“Alright kids, today we will have a test about endurance running. Females will need to finish six laps in no more than 2 minutes, while males` standard is at least nine laps in the same time.”

The class went through their warming up routine, with more stretching. Then the teacher called groups of five students for each run. Takumi`s stamina has slightly improved, combined with his height he was able to finish 800 meters in 167 seconds. Following his group was another group of males that were smaller, which included Kyoya. Standing behind the beginning line, the boys got into the taught position.

“Ready… Go!”

The whistle was blown, and all of them started running. Unlike the previous group that Takumi was in, most of the girls were spacing out and gossiping about random things. This group of males was the less popular one in PE classes, since their size and capability. All of them has failed tests about throwing, badminton,… practically every tests given so far. This was their last chance to get a pass, or they will have to do extra cleaning duties in the gym as punishment.

One minute has passed, and Kyoya was leading with three laps completed. He was running at an acceptable 5 meters/second, which is the lowest average speed males need to maintain to pass the exam. Meanwhile, another small figure was standing outside the track field, observing the five students.

The teacher looked at Kyoya before doing the same with the rest, and shook his head. It seemed like he would have to make them do extra duty for their free pass grade. Suddenly, a gust streamed past his face, messing up his fringe. The PE teacher quickly gazed at the track again, to find Kyoya speeding up rapidly.

(This will be his sixth lap… How is he running even faster than before?) Both Takumi and the PE teacher thought.

On his seventh lap, Kyoya was no longer running, but virtually dashing. His short legs were switching place so fast that the motion is blurred, and a breeze was left behind whenever he ran pass. His long hair floated backwards, while Kyoya kept a steady breathing rhythm.

The eighth lap was done in less than 11 seconds. The same went for the last lap. And the teacher jaws dropped when he clicked the recording button: Kyoya ran 800 meters in 2 minutes and 23 seconds, the fastest of the class. His last 4 rounds only took 43.5 seconds, which means he was running at over 33km/h for 400 meters. Students, girls and boys started to mumble about him. Some “Kyaa” and “Sugei” were audible, indicating that Kyoya`s results were definitely impressive. The slim figure seemed satisfied as she slowly strolled further away, until only a glint of silver could be seen.

Breathing a bit fast, Kyoya walked beside Takumi. Receiving compliments from his friend, Kyoya presented the usual emotionless face.

Later that day, taking advantage of the cool and breezy weather, Kyoya decided to introduce Takumi to his teacher, Kenichi. At the park, a tall and handsome young man faced yet a taller but thinner man, who was already closing middle age. They shook hands before started the generic walk and talk, followed by the not so well known train and talk.

“So you were Kyoya`s PE teacher when he was still in grade school, Sensei?”

“Uhm. One day he found me practicing Taekwondo in this park, and nagged me to teach him. For free!”

They both laughed as Kyoya blushed. Having done his stretching reps where he not only split completely but pulled his leg up more than 180 degree, Kyoya sneakily pressed Takumi down into full split for revenge.

“Aaaa!” A long wail echoed the park, followed by the other two bursting into laughter.

Still feeling pain in his crotch, Takumi changed the subject:

“But sensei, why did you learn Taekwondo? Karate is much more popular in Japan as well as worldwide, you could have opened your own Dojo with this much mastery of the art.”

“Ah, that takes me way back. Are you two prepared for a story?” He said as his arms were doing push-ups.

Takumi dropped on the ground and gasped for air, while Kyoya`s arms were shaking. But both nodded and stared at Kenichi.

“Welp” The man skipped up straight “My grandfather was a Japanese soldier that fought in Korea. In the beginning of World War II I think. He was one tough ass when it comes to war. Fought bravely for our country. Until one day, another soldier knocked him out. My gramps used a katana and lost to an unarmed opponent. They took him as prisoner. The “prison” was a wooded shed behind their family`s house. The guy was a martial artist. Long story short, gramps became his student and got married to his daughter. Hey don`t stop moving!” Kenichi talked and did jump squats simultaneously.

Even Kyoya was running out of breath trying to keep up with him. Takumi was left behind, and he decided that there was no way he can keep up and just trained at his own pace.

“Later, when `Merica started the cold war, my gramps managed to bring the family to Japan through his connections. And the style that he mastered was then taught to me: the military Taekwondo of the North Korean army, which later became ITF. It stands for International Taekwondo Federation. Much more obscured than Olympics WF still.”

“And the rest… was just me getting hooked onto my grandpa`s dreams of reviving the old military version of the style, so I went to a sports university. Ended up becoming broke a few times before I finally settled down as a PE teacher. Can`t say what I think about it though.”

The training session ended with Kyoya exhausted next to Takumi, who was gulping down liters of water. A small girl with sparkling silver hair stood from afar, observing them in secret.