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1
Wheeze
“Ugh, argh.”
Small pebbles kicked up from the concrete as three scrawny pairs of legs repeatedly beat down on it, and as a little fart cloud, fortunately, floated. A regional marathon had been announced after the destruction that had occurred after the Claw’s terrorist’s attack for a morale boost. It was in one month’s time and nearly everyone was attending, including Tsubomi. Shigeo thought this was another chance to prove to himself, that he can it make in the Top 10. He trained for a marathon before, he just needed enough endurance.
“Nii-san! Your stride, fix your stride!” Ritsu panted alongside Shigeo. His breathing was steady, with his upper body relaxed. The ball of his foot striked first powerfully on the pavement. He stood tall while he ran.
“Yeah, argh, come on Shigeo! Ugh, straighten that back out!” Reigen managed to push out as he struggled trying to keep up with their pace, even though he was riding a bike. Sweat soaked his gay little matching tanktop that he bought in the wrong size when shopping with Serizawa.
“Reigen, you are one pathetic man…” Dimple floated slightly ahead of the three, his face contorted in disgusted as he looked at the blonde man. His green transparent form zipped to Shigeo’s side. Shigeo heaved heavily as he continued to jog. His form was sloppy and he tripped over his feet several times. But, he still kept silently moving. It seemed as he was sweating from every single pore in his body. And, that’s when he started to wobble from exhaustion and dehydration.
“Mob, that’s enough! Let’s take a break…” Reigen abruptly jumped off his bike, causing his bike to roll down the slope of the hill, into the river. Shigeo bent over to catch his breath, “I’m, ugh, ok!” Large pools of water dripped off his forehead as he bent down. His running shoes were almost worn down to the sole. Though, anyone else would be irritated at this observation, it did quite the opposite for Shigeo. He was putting in the effort and felt an undeniable change in himself. He put a hand on his chest and really felt how his heart rapidly pounded. Sprinkles of blood covered his right knee from when he had tripped at the very start of their run. The crisp leaves from the nearby trees slightly rustled, while the hammering of nearby construction echoed in his ears. He fixed himself up straight abruptly, startling the three before him. He huffed, “Again, let’s go again…” He wiped his clammy hands across his drenched face. Reigen furrowed his brows, not in anger, but in worry. “Shigeo, it doesn’t help if you push yourself so hard that it hurts yourself. I know…I know you want to get what you desire, but you have to understand Shigeo, it takes time.” Reigen bent down to Shigeo’s knee, only to instantly get kicked to the side by Ritsu. “I can take care of him, thank you. Here, Nii-san.” After fumbling through his tacky tie-dyed fanny pack, Ritsu pulled out a Sanrio’s Keroppi band-aid and applied it gently.
“Yeah! If you need a break, then just take one, Mob.” Reigen’s wet bike whizzed from below the hill, shocking the four. It slowly settled to the ground and Teru emerged from the bottom of the hill’s slope. “Teru…? What—” The Body Improvement Club soon followed after Teru, wearing a supposed matching cheerleading uniform that has been stretched to its limits. “I told them that you were preparing for another marathon and they wanted to support you, as did I.” They each had pom poms at their sides, ready to wave.
Dimple pointed at them, “Reigen, you should—” A fist was slammed to the cloud’s face. “I will be arrested, don’t you dare joke about that…” Ritsu sucked his teeth and muttered under his breath, “Rightfully so, you con artist scum.”
Shigeo’s head hung low. “I understand.” He lifted it with a sigh. He opened his mouth only to get interrupted.
“WOOOOOOOOOOO! SHIGEO! LET’S GO SHIGEO!” The Body Improvement club furiously cheered and waved their pompoms. The captain, Musashi, gave a cheesy thumbs up. “Take pride in breaks, Shigeo! You will never get anywhere if you are all broken and beaten up!” He flailed his pom poms around carelessly, and in a blink of an eye, a light thud hit the ground and a pain panned out across Musashi's knuckles. “Eh—”
“Shigeo!”
“Mob!”
“Nii-san!”