T/N: This is the start of the bonus chapter!
After that, the sports festival went on smoothly. Finally, we reached the final event of the festival, the team rally.
The blue team which we belonged to, was currently in second place, followed by the yellow team with a gap of only a few points. In the individual events, we managed to get a lot of points thanks to Amami-san’s efforts, but ultimately, we couldn’t close the gap with Nozomu’s team, the red team.
If things were to continue like this, the red team would naturally win the whole thing. But, there was a chance for a comeback because the overall score also included the score for our backboard and cheering squad, so our team had no intention of cutting corners on the final event.
“Yuu, we aren’t too far behind. We can overtake them and steal first place from them!”“Go get them, Amami-san!”
There were only two runners left, which were Amami-san and the anchor of our team.
Her blonde hair that was tied into the ponytail and the fact that the rest of the runners were third years made her stand out from the rest.
She didn’t respond to our cheers, seemingly focused on the race as she had her eyes set on the things that were happening right in front of her.
Like she said, she would be fine. I hadn’t noticed anything wrong with her performance either. So this was just her being focused, not her being listless.
“!”
After receiving the baton, she instantly leapt forward and closed the distance with the third years running in front of her. The differences between their running speed was clear as the gap shrunk with each stride she took.3 meters, 2, 1…
Finally, as they made the final turn, she managed to overtake the lead runner.
“…Phew.”
After passing the baton to our team’s anchor, Amami-san turned to face us.
“Hehe, how’s that?~”
The crowds in the blue team stand went wild after seeing her giving us her peace sign with a grin.
“Amami-chan, you’re amazing!”
“Amami-senpai, you’re the best!”
The momentum of the crowds were so great that even if we tried to say something to her now, she wouldn’t be able to hear it.
When she saw the crowds go wild, she nodded happily.
Meanwhile in the race itself, thanks to the momentum brought by Amami-san, our anchor managed to stay ahead of the red team and safely finished in first place.
Considering that the red team still managed to get second place, it was still difficult for our team to win with the overall score, but getting first place in the relay should be something at least.
Nozomu, who was also competing in the relay, approached Amami-san and gave her an applause. By the way, he was the first runner of the red team and the one who got the best time overall.
Regardless of the result, we managed to give it our all and this should be enough to turn this event into a memorable experience for us all. Sure, the matter of the rumors was a bummer, but time will heal that.
…In any case, I’m tired.
“That concludes the sports festival! To all students, you can begin the cleaning now!”
After the closing speech was over and the parents and other guests left the school, everyone started cleaning up the tents, stands and other things that were scattered through the field.
By the next day, the place would look normal again.
On one hand, I felt relieved that I wouldn’t need to practice under the scorching heat any more, but on the other hand, I felt a sense of loneliness that everything was over.
“The sports festival is over, huh?…”
“Amami-san? …Yeah, I guess so.”
When the senpais were still addressing the team for the final meeting, Amami-san called out to me.
In front of us were the backboards that were being uninstalled by the contractors.
Some of the pallets would be stored in the warehouse so that the kouhais would be able to reuse them for the next festival.
“It was a lot of work… I don’t think I want to do it again if the festival were to be held again next year… Well, at least I’ve done a lot this year.”
“Mhm. Though, I wouldn’t mind if they held the festival every year, just spare me from the backboard again… Ugh, I had to wake up early, thanks to that I could barely sleep at night! Since we started preparing, I only slept for seven hours every night! It’s terrible!”
“Huh? …Ah, yeah, I guess?”
Most people would say that seven hours a day was plenty, but apparently that was not the case for her. Well, I guess to have the amount of energy she used during the festival today, she needed more sleep than the average person.
“Thanks for today, Maki-kun.”
“Huh?”
“The thing with Ooyama-kun… At that time, blood rushed to my head and I couldn’t think clearly. I couldn’t forgive him just like that. But at the same time, I saw his earnestness when he was working on the backboard…”
“Ah, I see. If it bothers you, why don’t you talk to him after everything is over?”
“I can do that, but… Won’t he be scared of me after all that?”
“Maybe, but I think it’ll be fine.”
I actually haven’t seen Ooyama-kun all day. He probably actively avoided us.
Well, I still thought it was a good idea for Amami-san to have a talk with him. While we didn’t have any business with him anymore after the conversation this morning, it would give Amami-san closure since she seemed to regret her actions.
“…I see. If you say so then, Maki-kun, I’ll do it. I’ll be on my own though.”
“On your own? Are you sure you don’t want our help?”
“Mhm. I said it earlier, right? I’ll be fine on my own. Besides, I need to be able to do this much on my own at least.”
Eventually, we’d be going on our own paths. While we’d still be friends even after graduating, we couldn’t always be there for her.
She must've done a lot of thinking to come up with this conclusion.
In any case, I’ll try to respect her wishes.
“I’m going, Maki-kun.”
When the final meeting was over and the team was dismissed, Amami-san immediately followed Ooyama-kun’s back as he fled toward the direction of the school building.
I knew that it was dangerous to let her go on her own like that, but I had no choice but to trust her for now.
After telling Umi and Nitta-san about the situation, we went to the student council room to pick up our luggages.
“Phew, finally, everything’s over! I don’t want to do this anymore… Practicing, sniffing around for information all day long… What am I, a detective? I want my long and well-deserved rest, thank you very much!”
“Good job, Nina. As a thank you, I’ll treat you to a drink.”
“All that work for a measly 200 yen? I know it was Araecchi who solved the problem, but I worked my a** off too, you know? Add some french fries in.”
“All your work for a measly 380 yen, amazing…”
However, this kind of answer was just how Nitta-san was.
Like Nozomu, she did her best to help out Amami-san, even though the rumor had nothing to do with her whatsoever. She still worked together with Arae-san to get to the root of the matter diligently.
Sure, she still owed me money from the dinner we had a while back, but this favor far exceeded the money she owed me.
While I didn’t know how Nitta-san felt about me, I considered her to be a good friend, just like Amami-san and Nozomu. Honestly, my impression of her had changed so much from the first time I met her.
In any case, I wanted to repay her for this favor. Of course, I refused to do anything that had something to do with Takizawa-kun.
“…Ah, right, can you help me with something else instead, Rep?”
“Hm? Sure, if it’s something I could do. I won’t set you up on a date with Takizawa-kun, though.”
“I know. I’ve seen him and the president flirting in the student council room a few times. Seriously, even though everyone else is working… At least close the door, why can’t they do that?”
It seemed like that made her give up on Takizawa-kun. Still, Takizawa-kun and Nakamura-san were flirting in the room? Well, good for them I guess.
…Anyway, if the favor wasn’t related to Takizawa-kun, then what else did she need me for?
“Well, actually this is something that concerns your girlfriend too, Rep.”
“Huh? Me too?”
“Yeah. I don’t want to do this behind your back, it’d be unfair. In any case, listen to me.”
“?”
She was talking in such a roundabout way that made us tilt our heads in confusion.
What was it that made her act like this?
“…Anyway, Rep, let me just get straight to the point.”
“…Okay?”
She took a deep breath before opening her mouth.
“Maehara… On our next day off, can you go on a date with me?”
