Chapter Sixteen

Yatsu straightened his new gi jacket and stepped out of the room, trying to figure out how to tie the white-belt around his waist. He settled for a simple double-knot before looking up.

Sasha stood in the hallway, waiting for him. Her black gi hanging loosely on her petite figure.

She eyed him up and down and then reached for his waist.

“You tied it wrong,” she said and retied the white-belt, only struggling a little bit with the bandages around her wrists. “There,” she tugged it, trying to tighten it, and winced.

“Be careful,” Yatsu tugged it tighter. “Don’t hurt yourself.”

“I know,” Sasha wrapped herself around his arm. “I’m okay now.”

They walked to the stairs but moved out of the way for Rika.

Rika grinned. “You two look adorable! Are you off to dance lessons?” She asked.

Yatsu’s cheeks heated, realising he had a girl hanging off of him.

“Ju-jit-su,” Sasha corrected and nudged Yatsu further down the stairs before Rika could bug them further.

Mom spotted them as they entered the living room and her eyes lit up.

“You two are so cute!” She hugged them.

Yatsu’s face heated more.

“Ooof, thank you Yatsu’s mom,” Sasha said.

“Oh please, you can call me mum too if you want,” mom squeezed them again and released them. “You go have fun!”

“We will!”

They managed to get their shoes on and left the house before they were delayed further.

“Right here,” Sasha pointed up a driveway leading to a small gym. Only a few vehicles were parked around it. Yatsu thought it’d be busier.

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Sasha took the lead, opening the gym door and motioned Yatsu to enter first.

So he did, earning a few pairs of eyes checking him out. One guy with a bald head gave him a nod. Yatsu nodded back before that same guy snapped his head up at Sasha’s entering and called out, “Eski!”

Yatsu jumped, but everyone else in the room dropped what they were doing and snapped to attention.

“Rei!” The guy said and everyone bowed.

Sasha returned the bow and everyone picked back up on what they were doing.

A respect thing? Yatsu took off his shoes, then his socks, following Sasha’s lead.

The bald guy approached them, he too wore a blackbelt, same as Sasha.

“Good evening,” he greeted and addressed Sasha. “Are you leading class today?”

Sasha shook her head and pointed at Yatsu. “I’m going to make this guy a yellow belt by the end of class.”

The black-belted guy nodded. “Ah, you must be Sasha’s friend I’ve heard about…” He trailed off and his eyes drifted to Sasha’s bandaged hands. “What happened?”

“An idiot pulled a knife on us yesterday. He got me twice, but he was in worse condition after I was done,” Sasha smiled and held up both hands for him to see.

The bald guy’s eyebrows rose. Yatsu couldn’t tell if he believed Sasha’s story or not.

“Well,” he scratched his head. “I’ll do a quick warm-up and then you can get to your one-on-one training,” he left and took position at the front of the dojo.

Everyone scrambled into rows, Sasha positioned Yatsu in the back, beside a young kid wearing a yellow belt, and took her own position at the front beside the bald guy.

He took them through a series of stretches, then some workout, including some air-punching.

Sasha abandoned her post to help Yatsu with his stance, and taught him how to punch properly. Feet needed to be shoulder width apart, knees bent, fists tight with thumbs tucked away.

From there, Sasha moved Yatsu away from everyone and taught him how to block, how to kick and demonstrated him a few easy quick defensive moves.

“Okay, now for a kata,” Sasha said and took a ready stance.

Yatsu mimicked her but she shook her head.

“I’ll show you first,” she said and breathed in, looking left, right, left, and suddenly shouted the kata name.

She punched forward, followed with a block, then a quick kick. Swift, smooth, she performed each action with precision and determination.

Finally she fell back to the ready stance, bowed, relaxed her arms and smiled at Yatsu, her cheeks turning pink.

“Shink you can memorise s-at~” She slurred and fell.

“Whoa!” Yatsu caught her.

Her head was hot, her bandage bled through. Yatsu lifted her up on his back, she hugged him from behind. The bald guy took notice and commanded a student to fetch water.

“Hospital,” Yatsu said and the guy nodded, proceeding to arrange a ride.