Parallel Vol. 4 [LEGACY EDITION]

Chapter 2: HELL

Three Months Later,

Ha... Ha... Ha...

Rhythmic panting punctuated the otherwise quiet morning, forty-odd figures running in sync around a track. The figures moved like a well-oiled machine, measured breathing, and feet like cogs in a larger machine. Upon closer inspection, these figures revealed themselves to be a group of children no more than twelve years old.

Compared to three months back, these children, whose bodies were originally terribly weak and dilapidated, now sported robust muscles and glistening skin, clearly showing their rapid improvements over the past month. Having followed strict dietary guidelines and exercise regiments, these children now looked nothing like their past selves. In fact, a lot of them could probably go toe-to-toe with teenagers much older than them.

Off to the side, Akari stood beside an old man wearing a sports shirt and slacks. The old man gaze alternated between the stopwatch in his hand and the children on the track, constantly memorizing each individuals time. A satisfied smile crossed the old man's face as the children crossed the line for the nineteenth time that day. This was a standard 400-meter track, meaning the children had already run 7600 meters, or just below five miles that morning. Considering most of them could not even manage half a mile when they first arrived, it was quite the achievement, and one he was especially proud of.

"Haven't seen you smile like this in years, Coach Kazuki," Akari laughed as he studied the older man's bright grey eyes. Although Coach Kazuki was quite advanced in age, evidenced by his gray hair and wrinkled face, he still sported the vitality of a man decades younger. Till date, Akari couldn't beat the old man in an endurance race, much to his shame. However, he preferred to think of Coach Kazuki being a monster. That made much more sense.

Coach Kazuki chuckled lightly as he watched the kids. "Been a while since I saw kids take so quickly to my training." Casting Akari a contemptuous gaze, he added, "How long did it take you to reach their level?"

"Come on Coach," Akari lightly protested, scratching the back of his head with embarrassment. "Physical fitness was never my strong suit."

Coach Kazuki glanced at the young man. Dressed as always in an impeccable form-fitting suit, those iconic square-rimmed glasses sitting below ahead of neatly brushed dark hair, the young Akari did indeed give off an air of an intellectual. Most evident in those dark eyes which seemed to weigh everything around him on an invisible scale. "Hmph, smarts may be important, but your physical strength is still very important. Why don't you take a page out of that yellow lad's book?"

Akari's face darkened. His lips twitched, brows furrowed as he was about to retort. However, Coach Kazuki's shrill whistle forced his attention back to the track where the children had just completed their twentieth lap.

The twentieth lap was the dividing point. Up until then, the children had to keep a standard pace, but from here on, it would be a competition to see who would be the best to complete the final four laps. Already, a bunch of children began to pull away from the rest of the pack, led by a tall boy a full head taller than the rest of the children.

Coach Kazuki smiled as he studied the child. The boy, Kugo, was the oldest of the children at twelve years old, but that was in no way a detriment to why he could overtake the other children. More than most, the child had a drive and passion that Coach Kazuki had not seen in even many adults. Kugo spent most of his time at the gym, his training time only seconded by one other person in the class.

Coach Kazuki sighed lightly as he turned to the children floundering at the back, where an eye-catching couple steadily jogged on. A young man with silver hair watched the pack begin to pull ahead, but there wasn't even the slightest care reflected in his indifferent gaze. Next to him, a destructively beautiful girl with blonde hair soldiered on, clothes sticking to her body as a result of excessive sweating.