"Yes, yes."
Shinji's tone carried a hint of perfunctoriness, and he didn't bother adding more.
"So how's the training arranged then? Do I take them first, or do you want to start?" he asked.
"Of course, we do it together. Looks like the plan was changed. Originally, it was one instructor for seven days, but now it's two instructors for ten days. With just the two of us, there's no point in splitting it up," Tatsumaki explained matter-of-factly.
"I see..."
Shinji imdiately pieced together what had happened. The Association hadn't told him anything in advance; he didn't even know Tatsumaki had been added or that the schedule had been extended. He could already guess why. This assignnt hadn't been handled by Sitch, but by so other executive, and those lazy dogs had simply forgotten to pass along the details.
"Well then, let's work hard together," Shinji said evenly. Then he asked, "So, how do you plan to train them?"
"Obviously, straight into live combat. I can't teach them psychic powers, but I can at least drill combat experience and fighting techniques." Tatsumaki was blunt.
"Seems our ideas line up. High-intensity combat is the most effective training." Shinji gave a faint smile.
It did sound harsh, but there really wasn't much else they could teach. His own eye techniques were impossible to share, and even the Rasengan was unrealistic. Sonic had been training in isolation for ages and still hadn't managed to learn it. Expecting rookies to master sothing like that was laughable.
Every S-Class hero had their own unique, unreplicable style. Genos was a cyborg, Boros was an alien conqueror, tal Knight commanded his steel army, Zombie Man relied on immortality... and Saitama was beyond explanation altogether. His strength could never be imitated.
In the end, none of them had a standard training thod to pass down, which made live combat the only practical solution.
What made this viable was that Shinji and Tatsumaki were overwhelmingly powerful. No matter how brutal the training or how dangerous the simulated situations beca, they could guarantee the students' lives would never actually be in danger. That safety net ant they could push the rookies to the edge of their limits. Constantly facing desperation would either shatter them or force breakthroughs that accelerated growth.
"Oh? So we're on the sa page. That makes things easier." Tatsumaki's lips curved in satisfaction. "Let's take them to hunt monsters or track down bounty criminals right away."
"No, not yet. Today's the first day. We should let them adjust gradually." Shinji shook his head, then turned to the trainees. "Since this is the official start of your training, the intensity will stay low for now. Everyone, begin with a ten-kiloter warm-up run."
"Yes!"
The response ca sharp, though nearly half the group wanted to choke. A ten-kiloter run counted as "low intensity"?
Of course, they only complained in their hearts. None of them dared voice it aloud.
"Why coddle them like this? You should make it hell from the start. Otherwise, it'll take forever before they can stand on their own as heroes..." Tatsumaki muttered in clear dissatisfaction, though she didn't push Shinji further.
…
The students set off on their ten-kiloter warm-up along the route Shinji had mapped out.
The one who found it easiest was Captain Mizuki. As a forr Olympic gold dalist whose body had been further enhanced since joining the Hero Association, her fitness level was leagues above the others. On top of her willpower, sense of duty, and clear potential, her athletic foundation alone set her apart from her peers.
The next one Shinji noted as promising was Gearsper. That wasn't the Association's official assessnt, only his own judgnt. The Association had rely showered praise on Captain Mizuki.
Gearsper was a spiky-haired youth with a strange device strapped to his head. Officially, he was ranked 133rd in C-Class. His low rank had nothing to do with the strength of his ability and everything to do with his lack of control. At tis, his powers failed to activate altogether. The headgear was designed to help stabilize him, though the results were inconsistent. Still, Shinji could tell that if Gearsper ever fully unleashed his psychic potential, the force would be overwhelming.
As expected, Captain Mizuki was the first to reach the finish line. Shinji was already there waiting, while Tatsumaki hovered high above, keeping watch to ensure no one tried to slack off or cut corners.
"Looks like ten kiloters really was nothing more than a warm-up for you," Shinji said with approval as he handed her a bottle of water.
Captain Mizuki wiped her face with her hand. She wasn't even winded, showing the run had barely counted as exercise for her.
"Thank you, Shinji-senpai!" she said with a polite bow as she accepted the bottle.
The next mont, she realized she might have spoken too casually.
"Ah... no, I should be calling you Instructor." She scratched the back of her head, smiling awkwardly.
"It's fine. Call whatever you like," Shinji replied easily.
"Really? Then I'll stick with Shinji-senpai! It feels more natural."
(AN: Senior Shinji wasn't filling, so I used Japanese honorifics. It sounds better. Just bear this one.)
With his permission, her awkwardness vanished. She downed half the bottle in one go, then smoothly continued her cool-down stretches, loosening her joints after the run.
....
Since she was so far ahead, quite a bit of ti passed before the second trainee reached the finish line. After that, the rest began arriving in closer intervals.
Aside from Captain Mizuki, the others didn't look completely spent. In this world, even C-Class heroes had physiques at least comparable to Olympic athletes. There were exceptions, of course; Fubuki, for instance, had physical strength weaker than most ordinary people, relying almost entirely on psychic power to fight.
Shinji handed water to each trainee as they arrived. "Take a short rest, stretch your muscles, and loosen your joints. The intensity only gets higher from here."
"Got it!"
The reply was full of spirit. Their blood was burning now, fired up by the first challenge.
...
The rest of the day was devoted to physical training. Part of it was to acclimate them to the intensity, but more importantly, Shinji wanted to gauge each person's true limits. Once he understood both their capabilities and weaknesses, he could assign them appropriate monsters to face in live combat.
But in the middle of training, a small incident broke out.
"You keep calling him Shinji-senpai... as a student, how can you address your own instructor so casually?"
After hearing Captain Mizuki refer to Shinji that way several tis, Tatsumaki finally lost patience and scolded her.
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