Chapter 6 — The Tournament Begins
645 Words
Mia
I hated how much one sentence could change everything.
She isn’t yours.
Kai’s words had been simple.
But they stayed with me.
Not because they were romantic.
Not because they meant what everyone would assume.
But because he was the first person who didn’t talk about me like I belonged to someone else.
Not Ren.
Not my father.
Not my family name.
Me.
And that scared me.
Because I didn’t know what I wanted anymore.
───
The tournament arrived faster than expected.
The entire school was talking about it.
The annual Kendo championship was the biggest event of the year.
Every club wanted to win.
Every fighter wanted to be remembered.
And this year, everyone was watching two names.
Takahashi Ren.
Nakamura Kai.
The rivalry everyone knew.
The two fighters everyone compared.
And somehow…
I was standing between them.
───
“Mia.”
I looked up.
Ren stood in front of me.
His uniform was perfectly adjusted, his hair slightly messy from training.
He looked like the same person I had admired when I first joined.
The person who believed in me.
The person who helped me.
But now…
there was something different.
Distance.
“You ready?”
I nodded.
“I think so.”
Ren smiled.
“You’re different.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Different?”
“Before, you fought because you were angry.”
He paused.
“Now you fight because you want something.”
I didn’t know what to say.
Because he was right.
For the first time…
I wasn’t fighting to prove people wrong.
I was fighting because I loved Kendo.
───
The opening ceremony started.
Teams lined up.
The noise filled the hall.
Then I saw him.
Kai.
Standing with his team.
His eyes found mine instantly.
And even from across the room…
I felt like he noticed everything.
My nerves.
My fear.
My hesitation.
He gave a small nod.
A silent message.
Breathe.
And somehow, I did.
───
My first match was against a girl from another school.
She was strong.
Much stronger than me.
The first strike hit.
“Point!”
I heard the crowd.
My old fear returned.
You’re not enough.
You never were.
My hand tightened.
Then I remembered.
Kendo wasn’t about avoiding losing.
It was about getting back up.
I moved.
I attacked.
I scored.
───
When the match ended, I looked toward the sidelines.
Ren was smiling.
But Kai…
Kai looked relieved.
And I didn’t know why that mattered more.
───
Later, while I was changing my gloves, I heard voices.
Two competitors from another club.
“She’s Hayashi’s daughter, right?”
“Yeah.”
“The one connected to that scandal?”
I froze.
My fingers stopped moving.
“What scandal?”
They didn’t notice me.
“Her father didn’t just lose.”
A pause.
“They say he was disqualified.”
My heart stopped.
Disqualified?
Not defeated.
Not injured.
Disqualified.
Before I could hear more, someone spoke behind me.
“Walk away.”
The voices went silent.
I turned.
Kai.
His expression was cold.
The kind of cold that made people step back.
The two competitors immediately left.
I stared at him.
“You heard that?”
“Yes.”
My chest tightened.
“And you knew?”
Kai didn’t answer.
That was enough.
“You knew.”
“Mia—”
“No.”
I stepped back.
“You knew about my father.”
His expression changed.
“I knew something.”
“And you didn’t tell me?”
Silence.
Then:
“I was trying to protect you.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Everyone says that.”
And I walked away.
Leaving Kai behind.
───
But what I didn’t see…
was the way his hands clenched.
Because for the first time…
Kai Nakamura looked afraid.
Not of losing.
Not of fighting.
Of losing me.
End of Chapter 6
───
- Writer
