Author's Opening Comments:  Last chapter I said the same thing, but thanks again for all the comments!

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The day of the athletics festival has come . The weather is perfect and everyone is pumped .

As the events are going on, everyone else is free to do what they want on the sports grounds . As for the three of us, we're having fun watching all the events .

Egg toss, scavenger hunt, centipede race, tug of war, dance compet.i.tions and so many more events . It was pretty impressive seeing so many events in a row . Yukis.h.i.+ro-san did the egg toss and Hasuike did the tug of war . As for me, I decided to do the large skip rope . All the second years partic.i.p.ated in the Sodan Bus.h.i.+ dance and the scavenger hunt was for the whole school .

After much time, the much antic.i.p.ated 2nd year relay race finally arrived .

"You two do your best!"

Hasuike and I both give Yukis.h.i.+ro-san a thumbs up .

"I'll do my best as the first one up, everything's up to you after . "

And after Hasuike's words, I do the same thing .

"The first runners for the relay, please line up!"

Hasuike leaves to line up as we hear the student council president's resounding gathering call . Yukis.h.i.+ro-san and I stand and watch Hasuike as he gets ready . From the speakers, we can hear the cla.s.sic relay song "h.e.l.lish Orpheus'' playing .

"On your marks, get set, GOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!"

Bang .

The pistol fires off its blank and the four runners begin their run .

"You can do it, Hasuike-kun!"

Yukis.h.i.+ro-san and all of our cla.s.smates shout words of encouragement as loud as we can . Our shouts reach him, and we can see his face light up . And with that, the tops pa.s.s over the baton to the next runners .

Our cla.s.s has 31 students and with each baton pa.s.s, the relay keeps on going, inching towards the finale .

"What will I do . . . I think it's going to be my turn soon…”

Yukis.h.i.+ro-san turns white as her turn slowly approaches .

"Hey, calm down Yukis.h.i.+ro-san, this is what you've been practicing for . You'll be alright . "

"Th-thanks . Hey, Ichinose-kun, can you put out your hand?"

"My hand? Sure . "

I don't really understand what she wants with my hand, but I put it out anyways . She takes it with her hands and clasps it tightly .

"Huh . . . "

"I think that'll do . Thanks Ichinose-kun, I feel more confident now . "

"Y-yeah . . . "

Her usually white face now has a shade of pink, glowing with vigour . I smile and wave as she leaves, but all I can think about is my racing heart .

As she takes the baton, her soft hair flutters in the wind as she runs as fast as she can . I find myself gazing at her intently . As she reaches the next runner, she manages to pa.s.s the baton successfully . Having fulfilled her duty, our eyes meet and we both smile at each other .

And all that's left is my job, the most important one .

Right now, Cla.s.s 2 is leading the compet.i.tion by a considerable margin, meanwhile our cla.s.s is second with the third place cla.s.s chasing our tails . The anchors take their positions . Kirigaya, the anchor for Cla.s.s four, me and the anchor for Cla.s.s three line up in that order .

Everyone is stretching their muscles and rolling their wrists except for me . I'm standing stock still . The guy from Cla.s.s four turns to Kirigaya .

"Is the guy from Cla.s.s 1 an amateur or what?"

I'm pretty sure the anchors from Cla.s.ses 3 and 4 are members of the track team too .

"The anchor from Cla.s.s 1 is in the track team too . But his girlfriend dumped him, so his mind is in a twist right now . Hahaha!"

" . . . . . . . . ''

It's obvious that Kirigaya is mistaking me for Hasuike .

"Well, it's not like he can ever win against me in anything . Not in running and definitely not in lov-"

"The baton's coming . "

"ah, I'll be going then . "

With a c.o.c.ky smile, Kirigaya gets ready to take the baton, but not before he pushes his hand through his hair . And the gap between first and second becomes even more drastic . People from my cla.s.s are anxious . Yukis.h.i.+ro-san and Hasuike especially, as they look at the oncoming runner with worry .

The runner from Cla.s.s 2 runs up and she pa.s.ses the baton to Kirirgaya .

With the stars of the show finally appearing on stage, everyone's attention focuses back on the running track . Under the s.h.i.+ning May sky, the banging of drums, the enthusiastic cheers from the girls and the yells of encouragement from the guys are all united .

As the final runners get ready, the final song ends . All that's left is a straight dash to the finish line .

Alright then .

The guy from Cla.s.s 4 takes off and I'm getting ready myself . Destroying Kirigaya is my only goal, nothing has changed . I've come this far, no backing out now . I get myself ready like how Hasuike has instructed me many times before .

The Cla.s.s 4 anchor receives his baton .

And then, a few seconds later .

In my hand, my cla.s.smate hands over the baton to me .

Off I go .

I can feel the wind resisting me as I start springing forward . The noise of the cheering fades away and all I can hear is my own breathing .

In front of me, the Cla.s.s 4 anchor seems to be frozen in time, so I easily pa.s.s him .

And second place is mine .

But that's not enough .

In my line of sight lies the back of Kirigaya .

I'll f.u.c.king pulverize him .

Just then, the tailwinds and headwinds s.h.i.+ft .

With every step, I advance further, my feet kicking on the soft ground .

With every step, Kirigaya's back becomes bigger .

Just like the haughty hare, he thinks he's all alone running so far ahead of everyone else . His stiffening eyes as he sees me approaching is so satisfying .

With every step, the goal line becomes ever so clear as Kirigaya and I are neck and neck .

He really is the track team ace . His running speed is fast .

But I am a level beyond him .

"Fuu . . . Kuu . . . "

As I break the goal tape, I hear Kirirgaya's pained moans behind me .

All the students seem to be shocked silent, but the next second, thunderous applause is heard throughout the sports grounds . All my cla.s.smates come rus.h.i.+ng towards me, pick me up and throw me into the air .

"H-hey everyone, calm dow-"

Since I'm all the way up in the air, none of my cla.s.smates can hear me . Oh well, might as well live in the moment .

As I look down, I see tears running down Yukis.h.i.+ro-san's face and beside her, Hasuike is weeping loudly, his face in his arms . Those two seem to be elated .

"Ichinose, you're one h.e.l.l of a runner!"

"You were so fast!"

"I know right! If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be in first place!"

"You're so hot!!!"

"The anchor for Cla.s.s 2 was the ace of the track team, Kirigaykun! You left him in the dust!"

"That piece of s.h.i.+t deserved what came to him given his c.o.c.ky face before . "

Seems like Kirigaya is trying his best to remain cool, but the girls in his cla.s.s can see through his flimsy act . With reality hitting him, Kirigaya flops down onto the ground and stares dumbfoundedly into s.p.a.ce . I manage to catch this from the corner of my eye .

The atmosphere for Cla.s.s 2 definitely feels like a funeral, with an ashamed feeling going around everyone . With everyone abandoning him, Kirigaya turns his attention to the first year area .

As if it was just magic, my eyes find a first year girl furrowing her eyebrows and biting her lip . My eyes meet with that girl, Hanabi Kisaragi .

Oh no, her own boyfriend got beaten by her ex, how vexing . For f.u.c.k's sake . Well, I'm not really angry or anything, just mildly annoyed . Because of Hasuike, I was able to beat Kirigaya and with that, I have even more reason to not give a d.a.m.n about Hanabi .

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Translator's Notes: Such a satisfying chapter, the running sequence was pretty hype . Also, expect a delay for Chapter 10, I have a surprise in the works . Look out for that!

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