2 Hot Feet, Cold Trail

During a scorching day, the Sugimori Female track team prepped themselves for a race around the school track. Away from the pastoral grasslands and aging buildings of the school, the ground was rolling in the dirt with the dust blowing from the blazing wind. The track was shaped by white chalk and it looked like an oval that could cover a country mile. Bearing long track pants and a white T-shirt with their school logo, the girls were ready to speed off and race.

Approaching the starting line was a black-haired, ponytailed girl with goggles on her forehead and small, black shoes. Her figure was thinner and shorter than the rest of the racers and her name was Sekai Surugi. Bearing a childish grin, she bent her thin legs and looked straightforward at the racetrack. Mind as clear as the air, breathing as calm as the wind, Sekai set her eyes on first place on the finish line and she was ready for it. On the other side was her friend, Rika Yamada. Square glasses and short brown hair. Her figure thick and wide, a body much more developed Sekai.

"You ready for this, Rika?"

"I'm not sure."

"Don't be a coward. Not today."

"Ready, set…" The female instructor blew her whistle through the force of her lips. The racers unleashed their speed and blasted past the starting line.

Sweat on her face and heart pumping iron, Sekai moved past the competitors and inched her way to first place, ahead of the pack. The energy of her feet locked into a step-by-step rhythm, her knees pumped like an oil pump and her breathing was rapid, swift and exhausting. But Sekai felt no exhaustion. Neither did she feel pain or soreness. There was nothing in her mind, nothing but the thrill of the race and the battle for first place.

Sekai finished her first lap with relative ease, catching up to first place with the rest of the competition biting the dust. Just as she closed in on the leader, she lowered the rapidness of her legs and the speed of her feet. She quickly approached Rika as she was panting heavily, losing breath with each run, arms flailing and fingers delicately clasped. She struggled to catch up with the others, trailing behind with the oxygen of her brain losing steam with each subsequent motion. It's not that she was slow, she just wasn't fast enough, especially compared to the high caliber runners of the class.

"Hey, Rika, you have to catch up!" Sekai yelled. "We didn't practice our run at Nagasaki just so you trail behind the team and blow it for all of us!"

"I don't know if I can do this. I can't catch up." Rika struggled to catch her breath. Her glasses started to fog up overtime as she ran and she was losing sight of the finish line.

"Rika, calm down, my friend. We've been practicing this run for a year now. We can't lose this. You can't lose this. We can't lose this. Not when everything is on the line."

"I don't care about the school marathon, especially not the relay race! I don't want to face the runners from other schools. I just want this to be over."

"This is for our school. If you want to be dead weight, fine by me." Sekai rushed past her friend Rika Yamada and her mind instantly went back to finishing the race.

The second lap was over and Sekai breezed her way past the competition and into first place. She kept her distance, maintained her breathing and kept her pattern of motion consistent. Her small but well-toned legs continued to pump and her arms continued to jerk back and forth as she felt the wind ride through her face. She briefly closed her eyes and imagined what she wanted in her mind. Her parents. The school logo. The gold medal. Crowds of people cheering her name. The images of her mind gave her the bliss and confidence she needed to strive forward. She opened her eyes and noticed a weird looking image across the fence. It was something fuzzy, furry, and fussy.

"Oh my gosh, is that a cat?!" She lost her focus and attention. She broke formation and lost control. The tip of her toes landed awkwardly into the ground and the harshness of the step created immense pain in the skeletal structure of her toes.

"Ahh!!" The rhythm of her routine running crashed and burned. The immense pain of her toes started to spread to the rest of her left foot. She was knocked to the ground, face full of dirt and T-shirt in rags. She was close to the finish line, but the pain of her left foot was too great to ignore. She grabbed her leg and hugged it, pulling it closer and closer. She always felt the pain of running, and she always enjoyed the pain. But this was different from her usual routine. The pain was to her bones and soul, and the agony was too much.

The rest of running practice was over. The paramedics came and she was immediately transported to the nearest town hospital. She was forced to ER, where the doctor examined the extensiveness of her injuries. The good news was that she to pay off all of the hospital expenses thanks to the fact that her father worked for many famous sports organizations and was able to cover everything for her daughter. The bad news? Well...

"What do you mean I can't run for the school marathon?!" Sekai shouted.

The doctor responded, "I'm sorry, but your left foot has suffered a massive strain and the damage of the ligaments is very serious. You'll be able to walk again, but it looks like you've been over-exerting your foot. Your foot needs to take a rest. And that means resting your foot for the entire week."

"I can't believe this! My chance at proving myself to being one of the best athletes out there, gone, just like that." Sekai's face was bordering on the shedding of tears. She wanted to prove to herself, her family, and the entire school she was the best athlete of the school. But her foot injury destroyed any hopes of that opportunity. Profound sadness and melancholy were all she could feel. What am I supposed to do now, she thought to herself. There was nothing she could do. Sure, all wounds heal, but this was a deep wound, not just to her foot, but to her heart as well.

The next day, Rika came to the Surugi Household. The household had a distinct, rural, old-school feel to it. The yard lacked color, but the trees adorned the barren landscape. The house was made from an old form of wood and the roof looked the shaggy skin of a yak. With sliding doors and thin square windows, this was the house Sekai lived in. The household was not that far away from the school. Sekai always made the rounds rushing from her home to the school and vice versa every day. Today was not that day, however.

Rika slid the door to the right. She took off her orange and pink sneakers and walked across the cold hard, tiles of the household. In the living room, she saw her friend, Sekai. She was sitting down on her comfy, leather couch beside a coffee table with a large green book on top of it. She was watching old clips of Olympic runners, both in Japan and in other countries. The clips showed the energy of the runners, the rapid intensity of the crowd, and the sheer excitement of the announcers as the runners fought to be the fastest. The video clips showcased the thrill, the excitement, and the joy of the athleticism displayed of both the people competing and the rows of people watching the runners complete their laps in record-breaking speed. Rika's face, on the other hand, was instead full of disappointment, defeat, and depression. While the clips played, she picked an old pocket watch from the table. This pocket watch reminded her of the first time she got it from her grandfather during her sixth birthday. He told her all about the family members who possessed this pocket watch for centuries, how they used it to record how fast they ran and how this watch was handed down from each generation. Most importantly, however, this was the very last gift he gave her before his death, weeks after her birthday.

"Hey, Sekai. Are you okay?"

Sekai paused the TV and faced Rika. Her glare towards Rika made her frustrations evident. "Okay? Okay?! I am not okay! My dream of making it to some of the most prestigious track and field organizations is over. That chance to be a part of the school marathon, and most importantly to take part in the school relay race is over. The chance to be recognized and to be recruited to a whole number of professional running teams is gone. Kaput. Zilch. Nada."

"Sekai, you're overreacting. There's always going to be other opportunities. It's not like the foot injury is permanent."

Sekai grabbed Rika by the collar of her shirt. "This is not about the foot injury. It's about upholding a legacy, a legacy of runners. " Sekai let go of Rika and grabbed a pocket watch from the coffee table. "This pocket watch right here? This belongs to my great-great-grandfather. He was one of the best runners in Tokyo. I want to continue that legacy and I want to prove myself worthy of that dynasty. But I can't do that because my foot hurts like hell. It's not like I could train and coach you to be a great runner or anything."

Suddenly, a moment of brilliance appeared in Sekai's mind. Her face transitioned from pain and disappointment to a face of fortunate opportunity.

"That's it! I am going to coach you to be a great runner."

"Me, a runner? But you told me I was deadweight to the school track team."

"Nevermind that now. If I can't participate in the relay race, then you can take my place."

"But I'm not that great of a runner. I'm nowhere near the runner you are."

"That's okay. I'll just teach you how to be a runner. Starting tomorrow, I'll train you to be the best runner at the school. You have to do this for me. My career is on the line. As a friend, just help me out this one time. Please?"

Rika thought back to the time she first time she met Sekai. She still remembered the teasing, the shaming, and the bullying she faced all too well back then. She still remembered the scars from the past. But she also remembered Sekai, coming in standing up to the bullies, defending her from the onslaught of hurt. She remembered making her very first friend and her willingness to protect the self-worth of a person she just met for the very first time. She was never afraid of speaking out when something's wrong, but she also knew what truly mattered and the drive it took achieve that.

"I'll do it. I'll compete at the relay race during the school marathon. Where do I start?"

The day after, Rika and Sekai were in a bustling, busy street side. Rika wore her personal tracksuit: black sweatpants and a black sweatshirt with a small, cute-looking bunny logo that snuggly fit her sizable breasts. Sekai wore a regular white shirt that revealed her thin frame and red shorts that still showed off her bare legs except for her broken foot. Sekai was also riding a wheelchair with her broken foot cradled high in elevation. Her broken foot was covered up in a black cast with all the bandages coming together tightly with only her toes exposed. There were messages written in the cast wishing her best wishes and to get well soon. Looking at all the messages on the cast of her injured foot only made her more regretful over her own personal failures.

The two of them stopped at a whole array of stairs that was connected to the busy street side. The bottom of the stairs, the ground both of them covered, was where all the street people walked, talked, and shopped. The street where they sold kites, manga, toys, and food. The street where the shops were bustling, the cats and dogs were astray, and all the little people focused on the earthly and material. At the top of the stairs was where the local shrine was housed. Inside an ancient temple that has existed for centuries, it was a quiet and docile place. Tags full of wishes and prayers for good fortune, a koi pond full of an evergrowing collection of fish, and trees of cherry blossoms growing at their wake, this was a heavenly place for the holy.

"Okay, you know what you got to do, right?" Sekai said.

Rika looked towards the top. The piles and piles of stairs looked endless to her eyes. The way each step was layered with the gravel touching each other looked daunting, and the only thing she was able to see at the top beyond the stairs was the ancient, triangular roof piercing the heavens and covering the sun.

"Is it okay to quit while I'm ahead?"

"Don't go ruining this for me." Sekai reached for her pocket watch, the same old pocket watch that belonged to her familial dynasty. "Don't run until I say go."

Rika prepared her legs, stretching them out one by one. Her face full of doubts, she didn't know if she could do it or not. As she remembered, she needed a total of six laps back and forth the stairs. She knew it would be a difficult run, but she had to do it. It was for the school and for her friend.

"Ready, set, go!"

Rika ran off and scurried to the stairs. One by one, foot by foot, her feet clasped through each of the steps. Clap, clap, clap. The sound of her steps echoed through the leaves of the trees. With just enough force, she was able to reach the top of the stairs. Going back down, the rhythm of her feet continued. Clap, clap, clap. Her feet continued to echo. Reaching the bottom, she finished her first lap. She adjusted her square glasses as the sweat began to fall to the rims of her eyes. No time to waste, she continued.

Clap, clap, clap.

Clap, clap, clap.

Clap, clap, clap.

The rhythm remained constant, the motion of her feet stuck in a trance. Rika's mind started to dull, the pain becoming less and less the more she continued. Glasses began to fog up once again, obscuring her vision with each lap. She was finally on her last set, but her legs were starting to give in. Her legs started to ache as the elevation of the steps started to overwhelm. Rika couldn't do this forever. Her feet slowed down considerably, decreasing the speed she took with each step until the echoes of her feet were felt no more. When she finally made it to the top, she and her feet droned through each piece of gravel. Losing breath and oxygen in her brain, she couldn't take it. She knew her running was nowhere near as good as her friend. Nor was anywhere close to an Olympic-winning runner. Thoughts racing in her mind, she was at least able to make it back to earth. She fell down to the concrete of the floor with the only thing keeping her face afloat away from the ground was the sizable buoyancy of her breasts.

Sekai looked downward at Rika, looking rather disappointed. "You call that a run? I could shave a quarter of that time, maybe even less."

Rika got up and recovered. She panted heavily, her body and mind still sore from that exhausting run. "I thought I did my best. That was the best I could do."

"Well, your best wasn't good enough. I would've completed those laps with ample time to spare."

"What you would've done? I have never run six laps back and forth a cascade of stairs before. That is a serious accomplishment to me. And you're going to dismiss it, just like that." Rika's voice grew louder in deep frustration. "I have sacrificed my time just to help you accomplish that race, and all that you've been doing is belittle me and put me down. What kind of friend are you?"

"Friend? Without me, you would be all alone all out there with the vultures eating your carcass that you call a body left and right."

"At least my body is fully developed. You're supposed to be my senpai, and yet you're body, especially your boobs, are as flat as cardboard."

"What did you say?" The last line set Sekai off. "So this is how you treat me. We have been good friends for two years now, and you dare insult the way I look. I might be smaller than the other girls, but my size should not affect how I run. You've crossed the line this time. Go on ahead and waste your time eating slop and watching the TV like the lazy bum you are. I don't need you. In fact, I don't need anyone." Short droplets of tears appeared on Sekai's face. "It's not like I this race wasn't important to me or anything." Sekai rode her wheelchair several distances away from the streetside. Tears riding on her face, she turned her back on her so-called friend and never looked back. It didn't matter where she wanted to go, she just wanted it away from Rika, away from her insecurities, away from the stinging words uttered from the person she called her friend.

Rika didn't leave off and try to catch up with Sekai. She, instead, stood there, and just watched as she rode off as the sun lowered and the shadows arose. Even without the power of her legs, she was able to be fast, Rika thought. She was always amazed by her friend's (wo)manpower, her willingness to set goals, her tenacity to accomplish tasks, and her tough, headstrong personality. She always had a bite to her, but that bite made her one of the best runners out there. Thoughts swirled and feelings of dissonance took over. Am I really her friend? Am I really doing the right thing and trying to help her the best way I can? Or is she being selfish? Does she really care about me at all? Am I just a tool to her? These thoughts continued to invade her mind, even as she left the stairs where she didn't feel the top was the right place for her. All she could do was contemplate what transpired on this day. A day that had more impact on these two than the both of them realized.

Sekai was back at her house. She was sitting down at her couch, resting her feet. The strain was starting to subside and the pain was starting to cool off. Sekai lied in complete despair, but this time this had nothing to do with the race, but instead with her friend. In her mind, she wanted to figure out what went wrong with her friend.

She reached toward the big green book on top of the coffee table. On the front cover, there were no words and it was made of thick, leathery material. She opened up to random pages and it revealed photos of her youth. Her times running track during elementary school, her times doing synchronized swimming at the community rec center, and her times cycling through Nagasaki were all recorded here in this book. Her times winning bronze, silver, and gold medals in those sporting events were all there. She turned the page, and it revealed another portion of her life. She was with her friend, Rika, and the two of them were doing all sorts of things. Ice cream, karaoke, the amusement park, visiting Mt.Fuji and reading shojo manga. Those were the things the two of them both enjoyed, together as friends. Just two girls doing girls things, she thought.

Looking at the photos made her realize that for all this time, she was just thinking of herself. Never once did she consider Rika Yamada or her feelings. What have I done, she lamented. She was supportive of me ever since the beginning and all that I've been is treating her like trash. I have to fix this, somehow.

Rika picked up her cell phone and called Sekai. The rhythmic buzzing did little to calm Rika. Was this too late? Was it all over? The rhythmic buzzing continued to what felt like an eternity. All of a sudden, the buzzing stopped.

"Hello?"

"Omigod! Omigod! I am so sorry for what I said earlier." Sekai blurted out inelegantly. "I didn't mean any of that. You are one of the most supportive friends I ever had and I don't want to lose that friendship. I was so short-sighted. Is there any way you can forgive me?"

"I'm sorry too." Rika sniffled softly. "I've always been jealous of your body. They way you don that thin, petite figure and how you use that to your advantage when running it just makes me..." Rika was unable to come up with the right words.

"Really? I never knew that. In fact, I was always jealous of your boobs. It always made me feel short, in a sense." The long distance between the two of them was bridged and they were able to finally connect and fill the gap, closing out the distance between them.

"I know time is running short, but from now on I'll keep running," Rika declared.

"Yeah! But this time, I'll be more considerate from now on. For the rest of the week, I'll help you, for real this time."

The two of them affirmed their commitments, not just to the race, but to each other. A bond mended and a bond strengthened, the two of them listened to each other and each of them considered what they could do to help each other to win the race.

The next few days were dedicated to training. In the cold mornings and the sunny afternoons, Rika practiced her running. She changed her diet, changed her lifestyle, and changed her routine without changing who she really is. From the days where the sun was present to the days the rainclouds came, she prepared herself for the elements. She practiced stretching her bones to controlling her breath, her mind was steady and her body was ready. Along the way, Sekai was always behind her every step of the way. She was loud and forceful, and always kept a watchful eye on Rika. But this time, she was putting her friend over herself. They practiced were more straightforward, but challenging nevertheless. After practice, they hung out in their favorite restaurants and relaxed in a hot spring. They sang karaoke, prayed at the local shrine, and mediated near the koi pond. As the days leading up to the race were less and less, Sekai's mind became increasingly focused on her relationship with her friend, which she wished for nothing but the best. The race almost felt like a distant memory.

Until the day of the race finally came.

The day was bright and the stands were filled with whole crowds of people. Sitting in the stands was Sekai. Her cast was still there but the wheelchair was nowhere to be seen. She sported the same white T-shirt with the school logo, holding a small flag representing the school. Within her sights, she saw her friend, Rika, across the school track field along with the other racers from other schools. Before she took positions, she reminded Rika, "You're the last person in the team to grab the baton and cross the finish line. It's all on you." Sekai prayed quietly in her mind to have Rika win this race.

As she prayed, she heard a familiar echo. "Ready, set..." The whistle was blown and the runners blazed off.

The track field was a familiar place: it was shaped by white chalk and it looked like an oval that could cover a country mile. The only difference was that the ground was covered in solid, red concrete, it was near the aging buildings of the school, and the pastoral grasslands were covered in cherry blossoms.

The female runners of the different schools deadlocked in an endless struggle of speed. There was no definitive favorite, no definitive leader with a leg up above the rest. Sekai imagined in her mind she was in the race. Outrunning the competition, blowing them out of the water, getting the gold, getting the admiration. She wished it was her that was running in the competition.

She was quickly reminded of her friend and what she was doing to prep herself. Her gaze shifted to Rika, located in the last quarter of the track. For this race, she had her glasses off and track clothes fully covering her body. Knees bent and arms ready, she looked more fierce and determined than ever before. Sekai was proud of the tremendous growth of her friend and no matter who wins or loses, she'll always be with her no matter what.

After a minute and a half, the last leg of the race began. With force, Rika grabbed the baton and ran off. No hesitation. No distraction. She knew the stakes. She knew what must be done. All of this training, all of this sweat and tears, it was time to end this. She closed her eyes, mind focused, breathing steady and motions constant. In her mind, it was only the race that mattered. Not just the race here, but the race between life and death, the balance between pleasure and sacrifice. This was for herself, her friend, the school, everything.

Paying no attention, she passed through all the competitors, one-by-one, through a steady battle of attrition. The competitors lost their breath, but Rika was simply breathless. All the others had their minds running on empty, but Rika's mind was on a place higher level. Her mind was in a place beyond the planes of mortal desire and fleshly delights. A place that crossed the threshold of existence.

The whistle was blown. Rika's eyes opened. Her mind back to Earth. Motions interrupted. Little did she know.

"Did I win?"

The crowd erupted in loud cheers, sounds that echoed throughout the stands.

"Of course you won!" Sekai inched her way to her friend, the winner, using a pair of crutches.

Rika, in tears, hugged her dear friend deeply and squeezed her as much as she could.

"Woah, woah, hey! My foot may be healing but it still kinda hurts." Despite the pain, she accepted the hug.

When the race was over, Rika became the talk of the school over her amazing running. She was flattered but didn't really think much of it after that.

Sekai's foot made a full recovery and was able to get some attention over her coaching. She got offers across the county revolving around her coaching. She was even offered to coach a league of young children for physical activities. She had no idea if she was ready to do that. What she did know, however, was that whenever she had a problem, she always knew that there was someone willing to watch her back.