"You guys won't be going on any missions until I see you're at least strong enough to make a tiny impact."
Hinata's words hung in the morning air like a challenge. The three recruits stood in the training yard, still sore from yesterday's beating, trying to look ready for whatever came next.
"Today," Hinata continued, "you'll be leaving your swords here." He gestured to a weapons rack near the edge of the yard. "You're not to touch them until I say so."
Rin blinked. "Wait, what? But we're samurai. Our swords—"
"Are useless if your body can't keep up with your mind." Hinata's expression remained neutral. "A sword doesn't make you strong. You make the sword strong."
Yuji frowned but said nothing, carefully placing his katana on the rack. Daichi hesitated, clutching his ornate blade like it was a lifeline, before reluctantly setting it down.
Rin was the last. He looked at his white katana—his mother's gift—and gently laid it beside the others.
"Good," Hinata said. "We won't be dueling from now on. Instead..." He turned and pointed toward the mountain looming in the distance behind the division grounds. Its peak disappeared into the clouds. "You'll be jogging from here to the tip of that mountain and back."
Dead silence.
"That's... that's at least twenty miles," Yuji said slowly.
"Twenty-three, actually," Hinata corrected. "And I'll be following you. I'll try to be very, *very* slow." His eyes narrowed slightly. "We'll continue this training until you're fast enough to finish ahead of me while I run at this slow speed."
"How slow is slow?" Daichi asked suspiciously.
Hinata didn't answer. He just pointed forward.
"Begin."
---
The first day was hell.
Rin made it maybe five miles before his legs turned to jelly and his lungs felt like they were on fire. Yuji pushed further—his natural athleticism carrying him nearly halfway—but even he collapsed eventually. Daichi, surprisingly, kept pace with Yuji before his lack of stamina caught up with him.
And Hinata?
Hinata jogged past all three of them without breaking a sweat, moving at what looked like a leisurely pace but somehow still faster than any of them could manage.
"You call this... slow?!" Rin gasped, doubled over on the side of the trail.
"Yes," Hinata said simply as he passed. "Keep moving."
---
**Day 3**
Yuji's form was improving. His breathing was more controlled, his stride more efficient. He'd clearly been analyzing Hinata's technique, trying to mimic it.
Daichi was keeping up through sheer stubbornness and pride. Every time he started to slow down, he'd mutter something about "royalty never quits" and push harder.
Rin... Rin was struggling.
His body wasn't used to this. Growing up poor meant inconsistent meals, long work hours helping his mom, and zero formal athletic training. His endurance was abysmal compared to the others.
By the time he stumbled back to the division grounds, hours after everyone else, Hinata was waiting.
"Again tomorrow," Hinata said. "Five AM."
Rin wanted to collapse. Instead, he nodded.
---
**Day 10**
Yuji crossed the finish line three steps ahead of Hinata.
He stood there, bent over with his hands on his knees, breathing hard but grinning. "I... did it..."
Hinata nodded once. "Acceptable. You're done with this exercise."
Yuji straightened up, still catching his breath, and glanced back at the trail. Daichi was visible in the distance, pushing hard. And far behind him...
Rin was barely a dot on the horizon.
---
**Day 14**
Daichi crossed the line just ahead of Hinata, roaring in triumph despite nearly collapsing immediately after.
"FINALLY!" he shouted, throwing his arms up. "I AM VICTORIOUS!"
"Good work," Hinata said simply. "You're done."
Daichi beamed, his pride fully restored.
But when Rin stumbled across the finish line twenty minutes later, Hinata just shook his head.
"Again tomorrow."
---
**Day 20**
Rin wasn't getting faster.
If anything, he felt slower. His body was exhausted, his mind foggy. Every morning he woke up and his legs screamed at him to stop. Every night he fell into bed wondering why he was even trying.
Yuji and Daichi had moved on to other training. He could see them sparring in the distance, hear Maki cheering them on.
And here he was. Still running. Still failing.
"Maybe they were right," he muttered to himself as he trudged up the mountain path for what felt like the thousandth time. "Maybe it *was* a glitch. Maybe I don't belong here."
His foot caught on a root. He stumbled, barely catching himself.
"Maybe I should just quit."
The thought sat heavy in his chest.
---
**Day 22**
Rin didn't show up for training.
He stayed in his room, staring at the ceiling, replaying every failure. Every smirk from Yuji. Every pitying look from Maki. Every time Hinata said "again tomorrow" like Rin was just some obstacle to work around.
There was a knock on his door.
"Rin?" Maki's voice. "Are you okay? Hinata's waiting."
"I'm not coming," Rin said quietly.
Silence.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"No."
More silence. Then, softly: "Okay. But... we're here if you need us."
Footsteps retreated down the hall.
Rin closed his eyes.
---
**Day 23**
He still didn't show up.
But late that night, lying in the dark, something shifted in his mind.
A memory surfaced. His mother, tired from her third shift of the day, still smiling as she handed him that white katana.
*"I'm so proud of you, Rin."*
He sat up slowly.
"Why should I give up?" he whispered to the empty room. "Why should I let them win?"
His hands clenched into fists.
"I'm an S-rank. Whether by luck, by glitch, or by fate—I'm here. And I'm not leaving until I *prove* I belong."
He got out of bed.
---
**Day 24**
Rin showed up at 4 AM.
Hinata raised an eyebrow when he saw him in the training yard, already stretching.
"You're early."
"Yeah," Rin said. "And I'm not running the mountain today."
"Oh?"
"I'm running it *twice.*"
Hinata studied him for a long moment. Then, for the first time since they'd met, the corner of his mouth twitched.
Almost like a smile.
"Go."
---
From that day forward, Rin didn't stop.
He ran in the morning before training. He did bodyweight exercises during breaks. Cardio after dinner. Push-ups, squats, planks until his muscles burned and his vision blurred.
He stopped comparing himself to Yuji and Daichi. Stopped caring about looking weak. This wasn't about them anymore.
It was about him.
---
**Day 29**
Rin's legs pumped like pistons as he crested the final hill. His lungs burned, his heart hammered, but his mind was crystal clear.
Hinata was ten steps behind him.
*Just a little more. Just a little—*
He crossed the line.
One foot ahead.
Rin stumbled to a stop, gasping, his entire body shaking. For a moment, he couldn't even process what had just happened.
Then it hit him.
"I... I did it..." His voice cracked. "I actually—"
"You did," Hinata said, stepping across the line a second later.
Rin collapsed to his knees, tears streaming down his face. Not from pain. Not from exhaustion.
From relief.
Hinata stood over him, arms crossed. "Good work. You're done with this exercise."
Rin looked up, still breathing hard. "What's next?"
Hinata's expression didn't change, but there was something different in his eyes. Respect, maybe. Or at least acknowledgment.
"Rest today. Tomorrow..." He turned and started walking away. "We move to hand-to-hand combat."
Rin watched him go, a grin spreading across his face despite the exhaustion.
*Bring it on.*
---
Across the training yard, Yuji watched from the shadows, arms folded. He'd seen the whole thing.
He didn't say anything. But when he turned to leave, there was the faintest trace of a smile on his face.
Daichi, sitting nearby polishing his sword, grunted. "About time the glitch stopped embarrassing himself."
But even he looked grudgingly impressed.
And Maki, standing in the doorway with fresh tea, beamed.
"Welcome back, Rin," she whispered.
---