Chihiro Hanagaki

Chapter 8

Chihiro knew it was bound to happen after school was over. Karate practice was grueling, and Sensei Iori did not hold back. By the time practice was over, Chihiro could feel every muscle in her body screaming. 'How did Hibiki survive missing three days?' she wondered. Hibiki could miss four practices at a time without batting an eye. Chihiro never skipped a day of practice, so she never had to face the repercussions until now. Even inside the locker room, Hibiki was moving without any struggle whatsoever.

Meanwhile, Chihiro was over here struggling to lift her arms above her head to put her shirt on. "Ikki, are you even human?" she questioned. Hibiki made a goofy face that only villains in silly cartoons would pull, "If I told you, I'd have to kill you." Chihiro broke out in a grin, "Pft, you're ridiculous." The other girls in the locker room glanced at the two. Some girls from the lower division watched the two goofy around in awe. "Those are the two in the middle school division." one whispered. "I wish I could be as talented as Ms. Hibiki." another admired.

"Ms. Chihiro looks so fierce during practice." another girl added. A freckled girl popped behind the gushing lower classmen, "Ms. Chihiro and Ms. Hibiki are some of the strongest girls in the middle school division. They got to where they are by hard work. Just look at their bodies." Both Hibiki and Chihiro were in their sports bras and undergarments. Due to years of practicing karate, the two had developed firm definitions of their muscles. Some girls feared gaining any muscle definition for fear of looking too manly. However, even with their lean muscles, the two still looked great. "Maybe putting more effort won't be so bad." one of the girls said.

While the lower classmen continued to whisper amongst themselves, Chihiro and Hibiki were already out the door. Chihiro wore a black t-shirt with the Straw Hat Pirates Jolly Roger, shorts, and black sneakers. Hibiki wore a white tank top, blue jeans, and white sneakers. "So what'd wanna do?" Hibiki asked. The two still had a good chunk of time before it was time before it got late. Chihiro shrugged, "I don't know." Before the two could exit the dojo, they noticed a lost-looking person.

Chihiro was surprised when she recognized just who that person was. His short silver-lilac hair and lavender eyes were a dead giveaway. 'What is Takashi Mistuya doing here?' she wondered. Hibiki eyed the older teen, "Maybe a new applicant?" Chihiro didn't think so; if he joined any dojo, it would be the dojo Mikey's family ran. There was only one way to find out, "Let's go ask."

"Do you need help finding something?" Chihiro asked, walking over. Mitsuya looked relieved to see the two girls approaching her. He bashfully scratched his head with a slight smile. "Ugh, yes. Do you know where applications are?" he asked. Chihiro was slightly shocked to hear this. Her shock didn't last long when Mistuya filled them in, "My little sister Luna wants this as her club activity. But they don't have applications at the school." Mori Karate Dojo was a dojo commonly affiliated with several schools. The dojo was so popular that it was hard for schools to keep applications.

"Sure, we can show you to the office," Chihiro suggested, gesturing to him to follow. Mitsuya's smile brightened, "I'd appreciate it. I'm Takashi Mitsuya." She returned the smile, "I'm Chihiro Hanagaki, and this is my friend Hibiki Ito." As the three proceeded to the back office Mitsuya continued to ask them questions about the dojo. "This dojo's so big. How many students do you get?" he asked. "Mori Dojo is divided into several divisions. It goes from the elementary school division to the middle school division, the high school division, and the adult division," she explained. "How tough are the practices?"

"The elementary division has the easiest practices. The upper divisions have the hardest practices." Hibiki answered. Mitsuya then got this conflicted look as he asked, "And what about the fee?" She kind of guessed that was what worried him most. He came from a single-income household of four. Money would be a big issue for him. She was pleased to say, "Our dojo designs monthly fees based on the income of each family. That's the main reason why it's such a popular dojo. The monthly fees also include the gis and other equipment as well." But with that popularity, it was hard to get in the dojo. It was infrequent for the dojo to accept applicants straight out of middle or high school.