As I exited the lobby elevator and took my first morning steps outside the dormitories, an unknown beautiful shade of the sky presented itself before me. The capricious wind brushed against my face and hair, giving me a faint chill in contrast to my cozy body.
I looked around as I walked towards the park. The pink-petalled trees had already started to fall with the wind. This was the only instance that I took the time to appreciate this world's seemingly beautiful nature. If I recall correctly, these trees are named cherry blossoms. Even its name is fine art.
Despite the school being known to me as a busy place, the park welcomed me with peace and tranquility. I guess weekends truly make a difference for students. Who knows how many of them are still slacking off in their beds? Sleeping like there is no tomorrow.
I disregarded my useless thoughts and placed my water bottle on top of a bench.
The key to a good workout is a proper warm-up. With some decent stretches, my body will prepare itself for possible arduous exercises and get my blood flowing. The sweater helps with this as well. And medically speaking, this will also prevent unwanted injuries.
Suzune looked dumbfounded when I brought up exercising which is concerning. Even if she is flexible and fit because of her martial arts background, I need to increase her strength and maintain decent stamina.
Typically, I stretch my muscles and joints from head to toe.
I started with routine head rotations, swinging my neck clockwise and counterclockwise. I did this while subtly counting in my mind.
Next, elbows. Your elbows make up about the strongest bones of your body—second only to the thigh bone, the undisputed femur.
Needless to say, they need proper stretches, or else their potential is wasted.
After stretching my arms, I slowly worked my way down.
I was in the middle of reaching my toes when I picked up footsteps coming from my side. I turned my head and met a flipped image of a young blonde man wearing a tight short-sleeved shirt and matching sweatpants. Is that even a shirt? The fabric almost looks like it is shining so I have some doubts.
I fixed my posture to get a better look at him.
What a fine figure, I thought. But something bothered me. I feel I know this person. Before I knew it, I might have stared too long. The young man and I made eye contact.
He oozed with so much confidence—it was almost creepy.
He let out a sheepish smirk and ran his right hand through his long hair while putting his left hand on his waist as if assuming some pose.
"Oh? Are you captivated by my beauty, girl?" he spoke in a deep and arrogant voice.
I had thought this person was fine art but he is just a lost narcissist. Still, who is this person?
As if answering my thoughts, a voice inside my head spoke, "That's Kouenji-kun."
Ah, Kouenji Rokusuke. Now I remember. I have been working too much behind the scenes that I had forgotten the faces of my classmates. Truly, a tragedy.
"What do you mean, Kouenji-kun?" I said, slightly annoyed.
"Oh, you know who I am? Well, of course you do. Those who have been enchanted by my presence once would never forget me."
He then looked at me with curious eyes, "I see. You seem familiar. You must be a classmate."
"I am," I confirmed. "We are both from Class D."
"Aha!" Kouenji exclaimed as if a lightbulb had appeared on top of his head. "You're that Horikita girl, are you not? You must be."
"My name is Horikita Suzune," I sighed. "How come you failed to recognize your own classmate?"
This guy is ridiculous. How rude. I would like to start my workout soon but Kouenji is ruining my mood.
"You see. There are more significant things to remember than the faces of unfascinating people."
"Unfascinating?" I questioned his choice of words. "You seem to have a lot of confidence in yourself, Kouenji-kun. Should you use that strength to push the class to a higher level, I would be delighted."
"Please," he scoffed. "I have no interest in class affairs. My beauty would be wasted in such trivial matters."
"I see. Perhaps your skills are not actually up for the task if you are so adamant about refusing to help us."
He let out a good laugh, "I know what you're trying to do. Unfortunately, such mischievous tricks do not work on me."
This person is something else. There is no way for me to forget his name now. His annoying face and pesky attitude are basically plastered in a part of my head. I have encountered narcissists in the past, but those kinds of people generally have a complexity or two.
At a glance, the self-entitled behavior Kouenji possesses might be a form of grandiose narcissism. However, if his sense of superiority can not be challenged and potential threats to his entitlement do not faze him, he might be a completely different breed.
Of course, it is still possible that all of this is just a very strong facade of his. Either way, this person is impossible to control unless he chooses to act to my benefit.
Oh my. What am I thinking? Bad habits.
Anyways, seeing as Kouenji is just acting like a germ, I decided to take my warm-up elsewhere.
"Hey," he called as I was walking away. "I believe it's quite unmannered of you to provoke me and then leave when it doesn't work. Don't you have anything else to say?"
I turned my head, "Why, no? Do you not have your own workout to do? We would just be wasting time if we continued our fruitless conversation any further."
Kouenji extended his right hand towards me and grinned, "Your way of speech is fascinating. It reminds me of my own beauty. Ah, yes! How beautiful."
I was speechless for a few seconds. I fixed my posture and turned to him in full.
"Do you need medical attention, Kouenji-kun?"
"Say, Horikita girl," he ignored my question. "You should join my fabulous workout routine."
"No. That would not be beneficial for either of us. The difference between our body types is like black and white," I explained. "I would just slow you down and injure myself in the process."
In Suzune's body, at least. The best way to train for now is to take it slow. Though, I could use some sprinting and limit test Suzune's stamina.
He scoffed, "Do not fret. I am a gentleman. I will make sure your delicate body can keep up."
Anyone who would say such a thing would immediately come off as provocative and arrogant. However, in Kouenji's case, it must simply be what he believes is the truth.
"Delicate, you say?"
Oh well. It would be a waste to let this chance slip.
I took a deep breath. Immediately afterwards, I turned back in the opposite direction and broke into a sprint.
The cold wind crashed against me the same way I crashed against it. Sweat had started to drip down my face. My body heated up from within my sweater and leggings.
Endurance and stamina can only be measured through aerobic exercises. In this case, running. If I were to keep up this pace for an extended period of time, my energy would eventually be replaced with fatigue. However, just breaking past your limit, even by a little, would yield significant improvements that would pave the path to a stronger future.
Even if Suzune's stamina is average, with proper breathing technique and posture, I can run faster and longer than this body has ever done so.
I tried maintaining my pace even with the small turns around the park. As I did, I started picking up faint but repeated sounds of footsteps behind me.
It was definitely Kouenji.
I did not bother looking since I knew he would pass me soon enough. At the same time, this was not really much of a competition. I am merely testing this body's limits against a man who claims to be perfection himself.
Of course, a great build and unfathomable stamina alone do not decide the outcome of a battle. If Kouenji had picked up the sword before, I would not mind a friendly spar.
After about several seconds, the blonde young man caught up to me and slowed down at my side.
"What a lovely gesture to run off while we were having a conversation. Is this what you want?"
"Shut up and run, Kouenji-kun."
"I see. Do your best and catch up then. I will show you three percent of my true beauty," he boasted before passing me.
It was a bit ironic. I knew if I was in my actual body, my reflexes would blow Kouenji out of the water, so his arrogance was something I could only laugh at. It is not the case now with Suzune's body but at least I was given the wisdom and patience to accept that.
That said, I slowly picked up the pace while still keeping my breathing under control. Of course, making sure I was not overstriding came with my instincts. I kept my shoulders relaxed as well.
The distance separating Kouenji and I slowly faded as time went by. After a bit, it completely disappeared. He slowed down on purpose.
"Three kilometers should be enough for you today," he said.
"Huh? Tired, are we?"
He scoffed, "I have already perfected cardio. Explosive and grueling exercises would be more appropriate for my skill."
I guess this is the part where we expend all of our remaining energy and cover as much distance in the tiniest time frame possible. I do not mind. I have a decent grasp on how I should train Suzune's body now, thanks to Kouenji's random appearance.
"Would you sprint with all you got, Kouenji-kun?"
"Haha! There is no need for me to take anything seriously. That would just be a waste of effort."
"I see."
I doubt I can outrun him in my current state, but I would like to at least understand his true capabilities, even by a tiny bit.
And so, I aimed to surpass Suzune's limits right here—right now!
Spark.
I blitzed past Kouenji, hoping to surprise him even a little and get him to move.
But it is not like I have any superhuman powers. Accelerating from fast to godspeed in a single second is impossible, even for the actual me.
That is why before I sprinted beyond Suzune's capacity, I slowed down ever so slightly. Kouenji had complied with no issues to match my pace.
But when I accelerated, the difference in my speed appeared to be gigantic, like an illusion. If this can faze him at all, he will sprint towards me.
Our final lap should be the bench where we first started. That is my goal.
Finally, my breathing became ragged and disoriented. My adrenaline took the driver's seat and poured all its effort into defeating Kouenji, however impossible of a task that was.
A few seconds before I reached the bench, I turned my gears up the final notch. But of course, someone was coming right behind me.
Looking back was not an option. That would just slow me down.
And so, just before I got to the finish line, a silhouette in broad daylight looked like they teleported past me, stealing away first place in the process.
"Did you think you would get a reaction out of me?" Kouenji laughed as I made it to the bench.
Just as I thought, this guy is fine art, regardless of his personality.
It was clear from the start that I was no match for him in Suzune's body. I might have a chance in a one-hundred-meter race but an endurance test against him is merely impossible to win.
Here I was—collecting my breath while Kouenji looked like he had not even broken a sweat.
"You had to accelerate in the end though," I joked.
"Did you think you were going to win?"
"Of course not."
He laughed out loud, "Fantastic!"
Kouenji is still an unusual person though.
Despite that, I followed his mini-workout routine which allowed me to show off Suzune's flexibility.
However, some exercises were still off-limits to this body. For example, the planche required impeccable upper-body strength that technique alone would not be able to replicate. My perfect handstand is a speck of dust compared to a decent planche. Needless to say, I could do it with ease if I were in my actual body.
After that, I decided to come home and wash off the sweat and dirt I picked up.
Kouenji just did what he liked. I did not ask about anything else after the workout was done. After all, why would I?
But other than that, it was a good morning.