Chapter 20 - Boot Camp
"Boot camp, you say?" I found myself asking as people started whispering around me, quietly voicing their displeasure at the idea . . .
. . . At least, the girls were. Most of the boys sounded quite eager to get started. "What exactly do you mean by that?"
"Well, I'm going to put you all through some basic training, but don't worry! It's not going to be like how they do it in the military!" Might Guy reassure us as he cracks his knuckles, the action not really helping to settle the nerves in the room.
"You see, I need to see what exactly I have to work with here. You all are completely new to me, and I to you. So, by putting you through some . . . challenges, I'm going to learn about your physical strengths and weaknesses. But first things first . . ."
Suddenly, the shoji doors slid open to reveal Shinji, now holding a medical scale that could measure both height and weight. Following behind him was a woman with short black hair with a dark blue streak in the front, dressed in a blue tracksuit and black sneakers, and carrying a small roll of measuring tape in her right hand and a clipboard in her left.
"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Isane. She's one of the head trainers here in my gym, and serves as my right-hand lady," Guy explains to us as he gestures at the woman. "As for Shinji here, not only is he the main receptionist, but he also serves as an assistant trainer on the slower days. He'll be helping out in this session too."
"If I get distracted during this workout, I know exactly who I'm blaming." I hear Ino mumble from somewhere on my right, and when I turned my head, I found that her sentiment had gained approval from Matsuri, and surprisingly, Sakura of all people.
Luckily for her, Shinji was too far away to hear her, so her opinion was still relatively a secret, for now, I guess.
"Hi everyone! It's nice to meet you all!" Isane was quick to say in greeting as Shinji continued to set up the scale. "I hope you all enjoy your time here, and fingers crossed that some of you don't curse us out before you leave!"
Well, at least she's charming.
"Anyway, now that we got the intros out of the way, let's get down to business," Guy declares, his tone taking on more of an authoritative edge. "As models, you are expected to keep your bodies at a specific set of measurements. These measurements help determine how well you can fit into the designer's clothes and sample sizes, and if you're not the right size, then, well, you can't do the job, and the designer is forced to look to other models that can fit their clothes. . . Your measurements, especially your weight, is firmly in your control, not your employers. So, if you're unable to really sustain and maintain a good, healthy body weight, then agencies can't rely on you to do the jobs they may assign you."
"If you can't maintain your health, you can't really model." Shikamaru succinctly concludes, and Guy nods, confirming his words.
"Exactly. . ." Guy calmly explains before raising his hand. "Now then, there are four primary measurements that designers always have to consider when designing their clothes: your height, your weight, your waist, and your hips, with weight being the one that matters the least."
"But just because it matters the least, doesn't mean we can just neglect it," Neji added, his words gaining Guy's tacit approval.
"Couldn't have said it any better myself," The trainer concedes, smirking slightly. "The general rule of thumb these days is that if you fit the clothes, and make them look good, your weight doesn't matter."
"Anyway, though the modeling world has become more welcoming of all heights in recent years, high fashion still focuses on women who are within that 5'9 to 6'1 range, and men who are in that 5'10 - 6'3 threshold when it comes to the runway," Isane adds as she starts swinging around her measuring tape like it was a lasso. "You can still be taller or shorter than those ranges and still make it in high fashion, but you really need to know how to work your stature to really pull that off, which is something that I believe Yamato will work with you on, well, if you fit in that category."
"We won't know for certain until we get all your measurements jotted down," Guy declares as Shinji stood beside the scale. "So, who wants to go first?"
"I'll go!" Matsuri cries out, moving forward before anyone else has a chance to, much to Ino's obvious ire.
"Hm, I love the enthusiasm," Isane admits as Matsuri slips off her shoes. "Alrighty then, step onto the scale please!"
Matsuri did as she was told, and after remaining still for a few minutes to allow Shinji, Guy, and Isane to accurately measure her and take down her numbers, she stepped away to let the next person have their turn.
That next person ended up being Ino, who gave Matsuri a little side eye as they walked by each other. . .
. . . Damn, she was feeling more irritated than I thought.
Anyway, taking a person's measurements was a bit more time consuming than I previously thought. The process ended up working as an assembly line of sorts, with Guy and Shinji doing the measuring, while Isane jotted down our numbers, and once all the numbers were tabulated, the three trainers walked off to a corner of the room to talk, leaving the rest of us to our own devices.
"So, any idea on what they could be talking about over there?"
"Honestly, I have no clue Naruto," I mumbled as we watched the three conversing, Guy looking quite animated compared to his employees. "For all I know, they're probably discussing the many ways they can torture us through exercise."
"Highly likely at this point," Gaara mutters on my left. "Guy looks like he means well, but something tells me that his training regimens tend to be an excruciating experience. . . I'm not looking forward to it. Not one bit."
"Great, now that you've said that, now I'm definitely not looking forward to this," I say in return as Lee went through his second round of stretches in the past five minutes. "Well, at least one of us looks happy."
"He's absolutely living the dream," TenTen mumbles, standing right next to Neji. "You can tell how much he worships the man just by how much he looks like him. . . He's Guy's mini-me!"
"It's hero worship, appreciation, and maybe a dash of straight up obsession all mixed up into one green spandex wearing being." Naruto quietly adds as the trainers finally break from their huddle. ". . . It's quite a sight indeed."
"Ok everyone! There are a few of you that are a tiny bit shorter than the usual metrics, but regardless of that, you all fit the general parameters agencies and designers are looking for, so congrats on that!"
"However, just because you're in range, doesn't mean you'll always stay there," Guy warns us, smirking slightly. "And that's where diet, exercise, and people like us and my colleagues here."
"Fair enough," Choji calls out. "So, uh, what do we start with first?"
"Well, usually I'd ease you all in by leading you through a series of stretches before putting you all through the heavy stuff," The man admits, looking apologetic as he raises his hands in a sign of defeat. "But Tsunade and the other judges have agreed that I should really put you all through your paces today, so that's what I'm going to do."
"Out of all the things they could have had a hand in, the judges just had to meddle in this one," I could hear Shikamaru grumble somewhere behind me, his tone low enough that Guy, Isane, and Shinji wouldn't be able to hear him.
To be honest, he wasn't wrong to voice his displeasure. In fact, I think half the group would agree with him if asked.
"So, for today, we'll start things off with a good ten lap run around the track," He declares, pointing at the large loop outside. "Then we'll come back in here for a quick cool down and calisthenics, and then we'll get you all on the machines."
"A ten-lap run to start things off?" Temari mused, shaking her head. "I can already feel my calves crying already."
"Now don't get all negative on us everyone. Save that for when the session's over!" Guy exclaims as Shinji and Isane walk over to the back wall. "Now let's move people! We're burning daylight!"
One of the back wall windows was a sliding door, and once Isane slid it open, most of the boys rushed through it, like they were a pack of wolves being released back into the wild, leaving the rest of us in their collective dust as they booked it down the track.
"Boys! Always trying to show off!" I mumbled as I got in line with Hinata, TenTen, and Temari, forming a little jogging group of our own.
"But is it really that surprising though?" Temari asks as we jog at a comfortable pace, nowhere close to the speed Lee was utilizing to stay ahead of the rest of the pack. "They're boys . . . One upping each other is a basic part of their DNA, and if they can't get first place, they will make sure they score high, or don't end up last. . . If you don't believe me, look ahead of us right now!"
"Oh man, I think you're right." TenTen was the first to speak up as we watched the front pack go around the first turn. At this point, Lee was running way ahead of the rest of the competition, but those in that large group - my brother and Kankuro included - were all jockeying for space, almost shoving each other a couple of times. "Damn, how has no one in that group tripped yet?!"
"It's definitely an impressive show of balance on their part, because those arms are swinging," I mumble, just as Matsuri's arm gets tangled up with Suigetsu's, just as he's pulling away.
If she hadn't saved herself in time, her face would have been kissing the asphalt, no doubt about it. "Ooh, that was a close one!"
"I don't wish injuries on anyone, but they really need to calm down up there," Hinata adds, shaking her head. "At the very least, if they keep this pace up, they'll run out of steam way too soon."
"Run out of steam? They'll burn out before they reach the third lap!" TenTen cuts in. "Why won't they just jog like normal people?"
"Maybe they think there's some hidden challenge going on that we weren't made aware of."
"It's possible Hinata. This competition has had hidden challenges before," I mumble, thinking of all the prior ones I could come up with. "However, I'm not so sure the judges would commission one this early in the game. . . For now, let's just get this over with, okay?"
"But in a way that would put us in a positive light with the trainers," TenTen not-so-subtly added as we made the turn ourselves. "A hidden challenge may not happen this early, but then again, you never know, right!?"
We all nodded, as she raised a fair point. This may not be a typical challenge, but every person that gets brought in to collaborate with us eventually reports back to the judges, and the more the judges know, the better persuaded they are to keep us in the competition or eliminate us if things truly do get that bad.
We did well for ourselves during the ten-lap run, though I must admit, it was a little annoying to get lapped by Lee five times before we could finish the course.
Then again, it was quite vindicating to run past the lead group during the last lap. All of them were visibly tiring, and in a quick burst of speed, we dashed past them all, finishing before any of them could.
Kankuro's and Naruto's faces were absolutely priceless!
"You should have seen the looks on your faces!" Temari belts out as we come to a stop just off the track, pointing at those that were finishing behind us. "Like, seriously? Did you not think we'd pass you on the home stretch?!"
"To be honest, no, no I did not," Kankuro surprisingly admits as Naruto looks on, too stunned to really say anything. "I should have, but I did not. . . Still, pulling the loser sign on your way by was not cool Temari, TenTen. Not COOL!"
"Okay, so it was a little childish on our part, but can you blame us. . . You all were practically asking for it as soon as you sped off at full speed from the start!" TenTen argues in between deep breaths. " . . . Ever heard of pacing yourself?"
"But where's the fun in that?" Kankuro counters with a question of his own. "When you're in a competition, you need to be on your a-game at all times."
"Hm, you really were never much for long-term thinking Kankuro," Temari grumbles, her remark earning her the immediate ire of her sibling. "You always think in the short term, well, except when it comes to your puppets."
"Oi, what's that supposed to mean?!"
"You can always go guns blazing from the very start, but that just means you wear out your momentum faster," Temari sagely replied in return. "Better to have a slow and steady rise than go 0-100 from the start and peter out towards the end."
"Your sister has a point," I say, backing her up. "This run is the perfect example of it too. You went too hard; too quickly, and thus, you ended up getting passed by us at the end."
"Be like the turtle, not the hare," TenTen adds, being rather cheeky as the next group finally fishes up their run.
Gaara and Neji jogged to a stop, soon followed by Shikamaru, Shino, and Choji. Shikamaru looked like he wanted to find the nearest sofa in the vicinity, slowing down to a snail's pace once he finished his required laps, but the rest didn't look too weary in comparison.
Once everyone had finished their ten laps, we were told to head back inside to cool down, but once that was over, Guy started putting us through our paces, and this man put us on a brutal pace.
Sit ups, pushups, jumping jacks, squats, knee bends, leg raises . . . every kind of stretch Guy could think of, he made us do at least twenty times, but the worst one was the pull ups, definitely the pull ups.
Guy allowed us to only go up to ten for this one, knowing it was the toughest one we would do. We all managed to do at least one, but most of us failed to go past five. Lee, and surprisingly Neji, were the only ones to go all the way, with Kiba, Sasuke, and Naruto all coming in second with nine apiece. Sakura did the most out of us girls, but she only managed to complete six, while Matsuri and Ino barely managed to get their one pull up to count.
In the end, we spent a good hour going through all kinds of stretches - or pure, unadulterated torture, as Ino lovingly called it - before Guy finally gave us the a-ok to move on to the machines, and a lot of us were glad for that.
He, Isane, and Shinji took the time to give us the basic rundown of each machine before dividing us into two groups: upper body and lower body. Those who were put into the upper body group - me included - had to work using the machines that focused on the waist up. Those in the lower body group had to work waist down.
"Now then, what should I try first?" I thought to myself as I looked around, only to stop once I spotted the lat pull-down machines two rows away. Since no one else was making their way there - I guess it's not a popular option among the others right now - I made my way over to the closest machine as fast as my tired legs could carry me. The machine was currently set to the lowest weight, so I adjusted it to a higher setting before taking my seat. . .
. . . Just in time to see Suigetsu, Sasuke, and Karin making their approach.
Since all three were assigned to the lower body group, they were likely heading over to the treadmills, and judging from the snippets of conversation I could hear from them, Karin was ribbing Suigetsu for only doing three pull ups. Sasuke wasn't contributing anything in the slightest, preferring to look around the room instead.
Watching his gaze, I noticed how his eyes would linger on certain people before moving on to the next person, and then I noticed the connection. . .
. . . He was checking out those that were in the top half of the callups during the last panel.
"He's scoping out the competition. . ." I think to myself as he finally moves his gaze away from Hinata over at the dumbbells, only to turn to stare directly at me.
Having been subjected to numerous stares over the years thanks to how my eyes look, I was not bothered by his stare. In fact, I welcomed it, staring back in return as the three walked closer to my position. Suigetsu and Karin were too distracted by their conversation to really notice me, but Sasuke certainly did, but instead of immediately looking away, he smirked and nodded my way before facing forward.
"Well then. . ." I thought to myself as I started working on my lats. "Challenge accepted. . . I guess?"
A/N: Leave a comment if you like!