#97 Ruthless Tug-of-War
"That was amazing, we really showed them! Haha!" Ike and others were laughing while we were returning back to our tent.
"Come on Ken! Why that sour face? We won both rounds! Ike put his arm around Sudo's shoulder even though Sudo threatened him previously to skin him alive. I guess he really is happy with this victory.
"Tch, fine, just don't come too close, you are full of dirt!" Sudo pushed Ike away from himself but he still had a small smile across his face.
"Haa? I got so dirty because that buffalo dragged me on the ground, it's not my fault! By the way, Walker-kun, your strategies were able to secure victory in both rounds for us...you are really amazing. How had you thought of those tactics?" Ike complained to Sudo with a sad expression while patting off the dirt from his clothes before directing his attention at me and most of the people also stopped "celebrating" and expectantly looked at me.
"Well, in terms of strength, we would have definitely lost so we had to use our heads instead of muscles. Hiding isn't anything hard, it's all about stalling for the time and as for the second round...That was a bit crazy idea but there was nothing to lose for us so I said to myself 'why not try it out?' And it worked out in the end..." I replied with a smile while walking in front of them...somehow I became something similar to a captain...strage. Perhaps I am not alone who never noticed when and how.
Everyone stopped in their tracks and looked at me with dumbfounded expressions.
I sensed a hand quickly approaching me but I decided to ignore it since it didn't possess any ill intention.
*Slap* Someone slapped my back and I already knew who. Not only from the strength behind it but also because there are very few people who would dare to do that.
"Sudo-kun?" I turned around and when I saw him holding his hand which he used to slap my back with the other hand, I looked at him with a confused expression while slightly tilting my head to the side.
"F*ck! Are you made out of stone?! Whatever...That second round...you weren't even certain of the victory yet you forced me to do such stupid things?! Even though you aren't that heavy, it still hurt when you used my shoulders as a jumping ramp." Sudo complained to me while holding his now red hand.
"Maybe you hit the bone...And we won in the end, didn't we?" I answered with a smirk and continued walking.
"You-! Wait, I am not done yet!" Sudo shouted at me and immediately run after me with his clenched fist.
"...Hahaha" Everyone's jaw dropped when they saw Sudo's behavior but when they looked at each other, they started to laugh aloud without any reserves.
...
We returned to our tent where everyone congratulated us, however, there was no time to celebrate because the next contest was just about to start. Thanks to my tactic in the first round, not many students from our class were exhausted, however, it was still visible that they needed some longer break. There is a lunch break if I remember correctly but that is between the universal contests and recommended ones. Therefore, there are still 5 contests remaining before the lunch break.
It seems that girls are on the same level as us with their exhaustion but that's because the Ball-toss game doesn't drain that much stamina as Capture the flag. Of course, the girls generally have less stamina than boys unless that girl is athletic type while the boy is the complete opposite.
I was thinking about various things while looking around and observing everyone's expressions.
"Here." Someone's voice woke me up from my thoughts and when I looked next to me, I saw Mii-chan offering me a towel.
"Hm? Thank you but you don't have to do this. It's no problem for me to walk a few meters to get it myself, I don't want to look like I am taking advantage of your kindness." I honestly told her what I was thinking but I still accepted it with a grateful smile.
"It's no problem! You just finished your contest so it's something I naturally have to do! B-but don't misunderstand, I don't do this just because I feel I have to!" Mii-chan answered with a cheerful smile however, she quickly started panicking.
I looked at the boys that were part of my team during the capture-the-flag and most of them had to go for the towel themselves.
...This special treatment feels kinda strange but it's not that bad.
I turned back at Mii-chan and noticed that she was strangely fidgeting with her hair while avoiding my eyes.
"? Is there something wrong?" I asked with a curious expression.
"No no, not at all! I just wanted to say that...you did well! And also that since I am Walker-kun's partner for the Three-legged race, it's also my job to take care of my partner..." Mii-chan said with the brightest innocent smile I have ever seen in my entire life.
Those words she has said, sounded a bit weird however it was even worse when combined with her super innocent smile...
"Eh...Regarding the Three-legged race, it's drawing nearer. What about your stamina? Are you exhausted yet?" I awkwardly scratched the top of my head since a few boys were glaring at me with jealousy.
"Nope! I am still able to compete for a few contests but I promise that I won't hold you back during the race!" She answered with an earnest tone and with both of her small fists clenched.
---
'After all, I am saving most of my stamina for our race so I can show everyone what we are capable of!' Mii-chan thought with determination visible in her eyes.
---
"Heh, I am sure you won't hold me back, just be careful not to get injured, okay?" I said with a encouraging smile and patted her head a few times.
"Eeeeh?! I-I-I am going back into the tent for some water!" Her face immediately reddened and she quickly ran away.
...F*ck, I forget about the fact that we are both of the same age. This must have been really embarrassing for her but I couldn't help it...She reminds me too much of Yukina. She was practically begging to be patted...
I thought while looking at Mii-chan's disappearing back with an awkward expression on my face.
"It seems that you are also good at scaring off your partners." Horikita approached me and made a comment with a sarcastic smile.
"*sigh* Is there something you want to discuss with me?" I asked her with a tired tone.
"Yes, I want to ask you who came up with those strategies you used during the Capture-the-Flag competition."
"Isn't that information already spread from Ike and others?" Instead of answering her, I asked her another question.
"I want to hear it directly from you." She simply answered with furrowed brows.
"Yes, I am the one who came up with them. Is there something wrong with it?" I admitted it without hesitation.
Horikita wanted to say something, however, she was interrupted by the announcement.
"We can talk later, I have to go and join others" I said with an apologetic expression, however, inside, I thanked the person who interrupted our little chat.
...
Tug of war...simple game yet it's not entirely about strength. Even tactics can be applied here, however, to perform those tactics, the sufficient strength is still required. Meaning that if the opponent is far stronger than you then there is very little you can do.
I was in the group against Yamada from Class C while on the other side was Katsuragi against Kanzaki. If I had to guess just from their teams, I would bet that Class A would win but it looked like they were having some problems among themselves. When I noticed a guy with blond hair tied in a pony tail quarreling with Katsuragi, I immediately looked towards Sakayanagi who was watching everything unfold with a smile across her face.
...
I positioned myself at the end of the rope, however, before the referee was able to start the match, I noticed something suspicious on Class C's side.
I narrowed my eyes and focused my energy on them while observing guys from Class C.
Their grip is extremely weak, their postures don't even suggest that they are about to pull with their full strength...
Of course, I was able to notice such small details only thanks to my superior eyes. For others, they looked normal.
This tug of war took place on the concrete because it's much harder to compete on this surface than on the dirt where anyone can bury part of their shoes into the ground, giving much better potential to rest while using only the weight of your body plus help of the gravitation to stop the opponent from overpowering you. These kinds of tug of war can last for very long time if both teams are evenly strong, this is where only the strategy can win the match.
"*Hey, tell others not to pull the rope at all when the referee starts the match*" I whispered to Miyake who was positioned in front of me.
"*What??*" He turned at me with a surprised and confused expression.
"*Just trust me, please relay this information to everyone else. If we lose, I will take responsibility.*" I whispered with a dead-serious expression and although he was still surprised, he told the person in front of him and also urged him to quickly relay this information.
Although everyone looked surprised at first, they still nodded and got ready into a good position to "pull the rope" while I was just standing still with only my right hand holding the rope which definitely surprised spectators.
"3" The referee started the countdown.
"2"
"1"
...
"*Whistle*" When the sound of the referee's whistle resounded, no one pulled the rope which totally surprised guys from Class C, Yamada was the first one to react but it was already too late.
I pulled the rope with a swift movement of my right hand and the entire rope slipped through their grasp and dropped down on the ground of our half.
The referee was also surprised but not as much as the guys from Class C that were looking at me with bewildered expressions. I, on the other hand, was only standing there with a cold expression and narrowed eyes.
Ryuen is really ruthless, if any of them actually tried to pull with their full strength, they would definitely fall backwards and there is a big chance that some of them would also hit their head. That wouldn't end up with just a small injury... But to be honest, most of the guys would probably just fell down on each other as domino but the last person would be the one who would suffer the most. I wonder if he arranged this because he knew that I would be the last person on the rope...Hehe, unfortunately, even if his plan would have been successful, I wouldn't suffer any injury because I would be able to regain my balance and even if I had to fall down to save the person in front of me, I would still be able to cover my head. And even if I didn't cover my head, at most I would feel a small pain in the back of my head for the rest of the day.
However, he still tried to injure me and I won't take it quietly, be it coincidence or not. Although now isn't the time to teach him a lesson but soon enough...when I will arrange everything, I will make sure to make him suffer twice more than what I intended before.
I thought while coldly glaring at the Class C's tent with my palm covering my lower part of the face to hide that slightly crazy-evil smile from spectators' view.