happy birthday @3rdwerewolf!!!! i actually managed to pull it off somehow hehehe. i hope you have a great day!!
Faster… Run faster.
Tomoe is always three steps ahead when you begin to race. Then four, then five, then six, and you know your tiny legs will never catch up with him but you still sprint as fast as you can to the finish line, still sprint with the hopes of beating your older brother.
Faster… Go faster.
Six steps turn into seven turn into eight turn into nine. He never slows down for you, never stops to ensure you are still behind him, only waits at the finish line for you to complete your circuit. He’s always impatient, always ready to sprint off once more. He knows you can’t keep up with him, and he knows the Stride is the sport you both cherish immensely, so he continues to run with you, continues to be all those steps ahead.
Faster… Train faster.
Ten turns to eleven turns to twelve, sun turns to overcast turns to bucketing down rain, and he still moves thirteen steps ahead of you. You wonder why he does it, you wonder why he’s so ready to leave you behind, so ready to increase the distance between the two of you. You wonder how he can continually train, even when the conditions are at their worst, even when there is an extremely serious threat of injury. You wonder why Tomoe is so adamant on being the best, so adamant that having fun with Stride is a bad thing. You wonder when being the best even crossed his mind, even began ruling over how he trained, when he trained, how he lived. You wonder when the rift between the two of you began so wide.
Faster… reach faster.
You can’t stand it. You can’t stand the sight of his back anymore. You can’t stand his constant resilience, his constant persistence, his dedication and his twisted sense of the best Stride runner. You can’t stand how all he breathes is Stride, all he cares about is Stride, all that matters is Stride. When was the last time he genuinely asked how you were traveling, if school was treating you well, if you did anything interesting with the friends he isn’t even aware exist. You wonder if he knew about your natural athletic talent, how you always gave the best shot at any sport, and always strived to improve in anything new he completed. You wonder if all he sees is the goal in front of him, and not you, his own younger brother, tearing up from behind, but never reaching his standard.
Faster… achieve faster.
Something weird happened at Honan. He won’t talk about it (not that he normally would), and rather than having his usual granola bar and yogurt to sustain himself, he set out running, fifteen becoming sixteen becoming seventeen becoming twenty and thirty and so many steps in front that you didn’t know if you could still see his silhouette anymore, not even the mocking shadow of his back running in front of you. He returned late that night, soaking wet with scolding comments muttered to himself, you wonder why he’s punishing himself like this.
Faster… must go faster.
You can’t stand it. You can’t stand Stride, and you can’t stand the effort he puts into it. He asks if you are going to run today, and you tell him. You tell him you hate it and you tell him that you’re quitting and he is cold. Ice cold, and he turns away from you without a second thought, as though Stride was the only thing that mattered, and you could feel your heart shatter under his icy exterior. You fall back onto the couch once he leaves, and you cry.
Faster… become faster.
You think that life without Stride is fine. You think that life with Tomoe in America is fine. You can go about your daily business without the worry of awkward conversation over dinner, of watching as Tomoe returned late drenched in sweat. You think that life without that constant figure in front of you is fine, is easy, is a pressure lifted off of your shoulders for a short period of time.
Faster… think faster.
You want to join all the sports clubs at Honan (except Stride). You excel in all the clubs you try for, and they all want you to join them desperately (except Stride). You meet Sakurai-san, who was cute and passionate and you could tell she was an extremely kind and driven person. You meet Fujiwara Takeru (and you know him, you know exactly who he is but you would never admit it because you know you can’t catch up to him) and he takes interest in you, and he’s sort of simple-minded and he is that little bit perverted. They ask you to join Stride, you refuse. They ask again, you refuse again, they don’t ask again, but instead they drag you and you are now a Honan Stride member and you can’t do anything about it (and you really don’t want the constant reminder of Tomoe in the back of your mind, but you can’t do anything about it).
Faster… learn faster.