Stealing Spree

Although I calmed them down with my words, some of them left while still feeling a little disappointed. Especially some of the children who were somewhat excited to learn a thing or two about the sports.

Although I didn’t know whether it was scary or not, I kept smiling at them until my cheeks hurt. That’s to make it appear like I am an amiable Instructor who can’t wait to see and teach my new students soon. I even waved my hand at them until they disappeared from beyond the door.

At my side, Coach Ayu rolled her eyes as she looked at me incredulously. It’s as though she found me possessed by some other being. Either she’s not used to seeing me acting like that or it’s just her way to get back at me for letting her feel awkward. But that’s not my fault that she’s acting like that, right?

On the other hand, some of my girls were holding in their laughter and some were looking at me in awe and reverence. There’s also someone drooling; Elizabeth. Although faint, I picked up her iconic voice as she went off with her chuuni antics saying, ‘Ah! How marvelous! My Dark Prince has once again shown her prowess at dark deception. None of the wicked ladies can withstand his clamoring dark aura. Soon the Abyss will call for them and they will have no choice but to revere our unfathomable Dark Prince.’

Before she could go on with her antics, Yukari covered Elizabeth’s mouth with her handkerchief at the same time she wiped her drool crawling down from the side of her lips.

In any case, Coach Ayu soon told me that those who attended the lesson last Sunday were in full attendance before pointing to the group of girls at the side.

“You also have to send them home. Even if they’re Sena’s schoolmates, you cannot exceed your limit. We cannot make an exception or it will not be fair for those we sent away.”

“Ah. About that, Coach…”

Since we already talked about it, Sena approached us as soon as Coach Ayu brought it up. She then explained that they were going to register as members of the gym instead and asked her if they could join her.

Her training area was just next to where I would conduct the lesson so, in a way, they could still watch me from there.

The only downside is that it will be impossible for me to dote on them anymore. There will be no justification to check on their postures and correct them.

Unless we decided not to care about what Coach Ayu and the others might think, only then could I approach them.

Coach Ayu soon accepted Sena’s explanation and hollered the girls forward to complete their registration.

However, before doing that, she kicked me out of that place and told me to prepare for my lesson rather than continue annoying her there.

Sena laughed at seeing her usually strict coach acting like that around me. Akane and the other girls also appeared amused. However, given that Coach Ayu isn’t one of them, their eyes carefully stared at her as if they were analyzing a love rival.

After that, I didn’t know what happened next since I really had to prepare for the lesson. Sena didn’t follow me inside this time so it didn’t take long for me to emerge from the changing room and start my lesson.

Five minutes in, I saw them entering along with Coach Ayu. They went straight to the changing room to change while Coach Ayu eventually sat down at the side to assist me whenever I needed it.

Just like this, the more than two hours of the fifth lesson ended with my crowd of students slightly exhausted for the first time.

Well, given that they already memorized the set of exercises, I switched the lesson to start letting them build up their punching power, for that, I had them start training their footwork.

By the time the lesson finished, all of them slumped down on the ground, even the mothers and the five idiots who all got a new haircut; taken from my advice last week.

Uh. I advised them to get one because they all look awful with their haircuts. Mine, on the other hand, wasn’t that awful. Although I wasn’t styling it, it’s at least not dry and tangled like theirs. But I guess it’s about time I get to trim it. My fringes were about to cover my eyes.

Anyway, that’s it. While they were trying to catch their breath, I checked on my students one by one starting from the grade-schoolers at the front up to the mothers who were sweating a lot.

“Onoda-sensei, w-will it also be this harsh tomorrow?” asked one of the mothers when it was her turn to be checked. Her face was pale as if she was about to lose consciousness anytime.

She’s the skinny type and looked like she had the least stamina even among the grade-schoolers. I particularly told her not to push herself to the brink of exhaustion but because none of those around her gave up, she copied them.

Now, I had to hand her a drink, courtesy of the gym, to hydrate herself. I waited until she got some color back on her face before answering.

“No. We’ll be focusing on a theory lecture tomorrow as well as some punching practices. However, I will ask all of you to repeat this footwork exercise every other day. To familiarize yourself with it. Also, madam Matsuoka, I appreciate your dedication but it will be detrimental for you to push yourself like this.”

“… I understand, sensei. Thank you for your concern.”

I nodded and smiled at her before moving on to the next.

“As always, you’re a wonderful Instructor, sensei.” Ichihara-san welcomed me with a smile. The troubled expression that she showed last week was already nowhere in sight and as if it’s already a forgotten moment.

Well, it’s also not wise to bring it up. It’s not my place to do so and it would just surely be evaded by her. That’s why I focused more on the lesson I gave and checked on her status.

“You praise me too much, Ichihara-san. How is it? Have you found it hard to accomplish?” I acted with humility and asked her with the same tone as I used to the others. Nonetheless, because of the sweat, her shirt and skin-tight flexible pants stuck even closer to her skin which allowed for her incredibly alluring curves to be emphasized. Her breasts, although a little modest, were perked up. She’s probably wearing a sports bra rather than her regular one. For convenience’s sake. But for it to be that noticeable, they’re probably stiff at the moment.

Due to that, I couldn’t help but stare at it for a few seconds. Fortunately, I moved my gaze down before she noticed it.

“Yes. I heeded your warning. Apart from the slight exhaustion, I didn’t encounter any problems. I must say, two weeks after starting on your set of exercises, I’m experiencing noticeable changes in my body. Gone are the days when I would only laze around to pass the time.”

“I see. I’m glad to hear that it’s working for you, Ichihara-san. By the time we finish all ten lessons, I can assure you that you’ll be able to maintain your figure with minimum exercises. Still, I will recommend you to continue coming to this gym and get more solid advice from the professionals.”

“We’ll see.”

After I was done with the check, I raised my gaze and met hers. She winked at me as her lips bloomed into a pleasant smile before ushering me to go move on to the next.

… Did I get caught staring? Uh. Probably not.

Putting that at the back of my mind, I repeated the process of checking on each of my students before concluding the lesson for today.

Before going to the changing room, I checked on the area next to us. There, with Sena acting as their instructor, they also began wrapping up their training exercises.

Coach Ayu allowed her to do that as long as she finished her set of training for today.

They timed it perfectly. That way, they could follow me to the changing room once my students vacated the premises.

Well, it would be hard to sneak into the women’s changing room again but at least, on the way there, I got to check on the result of their exercises. I couldn’t openly do so earlier, after all.

After changing, the girls went ahead to wait for me outside as I went to Coach Ayu’s office.

Upon entering it, I expected that Coach Ayu would be in her serious mode and give me her evaluation of today’s lesson. However, that’s not what happened. While exuding the same awkwardness that I could feel from her text messages, the former Olympic-level boxer was fidgeting on her seat, not knowing where to look…

This… Is this the same Coach Ayu that I know?