"PRRRRRRRTTTTT!"
The sharp, piercing sound of the whistle echoed powerfully across the open sky.
In a fraction of a second, the heavy tension on the track snapped.
The girls exploded forward from the starting line, kicking up a fierce cloud of dust behind them.
The crowd of boys immediately erupted into a deafening roar of cheers and screams.
Right from the very first step, Honoka Aizawa established her absolute dominance.
Her perfectly toned athletic legs carried her forward like a fired bullet.
Her expression was fiercely aggressive, her golden hair whipping violently in the wind.
She easily took the lead, leaving a massive gap between herself and the others.
*"I am at the top,"* Honoka thought, her indigo eyes fixed sharply on the track ahead.
*"I will not let anyone even breathe near my shadow. Weakness is a sin!"*
However, right behind her, running with absolute mechanical perfection, was Yoko Fujimoto.
The class monitor's face remained entirely emotionless.
She wasn't running with anger or pride; she was running with flawless, calculated efficiency.
Noticing Yoko matching her pace, Honoka gritted her teeth.
*"Oh? You think you can keep up with me?"*
Honoka immediately shifted gears, pushing her speed even higher.
Yoko's purple eyes narrowed slightly in serious mode, and she silently accelerated to match her, turning the front of the pack into a blazing two-way battle.
Meanwhile, slightly behind them, Miyu Inoue maintained a completely different aura.
She was breathing evenly, her pink braid bouncing behind her.
She wasn't trying to destroy her opponents; her innocent face was locked in sheer, unyielding determination.
Further back, Himari Suzuki was panting heavily, her face flushed red.
Her physical specs were the weakest, and her lungs were already burning, but she refused to stop.
Her dark blue eyes flickered toward the sidelines, catching a glimpse of Renjiro watching. *"I can't give up... I have to show my absolute best!"* she thought, forcing her trembling legs to keep moving.
The Sideline Chaos
As the girls dashed past the grassy sidelines, the male students were losing their absolute minds.
One boy aggressively pointed a finger toward the track, screaming at the top of his lungs, "SAYAKA-CHAN! YOU ARE THE ONLY GODDESS! WIN THIS!"
On the track, Sayaka Shirogane wasn't even taking the race seriously.
She was gliding forward with a playful, unhinged smirk.
Hearing her fanboy scream, she playfully tossed her lavender hair and adjusted her posture, causing her chest to bounce dramatically with every step.
The boy watching her suddenly froze. His eyes widened to the size of saucers as his brain completely short-circuited.
*"Ahhh... the holy bounce... my engine... it's overheating again!"*
In true comedic fashion, a high-pressure fountain of blood violently erupted from his nose for the second time!
"BLARGH!"
He collapsed backward onto the grass like a chopped tree, out cold.
The boys around him immediately burst into uncontrollable laughter, pointing at his unconscious body.
"Hahaha!
Look at this absolute loser!
His engine exploded again!
Somebody throw some water on this idiot!"
As the first lap concluded, the physical toll began to show.
Miyu's pace slowed down just a fraction as sweat formed on her forehead.
Seeing this, Junn Tachibana narrowed her cold, baby-pink eyes.
An incredibly dark, vengeful smirk twisted her lips.
*"Finally... the perfect opportunity.
I won't let you run ahead of me, Miyu Inoue.
I will completely shatter that fake innocence right here, right now!"*
Junn forcefully pushed her speed, closing the gap until she was running right beside Miyu.
Waiting for the perfect microsecond when Miyu's balance shifted, Junn secretly thrust her foot outward, aiming directly for Miyu's ankle to trip her onto the hard synthetic track.
But right at that exact moment, a powerful surge of emotion rushed through Miyu's heart.
*"No... I can't fall behind.
I promised everyone
I would do my best.
I WILL NOT LOSE!"*
Fueled by pure willpower, Miyu instantly shifted her stance and accelerated with an unexpected, explosive burst of speed.
She shot forward like a pink blur.
Junn's foot struck nothing but empty air.
*"W-What?!"* Junn panicked.
Because she had shifted her own center of gravity to trip Miyu, missing the target completely threw her off balance.
Junn stumbled awkwardly, her speed drastically dropping as she desperately waved her arms to stop herself from falling flat on her face.
Before Junn could even recover her footing, a playful voice whispered right next to her ear.
"Well, well~ Are you tired already, Junn?
Sayaka Shirogane glided effortlessly past her, flashing a thoroughly mocking and teasing smile.
"The race isn't even over yet. Don't fall asleep on the track!"
Junn's face flushed bright red with extreme anger and humiliation.
Panting heavily, she glared daggers at Sayaka's back.
*"Shut your mouth! I will destroy all of you!"*
The finish line was only fifty meters away. The crowd's screaming reached a deafening pitch.
It was an absolute dead heat.
Honoka Aizawa, Yoko Fujimoto, and Miyu Inoue were running completely neck-and-neck.
The tension was suffocating.
Honoka's aggressive pride, Yoko's mechanical perfection, and Miyu's emotional resolve were clashing violently on the track.
"HONOKA!
HONOKA!
MIYU! MIYU!
YOKO! YOKO!"
the boys chanted wildly.
From his spot on the bench, Yoshiro Kurosawa could no longer contain his overwhelming obsession.
His eyes turned into massive pink hearts.
He cupped his hands around his mouth and screamed with every ounce of air in his lungs:
*"HONOKA, MY DARLING!
SHOW THEM THE POWER OF MY FUTURE WIFE!
YOUR DEVOTED LOVER IS WILLING TO DIE FOR YOU!
WIN THIS FOR OUR LOVE!!!"*
His booming, dramatic voice echoed across the entire stadium.
Hearing those specific words, a sudden, violent shiver of absolute disgust shot up Honoka's spine.
Her perfectly focused mind instantly shattered.
She turned her head slightly toward the sidelines, her face contorting into an expression of pure, unfiltered cringe.
*"That repulsive, bald idiot...
I am going to murder him!"*
she thought, her overwhelming irritation momentarily overriding her competitive drive.
For a singular, fatal microsecond, Honoka's rhythm broke.
Her speed dropped by a mere fraction.
Yoko, thrown off by Honoka's sudden shift in momentum, slightly hesitated.
But Miyu didn't hesitate.
Channeling every last drop of her stamina, Miyu closed her eyes and threw her body forward.
SWOOSH!
Miyu Inoue crossed the finish line entirely fueled by her unbroken focus, beating Honoka and Yoko by exactly one single inch.
The crowd erupted into utter madness.
Renjiro watched in absolute awe from the sidelines, his heart pounding.
The sheer intensity of the girls' battle had completely blown his mind.
Back in the crowd, Zixuan Lee didn't cheer.
He simply kept his hand in his pocket, his cold, calculating smirk widening into a look of absolute satisfaction.
*"Just as I calculated,"* Zixuan thought, his ruby eyes gleaming.
*"Honoka had the physical advantage, but her overwhelming pride made her susceptible to irritation.
A single, pathetic distraction from that bald idiot was all it took to break her focus.
Miyu won with her mind."*
End Chapter