Storm by Sun Amanda

Author:Sun, Amanda [Sun, Amanda]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2015-06-30T07:00:00+00:00

Ishikawa shouted at the top of his lungs, his bamboo shinai swinging toward my stomach. My foot squeaked across the gym floor as I stepped back, my own shinai rising up to meet his. They cracked against each other as I defended myself, but Ishikawa was fast. A minute later he swung it around and tapped my arm.

“Point,” he yelled, lowering his bamboo sword to the ground.

I hunched over, panting, and rested my shinai on the floor as well, where it rolled and clanked against his. “How can you be so fast?” I said, pulling the kote gloves off my sweating hands.

Ishikawa unlaced the back of his helmet and pulled it from his shoulders. He grinned at me. “Speak for yourself,” he said. “You’re getting faster.”

“It’s only because of your shoulder,” I said, pointing to the spot where he’d been bandaged up after taking the bullet from Tomo’s sketched gun. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t go so easy on you.”

Ishikawa grinned, slipping the soaked bandanna off his head. “Naturally I’d expect you to let me win since I’ve saved Yuuto’s life.” He reached for a water bottle on the bench tucked against the gym wall. “He’s back at school next week, huh?”

“Yeah,” I said, sitting down on the bench as Ishikawa chugged the water. “Do you think he’ll have time to get it all together for the tournament?”

Ishikawa raised an eyebrow, the thin line of black brushing against the tips of his white spikes. “You know about the deal with Watanabe-sensei, don’t you?” I shook my head, and he leaned in like a conspirator. “Coach has been letting him come in after-hours to practice.”

I blinked. “Seriously?”

He nodded, screwing the lid back on his water. “You don’t think they’d actually let him go a month without practice this close to the nationals, right?”

“How come he didn’t tell me?”

“He probably didn’t want you to worry,” Ishikawa said. “Breaking the rules of his suspension could’ve gotten him expelled. Anyway, he’s always been the type to keep his secrets close.” He made air quotes. “To ‘protect his friends,’ and shit.”

I smirked. “In your case, it was the right thing to do.”

He narrowed his eyes, but a smile tugged at his lips. “I’m pretty sure we’ve had this discussion, Greene.” He sat on the bench beside me, his legs sprawled out and his wrists balanced on his knees. “Whether he was right or not, he shut me out. It gets tiring after a while, when your best friend doesn’t trust you with his secrets.” He ran a hand through his hair, still slick with sweat. He may have won the sparring match just now, but he looked so defeated.

His face was a mix of guilt and pain. I had to say something. “It’s not just you,” I tried. “He does it to me, too.”

He tilted his head back, his white hair flattened against the gym wall. “Yeah, but it’s different. He keeps it from me because he can’t trust me. He keeps it from you because he cares about you.

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