Always The Spare [ Okkotsu Yuta ]

Chapter 3

"Should we stop here for today?" Kaede asks.

Yuta whose grip once held tightly to the kendo sword, loosened as he nods. The duo has kept up with the training for almost two weeks where they would always be training with their swords in the evening after classes were over, if Kaede notices that there is a drastic change or dissipate in his curse energy she makes sure to give him a good 'wack' as a reminder.

Yuta wipes the sweat with the collar of his shirt as his eyes wander towards Kaede who also looked slightly out of breath which he thinks is a good sign as when they first started out, she didn't even break a sweat. Kaede getting tired meant that he was getting stronger.

"Ah, Kaede-san apparently Panda said we should have a hot pot dinner so he wants us to bring an ingredient of ours." Yuta says as he looks that the dark hair girl who was letting own her braids. "I was thinking of bringing some shiitake so-"

"I won't be there." She says quietly which earns a curious yet confused look from Yuta. "I don't stay in dorm over the weekend; I have to go home."

"Ah..." Yuta's shoulder slumps slightly in disappointment, among his classmates he definitely feels more comfortable with Kaede and at the same time enjoys her presence. Every time he talks with her, it's like breath of fresh air which seemed to make his heart at ease.

"I'll be leaving directly too." Kaede says as she looks at the time on her phone, Yuta notices her lips were turned into a pout which makes her cheeks curve in an adorable manner.

"I'll walk you till the gate." Yuta quickly states which earns a tilt of head from Kaede which makes his breathing halt for a second but let's it out a few seconds later when she gives him a nod of affectionate.

"I called a cab for you." Yuta smiles as he turns to smile at Kaede as he shows his phone towards her as a sign of confirmation.

"What a gentle man." She teased as she takes the phone from his hands which makes Yuta flail slightly, but the former did not care as she pressed on some buttons. "As a thank you, I'm giving you my number."

Yuta laughs at her teasing tone as Kaede turns her head towards him. "Thank you, Okkotsu."

"This is the least I can do, Kaede-san." Yuta says in a low voice but still full of care.

"By the way, I was always curious on why you don't use a katana while fighting?"

"Ah..." Kaede says as she walks alongside Yuta towards the school gate, where she could take a taxi home. "It's frowned upon in my clan."

She turns to face Yuta who seemed to look confused yet doesn't pry for confirmation as if he was worried he might overstep his boundaries. How considerate. "They say that 'our great mother had provided with life and blood which is enough' so it's frowned upon to rely on objects which aren't part of our body."

"It's weird, isn't it?" Kaede lets out a small laugh but Yuta does not respond, he feels as if it isn't his place to judge. "I later took it
on after Gojo-sensei recommended it."

Upon reaching the edge of the road, Yuta calls out for a taxi and then openes the door when the vehicle stops. "Take care, Kaede-san." He smiles. To which she pouts and waves at with through the window as the cab starts to move away. The drive back home was suffocating as she mentally steels herself; it's was simply overbearing for her.

"I'm home."

"You're late." Kaede's mother,Minori stands tall near the entry as she stares down at her daughter as poised as ever. "You should have been home and hour and half ago."

Kaede bows her head as she then proceeds to remove her shoes. "I had training."

"With Gojo Satoru?"

"No..." Kaede swallows heavy, worried about how she might react as she stood up and eyes trail to gaze at her mother's reaction. "With the new student, Okkotsu Yuta."