The afternoon session’s first event is the obstacle race.
And it’s the event I’m participating in, but—
“…Ugh, it’s a bit swollen. No wonder it hurts.”
Midway through the obstacle race course.
In the middle of a 400-meter run, jumping over hurdles spaced more narrowly than in standard track events.
I had pulled off to the side of the course and was sitting down.
Shifting my gaze from the few students running toward me, I looked at the male student leading the pack.
Until just a moment ago, I was running neck and neck with that guy in the lead, but he had tripped over a hurdle and fallen.
Since I was in the middle of clearing a hurdle myself, I twisted my body in midair to avoid stepping on him.
Fortunately, I didn’t crush the guy, but a bad sound and sharp pain shot through my leg, so I immediately moved off the course.
It’s probably a mild muscle strain.
Suddenly, a health committee member who had arrived called out to me.
“Where is it, your calf?”
“Uh, just below the back of my knee…”
I answered casually, then couldn’t help but do a double-take at the voice’s owner.
“Yeah, it’s slightly swollen, huh.”
For some reason, Kiritsuki was right beside me.
Kiritsuki is supposed to be on the sports festival planning committee, but it seems she got worried and came to check on me.
“I’ll lend you a shoulder. Can you stand?”
“Isn’t that the health committee’s job…?”
“Better than borrowing a shoulder from some random girl, right?”
Now that she mentions it, yeah.
…Wait, really?
Sure, Kiritsuki’s from the athletics club, so it does feel like I can trust her with my weight. There’s a certain sense of reassurance, maybe.
But being all sweaty and sticking close to a girl deals all kinds of damage to my heart in multiple ways.
So, like, can’t at least one guy show up?
That’s what I was thinking, but in the end, I leaned on Kiritsuki’s shoulder as we made our way to the first-aid tent behind the broadcasting committee’s tent.
There was only the school nurse and a few others who had come by.
“Are there only girls on the health committee…?”
“It’s a rotation system… What’s with that face? You’d rather be treated by a girl, wouldn’t you?”
The young school nurse who said that, narrowing her eyes, was Amamori Yachiyo.
She’s a new teacher who started this year, and I’ve had zero interaction with her until now.
So, her youthful pudding-like hairstyle, her deeply open cleavage, her slightly flashy makeup, her tomboyish way of talking—there’s a lot that catches my attention, but…
“Amamori-sensei’s the one treating you, so it’s not like it’s a girl, right?”
Kiritsuki said that before I could. Man, she’s blunt.
“What’s that? I’m still in my early twenties, so I’m a girl, aren’t I?”
“Wait, Amamori-sensei, you’re that young?”
I said, be less blunt!
“Huh? You trying to say I’m some old hag?”
Honestly, it’s not hard to see she’s trying a bit too hard to look young, or rather, it’s undeniable.
With her mature features, leaning into that direction might actually make her more attractive.
She’s beautiful, so I think a more natural look would suit her better—
“Ow, ouch!?”
Uh, can you two stop arguing while grabbing my calf?
It hurts like crazy.
“Oh, my bad. It’s a minor muscle strain. Cool it on that bed for a while. I’ll tape it up later.”
“Ah, okay.”
“Kiritsuki, if you’re here, stay with him. You don’t have any more events, right?”
“Uh… no, I’ve got the tag game finals!”
“You’ll be back by then.”
With that, Amamori-sensei stood up and walked off somewhere.
If I’m not imagining it, I think I saw her pull a small box out of her slacks.
She smokes, huh… No, wait, do your job! What’s she doing, trying to take a smoke break? Isn’t the entire school campus non-smoking?
Kiritsuki and the other students didn’t seem to notice, so I’ll pretend I didn’t see it either. Maybe I was mistaken.
“By the way, Kiritsuki, what about the relay?”
“Oh, didn’t I tell you? I got kicked off the relay team.”
“Why?”
“I’m just too bad at baton passing. A sash would’ve been fine, though.”
That’s a thing?
I mean, baton passing is supposedly super important in relays, so if you can’t do it well, being fast might not cut it.
It’s probably proof everyone’s taking it seriously.
“Well, I’m not that great at short distances anyway.”
She says it’s not her strength, but she’s probably way better at running than most other students.
She’s got this side to her where she’s oddly hard on herself.
Growing up in a strict household, rarely praised by her parents or siblings, and not having many friends until high school.
…That’s just my guess, but I can’t help feeling there’s some truth to it from the bits and pieces she lets slip.
“Kiritsuki, you know…”
“Hm?”
“…Is there something you’re absolutely confident in? Like, something you’d never lose at, something you take total pride in?”
“Whoa, what’s with that out of nowhere?”
I thought the same thing. Why did I suddenly ask her that?
I paused for a moment, choosing my words carefully before answering.
“…You’re kinda hard on yourself, Kiritsuki.”
“You’re not exactly one to talk, are you?”
“Leave me out of this.”
I like to think my self-assessment is balanced, taking into account how others see me. I don’t pay attention to the ones who overhype me, though.
“Hmm, I dunno. Never thought about it. Do you have something like that, Himura?”
“…Sort of.”
Kaguramai wasn’t something I originally wanted to do. I could walk away from it now if I wanted to, but I haven’t.
I keep going because there’s at least some reason to. And since it’s something I’ve done since I was a kid, I do take real pride in it.
…Not a flawless, pristine kind of pride, though.
“Oh, there’s Kurusaki-kun.”
Kiritsuki mentioned his name, so I turned my eyes to the field.
The front was blocked by the tent, but I could catch glimpses of the obstacle race continuing through the gaps.
“I kinda like faces like his. You know, like Sakuna or Kurusaki-kun—kinda androgynous.”
Of all things, their faces?
That’s such a girls’ gossip session topic—
“Wait, Yamabuki and Souma, huh? You’re kind of a shameless face-chaser, aren’t you…”
“Well, duh. Everyone’s like that. If you don’t know someone at all, you’re not gonna want to get close or hang out unless they give off a good vibe, right?”
I don’t really want to agree, but it’s a fair point.
Looks aside, you probably wouldn’t want to spend time with someone unless they made a good impression.
“Speaking of… what about me?”
“I already knew stuff about you. Kaori told me all sorts of things.”
It feels like she’s indirectly saying she’s not interested in my face, but whatever.
Either way, it sounds like her impression of me was vague, and she was more curious about what Kaori had to say.
Still, sometimes you end up clicking with someone regardless of appearances.
“…Well, the reason I’m like this is because of that person.”
I reacted without thinking to Kiritsuki’s sudden murmur.
“That person?”
“I told you before, remember? About the summer festival.”
“Oh…”
So, she probably didn’t even think about “types” or favorite faces before that, huh.
Either way, I immediately regretted reacting to “that person.” As I hesitated, wondering how to avoid digging deeper into it…
After a brief silence, Kiritsuki started speaking softly.
“It’s not exactly… pride or anything.”
“Hm?”
“…I love track.”
Kiritsuki murmured meaningfully, her gaze fixed on the field.
“I take it seriously because I love it. I try to give it my all, to face it with everything I’ve got.”
Next, her eyes landed on Tomiya, who was talking with Kaori at the class tent.
“But I’ve never once thought about pursuing it as a career. Not like Tomiya-kun, aiming for the pros… or, well, for track, I guess it’d be joining a corporate team. I’ve never wanted that.”
Come to think of it, when did Kiritsuki start doing track? It’s not something I need to know right now, but I got a little curious.
“I love running, and I’ve definitely gotten results. My coach and director even told me, ‘Scouts from corporate teams are watching, so behave yourself.’”
“…They told you to fix your attitude?”
“Yeah, pretty much. Honestly, right now, I’m probably just doing it out of defiance. Oh, but I was trying to stay disciplined before, you know?”
Defiance, huh.
I could never do something so head-on like that.
“I think it’s amazing to turn something you love into your job. But that comes with the responsibility and pressure to produce results, right?”
“Yeah.”
“…I don’t want my love for something to come with that kind of responsibility.”
That feeling might not exactly be pride.
But wanting to keep loving something you love.
Her desire to face what she loves wholeheartedly, without overthinking, is surely something precious.
“Kiritsuki, why do you love track?”
“Huh? It’s, like, super childish, but…”
Kiritsuki turned to me from the field, smiling as she spoke.
“Being fast or having great athletic ability is so simple, but isn’t it just so cool?”
That’s really simple.
But Kiritsuki’s pure feelings and that smile were so captivating that I couldn’t help but smile back.
“Yeah, true. Even if you’re not into it, you end up watching the World Championships relays or the 100-meter Dash, right? And somehow, you get all hyped up in front of the TV…”
When I looked at Kiritsuki, she seemed a bit stunned.
“…Y-Yeah, exactly!”
Why was there a slight pause?
“Oh, I gotta go…!”
Kiritsuki suddenly said that and stood up from the bed.
Sure, the obstacle race was over, but…
As I wondered if I’d said something weird, Amamori-sensei returned before the silence could get awkward.
“Oi, Himura, keep icing it properly.”
“Ah, yes.”
Amamori-sensei’s expression was noticeably cheerier than before. Did she actually go take a smoke break?
Passing Kiritsuki, who was hurrying out of the tent with a hint of panic, Amamori-sensei came over to me, swapping out the ice pack and leaning in close.
“‘Cute’… what were you two talking about?”
“Cute…? Uh, we were just talking about track.”
“Huh?”
In the first-aid tent, Amamori-sensei furrowed her brow, and I couldn’t help but tilt my head in confusion.
