The Ultimate Stride | Prince of Stride Fanfiction |

23 | Training Camp

It was a little lonely, I had to admit. I loved socializing with my teammates freely, but I didn't want to annoy my brothers while they were going out of their way to visit me.

They'll only be here for a few more days, so I can handle this just fine.

Letting that reassuring thought sink into my mind, I opened the door to Saisei's training facility and summersaulted over to the group of familiar faces that were listening to Shizuma read off the day's agenda.

I leaped onto Brenden's back and curled my arms around his neck so I could get a clear view of our unofficial instructor, and he gladly supported my body weight by holding my thighs with his hands.

I rested my chin on his jersey-clad shoulder with a sigh as Shizuma's honey like words seeped into my ears.

Today is going to be fun.

~ ~ ~ An hour or so later // @ Saisei's practice course

| {Third P.O.V.} |

"I can't believe you guys have your own Stride course!" Ayumu exclaimed as he peered down at the layout from the catwalk styled hallway everyone was walking through.

The open railings allowed them to see everything Saisei had to offer.

    And oh did that school have a lot to offer. It was almost mind boggling.

Shizuma was just wrapping things up with Hônan's tour of the building, so everyone had already gotten a good peek at all the things they would potentially pursue later on in their training.

An indoor pool, an indoor track, a fully decked out gym with never ending rows of cutting-edge equipment, a yoga studio, various courts for things like basketball and tennis, a sauna... you get the point.

The place was loaded with all type of interesting goodies.

Everything they had was glorious, but the Stride course was probably the most impressive feature out of the stuff Hônan had seen that day.

"What did you expect? We do have the best training facility in all of Japan after all," Tasuku scoffed, and Kyouko fought the urge to slap him.

She couldn't deny that Saisei's training oasis was an athlete's dream, but the orangette had a talent for ruining her mood. She hadn't forgotten about his past duty as her guard dog when they played capture the flag at the festival, and honestly, she was still peeved at him.

It was inevitable. Kyouko hated snooty brats like Tasuku who did nothing but dote over their leaders.

Kuga leaned over the railing to get a better look at the course. He sighed when he noticed something crucial missing to the seemingly perfect runner's paradise.

"Your course may be cool, but it's missing natural turbulence. What's a race without wind?" he almost spat with disgust. He was usually good at keeping his tone polite, but the lack of wind was a huge turn off for the guy.

He was the wind guru after all.

    Kyouko saw this as the perfect opportunity to ridicule her enemy.