Kensuke

A skinny boy of average height with short dark brown hair and a quiff walked into the room and exclaimed loudly, "GREAT TO MEET YOU ALL! MY NAME IS KENSUKE!"

"Kensuke? What are you doing here?" Saya asked in surprise.

"I'm in the same class as you? That's great," he replied, also surprised. "I came to study at the same school as you."

Saya felt indignant. The teacher was in a hurry and decided to stop the conversation and asked Kensuke to take a seat. He went to the back of the room and stared at Neo, challenging him. That boy was trouble.

As soon as the recess bell rang, Neo was near Saya, Len and Sunny when Kensuke suddenly appeared. He invited everyone present to watch him practice kendo.

Saya sighed in annoyance. The boy was relentless and really wanted them to watch. To get him off her back, she agreed.

After the lessons, Neo went to the Kendo club. He didn't even know that there was one at the school, let alone that they practiced regularly. Saya was there and he sat down next to her. Len and Sunny were there as well.

It was the first time he had seen a Kendo match. He wasn't very interested in fights; he preferred less aggressive sports, so he had no idea how it worked.

In the middle of the mat, two masked men sat facing each other, wearing outfits that covered almost everything. The one on the left appeared to be much younger than the one on the right, suggesting less experience, though that couldn't be determined until they started.

Another man appeared in the same outfit as the other two, but he was holding two flags, one red and one white. He could be identified as the referee, signaling that the match was about to begin.

"Five points! The winner is the one who scores that many points. Two points if the blow hits the head, and one point for the rest of the body. You may begin!"

The two men stood and greeted each other as tradition dictated. They took their stances, and a silence fell as they concentrated. It seemed as if they were analyzing and looking for openings.

That's when the younger one decided to take the initiative with a side-strike that was easily deflected by the older one. In response, the older one delivered a strike from the opposite side he had been defending, causing the attacker to lose his balance and struggle to defend. Seeing this, the older one took advantage and landed a blow to the head that the younger one couldn't defend.

After several points on both sides, the younger one fell behind, and the score was 3 to 4. It was down to the last point, and it seemed like the game was over. But even under such difficult circumstances, the younger man didn't give up easily. His posture exuded confidence, enough to intimidate anyone, but the older man didn't seem intimidated. His experience showed. The atmosphere was tense and everyone was waiting with bated breath for the result.

When the referee signaled for the match to begin, the younger one quickly executed the same move he had used before. The elder had easily defended against it before and smiled as he made a slight movement to defend again. However, he was surprised when the trajectory of the sword changed with a twist of the wrist, aiming for the opponent's head. Caught off guard, he absorbed the blow, giving the younger man two points.

Everyone was stunned; it happened so quickly that they only realized what had happened when the referee raised the flag, indicating one point.

"Not bad. Looks like I underestimated you at the last second, and that was my downfall," the elder said as he took off his helmet.

"Never underestimate your opponent, it can cost you dearly. Isn't that what they said?" the younger one replied.

Neo didn't recognize the older one, but the voice of the younger one could only belong to Kensuke. He became even more certain when Kensuke took off his helmet.

"Yes, you're right. I should have expected more from someone who loves kendo. You've proven yourself."

"But, Miguel, you fought well. I almost lost."

Afterwards, Kensuke approached Neo when he saw that he was among the spectators.

"Did you see that? Kendo is much better than baseball."

Neo didn't answer. In his mind, both were cool. Sure, he liked baseball a lot more, but he didn't think it was fair to belittle other people's interests.

The next day, Neo ate alone during the break, sitting on a bench near the flowers, while Kensuke continued to hang around Saya. It started to get annoying for Neo. He couldn't approach the guy properly with him taking up so much space, so he decided to take a break.

Lenner approached Neo.

"Can I talk to you?"

Neo was surprised but didn't refuse.

"Sure."

"If I were you, I'd be a little wary of this Kensuke."

"Why should I?" Neo asked, looking at him suspiciously.

The boy looked down, folded his hands and rubbed his fingers together. He was visibly nervous and sweating heavily.

"Because my girlfriend cheated on me with a childhood friend."

"How?"

"She said she really liked him when they were kids, and when she met him again, she couldn't resist."

"Man, that's tough," Neo said, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder as he fought back tears, trying to comfort him.

He really opened up, genuinely concerned for his friend.

"It's okay. She promised she'd never do it again. That she loves me more than this friend."

Neo remained suspicious of this claim. If she had cheated so easily before, could she really be trusted to maintain their relationship? Especially when he saw how devastated the boy was.

"And did she keep her promise?"

"Yes. She never spoke to the guy again."

"At least that."

Lenner gritted his teeth. He seemed to be telling the truth, but there was an important part missing.

"I don't care about me. Neo, I've been watching you, and you're really cool. I envy you and Saya. I wish my girlfriend and I were like that. That's why I'm giving you this warning, so that the same thing doesn't happen to you.

Neo was pleased with the compliment.

"Thank you, seriously. I haven't had much time to hang out with you yet, but I'm glad you and your girlfriend are getting along. You were really cool at the party."

Lenner smiled, something Neo had never expected to see. It was a tired smile, much dimmer than other smiles, but it meant he was at least a little happy.