Rest these bones before they break

Chapter 1

Gakushuu was eight years old and already well experienced in what it took to achieve greatness.

Being able to rest was a privilege often reserved for the mediocre, and tiredness was a sign of hard work.

Gakushuu stared at his alarm clock as the digits clicked closer to 5AM.

Sleep was a biological necessity but also a limitation. That was something his father often said, which was probably why the man only slept two hours a day.

Gakushuu had tried to survive on that much sleep once when he was seven, but he'd just passed out the next morning. He wasn't strong enough yet, he was limited.

The alarm went off at 5AM, and even though his body was screaming at him to go back to sleep, he pushed the covers off and got out of bed.

(He was still tired.)

***

Every day was the same, as it should be.

Gakushuu would sit opposite his father at breakfast, eating porridge while the man had coffee and little else.

(His dad didn't seem to eat much in the morning, probably because he didn't have a need to, he was already strong enough.)

Gakushuu would eat his breakfast quietly while his dad read the newspaper. That was the routine designed to prep for the morning.

They wouldn't actually speak to each other until Gakushuu had finished his porridge and his father had folded away his newspaper. Then they would speak, and only on important matters. Meaningful conversation was more valuable than rambling.

"I've made some adjustments to this week's schedule." His dad slid a newly printed schedule across the table. "I've enrolled you in the track team."

Gakushuu felt a weight press down on his shoulders, staring at the newly coloured square on the colour-coded calendar.

Blue blocks were events/competitions, red was clubs, green was studying, orange was school and cram school, and blank was free time.

There were only a few blank squares left, and those were for sleeping.

"Why?" he asked, staring at the different coloured blocks that were piled up like that Tetris game Ren was always playing.

(He wanted to play the game, but he didn't have time. There never was enough time for things like that, plenty of time for Track though.)

His father arched an eyebrow, hands clasped under his chin. "It's to improve your stamina."

That was the only explanation he was going to get.

Gakushuu nodded, the weight pressing down more on his back. "Okay."

What was one more activity to add to the list? His dad was just training him for greatness, so he could get stronger.

(He wondered when the day would come when his dad decided the blank blocks scheduled for sleep would no longer be needed.)

***

Gakushuu kept his eyes glued on the textbook in the library after school while his classmates went home.

He'd declined the invitation to go to Ren's house to play games, he didn't have the time, even though everyone else seemed to.

("Why do you have to study so much?" Ren's brow was furrowed, staring at him during lunch. Confused. "Don't you ever take a break?")

His classmates didn't have the same life as him, that much he'd realised already when he was five years old.