COTE Year 2 Reimagined

Volume 6:Part 10

It was finally time for the sports festival to begin. I made my way and was met by Nanase immediately. She was waiting for me in the spot we agreed upon, but as usual, she was way too early.

"Good morning, Ayanokoji-senpai!"

Nanase waved at me with a smile on her face when she saw me.

"Morning Nanase."

I patted her head, and then we started walking together. I had a strange feeling of deja vu, probably because this scene reminded me of our time together on the island.

"How's your class, Nanase?"

I decided to initiate some small talk.

"It's hopeless. Hosen-kun doesn't even care about winning that much. I doubt we'll even make it to class C."

Hosen probably wanted revenge on me and Ryuen and nothing else.

"Does that upset you?"

She looked at me and started thinking.

"Not personally. But I do feel bad for my classmates who can't achieve their goals because of Hosen-kun."

As usual, Nanase prioritised other people before herself.

"Maybe you should lead class 1-D instead."

Nanase giggled like I had made a joke.

"Maybe."

I nodded at her, and we kept walking towards the events. I had read through the rules carefully and calculated everything we needed to do in order to get first place while also taking into account Nagumo's personal stats.

Nagumo could probably beat most students who aren't white room agents or monsters like Koenji. That meant he would likely secure first place in at least 9 events. Yet his partner Ichinose while still excellent physically was still outmatched by a fair few opponents. If I had to judge, I'd say she could secure first place in at least 5 or maybe even 6 events.

But that's only judging their individual stats.  It's likely that they could bring each other down due to Nagumo's overbearing personality and Ichinose's timid attitude, especially after her recent losses.

All in all, I judged that if Nanase and I earn first in 7 events and at least second in 2 events, we can secure enough points to be awarded first place in the overall individual rankings.

I discussed my thoughts with Nanase, and she agreed that we could easily win this. So, to start off the day, I decided to participate in the scavenger hunt game. It was a luck based game that could screw up my plans, but I should be fine as long as I place well in the 9 other events. I chose this game to redeem myself for last year's failure.

"Are you confident, Nanase?"

She nodded her head aggressively.

"We can do this, Senpai!"

I nodded at her and then signed up both our names. For this, even we would participate separately and add up the points we earned individually in the end.

I took my position with 3 other boys standing next to me, none of which I knew personally. Nanase was on the other side with 3 girls next to her as well. The timer was counting down, and the game started.

Three people involved in a love triangle.

What? Love triangles are usually a plot trope that's used by indicivse individuals to avoid going one way or the other while also keeping the audience guessing. It was surprisingly popular in modern movies and TV shows, although I didn't personally see the appeal. Yet this game wanted me to find 3 students involved in such a plot line?

Did everyone get a ridiculous request like mine? Considering the 3 other guys already ran off, I would guess not.

"Can I swap?"

I received a nod and had to wait 30 seconds for a new card. My failure was already repeating. I looked over towards Nanase, and she was also standing still. She was in the same unfortunate predicament as me.

Someone who smokes in secret.

The only person who I knew smoked was Chabashira, but she wasn't attending this sports festival. There was also a possibility that a student would smoke, but then wouldn't bringing them here expose them? Would they receive punishment if I did that? Or would they simply ignore it since this is a game. Regardless, I didn't know anyone. I had a few guesses that might be correct, but there's nothing I could confirm right now. I asked for another card and waited another 30 seconds.

Someone who hates your singing voice.

Nobody at this had even heard me sing, so this card was also impossible. I asked for a new card and accepted my fate. It was over. My failure from last year happened yet again. I looked over at Nanase, and she was standing still with a troubled look on her face. She failed just as badly as I did.

Before I could even receive a new card, all three contestants made it, and I was in last place. I got disqualified, and the game ended.

"I'm really sorry, Ayanokoji-senpai! I couldn't obtain any of the items requested of me, and I ended up getting disqualified and received last place! I promise I will redeem myself for this unforgivable failure."

Nanase bowed to me. She seemed genuinely apologetic, but I ushered her to get up.

"You don't have to worry too much. If I wanted to win, then I wouldn't have chosen a game that depends on luck. I got last place too, so don't worry."

She nodded her head while looking somewhat down.

"Did you have fun?"

She was surprised at my question but then thought about it. When she found an answer, she started innocently blushing, and her smile returned.

"Yes."

I put my hand on her shoulder softly, and we started walking towards our next event. After our failure here, we couldn't afford to lose anymore. We had to get serious in every event we took part in.

Seeing Nanase smile so genuinely over a silly event like this made me wonder about myself. She was from the white room just like I was, yet her entire aura was different from me.

Could I smile this brightly one day?