"Goddamn it!"
Ken ground his teeth in frustration.
"Kiyotaka... You're back," said Akito.
"I made a visit to the infirmary. How did everything go while I was gone?" I asked.
"Well, as you can see, it's pretty bad. We won the Tug-of-War, but the Obstacle Course Race and the Three-Legged Race went just as horribly as the first two events..." Akito looked away with a frustrated expression. "And the Cavalry Battle... "
"Hey now, Class A. You better step it up. I don't want to keep carrying your asses all throughout the festival," chided Ryuuen.
"Shut the hell up! You abandoned us in the Cavalry Battle!" yelled Ken.
"Abandoned? Are you that pathetic, Sudou? We may be from the same team, but we did our best and won. It's your fault for getting annihilated first. Instead of yapping your excuses like a dog, you should probably thank me for salvaging your failures," countered Ryuuen.
A bunch of school staff was staring at us. We shouldn't escalate this any further.
"Ken, it's fine. We can't do anything about it now..."
"Damn it... I'll fuckin' sock that guy..." Ken cursed under his breath.
"Ayanokouji-kun, are you alright?" Hirata approached us with a worried look.
"Yeah. I think I can participate in the 200-meter dash."
"Are you sure?"
"I'll try. The physician said I'm allowed to run, at least."
"I see... Your presence will be a huge help, in more ways than one..."
The others' expressions turned grim as soon as Hirata said those words. Something must've happened while I was gone.
It was almost time for us to get ready. The next event will be the last one before a 50-minute lunch break. I turned my sights toward the girls who were currently engaged in the heated round of their Cavalry Battle.
"Tsk... Those bastards... They're using the same tactic," muttered Ken.
It was a fairly straightforward strategy. The Class D cavaliers try their best to evade while playing defense. After Class A's squadrons get tired and eliminated by the combined forces of Class B and Class C, that's when they'll strike back. I'm not sure if it'll go as smoothly for Class D's girls, though. I noticed that they're actually lacking in numbers.
I see... So that's what happened.
Meanwhile, the girls from our class looked extremely distressed. And Horikita... After getting pincered by Ichinose and Kamuro's group, her bandana was easily stolen as she fell from her horse.
"Hahh... Hahh... Dang... I ran like my life depended on it, and I still got seventh!" cried Ike.
Yamauchi and the others uttered similar things, but it can't be helped.
"Woohoo! Good stuff, Ayanokouji!" Onizuka celebrated.
"Hahh, I can't show off now. I'm too damn slow," laughed Kikuchi.
I'll probably confront him later about what Sakayanagi told me.
Anyway, I managed to get a first during the 200-meter dash. The fast runners got great results, but both the average and slow runners got left severely behind. The same went for the girls. However, Horikita, who was supposed to be a prime candidate for first place, only got sixth. And just like that first half of the sports festival came to an end.
The mood was dark for Class A. We were hundreds of points behind Sakayanagi's class. Thanks to the seniors, the Red Team was still winning, but we'll surely lose the class battle.
"Ayanokouji-kun..." Horikita approached me with a pained look.
"What are you doing, competing at that state?" I asked. "You're injured, aren't you?"
"I'm..."
I crouched down and raised the hem of Horikita's jogging pants. As expected, her ankle was severely swollen, and it'll only get worse the more she forces herself. The class knew about this, but she must've insisted on participating.
"Your condition is a lot worse than mine."
"But..."
"It's useless even if you try to fight on. I'm not saying we should give up, but you should look at things objectively. You're only putting yourself in more danger. There's no point in taking any more risk."
Presented with such an argument, Horikita could only agree.
"I was careless..." she said.
"It can't be helped, right? You were outsmarted, and now you're getting the full brunt of Sakayanagi and Ryuuen's attacks."
Horikita quickly glanced if anyone was trying to listen in.
"The traitor... I need to know who they are."
"And what does that fix?"
"Nothing... At least, not right now. I recognize that there's not much we can do at present, but I'm worried about the future. The class will be in trouble if this keeps happening."
"I see. Then I wish you good luck."
After a short pause, Horikita spoke again.
"Are you willing to help me?" she asked.
"Are you asking for my help?" I instantly returned the question which made Horikita freeze.
"I know I can't keep relying on you, but..."
"Is leading the class too hard for you?"
"It is hard. I already knew that beforehand. Even if it was a very short time, I've been watching you lead us since the very beginning..." Horikita's eyes trembled. "But I know I can do it."
"Then why are you asking for my help?"
She looked up, facing me head-on.
"Because you're part of the class, too. You're a weapon that can take us out of this rut. It's too wasteful not to use you. If you'll allow me, then..."
"Use me, huh? If I'm being completely honest, I'm quite fond of that idea. You're completely in the right to try and utilize me as an asset," I sighed, shaking my head. "But unfortunately, I'm not interested in helping you find the traitor. I also got my own set of problems."
"I see." Horikita closed her eyes, but her expression remained unchanged. "I'll do something about this on my own, or rather, with Hirata-kun and the others' help. That said, I'd greatly appreciate it if you ever give us a hand."
"Sure. It's not like I'm doing this out of spite. You already know the kind of person I am, anyway. I'd just rather not get involved in any of the potential drama. That's the complete opposite of a peaceful life."
"I understand, Ayanokouji-kun. Maybe I just... need to calm down and think about everything more clearly."
"You can do that, but at least get your leg checked first. Someone else can act as your substitute for the rest of the events."
This was probably the hardest pill to swallow for Horikita right now.
Before she and I could go on our separate ways, the people who had been watching us from a distance finally came up and approached us.
"Horikita-san!"
"Ichihashi-san?" Horikita turned around saw Ichihashi along with two other girls; Azuma and Ryuuko.
"Heya, Horikita-san. Did you have plans with Ayanokouji-kun?" asked Azuma.
"Not really. I was just about to leave," I replied.
"Ohh, I see!" she said, looking back at Horikita. "You're gonna visit the infirmary after getting your injury checked, right?"
The physicians were inside the tents, but the beds were inside the infirmary.
"Yes..." Horikita replied with a slightly confused expression.
"Is it alright if we accompany you?"
"Accompany me? But why...?"
"Well, we were pretty worried when you got injured..." said Ryuuko.
"This is your precious lunch time. You shouldn't waste your chance to rest," replied Horikita.
"It's not like we're gonna do anything physically taxing, you know~? And there's plenty of time to eat after we get your injury checked. We'll just have lunch together by then." Azuma's proposal was hard to decline, even for Horikita.
"This was initially Nene-chan's idea. She was supposed to be here, but she had some business with Kikuchi-kun," said Ichihashi.
"This is a bit puzzling for me. Is there any underlying reason why you want to come with me?" Horikita asked bluntly.
Azuma grabbed Horikita's arm in cuddly way.
"We've always wanted to get closer to you, you know? We can't have Ayanokouji-kun having you all to himself." She turned to me with a smug smirk. "You were about to leave, right? Shoo, shoo~!"
Azuma was shooing me away like a stray dog.
"See you around then, Ayanokouji-kun." Ichihashi gave me a small wave.
"Bye-bye, Kiyotaka-kun. We'll take care of Horikita-san," followed Ryuuko.
I didn't really have the energy to say anything else, so I just waved my hand at them. It's good to see Horikita making more friends-- or at least I hope that's what happens. Well, with Azuma around, I'm sure they'll hit it off without a problem. I hope.
I thought about what to eat for lunch as I walked to the cafeteria. The class traitor or whatever should be the least of my concerns right now.
"I'm not interested in helping you find the traitor."
It's true that I wasn't interested in helping Horikita find the traitor. But I never said anything about not trying to find the traitor myself.