What Are You Afraid Of? Hurry Up!

Nino looked towards the diagonal bend ahead, where two people she knew were standing. The other two on the phone couldn't be seen, even though she wore contact lenses due to the distance.

She didn't know if they noticed her, but they waved towards her.

Nino pursed her lips and laughed.

"...Like an idiot."

Whether it was her secretly going to the gym to practice running.

She still anxiously sent a message asking her father if she could come.

Or maybe she complained to him in the morning that her father didn't care about his daughter at all.

She lost patience without being taken seriously. When she saw her father on the phone and knew that he had prepared this surprise specifically for her, she left all complaints and anger behind, overwhelmed with happiness.

That's right, no matter who—

They were all as foolish as idiots!

Footsteps approached from behind.

In the final moments, Nino took out a purple swallowtail hair tie from her pocket, skillfully tying her long hair into a ponytail, and swinging it behind her back.

"Let's go."

She suppressed all expressions, leaned her body slightly forward, and placed one hand behind her back to take over.

Her blue eyes were full of energy, staring straight ahead.

This competition indeed had no meaning; Class A was currently behind, even if she ran at her fastest speed, she wouldn't be able to reverse the situation.

That was something only Yotsuba could do.

But there was no need to be disappointed, as there were things that only Nino could do.

The firm touch of the relay baton in her hand spread to her palm, making her heart beat fast.

Without hesitation, Nino kicked up dust with her toes and ran with all her might.

She didn't pay attention to the other contestants; she just ran forward as fast as she could, letting the scenery pass from the corner of her eye.

Then at the bend, it became clear.

"..."

Itsuki shouted with joy, her face as red as her hair.

Ichika seemed to shout something, but she really couldn't hear it; she just hoped her roommate wouldn't complain about her.

Her father's face was still so hard to approach, always expressionless, and no one knew what he was thinking... But it seemed like he was paying very close attention to this place.

Finally, there was that man.

From hating him at the beginning to later liking him and getting more complicated, Nino didn't know whether they should keep approaching him or liking him.

But, was this also the most exciting part of falling in love?

Facing the strong wind hitting her face, Nino stopped for a moment, then started running faster again.

Just like now, just run, leave all unimportant things behind, and move towards the specified goal!

So in the end, Shinichi glanced at her for a moment and smiled.

Nino was a little surprised, then responded with a handsome smile that made her heart pound and shouted something.

His voice reached her ears very clearly...

"Why are you laughing? Look forward to the race!"

Nino initially thought Shinichi would say something nice to cheer her up.

△

At the end of the relay competition, she was too lazy to care about her class ranking. The first thing she did when leaving the track was to rush towards Shinichi.

Then she suddenly punched him in the stomach.

"You idiot, stop ruining other people's feminine fantasies!"

"Pfft!"

The phone's camera swung, and Maruo didn't see his daughter committing violence with his own eyes, but he knew what happened just by hearing the sound.

His face was expressionless, but he couldn't help but think in his heart:

(Well done.)

Because of that, Maruo also didn't notice the pretended painful expression on Shinichi's face as his fist pressed into his lower abdomen.

"Nino, you..."

Her other arm circled his neck, Nino tiptoed and approached his ear, breathed softly, and whispered:

"Sorry about earlier, thank you now."

Then she placed her lips near his neck and made a "chirp" sound.

As she stepped back, the sun seemed to set and filled the pond, and Nino blushed and smiled sweetly.

"That's it for today~"

After saying that, she unconsciously licked her lips and found that Itsuki and Ichika were staring at her with surprised and teasing eyes. She felt embarrassed and coughed twice and changed the subject.

"Right, Dad."

Shinichi answered the phone at the right time, pointing the camera towards himself, and then began to feel the wet sensation on his neck.

Contrary to Nino, even though he was fascinated by the two girls' gazes, there was not the slightest shame on his thick-skinned skin, and he could even concentrate to enjoy her scent now.

"Is my appearance okay?"

Nino looked at her father on the screen, with a bit of hope in her eyes and a little baseless nervousness.

Maruo was silent for a moment, seemingly searching for an appropriate comment.

Then, that cold face softened imperceptibly.

"Very good, thank you for your hard work."

"Hmm~"

After getting the desired answer, Nino felt full of happiness and satisfaction.

Effort was appreciated, performance was seen, and family members were around. These three kinds of happiness overlapped, and this should be a joyous moment like a dream.

For the first time, Nino felt so happy to participate in the sports festival and compete rather than going elsewhere to help like Miku!

"Let's go back and see how Yotsuba is doing!"

Nino happily led the way and walked towards the medical center with everyone.

When they entered the medical service room, Miku and Fumino gathered around Yotsuba's bed. However, Yotsuba didn't sleep until the end of the competition as expected but sat up from the bed awake, holding a can of drink in her hand.

"Yotsuba, why did you wake up...!"

Nino asked, then immediately covered her mouth as a reaction, and turned away with an unpleasant look.

"Nino... You really didn't plan to wake me up!"

Yotsuba puffed her cheeks, her lips stained with chocolate, showing dissatisfaction.

"Are you still a child?!" Itsuki complained.

Yotsuba scratched her head and chuckled, then looked around and saw Shinichi's cold face on the phone, widening her eyes.

"Dad?! Why are you appearing on Asada-san's phone!"

"It's not that he's appearing; he has no choice but to broadcast live through his phone. There's something I have to do, and I can't come directly to attend your sports festival."

When the whole family was on-site, Maruo finished explaining with a cold tone, then stared straight at her with serious eyes.

"Yotsuba, how's your condition? Do you need to go to the hospital?"

"No, no!" Yotsuba shook her head quickly and lifted the hot chocolate in her hand. "After drinking this can of hot chocolate, I feel much better. I don't need to go to the hospital!"

"...Is that so? I hope you're not trying to be brave."

Maruo's face frowned, his expression seemed like he was giving her a stern lecture, but his words turned out to be gentle.

Yotsuba was surprised, then laughed happily.

"Of course!"

Then, she was just stared at by a group of people around her with strange eyes.

Yotsuba broke into a cold sweat, and her smile on her face turned very embarrassed.

"Everyone, why are you looking at me like this..."

Laughter echoed around her.

"You said it!"