FWHEE FWHEE
The two whistles rang out, prompting the second year runner at the back to sprint towards the front. This was the last second year remaining, leaving around 8 or so first years including Ken, Shiro and Yusuke.
"Good luck."
The sharp faced second year spat out these sarcastic words as he ran past Ken, a sadistic grin forming on his face.
Ken didn't recognize the player, which probably meant that he had not made the first team, at least before he was injured. This caused him to scoff in response.
FWHEE
At the sound of the whistle, the pace increased once again.
The second year who had just sprinted to the front smiled widely after hearing this. Instead of increasing the pace a little like everyone had been doing previously, he turned up the dial.
As if expecting this all of the second years in front of Ken began to pull away, creating some distance in front of him. Having been through this before, he wasn't surprised at all.
"Whatever you do, just hang in there." Ken said aloud, turning his head briefly to check on Shiro and Yusuke.
After receiving a nod, Ken increased his pace, easily catching up to the second years. This pace was still comfortable enough for him, especially since he was already in a rhythm.
FWHEE FWHEE
Two whistles sounded and the first year at the end ran out to the side and was about to sprint, however now that he had lifted his head he could see that their group had been detached from the others and they were almost half a lap behind.
"Huff huff. I won't make it."
He began to sprint, however no matter how he tried the others didn't seem to be getting any closer. After almost 20 seconds of fully sprinting, he tripped and fell onto the ground sucking in deep breaths of air.
Coach Hanada could only watch on and shake his head, this was something that happened every year. Since the second years had experienced this humiliation when they first joined, it was understandable why they'd do the same to the next batch.
There wasn't much he could do however, seeing as how the first years had already fallen so far behind. He was about to call an end to the exercise, but he suddenly noticed that there were 3 first years at the end of the other pack.
"Oho. Looks like we've got some lively first years." He commented, rubbing his stubbled chin in thought.
The other group of first years had slowed to a crawl, their endurance clearly exceeded.
"You guys, get off the track." He said, shooing them with his hands.
Meanwhile, Shiro was sucking in large gulps of air as he tried his best to keep up with everyone. Ken had told him to hang in there, so he was going to do his best.
FWHEE FWHEE
Despite the whistle sounding, there was no movement at the back of the pack.
"Shiro! Start sprinting!" Coach Hanada yelled.
"Huh??" Hearing his name, Shiro almost jumped in fright. He turned to the coach only to see him motioning for him to sprint to the front.
"A-Ah okay."
Since their speed was already so fast, even when Shiro sprinted he didn't make much ground. However, he held on for as long as possible, eventually making it to the middle of the pack.
Unfortunately, he couldn't keep the pace and eventually began to lose speed. It wasn't long before he slowed down completely and collapsed onto the ground, trying to catch his breath.
Coach Hanada smiled, making a mark on the clipboard before turning his attention back to the runners.
"Let's see how you two go."
FWHEE FWHEE
Ken suddenly felt a wind beside him as Yusuke accelerated at top speed, quickly reaching the middle of the pack. Ken's eyes widened, admiring the dormant power that was hidden in those legs.
However as he approached the lead runner, his left leg seemed to falter briefly, reducing his speed and sending him back to Ken's position once again.
Seeing this, Ken's eyes narrowed briefly but there was nothing he could do but watch on.
Yusuke tried once again to reach his previous speed, however he soon was left with no choice but to pull out. Unlike Shiro, he stayed on his feet and held his hands on his head as he caught his breath.
Throughout the whole process, he did not even look at his knee let alone touch it, as if he knew that the coach was watching.
'He's definitely feeling pain in his knee…' Ken commented inwardly after seeing the obvious inaction.
Usually when someone had a random pain, they would address it by either rubbing it or testing it out afterwards. Yusuke made a point of completely ignoring it, meaning that he was very aware of his knee.
However, Ken did not have time to think further on this matter as he saw himself lagging behind a little after turning his head. He quickly caught up to the runner at the back and settled back into rhythm.
Coach Hanada did not blow his whistle right away, his gaze lagging on Yusuke for a little while and tapping his clipboard with the pen.
After almost a minute, the coach placed the whistle in his mouth and blew twice. It was time for Ken to try accomplish what the other first years could not.
FWHEE FWHEE
Ken quickly burst into action, heading past the middle of the pack in only a few moments. He could feel the stares of his "teammates" as they labored to try and leave him in the dust.
However Ken ignored them, solely focused on making it to the front of the line. The runner in the top spot turned his head, noticing that he was gaining on him.
Without a word, he increased his pace and began to run away from the group.
"Hey is that allowed?" Shiro complained outwardly, not happy with what was happening.
"Coach never said they couldn't go faster without the whistle." Yusuke stated indifferently.
Despite not being able to make it to the front of the pack, he didn't seem bummed at all. Not only that, he had already caught his breath unlike Shiro and the others who looked like fish out of water.
Coach Hanada couldn't help but let out a chuckle and shake his head.
"These kids are too proud."