Together

Chapter 36

The following days, the strict physical training began. Compared to the physical training that they were undergoing, mental training seemed more like an exercise. Lucy gave out strict instructions of what to do every day and most of the time, they all seemed impossible to do.

"I think I'm going to die by the end of this," Evergreen panted.

"You," Sting huffed, barely able to say anything. "Think?"

"Glad it's the last day of this though," Orga said. "Make it through the fifth day and it'll be over!"

"How many more laps do we have?" Minerva asked, breathing heavily.

"Last time I checked," Jura sweated. "Five more laps?"

Darkness loomed over them. Their legs were already giving out and underneath the hot sun and humid weather, they were sweating buckets. Though, with the training from the last four days, they have grown rather accustomed. Their stamina increased and in turn, their ability to wield higher tier magic also increased.

"I think this is enough exercise to last me a whole lifetime," Ichiya said.

"Same," Ren agreed.

"Rogue, aren't you hot in those black garments?" Rufus looked back at his guildmate but seeing his red face, he didn't need to question anymore.

"If you're that hot, you should take some of those garments off," Bickslow said.

"Just looking at him makes me all sweaty," Freed remarked.

"I'm fine," Rogue panted.

"This is way, too, hard," Eve cried.

"Instead of whining, hurry up and start running," Laxus said, going ahead of them.

Even though they were doing the same exercise, it seemed as if the twenty-five laps that they were ordered to run were nothing to him. Rather, he looked really hot. They could see the sweat run down his face and most of all, they could see the outline of his abs as his tight shirt stuck to his skin. Even the boys had to admit that Laxus did look rather attractive.

"How the hell can he run that fast?" Sting asked, catching his breath.

"Laxus always had the stamina to do vigorous exercises," Freed replied.

"He could be pushing his limits, too," Hibiki huffed. "After all, he also wants to protect Lucy doesn't he?"

They all looked at Hibiki who only gave a smile in reply. He started running ahead of them before hollering back at them.

"I'd advise you to hurry up otherwise those people will catch up to you!"

They looked back and saw Natsu, Gray, Erza, Wendy, Levy, Gajeel, and Juvia desperately trying to catch up to them but from the looks of it, they were dying of the heat. Even Natsu, a Fire Dragon Slayer, seemed as if he was going to pass out any second. Seeing their distance, Minerva, Sting, Rogue, Rufus, Orga, Jura, Ichiya, Ren, and Eve began hurrying up to catch up to Laxus and Hibiki's pace.

"So, why is Hibiki also running with us?" Eve questioned.

"What do you mean by why?" replied Hibiki.

"Lucy gave you permission to skip out on this though," Rogue said, clarifying Eve's question.

"That's right. You're a Director now so why are you doing this with us?" Minerva asked.

"Even if you guys say that..." Hibiki answered, thinking of a way to answer their questions. "I guess it's because it's fun?"

"How do you classify this as 'fun'?" Sting said, a look of death on his face. "One hundred push-ups, one hundred sit-ups, one hundred squats, and twenty-five fuckin' laps and you call that 'FUN'?!"