Chapter 6: Seji-sensei's training (Parts 1-2)

Chapter 6 Part 1

Today is a new day and the start of Seji-sensei's training.

I wish I felt like training, but after what happened last night, I feel dead...

What's so fun about getting drunk anyway?! We acted like complete idiots and then woke up the next morning depressed and with hangovers!

Although, well, we didn't drink alcohol, so I have no idea what we got drunk on.

Maybe it was just the atmosphere? Either way, I don't remember what happened yesterday...

I'm lying on one of the tables at the pupusería with Miru-chan. Her hair smells like oranges… or maybe I just think that because her hair is orange. It probably doesn't smell like anything.

Neko-chan and Chisato-chan are asleep, hugging each other on another table. Neko-chan is drooling all over…

Hiroki has his head in a bucket; it looks like he threw up there.

The spirits of our diamonds are lying on the floor with him.

Seji-sensei left very early to prepare things and it seems he also covered all of us with blankets during the night.

In the distance, I hear a voice.

— Uraseku! Uraseku!

Ai gets up from the floor, grabs a glass of water, and throws it at me to wake me up.

— Ah! What was that?!

— Someone's looking for you.

Still half asleep and hunched over, I go to open the door. It's Makoto.

— Eh...— I say as I open it.

— Uraseku! First of all, good morning! Second, do you know where Chisato is?!

Makoto asks, very worried.

— She said she was coming to the pupusería and didn't come back home! And...! Eh?

Makoto looks at me strangely.

— Uh, did you take a shower this early? On a Sunday morning?

I strike one of my best Jojo poses, showing off my imposing and non-existent muscles that only a guy skinnier than a lamp post can possess. 

— I'm sexier when I'm wet, don't you think?

Makoto gives me a blank stare after my comment. 

I'm slowly starting to understand that doing these things is really awkward for everyone else… but that doesn't mean I'll stop doing them.

Chisato-chan comes out of the restaurant, half-asleep. 

— You're making a lot of noise, ni.

Makoto lunges at her, hugs her, and starts crying in a funny way for some reason... 

— I'm so glad you're okay! 

— Personal space. — Chisato-chan replies very seriously. 

— Don't exaggerate, Makoto, we were just having fun. — I say indifferently. 

— Yeah, don't worry, I spent the night here and slept with him. — she said, referring to me.

— Ah!

Makoto is surprised by what Chisato-chan said while she and I look at him with sleepy faces.

— Don't worry, Makoto. I still have my get-out-of-jail-free card, so there shouldn't be any problem.

I said, striking my second Jojo pose of the day and showing the card I pulled out of my pocket. 

Makoto freezes, and there's a brief moment of silence.

Chisato tugs at Makoto's shirt and says:

— Let's go, ni… 

— O-okay… but you need to explain what you meant by "sleeping with Uraseku."

Makoto said to Chisato-chan as they walked away and I held my pose. 

Apparently, I fell asleep standing up...

Seji-sensei returns to the pupusería with a bucket full of masa. He stands in front of me and hits me on the head. 

— Ow!

— Did you get a cramp or something?

I hold my head, rubbing the spot where he hit me.

— Sorry, Seji-sensei, I still feel a bit dizzy from yesterday... 

Seji-sensei touches my hair because it's wet.

— Look at you, you're all wet. You should go home and change for training today.

— I'm a bit too tired for that, Seji-sensei.

He hits me on the head again...

— Ow!

— Maybe I didn't make myself clear. I meant go home and change for training, TODAY! 

Seji-sensei emphasized "today" strongly. 

Tch, I have no choice. 

— Alright, I'll go change… wake the others, please. 

— Wait for Hiroki and me up there. We'll be up in a moment.

After that, I head home, and Seji-sensei enters the pupusería. For some reason, he laughs as he enters. 

I finally finish climbing the mountain stairs and enter my room, still half-asleep, wondering if I should lie down for a bit. 

But, when I'm finally in my room, I see a large photo of Hiroki and me holding hands...

— WHAT THE HELL?!!!

My scream was so loud it woke everyone in the pupusería. 

— Eh! — Miru-chan yelled while still asleep. 

— Ah! — Hiroki yelled with his head still in the bucket. 

— Nya! — Neko-chan yelled, waking up her cat too.

Meanwhile, I question many things. 

— What is this?! When did this happen?! I hope this isn't real! 

Back at the pupusería, everyone was wondering what that scream was about. 

— What was that scream? 

— Sounded like Uraseku-senpai. 

— Did something happen to him?

Seji-sensei, preparing the masa, says: 

— He probably saw something strange other than himself in his room. By the way, remember that training is today, so you need to get ready now, and tell your parents you spent the night here. I don't want any trouble.

Hiroki moves to one of the restaurant tables, still a bit groggy. 

— I feel a bit dizzy... also, why is there a rotting cake on that table?

The cake Miru-chan brought to share had started to turn into a strange dark green thing...

— Forget that and get ready to train. Or are you planning to defeat Rasec in that state? 

— That's right, I'll be right back!

Hiroki stands up, very excited, and runs out of the place towards his house. 

Miru-chan tells her parents she'll be out for a while and checks the time. 

— Hey Neko-chan, my archery classes are on weekdays, today is Saturday, and I have the day off from the institute. Is it okay if I join you for your gymnastics training? 

— Sure! But…

Neko-chan looks at Seji-sensei, worried. 

— Excuse me, and Chisato? 

— I'm afraid she left with her brother early in the morning. 

Neko-chan pouts. 

— I wanted to go with her too! 

— Come on, Neko-chan, we can still go together! 

— Yeah!

Miru-chan picks up Ai, who was playing in the pond outside, and Neko-chan picks up Yasuragi, who was still sleeping on the floor, and they leave. 

— Bye, Seji-sama, thanks for everything! 

— Go carefully.

Everyone heads to their respective training places. 

I change my clothes for whatever we're doing today. 

Still shirtless, I rip the photo off the wall and throw it in the trash. It's something that really didn't amuse me, and I don't plan on bringing it up ever again...

Then, I put on my typical light blue shirt, gray pants, and super comfortable sandals.

I hear Seji-sensei, Hiroki, Chikara, and Kibo talking outside.

I take a deep breath before finally leaving the house, ready for today's training.

— Ah... alright!

Once I leave the house, there's no turning back, I'm going to train no matter what...

Chapter 6 Part 2

Seji-sensei gives me a blank stare when he sees how I'm dressed, and Hiroki looks surprised.

— You're going to train like that?

— You were supposed to wear sportswear!

— Eh? Well... I guess this is the most sporty thing I have, hahaha!

— ...

Not having much variety in clothing is mostly my fault... I should spend my money on more clothes and less on manga and games... But I think I'm fine with these clothes.

— Alright, before I make you fight like animals, you need to warm up. So go up and down the steps of this mountain twice.

An awkward silence fills the place along with a gust of wind that vanishes out of nowhere.

Hiroki decides to break the ice.

— Eh?! Are you crazy, old man?!

— I thought people in Japan were more respectful. Don't forget that I'm your master now!

After saying that, Seji-sensei hits him on the head.

— Ouch! Fine, I get it!

— Heh...

Hiroki looks at me because I've smiled confidently.

— So it's just going up and down twice…

— …

We go to the starting point and get ready. He does some basic stretches while I… well, let's say I'm just analyzing the situation so he doesn't think I'm doing nothing.

Chikara stands in front of us.

— Are you ready...? Go!

I start going down the steps pretty quickly, fast enough to be the envy of any professional stair runner, if that's even a thing... My legs don't stop; I've been going up and down these same steps since I've been in this country. You could say I'm used to it.

From here, I can see that Hiroki can't keep up with me.

— T-that's cheating! You've been going up and down this mountain your whole life! You know it inside and out!

— I never said this was a competition! But if it were, I'm totally dusting you! Hahaha!

After saying that, I speed up even more, leaving him far behind.

Kibo and Seji-sensei are talking at the top about my performance.

— Rasec is pretty fast, Seji-sensei.

— He's not the same kid as before. Nothing mattered to him, but now he has some kind of motivation. The competition he always needed has finally arrived.

Seji-sensei closes his eyes and meditates for a brief moment.

— He's really good. He'll always give his best and fight to be even better.

I'm not using any power, no diamond power. All this is the result of the countless times I've gone up and down this mountain.

The result of the times I woke up early in the mornings to cultivate the corn and tomatoes on the mountain next door.

I guess I'm turning into some kind of superhuman.

I get to the bottom, turn around, and quickly start climbing the mountain again.

Hiroki is struggling to keep up with me; he's barely halfway down while I'm starting the first climb.

Does anyone really become some kind of superhuman just by doing simple daily training?

Well, I think there's a manga about that...

Chikara, very angry because Hiroki is losing, watches us from the top and shouts:

— What are you doing?! The guy who's not worthy of using the diamond's power is beating you! Speed up!!

— S-stop yelling at me!

— Tch, if you want something done right, do it yourself.

Chikara flies into Hiroki's diamond at full speed.

Hiroki starts emanating a powerful yellow aura, just like his diamond.

His speed increases significantly, and with much effort, he manages to reach the bottom.

I see Hiroki is relatively close, so close that I start to worry, so I decide to pick up the pace.

Little by little, we close the distance, but it's still not enough to beat me.

Seji-sensei keeps analyzing the information he's getting from our competition.

— They're pushing beyond their limits. I guess this will be more interesting than I thought.

Hiroki's aura intensifies even more, but it's still not enough. I reach the top, turn around, and start descending.

I've completed the first lap and entered the last one.

Halfway down, I meet Hiroki with a frustrated face while I stay calm.

Everything goes into slow motion just as I pass by him. I take this moment to say something.

— We meet face to face again, Hiroki. Even if you're pushing yourself to the limit, I don't think it's enough to beat me... the cheerful teenager with two names and two surnames, with the names before the surnames, who comes from El Salvador!

Finally, the slow-motion ends. I don't even understand what just happened...

— W-what the heck... was that? — Hiroki asked out loud.

Kibo seems surprised, while Seji-sensei remains expressionless.

We both keep giving it our all.

Hiroki has tripped many times but hasn't fallen.

I stay confident. I know that a single mistake could cost me the victory in this pointless race.

Hiroki manages to catch up to me.

We both reach the bottom at the same time.

Quickly, we turn to the opposite side of each other and start climbing.

Hiroki trips many times on the steps, while I keep my eyes fixed on the ground and any possible obstacles.

Apparently, Hiroki is so focused on surpassing me that he's not really watching where he steps.

From above, I start hearing cheers for me from Kibo, or something like that...

— Come on, come on, run Rasengan!

R-Rasengan?

Seji-sensei, who's next to him watching us, tells Kibo:

— From the beginning, it's been clear who the winner would be.

He exclaimed with a proud face.

Hiroki tries to push me out of the way.

The steps are narrow, but I can tell the difference between accidental shoves and intentional ones.

By doing this, it only affects him.

With every shove I receive, I know where to put my foot to avoid falling.

He always falls behind by doing these things.

We're about to reach the end.

There are moments when he surpasses me, but due to his strange decisions, he only ends up falling behind.

Before reaching the top, we're neck and neck.

Just before climbing, he decides to push me, but I saw that coming...

I quickly gain momentum to get ahead, and he loses his balance trying to push me again, which sets him back quite a bit.

The result of this competition doesn't surprise me. I finish as the winner of this race!

Upon reaching the top, I throw myself exhausted onto the cold grass of the mountain.

Hiroki collapses to the ground, and his aura fades.

Chikara comes out of the diamond, also very tired.

— Tch, damn it... — Hiroki and Chikara said, still on the ground.

— I... I did it... I beat Hiroki.

I exclaim with my last words before expiring... or so I feel. 

— Rasec, take this!

Kibo approaches me with a bottle full of water.

I stand up, grab it, and take a big gulp. After that, I proceed to do what any good winner would do for his fallen opponent.

— Hahaha! I beat the great Hiroki! Ha!

I admit it, I'm a sore winner...

— The great Hiroki? Or better said, the great loser! Haha! Get it?! The great loser because you lost...!

Hiroki gets up very angry and punches me hard in the face. Being so close to the steps and because of the punch, I fall off the mountain, hitting my head.

— Rasec! — Kibo shouts, then follows me to try to stop my fall.

Hiroki massages his hand because it hurt from hitting me while Seji-sensei and Chikara laugh at me.

After Kibo stops what could have been an endless fall, I climb the steps again and sit on the grass next to a tree.

I'm really annoyed and ended up with a big bump on my head because of something I caused. Who would've thought?

I won't make fun of someone like that again...