Kikyo's Wake-Up Call / Airi's Picking Up Bad Habits

"At least, I haven't met anyone like that so far."

The conversation was brief. The only chance for students from different grades to meet was during the relay race, so the host quickly dismissed the classes and let each faction discuss things on its own.

Kiyotaka and Horikita had barely exchanged a few words when Katsuragi had already led the students from Class A over to them.

"Though we're working together in a rather unusual way, I look forward to cooperating with you."

Katsuragi calmly looked at Hirata and held out his hand.

"I feel the same. I hope we work well together."

Hirata wasn't intimidated in the slightest. He took Katsuragi's hand with a smile.

"As for our approach to this Sports Festival..."

Just as Katsuragi was about to begin discussing it, a commotion broke out nearby, where Classes B and C were gathered.

"Are you really going to refuse to cooperate?"

Honami Ichinose's voice rang out. In front of her stood Ryuen, the leader of Class C, preparing to leave with the rest of his class.

At Ichinose's voice, Ryuen stopped and looked back with a grin.

"I'm doing this for your sake. Even if I stayed, you wouldn't trust me, so why waste time probing each other?"

Ryuen laughed indifferently.

"Oh, so you're doing it for my sake." Ichinose nodded thoughtfully. She was still willing to cooperate.

"Ryuen, are you really so confident you can win without cooperating?"

"Who knows?"

With that, he turned and led everyone from Class C away. But Kiyotaka clearly noticed Ryuen flash a sinister grin in Horikita's direction as he turned.

Katsuragi had clearly seen the grin too. After thinking for a moment, he walked over to Horikita.

"We're partners this time, so I'll offer you a word of advice. Don't underestimate Ryuen. He's a venomous snake who'll smile and smile, then suddenly bite you. If you let your guard down, you'll regret it."

"Thank you for sharing your experience."

Horikita gave Katsuragi a cold look.

"...Anyway, I've given you my warning."

Katsuragi didn't want to deal with Horikita's sharp tongue, so he walked back.

"Judging from what you were saying, he's been making moves for quite some time?"

A petite girl sitting in a chair kept playing with the slender cane in her hand, her head slightly lowered as she asked in a casual tone.

"She's Sakayanagi Arisu. Because of her health, she has to sit in a chair. I hope you'll understand."

Katsuragi explained.

"So that's Sakayanagi."

Just as Katsuragi had explained, her slender build and the cane in her hand made it easy to guess.

She gave off an aura unlike that of the other girls. There was a delicate, almost sickly beauty about her, and her short, snow-white hair had become Sakayanagi's signature.

The boys in Class D all exclaimed that Sakayanagi was cute, but unlike usual, they didn't dare approach her recklessly. She gave them a sense of pressure, as if something bad would happen if they got too close.

At that moment, Sakayanagi used her cane to push herself weakly to her feet and addressed Class D.

"I'm very sorry, but I won't be able to contribute anything on the field during this Sports Festival. If I participated, I'd lose without even competing."

Everyone, from Hirata down to Sudo, understood her apology. Making a frail girl take part in athletic events would be too cruel.

"You don't need to apologize. We all understand."

Hirata smiled.

"Thank you for understanding."

Sakayanagi smiled faintly.

Unlike the image the others had formed of Sakayanagi without ever meeting her, she was now polite and well-behaved, seeming harmless and completely nonthreatening.

But when Kiyotaka noticed the nearly imperceptible yet deeply divisive line between the silent Katsuragi and Sakayanagi, he knew she was nothing like she appeared.

And perhaps because Katsuragi had lost the last two exams, Sakayanagi's faction now had the advantage over his, both in numbers and in presence.

She hadn't even been present for those two exams, yet she'd still managed to win over the students of Class A. Sakayanagi definitely wasn't as simple as her cute appearance suggested.

After speaking, Sakayanagi sat back down. Perhaps she'd noticed Kiyotaka watching her, because she turned her head slightly and gave him an inscrutable smile. It struck him as unsettling: there was something sickly about it, as well as a strong sense of possessiveness.

Kiyotaka narrowed his eyes slightly. This girl he'd never met before was no ordinary person.

Kikyo's Wake-Up Call

The discussion between Classes A and D ended quickly. Class A hadn't said it outright, but they still felt that Class D couldn't keep up with them. Since the two classes couldn't match each other's pace, the best way to cooperate was to stay out of each other's way and keep their lineups secret.

Hirata agreed, so the two sides soon went their separate ways.

"Kiyotaka, what do you think of this Sports Festival?"

Horikita looked at Kiyotaka and asked.

"What is there to think? It's just a competition of physical strength and ability, isn't it?"

Kiyotaka stared ahead with a distant, unfocused gaze and answered casually.

"Maybe luck plays a part too. Someone could have better athletic ability than eighty percent of the students, but still be eliminated if they're unlucky enough to face one of the remaining twenty percent. On the other hand, someone who usually fails physical education could still win if they faced someone even worse. That's too unpredictable. Isn't there some way to guarantee victory?"

Horikita rarely spoke at such length.

Kiyotaka could hear her longing for victory and her anxiety in her voice.

His eyes gradually focused on Horikita.

"Suzune, you're too impatient right now. You've lost your composure."

Before Horikita could object, Kiyotaka asked her:

"What's different about the Sports Festival compared with the other two Special Exams?"

"I don't think it's any different. It's just another Special Exam."

Horikita thought it over before replying.

Kiyotaka shook his head and rejected her answer outright.

"The basic premise is different. We may assume the Sports Festival is a Special Exam, but the school, Chabashira-sensei, and even the host just called it a Sports Festival. It's like our regular exams: there might be a few minor adjustments to the scores, but overall, they're still testing our abilities. So I think all we need to do is prepare beforehand and face it with the best lineup and condition we can manage."

Horikita wasn't convinced.

"I was thinking about preparation. I want to know if there's a reliable way to make sure Class D wins."

Kiyotaka didn't give her a direct answer. He just stared at her.

"Don't abandon your individuality because of one temporary failure."

Kiyotaka didn't spell it out. He trusted Horikita to understand on her own.

Horikita had always faced challenges head-on, but that had only led to repeated defeats. It was understandable that her thinking might become distorted under those circumstances, but if that was the case, how was she any different from Ryuen?

Horikita fell silent and thought carefully about what Kiyotaka meant. Kiyotaka was happy to take it easy. With nothing to do, he stood off to the side with his hands in his pockets and watched Hirata and the others discuss things.

It was so boring that Kiyotaka slipped into the Equipment Room, lay down on a mat, and slowly fell asleep.

After an unknown amount of time, Kiyotaka felt something strange.

He opened his eyes and saw Kikyo leaning over him.

"What are you doing?"

Kikyo lifted her head, mumbling indistinctly.

"I'm waking you up."

Then she lowered her head again and continued.

Kiyotaka stroked her hair and asked:

"How did you know I was here?"

At that, Kikyo looked aggrieved as she pulled away and said:

"You've got some nerve asking! Kiyotaka, you're such a heartbreaker. You found someone new and forgot all about your old love. I've missed you so much, but you never come looking for me. I've been keeping an eye on you, and when I saw everyone leave but you were still here, I came to find you."

As she spoke, Kikyo put on a pitiful expression.

Kiyotaka looked at her and laughed helplessly.

"Come on, stop pretending."

Kikyo playfully stuck out her tongue and continued.

Kiyotaka let Kikyo take care of him. Of the people he knew, she was the best at getting his attention. She knew how to use every part of herself to tease him.

As she tended to him, Kikyo reached toward herself.

"Mm..."

Her fingers moved, and Kikyo let out a soft moan. Though she couldn't compare to Kiyotaka, her mind kept returning to those past moments of Heavenly Echo with him. As she remembered, her movements grew faster.

Soon, she paid no attention to Kiyotaka. She shifted from kneeling to crouching, facing him.

"Kiyotaka!"

With a cry from Kikyo, a small stream formed in front of her and trickled down.

Kikyo's face was flushed. It was impossible to tell whether she was embarrassed or overwhelmed.

Her body trembled twice, and she spoke in an extremely shy voice.

"Kiyotaka..."

Even Kiyotaka was left parched by Kikyo's boldness. The two of them immediately launched into an intense, noisy struggle.

The struggle grew heated. They tussled together, shifting from lying down to crouching and then standing, and Kiyotaka lost track of how long it lasted.

After a long battle, Kikyo was ultimately defeated, ending with a piercing cry.

Kikyo lay exhausted on the clean mat, her strength gone. Every so often, a tremor passed through her body.

Kiyotaka sat beside her and patted her backside.

"Kikyo, I need to ask you for a favor."

At that, Kikyo turned toward him and looked at him affectionately.

"Just tell me. I'll do it."

Kiyotaka looked at Kikyo and thought for a moment before speaking.

"Like last time, I need you to..."

"All right, I understand."

They talked for a long time. Afterward, they tidied themselves up, and Kikyo cleaned up before leaving first. Kiyotaka lay on the mat, staring into space for a long while before finally leaving the gym.

But Kiyotaka hadn't expected to run into the same person in the same place on the way back to the dorms. The only difference was that this time, he was alone.

"Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, I'll be waiting for you in the final leg of the relay. Don't disappoint me. And my invitation to join the Student Council still stands. You're welcome to join at any time."

Manabu Horikita said this without explanation, then turned and left.

Kiyotaka watched Manabu walk away with a calm, expressionless gaze. Those Horikita siblings were such a headache—or perhaps it ran in the family. They were both so tsundere.

"Honestly, why do the troublesome things never stop? Can't I ever take it easy?"

Kiyotaka shook his head and said:

On a plane right now. Scheduled updates. I'll try to write as much as I can over the next couple of days. Bear with me, guys.

Airi's Picked Up Some Bad Habits

It seemed even the heavens couldn't endure the long spell of scorching heat any longer. A heavy downpour arrived dramatically that night, sweeping away the recent muggy heat and bringing a hint of coolness.

Kiyotaka was lying on his bed, staring into space as he listened to the rain pattering outside, when someone suddenly knocked on the door.

Kiyotaka glanced at the time in confusion. It was already past nine in the evening, and he couldn't figure out who would come by at that hour.