#87 Unexpected willpower

Saturday was particularly quiet and nothing important happened, except for me meeting a few of my classmates during my morning jogging. Previously, I always tried to act more discreetly during my jogging but this time I no longer cared about it. This could be perceived by others as training for the upcoming sports festival, plus I am planning to reveal everything during the sports festival so there is no need to hide it anymore.

What was quite surprising is that I was contacted by Mii-chan. Apparently she wants to practice more for the sports festival and asked me if I can't help her with this on Sunday. I don't know where she got my contact info and neither I know where all of that motivation came from but since I had nothing to do during the entire weekend, I accepted to help her. I also don't know why did she contact me instead of someone like Hirata...he would be more than willing to help her, of course, he might have his own football practice during the weekend but he would definitely find some spare time for her. Also...not to mention that he is also shown to be more athletic than me so one would expect her to contact "professional" but I guess she also wants to practice for the three-legged race even though she never mentioned it. I also told her that she can invite her friends if she wants to and she replied that she will ask some of them but I shouldn't expect more than 2 people.

...

Sunday...

It was already 1 PM and I already ate my lunch an hour ago. I am expected to meet up with Mii-chan on the school's track in 30 minutes...I should go.

I looked at the time on my phone and grabbed my bag with sports clothes and of course some other necessary stuff. I can also use the time when I will be there to visit Sae-chan and have a talk with her about 'something'. I thought about inviting Kei and Matsushita but Mii-chan would probably wonder why they accepted to spend their free time with me on the weekend. With Mii-chan it's different because we are a pair for the three-legged race so it's normal if both of us meet up for practice.

...

"Hi, Walker-kun!" When I arrived at the track, I already noticed Mii-chan waiting there for me, wearing a light blue T-shirt with a red mini skirt and black mini shorts under it. Her hairstyle was the same as always...twintails tied up with two small pink ribbons.

Why does almost every girl have her hair tied up into a ponytail? Well, I shouldn't comment on this since I don't even have any specific hairstyle... Most of the guys have some kind of hairstyle except for guys who don't care like Ayanokoji and Sotomura who simply let their hair be how they are right after they get up from the bed...Although I can't say that I am happy being with those two in one group, at least I am not alone.

"Yo, Mii-chan!" I walked up to her with my hand raised as a greeting.

"Before we start, please let me say something in advance." She said with a serious expression.

Hm? I looked at her with a slightly curious expression and gestured with my hand for her to continue.

"Thank you very much for accepting my selfish request to train with me, even though you didn't have to accept, you still did despite knowing that you will waste your last free day with me..." She deeply bowed to me and started speaking with a nervous voice.

"Don't worry, I had no plans for today so you can't really call it as wasting my time with you, I am glad to have something to do so stop bowing to me, we are 'friends', aren't we?" I said with a reassuring smile. Although I called her my friend...I am no longer sure about the meaning of that word. Can a person close to me be called my friend even if I keep my guard up around that person?

Hearing my words stunned her for a bit before she broke into a giggle.

"Hihi, yes we are. I am sorry for acting like this all the time...my confidence isn't really high and I also tend to be over-polite, even with my friends, hihi" She apologized but this time with a bright smile on her face.

"Alright, let's start with the 'practice'" I said with a "warm" smile.

"Yes!" She shouted with full confidence and determined expression. Unfortunately, she still wasn't aware of what that "warm" smile of mine meant. She still wasn't aware of what kind of hell awaits her, haha.

I don't take training lightly...even if you are a girl, I will still make you exceed your limits. But you will thank me later in your life. I thought while watching her determined expression with a bit of pity deeply hidden in my eyes.

...

"Stretching is extremely important however you can't stretch without warming up your muscles first, therefore we will run 5 laps before stretching, that should be enough." I said with a bright smile.

Mii-chan, on the other hand, had horrified expression when she heard my words.

"W- what?! 5?! And that's just a w-w-warmup?" Her voice lost her earlier confidence and she was looking at me with despair visible on her face.

Seeing this, I came closer to her and crouched down a bit to match her height. I placed my hand on her shoulder.

"You can do this, I know you can." I said with a reassuring smile however I started to even doubt if she heard my words because she was once again staring into my eyes with an absentminded expression.

"Alright, let's do this!" I said and went ahead.

Only when I left her sight she woke up from her daze and chased after me.

...

When I was done with my 5th lap, Mii-chan just finished her 3rd lap while heavily breathing as if she was about to collapse any second.

I sat down on a nearby plastic chair and just watched her running with an encouraging smile on my face.

---

'I-I can't go on anymore...I-it feels as if my legs were on fire...' Mii-chan thought while slowing down a bit to take a glance at what Felix was doing.

'...No, I can't disappoint him when I was the one who called out to him for help! H-he is really amazing, he already ran 5 laps and at a much faster pace than me yet he looks like he didn't even sweat after that...And here am I...out of breath. My thoughts are...all muddled but I have to do it, only 1 and half of lap remaining before me!' Mii-chan thoughts completely changed when she saw Felix's encouraging smile, she didn't want to disappoint him by only completing measly 3 laps even though she isn't the athletic type, it's not a good excuse to stop.

---

Hm? She actually picked up the pace after she slowed down by a bit? I actually thought that she is going to collapse in the middle of lap.

I concentrated on my eyes and the yellow circle appeared around my pupils once again.

Her legs must feel extremely heavy...Her breathing is all disoriented, there is almost no pattern in her breathing...she should be collapsing any second but why is she still running? This kind of willpower...interesting. I really wonder what caused her to be this determined... I thought while observing her last lap with a curious expression.

...

Mii-chan finished her 5th lap and even run up to me before falling to her knees.

"I- *labored breathing* did it!" It took her a few seconds to say those 3 words.

She really pushed herself...much more than even I intended.

I immediately stood up from the chair and crouched down beside her, took her small petite body into a princess carry and placed her on the chair so she could rest in a more comfortable position.

"Huh?" She was so out of breath that she didn't even catch what just happened...

"hehe" I couldn't help but chuckle when I saw her confused expression. She probably saw the ground filled with the grass right in front of her eyes and another second later she noticed that she was already sitting on the chair. No wonder she looks so confused.

...

I waited for a whole 15 minutes for her to catch her breath and calm down her racing heart.

"Are you alright?" I asked her with a teasing smile.

"I...yes. T-thank you for before." She said with an embarrassed tone while keeping her head between her knees.

She probably just recalled what has happened previously and was feeling embarrassed about it.

"No problem, there is no need to thank me for such a small thing. Alright, since you are feeling better now, we can continue by stretching ourselves. Do you still feel your muscles in the heat? If not, we can easily solve that." I jokingly said with a playful smile.

When she heard my words, her expression immediately changed into horrified one as if I was some kind of devil.

"N-no need! Instead of heat, I feel as if they were on fire!" She immediately waved with her small hands in front of her to deny my offer.

Hehe, she is surprisingly fun to tease.

"Well, if you think so...we can start" I said and started to show her how to properly stretch the entire body.

...

We spent an hour and something with stretching and practicing some basics until we stopped since Mii-chan was already too exhausted, this time for real not like during her running.

"Thank you for everything you did for me today, words can't express my gratitude Walker-kun!" She said and once again deeply bowed to me.

Tch! I clicked my tongue in irritation after seeing her bow to me once again even though I told her not to do it.

I caught her by her twintails.

"Huh?" She also noticed it and looked slightly confused but she didn't straighten herself out.

I gently pulled her twintails up, making her stand straight once again.

"Don't...bow...to...me. Alright?" I slowly said while still holding her twintails up, making them look like horns.

"...Hihi, I am sorry, it won't happen again." At first, she was surprised by my actions but when she heard my words she started to giggle while covering her mouth with one hand.

I nodded, satisfied with her answer and let go of her hair with a smile.

I looked at her face with a thoughtful expression and she also noticed it so she tilted her head to the side in confusion.

I crouched down a bit to bring my face closer to hers and she immediately widened her eyes in shock.

"Say, do you want to hear a secret? Just a little secret between two of us." I said with a mysterious smile with a finger in front of my mouth.

Hearing my words, she tensed up a bit and then lightly nodded her head with her entire attention focused on me.

"I have a feeling that there will be a great show once the sports festival starts." I said with a mysterious smile.

Seeing her expression, I knew that she was seriously thinking about what I have just said so I poked her forehead with my finger to drag her out of her thoughts.

"Ow" She rubbed the spot where I have poked her while looking at me with a puzzled expression.

"No need to think about it too hard." I said with a genuine smile.

We talked for a while before parting ways.

...

Teacher's office

"Are you sure? What are you planning?" Sae-chan accepted the paper I gave her and asked me back while giving me a suspicious look.

"Of course I am, have I ever joked around with teach around?" I asked with a confused expression and the only thing I received was sharp glare so I put my hands up to show that I accept my defeat.

"?! What the hell is this? Why is your name in every contest?!" She asked me with a shocked expression when she finally took a look at the paper I just gave her.

"What else can it be? I will participate in every contest." I replied with an uninterested face.

"Don't joke around...there are 12 contests at the sports festival. How can you participate in all of them? It's already straining enough for most of the students who won't participate in the recommended contests, stamina isn't an unlimited source" She tried to talk me out of it.

"Teach, you wanted results, then I will give you results. Just please do what I have asked from you and then enjoy the show." I said with a confident smile and sharp eyes.

"...Fine, when do you expect her to come?" She stopped trying when she noticed my determination and asked me with a tired expression.

"Probably tomorrow, I will be here too." I said.

After we resolved that matter, we talked for a few minutes about our weekend before I left her office with a satisfied expression.