Lia…
"Isao…" Her voice trembled, just like mine.
There was an awkward silence on the other end of the line.
"I need to warn you, Isao… My father found you. He knows where you went. You have to leave…"
"Oh yeah? And why do you even care what happens to me? You made it pretty clear that you don't."
"That's not true…" I could hear the crack in her voice as if she was about to cry.
"Then tell me, why did you call? Do you enjoy my suffering?"
"I didn't call to argue. Isao, please, listen to me. Where you are right now—it's not safe. My father sent some person after you."
If that was a person, then the definition of " person " must be rewritten.
"Fine. No point in arguing. You already left me. It's over, Lia."
"Please… Don't hang up. I need to tell you something."
Another awkward pause.
"Isao, I—"Suddenly, I heard a door open on her end. Someone called out to her, cutting off her words.
"Please… Take care of yourself, Isao." She whispered desperately. And then, the line went dead.
The Next Day
I slept like shit.
Morning greeted me not just with blinding sunlight but with sharp, searing pain all over my body. The muscles in my arm—the one Killy had beaten with his baton last night—were an angry, blood-red color, radiating a deep, pulsing ache that made my whole body feel like it was on fire.
Luckily, the coach had left me some painkillers to help me get through the worst of it. I swallowed one with a gulp of water and headed out to school.
By the time I made it to the school building, it was already empty outside. I was late.
I found my classroom, mumbled some half-hearted excuse about not feeling well to the teacher, and slumped into one of the empty seats at the back. The teacher didn't seem to care much about my bruises, but my classmates… they couldn't stop staring.
Not that I cared. My mind was stuck on my conversation with Lia.
What was she trying to say?
Hadn't she already told me everything she wanted, back there in Tokyo?
—
"Things between us… they won't end well. I know you're brave, I know you're not afraid of my father. But… I don't want this kind of relationship."
"Wait… You're doing this NOW!? Seriously? Your father's damn attack dogs threaten me and my family, they break my windows in the middle of the night, and you're breaking up with ME, Lia?" I had completely lost it, slamming my fist against the wall in desperate anger.
Lia's eyes welled up with tears.
"…I'm sorry, Isao."
—
I clenched my jaw, fists tightening. Damn it. I shouldn't have let myself think about that.
The bell rang, marking the end of the last lesson for the day.
Just as I was about to step out of the classroom, I saw a familiar figure standing in my way. A short girl with a bob cut.
"Hey, Aya."
"You got beat up again?" she asked in a sharp, furious tone. "I swear, I'll make them pay—"
"It's not who you think."
"Why don't you ever take care of yourself, Isao? I hate seeing you like this all the time."Judging by the gloomy expression on her face, she really was worried about me.
I barely knew her. Why was she acting like this?
"I'm fine, really. Thanks for worrying, but I need to go into the city."
"The city? Where do you need to go?"
"To the gym. For training, okay? And no one gonna beat me there."
"Training? In this condition? I'm coming with you."
"Why?"
"To make sure you don't pass out and die in a ditch somewhere, obviously."
She wasn't going to take no for an answer.
I sighed. "You're weird, you know that?"
She just grinned and followed me.
"We're here," I said, anticipation creeping into my voice.
Last night's fight with Killy had opened my eyes.
I was weak.
I couldn't even defend myself against regular school jerks, let alone professional hitmen sent by Lia's father.
How was I supposed to survive if someone else came after me?
If Killy came back?
As cliché as it sounded, I had to get stronger. And fast.
Inside, I spotted a familiar figure—a bearded man. Coach Kojo.
The gym was completely empty today. No trainees, no noise. Kojo just sat in his office, sipping coffee.
I turned to Aya. "I need to go. You'll get bored here."
She only smiled at me in response, looking way too pleased with herself.
"Isao. Come in." The coach's voice was as serious as ever.
"Good news about your aunt. The hospital called me—she's awake. She's recovering."
"That's… great. And… thanks again, for yesterday."
"You haven't heard the bad news yet." He smirked. "Out of respect for your aunt, I've decided to train you myself."
Wait… and how exactly was that a bad thing?
"I'm ready, Coach."
"Yeah? That's great to hear. See that mop and bucket over there? You have half an hour to make the gym spotless. Get to work."
Oh. I see how it is.
My career change continues.
I was just about to grab the cleaning supplies when Kojo called out to me again.
"Hey. You know I don't like outsiders. Who's that sitting on the bench?"
"Oh, uh… I told her not to come, but she tagged along anyway. A friend, I guess."
I sighed and picked up the mop.
I hated this kind of thing. Cleaning was a pain, but I didn't have a choice.
If this was the price I had to pay for training under Kojo, so be it.
I had to learn to hit like him.
The way he sent Killy flying last night—that power… that wasn't normal.
What kind of technique was that?
My thoughts were interrupted by Aya's voice.
"Isao, let me help you."
I put down the mop and looked at her seriously.
"Listen… I don't know what's going through your head. Why you're worrying about me, why do you think you need to protect me. But I don't need it. Please, just go. I have enough problems—I don't need another one."
The words came out harsher than I intended.
Aya's face fell. "I just wanted to help, you idiot." Her voice was laced with hurt.
"If she wants to help, let her," Kojo interjected. "Isao, get her a mop from the storage room."
Silently, we finished cleaning together.
When we were done, Coach Namura called us over.
"Isao. Four laps around the gym. Then fifty push-ups. Then lie down and do twenty sit-ups. Go!"
"Seriously, coach?" I was about to answer sarcastically, but a well-placed kick to my backside from Kojo spoke louder than any protest I could have made.
"Girl. What's your name? You wanna learn self-defense? I'll train you along with Isao."
"My name's Aya Suhigawa, coach. Do I want to learn self-defense? Well, maybe, I guess—"
Her unsure answer was cut off by the same persuasive argument Kojo had used on me earlier.
"FOUR LAPS AROUND THE GYM, NOW!"
And so, hell began.
"Isao Takeda! 50 squats, go!"
"Sukhigawa, 20 push-ups!"
"Both of you, four laps around the gym!"
"Takeda! 50 squats again!"
I feel like I no longer feel the pain from yesterday's fight. It has been drowned out by the pain in my legs and arms from the never-ending orders of the coach. Sweat was streaming down my face, and my legs barely holding me upright. I looked at Aya—she wasn't having an easy time either. Though the coach gave her slightly lighter instructions, they were still absurdly difficult for such a petite girl like her. Despite this, she held on well and followed all of the coach's orders.
"Warm-up is over. Come here, both of you."
WARM-UP? ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?
The coach started to show us several kicks, explained how to perform a sweep, and how to knock an opponent off balance. Then he positioned Aya and me opposite each other to practice the techniques we had just learned.
I looked at Aya's face. Her eyes radiated concentration and, at the same time, excitement. She was clearly interested in this. Noticing that our eyes met, she blushed. And I, a notorious daydreamer in the middle of a fight, didn't notice the sweep that Aya expertly executed on an unsuspecting me.
We took turns performing kicks and sweeps on each other. The pain in my muscles gradually faded, and I was focused solely on refining my techniques.
We trained for a while until the coach called us over.
"That's it for today. Listen carefully to what I'm about to say. I expect you both here tomorrow. The techniques you've learned here—do not use them outside this gym. You're dismissed."
The coach concluded seriously.