Another Like Me - Part I (CoTE x OC) ✔

Chapter 32 - Double-Edged Sword

"Woah, Takeyama-kun is so fast!"

"Let's go, Takeyama-kun!"

We ended the race together, and Sudo patted me on the back, like a father would do to his son. "I thought you wouldn't be able to keep up! We should definitely pair up for the three-legged race! We'll show those Class C bastards what we're made of!" With that, Sudo struck a valiant pose, pointing his finger into the sky.

Hirata and a few of the girls came running over to me, and I collapsed on the ground, taking in deep breaths from the strenuous exercise.

"Keisuke, are you alright?" Hirata asked me, as he handed me a bottle of iced water.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. I just haven't run this fast in really long," I said, and I gratefully chugged down the water.

"Takeyama-kun, you were soo fast!" Sato-san squealed from beside me. "You're almost at the same level as Sudo-kun!"

"I guess I can go on short spurts as well," I said. "I'm not usually this fast."

The girls then started flailing about how 'humble' I was. Horikita pulled me out of the crowd to spare me from my suddenly growing fanbase.

"So now you're fast as well?" she asked me once we were a bit farther away from the group.

"Just a bit, maybe? A teensy-weensy-tiny-bi- OW!" I rubbed my left arm, which had been unfortunately chosen for the attack from Horikita's compass.

"Why do you hide your talents?" she spoke with a tone of annoyance. "I hate people who hide their abilities more than those who don't have them at all."

"They'll get scared of me."

"What do you mean, 'scared of you'? No one in our class is frightened of you," she said.

"Think about it as a trump card we can use later on during Special Exams. Going all out now would just dampen our chances of actually raking in Points later. The Sports Festival does not offer enough Class Points for me to fully show off my abilities."

"So you were holding back the entire time? Even during the grip strength test yesterday?" she asked me suspiciously.

"Well, in simple words, yeah. I was."

"But your grip strength score was considerably high. You were placed second in class, only behind Sudo. Surely you cannot beat Sudo?"

"I probably can."

Horikita raised her eyebrows. "What is the highest you can grip? Sudo had a score of around 82kg, which is incredibly high."

"Promise me you won't tell anyone."

"I promise."

"Take a wild guess."

"I don't know. When was the last time you truly measured your grip strength?" she asked.

"It was yesterday. I was secretly checking how much I could actually bench," I replied nonchalantly.

"From your tone, I would guess around 85. It cannot be possibly more than that," said Horikita, flipping her long, silky hair behind her back.

"You're not even close."

"Now I feel like you're just lying."

"I could show you with the grip strength machine, though," I replied.

"Just tell me how much it is."

"Around 108kg."

"....."