𝑻𝑹𝑨𝑰𝑵 𝑻𝑶 𝑯𝒀𝑶𝑺𝑨𝑵 [ 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒅 ]

one

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Hwang Minari wasn't supposed to have Kendo practice at the end of the day during clean up, but districts were days away, and her coach insisted on her sparring with one of the seniors. She was sweating under her helmet, despite the shitty cotton towel under the helmet meant to absorb said sweat. She'd be surprised if Hyosan High School could afford better Kendo equipment after splurging on their archery team.

The loud clanking of wooden katanas blocking each other and trying to land proper hits on any spot on the head, chest, both wrists and either side of her hips. She deflected her opponent's katana, shoving them to the side before hitting them in the chest, quickly rolling away to avoid a hit to her head and hit them on the hip. The buzzer blared and she yanked her helmet off, glancing at her coach, who was writing something down on his clipboard with a nod or two.

Minari glanced up at the ceiling, shaking her head as the senior she was fighting walked up to her, "Hey, what're you doing this week?"

"Districts," she responded bluntly, starting to walk over to where coach was. 

"Hit the gym for ten, then hit the showers, Hwang," he said, looking at her. "After that display, you can check out your katana."

"No way," Minari whispered in awe as he nodded with encouragement. She turned around and did a little fist-bump, quickly looking around to see if anyone saw that and walked towards the lockers to change out of her gear.

As she began to do pull-ups in the auditorium's gym, she heard her phone buzz. She finished up her reps and checked the message. It was from Gyeong-Su, who was in her homeroom class and always begged her to let him copy her science and english homework, telling her that they were getting fried chicken at Cheong-San's parents restaurant (which was gloriously named after the boy).

She texted him back, saying she'd meet them there. After a few more minutes in the gym, she walked out towards the showers. Minari's heart raced with excitement; they all had their own katanas on the team (they bought them with their own money, the school favored archery over kendo), which were kept in a secure locker. Hers had a black and gold decal near the handle.

Walking out to her locker, she put on her white button-up, loosely tying up her hair before putting on her school sweater and pants, slapping on her nametag with a sigh. She walked out with her backpack to coach's office.

After a brief conversation, Minari waited in his office as he went to collect her katana. Her heart leaped at the sight of it, practically jumping up to grab it from it, "Savor it. Return it by the end of the month." She reached for it but he paused. "Bring it in tomorrow, though, the team stickers are arriving tomorrow as well."