Chapter 274: The Sports Festival Begins! / Intel #2: Asahina Nazuna Will Drop Her Amulet
At the beginning of October, the highly anticipated Sports Festival finally commenced.
The entire school gathered at the athletic field.
Chairman Sakayanagi Narumori stood at the high podium to deliver his opening address. "Attending this school is not easy... We aim to cultivate all-around talents who can contribute to society... I expect great things from your performance today!"
With the speech concluded, applause rang out. The twelve classes paraded in order. Class 1-C was the eleventh to enter.
Shimizu Akira used this time to observe the venue.
Temporary facilities were everywhere: high-speed cameras at the finish line, a medical station with doctors on standby, and staff checking equipment. The Red Team and White Team rest areas were clearly demarcated with tents. In the center stood the massive scoreboard, currently displaying two zeros.
"All events begin at 8:30! You have a few minutes to relax; stay on the field!" Chabashira-sensei, in her usual black pencil skirt, led Class 1-C to the White Team area.
She handed a printed program to Hirata Yosuke, who photographed it for the class group chat. Shimizu scanned the matchups. Since the deadline had passed, no one could change their rosters now.
Shimizu checked his own events. In the ordinary Three-Legged Race, he and Ayanokouji Kiyotaka were up against some heavy hitters: Shibata & Kanzaki (Class B) and Kito & Hashimoto (Class A). Only Class D seemed easy. His opponents in the Scavenger Hunt were all girls: Ibuki Mio, Shiranami Chihiro, and Yamamura Miki.
Finally, he looked at the 10km Long Distance. The list was packed with elites:
Horikita Manabu and the Boxing Club President (Sato) from the 3rd year;
Nagumo Miyabi, Asahina Nazuna, Kiriyama Ikuto, and Kiryuin Fuuka from the 2nd year;
and Ryuen, Shibata, and Kito from the 1st year.
Aside from Horikita Suzune, there were two other girls: Kiryuin and Asahina.
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"Chabashira-sensei! Is it against the rules to go to the Red Team's area?" Ike Kanji asked.
"There is no explicit rule against it," she replied. "The division is just for management."
Hirata stood up. "Everyone, let's stick to the plan! Sotomura, Ike... we're counting on the six of you!"
As agreed, the bottom six athletic performers in the class would play a supporting role to help the class "seeds" secure top three finishes.
Just then, three pieces of Intel appeared before Shimizu:
Last Friday at 8:00 PM, Ryuen Kakeru paid 300,000 points to Yamauchi Haruki to buy Class C's participation roster. Chairman Sakayanagi Narumori personally added several slips of paper with "special content" into the Scavenger Hunt boxes. During the 4th lap of the 10km run, 2nd-year Asahina Nazuna will drop her amulet, which will be stepped on and broken by another runner. Distraught, she will trip on the 7th lap, suffer a minor leg injury, and be sent to the infirmary.
'Yamauchi betrayed the class again!'
Shimizu wasn't surprised. The class had isolated him for a month, so Ryuen found the crack. But wait... hadn't Suzune and Hirata promised to watch him?
Shimizu re-examined the total roster. Within a minute, he saw the pattern. The opponents for Class C's elites—himself, Sudo, and Hirata—were mostly unknowns.
Conversely, Class D's powerhouses like Ryuen, Ibuki, and Albert were matched against Class C's "middle-tier" athletes. Ryuen was using the Tian Ji's Horse Race strategy—sacrificing his weaklings to Class C's best while using his best to crush Class C's average students. He'd win over two-thirds of the matchups this way.
As for the amulet... it seemed precious to Asahina. He decided to find a way to warn her during the race.
'Wait, isn't Nagumo her childhood friend? Does he not notice her distress?'
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Suzune walked up to him, her face dark.
"Our list leaked. Ibuki is matched against our average girls. This is Ryuen's handiwork."
"Kikyo didn't do it this time," Shimizu added.
"Then it's Yamauchi," Suzune glanced at the rest tent where Yamauchi was lounging with Koenji and others.
Hirata joined them. When Shimizu told him the truth about the leak, Hirata bowed his head.
"It was my oversight! I didn't watch him well enough. I'm so sorry!"
"In the 21st century, you can't stop someone with a phone. It's not your fault," Shimizu said. He knew that for someone like Yamauchi, once betrayal starts, it doesn't stop.
Hirata's expression turned unusually dark.
"I'm sorry, Horikita-san... you suggested expelling him before, and I hesitated. It's my fault for being indecisive." He clenched his fists.
"Some people just don't belong in this class. I should have realized that sooner."
Hirata walked away with a rare, grim look.
"He looks like he's going to punch someone," Suzune noted.
"I doubt it; he's the 'nice guy' Hirata," Shimizu shook his head.
"But this leak isn't all bad. It'll make it easier for Hirata to accept expelling students in the future."
Suzune looked thoughtful.
'Was this his plan? To let Hirata fail so he'd grow?'
She felt a bit better about the looming losses.
'Who could refuse such a human and logical comfort?'
Then she wondered... 'is he just setting the mood for tonight's kiss?'
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The games began. With Shimizu not in the early events, Sudo and Hirata were the class stars. Thanks to the "bottom six" support strategy, they both won their heats. However, in other heats, Class C students lost by narrow margins to Ryuen's "seeds." Class D was currently leading Class C in total points.
Shimizu watched Class A and B.
They seemed to be competing fairly, putting their aces together: Kito vs Shibata, and Hashimoto vs Kanzaki. In the girls' division, Kamuro Masumi was matched against Ichinose Honami several times.
Kamuro had signed up for 9 events.
During the 100m sprint, Kamuro was a blur. She left Ichinose in the dust and took first with ease. She shot a proud look at Shimizu from across the field.
Kamuro: See that? That's my strength! Don't treat me like a protected item like Miki!
Kamuro: There are very few first-year girls who can match me. Ichinose is no problem.
Kamuro: Next are Suzune and Kikyo. Tell them to watch out.
Shimizu smiled.
'Typical Masumi—still a bit stubborn about the harem thing.'
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By 11:00 AM, the 100m, Hurdles, Pole Takedown, and Ball Toss were finished.
Event 5: Tug-of-War. The Class D boys suddenly let go of the rope. Sudo, being at the back and the strongest, bore the weight of several falling classmates.
"Ryuen! You bastard! Why did you let go?! I could have been hurt!" Sudo roared.
"Heh, I was being merciful by letting you win," Ryuen mocked. "The sight of you lot falling like stray dogs was worth it."
Sudo lunged, but Ike held him back.
"Don't fall for it, Ken! He's provoking you!"
Ayanokouji stepped forward.
"Sudo, you're the 5th leg of the 1200m relay. Shimizu is the 6th. If you get disqualified for violence, you ruin his race too."
Sudo stopped, scratched his head, and backed down.
"Fine... you got lucky, Ryuen."
Ryuen looked disappointed. He had hoped to injure Sudo or provoke a disqualification. He looked at the expressionless boy who stopped Sudo.
'Ayanokouji... the one who carried the boxes for Shimizu? He's no mere background character.'
He checked the score:
Red Team: 9890 White Team: 8680
The gap was clear. Even if Class D stayed still, the Red Team would likely win.
But Ryuen wanted more.
He walked over to the White Team area and saw Shimizu talking to a "gal" with tea-colored hair (Karuizawa Kei).
"Shimizu, you certainly have a way with women," Ryuen sneered. Kei reflexively hid behind Shimizu.
'A fake gal' Ryuen noted.
"What do you want, Ryuen?" Shimizu asked calmly.
"You're already doing Tian Ji's horse race," Kei snapped from behind Shimizu.
"Why are you here? Planning more dirty tricks?"
Ryuen's face darkened at the interruption.
'This woman needs a lesson. I'll deal with her once she's away from Shimizu's protection.'
"I don't need tricks to beat this over-built guy," Ryuen pointed at Shimizu.
"My man Albert was KO'd by him, but Albert told me Shimizu was holding back. I'm not stupid enough to try fighting him. But I'm surprised you recognized my strategy."
"It was pretty obvious," Shimizu said casually. "But I bet that's not your only card today."
Ryuen's eyes flickered with surprise before he sneered.
"Why would I need extra tricks for Class C?"
Shimizu ignored him, looking at the field. The 6th event, the Obstacle Course, was starting with the girls.
"Will Horikita Suzune of Class 1-C, Kinoshita Minori of Class 1-D... please report to the starting line!" the speakers blared.
"Yo, this is interesting," Ryuen grinned wickedly. "Horikita is in the obstacle course? And she's matched with our Kinoshita. Who do you think will win?"
Ryuen had been waiting for this specific event to start.
'The show is about to begin.'
Announcement!
Hello everyone, I'm VarieTL 😊
I'm happy to announce that I have posted 2 new Fanfiction!
You can find them in my second account VarieTL02(an account can only have a max of 20 fanfiction it seems)
Hikigaya and the Witches' Romantic Comedy
Hikigaya Hachiman, a high school student and staunch believer in celibacy, lives by the motto "Loneliness is freedom."
That's how it should be.
However, on his first day of high school, this motto is shattered.
A gyaru who transferred for him, an incredibly cute pink-haired girl sitting next to him who's always secretly watching him, a perfect superhero with long, straight black hair and an overflowing sense of justice, a childhood friend who always smiles and approaches him in a kimono, and that lone wolf with no boundaries…
Hikigaya Hachiman's daily life is completely disrupted.
Even more absurdly, all these girls are witches.
Crossover Oregairu/Manosoba (Magical Girl Witch Trials)
The Trash Returned from Warhammer
Shinji Ikari awakens in Neo Tokyo-2 with his memories and iron will as a Space Marine Librarian who served the Imperium for a century.
When a letter arrives from his estranged father, Gendo Ikari, summoning him to Neo Tokyo-3, Shinji ignores his past traumas. Instead, he interprets the summons as a holy mission from the God-Emperor. The former Astartes sets out to defend humanity once more, treating the events of Evangelion as his next theater of war.
Read ahead (160 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting