By the end of the training session, I was laying on the floor in my puddle of sweat. Hiro persisted on finishing his resistance training though his shirt was already soaked all the way through. His fringe was glued to the sides of his face as he did his last set of pull ups.
"58…59…60…" He grunted.
I didn't know how he did it, but I was obliterated from doing a set of crunches and squats. He made me do a set of each of his work out routine and one lap around the studio. My whole body was sore from how physically unfit I was. The last time I exercised this hard was when my P.E. teacher forced us to do the Beep Test for our finals.
'You okay down there?" he put his hands on his knees.
I raised my hand and gave him a weak thumbs up. I was still struggling to catch my breath as I looked at my training partner. That was when I realized a dark shadowy mark on the left side of his rib through the sweat-sopping sheer shirt. Hiro noticed my staring and instinctively stood up straight and turned away from me.
"Let's do laps now," my friend changed the subject.
"I just did a lap," I casually sat up.
"I mean in the pool," he wiped his hair with a small towel.
"What?!" I exclaimed.
"Why? Are you too tired?"
"This is the most activity I've done in years. Give me a break. It's not my fault you're so capable."
"Hahaha… I used to be able to do better. I've gotten soft," he checked himself out on the mirror.
"How is that soft?" I grumbled.
The reflection of his eyes met mine, 'c'mon now! The cold water will make you feel way better. I promise.'
I sighed and gave in to his persuasion. I guess a splash of cold water wouldn't be so bad. We packed up and walked toward their humongous Olympic-standard swimming pool. Tadashi was in the tennis court by himself.
From afar, I couldn't make out much of what he was doing other than brandishing a racket left and right terrifyingly violent while letting out a moan from now and then. As we walked closer, I realized that he was wearing some noise-cancelling earbuds. He took them off as soon as he saw us around the pool.
"Hey, Hiro! How 'bout a game of squash?" the older brother challenged.
My employer looked down at me for approval to which I replied with a jovial nod. At least I got to take a longer break.
"First to 11 points," he agreed.
"Alright," Tadashi smiled and pressed a button on a remote control that transformed the court into a more suitable arena.
"Let's do a coin toss to decide who serves first."
"Go on, I'll beat you either way."
And he was right, Hiro barely made it out alive; scoring two lucky points. It was a savage game of endurance and speedy reflex. Tadashi was truly in his field of expertise. I watched the brothers went head to head with each other for about half an hour before the youngest child gave up as it was clear that he wouldn't be able to catch up after the many near-misses.
'Your form has improved,' Tadashi complimented.
"Thanks," he was heaving and panting. "How about a rematch?"
'What?!' I yelped in my head. How did he find the guts to turn the table around and confronted his brother to another game.
"Hahaha! Are you asking for a beating?" his brother mocked.
"Not squash you idiot," he pointed at the pool. "Let's race."
Now this is interesting, I thought to myself. I had never seen any of them use the pool before, and I started to wonder who would dominate the game this time. Hiro suggested the race, so surely, he had a tactic and confidence to win, right?
But, knowing him so far, I still wouldn't bet all my money on him. A wide grin grew on the tall man's face. Suddenly I felt a second-hand intimidation. It felt like I wasn't supposed to be there; in-between a sibling rivalry.
"How many laps?" He finally asked.
"Let's let Ren decide," Hiro prompted.
Both brothers were glaring down at me with their competitive energy, "u-um… I don't think I want to be a part of this."
"It's only fair," Tadashi persuaded.
"Okay…" I pondered. "How about first to clear 4 laps win? Diving start, wall touch for each lap, 2 lanes apart."
"Fine by me," the older brother folded his hand.
"Butterfly stroke," I added.
"Yes!!! I love you!" my friend thrusted his fist to the air.
"You b*stard," his brother punched his own hand in disappointment.
"I'll be the ref.," the third brother popped out behind me.
"God!" I squealed.
Everyone left the court and prepared themselves for the big swimming competition between the two youngest. I stood anxiously by my friend on the left side of the pool as he washed himself under one of the outdoor showers and kept himself warmed up for the match.
On the other side of the pool, Tadashi was giving himself a stern pep-talk under another shower. I looked over to the oldest brother to confirm my suspicion. And my fear was confirmed.
They had done this before and three of them took their brotherly contest seriously. Kenji even had a silver whistle around his neck. It was finally time for the final showdown as both competitors took to their stands and positioned themselves professionally.
I had never seen an official game before, but this was what I imagined them to look like. Both of them were in their swimming trunks, and it finally struck me that those dark images I saw under Hiro's shirt were tattoos.
He caught me staring again, but we both managed to ignore the acknowledgement. I decided that I wouldn't ask him about it. Maybe he would tell me about it himself one day. I found myself blushing from the embarrassment.
I spent the rest of the event standing next to Kenji as I tried to wipe the mental image of the brothers' bodies and their many ink collection.
"Ready… Set… Go!" He blew the whistle.
As the race began, I scooched closer to the referee.
"It's been almost 4 years since their last race," he smiled.
"Wow, that's quite a long time. Who do you think will win now?" I looked over to meet his eyes.
"Think? I know Hiro got this one in the bag. Although Tadashi is taller, I believe in Hiro's technique and speed. He has the determination."
"Oh… What about you? Have you competed with them before?"
He was dumbfounded for a few seconds; as if he wasn't expecting the question, 'Hehe… I knew I wouldn't stand a chance against them in outdoor activities. So, I challenged them to a fencing match.'
The answer caught me off guard. Fencing? I would never had thought he was an expert at it, but it made sense for an upper-class family like them to have the facility and training for such sports.
Kenji looked like the type to be a jolly and kind-hearted brother but wouldn't hesitate to annihilate his brothers at strategy-based games like chess and 'Go'. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. He might actually be the scariest brother of the three; silent but deadly.
"First lap! Three to go!" he announced as Hiro touched the first wall.
I snapped out of my shrouded train of thought and came back to reality. My eyes followed my friend as he cleared half of the way towards his second lap. They were going neck to neck with each other. A spark of joy jolted behind Kenji's eyes as he knew the real game had just started.