In the end, they piled on nearly four hundred pounds of weight plates and battled for another twenty minutes, but Machio still couldn't hold on. The muscles in his arm trembled violently, a proof of the sheer, unrelenting strain. Because it was a standard, controlled push-up and not a rapid one, the nearly five hundred pounds of crushing weight beca an impossible burden to sustain. The slower the movent, the more excruciating the effort.
At that mont, Sakura Hibiki and the others could only stare, their minds struggling to process what they were seeing. These two weren't human; they were monsters in human skin.
Ren, with just a light sheen of sweat on his forehead, offered a relaxed smile. "Machio, you've really improved a lot."
Machio looked down at his own slightly shaking hands, a grin spreading across his face despite the exhaustion. "Sir! I still have a long way to go! I must continue to train!"
"We'll see," Ren replied, his tone casual. "Just maintain your current training volu for now. But in a way, Machio, your strength is truly terrifying."
"Hahaha! Thank you for the complint, Sir!" Machio bood, his energy returning. "Well, Sir! I'm off to get so lunch! I have students to train this afternoon, but I'll make ti to visit your shop later!"
"Alright. You're always welco, but rember, my place is a night restaurant."
"I always rember that! Goodbye, Sir!"
As Machio Naruzo made his powerful exit, Kirari watched him go, a flicker of genuine surprise in her eyes. "This is the first ti I've ever seen soone do push-ups like that, and for such an absurdly long ti..."
Sakura Hibiki and the others nodded in fervent agreent.
Ren paused, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. "It's not that difficult, really. It just takes a bit longer, that's all. But... have we forgotten sothing?"
Kirari felt the sa nagging sensation. After a mont of thought, her eyes widened in sudden realization. She imdiately turned and strode towards the treadmills. In her mind, she pictured the scene she was about to find: Kasugano Sora, collapsed in a heap on the machine, on the verge of total exhaustion.
But when she saw the reality before her, Kirari swore that she had already used up her entire lifeti's quota of surprises for one day.
She saw Kasugano Sora, still walking steadily on the inclined treadmill, showing no signs of distress whatsoever. While there was a light film of sweat on her skin, it was a world away from the puddle of exhaustion Kirari had imagined.
"Uh... Sora?"
"Huh?" Sora looked up, her eyes slowly focusing. "Kirari-nee, what are you doing here? How far have I walked...? It's not still a long way, is it...?"
Kirari shook her head, a bewildered smile playing on her lips. "No... Sora, you've already walked seven kiloters."
"Ah?! That far?!"
Only then did Kasugano Sora's gaze drift down to the mileage display, which read just over seven. She froze instantly, her mind going blank. Kirari walked over, pressed the stop button on the treadmill, and looked at her with a mixture of shock and amusent. "I never would have guessed it, Sora. You're quite impressive."
As Kasugano Sora stepped off the machine, her head felt light and dizzy, but her face was still a mask of disbelief.
Ren observed the stunned girl and chuckled. "Not bad. As expected, letting Sora use her phone while walking on an incline is the perfect way to make her forget she's even tired."
"Brother Ren, you did that on purpose!" Sora pouted.
"That's right," he admitted without a hint of sha. "Alright, we've trained enough. Kirari, help Sora stretch her legs. After that, we're all heading over to Sora's place to help her move. If nothing unexpected happens, Shion should have the person in charge of the move deliver so coffee to you."
Kirari nodded, then gave Ren a sly, knowing smile. "Ren, you're the one who really wants the coffee, aren't you?"
"It's alright."
"What do you an, 'it's alright'?" she pressed, amused.
"It's not bad, I think it's good. Abbreviated, 'it's alright'," he deadpanned.
Kirari simply smiled and rolled her eyes at his terrible joke, then gently pulled the wobbly Kasugano Sora towards a nearby sofa. Ren gave a nod to Soryuin Akemi, who had just finished her own workout, before heading to the changing room to shower and change.
The reward for his efforts, he mused, had already been received.
When Ren and the others erged, they found Kasugano Sora in the middle of her leg stretches. Her pained expression told a clear story: the sudden, intense exercise after a long period of inactivity was making the post-workout stretching an agonizing experience.
"Ah, ah, ah! Kirari-nee! Why do my legs hurt so much when you stretch them?!"
"It's because you haven't exercised in a long ti," Kirari said, her voice firm but gentle. "It'll get better! Co on, there's still one more leg. Finish up so you can go wash and change!"
"Nooo!"
"Then you can go walk for another hour."
"I'll stretch my legs!" Sora yelped, imdiately surrendering.
Sakura Hibiki and the others sighed as they watched the dramatic scene unfold. In a way, it was rare to see soone react so theatrically to simple stretching.
"You... you guys walk slower..."
Kasugano Sora trailed behind Ren and the others, looking utterly miserable. Her small face was a picture of pitifulness. First, she had walked an impossibly long distance, and then she'd been subjected to leg stretches. Now, her legs felt so sore and weak that every step was like floating on clouds of cotton.
Ayaka sighed sympathetically. "Sora, you really need to exercise more. Even Hibiki's stamina is better than yours..."
"Hey!" Hibiki protested. "Why do I feel like that wasn't a complint?!"
"I wasn't complinting you," Ayaka shot back playfully.
Kasugano Sora paid no attention to their banter, instead asking with genuine curiosity, "So, what are we doing now?"
"Going to help you move," the group replied in near-perfect unison.
"Oh... Huh?! We're going to my house...?"
Seeing the sudden panic on Kasugano Sora's face, Ren and Kirari seed to realize sothing at the sa ti. Kirari let out an exasperated sigh. "You, girl... It's not what I'm imagining, is it?"
Kasugano Sora wanted to argue, but the thought of them seeing her apartnt in its current state made her deflate. She nodded silently, then whispered, "I didn't have ti to clean up... and I can eat those things now, too..."
Ren sighed, a hint of resignation in his voice. "This is only okay because we have a solution. If we didn't, you'd be waiting for a lecture from Yumiko."
"If there was no solution, I wouldn't be moving to your place, Brother Ren..."
"That's true," he conceded.
"But," Sora added, her expression turning thoughtful, "it seems a very strange neighbor moved in recently. I wonder if she's ho today..."
Kirari paused, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Male or female?"
"Female, of course! And she lives alone. When she first moved in, she ca over to ask for the addresses of the nearby supermarkets and things like that."
Kirari nodded, the tension in her shoulders easing. To be honest, she knew that Sora had been the only resident on her floor, and she had always worried that so man who deserved to be shot might move in and harass her. Hearing it was a woman was a small relief.
Akemi asked curiously, "I've never lived in an apartnt building like that, but isn't it normal for new neighbors to ask about nearby places? Why do you find it strange?"
Kasugano Sora hesitated, trying to find the right words. "It's not that kind of strange. It's just... I often see her carrying piles of things inside, and she doesn't seem to know how to cook. Everything she eats is instant food. She also stays up very late but still looks full of energy the next day."
She paused again, her brow furrowed. "But the strangest thing is that she's always saying things like, 'Even when at ho, one shouldn't neglect their studies,'and'If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask .' She seems to be a teacher, and a good one at that. However... it seems her students are quite troubleso."
"What's wrong?" Kirari asked.
"Because she's always on the phone, giving advice and counseling people. It sounds like a really tough job..."
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