"Is Iijima on our side?"
The "Iijima" Kaoru referred to was one of the defectors Kiriyama had brought over.
He happened to be a student from Class 2-A and had joined them simply because he disapproved of Nagumo's actions.
"Iijima is absolutely on our side. There's no way he'd tip Nagumo off." Kiriyama suddenly hesitated, unsure whether to continue.
"Iijima used to have a girl he liked, but she ended up in Nagumo's arms..."
He didn't finish, but Kaoru understood.
Clearly, this defector from Class A had even stronger reasons than the others to settle the score with Nagumo.
There was no need to doubt his loyalty.
"With Iijima and Kiryuin-senpai on our side, our chances aren't bad." Kaoru smiled faintly.
"In fact, I'd love it if Nagumo targeted us, using our participation form as a reference to draft a new one."
"I get your idea, but Iijima can't get close to Nagumo's inner circle. He won't be able to see Class A's participation form," Kiriyama voiced his concern.
"No problem. Have him observe the class and report to me as much as possible." Kaoru asked Kiriyama for Iijima's contact details.
"At this point, we can only do our best, but I don't think we'll lose."
By now, Kiriyama had no choice but to trust him.
"Let me take charge of the new competition roster. We can just tell everyone that someone in your class wasn't feeling well, so we adjusted the positions slightly."
According to the rules, full-team competitions don't allow substitutes, only assigned competitions permit them, and even then it requires an additional 100,000 Personal Points.
Therefore, Kaoru could only rearrange positions.
"Won't this... seem like we're burning bridges?" Kiriyama Ikuyo said, feeling somewhat awkward himself.
Without leaving some room for retreat, his heart immediately tightened, left hanging in midair.
"Just notify Nagumo at the last minute," Kaoru replied with a half-smile, though he wasn't actually angry.
It was only natural for someone to still have doubts before seeing results, even while claiming to trust him.
Still, this made Kaoru reconsider his choice of representative among the second-years.
"Ahem, I just wanted to ask if you had any specific arrangements in mind," Kiriyama said, he was relieved.
"No problem, as long as you follow the roster I've prepared," Kaoru paused.
"Remember to send me your class's information, and I'll also find time to observe your practice sessions."
Kiriyama naturally agreed.
At this point, there was no turning back.
*****
Truth be told, it was all just an excuse.
Taking advantage of after-school hours, Kaoru brought the "Time-Space Camera" and avoided other students on his way to the track field, which was about to welcome dusk.
He stood alone in a corner of the spectator seats.
He wanted to preview future events in advance—like accessing a game's console commands.
Carefully adjusting the camera's time to the day of the sports festival's opening, he pressed the shutter.
Though he didn't know the exact timing, he at least knew the competition order.
The school didn't plan to run all events simultaneously but rather one after another.
This gave Kaoru a room to maneuver.
100-meter dash, hurdles, pole-toppling competition, tug-of-war, ball-throwing contest, obstacle race, three-legged race...
Click after click, the "Time-Space Camera," which had only about half its battery left, finally gave out.
In just half an hour, it shut down completely.
Kaoru examined the camera's charging port, unsure if it could be recharged.
Still, he had already stashed the photos he'd taken into his bag to avoid anyone discovering them.
After putting away the camera, he gazed at the track field for a while.
Only a few sports club members were practicing, with no upperclassmen in sight.
They probably already understood each other's capabilities well enough to skip extra practice or reconnaissance.
That said, Kaoru did spot Class B students training openly below, their confident demeanor drawing attention—especially Ichinose's lively figure.
So they gave the indoor gym to Classes A and D while practicing outside?
Kaoru didn't go down to greet them.
He needed to return for his own practice, or Sakayanagi would come looking for him with that knowing smile.
The two gyms weren't far apart.
Taking a shortcut, it would only take a few minutes to return to the first indoor gym.
However, Kaoru didn't go in immediately.
Instead, he made a detour to the restroom so he could pretend he had been there for a while.
After splashing some water on his face, Kaoru stepped out into the hallway.
Just as he passed the changing room entrance, a figure emerged from inside, nearly colliding with him.
"Whoa, that was close!"
Before Kaoru could speak, the other person bared their teeth and exclaimed.
"Sorry, I didn't notice you coming out."
"Huh? Mitoma-kun?"
Perhaps because his voice was distinctive, or maybe Hasebe Haruka had finally recognized him, she immediately clicked her tongue.
"How strange to run into you here. Kushida-san has been looking for you everywhere."
"I was in the restroom," Kaoru replied briefly, then took in the girl's current outfit.
"Are you done with practice already?"
She had changed out of her gym clothes and was now in her school uniform.
Her huge chest strained against the fabric of her shirt, making one worry about its durability.
What drew even more attention was her shiny forehead, somewhat reminiscent of Haruno Sakura.
"I asked Ishikura-san and the others. They don't plan to continue practicing the three-legged race or the cavalry battle today, so it doesn't matter if I leave early."
Hasebe clearly didn't care about skipping out early.
But more than that, she seemed preoccupied with something else.
"Hey, hey, hey, since we happened to meet, can I ask you something, Mitoma-kun?" Haruka suddenly asked with keen interest.
"I'll answer depending on what it is," Kaoru replied cautiously, not giving her an opening.
"That's such a slippery answer! Now I just sound pushy," Hasebe pouted in dissatisfaction, but then a mischievous smile crept onto her lips.
"So, who do you like, Mitoma-kun?"
Kaoru froze for a moment.
Thinking he hadn't heard her clearly, she repeated the question.
"Do you have someone you like right now?"
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