5.4

3:00 p.m. With less than an hour left, the sports festival is finally coming to a close.

We enter the final phase of the competition still in first place, with only 17 points separating us from the second year Class D, who are closing in while in second place. The team's perseverance was beyond our imagination, and we had to assume that Ryūen-kun's strategy was working. Still, there was no trouble among us second-year students, and we were functioning well as an alliance.

However, if we don't score more points in the last hour, there's a good chance of an upset. Standing in a corner of the gymnasium, I stared at the remaining competitions, their rules and schedules. Then Ibuki-san, not even bothering to hide her annoyance, approached me.

"It's a stupid game!"

"That's a very funny thing to say; I won by two wins and one loss, isn't that how it turned out?"

"I didn't participate!"

"I don't care. It's your fault for not showing up at the prescribed time, isn't it?"

"I just got the time wrong..."

It was the third round of our competition, and it closed for entries at 1:20 p.m.

Ibuki-san could not participate in the competition because she did not make it to the entry in time. Of course, I was not left out, and although I missed first place, I was able to finish second and earn three points.

"I know you're not happy about it, but in the real world, that's called a no-show."

"One win, one loss! It's not settled yet!" She continues to fuss in my ear, and she has no intention of backing down.

"I participated in a total of nine competitions. One more event is available..."

"That's it! Tell me what you're participating in."

"If you want to ask me to play, you'll have to show me the right attitude."

"Ugh!"

"Do you want me to play or not?"

"Oh, please... can... you... fight... me!?" Ibuki-san asks, trembling with anger as if she is about to spit out flames from her mouth. "Are you satisfied?"

"Yes, I am. I guess you made me feel a little better."

The situation is changing by the minute and the competition slots are filling up. Should I go with the original plan or aim for an even higher score?

"Now, answer me, what are you going to participate in?"

"Could you please be quiet for a minute?"

"I can't take this!" Ibuki-san yells as she provocatively lifts up a certain finger in my face. I didn't want to deal with it, but ignoring it would only make it louder.

"I was planning on joining the shuttle run after this."

"Is the shuttle run the one where you go back and forth endlessly until you drop out?"

"Yes, that's right. It's also called a round-trip endurance run."

"I remember doing this in middle school. It's good for the final battle." She nodded her head in satisfaction and tried to run out to the entry.

 "Why aren't you coming?"

"If you want to join, go ahead."

"No, you're in it too, right? It doesn't make sense if we're not in the same group."

"We're just considering it. I haven't finalized it yet."

"What?"

"To be honest, right now the last competition I want to compete in is volleyball."

"Volleyball? Volleyball has six participants, right? From the looks of it there's no way you're going to get six people together now."

One of the competitions announced on the day of the event, a separate competition for men and women with participation from all grades. We decided to forgo the event in our class, judging that the need for six competent members would be a bottleneck, but the teams participating in the current volleyball tournament seemed unexpectedly weak, as if the other classes were thinking the same thing.

"With 10 minutes left to enter, we have a spot left to enter. The teams participating don't seem to have many strong opponents from what I've seen.

If we can win this competition, it will be worth it to throw away the shuttle run. In a team competition, where teams have to improvise, a lot depends on the abilities of the outstanding students. If we can get one or two more students who are confident in their skills, we'll have a better chance of winning."

"So what about that one I asked for so desperately earlier?"

"I'm afraid you'll have to give up."

Ibuki-san was astonished. I thought she was going to get angry again, but it turned into disappointment and resignation. It all started from the fact that she had misunderstood the receptionist's hours.

"All right. Then I guess the game is over here..."

"You're not joining me in volleyball?"

"We need four people. There's no way I can gather them. I'll pass."

"So, you don't have friends."

"Neither do you."

"I think I at least have classmates who would be willing to help if I called on them."

"Whatever, I wanted to settle it, but we'll have to save it for another time."

For the record, I had won, but whatever.

"Are you going to join us for the shuttle run?"

"All I'm interested in is settling this with you. I'm not going to go out of my way to contribute to Ryūen."

"That's convenient. The less points you score, the closer your class is to winning."

I think it would be better to let this go on without provoking her. That's what I thought, but for some reason, Ibuki-san didn't want to leave.

"Is there anything else?"

"If you don't have enough people for volleyball, aren't you going to join the shuttle run?"

The deadline for the volleyball is 2:20. The shuttle run deadline is 2:25.

Ibuki-san noticed the part I didn't dare mention.

"Looks like I said something unnecessary. I didn't realize you had a brain to use."

"Shut up. So, I'm going to stick with you for a while longer."

The worst-case scenario is that if volleyball does not have enough people, Ibuki-san and I will have to settle for a shuttle run.

Well, that might not be so bad. I look to the girls in my class in the cheering section for available talent. However, there was no way I could find such convenient students right away, and time passed by without much thought.

I noticed that Ibuki-san, who was sitting beside me, was yawning.

"You should just give up and play the shuttle run," she said.

"My my~ Isn't that Horikita-senpai and Ibuki-senpai? I want to congratulate you both for your hard work, senpais!"

As we waited for a possible member to invite, first-year student Ichika Amasawa-san called out to us.

At that moment, Ibuki-san, who was sitting down, stood up and glared at her.

"Oh dear, you look a bit frightening today, senpai. Maybe having a bad hair day?" Amasawa-san teases. But half the words didn't seem to reach Ibuki-san.

"If there are still slots available for you to participate, I'll give you a shot." Spat out Ibuki-san.

"I haven't won much today. We don't have a lot of opportunities to play when we're in different grades, so it's no use. I think it's better not to play. You'll lose anyways, senpai."

"You should be thankful you didn't get paired with me."

"You're still so bullish, aren't you? By the way, what are you two doing here? If you're not going to participate in the competition, you might as well be cheering them on."

"How about you shut up and join the shuttle run? Then we can compete."

"Oh, were you senpais planning to do the shuttle run? I'm-"

"I finally found you."

As we were talking, Kushida-san showed up. I wondered if she wanted something from me, but she didn't even look at me, just at Amasawa-san.

"I thought someone was following me, but it was Kushida-senpai, wasn't it? What do you need? If it's okay with you and Horikita-senpai, I'll listen to what you have to say."

"Horikita-san? What are you..."

It seemed that she was so focused on Amasawa-san that she was unaware of our presence.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Kushida-senpai. It looks like my friends are all here, so I should get going."

In the direction she was pointing, I could see Nanase-san, another first-year student, and four unfamiliar girls.

"I came to the gym to join the volleyball thingy. It's my first experience with volleyball~"

Apparently, Amasawa-san plans to participate in the volleyball tournament.

I guess the first-year students have moved on after all, seeing the situation of the participating teams, which are short-handed.

"See you later. Good luck with the shuttle run~"

After coming over on her own accord and talking as much as she wanted, Amasawsa-san joined up with the group.

"So she's joining the volleyball competition." Ibuki-san said, glaring at her back.

"Seems so."

"Then I'll join too. You wouldn't be able to get five members without me anyways."

"What?"

"I said I'm going to be there. I know it's aggravating to work with you, but it's a chance for me to beat that cocky little freshman."

  If Ibuki-san is willing to help us, she's a perfect asset to the force.

"Don't decide on your own. I haven't said I'll take you on the team yet."

"Huh? You haven't even gotten a single student so far. What choice do you have?"

"Team competitions are equally assigned points. It is natural to want to fill in the gaps with students from your own class, rather than with students from other classes, isn't it?"

Even if I had scored more points, Ibuki-san was in the second place class.

In other words, the point difference would not open up at all.

"I don't care about that. I'm fine as long as I can see that brat's sad face."

"Anyway, it depends on the other members. Our class must make up a high percentage of the total."

"Then why don't you let me join you?"

Kushida-san, who had been watching Amasawa-san's back as well, utters this without changing her gaze.

"What do you think you're doing, Kushida-san? I don't think you've changed your mind and are now willing to cooperate with us."

I spoke my mind frankly, and Kushida-san didn't deny it. However, it bothered me that her eyes were strongly directed toward Amasawa-san, not me.

"I have something against Amasawa-san."

"You too?"

"I'm not going to tell you why, but I'd be happy to lend you a hand to settle the score."

"If that's what you're after, I'm fine with it. You're a perfect asset."

It is often said that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Allies roll in unexpectedly.

"But she will definitely be a formidable opponent."

"I'm sure she will."

Ibuki-san had already started warming up and getting into the swing of things.

Amasawa-san watched her from afar and giggled. Ibuki-san and I experienced firsthand how amazing Amasawa-san was, but I don't know the details of the other students. I don't remember the names of the students who got an A on the OAA, though I'm sure I can remember the names of the students who got close to an A, so I'm sure they were just below a B at the highest estimate.

More problematic is that we are still three students short. It's a bit of a catch to analyze our opponents when we haven't even met the requirements for participation.

"What are the requirements for the remaining three? You want to avoid Ryūen's class, right?"

Kushida asked about the selection of people.

"Yes, that's right. Of course, I'm inclined to stick to my classmates as much as possible. But the priority is the match and the strength of the opposing team."

"Okay. Then wait a minute."

With that, Kushida-san left our side and started to walk away.

"Okay, but what is she going to do? We can't find help easily."

Ibuki-san and I followed her as she went to Rokaku-san, who is in Class A. After talking with her for a while, the four of us went on to meet Fukuyama-san, who was also in the same class. Finally, we went to the gymnasium to see the students who were cheering for the other competitors.

"That girl over there is Himeno-san from Ichinose-san's class right?"

The four of us talked for a few dozen seconds until Kushida-san returned with Himeno-san in tow.

"She's going to join us in volleyball. Himeno-san isn't a good volleyball player, but she agreed to join the five of us. Just leave the competition to us, and we'll take care of it, okay?"

Kushida-san speaks in a kind tone to Himeno-san. She's seemingly turned on her charm mode once again.

I can't hide my surprise that the two Class A students in particular lent a hand so honestly.

"We're also in a hurry because we're about to lose, and even if we don't win at worst, we want to leave a record that we contributed."

The two look at each other and nod. They want credit because they are in Class A, which is largely in last place.

While seeing through that psychology, Kushida-san instantly recognized them as capable students. Even though I could not remember their specific grades at OAA, as a friend of Fukuyama-san and Rokaku-san, she had a firm grasp of how physically capable they were.

"This is a trick you will never be able to do, Ibuki-san."

"Shut up. You couldn't find anyone either."

There were five or six students in the gym that I could still talk to. "Anyways, I think this is probably the best group we can make right now."

At any rate, the six members of the volleyball team, who had been in doubt about their ability to participate, were all here.

The difference in the number of members from Ryūen's class is only one person. However, winning the championship and gaining 10 points would be far more rewarding than competing in the shuttle run and only gaining 2 or 3 points. The fact that even if we lose, the gap between us and them will never close is also an advantage for us.

The top two teams consisted of me and Ibuki-san, and the other students who were available, such as Himeno-san, Rokkaku-san, and Fukuyama-san.

Although there is a slight loss due to Himeno-san's lack of skill, we have enough strength to make up for it.