CH 7

After deciding the order for the relay, homeroom later that day was in uproar.

"Wow, Ichinose-kun's speed is incredible."

"He hasn't even done sports before this too!"

"In first year he wasn't like this, I wonder why he's so dreamy this year..."

"He's even attractive too! Athletic and attractive? Sign me up!"

All the girls are chatting up a storm and staring at me. Holy fuck, this is awkward...

Just because I can run fast, they all suddenly lust after me. What is this, elementary school or something?

"Ichinose-kun, I see you're the center of attention again."

As I'm preparing to head home, I hear Yukishiro san's voice.

"Well, this attention will probably be fickle too. Besides, I'm not in any sports club, so it's not like my running speed will be useful or anything."

“That might be true, but you're a hero within the school! No one else has better running skills than you."

I hear a heavy sigh from her.

"You bad at sports or something"

"Yeah... especially running. I get really depressed every year when the athletics festival rolls around. I was hoping to get tips from you..."

"Ehh, I could help, but I'm not too sure I'll be that great."

"Don’t worry, that's fine. I was just hoping someone who was good at running could coach me. At the very least, I was hoping my skills could improve a little bit."

I can see where she’s coming from.

"But, I'm not really someone that can explain stuff well, especially running.”

Yukishiro-san flops down on her desk, her head resting on her arms. The breeze from the window is blowing her hair every which way. It kind of looks like she's sleeping.

"I want to skip the athletics festival so much..."

"You hate it that much?"

"Frankly, yeah..."

She puts on an playful smile as she stares back at me. I would like to help, but I got nothing here.

"Hey, Ichinose, I got a favour to ask."

Out of nowhere, another voice pops out of nowhere. Both Yukishiro-san and I quickly turn to see where the new voice is coming from. It's our classmate Senshuu Hasuike. He's around 180cm and has a sharp and menacing face. He's also on the track team and earlier when we were picking the relay team, he placed second and was chosen as the lead. Wonder what business he has with me. I continue waiting for him to speak up.

"Listen, do you plan on taking the relay seriously?"

"Seriously...?"

"Will you be willing to sacrifice your well-being in order to win?"

"I wouldn’t put my well-being on the line for this, I mean it’s just a relay."

My reply is instant and Hasuike furrows his eyebrows

"Well then, I see we're in a dilemma now."

I have a bad feeling about where this conversation will end up going... 

"Is that all?"

"For this relay, I planned on training as much as possible in order to become the anchor, and yet you just waltz your way into the relay and beat the prefecture record along with it."

"Well, if you want trade places, I'm fin-"

"You're misunderstanding me. I know I lost to you and that’s fine. However, make sure in the relay that you put your life on the line in order to crush the anchor from Class 2.”

Yukishiro-san and I look at each other. Holy crap, this guy is pretty damn intense. What’s his deal?

“Do you have something against Class 2 or something?”

"Not Class 2, just the anchor in Class 2. He's Taichi Kirigaya. I want to fucking destroy him."

The fuck? Wait, hold on...

"You're talking about Taichi Kirigaya from the track team yeah?"

"Yeah."

"The one that all the girls fawn over?"

"He's a real womanizer. A true man-whore."

Interesting way to put that...

Regardless, it seems like Hasuike and I are thinking of the same guy. He's the one that was with Hanabi this morning on the train.

"Why do you have a vendetta towards Kirigaya? Sure, he's in the same club as you, but this seems like something that goes beyond simple rivals..."

"That fucker stole my girlfriend!"

"Stole?"

I'm not really sure how to respond, so I glance over at Yukishiro-san, who's slightly blushing and has her eyes cast downward. I guess you can say she's at a loss for words, though that does make sense given that this really isn't a subject fit for the classroom discussion.

Losing himself to anger, Hasuike ignores our reactions and continues grinding his teeth. But it is strange because Hanabi was flirting with Kirigaya for the past few days. Just who was Hasuike's girlfriend? I decide to probe him for answers.

"I don't blame him for stealing her. I'm the weakling here. I mean, he did manage to steal her from me. There was nothing else I could do. But what I hate, what fuels my hatred, is the fact that he threw her away so quickly for some first year girl. What a fucking asshole."

Ah, so that's how it is.

"I can see how that's frustrating."

After my weak attempt of trying to cheer him up, he puts his hands on my desk and bows. He's a bit too close for comfort.

"Ichinose-kun, please help me, I'm sure with your abilities we can teach that piece of shit a lesson."

"Y-yeah.."

I can sympathize with Hasuike here. Kirigaya did hook up with Hanabi after all. She's sure to cause trouble wherever she goes.

"So what do you want me to do exactly?"

"I'll tell you more as things go on. For now, stay healthy before the relay starts."

Wait up, he's part of the track club, right? That means he's probably pretty good in terms of coaching.

"Sure thing. Expect I have one condition."

"Yes, whatever it is, I'll do my best with it."

"Can you teach her how to run better? I can help out too if you need it."

I point at Yukishiro-san and she looks at me like I got two heads.

"A little while ago, she asked me to help with her running, so I was thinking this was too good of an opportunity to pass up."

"B-but, helping him out for my sake seems..."

"It's fine. Besides, I sympathize with Hasuike for having his girlfriend taken."

"Yeah, she was taken alright..."

Having said that, I can see Hasuike's shoulders sag.

"Well, you said it yourself before."

"It's different having someone else say it, makes it sting that much more."

Really?

"Well, are you two down?"

Both Yukishiro-san and Hasuike nod in response.

"I'd be grateful if you two helped with my running."

"I have no objections either. Let's get to this."

"Sounds good."

And with that, I managed to find a coach for Yukishiro-san and I got myself a new goal: destroying Hanabi’s new boyfriend during the relay.  ______ Translator's Notes: Ended up skipping a day, but oh well. Seems like we have a new interesting plot point on our hands.