October’s story, with the Blue clan. I have some backlog with these short stories, I’ll try to work on it.
The original j.a.panese text is kindly provided by , as usual.
Wall by Furuhashi Hideyuki
In a corner of Scepter 4’s training ground, a wall had appeared. Seemingly made of logs stacked sideways, it was about 5 meters wide and 3 meters high. Metal fixtures and posts fastened it to the ground reliably so that it wouldn’t so much as budge from a human’s push or shove.
First, the troops went to Awashima and asked her about the meaning behind the wall’s appearance. Awashima, as bewildered at the question as they were when they had discovered the construction, went straight to the office of the organization’s head and inquired about his motives regarding the installation.
“—Ah, that.” The head of Scepter 4, Munakata Reishi, flashed an enigmatic smile as he acknowledged the question. “Well, it’s, uh… fufu… a wall, I believe.”
“Yes, I a.s.sure you I have gathered that much, sir.”
“It is an installation borrowed from a certain place.”
“Uh-huh.”
Indeed, the wall in question was a prefabricated construction that bore evidence of long-time use. It did look like an equipment belonging to some organization. Still, that didn’t explain its purpose… or better yet, Munakata’s intentions behind it.
Awashima waited for further elaboration, but Munakata offered no other explanation, just stared out the window at the autumn sky above, as if to purposefully avoid the questioning.
“…So… what are we supposed to do with this wall, anyway…?”
“For starters, what’s it even used for?”
The troops of the Swordsmen Division, lined up on the ground with Awashima facing the line and the wall visible behind her back, exchanged perplexed glances.
Only, among them…
“Mmn, isn’t that…”
“Yeah, sure brings back memories.”
…there were those who looked at each other in recognition. The individuals in question were the two prominent members of the Swordsmen Division’s elite unit, the Special Ops squad, Akiyama Himori and Benzai Yuujirou.
“Does this thing ring a bell for you two?” Awashima asked.
“Yes, it does,” Akiyama volunteered. “I believe it is a hurdle race wall.”
To provide a demonstration, Akiyama broke into a light-legged jog on the approach to the wall and, kicking the tips of his boots against its surface, ran up it. Then, planting both his hands on top of the wall and using them as a pull-up point, he swung his body up, easily scaling the 3 meter wall and landing on the opposite side of it.
“The same equipment is used for training new recruits in National Defense Force. Back there, such walls were often part of standard running courses and training drills.”
“Ohh,” the troops exhaled collectively, internalizing Akiyama’s explanation and being impressed by his trained movements. There was a reason why that earned their admiration.
The thing was, fundamentally, the members of Scepter 4’s Swordsmen Division had been selected and brought together mostly based on 2 conditions, those being you had to be a young man of about 20, give or take a few years, and you had to have apt.i.tude for superpower. So long as those requirements were met, your personal history or origins mattered little. So if anything, the troops who, like the ex-members of the National Defense Force Akiyama and Benzai, underwent professional combat training in their previous line of work were in minority.
Moreover, since Scepter 4’s main premise a.s.sumed utilization of your superpower when in combat, it could be said that even after enlistment, purely physical training was kept to a minimum and designed only to allow the recruits to reach the most basic level of physical prowess.
“So am I to take the Captain’s aim with this is a boost of physical performance through more physical-geared forms of training, I wonder?” Awashima asked no one in particular with a pensive look on her face.
“Aww.”
“Looks like a tall order, if you ask me.” Hidaka and Fuse from the Special Ops grumbled behind her.
Whipping her head to give them a withering glare, Awashima turned back to Akiyama and Benzai.
“Operative Akiyama, operative Benzai, can you make some time for me today after your shift is over? I’m planning to revise our training program, and I could use your input.”
And so…
“Well then, first, Akiyama, Benzai… show them how it’s done.”
“Yes, ma"am!”
A few days later, singled out by Awashima, Akiyama and Benzai took a step forward, breaking away from the line.
“On your mark!” Awashima ordered. “Ready… Go!”
Together with the command, the two broke into a run. The track they were running on was a newly built hurdle race course, circling the grounds. Under the ban on using their superability to reinforce their bodies, the two galloped in leaps, propelling themselves with just their natural leg strength, in full uniform and with the sabers strapped to their hip.
Their speed was about equal. Like two arrows fired from the same bow at the same time, they were advancing through the course shoulder to shoulder.
30 meters in front of them, there stood the wall. As if by some sixth sense, they kicked off at the same time, pushing up and scaling it.
“Ohh…” the troops stirred behind them.
The wall wasn’t the only hurdle in the hurdle course. The track could also boast the typical obstacles used in track-and-field events, ditches dug to imitate trenches and nets strung to make one crawl under them - Akiyama and Benzai, running side by side at the exactly same speed, were clearing the hurdles with the exactly the same movements. Completing one full lap took them about 3 minutes. The requirement to complete 5 such laps in one go was Akiyama and Benzai’s own proposal as the ex-National Defense team. Pa.s.sing in front of the lined up troops, they went for their second lap, scaling the wall together a second time. Their speed didn’t drop any.
“Alright, now, Team 1, on your mark! Ready… Go!”
“Team 2, on your mark!”
A lap behind Akiyama and Benzai, one by one, the troops started on the course. The moment the previous team scaled the wall, the next team was given the go-ahead signal to begin pursuit, and if that team caught up to the team that started on the course before them, they were declared winners and were to continue pursuit of the teams in front, overtaking them one by one. Those were supposed to be the rules. Since none aside from a handful few were used to such physically taxing exercise, a certain number of dropouts was within expectations.
Only…
The result was far more dreadful than anyone could have expected.
What’s worse, the aforementioned wall had literally become the insurmountable hurdle in the troops’ path. On the first try on their first lap, only about half of the members were able to scale it. Although the rest were able to clear it on their second try after adjusting some things like the speed of the approach run, on their second, third and fourth lap, due to evident lack of stamina, those who simply gave up on overcoming it had started to appear one after another.
As a result, by the time Akiyama and Benzai had finished their fifth lap (arriving at the same time), there was no one left who could still run maintaining the pace, and Awashima declared the exercise suspended.
Most of the troops sank down to the ground around the wall.
“Huff, huff, huff… this is… just meaningless! Especially seeing that we could leap over a wall like this in no time if we just used our power…!” Doumyouji, another member of the Special Ops squad, grumbled, being a sorry loser, as he stretched his legs.
“Puff, puff… Our superpower is not… limitless though. And when push comes to shove, your physical endurance might be… what can make difference…” Kamo Ryuuhou, also a member of the Special Ops squad, folded his arms and nodded primly… except he, too, was gracelessly seated right on the ground.
“I had no idea our troops’ stamina levels were this badly all over the place….” Awashima sighed, observing the troops, or rather, what looked more like heaps of corpses lying all around.
“To be honest, it came as a complete surprise to us, as well,” Akiyama and Benzai agreed with her, visibly discomfited.
“From here on out, I’ll have all the troops focus on building up basic endurance for a while. I ask you two to cooperate with me.”
“Ma"ma, yes, ma"am.”
“Uwaaah~~~” Hidaka, stretched on the ground, let out pathetically.
“Still…” Akiyama said in a voice barely above whisper, taking in once again the disgraceful sight his coworkers made, “To see through this state of affairs before even any of us field operatives could and make a preemptive move like this…”
Knowing what Akiyama wanted to say by that, Benzai, too, felt great admiration as he said, “Yeah, that’s the Captain for you… He truly is a frightening person.”
Just then, a lone truck rolled onto the HQ premises through a side gate, carrying additional equipment Munakata Reishi had arranged for.
The ‘Stamina Buildup Training Circuit’, prepared for the Swordsmen Corps based on the first day’s hurdle race, was to be put to use in the form incorporating Munakata’s further proposals. Namely…
The wall was to be utilized in "Candy Hunt’, the hurdles in "Bread Eating Contest’, the tranches in "Spoon Race’, and the crawl sections in "Scavenger Hunt’.
“Buwhoo…!” Akiyama, face white, chocked. Unexpectedly, he was positively no good at this game that required partic.i.p.ants to find a candy hidden in a tray of wheat flour without using their hands.
“Uwooooo…!” On the other side of the field, Kamo, emitting an angry growl, charged the bread hanger stand, but the more he strained, the wilder the anpan, hanging by a thread, swung back and forth, not letting him put his mouth on it.
“Kamo-san! Remember that using your hands is against the rules!” Hidaka provoked, skillfully balancing a ping-pong ball in a spoon on the run. Having conquered the crawl section, he checked the slip of paper to find out what item he was to borrow for Scavenger Hunt.
“Eno, Eno, Eno—! Gla.s.ses, your gla.s.ses, gimme your gla.s.ses—!!!” Sweeping the gla.s.sed off the face of his fellow Special Ops squad member, Enomoto, who was spectating outside the course, Hidaka rushed back.
“Nfufu… Hidaka always gets so excited when it comes to things like this.”
“Well, the dude’s basically a party animal.” Two more members of the Special Ops squad, Gotou and Fuse, let lopsided smiles curve their lips.
“Things like this, huh…” Enomoto intoned, squinting at the course without the aid of his gla.s.ses. “…Isn’t it just that the Captain wants to have a sports meet, no?”
“Hey, you’re realizing it only now, man?” Fuse couldn’t help making the quip.
“Nfu. He must be watching us right now on the monitor in his office and grinning like there’s no tomorrow.” Gotou himself broke into a wide grin.
As he did, Doumyouji, not looking enthused in the least, ran up to them from behind to comment, “But apparently, there are people who don’t exactly share that opinion.”
“Hey, you over there!” As if to prove him right, Awashima, who was observing the course, shouted to him right then. “You’re in the middle of training! Cease your whispering this instance!”
“See?” Doumyouji said quietly to Enomoto’s group. “Yes, ma"am!” he then replied loudly to their superior officer and made his way back to the course at a speed calculated to be just barely above the level where she’d snap at him again.
“Buwhoo…!” Benzai choked up ahead.
“h.e.l.l yeah—!!!” Above the head of Hidaka, who came in first, decorative b.a.l.l.s split open, spewing confetti to dance against the autumn sky.