I'll need a vacuum.

29

Maki was waiting me the next day, determined. I was wide awake, having spent the night trying to ignore the discovery of my feelings, and I was reluctant to do any morning exercise. I grumbled as I joined her on the high school sports field, where she began to run. At the end of her third turn, she stopped and asked me to join her.

Me running ?

Out of the question.

So we ran, she's doing 10 laps where I did one, gasping and coughing, wishing I had smoked as an excuse to be such a poor runner. Without adrenaline, my feet refused to rise. I was sweating and wheezing when we stopped. Maki seemed impressed by my slowness, and I felt that she regretted her choice of partner. She began to stretch, and helped me to do the same, also discovering my glaring lack of flexibility. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched her expression become tense. Finally, it was time for combat practice, and she pulled out two wooden knives and threw one at me. I missed it, and picked it up. It started well.

Maki moved into a fighting stance, and I simply bent my legs, raising the knife. I wasn't trying to reproduce her position, it was useless, so I relied on my "natural talent" like a student the day before an exam he didn't revise. The result was obvious : Maki rushed at me, and I had no time to understand what was happening: I was on the ground, the knife under my throat and my leg folded against her chest, her knee blocking the groin of my other leg. The fight had lasted 10 seconds. She got up and helped me do the same.

"Huh my back.." I sighed while dusting myself off.

Her face remained focused, and I assumed she had just realized how inexperienced I was compared to her . It wasn't a secret : I had never hidden it. She was the one who wanted to fight, not me, and it was the first time I was really trained, not just for survival purposes. I got back into position, determined in spite of everything to improve myself and to learn some combat techniques. I didn't want to sit around and complain about risking my life if I didn't make any effort.

The practice lasted long enough, and I came out covered in bruises, and not a much better fighter. I had spent my time falling to the ground and clumsily dodging her blows, without success. It would take me a long time to get to the right level, and it wasn't a simple lesson with Maki that would change much. I ran into Nanami before leaving for our first mission together, and he stopped me. Even changed and ready for the mission, my tense posture betrayed me.

" Will you be OK ?"

I tried to hide the tremors from stress, and gave him a confident smile. He didn't believe it, I was a bad actress.

"It will be fine. I have to overcome the trauma anyway. See you soon."

I released my arm, and joined Maki, praying for the survival of both of us. I was not yet well versed in first aid, and risked being useless. I was really afraid of dying. I felt Nanami's gaze on my back as we walked away, and remembered what he had told me. Depending on the outcome of the mission, I might decide to accept his offer to give me lessons. He might be a more effective teacher than Maki, who although an excellent fighter, was not yet trained to teach. Well, she was 16, poor thing, I couldn't ask too much of her.

Fortunately for me, there was no problem. The curse was strong, sure, but nothing that couldn't fight against both of us. We actually formed an effective team, I took care of protecting us from attacks, and let Maki approach quietly until her final blow. We got rid of the curse in record time, and I liked to think that these missions would all be settled quickly if we continued like this.

The return to school was quick, and Maki disappeared after thanking me. I had the impression that she was almost disappointed to have dispatched the mission so quickly, but I was satisfied for my part. Gojo approached to ask me for news and I explained to him what was going on, Nanami joining us during the discussion. I briefly described what had happened, explaining my minor role. Gojo walked away shortly after I finished, muttering that I still need to improve a bit, because "otherwise what's the point ?!". I agreed and turned to Nanami, still there, to ask him a question.