Chapter 9

A gentle shaking caused Rin to stir from her sleep at the early hours of dawn. She rolled over, not happy in the slightest at being woken at this godforsaken hour. Not even the birds were up, yet! There must be a natural law that decreed one shouldn't be up before the birds.

"Leave me alone," she growled and swatted blindly at whoever dared disturb her sleep.

A light chuckle came from the source and Nana's soft voice answered. "Not a chance, we have to get up since we are part of the training today."

Rin sighed. "What do you mean today? It's still night time!" She continued to try and knock Nana's hands away from her body.

"All the other girls are up. We have to get the boys up, too. Coach is waiting for us."

Rin sighed and then sat up in bed and threw aside her covers. "Fine. I better be treated to an awesome breakfast with lots of bacon and breakfast sausage for this," she growled as she slid out bed and flicked on the flashlight on her phone. She shone it around, looking for some clothes. "Milk, too." She added.

She managed to find a pair of sweats and a sweatshirt and she pulled them on right there. It was dark and she didn't care enough to go into the bathroom.

Nana had graciously exited the room while her half-awake friend changed and was waiting outside the door as Rin opened it.

"Coach had better have a damn good training excuse for getting me up this unholy hour." Rin continued to growl and grumble as the pair made their way to the other boys' room.

Nana had never seen Rin in the morning before, and she had to admit that it was an intimidating sight. She had known that she wasn't a big morning person, yet she never could have imagined that she could be so...scary or cranky.

Somewhere on the inside, where the rational side of her lived, Rin felt slightly guilty for taking her morning irritation out on Nana. On the other hand, the side currently in control of her brain functions didn't care. Rin was quite aware that she was an unpleasant person to be around when she woke up, so she tried to give people fair warning to leave her alone and not disturb her in the mornings.

She must have forgotten to mention it the night before. Oh well, she would know now. Rin didn't have the grace to knock on the boy's door before strolling and turning on the lights.

She heard a loud groaning come from the four beds as their occupants shielded their eyes from the harsh florescent lighting.

Rin looked on without remorse. She really was a bitch in the morning. "Get up and get dressed. Sneakers should be fine and a sweatshirt. It's damn cold out." She told the boys before turning around and walking out to head to the next room.

Nana grimaced at the harsh way she had woken the boys up. Rin sensed this and turned a blank eye on her, causing her to freeze. "I'll be less of a bitch when I get some milk." She always felt so much better after drinking a glass of milk in the morning. The white substance was the only thing that could cure of her bitchiness in the mornings. In the meantime, she was an unhappy monster.

Iwaki looked at the half-awake boys in front of him and counted to make sure they were all present before speaking. "The reason I have woken you so early in the morning is to do some training. You are to run this trail, which is five miles long. You may go at your own pace, if you wish." There was a groan at the mention of running five miles so early in the morning, but when he said that they could go as slow as they wanted, they brightened considerably. Iwaki smirked to himself as he continued, "However, the managers will be running after you and if they tag you, then as punishment you 1) can't use the hot springs this evening, and 2) you will do sprints until you drop." All the boys paled at the news of the punishment. "So, technically, you can go as slow as you want, however, if you lag, then you will be tagged." There was a scary smirk of Iwaki's face as he addressed the boys and Rin almost felt bad for them. Then again, she hadn't had a change to get some milk from the kitchen so she didn't care how bad it was for them.

Iwaki raised a whistle to his lips and then said, "I will give the boys a two minute head start and then the girls will be coming after you." He blew the whistle and the boys dashed off, determined to put as much distance as possible between them and the girls.

As the boys disappeared, Rin shifted from foot to foot, impatiently. Before she had her milk in the mornings, it was as if there was another person in her body, one who was a lot more meaner than her normal self.

Even the other girls and Nana were a few cautious steps away from the volatile striker. Iwaki looked at his watch and then announced, "Go get 'em, girls." He had barely finished speaking when Rin took off after the boys.

She sprinted down the path, her irritation giving her energy. She could hear Nana running a little behind her as she sped up the path. She quickly caught up with some stragglers and tapped them on the shoulders as she swept by, not even breaking stride.

She quickly tagged five more guys and kept running. The cold morning air burned her lungs, but she didn't pay attention to anything other than who she would come upon next. She saw three more and even though they swerved and tried to avoid her, she tagged them easily. She could hear Nana apologizing to the boys behind her as she sped off.

Within ten minutes, she came up to Kakeru who was running with Kota. The two spotted her behind them and took off sprinting in terror. They passed a trio of boys in front of them and when they turned around to see what they were running from, they saw Rin almost on top of them. They took off at an even faster pace as well.

The trio tired easily and Rin tagged them before running after the others. She had known that the regular eleven would be her biggest challenge and she was right. She couldn't even see Kakeru or Kota anymore, but she didn't stress. She would get them soon enough.

The morning sun had started to light the sky with soft hues of pink and purple and the birds had started to come out. She guessed that she had been running for about twenty minutes so that means that she was almost to the five mile mark.

She sped up a bit. She was close to the others, she could feel it.

She came up behind an unsuspecting Mako, who had stopped for a quick breather. He saw her and started sprinting. It was a tense three minutes as Mako ran for his life and Rin chased him. Finally, she allowed him to gain a few yards, but stayed behind him, nonetheless.

Mako saw Oda and Akitoshi jogging in front of him and he let out a strangled, breathless yell. They turned around and their eyes widened when they saw Mako with Rin right behind him.

"Run!" They started sprinting and caught up with Sawamura and Kakeru and Kota. Those three started pouring in the last of their reserves and quickly caught up to Araki, who had been walking. As soon as he heard running feet behind him, he started running.

The herd of boys came to Kaoru and Takase and spurred them into moving faster as well. Rin was sure that they were near the end of the trail and she increased her stride. Her lungs were burning, but she had no trouble putting on more speed. Apparently, it was more trouble for the boys in front of her. They were all stumbling and panting like dogs as they tried their hardest to stay out of Rin's reach.

They were doing a pretty good job at it so far. There was about thirty or so boys in front of her by the time they came within sight of the end of the forested trail. At the end stood Iwaki, smiling.

Rin decided to have a little more fun with the boys and she sped up even more and kept pouring on the speed. She went from being about fifteen feet behind the last member to being about a foot behind them in a matter of seconds.

"Shit!" She heard a kid curse as the pack started running for all they were worth. Two just stopped and started walking. They were so done. She ignored them, not bothering to tag them as she kept chasing the others.

The rest of the group flashed past Iwaki and tumbled into a sweaty, groaning pile. Rin stopped next to Iwaki and stared at the moaning boys on the ground.

"Good work, Rin. You really worked them," Iwaki said, appreciatively.

She shrugged and then looked at the hotel, which was on the other side of the clearing. The trail had led them in a giant circle. "Can I get some milk now?"

"Go ahead," Iwaki waved her good bye and she took off jogging for the kitchen. She entered the kitchen and saw that there were a few cooks at work. She made sure to stay out of their way and headed straight for the refrigerator. She pulled it open and spotted a crate of half-pint milk cartons. She grinned triumphantly and took one out. She opened it and then tilted her head back and chugged it. She didn't stop until it was empty and then she threw it away and grabbed another.

This one she took outside to where the stragglers of the club were just emerging from the trail. She headed over, careful not to spill her drink and approached Nana.

"That was quite the run, huh?" She asked.

Nana saw that she was normal again and let out an internal sigh of relief. "Yep, nothing like a good run in the morning to lift the spirit." She smiled.

Rin grunted and took a sip of her drink. "I could think of a few alternatives to 'lifting the spirit,' as you say. And it doesn't involve getting up before the birds." She smiled to let her know she was kidding.

"Alright, that's everyone. Now it's time to settle down for breakfast. Don't eat too much. You might-no, you will-regret it," Iwaki sent them off that lovely warning and the exhausted kids returned to their rooms to make themselves presentable before appearing at the dining room.

In the girls' room, Rin pulled off her sweatshirt and fanned herself with the corner of a blanket. She sat on the bed with nothing but a sports bar and sweatpants on. "What a jerk, making us do so much physical activity so early in the morning," Rin complained as she continued waving the blanket.

Although she was still complaining, her complaints lacked the hostility they previously had when she had first woken up. Nana was relieved. "Well, it is for the boys' benefit."

"They better be grateful for what I do for them!" Rin threw down the blanket and was picking her sweatshirt up when the door opened and Kakeru was standing there with Araki and Mako.

"Guys-AAAAHHH!" Kakeru started and then broke off, hiding his face at the sight of the shirtless female striker.

"The hell?! Close the door!" Rin yelled as she threw a pillow at the boys in the door. Araki reached around Kakeru, who was frozen, and yanked the door shut with a bang.

"We're so sorry!" The trio shrieked through the closed door.

There was absolute silence in the girls' room for a few seconds and then a girl started shrieking in belated shock.

Rin pulled her sweatshirt over her head and then jumped for the door and threw it open. "What the heck! Do you have no decency?!" She yelled down the hall at the trio's retreating backs.

She huffed and shut the door. "I can't believe they did that," another girl said.

"Stupid boys," Rin muttered to herself as she fixed her hair in the mirror.

Nana sighed. This was already proving to be an interesting training camp. She couldn't wait for the rest of the five days.

"Let's go, I'm starving," Rin said as she threw her brush on her unmade bed and opened the door. The girls followed her down the hall and into the dining room.

She noticed that Araki, Kakeru and Mako all avoided looking at the girls as they entered and got their breakfast.

She and Nana sat with the three and they all looked away. Nana giggled a bit before beginning to eat. "Did you enjoy your visit, this morning?" She asked, slyly.

Kakeru's face flushed redder than his bright red shirt and he ducked his head. Rin laughed and said to the three, "Just don't do it again. Or I might have to hurt you." She gave them an evil grin and they nodded vigorously.

"How was your morning run?" She asked them after a few minutes of silent eating.

Araki groaned at the memory. "I can't believe that Coach made us do that! My body is still suffering from it!"

"At least you didn't get caught," Nana commented.

"Yeah, that's a good thing or you would have been stuck in your room while we all enjoy the beautiful hot springs!" Rin pumped a fist in the air in excitement at the mention of the hot springs. She couldn't wait!

"I feel bad for the others who didn't make it," Kakeru said, sadly.

Rin shrugged, not remorseful at all. "They'll have to try again tomorrow. That is the reason for this camp, to get better."

"You're the one who got most of them out, in the first place," Mako stated.

"Too bad I couldn't get you lot," Rin sighed and snapped her fingers in mock disappointment.

"Coach wants to make that a daily thing so try hard again tomorrow," Nana said, effectively killing whatever happy mood had been there.

All three boys and Rin groaned in despair.

Sorry for almost never updating. This story is giving me writer's block like nothing ever has before. i'll keep plucking away at it though :)

Thanks for reading.