my best to be there for her'
"Ok then Sena-san, i'll make sure to follow every training session that we'll have. Tomorrow i'll also try my best to come up with a way for me to assist you in your training" Sena's intent to not put a heavy burden on Karin only ends up doing the opposite of what she wanted to. Karin doesn't feel a little bit burdened by just being there to train along with Sena, after all the reason why she trains is also for her own sake. Karin couldn't wait for tomorrow when she can finally be of help for Sena.
"Ano Karin-san, i haven't told you but sunday is a rest day for me…." Sena feels bad for shooting down Karin enthusiasm with her resting schedule
"...oh ok then" Karin is embarrassed for being too enthusiastic while not knowing that Sena also has a rest schedule
On sunday Sena asks for Mamori to guide her on her study, it's all for the sake of entering deimon. The bar for entering deimon might be low, but she doesn't want to lower her guard. No matter how low the probability of failure there is still probability where Sena can fail to enter deimon. To make sure she can enter deimon without fail she asks Mamori to help her with her study.
While she rested her body on Sunday she didn't want to waste her time doing nothing, so she decided to spend her Sunday studying. But what she fails to realize is that she can't study for a long time. She loses her focus in no time even though she tries her hardest to concentrate, her brain seeks refuge by distracting herself from the content of whatever she was studying. All it took to give Sena a headache is only 5 algebra problems for her to solve, by the time she reached the 5th problem her head overheat which in turn makes her lose her focus again. With Mamori's guidance Sena can advance the lesson quicker, but for Sena she is still too slow in terms of digesting what she learnt. She is still not in a risk of not being able to enter deimon, but she expects herself to learn much quicker than her current speed. What causes her to have a warped perspective on her learning ability is because she's able to absorb whatever footwork she is training (not counting her body limitation).
Yesterday she can easily execute a complex footwork she just learnt, even pros need years of training for them to be able to use it. Being able to learn complex footwork makes her think that as long as she is willing to learn she'll be able to do it, turns out that was not the case. It's been 3 hour since she's started studying physics, so far the only thing she has learned is how to measure non-constant acceleration. Sena might be slow on her study, but the reason why it took her more than an hour to learn a concept is partly caused by Mamori thoroughness in her teaching.
'Why can't I learn it as fast as when I train my footwork?'
Sena's confusion is justified, since before she started training Sena is not a girl who is athletically adept. For someone who can't even do a backflip how come she's able to execute a complex footwork she just learnt.
'When i think about it what strange is the difficulty of me learning school subject, what strange is my aptitude when it comes to american football'
For Sena, learning on her footwork isn't something like learning something she doesn't know before, it's closer to recalling the technique she used to do. It's the same with forgetting the toys that you used to play with everyday until you lost it, years later you found it under your bed, you've forgotten about the existence of this toy you used to play with but when you found it you'll be able to recall the memory of you and your toy. When she attempts to train her footwork, she is instantly able to do it, as if she's been practicing her footwork for years. Even for the footwork that she's yet to master isn't caused by Sena lack of technical skill, it is caused by the limit of her untrained body.
'Those technique, it's almost like I've been practicing them for thousands of hours. No…. it's almost like i've already used them in a dozens of match'
When she chopped Shin hand, the movement is not stiff even though she never drill the chopping(/parry) technique before, it feels so natural even the timing when she tried to increase her momentum by chopping Shin's hand is perfect. What's even strange for Sena isn't even how she's able to chop Shin hands on the right timing, what's stranger than that is the sense of familiarity.
'Back when I used my hand to parry Shin-san attacks, it was deja vu. I've already done this before parrying, cutting, change pace'
'Who does this memory belong to?'
'Is it a memory of my past life?'
'Is it me from a different universe?'
'Is it a universe where a female is physically strong enough to compete against men'
'Maybe it's a universe where I'm a male?'
Sena drown herself on a hundreds of unanswered question
'This girl…. How many time has she been distracted while working on her subject'
Mamori is joyful when Sena asks her to guide her on her study, spending her time with her lovely little sister is something that she doesn't wanna skip on. Her happiness skyrocketed when Sena told her the reason she is studying is for the sake of entering the same school as her older sister. Being able to spend her time with Sena like this is more than enough motivation for her to teach Sena, but knowing her effort to teach Sena means Sena would be able to go to the same school with her is what seals the deal.
Mamori already knew that Sena isn't the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to studying, her grades are below average, the only reason she never fails her subject is because Mamori always forces Sena to study with her during exam week. Sena's tendency to space out whenever she encounters a complex subject is something that Mamori also knew. As Sena's childhood friend she noticed that every once in a while Sena is staring into space with her blank looks when she's deeply thinking about something. For Mamori Sena's tendency when she's lost in her thoughts is cute, but no matter how cute it is she's aware how disruptive Sena's tendency is.
Mamori's desire for Sena to enter deimon is even bigger than Sena's desire to enter deimon. To increase Sena's chance to enter deimon, Mamori is trying her hardest to teach Sena however she could. But the challenge is coming from Sena itself, she's not really slow when it comes to absorbing what she learnt but she's not a fast learner either, which means she's at worst below average and at best normal when it comes to studying. The obstacle isn't coming from Sena's learning speed but her tendency to spaced out every once in a while hindering her progress to learn effectively. Even without studying Mamori knew with Sena's current prowess it would be possible for Sena to enter deimon without studying, but Mamori just wanted to make sure Sena would be able to enter deimon without fail.
'If only i can tutor her during weekday too'
Mamori already offers Sena her service for the weekday, but Sena somehow refuses it. When Mamori comes without announcing her visit she's surprised that the door to Sena's room is locked, usually Sena's door is always unlocked, hence Mamori is able to come into her room on a daily basis. What is even more strange for Mamori is she's hearing a strange sound coming from Sena's room, Sena's groan and moan can be heard from across the door. When Mamori knocks on Sena's door, she can hear a ruckus as if Sena is panicking to hide something from her, and when Sena opens the door Mamori can see how sweaty Sena is.
'Does she really take my advice to heart? I guess that makes sense…. She's in her teenage years after all' Mamori's understanding grow bigger
'AAAGH now i also lost in my own thoughts too, this is bad her tendency is contagious'
CLAP! A loud clap from Mamori broke Sena from her thought
"It's been a hundred times you lost your focus Sena-chan!"
"Eek i'm sorry Mamori-neechan"
"Maybe it's the right time for us to rest for a bit"
"I guess….."
"How about we take a bath for now, then after we're done taking a bath we'll continue our cramming session"
"Ok Mamori-neechan i'll wait for you here once you're done"
"... what are you saying Sena-chan, i said that "we" take a bath not only me"
'I don't like where this is going' Sena knew the outcome of what will happen next
"Uhm ano Mamori-neechan i thought that you'd take a bath at your house then i'll take a bath in mine…."
"Of course not Sena-chan we'll take a bath together, that way we'll be able to save more water for you know.
"B-but our bathtub is too small Mamori-neechan, what's more i'm not a child anymore"
"That's why we'll take a bath at my house, that way we'll both fit within the tub. Also you don't have to worry we are both girls aren't we. Now hurry and grab your change of clothes"
"Okay…."
'I don't have a say in this matter after all' Sena surrenders to her fate, knowing how stubborn her sister is. It's not like she hates taking a bath with her sister, it's the opposite, she actually enjoys it. But what she doesn't like is how Mamori is still treating her like a child.
After waiting for the water to fill up the bathtub, they finally enter the bathroom. Mamori is already removing her clothes ,while Sena is still being shy as always and is reluctant to remove her clothes.
"Come on Sena, you don't have to be shy around your Mamori-neechan" after saying this she forcefully took Sena's clothes off.
"Kyaa~" Sena lets out a wail
"Ahahaha we're both girls Sena-chan you don't have to cover you bo-" Mamori's word is being cut off after she take a look at Sena's body
"Geez Mamori-neechan, i can take them off by myself"
"..."
Sena expects her sister's usual playful teasing, but there's only silence. When Sena took a look at Mamori's face, what she saw was Mamori staring at her body, with an angry expression on her face. Confused by Mamori's reaction she look down on her body then she realize why her sister is staring at her
'Dang it! How could i forget about this' after spending hours to study, she forgot the state of her own body
"SENA…" Mamori with a serious tone calls for Sena without using her usual informal suffix, it shows how serious Mamori is at the moment.
"TELL ME WHO IT IS?"
Seeing all kinds of bruises here and there on Sena's body, she jumps to the conclusion that Sena's bully is the one behind those bruises. The bruise that makes her think it was caused by Sena's bully is the hand shaped bruise on Sena's rib.
'HOW DARE THEY TO PICK ON SENA!"
"Uhm m-Mamori-neechan this isn't what you th-" Sena wanted to resolve the misunderstanding but her word suddenly cuts by Mamori
"It must've been hurt, isn't is Sena? You don't have to worry okay i'll make sure they won't pick on you again"
'When did this happen? Looking at the bruises…. The hand shaped one at least from a week ago, the other bruises may vary some looks like from a week ago few of them are fresh at least no older than 2 days'
'How come I never noticed them? It must be because the past few days I rarely enter her bedroom, and she doesn't look like she's in pain…. Poor girl she probably don't want to worry me or her parents'
'Is it someone from her middle school? It probably is, but their bullying never went physical as far as i know. It must because they're already in their 3rd year and they end up getting carried away. As long that i have proof i'm sure i can get them expelled from the school, it's a fitting punishment for them'
Mamori starts brainstorming a way to punish everyone who dares enough to harm her little sister.
"Uhm Mamori-neechan…."
'AAAGH what should i do to resolve this misunderstanding?1?!'
Sena can't tell her that some of the bruises are self-inflicted when she train her footwork, she's not even sure if Mamori will believe her, but if she managed to convince Mamori that her bruises occur from her footwork training, she'll make sure to stop Sena from training.
'I can't even explain to her about my training or American football right?'
"MAMORI-NEECHAN! I'm fine" Sena raises her voice to make sure her sister listen to what Sena is saying
"The bruises is from when i trip myself when i was running"
'At least I'm not lying….'
"Then, does this look like the kind of bruise caused by falling?!" Mamori said while pointing at Sena's rib
"Uhm i-it's from…." Sena can't answer what Mamori asked her
'I can't tell her the bruise is caused by Shin-san'
"You don't have to cover for them Sena, they overstepped their boundary when they physically harm you"
"B-but it-it's not….." Sena decided to keep her mouth shut since no matter what she says it will only make things worse
"You know what puniShing them comes later, for now let me treat your bruises, i'll make sure none of them will leave permanent mark on your body"
'don't really mind about them though….' for Sena who's aware of the risk of being an american football player, she is more than ready to get a broken bone or two, she can tolerate something like a bruises. Sena actually cares about her skin, she's a girl after all. But she doesn't want her concern about her skin to be a hindrance when she finally plays for a team.
"I'm sorry Sena-chan i'll make sure to protect you for real this time" Mamori said with a tear on her eyes while hugging Sena's body
"..." Sena who doesn't know what to say can only silently nod. She can't think properly after studying for a long period of time.
"For now let's take a bath, after that i'll prepare a compress and an ice pack to treat you bruises okay"
"..."
an : 4 more chapter until she finally enter deimon (at least that's how i planned it).
bonus an: i'm gonna draw femsena for the cover should i keep the hair or changed it? at the beginning i'm planning to give her a short bob cut ala max from life is strange or bellona from smite. i'm open for recommendation (as long it's easy to draw even the spiky hair is hard enough already).