All or Nothing

Volume 2: Chapter 3 Part 4

Kei immediately ordered the girls to move towards the far left of the field, towards where Shiina's group was. For now, her plan was to play defensive and analyse her opponents. It was what Kiyotaka would probably tell her to do, so she did so.

Shinohara, Mori and Matsushita directed their legs to the far left side, making sure to balance themselves in order to keep Kei upright on top of them. Acting as the role of a workhorse, they appeared to be doing a good job, even if none of the three were athletic. Whether this was because of experience from last year or the fact that their cooperation went far beyond what many thought was possible was unknown.

As Shiina's group moved to avoid Kei's, the latter one stopped at the exact spot the former was once in. At the moment, it seemed to be the same with the other groups. All were avoiding each other for the time being.

However, this did not last long. Kei had been analysing Shiina and Masumi that she failed to see Ichinose coming at her until the final moment. Ichinose's hands were just seconds away from grabbing the band on Kei's head before she quickly avoided it in time and ordered the girls to fall back.

"Whoa! That was close! Where did Ichinose-san come from!?" Mori shouted after taking a moment to catch her breath from only narrowly avoiding a direct attack.

"Keep moving! She's coming again!"

Seeing Ichinose's group charging towards them again, Shinohara, Mori and Matsushita moved again. However, Ichinose's attack was a little more fiercer than they expected, resulting in Kei having to dodge while the girls were moving.

Balance is a key factor in ensuring both you and your horse can manoeuvre and fight well. If a tiny bit of balance is off centre, it would spell disaster, something which the fights of the 1800s would tell the tale. Kei, upon realising this fact, then understood why Ichinose was charging her so much.

Taking a small moment to look towards the side, Kei saw that Shiina and Masumi were also fighting, but they appeared to want to join in on this battle too.

"Damnit! Why is Ichinose-san targeting us? She hasn't even moved to get Class A or D!"

Even after all the defence they had been making, it was only now they realised that Ichinose had not even tried to go after Shiina or Masumi. Ichinose was specifically going after Kei, similarly to how Ryuuen had always targeted Horikita in the last sports festival.

Hearing gasps of awe, both groups stopped fighting for a moment and turned to see that both Shiina and Masumi's groups had gotten each out at the same time. Shiina had managed to steal Masumi's band, but in exchange, she accidentally fell off her horses, resulting in her getting out too.

It was a base of bad luck for Shiina and Masumi. But now that only left Kei and Ichinose's groups, the two who had been fighting since the very beginning. Now it was going to be a final battle.

"Karuizawa-san!"

Unexpectedly, before they could continue the match, Ichinose called out to Kei. Her expression was one of caution, determination and competitiveness all at once. Kei had to wonder what was happening right now.

Showing her full attention towards Ichinose, Kei waited for her to speak up again.

"You're Ayanokouji-kun's girlfriend. You have been for quite some time now. So that means you know much more about him than anyone else and know everything he has been doing to help others too, right? That should also mean you know I confessed to him not too long ago, right?"

Of course Kei knew a lot about Kiyotaka. Originally, she never knew about his past, but he had finally told her everything not too long ago. The emotions she felt when she heard everything were too much for her that they ended up blowing out and leading to their first time.