Shintaro

Closer

Practice was harsh, Miyuki was teaching me how to use the bamboo sword which felt weird since a highschooler was teaching me these things despite the fact of me already being at an advanced level. It's been so long that I've done Kendo that my whole body is sore.

"Y/N you're really good for someone who hasn't done Kendo in a while"

"Thanks Miyuki~"

"Mmm...but most adults that learn it again are hopeless."

I don't know if that's a compliment or she's just trying to get me pissed off. Miyuki walks out of the dojo and I do the same, seeing her walk out of the enterance made me feel relieved. At least she won't boss me around. But I do like Miyuki, she's very cute but doesn't seem to have a good vibe around other girls.

I head for the changing room for the girls which was empty since me and Miyuki are the only girls in this dojo so far. I don't really mind since I have a better opportunity to talk to Shintaro about the article, that is...if I get his consent. Thinking about this made me sigh as I undo my robe which I had a tight shirt and shorts underneath.

"Hello Y/N"

I turn to face the door and squealed to see Jean -Jean is Shintaro's competitor in the National Leagues, but Jean never wins. He's also from france and came to practice kendo here so he can try to win against Shintaro- I covered my self with the robe and blushed since it was strange to see a man look at me in such tight clothing.

"Y-Yes? W-What do you want?"

"Ah...I just came to see if you were still here~"
Jean looked at me while smiling calmly.

"O-Okay? But, aren't you heading home now?"
I looked at him with a tilt of the head, staring at him confused.

"Nah, I'm staying at Shintaro and his Dad's place behind the dojo until I return to France. Oh! How rude of me...continue to get dressed, I shouldn't have intruded."

And with that Jean left. I started to calm down a bit since it was very strange and there was an awkward tension in the air. I quickly got dressed in my black leggings and oversized sweater that I packed in my bag as I headed out of the change room.

While I was walking down the hall I overheard crying which made me shiver from the tip of toes to the top of my head. Let me tell you that I'm scared of ghosts and this crying made it even worse, but I wanted to investigate to see what was going on. I headed to the sound of the crying, only to peek into the dojo and saw Shintaro with the elementary student.

"Everytime I keep training harder I just end up losing! Even the girls at my school are stronger than me! It's no use!"
The little boy said with tears streaming down his face, I felt sad for him but I didn't just want to walk in on them and comfort him!

"Training to be strong isn't going to help you win! The only thing that well help you win is if you have someone to protect. Do you have someone that you care for the most and want to protect?"

"W-Well...I want to protect my mom...a-and my sister!"

"Then think of them the next time you have a competition. Don't just focus on strength and technique. Focus on your heart...now, you should be going home..it's getting dark now."

The little boy smiled at Shintaro as he walked out of the dojo, I smiled as well as if I was the mother of the boy. But my smile didn't last for long as Shintaro's gaze was headed straight at my direction. I quickly walked down the halls as if I wasn't there.

"Y/N...You know it's not nice to eavesdrop."

I quickly turn around to see Shintaro standing infront of me, I started to tremble since I found Shintaro to be very scary at times like this.

"Follow me to the Dojo"

And with that I slowly shuffled after him as I hesitated while stepping in, looking around for him.

"S-Shintaro?.."

The next thing I know is that Shintaro has thrusted a bamboo sword in my face, the tip of the sword almost touching my nose as I look at him frightened.

"When training you must be able to concentrate and learn all the signals. They're very useful especially when you're a bodygaurd. You have to have to learn all the signals and learn to erase them as well!"

Even as Shintaro kept talking I just zoned out. The way he thrusted the sword to almost touch my nose was a scary moment. I knew that he was bloodthirsty at this point, yet I've never experienced this type of thing before.

My legs were going weak as I continued to shake as he kept his stance, but before he could open his mouth to talk I had collapsed on the floor after my legs had failed to hold me up.

"Y/N! What's wrong?!"

Shintaro quickly helped me support my body as I sat up on the floor, looking at him as he dropped the sword. I was so scared right now that I can't even speak coherent.

"I-I was scared..."

Before I could do anything more the tears finally came and rolled down my horrified face. By the way Shintaro looked at me, I could tell that he felt terrible for making me cry.

"I'm sorry...I shouldn't have done that to you. It's not like me to frenzy out of the blue."

I sniffled as my tears stop, my body still shaking as he gently took my hand in his. Widening my eyes at his action, I looked up to see him blush and avert his gaze from mine.

"I-...I'll keep doing this until you calm down."

I wanted to giggle at his cuteness but didn't find the time do so. We stayed like that for a couple minutes as we had a light chat. I felt somewhat closer to him and that made me feel special.

For some reason, I didn't want to leave his side. Not yet...not now