A Liar's Truth [UNDER FINAL REVISION]

Ch 34: Sparring gone wrong

Third person point of view 

The sound of sparring echoed through the yard—rubber knives clashing in sharp, rhythmic bursts. Maehara ducked low, sidestepping Ginka's latest swipe with practiced ease. He grinned.

"You're getting faster, Sei-chan."

Ginka giggled, spinning the knife with a flourish. Her ponytail swished behind her, red ribbon fluttering. "I'm dealing with a knife specialist here! I had to step up my game~"

Maehara chuckled, breathless. They both stepped back in sync, sheathing their training knives.

"Break time?" he asked, pushing the hair from his eyes.

Ginka nodded, dabbing sweat from her forehead. "We could call it here—before you're late for your date."

Maehara raised a brow, "You remembered that?"

"Of course I did~" she said in a teasing sing-song. "I'm not heartless. Thanks for still sparring with me anyway~"

Maehara waved it off. "Nah, that was fun. Less stressful than debating pasta sauce preferences for an hour."

She gasped dramatically, placing a hand over her mouth. "So I'm your pre-date warm-up act? Scandalous!"

"I've been exposed?" he teased, grinning. They both laughed—easy, warm. 

But before Maehara could head off, a voice cut in like a breeze laced with mischief. 

Karma.

He strolled over, hair wind-tossed. Hands in pockets. "Cute. All this dramatic knife work—looks more like a date with extra steps."

She narrowed her eyes, shot him with a 'what's wrong with you look' masked with a smile. "You don't take electives. Or authority."

"Sadly, Nagisa-kun does. We've got plans after this." His gaze flicked dangerously toward Maehara, sharp and unhurried. "But then I saw you two tossing knives and thought—hey, why not kill a little time~?"

"Ehh~?" She cheekily points her rubber knife at him, "If you're that bored, I could leave you some heart-shaped bruises to remember me by~"

"Bold of you to assume you'd land a hit." Karma said, swiping Maehara's knife mid-step. His smirk said he was absolutely here to mess with someone's day. "Let's play~"

Maehara raised his brows. "Yeah, I'm out." He absolutely wants no part of this. "Try not to break anything—like limbs or egos." He lightly tapped Ginka's shoulder before walking off. 

She sighed and pulled her red ribbon tighter. "I promised Okuda-chan I'd help brew poison later, so make this quick, alright~?"