Kaidoh Kaoru had a routine.
His alarm was set for five-thirty in the morning. Then ten minutes to get up, throw on some clothes, tie on a bandana, and get himself out the front door.
Then it was a twelve-mile loop from his house, around the park, and back; then off to Seigaku for morning practice, if there was any. If not, then down to the river for swing practice, then eighty crunches on the shore, and planks for as long as he could hold them—plus a minute.
Every single day, except on weekends.
Then the amount was double.
Most of his neighbors had taken note of this training regime, falling into habit at the sight of him, passing underneath their windows at the crack of dawn. Some would shake their heads disbelievingly at his persistence, first to themselves, and then to their friends. Others simply caught a quiet glimpse from their bedroom window, and kept it to themselves. Everyone's thinking though, seemed to be about the same:
It was hard-pressed to find young people like him nowadays.
They marveled at his sheer tenacity, finding themselves growing fond of this boy, many despite the fact that they had never spoken to him. They took a small pride in seeing him run past, some allowing a small smile as they sipped their morning coffee. Perhaps he reminded them of a time when they were like him too, so young and full of drive. Many of the neighbors even went to his mother, talking and laughing about how he was the inspiration for them to start a gym membership. They told her that she should be proud of her son, which she smiled and told them that, of course, she was.
Kaidoh himself, however, took in very little of the admiration that his neighbors shined onto him. He said only enough to be polite, bowing his head silently if he happened to pass by one of them on the street. To him, acknowledgment and praise were only worthy when it came from the people who had earned his; and while Kaidoh knew his neighbors were perfectly nice people, they simply didn't know him enough to be able to flatter him. Even when they complimented his sparkling new tennis regular's jacket, he only murmured a "thank you", and kept running.
AN: Review! ^.^