A few days later, Ryo found himself standing inside the kendo dojo, dressed in protective gear, with a wooden sword in hand. How did he end up here? Well, Saki Moriyama's relentless persistence certainly had something to do with it.
"You'll do fine," Saki said, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "Just try to keep up with me. It's not about winning or losing, okay? It's about practicing speed."
Ryo glanced at her warily. "You say that, but I feel like you're about to go all out on me."
Saki smirked. "Maybe. Just a little."
Before Ryo could protest, Saki lunged forward, her wooden sword coming at him with speed and precision. He barely had time to react, raising his own sword to block her strike. The force of her blow reverberated down his arm, and he staggered backward.
"Whoa, easy!" he shouted, but Saki was already charging again.
"Come on, Ryo! I know you can move faster than that!" she called out, her strikes relentless.
Ryo dodged and parried as best as he could, his heart pounding in his chest. Saki was quick—too quick. She wasn't holding back at all, and within seconds, he found himself backed into a corner.
"Got you!" Saki grinned triumphantly, landing a light tap on his shoulder with her sword.
Ryo lowered his guard, panting. "You call this practice? Feels more like I'm being punished."
Saki laughed, tossing her wooden sword to the side. "Sorry, sorry! I guess I got a little carried away. But you did pretty well for someone who doesn't take this seriously."
Ryo wiped the sweat from his forehead and sighed. "Remind me why I agreed to this again?"
"Because deep down, you enjoy a challenge," Saki teased, winking at him.
Ryo wasn't sure if that was true, but there was no denying that Saki's energy was contagious. Still, this was far from his idea of a relaxing after-school activity.
As they were packing up, Saki suddenly turned to him, her expression uncharacteristically serious. "By the way, Ryo… have you noticed anything weird lately?"
"Weird how?"
"Like… people acting strange around you. I've heard rumors."
Ryo raised an eyebrow. "Rumors? What kind of rumors?"
Saki shrugged, her playful grin returning. "Oh, you know, the usual. That you're becoming quite the heartthrob around school."
Ryo groaned. "Please don't remind me."
"Don't worry, I'm not interested in you like that," Saki added with a teasing smirk. "But I can't speak for the others."
Ryo wasn't sure if that was supposed to be comforting or not.