Chapter 2279: Stronger Ichihara-san

Chapter 2279: Stronger Ichihara-san



Ten minutes later, Marika showed up like she promised. When I asked her if she saw

something different outside, she pulled me to a corner and whispered, "I don't see anyone but I feel watched, Ruki-kun. Will you be okay?"

Concern couldn't be hidden from Marika's face. That's why I put on a reassuring smile as I lightly pinched her cheek.

"Nothing will happen. Even if they try something, I'm confident to get out of it. I told you, if Ichihara Jun has his family's back, I also have my parents." I said, trying to ease her worries.

Marika nodded but her eyes remained clouded with concern. "But what if they do something to you, Ruki-kun?"

"They won't. I promise. Come on, we can't let Koharu-chan notice there's something wrong. She's looking forward to this." I confidently said before I pulled her back to Koharu-chan where the sound of her punches hitting the sandbag echoed through the room.

Marika nodded and took a deep breath before plastering a smile on her face.

"Sensei, look! I can make it move now!" Upon seeing us returning, Koharu-chan stopped punching as she pointed at the swaying sandbag in front of her. It was truly moving albeit barely. Her punches weren't heavy enough to lift it but it was still impressive nonetheless. Looks like she's not skipping on the daily training exercise I set for her.

"Good job, Koharu-chan. Keep it up and you'll be knocking your cousin over in no time," I playfully encouraged her.

Marika giggled at my side, her face softening slightly. It seemed my attempt to lighten the mood had worked, at least for the moment.

"Yes, sensei! Can I punch more?" Koharu's eyes sparkled with excitement.

Her eagerness was infectious but... this wasn't the lesson I prepared for her. Punching a sandbag was for improving the force behind her punches and stabilizing her form or trying out different combinations.

At her current state, that's still too early for her.

"Sensei? What's wrong?" she asked upon sensing my approach.

I first took a glance at the door, trying to sense if there was someone outside the door. Obviously, that resulted in nothing as it was impossible to sense someone from this distance.

I then turned to Ichihara-san and answered, "Just checking on you, Ichihara-san. I believe you're aware of what's happening by now, right? Marika, me and our stand against the Ichihara Family."

Ichihara-san hesitated for a moment before nodding, "That child told me. My husband is giving you a hard time, isn't he? He also asked if I could find a replacement for you. I hope you can understand him. It concerns their family."

As I expected, she's not kept in the dark about everything. But then again, she's probably also getting squeezed in the middle of this issue. On one hand, her previous wish of getting out of here was probably still strong. However, she's still his housewife. If it's his decision, she couldn't do anything about it. Perhaps, if not for Koharu objecting, she would follow his words.

"I understand, Ichihara-san. And it's not your fault. This all started with me taking Marika from your... nephew. Now it escalated to this. As much as I want to continue instructing Koharu-chan, you should consider listening to him if you feel like my issue is going to affect you. I believe it will be for the best to protect her."

I could be called heartless and whatnot before but in this case, I didn't want someone like this pair of mother and daughter to get dragged into something they shouldn't be a part of.

Ichihara-san stared at me as a soft smile landed on her lips, "Thank you for your concern, Onoda-sensei. I can totally understand why Marika-san has chosen you over Jun-kun. But please, continue guiding Koharu. You're not dragging us into anything."

Upon saying that, Ichihara-san returned to what she was doing.

I thought of saying something more but I held back. I couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for her. Looks like she had grown stronger than the first we conversed. There was no sense of helplessness or weakness in her voice anymore. Even the way she moved in the kitchen was filled with confidence.

I turned around and started walking back to the training room.

However, I had just taken two steps when the door opened. And there, the suited man who was Ichihara-san's husband and Ichihara Jun's guardian stepped inside.

Even though Ichihara-san walked over to greet him back right away. His calculating eyes beneath his spectacles focused on me.

Ah. Is this his move? Is he going to confront me here for not giving the apology he demanded to Ichihara Jun?