"You've really caused a commotion..." Horikita's perplexed sigh hurt my feelings, but at least she was thankful.
"Don't be too hard on Kiyotaka-kun. He beat Horikita-senpai and Nagumo-senpai without breaking a sweat!" Kikyou crossed her arms as she puffed her chest, looking proud. Saying that I beat them without breaking a sweat would be an exaggeration.
The race ended with me being crowned the victor. The crowd was surprised, to say the least. The loudest group was, of course, Class 1-A. Some of the boys even teared up because of the hype. I wish they could stop the overreaction. I'm the one getting embarrassed here, you know?
"You're the prime target for Nagumo now. Are you really okay with this?" she asked.
"Yeah. I made it clear that the whole race was your idea. Since you were injured, it only made sense for you to assign someone else."
"But that's the thing. If it was someone high profile like Hirata-kun, then I think Nagumo would understand. But you're unknown in the senior sphere. Not only that. Hirata-kun would probably put up a good fight, but there's no way he can compete with my brother on that level. Even Sudou-kun would lose. But you beat him. Saying that it caught everyone off guard would be an understatement."
"That's right... Iida-senpai and Konishi-senpai approached me earlier. They were really freaking out, you know? You're the talk of all the third-years right now," said Kikyou.
"Iida-senpai... and Konishi-senpai?" muttered the curious Horikita.
"They're from Horikita-senpai's class. Kiyotaka-kun became acquainted with them recently," she explained.
"I think we're still fine for now." I finally spoke. "Their reactions are strong, but that's just because of the novelty. In the end, you're still the mastermind behind that show in Nagumo's mind."
We also have the first-years to assist us with that. I don't know about Sakayanagi's class, but everyone from Ichinose's class knows my ridiculous record during swimming, and Ryuuen wouldn't hide anything if his classmates ask him about my physical abilities. If they're acquainted with seniors and those seniors ask about me, they'll be able to answer in a way that would make it feel like my show of athleticism wasn't that much of a big deal.
If I decided to hold back from the very beginning, this move would've been much riskier.
"It's not that strange, anyway. Your results for the entire sports festival were near-perfect already," Kikyou shrugged.
Because of my absence, I failed to take the MVP title. And for the overall results...
Earlier...
"Kiyotaka-kun!" Kikyou ran up to me, most likely going for a hug. However, she managed to stop herself before doing anything careless.
Not even one second after I heard her voice...
"Kiyotaka!"
"Ayanokouji!"
The boys tackled me with all their might, with Ken leading the charge. I accepted my fate and fell to the ground.
"I knew you were gonna win!" Ken celebrated.
"You were fast as hell! What the heck was that Ayanokouji?!" Ike excitedly asked.
"You don't even look tired!" yelled Onizuka.
"I'm actually in a world of pain right now, so please get off me..."
I'm a warrior who gave everything he got for everyone. I would appreciate it if you could treat me more gently.
"You're so amazing, Ayanokouji-kun!"
"So dashing!"
The girls gave me praise, as well. And thankfully, since the boys were too hyped, they didn't have the time to get jealous and spite me for it.
"Get back to your posts, everyone." Chabashira-sensei approached us and beckoned everyone to calm down.
We were instructed to sit tight for the closing ceremony. After that will be the final results. The speeches and closing remarks didn't take too long, so the students' enthusiasm never waned.
"We will now announce the results of this year's Sports Festival!"
Everyone cheered excitedly.
The gigantic screen lit up and showed two colors separated with a label saying "Red Team" and "White Team". The tallied numbers under those labels were added up into one final score.
Red Team Wins!
The coalition between Class A and Class D took home the overall victory. Celebrations of glee could be heard all over the place.
"Next up, we will now announce the results for each class's overall points!"
The scoreboard was once again shown on the large electronic screen. Everyone carefully digested the final scores. All twelve classes were divided into three separate years.
Our eyes focused on the Freshmen category.
1st-Year Category:
1st Place: Class B
2nd Place: Class C
3rd Place: Class D
4th Place: Class A
"Agh! We lost!"
"Oh no..."
"Damn it..." Ken cursed under his breath.
"Well, this was to be expected after our previous losses."
"Class B got the win, huh...?"
"Class D almost won against Class C..."
"Their points were super close."
"Ahh, that's a shame..."
Even with Sakayanagi's absence, Class B still beat all of us with a considerable amount of lead. Ichinose's Class C took second place by a very small margin against Ryuuen's class who got third place. Our class had the third lowest amount of total points out of everyone, only beating the Class C's from the other years. Class 2-D secured second place while Class 3-D secured third place in their respective categories. The other Class A's took first place with overwhelming leads.
Kouenji's absence during the early events affected us a lot, and Horikita's injury leave left us in a very bad spot. And the biggest cause of our loss was the leaked participation table. We were doomed from the very beginning.
In the end, our class points got a 100-point deduction instead 200 points thanks to the Red Team's big win. Even though Sakayanagi's class won first place, they still received a 50-point deduction for being in the White Team. Ichinose's class suffered just as much as ours by getting 100 class points deducted from them, too. And by extension, Ryuuen's class also received a 50-point deduction. All of our class points decreased, but Class B and D still technically got the final laugh.
"And lastly, we will now announce the MVP for each school year!"
As the winners celebrated and the losers lamented, the screen changed to show the MVP results.
1st-Year MVP: Shibata Sou
2nd-Year MVP: Nagumo Miyabi
3rd-Year MVP: Horikita Manabu
"Gaaah! I lost!" yelled Ken.
Shibata had consistently placed highest like Ken, so their battles would've been very close. In fact, I'd say Ken was in the lead, especially during the individual competitions. Team competitions like the Cavalry Battle, Capture the Flag, and Tug of War made the difference for the two of them.
"That's too bad, Ken." Akito, whose cheek had a bandage plastered on it, patted him on the shoulder with a smug look.
"Argh!" he cried in frustration before sighing. "I'll be back for revenge next year."
"Sorry, Sudou. If it weren't for unathletic students like me, you could've won the title." Yukimura stepped up to apologize. The other guys looked guilty, as well.
"Nah. I knew what I was going into beforehand and still thought that I could win. Since I lost, I won't blame it on anyone else," he replied.
If you ask me who had the most growth in the class, Ken would be my answer alongside Horikita. He could still work on his temper, but his mind is in the right place. He'll only continue to grow from here on out.
Of course, problems will come along the way. It's up to him whether he can overcome them or not. The same goes for Horikita and everyone in Class A.
The students scattered after the end of the festival was officially announced. Most of us went back to the classroom to grab our things.
"I'm so tired..." groaned Ueno.
"You moved the least out of all of us!" bantered Onizuka.
"Sorry, but this is already too much for me. Any more and I might collapse on the floor..." he replied, sounding listless.
"W-When you say it like that, I can't help but believe you..."
I observed everyone while arranging my stuff.
"Was Nene-chan alright?" Ryuuko asked, looking worried.
"She didn't seem like herself today..." said Azuma.
"Kikuchi-kun said that he'll take her to the infirmary," answered Ichihashi.
"Kikyou-chan!" waved Onodera.
"Yep, I'm coming!" she replied excitedly.
"Are coming with us, Kayoko-chan?" asked Mii-chan.
"Oh, sorry! I made plans with Karuizawa-san and the others!" Ishikura pressed her hands together in apology.
"Kayokocchi, let's go?" called Karuizawa.
Ishikura said her goodbyes to Kikyou and the others before meeting up with Karuizawa's group.
"Hey, Kayoko-chan, your brother was amazing back there. Introduce me sometime!" Sonoda started on a topic as soon as they got together.
Their voices started to fade out as they walked out of the room.
"Kiyotaka! You coming?" Akito called out to me.
"Uh... I've got something to take care of. I think I'll be a bit late," I replied.
"Geez, don't keep us waiting, okay? Airi and I will prepare lots of food to eat, after all."
"I can't wait for Airi's cooking!" Ken said, pumping his fist in the air.
"Just Airi's?" Haruka narrowed her eyes as she questioned him.
"Y-Yours, too, of course..." he answered nervously.
"We'll wait for you, Kiyotaka-kun..." said Airi.
"It's related to Horikita and some stuff about school, so I don't know how long it'll take. I don't mind if you start without me, but I'll definitely make it."
"Alright... But I'll sock you if you don't come!"
Is it just me or does Haruka sound more violent than Ken these days...?
Presently...
"The event was being broadcasted in the infirmary, so I got to watch everything along with some other incapacitated students. I knew you'd be able to convince Nii-san, but... to think he'd do that just to compete with you..."
I messaged Horikita beforehand, so she stayed inside the infirmary instead of returning. I brought her things for her, instead.
"I was a bit surprised myself. Nagumo joined in, but I didn't really care whether or not he did. I just wanted to challenge your brother, after all."
"I see," she sighed. "And so? I'm curious to know why Kushida-san is here. I thought you were going to hang out with your friends."
"I never planned on joining them from the very beginning. Kiyotaka-kun said he needed me for something."
Kikyou must've judged that it was better to lie about suddenly having an emergency rather than telling her friends in advance that she had plans with someone else.
"For something... I assume you needed me, as well? That's why you came here?"
"Yeah. It's fine if you can't go due to your injury, though."
"No, it's fine. I can walk a little bit now after getting some rest."
As the leader, Horikita didn't want to stay in the dark.
"Is that so? Then we should get going before it's too late."
The two of them have no knowledge of what I'm referring to, but they didn't ask any questions. I don't mind answering, but they must've thought that it's better to see whatever it was for themselves.