The Ideal Human Project had been going on for a few years at this point.
The other children have come and gone, but a few familiar faces remain. Well, these faces were only as familiar as the strangers on the street—I took notice of them, but no further than that. It was not worth my effort trying to form a real bond with any of them, lest they be expelled from the project soon after.
Well, it wasn't only just that. In this project, friends were only liabilities. The number of children who have sacrificed themselves to 'protect' their friends was unjustifiably high, especially for the poor results.
"Ayato-chan, do you want to play with us?"
I didn't realise it at first, but the girl who had always been around the Outcomes was none other than Tachibana's daughter. Whilst she was not technically part of the project, she constantly stuck around us. I had the feeling that she didn't seem to have many friends outside of the Outcomes.
"Sorry, I'm reading at the moment."
"Ooh? What are you reading~? Tell me!"
I flipped the cover over and showed it to Tachibana. It was called, Biology in Focus - Year Eleven. I had just about finished reading through the main sections, but I still needed to scan through the glossary.
"That's so boring! Come play with us."
"This is important, so I'm sorry. You can play with some of the others."
"Fine!"
As much as I tried to sugar-coat my words, the truth was that I just didn't want to play with them. Tachibana was a very charismatic girl, she was capable of even getting Hasegawa to play with them sometimes, but I simply wasn't interested.
In the end, this project revolves around being better than the other children. As much as modern advice tells us to take breaks every once in a while, that's more of a coping mechanism than any real advice because you'll always get better results if you just keep pushing.
One of the other Outcomes approached me.
"Are you still studying, Ayato?"
"Yes."
It was Matsuoka Rei, one of the more naturally gifted children. She often found herself slacking since she was capable of getting concepts that would usually take other children much more time to understand. She was the one who played with Tachibana the most, although today, she seemed more interested in me.
Sitting across from me, she supported her chin with her hands and stared directly at me.
"Do you need something, Matsuoka?"
"Nothing~ I'm not disturbing you, am I?"
"I guess not."
Ignoring her presence, I continued to read through the biology textbook. There was a new shipment of textbooks that the project had just received, meaning there were several more I needed to go through after this.
After a little while, I finished the textbook I was reading.
"Ah, you're finished, aren't you?"
"Just this textbook."
"Come take a break! Tachibana's having fun with some of the others."
"I'm good."
"Aw... how about some training with me, then?"
I guess some more physical work could be useful.
ƥαṇdαηθνε| "Boxing?" I asked.
"I'm happy with that~"
• ───────────────── •
Making our way into the training centre, I grabbed some gloves off of the training rack. The project had plenty of different types of exercise equipment, so there was always something to do. Matsuoka seemed to have one specific set of gloves that she liked the most. It was a set that was given to the project as a gift from one of the sponsors. The main difference was that it had a vibrant, pink-checkered pattern.
We didn't have a boxing ring, but that was at no fault of the project. The point of our training was to get stronger in realistic situations. As such, the arena was just a plain white room. Matsuoka got into a fighting stance, and so did I.
Unlike her prowess in academics, her gift was not as apparent during combat. As such, it wasn't too hard to overpower her. I blocked a few of her jabs. Then I would feint. Then I hooked her in the face. She took the attack pretty well, using her footwork to stay balanced.
However, whilst her technique wasn't bad, her physique wasn't there to match it. It only took a few hits before she fell to the ground.
"Aa... I still don't stand a chance against you... Ayato-chan."
"Can you keep going?"
"Y-yeah... just give me a second..."
She looked up at me and smiled.
"You don't even go easy on girls... you're such an idiot~"
"I don't see why I would."
Whilst boys were naturally bound to have greater muscle development, at our age, the differences weren't that exaggerated. And the main notion was that you could just work harder to break down that difference.
After a few seconds, she stood back up.
"Let's go again~"
"Alright."
She raised her arms and got into a fighting stance. I watched her movements and slowly closed the distance between us. We traded a few blows, but she managed to block most of mine. However, after falling for one of my feints, I was able to land a clean shot on her face. The impact caused her to fall to the ground.
"Ow... you didn't have to hit me that hard...~"
"Just so you know, I am holding back against you."
"Wait... r-really? That's a lie, right? You wouldn't hold back against anyone..."
"It would be a waste if I just knocked you out. It gives me an opportunity to practice my footwork and vision."
"Seriously...?"
I guess she was finally noticing the difference in strength between the two of us. It was her fault in the end. Her lack of effort means that eventually, she'll be overtaken, even in academics. Unlike Hasegawa, Matsuoka puts in almost no work. She never trains by herself, and she always looks for others.
I assumed that it wouldn't be long until she would be expelled.
"This a piece of advice to you. Put in work. Otherwise, your gift will be worthless."
She looked up at me with wide, fearful eyes.
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