"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Chiaki asked nervously as she, Mahiru, and Hiyoko stood outside the dojo. After Mahiru recommended it the previous day, she had taken her here. The trek to get here had been similar to the one they took to the mall, but worse, as it was much further from the school. Chiaki was just thankful no one had followed them, at least that they knew of.

"Yes, you should learn self-defense." the photographer answered. "If you go out in public more, you're gonna come across creeps like those guys from yesterday."

"But…I'm going to…" She knew she'd already shown herself to Hajime in preparation for when she inevitably had to show herself to the person inside this building, but she still felt nervous. Especially since she'd heard the master was a man.

"I know, but it's important. Plus, we'll be here to make sure nothing…bad happens," Mahiru said.

"I make no promises," Hiyoko said with a huff, and Mahiru gently flicked her forehead. Chiaki stared at the door as she tried to steady her heartbeat. The door and windows had glass panes so she could see inside. The man in question was working with a student and half a dozen other people were seated in chairs by the door, likely the student's family. She began to tremble. If she had to show herself in front of strangers who'd be able to record her when, this time, she wouldn't be able to cover herself, she wasn't sure she'd be able to handle it. No, she was certain she couldn't.

"I-I can't…" Chiaki stuttered. But before she could turn back around-

"Just go!" Hiyoko shouted as she walked forward, opened the door, and pushed her in. She squealed as she felt Hiyoko's hands on her waist, which brought everyone's attention to her except the master. The people sitting down gasped as the student, who didn't look older than 14, stared wide-eyed at the nude girl. As a result, he was knocked down to the floor with a groan.

"No distractions," the master said as she straightened up and glanced at the door. Chiaki was expecting the same reaction as the others, two of whom were doing exactly as she feared and began to pull out their phones, but he instead simply nodded at her and turned his attention back to the boy. "That's all for today. Thank you, Benjamin."

"R-right…" the boy said as he got up and looked over at Chiaki again. His pants were thin enough that she was able to see the boy's small but growing erection, and she looked away in embarrassment. He hastily walked to his cubby against the wall, his eyes never leaving her body which roamed across its entirety. She could hear snickers from the ones recording her, two boys who looked a little older than the student.

Once he'd gotten everything packed up, he joined with what Chiaki presumed were his parents. Although the two boys tried asking to stay, they were rushed out, with the mother covering their eyes and glaring at Chiaki as they pushed past her. She even felt a hand touch her thigh which made her jump, before hearing laughter as the door closed. Finally, they were alone with the master, who fully turned to face them.

"Hello," he said simply and bowed. The three girls awkwardly bowed, with Chiaki praying nobody was outside to see her bending over from behind.

"Y-yes, I-I'm-"

"Chiaki Nanami, yes. You were lucky to get your appointment since somebody canceled a mere hour before you called." he said and gestured for them to come up. "Please remove your shoes and put them in the cubbies." As Hiyoko and Mahiru did as they were told, Chiaki simply stepped onto the mat, already barefoot and impressed that the man didn't seem to be ogling her at all. Once Mahiru and Hiyoko had joined her, he smiled. "I was told by your friend about your current…predicament." Chiaki blushed deeper. "You wish to know self-defense, an honorable skill to learn. My pupil and I would be happy to teach you." He turned to the back room and whistled softly. There was a loud crash, which didn't seem to faze the master at all, and the door opened right after. A girl with long black hair ran in, her ample chest bouncing beneath a thin uniform. Her green eyes studied the trio, going wide as she saw Chiaki. Because of her shock, she nearly stumbled directly into the master as she took her spot next to him and bowed. When she came back up, she was still staring in shock at the nude girl, a blush on her face.

"H-hello!" she said.

"H-hello…" Chiaki said back.

"Tenko, these are the ones I told you about. The unclothed one is-"

"Yeah, the one who isn't allowed to wear clothes? I kind of got that. No girl would want to walk around like that when degenerate males lurk around every corner." The girl, Tenko, said.

"Degenerate males?" Mahiru asked herself.

"This is my pupil, Tenko Chabashira." he said. "Forgive her language, she feels rather…distasteful towards men."

"Except for my master!" she added. "He's the only pure man in the entire world!" The master simply blinked.

"Right," he said. "Tenko, this girl, Chiaki, wishes to learn, so I would like you to teach her all that you know. Given her lack of attire, I assume she'd feel more comfortable sparring with someone of the same gender, correct?"

"It would be appreciated, yes," Chiaki said. The master nodded.

"As well, you will not have an audience other than myself, so do not feel ashamed." he said, and Tenko nodded.

"And my master would never think any impure thoughts!" she reiterated. Chiaki looked between them and whined quietly. Tenko gave her a reassuring smile as the master walked over and sat down in one of the seats where one of the adults had been. "Look, it'll be fine, okay? I swear it."

"I…um…" Chiaki hesitated as she looked over at him, and he nodded, before returning her gaze back to Tenko. Chiaki sighed. "Okay."

"So…lower your arms, and get into a fighting stance," Tenko instructed, setting one foot forward and one back as she raised her arms, her hands flat. Chiaki gulped as she glanced at both the master and her friends one more time before finally lowering her hand. She heard a gasp from Mahiru while the master didn't seem to react at all. Her hands trembled as she felt the cool air-conditioned breeze of the room on her nipples and between her legs, which previously had been warm because of her own tight embrace. She gulped again as she slowly adopted the stance, her breasts wobbling with every little movement. "Don't think about it, okay?" Tenko said. "I know it might be hard, but you have to ignore those parts of your body that are distractions".

"I…I know." Chiaki said, eyeing Tenko's chest, which seemed comparable to her own. She took a deep breath, and exhaled as she took the stance fully, and Tenko nodded.

The girl explained how, when facing a man, the best thing to do is to strike between their legs, for obvious reasons, and then run. "Having a lot of stamina is important for self-defense, so if you want to be serious about it, train that part." She then explained that when facing a woman, the best place to strike first, if you can, is the chest. Not only can you possibly knock the wind out of someone, but with women specifically, the chest and breasts could be seen as a bundle of nerves that, if struck, they would feel immense pain. The next best place to strike a man would also be the chest, for similar reasons.

Tenko then ran her through some basic drills, emphasizing how to swipe a person's feet out from beneath them and how to block and counterattack basic punches and grabs, which most attackers and molesters tend to use. As Tenko taught, the master seemed more interested in studying Tenko than Chiaki, which helped to ease her nerves. In fact, Mahiru making squeals and gasps as Chiaki moved was more distracting, while Hiyoko just rolled her eyes and stewed in frustration.

At one point, Tenko accidentally smacked Chiaki's boob, and both girls leapt back in shock, their faces red. Tenko apologized profusely but Chiaki assured her it was okay. Once they had resumed, Tenko even helped improvised some moves to use if her assets were grabbed directly, which the master seemed very pleased with Tenko for.

After a full hour had passed, he stood. "Great job, Miss Nanami." he said as she gently applauded. "I'm afraid your scheduled time is up, but I'm sure I can speak for Tenko when I say we are impressed."

"Yep! You did great! You're a natural!" she said, and Chiaki blushed again.

"Th-thanks."

"We would love to have you again as a full student if you'd be willing. I know our prices are…somewhat exuberant, but I assure you, the skills you learn are worth it." Chiaki thought it over. Not only was he right, that the skills she'd learned were going to be very helpful in keeping herself safe, but it was just way more fun than she had expected. Maybe that was because Tenko herself was fun, or some other reason that was eluding her. On top of that, it made for great exercise. Finally, she nodded.

"Sure. I'll do it." The master clapped his hands.

"Excellent! We can work out the details right now!" he said, and led her to his desk.

As Tenko talked to Mahiru and Hiyoko and attempted to convince them to join as well, Chiaki and the master worked out a schedule to where there wouldn't be anyone else coming in to see her. It also worked around her classes and homework, leading to most sessions being late, but neither Chiaki, the master, nor Tenko were bothered. Once it was settled, and the master told Chiaki she could pay when she was ready as long as it was by the end of the month, she and her friends started towards the door.

As she passed Tenko, the girl handed Chiaki a paper. "Here's my number, if you ever want to hang out or practice together!"

"Thanks," Chiaki said with a smile and a nod. With that, they walked out, and although Chiaki felt much more confident than when she came in, she still found herself covering up once more once she was outside.

As she looked down at the paper clutched in her hand, she found herself smiling, despite everything.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.