CH. 48 - The Points Are Stacking

The rope is set as the classes make their way around it. Class 4-1 and 2-1 line up and prepare themselves for tug of war, one side looking more excited about it than the other. 

“Oh yeah, this is what I’m talking about.” Himiko says excitedly.

“Nothing but raw strength here.” Frank says too. They both crack their knuckles and necks as they look down upon them. 

“He’s right, you know. They got sheer size on us.” Lucy points out.

“That’s true, but with Touma and Hikigaya in the back, we stand a good chance.” Shiori says as they both look extremely in the zone. Lucy nods with a smile on her face. The referee lines them up and blows his whistle. In an instant, the rope is pulled taut and strains under the combined strength of both classes. They struggle for a moment before the Gauge Twins speak.

“You’re going down, small fry!” Frank shouts.

“You won’t even know what hit you!” Himiko smirks.

“Yeah, well, bleh!” Chizuru sticks her tongue out at them as her side slips a little.

“Chizuru, focus!” Lucy shouts.

“Sorry!”

“Come on, guys! We got this! Now… pull!” Haru says with a smile on his face. At that moment, he pulls very hard and slides back a little. With Sugawara right behind him, this causes Haru to rub up against Sugawara in a way that makes him get very flustered and blush heavily. As his face runs red and steam comes off the top of his head, he stutters before his eyes roll back and he falls to the side.

“Man down!” Ryuji calls out.

“Sugawara!” Haru shouts with a worried look as Sugawara lays there with a flustered smile on his face. The rest of them strain from the loss of one man power. As Haru looks back to check on Sugawara, he loosens his grip a bit, but enough for Emiko to notice. Her eyes sharpen as she shouts.

“All together now!”

Her class yells as they give one large pull, causing the second years to all fall over. The referee blows his whistle again as the fourth years cheer in victory. More concerned for his boyfriend, Haru rushes to Sugawara’s side.

“Sugawara! Are you okay?!”

“Y-yeah… Sorry guys, I blew it…” Sugawara says with swirly eyes, still on the ground. Shiori sits with her arm on her knee as she sighs.

“Damn, two in a row.” Shiori says softly, a disappointed look on her face. Hikigaya offers his hand to help her up. She looks at him then smiles a bit.

“Well, we won the first event for a reason, right?” Hikigaya says. She nods as she takes his hand. Emiko sees this and turns towards them.

“Hey, you two.” They turn and look at her. She smiles widely at them. “The day is still young, don’t give up yet!” Emiko says with a big smile. They smile back.

“Ha, you wish we did!” Shiori shouts back playfully. She gives a smile in return and walks off with her class.

“What a display of sportsmanship! That just might earn them some points! Let us tally up the points and move on to our last event of the first half! Next up on our event list… a scavenger hunt! Let’s get to it!” Shuhei shouts as a whistle blows. The students all wait in their designated spots as one student at a time from each year approaches a desk with a referee standing behind it. He hands each student a folded piece of paper with a prompt on it.

Touma goes first and searches around until he grabs and brings back a good sized rock. The referee gives a thumbs up as he jogs back to the group for the next person to go. The students from the other years run back and forth as Lucy comes to the desk. The referee hands her a piece of paper, and after reading it, she thinks for a moment before getting an idea.

“Come on, Lucy! Move those feets of yours!” Her father, Kenji, cheers her on before noticing her approaching him and her mother. He gets a confused look as she motions for him to come to her. He comes along with her, despite his confusion, to the referee desk. The referee turns and looks at her as she happily shows him the paper. He smiles and gives a thumbs up. Kenji looks around confused.

“What… exactly did you need me for?” He asks.

“I needed something worn out, see?” Lucy says as she shows him the piece of paper that says ‘Worn’ on it. He droops down, realizing she called him old and worn out.

“Aw man…”

“Thanks, dad, I can always count on you.” She says warmly to him. He smiles back, feeling better realizing he helped his daughter out. She then gets a big smile on her face and slaps him on the back. “Now get out of here, old man! I got a game to win!”

He winces in pain playfully as he walks off the court. Lucy heads back to the group as Chizuru heads out to the desk. She gets her paper and quickly looks around. After looking at the drinks and snacks booth for a moment, her eyes dart towards Tsuki and Mormo. She gets a smile on her face as she rushes to them.

“Hey, check this out. What do you think she needs?” Mormo points Tsuki in her direction as she comes up to them. Mormo happily calls to her. “Hello big head, what can I do for ya? - Hey, what are you doing? Woah, let go of me! Who do you think you are?! I oughta-”

She suddenly grabs Mormo, leaving Tsuki shocked and confused. Chizuru rushes back to the desk with Mormo in hand as he berates her. She lifts him up to the referee as he yells at her angrily. He then stops and turns to look at the referee.

“What do you want, four eyes? Need a check or somethin’?” Mormo asks, insulting the glasses wearing referee. The ref is surprised by the talking stuffed animal for a moment but then gives a thumbs up. Mormo is surprised too and looks at Chizuru as she heads back to the others.

“Hey, wait, it was me? What was that stupid prompt anyway?” Mormo asks, surprised. Chizuru happily shows him the paper that says ‘Spicy’ on it. Mormo looks happily satisfied. “Huh. Spicy. I like it. Not bad, appletop, not bad.”

Chizuru smiles back as Kitaro heads out to do his. As soon as he gets his, he smiles a bit and turns around. He then heads back to the group in their section. They give him confused looks as he grabs Hisana’s wrist and pulls her back to the table. She looks confused as she was looking at something else.

“Huh? Where are we going, Kitaro?” Hisana asks. They make their way back to the desk, and Kitaro shows the referee the note. It says ‘Filled With Air’.

“What are we doing at the desk? It’s not my turn yet.” Hisana says, softly confused. The referee looks at her for a moment before giving a thumbs up. Kitaro then leads Hisana back to the others with a soft smile on his face.

“Kitaro, you bully. You called me stupid, didn’t you?” Hisana asks, pouting a little.

“Well, they don’t have to know the truth, right?” Kitaro says, giving her a cool smile. Hisana looks at him confused for a moment before giving a big smile.

“Aw, you do like me, don’t you?” Hisana then hugs him tightly as he gets annoyed. Suiyoubi then heads out for her turn. She gets her note then looks around. As she does, Shuhei happily announces.

“I know there’s plenty going on, but keep your eyes peeled, folks! There’s plenty of fun going on and laughter to be had with these picks! And it seems class 2-1 is making quick work with these people picks! I can’t really tell what their prompts are, but I’m sure they would be hilarious! Oh, what’s this?! Suiyoubi has made her way to our judges' desk! What could she need?!”

Suiyoubi happily walks up to the judges' table but gets a little annoyed by his loud yelling, standing next to one of the speakers. She puts her hand out for Shuhei, who looks confused as he smiles.

“It seems she needs something! But what could it be?!”

“She’s talking about you, ya doofus!” Ashley says as she slaps him on the butt which causes him to fall forward over the table and onto the ground face first. He then shoots up.

“It’s okay, everyone! I am not harmed! And I would be honored to join you!” He shouts happily into the mic. Suiyoubi nods as they walk back to the desk together. She then shows the note to the referee, who then enthusiastically gives two thumbs up. Shuhei looks at the note for a second before getting a big smile. “Ahha! It was me! I was the item! The prompt was ‘Loud’! Isn’t that something?! Good job!” He shouts into the mic. He gives Suiyoubi a smile as she walks back to the group.

“Well, this is certainly becoming an adventure! Could class 2-1 pull out of their losing streak? It’s certainly possible! But we will have to s-” Suddenly, the referee blows his whistle. Shuhei turns around confused but then smiles back into the mic. “And with that, we have our scavenger hunt winner! Class 3-2!” Everyone cheers as Tom stands next to the desk with a cat standing next to him. “They made quick work of those prompts and even managed to bring in a new friend! Who would’ve guessed Tom would be so crafty and grab them the win?” Shuhei cheers. Tom smirks to the other classes, Shiori and Emiko.

“I’m not out yet.” He says before walking away. Class 2-1 looks at him with shock and disappointment.

“Where did he even get that cat?” Haru asks.

“Maybe he used a summoning spell for his spirit animal? A sneaky cat would be perfect for that guy.” Sky says. They both give angry looks as Shuhei sits back down at the judges' table. 

“Well, that was certainly an entertaining watch! It seems class 3-2 plans on making a comeback and maybe even overthrow Emiko! Only time will tell as we end off the first half of our Sports Festival! Now take a break, everybody!”

All the students begin to spread out and meet with their parents for a lunch break. Ryuji goes with Lucy and her parents as Kenji pats him on the back happily and heavily. Sugawara goes with Haru and his family as his mom happily talks with Sugawara, who is embarrassed.

Touma and Emiko sit down on a blanket with an average looking woman, who is their mother. As they eat, a large lumberjack type man, bigger than even Touma, comes up to them. He looks at them for a moment before sitting crisscrossed on the ground with them. As he sits, he thumps on the ground hard enough to shake it a bit with his size. Their mother holds the drink containers from falling over with a smile on her face. 

“Bohoho! You two are doing great out there! I am so proud.” Koa, their father, says as a tear forms under his eyes. He happily wipes it away.

“Yes, just don’t forget to have fun.” Willow, their mother, says softly.

“Yes! Your mom’s right! Today is about fun, so don’t get lost in this competition of yours!” Koa says. He wags his finger at his children, who are on opposing teams. They both smile and nod as Koa smiles in return.

“Alright! Now, what’s on the menu?” Koa asks, licking his lips.

Shiori and Hikigaya walk over to their parents, who are setting up a blanket and lunch on some grass. As soon as Hamasaki notices them, she turns and smiles happily.

“There are our little superstars!” Hamasaki says happily.

“You guys are doing amazing out there!” Asami adds. The kids smile with slight embarrassment from their parents’ praise as they all sit down. 

“For your first Sports Festival, I’d say you guys are doing great.” Takanou says.

“I’m sure your sister would be so proud of all your effort.” Asami says softly as she puts her arm around Hikigaya’s neck gently with a warm smile. He smiles softly. 

“Yeah, I know.” Hikigaya says. Shiori looks at him and presses her lips together subtly.

“I can’t wait to see you guys win this!” Hamasaki says excitedly.

“Yeah, show them everything you got!” Takanou adds just as excited. Shiori looks at Hikigaya then gets a look of determination.

“We’ll win this for sure.” Shiori says as determination blazes within her.

“Alright everyone! I hope you had a good lunch break, but it seems it’s about time we get the show going again! All students regroup and prepare for the next match after a quick warmup period!” Shuhei announces. As the students stand in groups of their classes, they stretch and warm up as Shuhei announces the next event.

“Let’s take a look back at the scoreboard while we prepare ourselves. It seems class 3-2 is in third place, bringing in 67 points! That may not look impressive, but it’s more than enough to keep them in the game! Then we have… what’s this? Class 2-1 and class 4-1 are tied with 98 points?! How is that possible?! It seems that both of their performances are just that superb! Who knows which one will come out on top?! Guess we’ll get some insight in our next event: King of the Hill!” Shuhei shouts. Emiko smiles intensely as the others all smirk too.

“My favorite!” Emiko says.

“This is gonna get intense.” Haru says, a little nervous.

“This game is simple. Out on the field, we have a large, pink headband. Within the five minutes set for the match, whoever can get to the headband first, bring it to the top of the small grassy mound and stay there the longest wins! There will be four referees around all with stopwatches, to ensure an accurate timing. Okay, everyone ready?! Get to your places!” Shuhei announces.

The classes all group up in their sections and prepare to rush the field. A referee in their section then raises his hand for a moment before swinging his arm down and blowing his whistle sharply. The students start running towards the field in a mad sprint. Tom quickly locates the headband and makes his way to it. Himiko notices him and tackles him over.

“Not this time, punk!” She shouts. Kage takes advantage of this and swiftly moves in, grabbing the headband. He rushes up the mound when Suiyoubi grabs his ankle and trips him. He looks back at her and pauses for a moment. She looks up at him and pauses too. They look at each other awkwardly for a moment, hesitating for some reason, when suddenly Shiori swoops in and grabs the headband from his hand. 

“Thanks for the backup, Suiyoubi!” She says with a thumbs up. She rushes the hill and stands at the top holding the headband in her hand.

“Okay, now for the hard part.” She looks back to see multiple students rushing her way when Ryuji and Touma suddenly appear before her.

“Don’t worry, we got your back.” Ryuji says as Touma nods, agreeing before students collide with them. They do their best to hold them back as Emiko comes up from behind. She hops onto another student's back and jumps over them.

“Hey!” The third year shouts.

“Thanks for the boost!” Emiko says back. She then grabs the headband and tries to pull it from Shiori’s hand, but she doesn’t let go, causing them both to go rolling down the side of the mound. As soon as they stop rolling, Shiori is laying face down and lets go of the headband so Emiko grabs it and rushes back up the mound. 

“Just gotta stay at the top, shouldn’t be that hard.”

Emiko slides in and immediately starts dodging people. She holds it up, ducks, dodges, and swings her arm around as her classmates defend her. Some students roll down the hill laughing as they take out friends and classmates on the way.

As Emiko’s class defends her, suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere and with precision like a marksman, Sky swoops in from behind and snatches the headband out of Emiko’s hand quickly. As fast as she came in, she slides down the hill as the class is stunned. Kage specifically looks over with shock.

“No way! She used the-”

“Shadow Snatch! Haha! Bet you didn’t see that coming, did you! I figured out your special move! Now look who’s got the headband, blehh!- Uh oh.” Sky taunts them on the hill before realizing Tom and Frank are charging her. After she notices them, they tackle her, causing her to let go of the headband. It flows in the air for a moment before Kenzo casually grabs it.

“Thanks for this. I’d really rather not have tackling involved at all.” Kenzo then walks it up the hill to the others and hands it to Emiko. “For you.”

“Aw, aren’t you so sweet!” Emiko teases playfully. He blushes a bit before turning around, embarrassed.

“Well, I suppose it was rather sweet of me.” He says, pushing up his glasses.

“We have to get that headband!” Hikigaya shouts.

“Right!” Kitaro shouts back. They both rush up the mound and dive after them, tackling Emiko and Kenzo.

“Hey! What did I say about tackling!” Kenzo complains as they roll down the hill together, and once they stop, Hikigaya gets up quickly.

“Quick, get the headband and get up there! We need some time under our belt before we lose!” Hikigaya tells Kitaro. Kenzo then starts laughing as he gets up.

“You’ll find it pretty hard to get the headband from us.” Kenzo says, dusting himself off. They give him a confused look as someone whistles at them. They turn around to see Kage standing on the hill with the headband in hand.

“The old switcheroo.” Emiko says with a smirk as the referees blow the whistle.

“And that’s time! I don’t know about you all, but I think I could tell who spent the most time as the King of the Hill! Let’s get those points tallied up!” Shuhei announces. Shiori steps next to Hikigaya as he dusts himself off.

“Did you see what happened? That sneaky ninja guy!” Hikigaya complains.

“Yeah, well, we still lost again.” Shiori says back.

“It’s alright, don’t worry about it. We’ll turn this around.” Hikigaya assures her. She smiles at him a bit, appreciating the reassurance.