We Won, We Lost

"If it weren't for the help from Class B, your Class D would have been defeated by the second graders long ago."

"Didn't Class D contribute in the fight against the second-year students?"

Karuizawa Kei raised an eyebrow, subtly wiping her eye with her hand, and smiled:

"It seems you're quite worried about being expelled, Kitagawa."

"That's not your concern."

Kitagawa Ryo shook his head with a gloomy expression:

Even if your Class D gained some small advantages this time, Class 1-B hasn't lost yet.

"So what you should be doing now is going to the playground with me for the last event, instead of blocking me here and threatening me."

Karuizawa Kei responded bluntly, directly confronting Kitagawa Ryo:

"It seems you're not very confident about the last item, Kitagawa. Well, such tricks only work once and then they're useless. You and Ryuen are both just good at using underhanded methods. Class D will surpass Class B sooner or later."

"Then I'll really have to wait and see."

Kitagawa Ryo also gave a cold laugh. He turned around at just the right moment and "discovered" the students from his class who were approaching.

"Hiyori, let's go."

Back beside Shiina Hiyori, Kitagawa Ryo ignored the angry glares from the Class D students and greeted the Class B students who had followed him:

"Let's win the last game together."

"Um."

Shiina Hiyori didn't say any encouraging words; she simply nodded gently and reached out to take Kitagawa Ryo's left hand.

Karuizawa Kei turned her back, and Class 1-B and Class D parted ways in two directions, choosing to enter the competition venue from the east gate and the west gate of the playground, respectively.

"Class 3-A won! They beat Class 2-A! Nagumo must be having a real headache right now."

Because it involved her older brother, Horikita Manabu, Horikita Suzune's tone was more lively than usual. Just as Class 1-B and Class 1-D were locked in a fierce battle until the final round, the match between Class 3-A and Class 2-A seemed to have already been decided.

"Yes, and I've already seen him."

Karuizawa Kei knelt down and tied the red ribbons she had given to her right foot and Horikita Suzune's left foot, repeatedly checking the tightness:

"Right in the middle of the sixth row on the left side of the audience seats."

Following Karuizawa Kei's directions, Horikita Suzune also turned her gaze in that direction and indeed saw Horikita Manabu's figure. Even sitting there, his back remained straight, making him quite conspicuous in the crowd.

Since this round of competition has basically ended, many classes have focused their attention on the final battle between Class 1-B and Class 1-D.

After all, Kitagawa Ryo from Class 1-B had become famous throughout the entire school after defeating Miyabi Nagumo twice and being publicly acknowledged by Horikita Manabu.

Therefore, when Kitagawa Ryo and Shiina Hiyori arrived at the starting point of the three-legged race, many upperclassmen, seeing the two's intimate behavior, asked about their relationship with some frustration.

Then they learned that the two were a couple, and that the drone show on the last day of summer vacation was their Confessions ceremony.

Most of the girls cast envious glances at Shiina Hiyori, while also enthusiastically discussing the couple's performance in their three-legged race.

The three-legged race was a regular event at the Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School's Sports Festival, but it was rare for a boy and a girl to sign up. One reason was that there might be a height difference, and another reason was that the sport was considered to be somewhat ambiguous, with a lot of physical contact between the two participants.

Therefore, couples are the optimal solution for a three-legged race!

This legend was broken when a couple in a certain year broke up over a problem with their three-legged race, which escalated from an argument to a question of whether they were truly compatible.

Therefore, many senior students are looking forward to the long-awaited three-legged race between couples.

Add to that the crucial final battle, a do-or-die situation, and it's got all the highlights and elements to offer.

"We won't lose!"

At this moment, Ken Sudō waved his arms and shouted:

"Class 1-D will win!"

Under his leadership, all the students in Class 1-D also chanted slogans together, eager for a victory against Class 1-B.

Standing there, Kitagawa Ryo has been the nightmare of Class 1-D since the beginning of the school year. If we could defeat him...

Even the usually composed Hirata Yosuke was a little excited. During this Sports Festival, Class 1-D was becoming more and more like a collective, and the group atmosphere of cheering together almost made him squint with enjoyment.

"Class 1-B will win!"

"Boss Kitagawa is invincible!"

"Traitor, Class 1-D, you'd better just lose honestly!"

Seeing their opponents' arrogance, the students from Class 1-B on the sidelines retaliated fearlessly, even raising their voices considerably. When it came to Class Points and expulsion, the students on both sides completely forgot about their teamwork that morning and started exchanging sharp words. Before the match even began, the atmosphere on the field was already tense.

"Win the game with me, beat him."

Karuizawa Kei looked at Horikita Suzune beside her. She believed that Kitagawa Ryo would be the key to turning the tide, which was why she chose Horikita Suzune as her partner.

"We will definitely win."

Horikita Suzune nodded.

They had no reason to lose. This project was originally provided by their Class 1-D, and the two of them had practiced countless times during the month-long preparation for the Sports Festival, so their teamwork was definitely not an issue.

[Boom]

As the starting gun fired, Karuizawa Kei and Horikita Suzune took their first steps forward.

Why must we choose to defeat Kitagawa Ryo?

This question flashed through Karuizawa Kei's mind.

The moment she burst across the starting line, Karuizawa Kei realized the answer deep within her heart.

This is such an absurd idea that it would be laughable if spoken aloud:

Because she hoped that one day she would be stronger than Kitagawa Ryo, and then she could protect him.

Just like he once protected himself.

What a ridiculous idea.

Why would someone feeling cold need to protect themselves?

But who knows, that day might come.

Let's just consider it a pipe dream that Karuizawa Kei herself made.

If that day ever comes, she will stand in front of the other person, not behind them.

Chapter 80: Winning, Losing

Three-legged race, as the name suggests, is an athletics sport in which one person's left leg is tied to the lower leg of another person's right leg with a strap. Compared to regular sports, three-legged race is often used as a recreational sport, playing a role in setting the mood during Sports Festival.

After all, this is a sport that tests the teamwork of the participants to a great extent. If even one person fails to coordinate well, it often leads to a scene that makes the audience burst into laughter and the referees laugh and cry. Because of the rule that if you fall, you have to return to the starting point and start again, it is normal for some teams to take two or three minutes to reach the finish line, even though the distance is only a short 100 meters.

However, since Class 1-D submitted the three-legged race as one of the three group events to the school, it means that Karuizawa Kei was already prepared.

Therefore, the mistake that is most likely to occur at the start of a three-legged race did not happen to the two-person team from Class 1-D. Almost instantly, the two adjusted their breathing rhythm and pace, and muttered slogans such as "one, two, three" under their breath. From the side, it looked like one person was walking briskly.

"If there are no problems at the start, then the next thing to watch is the frequency transitions during the race."

"I'm sitting in the audience, and I'm calmly analyzing the situation," said Sakagami Kazuma, the homeroom teacher of Class 1-B.

As a veteran homeroom teacher at Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School, Sakagami Kazuma is quite familiar with the three-legged race, a competition that was a regular event in the past Sports Festival.

"The first key point in a three-legged race is the start. You need to pay attention to the width and timing of the start, and Kitagawa and Karuizawa didn't have any problems with this."

Seeing the puzzled looks from his students, Sakagami Kazuma quickly explained:

"Three-legged races are definitely a process of acceleration. After adapting to each other's rhythm, in order to widen the gap, you have to increase your speed. In addition, the influence of the opponents next to you will subconsciously create the idea of urging and speeding up. If it were a regular race, this thinking would definitely be fine, but three-legged races are different."

"The two people must be in sync, even if they are speeding up. If one person loses their rhythm, at best they will be forced to stop and readjust their pace, and at worst they may fall down."

The students in Class 1-B listened to their homeroom teacher's reasoned analysis, nodding as they cast worried glances at the students in the room.

Just as Sakagami Kazuma had predicted, after the initial starting phase, both classes began to accelerate simultaneously.

However, they soon discovered something was wrong. During the acceleration phase, the two sides, which were originally neck and neck, gradually widened the gap, and the combination of Kitagawa Ryo and Shiina Hiyori was left behind.

Sakagami Kazuma, with his sharp eyes, was the first to point out the crux of the problem:

It's height.

While the three-legged race is primarily for entertainment, it can be further divided into subcategories, roughly into three types: male-male, female-female, and mixed-gender.

Generally speaking, it's unlikely that a female-on-female combination like the one currently on the field would face off against a male-on-female combination, because men and women inherently have physiological differences.

For example, Sakagami Kazuma pointed out [height].

Karuizawa Kei and Horikita Suzune are about the same height, so their stride widths are similar, making it easier for them to find a common rhythm. However, there is a height difference of about 20 centimeters between Kitagawa Ryo and Shiina Hiyori. Although this height difference is not significant for a couple, it can be quite challenging in a three-legged race...

It's easy to understand that Kitagawa Ryo, with his height and long legs, has a different stride width Shiina Hiyori. In a three-legged race, the faster runner often needs to actively coordinate with the slower runner, otherwise it's easy for the other person to lose their balance, increasing the risk of falling.

Although Shiina Hiyori was trying her best to move forward, the inherent discomfort caused by their height difference still hindered their speed, which is why they fell behind a bit.

"Of course, don't worry."

Unlike the students in Class 1-B whose faces were visibly worried, Sakagami Kazuma leisurely took off his glasses. He took out a piece of chamois cloth from his pocket and wiped the surface of the lenses.

"This has happened in previous years as well, with some classes even specifically pairing tall boys with short girls."

"Huh? Won't that put us at a disadvantage? How can we run like that?"

Ishizaki Daichi's mouth dropped open in disbelief.

"It's very simple."

Sakagami Kazuma finished cleaning his glasses, put them back on his nose, and smiled.

"It's better to let the boys take the lead."

Kitagawa Ryo put his left arm around Shiina Hiyori's shoulder. In fact, his hand had been there since the start of the race, but now the action changed from "putting" to "hugging". His fingers applied a little pressure, and Shiina Hiyori leaned against Kitagawa Ryo's side.

Hold on tight.

After giving this instruction, Kitagawa Ryo directly half-embraced Shiina Hiyori in his arms, his right hand moving down to the girl's slender waist.

In the next instant, Kitagawa Ryo accelerated.

He forcefully seized control of the "foot" that was tied together with the two of them. At the same time, he exerted force with his right arm, causing Shiina Hiyori's body to tilt a little more towards him. This position made the girl's left foot almost dangling in the air, while her right foot, which was tied together, was propelled by Kitagawa Ryo's strength. The whole person was carried by Kitagawa Ryo almost without touching the ground.

Just as the experienced Sakagami Kazuma had guessed, Kitagawa Ryo had never intended to compete in terms of teamwork between the two. Karuizawa Kei and Horikita Suzune were clearly well-prepared. Although he didn't think he and Hiyori would lose by much in terms of teamwork, the time and effort they spent on the three-legged race was definitely less than that of the other team, so it was better to adopt a more convenient approach.

In this position, it's less like Kitagawa Ryo and Shiina Hiyori are doing a three-legged race and more like Kitagawa Ryo is doing a weighted solo run.

Although it is extremely physically demanding, the effects are obvious.

Amidst gasps from the audience on both sides, Kitagawa Ryo and Shiina Hiyori's duo moved almost twice as fast as before, quickly closing the gap with Class 1-D.

This running style only exists in pairs of one man and one woman, and the relationship between the two cannot be bad. After all, from an outsider's perspective, the woman looks like a koala clinging to the man, and the posture is extremely ambiguous and alluring.

In fact, Shiina Hiyori's face was indeed pressed tightly against Kitagawa Ryo's chest, and she could even hear the other's heartbeats, one after another, as if they were hitting her own heart.

But her nose twitched slightly, as if she had caught a different yet somewhat familiar scent.

Because the two had done many intimate things like listening to each other's inner thoughts after they started dating, Shiina Hiyori considered herself to understand Kitagawa Ryo's feelings quite well.

She remembered the scents of every product, from shampoo and shower gel to the face wash and other small items she bought for Kitagawa Ryo. However, none of them had the scent she was smelling now—a light rose fragrance mixed with the herbal aroma of lavender.

It smells like perfume.

However, at this moment, Shiina Hiyori had no time to think too much. She also had to do her best to cooperate with Kitagawa Ryo and try to reduce his burden.

"Accelerate!"

"Since we're going to lose anyway at this speed, and falling down is also a loss, I might as well just believe I won't fall!"

Noticing the two people behind her getting closer and closer, even about to overtake her, Karuizawa Kei made a snap decision, gritting her teeth as she spoke to Horikita Suzune beside her:

"I'll keep up with you, you run as fast as you can!"

In fact, a debate broke out in Class 1-D regarding the [three-legged race]. Horikita Suzune, as the girl with the highest physical ability in the class, was naturally regarded as the first choice. However, she had a problem choosing a partner. Whether it was Onodera, who was also physically outstanding among the girls, or Matsushita, Sato, and other girls, it was difficult for them to keep up with Horikita Suzune's pace.

Although Horikita Suzune wanted to try to adapt to her partner's rhythm, her overly solitary personality, which she had developed since childhood, made it difficult for her to change in a short time, since Horikita Suzune had hardly ever participated in group collaborations.

In this situation, Karuizawa Kei took the initiative to become Horikita Suzune's partner. Compared with other girls, Karuizawa Kei was the best at tolerating Horikita Suzune's occasional impulsiveness and inexplicable speed. It could even be said that Karuizawa Kei herself was pursuing Horikita Suzune's competitive spirit against Kitagawa Ryo.

Horikita Suzune, who had also noticed the two people catching up behind her, was already subconsciously planning to speed up. After hearing Karuizawa Kei's words, she felt even more at ease, and her pace increased almost instantly.

Her previous rhythm was quickly disrupted, Karuizawa Kei inevitably staggered twice, giving the illusion that she was about to fall to the ground. However, with the help of her right hand, which was resting on Horikita Suzune's shoulder, Karuizawa Kei finally regained her balance and ran towards the finish line with all her might.