The training grounds smelled like dust and old wood.
I sat on the low wall near the racks, back against the concrete, watching Maki adjust the straps on her glasses. Panda stretched his arms with the careless precision of something that didn't need joints to complain. Inumaki stood apart, hands in his pockets, throat wrapped as always.
Nobara kicked the dirt. Impatient.
Footsteps came late.
Megumi jogged in, uniform half-settled, breath thin but controlled. He stopped a few steps short, bowed his head slightly.
"Sorry."
Maki didn't look at him.
"Late."
Panda grinned. "Fashionably?"
Megumi said nothing. He set his bag down and tightened his sleeves.
Maki turned at last. She tossed a wooden staff toward him. He caught it awkwardly, fingers readjusting.
"Again," she said. "You rely too much on distance."
Nobara scoffed. "Says the weapon addict."
Maki smiled without warmth. "You too."
Nobara clicked her tongue but stepped forward anyway, hammer resting on her shoulder. She rolled her wrist once. Twice.
Inumaki raised a hand.
"Shake."
They didn't.
Maki pointed the staff at Megumi. "Close range. No techniques."
Megumi nodded.
They moved.
Maki came in fast—too fast for explanation. The staff snapped toward Megumi's ribs. He blocked late, wood scraping cloth. The impact echoed.
He slid back, boots carving shallow lines in the dirt.
"Too stiff," Panda said. "You're thinking."
Megumi reset his stance.
Nobara lunged next, blunt and direct. Hammer feinted high, foot swept low. Megumi jumped instead of stepping. He landed wrong. Dirt sprayed.
She smirked. "Predictable."
I watched his shoulders rise and fall. Measured. Controlled. He didn't answer.
Maki stepped between them. "Again."
They repeated it. And again.
Wood cracked. Feet thudded. Breath shortened.
Inumaki leaned closer to the edge of the grounds, eyes following Megumi's hands.
"Mustard leaf."
Megumi flinched—just enough to notice. His guard shifted. The next strike grazed his side instead of landing clean.
Progress.
Nobara wiped sweat from her brow. "This is stupid."
Maki didn't deny it. "It works."
Panda nodded. "Pain teaches fast."
Megumi adjusted his grip. His hands were red now. Raw.
He didn't complain.
I looked away for a moment, at the long shadows stretching across the dirt. Training always looked the same from a distance. People hitting each other. Learning where they broke.
When I looked back, Megumi was still standing.
That was enough.