The last Friday of September.
When Shimizu Akira woke up, he imdiately noticed a difference.
The number of people morning jogging on the track had increased significantly. A few days ago, only the track-and-field mbers were here at this hour. Now, over a dozen students were present. It wasn't surprising; including today and the weekend, there were only three days left. Monday was the Sports Festival.
Over the past half-month, Shimizu had skipped boxing club training, leaving him with extra ti to practice his six events: the Scavenger Hunt, Four-Way Tug-of-War, Mixed Three-Legged Race, ordinary Three-Legged Race, the 1200m Relay, and the 10,000m Long Distance.
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That morning, after her sixth lap, Karuizawa Kei stopped, panting with her hands on her knees.
"Shimizu, do you think... I can make the top three this ti?"
Kei had been joining his morning runs every few days. At first, he only let her run every two or three days to build up her pace. Now, she was showing up every morning and could finish five or six laps.
"Not likely," Shimizu answered bluntly.
"Eh?! Why?" Kei blinked, sounding indignant. "I've been working so hard!"
"Hard work is good," Shimizu nodded. "But you're forgetting that we've been practicing jogging. Most events are sprints. Your stamina improved, but that doesn't help much with explosive speed."
Kei looked crushed. Shimizu felt a bit guilty.
"I let you run to help you find confidence, as I promised in the VIP exam. But running twenty minutes every few days compared to track mbers who train two hours daily? The gap in sweat is too large. It's normal to lose."
"Oh... fine!" Kei accepted it. "But you'll get first in everything, right? You're so fast."
"I'll try my best. No absolute certainty."
"You're strangely humble sotis," she muttered.
"You're so strong, like in boxing."
Their personalities were polar opposites. She acted strong to hide her weakness as a "parasite." He was genuinely powerful but preferred to stay low-key.
'I wish we could swap bodies' she thought.
"By the way," Kei tilted her head.
"Why did you reject Chiaki? You could have pocketed 500,000 points for doing nothing. You're a bit of a dummy sotis, turning down free money!"
"I'm not short on points," Shimizu squinted, amused that Kei was calling him a dummy. "No need to scam people."
"Speaking of which, Maya didn't get to see you fight last ti." She ntioned it casually.
"Maya? ...You an Sato Maya?" Shimizu paused, struggling to keep up with her jumping topics.
"It's normal she didn't go. We aren't friends." He rembered the na—another "gal" in the class and one of Kei's best friends.
"Then for this Sports Festival... can you act a bit more ordinary? Low-key?" Kei blurted out.
"First you want to get first place, now you want to be low-key," Shimizu sighed.
"Which one is it, Manager?"
Kei stamred. Initially, she wanted him to shine. But then she rembered Sato Maya saying she loved athletic boys who "sparkled" on the field. Maya hadn't seen the boxing match because she lacked points, but if she saw Shimizu dominating the Sports Festival, she might fall for him.
One best friend, Matsushita Chiaki, was already being "pushed" toward him by Chabashira-sensei... Kei absolutely did not want to see a second bestie fall for him! To her, the real "gal" Sato Maya was a much bigger threat than her "fake gal" self.
She unconsciously leaned in and hugged Shimizu's left arm.
"What now? Want to absorb more 'athletic cells'?"
"...Yeah," she mumbled. It wasn't about the cells; it was just a sudden surge of insecurity.
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Participation rosters had to be submitted by 5:00 PM today. Class C held their final eting to finalize the lists. Hirata Yosuke, Horikita Suzune, and Kushida Kikyo stood at the podium.
The 10,000m Long Distance had five slots. Per the athletic rankings, Hirata announced: Shimizu, Sudo, Hirata, and Miyake Akito.
"Wait, there's one slot left. Who should take it?" soone asked.
Suzune opened her mouth to speak, but Kikyo beat her to it with a smile.
"Ayanokouji-kun had great grip strength results, and he has great chemistry with Shimizu-kun in the three-legged race. Long-distance isn't just about stamina; it's about pacing and support. I suggest Ayanokouji-kun takes the last slot to assist Shimizu-kun. What does everyone think?"
"Ayanokouji? Yeah, they work well together!" The class agreed instantly.
After the eting, Shimizu received a text from Kikyo.
Kikyo: That woman's (Suzune) brother is the Council President. Given her personality, she definitely wanted to run the 10km with him.
She was about to volunteer, but I—being the 'fair' person I am—gave the slot to Ayanokouji based on the 'best fit.' Since she isn't close to Ayanokouji and you're his best friend... if she wants to run with her brother, she'll have to co begging you to swap.
Shimizu finally realized what Kikyo ant by "compensating her boyfriend" and "punishing" Suzune.
This was a trap. Kikyo might not have Suzune's raw IQ, but in the realm of interpersonal maneuvering, ten Suzunes couldn't beat her.
He looked over. Suzune was frozen with a dark, freezing aura. She was stuck. Kikyo's logic for Ayanokouji was sound. Suzune's only move was to ask Shimizu to intervene.
"Akira... help this once," Suzune whispered, her voice low and awkward.
"I... want to participate in the 10km with my brother. As... as a reward, you can... move to the next step."
Shimizu chuckled. "Just tell Ayanokouji you want in. With his lazy personality, he'd probably agree instantly."
"I'd still have to convince the class to swap," she added bitterly.
"I'm a girl; my stamina is lower than the boys. It could be seen as dragging the class down." She knew the gap between the genders. Even as the #2 girl, she was only mid-to-upper tier among the boys.
"I can help, but you have to promise one thing." Shimizu turned serious.
Suzune's cheeks flushed, thinking he was finally demanding the kiss. After half a month, she had prepared herself. But his words caught her off guard.
"Don't push yourself too hard during the 10km. You're a girl; there's a natural stamina gap. Do not try to keep up with my pace or the President's pace. Run at your own speed. If I see you forcing a sprint or collapsing to keep up, the President and I will both be worried about you."
He added, "If you can't do that, I won't let you run. Instead, I can give you my anchor leg in the 1200m relay. I asked the President—he's the anchor for his year. It's only 200m, but you'd get your wish to run with him. Which do you prefer?"
Suzune stared at him. Her stunned expression softened. She thought he'd ask for sothing intimate, but he only cared about her health and had even prepared a "backup" plan that lowered her risk while fulfilling her wish.
He was always so asured.
"I... I can do it," she said. "I won't overextend. I'll run at my own pace. I never expected to beat my brother; I just wanted to finish with him."
Shimizu sighed. "Suzune, it's not about beating him. Prepare yourself for the possibility of being last. Every class is picking their top five athletes; you might be the only girl in the race."
"I won't be last!" she muttered stubbornly. She had been running with him every day for months. Sweat wouldn't betray her.
"Even if not last, you'll be bottom ten. Rest easy on that," Shimizu waved her off and walked to Ayanokouji.
"I owe you one. I want Suzune to take the slot," he told Ayanokouji.
"Fine. I didn't want to run anyway. You're doing a favor," Ayanokouji agreed instantly.
Shimizu then walked to the podium and clapped his hands. The room went silent.
"Excuse , everyone. My seatmate, Horikita Suzune, is the sister of the graduating Council President, Horikita Manabu. She really wants a spot in the 10km to run alongside her brother one last ti as a graduation mory. Since she does so much for the class, I think it's fair to give her this chance. Could I ask everyone to let her have the slot?"
The class erupted in support.
"She's the President's sister?!"
"Of course! He's graduating, it's a great sentint!"
"Since it's the first ti Shimizu ever asked us for a favor, sure!"
Suzune's face turned bright red with embarrassnt.
'This guy! He just blurted out my private feelings to everyone!'
When Shimizu sat down, he t her glare.
"Sorry, I'm bad at lying. Lying to the class would be unnecessary. I couldn't think of any other 'logical' reason for a girl to run 10km against a pack of n. If you speak the truth, people understand. Honesty is a solution, too."
"...Thank you," she whispered after a silence.
"Being honest for once?"
"I'm not stupid. I know who is actually being good to ."
She was a bit annoyed, but she realized this was the first ti he had ever stood at the podium to speak, and the first ti he'd asked the class for sothing. He was likely trying to teach her sothing again.
"After the Sports Festival... at night... you can co to my room."
"Oh? A kiss on the cheek? Left or right?" Shimizu joked.
Suzune looked at him with an incredibly serious gaze, correcting him word by word.
"No. The lips."
Suzune had beco quite bold. A kiss on the lips was a massive leap for a girl who used to blush just from shaking hands.
Shimizu felt a sense of achievent, like watching a Pokemon evolve.
After the eting, Hirata ntioned Ichinose Honami wanted to see them. Suzune, likely overwheld by shyness, made an excuse and left. Shimizu, Hirata, and Kikyo went to et her.
"We've decided," Ichinose said, smiling at Shimizu with relief. "Class B is going to confront Class A head-on this Sports Festival!"
She explained that Arisu had called her, challenging them to a transparent, no-holds-barred duel.
"But it's Class A," Hirata worried. "Do you have a chance?"
"After the VIP exam where Sakayanagi's strategy cost us 100 points, the class is angry," Ichinose sighed. "It's ti to fight back."
Kanzaki Ryuji added: "It's about dignity. Sakayanagi is disclosing her roster first and letting us pick the stakes. If we don't accept, we can't survive in this school. I'll be giving it my all."
"I think that's a great idea!" Kikyo smiled, but inwardly she scoffed.
'Are these people serious? Do they think Class A is just bookworms?'
"I won't lose to Class A! Leave it to !" Shibata Souta added enthusiastically.
Shimizu shared Kikyo's skepticism. He knew Kito Hayato from Class A was a Grade-A athlete and a Sakayanagi loyalist. Shibata was only a B . Unless he "awakened," it was a losing battle. But it was clear Ichinose was following the class's majority vote.
The stakes were set: 3 million personal points.
As they dispersed, Shimizu got a text from Ichinose: I haven't had a chance to properly thank you for helping get into the Student Council because of the festival prep. Next month, I'll thank you doubly.
Doubly? He wondered if that was one of Hoshinomiya-sensei's "techniques."
Then, his phone vibrated again.
Kamuro Masumi: Hey, idiot. When did you piss off the Vice President? As soon as the eting started, he suggested our 'Red Team' classes unite to target Class C—especially you. Besides being a playboy, you're usually likable. What did you do?
'A playboy...' so she knows.
But more importantly: Nagumo Miyabi, the commander of the Red Team, was already moving against him.
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