𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐒𝐓

chapter eleven.

Maki felt droplets of sweat fall down the sides of her face. She clutched her right arm in her hand, wincing as it throbbed painfully. "Again!" she shouted. "I won't back down until I win!"

Seiko simply smiled. "Alright, then."

Maki lunged at Seiko with her spear. She looked more determined than ever, with the intent to kill, almost. Just as the blade of the spear was to pierce Seiko's chest, Maki was left with nothing but air. Seiko had easily dodged, landing a few inches behind her. Maki, expecting this, turned at the speed of light and aimed to hit her again.

It was continuous; Maki attacking, Seiko defending. It frustrated Maki more than ever, as she continuously aimed to just land one hit on her underclassman. Still, she didn't give up.

The older of the two continued move after move, swiftly. Seiko, despite always winning, could tell with a single glance that Maki excelled in close combat. She was extremely skillful, with her weapon, but was unfortunately not much of an opponent to Seiko.

Seiko had a slight grin on her face as she jumped away, the wind blowing gently on her face from the speed she dodged. However, she was already a bit tired from dodging every single attack of Maki for a few hours.

As the older girl attempted to hit Seiko again, the latter was quick to push away the spear. Seiko landed a powerful kick to Maki's chest, resulting in the second year flying back a few meters.

Panda clapped from under the trees, in the shade. "Good job, you two!"

Maki let out a snort, propping herself up on one elbow. "'Good job Maki! You couldn't even land one hit! Better luck next time!'" Maki said mockingly. "Yeah, whatever, Panda."

Seiko held out her hand to the older girl, who took it with a sigh.

"You really are something else, aren't you?" Maki said with a frown, picking up her spear. "Geez, I can't even look at you without getting upset."

Panda laughed at Maki's words. "It was fun watching you get your ass handed to you from just a single hit from Seiko. Right, Toge?"

The boy nodded his head. "Salmon."

Maki looked more annoyed than before, and she lifted her spear threateningly. "You're lucky I'm tired, or this would've been thrown at you."

"Not if you can't catch me!" Panda called, suddenly rushing off in the opposite direction of where they stood.

Maki rolled her eyes, falling to the grass underneath the shade. "I'm so tired."

Seiko smiled slightly, turning to Toge. "Toge-senpai, do you want to spar?" she asked. After her fight with Maki, she still had some energy to spare.

The white-haired boy stared into her eyes, shaking his head firmly. "Bonito flakes."

"Good choice," Maki muttered, rolling around in the grass.

Seiko chuckled, her gaze turning a little away. Nobara was shouting at Megumi, who looked tired and annoyed. They shouted back and forth until the girl lunged at Megumi who ran away swiftly. Seiko couldn't help but grin at her friends, who always seemed to be full of life, even Megumi.