Chapter 7:Subsonic Friction

  The first planning meeting for Class 2B was a disaster.Rei sat in the very back of the corner,his eyes cold as ice stared at people.The rest of the students sat as far away as possible,leaving three-foot empty desks around him.

 Hiyori stood at the front, herding the chaos. "Okay, so the theme is 'Hidden Inuyama.' We need people for the booth construction, the research team, and the costume department."

  The class rep, a nervous boy named Sato (no relation to Kenji), looked at the sign-up sheet. "We... We need someone strong for the booth construction. The wooden frames for the traditional gateway are heavy."

  Everyone looked at Rei. Then everyone looked away immediately, afraid that eye contact would lead to a hospital visit.

  "I'll do it," Rei rumbled from the back.

  The room went silent.

  “Perfect!” Hiyori chirped,writing his name on the chalkboard.”Koga is in charge of heavy lifting and structural integrity.And since I'm the lead photographer,he’ll be assisting me with the site scouts after school.”

  After school,Rei found himself walking through the narrow alleys of Inuyama,carrying Hiyori’s heavy equipment cases.

 “You’re walking too fast,” Hiyori complained.”Photography is about the ‘Still Point'.You can’t just march through the scenery.”

  Rei slowed down.”We’re in the territory of those men from this morning.You should be careful.”

  “I have a bodyguard,don’t I?” She teased,though her hand gripped her camera a little tighter.

  They stopped in front of an old, abandoned shrine. The lighting was perfect—golden hour rays piercing through the cedar trees. Hiyori began setting up, her movements practiced and fluid.

  "Koga," she said softly, looking through the viewfinder. "Why did you learn Traditional Taekwondo? It’s not exactly a common hobby for kids these days."

  Rei looked at his hands, then at the shrine. "My father. He said that a man without discipline is just a disaster waiting to happen. He wanted me to have a 'spine' that couldn't be bent by the world." He paused, his voice dropping. "He didn't realize that if you make a spine too stiff, it doesn't bend... it just breaks things."

  Hiyori didn't look away from her camera. "That’s what the festival is for. And the library. You’re learning to bend, Rei.”

  The peaceful atmosphere was disturbed with the sounds of wood striking wood.Standing in the courtyard was Mio,the local Kendo champion.

  Rei was surprised to see Mio’s striking speed was impressive ,faster than he could blink.

  The moment she saw them,Mio’s face lit up.She ran toward Hiyori,her expression softening into a warm,bright smile. “Hiyori! You’re finally here! I was worried you’d get lost in the city again.”She grabbed Hiyori’s hands affectionately,checking her over as if she had returned from a warzone.

  Mio turned her head to Rei. The warmth vanished.

  Her eyes narrowed into a piercing,icy dead stare.The air between them grew heavy,the kind of silence that usually lightning strikes at any moment.

  “I’ve heard the rumors,Koga,”Mio said,her voice dropping the kindness it had for Hiyori and pointing her wooden bokken or wooden sword used in the art of Kendo,to Rei.

  “He looks like a thug to me. And thugs don’t belong in quiet shrines.”Mio said.”As the captain of the Kendo club,I can’t let a dangerous animal wander around my friend without testing his ‘weight’”

  “I promised not to break anyone today,” Rei said,his voice flat.He didn’t raise his hands.”Move the stick”

  Mio’s eyes flared with pride. “A stick? This is a soul.And if you’re as good as they say,you won’t need to ‘break’ me to defend yourself.In fact,good luck even touching me because I won’t let you.”

  “Don’t blink,’Ghost’” Mio said proudly.

  “Wait, don't!” Before Hiyori could finish her sentence,Mio initiated.

  Mio didn’t step– she exploded.Using a Lunge that even Rei almost didn’t noticed it,he knew the speed was faster than a blink of an eye.She pulverized the dirt beneath her feet and “teleported” across the five-meter gap.The wooden blade whistled toward Rei’s head.

  Rei initiated his dash similar to Mio’s lunge.He used the “Rhythm wave” to drop his mass and burst to the side.To Hiyori,it looked as if two shadowly figures were moving at the subsonic speed.

  Mio’s blade sliced through empty air.Before she could reset her stance,Rei was already in her “dead zone”,a zone where she is defenseless.

  Mio tried to pivot for a horizontal strike ,but Rei moved even faster.He didn’t however punch,he used a Dollimyo Makgi or Circular Block,a block used to deflect hand and kick attacks and often used in Traditional Taekwondo,touching her forearm and letting her own massive momentum do the work.

  Because Mio was moving so fast,that tiny redirection sent her flying off-balance.She began to fall toward the stone floor,but Rei lunged forward,catching her by her Kendo jacket before she hit the ground.

  Mio stood panting,looking at her empty hands.Her bokken lay five meters away.vibrating against the stone.She looked at Rei with a mix of shock and a new dangerous spark in her eyes.

  “You matched my speed…” she whispered.”Fine. You’re not just a thug.You’re a monster who understands physics.”

  Hiyori stepped between them,clicking a photo of the two warriors standing in the sunset.”And a monster who kept his promise!No hospital visits today.”

  Mio grabbed her sword and pointed it to Rei one last time. “I'm joining that festival committee too,Koga.Someone has to keep an eye on you.”

 Rei sighed,looking at the two girls. His life was getting louder by the moment.

Author's note:

✍️Fun fact:

When writing the "teleportation" lunge, I researched the maximum speed of a Kendo Men strike. Expert practitioners can bridge a gap in less than 0.1 seconds—which is literally faster than the human eye can process (0.1 to 0.4 seconds).