Case 10: All’s Fair in Love and Sports (Part II)

“C’MON, AMARI! DO IT!”

Straining my legs to their limits and adjusting my grip on the baton with sweaty hands, I accelerated even further to overtake my opponent, becoming the wind itself.

My comrade’s shout, echoing from ahead, came at the right moment to give me the boost I needed.

“WOOOOOH!” I shouted to energize myself while aiming at the back of the bleach-haired boy waiting there. “It’s in your hands now! SAGARA!”

Passing the baton to my friend, I saw him erupt like a rocket for only a moment before I finally stopped in place, panting hard with my hands on my knees.

Maybe I was a bit out of shape… probably because of that 10% of snacks I was always eating with Yua, or something.

I wiped the sweat from my brows and vacated the field.

All around me there were the sounds of excited cheers and people running—the school’s sports festival was in full swing. I was selected to participate in my class’s relay race, and my part was finally over.

“—Not bad at all, Amari-kun,” I heard a voice from nearby.

Turning in surprise, I could see a familiar girl sitting there—Shiomi Yua, of course. It was somewhat fresh seeing her in gym clothes instead of the school uniform for a change. She even had her hair in a tight ponytail instead of her usual twintails.

“Wait… what are you doing here?” I suddenly realized. “Don’t you have your own class’s activities or something?”

Yua gave me a mischievous grin. “Well, yes, but I can’t participate, unfortunately… I was visited by the moon fairy, so I’m not feeling too well.”

She really had some nerve saying all that with a smile.

What a devious weapon. It made me wonder how often girls used it like that.

“Anyway,” she said, tearing me away from my ruminations, “how’s your observation going?”

My shoulders drooped. “You call it ‘observation’, but… I’ve had my hands full. Or rather my legs, I guess?”

“Very funny.”

“Well, he’s doing fine, I guess,” I said. Actually, I just saw Kawamoto a little before I entered my race. Even now he seemed to be sitting at the sidelines with his friends.

Nakayama’s crush seemed to be the classic “nice and friendly” boy; he was neat in appearance and tended to smile a lot.

“Well, it’s the second-years’ turn soon,” said Yua. “So that’s where our real task will begin.”

“Hmm. But I assume you weren’t just sitting there pretending to be out of the game, right?”

She gave me a daring smile. “Who do you think I am, Amari-kun? Naturally, I’ve been looking for the culprit all over.”

“’Sup.”

I jumped at this voice; a boy suddenly appeared next to me. He ran his fingers through sweat-drenched hair.

“Oh, it’s you, Sagara,” I greeted him.

“Sneaking off to fraternize with your girlfriend, hmm?”

“He’s just my assistant,” Yua said casually.

“I’m just her assistant,” I said casually.

Sagara smiled. “Oh, right. I forgot he’s aiming for Takai.”

“Uh… no I’m not. How many times do I need to repeat myself?”

“Well, she thinks you do, at least.”

“Ugh…”

It was just a few days ago that I happened to see her in the corridor, and she glared at me with a thorny gaze. Misunderstandings could be terrible things. I never even spoke to her, but she was still under the impression I was some creep pining for her.

“Anyway, watcha doin’?” Sagara asked after dropping that bomb on me.

“It’s confidential, I’m sorry to say,” said Yua with a finger on her lips and a wink.

“I still don’t get it. Why’d you let a pipsqueak like that lead you around by the nose? Especially if she’s not your girlfriend.”

Please, Sagara, can you catch a hint?

I really didn’t want to tell him anything about my plans, if I could help it. Especially not after what happened with Takai.

Luckily, I was saved by the bell. Or rather, by the PA system.

“Next up is the second-year relay race!” a voice echoed throughout the sports grounds.

Yua immediately rose to her legs and shook off some dust. “Then it’s time.”

“Yup, it’s time to watch some senior girls running,” said Sagara, wearing a vulgar smile. “I’ve been waiting all day for this.”

Well, he wasn’t wrong.

N-not that I meant it for the same reason as him.

Yua did narrow her eyes a little, but said nothing, so I guess she was used to guys being guys?

“And now,” said the echoing announcement, loud enough to overcome the background noises, “for the girls’ relay race!”

After a few moments I spotted Nakayama—as expected, she looked rather tense while standing with the rest of her competitors. She was also wearing contact lenses instead of glasses, which gave her an entirely different impression from when we’d met before.

But she herself wasn’t as important right now as the other piece of the puzzle.

I looked to the side, where I spotted Kawamoto again. He seemed to be currently talking with friends, which didn’t really bode well for our purpose here.

“Now, get over there,” Yua whispered to me.

“…Excuse me?” I said, turning to her in surprise.

Meanwhile, the race started, but apparently it wasn’t Nakayama’s turn yet. She was still standing with the other girls.

“You’ve heard me. When it’s her turn, you can say ‘woooah, look at her go!’ or something equally silly. I want to see his reaction to that.”

That was definitely not what I was expecting from our mission today; I thought we were trying to find the culprit.

“…Seriously?”

“Yup. Go on, Amari-kun.”

Okay, I was the one who signed up to be the assistant, but she was really pushing some unpleasant jobs onto me.

Feeling more than a little awkward, I slowly made my way to Kawamoto and his group of friends when an obstacle appeared in my way.

She was as pretty as a rose but also had the sharp thorns to match.

It was none other than Takai Hana.

Of all timings to bump into her, it had to be now?

“You again,” she mumbled. “Will you stop stalking me already? This is getting ridiculous.”

“I’m not doing anything like that! Err, excuse me, but I have to…”

However, the next moment there was a shout that made both of us jump.

Looking to the field, there was apparently some sort of mishap. In fact, it happened pretty much right next to us.

One of the girls raised herself from the ground, holding her knee. She apparently scraped it while falling, because it was bleeding.

“He…hee…hiiiii….”

Confused by this sound that sounded a lot like a steaming kettle, I turned to see where my boss, love interest and great detective stood before.

Her face as pale as a sheet of paper while watching this scene, Yua practically fainted on the spot.