Sports Festival · Opening

Friday, six o'clock in the morning. As the first ray of sunlight pierced the sky, the sports field of Advanced Nurturing High School was already bustling with activity.

Colorful flags fluttered in the morning breeze, and the stands were filled with students wearing tracksuits of various colors. The formations of the four classes were neatly lined up in the center of the field, awaiting the start of the opening ceremony.

In the Class D formation, Hanyu Xiuyi stood at the very front, followed by forty classmates wearing dark blue tracksuits. His gaze swept across the field—Class A's white formation was neat and uniform, with Katsuragi Kohei at the front, his expression serious; Class B's light blue formation was full of vitality, Ichinose Honami's pink long hair particularly conspicuous in the morning light; Class C's gray formation seemed somewhat gloomy, with Ryuen Sho at the front, wearing his signature dangerous smile.

"Are you all nervous?" Hanyu quietly asked Hirata Yousuke behind him.

"A little." Hirata's blond hair shone in the morning light, and he took a deep breath, "But mostly excited."

"Me too." Sudo Ken warmed up his wrists nearby, his red hair like a flame, "I can't wait to get on the field!"

Karuizawa Kei stood in front of the girls' line, turning back to the girls behind her, "Don't be nervous, everyone, just do as we practiced!" Her ponytail swayed gently in the morning breeze, her smile bright and natural.

Kushida Kikyo stood beside her, her shoulder-length short hair pinned behind her ear with a light blue hairpin, a faint smile on her face. Her gaze briefly met Hanyu's, and she nodded slightly.

Everything was ready.

At seven o'clock sharp, the broadcast sounded.

"All students, the XXth Sports Festival now begins. First, please have each class representative swear."

The representatives of the four classes walked onto the main stage. Class A was Katsuragi Kohei, Class B was Ichinose Honami, Class C was Ryuen Sho, and Class D was Hanyu Xiuyi.

The four stood side by side on the stage, forming a subtle scene. Sunlight shone on them, and each person's expression was different—Katsuragi's seriousness, Ichinose's warmth, Ryuen's coldness, Hanyu's calmness.

"I swear," the four said in unison, "to abide by competition rules, respect opponents, give my all, and compete fairly."

When Ryuen said "compete fairly," the corner of his mouth slightly upturned. That tiny expression was noticed only by Hanyu.

The oath concluded, and the four walked off the stage. When passing by Hanyu, Ryuen said in a low voice, "Ready to lose?"

Hanyu did not answer, merely gave him a look.

That look was calm and deep, like a bottomless pool.

At eight o'clock sharp, the first event began—the Men's 100m Dash.

Class D sent out Sudo Ken. He stood at the starting line, warming up his body, his gaze fixed on the finish line ahead. On the adjacent lane, Class C's Ishizaki Daichi was showing him a provocative smile.

"Sudo! Go!" From the stands, the Class D students shouted in unison.

The starting gun fired.

Sudo Ken shot out like an arrow from a bow. His start was perfect, his cadence extremely fast, and he instantly took half a body lead. Ishizaki Daichi closely followed, the two almost neck and neck.

In the last twenty meters, Sudo accelerated again, crossing the finish line first.

"First Place! Class D's Sudo Ken!" the broadcast sounded.

Class D's grandstand erupted in enthusiastic cheers. Sudo raised both hands high, his face full of the joy of victory. He looked back at Ishizaki, that big guy was angrily punching the ground.

"Well done!" Hanyu patted his shoulder.

"Piece of cake!" Sudo grinned, "There's more to come!"

Nine O'Clock, Women's 100m Dash.

Class D's representative was Matsushita Chiaki. This usually calm short-haired girl stood at the starting line, her expression as calm as ever. On the adjacent lane, Class C's Ibuki Mio was looking at her.

The starting gun fired.

Matsushita Chiaki's start was not fast, but her rhythm was excellent, every step was stable and powerful. In the last thirty meters, she started accelerating, gradually catching up to the runners ahead.

At the finish line, she won second place by a narrow margin.

"Well done, Matsushita!" Karuizawa Kei rushed up and hugged her.

Matsushita rarely showed a hint of a smile, "Not bad."

Ibuki Mio walked over, gave her a look, said nothing, and walked away directly. But when passing by Hanyu, she nodded slightly.

That was the signal--everything proceeded according to plan.

Ten O'Clock, Men's High Jump.

Class D's representative was Sotomura Hideo. This usually shy boy stood in front of the high jump bar, so nervous his hands were shaking.

"Sotomura, you can do it!" Hirata Yousuke encouraged him from the side.

Sotomura took a deep breath and started the run-up. His movements were standard, his take-off timing perfect, his body drew a beautiful arc in the air--

"Success!" The referee raised a white flag.

After landing, Sotomura paused for a second, then showed a surprised smile. In the stands, Class D's classmates cheered joyfully.

Next, the height kept increasing. 1.5 meters, 1.6 meters, 1.7 meters... Sotomura successfully cleared the bar again and again.

Finally, he won third place.

"Sotomura! You're amazing!" Sudo rushed up and lifted him up.

Sotomura blushed, but his eyes twinkled with excitement, "I, I didn't expect I could jump this high..."

"This is your strength." Hanyu walked over, patted his shoulder, "You need to be more confident in the future."

Sotomura nodded vigorously.

Eleven o'clock, Women's Long Jump.

Class D sent out Hasebe Haruka. (She) stood on the run-up track, (her) brown short hair blown somewhat messy by the wind, (her) expression focused and serious.

Run-up, takeoff, flight, landing--her movements were fluid, her posture graceful.

Result announced: 4.87 meters, currently ranked second.

"Hasebe is amazing!" Sakura Airi applauded from the side.

Hasebe reddened, and whispered, "It's, it's okay..."

During lunch break, under the shade of a tree by the sports field, Class D students gathered to eat lunch.

"The morning results are good!" Hirata Yousuke looked at the statistics sheet, "Men's 100m first, Women's 100m second, Men's High Jump third, Women's Long Jump second... currently ranked second in total points!"

"Second?" Sudo frowned, "Who's first?"

"Class A," Hirata said, "They are consistently in the top three for every event, and their total score is 15 points higher than ours."

"There's still the obstacle course and tug-of-war in the afternoon," Hanyu said, "These two events are double points, we can catch up."

Kushida Kikyo walked over and sat down beside him. Her expression was calm, but there was a hint of tension in her gaze.

"Hanyu, about Ryuen..."

"Is there any news?"

Kushida nodded and lowered her voice, "Ibuki just told me that during the afternoon obstacle course, Ryuen will make a move at the third obstacle. That's the single plank bridge."

Hanyu nodded, "Understood."

He looked at Sudo, the red-haired boy was eating heartily, completely unaware of what would happen in the afternoon.

But it didn't matter. He was ready.

One o'clock in the afternoon, the obstacle course began.

This was one of the most anticipated events of the Sports Festival. The course was five hundred meters long and featured ten obstacles--rope net climb, single plank bridge crossing, tunnel crawl, wall climb... each testing the contestants' comprehensive abilities.

The most crucial part is that this event is worth double points. First place earns the class 100 points, second place gets 60 points, third place gets 40 points, and fourth place gets 20 points.

Class D sent out Sudo Ken. He stood at the starting line, warming up his body, his eyes burning with fighting spirit.

On the adjacent lane, Class C's Ishizaki Daichi showed him a provocative smile. Next to him, the athletes from Class A and Class B were also ready.

The starting gun fired.

Six athletes rushed out from the starting line simultaneously. The first obstacle was a rope net. Sudo Ken moved agilely, climbing to the top in a few moves and landing first. Ishizaki closely followed, and the two reached the second obstacle—a tunnel—almost at the same time.

Sudo Ken crawled into the tunnel, using his hands and feet to move forward. The tunnel was narrow, only allowing one person to pass. He heard Ishizaki's heavy breathing behind him.

The third obstacle—the single plank bridge.

Sudo Ken burst out of the tunnel, facing a single plank bridge about ten meters long, suspended two meters above the ground. He took a deep breath and stepped onto the bridge.

Just then, he felt the bridge beneath his feet shake slightly.

Here it comes!

According to Ibuki's intel, Ryuen would tamper with the single plank bridge. The specific method was to tamper with the bridge's support points. When an athlete reached the middle, the bridge would shake violently, causing them to fall into the water.

But Sudo Ken was prepared.

Instead of rushing like a normal person, he slowed down, stepping firmly with each stride. By the time the bridge began to shake violently, he had already lowered his center of gravity, his hands slightly spread to maintain balance, like an agile cat.

"What?" Ryuen, watching from the stands, widened his eyes.

Sudo Ken steadily walked across the single plank bridge and looked back at Ishizaki, who was struggling on the bridge. The big guy, flustered, missed a step and fell into the water with a splash.

"Sudo! Well done!" Cheers erupted from Class D's stands.

Sudo grinned and continued to charge forward. He cleared the remaining seven obstacles one by one, finally crossing the finish line first.

"First place! Class D's Sudo Ken!"

After the obstacle race, there was a short break.

Hanyu Xiuyi walked over to Sudo and handed him a bottle of water. "Well done."

"Heh heh," Sudo took the water and drank it in large gulps. "Those little tricks, they thought they could stop me? I've practiced for this!"

"However, the real test is still ahead," Hanyu said, looking towards the tug-of-war field in the distance. "The tug-of-war match is the key."

The tug-of-war match was a team event, with each class sending twenty people to participate. This was also a double-points event, and because it was a team confrontation, it was easier to tamper with.

"Ryuen will definitely make a move in the tug-of-war," Hanyu said. "We need to be especially careful."

"Don't worry," Sudo patted his chest. "With me here, he won't succeed."

Hanyu nodded, but still felt uneasy. That person Ryuen never had just one plan. The single plank bridge failed; he must have another move.

At 3 PM, the tug-of-war competition began.

The four classes drew lots to decide the matchups. The results were out: Class D vs. Class C, Class A vs. Class B.

"It's finally here," Ryuen looked at Hanyu, a dangerous smile on his face.

The contestants from both teams stood on either side of the rope. On Class D's side, Sudo Ken was at the very front, followed by Ike Kanji, Yamauchi Haruki, Yukimura Teruhiko, Hirata Yousuke, and over a dozen other boys. The girls were also cheering them on from the sidelines.

On Class C's side, Ishizaki Daichi was at the front, followed by a group of muscular boys. Ibuki Mio stood at the back of the team, her expression cold.

The referee raised his flag. "Ready—Go!"

Both sides exerted force simultaneously. The rope instantly became taut, and the shouts from both sides echoed across the sports field.

"Go Class D! Go Class D!"

"Push Class C! Push Class C!"

Sudo Ken gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead. He could feel Class C's strength was considerable, but Class D was not weak either. Both sides were locked in a stalemate for a full thirty seconds, the rope not moving an inch.

Just then, Hanyu noticed a detail—among Class C's team, a few people were exchanging glances.

Here it comes!

As expected, the next second, Class C suddenly exerted force together, and the rope moved a section towards their side. But in that instant, Hanyu saw the people who exchanged glances secretly move their feet forward a step—that was a foul!

"Referee!" Hanyu immediately shouted. "Class C fouled! They moved forward!"

The referee raised his flag and paused the match. Several referees walked over to Class C's side to investigate, but Ryuen's people had already returned to their original positions, leaving no evidence.

"No foul found," the referee announced. "Continue the match."

Ryuen gave Hanyu a triumphant smile.

But Hanyu didn't panic. He looked at Kushida, who nodded slightly, then walked up to the referee.

"Referee, I have evidence," her voice was clear and firm.

Everyone was stunned. Ryuen's expression changed instantly.

Kushida took out her mobile phone from her pocket and opened a video. The video clearly captured the moment when those few students from Class C moved forward.

"I took this just now," Kushida said. "I was recording the entire match process."

The referee took the mobile phone and examined it carefully. Then, they exchanged a look.

"Class C is disqualified for a foul, their results for this match are voided. Class D directly advances to the finals."

Ryuen's face turned ashen. He stared at Kushida, his eyes full of rage. But Kushida didn't flinch, she just looked at him calmly.

In that moment, Ryuen understood everything.

Kushida had betrayed him.

The finals were held between Class D and Class A.

Without Class C's interference, the match became pure and intense. Class A was strong, but Class D's momentum was even greater. The two sides went back and forth, locked in a stalemate for a full minute.

At the last moment, Sudo Ken let out a roar, leading Class D to exert their strength together. The rope moved inch by inch towards Class D's side--

"Beep!" The whistle blew.

"Victory! Class D wins!"

The Class D stands instantly erupted. Students rushed onto the field, hugging the competitors. Sudo Ken was tossed into the air by everyone. Hirata Yousuke was so moved his eye sockets reddened. Karuizawa Kei hugged the other girls, crying and laughing.

Hanyu Xiuyi stood outside the crowd, watching it all, a relieved smile on his lips.

"Hanyu." Horikita Suzune walked up to him, her black hair slightly damp with sweat. "We won."

"Mhm." Hanyu nodded. "We won."

In the distance, Ryuen was leaving with the Class C members. He looked back at Hanyu, his eyes filled with unwillingness and anger. But in the end, he still turned and left.

The sun began to set, its golden afterglow bathing the sports field. The Class D students were still celebrating, their laughter and cheering echoing in the air.

Kushida Kikyo walked up to Hanyu and said softly, "Thank you, Hanyu."

"Thank you for what?"

"Thank you for letting me realize that it's okay to be myself."

Hanyu looked at her and smiled.

"You're welcome. Welcome home."

Night fell, and the Sports Festival concluded.

But a new chapter had just begun.