"You want to be the anchor?"
Onodera was already blindsided when Iino volunteered herself for 3 events at the sports festival, but even more so when Ishigami had directly asked her to be the anchor in the relay race in front of the entire class.
"Let's see… First of all, do we have any objections?"
But as Ishigami braced himself for someone to point out his previous failure, no such rebuttal came and as he refocused on the situation at hand, all he could see was Onodera writing his name on the board under 'relay race'.
"Alright then. Don't let us down, Ishigami."
After a moment of shock, Ishigami gave a swift nod as he felt the eyes of everyone in the class on him.
"I won't."
###
And here I am now…
The relay race had just started and Ishigami saw Iino start the race off by staying neck in neck with the person beside her, not gaining nor losing an inch before managing to pass off the baton off to the next person. Ishigami watched as Iino bent forward, her hands on her knees as she appeared to breath heavily for a few moments before looking ahead to watch the rest of the relay. On the outside, he didn't react, but right below the surface…
She did it! She didn't get passed! Yes!
It was taking everything he had not to burst out in song and dance on the spot! But aside from the fact that he was still out in public, Ishigami couldn't celebrate just yet. Slowly, he watched as his team slowly began to fall behind until he began to run forward, ready to receive the baton.
Alright! We've lost a little ground, and I'm running on the outside, so I have a small disadvantage, but as long as I'm just a little faster…
"And the anchors are off! Red team's starting a little later, but can their anchor pull through? Looks like we'll just have to wait and see!"
Everyone's watching. My class, my upperclassmen, Iino, they're all watching me. So it's up to me to finish this.
The moment that the baton found its way into Ishigami's hands, he took off like a rocket, kicking up a small breeze around him as his feet almost left dents in the ground.
I can't let everyone down like I did last year. I'll show them all- no, I'll show myself that I've changed.
The wind rushed through his hair as he grit his teeth, pumping his arms and legs as fast as they could take him.
I'm done looking back. I'm done with my excuses. All I have to do, is succeed at one thing, for once.
He was gaining now; he could tell by the fact that the person in front of him's figure grew larger and larger until…
Ishigami was now on the other side of that finish line. If Iino had been out of breath, that was nothing compared to his current state. As he stood, gasping as he rested his hands on his knees, he felt something cold pressing against his cheek. He turned around, seeing the person holding the water bottle against his face to be:
"Shinomiya-senpai… Thanks."
And as Ishigami began drinking the water as if his life depended on it, Kaguya simply smiled and said:
"It looks like you've finally won, Ishigami-kun."
He almost couldn't believe it. This feeling was so unnatural to him that it almost felt like he was still in some sort of dream where he wasn't a loser. He couldn't quite think of a response, so he settled for a nod of acknowledgement.
"Thank you, but what's that rumbling sound-"
And as Ishigami looked up, he was almost immediately bowled over by the red team, their cheers almost rendering him deaf. But, honestly, that was ok.
Because Ishigami had finally won.
###
After that, it was time for the third years' relay race.. Ishigami was sitting on the sidelines with the rest of his class, smiling to himself.
Man, today couldn't get any better! I won the relay race, I don't have any more events, and Iino was even cheering for me!
Indeed, when I said that his class bowled him over, Iino had been standing over him congratulating him along with everyone else.
At this point, it's only a matter of time before she confesses her undying love to me. This is the best!
Ishigami's found himself on top of a bit of a high horse.
"You can do it, Hayasaka!"
Ishigami turned to see Onodera cheering on Hayasaka as she passed by, raising an eyebrow at this
"You guys know each other?"
"No, but we were on the cheer team together, so I figured I'd cheer her on."
"Hm…"
Ishigami put his fingers to his chin, going deep in thought.
Hm… Iino's got 2 challenges left and the next one is the bread eating competition. I could probably cheer for her, but…
"Ah? You're that excited to see me perform well? You really are quite cute."
Nope! That's not an option! But we're still fellow council members and she cheered for me, so I kinda owe it to her. So, instead, I guess that I'll…
###
"You can do it, Iino!"
In the end, Ishigami had settled on cheering Iino on after all.
He may have decided to do it from about 500 metres away so that no one could hear him, but it's the thought that counts!
"Just a little further! You've got this!"
Ishigami waited with bated breath, his gaze glued to Iino as she crossed the finish line with the bread in her mouth. He pumped his fist into the air, a smile shooting across his face as he let out a whoop of joy.
"Yeah! Show them what you've got! Looks like the training was really worth it after all-"
"What's up, Ishigamicchi?"
Ishigami's body slowly creaked around, horror piercing through his entire body as he saw a familiar frame standing in front of him
"Ah. Didn't expect to see you here…"
Ishigami didn't need to look at Hayasaka's face to know what her expression looked like. She smelled blood in the water and like any good shark, she didn't hesitate for even a moment before striking.
"Y'know, I could've sworn that I heard you saying something there, Ishigami. Mind repeating it for me?"
"Oh, I don't know…"
Ishigami used playing dumb!
"But you were just saying that, weren't you? It was 'you can do it, Miko-chan!' or something like that?"
"Wha- I did not call her 'Miko-chan'!"
"So, you were cheering her on."
Busted.
"But why would you come over here to cheer? Wouldn't you want to cheer her on where she can hear you? Unless…"
Hayasaka leaned forward, her face right beside Ishigami's as she stared into his soul, saying:
"Unless you were too embarrassed for her to hear you?"
Ishigami merely sighed and stood up straight.
"If you already knew, then why'd you go through that whole song and dance? I would've just told you if you asked."
Hayasaka maintained the same deadpan expression as she dug through her backpack, handing Ishigami a plastic bag.
"What are friends for if not to embarrass each other as much as possible? Also, here's your uniform."
Ishigami accepted his uniform back before his gaze went up, stopping at Hayasaka's forehead.
"What's with the bow?"
Indeed, Hayasaka had changed back into her PE uniform, but despite that, the bow that she had on hadn't been taken off. She adjusted the bow slightly, going a little pink as a smile began to grow on her lips.
"Well, Secretary-chan was nice enough to lend it to me but I don't really know how she put it on, so I decided to just keep it that way-"
Hayasaka slapped herself across the face to stop herself, but by this point, it was too late. Ishigami smelled blood in the water and like any good shark, he didn't hesitate for even a moment before striking.
"Ah? So, you got it from Fujiwara-senpai. I see, I see…"
However, instead of bloodlust, all Hayasaka saw in Ishigami's expression was… Confusion? No, that couldn't be right. But indeed, there was no malice in Ishigami's face! Rather, he was completely at a loss at how exactly this all transpired!
"Tell me… What exactly happened between you and Fujiwara-senpai?"
Hayasaka blinked twice before looking away, shoving her hands in her shorts pockets.
"And why should I tell you?"
Ishigami shrugged.
"I'm just curious. If it makes you feel any better, I promise not to make fun of you for telling."
Hayasaka looked back at Ishigami, unease in her gaze.
"Really?"
"Really."
Hayasaka looked down at the ground, beginning to fidget with her hands.
"Well, for starters, she took me to a cafe and we had a pretty good time, so we decided to hang out more often."
"I can't believe that Fujiwara-senpai of all people would have you making that sort of pact…"
"Hey, it wasn't a pact! And plus, Secretary-chan's a pretty interesting person, don't you think?"
"Well, 'interesting' is one way to put it."
Hayasaka gave an indignant sigh, putting her hand out in an explanatory manner.
"I guess that what I'm trying to say is that I want to know more about her. Like, she always knows exactly what she wants and is never afraid to do what it takes to get it, you know?"
Ishigami scoffed, crossing his arms as he spoke.
"Yeah, you're right. What she normally wants is food and how she gets it is by bullshitting about netting 0 calories with the power of ice. Either that, or her main desire is bankrupting everyone else in monopoly and her method of choice is cheating."
Hayasaka raised an eyebrow.
"What are you even saying? You're making up fake accusations!"
"Have you even played a single game with her?"
Hayasaka crossed her arms, annoyance growing inside of her.
"As a matter of fact, the 2 of us spent a whole day playing arcade games with her and she didn't cheat once."
"And I'd bet she dragged you across the arcade at random, not putting any thought into her game choices?"
At this point, Hayasaka was so annoyed that she'd started to lose her composure, resisting the urge to stomp her feet like a toddler as she spoke.
"But you just don't get it! Secretary-chan is someone who always acts according to her current mood and I think that being that strong-willed is a good thing! You talked about her eating habits, but frankly, I think that loving food is a cute thing!"
An image of a certain brown-haired glutton appeared in Ishigami's mind, prompting a reluctant nod.
"I suppose…"
Hayasaka shrugged, having returned to her usual stoic expression and tone as she spoke.
"Then again, Secretary-chan's pretty cute regardless, so I digress."
"Hah?"
Remember that stoicism we just saw from Hayasaka? Yeah, we can kiss that goodbye right about now.
"I mean, uh…"
"You're totally into her."
"I…"
Hayasaka shuffled on the spot, her voice growing softer as she spoke.
"Say… If there was a girl who called you pretty in art class, what do you think that that means?"
"That happened to you and Fujiwara-senpai, didn't it?"
"Just answer the question."
Ishigami put his fingers to his chin, seeming to think for a moment before giving a shrug.
"Well, it's probably nothing. You're objectively pretty good-looking and Fujiwara-senpai's the type of person who never holds back, so I could see her doing that."
"What if she's always blushing and looking away from me?"
"That's a bit more, but still not much. Knowing Fujiwara-senpai, it could all be a huge coincidence. Is that seriously everything?"
Hayasaka had been sporadically maintaining eye contact on and off for the past little bit of this conversation, but at this point, she completely looked away as she said:
"Well, there is one more thing."
Ishigami listened as Hayasaka continued, her voice so delicate that it sounded like it was about to crack.
"There was this one time we were holding hands and she seemed hesitant to let go."
"You mind enlightening me about what situation you were in?"
"We were making an escape from the the Shinomiya family."
This appeared to make Ishigami really use his brain as he looked to the sky, scratching his chin.
"In that case, it could be the suspension bridge effect. Still, what you just described doesn't exactly count against you. Anything else? You look like you want to say something."
Hayasaka appeared to debate whether or not she should even tell this part to Ishigami, but ended up coming to some sort of decision as conviction momentarily reentered her expression only to fade the moment she opened her mouth, thus returning her to her previous fragile state.
"Uh… I'm not sure if this is relevant either, but… How do I describe this? You see…"
Hayasaka took a breath in and out before saying:
"She also said that she wouldn't mind me kissing her…"
Ishigami's eyes went wide as he stared at her in shock. The only thought running through his mind was:
How on earth is that irrelevant?
Hayasaka looked up at Ishigami, an almost pleading look in her eye.
"So? What does it mean?"
It means that she's totally into you!
Ishigami again closed his eyes, shaking his head for a few moments.
Then again, this is Fujiwara-senpai we're talking about. You can't objectively analyze someone whose actions objectively make no sense.
Therefore, Ishigami simply gave yet another shrug.
"I honestly don't know. You'd probably have a better chance at getting an accurate answer from a magic 8 ball than me."
"Fair enough. I'm not even sure what I expected from you anyways."
"See you later, Acchan."
However, in the corner of her eye, Hayasaka noticed a tuft of brown hair poking out from behind a pillar.
"Iino-san?"
Immediately, Ishigami froze up as his body creaked, turning around as slowly as he could.
"Iino?!"
Iino slowly walked out from behind the pillar, a pout on her face.
So, this is where he was. Instead of cheering me on, he was hanging out with another girl- not that I care, of course.
She resisted the urge to stomp her feet or chew him out, though. After all…
"Ah? You were that desperate to hear me cheering for me? Honestly, you really are quite cute."
There's no way I can let that happen! Still though, how is he this close with another girl? Like he even calls her 'Acchan' like it means nothing!
"Uh, Iino? I'm sorry if I'm wrong, but are you mad or something?"
Right as she was walking past Ishigami, he'd put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks with his words.
And of course he chooses now of all times to be the most perceptive guy in the world.
"It's nothing."
However, as she turned to leave, she once again heard a voice from behind her.
"Oi, Iino-san."
This time, it was Hayasaka who called out to her, though contrary to her expressions, Hayasaka was wearing a rather cheeky expression.
"What is it?"
"I just thought I'd let you know that just now, Ishigami was totally cheering his heart out for you."
The effect was immediate. Iino and Ishigami's eyes both went wide, though for very different reasons as a bright-red Ishigami ran up to Hayasaka, almost screeching from embarrassment.
"Wha- shut up!"
"I'm totally serious! He went absolutely crazy when he saw you win! Like, I've never seen anyone that happy in my entire life!"
"You shut your mouth right now! Iino, you don't need to listen to a word that this woman says."
Ishigami let out a sigh of defeat as Iino didn't give a single response. Scratching his head, he simply said:
"Look, was there something that was upsetting you?"
In response, Iino simply shook her head as a smile appeared on her face.
"No, everything's fine now."
Result of today's battle: Iino wins.
