Hikigaya Hachiman believed he was not a person who gave up easily, but he also wouldn't be overly ambitious. As for physical exercise, he first chose running, one of the most common sports. Maybe in the future he would go to the gym and lift weights, but that was a matter for another time.
On the morning of the second day after they agreed to run together, Hachiman and Yukino met downstairs on time.
Yukino's outfit was something Hachiman had never seen before: a single ponytail that was both capable and cute, a loose jacket over a black short-sleeved fitness shirt, and cropped leggings. She looked like a sporty beauty straight out of an anime.
As Yukino was stretching before their run, her graceful figure was clearly visible to Hachiman. But it was a pity...
This outfit suits you very well, Yukinoshita, he said, suppressing his suicidal thoughts and asking with curiosity. "Did you exercise regularly in the past?"
"Fitness? I went to the gym for a while when I was in the United States, but I gave up soon after," she answered while continuing her stretches. "To be honest, apart from horseback riding, many of my hobbies are like that. I tend to give up halfway."
"Is that so? But you're always so quick to pick things up, Yukinoshita."
"Being able to learn quickly doesn't mean you can become proficient, Hikigaya-san," Yukino said frankly. "Take running, for example. My endurance is very poor. My running posture might be standard and my breathing rate perfectly scientific, but I just can't persist for long. Poor endurance isn't something that can be changed in a short period of time."
After Hachiman performed a full set of stretching exercises under Yukino's guidance, the two began their morning run.
There weren't many people on the street at this time; those who were out were mostly early-morning exercisers themselves. Yukino and Hachiman weren't alone and didn't attract any extra attention. They had planned a round-trip route of about four kilometers the night before, a suitable distance for novice runners. They were both confident they could stick to it, as long as the pace wasn't too fast...
"Hah... Hikigaya... classmate..." Yukino gasped, completely out of breath after they returned to the apartment building. She bent over, holding her knees, and spoke incoherently. "I think... next time... we should slow down a bit..."
In the early morning, before the sun had fully risen, the cool air meant they didn't sweat much during the jog. The real sweating began after they stopped. Hachiman could clearly see a faint steam begin to rise from Yukino's body.
"I don't know who it was," Hachiman muttered, "but halfway through the run, after telling me to slow down, she was the one who insisted on keeping the pace..." He was speechless at her stubbornness. His own condition wasn't much better, but at least he could still speak fluently.
In any case, their morning run plan had gotten off to a good start, which was the important thing.
Today was May 6th, the day of the annual physical examination at Chiba Municipal Sobu High School. It was worth noting that this examination was not just for students, but for all faculty and staff as well.
After the high-intensity exercise on the first day, the first item on the agenda was the physical exam. Hachiman was actually very curious about how much his body had grown in the past two years.
"Hikigaya Hachiman... is 1.74 meters tall and weighs 57 kilograms!" the health teacher reported as Hachiman stood on an instrument that measured both height and weight simultaneously.
"Wow, that's pretty good," Hachiman thought, feeling very satisfied. He figured he could still grow another three or four centimeters. After all, since he had started making a lot of money, his standards for his diet had risen, which should help. As for his weight, his BMI of 18.8 was still within the normal range, but he was indeed a bit thin. With this build, it would be difficult to gain the upper hand in any scuffles with Yukinoshita Haruno, let alone win. It was really quite embarrassing.
"Not bad, Hikigaya. You look pretty healthy," Shizuka Hiratsuka said with some relief, looking over his physical data.
"Ms. Hiratsuka, have you always assumed I was a sub-healthy person?" Hachiman asked, somewhat speechlessly.
"People in your, uh, special profession... don't they all tend to have some health problems?" Hiratsuka said, a little afraid of being overheard, so she didn't say the word "writer" directly.
"What do you mean by a 'special profession'?! Ms. Hiratsuka, you could just say 'writer' instead of using a term that could cause so many misunderstandings!"
"Okay, okay, great writer," she relented. "Anyway, you must pay more attention to your health. I see that many writers have bad habits, like smoking. You must not get involved in that." Teacher Hiratsuka, who had just finished a cigarette in the restroom and whose clothes still smelled faintly of it, gave him this earnest advice.
"Got it, Ms. Hiratsuka. I'll pay attention," he said narcissistically. "But you have some stereotypes about writers. Excellent young writers like me are the mainstream of the future Japanese literary world."
"Well, since you're so confident, I can't say anything more. Finally, I also enjoy reading your novels, so I will always be concerned about your health," Hiratsuka said with a smile, patting him on the shoulder before moving on to check the information of other students.
After the physical measurements, the next item was the sit-and-reach test. In Japan, this typically involved pushing a box forward on a measuring device. Most of the boys grimaced in pain as they stretched their stiff bodies, only managing to reach about ten centimeters. Some even ended up with scores in the single digits, or even negative numbers.
Hachiman also finished the test, his muscles sore from the effort. His final score was only 13 centimeters, barely a passing grade. He suddenly thought of Yukinoshita Yukino's effortless stretching before their run this morning. Her performance must have been very good, he thought, and he wanted to find a chance to ask her about it.
"Seated forward bend? I think it was 27 centimeters," Yukino said later. "I just pushed it randomly."
"Twenty... seven centimeters? Eh—?!"
"Hikigaya, I know you think I'm amazing, but your voice is too loud. There are other students around," she chided.
"Your description is too casual. But... Yukinoshita, your body is really very soft. Just like a cat."
"Meow?" Yukino suddenly made a disarmingly cute sound and tilted her head to look at him.
"Yukinoshita, please don't make such an offensively cute sound all of a sudden," Hachiman said, covering his face in embarrassment, not wanting her to see his slightly flushed cheeks.
"I love cats, Hikigaya-san. They're my favorite animals," she said, her expression turning thoughtful. "I never had the chance to raise one before, but now that I'm living alone, maybe I should put that on the agenda?" She used a questioning tone, seemingly seeking his opinion.
"If you want to go to a cat cafe, I will go with you any number of times. But don't get a cat." In his heart, Hachiman felt a sudden resistance to the idea of her getting a pet.
"Eh? How about you get one, Hikigaya-san? Then I can come to your house to look after the cat every day."
"...You come to my house every day even without a cat, don't you?" Hachiman complained.
In short, Yukino temporarily gave up the idea of getting a cat. Or perhaps she never had the idea at all and had just wanted to find a way to take him to a cat cafe.
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