Falling For My Sensei

Chapter 5

While keeping my eyes closed, I pull my quilt around me and moan in delight….I don’t remember my quilt and bed feeling this soft. I must have been more exhausted than I thought….wait, when did I get home? How did I get home?… Suddenly, the sound of a tea kettle startles me and causes me to sit up quickly.

Oh my god, I’m still in Kyo’s house…the last thing I remember is feeling my eyes getting heavier while we watched the movie, but how did I end up on his bed? Did he carry me here and tuck me in? My cheeks grow warm with a blush to think of his sweet gesture, and I’m silently wishing I was awake enough to know what being carried in his arms felt like.

What time is it anyway? Sleepily, I grab my phone and groan when I see it’s 7:00 am. Once I put my phone down, I notice a folded white gi with the dojo logo on the back and a white belt at the foot of the bed. As I pass my hand on the logo, Kyo approaches the bed and hands me a cup of tea.

“Hi, good morning. Here, I made you some tea. Once you’re done, you can use the bathroom to get ready, so we can start your lesson early. I didn’t know if you would want to eat something once you woke up, so I didn’t cook. If you’re hungry, there’s bread. Would you like toast?” He states while handing me the warm mug.

As I grab the mug, I respond: “Thank you so much for the tea, and I would love some toast.” then give him a thankful smile…. Oh, hey, by the way, thank you for letting me sleep on your bed…you could have left me sleeping on the sofa.”

“You’re welcome…how did you sleep?” He questions while pulling up a seat by the side of the bed and sitting down.

“Really well, but I don’t remember falling asleep nor how I got to the bed,” I state shyly to see if he would tell me that he carried me or if I’m stuck wishing he did.

“You fell asleep before the movie ended, and I carried you to bed.”

“Oh my god,” I respond while placing a hand over my face to try to hide my embarrassment, and it causes him to snicker lightly.

“There’s no need to be embarrassed, it’s completely normal to drool in your sleep, and don’t worry, it won’t stain my shirt,” he states in a serious tone.

I gasp in embarrassment: “Please tell me that didn’t happen and that you’re joking.”

After several seconds and sips of his tea and my face burning from embarrassment, he begins to laugh: “Did anyone ever tell you that you’re embarrassed expression is cute?”

“Kyo, that wasn’t funny….I really thought I did something embarrassing.”

“It was very funny and cute, Kora….now finish up and get ready so we can go downstairs and start training.”

“Okay,” I state, then quickly finish my breakfast and head to the bathroom to get ready….”Hey, how do I put on this belt?” I yell from the bathroom.

“I can help you with that once you’re done,” he yells back.

When I exit the bathroom and approach him with my white belt in my hand, I notice that he's already in his black gi….I’m not really the type of person who thinks men in uniforms look hot, but Kyo does, and I can’t help but check him out.

“Here, let me show you how to tie your belt,” he states as he gestures for me to hand him the belt. As soon as he grabs the belt, he ties it on quickly while describing what he’s doing, but all I could focus on is his cologne smelling good.

“There, now you’re ready to train…come on, let’s go downstairs.”

I follow him to the dojo, and once we get inside, we remove our shoes and place them by the do-not-enter door, then he turns to me with a serious expression on his face.

“Kora before we begin I’ll give you the ground rules: no shoes on the mat, you must bow to the mat before stepping on it and when stepping off, we never use Martial arts to hurt others and only to defend and protect ourselves and others from getting hurt, we avoid fighting but if a fight comes to us that can’t be avoided then we will show our strength and courage and handle it.

I am training you in private lessons and during these lessons we have to focus and always do our best, giving up is not an option….. last but not least; my students call me sir or sensei while on the mat, and off the mat they call me Mr. Kyo or sensei Kyo, but for you, I’ll let you call me whatever you want as long as it’s just us two in here, but the moment another student, parent or instructor enters and you’re in uniform, you’ll have to refer to me as my other students do but the title sensei isn't a requirement.”

“Okay, I can follow those rules…if sensei isn’t required, then why do students call you that?”

“Sensei is a title that only students can bestow upon their instructors. Instructors who follow the way of martial arts in general know that they can not refer to themselves as sensei, so when a student calls their instructor sensei, it is an honor and a show of a high level of respect for their instructor.”

“Oh, okay, so what will we do first?”

“I like that you’re eager to start. Come, let’s get on the mat…first up would be warm-up exercises, then I’ll teach you some other things like basic stances and blocks, and don’t worry, I’ll do them with you.”

By the time we’re done with the warm-ups, I’m ready to quit. I didn’t think I was this out of shape: “How do little kids do all of this without giving up?” I ask while trying to catch my breath.

“I don’t go this hard on the little kids, but I want to test your stamina…I want to see what you got,” he replies while hopping on his feet in front of me in a fighting stance.

“What?! That’s so mean, I want to have it easy like the little kids.”

He laughs: “Sorry, but only little kids get the easier version….besides, you’re doing well even though you could work on your endurance more.”

“Ugh,” I groan.

“Hey, no giving up, remember? You got this…. even if the little kids can run circles around you right now.”

“Hey! That means”

“What are you going to do about it?…want to prove me wrong?”

“Damn right, I’ll prove you wrong,” I reply before quickly running towards him.

“Oh,” he states as he moves away from me.

I mimic his poses and movements, and he responds by giving me kudos or telling me what to improve.

Now it’s time for a break, and I lie on my back facing the ceiling: “I’m so tired already, and it’s been 60 minutes…how long are these lessons going to be?”

“As long as you want it to be, I don’t have any classes today, so my day is free.”

“Really, so we can end it now?” I ask hopefully.

“We can, if you really want to….you did well today. How did you like it?” He asks while sitting next to where I'm lying.

“It was fun but very tiring, I can’t wait to be able to throw some punches and kicks, I bet I could beat you,” I state teasingly.

He laughs: punches and kick combos usually don't come until after, but I’ll admit, with you, I'm not sticking to my usual curriculum. I had fun training you today, and maybe next session I’ll let you see if you could beat me while learning some punches and kicks, since you’re a fast learner, but don’t tell any students about this, not even Jonah, because I don’t give him special treatment.”

“Yay! You’re going down,” I state while sitting up, then my stomach growls and causes us to laugh.

“How about we end training here and get cleaned up, then have some lunch?” He asks while looking unsure of what my answer would be.

I can see his shoulders relax when I smile at his question: “Sure, that sounds good, but I’ll have to head home first, then we can meet back here?”

“Or I could go to pick you up, and we can do this properly.”

“What do you mean?…. Do what properly?”

“You’re not going to make this easy, huh?”

I smile innocently: “I’m not sure I understand.”

He lets out a small sigh: “I know you’re pretending not to know that I want this to be considered a real date….Can I pick you up at your place? If you’re not comfortable with that, then we can meet here, and you can leave your car here while we’re gone.”

“I smile, yeah, I was messing with you….I would love to go on a real date with you, and I have no problem with you picking me up.”

“Okay,” he states while standing up and quickly jogging to the other side of the room.

“Where are you going?” I ask while quickly getting up and following him.

“We have a date to get ready for,” he replies before stepping off the mat and bowing. I bow as well, then giggle at his eagerness to start our date.