Building Up Stamina

Kuro came out of the toilet with a relieved expression across his face. He went back into the main room and found Hinako changed back into her school uniform.

“Where are we going? Are we going to do some battle training?”, Hinako asked eagerly.

“No.”, Kuro replied.

“But why?”

“You said yesterday that you haven’t done your cardio training yet this week, so we will do that.”

“But after that, we will do some proper battle training?”

Kuro did not answer, instead he just grabbed his phone, wallet, keys and a small shoulder pouch.

“Let’s go.”

They both went to put on their shoes and then went down the elevator. Outside of the building Kuro immediately started jogging down the road. Hinako quickly followed him.

“Where are we running to?”, she asked curiously.

“The MDF”, Kuro answered and slightly accelerated.

“That’s like what? 10-12 kilometers? Easy!”

“If we run straight there, yes.”

But they didn’t run straight there. Kuro led her first in the direction of Kita and Itabashi. Afterwards south through Ikebukuro into Nakano. There he stopped in front of a convenience store.

“Go grab yourself something to drink, I’ll be right back…”, Kuro said abruptly and went inside.

Hinako saw him vanish into the toilet. She waited outside. After a few minutes he came back with a relieved expression and a plastic bag.

“Here you go.”, he said and passed her a soda bottle.

Kuro himself grabbed a plain water bottle from his bag and began chugging it. Hinako looked at the soda in her hand. It was melon flavored. Her favorite.

“How did you know?”, She asked raising an eyebrow.

“What?”

“That I like melon soda?”

“You look like a melon soda girl…”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing…”

Hinako’s second eyebrow went up, but she said nothing but instead opened the bottle and chugged it down as well.

“Ah, that was good. Thanks.”, she said and let out a very quiet burp.

“Don’t mention it… you did make me a good soft-boiled egg after all… Well, let’s get going, we have maybe two hours…”, mentioned Kuro.

“What happens then?”

“An accident, if I don’t find a toilet…”

Kuro started to jog again. Hinako blinked twice and then chuckled, before she followed him.

“Why did you eat all those eggs?”, She asked after catching up with him.

“Because my mother taught me to always eat what others prepare for me.”, Kuro explained.

“Sounds like a good mum.”

“Yeah… and a very terrifying one…”

“You were scared of your mum?”

“Oh yes. If I had to make a top three of scariest women I ever knew, she would take the first place… followed by the grandmaster…”

“Who’s third?”

Kuro did not answer but instead accelerated to a full run. Hinako tried her best to keep up. While avoiding crowded areas, they ran through parts of Shinjuku and Shibuya until they came to the Meguro river and followed it down to Nakameguro, where they finally arrived at the MDF headquarters.

“That… was… like… a whole… marathon… wasn’t it?”, huffed Hinako, holding her sides after the final spurt.

“I never looked up the exact distance but seems about right. Took us a little under four hours… not bad for a start… next time, we’ll aim for under three and a half hours.”, remarked Kuro.

He went to the nearby vending machine at the entrance to the MDF building complex and bought two sport drinks.

“Here, well done.”, Kuro said while passing one bottle to Hinako.

She opened it and chugged the drink down immediately. Hinako slowly caught her breath again. She looked to Kuro, who barely breathed harder than normal.

“How often do you do this?”, she asked.

“What?”

“Running a marathon here?”

“Two to four times a week… depends on how often I must come into the office.”

“What?! Are you crazy?”

“It’s a good way to build up stamina.”

“Why do I need that much stamina? I’m a mage not a marathon runner!”

“Stop complaining about a bit of a warm-up. Come, let’s go. Your training isn’t over yet, unless you’re quitting.”

Kuro went inside without waiting for a response. Hinako followed him with a mixture of exhaustion and stubbornness on her face. They went through the office building. It was mostly empty, since it was still Golden Week, most weren’t at work. The few mages they passed by all gave Kuro a very cold look. He didn’t seem to care and just greeted everyone with a nod.

“You remember the way to the sparring hall? I’ll meet you there in a few minutes.”, Kuro said suddenly and went into the bathroom they just passed.

Hinako went on to the sparring hall. There she sat herself against the wall in front of the entrance and let out a exhausted sigh.

“You look a bit exhausted… What’s up little Mage Adept?”, Hinako heard someone speak next to her.

She looked up and saw the tall black-haired woman with glasses, who had treated her ribcage, after the duel.

“Oh, hi… uhm…”, Hinako began and got back up.

“Oh yeah… We have not been properly introduced, have We? My name is Shiragi Yukiko. I’m the head of the medical department of the MDF. You can call me just Yukiko.”, Yukiko introduced herself.

“I’m Homura Hinako. Just Hina is fine… Pleasure to meet you.”

“Soo, Hina-chan… How is it going with Kuro?”

“Good… No problem really! We started training today.”

“He agreed to train you? On his day off?”

“Yeah.”

“Interesting…”

“Why?”

“Ah… nothing… Where is he now?”

“I think he is on the toilet… He said I should wait for him at the sparring hall.”

Yukiko looked really surprised.

“Did he? Hm… good that I came in today to check on something… I’ll see you later then, I guess.”, she said and went off.

Hinako watched her vanish behind the next corner.

“What’s that supposed to mean…”, she murmured.

A few minutes later Kuro came around the corner.

“Sorry… that took a bit longer…”, he said trying for a weak smile.