Third Person's Point of View

"I'VE HEARD THAT YOU'RE QUITE FAST, Ichinose said that." Kanzaki said with a calm tone. Kiyotaka looked at him.

"That's misinformation. Didn't you see my rank in the 100 meter dash earlier? It's 5th place, you know." Kiyotaka reasoned out.

Kiyotaka didn't know where Ichinose had gotten that idea. He supposed she saw him running back when Sakura got caught up in that stalker incident. It's not like he was running at my top speed but from his form and such, it's very likely that she guessed his physical ability as well.

"That is indeed the result, but it didn't seem to me like you were taking it seriously."

"There's no advantage in holding back one's ability at this sports festival, right?"

Kanzaki hummed as an answer "The probability of it is low but it's not like doing so is completely meaningless from a strategic point of view. Besides, even amongst the same school year, you, Ayanokouji, are a pretty calm man. That type of person is scary after all. And you, Arison. I really don't know your whole capabilitie–."

"Don't expect me in this sport festival, I'm afraid to sweat." Axel cut off Kanzaki and said that with his hand swaying to the air.

Kanzaki smirked and fixed his eyeglasses and glanced at our duo.

"We'll see that."

After no less than a second The race started, and the chosen competitors began running. Kanzaki ends up taking first place, while Axel in second and Kiyotaka ends up in third place.

"Kiyo should I really take 2nd place ah look now I'm sweating!"

Kiyotaka didn't reply but patted his head. Axel just puffed his cheek.

"Good job."

They then move over to watch the girls' Hurdle Race. Horikita is once again paired with strong competition from Class C.She finishes her Hurdle Race in third place.

The next event is Capture the Flag. Class A and Class D will be facing Class B and Class C, the latter of which consists of Ryuen leading a team of his classmates who seem fairly strong.

The first match begins, with Class D and Class C on the offensive and Class A and Class B on defence. Despite Sudou's strength, he isn't enough to break through, and the first capture goes to the White Team.

Class D switches to defense for the second match while Class A fixes an offensive. Class C attacks again, and in the chaos, Sudou is punched and kicked several times by Class C, who makes it look natural so that no foul play is called.

In the end, the White Team wins the second bout of Capture the Flag as well.

Next is the Tug of War event for the boys while the girls compete in the Tamaire event. The Red Team comes out the winner for the latter, and the Tug of War begins.

Sakayanagi, who had been there observing them from the start as a visitor, had a small smile of enjoyment on her face. Even from a distance, she should be able to see that Katsuragi and Hashimoto were quarrelling.

"So what's it going to be, Katsuragi-kun? Can we really win with this strategy?" Hashimoto asked but it sounded like a mock.

Katsuragi closed his eyes. "We're agitating even the students from Class D. We should proceed with the contest calmly."

"That's not an answer—." Katsuragi tried to calm them down but about half of the students following Hashimoto's lead did not obey.

Yahiko quickly went to Katsturagi's aid.

"Katsuragi-san's telling you to do it, so hurry it up! Don't give us this shameful act!" Yahiko immediately handed the rope to one of the boys.

"I have no intention of refuting the doubts you feel towards my leadership. But if we lose here due to our meaningless squabbling, before things like cooperation and skill come up, the blame will fall on Sakayanagi, you don't mind that then?" Katsruagi said.

"You don't see anything, do you, Katsuragi-kun?" Hashimoto grinned. As the teacher acting the role of the referee approached, Hashimoto gripped the rope as though he had arrived at the designated position.

"Then, shall we? It'd peeve me if we make them think we're lacking in unity as you said."

Class A's civil war seems to have simmered down and so they get into position. The first bout begins, and the Red Team wins. Ryuen then rearranges his classmates' positions along the rope, and the second bout begins, ending with the White Team's victory this time.

Then the third bout begins, but after some struggling, Class C suddenly lets go, and while the Red Team wins, they also cause most of Class A and Class D's students to fall over. While the Red Team takes the overall victory of the Tug of War, their morale is low in the aftermath.

Next is the Obstacle Course Race. Sudou ends up in the same group as Shibata, but also two unathletic students from Class C. He takes first place once again. The Three-Legged Race is next for the boys while the girls' Obstacle Course Race is still ongoing.

Horikita is matched up against Class C's Yajima and Kinoshita this time. She manages to overtake them during the race but repeatedly looks back at Kinoshita, and shortly before reaching the finishing line, the two seemingly collide with each other.

Horikita ends up in seventh place while Kinoshita is unable to finish due to injury. After that she walked towards the two boys.

"What's wrong, Ayanokouji-kun, Arison?"

"Something off." Axel said while crossing his arms.

Horikita also crossed her arms.

"As I thought, you think so too? I think the other students are also beginning to gradually realize it too. But for this to happen means...that things are moving in a bad direction, right?"

"If there are any students that have caught onto this, can we leave you to care for them?" Kiyotaka asks as he faces Horikita

" Of course. That's my role after all. But isn't there something we can do...? "

"It'd be great if there is." Axel then notices something, as he approaches Horikita and he asks.

"Does it hurt?"

"Ahh..Just a bit. But not to the extent of affecting the contests. If I rest up a bit I'll be fine."

Axel raised his brow and then tried touching the part where he guessed the injury lies on Horikita. As expected, Horikita reacted drastically as she winced.

"This isn't going to have any effect, you say?" Kiyotaka said.

Horikita slapped Axel's hand away.

"Don't touch me. And also, don't mind me. I'll just have to bear with it."

"Well I guess if you retire then you won't even be getting any points so we do understand your desire to hang in there." Axel said while sighing, he was kinda worried about Horikita but since she said she's fine then she is fine.

"More importantly, what concerns me is that girl. It's almost like that contact was done out of malice." Horikita changed the subject.

Our duo looked at her and paid attention to what she was saying.

"While she was running behind me, that girl called out my name many times over. Of course I thought it was strange. But soon after I turned back to look, we collided with each other and the rest went exactly as you saw it.I would have objected but if this were an ordinary collision then she shouldn't have been calling out my name. Honestly, I can't keep up with it...to think we're still in the middle of all this... Rather than worry about me, you, Ayanokoji-kun, should be more worried about yourself. Your results are worse than mine, right? While Arison got good results."

"We'll do our best." Our duo said as they both gave her a thumbs up.

"I intend on participating in the contests even if I have to crawl to do it." Horikita said with a determination to her eyes, Axel smiled while Kiyotaka just nodded his head. Leaving behind Horikita they made a move to prepare for the next contest, The Three–Legged Race.

Hirata ran up to the two boys when he saw them, then asked "How's Horikita-san doing?"

"It's pretty serious. It looks like it'll affect the subsequent contests." Kiyotaka responded.

"That's a severe turn of events." Hirata replied with a concerned look.

The Three-Legged Race for the boys begins.

Sudou and Ike come in first for their group. Kiyotaka and Hirata come in first for theirs. Miyake and Axel also come in first.

Then the girls Three-Legged Race begins. Horikita and Kushida pair up for it, and while they start well, they end up in the last place due to Horikita's injury from the previous event.

During the break, Horikita leaves to get a compress for her injury.

Axel and Kiyotaka didn't go anywhere, and instead remained in their camp while observing the other classes.

'The twisted relationship between Katsuragi and Sakayanagi was highlighted. Anyone can see with their naked eye that they're clearly divided between two factions. However, I could tell that there's blatant antagonism between Class A. It's something we didn't see in the previous exams, it's something that we cannot tell just from the fluctuations in points alone.' Axel's thought while he rested his head on his arms.

Not too long after, as Hirata came over to them after having returned from the restroom, they decided to call out to him.

"Hey, what kind of student is Sakayanagi?" Kiyotaka asked.

"I see you're also curious about her, Ayanokouji-kun."

"I'm curious too, Yosuke!" Axel said with a smile, Hirata nodded and turned red a little and smiled.

"She's very polite, good with people and also mature. That's why I didn't particularly think it was strange. Students from the other classes probably feel the same way too. But, it seems like it's different within Class A. I've heard rumors that she's aggressive and cruel." Hirata said while he put his finger on his chin like he is thinking.

'There's probably a side we aren't aware of but we can't just take the words of the ones being attacked at face value either. Because we haven't even talked to her yet.' Kiyotaka's thoughts.

"I don't think there's any need to be cautious of Class A this time. We're allies after all." Hirata reassures the two boys.

"I guess so. But what about Class C?" he asked. And as their conversation goes by they just exchange information about what is happening around them.

After the break, the girls' Cavalry Battle begins. The four horsemen from Class C completely ignore Class A and focus on attacking Horikita instead.

Her headband is taken, and the rest of Class D is defeated shortly after, with only Karuizawa succeeding in taking one headband from the opposing team before she too loses her own.

The boys' Cavalry Battle is next.

Sudou forms a team with Kiyotaka, Axel (who just doesn't have a chance to say no, just Kiyotaka said to him to join since he is also joining), Akito Miyake, and Hirata. While they are able to defeat most of the White Team with Class A, they run into trouble when faced with Ryuen.

"I've remembered your name, Sudou. I stepped on you earlier. It seemed painful." Ryuen proceeds to taunt.

"Keep saying that. I'm going to be beating you down now." Sudou declared confidently.

"You sound quite high-and-mighty for a mare horse leg. It feels pretty good looking down on a horse."

"Hah. Just because you're riding on a horse doesn't mean you're all that."

"Heh...then this is all meaningless unless we go at it one-on-one."

If it happens then Sudou will be at a disadvantage, throwing fists based on instincts instead of using his head. Before Sudou can retort, Hirata stops him.

"Don't, Sudou-kun. It's a bad idea to rise to his provocations. Let's cooperate with Katsuragi-kun."

"Don't forget those words, Ryuen! You heard him, Katsuragi. Don't stick your nose in this!" Sudou scoff.

"What are you talking about? It's sheer folly to let this chance go. We should use a pincer attack to make sure he goes down." Katsruagi said and raised a brow.

"If you stick your nose in this, I'll destroy your horse."

"So you're determined to do it one-on-one no matter what then, Sudou-kun? If we're doing it then let's win." Hirata said.

"Naturally. Hirata, make absolutely sure your headband doesn't get stolen!"

Along with Sudou's forceful signal, the horse proceeds forward. Hirata is unable to grab Ryuen's headband from him and ends up getting his own headband taken, and the Red Team loses the Cavalry Battle.

They later figure out that Ryuen had slathered his headband with hair wax to make it too slippery to grasp, but there is no evidence of foul play, and Class D is forced to accept the loss.

Karuizawa called out to Axel and Ayanokoji and Hirata once they came back from their cavalry battle.

"Ahh, Kiyotaka and Axel. Isn't this bad? "

"What is?" they both asked her. Axel smiled when he heard his name. He doesn't mind her using his name to call him. Since she is his favorite.

"Wait, why did you just call me by your first name?" Kiyotaka asked, Axel chuckled and looked away.

"I've begun to call him Yousuke-kun so I'm doing the same for you two. More importantly, it's about Horikita-san. Isn't she having a hard time for quite a while now? Even during the cavalry battle just now, she was a mess. Even if I try to follow up for her, it's just absurd." Karuizawa crosses her arms.

"Well, I don't intend to blame her though. Her opponents are just too much."

"It can't be helped. She's being targeted after all." Kiyotaka replied.

"So you mean it's not a coincidence that she keeps running into all these amazing people?" Karuizawa said.

"It's what you'd call harassment." Kiyotaka added.

"You're saying someone's harassing Horikita-san.? But, how?"

"By the way, it's not just Horikita. They know everyone's group numbers for the contests. They fed weak opponents to the more athletic ones like Sudou and Onodera and for the unathletic ones like Sotomura, Yukimura and Ike, they had them compete against students who are capable of barely winning. Basically, what it means is that we're being toyed with."

"The class's information slipped out...the list on the participation table was leaked?" Karuizawa asks with a gasp of realization and horror.

Kiyotaka nods.

"That's right. All of this was set up in advance and the information was communicated to Ryuen."

"That sort of thing......if I recall, Horikita-san's opponents were always. Yajima-san and Kinoshita-san, does this have something to do with the traitor you were talking about earlier?" Karuizawa looks down as if she's thinking.

"That sort of thing, how did you find out? How should I put it, it would be less strange if you told me you're a traitor, that's not right?"

"What do you think of Horikita?" Suddenly Kiyotaka asked.

Karuizawa looked confused but she replied.

"What, wait, I don't like her. She's conceited and impertinent. "

"But you're still worried about her." Axel said as he puffed his head on Kiyotaka's shoulder. After that he goes back to playing Kiyotaka's hand.

"Maybe I saw her as being similar to me. Right now, Class D is last place right? Is there any way left to win?" Karuizawa sounds as if there's no hope left.

"Not to worry. So far everything's going as we predicted." Kiyotaka said.

"So you have been putting some thought into it after all. So? How do we win?"

"Win? Right now what's truly important is that we do nothing." Axel said, making Karuizawa gaped as she stared at him.

"Ehh?"

She would have thought Axel would be this crazy but not that crazy, is this what Kiyotaka thinks too? Kiyotaka nodded his head.

"What do you mean by that–"

"I'm seriously going to knock the shit out of that bastard!"

Kiyotaka sighed. Sudou has finally snapped. He moves to confront Ryuen, only to be stopped by Hirata.

"I get what you mean, Sudou-kun. But I think we need to stay calm about this. You should know what'll happen if you attack Ryuen-kun." Hirata said as he struggled to keep Sudou in his place.

"Shut up! He's the one fucking around here! He's committing foul play!" Sudou accused.

"I do think there's a high possibility of it being foul play. But isn't it difficult to prove that?" Hirata reasoned out.

"I'm the leader during the sports festival. Obey me, Hirata, let's gang up on Ryuen together."

"I'm not denying that you're the leader. Considering this sports festival, there's no doubt that you're the leader. But I want you to look around. Just how many people right now acknowledge you as their leader?" Hirata replied.

Sudou looks around. Starting with Ike and the others, who cowered before his anger, most of the students kept their distance from the irritated Sudou.

Horikita too, was looking at Sudou's speech and conduct with exasperated eyes.

"I'm desperately trying for the sake of the class." Sudou muttered.

"Is that really so? Rather than wanting the class to win, isn't it just that you want to show off? Isn't it just that you want to show us just how amazing you are? At the very least, I think so. You're just being swept along by your emotions, and you decide usefulness and uselessness based on that." Hirata said while glaring at Sudou.

"Shut up."

"I feel the same way too, Sudou-kun. It's precisely because we're relying on you, Sudou-kun, that I want you to see the bigger picture. And I want you to respond to the feelings of all your comrades." Hirata continues.

"Shut up.."

" You should be able to do that, Sudou-kun. That's why— "

"I'm telling you to shut up!"

Sudou was about to punch Hirata, but someone quickly caught his wrist. Sudou's eyes widened and he didn't realize that someone just grabbed his wrist.

It was Axel.

"Please, calm down Sudou-ku–" Sudou still didn't listen even to Axel, making Axel sighed.

"Shut–"

Sudou without thinking tried to attack even Axel, but the Axel swiftly moved closer to his ears.

"I said...Calm. Down. Didn't. I?"

As soon as those words left his mouth, Sudou quickly put distance between him and Axel, and he was sweating bullets and some student just witnessed the scene they didn't expect that some can tame the beast.

He realised what he just did.

'I-I tried to hit h-him.'

"Please calm down already, Sudou-kun." Axel said he planned to continue but someone just arrived..

"What's going on?"

Chabashira-sensei walks over to Axel and Yosuke. Axel smiled that almost nothing like happened.

"Did you try to hit him?" Chabashira asks while looking at Sudou to Hirata.

"What'll you do if I did?" Sudou looks away.

"That's not it, sensei." Hirata immediately stepped in.

"I hardly see it that way."

"You're wrong. Because we're saying so, there should be no problem then." Axel reasons out making Chabashira go silent until she lets out a sigh.

"Certainly you're right. If the victim is saying nothing's wrong then first of all, there's no problem. However, objectively looking at it, there's the possibility that there's some kind of trouble going on between you guys. For now, keep your distance from one another."

"There's no trouble here and I don't want to cause any misunderstandings." she continued.

"We understand."

Axel and Hirata took distance to stay out of Sudou's field of vision. On the other hand, Sudou was no longer able to suppress his rage and kicked a pipe chair near him with all his strength.

"Do whatever you want. Go ahead and lose, you small fries. This sports festival can eat shit."

He walks away, leaving Class D behind to fend for itself for the rest of the sports festival. The festival continues, and Sudou does not return.

Axel sighed and looked at Kiyotaka who just nodded and gave him a thumbs up. He chuckled.

'He looks cute.'

After what happened Karuizawa walked towards Hirata, Kiyotaka and Axel.

"So where is Horikita-san and what is she doing right now?"

"She's currently doing something only she can do." Kiyotaka answered.

"Could it be about Sudou-kun?" Hirata guessed.

Karuizawa nod, it would make sense. "It's not easy to win in the second half without Sudou, right?"

"That's right as far as we're concerned, we're dependent on Sudou-kun." Hirata said. Karuizawa said nothing as she seemed slightly dissatisfied with having to depend on Sudou.