I Chose the Plain Girl Instead of the Class’s Top Three Beauties, and Somehow She Became the Heroine - 51

Chapter 51: Master

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《Sora Mukei’s POV》

Annon-san kept changing more and more. I headed to the dojo for practice, unchanged and without any real shift in myself. It was quieter than usual. I went through the basics of karate.

“Front stance, lunge punch. One, two, three.”

My kiai stayed small, my breathing long. As I retracted my fist, I made sure my shoulders didn’t rise and checked the path of my elbows. Every time sweat slid behind my ears, I could feel unnecessary tension leaving my body.

Moving my body helped calm my heart. Lately, my heart had been unsettled more often than not.

“Mukei.”

When someone called out to me and I raised my head, Assistant Instructor Akane Shinohara-san approached with a light step. She was in her mid-twenties and worked as a police officer. Her long hair was tied into one bundle, and the sleeves of her gi were rolled up to her elbows. Her gaze was direct, but never sharp. Being looked at by her naturally made my posture straighten.

“When you move from the block into the punch, your hips lift just a little. Don’t think about floating them. Carry them while keeping them grounded. You get it?”

“…Yes. I’ll try it again.”

“Good.”

She didn’t talk much, but with her hand movements and slight signals in her eyes, the parts I needed to fix became obvious. After repeating it several times, Shinohara-san gave a small nod.

“Yeah, that one. Your feet are staying on the tatami. Remember that. You’re a little distracted today.”

“…Thank you.”

I let out a deep sigh, having been completely seen through. Practice reached its stopping point, and the juniors walked around wiping the tatami. When I moved to start cleaning up, Shinohara-san motioned with her finger for me to come over. I sat down on the bench by the window in the corner of the dojo.

“Mukei. You mentioned this before. Your black belt… You said you wouldn’t take it until you turned twenty.”

“Yes. I decided that myself. I want to build my foundation first without rushing.”

“Yeah. I think that’s good. It’s fine to set rules for yourself.”

There, Shinohara-san paused for a beat before giving a small smile.

“You can keep your belt color as it is. So just enter the tournament.”

“…Huh?”

“There’s a tournament next month, right? The high school division. Both kata and kumite. The registration deadline is this weekend.”

“Why?”

A small sound escaped in the back of my throat. I couldn’t tell if it was surprise or fear.

“I… I’m not aiming for my black belt yet…”

“This isn’t about your belt. It’s not about winning or losing either. You have hesitation right now. So you need confidence.”

Shinohara-san pointed with her chin toward the center of the dojo.

“You do the basics and kata here. You’re improving. But the place where you compete is a little different. The time, the sounds, the opponent, everything is outside yourself. Whether you can place yourself within that outside space. If you can do that, it gives you confidence.”

“…Maybe I’m delaying my belt because I don’t have confidence.”

“Yeah. So go build that confidence.”

The way she said it so simply made something warm gather in my chest. When something difficult was handed to me in such easy words, it made the escape routes feel narrower.

“I’m not good at standing out. Not on stage, not on the field. I’m the type who steps back and only steps forward when necessary.”

“I know. During your last kumite, your timing for closing the distance was really good.”

I looked down slightly, realizing someone had been watching me that closely. Shinohara-san continued.

“Stepping out to help someone and stepping out for yourself. They’re probably two different things. Mukei, try stepping out once for yourself.”

Her words fell slowly. Picking them up felt scary. But I didn’t want to look away. I remembered the day Hiroko-san stood on stage. She took off her glasses, searched for her marks with her feet in a world she couldn’t see, delivered her lines, and gave her final nod. Later she said she’d been scared, but she also smiled and said it had been “fun.” She looked beautiful. She had stood there for others, and also for herself, even if it was in the form of a substitute.

But what about me?

“…I’ll still wait until I’m twenty to get my black belt.”

“Yeah.”

“But… I’ll enter the tournament. I’m scared, but I want to try.”

When I said it, I felt a deep breath finally fill my lungs. It felt like a thin membrane that had been stretched across my chest finally tore a little. Shinohara-san softened her eyes slightly.

“You’ve got a good face now. Okay, I’ll handle the paperwork, so just get your guardian’s signature. For your weight class.. How much do you weigh now?”

“About fifty-eight.”

“Then the middleweight division. Prioritize preparing not to get injured. Run in the morning. three times a week, three kilometers. Mitt training twice a week. Pick one kata. With your current level, Heian Sandan will show your structure well.”

“Yes.”

Shinohara-san had noticed I was struggling and had been looking out for me. So now, I wanted to focus on moving my body.

“And also, practice losing.”

“Practice… losing?”

“Yes. After you get scored on, how you stand. After the opponent gets a point, how you use the remaining time. After stepping outside the tatami, how you return. ‘Returning’ is a skill.”

The way she said it felt like a kind of salvation. It meant it was okay to come back. All I had to do was learn how.

“Thank you.”

“Okay, that’s all for today. When you get home, write ‘tournament’ on your paper calendar.”

When I left the dojo, the outside had already grown dim. As I walked down the gymnasium’s outdoor stairs, the soles of my feet felt a little lighter. Not lightness, more like being on better terms with the ground.

On the way home, my phone vibrated. It was a message from Akira.

『Tomorrow, we’re going to try that new fried chicken at the convenience store.』

It seemed Akira had been worried about me too. I replied with a wry smile.

『I’ve got practice.』 

The message was read instantly.

『You got yourself a girlfriend or something?』

How did he reach that conclusion? I covered it with a sticker. When I got home, the word “Cultural Festival” still remained on the calendar. Next to it, with a black pen, I wrote in small letters:

『City Tournament — Entry.』

The ink was darker than I expected. When I traced it with my finger, a little bit of the ink smudged onto my skin. Reality gained one more layer. I sat at my desk and opened my notebook. I wrote down what I needed to do. Which mornings I’d run. How many mitt rounds. How many times I’d run through the kata. Weight management. Sleep hours.

As I wrote, my eyes drifted to Hiroko-san’s contact. Unsure whether I should message her, I typed something short.

『I’ll be at the dojo after school for a while. I’ll run in the mornings.』

Sent. The read mark didn’t come right away. That was fine. This was for me. The streetlights outside blurred softly. My reflection in the windowglass looked the same as always, but my posture was a little straighter than before.

I used to think confidence was something you earned after you won. But Shinohara-san said otherwise. 

You step out, you place yourself there, and you return. Repeating that slowly builds confidence.

I would place “the present me” on the tatami. I was afraid. But because I was afraid, I would go. I wanted to step on at least one of the marks she had stepped on that day. The black belt could wait until I turned twenty. The color of my belt wouldn’t change. But I wanted to confirm the knot in my heart again.

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