“Oh, spotted a cute girl!”
“Huh, which one?”
“Those sisters over there, aren’t they super cute?”
Tsuse was pointing at a pair of girls with striking red hair.
…Man, those sisters look kinda familiar.
The sky was clear and bright.
The weather was pleasant, but my mood was plummeting to rock bottom.
Under the rising heat of the open sky, I stifled a small yawn while looking down from the rooftop at the festival committee giving their opening speech.
Then I glanced again at the guy standing next to me.
“…There’s a ton of people watching. Like, a lot, right?”
“I think it was about the same last year.”
“Was it…?”
“Well, last year was a weekday, but this year’s a Saturday, so it might be a bit different.”
“That’s it!”
We’re chatting like this, but it’s not like we’re slacking off or anything.
We were asked to do a job, which is why we’re up here on the school rooftop, a place that’s usually off-limits.
If it wasn’t for that, we wouldn’t be here. The risk of getting caught makes this a bad spot for slacking— if we were gonna skip, we’d be smarter about it.
“Oh, hey, did you see Miyajima-san in class wearing short sleeves?”
“Yeah.”
“Man, that volume’s insane, right? Looks so heavy. But Kaori-san’s bright vibe is top-tier too. Ugh, can summer just get here already…?”
I get that his eyes are drawn to pretty girls, so it’s not a big deal, but come on, throw Kiritsuki’s name in there once in a while.
Dude, you’re totally only into chests, aren’t you?
“Oh, but Yamabuki-san from Class 3 is pretty great too, right? She’s in the swim team. Also, why are competition swimsuits so… like, backless and high-cut?”
Don’t bring her up. Using a girl who’s heartbroken from a recent breakup in your dirty talk is low, man.
“…Isn’t it just the result of prioritizing function?”
“Nah, it’s definitely the designer’s fetish.”
Since it’s for swimming, wouldn’t it make sense to use thin, form-fitting material to reduce drag as much as possible?
That’s probably why they’re designed like that, right?
“…Wait, since the sports festival is all about athletics, shouldn’t there be a swimming event too?”
“This isn’t a community sports tournament…”
“Well, separate-type swimsuits are the sexiest, no question.”
Separate… what’s that again? I’m drawing a blank.
The ones split into top and bottom, right?
“…Swimsuits aside, I think those parka-like rash guards are kinda nice.”
“Oh, if you’re wearing a rash guard, it’s gotta be over a bikini. And then shorts for the bottom.”
Come to think of it, I didn’t go to the beach last year… I went to the pool with Yamabuki and Souma, though.
“Bikinis are basically the same as lingerie in terms of fabric coverage, right?”
He’s saying “lingerie” instead of “underwear”—is that, like, some kind of preference?
“But even with that tiny bit of fabric, the fact it’s meant to get wet… it’s got this suggestive vibe that really makes you think.”
Damn, Tsuse, that’s next-level. Or maybe this is just how typical high school guys think?
Why are we, at a sports festival full of track events, talking about swimsuits and fetishes? It’s Saturday morning, and we’re having a late-night-level pervy conversation…
“Oh, it’s almost time. Grab your side.”
“Got it.”
Timing it with the festival committee president’s opening declaration, we unfurled the banner for the 62nd Kumooyama High School Sports Festival, letting it drop from the rooftop in one smooth motion.
“Secured. It’s not gonna fall.”
“Yup.”
Tsuse and I finished checking everything, then hurriedly dashed down to the field.
Under the event tents divided by grade and class, I found the folding chair with my attendance number sticker, about to sit down—when Kaori and Kiritsuki, who were nearby, noticed me.
“Hey, Ao-kun, where were you slacking off instead of joining the warm-up exercises?!”
“Wait, where’s Tsuse-kun?”
Kiritsuki realized the other slacker wasn’t with me.
“Oh, sorry, I had to take Tsuse to the nurse’s office after he tripped on the stairs.”
“What…”
The two girls sighed in unison, and honestly, I couldn’t help but agree with them.
“So, Tsuse was supposed to be the first runner for our class’s relay… what do we do about a replacement?”
“Oh, right! What’s he doing messing this up…?”
“Ao-kun…”
“There’s no way I can do the relay right after the long-distance obstacle race, you know?”
“Yeah, just checking.”
Physically, I’d probably be fine, but I’m just not cut out for short-distance sprints like the relay.
If anything, I might barely be suited for what they call long sprints—400 meters, 800 meters, that kind of distance.
Truth is, I’m not great at running, and being in the spotlight for a high-profile event makes me shrink back, so it’s a no-go.
“Aoi, the tag prelims.”
When I perform kagura dance, the makeup acts like a filter, making me feel like I’m not myself, so being watched doesn’t bother me as much…
“…Aoi?”
But being stared at by a crowd—it’s just too much. It brings back memories of those gazes from when I was a kid, making my stomach and heart tighten like they’re being squeezed. Feeling all those eyes on me, yet no one responding when I tried to talk to them back then—
“Aoi!”
“Whoa!!?”
A refreshingly handsome guy suddenly appeared in front of me. I almost swung at him.
“W-What?”
“Why’re you spacing out? It’s the tag prelims! Go out there and aim to survive the twenty-minute chase!”
No matter how hard I try, I doubt it’ll amount to much.
With a sigh, I dragged my heavy feet toward the field, where the same obstacles as the obstacle race were set up.
It’s tag, so the rules are simple.
Just keep escaping from the “ghosts” for the time limit.
The ghosts are ten track team members; the escapees are three people per class—boys and girls combined. With five classes per grade, that’s fifteen people per grade, and forty-five across all three grades.
To pass the prelims, you need to be one of the fifteen who survive the time limit.
If not enough people survive, they take the last few caught to make up the fifteen.
The finals are in the afternoon, serving as the opening act for the class relay, the grand finale.
Three of the fifteen are chosen by lottery to be ghosts.
With one ghost per four escapees, split into three groups, the playable field for each group gets pretty small.
There’s basically no time limit— it goes until only one escapee remains. If that person escapes for one minute, the escapees win; if the ghost catches them within a minute, the ghost wins.
For ghosts, the faster they catch everyone, the higher their rank.
For escapees, their rank depends on how long they were chased, as judged by the referees’ observations.
…Well, none of that matters to me, since I’m assuming I’ll fail the prelims anyway.
I tried my best, but I got cornered by a few track team members around twentieth place and couldn’t escape.
No surprise there. In the prelims, the fewer people left, the more advantage the ghosts have, and the faster people get caught.
In the end, of the fifteen who passed the prelims, Kiritsuki was the only one who completely evaded capture within the time limit.
For just under two minutes, she was frantically chased by ten track team members, but whether they tried to surround her or chase her in a straight line, she deftly used obstacles to gracefully dodge them.
While the exhausted track team ghosts collapsed or leaned against obstacles, she stood alone on the field, smirking triumphantly.
When she returned to our class’s tent, brushing past the cheers and praise from our classmates, she casually plopped down next to me.
“Phew, Kiritsuki… good work. Well, not that you’re tired. Last year’s champion’s got this in the bag, huh?”
“You look way more worn out. Weren’t you confident in your stamina…? Wait, Himura-kun, you look kinda pale.”
“Oh, I’m fine. Don’t worry, it’s just crowd overload and mild heatstroke…”
Also, when the field cleared out, I suddenly felt a ton of eyes on me, which spiked my heart rate and made me nauseous, but…
Saying that would probably just confuse her.
“That doesn’t sound fine at all! If it gets bad, go to the nurse’s office, okay?”
“I’m okay… probably. I think I’ll feel better after resting a bit.”
My dance performance isn’t until just before noon, so I’ve got no events for a while.
If I stay in the shade and rest, my condition should settle down.
If it comes to it, I’ll head to the nurse’s office like Kiritsuki said, but I don’t want people thinking I’m slacking just because I don’t have an event. That’d annoy me, so I’m staying put for now.
But after finishing my sports drink and sighing, my mood and condition just kept sinking.
Watching less athletic events like ball-tossing from the sidelines, I decided to clear my head by heading to another class’s tent.
While chatting lightly with an acquaintance there—
“—Hey, Himura, look at that.”
“Hm?”
While talking with a friend from Class 3, Yamabuki suddenly called out to me.
She was pointing at the spectator stands a little ways off.
There, I spotted a familiar black-haired beauty talking with Souma, both wearing slightly awkward expressions.
“…Isn’t that the one you were talking about?”
“Yeah… my childhood friend.”
“What was her name again?”
“Uh, Chino… Misora-san, I think.”
Yamabuki and I exchanged a glance, nodded, and headed toward them.
☆Afterword──────────────────
I cracked up at the reader comments talking about some kind of “Aoi-kun争夺 race.” I love stuff like that, so please keep writing about which heroine you’re rooting for!
Also, I’ve switched to a different contest I’m participating in. Check my status notes for details.
