Under Pressure

Chapter Five: Unprepared

"What was that you said about keeping up with me?"

I'm currently laid out on the ground in the middle of the park, panting heavily. Tenya and I have been training for hours, and he trains hard. We just got done doing a set of fifty sprints and of course Tenya won without even breaking a sweat. He smiles at me and holds a hand out to pull me up, which I gladly take.

"Hey, you wouldn't have beaten me if you weren't using your quirk. Besides, I was only fifteen sprints behind you and that's pretty good if I do say so myself," I tease back, nudging his side.

"That's true I suppose," he nods before adjusting his shirt, "Alright, all we have left is a long distance endurance run followed by a round of core workouts and we'll be good to go."

"This training is going to be the death of me," I groan, stretching out my limbs, "Where did you plan on doing this long distance running?"

"Ah, we'll start from here," Tenya nods, pointing down to the paved park path, "We will finish in front of the Shinto Café, that should be a long enough run."

"The Shinto? But that's almost all the way across town!"

Tenya chuckles and nods his head, "Alright, let's turn this into another competition then so that you'll be more apt to do your best. I want you trying your hardest, that's the only way to improve. To even the playing field I'll even refrain from using my quirk. Sound alright?"

A smirk tugs at my lips as I take my spot next to him. "Yeah, alright," I nod, "On the count of three, okay? One."

"Two," Tenya tenses, readying himself.

I send a wink in his direction, causing him to immediately lose focus. "Three," I smile as I push off and begin running.

"Hey! This is not at all justified! You're cheating!" Tenya yells after me, quickly closing in on the short lead I have against him.

"It's only fair! You're a stronger runner so I deserve a head start!" I call back, immediately picking up my pace.

The path from here to Shinto Café is roughly four miles, but we'll have to cut through many sidewalks and alleyways to make it there. Since Tenya is so much bigger than I am, my small size should be an advantage when running my way through the crowded sidewalks. That's where I'll steal some time from him.

About a mile into the run, Tenya and I neck and neck the entire time, we come to the first crowded sidewalk and, luckily enough for me, it's rush hour. I begin weaving my way through the crowd, avoiding the dirty looks casted in my direction. Sending a look behind me, I notice Tenya trying to politely push his way through the crowd before I hear his engines powering up, lightly rising off the ground.

"Ah ah ah, Iida," I smile, finally making it to an open alley, "That's cheating!"

I sprint as fast as I can, trying to gain what little lead I can through the alleyway. By the time I reach the end opening of the alley Tenya is already a foot behind me, and it doesn't look he's slowing down anytime soon. For the next few miles, our little race continues. Tenya getting the lead on me, me stealing it back when he is unable to push through crowds. It's only when I can see the Shinto Café up ahead that I realize I have an actual chance of winning our little game.

The only thing separating us from the café is a crowded sidewalk, one that Tenya won't be able to weave through as easily. He must figure this out too because he sends me a sideways glance and does everything in his power to push through as fast as possible. With a smirk tugging at my lips, I run through easily and turn to look back at Iida as I sprint across the opening to the Shinto.