The Sports Festival - Part2

During lunch break, classmates gathered in the shade of trees, spreading their lunches and enjoying a relaxed moment. Sora sat in a circle with her friends, happily munching on rice balls. Her hair, damp with sweat, gleamed in the sunlight, creating an almost painterly scene.

"Sora, let's trade lunches!" called out Ume. Sora responded with a radiant smile.

"Sure! Oh, should we give some to Ten too?"

Ten, Sora's cat, was curled up contentedly on her lap, purring happily. The sight made all the girls around them smile involuntarily.

At that moment, Ren, who was displaying his luxury lunchbox a short distance away, snorted disapprovingly. "Sharing food with a cat? Seriously? What's the point?"

As soon as those words left his mouth, Ten darted toward Ren, his eyes fixed eagerly on the luxury lunchbox.

"Wah! My special foie gras meal!" Ren exclaimed in surprise, frantically trying to protect his lunch. However, as Ten approached closer, Ren began to show signs of fear, eventually starting to run around in panic.

"Hahaha! Ten, you're amazing!" Ume doubled over with laughter while Sora approached Ren with a smile, tilting her head slightly to match his gaze, and whispered:

"Are you okay, Ren? Ten isn't really a bad cat, you know." She winked playfully while gently picking up Ten, creating distance to protect Ren's lunch.

Ren's face reddened slightly at her gesture. "I-I'm not scared or anything! I'm just... not used to them, okay?" he mumbled, but when he caught a glimpse of Sora tenderly holding Ten, he felt his heart unexpectedly stirred by her gentleness.

Sora brightly smiled, saying, "Ten, I'm sorry, you must have wanted to taste Ren's lunch too♪" while gently cradling Ten in her arms. Her movements were almost motherly, and Ren couldn't take his eyes off her, surprised by how gentle she seemed.

"Ugh, this kind of skinship..." Ren's face turned completely red as he hesitated for a moment, but when Sora brought Ten closer with her mischievous smile, he finally gave in and reached out tentatively.

In the afternoon, the three-legged race began. Sora and Yuta stood shoulder to shoulder at the starting line. Their legs moved in perfect sync, almost like a choreographed dance, leaving the other pairs gawking in amazement.

"Ready?" Yuta asked, and Sora nodded energetically. "Of course♪ Let's aim for first place!"

At the signal, they took off running. Their steps were perfectly synchronized, their rhythm bouncing along. Sora's twin tails gleamed as they cut through the air, drawing applause from the spectators.

"Amazing... Sora and Yuta are like one person." "Those two are really something else!"

Meanwhile, Ren and Ume's pair was completely out of sync, stumbling almost immediately after the start. "Hey! Can't you lead better?" Ume snapped, her voice sharp with frustration. Ren shot back, "Maybe try matching my rhythm for once!" Their exchange drew laughter from the crowd.

As the race concluded, Sora and Yuta crossed the finish line to thunderous cheers from the audience.

In the following ball-toss competition, Sora's incredible skills further captivated the audience. Every ball she threw landed perfectly in the basket. Each successful throw drew gasps of amazement from the spectators, while the members of her guard squad cheered with expressions of pure joy.

"As expected of Sora! Not missing a single throw, it's like she's being guided by angels!"

Meanwhile, almost none of Ren's throws were reaching the basket. Growing frustrated, he glanced at Sora, who noticed and approached him with a gentle smile.

"Ren, maybe try relaxing a bit more♪"

At Sora's words, Ren's face reddened, but he tried to maintain his composure. "Hmph, I was just testing things out," he replied sheepishly. Following her advice, he relaxed and threw the ball—it landed perfectly in the basket.

"You did it, yay!♪" Sora gave a small applause, and cheers erupted from the spectators. Ren glanced at Sora and mumbled, "Well... it wasn't bad advice," though his expression couldn't hide his embarrassment.

As the last event ended and the closing ceremony approached in the twilight, Sora found Ten playing alone and gently picked him up. Under the crimson sky, she spoke softly to him.

"Today was fun, wasn't it, Ten? Every time I spend time with you, I realize how special you are to me." Sora hugged Ten close to her chest and smiled softly. "We're kind of alike, aren't we? So... would you like to come live with me? Then neither of us will have to be alone anymore."

"Meow." Ten responded as if he had been waiting for these words, burying his face in Sora's chest and purring. Her face naturally broke into a smile at his response.

A short distance away, Ren was still warily keeping an eye on Ten. Seeing this, Sora laughed softly and said, "Ren, you don't have to be so scared."

Just then, Yuta approached quietly and called out, "Sora, shall we head home?" Sora turned around with a gentle smile. "Hey, Yuta. You know, I've been thinking since the day we first met Ten... This little one and I, we'd surely find our place together."

"I see, that's great, Ten." Yuta smiled kindly and lightly patted Ten's head. "But why is he so attached to you?"

Sora laughed sheepishly, "Hehe, animals can tell when someone is kind" she said, then gazed into the distance and continued. "Besides, just knowing you're not alone anymore... it makes your heart feel so warm."

The sunset dyed Sora's hair softly, illuminating her profile. Yuta felt a warm feeling spread through his heart as he watched her.

"Sora! Time to go home!" Ume's voice echoed from afar. Looking in that direction, they could see Ren trying to avoid Ten by jogging away, making both Sora and Yuta burst into laughter.

"Coming! Good work everyone!" Sora hugged Ten close and dashed toward Yuta and Ume, her laughter ringing out like a melody in the sunset.

And from the next day on, the "Sports Festival Photo Collection" taken by Takashi and others became a secret hit among the guard squad members, becoming the talk of the entire school.