Vol. 5 Chp. 5: Final Stretch

'...': Writing

'...': Sign language

"...": Text to speech

The bell rang, and the second half of the sports festival began. It was time for the Recommended Participants' events, where only the elite students from each class would participate in the remaining four competitions.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around to see Kagurazaka with a crow on his shoulder, 'Are you participating in the scavenger hunt?'

"I'd rather not, honestly..."

I won the game of rock-paper-scissors, so I'll be one of six participants from each class in the upcoming scavenger hunt contest. The contest is designed so that one person from each category will compete, forming four groups for the race.

Sudou was the other competitor for the scavenger hunt, and he seemed pumped about this.

"There are items marked as difficult to obtain in this scavenger hunt. It is possible to draw again, but there will be a 30-second window before you can do so. It would be best to inform the referee when you draw lots of your desired course of action. In addition, the contest will end as soon as three contestants clear it. That will be all."

Pretty soon, the first started, and everyone was simultaneously dashing toward their designated box. Sudou was the first to reach his, with the others lagging.

But speed wasn't a deciding factor. You would need a bit of luck to draw the lot and get an easy thing to find.

He seemed to be running toward me until he turned and ran straight toward our camp. I didn't know what was happening, but he seemed to be causing a stir. It didn't take long to see Sudou running toward the finish line with... a shoe?

It looks like luck was on our side.

Then, after several tens of seconds, Class A came in, followed by Class B and then Class C at last place.

It was my turn, and I lagged behind the others.

Carefully, I retrieved a piece of paper from the box before me. It had been folded into quarters, but I unfolded it without tearing it.

"Bring along ten friends..." I muttered.

As I read the paper, I felt my vision narrowing. Making even one friend, let alone ten, is challenging for me. I can't even think of ten people to start with.

Luck wasn't on my side...

~Timeskip~

I failed...

"Ayanokouji, what were you spacing out for, man?!" Sudou was angry.

"Two of the lots were impossible for me," I answered.

"They couldn't have been that bad," Sudou scoffed.

"I had to find ten friends."

"Man, why do you have to make things complicated?" Sudou asked, "Hirata and Kushida could've helped you."

Sudou is giving me advice... I must be dreaming right now.

"Whatever... You better give it your all during the omnidirectional tug-of-war," Sudou said.

~Timeskip~

I don't know how, but we managed to win the event.

Sudou was supposed to participate in every event, but Kagurazaka convinced him to sit and rest up.

Unfortunately, I was the one that ended up taking his spot...

Horikita couldn't compete, so Hirata was going to call out to see if anyone was interested in participating, but Kushida came running over before he could.

"Could you let me help out, too? I want to participate in the three-legged race. Of course, I'll pay the points for it... Can I?" Kushida asked.

"Okay," Hirata smiled.

"Okay, I'll tell Chabashira-sensei I'll be participating in Horikita-san's place then."

We made preparations right away for the contest.

"Yahoo~ Ayanokouji-kun. And also Kikyo-chan. Looks like we're in the same group..."

Ichinose came up to us while saying that. Both her and Shibata, that is.

"Tough opponents. To think the two of you would team up..."

"That's true for Shibata-kun, but I'm not that special, you know? I haven't gotten 1st place in anything yet."

"Really? That's unexpected."

"I got 2nd place once, and I got either 4th place or 5th place for the rest. Someone else was supposed to participate, but she sprained her foot in the 200-meter dash before lunch. Looks like quite a lot of people are getting injured this year."

Class B has its absentees. So, this pair is an improvised one.

"Shibata-kun, is it okay if I tie it now?"

"Okay."

The Class B pair began happily tying their string.

"Alright then, we should, too... Umm, can I leave tying the string to you? It wouldn't look good for a man to start tying it alone."

"That's fine. But how strange, when you practiced with Horikita-san, you were the one who tied it right, Ayanokouji-kun?"

It's a frequent thought, but she's observing the class quite well.

"She's...an exception. I can't afford to do the same with other girls. "

"Do you mean to say she's someone special to you?"

Rather than a special someone, it'd be more factual to say she's someone with a special status. But it'd be hard conveying that.

"But even so, you didn't look that surprised to me."

Kushida crouched down and started tying the string to my foot.

"Kushida."

"Wait, just a bit longer, okay? I'll be done tying in a bit."

Replying in a cute voice, Kushida tied the string beautifully. I decided to interrupt Kushida abruptly.

"It's you. The traitor who leaked Class D's participation table to Class C."

"Come on, Ayanokouji-kun. What's the matter with you all of a sudden? Even for a joke, that's far too cruel..."

"I'm terrible at making jokes," I said.

I continued, "You snapped a picture of the participation table we drew on the blackboard with your phone."

"That's just a record, so I don't forget. It'd be a big problem if I forgot my turn."

"To only memorize one's turn through writing it down by hand. Wasn't that the consensus?" I questioned her.

"Really? Sorry, I forgot," having finished tying the string, Kushida slowly stood back up with her usual smile directed at me.

"By any chance, did that cause you to suspect me?"

"Sorry, but I'm confident I'm right. If not, Class C couldn't attack us this conveniently."

The time the two of us can be together like this is limited. In a way, this is the perfect opportunity to talk.

"Hmm, but still, even if someone were to leak Class D's participation table by any chance, that doesn't necessarily mean Class C will be able to win conveniently, right?"

"That's true."

It should be noted that Class C did not lose every contest, making it challenging to verify the validity of their assertions. Even if they can ascertain the full ranking of Class D, their success will ultimately depend on the performances of Class A and Class B members.

Still, it is a fact that this raises their chances of winning that much more.

"Hey, Ayanokouji-kun, if people assume that I leaked the class's information by taking a photo with my phone, you already know the participation table had been leaked. I'm curious why you didn't update the table to avoid further consequences. Could you have submitted a new participation table as a preventative measure? That way, the table I photographed would become outdated and useless. Do you have any thoughts on this?"

"That would be pointless. If the traitor is a student from Class D, that would mean nothing."

"And this means?"

"If we were to implement your suggestion, Kushida, of changing the participation table later, we would need to keep it confidential and submit the updated table. However, if the traitor happens to be a Class D student, they could still access and review it at any time. If they requested Chabashira-sensei to show them the participation table, they would be entitled to do so."

Feel free to check the list whenever you need to. When you recheck it, you can trust that any changes we make behind the scenes will be reflected in the participation table. Kushida... No, Ryuuen would surely do so in that case.

"I recommend keeping the participation table hidden until the last minute and submitting it then. This will prevent anyone from altering it if they see it beforehand. It's also a good idea to take preventive measures beforehand."

"In that case, the participation table might not have been leaked. I didn't think that far ahead."

"Ahh, but if you did something like that on your own, it might confuse the others later. That's no good, right?"

Creating multiple class participation table patterns is an excellent way to prevent spying and ensure fair competition. Kushida's suggestion of submitting the table just before the deadline won't work since the deadline has passed. However, raising it at the last minute might confuse classmates and cause resentment. To avoid this, we should create multiple patterns, considering the possibility of leaks. This way, no matter which one is submitted, we can still compete and avoid animosity from the class.

The leak would be completely neutered.

"I get the gist of it, but I'm not the culprit, you know? But I don't want to suspect my classmates either. "

"Then shall we confirm it with Chabashira-sensei? Whether or not any students have gone out of their way to check the list after the participation table was submitted. If such a person exists, they'd surely be the culprit."

Kushida's sudden silence and lost smile suggested that she had confirmed something, particularly since she had previously admitted to taking pictures of it on her phone. It would be questionable if she went out of her way to see it. Nevertheless, she soon regained her smile.

"You're something else, Ayanokouji-kun," Kushida laughs.

It was a face I had seen before, a Kushida I didn't know.

"It can't be helped if the cat's out of the bag. That's right, I leaked the information on the participation table. "

"You admit it then?".

"I think if Chabashira-sensei had been asked, the truth would have come out eventually. But I won't be exposed even if I tell you the truth, Ayanokouji-kun. Do you remember the uniform you touched? If that information gets out, it could cause much trouble."

It's a threat that if I were to expose Kushida as the traitor to someone, she'd submit her uniform with the fingerprints on it to the school.

"I want to let you know that I won't accuse you of anything. However, I do have a question for you. Have you informed all the students on the cruise that you were the 'target' through Ryuuen, which led to the outcome of the exam? And did you ask Ryuuen for a favor in exchange for leaking that information?"

"And that favor would be? Do you know what I wanted to accomplish so badly that I'd betray the class?"

"If you act this blatantly during the sports festival, I'd end up wising up to it even if I didn't want to. It's the same request you wanted to make to me a while back, isn't it?"

"Ahaha.....yeah, I see. So Ayanokouji-kun figured it out. "

Yeah. Why would you betray the class? I wanted to know the exact reason behind it."

"It's because I want to 'expel Horikita Suzune.' That's the reason. "

"I just couldn't figure out why you're so persistent when targeting Horikita, though."

I had wanted them to resolve this matter between themselves before the sports festival, but things didn't pan out that conveniently.

"Sorry, but I'm going to get Horikita-san expelled. No matter what you say, I won't change my mind."

"In other words, to accomplish that, you'd even sabotage Class D?".

"That's right. I don't mind being unable to climb to Class A. I'll settle for getting Horikita-san expelled. But don't get me wrong. Once Horikita-san is no longer here, I'll wholeheartedly cooperate with everyone from the class and aim for Class A. I promise you that. "

It seems impossible to stop Kushida from committing this treason, as she is determined to approach people like Katsuragi, Ichinose, or Sakayanagi.

"Ahh, but I have changed my mind about something. Just now, too. That's the fact that you, Ayanokouji-kun, are now on my list of people to expel. In other words, after the two of you have been eliminated, I'll aim for Class A. "

She said so with her usual, untiring smile—an almost dazzling expression.

"Haven't you considered the possibility that Ryuuen might expose you?".

"I'm not an idiot either, so I haven't done anything that would leave any evidence behind. Ryuuen-kun's capable of casually tricking people, and he's also a liar. Whether or not he'd betray me is a gamble I made, though. "

Even so, I just wanted to say there are plenty of ways to deceive someone. It looks like Kushida is serious about crushing Horikita.

It's concerning that the school's structure could lead to brutal battles if one of our allies turns out to be a traitor. The leak of our participation table and strategy makes winning even more challenging. It doesn't seem fair to expect us to succeed under these circumstances.

On the other hand, the group that failed to come up with a new strategy after suspecting a traitor is also responsible. A skilled person would use the traitor to their advantage and find a way to secure victory.

"Horikita-san's a mess throughout the sports festival. Shame you couldn't save her, right?".

I don't know about that. After giving her that brief reply, we participated in the three-legged race while tormenting one another.

Kagurazaka's POV

That last event of the sports festival, the 1200-meter relay, was about to begin. It's where each year of each class competes with each other.

"May I ask for a substitute runner...? I won't be able to produce satisfactory results with this leg?" Horikita asked.

"Are you fine with that, Horikita? You tried so hard to be in this relay, right?"

"It can't be helped. I'm not even sure I can win against Ike-kun in this state. Sorry," Horikita said.

Ryuuen has thoroughly demolished both Horikita's heart and body. The role of anchor she holds onto tightly, on this day at this time, is all because she had pictured herself by her brother's side.

Her hands trembling in frustration, she fought desperately against the dream that couldn't come true.

So, we have Sudou, me, Miyake, Maezono, Kushida, and Onodera.

"Umm, I apologize, but would you let me withdraw, too?" Miyake asked.

"I sprained my ankle during the 200-meter dash before noon...I thought it'd get better with some rest, but it's still hurting."

"In that case, it looks like we'll need a replacement from the boys as well."

"Would it be fine if I ran? Of course, I'll pay the points for the substitution," Ayanokouji said.

I wouldn't expect him to volunteer.

Ayanokouji's POV

The order would be Sudou, Maezono, Onodera, Kushida, Kagurazaka, and I'm last.

"Alright, let's do this!" Sudou was pumped up.

They didn't have to wait long when the race began.

Sudou got a strong start as his performance exceeded everyone's expectations.

Even mine.

"Whoa!" The racers shouted.

"Dude, he's fast!"

"What the hell?!"

Sudou increased the gap as the first, second, or third years ran with all their might.

After finishing his leg of the relay, our lead ended. The girls tried their most challenging, but we ended up in the last place.

It was Kagurazaka's turn.

3rd POV

Kushida handed the baton to Kagurazaka as he bolted down the track.

"Holy shit!"

"What the...!"

He ignored the shocked faces of the other students as he passed his competition.

As two runners tripped before Kagurazaka, time seemed to slow down for the young man.

Ayanokouji's POV

I thought Kagurazaka would trip over the two-second years, but he went beyond my expectations when he flipped over them.

I can't let our class down if Kagurazaka is trying this hard.

********