213 - The Victory Hug

RAW

Once Shizuku and the others' race was over, the second first-year race began immediately.

At that point, the PE committee members began guiding Haruto and the other second-year students.

“This race is almost over, and then the second-year preliminaries will begin, so please make your way to your respective starting positions.”

At the committee member's instructions, Saki stood up with a little “Here we go.”

“It’s finally time. Let’s all do our best.”

“Hell yeah! Underhand-Pass Taro, reporting for battle!”

As a former member of the track team, Saki was accustomed to the tension of races, so she seemed much the same as usual.

Tomoya wasn't particularly nervous either, saying things like, “We’re going for a crushing first-place finish!”

“I-it’s finally happening! First, we have to make it through the preliminaries!”

Ayaka, by contrast, was visibly nervous.

She was forcing an unnaturally bright smile in an attempt to push down her nerves, but her voice was trembling.

“It’ll be okay, Ayaka. Just like we practiced. Just do what you normally do.”

Haruto looked her in the eyes, trying to calm her down as she stood there stiff with nerves.

“You’re not running alone. We’re all in this together, so it’ll be okay.”

“That’s right, Ayaka. A relay is a team event. We can cover for each other, so even if you make a little mistake, it’s fine.”

“Give it everything you’ve got and have fun!”

Saki and Tomoya joined in after Haruto, encouraging Ayaka.

“Yeah, you’re right! Okay! Let’s all have fun!”

Perhaps the thought of having her team with her had eased her mind a little, because Ayaka nodded with a much more natural smile than before.

Haruto and the others then followed the PE committee members toward their respective starting positions.

While Haruto, the anchor, was making his way to the fourth runner’s starting area, he passed by the third-year group. He happened to feel someone watching him, so he looked over and met Minato’s eyes.

When their gazes met, Minato gave him a slight nod.

Haruto answered with a small nod of his own.

Minato would confess his feelings to Ayaka on the podium.

In the middle of his confession, Haruto would step in and clearly tell him that confessing to her was a nuisance, putting a stop to it. Minato would then accept that without protest and apologize.

For Minato’s plan to have its maximum effect, it needed to attract as much attention as possible.

In other words, if they wanted to put an end to Ayaka’s endless stream of confessions, they absolutely had to make it onto the podium.

“I’d better get serious.”

Haruto muttered to himself, steeling his resolve.

Once preparations for the first second-year race were complete, the announcements introducing the runners began, just as they had for the first-years.

“Now it’s time for the second-years to battle it out! Let’s introduce the runners for the first race!”

The announcer introduced each runner one by one.

Each time, cheers and applause erupted from their respective classes.

Then Ayaka’s name was called.

“Introducing the third runners! Second-year Class A, Asuka Marui! Second-year Class B, Kosuke Hatamura! Second-year Class C, Ayaka Tojo! Second-year Class D, Na—”

The instant her name was called, an enormous cheer erupted across the grounds, drowning out the rest of the introductions.

“TOJOOO-SAAAN!!”

“THANK YOU FOR COMPETING!!”

“WOOOOO! THIS IS INSANE!!”

“THE MAIN EVENT IS HERE!!”

Surrounded by a deafening uproar, Ayaka shyly bowed her head.

Watching her from a distance, Haruto let out a small breath.

Ayaka had originally been so overwhelmingly popular that people called her “the school idol.”

Her popularity hadn't diminished after she started dating Haruto and made their relationship public. If anything, it seemed to have grown even further.

The fact that people were still confessing “I love you” to Ayaka despite knowing she already had a boyfriend was proof of just how attractive she was.

Now that Haruto himself had become her boyfriend, and then her fiancé, he couldn't deny that he felt proud of how wonderful she was.

However, as her boyfriend, he couldn't simply stand by and watch the situation unfold.

He needed to clearly make it known that people had to stop confessing to her.

“Now, let’s begin the first second-year race!”

At the announcement, the excitement that had filled the grounds suddenly gave way to silence.

Haruto looked toward the starting line, where Saki was taking deep breaths in front of the starting blocks.

She then took her position.

Her eyes were fixed straight ahead, filled with determination.

As the race was finally about to begin, Haruto felt his heartbeat quicken as he took his own position.

Several seconds of silence followed.

Then, as though tearing through the stillness, the starting gun rang out.

Saki shot forward at once.

Of the four first runners, only one was a boy, while the other three were girls.

The lone boy immediately took the lead.

But Saki was right behind him.

“He’s fast. She’s almost keeping up with a guy.”

Haruto's mutter was drowned out by the commentary.

“Runner Matsumura from Class D takes the lead! But right behind him is Aizawa from Class C! It’s a battle for first place between Class D and Class C!”

Saki was making full use of her abilities as a former track athlete.

However, she couldn't quite overtake the boy, and toward the latter half of the leg, she fell slightly behind before passing the baton to Tomoya.

“And here comes the baton pass to the second runner! Oh! Wait! Class C has shot into the lead during the exchange! Akagi gets off to a smooth start and immediately picks up speed! He’s running away with first place!”

Taking advantage of the greatest benefit of an underhand pass—the explosive acceleration immediately after the exchange—Tomoya surged into first place.

The fact that Class D's second runner was a girl only caused the gap to widen further.

“Class C is in sole possession of first place! They’re showing an overwhelming burst of speed! And now they’re heading into the third leg! The baton is passed to Tojo!”

The moment Ayaka started running, the cheers and applause grew even louder.

“Tojo! She’s adorable even when she runs! And beautiful, too! She’s spreading her charm all over the track! What a sight to behold!!”

The commentator was a male member of the broadcasting committee, and he was getting extremely excited over Ayaka's appearance as she ran.

“Wow! I can’t take my eyes off her! And every time she takes a step, they bounce—OUCH!?”

“Due to the previous commentator’s biased commentary, we will now be changing commentators.”

The heated male voice suddenly changed to that of a female student.

“Tojo is still in first place, but the other runners are rapidly closing in from behind. The gap is steadily shrinking.”

Just as the calm commentary described, the other runners were catching up to Ayaka as she desperately ran.

Haruto had been looking back to check the situation, but when Ayaka was only a few meters away, he turned his eyes forward.

Immediately afterward, he heard Ayaka's voice.

“Here!”

At the same moment, Haruto started running.

A baton smoothly slipped upward into his left hand from below.

He received it naturally and accelerated at full speed.

Along with the sound of the wind rushing past his ears, Haruto could hear the commentary.

“Class C has widened their lead once again with a fantastic baton exchange! Otsuki is running completely alone out front!”

After confirming from the commentary that he had plenty of distance between himself and the runners behind him, Haruto kept his focus ahead without tensing up.

He continued running without sensing anyone approaching from behind, and eventually crossed the finish line.

“Class C crosses the finish line in first place! They advance from the preliminaries!”

After slowing down slightly beyond the finish line, Haruto came to a stop, his expression relaxing at the announcement that they had advanced.

Then Saki came running toward him with an incredibly happy smile.

“We did it! As expected of you, Haruto! Our reliable anchor!”

“Thanks. You ran really well too, Saki.”

“Thanks! Though I slowed down a little toward the end.”

Saki was far more energetic than usual.

The pressure of being the first runner had finally been lifted, and advancing through the preliminaries had made her unusually open with her emotions.

Haruto watched her, thinking that it was rare to see her this excited, when Tomoya came over.

“Hell yeah! Just like I promised, we crushed them and took first! Did you witness the power of Underhand-Pass Taro?!”

Tomoya raised his fist and let out a triumphant yell.

Saki broke into a huge smile and ran over to him.

“That’s my Pass Taro!”

“Hell yeah! …Wait, wh—?!”

Saki hugged Tomoya enthusiastically, carrying all the momentum from her run straight into the victory hug.

“Your timing on the start was perfect! I think that went even better than during practice!”

“Uh, ah, y-yeah, th-that’s right.”

“At first I was wondering how this was going to work, but practicing the underhand pass was definitely the right choice!”

“Y-yeah, definitely.”

While Saki happily hugged him, Tomoya's expression had completely changed from his earlier excitement. He was now standing there in stunned disbelief.

Then Ayaka came over as well.

“We did it! We made it through the preliminaries!”

“Ayaka! You ran great!”

Saki released Tomoya and hugged Ayaka instead.

“Thanks! But I actually made up some of the distance you and Tomoya created.”

“Don’t worry about it! It’s a team event!”

The two girls hugged each other and happily bounced up and down.

Tomoya watched them with a blank expression, as though his soul had temporarily left his body.

“You okay, Tomoya?”

When Haruto spoke to him, Tomoya answered as though his mind were somewhere else entirely.

“Yeah. Pass Taro is invincible…”

“I see.”

“Damn right… Hey, Haru.”

“What?”

Tomoya slowly turned toward Haruto.

Then, just as slowly, he spread both arms wide and casually opened his mouth.

“Let’s hug.”

“No.”

Haruto rejected him instantly, and a little bit of emotion returned to Tomoya's face.

“Cold bastard. And here I thought we were best friends.”

“I have no desire to press myself against a sweaty guy who just ran all-out.”

“…Saki smelled really nice, you know?”

Tomoya murmured as he watched Saki, who was still happily hugging Ayaka.

“I see.”

Haruto gave him a short reply before looking at Ayaka, who was laughing while hugging Saki.

“Let’s give it our all in the semifinals.”

“Yeah. Pass Taro has no openings.”

Haruto glanced sideways at Tomoya.

If anything, he looked like he had nothing but openings.