[Application]

[heijoshin]

Name: Saihara Marino

Nickname: Marimo, Sacchan, Captain

Band/Solo: Chubbiness

Journal: heijoshin

Aim: #captainsaihara

Age: 21

Year: 3rd - Junior

Fraternity/Sorority/Dorms/Off-campus housing: Kappa Delta

Major: Physics

Clubs/Sports: Kendo (Captain)





Biography:


"Sei retsu!"

Her strong voice echoed in the otherwise silent practice room, followed by the soft sound of hustling of everyone following the order, getting in line. They've done this too many times, a beginning routine. Marino, the captain of the kendo club was doing kendo since her first year in elementary school, back in Japan.

The only child of a divorced family, Marino lived with her father in Seoul- where he was transferred for work. But she didn't move in with him until the last year of elementary, when she couldn't handle the bullying anymore. So much for all those movies about 'inner beauty'; Marino was teased often for her looks, for not being thin or pretty, not to mention her short haircut made her look more like a boy, according to her classmate's standards. It wasn't until they started stealing her bento or putting rotten food on her desk because 'she'd eat it anyway', that she had no will to meet them anymore, or even leave her home. She started skipping kendo practices, and even meals, which worried her mother. After a few months of failed mental support, Marino found the courage to tell her mother that she wanted to live with her father, in Korea. She knew it wouldn't be any easier but maybe a fresh start was all that she needed.

"Seiza!"

Surprisingly it turned out better than she expected. She started going to a language school, and her father also hired a tutor when it was not enough to help her with classes, who would later be a senior in the high school she'd attend. She started kendo again, and her talent in sports and cheerful personality had somehow charmed the people around her and she managed to have a regular school life without any more bullying until the day she graduated. After getting into high school, she started joining high school kendo championships, bringing a gold medal back on her second year. Marino always considered that as a turning point of being seen as an actual potential friend rather than the chubby foreigner girl, making friends easier and even getting invitations to go out with them. That was also when she made really close friends, friends she still sees and hangs out with.

"Ki wo tsuke!"

They never had financial problems. Marino wouldn't go as far as to say that they were mind blowingly rich, but it wouldn't be a lie to say that they had better life standards than the average person. Which was one of the reasons how she found herself in Yonsei. Being in the Kendo club, she impressed the sensei so much to become the captain after the last captain graduated, and that was also how she found herself in Kappa Delta as well, immediately getting along with the girls there. And after a year, Marino would go as far to say that they're all her closest friends.

"Mokuso!"

Sitting in a seiza position on the practice room now, Marino realized that despite all the bad memories, she was happy with where she is now. Sure, she felt lonely for never having a boyfriend (she was not a lesbian like most people thought she was, although she thought she might be asexual) and had complexes that could make a psychologist want to resign, but she was happy.

She had picked to study physics, influenced by her physics teacher in high school. A woman in her young 30's with a brilliant mind who she looked up to. The teacher had shown her the wonders of physics and the unknown mysteries that waited to be explored. Her dream was to make an academic career, studying on astrophysics, dark matter and maybe even black-holes in the future.

"Yame! Shomen ni, rei!"

Hands in front, she bowed in sync with the others, watching them from the corner of her eye. "Sensei ni, rei!" After sitting up, she shouted again, loud and strong. "Men o tsuke!"

Her tenugui was a gift from her high school friends from her kendo club, a graduation parting present. Dark blue with a white mascot face print on it so when she tied it, there would be a cute bear face covering the top of her head. Soon it would be covered by her helmet though, and then the practice would start, covering the room with screams and shouts and the beautiful sound of one shinai hitting another, until the end of practice, where they would go through another routine, led by her and the etiquette of Kendo.

For a girl who was chubby and short (155cm, 58kg), she was really athletic, being able to do backhands or handsprings. She loved doing cosplays, video games, anime, manga or comic-books, which didn't help her back when she was bullied but now she talked about them more openly and excitedly, even cosplaying when she has an opportunity to show it off. Her last one was for last Halloween, when she cosplayed Black Widow, complete with the action moves.

But most importantly, she never let anything stop her from eating what she thought was delicious, or living her life the way she wanted anymore. And if anyone had a problem with that, they'd have to deal with it.