Guarded (Sugawara x OC)

Chapter 1

There's a popular saying her father loved to remind her of, 'Pain is just weakness leaving the body.'

But that's bullshit.

If that were true, Machi would feel like fucking Iron Man by now. Seven years of constant physical pain, and she didn't feel any stronger. If anything, she just felt tired.

But it didn't matter how she felt or what that damn quote meant to her. Not when your dad was Reo Harada. The Reo Harada, world champion and Olympic gold medalist in taekwondo who never believed in wasting his time with anyone too weak to endure a bit of pain. She was his daughter, which meant she was destined to follow in his footsteps as another world champion. And world champions never complained about something as trivial as a bit of pain.

"Keep your guard up Machi!" She heard her father growl before his fist made contact with her face, sending her reeling back. A familiar sharp sensation exploded on the right side of her jaw and she grimaced trying to hide how much it hurt.

Great, she thought, just what I need the day before school starts: a new bruise.

"Another point for me, you need to step up your game if you want to win this match." Reo sneered, watching as Machi gingerly rubbed the spot he had hit. He could already see a bruise forming, but that was her fault for dropping her hands and leaving an opening. "Is that really all you've got sweetheart?" He taunted, bouncing on the balls of his feet, ready to finish this match with yet another victory.

Machi's eye twitched. She hated that nickname, or any nickname for that matter. From anyone else it might have been a sign of affection, but she knew better. Her father never showed the tiniest shred of affection, yet he had no problem making her feel inferior. Calling her 'sweetheart' was just his way of pointing out her flaws, her weaknesses. No daughter of his was soft enough to be a 'sweetheart'.

Shaking her head to try and clear her thoughts, Machi raised her hands to cover her face and charged back at him with a volley of quick round kicks, all of which he dodged with ease. "Sloppy." He scoffed,  "You'll have to do better than that." Machi growled angrily, but didn't stop throwing punch after punch. She could feel her frustration building with each missed strike, and each time he easily blocked or dodged her attacks. Mixed with the growing pain in her face, she could feel her technique slipping without her father having to point it out.

Jaw aching, anger bubbling to the surface, Machi took a chance and faked another kick to his chest. When his front hand dropped to block what he saw as a pathetic excuse for a counter, Machi jumped, switching feet in the air to land a blow to the back of his head. She watched him stumble forward from the force of her hit, a small smirk on her face. They never wore protective gear when training at home. Her father thought head gear was for pansies who only wanted to play at being martial artists. But now he would have a nice lump on his head because of it and she couldn't bring herself to pity him.

"Jump kick to the head, that's three points." Machi huffed. "I win this round." After eight sparring matches today, this was her first win, and she was exhausted; her lungs were burning, sweat was pouring down her face, and she wouldn't be surprised if her legs gave out any moment. But the pride was evident in her voice. It had been months since she'd won a match against him. Sure she felt like dying, but she was finally able to get the best of him, and damn it felt good.

Reo Harada glowered up at his daughter, rubbing the back of his head as he straightened up. It had been a while since someone landed a point like that in a sparring match with him. Maybe Machi was finally showing signs of improvement. Finally.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, Reo scowled. It was almost noon; they'd been training for four hours already. Dropping his guard, he ran a hand through his short dark hair. "That's enough for today. I have to go open the studio in an hour." He said brusquely. Without offering his daughter the traditional bow and handshake after a match, Reo walked off the mat to grab a towel and wipe the sweat from his forehead. Not expecting anything more, Machi followed after him, reaching for her own towel. Now that the match was over, there wasn't anything to distract her from the pain in her jaw. Raising a hand to her face, she immediately winced. Even the smallest pressure had turned the dull sting into a throbbing ache. She groaned internally. Tadashi's gonna flip, she thought as she busied herself pouring some ice cubes from her water bottle into a towel and gingerly holding it against her jaw. The coolness helped dull the pain, but that didn't change the ache she felt in her heart. She had let her guard down again, and she knew she would never hear the end of it.

"You need to improve faster" Reo suddenly barked, his ice blue eyes glaring at his daughter as he watched her baby her injury. "You start your second year at Karasuno tomorrow, which means you move up an age level in competitions. Your opponents will be harder, faster and stronger than last year. You'll need to train harder than them if you don't want to fall behind."

And there it was. Reo's classic lecture. Do better Machi. Be better Machi. Keep your guard up Machi. Maybe it was the stinging she felt spreading across her chin, or the exhaustion from the third day in a row of early morning training, but Machi snapped.

"Really Dad, I had no idea." She spat back, sarcasm dripping from her voice like honey, "Thanks for the reminder though, I might have forgotten from when you told me that yesterday. And the day before that."

The silence that followed her response was palpable and Machi immediately felt her stomach drop with dread. She had gone too far. Glancing up nervously at her father, she saw the fire raging in his eyes and the dark expression that furrowed his brow. He hated being talked back to, and any time his students showed him disrespect during training meant the entire school faced his wrath. Being a blood relative did not save her from this misfortune.

Lowering her eyes, Machi muttered out a meek apology, "S-sorry, I didn't mean that." Her voice came out quiet, all feelings of pride at her successful sparring match forgotten.

Reo didn't respond right away, which only added to her growing anxiety. He normally was quite quick with his temper, not caring when his voice echoed around the studio or when he would crush whatever he held in his hand out of rage. Instead, he stared at her with his piercing eyes for what felt like hours before addressing her straight on, his voice low and acrid with fury, "You know better than to address me with that tone. I suggest you rethink your response by the time I return tonight" he spat before turning on his heel and heading towards the door. Machi watched him leave, eyes wide and heart racing, the ice held against her chin slowing dripping down her face like tears.

She stayed there for several moments longer, until finally she took a shaky breath and collected her bag, trying to focus her thoughts elsewhere. She was supposed to meet Tadashi for lunch and would need to change first. Maybe put a bit of coverup on the spectacular bruise she could feel forming. Not that it would help very much. Her cousin was always so perceptive, he would spot it right away and know what happened. Maybe he wouldn't say anything this time. Maybe he would give her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder and change the subject. Yeah, right. He may have been a year younger than her, and pretty timid by nature, but Tadashi was like the caring older brother Machi never had and she knew he would be furious.

Stopping at the door Machi took another deep breath. This wasn't the first time she had received such a scolding, nor would it be the last. Though this one felt a bit different. A bit harsher maybe, and it left her a nervous wreck. The hand clutching her bag was shaking slightly, and her heart was beating so fast she was convinced if there had been anyone else in the room they could have heard it hammering away. But she had to be strong. She was Machi Harada, and Haradas didn't show fear, or any emotions for that matter. They would make her appear weak, the one thing her father had taught her never to be. And so she pushed the trembling emotions back down. Back into the box where they belonged, just like she had learned to do all those years ago. She forced her head up, squared her shoulders to appear taller and more confident and left the studio. She had become a master of looking the part of confident, strong and intimidating. Maybe if she kept the guise up long enough it might actually feel real.

"Keep your guard up", Reo always told her, and so she did, in more ways than one.