Rice Shower's Point of View
A whole year has passed since I last stood on these training grounds. Now, I'm back, preparing myself for the races in France this October. President Rudolf and Mr. C.B. are following the same regimen, though my intensity is dialed back just a notch. Like Big Brother said, July is my adjustment period; I won't be diving into the truly grueling stuff until August.
As I look around, memories of last year come flooding back—Ardan-san, Chiyono O-san, Yaeno-san, and Cafe-san. The five of us worked so hard here. We even played beach flags... it feels like a lifetime ago.
"Hey, Rudolf~?" C.B.'s voice broke through my reverie.
"What is it, C.B.?" Rudolf replied, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow.
"I've been watching the other girls train, and it really hits me every time... Hachiman's methods are just on a completely different level, aren't they? He doesn't do anything like the other trainers."
Rudolf nodded slowly. "Indeed. 'Unorthodox' would be an understatement. I believe 'extraordinary' is the word that fits him best."
"I wonder how Big Brother comes up with these ideas," I mused aloud. "Is it because of how Sensei taught him?"
"That likely plays a part," Rudolf said. "Though, the fact that he was personally apprenticed to a master from the start is quite rare. Usually, a prospective trainer attends a vocational academy and passes a national exam to earn their license. But Big Brother didn't come from an academy. Despite that, he passed the exams at the very top of his class—valedictorian, even over the elite Aoi Kiryuin of the prestigious Kiryuin house. That is no small feat."
C.B.'s eyes went wide. "Whoa! Hachiman was the top student?!"
"Hey, hey," Big Brother interrupted, stepping over with a clipboard in hand. "How much of my personal life are you planning to broadcast? I don't particularly mind, but it's not exactly something worth bragging about."
"But Big Brother," I asked, looking up at him, "how did you even meet Sensei? I thought you went to a perfectly normal school."
"Sensei was at my university at the time," Hachiman said, his gaze drifting toward the horizon. "He's retired now. He didn't have a formal teaching position; his policy was to just scout students who looked promising—or perhaps just 'troublesome'—and dump his knowledge into them. To be honest, when he first approached me, I thought he was just a weirdo looking to pick a fight."
Rudolf tilted her head. "Truly? You seem so diligent now. Did you really feel that way?"
"Don't assume the 'me' you see now is the same 'me' from back then," he said with a wry, self-deprecating smile. "Before I met Sensei, I was... let's just say I was a pretty cynical guy. Prickly, defeatist, the works. When he told me he was a trainer, I wondered why on earth he was talking to someone like me. But as I listened to him talk about the craft, I started to see the appeal. Before I knew it, I was chasing the license myself."
"Ooh! And then what? Tell us more!" C.B. chirped, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
"The rest," Hachiman said, tapping her on the head with his clipboard, "comes after training."
"Ehhh?! You can't leave us on a cliffhanger like that! But fine... training is fun too, so I guess I'll focus!"
"Right," Rudolf said, her eyes sharpening with competitive fire. "Let's move to the next set. But Brother... you will tell us the rest later, won't you?"
"Are you really that curious?"
"Rice is curious too!" I added, giving him my best pleading look.
He sighed, though I saw his eyes soften. "Fine. Once we're finished."
I'm so curious about Big Brother's past, but he's right—I have to focus on the now. I'm going to give it my all! Let's go, Rice!
[After Training]
"So, Big Brother... about you becoming a trainer?" I prompted as we cooled down.
"...Where did I leave off?"
"Right where you started feeling the 'allure' of the profession after talking to Master Taliato!" C.B. supplied instantly.
"There's not much more to tell, really," Hachiman said, leaning against the railing. "After that, it was just a long period of Spartan tutoring to gain the necessary knowledge. I received personal instruction from the Professor, took the exams, passed, and... well, here I am."
"It's the 'well, here I am' part that we're interested in," Rudolf pointed out.
"It was just a grind. That's what 'Spartan' means. I'd show him a training menu I'd designed, and he'd either tear it to shreds with merciless critiques or—on rare occasions—actually praise it. He taught me how to analyze, how to listen, even how to cook. It was a lot of... everything."
"Was he really that strict?" C.B. asked.
"Doesn't he look it? While I'm away, he's the one who's going to be watching your runs. His advice will be more precise than mine, I can guarantee that. But be warned: his words will probably cut a lot deeper than mine do."
I gulped. He... he doesn't sound like a scary person, but...
"Sensei really taught you everything, didn't he?" I asked. "Even the massages?"
"Yeah. He was the type who would tell me flat out if my technique was garbage. It made it easier to learn, in a way. But like I said, his methods are harsh. That's why I'm the only one."
"The only one what?" C.B. asked. "What about your classmates?"
"There were no classmates. He'd scouted others before me, apparently, but they all hit their limit and quit. I'm not saying this to brag, but I'm the only one who actually finished his curriculum."
Rudolf went quiet for a moment, her expression turning respectful. "I see... so you truly are the sole successor to his lineage."
"It's not as grand as all that," Hachiman said, waving her off. "Sensei prefers to keep his identity a secret. If he actually went public, he'd be a superstar. He'd have disciples lining up around the block. But he has his reasons for staying in the shadows. Reasons I can't exactly share."
"Is it a privacy thing?" C.B. asked.
"Something like that. Anyway, the story of how I became a trainer is basically just a guy who fell into it by accident. Not very cinematic, is it?"
I shook my head vigorously. "That's not true at all! You're the one who chose Rice... and that makes you the most wonderful person in the world to me."
Big Brother looked at me, caught off guard for a second, before a small, genuine smile reached his eyes.
"Thanks, Rice."
(And to all the "good kids" out there—don't go telling those other four about this conversation, okay? I'm trying to keep a low profile here!)
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