The next day, to Shin's dismay, he awoke to the blinding rays of the evening sun. Apparently, he had managed to sleep through the entire day! The sun shimmered with such brilliance that it created a variety of rainbow hues when passing through the refracted windows. It was like a masterpiece of art, until you realized that the window itself was crooked and drafty, allowing the cold air to rush in with a mischievous intent to freeze you as quickly as possible.
With great reluctance, Shin pried his eyes open, only to find himself trapped in the clutches of extreme laziness. Groaning, he attempted to swing his legs over the side, but his joints responded with a grating sound of cracks and pops as if his body was protesting the very notion of waking up. His wary eyes scanned the room, finally settling on his blanket haphazardly tossed near the bathroom entrance.
"No wonder I was curled up in a protective ball," Shin muttered, rubbing his stiff muscles. "Seems like the weather has taken a sudden turn towards the chilly side."
'Probably everyone realized that I needed to rest. That's why nobody woke me up throughout the day'.
"Hah, let's get this started. Gotta start the suffering soon" He muttered and then with a loud noise, cracked his knuckles.
"Oww, shouldn't have cracked so hard".
Done with the morning rituals, he moved toward the kitchen to get some food. There were Rice balls and some Fruits available for consumption.
As he was eating his breakfast/lunch, two boys moved towards him. Both looked a bit older than him.
"Shin, what happened to you? Hag never told us anything. Why were you suddenly sent to the hospital?" The bigger one asked with genuine worry, his eyes scanning Shin's face for any signs of injury.
Shin recognized the two. The bigger one was Akiko Kenji and the little one was Hiro Kenji. These were the only two boys that talked regularly with Shin, taking care of him while playing.
Shin, caught off guard with a mouthful of Rice ball, hastily swallowed and tried to downplay the situation. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and replied, "Oh, nothing to worry about. Just had a little tummy trouble, that's all."
"Oh, Okay then. Wanna play. We will play Ninja Rock throwing". Akiko asked enthusiastically
"Oh, how do you play that?"
Before Akiko could respond, Hiro, unable to contain his excitement, jumped in, "You know, ninjas have these super cool sharp thingies, like bigger knives than the ones used by the hag in the kitchen. They're called Kunai! And they practice their throwing skills on a round target. But here's the twist—we're going to play Ninja Rock Throwing with... well, rocks! It's going to be epic!"
Shin thought for a few seconds but then refused, "I'm sorry, Hiro, Aki. I can't today. I`m still a bit weak from the previous pain. The doctor has told me that I need to get my strength back. So I need to run a lot today and also exercise".
Watching their despondent faces, Shin immediately said, "Do you want to join me? We can exercise together".
Seeing their eager faces, Shin immediately chuckled and hurried up to finish his breakfast.
After finishing breakfast, they went to ask Dai who was working with the Hulk in the Kitchen.
"Is the hag inside?", Akiko signaled Hiro who had rolled over to their position. He was tasked with scouting the terrain before they went in.
"Yeah, the coast is clear", Hiro replied in sign language. Meanwhile, Shin was just smiling at their little antics.
"Yahoo! Shini lets go" Akiko jumped with delight
Shin while protesting through his eyes went inside the kitchen with the boys. According to the strategy, Shin moved ahead.
"Big brother Dai, I... I want to go to the playground with Aki and Hiro. Can I go?" Shin mustered his best puppy dog eyes, hoping to melt Dai's heart.
Dai, caught off guard by Shin's adorable act, scratched his head in confusion. "Shin, you just got out of the hospital. You should rest for today. You can go to the playground tomorrow."
Shin, not one to give up easily, quickly improvised, "But... but the doctor told me I need to do exercise. So I thought if I play with the others, I can get some exercise too!"
Dai, still slightly confused, scratched his head again and finally relented, "Oh, in that case, go ahead. But make sure you're back before 10 pm, or Aunt Emi will ground you. Aki, you're in charge."
Akiko, puffing out his chest with a newfound sense of responsibility, declared, "Fear not, Big Brother Dai! I will take care of them"
"Okay, Let's go"
The three boys immediately ran towards the playground.
Shin was falling behind in their run toward the location. it was about 1.5 km of distance from the orphanage. so they didn't have to go very far.
It took twenty minutes to reach the playground due to Shin going very slowly.
As he stumbled to a stop, his face flushed and drenched in sweat, he collapsed onto the nearest available surface—a conveniently placed park bench.
"Hah, this is harder than I thought it would be", Shin muttered.
'If I am exhausted just from this, How long will it take to harmonize the physical energy with the spiritual energy in my body?' Shin pondered, 'and then unlocking chakra. How long will that take? That is still based on the assumption that my theory is correct about the imbalance"
'Well, I can't waste time now on this. Let's try this a bit more'
"Shin, you really can`t run", Aki who was the first one to reach the location flexed his muscles while laughing. "look at this, I am strong". You need more exercise than I thought."
"Okay Hiro, you race with Shin around the playground. just complete 1 round and whoever loses will have to help Big Brother Dai with cleanup."
Shin, still catching his breath, protested, "That's not fair. Aki, Hiro is bigger and faster."
"Don't worry, He is just practicing for a warmup. Even though he is not strong like me, he is faster. So we will give him a handicap. He will only start running after you have completed at least 500m of the lap. The total path is like 1.5 kms. is that okay?"
"Yeah, Okay. But still, If I lose, I will only do cleanup in the dining room and if I win Hiro has to massage my shoulder and legs for.... for a week. Yeah a week". Shin put forward the condition. It was almost comical to the other adults walking about seeing the antics of the little child raising his little hand in the air.
Aki sighed and then agreed.
Aki and Hiro lined up with Shin at the starting line of the walkway path in the playground. But just as Aki raised his hand to start the race, Shin suddenly stopped him, claiming he needed to go to the toilet.
After an excruciating 20-minute wait for the toilet, Shin returned, much to Aki's exasperation. Aki raised his hand again, ready to count down. "One, two, three, and... GO!"
Shin sprinted as fast as his tired legs could carry him while smiling. He had already thought up a plan. After coming out of the bushes, Aki spotted Shin running and signaled Hiro to start as well.
But to Hiro's surprise, when he reached the bend in the path at 200 meters, he encountered a strategically placed stack of leaves and rocks. Hiro had no choice but to step off the path, causing a delay of15 seconds.
After another 500 meters, Hiro saw that a kid was standing in the middle of the pathway with a football and was passing it along to the other kid. When Hiro passed him by, he slowed his pace.
A mischievous gleam appeared in both children's eyes. They immediately targeted the football and threw it towards Hiro`s Head.
Thunk!
Hiro stumbled, disbalanced, shot back with a furious expression. As if in concert with the other kid. Both with puppy dog eyes chimed in unison, "We are sorry big brother".
Exasperated but unable to resist their innocent faces, Hiro ignored the incident and continued running, determined to catch up.
Meanwhile, Shin was laughing while running. He immediately completed his lap and arrived at an astonished Aki.