Class D was fired up.
Our allies, Class A, were suffering an internal combustion, and had been languishing the entire day, but we were beyond the point of worrying about them.
The boy's victory at the four-way tug of war, along with our success in the scavenger hunt, had brought morale back up, and everyone was ready for capture the flag.
After this, only two events would remain for the first years, and then the day would end. Only three chances to make a comeback, and I intended to win every one of them.
The entirety of Class D headed over to the capture the flag arena, even the girls, most of us bouncing around excitedly. Even with our missing members, there was an air of excitement, and it was hard to find a classmate without a smile.
In the end, it was a sports festival, and people had had fun. It wasn't just a competition for Class Points, but a day out on the field to compete purely athletically. Even for the most physically incapable students, it was something different from the norm.
The girls followed along with us, intending to line the side and cheer. They had finished their events for the day, and although they hadn't won anything, it didn't mean they were going to just relax and not care anymore. We had our own personal cheerleader Kikyou, and I could see plenty of boys' enthusiasm being boosted by the constant compliments from her and the other girls.
Class A was a different matter.
They trudged over wearily, tired of the day. Nothing had gone right for them, and like us, they had lost significant numbers to Ryuuen's ploy. Their leader had been exposed as a traitor. It was hard to find any good in their day.
And it was with reluctance that Kanzaki walked over to Hirata to come up with a strategy for Capture the Flag.
"We're here, but don't expect great things," Kanzaki frankly stated. Clearly, he had no hope of winning, which was fair enough viewing the uneven odds before us. In his mind, this would be a repeat of the tug-of-war.
"Let's just do our best. The odds aren't in our favour, but I'm not going to give up," Hirata stated.
"We aren't either, but it's true that we're lacking in motivation. I don't know, Hirata-kun. I could understand if you want to give up." There was a noticeable depression in Kanzaki's voice
"Haa, don't worry about it, Kanzaki-kun. Class D will do their best to win, even if we don't have great chances." Sighing, Hirata turned to face me, where I had been standing somewhat off to the side listening in. "Ayanokouji, as loath as I am to ask you, do you have any ideas?"
"Put everyone on defence," I suggested.
"What?"
"Protect our flag, both Class A and D. Do that and we can win."
"Ayanokouji, there's no time limit on the game. And even if we all defend, we're down too many people. The numbers alone are too much for us," Kanzaki protested.
"Don't worry about it. I'll get the flag," I explained. "Defend ours for long enough, and I'll make sure we win."
Shocked faces stared back at me. Finally, Shibata was the one to speak.
"I know you're good Ayanokouji, but even you can't take on a class alone. They'll probably have one defend and one attack. I don't think you can get through everyone."
"Oh, I won't be alone." Turning, I spoke to the person flirting with a girl from 2-B who had come over to watch. A crowd had been growing even with upperclassmen here to see us compete. "Kouenji. Do you think you can get their flag before I can?"
"Ha, I can never resist a challenge from you, Ayanokouji-boy. Very well, I shall fight back against the injustice done to the lovely women of our class!"
With Kouenji's support, I was confident this would be an equal match.
"Do you have any better ideas?" I proposed to Hirata, Kanzaki and Shibata.
"Fine, we'll try this. I don't really see any other plan that can work," Kanzaki rationalised. "Hirata, you take the lead."
Hirata didn't waste a moment, calling in both classes and explaining the plan. There were a lot of dubious looks, but when even Sudou wasn't complaining, the two classes went with it.
Today, Kouenji and I were the heroes of Class D, and there wasn't anyone willing to argue back against us at this point. Class A was willing to make a hail mary play, to hope for a miracle.
We entered the field of play as a united unit, ready to defend our flag from the White Team or die trying. It was certainly a terrifying opponent, even more so than in the tug of war. At least before they had been lined up and out of sight. With the entirety of Class B and C ready to oppose us, for a moment I was worried about whether we could win.
The referee blew their whistle, and the entirety of Class C, all 19 students charged at us. Apparently, they had been assigned as the offensive team, leaving Class B in the defensive.
As planned, both classes gathered together and did their best to hold off the oncoming slaughter, doing their best to slow them down. We had the extra numbers, and with three people holding onto Alberts legs, so far Class C hadn't been able to make any progress.
My eyes met Kouenji's and with a smirk he ran off heading directly for the opponent's flag. Not willing to be beaten, I took off as well, heading directly for the opposite side of the defence as Kouenji was.
A few of them split off, coming forward to stop me, but it wasn't hard to dodge their grabs, spinning around and moving past them. Hashimoto stepped up to me, ready to grab me, but I easily stepped him, leaving him with metaphorically broken ankles.
Off to the side, out of the corner of my eye I could see Kouenji facing the same problems, a small trail of students left behind him, chasing him as he ran forward, but unable to grab him.
There were only a few opponents in front of me now, and with some effort I forced my way through. One of them dived and grabbed my ankle, to which I responded with a kick to the face, freeing my foot as a result of his pain.
With no one left in my way, I ran forward and claimed the flag, winning the first round for the Red Team.
Looking over to our defence, it was clear that they had been getting closer to breaking through, but the combination of Class A and D had held up quite well.
Looking over to Kouenji, I could see a pleased look on his face as he walked over to me, not at all bothered by the five students refusing to let go of him.
"A rather effective strategy, demon-boy. If only you had had to face as many of these knaves as I have. Truly filthy beings." He grabbed a boy holding onto his arm and carelessly threw him away.
As we spoke Class C had returned to their defence.
"You guys really are unstoppable kukuku." Ryuuen, despite his failure to grab the flag was in high spirits, deservedly so.
"I'm curious as to how many people it takes to stop us. Do you care to find out?" I asked.
Ryuuen just laughed and told us to leave, while the referees came onto the field to resecure the flag in place.
Kouenji and I were received with a cheer as we got back to the Red Team.
"You two're fucking insane, charging that many. Bring me this time!" Sudou called. I glanced at Kouenji and came to an understanding.
"Sure, why not. We'll have to be quick so they don't overwhelm our defence though," I agreed. Sudou would be valuable to have along with us.
"Yes! Right, I'm gonna get the flag myself this time!" I was a little confused at his enthusiasm but looking at the crowd it made sense. Horikita had returned.
"How did you even think such a dumb plan would work?" Kanzaki asked me.
"Actually, it was Amikura's idea. She told me to 'run at them like a fucking maniac and barge through' I think."
There was some grumbling in the Class A group at the mention of Amikura's name, but no one could argue with the results.
We got back into position, and the referee blew the whistle. And as planned, Kouenji and I didn't move. Neither did anyone from the White Team. The only person to move was Sudou running forward yelling like a maniac, before colliding with the White Team and taking down four people with him. Soon enough, they piled on, with almost ten students being needed to hold him down.
"Hey, aren't you two gonna do anything?" Hirata asked angrily.
"Relax, angry-boy. We knew that they wouldn't run at us, instead changing tactics."
"Yes, Sudou was a valuable sacrifice to cut down their numbers. If he hadn't done so, we wouldn't have a chance at winning. Keep everyone here to defend just in case."
Saying this, Kouenji and I launched our own attack, following the same plan as last time.
It was a simple calculation we had both made. Ryuuen was the de facto leader of the White Team in this event, and he would recognise the inevitability of a frontal assault. Kouenji and I could beat his defenders before his team could win, no matter how it was arranged. And so, he had ordered everyone to stay back and defend. Even with our strength and skill, there was no way for the two of us to get through fourty students.
Eventually though, someone from the Red Team, without the tyrant leadership of Ryuuen, would get antsy and make a break for their flag, disrupting the Red Teams defence. He could exploit that and win.
To whittle down their numbers, Kouenji and I had sent Sudou on a suicide mission, knowing it would take numerous people to hold him down, something that would have to be continuously done. With their numbers down considerably, it was the time to strike.
This time though, I didn't split up and target a different side. Speeding in front of Kouenji I launched myself at the students in front of us. Since all sides of the flag had to be defended, we weren't up against their full strength, and I managed to clear the way for Kouenji to power through, being dragged down by several students, not stopping as I forced my way forwards like a battering ram.
Given the gap, Kouenji took the opportunity and made a break for it, sneaking through the grabbing hands and reaching the flag the White Team had to defend.
A three-man operation had managed to defeat the defence of Class B and C, securing the victory for the White Team.
The game was a best of three, and since we had won the first two rounds it was over. Kouenji, holding the white flag began a victory lap, claiming a high five from every girl that was watching.
The entire school had been watching our competition, since nothing else was on, which meant that the gambling addicts in the second year had been setting bets on the match. They couldn't help themselves but emulate bookies, and since gambling wasn't forbidden, almost everyone partook in it in some sense.
And that was why when I told Kikyou to place a bet on a three-man offence winning for the Red Team in two rounds, she had been offered 100 to 1 odds for such a ridiculous suggestion.
Once all was said and done... I didn't think they would have the funds to pay back the 100,000-point bet she placed on those odds. It was aggravating to constantly have to wager points, but due to my low income, it was essential to gather private points in another manner, and in large quantities.
"You really are a fucking monster," Ryuuen complained as he lifted himself off the ground. "Honestly, how the fuck am I supposed to beat you?"
"Good exercise and a healthy diet," I suggested.
"Don't give me that crap," he growled. "The force of two classes and you just break through."
"Force is meaningless without skill. You'll never win head on, Ryuuen," I said, before walking off to talk to Horikita.
The girl in question was standing somewhat off from the crowd. The second years had taken to the field now, and all the attention had returned to them, with Kouenji even eventually, with a lot of persuasion, handing back the flag he captured.
"You never cease to amaze, do you Ayanokouji-kun?" Horikita remarked.
"Where have you been? Hirata's been control of the class while you went walkabout," I explained.
Horikita clenched her fists, her face a mask of pain, anger and frustration.
"I've been dealing with Ryuuen. I assume from the missing students you have been too?" At least she was quick on the uptake.
"Yeah, he's putting up a fight, but at this point I don't think it matters. The results are already set in stone."
"I'm glad to hear that we aren't losing. Did you ever find out who the traitor was?"
I nodded. "Suspiciously easily. It turned out that Amikura gave the participation table to Ryuuen. He said so himself."
"Obviously he was lying," Horikita muttered. It was good to see that she was quick to understand. "But about our class- "
"You'll have to find someone else to answer that question Horikita. Although, you've been labelled as a deserter now, so I'm not sure who will want to answer, at least not without you explaining your absence, which I assume has to do with Kinoshita." She seemed shocked at me figuring it out, but really it had been an obvious conclusion. "I need to prepare for the three-legged race."
Saying this, I left the girl behind to try and repair her fractured position in the class. Hirata hadn't wasted time making it clear that Horikita had disappeared.
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The time had come for the mix-gender three-legged race, the second last event of the day. By now, every year level had caught up with their team events, and so now every eye would be on our race, watching, hoping, betting on who would be the winner.
Kikyou and I, as the nominated representatives of Class D made our way down to the starting line, the cheers of support from the class coming from behind us.
"They've got no idea that we've been practicing, do they?" Kikyou asked with a smirk.
"To be honest, I've got no idea what the class is thinking," I admitted. "That's your department."
"True. But no, it's pretty evenly split on whether we'll do well. Some people think that because you're running it'll be an easy win, the rest think since we've never run together before this afternoon that we can't coordinate at all." A bright smile accompanied her next words. "I can't wait to prove them wrong and win this!"
What Kikyou had been alluding to were the few practices we had had behind the team tent. In preparation for the run, we had taken the time to get some advice from people, since officially we hadn't even done a three-legged race before and weren't supposed to on our original participation table.
That situation had led us to going for a few short runs, in which I was purposefully keeping out of sync with Kikyou just to make life interesting. From the looks on the faces of people watching, they seemed to lose hope of winning the event from our failures.
Even so, I refused to allow anyone to pay points for a replacement. It could only be done if there was someone missing.
"You really enjoy torturing people, don't you? Making them think we're going to lose. Ne, you need to lighten up a bit, Kiyotaka-kun."
We lined up for the race, and the referee handed Kikyou a strap of cloth to use.
"Ah, I expected you to be here Ayanokouji. And Kikyou-chan as well."
I turned slightly to see the person greeting us. Shibata and Ichnose had shown up as the representatives of Class A, although neither of them looked particularly happy. Ichinose in particular was looking to be on the verge of a breakdown.
"To be honest I'm surprised to see you here Ichinose. I didn't think were the fastest runner in your class," I noted. I wasn't trying to be malicious, but she flinched away from my voice nevertheless.
"I may not be the fastest runner, but this event is about coordination. When we practiced, Shibata and I were the fastest pair in our class."
"Aha, I watched you practice once, Ichinose-san and Shibata-kun. The two of you were incredible! I could feel my heart pounding," Kikyou added.
"Eh, it makes me happy to hear you say that Kikyou-chan. But I'm sure you and Ayanokouji are going to be tough opponents." Shibata scratched his hair in embarrassment at the compliment, although I was sure it was deserved.
"We certainly won't go easy on you Shibata-kun! Try and keep up with us~" Kikyou teased back.
"Yeah, we'll do our best. But I'm a bit scared about hearing the results. I really though Class A had a chance. I didn't expect a traitor at all," Shibata admitted.
"It's really scary, isn't it? I thought I could trust everyone in my class, we were all friends, but now, I'm just not sure." Kikyou had a downcast, almost scared expression on her face at the thought of an internal betrayal.
"It's certainly rough, Kikyou-chan. I'd like to think that everyone in my class is trustworthy, but to see Amikura-san make a mistake like that, it hurts. Even if she didn't mean it," Shibata bemoaned.
"You were close to Amikura, weren't you Ichinose? What do you think about all this?" I probed. But I didn't get what I had expected. There was no anger in Ichinose's eyes, only melancholy, bitterness and defeat. She had given up for today. I was sure she wouldn't let it go, but in this instance, she had accepted my victory.
"I never thought she'd do something like this," Ichinose grudgingly said.
There was an awkward tone in the air for a moment before Shibata tried to clear it up.
"Well, I'm looking forward to- "
Shibata was cut off by the referee calling us to the starting line. Due to our class ranking, Class A and D were at opposite ends to each other, and he didn't have a chance to finish his conversation.
"This feels right, somehow," Kikyou said as we lined up.
"What do you mean?"
"You and me, leading the charge for our class. Together, we can't lose," she explained.
I wrapped my arm around her waist and prepared to support her weight as I ran.
"You've got a pretty high opinion of yourself. I would be fine without you," I argued back. It wasn't true, but I wanted to see how she responded.
"No, you'd have no hope. Well, maybe you'd do okay," Kikyou acquiesced, "but Ayanokouji can't find things out like I can. If not for me, who would you turn to. Karuizawa? I'm worth much more than her."
That was true. Comparing the two of them, their reach and connection with students, Kikyou was infinitely more valuable. Karuizawa had her role to play, and I wouldn't give her up easily, but between the two, I would much rather have Kikyou by my side.
"You're right," I said. "I need you and your talents by my side. You're mine, and together we can't lose."
A gorgeous beaming smile was displayed as she wrapped her arms around my chest.
"Then let's win this race and prove to everyone that we're better than them."
I tilted my head at her. "You know you can't give up on your act, right?"
"Details." She brushed off my concern, although I wasn't really worried. It wasn't something that Kikyou could mentally give up on ever. "Let's prove that there's no one who can stand in our way."
I was a little concerned at how quickly Kikyou had been imprinting herself to my side, but in the grand scheme of things I preferred her there. She was a danger I would have trouble fighting against, if not for my evidence against her, and as my partner Kikyou held immense value. She was very important to me, and at this point I couldn't imagine school life without her.
The referee called ready, and we prepared ourselves to run.
Each class had sent up one pair to represent them, eight runners in total. But they didn't stand a chance. Ryuuen's schemes, Sakayanagi's manipulations, in this moment it held no power. This was a competition of pure ability, and right now Class D would win.
The referee blew the starting position and I leapt forward, holding Kikyou's body slightly above the ground. She did her best to match the stride of her right leg, which she let go limp and follow the movements of mine as best as she could.
It might have looked a bit strange from the sidelines, but at worst it would seem like I was dragging her along, her legs struggling to keep up with my speed. In actuality, Kikyou was taking as many short steps as possible with her left leg, barely scraping the ground as she did so, realistic enough to fool anyone but those paying the closest attention to detail.
I powered forward, easily outstripping our opponents even though I wasn't running at my top speed. No one could run their best in a three-legged race, and so there was no opponent near us as we crossed the finish line in first, setting a new school record in the process. Kouenji and I had been breaking records all day, most of them set by Manabu, and I suspected they would never be broken again. This was just another one, but this time I set it as a pair, with my partner by my side.
Surprisingly, Ichinose and Shibata came in second. They hadn't been lying when they claimed to have impressive synergy, and it was clear now upon viewing the speed they moved. From what I had seen of our training, they probably would have beaten Hirata and Onodera if they had run like originally planned.
"Yay, we won Kiyotaka-kun!" Kikyou cheered, giving me a short hug before bouncing off to celebrate with the rest of the class.
Instead of following her back to the crowd, I moved off to the side of the course to where Ichinose and Shibata were catching their breaths.
"Do you mind if we talk for a bit?" I asked.
"Heh... sure. You two really ran quickly. It was almost as if you were doing all the running," Shibata commented. As expected from someone as sporty as him, he had noticed.
"Anything's fair if the school doesn't stop us," I explained.
"It's certainly a strategy for a three-legged race," Ichinose admitted. "Although it's not very sportsmanlike. As expected of you, Ayanokouji."
"Hey, there's no need to be so mean, Ichinose-san. We're all on the same side here. And to be honest, I'm impressed you could run that fast while carrying her."
Was he calling Kikyou fat? In any case I had asked to talk to them for a reason.
"Aside from that, do you really think that Amikura was the traitor, even unintentionally?" I provoked the question.
Ichinose gave me a glare, but Shibata frowned in concentration.
"It definitely doesn't seem like her. It could have been an accident, I suppose," he considered, but I shook my head.
"No, I'm almost certain that it wasn't Amikura. I spoke to her afterwards and she definitely didn't seem like she was acting," I explained, planting the seed of doubt in Shibata's mind.
"Shibata-kun, let's go. We don't have time to waste talking to Ayanokouji about internal class situations." Seeing my plan, Ichinose did her best to get Shibata away from me before I could do any more damage.
"Hey, if Ayanokouji has his own advice, I'm inclined to listen. It's like you don't trust him at all, Ichinose-san. What's going on?" Shibata questioned.
Realising the box she was in, Ichinose sighed in defeat. "It's nothing. I'm also curious as to what Ayanokouji wants too, but I'd like to rest. Maybe we can talk on the way back to the tents?" she suggested, recovering the situation.
"Fair enough. I'll explain on the way." We began to walk back to the tents. "Your only evidence that it was Amikura came from Ryuuen himself, right? So, what's to say it wasn't someone else? Ryuuen could definitely be lying and Amikura isn't the sort of person who makes mistakes like that. She knew what she was getting into when she pretended to date Ryuuen," I elaborated.
"Yeah, she explained it to the class that it was a sabotage plan. I don't think she could have messed it up that badly," Shibata muttered.
"What that means is there is still a traitor in your class who was working with Ryuuen to discredit Amikura, someone that she upset in some way, and you all helped their plan work. Of course, I don't know as much about your class as you do, so I could be reading too far into it," I finished.
"Of course. It is our class, not yours after all," Ichinose added.
"But do you think it's such a weird idea, Ichinose-san? I'm inclined to agree with Ayanokouji," Shibata said.
A heavy sigh came out of the girl. "Unfortunately, I am too. It seems that there might be another party involved."
"It's a shame that Kanzaki jumped the gun and questioned Amikura in the open. If he hadn't done that, Ryuuen might not have been able to discredit her," I bemoaned.
"Yeah, he really... thanks for your ideas, Ayanokouji, but we'll discuss them as a class," Shibata finished the conversation.
"I understand. I'll see you for the relay," I said before leaving the two to their thoughts.
Authors Notes:
I had some crazy delusions where Kouenji would use Ayanokouji as a springboard in the capture the flag and get launched over the White Team and grab the flag. As fun as it was, it became too ridiculous for this story, although I encourage someone to write a crack fic:
Ayanokouji and Kouenji: Unstoppable Gymnasts
There was a lot of amazing debate on the last chapter. Honestly felt like i read more and thought more there than one of my uni classes last year.
As always, hope you enjoyed!