The next day, the training with Mrs. Nishi continued. Even though Mrs. Nishi was funny and sarcastic, her training was merciless and extremely hard. Today's exercise consisted of walking to the top of a large hill. But we had to carry a heavy stone on our backs that weighed 45 kg.
To reach the top of the hill it would be 15 km. After only 20 minutes of walking, Shiro Kaishi was already complaining. Kaishi: «Ahhh my back hurts, I'm fed up.»
Kento Yamato said with an annoyed tone: «Stop whining like a child. We've only walked 500 meters.» Kaishi was frustrated and clicked his tongue, but he decided to keep going.
We had already been walking for 40 minutes. My whole body was sweating. I felt like my spine was going to break. Suddenly Ryo Takahashi, the shy one in the group, spoke up and said, «If we keep going like this we'll break our legs and die of exhaustion. I suggest we take a 5–10 minute break.» Everyone nodded. I set the stone that had been on my back down on the ground before collapsing onto the earth. My whole body trembled with pain. Suddenly Inoue came over to me and handed me a bottle of water. I thanked her before drinking like a thirsty dog. Yamato: «Break's over, keep going!» Kaishi: «I'm fed up,» he snapped. Suddenly he began to cry and said, «I want to go home and find a normal job.» But instead of being compassionate, Kento laughed. His laugh was mocking. He murmured, «Pathetic.» Kaishi heard him and flew into a rage. He rushed at Yamato and grabbed him by the collar. Yamato did nothing; he looked Kaishi straight in the eyes in an indifferent way. Yamato: «If you want to hit me, hit me.» Kaishi was about to strike him, but I decided to intervene and stop him. With Inoue's and Takahashi's help, we managed to separate them.
After that fight we continued the walk. When I hoisted the stone back onto my shoulders I felt like each step brought me closer to death, but I held on. Suddenly Inoue stopped and began to cry out in pain. Everyone rushed to her. She stammered, «M-my... spine is... fractured.» After saying that she fell to the ground. She writhed on the ground, screaming in pain. Takahashi panicked and asked, «What should we do?» Kaishi was so shocked he was paralyzed. Even Yamato, who was always calm, froze; he didn't know what to say. Suddenly a pack of hungry wolves appeared. I whispered, «Shit, that's all we needed.» Yamato, seeing the wolves, said: «We abandon Inoue.» Me: «Are you crazy?» I got angry and clenched my fist. Yamato replied: «Would you rather live or die?» His question was so unexpected that I didn't know how to respond. Suddenly Takahashi screamed in pain in turn. A wolf tore off and devoured his hand. Kaishi shouted, «Shit.» Then he ran away without us. Yamato said, «That guy is really a coward.» Me: «I'll remind you that you wanted to abandon Inoue too.» Yamato hung his head in shame and scratched his scalp. Suddenly he said, «I have an idea, but we have to cooperate.» Me: «Say it quickly, the wolves are starting to surround us!» Yamato said he was a former veterinarian. He also told me the wolves' weak points. Yamato: «Break their legs to immobilize them, then strike the nape of the neck. If you kill one wolf, the rest of the pack will be scared and will run away.» I did what he said and he was right.
After the wolves left I thanked him for his help. Yamato: «No need to thank me — it was a matter of life or death.» Me: «What do we do about Inoue?» Yamato thought for a moment before murmuring, «Damn, I didn't think of that.» Suddenly I had an idea and said, «A person's weight is roughly equivalent to this stone, so I'll carry Inoue instead of the stone.» Yamato, Takahashi, Inoue and I continued walking. Inoue was still in pain and held tightly to my back. Poor thing.
After long hours of walking we reached the top of the hill. Mrs. Nishi was waiting for us and noticed Takahashi's and Inoue's injuries. In a serious, worried tone she said: «Yamato will take them to the prison infirmary.» Yamato nodded. After he left, Mrs. Nishi came up to me and whispered in my ear: «What happened and where is Shiro Kaishi?» I explained everything to her and we could see anger in her eyes. She apologized and said: «Starting tomorrow, I will create easier training sessions, I promise.»
At 8:00 p.m. I returned to my dormitory and went straight to sleep. I didn't even bother to shower. When I lay down, my aftereffects flared up again. I screamed in pain and thought, «It's surely because of today's training.»
That night on the hill, Kaishi was exhausted and out of breath. He sat on a tree trunk and sighed. Suddenly Mrs. Nishi appeared in front of him with a pistol. Kaishi was surprised and fell to the ground. He panicked and asked, «How are you here, when did you get here, and why do you have a gun?» Mrs. Nishi said: «You were a bad boy today, you deserve a punishment.» No sooner had she finished speaking than she shot him. The shot echoed through the entire forest. After the silence, Mrs. Nishi looked at Kaishi's dead body before leaving.