It has been three days since the special exam started. Our class, Class-D, has been working diligently on various tasks and throughout those three days, we've had rotations between different groups who would be participating in events. On our first day, we did relatively well scoring forty event points, making it to first place. On our second day, however, Class-D was fourth place and lost thirty event points. As of the third day, we recouped twenty after making it to second place. What of the fourth? That will be decided soon enough. I rejoined the participating groups on fourth day to not just score more event points but rather, there has been an interesting change of events within one student in Class-D over the past three or so days.
EVENT
Foot race. All participating groups will run to each marker highlighted and run back. All members of one group must cross the finish line as a whole to count as a win.
REWARDS
First Place, 35 Points
Second Place, 20 Points
Third Place, -10 Points
Fourth Place, -20 Points
After carefully examining the rules, I looked towards Ichinose who also rejoined the representative group for some other worldly reason.
"Are you going to be fine in this?"
"H-Huh?"
On the second day, only me and Ichinose remained in the participation roster whilst Kushida, Sudou, Matsushita, and Hirata swapped out. On that day, one of the events we had participated in was an aerobic capacity test and though Ichinose herself isn't slow by any means, she isn't necessarily fast either. That of which is one of the reasons we failed that event.
"Oh, y-yes. I'll be fine." she stuttered.
In any case, the race started and the students of Class-C ran ahead of the crowd, passing all three classes and leaving us in the dust.
Looking at them again, there was three people who stood out to me out of the five, those three being Ishizaki Komiya, and Ibuki who were all quite adept at physical sports. Observing them a little closer, Ishizaki is maybe a four compared to Ibuki who's around a six while Komiya is a three compared to Ishizaki in terms of speed. That means an appropriate speed I should go at is a seven if I compare both the average speed I'm going at and Ibuki's speed, who of which has taken the lead ahead of everyone else.
Speeding up a little bit more, I made it passed both Ishizaki and Komiya and was tied with Ibuki. When she realized that I was right next to her, she tried quickening her own pace but I surpassed her in the end and made it to the other side of the starting point and ran back at a slower rate.
In short, I made it from the checkpoint and back before everyone else.
"Ugh, what the hell!" Ibuki shouted.
Though she was frustrated that I beat her solo, that doesn't necessarily our class has won in the end, the rules stipulate that all students in one group must make it to the finish line or no one wins. By the time the race was over, it was a close match for second place between Class-B and Class-D but in the end..
RESULTS
First Place - Class-C
Second Place - Class-D
Third Place - Class-B
Fourth Place - Class-A
Class-D had won second place. Among the Class-B students was someone that I didn't know all that well, Shibata Sou. I've only heard about him through Hirata bringing up the soccer team and though Shibata was the fastest out of the group he's participating with, the rest of the Class-B team couldn't match him. At the very least, they beat Class-A who had no one notable on their team.
"Hah~ Hah~ Hah~" Ichinose panted.
"Out of breath?"
"Yeah, I don't particularly like sports, haha!"
Ichinose, taking the canteen she had from her backpack, twisted the cap and opened it. As she was about to drink, not a single drop poured out from it.
"What's the matter?" I asked.
"Oh, um, I must've forgot to refill my canteen with water."
"I see."
Opening my own backpack, I pulled out my own canteen and offered it to her.
"I drank only a little bit on the way here but, it should still have some water inside of it," I said, presenting the container in my hand.
"Ah, thank you, Ayanokouji-kun~!"
Taking it from my hands, Ichinose repeated the same process and opened the lid of the container and as she brought it to her mouth, Ichinose suddenly stopped. Looking at me once more with a more embarrassed look on her face, closed the lid and returned the canteen to me.
"Is something wrong?" I asked.
"N-No.. Nothing is wrong! Everything is fine, aha!" she laughed, "On second thought, I-I'll push through until we get back to camp."
Ichinose was still sweating and after running so much, she needs to rehydrate herself. But after offering her my own water, she refused. If I tried to convince her to think otherwise, I'm almost certain I would get the same response. In the end, we left it at that and headed back to where our camp was. Along the way however, Ichinose starred down at the floor, both hands holding on to her backpack firmly. Paying it no mind, I continued walking.
As we got back to our base, the first thing I witnessed was a conflict that was ongoing between both the boys and the girls. As for the topic of the argument is yet to be seen.
"Wh-What?! No way! We're using it first!"
"Hello no! We found it at the same time!"
The argument is based off of who can use what exactly. Though we just arrived, it would seem this argument has been going on for quite some time now.
"Hey, hey! What's going on?" Ichinose stated, stepping in.
"Ichinose-san! These boys want to use the private beach we found!" said Shinohara.
"Private beach? What're you talking about?"
"Yeah, we found a part of the beach that's hidden by trees or something," said Ike.
At the start of the special exam, it was the boys that suggested the beach to be used a base location but such a thing was denied after the girls had protested. Now the very same subject was brought up but instead of a base location, who would get to use it for their own personal leisure. Of course, the girls would object to having boys there with them. Thus the great segregation of genders in Class-D begin.
"Alright, alright, here exactly is this beach?" Ichinose asked, directing her attention to both Ike and Shinohara.
"It's a bit further out from here," replied Ike.
"Yeah, and it's ours," Shinohara declared.
This bickering went on and on until Ichinose came to a conclusion, one that would satisfy both ends at the same time.
"Can't you just play this out in a game of rock, paper, scissors? Winner gets to use this beach first, yeah?"
Looking a little reluctant at first, they both agreed to duke it out in a most simple game. Best out of seven, representing the boy's side is Ike and the girl's side is Shinohara. But anyways, these matches aren't too important, but, what is is the final match that will decide everything. Both Ike and Shinohara were tied, whoever reigns victorious in this event will decide who gets to use the supposed beach. I, for one, wasn't too interested in the beach itself but it can be used for rest in relaxation in the mean time as I have to participate in events.
"Rock.. paper.. scissors.."
And... the girls win. Ike drew scissors while Shinohara drew rock. One side was left disappointed and the other let out a victory scream.
"Aw, c'mon dude, this isn't fair," complained one of the boys.
"All is fair, we won," Onodera retorted.
Ichinose, observing the environment around us, had figured out a solution that could possibly mitigate the still soul atmosphere.
"Well, the girls won, what's done is done," she began, "But if at all possible, could perhaps a few of the bots get to join us in the beach?"
"Uh, I don't know about that, Ichinose-san," voiced Karuizawa.
"I mean, I guess Hirata-kun can join us," said Shinohara.
Hirata being invited was no surprise to anyone as soon as Ichinose even suggested bringing someone along but what was surprising was the other guest they wanted to bring along, more specifically this request came from Matsushita who had been amusingly looking at Ichinose the entire time and unknown to her, she made her initiation for everyone to hear.
"Ah, besides Hirata-kun, I'm sure Ayanokouji-kun could be welcomed," she said aloud.
"W-What?" Ichinose stuttered.
"I don't see why not~" Kushida teased.
Despite my original thoughts, I suddenly don't want to rest at the beach anymore. Never mind that, there's also the fact that the entire beach will be consistent of girls. Then there's the matter of swim wear, the catalogue had swimsuits available for rent at five times the price for both boys and girls but going through it, there isn't a single item listed for any sort of top for the male population just shorts. But if I said I didn't want to swim, there's another issue, it was Matsushita who proposed this absurd idea and from personal experience, their unwavering will to getting me to do what they want wont end unless I meet her needs. As against the idea as I may be, this is not a battle I can win given the circumstance. But then again, this isn't a battle that's necessarily important. The matter is whether I will join Hirata and the girls at the beach or not and the vital weapon that Matsushita has on her is peer pressure. In the end, thinking about this is significant so I yielded and decided that I would join.
Agreeing to the invitation, it had taken around ten minutes, give or take, getting everything together. I had rented out what I was going to be wearing that for the beach for a ridiculous amount of private points. Even though it wasn't as costly as purchasing the actual thing itself, it was still a considerable amount.
Getting to the aforementioned beach, it seemed as if there was already a portable changing room in place. Most likely bought from the catalogue from Chabashira-sensei a while back.
Upon changing into the necessary clothing, I exited the changing room to let in the next person. As I did so, I made my way to an empty chair, underneath an umbrella. It would seem that everyone else had began playing in the ocean already, everyone except two people that I payed the most attention to. Both Matsushita and Ichinose still hasn't come out.
"I-I don't think I can wear this, Chiaki-san!" Ichinose shouted.
Although the sounds came from the changing room, which was pretty far from where I was, I still heard the sounds nonetheless.
"C'mon, Honami-san! You can do it!"
"It's too embarrassing! No way!"
"You already spent your precious money on it so you might as well!"
Whatever they're talking about, it isn't something I should involve myself in but I get the feeling that this affair was revolved around what Ichinose was wearing and how I would react to it. Or rather, that's the idea I get anyways from Matsushita.
"It's too r-r-revealing!"
This would go on for the next five minutes until the curtain swung open, showing both Ichinose and Matsushita. Matsushita, of which, was dressed somewhat maturely but it was, in the end, still fashionable swimming attire. Ichinose on the other hand, is clad in a very bold swimsuit that emphasized her curves and monstro- Er, very huge breasts. As a healthy growing boy, I found myself attracted to such things but I forced myself to turn my focus to the ocean, looking away from the scene.
Preferably, I would have liked Matsushita to remain a reasonable distance away from me but instead, she took Ichinose by her shoulders and dragged her to me. Inch by inch, they get closer and as they got in my proximity, Matsushita called out to me.
"Heyyyyy! Ayanokouji-kun! I want your opinion on something!"
I could already predict what Matsushita is going to say so I kept looking at the ocean, avoiding both her and Ichinose's gaze.
"Unfortunately, I'm in the middle of something so I may be unable to give you a good answer," I replied.
"In the middle of something? Doesn't look it," she observed.
"Yes, I'm in the middle of an internal conflict."
"Ho-oh? Does that mean you're purposely avoiding making eye contact with Honami-san? Even after she so graciously picked out this cute swimsuit for you?"
"..."
XX.I
Ahhhhh! This is so embarrassing, the only reason I even wore something like this is because Chiaki-san pressured me into doing so. Furthermore, I should probably blame myself for getting into this predicament. I wanted a solution for everyone so I suggested the idea of allowed some boys to join us, I just didn't think that would include Ayanokouji-kun. Normally, I would be fine with wearing this bold swimsuit and I-I mean, even though he is here, I'm not opposed to the idea of him seeing my like this but.. Ah, never mind! I need to start thinking things through more clearly.
Burying my face in my hands, I peaked out a little and noticed Ayanokouji-kun turn his head towards me somewhat slightly. As he did so, my face turned a little more red and I started sweating a little more.
"Yeah, it's a cute swimsuit," Ayanokouji-kun replied.
"You hear that, Honami-san? Ayanokouji-kun thinks it's cute," Chiaki-san said.
I feel as if this will happen with Chiaki-san no matter what. From the very beginning, I could already tell that Chiaki-san was a special case, she isn't someone a lot of people pay attention to especially but the more time I spent with them, the more I understood her. Like everyone else, she is interested in young teenage gossip and I don't blame for her for it, in fact, I too, am interested in stuff like that. Love though? That's not in my area of expertise. But anyways, you get the idea, there's also the fact that Chiaki-san is hiding her true potential for some reason, I wouldn't question her about it but still, it'll benefit the entire class if she starts taking things more seriously. In a way, they're like Ayanokouji-kun, letting on less than what they actually know.
"Y-yeah, I-I guess so! Aha, t-thank you, Ayanokouji-kun!" I said anxiously.
With that, Ayanokouji-kun quietly nodded and stood up, looking up at the horizon over the ocean.
I know I shouldn't but I couldn't help but feel a bit self-conscious as I stood beside Ayanokouji-kun. His strong physique was both impressive and intimidating. His toned muscles is evident, and I couldn't help but admire his dedication to physical fitness. I mean, me myself, I'm not all that physically fit but I'm not out of shape either but still, a strange urge overcame me. I found my hand subconsciously reaching out, compelled to poke at Ayanokouji's chiseled arm. It was an impulsive action, and I immediately blushed, realizing what I had done.
"A-Ah! I'm so v-very sorry, A-Ayanokouji-kun, I d-didn't mean to!" I shouted.
"Hm? What's this? That's a brazen approach, Honami-san," Chiaki-san teased.
"I-It's nothing! Forget it!"
Though Chiaki-san wouldn't let go of what she just saw, Ayanokouji-kun didn't seem to mind and continued facing the ocean.
Yeah, I suppose he wouldn't have. Ayanokouji-kun isn't that type of person. I never thought him to be someone like that. From the time we've spent together, I never got the impression he ever saw me as a potential partner, nor anyone else for that matter. The way things look, Ayanokouji-kun just isn't interested in love. This feeling sat with me for quite some time now and I should've understood it more, the fact that I have this feeling and Ayanokouji-kun doesn't will make any attempts pointless. I guess unrequited love is hard after all, huh? Though one day, I'm hoping that will change and he'll start to see me in a new light. Now that I have this feeling, it isn't anything that I have ever experienced before and it's not something I want to let go.
Fast forwarding a little, our time at the beach had been pretty fun. Getting back to the camp, Ayanokouji-kun was pulled away by a few of the boys for some odd reason and they were given their chance to enjoy the beach. We've had our fun but now, it's time to go back to the special exam we're in the middle of.
In these three days, we've won an impressive sum of event points, but that also doesn't mean the other classes haven't earned them either. Besides the events, the outposts we found we're already claimed by the other classes. From my estimation, Class-D is in third place, not favorable for us but that could potentially change soon. No, it has to change. For the sake of me, my classmates, for Class-1-D as a whole.
XX.II
It was now day seven of the special exam. The last few days have been the same. Event points are gained and lost and our rankings continue to fluctuate. The end of the first week is here though and a special announcement was given. The end of the first week event is now upon us and there has been no considerable activity throughout or the person of interest I had in mind, but, I get the impression that something major will happen in the second half.
As of this day, my group was me, Miyake, Sudou, Okitani, Kushida, and Onodera. No Ichinose but that isn't important at the moment, this was also the third time I am participating in a representative group. When we got the site of the event, there has been a heavy change in environment and plenty of students have decided to join in this event.
In Class-C, there was Ryuuen and his usual lackeys. In Class-B, there as both Katsuragi and Kanzaki. In Class-A, though I didn't know anyone there, they looked to be particularly skilled in many things. For instance, there was a male student that had long blonde hair that was tied into a pony tail. Then there was a female student who's purple hair reached her thigh level. A lot of the groups looked strong not only academically, but also physically, they we're all perfect combinations of the two.
Soon after examining the competition, an announcement was made that signified the event.
EVENT
Capture the flag. A variety of airsoft guns are spread out throughout this part of the island. Mobile cameras are installed to watch over the match and yellow tape will be used to signify boundaries. Which ever of the four classes can hold the central point the longest at the end of the forty-five (45) minute time limit is the winner.
REWARDS
First Place, 70 Points
Second Place, 30 Points
Third Place, -40 Points
Fourth Place, -60 Points
-
bro tf is going on with 9.5?
my honest reaction to this:
in all seriousness, my theory is that housen found out that honami is in love with kiyo so this is just something to mess with him in some way because they're an easier target than kei. probably wrong but whatev
oh wait? you didnt want 9.5 spoilers..? oooooooooooooooooooooo
and tbh, i didnt feel like writing this week but here we are