Drip. Drip. Drip.
"Seventy-seven, seventy-eight, seventy-nine...!"
My arms were about to collapse. My shoulders were basically screaming at me and sweat kept dripping down onto the ground like a literal broken faucet.
"EIGHTY!"
I dropped flat onto the grass, desperately gasping for air.
"Why are we trying so hard for this?" Rei asked, crouching beside me. "It's not fun anymore, and my arms are dying. Do we still have to do that 10-kilometer run?"
"...We do," I said, still half-dead on the ground. "We have to... do this every single day, and then stretch, so that we don't... fall behind!"
"But you already beat Hoshino-chan," he pointed out. "And she's supposed to be the third-best at taijutsu in our class, isn't she? At least on the girls' side. That was one hell of a dropkick, by the way."
I rolled down on my back, and turned my head toward him, sweat still dripping down my face.
"Thanks. You, uh, remember everything I've been telling you since then? There are a lot of people stronger than us. Just being born into a clan gives them a huge advantage—personal training, money, and they have plenty of specializations." I said, wiping my face with a towel. "You remember what the big three are, right?"
"Uuuh..." He paused for a moment, thinking, then raised one finger. "That'd be the Uchiha, Hyuuga, and Senju clans, right?"
"Bingo. Ten billion points."
"Where do you even get all those big numbers from?" He said, frowning. "We can barely even do sums and takeaways in class."
"I dunno, they just come out of nowhere," I got up from the ground, dusting myself off. "Anyway, where are Daichi and Takuya? I thought they would be coming today."
He seemed to ponder it for a moment, tapping his chin.
"They both said they had something to do, but they didn't wanna tell me exactly what. Maybe they went off to buy stuff for the academy?" he guessed, though he didn't sound very convinced.
Neither was I.
"You sure they just had to do that?" I asked. This was the second time they've missed a training session with us.
"Yeah! It sounded important from how they were talking," he added quickly, nodding at me.
Ah, I see, I see—
Wait.
Oh, hell no.
No one's gonna be skipping training, especially not my future squad mates! I'm going to need their dumbasses when we go on missions, even if the help is minimum.
I'll drag them here by the ear if necessary, and I'll have a talk with them later when I get the chance.
"...Amai? You have a really scary look on your face."
"Huh? Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about why they would miss out on physical training," I said, forcing a smile.
"Right..." Rei replied, giving me a wary look.
Either way, they're not gonna miss a single day. We may have two rest days during the week, but we have to make the most out of the present.
Especially me, if I want to mark my name into this world—no, not my name.
Amai's name.
"...I guess I'll let them skip out for now. But none of you will be missing our training sessions from now on, got it? If you do, I will be sad, and most likely won't be able to cook those dishes you guys love."
"Eeeh?!" Rei's eyes widened in horror, as if I'd just told him the world was ending. "No more grilled riceballs or pasta with the weird red sauce?! Anything but that, I don't want to go back to the ration bars!"
Hah. Can't believe I'm resorting to this kind of manipulation, but I need to keep these three in check if I want to make it.
Morals are likely not going to matter much in the outside world—at least until I'm strong enough, and I don't even know how long that'd take. Probably years to even just reach the bare minimum of the Kage level.
It's slight, but I've already been feeling like I'm not... myself. Something started changing when my conscience dropped into this kid's body, and it's strange, to say the least. It's not like some kind of edgy 'something snapped' kind of thing, but more something mental. Like something getting torn apart in my brain that I can't really tell what it is exactly.
Of course, that doesn't justify using these kids for my own means. I'm still fully conscious of what I'm doing, at least for now.
"Please, Amai," Rei said, shaking me by the shoulders with the most pitiful look on his face, "I'll do the run, and I won't miss a single day of training, I promise! Just don't take away the—"
"...Rei."
"Huh?"
Hell, even I was surprised at the sudden shift in my tone. It wasn't harsh or anything—just quiet.
"Earlier, you asked why we were trying so hard, right? And about why I kept going, despite beating Hoshino-san."
"I did, yeah. What does that have to do with the food?"
"It has everything to do with it, alright. Let me ask you a question; what do you think would have happened during that first spar I had if I never conditioned myself or trained a day in my life, just relying on what I had?"
Rei blinked, tilting his head at me. "Uh... I guess you'd just get your butt kicked without her even trying? You did beat her on the second spar with that crazy kick move. I think she kind of had it coming, with all the bad things she was saying to you."
"Exactly, she would've just stomped me. Even then, I won, and yet we continue to do this almost every single day. Here's one more question before we move on," I said, my back leaning against a tree. "Why do you think people give up, or just lose their place in society?"
"Is it... Is it because they get lazy?" Rei scratched his cheek, unsure of what to say. "Or because they mess up something and just don't try again?"
I chuckled.
"Hah, no. People can lose hope, feel despair, or even fear, but none of that comes close to the main killer of our motivation. You know what that is?"
I started walking to him, step by step.
We stood face to face.
"It's satisfaction. The moment we are satisfied, thinking we are good enough, our growth stops. We get comfortable, and we stop progressing. You know how dangerous that is, right?" I asked, watching his expression carefully.
"Take, for example, what's your goal right now? I'm not talking about something trivial like just making it past this academic year—I'm talking about something meaningful. Something you won't stop chasing until you achieve it, something that'll take you years. Possibly longer."
Rei gulped.
"Think hard about it for a moment. We still have three minutes of rest time."
His brows furrowed, and he sat cross-legged on the ground, elbows resting on his knees as he dwelled on it. He was actually thinking...
Good.
The silence kept stretching on, but it wasn't uncomfortable.
Finally, Rei let out a breath and stood up.
"I want to... I want to explore the world. I want to see everything outside our village," he muttered, brushing a bit of dirt off his pants.
"Geography made me realize a lot of things, even if we haven't learned much yet. The world is much bigger than just the village we live in," He said, and I could almost sense his conviction. "I want to see the oceans, the deserts, the forests that stretch on for miles... I want to explore every single country there is—even the minor ones I don't even know the names of yet. And maybe, along the way... make a name for myself, too."
...So that's how it is.
Rei won't follow me throughout my entire life. It's natural for people to have their own dreams.
But still...
A small, selfish part of me hoped he'd dream of staying by my side until the very end
How stupid am I?
Life obviously doesn't work that way. I should know better than anyone—I've been a loner most of my life until now.
People leave. Sometimes they grow apart, sometimes they just walk away. And sometimes... they vanish without saying a word.
"That's a nice dream, Rei," I said, stepping away. "Each time you're pushing yourself, failing at something, and wondering if it's even worth it... Remember that dream. Make it the reason why you keep going, and never stay down on your knees."
"Make me believe, Rei. Make me believe that you can actually do it, and I'll be by your side to teach you everything you don't know—and you'll do the same for me. As 'smart' as you guys think I am, there's still a truckload of stuff I don't get yet, so I'll need all three of you fools at my side."
Rei grinned at my response, an unusual fire lighting up his eyes.
"I'll do it, then," he said, extending his fist toward me. "The four of us, right?"
"Yeah, once those two start taking this seriously." I bumped his fist. "That doesn't mean we get to skip the 10-kilometer run, though. Are you ready?"
"Huh? I thought you forgot about it!"
"I forget quite a few things, but that's not one of them. You need strong legs if you want to travel across the world, you know that?"
"Fine..." He whined, then shot up as if he realized something. "Wait, you haven't told me what your dream is! It's not fair if only I get to have one."
I stopped mid-step, turning to face him. "My dream?" I repeated, unsure of what to say.
Did I ever have an actual dream of my own, instead of the cliché 'I want to become the strongest' one?
"Yeah, your dream. What is it? I'm sure it's something cool!" He said, grinning like he was waiting for something grand.
Which I didn't really have.
"I think it'd be better to tell you later. For now, let's just say I want to graduate at the top of our class—and that's why I won't stop moving forward. I'll tell you guys what my dream really is once we graduate, got it?"
Rei tilted his head, clearly suspicious of me. "Fine, then. I'm not going to forget—the moment we get our headbands, you'll tell me what it is."
"Mhm, sure," I replied, brushing it off. "Now, come on. Get those legs moving, or I'll leave you behind!"
"Huh?! W-Wait for me!"
I'll figure it out eventually—what I really want.
I swear it on the rabbit goddess.