Sports Festival: The First Day
The sports festival had finally arrived. After a long opening ceremony, the students of Class 1-D headed to the tents provided for them. It seemed the tents for the red and white teams were set up on opposite sides of the track to prevent any contact between them.
"They're very well prepared, aren't they? They even have cameras to judge the results."
I saw cameras at what looked like the finish line, likely for the first event, the 100-meter dash.
"This kind of equipment is rare even at competitions. You don't usually see it unless you're at the national level, so this is exciting," Tsugumi said, looking delighted, in response to Horikita's murmur.
"What heat are you two in for the 100-meter dash?"
"I'm in the first heat. Kiyotaka is in the second," Tsugumi replied.
"So you're planning to dominate from the start. Not a bad strategy."
It was the very first heat of the very first event. Making a big impression here would put pressure on the other classes. Horikita nodded in admiration, understanding the strategy.
"It's almost time to go. Get ready to see the results of a month's training!"
"Blow everyone away. You too, Ayanokouji-kun."
"Yeah, I'll give it my all."
Tsugumi offered a fist bump, and I returned it. Then I replied to Horikita's encouragement. It was a bit cheesy, but it wasn't so bad once in a while. I headed for the starting line, waiting behind Tsugumi's group. It was a shame I wouldn't have the best seat to watch him, but I figured I'd get to see him a lot later on, so I endured.
Now, for our first event: the first-year boys' 100-meter dash!
As the announcer spoke, cheers filled the grounds. While many of the students felt the pressure of being the first event, Tsugumi turned back and gave me a peace sign before stepping onto the starting block. He got into the crouch position. The signal sounded, and Tsugumi pushed off with incredible force. The scoreboard showed a side view of him, and he finished the race with a form that could rival a professional track athlete, showing an overwhelming lead.
"Whoa... 10.21 seconds. He's a monster!" Ike, who was lined up behind me, was stunned. A time in the low 10-second range for a first-year. It made sense why Tsugumi had complained about the track team scouts bothering him. The cheers that followed were even louder than before. The first-year boys currently lined up were the only ones not cheering, as they were all frozen in shock at the record.
"Well... I guess I'll get serious, too."
I was a little jealous, so I decided to go all out. I stepped onto the starting block just as Tsugumi had taught me and sprinted off at the signal. The other seven runners arrived late. My time was...
"10.19 seconds! I lost!" Tsugumi said, waiting at the finish line with a huge smile.
"There's barely any difference," I replied.
"Ugh, what a jab."
I had been gradually increasing my time to avoid raising suspicion, but I still significantly beat the record I'd shown in practice. Now I had to figure out what excuse to give. Tsugumi headed for Sakayanagi's tent, where they were clearly flirting, even from a distance.
"...I'm not jealous," I told myself.
When I returned to my tent, I was surrounded by nearly a dozen girls who had stayed behind.
"Ayanokouji-kun, you were amazing! You're so fast!"
"You were great in practice, but you were even better in the real thing!"
"Keep it up for the relay race!"
"Uh... thanks," I said.
I'd never been fawned over like this before, so I was flustered. I looked over at Tsugumi and Sakayanagi's tent for help, but they just smiled at me and did nothing... Damn it! They set me up! I had no choice but to nod and leave the tent, which was an incredibly lame thing to do. It seemed I wasn't ready for this yet.
"Ah, Ayanokouji-kun!"
As I walked away, I was called out from behind. After my lame response just now, I braced myself not to repeat the same mistake and turned around.
"What is it... oh, it's Sakura. I'm relieved."
"Relieved? ...Is that so?"
"Yeah. You saw how I dealt with those girls just now. I didn't think I could handle it if someone else suddenly came to talk to me."
"No, I... I thought you were really cool! I'm kind of jealous you can run that fast."
She must have come all this way just to tell me that. She was probably too shy to say it in front of the whole class, and her thoughtfulness touched my heart.
"Thanks. Good luck, Sakura."
"!" she said, "Okay! I'll do my best!"
With that, she scurried back to the tent, looking happy... I wondered if she would get tired before her race.
"Hee hee," a silly sound came from beside me. I sighed and looked over to see Tsugumi with a nasty grin on his face.
"...You knew that was going to happen and you left me alone, didn't you?"
"No, I was going to come back anyway! But when I did, things were getting interesting."
"You could have helped me out..."
"No way, it was too funny."
This was a bad side of Tsugumi. He usually acted like a good-natured elder, but only in moments like these did he become a mischievous prankster.
"You won't last if you get flustered over things like that. We're going to sweep the recommended events and win the overall championship. No one has ever done that in the first year, so this is going to be exciting, Kiyotaka-kun."
"...You're right."
Tsugumi and I returned to the tent, where Kouenji and Sudo were arguing after they'd held back during their races. But Tsugumi skillfully managed to calm Sudo down, and the conflict was averted. He was used to dealing with wild beasts like Horikita and Sakayanagi every day.
Hey, hey. I think it's enough with just me and Sudo-kun, right? If Kouenji-kun joined in too, no one would stand a chance.
That's true, but...
Wouldn't it be cooler if we won by a landslide even with a few students holding back? Sudo-kun would be the hero of Class D.
...Tch. If you say so, I guess it can't be helped. Hey, Ayanokouji! How the hell are you so fast?!
Tsugumi and I trained.
Don't you dare try to fool me with that! Are you looking down on sports?!
His anger was now directed at me... I felt like I was getting kicked around despite my efforts.
The next event was the hurdle race. It required more technique than the 100-meter dash, but it seemed to be a breeze for Tsugumi, who had track and field experience. I lined up in the next lane. Beside me was Kanzaki, a student I had a lot of history with.
"So we're facing each other right off the bat."
"...Go easy on me."
"Don't be ridiculous. That's not something a guy who runs a 10-second 100-meter dash should be saying."
He gave me a harsh response. In the end, I came in first, but I lost to Tsugumi by a bigger margin than in the 100-meter dash. This was probably because the race required a lot more technical skill, but... I was still disappointed.
---------
Hello, it's me, the freeloader who's currently tied with Kiyotaka, one win to one loss.
I can't believe I lost the 100-meter dash. I congratulated him with a smile, but I was furious. Still, I was satisfied since I got to see Kiyotaka get flustered by all those girls.
Anyway, the next event was the pole-felling competition, a thrilling event where teams of students from Class D and Class A faced off against a team from Class C and Class B.
"Good luck, Tsugumi-kun. I'm cheering for you."
Arisu-chan cheered me on as we parted ways. I knew I had to look cool now.
"Alright. Let's do as we discussed before. Got it?"
"Yeah!" everyone replied.
We confirmed the plan we had made in advance. A lot of students were skeptical at the time, but after seeing Kiyotaka's true abilities, not a single person complained. The rules were simple: the first team to win two rounds would win the event. Katsuragi-kun and Yosuke-kun had decided beforehand that each class would take turns playing offense and defense. This would make it easier to coordinate and simpler than mixing the classes.
"The first round might be a little rough, but just be patient and wait." I told Katsuragi-kun, then joined the offense team from Class D.
The signal for the start of the match sounded, and everyone, led by Sudo-kun, rushed into enemy territory.
"Gaaaah!"
"They're coming! Watch out for Sudo!"
Overwhelmed by their aggression, Kanzaki-kun, the defender's leader, climbed to the top of the pole to give instructions. So far, everything was going according to plan.
"It's going well. I'll leave the timing to you," I told Kiyotaka, who was with me at the back, just standing around. We weren't slacking off, this was part of the strategy. The students from Class D circled the pole, slowly getting closer until they were all in a chaotic brawl. By now, the area around the pole must have been a living hell with Class B trying to push them back and Class D trying to push forward. I was glad to be on the outside.
"Hey! What's taking so long?! I'm getting tired!" I heard Ike-kun's voice. I guess both teams were running out of stamina. Class A also looked like they were in trouble. It was time to make our move.
"Alright, let's go, Kiyotaka-kun."
"Right."
With that, Kiyotaka-kun and I ran about 5 meters in front of the pole. It was only then that Class B seemed to realize that we weren't in the brawl.
"?! Where's Saitou?!" Kanzaki-kun yelled, but no one had time to listen to him.
"Alright... Let's go!"
"Okay. Try not to hurt me."
I got into a forward-leaning position where Kanzaki-kun couldn't see me and started running.
"---Everyone! Now!"
At my signal, the students from Class D grabbed the clothes of the students from Class B and fell backward. Since the resistance suddenly disappeared, the students from Class B fell on top of them. This immediately reduced the number of students defending the pole by more than half, and it began to wobble from side to side.
"What?!"
I jumped onto Kiyotaka-kun's shoulder, who was on one knee, and launched myself into the air.
"Don't get hurt!... Hah!"
The poles used for pole-felling competitions are usually about 3-5 meters long. The one here was a little over 4 meters. As is typical in pole-felling, Kanzaki-kun was crouched on top of the pole, making the center of gravity very high.
Now, for a quiz: what happens when I, a person weighing over 70kg, jump-kick the pole when most of the students defending it are on the ground?
"Hey... hey, hey! This is bad!"
The answer is simple. Due to the principle of leverage, the pole can't withstand the sudden, immense force, and it falls! I quickly recovered my posture in the air and kicked the pole with both feet. With a loud snap, the pole suddenly tilted.
"Damn it! This is insane!"
I was ready to help if he fell, but Kanzaki-kun, being the athletic person he was, quickly got off and landed perfectly. The pole, weighing nearly 80kg, fell with a lot of momentum. It had enough force to break a bone if someone was hit by it, but that's where our Kiyotaka-kun came in.
"There. It's surprisingly heavy," Kiyotaka-kun said, catching the falling pole with both hands. We didn't want anyone to get seriously hurt or disqualified, so we had a plan to handle this.
And that's it! Round 1 is a victory for Classes A and D!
"Yay! A complete victory! Nice one, Kiyotaka-kun!"
"It was a huge success."
We high-fived and celebrated our victory. Kiyotaka-kun looked happy, too. We just had to wait for the second round to begin, but for some reason, the teachers were running around in a panic. What was going on? Just as I was wondering, an announcement came from the announcer's booth.
The second round of the first-year boys' pole-felling will be postponed for 15 minutes as the pole has been damaged.
"Huh?"
Come to think of it, I think I heard a sound like wood splitting... I looked at the fallen pole, and the spot I kicked had a perfect dent, and a single crack had run down the length of the pole.
"Oh, crap..."
When I returned to the tent for Class D, Chabashira-sensei was there as usual, holding a binder and with her arms crossed. I felt like she was angry.
"Don't just feel it, I am angry."
"Um... It was an accident!""You went too far, you idiot!" Ouch!?"
She hit me on the head with the edge of her binder. Not with the edge!
"No one was hurt this time, and since it's your first offense, you're not in any trouble. But... if you do it again, you can forget about winning this year's championship."
"Yes..."
She sighed in exasperation and scolded me. I'm so, so sorry.
After that, I was thoroughly scolded by Suzune-chan, and we won the second round by successfully defending the pole. It's easy-peasy if you just trip people when you pass them or subtly throw them down when no one's looking!
"I told you! That's not the point! You have to do it peacefully, okay?"
"I've been thinking about this for a while, but Tsugumi's IQ seems to drop the moment he gets into a competition."
"..."
"Okay?!"
"Yes..."
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