I Want to Become Stronger for You

Like a drowning person grasping at a last straw, Karuizawa Kei took out the photo from her pocket. When she saw Kitagawa Ryo and Hotaru, tears streamed down her face. But she was afraid that her tears would wet the photo, so she had to move it away. However, her vision was blurred by tears, and she couldn't see it clearly from a distance. She could only desperately wipe away her tears, leaving streaks on her face.

The wind blowing in through the open window whistled against the girl's shoulders.

The weather is getting cooler; it's already autumn.

Chapter 77: I Want to Become Stronger for You

"Hashimoto, Kito."

Sakayanagi Arisu gave the instructions through the earpiece:

"Go to the Matoba Class 1-D as a temporary substitute for this round of the men's 4x400m relay."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Hashimoto Masayoshi smiled warmly, completely unconcerned about the stares from others at the somewhat childish nickname he used in his speech, and turned to find Kito Hayato in the class.

With a fierce expression and long hair Taciturn, Kito Hayato looks nothing like a high school student, but he is actually the strongest boy in Class 1-A, even surpassing Hashimoto Masayoshi and Katsuragi Kohei.

"Kito, come with me to Class D."

Since there were no projects at the moment, Kito Hayato, who was resting in his chair, heard Hashimoto Masayoshi's greeting, blinked, and asked in confusion:

"How's the situation?"

"3 to 2, Class D is leading by one set."

Hashimoto Masayoshi and Kito Hayato walked out of Class 1-A's camp, chatting as they went, he squinted and sighed:

"Class 1-B is under a lot of pressure right now."

"Although it seemed to be riding high over the past semester, it was ultimately because the Leader were so outstanding."

"While there are a few outstanding students in the class, most are just too mediocre."

Kito Hayato turned his head and asked:

You seem very confident.

"Because Class 1-B simply couldn't find four boys with outstanding athletic abilities."

"If Kitagawa chooses to intervene in this round, even if he wins, it will only drag the match into a deciding game."

"Yamada has excellent physical abilities, but running isn't his forte. Below Yamada, there are only Ryuen, Ishizaki, and a few others."

"This lineup would be tough enough to take on the opposing Class 1-D alone, let alone the combined forces of our Class 1-A and Class D."

Hashimoto Masayoshi is very quick-witted; it's clear he's been gathering information on other classes quite a bit.

"What about Class 1-C?"

Kito Hayato suddenly spoke, turning his head to look in another direction:

Will they get involved?

"Ichinose Honami would never gamble with the class. The fact that our class hasn't chosen an opponent yet is a way of intimidating them."

"She must be in a dilemma right now."

"Ichinose is a good person."

He scoffed at Kito Hayato's Hashimoto Masayoshi remark and replied nonchalantly:

"That's why Class B became Class C."

"Class B is currently trailing 2-3 and is about to begin their sixth team event."

"It's the men's 4x400 meter relay."

Ichinose Honami kept trying to contact Shiina Hiyori via text message, but after the other party actually replied, she hesitated, unsure how to respond. She typed and deleted several lines, then typed and deleted again, until finally Shiina Hiyori took the initiative to send a message of advice:

"Honami, don't worry about this. This is a matter for Class B."

Ichinose Honami pursed her lips, almost sending the message "[Our Class C can come and help]", but in the end, her fingers trembled as she deleted all the words.

"Is there anything I can help with?"

She tried to ask in a personal tone, as if that might alleviate some of her guilt.

After all, if it weren't for the joint plan initiated by Class 1-B, Class 1-C wouldn't have been in a much better situation.

Furthermore, in Ichinose Honami's view, the attack on Class B by Class 1-A and Class D in the first year was wrong, even though Class B had helped these two classes defeat Class 2-A and Class B in the second year that morning.

"This is the men's 4x400m relay; even if Honami wanted to participate, there was nothing he could do."

She made a little joke; even though her class was on the verge of failure, Shiina Hiyori still tried to dispel Ichinose Honami's doubts and worries.

"But..."

Ichinose Honami hesitated, unsure where to begin. If she were the Commander of Class 1-C, she would probably order her students to aid Class 1-B without hesitation. Even if Class 1-A challenged and retaliated against her afterward, it would only be herself who would be expelled.

But the problem now is that the Commander of Class 1-C is not Ichinose Honami, but Shiranami Chihiro.

As the class representative of Class 1-C, Ichinose Honami couldn't gamble with the interests of her classmates, since Class 1-C simply couldn't afford the 20 million Private Points if they failed.

Perhaps it was precisely because Sakayanagi Arisu understood this that she was able to so confidently control Class 1-C.

Subconsciously, she wanted to ask Student Council, the Horikita council president, for help, but at that moment, Class 3-A was fiercely battling Class 2-A. After a midday break, although Miyabi Nagumo was still somewhat dazed, she was still quite conscious. In addition, she had made arrangements for Class 3-A in advance, so the battle was not as one-sided as the students had thought. Instead, it gradually became more intense.

In this situation, Ichinose Honami was also at a loss.

"How so..."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hashimoto Masayoshi and Kito Hayato from Class 1-A walking towards the other side of the playground. If nothing unexpected happened, these two should be the reinforcements sent by Class 1-A.

Even if Ken Sudō is too exhausted to participate, Class 1-D can still field a formidable lineup for the men's 4x400m relay: Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, Hirata Yosuke, Hashimoto Masayoshi, and Kito Hayato. Meanwhile, Class 1-B fighting alone...

Even if Kitagawa Ryo chooses to intervene, his teammates are only Yamada and Ryuen, who are not good at running. What's worse, both of them have exhausted a lot of energy in the previous events. Although Ayanokoji Kiyotaka from Class 1-D is also not at his peak, the two reinforcements from Class 1-A are a real force to be reckoned with.

The more I considered this, the lower I felt Class 1-B's chances of winning seemed.

There wasn't much time left for Ichinose Honami to consider and make a decision.

Thinking back, the last time I agonized over making a decision was when I was standing in front of a display case at a department store, hesitating whether or not to pick up that hair clip.

At the time, the thought of "for my sister" ultimately overcame the resistance and disgust towards the act of stealing.

However, the outcome of the incident was extremely tragic.

Therefore, I should learn from this lesson and not let innocent people be implicated and harmed by me again.

"Squad leader."

At that moment, Kanzaki Ryuji came to Ichinose Honami's side. He seemed to sense that the girl was in a state of confusion and contradiction.

He spoke earnestly:

"You are the class monitor of Class 1-C."

Kanzaki Ryuji's meaning was very clear: whatever decision she made, the students of Class 1-C would accept it and carry it out.

Even if what I'm about to do might harm the interests of Class C?

Ichinose Honami answered with a rhetorical question.

She clenched her fists.

"The class monitor wants to help Class B, right? I think that's fine. If something goes wrong, I'll take half the responsibility for the class monitor."

Shibata Sō said with a grin.

His words resonated widely with the entire class, and the heavy responsibility suddenly felt one-tenth, one-twentieth...

In the end, only one-fortieth of what was given to Ichinose Honami was left.

"... Although this is just my personal opinion."

Ichinose Honami said this.

Everyone stared at her in silence.

Ichinose Honami didn't say that out of absolute confidence; she was terrified of what might happen in the future and desperately wanted to escape, even feeling like she might burst into tears at any moment.

Even so, Ichinose Honami still wanted to try to explain her thoughts.

The students in Class C, who had shared joys and sorrows with her throughout the semester, couldn't possibly not understand this.

"I want to help Class 1-B. I don't want Commander of Class B, to drop out of school."

"Everyone will definitely support you, right?"

Shibata shouted this with a smile.

At the same time, all the students in Class C offered their Unanimous Vote support.

This is the hope of Ichinose, and the girl personally felt its weight.

This is something that no one but Ichinose Honami could do.

"Walk!"

[The Commander of Class 1-D, has confirmed the participating students from this class.]

The students in Class 1-D, turned their attention to the four people who were already standing in their designated positions on the track:

Hirata Yosuke, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, Hashimoto Masayoshi, Kito Hayato.

"Hey, this lineup really can win, right? They have a chance!"

One of the boys excitedly said, "Class 1-D only needs to win one more game to defeat Class 1-B."

This nightmare has been looming over Class D since the very first day of school.

The students in Class 1-D even felt a slight sense of unreality, as if they were in a dream, and their breathing became a little heavier.

"At first I thought they were really going to cooperate with Class B, but it seems Karuizawa had this planned all along."

"Ever since last semester when Karuizawa went head-to-head with Class 1-B for Sakura's headphones, I knew she could definitely lead Class 1-D forward!"

"Class 1-B betrays their allies every day, never imagining they'd be betrayed by their own allies one day."

Whether it was a boy or a girl, even the homeroom teacher, Chabashira Sae, sitting in the audience, had a faint smile on her face.

Class 1-D has already defeated Class 2-B. If they can defeat Class 1-B again at the Sports Festival...

She believed that Class D would be completely reborn.

"Karuizawa Kei."

Chabashira Sae chewed on the name. She remembered checking the other person's information when school started. All the data was clearly below average, but now she had become the person leading Class D forward.

One could even say that what she expected Ayanokoji Kiyotaka to do, Karuizawa Kei should do even better.

Just as Chabashira Sae and the students of Class 1-D were marveling at Karuizawa Kei's growth, Karuizawa Kei herself, in the multi-purpose classroom, fell into deep self-doubt.

"What am I doing...?"

Karuizawa Kei Megumi stared blankly at the image projected on the large screen. Although everything was proceeding as she had expected, she felt no joy whatsoever.

She was pinned to her seat by the fragments of memories in her mind, like a prisoner nailed to a cross.

He couldn't move a single finger, and when he closed his eyes, he could see a vast emptiness, within which flickering memories of the past shimmered.

They were like echoes of the tide, crashing against Karuizawa Kei after wave.

"Karuizawa."

Hirata Yosuke's words in the earphones pulled Karuizawa Kei out of her dazed state.

Karuizawa Kei closed her eyes, then opened them; closed her eyes, then opened them.

After repeating the action several times, she finally answered:

"What's wrong?"

My lips are so dry, every word feels like it's stuck to my teeth.

"It seems like the students from Class 1-C have arrived."

Following Hirata Yosuke's words, Karuizawa Kei turned her gaze to the left side of the screen, Ichinose Honami and several students from Class C walked into the formation of Class 1-B, seemingly talking to Shiina Hiyori about something.

"Okay, I'll notify Class 1-A right away."