Horikita Wants to See Through Kiyotaka / Horikita and Kiyotaka's Wager

After the boys finished testing, they passed the grip dynamometer over to the girls. Based on the results, Hirata assigned the four strongest students—Sudo, Kiyotaka, Hirata, and Miyake—to tug-of-war and four-way tug-of-war. Seeing himself conspicuously among them, Kiyotaka sighed helplessly.

"Man, does that mean we don't stand a chance?"

Ike looked at the names on the sign-up sheet and said dejectedly.

"No. We still have a chance in events like the scavenger race, where you need brains and luck."

"Then how do we pick who enters those?"

"Easy. We'll just play rock-paper-scissors. Let luck decide the luck-based events."

For once, Hirata made a suggestion without much basis, but it still made some sense for events like these. You could never predict what luck would bring.

Kiyotaka prayed inwardly that he would be unlucky at rock-paper-scissors and lose. He even kept throwing scissors to give the others a chance. But what left him speechless was that he'd made the cut with a single throw of scissors. Ike looked at him enviously.

"I'm so jealous. You got picked for two events."

Kiyotaka really wanted to tell him, You can have them. But, worried the people around him would criticize him, he could only stay silent and brood.

"You don't look too happy."

After the girls finished their grip tests, Horikita came over to Kiyotaka and asked him.

"I'm not as good at sports as you are, but I've still been picked for two events. Do you know how miserable that is?"

Kiyotaka stated the cruel truth calmly, as if he were describing someone else's plight.

"Oh? How unfortunate."

Horikita had naturally noticed his reluctance. She smiled, teasing him for once.

Kiyotaka didn't want to answer. Fortunately, these weren't the final selections, and they could still make changes if better candidates came along. He resolved to give up his spots as soon as he got the chance.

Before long, they had a rough list of competitors. Apart from the events he'd chosen himself, Sudo was taking part in most of the team events, making everyone wonder whether he'd have the stamina to keep up. On the girls' side, Horikita and several other athletic girls were entering most of the events, with the remaining slots filled by the others.

Once they had a tentative list, Hirata suggested using the next PE lesson for practice and adjustments. Naturally, no one objected. At last, the trying lesson was over for Kiyotaka.

The following lesson was also set aside for Sports Festival preparations, so Hirata scheduled the independent practice during homeroom. Kiyotaka had changed early and was standing blankly on the field when Ike walked up beside him, glanced toward the school building, and said with obvious distaste,

"Whoa, Kiyotaka, look over there."

Kiyotaka followed Ike's gaze and saw a number of watchful faces at the windows of the first-year classrooms. There were quite a few of them—students from Class B and even their allies in Class A.

"They're not even trying to hide it."

Horikita had changed and immediately noticed the glaring stares as well. She came over to Kiyotaka.

Kiyotaka thought it was only natural. When they had a chance to openly assess their opponents' strength, only an idiot wouldn't take it. Besides, this practice was being held to prepare for the Sports Festival. Holding back just to conceal their abilities would be counterproductive.

Horikita could see that, of course. What bothered her was Class C. She could clearly see people moving around over there, yet not a single one of them was looking toward Class D.

Kiyotaka noticed Horikita's gaze too.

"Are you keeping an eye on Ryuen?"

"I guess so. Still, I can't imagine he hasn't thought about scouting the other classes. He flat-out rejected Class B's offer to cooperate. Does that mean he has no intention of coming up with a strategy?"

Horikita glanced at Kiyotaka's impassive expression, then pursed her lips.

"I know! If you hadn't warned me, I would have thought the same thing. But you said earlier that Ryuen already has a strategy of his own, one that suits his style. Could what Class C is doing now mean that your guess is gradually turning into reality? That he simply doesn't care how the other classes perform?"

"Who knows..."

Kiyotaka gave an answer that could have meant anything.

Horikita stared intently at him, as if trying to see right through him.

"I've realized you're hiding a lot. Your insight is terrifying. I only notice these things because you point them out, but you seem to have known all along. You're a scary person."

Kiyotaka seemed unwilling to continue the conversation, so he smiled and said,

"Scary? How about you come find out tonight?"

Horikita knew he was changing the subject, but she still couldn't help blushing. To keep anyone else from noticing, she gave a cold snort and walked away.

Not long after Horikita left, Sudo went over to talk to her. They seemed to argue a little, but by the end, Sudo walked off looking expectant and fired up.

Kiyotaka had no idea what they'd argued about. He only caught a few words, such as "top of the year," but he wasn't curious. He just silently felt sorry for Sudo.

Although Hirata didn't force anyone to train during the lesson, everyone seemed to share the same goal under his guidance. Most of the students were putting in their best effort.

"Huff, huff."

Airi crossed the finish line in last place, weighed down by her heavy burden. Feeling utterly exhausted, she braced her hands on her knees and panted heavily.

"Airi, good work. You gave it your all and finished the whole course."

As he spoke, Kiyotaka handed her a towel.

"Ah, Kiyotaka, why are you... here?"

Airi looked up, saw Kiyotaka, and took the towel. Then she struggled to straighten up.

After all that intense exercise, Airi couldn't get the words out in one go. As she caught her breath, her chest rose and fell with each pant, looking as if it might spill out of her clothes at any moment. Combined with her sweat-soaked appearance, she was a sight to behold.

Airi noticed Kiyotaka's gaze shift. The blush that exercise had brought to her cheeks grew even more pronounced, and she chided him lightly,

"Kiyotaka, pay attention. You still have events to take part in, don't you?"

Her words instantly dampened Kiyotaka's interest. His energy drained away again, and after shooting Airi a disgruntled glance, he left.

Airi's giggles were the only thing he left behind.

Meanwhile, after Sudo sprinted faster than anyone else, Kikyo praised him without holding back.

"No wonder you're so good, Sudo. You're first in every sport! That's amazing!"

"Heh, it's nothing."

Sudo delivered his modest words in a thoroughly immodest manner, which looked rather incongruous.

"You don't have to be modest, Sudo. I really think you're amazing. I feel like you'd be perfect as the Sports Festival leader."

"Leader? Me?"

Sudo pointed at himself in astonishment.

"I agree," Hirata said, backing up Kikyo's suggestion. "The Sports Festival is a chance for students who are good at sports to shine. I think Sudo would be the obvious choice. Would you take on that role for the sake of our class?"

"But I'm not cut out to be a leader..."

Sudo was clearly over the moon at their praise. Still, he knew where he stood. He wasn't very sociable with the class, and usually only spent time with the trio and Kiyotaka. Before he knew it, his eyes had drifted toward Horikita.

"In theory, you have no leadership ability at all," Horikita said coldly. "But for the Sports Festival, you only need to show off your abilities and be a solid support for the class. So I don't object."

"Now that's a blunt assessment... All right! I'll lead Class D to victory!"

Sudo rubbed the back of his head, then accepted with high spirits.

After being appointed, Sudo immediately began coaching the class on how to exert themselves and pace themselves in the team events. Surprisingly, he seemed to know what he was doing. Even the girls, after seeing the results of his guidance, started asking for his help.

Just as Kiyotaka was beginning to feel impressed, he saw Sudo repeatedly throwing sand at Ike and the others because they weren't putting enough force into their movements. As the complaints piled up, Kiyotaka couldn't help shaking his head.

A coach and the person carrying out the instructions had to keep their roles clearly separate. Simply resorting to violence wouldn't get them anywhere.

For example, Hirata was currently teaching the girls the basics of cavalry battle. He gave them gentle, focused pointers on how to apply force and keep their formation stable. They understood what he was saying and accepted his guidance readily.

That was the difference between the two of them as coaches.

"Are you planning to stand around spacing out until class ends?"

Horikita came over and asked Kiyotaka in a displeased tone.

"I'm trying my best."

Kiyotaka shrugged as if it didn't matter.

"You did promise to help me get into Class A, didn't you?"

Horikita was deeply committed to that goal.

"I think taking part in the Sports Festival already counts as helping you."

Kiyotaka tried stretching his joints, which cracked audibly.

"...Are you serious? Are you planning to hold back at the Sports Festival, just like you do in the other exams?"

Horikita looked at the lazy, crawling way Kiyotaka stretched and asked incredulously.

"Half and half. Half of me is serious. The other half is that, unfortunately, this really is my best."

"But didn't you say the Sports Festival was simply about pitting our abilities against each other?"

Kiyotaka glanced at someone approaching them and murmured,

"Sometimes, ability isn't everything. You might find out soon enough."

Horikita looked puzzled, but before she could speak, someone interrupted them.

"Horikita, it's almost our turn to practice the three-legged race."

"All right, I'm coming."

Onodera came over and spoke to Horikita.

So those two were partners. Onodera was also very athletic. She was apparently one of the stronger short-distance swimmers in the Swimming Club.

Since this was practice before the competition, the three-legged race drills were held like real events. The girls tied their legs together and lined up on the track. Among the groups, Horikita and Onodera were the strongest, so everyone was watching to see how they'd do.

But when the race began, they weren't especially slow, yet they weren't particularly fast either. They finished in third place.

Neither Horikita nor Onodera was happy with the result. But even after trying a few times, their time didn't improve at all.

"Those two are a lot slower than I expected."

Since everyone had been watching, Sudo commented when their result fell short of expectations.

The pair untied themselves as soon as they finished and stood facing each other. Neither of them looked happy.

"Horikita, could we try to work together a little? Our steps are all over the place!"

Onodera said, sounding slightly frustrated and impatient.

"Yeah, our rhythm was off. But what does that have to do with me? Aren't you the one who's too slow?"

Horikita asked, genuinely confused.

"What?"

"Of course you match the pace of the faster runner. Otherwise, how are we supposed to speed up? Doesn't it seem strange to expect me to match yours?"

Just as Kiyotaka had expected, Horikita had no idea how to coordinate with a partner. She was focused on sprinting as fast as possible, so the two of them weren't working together at all.

Kiyotaka walked over and said to Onodera,

"Onodera, you've worked hard. Why don't you take a break? I'll run with her."

Onodera nodded at Kiyotaka, then went and sat down nearby to rest.

"What do you mean by that?"

Horikita looked at Kiyotaka in annoyance, puzzled by his abrupt intervention.

"Didn't you say it was only natural to match the faster runner's pace? How about we try it? If you can keep up, you're right. If you can't, you'll apologize to Onodera and talk to her properly. And you'll come to my room tonight. You've been getting a little cocky lately."

Kiyotaka whispered to Horikita in a mildly provocative tone.

"Oh? You think you're faster than me? Fine, let's do it!"

Horikita took the bait immediately. She defiantly tied their legs together.

"Hirata, could you give us the starting signal?"

Kiyotaka looked toward Hirata.

Hirata gave a wry smile.