'Ringggggggg!' The sounds of alarms flooded the room. The weary boys who were still in lalaland dreaded that sound. They weren't in their comfy homes with their warm beds anymore but in a new cold environment where you had to get up during an ungodly hour.
Rin was still rather sleepy but he was used to getting up early in the morning so he wasn't too bothered but looking at the rest he just chuckled inwardly before putting on his physical training clothes. They were rather simple, just a plain shirt and dark shorts and shoes before heading downwards alone.
Soon many of the boys and girls were lined up based on their rooms and that was when the clock struck five thirty and Roger and a few other stern looking men arrived on the dot.
"I don't see all of you here? Very good. I want to see all of you in push up positions NOW!"
Roger's yell made everyone drop to the ground, hands on the ground and feet straight up.
"We in the military call this 'lock it down'. When you hear this you will do exactly what you just did without any delay, for your first attempt it was doable so I won't make you do push ups but... "
"UNTIL I SEE EVERYONE THAT NEEDS TO BE HERE YOU WILL STAY IN THAT POSITION! IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?"
"Yes sir!" The crowd groaned their answer.
"I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"
"YES SIR!"
Holding a pushup wasn't as hard as doing push ups however for young men like them who didn't have much physical training before it was still somewhat tough.
Ten minutes later the bunch of late comers finally came down only to find an angry crowd along with angry instructors glaring at them.
The late bunch stood there flabbergasted, they knew they were late but it wasn't by much right?
"Still standing there while your friends are in their push up positions? Wow." An instructor said sarcastically.
They immediately dropped like the rest after hearing that while the rest were allowed to recover.
(A/N: 'Recover' is a term to stop doing physical punishments/exercises.
"While the late party can enjoy a hundred push ups, the rest will come along with us for a nice run and ladies and gents next time don't be late. The army believes very much in collective punishments." The instructors all started showing a sadistic grin.
"NOW RUN!"
The crowd started running like frightened bunnies while the Instructors were having fun yelling and screaming at them, giving them intense pressure.
"Why are you so slow? Did you turn seventy this year?"
"Move it move it! Do you want to eat breakfast? You better be faster else you won't be eating a thing!"
"Oioi you run slower than my Grandmother!"
"Then let me see her run!" One of the frustrated runners accidentally let out what he was thinking.
"Ah crap."
Instructors actually loved it when you talked back. It made their life more fun. You can guess what happened to the one who talked back, extra fun exercises of course!
Rin on the other hand was struggling to keep up, an eight year old definitely had much lesser stamina but he didn't make a single excuse. He just kept trying to keep his pace even though his legs were as heavy as rocks and his breath frantic.
His head soon rose higher and higher, it felt more comfortable but the instructor corrected him immediately.
"Don't look up! It makes running harder young man!"
Before long they completed a four kilometer run and Rin crashed to the ground the moment he crossed the goal.
The instructor that was at the back gave him a thumbs up before leaving him be.
"Alright other than the idiots who are still running because they were late, go get some breakfast."
The word 'breakfast' was like a miracle descended from the heavens above to the starving young men. Though sadly after queueing a long time for breakfast, the food in front of them was as bland as it looked.
Rin who wasn't usually a picky eater also frowned a little at this display. Compared to the grand food he ate last night this was truly…
"Eat! I don't want to see a single piece of food left on your plates! Food is scarce so eat up!"
The instructor wasn't lying, food was really scarce and every bit counted to those who weren't rich especially. Humanity wasn't like it was in the past, they now had to hide like rats underground because of those things above.
The boys and girls wolfed down their food reluctantly and they had to go off to class soon after.
The instructor for fundamentals of omyoudou was a young man who looked no older than twenty. He looked kind and refined unlike their physical trainer instructor Roger.
"Hello class, let me introduce myself. I will be your instructor for this year of omyoudou. I might seem young but I have been in combat ever since I graduated from this academy so you should learn plenty from me. What I can tell you is that I absolutely do not care if you learn from me or not."
'Huh?' everyone was confused.