The next day, Souda noticed that Tanaka seemed to be in a particularly good mood after his date with Sonia. He scowled to himself and decided to leave the microphone in his roommate's scarf; it could come in handy later, though he would have to make sure not to mention it to Hinata.
Aside from bristling every time he heard Tanaka and Sonia talking across the room, Souda maintained his relative level of boredom throughout the day as his class went through the problems of the math and science tests. It wasn't until gym class that his things got a bit more interesting.
Now, he certainly had not been checking Tanaka out in the locker room. That would be creepy. Souda kept his eyes firmly downward every other time he had to change for class, but he wondered if he'd overlooked something, if maybe Sonia saw something under all that baggy clothing that made her attracted to Tanaka. All Souda did was peek at Tanaka as he took his shirt off, and if he was impressed by his back muscles, well, he figured it was just the kind of admiration that he felt when he wanted to be like someone.
Not that he wanted to be like Tanaka.
But having that kind of definition would definitely get some attention.
From girls.
Souda wondered how long he'd been staring and quickly turned away, resolving to take Nidai and Owari up on their offer to train and trying to forget the image of another guy with his shirt off.
Seriously, all Tanaka did was pet fluffy animals all day. How could he have that much muscle tone-
Souda ignored the strange looks from his classmates as he stepped into the gym, muttering curses to drown out his thoughts.
...
The next day, Souda woke up at five in the morning as Nidai told him and changed into his spare gym clothes, wondering if getting ripped was even worth it if he was too tired to talk to anyone later in the day.
He eventually decided that, yes, getting a girlfriend was a higher priority than getting enough sleep, and headed to the track. It wasn't like he usually slept that much, anyway, as his projects would keep him up until the early morning at times, but at least he was doing something he actually liked on those days. Exercise wasn't nearly as enjoyable.
Souda shivered as he stepped outside to meet the others. He saw Mioda and Komaeda warming up alongside Nidai and Owari and waved. Three of the four present gave enthusiastic greetings, while Komaeda smiled and nodded.
"So," Souda said, trying to look as cheerful as the others, "what are we doin' today?"
Nidai finished his set of jumping jacks and said, "We will start with an easy five kilometers around the track before we do weight lifting inside! I will have to devise a routine for you later, Souda."
Souda blanched. "An easy five kilometers?"
"Yes! Only Komaeda is exempt from running, but I expect the rest of you to do the best you can to keep up." He set off into a run, and Souda did his best to fall in line with the others for all of two minutes before he felt his lungs give in.
He noticed Mioda slowing down alongside him, the two now in a much easier jog. "Don't worry, Kazoo, Ibuki with run with you!" Mioda laughed. "I didn't even mean for that to be a rhyme! I've been writing song lyrics lately and it just came out that way, y'know? That's awesome! Ibuki has retrained her brain to think in rhymes so she can write drafts for ten songs in one day!"
Souda made some sort of groaning noise in acknowledgement and wondered how Mioda still had the ability to speak. As if reading his thoughts, she laughed again. "Don't worry about it! Ibuki's been running for years as a hobby 'cause she needs to stay all energetic and bub-bub-bubbly during stage performances-" Souda didn't think Mioda was even capable of running out of energy "-and she wasn't that great, either, at first, but you get better as you keep it up, y'know? Which reminds Ibuki of that one time when she tried teaching her middle school classmates how to headbang but they wouldn't listen because they all got headaches! But this one girl stuck with Ibuki so Ibuki gave her lessons every day because Ibuki is just that kind-"
Souda allowed Mioda's ramblings to fade into pleasant background noise as he focused on putting one foot in front of the other. She had always been one of the strangest in a class full of strange people, but Souda found her individuality refreshing - if exhausting - and wondered about that band she had been talking about; girls liked musical guys, right? So if he was ripped and in a band, it stood to reason that he would be practically drowning in girlfriends. He'd have to ask Mioda about it later.
If he ever survived the five kilometers of running, anyway.
After losing count of how many laps they had ran - Souda guessed about ten, probably more - he and Mioda finally walked over to Nidai and Owari, who had finished long before. Komaeda joined them shortly after.
"Very well!" Nidai said, beginning to stretch his legs. "Now that we have warmed up, we will proceed to the gym for interval training and weight lifting. Everyone may begin their scheduled routine except for Souda, who will consult with me. Break!" He clapped his hands to conclude the brief meeting and sprinted toward the school building, Owari following close behind. Souda opted to walk with Mioda and Komaeda.
"How the hell do you guys do this every morning," Souda muttered, his voice too flat for the sentence to even sound like a question.
"Running helps Ibuki wake up!" Mioda chirped, swinging her arms. "It's nice to get outside before going into the school all day. Ibuki twitches all throughout class if she doesn't run earlier!"
Komaeda nodded and wrapped his arms around himself. "I agree. It gets pretty cold out here, but it does make me feel a bit stronger as I can walk farther each day." He smiled. "Tsumiki told me that it can help my recovery, and she generally seems to know what she's talking about."
Souda rolled his eyes as Komaeda chuckled. "Yeah, funny," he said before turning to Mioda. "Hey, thanks for the moral support earlier. I sure as hell couldn't have run that far by myself."
"It was Ibuki's pleasure!" Mioda grinned. "We need to get you in good shape before we form the band, right, right? Ibuki thinks we should get the others to join us, too!"
Souda grinned back. "Hey, I was actually gonna ask you about that! We should brainstorm some names for it later."
Chatting lightly, the three headed inside, where Nidai and Owari were already sparring.
"I will be with you in just a moment, Souda," Nidai said, blocking a kick that landed just a bit too high. "Owari!" he barked. "I told you not to aim at the head!"
Owari snorted and went to punch Nidai in the gut. He caught her fist and held up his free hand in a signal to stop, turning to Souda. "Now! I will record the percentage of fat in your body and take your measurements before devising a training plan. Follow me."
Souda walked with his now-personal trainer to a small office with various scales and supplies. After holding up a small machine that recorded his body fat and reminding himself to take it apart later, he stood with his arms flexed as Nidai wrapped a tape measure around his biceps.
"Your upper body is quite impressive," Nidai commented idly, writing down a number before going to measure Souda's chest.
The mechanic, unsure how to take such a compliment from another man, managed to stutter, "Uh... thanks?"
He found it pretty damn sad that this was the most he'd ever been touched in his life and tried not to wince as Nidai's hands wrapped around his waist. The hip measurement was worse still.
"What the hell do you even need these numbers for, anyway?" Souda asked, trying to break the uncomfortable silence. "Ain't the hip to waist ratio somethin' that only girls care about?"
"You should care, Souda!" Nidai said, returning to his clipboard. "If your waist carries too much fat, it can be very problematic for your health later on." He scribbled something and added, "Not that you have that problem, of course, but I have taken these measurements for every person who has ever trained under me, and I do not intend to stop now." He set the papers down and moved behind Souda. "I am now going to measure the gluteal muscles."
"What are th-"
Souda squealed as he felt two hands firmly squeeze his ass.
He stumbled to the side and pressed his back against the wall. "Fuck, what the hell," he sputtered. "What the fuck kinda measurement is that?"
Nidai blinked. "The gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus muscles make up one's buttocks and are some of the strongest muscles in the body. I was checking to see how developed they were."
Souda put his hands on his butt defensively. "How the fuck do you measure that?" he squawked. "Is there like a scale, really firm to really jiggly or some shit?"
"Something like that, yes," Nidai muttered, writing more notes down. "I apologize, and I will have to remember not to upset you in the future. The foul language is unpleasant."
"Well, maybe warn me next time you're gonna just grab a handful," Souda huffed. "Or don't do it at all."
"I did warn you," Nidai said calmly, beckoning Souda over again. The mechanic groaned and shuffled away from the wall. "You will be happy to know that they are well developed, but squats and lunges in particular could further improve your muscle tone."
Souda hoped the heat rising to his face didn't show as he muttered, "Shut it."
The examination continued for another few moments that Souda found infinitely more uncomfortable. He burst out of the office as soon as possible, almost eager to exercise just to get away from Nidai's roaming hands for the next hour. The man evidently didn't understand or care about the concept of personal space, and Souda briefly wondered how the hell Nidai and Tanaka were friends if that was the case.
His hopes were for naught, in any case. After Nidai showed him how to properly use the machines, Souda was led through a vigorous routine that his trainer claimed would measure his cardiovascular and muscular endurance. The mechanic already knew that he couldn't run for shit and had to give in after five minutes on the treadmill, but he was pretty proud of how much weight he could bench press until he saw Owari lifting twice as much.
By the time everyone was ready to cool down, Souda stood from the weight rack with shaky legs, forced his sore muscles to walk to the center of the room, and sat with a wince as Nidai led the others through stretches.
"I may never walk again," Souda mumbled.
"Do not get discouraged, Souda!" Nidai said, leaning into a hamstring stretch. "If you need relief from your soreness, I can employ several techniques to leave you in a haze of pleasure. You will forget all about worldly pains!"
Souda froze. "What."
Owari grinned. "Yeah, Nidai's really good. Even the professionals can't match him."
"The professionals?" Souda squeaked.
Owari nodded. "I may have him do it for me later, y'know? If you wanna join, I'm sure the old man wouldn't mind-"
"No, hey, I'm not like that!" Souda said, trying to sound assertive despite the high pitch in his voice. He scrambled to his feet before his exhausted legs gave out under him, and he ended up sitting a few steps closer to Nidai.
"I have done it for many of my players before," Nidai reassured. "I will not harm you."
Mioda and Owari doubled over laughing at the expression on Souda's face.
"Okay, okay, fun's over," the latter said, wiping a tear from her eye. "We don't wanna scare'im away. Old man's talkin' about massages, not what you were thinkin', Pinkie."
"Oh," Souda said, scooting away from Nidai. "Well. Still. No."
"You talk big, Pinkie, but you're really a little pussycat," Owari said with a chuckle. "I bet your face would burn a hole through my shirt if I ever let you anywhere near my boobs."
Souda didn't have a response to that.
...
The next few weeks passed in a haze of anything but pleasure. Souda fell into his routine early in the morning and dragged himself back up to the dorm an hour later to fit in a quick shower before class. He would admit that he did feel a bit more awake after working out, but walking became very difficult very quickly as Nidai insisted on making Souda run longer distances. The squats only made the pain worse, but Souda could comfort himself with the fact that Nidai was always in front of him, or somewhere else altogether, when he did his sets.
He refused every offer for a massage, of course, but he couldn't say that he wasn't tempted to give in after the first week of soreness. Hinata's praises of Nidai's technique certainly didn't help, and Souda felt a spike of jealousy as he realized, not for the first time, how easily Hinata had made connections with everyone in their class.
Still, Souda felt more confident after several weeks and accepted the soreness as a sign of his hard work. When he told Nidai as much after another morning workout, he received a hearty slap on the back, and the other man's hand lingered for just a second before drawing away. Souda tried to ignore it; Nidai had never been the type of respect personal boundaries, so Souda could easily convince himself that Nidai was just showing encouragement in whatever way he could.
When he was asked out to eat, though, Souda couldn't really ignore how... weird things had gotten.
"You want me to go to a restaurant with you?" Souda repeated, gaping at Nidai after class one day.
"Indeed. There is someone I would like you and Mioda to meet." Nidai smiled as he waved said musician over. "His name is Leon Kuwata, and I have heard that he may be entering this school next year for his talent in baseball. I have coached his team before, but he has never attended practice. It is a tragic waste of his potential for him to have such a lax attitude."
Mioda bounced over and said, "Ooh, ooh, is he that kid with the shaved head and the piercings?"
Nidai nodded, and Souda relaxed a little. Leave it to the old man to phrase things in the worst way possible; it wasn't a date, just... an outing. Among friends. Souda cleared his throat. "So, why do you want us to meet'im? I don't know much about sports, honestly, so I don't know what we'd have in common."
"I spoke with him after a game one day and asked why he is never present at practices," Nidai explained. "He told me that he has little interest in baseball and wishes to pursue a musical career." Mioda squealed, and Nidai smiled as he continued. "I have overheard that the two of you wish to form a band, so perhaps you could convince him to join. It is a shame that he doesn't have interest in his talent, but forcing someone to do something they don't enjoy for teammates they don't appreciate is hardly the best way to make them see their potential." Nidai shook his head. "It is a tricky situation, but I believe that, as he pursues other interests, he will discover if he truly loves the sport or not."
Mioda hummed to herself and said, "Ibuki will never turn down a fellow musician! When he we meet him? Do you know what instrument he plays? What kinda music does he like? What-"
"Chill out, Mioda," Souda laughed. "We can figure out all that other stuff when we actually talk to'im. Sounds like we both wanna go, though, so when can we meet up?"
"I will have to arrange it with him as soon as possible," Nidai said, still smiling.
In the next week, the possibility of meeting someone new helped Souda get through his workouts. Sure, he had never been much of a baseball fan, but he was pretty excited to form a band and show off his new muscles onstage, so new additions to the band couldn't be a bad thing, right?
Then he looked up pictures of Kuwata, noticed the star's lean but muscular physique, and decided that having the competition would only hurt Souda in the long run; chicks usually went more for sporty guys than guys in bands, he thought, but Mioda seemed as excited about meeting Kuwata as she did eating sugary cereals or looking at fluffy clouds, so Souda tried to go into the lunch date with an open mind.
The kid crossed a line when he disregarded Mioda, though.
"The hell did you just say?" Souda snarled, trying to keep his voice down in the small cafe.
Kuwata put his hands up, open-palmed, as though to pacify Souda. Mioda herself didn't seem offended. "Hey, I'm not sayin' that she's a bad musician; she's totally the opposite! It's because she's such a good guitarist that I can't be in the band." Souda's mouth snapped open to retort, but Kuwata quickly continued, "See, the reason I wanna be a singer is so I can get girls, so I need to be the most popular guy in the band, or everyone'll go for Mioda or whoever else is the most famous, y'know?"
Souda was about to make the point that only guys would go for Mioda before he remembered that she would date pretty much anyone who caught her sporadic interests for long enough, so he kept his mouth shut for once as Mioda grinned and affirmed that, yes, everyone went for Ibuki. Souda took the time to think; Kuwata didn't seem like a bad guy at all, and the two of them wanted to get into music for the same (admittedly shallow) reasons, but what pissed Souda off was that the kid didn't know what he already had.
To break a lull in the conversation, Souda said, "'Ey, Kuwata, don't you already get girls, bein' a famous baseball star and all?"
Kuwata shrugged. "Well, yeah, of course, but a lot of them aren't really my type; they actually like baseball, and I don't. I wanna find girls who admire me for doing something I like."
Souda frowned. "If you don't like baseball, why do you play it?"
"People just expect me to, I guess," Kuwata said, shifting in his seat. "I don't even need practice to be good at it, but I wanna make my own decisions and do something that I wasn't forced into doing." He took a chug of his soda and slammed the glass onto the table, effectively ending that topic of conversation and making Souda almost jump out of his seat. "So! What kind of music were you guys gonna play? Do you have any name ideas? I might join if I can't find anyone else and if I like where you're goin'."
Mioda grinned. "Ibuki and her friends are gonna try out all different kinds of music styles before we find one we play best! Maybe we'll mix styles to make something new, like light metal or soft alternative or heavy rock or punk classical or -"
Souda snickered. "I don't think 'Heavy Rock' is the best band name... or genre name. Or name in general."
Kuwata laughed and looked to Mioda with interest. "Punk classical, huh? That could be kinda cool. Are you the type who likes all kinds of different stuff?"
Mioda's attempt to nod ended with Souda brushing stray hairs off his food. "Ibuki will listen to or play anything! She's even tried scatting and beatboxing before, but that didn't turn out as well as she'd hoped, but she has done some rapping that her lucky audience that night really loved!"
Kuwata stared at his plate for a few moments, trying to control the smile twitching at his lips. He looked up, eyes wide, and said, "Yeah, this could definitely work out. It'd be a huge honor to play with you, and we can just share the girls, right?"
Mioda nodded again, and Souda dodged the flying mass of hair that followed the gesture. "Yes, yes, great! Awesome! So you're vocals, I'm guitar and backup vocals, Kazoo is... something we don't know yet, but maybe bass, and we have a drummer, too!" Her grin was returned wholeheartedly by Kuwata, but she barely noticed as she turned to Nidai. "Hey, hey, you haven't said a word this whole time, Kitty! What do you think?"
Nidai's brows twitched at the nickname, but he kept a neutral tone as he said, "Whatever you all wish to do is fine. I will admit that I don't know much about music, but I will support you all to the best of my ability!"
Mioda and Kuwata cheered, and the rest of the conversation turned to other topics. As the group exited the building, Kuwata pulled Souda aside.
"Hey," he whispered, "do you know if Ibuki is dating anyone right now?"
Souda wrenched his arm free and said, "Um, yeah, kinda. I don't really know what's goin' on with her and this one person from our class, but everyone just assumes they're together." He snickered. "What, did you wanna ask her out or somethin'?"
Kuwata scratched at his neck and looked at his shoes. "Well, yeah, I guess... I mean, she's cool and pretty and famous, and we could sing some really awesome duets together, I bet-"
"No, no, no," Souda hissed. "Don't go there until y'know that she likes you back, or you'll screw yourself over."
Kuwata blinked. "But did y'see the way she looked at me? With that beaming smile and those awesome piercings that just make her that much more awesome and-"
Souda sighed. "She's like that with everyone, okay? She's just a really bubbly person, and she is pretty awesome, but don't go gettin' yourself in over your head."
Mioda's trilling call several meters away cut Souda off before he could say anything more, so he tried to hide the fact that the noise had startled him by rolling his eyes and waving Kuwata down the street to the subway. He saw the aspiring musician off, promising to get in touch soon for an experimental jam session, and walked back to the school with Mioda and Nidai.
"Man, that kid's pretty excitable, huh?" Souda muttered, hands in his pockets; he hadn't bothered changing from his mechanic's uniform for the outing.
Mioda nodded, bouncing down the street. "Not as excitable as yours truly, of course, but Ibuki likes his spunk, y'know? He's a dreamer! A doer! He's making stuff happen, and those are the best kinds of people!"
Souda shrugged. "Yeah, but his motives are kinda weird, don't you think? I mean, he's probably getting hit on his ride home right now; girls don't need much more of a reason to date'im."
Mioda wrinkled her nose. "Eww, Ibuki hopes that he's not getting hit on by any creeps! The subway can be a very sketchy place. People have tried to look up Ibuki's skirt more than once, and she had to unleash her most powerful screams to stop them! They usually screamed back, of course, but they didn't bother Ibuki after that because they were too busy trying to get their hearing back to bother her anymore." Mioda ruffled her hair and added, "Actually, pretty much everyone leaves Ibuki alone after she does that outside of a performance. But people love it onstage!"
"Well, yeah, 'cause it's a damn concert and they're expectin' it to be loud," Souda said. "Anyway, Nidai, what do you think? Is any of this dickin' around actually gonna help the kid?"
"Hey!" Mioda protested. "This has nothing to do with your naughty parts! Ibuki is one hundred percent serious about this band!"
Nidai laughed, a deep, loud kind of sound that put Souda at ease somehow, and said, "Well, we shall have to see. Forcing a young man into putting so much time in for something he doesn't like has never helped matters, in my experience, so I can only hope that Kuwata will come to his own conclusions."
Mioda nodded sagely. "Wise words, Kitty!" She leaped past the school gates and started rattling off potential band names as Souda wondered exactly what he had signed himself up for.