Chapter 47 - 47: I Want to Improve

The next afternoon, at the karate club. Instead of their usual sparring session, Haru and his senior, Oyama, stood on the sidelines, observing. In the center of the training area, two newcomers were paired up for a practice match. According to Oyama, these two had only joined the club two and a half days ago. So today, they were given a chance to test their skills through live sparring. Haru only needed to watch for a few seconds to confirm what he already suspected—they were complete beginners. The kind that had only learned how to stand in the basic stance but had no clue what to do when an actual fight broke out. As soon as they started, the match quickly devolved into a wild, uncoordinated brawl. At this point, both of them had tumbled to the ground, grappling each other in what could only be described as a messy entanglement. Haru glanced at the calm-looking Oyama beside him. "You're not stopping them?" "Let's wait a little longer. Newcomers tend to have strong egos. If I call it off too soon, they might feel embarrassed. Besides, ground fighting is part of jiu-jitsu too." Haru raised an eyebrow. "So, you're the gentle type, huh, Senpai?" "Hey, don't make it sound weird. We're both guys here." The two continued chatting as the "fight" on the ground got even more chaotic. The two newcomers on the ground had already lost their composure and were fighting chaotically on the soft ground. One of them reached his hand behind the crotch of the other and started to do something random on the spot, causing the other to scream in pain. Haru turned to Oyama in silence before finally asking, "This is part of jiu-jitsu too?" "…That move… must be something he picked up from a video game," Oyama mused. "It's called 'Pressure Point Grab.' If executed correctly, there's a chance to trigger a magic effect on the next hit." Haru let out a short laugh. "Wow, you actually tried to justify that." Honestly, he wouldn't have been surprised if Oyama claimed the guy was a rock climber and just had an instinct for gripping onto… well, anything. Realizing he couldn't keep making excuses, Oyama quickly stepped in and called off the match before things got any weirder. Then, it was time for Haru and Oyama's own sparring session. As Oyama strapped on his protective gear, Haru casually suggested, "Senpai, maybe you should wear gloves this time." "Please, I'm a karate practitioner. Wearing gloves would be ridiculous." Oyama scoffed, full of confidence. Three minutes later— "Someone get me a pair of gloves! This guy's body feels like it's made of steel!" Oyama groaned, flexing his sore hands. After wrapping up his training and earning some valuable experience points from the session, Haru returned to his own clubroom. It was unusually quiet. Utaha was there. But unlike usual, she didn't greet him or throw out a sarcastic remark. Instead, she was fully focused on her book, jotting down notes as she read. That was new. Haru's lips curled slightly. Did Yukino say something that got to her? After greeting Yukino, Haru sat down. Beside him, the ever-observant Megumi Kato whispered, "Yukinoshita-san has decided to start filming on Thursday." "You guys can make the decisions. I'll just play the role of a supervisor this time." Megumi hesitated for a moment, as if wanting to say something. Noticing her rare expression, Haru, wanting to avoid disturbing others, took out his notebook and wrote: "What's wrong?" Megumi, seemingly amused by this new form of communication, picked up a pen and replied: "I just feel like this is more of a film club than a photography club." Haru chuckled and wrote back: "You're not wrong. Photography is a fundamental part of filmmaking, after all." Megumi gave a small nod, not refuting his words. Curious about Utaha's unusual behavior today, Haru wrote: "What happened before I got here?" Megumi answered without hesitation: "Yukinoshita-san talked with Utaha-senpai for a while outside. After she came back, she's been reading and taking notes non-stop. Their conversation must've been important." So she actually knows all this, huh? Haru couldn't help but glance at Megumi's pale, delicate face. Her quiet presence turned out to be her greatest asset—it made gathering information effortless. A true intelligence officer, Kato Megumi. — After club activities ended, Haru walked home with Yukino as usual. But this time, Utaha followed along. "Yukinoshita-san, you've decided to start filming on Thursday, right?" Her tone was more serious than usual. Yukino nodded lightly before adding, "If you think more preparation time is needed, I can extend the schedule." "No, I just wanted to confirm." Utaha shook her head. Seeing that she wasn't leaving, Yukino asked, "Senpai, is there something else you'd like to say?" Utaha turned to Haru instead. "Can I talk to him alone for a moment?" Yukino simply stared at her without answering. Haru, intrigued, asked, "What do you want to talk about?" "It's about a novel." "Oh? Have you already written it?" "Almost. I have a clear direction now, but I plan to start writing after the filming ends this week." Hearing this, Yukino seemed to understand something. "Senpai, you're planning to write a novel?" Utaha gave a small, seemingly casual smile. "Yes. My life is already fulfilling as it is, but I also have a goal I want to pursue." "You want to become even better, don't you?" Yukino exposed her without hesitation. Utaha simply smiled without denying it. This time, Yukino didn't press further. She turned to Haru and said, "I'll be waiting at the convenience store up ahead. Don't take too long." With that, she actually left. Haru was surprised. "What exactly did you and her talk about? Yukino isn't usually this cooperative." "The 'difficult to talk to' you're referring to—" Utaha looked at him meaningfully. "—you mean just towards me, right?" Haru didn't deny it. "I see you're not even going to argue. But that's not the point." Utaha paused for a moment before changing the subject in a relaxed tone. "Can I use you as the model for the male lead in my new novel?" Haru smirked. "If I get a share of the royalties, I have no objections." Utaha stared at him for two seconds before suddenly looking away. In a softer voice, she said, "Most of our conversation was about the photography club's short film. Yukinoshita-san thinks my acting isn't quite there yet. That's all." "So that was the main topic. What about the side topics?" Haru played along. Utaha's eyes shimmered with amusement as she laughed. "You're just asking out of curiosity, aren't you?" "Of course. It doesn't cost anything to ask, so why not?" "Fair point. In that case, I won't answer—wouldn't want to be at a loss." Haru could tell she was hiding something but didn't push further. Then, her gaze shifted to the bustling street, her tone subtly changing. "I ran into Sawamura-san today. She heard that I joined the photography club, so we casually chatted… but then she accidentally let something slip." Haru remained silent, patiently waiting. Utaha spoke slowly. "She mentioned that you attended a banquet with Yukinoshita-san. And she also told me that according to her mother, even professional directors are impressed with your skills in filmmaking." Haru froze for a moment before realizing it must have been that Ninagawa lady. Utaha turned to face him. Her beautiful features were unreadable. "Yukinoshita also told me that you've been talented since childhood. Not just in directing—you've secretly written a lot of scripts too, haven't you?" Her long lashes fluttered slightly, like a startled butterfly beating its wings. Haru understood what she meant. And he saw through her feelings in that moment. She was feeling insecure. The ever-proud girl, for the first time, was experiencing self-doubt. Perhaps she was afraid that Haru would notice. Or maybe she simply didn't want to dwell on it. Either way, Utaha quickly put on a bright smile. "I want to improve. What do you think?"