Chapter 101: 【Past Arc】Training Diary (1)

Currently residing in the Millennium District, Kirihana Suou keeps countless secrets tucked away in her desk drawers—chief among them, her mysterious “notebooks.”

“Suou, were you… asleep?”

There she was, slumped over her desk, drooling as she slept in complete disarray—a sight unimaginable for the Suou of the past.
Perhaps she was having a pleasant dream, because every so often she chuckled softly—“Heheh…”—murmuring in her sleep words like “little sister” and “welcome…”

“Well… if she can sleep soundly, that’s good enough, I suppose.”

Saori pulled out a blanket and gently draped it over Suou’s back, quietly watching her sleep. The fact that she could now rest so defenselessly—it was proof she had grown comfortable here, and that she’d learned to trust them.

That thought filled Saori’s heart with warmth—until her gaze drifted toward the desk.

“…Huh?”

Maybe it was because she’d let her guard down. But there it was, left out in the open—one of Suou’s secrets.

It wasn’t one of her usual “notebooks.”
This one was old, yellowed at the edges, and carried a faint, burnt scent of age.

“…‘Training Diary’?”

She must have fallen asleep while reading it. Carefully sliding it out from beneath Suou’s head, Saori’s eyes caught the faded title on the cover.

“This is… from ten years ago…?”

A Training Diary. Written by Kirihana Suou.
The date pointed back a full decade—to a time still veiled in secrecy. To Suou’s unknown past.

“……”

She knew she shouldn’t. She knew better.
And yet—her fingers wouldn’t let go of the cover.

To Saori, Suou still seemed fragile, unsteady, always teetering on the edge of breaking.
That was precisely why she needed to know. What had happened to her? What had shaped her into who she was now? She had to find out—right here, right now.

Unable to resist the pull of that forbidden curiosity, Saori turned the page.

It was only a single month of her life—but one that had undeniably existed.
A story of youth… fleeting, yet real.

---

I want to be strong.

“Huff…! Huff…!”

I want to be strong. Strong enough to change everything.

“Gah…! Cough, urgh…!”

“Come on, Suou-chan! Keep it up! Just two more hours!”

I want to be strong. Strong enough to defeat Aunt Bea.

“Uh… Cyan-chan? That’s not really something you say when there are two hours left, you know?”

“Eh? Isn’t it?”

And strong enough to land a clean punch on that airheaded, blue-haired, bubbly gorilla over there!

---

“Ugh…! Cough! Water… please, water…!”

“Suou-chan? Why so polite all of a sudden? …Well, here you go.”

So noisy. Obviously, I don’t want to run anymore—that’s why.

“Cyan-chan, are you seriously not getting this? Even I think you’re going a little too far with a kid this young.”

“Hey, it’s training! What do you expect?”

As I gulped down the water, I half-listened to Cyan and Anna arguing. Even Anna—usually the quiet one—seemed to sympathize with me this time.

“Haah… this is why gorillas—ow ow ow! Stop, that hurts!”

“Hey! Calling a girl a gorilla is so mean!”

“…You kind of proved her point, Cyan.”

Crushing the empty bottle with a crunch, I leaned back against the wall and somehow managed to stand, though my legs were trembling.

“Oh, Suou-chan. You’ve revived! Faster than expected… so, maybe one more round tonight?”

“Eek…!?”

“Are you a devil or something!?”

Please, no more… have mercy! My legs are killing me! And worse—my whole body feels like something vital’s been drained away. I feel heavier, slower than usual.

“…Though really, it’s kind of crazy for a little kid to ask for training in the first place.”

“If I’d known it’d be like this, I never would’ve asked…”

Sure, I was the one who asked Cyan to train me—but still! “Change into your tracksuit,” she said. I didn’t think it’d turn into endless running!

And not just normal running either—full sprint, nonstop.
This body can handle it… but that’s the problem.

No good. My legs are jelly. My skin’s peeling, my joints are raw, burning like fire.

“She made me run for six whole hours…”

“Your basic stamina’s way too low! We’ve got to build that up first! You’re already channeling energy subconsciously, so that’s fine.”

“Yeah, well… this is insane… dammit…”

I can’t even move properly. Even talking feels like a chore.
Training… this was just the first day. And this’ll happen every day from now on? No. Don’t think about it. If I do, my spirit’s gonna shatter completely.

“…For now… I’m going home.”

“Wait, Suou-chan!? You can’t walk home like that!”

“I’ll manage… Thanks, Cyan. But you’ve got your own stuff to do… Don’t worry about me. See you tomorrow…”

It’s gonna take forever to get back… what day is it tomorrow? Right, the academy’s off.
If I leave now, I’ll get at least five hours of sleep. Probably won’t be able to move from muscle pain, though. I should come up with an excuse for the teachers… fake illness works.

“But still—”

“Let it go, Cyan-chan. If she says she’s fine, she’s fine. Besides, I still don’t trust that girl yet. Get too attached, and she’ll just pull the rug out from under you.”

“…Maybe you’re right, but—wait, huh? Where’s Suou-chan?”

“She’s gone already.”

“What!?”

I could hear their voices fading behind me—but I didn’t have the strength to care.
One step, then another. Walk. Keep walking. Just walk.

Each step made my vision dim, the world closing in. My whole body burned, drenched in clammy sweat.

“…The window…”

I dragged myself to the bathroom window of my room, gripped the frame, pulled myself through, feet slipping as I crawled toward my bed—and collapsed.

“…Ah… the diary…”

The diary Anna had given me yesterday—I still hadn’t written today’s entry. Half-asleep, that thought flickered through my mind. But… I couldn’t bring myself to pick up the pen.

“Good night…”

And just like that, I drifted into sleep again.

When I next opened my eyes, morning had already come.

“…Mm, morning already, huh… Hello, world!!”

Forcing out some fake enthusiasm, I braced myself for the agony sure to come and stepped out of bed.

“…Huh?”

No pain. None at all.
Even though I’d run myself into the ground yesterday, even though I’d been completely wrecked, I didn’t feel a single ache.

“Wh—! No way…!”

Heart pounding, I looked down at my feet. Yesterday, they’d been covered in blisters and peeling skin. But now—every trace of damage was gone. Not a single scar left. Completely healed.

“…!!”

Relief flooded through me—and immediately after, dread.
No pain. Full mobility. Which could only mean one thing.

“…That means I’ve got more training today, doesn’t it!? Damn it all!!”

My cry of despair echoed through the room.

---

“What the hell’s going on!? What’s wrong with my body!? I was half-dead yesterday, and now I’m completely fine!?”

The moment I woke up, I ran straight to where Cyan and Anna were waiting and threw my confusion right at them.

“Morning, Suou-chan!”

“Uh—yeah, good morning—wait, no! Look at this!!”

I hurriedly pulled off my shoes, then my socks, and shoved the bottoms of my feet toward them.
Anna, chewing on something that looked like a sandwich, gave me a deadpan glare.

“Don’t flash your nasty feet at people while they’re eating.”

“They’re not nasty!—And that’s not the point!!”

Okay, maybe it was bad timing to show her that while she was mid-bite, but still!

“Sigh… noisy brat first thing in the morning…”

“What’s wrong?” Cyan asked, leaning in to take a closer look.
While Anna looked exasperated, Cyan inspected my feet carefully, then nodded in satisfaction.

“They’re totally healed! Just like I thought!”

“Just like you thought!?”

So she knew this would happen!? She made me go through all that, knowing!?

“Yep! Suou-chan, you’ve got real talent!”

“Hold on—could you maybe explain this first?”

Because clearly, she was in her own world right now, and I was not keeping up.

“Hmm… explain, huh…” Cyan scratched at her messy blue hair, groaning a few times before finally speaking.

“Okay, listen, Suou-chan. All of us have something called ‘power’ inside us.”

What an ominous start. It sounded like the opening line of a cheap cult sermon.
But Cyan either didn’t notice or didn’t care—she just kept going.

“This ‘power’ can be infused into your body to boost muscle strength or healing ability—or even into weapons to enhance their performance!”

…Yeah, no, I wasn’t really following.
So basically… she’s saying it’s like one of those mysterious energy systems you see in manga or anime?

Do things like that actually exist?
Then again, this is Cyan we’re talking about, so I wasn’t exactly inclined to take her word for it. Better ask Anna.

“Anna, is that true?”

“…Huh? Oh, yeah, that’s right. Pretty much all the students can do that. Depending on how much power you put in, guns, explosives, weapons—they all get stronger. And if you channel it into your body, you get stronger too.”

…Still sounds like nonsense. But if even Anna says so, then it’s probably real.

“Why did you have to ask Anna to confirm it again…? Whatever. Anyway! Suou-chan, your ‘power’—both the amount and the quality—are off the charts compared to other kids!”

“…What’s that even supposed to mean? How can you tell?”

“My intuition!”

Ah. Intuition.
Well, I guess that’s fair. Probably some kind of wild-animal instinct or something.

“…You’re thinking something rude right now, aren’t you?”

“Nope. Not at all.”

See? Like that.

“…One hundred extra sets.”

“What? Wait—what did you just say!?”

It’s weird… Maybe I really have turned into a wild animal, because an awful, baseless dread crawled up my spine—goosebumps everywhere.

“And so, what we did yesterday was keep running until you completely ran out of your ‘power.’ It ended up lasting longer than I thought, so that must’ve been rough, huh?”

“‘Rough’ doesn’t even begin to cover it…”

Running endlessly—those two words sound simple, but the pain and exhaustion had gnawed away at me bit by bit. Every single step felt impossibly far, and worst of all, there was no end in sight. It was worse than any torture I could imagine.

“But by doing that, you not only trained your stamina, you also started getting used to the feeling of using your ‘power.’ Suou-chan, how did you get here today?”

“Huh? I ran, of cour—oh…!”

Cyan’s words hit me. I hadn’t even realized it until she pointed it out—on the way here today, I hadn’t gotten winded once.

“And then, while you were sleeping, your ‘power’ must’ve recovered and unconsciously boosted your healing ability. So now, Suou-chan, you’re stronger than you were yesterday.”

No, this isn’t happiness or pride I’m feeling—it’s fear. Something beyond my understanding is happening to my own body, and it terrifies me.

“And you didn’t give up, Suou-chan. Even when you were complaining, even when you hit your limit, you still finished the training. You’re going to get stronger. No doubt about it.”

“…!”

But even so—if I can really master this power, then maybe…

“…Do you think… I could actually beat the other students? The extremists?”

“I promise. As long as you can keep up with me.”

Maybe—just maybe—I could change that world. The one I saw in Blue Archive.
Maybe I could stop the civil war at Arius Branch altogether. If there’s even a chance of that—

“All right! Then let’s do this! Time to work hard again today!!”

I’ll get stronger. I’ll endure whatever it takes, even that hellish running again if I have to.

“That’s the spirit! In that case, let’s use this today!”

With a thud, Cyan dropped something heavy onto the ground. It was made of metal coils… something I’d definitely seen back in my previous life. Wait a second—

“…Training weights?”

So that’s it. Yesterday was for stamina, and today’s for muscle training.
Heh, after surviving yesterday’s hell, this should be a walk in the park.

“Oh, and of course that alone wouldn’t be enough, so—here, take this!”

“—?!”

Another THUD! echoed through the air as she dropped a massive bag with a deafening crash.

“These are dumbbells! You’ll wear them while you move!”

“…Come again?”

I wasn’t sure I’d heard that right.
Unless my memory’s failing me, dumbbells aren’t exactly something you wear, right?

“Each one’s about ten kilos. Might not be quite enough, but let’s start with that setup. …Anna-chan, got any work we can use them for?”

“Hmm, let’s see… Oh! We could use more sandbags, so I need some soil!”

“Perfect! Suou-chan can dig us some!”

“Wait—what!?”

Before I knew it, the conversation had completely left me behind. A shovel and wheelbarrow were brought out, and somehow the training gear was already strapped onto me.

The harness pulled against my arms and legs, forcing me to use a ton of strength just to keep my balance—and on top of that…

“I’ll attach the dumbbells for you to start with, okay?”

“Wait wait wait wait—hold on! Stay! Stay!”

“Are you a dog now or something?”

Thankfully, my desperate plea made Cyan pause.
Five dumbbells in total, each ten kilos—that’s fifty kilos. Nearly twice my own body weight!?

“Suou-chan… Don’t you want to get stronger?”

“Ugh…!”

“If you quit now, I won’t stop you. But if you do, there’s no way you’ll get stronger in just a few months. The normal way won’t cut it.”

“Ughh…”

She’s right. This world isn’t the one I came from. Different people, different rules—so of course the way to get stronger here would be different too.
And if this is the fastest way, then…

“Fine! Let’s do it, dammit!! Bring ten more dumbbells!!”

"That’s the spirit! I was planning to make you wear twenty in total anyway!"

"Are you insane!?"

Twenty of them. Two hundred kilos. That’s about… two full-sized refrigerators!?

"Grghh… Damn it!! I’ll do it!! I’ll do it, you hear me!!"

"…You’re both crazy, you know that," Anna muttered. "Cyan’s Cyan, and the little girl’s the little girl."

"Stop calling me a little girl!!"

And just like that, they strapped dumbbells all over me. For the next hour, I couldn’t even move a single step.

---

Morning of the third day since training began.
I can’t remember anything from yesterday. No fatigue, no clear memories—just the dull ache of sore muscles and a lingering sense of pure, unfiltered fear.

Maybe this is why Anna told me to keep a journal in the first place.

"…No, that can’t be it. She probably still doesn’t trust me yet…"

I let out a small, tired laugh at the thought as I opened my diary.

───My body hurts.

"…"

That single line was all that was written. Cold sweat trickled down my cheek as I read it.
Today, like yesterday, there were no classes. Which meant only one thing: training with Cyan.

My eyes opened on their own, and I glanced toward the clock to check the time—

"…Huh?"

The first thing I noticed was the shattered alarm clock.
Its hands were frozen at the exact time I’d set for my wake-up alarm.

From that alone, there was only one conclusion:
I must’ve misjudged my strength when turning it off and smashed it to pieces.
And, worse yet—

"…Oh crap."

—I was massively late for training.

I hurried to change, fumbling with my uniform buttons—

"Wait, what the—!?"

Rip, rip, rip! Nearly every button popped off as the threads gave way.
No time to care about that, though—I grabbed a spare uniform and carefully slipped into it, taking almost ten minutes to dress without tearing anything else.

After that, I went to the bathroom, then opened the window. I braced one foot against the ledge, ready to jump out like usual—

And the moment I pushed off—

"Wh—huh!?"

My body shot straight into the air.
When I glanced down, the ground was several meters away.

"Stop, stop—wait—ahhh!?"

Before I could recover or land properly, I slammed into the ground with a heavy thud.

"Ow… Ow ow ow—no time for that!!"

I barely processed how I’d survived the fall unscathed before I kicked off the ground again to start running—

"Huh!?"

The world blurred backward in a flash. I was accelerating faster than my eyes could even follow.

"Wha—whoa—whoa—whoa—!"

I scrambled on my toes, desperately trying not to topple over as my speed kept climbing—faster, faster, faster.
The scenery flew past so quickly it made my head spin, faster even than watching the view from a speeding car in my old life.

And then, just as I completely lost balance—

"Oh crap—!"

"Suou-chan!!"

Right before I hit the ground, Cyan caught me.

"Hah… Cyan… thanks. You saved me…"

"It’s fine… I’m just sorry. I didn’t think you’d change this much after one day…"

She nodded as if everything finally made sense. Behind her, Anna came running up, slightly out of breath.

"Found the kid, huh, Cyan-chan?"

For a brief moment, Anna’s expression softened with relief before returning to her usual emotionless mask.
Well… at least she’d been worried.

"Uh, Cyan? Something’s definitely off with my body…"

"Yeah, I know… In one word? You overtrained!"

"…Come again?"

Overtrained? Is that what happens to people in Kivotos when they push too hard? In just one day?

"See, Suou-chan’s been improving way faster than I expected. I think right now your body’s doing everything subconsciously at full power. After all that training yesterday, your sense of control must’ve adjusted to that intensity."

Oh. That… actually made some kind of sense.
No wonder I’d been getting tired so quickly—it was probably that.

"…Yeah, you’ve got way more talent than I thought, Suou-chan. Even I’m surprised."

"She’s like a mini-Cyan," Anna muttered. "Give it time and her hair’ll probably turn blue too."

"That’s not funny!"

As much as their nonsense annoyed me, what really worried me was—

"This’ll wear off… right?"

If I had to live like this forever, there’s no way I’d survive daily life.

"…After a full day of practice, yeah."

"So we’re training again!?"

Even as fear settled in, I followed Cyan for another round of training—because somehow, that already felt normal.

---

Rustle.

The only sounds in the quiet room were slow, steady breathing and the faint flap of a page closing.

"…What is this?"

Saori Joumae had a headache.

She’d hoped the training diary might shed light on Suou’s past—but instead, it only gave her more to worry about.

So far, only the entries for the first and fourth days were properly written. Since Suou had started keeping it, nearly half of the diary was blank or filled with meaningless fragments. The second day had no entry at all, and the third contained only seven plain hiragana characters: “My body hurts.”
Granted, what happened on the second and third days was described in detail in the fourth day’s entry—but still.

"…But."

Even so, Saori had seen it—the source of Suou’s strength.
From what she’d read, there was no way she could simply go to sleep afterward. But perhaps… the entries that followed would show calmer, more peaceful days.

Originally, this had been nothing more than an attempt to understand Suou’s past. Yet now, Saori found herself drawn in—captivated by the strange, absurd events that filled the pages, and most of all, by the glimpses of a side of Suou she’d never known.

Still, no matter what came next, she was certain the ending had already been decided. That incident Suou had mentioned before—it was approaching, little by little, inevitably.

"…."

"Zzz… zzz… Saori, your lap’s so… ngh…"

Saori gave a faint, wry smile at the familiar sleep-talk.
She looked down at the small figure resting against her—uninjured now, though once broken—and remembered that day.

"…I’m sorry, Suou. I know this is selfish of me, but I’m going to keep reading."

She had to know. What had happened beyond that point? What was waiting there?
With quiet determination, she turned to the next page.

"‘That damn gorilla—I’ll never forgive her.’"

"…Good grief."

The words written on the fifth day’s page made Saori’s headache even worse.