To Prove I Belong

I scanned the beach, my feet slowly sinking into the soft, fine sand. My hand provided my only reprieve from the bright afternoon sun, a makeshift visor of sorts as I searched for Sakura. I should have invested in a nice pair of sunglasses.

After looking over the beach once more, I spotted Sakura. Coordinating this training session would have been easier if we had exchanged contact information. But oh well, it worked out this time.

“Good afternoon, Sato.”

“Hi Nakamura.”

“Are you ready to start training?”

Sakura took off her shoes, letting her bare feet sift through the sand.

“We should warm up first,” she said as she started stretching.

“Right. Of course.” I attempted to follow her lead and perform the same stretches.

It turned out that Sakura was far more flexible than I. Each time she took a pose which left her “exposed”, for lack of a better term, I averted my eyes. I was already accused of being a pervert by Honoko, I didn’t need to add Sakura to that list.

Why exactly were we stretching anyway? Ms. Kurokawa did explain in class that magic strength was at least partially influenced by overall physical capability, but as far as I knew, casting magic didn’t actually take a physical toll on your body. I guess if you moved as swiftly and frequently as someone like Emi or Shun, stretching couldn’t hurt.

“Alright I’m feeling nice and stretched out,” I said. My body genuinely felt looser than it ever had before. I think I stretched out muscles I didn’t even know existed on the human body. “What next?”

“Now we go for a run.”

“Huh?”

“Running through the sane is good exercise, and helps you train your balance, which is important during a match. Once you’re off balance you’re at a big disadvantage.”

To her credit, Sakura knew her stuff. Balance was absolutely critical to any form of combat. But to my dismay, I had not gone for a legitimate run since elementary school. I was out of shape, to put it lightly. Oh well, there was no backing out now.

Following in Sakura’s footsteps, I took off my shoes. I felt at ease as the sand below shuffled between my toes. With a sudden burst of speed, Sakura was gone. Time to see what I was really made of.

I bent over, hands on my knees, struggling to breathe. It took all my remaining strength to stop myself from collapsing onto the sandy beach. Turns out, I wasn’t made of much at all.

“Are you okay Nakamura?” Sakura asked with a concerned inflection. “Do you need water?”

“Yes… please…” I mustered out between deep breaths. Sakura reached into her bag and pulled out a still cold bottle of water. She handed it to me and the chugging began. Man, water has never tasted so good. “Sorry, I kind of drank the whole thing.”

“That’s okay,” Sakura replied. “I have an extra in my bag.”

I continued huffing and puffing, gasping for air. Sakura, on the other hand, was completely fine.

“How far… did we go?”

Sakura pulled out her phone and checked the fitness app. “Three miles.”

That was only three miles? I felt like I just ran a marathon.

“Okay, are you ready to start training now, Nakamura?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” As I said that, I came to a realization. The school rules explicitly stated that students could not use magic off school grounds, unless given explicit permission. Were we about to violate the rules? Is that why Sakura picked the most remote, distant beach on the island? “Hey Sato, quick question.”

“Yeah?”

“Why did we come all the way out here? Also, how do you train out here? It’s against the rules to use magic off school grounds.”

“We won’t be using any magic,” she replied. “And I come out here to train to make sure no one will see me. I don’t want to look bad in front of our classmates.”

Sakura really did lack confidence. Going so far out of her way just to avoid being seen while training. I felt sorry for her, but I knew I would do the same thing.

“So if you won’t be using magic, how do you want us to train?”

She got into a fighting stance. “We can practice hand to hand combat.”

There she went again, throwing me for another loop. She did not strike me as the type who would prefer fighting close combat. Her petite frame certainly didn’t help give me that notion. Still, given how out of shape I was, I knew I was in for a world of hurt.

“Gah!” I let out another grunt as I was knocked into the sand once again. That was ten straight times Sakura had taken me down. My body was going to be very sore in the morning.

“Man, you are outclassing me every single time,” I remarked, feeling a bit defeated. Even without magic, I couldn’t take on Sakura in a fight, a girl who I had considerable height and weight on.

“I think that was your best one yet,” she said reassuringly. I’m not sure whether or not she really believed that. Each time felt just as humiliating as the last.

“Doesn’t feel that way.”

I rose to my feet once again. No matter how many times I was knocked down, I had to keep getting up. That was the only way I would earn my place at this school.

“Let’s go again.”

Sakura got into her stance once again. We traded a couple jabs, but within a minute, my butt was in the sand again. No matter how many times I got my butt kicked, I was grateful to have a training partner. Having someone by my side who was equally motivated to work hard motivated me to keep pushing. But most of all, this first day of training with Sakura taught me one valuable lesson. I had a LONG way to go before I could prove I belonged at a magic high school.