courage dear heart | Yuki Ishikawa

10

My alarm rang at 5.
At 5 AM.

"Aaaahhhh," I stifled a scream with my pillow.

"Why didn't I ask for decent training times?"

I sat up in bed, staring into nothingness, wondering if I should consider quitting. After a deep breath, I finally got out of bed.

I quickly washed up to wake myself and chose what to wear for the gym and the snowboarding training.
Sports bra, leggings, and a long-sleeved shirt. Since it was really cold, I also put on sweatpants and a hoodie. I fixed my braids, put on a cap, and my big headphones.

I decided to use the stairs to warm up a bit on the way down.
When I got downstairs, I met the others. "Good morning..."

Ayumu grabbed my shoulders and gently shook me. "Come on, Chō, today we start a new adventure!"
I closed my eyes, letting him shake me. "Remind me why we have to wake up so early," I whined.

He put a hand on my shoulder as we started walking toward the gym.
"Because the snowboard team is the first to train with weights since we'll often have to go up to the mountains early. We can't train later because the other four teams have the weight room booked during their slots."

I looked at him with a scowl. "But today was supposed to be our free day to explore."
He smiled at me. "Exactly! We're exploring the gym! And we're getting used to the new schedule."

I lowered my head, defeated.

Damn me for not choosing another sport...

The gym was in the same building as the dorms, on the ground floor.
It was very large and well-equipped.
There were four squat racks, three Smith machines, stations for hip thrusts, and many other machines.

This is awesome!!!!!

On the right side of the entrance, there was a cardio area facing the weight room.
Everything was black and white. I filled up the water bottle they gave us yesterday and started warming up while listening to "Woke Up" by XG.

I began with the program they had given us. Just the thought of doing all those heavy exercises made me feel like I was going to puke my guts out.

I started with squats, warming up first and then moving on to my sets: 4x8 at 90kg.
After warming up, I started feeling hot, so I took off my hoodie. By the second set, I felt like I was dying from the heat—or maybe I just wanted to die.

Starting a new program is always tough, no matter how many years of training you have.

After finishing the squat sets, I moved on to hip thrusts.

This is going to be fun...

I've always been afraid of this exercise because I have to load so much weight, but at the same time, I love it because it's helped me build the big booty I'm so proud of.
This time, 4x8 at 180kg.

Just kidding, this is going to be painful.

I warmed up with 100kg, 130kg, and 160kg, then started the real sets.
After just the first one, I had to get up and walk around because my butt was on fire.
Doja Cat with "Tia Tamera" was hyping me up.

Before starting the second set, I took off the sweatpants and my shirt, leaving me in just my sports bra and leggings.
I resumed with the hip thrusts.

On the last set, Hiro came over to support me because I had decided to add another 10kg.

I took two deep breaths, silently prayed to anyone for help, and pushed up.

I took two more deep breaths and started.

The first four reps were fine, although I was beginning to feel the weight getting too heavy. Meanwhile, Hiro positioned himself with my legs between his, ready to assist me.

I did two more reps. The penultimate one was my breaking point; I struggled, not even caring about the noises I was making from the effort.
I tried with all my might, but I couldn't do it, and Hiro helped me set the weight down safely.

I took off my headphones and looked up.
He looked down at me with a satisfied half-smile. "Good job, Chō"

I stared at him, panting. "At least I have a nice view from down here," I said, giving him a half-smirk.

I got a deep chuckle out of him, and then he helped me put everything back.

Then I continued with the rest of the workout. While resting between sets, I took the opportunity to snap a photo.

Not bad, Nabi.

I was pretty satisfied with how I was building my muscles. Of course, there are days when I feel like absolute crap, but I've learned to accept those days too.

I caught a glimpse of someone in the cardio area from the mirror, so I turned around.

Ishikawa.

Out of all the times, he had to show up now when I'm a sweaty mess?

He wasn't very close, but I could still see how his gaze lowered as he checked me out from head to toe and back up again.

For a moment, I felt even more exposed under his gaze, but I resisted the instinct to run or cover myself. A part of me—the proud part—wanted to be seen for what I had achieved.

When his eyes finally made their way back up, they met mine. We stood there, just like yesterday, staring at each other as if it was just the two of us again.

I smirked at him, and he blushed and quickly looked away.

I let out a chuckle and finished my workout.

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Sorry for this very short chapter, but it's to build the story and character.