5.1

The 100-meter sprint was the first competition I took in the sports festival, and the first competition regarding the deal with Ibuki-san. The result was a difficult win for me.

Oddly enough, it was as close as last year. After we crossed the finish line, Ibuki-san kicked up the dirt in frustration and made a lot of excuses that she had run as fast as she could before the race.

My next battle with her was in the fourth event, the long jump. The two events in between we went into separate battles.

The second event was the steeplechase, in which I placed first, and the third was the team tug-of-war, in which I placed third.

So far, I personally accumulated 5 points at the start, 10 points for the two first places in the individual competition, 3 points for the tug-of-war for the third place in the team competition, and 3 points for the participation prize, for a total of 21 points. It was a good start.

Then, around 10:00 a.m., the second round of the long jump with Ibuki-san began. I had just finished the competition and the record I set was 5 meters, 79 centimeters.

Not bad. I think I almost set a personal best record in a situation where no mistakes were allowed.

Ibuki-san, who was three places behind me in the lineup, was looking at the record and regulating her breathing. There were three jumpers left. By jumping into provisional first place, she was much closer to scoring points in this event.

"Yo, Suzune! I found you!"

As I was watching the next long jumper, I heard a voice calling me from behind. I turned around to see Sudō-kun running up to me and Onodera walking behind him.

They are the pair that I have high hopes for as the point getters in this sports festival.

"From the looks of it, you seem to be in good shape."

"Sudō-kun has won three in a row in the opening round. And he was totally comfortable.

"Well, yeah. But you also competed in two events and won first place in both. Right, Onodera?"

"I was a little lucky on my end though."

Onodera, who has no equal when it came to swimming, also showed off her talent in track and field.

"When I first entered the school, I didn't have the impression that you were that fast. Where did it come from?"

I was curious about this because I always see her in gym class.

"I don't really like running, and I'm not interested in anything but swimming, so I'm just doing it at random, I guess."

"You said you never do long distances."

"It's super tiring, and I can't run that fast, and that's not a good thing."

They have been practicing together every day since they decided to pair up, and it seems to be a much more natural pairing than I had imagined.

"It's true. Anyways I really wanted to fight with Kōenji if possible. He participated in three events and took first place in all of them, and it looks like he's still going to extend his winning streak."

"That's no good. It's not a good idea to crush each other as classmates. You know that, right?"

Both Sudō and Kōenji have the potential to take first place.

I understand their desire to compete in the same race, but they have to give priority to their class.

"I know, I know, I'm kidding."

"Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on him."

  "Right. The more I can leave Onodera-san in charge, the less I have to worry unnecessarily."

"I guess I'm not trustworthy..." He seemed dissatisfied, but when I looked directly at him, he averted his gaze uncomfortably.

That's a sign that he's reflecting on how he's behaved in the past.

"Sudō-kun and the others are going to participate in a series of pair competitions after this, aren't they? Good luck."

"Oh. I'm going to extend my winning streak all over the place."

  Those are encouraging words. And here the last runner stood at the starting line.

I stopped talking with them and turned my gaze toward Ibuki-san.

"Well, sorry to interrupt you. Let's go scout the next competition."

"You got it. See you later, Horikita-san."

"Of course."

I gave them a light sideways glance as my attention was on Ibuki-san, who had started to get ready for her turn.

I fully understand that her ability is close to mine. In other words, it is conceivable that she could surpass the record I set.

Two emotions were wavering: one is that I want her to fail, and the other is that I want to compete fairly with her at full strength. She should be under a lot of pressure, but her movements were agile and graceful.

She leapt, landed on the dirt and fell forward.

With dirt on her face, her eyes immediately turned to the record keeper: 5 meters, 81 centimeters. A mere two centimeters, but still two centimeters short, and my loss was confirmed.

"I did it!

Ibuki-san struck a gut-punching pose and was as excited as a child. She made a brilliant leap which barely passed my own mark.

"See! I won! You lose!"

I know she was happy to the point of persistence, but it's a little irritating, as one might expect.

"I wonder if you had the advantage because of less air resistance..."

If there was no difference in our abilities, that is the only possible difference between us...

"Huh? Air resistance?"

"Oh, no, it's nothing."

"Don't be a weirdo and admit defeat honestly."

"Don't get carried away. Now we both have one win and one loss. We're even again."

Even though I warned her not to get carried away, Ibuki-san had a scowl on her face the whole time.

I guess I should regret missing first place on my part, but when she is so pleased with herself, I can't help but feel that I have no choice besides beating her in the next round. 

"I win! I win! I won and you lost!"

Sigh.

I think my mental stress has gone through the roof. Now I have one win and one loss. I'd like to go for the third match right now, but there are several high scoring team competitions coming up after this, so I'll have to wait until the competition this afternoon to settle the score with her.